Philadelphia Eagles debate table: The defense is fine without Jordan Hicks

Is it truly unreasonable to say the Philadelphia Eagles defense will be just fine without Jordan Hicks?

Believe it or not, last Monday night wasn’t the first time that Jordan Hicks left a Philadelphia Eagles game with an injury. Think about it for a second. How many times has that happened in 2017? Take a deep breath, and give it some thought. Once you do so, you might feel a little better.

Week seven’s win over the Washington Redskins wasn’t the first time this season that Jordan Hicks left the field of battle and didn’t return. Truthfully, it’s becoming an all-too-common theme. He’s, without question, one of the most gifted athletes on the entire Eagles roster. He’s the team’s signal caller on defense, and each time he’s left the game, the Eagles have been okay on defense without him.

Some much-needed motivation:

Sure, there have been fourth quarter implosions and breakdowns in coverage, but the team has made it through each time. That is, of course, with the exception of a loss at Arrowhead Stadium. Not too long ago, Eagles fans were devastated by a preseason injury to Joe Walker that ended the then rookie’s first NFL campaign.

More from Inside the Iggles

Now, Walker has a chance to prove the faith that fans and his team placed in him was for a good reason. He’ll now join a rotation that includes the likes of Najee Goode, Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks. The latter has a good chance of returning to the lineup this week.

So, what now?

Conventional wisdom tells us the Eagles, possibly move Bradham to middle linebacker and leave Walker and Kendricks on the outside. Goode proved in week seven that he can be serviceable, and Philly also recently called up Nathan Gerry from the practice squad. He moved to safety shortly after being drafted, but he played some linebacker while with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Seeing as how Philly normally spends much of their time in nickel packages and not the 4-3 defensive alignment (much of the reason Kendricks didn’t see the field as often as fans would have liked in 2016), you can argue scheme won’t change much. Seeing the Eagles play multiple safeties on more than one occasion in week seven means something else entirely.

Next: Will Hicks have any leverage in contract negotiations now?

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who’s seen his fair share of battles on the NFL field, has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. He’s moved bodies around all season. He’s won with three safeties missing. Don’t forget that he won without Kendricks, Hicks and even Fletcher Cox, arguably the team’s best player on defense. He’s won without Ronald Darby all season, figured by most to be the team’s best cover guy.

Why is everyone so certain that everything will fall apart now? Look for the Eagles to employ that same “next man up” theory they’ve employed all season. Everything will be fine.

Home/Eagles News