Hicks the Hero?

Posted: December 21st, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Hicks the Hero?

The Eagles got some good injury news. Jordan Hicks is no longer on the injury report and he’ll play on Sunday against the Texans.

The defense has been good enough for the team to win three of the past four games, but has still been more leaky than anyone would like. Getting Hicks back in the middle of the defense could certainly help the unit out.

Houston QB Deshaun Watson puts tremendous pressure on defenses. It isn’t just that’s he’s mobile, Watson reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson in that he is excellent at keeping plays alive and will still throw. That means you need as many athletic cover guys as possible. At his best, Hicks is a good athlete with good cover skills.

This hasn’t been a big year for Jordan Hicks. He’s been sloppy against the run at times and hasn’t delivered the plays that you ideally want from  him. He does have 3 sacks, but hasn’t picked off any passes and has only broken up four. He hasn’t forced a fumble, but did recover one.

Sunday would be a good time for Hicks to have a big game. And he’s been at his best playing against a team from Texas. Normally that is the Dallas Cowboys. This year he missed both of those games so maybe he’ll make his presence felt against the Houston Texans.

Schwartz will blitz more against mobile QBs than pocket passers. We could see Schwartz decide the best plan for dealing with Watson is to attack him, especially with Hicks going right up the middle. You would have the D-linemen collapse the pocket while Hicks worked up the middle to his target.

Or we could see Hicks make plays out in space. He’s fast enough to chase down a QB like Watson. Hicks also can help plaster receivers on short and intermediate routes.

We know Watson will make some plays on Sunday. The Eagles must make some as well. The return of Hicks could prove to be a big help in a big game.

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Sidney Jones is out. No surprise there. Doug Pederson made that pretty clear earlier in the week.

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Tim Jernigan has a real shot to play. He practiced this week, but he’s still listed on the injury report so we won’t know for sure until Sunday.

This would be an excellent game for Jernigan to return. You want as many athletic guys on the field when you have to chase Watson around. Jernigan is absolutely a better athlete than Haloti Ngata.

Houston has allowed more sacks than any other team in the league. Jernigan is a good pass rusher and can bring pressure up the middle. The other real benefit is that He would add depth to a D-line that is going to be chasing a mobile QB for three hours. You want as many fresh legs for that as possible.

You know these guys will be relentless.

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Pederson said he talked to Frank Reich about the Texans.

The Colts lost 37-34 in an early season game and then beat Houston 24-21 two weeks ago. Hopefully Reich shared a good nugget or two with his old boss. This is a critical game for the Eagles and you look for any advantage you can.

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This is a no-brainer for now.

We’ll see what happens if the Eagles make the playoffs. That’s when things will get very interesting.

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