First Call: Tight ends will be big in Steelers vs. Eagles. Cole vs. Glasnow in Game 5. - TribLIVE

boonoor.blogspot.com

About an hour ago

Friday’s “First Call” looks at a key matchup in Sunday’s Steelers-Eagles game. The Steelers defensive front gets some high first-quarter grades. Robert Morris hockey has found a special story and a special skater. And the Duquesne Dukes may be part of an Atlantic 10 renaissance.

Tale of the tight ends

If you are looking for a “battle within the battle” between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Heinz Field, watch the tight ends.

Three-time Pro Bowler Zach Ertz is leading the Eagles in receptions (19) and targets (29). But it also appears he is leading the team in the number of guys covering him per play. Because quarterback Carson Wentz’s top targets on the outside are hurt.

Receiver Alshon Jeffery has been out all year with a foot injury and missed practice with an illness Thursday. Fellow wideout DeSean Jackson is trying to come back from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss last week’s game in San Francisco. Greg Ward has been the team’s most reliable pass catcher with 18 for a team-leading 146 yards.

As a result, Ertz is garnering a lot of attention from opposing defenders.

“Ertz is a great tight end. Great hands,” Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said Thursday. “We’ve got to know where he is. If you don’t have those other receivers out there to take double teams off of him, it could be difficult when you’ve got two or three guys covering you.”

Ertz is only averaging 34.6 receiving yards per game. He had just nine receiving yards on four catches last week.

Meanwhile, opposing tight ends are gashing the Eagles. San Francisco’s George Kittle had 183 yards on 15 catches and a touchdown Sunday night. Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee had three touchdowns in Week 2. Logan Thomas had four catches and a touchdown in Week 1 for Washington.

Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson knows it’s a weakness for his team. And he’s not using Kittle’s Pro Bowl status as an excuse for Sunday’s performance.

“We didn’t do very well against him,” Pederson said of Kittle. “I know that’s just one guy. But defensively it’s just a matter of understanding the scheme. Understanding the defense that’s called. And executing that play. You may not stop a guy like Kittle. But you try to eliminate some of his touches if possible. And you have to get a guy like that on the ground.”

Steelers tight ends Vance McDonald and Eric Ebron combined for eight catches and 87 yards and a touchdown in the team’s most recent game against the Houston Texans. So could they combine to at least simulate Kittle-level damage against the Eagles?

“There are obviously some things we can glean from (San Francisco),” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “But we are going to stay in our lane and be us. And utilize our people in the manner that we do, and respect some of the things that others may do differently.”

Specifically, coverage from the Eagles linebackers appears to be an issue. James Seltzer of WIP Radio joined me for our Friday morning “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. And he called Philly’s linebacker group “one of the worst groups of linebackers we’ve ever seen (in Philadelphia).” He said it may be the worst linebacker unit in the NFL.

Steelers superlatives

NFL.com published some league awards at the quarter pole of the season. And the Steelers got one for the best “team-unit” of any club so far in 2020.

It went to their defensive front.

According to the NFL.com article, “Pittsburgh’s interior D-linemen and edge rushers have a 90.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus this season, the highest mark for any non-QB positional unit this season. With T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Cameron Heyward leading the way, the Steelers lead the NFL with 5.0 sacks per game. Pittsburgh pressures opposing QBs on 41.0 percent of dropbacks, besting the second-place mark by nearly 10 percentage points (Rams, 32.5%), per Next Gen Stats.”

The NFL.com research staff posted the piece. Runners-up were the New England Patriots offensive line and the Cleveland Browns running backs and fullbacks.

Don’t forget the Dukes

College basketball is happening. For now.

And, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, it could be a special season for the Atlantic 10. And he thinks the Duquesne Dukes could be a big part of that.

The Atlantic 10 is set to have its best season in years. One thing not being discussed: Duquesne and George Mason both return five starters from teams that won 17 or more games.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 8, 2020

Keith Dambrot’s team went 11-7 in the conference last year, 21-9 overall. It sounds as if they’ll be starting their season in a mini-bubble location to begin non-conference play. Perhaps in Louisville.

One of Rothstein’s “mid-majors to watch” is UNC-Greensboro. The Spartans are supposed to be in the Louisville bubble with Duquesne if the Dukes decide to go through with it.

Winding road

From roots in Cuba to Neville Island.

Via Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa and Alberta.

For hockey?

Yup. That’s the path of Randy Hernandez. The former U.S. National Team Development Program product is now a member of the Robert Morris Colonials. And whenever college hockey starts, he’ll be an attraction at the Island Sports Center.

Hernandez totaled 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 29 regular-season games with the Alberta-based Brooks Bandits of the AJHL. His seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight playoff games helped lead the team to the AJHL championship in 2018-19.

William Douglas of NHL.com chronicled his story here.

Glasnow vs. Gerrit?

The New York Yankees forced a decisive Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS Friday night. They did so with a 5-1 win in Game 4 on Thursday.

That means former Pirates All-Star Gerrit Cole will get the start in the elimination game.

"To be able to hand the ball to the best pitcher in the game, there's comfort in that." – Aaron Boone, on starting Gerrit Cole in Game 5

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) October 9, 2020

Cole won Game 1 of this series and Game 1 of the first-round series against the Cleveland Indians. He has pitched 13 innings in those two contests, totaling 21 strikeouts. The right-hander allowed five earned runs and three homers. Cole has only walked two batters in those outings.

It looks like Cole will be opposed by another former Pirate, Tyler Glasnow.

Glasnow is starting for #Rays in Game 5

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) October 9, 2020

Glasnow won Game 2 of this series, striking out 10, but allowing four runs, over five innings.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.