Eagles’ Zach Ertz looking to rebound against Bucs after subpar Week 1 performance

A few years ago, before he found God, a wife and fresh new perspectives on both life and football, a game like last week's would have gnawed at Zach Ertz for days.

The Eagles' 18-12 season-opening win over the Falcons wasn't the worst game the Pro Bowl tight end ever has played, but it's also not one he'll be telling the kids about someday.

Five catches for just 48 yards. One first down. A couple of uncharacteristic drops, or at least passes that he ordinarily catches.

"Don't get me wrong,'' Ertz said Wednesday as the Eagles began preparations for Sunday's road game in hot, humid Tampa against the 1-0 Buccaneers. "I was bummed after the game. I came in the next morning and was on the JUGS machine for an hour. But at the same time, I didn't let it ruin my attitude for the rest of the weekend.

"I was bummed by those two errors. But we won the game. That's the most important thing. Being a leader on this offense, I've got to focus on, if I have a drop or have two bad plays, [then] I've got to be a better blocking tight end.

"I have so many roles in this offense now. My role isn't just receiving."

Technically, that's true. But Ertz didn't get to the Pro Bowl last year because of his blocking. He's a serviceable blocker, but he got there because he's one of the league's top pass-catching tight ends.

>> READ MORE: How Zach Ertz improved, so to speak

He caught 74 passes for 824 yards last season, his third straight season with 70-plus receptions and 800-plus receiving yards.

He had a career-high eight touchdowns. All eight were in the red zone, which was the third most in the NFL and a big reason the Eagles finished first in the league in red-zone offense.

He was Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles' go-to guy in the playoffs. Had a team-high 18 catches, including 15 in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LII. Twelve of them went for first downs. Ten came on third down.

He had two of the biggest receptions in the Eagles' Super Bowl win over the Patriots, a diving catch on a critical fourth-and-1 play, and an 11-yard fourth-quarter touchdown that put the Eagles ahead for good.

So, while his role isn't just receiving, it's obviously a very large part of it, particularly now as the Eagles' offense tries to muddle along without wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who still is recovering from rotator cuff surgery.

Jeffery practiced Wednesday for the first time since the Super Bowl. He participated in individual drills and group install, but not 11-on-11 work, and won't play Sunday.

Foles completed just 19 of 34 passes for 117 yards and no touchdowns against the Falcons. That's just 3.4 yards per attempt, which was Foles' lowest YPA average in a game since 2013.

"We just have to execute better,'' Ertz said. "It's not like it was one guy messing up all the time. It was a culmination of things.

"I wasn't perfect. I put the onus on myself to be a leader of this offense and I didn't play great. So I have to play better. I have to be more consistent. And I will be.''

Foles targeted Ertz 10 times in Week 1. Just one of his five catches went for more than 8 yards, but that was an important one — an 18-yard completion on a third-and-8 in the third quarter that set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jay Ajayi that gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead at the time.

On the Eagles' next possession, Foles went to Ertz on back-to-back plays, but he dropped both passes. That's just two fewer drops than Ertz had the entire 2017 season.

"That game should be our worst performance as an offense,'' Ertz said. "It's regular-season game No. 1. We've got 15 more games to get it right.

"If I catch those two balls, we'd be standing here acting like I had a great game. So I just have to be better.''

>> READ MORE: Eagles will try to cool down Tampa Bay's hot defense

This was the second straight game the Falcons have done an effective job against Ertz. He had just three catches for 32 yards in the Eagles' 15-10 playoff win in January.

"They mixed up their coverage a little bit more this time,'' Foles said. "They showed us a little bit more two-high [safeties] than the one-high they are known for.

"But they played really well. I thought they executed well and we have to execute better. The NFL isn't an easy league.''

Foles should have an easier time getting the ball to Ertz this week. The Bucs' defense isn't nearly as good as the Falcons'. It gave up 40 points and 432 passing yards to Drew Brees and the Saints on Sunday and could be without both of its starting corners: Brent Grimes missed last week's game with a groin injury and Vernon Hargreaves was put on injured reserve Wednesday with a torn shoulder labrum.

"With [running back Darren] Sproles and me on the field, it's going to be interesting to see how they defend us,'' Ertz said.

"I studied the film [from the Atlanta game] and learned from it. They did a good job. But at the end of the day, I have to make plays. And I will.''

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