Country Road
Ertz, Agholor look to keep up workload for Eagles in Nashville
Zach Ertz has a chance to go where no Eagle has gone before. And he could take Nelson Agholor with him.
It’s the 100-catch club, where the single-season club record is 90 receptions by Eagles running back Brian Westbrook in 2007.
There are going to be opportunities for the duo to add to their numbers entering the Eagles’ Sunday showdown with the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, Tenn. (1 p.m., Channel 29, WIP 94.1-FM). The Titans give up an average of 21 completions a game.
Ertz, with 21 receptions for 215 yards in three games, is on pace for 112 catches, 1,146 receiving yards and another Pro Bowl berth. The double-teams Ertz has been seeing could lessen if Alshon Jeffery returns to action this weekend. He has been battling the effects of a virus.
Ertz was his smiling, evasive self when asked if he could get to 100.
“I can catch as many as they throw to me,” he said. “That’s the goal, get the catch percentage up. I’m just trying to be the best tight end I can be for the team.
I have high reception, high yard goals, high touchdown goals every year from an individual standpoint. But the most important thing to me is winning football games.”
Ertz’s catch percentage was just 50 percent in his first and third games of the season, the Stanford product hauling in five of 10 targets. He caught 11 of 13 in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And he leads the Eagles with two dropped passes.
Agholor has 20 receptions for 145 yards in three games, putting him on schedule for 107 catches and 773 receiving yards. He also has a touchdown.
If you’re wondering how many times NFL teammates caught 100 balls each
in the same season, it’s happened three times, most recently in 2014 with Demaryius Thomas (111 catches) and Emmanuel Sanders (101) of the Denver Broncos.
Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark caught 100 passes each for the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 and in 1995, Herman Moore (123) and Brett Perriman (108) of the Detroit Lions both hit the century catch mark.
“It’s possible,” Agholor said. “What’s most important is winning, and then that stuff will take care of itself.”
The Eagles (2-1) have been unable to get the offense hitting on all cylinders this month, as they’ve averaged just 19.6 points in sandwiching victories around a loss to the Bucs. The return of Carson Wentz at quarterback last week did little to correct that. The return of Jeffery suits the 13 personnel offense
Carson Wentz had early and late success with in the 2016 win over the Colts last weekend.
The Eagles liked the size mismatches they got with Ertz, Dallas Goedert and Josh Perkins, who was the third tight end or bounced to the slot. It also helped get the run game going, which would be a big help this week as the Eagles would be wise to control the ball in order to keep the Titans’ vaunted run game in check.
The Colts switched from their base defense to nickel against the Eagles, who enjoyed favorable matchups with bigger bodies. The tight ends were targeted 21 times compared to seven for the wide receivers.
“Thirteen is interesting because sometimes Josh is a wide receiver,” Ertz said. “As (other teams) get more film, last year at the beginning of the season when it
was Trey (Burton) and I, we saw base like the first two weeks and then after that we saw nickel the rest of the season.”
The blocking is key for 13 personnel. Last week Goedert did well, give or take a holding penalty.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how he does against the Titans,” Ertz said. “The Titans are a physical team. It’s almost like the Redskins defense. So, it’s going to be a good test for me, Dallas and whoever is in there blocking.”
The Titans (2-1) have gotten after teams primarily with the run game featuring 6-3, 250-pound running back Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis (5-8, 195), the long-ago Eagles fifthround draft pick who had most of his success with the New England Patriots.
And then there is Marcus Mariota, the master of tempo and the zone read at
Oregon.
“He’s a part of their running game, too,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I think he’s a really good quarterback. We knew when there was all that controversy of if we were going to (draft him), he was good. I think he’s a really good quarterback. Athletic and makes good decisions. We’ve got our hands full. We’ve got to make sure we stop their run.”
Mariota is at his best throwing the ball in playaction situations. The Titans operate the read option and much like the Eagles, lean on RPOs, or run-pass options.
“It’s a unique style,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said. “Our defense is very comfortable having practiced and played against our offense. It’s a discipline. It’s all about discipline, where your eyes are, training your eyes during the week, studying the film and making sure your reads and your keys are right on point.”
Forcing the Titans to play catch-up would go a long way in limiting the RPOs. That’s where Ertz, Agholor and possibly Jeffery come in.
The Eagles’ passing game right now runs through Ertz, and with good reason. Last year he led the team with 74 receptions playing 14 regular-season games, proving to be very difficult to cover one-on-one.
Which brings us back to the 100-catch standard. Among NFL tight ends, Jason Witten caught 110 passes in 2012 for the Cowboys, while Tony Gonzalez had 102 for the Chiefs in 2004, and in 2009, Clark caught 100.
Keith Jackson, with 81 grabs in 1988, holds the Eagles’ record for most catches by a tight end in one season.