Pederson hopes players refuse to buy in to hype during bye
PHILADELPHIA » Doug Pederson called the 10-day break the Eagles have until their next game “a mini bye.”
The last time the Eagles had the standard bye, they regretted it with the exception of Carson Wentz, who at least bagged himself a big buck on a deer hunt. To recap, the Eagles were 3-0 entering the bye. They were 4-9 the rest of that 2016 season.
This mini bye, though not as extensive, is a time for players to reflect on their 5-1 record, including a four-game win streak. It’s also that time when family, friends and fans tell the players they’re going to the Super Bowl and could you, please, remember us when you get your allotment of tickets?
“It’s a fine line because the players are going to read and they’re going to listen to all the media outlets on TV and stuff and just hear how people are talking about them and saying how good and how great they are,” Pederson said Friday. “But we’ve got to keep it real, too. And that comes from me. Yeah, we’re winning these games but there’s a lot to fix, a lot to correct as well. It’s never perfect, obviously.”
The Eagles didn’t play their usual lights-out game on third down when they had the ball in their 28-23 win over the Carolina Panthers Thursday. The Birds converted just 5 of 14 third downs, partly due to the exotic blitz packages thrown at them by the Panthers,
The offense sure capitalized on red zone interceptions by Rasul Douglas and Patrick Robinson, though, as Wentz threw a pair of scoring passes to Zach Ertz to put the Panthers on their heels.
Fletcher Cox’s pocket push jammed Cam Newton and deflected one of the picks. Robinson intercepted a bobbled screen pass in traffic.
The Eagles, for yet another week, played well but as Pederson noted, not close to perfect. Yet they prevailed.
“The bottom line is we do want to win the game, but at the same time I’ve got to keep them focused and grounded,” Pederson said. “Some of the situational stuff still, you’ve got to eliminate the big play on defense and you’ve got to get better in the red zone on offense, keep working in those areas.”
*** It doesn’t sound great for Eagles special teams standout Chris Maragos.
Pederson said the Eagles were waiting on more tests on his knee, which was injured late in the win over the Panthers.
Pederson expects linebacker Jordan Hicks (ankle) to practice next week. Running back Wendell Smallwood (knee), who missed his third straight game, might be able to practice on a limited scale.
Though rookie second-round pick Sidney Jones (Achilles’ tendon) is eligible to practice with the Eagles next week, the coach says a decision hasn’t been made.
“I want to keep the message the same with him,” Pederson said. “I don’t want to rush him back. I want to make sure that he’s fully cleared medically before we put him back out there.”
The Eagles really don’t need Jones, at least considering the solid play of Jalen Mills, Rasul Douglas and Robinson. All had picks Thursday.
Veteran cornerback Ronald Darby (dislocated ankle) also is eligible to practice next week.
“He’s been running a little bit more,” Pederson said. “He’s another one that could be close but at the same time we want to just make sure he’s 100 percent. I don’t want to rush any of these guys back without being fully healthy.”
As always, whatever Pederson says about injuries goes with a disclaimer, subject to change at any second.
*** While Eagles fans and media bashed referee Pete Morelli, Pederson didn’t jump on the bandwagon.
Morelli’s crew called 10 penalties worth 126 against the Eagles. Sixty-one of those yards were pass interference calls on Mills.
The Panthers were whistled once, for one yard.
What Pederson knew was that the Panthers were penalized a season-high 11 times for 100 yards in their previous game compared to one, 10-yard penalty for the host Detroit Lions.
The referee in that Craig Wrolstad.
“Well, I think the league is aware of it,” Pederson said. “I’m not going to get into it. We have to do a better job. We have to coach it. We can’t be getting these flags. And listen, a lot of them were legit. I’m not saying they weren’t. A lot of the flags last night were legit calls. It is what it is but moving forward we can’t worry about it. The bottom line is we won the game. We figured out how to do that.” game was
*** The Eagles’ defense that was averaging 60.4 snaps was on the field in the first five games was on the field for 82 snaps, considerably more than the season-high 63 they played in the opener.
Malcolm Jenkins played all 82 snaps, Milles and Rodney McLeod 81 each. Robinson played 80 snaps.
Cox played 65 snaps, the most of the linemen. Brandon Graham played 62 snaps, rookie defensive end Derek Barnett a career-high 39 snaps. He had 2 tackles, including one-half of a sack.
Also, linebacker Nigel Bradham deserves NFC defensive player of the week mention but almost certainly won’t get it. Bradham was everywhere, each of his 10 tackles noteworthy. He also broke up a pair of passes playing 78 snaps.
“I felt like it probably was his best game to date,” Pederson said. “He and Mychal Kendricks, both, going back and watching the tape, those guys are flying around and making plays. That’s what we have to have out of that group.”
Kendricks was credited with 15 tackles.
*** NOTES » The Eagles have an 87 percent probability of making the playoffs and a 34 percent chance of winning the NFC East pennant, according to computations by Playoffstatus.com. And the Giants, the darlings to win the division, have a 99 percent probability of not reaching the playoffs. … Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo played eight snaps as the extra tackle in the Eagles’ unbalanced formations against the Panthers. That was eight more than Chance Warmack played. Seumalo lost his starting job at left guard to Warmack, who lost it Steve Wisniewski, who played all 62 offensive snaps. Pederson went exclusively with Wiz to maximize communication up front against a bevy of Panthers blitzes.