Safety Issue?
Posted: November 29th, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 11 Comments »Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson has been a terrific addition to the Eagles this year. He leads the NFL with 6 interceptions and has been a key reason the Eagles defense has allowed the second fewest yards in the league. Unfortunately, the Eagles will be without his services for a bit.
#Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is out indefinitely after suffering a lacerated kidney in Sunday night’s win over the #Packers, per sources.
It’s a non-surgical injury. Testing is ongoing, so timetable still TBD, but it is not expected to be season-ending.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 29, 2022
That sounds bad, but the team has actually seen something like this before.
Former Eagles TE Zach Ertz suffered a similar injury in Dec. 2019. He missed the season finale and was back the following week for the first round of the playoffs, even though some had advised him not to play.
Different circumstances with Gardner-Johnson, but some context. https://t.co/PGdxzb8eyQ
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) November 29, 2022
CGJ said he’ll be back. He just didn’t say when. So how do the Eagles go about replacing him?
The in-house candidate is rookie Reed Blankenship. He played well on Sunday night and showed he belongs in the NFL. Blankenship is a good hitter and tackler. I loved the fact he attacked downhill so well. When he saw the runner/receiver, there was no hesitation. He attacked.
Blankenship also does what I heard Ronnie Lott talk about 30 years ago. Don’t run to the target, run through the target. That’s how you put guys down with force.
There is risk if the Eagles go with him. The Packers didn’t have tape to study or time to figure out how to really attack him. Other teams will go at him and try to confuse the rookie. That is a whole different test for Blankenship. He might pass with flying colors. He also might get exposed. After all, there is a reason he went undrafted.
What else could the Eagles do?
https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1597605120778579970
Jenkins will turn 35 in three weeks. He’s never played for Jonathan Gannon or in this system. Would this move make any sense?
Jenkins hasn’t played this year, but did start 16 games last year. He was the second leading tackler on a defense that allowed the 4th fewest yards in the league. Would he have anything left in the tank? There is precedent.
Last year the Rams brought Eric Weddle out of retirement when they needed safety help. He didn’t play at all in 2020 and made his 2021 debut in the postseason. Weddle helped the team to win the Super Bowl. And he was 37 at the time.
That was a major anomaly, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen twice. The circumstances have to be right. I think they are in this situation. Jenkins is healthy and interested. The Eagles have a good secondary and need a complementary piece, not someone to come in and completely save the day.
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles coaches studied Jenkins last year when the Eagles were gameplanning for the Saints. They will have a feel for how good he is (or isn’t). At the very least, the Eagles have to discuss this idea and figure out if it makes sense to them.
They might prefer to stick with Blankenship. He’s a young player with good potential. He knows the scheme. As much as you hate to lose CGJ, you are curious to see what Blankenship can do. Then again, this is potentially a Super Bowl team we’re talking about. There would be risk in relying on a rookie starter in that setting.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
*****
We love to hate Tom Brady, but this is pretty cool.
Tom Brady on Jalen Hurts, via the SiriusXM podcast “Let’s Go! With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.” pic.twitter.com/okmhOMtg4R
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) November 29, 2022
Throwing and running for 150 yards in a game is special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some freaky things.
There is an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and another one where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are terrifying thoughts.
Instead of having to embrace the fakest guy in the league and watch him play erratic football or try to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we get to enjoy a good dude having a great year.
Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thank you to the other guys for not wanting to come to Philly. They saved us a lot of misery.
*****
Green Bay #Packers placing former #Raiders safety Johnathan Abram on waivers, per a league source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 29, 2022
The Eagles are last on waiver claims so we’ll have to wait and see if any other team wants Abram. The former first rounder was cut by Oakland recently. He just had a short stint in Green Bay and will likely be joining a third team soon. Not a great player by any stretch, but could be worth taking a look at.
My guess is that some team with a good defensive coach will take a chance on him before the Eagles get a chance.
*****
The Eagles continue turning over the bottom of the roster, looking for the right developmental/practice players.
Practice Squad: Eagles have released RB Kennedy Brooks and T Roderick Johnson. pic.twitter.com/Ddl9x8zkvN
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 29, 2022
Kawaan Baker visited the Eagles
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 29, 2022
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[…] Safety Issue? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and working for 150 yards in a sport is particular. Hurts is having an important season and he’s performing some freaky issues. There may be an alternate universe the place the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and one other one the place Deshaun Watson is right here. These are terrifying ideas. As a substitute of getting to embrace the fakest man within the league and watch him play erratic soccer or attempt to talk about sexual assault on a weekly foundation, we get to take pleasure in an excellent dude having an important yr. Thanks Jalen for taking part in like this. And thanks to the opposite guys for not wanting to come back to Philly. They saved us numerous distress. […]
[…] safety issue? – Iggle’s LightningThrowing and running for 150 yards in a game is special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some freaky things. There is an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and another one where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are terrifying thoughts. Instead of having to embrace the fakest guy in the league and watch him play erratic football or try to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we get to enjoy a good dude having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thank you to the other guys for not wanting to come to Philly. They saved us a lot of misery. […]
[…] ¿Problema de seguridad? – Bombardeo de IgglesLanzar y correr 150 yardas en un juego es especial. Hurts está teniendo una gran temporada y está haciendo cosas raras. Hay un universo alternativo donde los Eagles tienen a Russell Wilson en QB y otro donde está Deshaun Watson. Esos son pensamientos aterradores. En lugar de tener que abrazar al tipo más falso de la liga y verlo jugar fútbol errático o tratar de hablar sobre agresión sexual semanalmente, podemos disfrutar de un buen tipo que tiene un gran año. Gracias Jalen por jugar así. Y gracias a los otros muchachos por no querer venir a Filadelfia. Nos ahorraron mucha miseria. […]
[…] Drošības problēmas? – Iggles BlitzMetiens un skriešana 150 jardus spēlē ir īpašs. Pain aizvada lielisku sezonu, un viņš dara dažas pārsteidzošas lietas. Ir alternatīvs Visums, kurā Ērgļiem ir Rasels Vilsons QB, un vēl viens Visums, kur šeit atrodas Dešons Vatsons. Tās ir biedējošas domas. Tā vietā, lai cīnītos ar visneīstāko puisi līgā un skatītos, kā viņš spēlē nepareizu futbolu vai mēģinātu runāt par seksuālu vardarbību katru nedēļu, mēs priecāsimies par labiem cilvēkiem, kuriem ir labi gadi. Paldies Džeilenam, ka spēlēja šādi. Un paldies citiem cilvēkiem, kuri nevēlas ierasties Filijā. Viņi mums izglāba no daudzām nepatikšanām. […]
[…] Security problem? – Iggles BombardmentThrowing and rushing for 150 yards in one game is special. Hurts is having a great season and doing some weird stuff. There’s an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and another where Deshaun Watson is. Those are scary thoughts. Instead of having to hug the fakest guy in the league and watch him play erratic football or try to talk about sexual assault on a weekly basis, we can enjoy a nice guy having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thanks to the other guys for not wanting to come to Philly. They saved us a lot of misery. […]
[…] Safety Issue? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and running for 150 yards in a game is special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some freaky things. There is an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and another one where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are terrifying thoughts. Instead of having to embrace the fakest guy in the league and watch him play erratic football or try to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we get to enjoy a good dude having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thank you to the other guys for not wanting to come to Philly. They saved us a lot of misery. […]
[…] Turvallisuusongelmat? – Iggles BlitzHeitä ja ryntää 150 jaardia pelissä on erityistä. Hurtsilla on loistava kausi ja hän tekee mahtavia asioita. Se on erilainen universumi, jossa Eaglesilla on Russell Wilson QB:ssä ja toinen, jossa Deshaun Watson on täällä. Nämä ovat pelottavia ajatuksia. Sen sijaan, että joutuisimme halaamaan liigan väärennetyintä kaveria ja katsomaan hänen pelaavan horjuvaa jalkapalloa tai yrittämään keskustella seksuaalisesta väkivallasta viikoittain, saamme nauttia hyvästä jätkästä, jolla on mahtava vuosi. Kiitos Jalen, että pelasit näin. Ja kiitos muille siitä, etteivät he halunneet tulla Phillyyn. He säästivät meidät monelta kurjilta. […]
[…] Safety Issue? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and running for 150 yards in a game is special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some freaky things. There is an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson at QB and another one where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are terrifying thoughts. Instead of having to embrace the fakest guy in the league and watch him play erratic football or try to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we get to enjoy a good dude having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thank you to the other guys for not wanting to come to Philly. They saved us a lot of misery. […]
[…] This efficiency additional cemented what’s been obvious since early on within the season.Safety Issue? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and working for 150 yards in a sport is particular. Hurts is having an awesome season and […]
[…] security issues? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and running 150 yards in one game is something special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some crazy things. There’s an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson in the QB and another where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are frightening thoughts. Instead of hugging the wrong guy in the league and watching him play erratic football or trying to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we can enjoy a good guy having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thanks to the other boys for not wanting to come to Philly. You saved us a lot of suffering. […]
[…] security issues? – Iggles BlitzThrowing and running 150 yards in one game is something special. Hurts is having a great season and he’s doing some crazy things. There’s an alternate universe where the Eagles have Russell Wilson in the QB and another where Deshaun Watson is here. Those are frightening thoughts. Instead of hugging the wrong guy in the league and watching him play erratic football or trying to discuss sexual assault on a weekly basis, we can enjoy a good guy having a great year. Thank you Jalen for playing like this. And thanks to the other boys for not wanting to come to Philly. You saved us a lot of suffering. […]