Eagles want to silence the doubters
Lane Johnson is the Eagles’ symbol of outrage.
The big offensive tackle who recently added All-Pro to his Pro Bowl resume was steamed before the Eagles made history by becoming the first top seed to be underdogs in the NFL playoffs.
Nothing against the sixthseeded Atlanta Falcons (4:35 p.m. NBC, WIP 94.1-FM), who, at kickoff Saturday, are the only thing separating Johnson and the Eagles from the NFC title game.
Johnson loathed the all-around negativity he felt after the Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed by beating Oakland two weeks ago. The victory didn’t move the needle much because Nick Foles, the replacement for injured star quarterback Carson Wentz, looked so overwhelmed it made you think there would be no Super Bowl.
Johnson made his disgust known. Then he stopped talking to the media. Now he’s playing the game again.
“What bothered me was we were 12-2 and we were treated like we’re the Browns,” Johnson said. “It happens. But I think, I mean, although we don’t like it, I think it’s a good motivator. I’d rather have people not write good things. I think it’s the best mo-
tivator there is. You can go and change it. It’s ultimately all up to us. It motivates guys.”
Few Eagles have been able to change perception like Johnson. Twice he tested positive for PEDs, resulting in four and 10-game suspensions that not coincidentally, coincided with non-playoff seasons for the Eagles.
Slowly but surely Johnson won back the trust of teammates, starting in training camp when in near 100-degree heat he topped his shaven head with a wig of long blond hair during practices.
Johnson (6-6, 317) than backed up his guarantee to whup some butt in the season opener against the Washington Redskins, logging his first solid game at FedEx Field against Ryan Kerrigan to lead the Birds to victory.
From there Johnson kicked rear end on a weekly basis, turning the league’s best edge rushers into mere mortals. The job he did on Von Miller was epic. Google Lane Johnson destroys Von Miller.
“Who else am I going to see, Godzilla?” Johnson said. “I’ve seen every pass rusher. I’m confident but I respect every guy I go against.”
This week the cast of pass rushers includes Vic Beasley, who struggles against long tackles, Brooks Reid and Derrick Shelby. Beasley had 15 1/2 sacks last year,
just 5 this year.
“I see him beat a lot of tackles with speed off the edge,” Johnson said. “He lines up real wide and a lot of tackles aren’t very quick getting back and he’ll beat them around the edge. He’s a good player. Similar to (Khalil) Mack.”
Johnson’s run blocking is pretty good as well. The Eagles figure to get the ball to running back Jay Ajayi Saturday because it’s more productive to try to run at, than around a defense as fast as the Falcons. Middle linebacker Deion Jones is the prototype, as he uses his explosiveness and football instincts to tackle sideline-to-sideline, and has the skills to cover a No. 1 receiver.
Oh, and the Eagles, coming off a bye week, will be able to pound a little harder on the Falcons, who still are recovering from their wild card West Coast victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Being the better rested team is good,” Eagles guard Stefen Wisniewski said. “But having the time off, you could be rusty. I don’t think we’re rusty. We practiced really hard last week against our first team defense and we definitely weren’t rusty. So, I think being fresh definitely helps.”
The Eagles need to protect Foles, wear down the Falcons with the ground game and turn Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and the pass rush loose on quarterback Matt Ryan. If the latter happens, gamebreaking receiver Julio Jones won’t have the time to get deep, limiting the Falcons to dump-off passes to the running backs.
Truth be told, it’s almost impossible to dinkand-dunk when the Linc is rocking.
“That’s probably where it shows up the most, when we’re on defense,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said. “The opposing offenses, just the communication that has to go on from just even the quarterback calling the play in the huddle. As we know, visiting other stadiums that are loud. Being loud, even during those times, when the opposing team is in the huddle is when we need to be loud. It does affect the team.” Then it’s a war of wills. “We can stop ourselves, I can tell you that,” Johnson said. “It’s really going to go down to execution. When we’re playing the way we’re capable I think we can dominate whoever we want. But it’s a matter of going in and being prepared.”
And with respect to Johnson, being disrespected.
“I’d rather have guys doubting us,” he said, “than patting us on the back heading into this game.”