Jenkins can’t help being a Brady admirer
PHILADELPHIA » It’s not easy to awe Malcolm Jenkins. Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, the soon-to-be 32-yearold veteran has just about lived it all in a distinguished career with the Eagles and the New Orleans Saints.
Tom Brady is the kind of guy who can make you blink, though, and Jenkins basically did a double take reading the scouting report containing years of service. It’s almost double the 11 years Jenkins has in the league.
“I looked at his name and I think it said 20 years,” Jenkins said after practice Thursday. “It blew my mind. You know about it but to really think about how long he’s been in the league and the level he’s playing at is really impressive.”
Brady, at age 42 the second-oldest active player in the league, continues to live the dream with the New England Patriots, who oppose the Eagles Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
In addition to 20 years in the NFL, Brady is just nine touchdown passes away from the alltime mark of 539 set by Peyton Manning. He’s the senior quarterback in the league, even older than Drew Brees and Josh McCown of the Eagles, who both are 40.
Brady is the career NFL leader with 245 victories overall and 30 playoff triumphs. He began posting wins before Eagles quarterback Nate Sudfeld, 26, began playing football.
Brady had barely turned 36 when the Patriots visited South Philly to practice against Chip Kelly and the Eagles in August 2013.
“My brother Zach played with him years ago as a tight end with New England,” Sudfeld said. “He actually had a really good camp when they practiced against the
Eagles here a couple years ago and then he went on to the Jets for a few years. I’ve never met Tom but I definitely admire his game a lot. He’s having a great career.”
Zach Sudfeld played 30 games in two seasons for the Patriots and the New York Jets. He didn’t catch a pass from Brady, though.
The Patriots (8-1) opened the season with eight straight victories before taking a header two weeks ago against the Baltimore Ravens. The game Sunday is the first time the
2017 Super Bowl finalists have met outside of the preseason. The Eagles prevailed, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII. Brady, who threw for a Bowlrecord 505 yards in the game, recently said on Boston radio the setback left him with a mental scar.
“You look at their record and he’s a part of that,” Jenkins said. “Their defense is playing out of this world. But he’s still one of the top quarterbacks in this league.”
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Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham (ankle), wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (ankle) and running back Darren Sproles (quad) were held out of their second straight practice Thursday.
Sproles wasn’t on the Wednesday injury report. Participating on a limited basis were running back Jordan Howard (shoulder) and offensive tackle Jason Peters (knee).
The Patriots have their own injury issues.
Safety Nate Ebner (ankle, back) didn’t practice Thursday. Limited at practice were safety Patrick Chung (heel, chest), tight end Matt LaCosse (knee) and defensive linemen Danny Shelton (ankle) and John Simon (elbow).
• • • Teammates voted Brandon Brooks the Eagles’ Ed Block Courage award for his sensational recovery from a torn Achilles’ tendon.
The All-Pro guard has played virtually every offensive snap this season after suffering the injury in the divisional round of the playoffs last January.
The Eagles recently gave Brooks a four-year, $54.2 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid guard in the NFL. He’ll be
35 years old if he completes the deal. Previous Eagles Ed Block Award winners include the late Andre Waters (1993), the safety who hailed from Cheyney University, and center Gerry Feehery (1987), who starred at Cardinal O’Hara and resides in Delaware County.
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NOTES » Eagles running backs have lost six fumbles this season, second only to the Seattle Seahawks, who have coughed it up eight times. Howard and rookie Miles Sanders have two fumbles apiece. … Referee Bill Vinovich and his crew work Eagles-Patriots this weekend. That’s good news . ... For fans into pre-game flyovers, a source said the fighters that zoom over the Linc Sunday are from a base in North Carolina. Just a hunch but that should rock the stadium a little more than the duo from the last pre-game visit . ... The only active NFL player older than Brady is Adam Vinatieri, the 46-year-old kicker of the Indianapolis Colts. … For all of their early game flaws, the Eagles have gone three-and-out just once in the first quarter this season, the fewest in the league. That was in a road loss to the Vikings. … The Patriots were on pace to set the single-season record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season before giving up 37 to the Ravens. Through their first eight games they allowed just 61 points, projecting to 114 over the regular season . ... Finally, Jordan Matthews is in his third tour with the Eagles, evoking memories of Jeremiah Trotter and his frequent returns. That pales in comparison to guard Julian Vandervelde, the 2011 fifth-round pick out of Iowa. He signed six contracts with the Eagles and was released six times. “He’s a legend,” Matthews said. “They were finally like, ‘we’re going to stop taking the name tag off of the locker. We’re just going to leave it there.’”