Monday Motivation: Eagles defense is impressed with Sidney Jones
The feedback on Sidney Jones’ first time on the field with his Eagles teammates, to this point, has been nothing but positive.
If you’re from the southern part of our great country, you’ve probably heard something said a time or two. It goes something like this. ‘Opinions are only as valuable as your knowledge of the subject’. If that’s the case, if we were going to evaluate Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Sidney Jones‘ debut performance, we’d probably like to get the opinions of some of the guys who have played or coached the game right?
Sure, Jones passed the naked eye test for most of us. He may have taken a wrong angle on Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in one instance where Elliott turned the corner on a sweep, but he did close and force him out of bounds. Rust is to be expected though. It’s been almost ten months since he ruptured his Achilles tendon during the Washington Huskies‘ Pro Day.
Still, it bears repeating. What’s typically most important to the guys who wear the uniforms of our favorite teams is how their coaches and teammates feel about them.
If that’s the case in this situation, then Jones passed his first NFL test with flying colors.
Jones’ Eagles teammates weigh in.
One of Philly’s leaders on defense and probably the best safety Philly’s had since Brian Dawkins is Malcolm Jenkins. Philly’s starting strong safety had this to say:
“He played well. He didn’t get targeted much, but we’re just proud to see him out there. It was obviously a big day for him.”
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Jenkins isn’t the only one who was impressed by his ‘younger brother’. McLeod was satisfied with what he saw from the rookie in his first few snaps of NFL action. “I saw a guy who obviously battled back from a pretty big injury. It was good to see him get an opportunity today to finally showcase what he can do. I thought he handled himself well. He got in on a few tackles. He showed good technique in the scheme. The future looks bright for him.”
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The head coach is happy too.
Eagles head coach, as he always does, addressed the media following the game. He, like everyone else, was complimentary when it came to discussing what he saw from a man that Eagles fans are hoping is a legitimate lockdown corner for years to come.
“He held up pretty good there and did some nice things. It’s encouraging to see him because he hasn’t been out there in a long, long time. He held up well.”
Jones has two tackles on New Year’s Eve, both solo, but he came up gingerly in one instance. At first, some thought something may have happened to his hamstring. We found out later it was muscle cramps.
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Jones, now, adds some punch to an Eagles defense that, at first glance, appears as though they’ll need to shoulder the load during Philadelphia’s upcoming playoff push. Fans are more tense these days than they’ve been for most of the season. The words Super Bowl favorite aren’t being used in conjunction with an Eagles team that’s struggling to put successful drives together on offense. Still, it will be two weeks before they’ll have to see the field again.
As an Eagles fan, you have to hope the team emerging from the bye isn’t the same team that entered one. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.