Eagles' linemen enjoying duty as third tight end

THE EAGLES worked a lot on their three-tight end package in the preseason, but so far, they haven't had three healthy tight ends.

This hasn't kept them from using the package. Doug Pederson has gone three-TE a number of times through the first two games, mostly with tackle Matt Tobin announced as eligible, as he was 16 times Monday night in Chicago, but also with guard-center Stefen Wisniewski for a dozen plays against the Bears.

So far, Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich have just used Tobin and Wisniewski as extra muscle on the line, but the season is young; we might see Tobin go deep down the middle one of these weeks, who knows?

"It's fun. It's a lot different, because you're in and out, instead of being in there for the whole game" like an offensive lineman, Tobin said Wednesday.

"I'd never played that position before in my life, really. It's definitely a lot different," Wisniewski said. "I just kinda learned on the fly and went with it. It's fun to get out there."

Wisniewski has mostly been a center, in five previous NFL seasons.

"When you're in the middle, you can kind of see everything a little clearer. When you're out on the edge, it's a different world. You're blocking different guys - safeties, corners, linebackers," Wisniewski said. "It's a different view of a defense, and it's a less complete view . . . You can only see a couple of guys, and you've got to rely on other people to tell you what's going on."

Monday night, the Eagles were scheming to make up for the absence of their most dynamic offensive weapon, tight end Zach Ertz. There is no indication Ertz will be available for Sunday's visit from the Steelers, and no real assurance his displaced first rib will have re-established itself during the bye week that follows.

Ertz wouldn't discuss his injury timetable Wednesday. He said he can lift weights and run, but he can't risk contact. "I'm not in a lot of pain," he said. "It's just a matter of healing."

Ertz said he and team doctors thought he had suffered an AC sprain, on the first series of the opener against Cleveland. He's had that injury before, so he played the rest of the way. But pain later in the evening led to a scan the next day, and the rib diagnosis. As Pederson noted last week, it's a dangerous injury to play with. The first rib sits high in the chest, and the right blow could cause damage to blood vessels or organs.

Mychal Kendricks sat out Wednesday's practice with a broken nose, suffered during Monday's game. Kendricks said his helmet was knocked a little askew and he didn't have it adjusted before the ball was snapped again. Making a tackle, he banged helmets and managed to get the upper lip of the facemask opening jammed down on top of his nose.

"Just, crunch," Kendricks said. "I knew right away, because I've fractured my nose slightly before, but this time was a little different, because I kind of heard it."

Kendricks said he will play against the Steelers. He also said, given that you're already wearing a facemask, there isn't much protection available.

"You just go out there and hope it doesn't happen again," he said. "There's enough things going on to keep my mind off my nose. I'll be fine."

Rookie corner Jalen Mills said the 49-yard completion he surrendered to Alshon Jeffery on a double move Monday night was "just me being too aggressive, trying to make a play out there." He said he needs to be more patient . . . Mills seems likely to play a lot again this week; Leodis McKelvin (hamstring) didn't practice Wednesday . . . Ben Roethlisberger said that after meeting and working out with Carson Wentz before the draft, "I was really surprised. I thought I was going to be facing him twice a year in Cleveland." The Browns traded the second overall pick to the Eagles. Roethlisberger said his advice to Wentz was "don't try to do too much, let the game come to you . . . I think he's doing that right now." . . . CB JaCorey Shepherd is back, on the practice squad, G Darrell Greene was released.

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