Philadelphia Eagles: The secondary must step up against New York Giants

Already plagued with injuries, the Philadelphia Eagles secondary has an interesting matchup at home against the New York Giants.

Now, we all know that the Philadelphia Eagles have been fairly confusing thus far. We have instances where the team looked like a top team in the NFC. However, we’ve seen the opposite too, where the Birds look inconsistent and out of sync. With that in mind, this week’s game against the New York Giants presents the best opportunity the team has to get back on track.

Obviously, the Birds need to get it together. After a week two loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the team has three major areas where guys need to step up. These are the areas where the team either lost key players to injury or where guys simply didn’t show up. Either way, the cornerback and safety spots need resolving and fast.

Now, we have the secondary, where the Philadelphia Eagles lost three key players over the course of two weeks. Cornerback Ronald Darby, safety Rodney McLeod, and hybrid back Jaylen Watkins all went down in a short period of time. Darby was brought in to simply bolster the nonexistent cornerback play for the Birds. McLeod was a bright spot in the secondary, making up a quality duo between himself and all-pro Malcolm Jenkins. No other tandem could match their level of play.

Finally, we have Jaylen Watkins, who played both corner and safety, basically because he could never find a consistent role with this team. Either way, he was a quality depth player who the team will miss dearly. Now, with all of this in mind, who can replace them?

Well, the cornerback position seems pretty obvious. You have Jalen Mills and Patrick Robinson likely as the locks for starting roles. Then, you have a toss-up for the second cornerback spot and depth. Ideally, rookie Rasul Douglas can fill the former, as he played a solid game against the Chiefs. He broke up a pass and had four tackles, too. Overall, he showed promise, and will likely have the opportunity to go up against guys like Brandon Marshall and Odell Beckham this week.

Behind him, you’ll likely have guys like Dexter McDougle will fill in for depth. You have to admit, it’d be pretty nice if the Eagles still had Ron Brooks on their roster. While he was not a top-tier guy by any stretch of the imagination, he provided much-needed depth. It really does look like the secondary will be an issue this week.

Finally, you have the safety position. Typically, the safety spot seems like the most stable position for this Philadelphia Eagles rosters. McLeod and Jenkins both anchor that spot, and do it well. But, with the recent injury to McLeod, that area becomes a bit shaky. So, what now?

Well, the obvious answer is Corey Graham, but went down with a hamstring injury and is questionable for Sunday’s game. So, next man up right? Well, that’s Jaylen Watkins, and he’s down, too. So, next-next man up? Yep. That’s Chris Maragos, who’s a special teams guy. Not to take anything away from him, Maragos is one of the best at what he does.

However, you probably remember the instances where he was playing safety in the next town over. His coverage was absolutely ridiculous, in that sense. Now, he doesn’t deserve to be bashed for that, but that’s the last possible resort and the Eagles will likely end up in that situation if Graham’s out.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles cannot take the New York Giants lightly

Nevertheless, the secondary needs to step up. Now, the front seven will do its thing. Hopefully, the can pressure New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning enough. But, in the event that he has enough time, the secondary needs to be able to stop the bleeding. Hopefully, the “next-man-up” comes to fruition and the Eagles succeed on Sunday.