Zach Ertz - Focus and Finish: How Football Taught Me Grit, Teamwork, and Integrity

I n Week 1 of the 2016 season, I hurt my shoulder.

It was a perfect day for football in Philly75 degrees and sunnyand the crowd was raucous. It was the first pro start for our rookie first-round draft pick Carson Wentz, a quarterback from North Dakota State, and our first game with a brand-new head coach in Doug Pederson. Hopes were high. There was a 9/11 tribute before the game, and soldiers rolled out a giant American flag on the field.

As was the case before every game early in my career, I felt such excitement and anxiety that I was almost physically ill. Life in the NFL is fun, but its also the most stressful, pressure-filled thing Ive ever done. Carson and I walked out onto the field together. My gloves were right, my armbands were right, and the green number 86 jersey felt perfect. We were just getting to know each other then, but now hes one of my best friends.

Our coaches called a great first series to get everyone comfortable playing again. We started with a couple of runs to get Carson acclimated. On our first play, running back Ryan Matthews ran for six yards right behind me. My job was to step inside and collide with Clevelands defensive end. I was supposed to shoot my play-side hand into his armpit and get my hat in front of his. On the snap, I stepped, and bang! There was a tiny explosion in my helmet, meaning Id done my job. The first play of 2016 was in the books, and it was a good one.

Playing tight end in the NFL means that on some plays, Im blocking guys who are much bigger than me, and on other plays, I might be running a pass pattern or lining up wide in the formation. Later in the series, Carson saw a matchup we both liked. I was lined up wide against a smaller Cleveland safety. Carson threw a fade to my outside shoulder, and I had to swing my body around and adjust to grab it. I snatched the ball out of the air with one hand and crashed to the ground. A catch. My first of the season.

Plays like that allow me to use some of my old basketball skills. Going up against someone to catch a ball is a lot like boxing a guy out down low for a rebound. I use my big body and then let my instincts take over. When I was in middle school and high school, I dreamed about playing in the NBA. I was going to be the next Adam Morrison (more on that later)until I met a former NFL tight end named Brent Jones, who won some Super Bowls as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Brent told me that if I worked hard, I could play on Sundays in the NFL. I wouldnt be in the league without him, and my mom, and about 100 other people. It takes a village to raise an NFL playerbut more on that later as well. Im getting ahead of myself!

Something you should know about Carson Wentz is that he never played like a rookie. Even on that first drive, he was cool in the huddle and calmly changed plays at the line of scrimmage. It was like playing in front of 70,000 people on national television didnt even faze him despite never performing on that kind of stage. One of Carsons heroes is Brett Favre, who was a really similar playera big, athletic dude with a huge arm and no fear, who smiled a lot and had fun playing the game.

EVERYTHING CHANGES

Later in the drive, something happened, and everything changed. We ran one of my favorite plays: I go in motion across the formation, and the receiver to my side runs a slant. Im supposed to leak out into the flat underneath him, where Ill be wide open with space to run after the catch.

The play worked just like Doug and the staff drew it up. I started moving forward into my route just before the snap, and before I knew it, Carson put the ball right into my hands. I turned upfield and ran for about 13 yards before I slammed into Clevelands safety Ibrahiem Campbell, whose job was to fly up, crash into my left shoulder, and drive me out of bounds.

He did his job perfectly. As soon as I got up, I knew something wasnt right with my shoulder, but there was no time to deal with it. We went right back to the huddle and then into our next play. I had to get down into my stance and block Clevelands outside linebacker Joe Schobertat the time, a rookie out of Wisconsin playing in his first NFL game. I managed to get my hands on Schobert and move my body in front of him, but my shoulder was on fire.

That first series was perfect for Carson. He hit our receiver Jordan Matthews on a fade route in the end zone, but before I could get my shoulder checked out, I had to stand in as the left-side wing in the field goal unit. My job was to stick my foot in the ground and get a punch on their outside rusher. The extra point is one of those plays that most NFL fans ignore, but in order to get it right, everybody on the field has to do their job. Thankfully, I was able to get a hand on the rusher, and we made the kick.

After the field goal, I jogged over to the sideline and found the trainers. Something doesnt feel right in my shoulder, I said, and they started lifting my pads and feeling around my arm. In the NFL, theres a lot of adrenaline and caffeine pumping through your body during a game, and you dont necessarily feel all the pain of an injury right away. The trainers thought it was a sprain, so I kept playing.

The rest of the game was a blur. At that time in my life, before I knew Christ, I was living for the stat sheet. If I caught seven balls and a touchdown or two, it meant I had a good day, and I could feel good about myself. If not, there was a lot of anxiety and fear and paranoia. I was living and dying by these performances.

WHEN THE ADRENALINE WEARS OFF

After an NFL game, you go back to the locker room, the coach says a few words, and then you shower and meet with the media at your locker. Finally, you get to find your family. That night, I was looking for my girlfriend (now my wife), Julie, who is a professional soccer player, and my mom.

It should have been a celebratory night, since we got our first win with a new quarterback and a new coachand wins of any kind are hard to come by in the NFL. But as the adrenaline wore off, I could barely move my shoulder. I called the team doctor and asked him to check me out the next morning.

For an introverted West Coast kid, adjusting to Philly was really tough. It was a cold, gray, tough East Coast city, and in my early days in the league, I was away from my family and my girlfriend for the first time. People envision NFL rookies living an amazing life, floating on a cloud of money and going from city to city and party to party, but its really like having any other job. You go to the office (in my case, the team facility), put in long hours, try to take care of your body, and try to figure out whom to trust.

Obviously, I play a sport that is very taxing on the body. I usually play on Sundays, but I dont feel the real effects until later on. An ankle sprain feels way worse the next morning. Having to get on a flight to get to the next stadium is painfuleverything swells up because of the altitude. After my games, I take an inventory of my body. I start with my ankles: Are you guys good? Then I ask, Knees, how are you guys feeling? I move on to my groin, hips, hamstrings, shoulders, and neck. If somethings not right, I have to figure out how Im going to fix it before taking the field in a few days.

FINDING A ROUTINE

I stick to the same routine every week.

Monday means a two-hour massage. I get acupuncture, where they stick little needless just under my skin. After that, I lift weights and then take an Epsom salt bath.

Tuesday is a complete off dayat least physically. I go to the facility with the rest of my teammates for five hours to review the previous games film and go over a light install for the upcoming week. In the training room, I get my hips worked on and sometimes run on our underwater treadmill.

On Wednesdays, the team has a tough practice where we work on installs for the coming week. Afterward, I stretch and go right into the cold tub, then work with the trainers to make sure my hips are moving well.