EAGLE S LANDED
AMERICAN FOOTBALL Scott hits big time after Philadelphia show faith
BOSTON SCOTT is three games from the biggest day of his life after refusing to believe he wasn’t good enough to make it in the NFL.
The 24-year-old running back from Baton Rouge in Louisiana, one of the smallest players in the league at 5ft 6in, was signed as a rookie last year by his local team New Orleans.
Having played in college at Louisiana Tech, it seemed like a dream come true until the Saints relegated him to the practice squad where he stayed until Philadelphia took a chance on him a year ago.
But even then, Scott found himself dumped on the Eagles’ practice squad until mid-october. He hasn’t looked back since.
The Eagles won the final four games of the regular season – all of them must-win
– to clinch a playoff spot on the last day of the campaign thanks to Scott’s three touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over New York Giants.
Dream
Now, as he prepares to face Seattle tonight (Sky Sports Action, 9.40pm) with the February 2 Super Bowl in his sights, Scott’s nightmare has turned into a dream.
He said: “The biggest thing for me is just focusing in on my job and being present on each play.
“It means a lot. This league is all about being able to produce and after the first
Giants game, that’s what I talked about – continuing to learn, continuing to grow and making the most of my opportunities.
“The fact that [head coach] Doug Pederson (right) has put me out there and had confidence in me, and that the coaching staff have had confidence in me, I am really grateful that they have continued to put me out there because I have made some mistakes, so it’s been cool.”
Scott has become something of a cult hero in Philadelphia in the past couple of months, especially during the four-game run that saw them beat the Giants twice, Washington and Dallas.
He said: “I appreciate the support. I’ve seen some memes on social media. People tag me. I think that’s funny.
“I guess I’ve been through a lot getting to this point. I’m just doing my job and trying to stay true to myself.”
Scott’s former team, New Orleans, could stand in his way as they also made it to the playoffs where tonight they host Minnesota (Sky Sports Action, 6.05pm).
Despite winning 13 of their 16 games this season, the Saints failed to clinch a bye this week as one of the top two seeds, which went to San Francisco and Green Bay.
But head coach Sean Payton is keeping his players focused, knowing that nobody wants to run into them during the knockout rounds.
Payton, who led the Saints to their only Super Bowl triumph 10 years ago, said: “It’s one of those things that’s out of your control.
“Doing this long enough, you learn to focus on the things you can control, and we have to focus on the preparation this week.
“We’re playing a really good team we’re familiar with, the head coach I’m really familiar with and you’re in a single elimination tournament.
“That is where the focus has really been and you go from there.”