Zach Ertz returned to the field two weeks ago against the Lions.
No word on when he’ll return to the stat sheet.
The Eagles’ starting tight end had a solid opener against Cleveland, but suffered a dangerous first rib displacement that kept him out of the next two weeks. After the bye, he had healed enough to return.
But in his two games since returning to the lineup, he hasn’t been much of a factor in the Eagles' passing offense.
“It's just a part of the game,” Ertz said on Wednesday. “Obviously, you want the ball all the time, but that just hasn't been the case the last couple of weeks. My job is to go out there and run the best route that I possibly can and when the ball's in the air, make plays. When I get my number called, whether that's one time or 10 times a game, and that's the bottom line. Obviously, Carson (Wentz) has his reads that he has to progress through. If I get the ball, that's great. If not, that's great too.”
In the opener against the Browns, Ertz had six catches on seven targets for 58 yards.
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In the two games since returning, he has four catches on six targets for 59 yards.
On Sunday against Washington, he had just one catch for 22 yards and wasn’t targeted until the fourth quarter.
How much of his lack of production is on Wentz?
“It’s part of what’s being called, it’s part of me finding him,” the rookie quarterback said. “It’s kind of just … the last couple games, the flow of the game has been kind of weird. I think we only threw it 22 times last game and we only had 11 completions. So really nobody is getting real involved in a game like that so it’s something that we definitely notice but it’s a part of how the plays are executed.”
Offensive coordinator Frank Reich said the offensive coaching staff sits down before the week and looks at matchups while making a gameplan. Getting Ertz involved in the offense is always a part of those talks.
And after just two less-than-impressive weeks for Ertz, Reich doesn’t necessarily see a disturbing trend.
“I tend not to overanalyze targets in a microscopic sense,” Reich said. “I need to see it over three or four weeks and then if a guy isn't getting targeted over three or four weeks, maybe we're not doing enough for him. If it's just one or two weeks, I tend to just say that's just the flow of the game.”
In the last game, the Eagles used tight ends and running backs to help out on both edges of the line. Plays like that naturally limit Ertz and the other tight ends in the passing game.
And Ertz actually had a chance for a big play in the fourth quarter Sunday, but he couldn’t haul in a pass in the red zone that sailed a little bit from Wentz. It went through his hands, but it’s possible if he caught it in stride, he could have sneaked into the end zone. So at least Wentz looked his way in a key moment.
Still, for those who annually expect a “breakout year” for Ertz, 2016 has been a disappointment through six weeks.
“I think I've grown a lot the past couple of years, trying to put ego aside,” Ertz said. “You work so hard in the offseason to help produce for the team, but at the end of the day, you can't control where the ball goes. And I think that's the one thing that I've really focused on the past couple of years. I can't control what play's called or what the quarterback's read it. All I can control is going out there and getting open and I thought I've done that the past couple weeks.”
