Eagles notebook: Snaps on defense, making juice, a deserving honor originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
This latest mini bye week seemed to come at a perfect time for the Eagles’ defense. Because those guys played a ton of snaps on Black Friday against the Bears.
“How many snaps did we play?” Cooper DeJean asked.
They played 87.
That’s the most snaps the Eagles have played this year and the most snaps they have played in their two seasons under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The Eagles hadn’t played that many defensive snaps in a game since that overtime game against Buffalo in 2023. They played 95 in that one.
DeJean, Zack Baun, Reed Blankenship and Quinyon Mitchell were the four players on defense who didn’t leave the field.
“I don’t know if I really pay attention to it,” DeJean said. “I never really notice it during the game that we were out there for 87 snaps. I think my mindset is to go out there whenever I’m called upon to do my job. Never really thinking about how much we’re out there or how my body is feeling during the game. It’s all adrenaline. At the end of the day, just go out there and do our job.”
The Eagles’ offense has obviously been struggling with 3-and-outs this season, which can put their defense back on the field quickly. But the Eagles’ defense allowed the Bears to convert on 10 of 17 attempts on third down.
In 2024, the Eagles defense averaged 61.6 snaps per game. That is up to 67.6 this season. That might not sound like much but that is on pace to be an extra 102 snaps this season. And in the last two games, they have played 74 snaps against the Cowboys and 87 against the Bears.
“We have no control over how and when we get on the field,” Fangio said. “We can only control how we get off the field. We didn’t do a good enough job of that in this past game. We had been in the previous games, and we’ve got to get back to where we’re playing better defense.”
Worth the squeeze
The Eagles had a few extra days this weekend after playing on Black Friday and DeVonta Smith found an exciting way to pass the time.
“So you know what’s interesting? I bought me a juicer,” Smith said. “And I’ve been squeezing oranges, apples and pineapples for the past four days. And let me tell you something: It’s amazing. The best orange and apple juice I’ve ever had is when I squeeze my own. So that’s what I’ve been doing since the Black Friday game. Squeezing fruit.”
Smith said he bought the manual juicer after seeing a video about one on TikTok. Some of his teammates are interested in buying an automatic one but Smith likes the manual version.
“Somebody told me to get the automatic,” Smith said, “but I was like, doing it myself makes me feel like I’m actually doing something instead of doing just the automatic.”
What is Smith’s favorite?
“Apple juice, by far,” he said.
But he’s learning how much many apples it takes to collect enough juice.
“So, honestly, the orange I get a good little bit,” Smith said. “It’s the apples. You gotta buy like a hundred apples just to fill up the jar. But it’s worth it.”
The Positivity Bunny
There was a newcomer in the Eagles’ locker room on Saturday. Meet the Positivity Bunny.
The giant inflatable was brought in by veteran running back A.J. Dillon to keep things loose and fun. The Eagles have talked plenty in-house about the fact that the sky is not falling and they seemed to have good energy all week. The bunny was just a little added fun from one player.
“I’ve been told it’s a vibes bunny,” Saquon Barkley said. “And the vibes are high right now.”
Staying on the sideline
As embattled offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo continues to get criticized one suggestion has popped up from several places, including from former Eagles Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. While Patullo has been calling plays from the field all season, some think it might benefit him from moving up to the coach’s booth for a bird’s-eye view.
Patullo was asked about this on Wednesday and he explained why he thinks it’s better for him to stay on the field.
“I think the communication with the players is important,” Patullo said. “I’ve been on, since I’ve been here in ’21, I’ve been on the field every time. I think there’s a lot of communication with players, coaches on the field, making sure adjustments are done correctly. I have conversations with Jalen (Hurts), with the O-line, with the receivers that are very important.
“I’ve been on the field for a long, long time. I don’t think I’ve been in the box since maybe 2011 as a coach. So, it’s been a while. I think just the relationship I have with the guys and the communication has been good, and we’ve just got to continue to improve in other areas and we’ll be alright.”
He’s not normal
DeVonta Smith leading up to the Bears game was dealing with a couple injuries and an illness so he hadn’t spoken to reporters in a while. So on Friday, he was asked about that spectacular catch he had against the Cowboys a couple weeks ago.
Remember this one?
Smith was asked where that catch ranks among his best ever and said, “I don’t know. I felt like that was just kind of a normal catch.”
That was a normal catch!?
“Yeah, kinda,” he said.
A deserving honor
The Eagles this week announced that left tackle Jordan Mailata is their nominee for the 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. And his teammates think he’s the perfect choice.
“I absolutely hate the guy,” Landon Dickerson said deadpan.
Dickerson and Mailata have a close relationship that has developed over the last several years playing next to each other on the offensive line. So Dickerson, jokes aside, knows why Mailata is the right choice for this award.
“I love Jordan. Couldn’t be happier for him,” Dickerson said. “The guy does so much stuff on and off the field, especially to help the community, really support everyone around him and really give back because he’s in such a blessed position. Super happy for him. I’m really glad he got nominated for it. I think we’ve known for a while now.”
Jalen Hurts has been teammates with Mailata since the 2020 season. That was Hurts’ rookie year and Mailata’s third NFL season. That was also the year where Mailata finally got a chance to play.
Mailata and Hurts have a good relationship too.
“I think that’s a heck of an honor to be able to represent your team, be able to represent the league and his family in something so prestigious,” Hurts said. “The things that he means to this team and what he means to the community, having a journey that is unique as his and coming and learning the game of football and being one of the best at it. I’m glad he gets to soak in that moment. I think for him, someone who is being so diligent about his game, diligent about himself and how he represents himself. Wanting to continue to grow as a person. Those are the things that I see from him. That’s a big congrats to him.”
When asked why Mailata is deserving of this honor, center Cam Jurgens said, “He cares for everybody.” Aside from bringing joy to the NovaCare Complex, Jurgens said that when they’re out to dinner together and fans approach, Mailata has time for everyone.
“He never turns anyone down,” Jurgens said. “He’s the ultimate person for that award.”
Happy for a buddy
Nick Sirianni is happy for his college teammate at Mount Union and buddy Matt Campbell, who was hired this week as the new head coach at Penn State.
“Yeah, I’m really excited for him and the opportunity he has. Well-deserved,” Sirianni said. “Phenomenal, phenomenal football coach. Phenomenal person, great family. I’ve been an Iowa State fan for the last 10 years.”
In addition to Campbell, another one of Sirianni’s former teammates at Mount Union, Jason Candle, was just hired at UConn after a successful run at Toledo. Sirianni is still close with both Campbell and Candle.
“I think the guy who probably doesn’t get enough credit, now he does from us, is we all went to school at Mount Union,” Sirianni said. “For the various degrees that we went for, we didn’t know we’d leave in a doctorate degree of football coaching. So [former Mount Union head coach] Larry Kehres deserves a lot of credit for all of us being in these positions right now.”
from https://ift.tt/fYLWSbz
No comments:
Post a Comment