Secondary’s next man up is journeyman LeBlanc
PHILADELPHIA >> Cre’Von LeBlanc hasn’t been with the Eagles long enough to unpack his bags, much less fill a highlights reel.
But LeBlanc had a lot to be proud of during a twoyear tour with the Chicago Bears.
In LeBlanc’s rookie season, his pick-six of Matthew Stafford gave the Bears a late lead over the Detroit Lions, who rallied for the victory. He also broke up a couple of passes intended for Golden Tate, now his teammate.
Last season, LeBlanc ran down and stripped Eagles running back Jay Ajayi inside the five-yard line of the Bears, although the Birds recovered the ball in the end zone for a score and eventually won in a blowout. He also broke up a pass for Nelson Agholor in the contest.
LeBlanc wasn’t awful, the Bears were, and it cost John Fox his job.
New Bears coach Matt Nagy appreciated the work ethic of LeBlanc, who helped nickname him “Swaggy Nagy.” But LeBlanc was the odd man out when the Bears traded for Khalil Mack. They already had invested in first round cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara.
The Lions claimed LeBlanc, then released him. The Eagles are his third team this season.
“It’s a rocky road,” said LeBlanc, the undrafted product of Florida Atlantic who originally signed with New England. “That’s part of the business. You can’t hang your head. You’ve just got to believe, have faith. You can’t harp on the past for long. When you have that new opportunity with your new team you’ve just got to take it and run with it.”
LeBlanc (5-11, 190 pounds) gets another opportunity to prove what he can do Sunday when the Eagles oppose the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field (1 p.m., Fox).
Defensive backs Sidney Jones (hamstring), Avonte Maddox (knee, ankle) and Jalen Mills (foot) are out. LeBlanc, De’Vante Bausby and Chandon Sullivan will replace them, out of necessity.
“I know they are young but it’s a great opportunity for them,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said. “We always talk about the next man, and they’re the next men. They worked extremely hard this week in practice so far. It will be another great opportunity for all three of those guys really to kind of step up, really help the defense against an offense right now that’s playing well.”
At some point, LeBlanc will find himself with a familiar task: Defending Odell Beckham, Jr. The competition doesn’t get much better that.
“A phenomenal receiver, great hands, great route running,” LeBlanc said. “I lined up on him my rookie year when I was in Chicago. So, I’ve got a pretty good feel for him. It went smooth. The first half I finished. But I went out the second half with a concussion. So, I didn’t get to finish playing against him.”
Let the record show that Beckham finished with five catches for 46 yards on seven targets. Naturally, the Bears were beaten. But the same cannot be said of LeBlanc.
If Beckham, who leads the Giants with 69 grabs for 932 yards (13.5 average) and five TDs, thinks he get an advantage talking trash, he just doesn’t know LeBlanc, who the Eagles call “Paint.”
“Where I’m from in Florida,” LeBlanc said, “everybody does a lot of talking.”
For the Eagles, it won’t be easy defending Beckham or running back Saquon Barkley, second on the Giants with 64 receptions and first with 10 TDs.
In addition to Jones, Mills and Maddox, the Eagles will be without linebacker Jordan Hicks (calf) and running back Darren Sproles (hamstring).
Cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee) is listed questionable.
The bright spot is that defensive tackle Tim Jernigan will be back in the lineup after missing the entire season after offseason back surgery. Jernigan this week declined to confirm that he sustained the injury lifting weights.
“That’s something I really don’t want to talk about for safety reasons,” Jernigan said. “But I’m fine now and that’s all that matters. I’m back playing football and doing what I love.
“It’s hard, especially watching games where maybe I could have made that play. Little things like that, seeing how you could help.”
The Eagles are 5
1/2-point favorites over the Giants, down from six points to open the week.
The Eagles (4-6) have lost three straight home games, the most in the Pederson era.
Pederson is 4-1 against the Giants, including a
34-13 romp a month ago at the Meadowlands.
The Giants (3-7) have won back-to-back games.