Darby gets right to work with the first unit
PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles confirmed how desperate they were to have a starting corner by placing newly acquired Ronald Darby with the first team defense in his first full practice with them Sunday.
“Right off the bus,” Birds receiver Torrey Smith said. “Hey, I’ve played a couple of games against him. He’ll be good to go. He’s very talented and he knows the deal.”
Naturally Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz tried to minimize the addition of Darby, who was acquired Friday from the Buffalo Bills for receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick in 2018.
It was Schwartz who, at almost every presser at training camp, spoke at length about the value of playing with three cornerbacks because the opposition throws the ball 70 percent of the time.
It also was Schwartz walked into the media tent joking “you want to about cornerbacks today?
“Well, we were just trying to get him out there,” Schwartz said of Darby. “It’s tough when you come in and in one day and try to get up to speed. There were a couple signs of that. He’s not up to speed on a lot of calls. We tried to limit it mainly to a lot of man for him.” How did Darby look? “It’s hard to really say,” Schwartz said. “I mean, I’m watching 11 guys on defense and you guys are only watching one.”
Schwartz conceded the Eagles know enough from studying both of Darby’s two professional seasons to surmise that the 2015 second-round pick out of Florida State has the skills to travel with the opposition’s top receiver throughout a game.
“That’s a part of the realm of possibilities,” Schwartz said. “We considered his whole body of work. He’s a young player, a talented player.” who Sunday talk
Darby also can play right or left cornerback, the latter of which he appeared with the Eagles.
Darby had a pretty good start with the Eagles as he held everyone he covered without a catch until late in practice. That’s when Alshon Jeffery made him slip, then got by him in a 7-on-7 drill, and Nelson Agholor sat down to make a short catch in front of him.
“There was a little bit of pressure because they kind of have everything down so, me just coming in I’m just trying to figure everything out,” Darby said. “I’m just going to continue to study and get better each day. They’re the teachers. They’ve got the defense down pat. I’m out here going against a new offense for the first time. There’s a lot I have to learn with the verbiage and everything. They’re the ones helping me.”
The transition shouldn’t take long in the opinion of Smith and Corey Graham, the newly signed safety who played two seasons with Darby in Buffalo.
“I was with him his rookie year when he pretty much was defensive rookie of the year,” Graham said. “I mean he was so dominant, guys couldn’t do anything on him. So I was impressed with him the very first time he stepped in the building. He was so fast, so quick. He’d get out of his breaks very fast. It was a man scheme at the time so he could pretty much eliminate his guy. We had him and Steph Gilmore so those guys could really go up there and play. And as a safety, you don’t have to worry about those guys because you know those guys were going to eliminate their guys. He’s a smart kid, too, so he should pick up the defense fast.”
While Gilmore signed with the New England Patriots, who already had Malcolm Butler, the mission of Darby figures to be much more difficult.
Schwartz’s system includes zone concepts that make use of existing cornerbacks Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson and rookie third-round pick Rasul Douglas. Smith thinks Darby’s skills set will carry him.
“He’s smart and he has some things you can’t teach,” Smith said. “He has athleticism. He’s quick and he’s fast and he’s young. What is he, 23? He can trust his natural skills where other people can’t because he has the ability to make up for it. But he’s also smart. He’s learning the game. I’ve played against him. I think he’s going team.”
The loss of Matthews rocked the Eagles, no one more than quarterback Carson Wentz. They are best friends.
The flip side is the Eagles felt they had to get a starting cornerback to do the things they want to do this season. It was pretty obvious throughout the Schwartz pressers, as he cited so much competition that he couldn’t name starters going into training camp. That was another way of saying it really doesn’t matter which of our guys starts.
While Robinson saw action in the slot Saturday, so did safety Malcolm Jenkins, who dominated there last season. Schwartz likes Graham, who plays safety when Jenkins is in the slot. For now, at least, it looks like the Eagles have a plan in the back end.
“Hopefully it doesn’t take more than a couple of weeks to get it all together,” Graham said. As for Darby, he’s got it easy. “He plays corner,” Graham said. “When you play corner it’s pretty much, ‘I got that cat, I got that guy in front of me.’ It’s not like he’s out there saying ‘you go here, you go there’ like a safety does. Corner, you do what you’re told.”
The Eagles told Darby to line up with the first team Sunday. That’s where they want him to be.
*** Not practicing Sunday were Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (elbow), guard Brandon Brooks (ankle), cornerback Ron Brooks (hamstring), offensive tackle Hal Vaitai (knee), tight end Anthony Denham (hand), defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (back spasms), wide receiver Paul Turner (shoulder) and offensive lineman Dillon Gordon (hamstring).
*** NOTES » The Eagles didn’t wait long to cleanse themselves of Matthews memories. They gave Matthews’ No. 81 to newly signed receiver Keevan Lucas ... The Eagles waived cornerback Mitchell White and signed receiver Rashard Davis (5-9, 180) of James Madison University. to be great for our