Eagles CB Darius Slay has never been shy about heaping drool-worthy praise on Matthew Stafford, his Detroit Lions teammate from 2013 to 2019. He doesn’t believe the 36-year-old quarterback gets enough credit for his insane arm talent and consistent leadership.
Slay wasted no time in hyping up Stafford when reporters crowded his locker stall to ask him about the impending matchup in the NFC Divisional Round. The standout cornerback doesn’t think he has an advantage over Stafford due to their days together on the practice field in Detroit. Why? Simple. Because both players know each other’s many ticks and tells.
“A little bit … but he got a little bit of an advantage, too, because he knows what I like to do, so we know what each other likes to do,” Slay told reporters. “I’ve always said, Staff, he’s always been one of the top quarterbacks in this league, top five — I don’t know why people been leaving him out of that conversation because there aren’t too many quarterbacks who have the arm talent — a guy that’s seen every type of coverage that’s possible, and can make all the throws.”
The key to beating the Rams this week comes down to pressure. The Vikings only sacked Stafford twice last week and the mud-footed quarterback only went down 28 times this season.
“We just got to make sure that we get to him as a defense and sack him a lot,” Slay said. “You know, get his timing off, and disrupt routes, because if you ain’t disrupting routes it’s going to be a good day for him.”
Eagles’ Locker Room Thoughts and Rumblings …
Speaking of Slay, he recently dropped Zack Baun‘s name into the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year on his “Big Play” podcast. He was being serious, not saying it for jokes or brownie points. Baun didn’t want to comment on whether he deserved the award, but the All-Pro linebacker was thankful for the shout-out.
“That’s awesome,” Baun said of Slay’s comment. “I did see a clip of that, and just appreciation and the respect I have in this locker room means a lot to me, and the Defensive Player of the Year is a credit to a lot of different guys on this team, not just myself.”
Meanwhile, there is an outside chance that Jeremiah Trotter might start at linebacker for an injured Nakobe Dean this week. It’ll probably be veteran Oren Burks, but the rookie fifth-rounder out of Clemson is preparing for all scenarios. He’s going to have an increased role either way.
“I definitely feel like I’m ready,” Trotter Jr. said. “I prepared every single week kind of like I was going to start. I try to make sure I’m on top of what I need to do as far as mentally and preparation-wise, and I just try to look up to the veterans and see how they prepare as well. That’s really all you can do, and I just have full faith in God that he’ll be with me and guide me out on the field.”
When asked if Dean gave him any advice, Trotter Jr. said: “He told me to be me.”
A.J. Brown Has Full Trust in Passing Offense
The Eagles struggled mightily to find success in the passing game last week. A.J. Brown was only targeted three times, catching one of those balls for 10 yards. That was it. Instead, he sought inspiration from a book the cameras caught him reading on the sideline. Not to worry, Brown has full confidence in the offense.
“I’m going to always be optimistic about it [the passing game],” Brown said. “Last week wasn’t our best performance so we got a great opportunity ahead. Luckily, we got another opportunity to go out there and perform, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Okay, but why does he have so much confidence that they’ll figure it out?
“It’s the players in this locker room. The coaching staff,” Brown said. “We’ve done it before so it’s not like it’s never been done. We just gotta do what we gotta do.”
Another thing that caused problems for the Eagles in the wild-card round win was communication issues. According to left tackle Jordan Mailata, the team dedicated a huge amount of time to working those kinks out during walk-throughs this week. Don’t underestimate the value of those mental reps.
“That’s why we walk-through,” Mailata said. “I think we get a lot of stink for walking through but that’s really where we get most of our reps. We run like 70 or 80 plays … it’s just communication, it’s mostly for communication, making sure that we get every single look that the coaches want us to see, whatever’s in their DNA, something that’s a one-timer. We’ll get that look but I think we’ve made steps in improving …
Mailata quickly trailed off his thought, then added: “I don’t want to jinx it, though.”
Lane Johnson Gives Scouting Report on Rams Defense
The Rams must have been patting themselves on the backs all week for the way their defensive front attacked Sam Darnold and the Vikings. They collected an NFL playoff record-tying nine sacks in a 27-9 victory. Led by Byron Young and Jared Verse, Los Angeles looked dominant and defiant.
Or, maybe, the Vikings’ offensive line just sucked.
“Their offensive line couldn’t block them,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “That’s what it was.”
Johnson smirked as the words left his lips. He has tremendous respect for the Rams’ defense, an attacking unit that finished middle of the pack during the regular season with 38 sacks.
“They do a bunch of different stuff,” Johnson said. “[Jared] Verse is a good player. Byron’s [Young] a good player. Their two D-tackles, I feel like they’re young, but I feel like they are one of the better fronts in the league … so, last game we ran the ball well, we got to the second level really effectively, and had a big game so I imagine it’ll probably be a little different look out of them or how they are going to play us this go around.”
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
