3 Philadelphia Eagles who could use a bounce back in Week 2

Will Genard Avery step up for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2?

The expectation was that the move to the SAM position in Gannon’s multiple defense would benefit Genard Avery. Thus far, that hasn’t been the case.

There are 17 games for a reason so we’ll hold off judgment for now but that type of performance won’t fly this week. Like Wilson, he lost his footing a few times. Early on in the season opener, he stumbled without being contacted. As Anthony DiBona noted, Avery’s aggressiveness as a pass rusher also caused him to lose contain a number of times.

Avery never seemed to fit in Schwartz’s defense and even now, he isn’t quite playing the same role he did in his rookie year in Cleveland. Backup SAM Patrick Johnson is still learning the ropes. We still have a ways to go before there is a real position controversy but Johnson had a couple of nice plays in Week 1 to build off of a strong preseason.

Pre-draft, the staff at ITI was very high on Johnson’s potential after the interview we had with him. Avery is on his contract year while Johnson is the up-and-coming linebacker. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the change was made at some point. For now, Avery is still the starter and has an opportunity to turn things around this week. Hopefully, he cleans up the mistakes and puts on a clinic like he did last year against the 49ers.