It’s been a tumultuous season for Eagles fans. A year filled with heartbreak, confusion, anger, and frustration – 2020 has not been one for the faint-hearted. But if every cloud does indeed have a silver-lining, the emergence of Alex Singleton is one that continues to shine through on the darkest of days.
The linebacker position as a whole has been a horror show and it was always going to be. The team failed to add any kind of veteran depth through the offseason, only injecting developmental talent with extremely raw skillsets. This left unproven players, UDFA’s, and whatever a Nate Gerry is. As the season unfolded, it became inherently clear that the position needed help. And then Alex Singleton showed up.
He’s come a long way since narrowly missing the cut of making last year’s 53-man roster. After playing in just 1 snap in week 3, Singleton played in 15 the next week and made every single one count, picking off a huge pass and taking it to the house for a score. Since then, his snaps and production have increased consistently, and he hasn’t missed a snap over the past 2 weeks, leading the team in tackles on both occasions and still playing in over 90% of special teams snaps.
The 6’2, 240 lbs, linebacker has been all over the field this past month. Sacks, fumbles, TFL, he’s done it all and is now beginning to draw praise from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
“He’s always been a good football player. He’s still learning. I’m going to quote Bill Parcells, ‘let’s not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet.’ And I say that with a lot of respect for Alex. He plays tough and really brings some things to our defense. But he’s not 100 percent clean in his game. He’d probably be the first person to tell you that and there are still things that he’s developing through and he’s still working at. But just knowing him and his character, he’s going to work at it to get it right.
There were a couple plays left on the field and this goes to all great players, and probably any player in the NFL, they don’t really think about their success. They think about the plays that they gave up on the field, the plays that they had a chance to make, but maybe took a wrong step or looked at the wrong thing and that’s the only way you get better. That’s the only way you keep improving. You have to be critical of yourself and you have to look at the things that you need to clean up and not just sort of get drunk on your success so to speak.
I really like Alex’s mentality that way. Makes mistakes like a lot of young players do or players that are playing for the first time. Gets them corrected and moves on. I think that he’s definitely earning his wings, so to speak, but he’s still a work in progress and he’s still a guy that needs to grind through and iron some things out. But I like where he’s trending, and I think it’s a nice plus for our defense right now.”
There may still be plenty of room to grow for Alex Singleton, but with 28 tackles in 2 weeks and not being taken off the field once, it’s safe to say that he’s on his way to becoming a very good Football player.
The Eagles might well be a team void of identity, hope, and direction right now, but Alex Singleton’s rise to the top of the depth chart is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
