On Eagles, he's receiving till it Ertz

EVERY GOOD quarterback needs a go-to guy. A receiver he can turn to in the clutch. Someone he can trust. Someone who is on the same wavelength.

Someone he can count on to get open and be where he's supposed to be and turn make-or-break third downs into drive-sustaining first downs.

Someone who will answer his distress call on a zero blitz or when there's a protection breakdown and be there for him.

Zach Ertz wants to be that go-to guy for Sam Bradford. He thinks he is becoming that guy for the Eagles quarterback.

"I think we've kind of taken that next step the last three games," the Eagles' third-year tight end said. "We always saw the game the same way. But I think now we're kind of going out there and executing it the way we see it."

While the numbers might not show it, Bradford played one of his better games in the Eagles' 27-16 loss to Carolina before the bye.

He completed only 26 of 46 passes, but had eight passes dropped by his receivers, including one that should have been a touchdown (by Josh Huff) and another (by Jordan Matthews) that ended up being intercepted.

He completed eight of 15 third-down passes against the league's 10th-ranked third-down defense, including a season-high six for first downs. That's only seven fewer than he completed in the first six games.

Ertz did have one of those eight drops. A third-and-9 pass from Bradford with two minutes left in the game clanged off his hands after he managed to beat Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis on a crossing route.

But he finished with five catches for 63 yards. All five of his receptions resulted in first downs. Two of them came on third down. They were his first two third-down receptions for first downs this season. Last year, he had a team-high 21.

"On third down, anytime our team needs a play, I want to be the guy that gets the ball," Ertz said. "Last Sunday, I thought we did a pretty good job (on third down). Obviously, there are plays we'd like to have back. But I thought it was a good game overall between the two of us."

Ertz has 24 catches, which is second on the team to Jordan Matthews' 39. Fourteen of them have come in the last three games. Ten of those 14 have resulted in first downs, including the five against Carolina.

Ertz and Bradford didn't get a chance to work together very much before the season. Bradford didn't participate in any 11-on-11 work in the spring OTAs, because he was recovering from his second torn ACL. And then Ertz missed the entire preseason after needing surgery to repair a sports hernia.

"You can't emulate a game until you're in a game," Ertz said. "The practice reps are one thing. But we didn't get a preseason game together. We didn't really have the OTAs. We didn't really have a (training) camp. So, going into the week before the Atlanta game was pretty much the first time we were able to get into a rhythm."

Ertz returned for the season opener against Atlanta. Caught three passes for 46 yards, including two for first downs, against the Falcons. But his body still hadn't completely recovered from the surgery, and he struggled physically the next two weeks against the Cowboys and Jets. Had only five catches for 47 yards and only one first down in Weeks 2 and 3.

"The first game (against the Falcons), it felt pretty good," he said. "But the following two weeks it was tough to recover from. I'm not using that as an excuse, by any means.

"The good news is that I feel 100 percent now. I feel the way I did when I came into camp. The last three games, we've taken the next step between the two of us.

"There definitely are going to be some differences in how I run a route and how he throws a route. But the last three games, we've kind of seen that (diminish). I think it's coming along."

The fact that Ertz is on the field more has helped. He played only 41 percent of the offensive snaps as a rookie and 50 percent last year.

This year, that number has jumped to 72 percent. In the last three games, with the Eagles playing a lot more "12" personnel (two tight ends), he's played 80.9 percent of the snaps.

"I want to be the focal point of this offense," Ertz said. "I worked so hard in the offseason to be a focal point in this offense and (be) someone the coaches can trust to put at the forefront of this offense.

"I know we have a lot of weapons with the running backs and the receivers and the tight ends. But I put a lot of pressure on myself as well to go out there and make the plays. And I expect that out of myself."

Particularly on third down. Thanks in large part to Ertz and Matthews' production on third down last season, the Eagles finished ninth in the league in third-down efficiency.

This season, until the Carolina game, it's been their Achilles' heel. The Eagles have been among the league's worst third-down offenses. They currently are 29th, with a 31.9 conversion rate.

"Tight ends, third down and the red zone is where you kind of need to stand out to be a very good tight end in this league," Ertz said. "You see (Jason) Witten, who we play this week, every third down it's him and (slot receiver) Cole Beasley in the slot that are going to win it for them.

"As a tight end, I want to be the guy here (who does that). I know Jordan (Matthews) wants to be the guy. I know Darren (Sproles) wants to be the guy. But I'm going to put a lot of pressure on myself to be that guy at the end of the day."

Blog: eagletarian.com