Philadelphia Eagles: When Does Rasul Douglas Get His Shot?

When are the Philadelphia Eagles going to give Rasul Douglas an opportunity to help out in the secondary?

Are we finished with trying to act like the secondary hasn’t been a problem for the Philadelphia Eagles ever since last season? See, it’s okay to give them a pass from last year because they won the Super Bowl. But with the way they have looked through the first four weeks of the season, we have to start getting concerned. After all, this defense did let up over 500-yards in the Super Bowl. If that didn’t urge the Eagles to want to make changes, then I don’t know what will.

The secondary has been atrocious. Sunday’s game against the Tennesse Titans was like a flashback of the days where the Eagles had Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher out on the field. Yes, Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills have been that bad. Anybody else who says different is just lying to themselves.

Darby has had some moments (see week one), but somehow he’s always at least five yards off of the receiver he’s covering. Meanwhile, Jalen Mills is good for letting up multiple big plays a game by getting called for pass interference, or simply just getting beat. The opposing offenses know this and have made it clear as day that they will pick on him as much as they can.

This isn’t a new trend. We saw it at times last season, but the secondary was bailed out more often than not because the pass rush was unstoppable. But now that the defensive line is less consistent, we are seeing the defensive backs continously getting exposed week after week. If only the Eagles had a playmaker, who was hungry and waiting for his opportunity to show out…

Calling for Rasul Douglas

On the Eagles bench, there’s a young cornerback who has made himself known for coming up with extremely clutch plays. Last season, Rasul Douglas cashed out with two interceptions during the time that Ronald Darby was out. Ever since Darby’s return, the Eagles haven’t really considered using Douglas at all.

So far in 2018, Douglas has accounted for 2.71-percent of the snaps. So seven total snaps on defense to be exact. Funny enough, Douglas ended up with an interception during a red zone situation during week one. Not every starting defensive back could say the same.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all know that Douglas is prone to letting up big plays as well. But in other ways, he makes up for it with clutch turnovers. The other cornerbacks on the outside have struggled to make any game-changing plays at all.

Both, Darby and Mills have played for over 95-percent of the snaps on defense. And the way they have been playing is completely un-watchable at times. Even Doug Pederson has recognized that other teams have decided that they were going to pick on Jalen Mills for a majority of the game because they know that it’s a glaring weakness in the secondary.

So when do the Eagles try something new? When are they going to utilize their 2017 third-round pick and let Rasul Douglas free? A 2-2 start is not the end of the world, but there also isn’t much wiggle room for this team at this point if they want to make another run. If this is the best the secondary can be, then there should be no reason why Rasul Douglas isn’t getting his shot.