That viral clip of Saquon Barkley questioning Jalen Hurts about fearlessness had its roots in a boxing book. The newest Eagles playmaker revealed the story behind the exchange ahead of practice on Monday, reflecting on the overall message and why it applied to football.
If nothing else, Barkley wanted to gauge Hurts’ mindset heading into the Eagles’ 2024 campaign. Being fearless is instinctual. It is a way of life. According to Barkley, these are two major themes in the book entitled “Victory Favors the Fearless” by Darrin Donnelly.
“I think with those highs and those lows, there are going to be moments where you question yourself and you lose trust in your faith,” Barkley told reporters on August 5. “But you always got to find ways to get back, and I think the book illustrates a really good job of how to continue to try and improve every single day and get better. And when you have that mindset, and when you trust in your work you put in, and in your faith, you can truly live your life and go out and whatever your profession is, and truly do it a fearless level.”
Barkley was speaking from the heart and appreciated Hurts’ honest answer. The Pro Bowl running back went on to dismiss any misconceptions of a feeding frenzy for the football among the Eagles’ talented skill players. Everyone in that offensive huddle is ready to sacrifice snaps … willingly, unselfishly, whatever it takes, for the good of the team.
“I don’t think it’s hard. It’s not hard at all,” Barkley said about going stretches without the ball. “What’s the most important thing? And that’s winning football games. And I think we all have that mindset. We want to go out there and win so we’re willing to do whatever it takes to win games.
“When your goal is to go out there and compete for a championship, and that’s actually what you want to do, it doesn’t matter how you get it done. And I think we have those guys in this locker room who share same mindset, and when you’re all playing at a high level, if you want accolades, that kind of comes along with it. But the main thing is winning football games, and I think we have that mindset here.”
Isaiah Rodgers Seizing the Moment with Eagles: ‘I Want Everything’
Isaiah Rodgers is mired in a battle with Kelee Ringo for the starting outside corner spot early on at Eagles’ training camp. With Cooper DeJean on the injured list, coupled with James Bradberry’s transition to safety, and Quinyon Mitchell getting reps at nickel, Rodgers has risen to the occasion following his one-year suspension for gambling. Friday’s preseason game will mark his first action since December 26, 2022.
“I want to play the whole game, but I don’t know if it’s possible but if I can, I will,” Rodgers told reporters. “I definitely think the coaches want to see, too, I want to see where I’m at and finally run out the tunnel and play a game.”
Rodgers returns more motivated than Snoop Dogg at an Olympic dressage event. He wants to make an immediate and lasting impact, one that makes it impossible for the coaching staff to send him back to the bench. Or, inconceivably, leave him off the final 53-man roster.
“I want a pick-six, kick return, I want everything,” Rodgers said. “I just want to make up for lost time.“
The 26-year-old cornerback claims his “way faster” now than he was in 2020 when Rodgers ran a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash. Rodgers has needed each decisecond — every muscle twitch in his lead foot — to keep up with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith this summer.
“I forgot how good AJ and DeVonta are,” Rodgers said. “It don’t hit you until you’re in front of them, actually out to guard them. So that’s one thing.”
The other thing? The challenge of marking Brown and Smith has upped his own football intelligence.
“Going against the best guys in the league, it makes your game a lot easier when it’s time to go against other guys across the league,” Rodgers said, “because you’re going against the best of the best even through walk-throughs, day in and day out, and just picking their brains and me understanding what I’m doing wrong and them telling me what to do better so they definitely make my game a lot better.”
‘Accountability’ Group Text Chain Going Strong
Linebacker Devin White has been preaching accountability to his new teammates for months. He told reporters on the second day of training camp that he started a text chain with himself, A.J. Brown, and Jalen Hurts to pound the point home. The goal is to take responsibility when things go wrong while communicating ways to “pull each other up” and maximize their leadership.
That text chain is still going strong as the calendar turned from July to August. They keep asking each other the tough questions, like …
“Are you holding yourself to a standard? And I think the new phrase is, can your teammates trust you? Are you going out there and giving everything you got, to where when you’re watching film and you can say, ‘Hey, my teammates can trust me at every position, on every play, because you’re not taking plays off.”
White also relayed some of what new coordinator Vic Fangio imparted to the defense, in terms of how he wants them to play. The Eagles will demand an uncompromising brand of physicality and toughness.
“He wants everybody going out there and playing the game the right way, protecting players, but also establishing dominance,” White said. “He shows a lot of clips from guys who did it the right way. He shows clips of not so the right way … even the new drop-roll hip tackle or whatever, that they don’t want in the league anymore, so we’re just making sure that we’re still being tough but doing it the right way and protecting players.”
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