Tense as a spring, Pederson popping off
PHILADELPHIA >> Doug Pederson was boiling after the first snap of 11on-11 drills Tuesday.
Coordinator Jim Schwartz barely had called the defensive line “the engine that runs our defense” when his 315-pound locomotive, Fletcher Cox, jumped offside. Hard to believe the timing could be so wrong for a guy who sat out the previous week of OTAs.
It was among a handful of mistakes by various players that made the normally calm and collected Pederson so irritable he yelled at a couple of reporters. Boy, did they deserve it. What were they thinking, leaning on a wall of the main building next to the field that only slighted shielded them from the rain? Security! The on-and-off showers didn’t make anyone pleasant. Rather, there were more questions including, but not limited to, why did I leave my hoodie, hat and umbrella in the car and why in the heck didn’t they practice indoors (the roof of the bubble is being repaired)?
All of that and more made it one of the sloppiest practices open to reporters in Pederson’s year-and-change on the job.
The good news is the practice is voluntary.
The bad news is the mistakes seemed involuntary.
Take away Alshon Jeffery’s stellar grab of a poorly thrown Carson Wentz fade and there weren’t a lot of highlights, although rookie third-round pick Rasul Douglas almost got to that same throw.
Four OTA practices do not a team make. Far from it, football folks.
Throughout practice, and in the locker room afterward it was obvious the Eagles have made so many changes they still don’t know each other.
Watching this team is like viewing the first season of Doug Pederson, although this year Cox at least showed up for the second week of OTAs, having boycotted everything but the mandatory camp while he secured a massive $103 million contract last spring.
But this isn’t about Cox, it’s more on the Eagles. He was ready to go from the opening bell last year. Cox parlayed NFC defensive player of the month honors in September to another berth in the Pro Bowl.
The chemistry between Cox and his teammates would fade. The kick-butt pass rush so effective in the first four games, the organized charge registering 14 sacks in a 3-1 start, notched just 19 the rest of the way, the Birds losing eight of their last 12 games. The defense that allowed an average of just 12.8 points the first four games was gashed for 23.3 points the rest of the way.
This year the Eagles will have two new starting corners, at least two new starting defensive linemen and a linebacker corps so thin it will be amazing if their legs aren’t dead in November.
Unless, that is, Cox, Brandon Graham, Chris Long and rookie Derek Barnett can find their groove together in another week of OTAs, a minicamp, a training camp and a preseason. In other words, it has to be done yesterday.
“I think our pass rush reflected our defense and it also reflected our team,” Schwartz said. “We started off hot and then we went into a slump. We went a bunch of games without being able to get any pressure on the quarterback. We started getting it back a little bit toward the end. I’ve always told our defense that the engine that runs our defense is our defensive line and our pass rush, and we need to be consistent from week to week. We need to find ways to have guys be consistent.
“That being said, passrush doesn’t stand alone. A lot of that has to do with — and we talked a little bit before about our corner position — a lot of it has to do with our corner position. If you can cover for a long time, you can buy time to get the sackers there. If they’re rushing well, it helps the corners out. Both of those can go hand in hand.”
The better the pass rush, the better the corners look and vice versa. Schwartz is at his creative best with a fourman rush. Does anyone think that’s possible in such a short time with a group of largely unproven defensive linemen, Cox and Graham aside?
Cox and Graham wore down at the end of last season. They don’t have Bennie Logan (who signed with the Chiefs) or Connor Barwin (cut, signed with Rams) to blend in with. That group played together for years. Logan and Barwin did a lot of the dirty work, too. Cox led the Eagles with 6½ sacks. Graham was second with 5½ sacks, Barwin third with 5.
Long has a ton of pass rushing experience but has had trouble staying healthy. Tackle Beau Allen is hurt. Tackle Tim Jernigan is, uh, taking care of personal business, not at OTAs.
Unless the Eagles totally misevaluated the skills of Jeffery, Torrey Smith and LeGarrette Blount, they should be able to score this season.
No disrespect to Jalen Mills, in his second season or to Douglas but it’s asking too much of them to make the pass rush better. And it’s asking a lot of safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod to assist in run support while they try to cover up the mistakes of the young corners.
The pass rush and run support also go hand in hand.
And it’s not too early to sound the alarm.