10 Philadelphia Eagles who must shine in Washington for Week 1
. . . Zach Ertz, tight end. 2. player. 54
The Philadelphia Eagles can’t afford to have a disgruntled locker room.
There is one indisputable fact that everybody both in Philadelphia and outside of the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ knows: Zach Ertz is one of the best tight ends in the NFL and deserves to be paid as such. It doesn’t look like Philly will explore that any further in 2020 though. Ertz said in a recent presser that none of that will affect his performance this season, but he is unsure of whether his desire to remain in Philly is one that the organization shares. Don’t expect that to affect him on Sunday. We expect his best effort.
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Ertz will continue to be a professional and show why the Eagles should give in and compensate him justly for his services. He’s a professional. Last season, ’86’ had five catches for 54 yards in Week 1, and the ‘Birds’ surely want him to finish Sunday’s game with a similar stat line and maybe even a touchdown. If ’86’ dominates, he will have shown he deserves an extension, as if he hasn’t done so already.
54. . . . Jason Peters, left tackle. 1. player
We remember everything that Jason Peters has given to the ‘City of Brotherly Love’, but he won’t get a pass here. Originally signed this offseason to take over Brandon Brook’s right guard position, the ‘Birds’ asked Peters to slide back to left tackle. After a lot of drama and what appears to be some dishonesty from the organization about what actually happened, ‘The Bodyguard’ approached head coach Doug Pederson and told him he would protect Carson Wentz’s blindside.
That alone sounds like the player informing the coach of his intentions instead of the other way around. Since then, he got the salary boost he craved and he’ll indeed be the team’s starting left tackle in Week 1. It makes you wonder why they won’t pay Ertz, doesn’t it? At least ’86’ does things the right way.
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Both the Eagles brass and Peters deserve blame for how they managed this, but this is not the time to point fingers. Rather, this team needs to be working in unison in preparation for Chase Young. ’71’ isn’t the All-Pro he used to be and he will have his hands full trying to slow down the Ohio State standout, but he’s the best chance that Philly has to keep Young off of Wentz. We won’t have to wait long to see what happens.