Eagles news: Rasul Douglas gets love from a creditable source
Injuries to Jaylen Watkins and Rodney McLeod forced Rasul Douglas into action, and the rookie impressed his teammates and a very credible source with his play.
You’ve got to be doing something right when Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz gives the type of glowing report that he gave the media about rookie cornerback Rasul Douglas. This followed an impressive debut by Douglas against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Sure, he kept calling him “Russel”, but the point’s been made. Douglas, according to Schwartz made “no mental mistakes”. He tackled well, played with good technique and seemed fully aware of what was going on around him. He even caught the attention of Pro Football Focus. They graded him the ninth-highest cornerback of week two.
The rookie doesn’t quite look like a rookie against some good competition:
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According to PFF, Douglas appeared in 39 defensive snaps. Most of that time, he was matched up against Tyreek Hill, and Hill, who notched 133 yards against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots was held to 43 yards on four catches.
“I felt like I played okay. It’s never as good as you think, it’s never as bad as you think. Just have to watch film and get better” said the rookie about his own performance.
Philly had to shuffle the secondary quite a bit on Sunday. They were already without the top cornerback on the depth chart, Ronald Darby. Sunday’s injuries to safeties Rodney McLeod and Jaylen Watkins in the first half now mean’s Philly’s without two starters in the secondary for the foreseeable future. Losing Watkins hurts as well. Douglas and everybody else will need to step up.
What teammates are saying:
The rookie’s got the support of his teammates. Following Sunday’s game, linebacker Mychal Kendricks saw Douglas looking a little dejected in the locker room. Kendricks got up, placed his arm around his teammate and gave him some much-needed encouragement.
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“You were great out there, man. Like, dude. You played really, really well. You were ballin’ out there” said the veteran to the rookie. “I like the way you played. You got after it, bro. Liked it. Liked it, man.”
Eagles fans liked it too Mr. Douglas. Keep it up! Another test is on the horizon, and it’s scheduled for Sunday against a division rival.