Eagles talk: Could Vinny Curry’s slow start cost him his job?
Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry has yet to prove he is worth his healthy contract number.
Another year, so far, has meant another season of struggle for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Vinny Curry. Ever since he signed his big contract extension at the end of the 2015 season, he has been put under a microscope from the fans and analysts. After a down year in 2016, everybody was ready to give up on him.
He got the benefit of the doubt when reports came out stating that he was injured for the majority of last season. When the Eagles decided to move on from Connor Barwin, Curry knew that he was getting his second chance to truly prove his worth. Still, receiving a second shot doesn’t mean his starting position isn’t in jeopardy. The Eagles made that clear when they selected Derek Barnett with the 14th-overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Ever since the preseason, Barnett has been turning heads. His production from the practice field quickly translated onto the game field and he has been rewarded for that. Slowly each week Barnett has been gaining more and more snaps on defense. He has yet to beat out Curry for the majority of the workload, but at this point, the job is Curry’s to lose.
Mistakes are inexcusable:
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When a young player makes a mistake, it is usually understandable. In football, young players are simply going to make mistakes. It is all a part of the learning process. After about a year or two, the tolerance for mistakes a veteran player can make is very thin. In Curry’s case, he needs to minimize mistakes completely in order to keep his job.
In last week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Curry started the game off on a bad note. During the very first drive of the game, he jumped offsides drawing the first of many penalties that both teams committed during week four’s contest.
Curry went on to finish the game with only one recorded tackle, which was recorded as an assist. His lack of an impact on team statistics wasn’t the biggest concern though. While the Eagles had their backs against the wall, and as the Chargers were driving for a touchdown, Curry committed his worst penalty yet.
The Biggest mistake:
Curry was flagged for an unnecessary roughness call when he was penalized for a late hit. That moved the Chargers up to the four-yard line and gave them a new set of downs late in the fourth quarter. The Chargers were then able to score a touchdown, making the game a lot closer than most anticipated. Luckily, the Eagles offense was able to drain out the game clock.
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It’s understandable that Curry wasn’t solely responsible for the Chargers touchdown. Still, maintaining discipline could have prevented it. It’s one thing when a player’s statistics don’t contribute much, but it’s a whole other problem when they commit penalties to go along with it.
The bottom line is that Curry should be concerned for his job after his mediocre start to the season. He remains the only starting player on the defensive line without a registered sack. With Barnett behind him, and with Barnett coming off of a solid performance where he recorded two tackles, one stuff, and a fumble recovery, it may only be a matter of time before Curry is watching the rookie from the sideline.