Rotating personnel the ‘new norm’
PHILADELPHIA — The “new norm” Eagles coach Doug Pederson promised the ecstatic yet ravenous Super Bowl parade crowd in February 2018 has turned out to be about improvisation more than anything else.
Last season, it was the defense working like madmen all season to fit new, emergency pieces together in time to make it to January with a chance to defend the title.
This season? Same dynamic, only with the offense.
Nobody in this universe or any other could have predicted in September that the Eagles would come down the stretch with quarterback Carson Wentz depending on teammates named Boston Scott, Greg Ward and Josh Perkins to run with the ball and/or catch passes at the most crucial times of the season, with a playoff berth on the line.
Yet there they were Monday night in Philadelphia combining for 199 of the 418 yards from scrimmage the Eagles (6-7) produced to avert what would have been a mind-blowing catastrophe on their way to a 23-17 overtime win against the New York Giants.
And here they come again when the Eagles visit the Washington Redskins (3-10) on Sunday (1 p.m., FOX) in another test of their survivor skills.
Welcome to the new norm, which the Eagles, to their credit, have embraced. Not that they have any other real choice.
The receiving corps they trotted out for their first meeting with Washington was Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Nelson Agholor. This Sunday? How about Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and some guy named Robert Davis, promoted from the practice squad Thursday?
Barring another roster move, they likely comprise the entire cast because the aching knee that kept Agholor out of Monday night’s game isn’t improving.
The Eagles’ starting running back in the opener, Darren Sproles, combined with Jordan Howard for 15
carries and five catches for 118 total yards from scrimmage way back then, when the team was forced to come back from a 17-point deficit to pull the game out.
Sproles and Howard won’t be around for this one either. But Scott, who was on the practice squad until Oct. 11, will be.
So will Perkins, the third tight end the Eagles finally added after going almost the whole season with just two following the loss of Richard Rodgers in August to a long-term injury, which also happened last year.
The offensive line has been forced to adjust too. Right tackle Lane Johnson, the best lineman the Eagles have at any of the five positions across the front, is not likely to be available for this one either. He suffered a high ankle sprain Monday night.
But don’t call this Eagles offense compromised. That would be a gross understatement.
Call it the new norm. On Monday night, it reached the point where a slot receiver (Ward) was playing on the outside, tight end Zach Ertz was playing wide receiver and only wide receiver (Arcega-Whiteside) was healthy enough to play by the end.
“You have to get creative,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “We anticipate it. Should we lose a guy at any of those spots, what was the alternate plan going to be?
“So I think it’s a great credit to the coaching staff, first of all. [Wide receivers coach] Carson Walch, [tight ends coach] Justin Peelle and [running backs coach] Duce Staley, those guys coaching those positions [were] getting their players prepared for any kind of adverse situation that we might find ourselves in.
“And then secondly, it’s a great credit to the players to have the mental flexibility to go out there and the physical versatility to be able to play the different spots and move those pieces around and perform at the level they did. So it’s a great credit to everybody involved.”
For reasons that are still unclear, Wentz has performed better under these circumstances than he did at times with a full, or nearly full, complement of receivers and backs.
He played as well after trailing by 14 points at intermission Monday as he has at any point in his career.
“It just keeps changing every week,” Wentz said. “It’s part of the NFL … But you know I think the key is just keeping everyone confident and on same page.
“I’ve seen a lot of these guys go through practice, the plays that they make, and just talking through things and [trying to] get as much reps and as much work as we can. Talking through it a lot and [making] sure everyone’s dialed in on the same page is the key.”
It could be that Wentz’s comfort level has risen with the new players. Or it could be that because they’re all still afraid to make mistakes, they’re acting on their best behavior.
Doesn’t matter, though. The Eagles just have to roll with this new norm.
They have no other choice.
Jenkins nominated: Safety Malcolm Jenkins has been named the Eagles’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which recognizes a player for outstanding community service activities off the field as well as excellence on the field.
All of the league’s 32 nominees were announced Thursday,
In 2019, Jenkins continued this lifetime of service with efforts to further systemic change for the disenfranchised, disadvantaged and underrepresented people of Philadelphia and beyond. In appreciation of his philanthropic contributions, Jenkins received both the McSilver Award as a Vanguard for Social Justice from the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University and the Community Hero Award at the Community College of Philadelphia.
Fans are encouraged to participate in Nationwide’s fifth annual Charity Challenge, a social media campaign designed to support and promote team nominees. Fans can vote for Jenkins on Twitter by using the hashtag #WPMOYChallengeJenkins in posts between Dec. 12 and Jan. 12.
The player whose unique hashtag is used the most will receive a $25,000 contribution to the charity of his choice, courtesy of Nationwide. The second- and third-place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000 donations for their charities.
Votes will be counted only from Twitter.