Ertz’s focus on this week’s game
PHILADELPHIA » You can pretty much imagine what Eagles Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz said when general manager Howie Roseman got in his face during a practice leading up to the opener.
Ertz is in no hurry to provide the play-by-play of the exchange witnessed by his teammates.
“I’m going to keep the details personal, obviously,” Ertz said Thursday. “I’m not going to get into the exact words of the conversation. At the end of the day, we’re all on the same page. We’re on the page of trying to win football games. That’s all our focus is right now. We’re 0-2-1, half a game out of first place so we have to find a way to start winning football games and everything will take care of itself. I have a lot of conversations in this building with a lot of people, so for me I didn’t take too much out of it. We’re all focused on the same thing.”
Ertz has given his all to the Eagles, from teammates to coaches. Beyond that, he’s pitched in to help the community. Ertz is known throughout Delaware County for his efforts to help youth football and athletic programs.
More recently Ertz urged the PIAA, the governing body of high school sports, not to cancel fall sports for the sake of the student athletes.
In January, the Eagles’ leader in receptions in four straight seasons took the field for a playoff game with a lacerated kidney. That in a season where the Eagles had to coax players like Sidney Jones to fight through the pain of a sore leg.
Roseman, of course, has a job to do. With the mega-bucks contracts being paid to Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox and others, Roseman has to hold the line on the salary cap. Squeezing Ertz, who reportedly was offered less guaranteed money than the Eagles put on the bargaining table in a contract extension last season, got the attention of everyone.
The heated confrontation hasn’t affected Ertz’s performance, as he once again leads the Eagles with 15 receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. Though the fourth-down drop late in the loss to Washington in the opener made some wonder if Ertz had made a statement, replays showed it was a case of Wentz — who has thrown a league-leading six interceptions — putting too much steam on the throw.
Fittingly for Ertz, his Eagles are in search of a victory to end their first winless start in 21 years against the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers and George Kittle, the highestpaid tight end in the NFL. It’s the Sunday night football showcase. Playoff contenders seeking an elite tight end might want to put the binoculars on No. 86, who has put thoughts of the contract extension in the rearview mirror.
“Once the games started, my sole focus is on trying to find ways to win football games, get open for Carson and be a great teammate,” Ertz said. “Since the season started, I think I’ve done that.”
Ertz is a bit more valuable these days, as tight end Dallas Goedert is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his ankle. Roseman signed veteran backup Richard Rodgers to a contract, and that helped the Eagles use the 12 personnel packages (one back, two tight ends) that Wentz is comfortable with in last Sunday’s tie with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wentz is so uncomfortable with the rest of the offense, the five-year veteran sporting a league-high seven turnovers, that head coach Doug Pederson intends to make more liberal use of the hurry-up offense. The hope is that Wentz, with less time to think, will play more instinctively.
“In this city, the quarterback and the head coach are going to get the majority of the credit when you win football games and they’re going to get the majority of the blame when we lose,” Ertz said. “That’s just the nature of the beast playing in this city. The fault of the team is not on Carson by any means. At times we’re playing good football as an offense. There are times he’s playing great and there are other times as an offense we’re just struggling. We’re not putting drives together, we’re inconsistent, we’re playing behind the sticks. Third-and-eight plus, thirdand-10 plus is going to be very difficult and there have been a couple games where we had a rash of those in the middle of games.
“It’s not all on Carson. We all have to play better.”
Wentz’s struggles and Roseman’s decision to draft Jalen Hurts in the second round rather than addressing need at linebacker or running back has laid the foundation for a colossal quarterback controversy. Hurts, who has played a total of six snaps in the last two games, is so far from being ready to play it’s comical. He fumbled last week pulling the ball back from running back Miles Sanders.
That, however, is life for the Eagles right now. Though Wentz hasn’t said anything about feeling threatened, he’s off to the worst start of his career. Ertz still has the back of Wentz, his close friend and confidante.
“In regard to Jalen, I don’t think anyone’s looking over their shoulder in this league,” Ertz said. “If you’re ever looking over your shoulder, you have no chance. I’ve been in this situation, kind of a similar spot. Me and Dallas have grown together, been able to play extremely well together. So, Carson is never going to be looking over his shoulder. He has that singular focus of how can I be the best quarterback for the Eagles, how can I be better than I was yesterday today?
“He’s just trying to win football games. No one’s hungrier for the team to have success in this building than Carson Wentz. That’s just the bottom line.”
The bottom line for the Eagles is grabbing a victory in any way possible.