Eagles: Things you may have missed Volume 7 (Player safety concerns)
For the Philadelphia Eagles, mixing heat, competition and guys who are trying to make a roster makes for some tense moments.
You definitely can’t have it both ways if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Watching this team over the last three years forced you to start using words like “soft” and “finesse”. If you’ve been around since the era of guys like Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Eric Allen, Seth Joyner and, of course, Reggie White and Buddy Ryan, those are words you’d never want to hear associated with this team.
Eagles
The city of Philadelphia wants their teams to be tough, and with this new mentality of actually tackling and hitting at practice, a city who once took pride in having a jail cell in Veteran’s Stadium seems to be grinning from ear to ear with the notion of full-contact practices.
There’s another side to that though. With each collision, fans are reminded that injuries are a very real possibility. Just this week, two of the team’s most valuable commodities, safety Malcolm Jenkins and left tackle Jason Peters both left the field on the same day. Both injuries proved to be nothing too serious, but more than anything, everybody wants to see this team walk into opening weekend against the Cleveland Browns as close to 100% as possible.
Starting tight end Zach Ertz had to be examined for a head injury following a low hit from rookie Blake Countess. There’s no reason, at all, to believe Countess meant Ertz any harm. After all, they’re teammates, but put yourself in the shoes of Blake. Nobody likes the possibility of a head on collision with Ertz once he’s picked up a full head of steam.
Of the incident, Ertz commented “Guys got to be pros. These rookies are coming in. They don’t know what the atmosphere is like, the respect that’s given in practice,”. It’s hard to blame him for his comments. All of this was actually on the heels of safety Rodney McLeod going at the knees of Ertz earlier the same week and rookie cornerback Jalen Mills going low to bring down Jordan Matthews. Like Peters, Matthews spent some time on the ground before walking off under his own power.
You’ve got to have contact. It’s a contact sport-Head Coach Doug Pederson
Keep in mind, running back Ryan Mathews and guard Brandon Brooks have both missed some much-needed practice time with injury as well. With what’s being seen, some are wondering if the physical practice philosophy might be something coaches may want to reconsider.
Head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t seem to think so stating “Football is a contact sport. This is going to happen. It’s going to happen….Whether it happens today or it happens Thursday night, it’s part of the game. I’m a big believer (that) you never shy away from contact. You’ve got to have contact. It’s a contact sport.”
Related Story: Malcolm Jenkins and Jason Peters injured: Who will step up?
Make no mistake about it. Pederson knows the importance of all of his guys, particularly Ertz. Take a listen:
Whatever your theory is on the situation, it looks like we already know what the answer is. Again, you can’t have it both ways. If you want to see full-contact practices, you’re going to have to understand that an injury can happen at any moment. Pederson seems to be okay with that. The team seems to have bought into the philosophy. Don’t expect this team to stop hitting any time soon.