The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
The Eagles’ victory had a message
Eagles LB always envisioned in scoring a TD
PHILADELPHIA » Before every one of his games at the University of Nebraska, 44 in all, Nathan Gerry had a vision. Before every one of his games in the NFL, 33 of them, playoffs included, he had the same one.
Seventy-seven times, he would close his eyes and imagine scoring a touchdown in a high-level environment. So next week, when the Eagles visit Minnesota, he will have the vision again.
The difference: By then, he will know how it feels.
Often active in his first twoplus seasons with the Eagles, the starting outside linebacker in a 31-6 victory over the New York Jets Sunday finally had some scoreboard proof of his value. Stepping in front of Le’Veon Bell around midfield in the first quarter, Gerry intercepted a Luke Falk pass and hauled it 51 yards for a touchdown. With Jake Elliott’s placement, the Eagles had a 14-point lead, and the Jets already had an understanding of how the day likely would unfold.
“I was tired, I’ll tell you that,” Gerry said of his dash. “But it was awesome, especially just seeing my teammates’ smiling faces. I have put in a lot of work in my three years here, and to be able to get that opportunity was pretty
awesome for myself. It was good to see all my teammates smiling and hyping me up.”
Gerry, who had one interception last season, had an interception in the Eagles’ earlier loss at Atlanta. That one was in the end zone, when he quickly thought about running 110 yards for a touchdown. Regardless of the odds against it, that’s what he does: He thinks TD.
“Every game I go in with the highest confidence in myself to make a play,” he said. “I don’t know if it is going to be a touchdown, but I just want to make a play in general and make the plays that were made for me.”
Sunday, the Jets quickly put him in that position.
“We screwed up as far as what we were supposed to do,” Jets coach Adam Gase said. “That ball should have been out a lot earlier, but Luke had (Brandon) Graham in his face, which shouldn’t have happened.”
As the Eagles recreated the scene, they were completely ready for what the Jets were about to attempt.
“Once I saw Le’Veon Bell take off, I knew that’s where the ball was going,” Gerry said. “We knew they were going to attack us on short yardage, especially on third and fourth down. We knew how they were going to try and attack us. So we just found a plan. We had a blitz call and just made the right play.”
Gerry had last scored a touchdown in his senior year at Washington (S.D.) High after gathering a blocked kick. But until Sunday, he was still seeking that elusive high-level pick-six.
“It felt incredible,” he said. “I had 15 interceptions in college and never scored on one of them. So it was nice to finally get one in the end zone.”
After starting the season at 1-2, the Eagles were still trying to prove something Sunday against a winless opponent. The early energy, much of it created by Gerry, was significant.
“To be where we want to be as a team, we have to set the standard for ourselves, no matter what team comes in,” Gerry said. “We have to play to our capability every week. So I think the defense set a good pace for this game today.”
Gerry played to an ability he always knew he had, no matter how vigorously the odds were beginning to scream otherwise. Soon, he would have a game ball as proof.
“I’ll do something with it,” he said. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s just a football at the end of the day. Actually, I’ll probably keep it because it was my first touchdown.”
But as he will have himself convinced soon enough, hardly his last.