Mills hoping D-backs hit more peaks than pratfalls
PHILADELPHIA » In terms of adrenaline rush, there is one item that rivals playing red zone defense for Jalen Mills.
It’s a roller World.
When the Eagles’ cornerback drops in coverage inside his 20yard line, particularly in the end zone, there are enough colliding bodies, ungodly shouts, disgusting grunts and bruising collisions to rival the roller coaster rides he took wearing 3D goggles during his first trip to The Magic Kingdom, a fiveday getaway with his girlfriend.
“You get on the ride and you also put on glasses and you have the 3D coming up at you off the screen,” Mills said Wednesday. “It was pretty crazy. I love roller coasters. I love the thrill, that little adrenaline surge you get on the first drop. It’s exciting. You’re going up the roller coaster and the next thing you know you get to a drop and it’s the Mummy jumping out at you. You lose focus because the Mummy is jumping out at you and your heart drops all the way down to your feet.”
The Eagles’ deep patrol lately looks like it’s in for a roller coaster season. Mills is the only cornerback coaster at Disney who played in every game returning from a squad that didn’t scare opponents in the first place.
Mills did a lot more right than just showing up for every game last season. He led the Eagles with $324,112 in performance based pay, which is allocated after the season. The seventh-round pick out of LSU made $450,000 in base salary, for crying out loud.
“You have to be able to take care of your body,” Mills said. “Recovery is a big part of it. It’s not just making plays. And you have to stay in the film room. You have to know what you’re doing and know where guys are going to be at certain times.”
Mills also learned how much the Eagles want him to be part of the defense going forward. They released oft-injured veteran cornerback Leodis McKelvin and declined to re-sign Nolan Carroll. The Eagles added veteran Patrick Robinson in free agency, but only for one year. Instead of drafting a corner early, they took pass rusher Derek Barnett off the board in the first round.
The Eagles are gambling that Sidney Jones and his Achilles’ tendon will fully recover and that third-round corner Rasul Douglas, who bites on every pump-fake, will complete the rebuild. That was their answer to competing in a league where 70 percent of the defense needs to be played with three cornerbacks.
“They’re looking out there to find guys who they can trust,” Mills said. “And you have to earn it. Nothing is given. I feel like us as a unit, just the cornerbacks, we’re working each and every day to try to get their trust.”
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz confirmed Wednesday that the secondary play Tuesday was as bad as it looked; maybe even worse. He figured there would be growing pains.
“We didn’t have a good practice yesterday,” Schwartz said. “I liked the way the guys came out today and competed. It was a lot of red zone work, which shrinks the field a little bit, but it’s also tough to defend. I thought the guys bounced back from yesterday, Patrick included.”
Appreciative that Robinson conceded he had to improve dramatically, Schwartz stood by his cornerbacks, explaining how it’s tough to determine who was really beaten, how difficult it is to learn on the run and how a few good plays you make explode when you’re frozen by the Carson Wentz pump-fake.
“We’re sort of the same way as you guys,” Schwartz said. “We’re very interested in the cornerback competition. It’s a daily thing for those guys. We not only need playmakers, we need consistency.”
The Eagles felt steadiness in one of their two special red zone periods, the 7-on-7 with no linemen. Wentz and Matt McGloin couldn’t get the offense in the end zone.
“It’s definitely a win,” Mills said. “Say something crazy happens in a game. A long kickoff return and now the defense has to immediately get on the field and they’re in the red zone. You get a stop and now you’re giving up three points instead of seven. That’s a fourpoint swing. With the offense we have now, they’re turning that into seven.”
The Eagles have kicked the tires on veteran cornerback Darrelle Revis. It would be a shocker if they weren’t asked about their level of interest in Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who at times sounds as if he wants to talk himself out of town.
Right now the Eagles are rolling with Mills, Robinson, Ron Brooks and Douglas. And the vastly undersized C.J. Smith.
“I haven’t heard anything about Revis or anybody,” Mills said. “I’m just trying to stay in here. You see each and every day the secondary and the corners taking another step. I’m self motivated, bro. I was a seventh-rounder. So anything that anybody says is really irrelevant to me. I just come out here each and every day and try to get better and compete.
“Each and every day you just kind of try to get a little bit better.”