Johnston and Ertz share dedication to their crafts

Players, even the best ones, have to adjust if they want to stay on the field. Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, already becoming a young star in the NFL, knew he had to become a better blocker if he wished to be the all-around player that teams leave in the game.

Ertz dedicated his offseason to improving his blocking and, once minicamp finished two weeks ago, he returned to working out to refine those skills before training camp. He took a break this weekend, however, to watch another player who made an adjustment to reach the top of her game.

When the United States women's national team plays for the World Cup title against Japan on Sunday in Vancouver, Ertz will be in the stands to support Julie Johnston, his girlfriend and a starting central defender for the Americans.

"I love sports, and I'm a hugely competitive person. Anything that's truly competitive I love," Ertz said. "I'm very proud of her and what she's doing."

Ertz and Johnston began dating several years ago, when he was at Stanford and she was attending Santa Clara. In their time together, Ertz has learned a lot about soccer and Johnston has learned a lot about football. What they didn't have to learn from each other were the demands necessary to play at the elite level of a sport.

"If one of us has a question, it's good to bounce it off the other person, but in our relationship, we don't focus on the outside stuff. We focus on each other," Ertz said. "In college, all we knew was the people. We didn't know the athletes. Now that we're at the highest levels, it's kind of blown up a little more, but all we know is each other."

Johnston has risen quickly and somewhat unexpectedly to her starting role with the national team, and only a postcollege switch from attacker to defender made it possible. She was captain of the under-20 World Cup championship team in 2012 but found herself deep in the team pool heading toward the 2015 World Cup. She didn't play in the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the final qualifier for the World Cup, last fall.

After that disappointment, Johnston redoubled her effort. Living in Philadelphia during the Eagles season, she began to work out with Carli Lloyd in New Jersey, and when the new year came around, so did Johnston's chances. She got her real opportunity because of an injury to veteran Christie Rampone and took advantage of it.

Johnston mixed solid central defense in front of goalkeeper Hope Solo with the ability to come forward on set pieces and display great offensive skills, particularly in the air. In the run-up to the World Cup, she scored three goals - two off free kicks and one off a corner kick.

It has been an interesting ride for Johnston during the World Cup, and she is fairly lucky to be on the field Sunday. She pulled down a German player in the semifinal with something resembling a horse-collar tackle and could easily have earned a red card. That would have forced the United States to play shorthanded, and, even if the team survived that, the expulsion would have disqualified her from the championship game.

Otherwise, her play has been exemplary as the United States has surrendered just one goal in six matches. That goal came in the 27th minute of the opener, and the defense has played 513 minutes without allowing a score since then. Johnston has played every minute of every match.

Johnston sent a beautiful cross into the box for a Lloyd header that was the only goal in a 1-0 quarterfinal win over China. She also had a huge tackle to stop Nigeria's best scoring chance in a 1-0 win during group play, and perhaps was robbed of a goal herself in that game because of a questionable offside call.

"That was a terrible call, but I'm biased," Ertz said.

Being a two-way player, solidifying the defense and then rushing ahead to help out the offense is something Ertz can relate to, and the reason he put so much emphasis on blocking during the offseason.

"You can't be a tight end and just be viewed as a receiver," Ertz said. "There's no [pure] receivers who are considered tight ends."

He worked out extensively with former NFL line coach Hudson Houck and reached out for advice to several others, including Tony Gonzalez, who was considered one of the best blocking tight ends of all time.

During the process, he also kept his eye on another sport.

"Before we started dating, my soccer knowledge was average at best. Now, I think it's pretty good. We watch European games together, so I know all the best players in the world," Ertz said. "And then, I'm big into the FIFA video game. I think I'm one of the best in the country, if not the world, at that."

Julie Johnston could become a world champion Sunday, and that wouldn't be bragging. She adjusted, endured, and earned the chance. Zach Ertz will be there, wearing the team colors, knowing that with the same approach the same thing might happen for him someday.

@bobfordsports