Elusive Eagles ‘swag’ reportedly makes appearance at practice
PHILADELPHIA » Jordan Mailata didn’t know where it went, only that it was missing. He didn’t know when it returned, only that it did. He can’t promise that it will remain, only that it must.
“We are,” the Eagles’ tackle said Thursday after practice, “getting our swag back.”
All things considered — and that includes four losses in the last five games — it’s as good a time as any for the Eagles to feel more like the team that at one point was 10-1 yet will drag 11-5 untidiness into the Meadowlands Sunday at 4:25 to face the New York Giants.
Though the odds are almost minuscule that they will wind up as NFC East champions, the Eagles know they will be in the playoffs, and with that can control how their season ends. But if there is any hope of swag-retention, it likely will come with the Week 18 result. A two-game losing streak would be an inappropriate thing to bring into the tournament.
“We’re having a lot more fun,” Mailata said of any recent up-tick in clubhouse spirit. “It’s been a tight couple of weeks and, I’d say, month. But we’re getting back to being comfortable.”
No cut in tension is measurable, but the Eagles did seem a little refreshed Thursday. Some of that could have come with the satisfaction of 15 players being picked for the Pro Bowl, including Jason Kelce, D’Andre Smith and Haason Reddick, along with nine alternates.
Mailata, who was among the alternates, laughed when he heard that viral video seemed to show the Eagles disinterested in that announcement of All-Stars.
“Must have been bad editing,” he said with a smile.
By Sunday night, there will be no way to photoshop the standings, and the Eagles will be made to live with their final record. Of equal importance, however, will be how they are playing football as the regular season crunches to a conclusion.
“When you get to the playoffs, it’s week-to-week,” Mailata said. “We know, going into this game, we want to get back to doing whatever it takes to play Eagles football — that means playing clean football, playing smart football and going out there and executing at a high level. That’s all it’s going to take.
“We talk about it all the time. But we have spent enough time talking. We have to go out there and do it now.”
That plan is reasonable, but not automatically viable. One reason, Reddick hinted Thursday, is that, at least on defense, they are still hustling to adjust to the lateseason change in defensive play-callers from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia.
“It’s hard, man,” he said. “It’s a hard thing to do. But it’s our job at the end of the day, so there are no complaints about it. But it’s definitely a hard thing.”
Though Reddick didn’t say as much, the Week 16 transition did not allow for much ramp-up time and may have explained the multiple examples of the Eagles appearing confused before certain plays in a 35-31 loss last weekend to the visiting Arizona Cardinals.
“It’s a combination of everything,” Reddick said. “It could be the timing of the call coming in. It could be simply us changing personnel and making sure that we’ve got it right, or trying to hurry up and getting to where we need to be so we can execute the call.
“Everybody is trying to get up to speed, understanding what he wants. But we have to be out there and execute.”
The Eagles understand their straits and their challenges, and know the time has come to become postseason-ready.
“You just have to go up there,” Swift said, “and you have to be ready to play football.”
NOTES » DeVonta Smith (ankle) did not practice Thursday. Jordan Davis (ankle) and Darius Slay (knee) were limited. … Zach Cunningham (knee), Avonte Maddox (elbow) and Haason Reddick (illness) were on the injury report but practiced.