Birds need funny man Lane Johnson to stay serious
PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles haven’t won a playoff game since the 2008 season, which we’ll use to segue into a twopart trivia question.
Who did they beat and who was the right offensive tackle?
The opponent was the New York Giants.
The right tackle was Jon Runyan.
And the drought, let’s face it, is anything but a coincidence, because the Eagles haven’t had a guy give what Runyan did for what seemed like a lifetime.
Runyan led the Eagles to five NFC East pennants, seven playoff appearances and a 10-7 record in the postseason in nine years ending in 2008. He also started 190 straight games, including one on the West Coast after he broke his tailbone, making it necessary for him to stand for the entire cross-country flight.
The Eagles have had good quarterbacks since their last playoff victory. Donovan McNabb stayed for another season, Michael Vick came aboard and Sam Bradford at least looked the part.
Todd Herremans and Winston Justice took turns trying to replace Runyan. King Dunlap gave it a shot.
Lane Johnson looked like he might be able to end the streak before succumbing to off-the-field supplements. He is more talented than any of those other right tackles, including Runyan. He’s durable, too. But Johnson does dumb stuff. You know that not by the blonde mullet he wore to loosen his teammates at practice Friday and Saturday, but by getting suspended a total of 14 games for PEDs.
The Eagles are 5-9 without Johnson and 29-21 plus a playoff appearance with him.
To get to the playoffs and win the Eagles need him to be Runyanesque, even with that off-the-wall, blondewig-wearing sense of humor that teammates refer to as “Lane being Lane.
“That’s who he is,” guard Brandon Brooks said. “The offensive line, what do they call us, the mushroom society? Where you’re in the dark, you get a little room in the back. You’ve got to have fun. You’ve got to be able to take a joke and Lane helps us do that. Training camp is one of the hardest parts of the season. You’ve got to have fun. We’re up here from 8 to 8 every day. You’ve got to have fun, otherwise you’ll be miserable.”
While the mullet was new, center Jason Kelce has seen Johnson express himself on several other occasions.
“Lane has just a great personality,” Kelce said. “He has a knack for keeping things light when they need to be but also knowing when it’s time to get down to business. I think we’ve got a great offensive line room. And you need guys like Lane, especially on days like this ... it makes it a lot more fun.”
Johnson inherited his sense of humor from his father, whom he considers talented enough to be a comedian. That’s also where he gets his work ethic, as his pop is in construction.
When Johnson looks at the Eagles’ schedule, it’s like he’s breaking down an enormous construction project.
“I think I’m going against the best pass rushers in the league this year,” Johnson said. “I’ve got Von Miller, I’ve got Khalil Mack, I’ve got Justin Houston. Go look at who I’m playing and I’m pretty much playing a Pro Bowler every week. People like to identity the best rusher being on the left tackle and that’s not the case anymore. They like to put their best rusher on the perceived weaker tackle. So I’m getting ready for it. It’s a lot more mental preparation than ever.
“I need to study a lot more film.”
Johnson didn’t mention Ryan Kerrigan, the edge rusher for Washington he faces in the opener. Huge challenges are ahead in Olivier Vernon (Giants), Joey Bosa (Chargers), Charles Johnson (Panthers) and Michael Bennett (Seahawks).
Other than that, it’s cake for Johnson and the offensive line which, quarterback Carson Wentz made clear, is the key to the season for the offense.
Johnson says the Eagles have the potential to be one of the top O-lines in the league, not just the division where the Cowboys’ front five is considered the NFL’s gold standard.
“Talent wise, we do,” Johnson said. “I’ve got one of the best guards in the league next to me (Brooks). He’s like Barney, I like to tell people.”
That’s Barney, the kids’ purple dinosaur. The 6-5, 335-pound Brooks was quick to zing his neighbor, saying Johnson was one more suspension from working at one of those huge supercenter stores that shall go nameless.
“This is what it’s like in the meetings,” Johnson said. “But no, we’ve got a bunch of talented guys. I’m confident with where we’re at. I’ve done some funny stuff. And I’ve done some stuff that’s not too funny and got suspended for it. I’ve got to keep it going in the right direction.”
Johnson faces an indefinite suspension if he flunks another test for banned substances. He’s determined that won’t happen.
Until Wentz came along, no Eagles quarterback had started all 16 games since McNabb in 2008.
Johnson has the skills set to make this the first Eagles team since Runyan’s to win a playoff game.