Underdog role has lost its bite for Johnson, Birds
Somewhere in Lane Johnson’s home, he’s not sure where, rests a dusty dog mask, the one he wore in a different era, at a different time.
Once, it was a statement piece, a quickly growing fad around the Linc, several Eagles rocking the false-faces to stress their acceptance of an underdog road to the Super Bowl.
This is not that era. This is not that time. And that is no longer a message Johnson wants to send or a costume he intends to revive.
“It’s in the basement somewhere,” Johnson shrugged Thursday, before practice.
That’s where it will stay.
Though the Eagles will face long post-time odds when they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a wildcard playoff game Sunday afternoon at 1, they are not playing the no-respect card. The play that worked so well in 20172018 and may have added a touch of incentive to the run to the world championship is no longer necessary.
“We’re not even talking about that, really,” Johnson said. “The big message is to not become emotional with the game, or where we’re at, or anything. It’s just, ‘Take it one day at a time.’ And that’s where we’re at.”
Some teams are fueled by emotion and artificial outside enemies. The Eagles not only ran that play all the way to the championship four years ago, but kept it going into a wild, downtown celebration, with Jason Kelce famously scolding anyone
who had any doubts about a franchise that had never won a Super Bowl.
The 2021-2022 Eagles are different, a club heavily reliant on details, Nick Sirianni having kept impressively calm during a choppy season, ever promising one-percent improvement per day.
That attitude allowed the Eagles to win nine games and playoff spot, and it is not one they intend to stray from just because another way once worked.
“Never allow a moment get too big for us that we get out of character,” Fletcher Cox said. “Just stay calm.”
While a reasonable pregame plan, the elements of the game itself will have their own impact on the calmness meter.
That’s where the holdovers from the championship team can help.
“For us, it’s a matter of paying attention to the details and not allowing the playoffs or our emotions to necessarily get the best of us,” said Rodney McLeod. “If we adhere to that every single down, reset our mindset and execute at a high level, we’ll be right where we need to be.”
Sirianni chose to keep the Eagles as fresh as possible during the regular season, down-shifting many mid-week practices to assure fresher legs. In Week 18, he rested Jalen Hurts among many veterans, some of whom were trapped on the Covid list, aware that it would lead to greater freshness in Week 1 of the postseason.
The Eagles believe they are ready.
“Go big or go home, baby,” Johnson said. “That’s where we are at. But you try not to get caught up in the hype and everything that is going on around you and what is being said. You just try to eliminate the distractions. You try to have a good practice every day and just keep moving forward.”
The other day, Johnson re-posted on social media a photo of himself in a dog mask, igniting speculation that the Eagles were about to bring back a once-successful tradition.
“No,” Johnson said. “One of my buddies sent me that. I just thought it was funny, that’s all.” ***
Perhaps as a back-door emotional trick, Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said that Eagles rookie DeVonta Smith and Hurts, second-year quarterback, both have participated in bigger games than they will play Sunday. Both had played in college football national championship games for Alabama.
Rightly or innocently, Smith essentially bought into the idea.
“For me, honestly, it feels the same,” Smith said. “It’s the next game and it’s win or go home.” ***
Miles Sanders, who missed the final two regular-season games with a hand injury, practiced on a limited basis Thursday, as did Shaun Bradley (stinger), Andre Dillard (knee), Nate Helbig (ankle) and Johnson (knee, rest).
Josh Sweat was excused from practice for an illness.