Kendricks admits frustration, vows to keep ego 'in check'
Eagles veteran Mychal Kendricks saw the field for just 19 snaps on Sunday. His playing time - 37 percent of defensive snaps - was the lowest of his career when he was healthy for an entire game. Even last season when he was part of a linebacker rotation, he played more.
But Kendricks' role isn't changing and he admitted on Thursday, in his first extensive interview in almost a month, that he is still coming to grips with being a part-time player.
"I've just got to make do and take advantage of the reps I'm getting," Kendricks said. "I think it's natural for any football player who wants to play to be a little frustrated at times when reps are taken back."
Kendricks is now simply a base defense linebacker. He was an every-down defender at the start of training camp, but he injured his hamstring on Aug. 7, missed the next two weeks, and when he returned Nigel Bradham had taken over his spot in the nickel package with Jordan Hicks.
"It's the NFL. You've got to play and we have a lot of good [linebackers]," Kendricks said. "When I was down, guys were up and they were able to showcase what they can do in that package."
But Hicks and Bradham combined don't make as much as Kendricks, who signed a four-year, $29 million contract before last season. And neither has called himself the "new prototype" for linebackers, as Kendricks did after he signed the new deal.
He said he still felt that way, while also acknowledging that he isn't asked to blitz as much in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's new 4-3 scheme.
"I'm not putting my ego aside. I'm just putting it in check," Kendricks said. "Trust me, that [stuff] is very much there. And quote that. Write that [stuff]."
Eagles coach Doug Pederson initially said that Kendricks would be back from the hamstring strain by Aug. 13. But he was sidelined for another week. When Kendricks returned, he was the only starter to play deep into the fourth quarter of the third preseason game and also in the preseason finale.
He declined to speak with reporters after both games.
"I'm a football player. I'm going to want to play regardless," Kendricks said. "But I think that at the time I really didn't know what to say. I knew [reporters] were going to have a ton of questions, and at the time I was still trying to figure things out, too."
Kendricks has a history with soft-tissue injuries. He missed four games to a calf strain in 2014 and three to a hamstring last season. In the spring, he said that his health had kept him from becoming an elite linebacker.
"Whether [Eagles coaches] were frustrated or not - I was frustrated," Kendricks said of his most recent injury. "If there's anyone who was frustrated, it was me. Second time hamstring, same leg, different muscle. Those are the things you can't control."
He also can't control his future with the Eagles. He has three years left on his contract, but none of the remaining money is fully guaranteed. Next year his salary-cap number jumps from $4.6 million to $6.6 million - a large chunk of change for a role player.
Kendricks said that every NFL player is "renting space all the time," and that he hasn't considered the possibility of not being in Philly next year. Asked to look at himself critically, Kendricks said, "I know what I'm capable of doing" and pondered the question for a moment before answering again.
"I do a lot of things right," he said. "I'm still human. I'm not perfect. I can't worry about the things I can't control. But the only thing I can control is how hard I work. So I guess I just have to keep working hard."
Most likely Mills
If injured cornerback Leodis McKelvin can't play on Monday night, his likely replacement on the outside will be rookie Jalen Mills, according to safety Malcolm Jenkins.
"It's just the next guy up," Jenkins said Thursday. "I think right now, Ron [Brooks] would probably stay at the nickel; we'll bring Jalen Mills on the outside like we did at the end of this past game."
Mills played the final 12 defensive snaps after McKelvin left with a hamstring injury. The Eagles credited him with two solo tackles and a pass breakup against the Browns. McKelvin pulled up lame covering receiver Terrelle Pryor on a deep cross.
"Every fast guy has that injury," McKelvin said. "That's a fast guy problem."
And fast corners typically don't play unless their hamstrings are 100 percent. Coach Doug Pederson called the injury a "week to week" one, but McKelvin also didn't rule himself out for Monday night, even if he doesn't practice this week.
"I'm going into my ninth year," McKelvin said. "Why not?"
If the Eagles know he's out by Sunday, they could sign rookie C.J. Smith off the practice squad to give them four active corners. Jenkins seemed to imply, however, that the defense could get by with just three corners, and in case of emergency, one of the safeties could step in.
"We've got some versatile guys that we can move around - whether that be Jaylen Watkins, myself, or Ron, to play the nickel, play corner, play safety," Jenkins said.
Marcus Smith barely rotating
Another season and not much has changed so far in regards to Marcus Smith's playing time - or lack thereof.
The defensive end played just six snaps in the Eagles' opener.
"That's just the way things rolled that game because we were getting three-and-outs," Smith said Thursday. "We weren't on the field. I think we had 50 snaps."
The Eagles had 52, which is comparatively a small number. Smith played ahead of Steven Means, but it's going to be very difficult for him to steal reps away from ends Brandon Graham (38 snaps), Connor Barwin (36), and Vinny Curry (24).
The Eagles' first-round pick in 2014, Smith has averaged only nine snaps per game in 22 career games. In the preseason he seemed more comfortable playing in Jim Schwartz's 4-3 scheme than he had as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the Eagles' previous defense. But he may not get many opportunities to show it.
"I've just got to make plays when I'm out there, but I know the reps will come," Smith said. "I'm just being patient."
Five questions: Brandon Graham
1. Who is the toughest player you ever faced? Will Beatty [New York Giants tackle], my first year.
2. What's the first position you ever played in football? Linebacker.
3. Who's your football hero? Ray Lewis.
4. What is your best football memory? The day [at Michigan when] I got three sacks vs. Wisconsin [when] we came back from 19-0.
5. What is your least favorite piece of equipment that you have to wear? Helmet.
Inside the game
Fletcher Cox isn't always fond of running "games" with his counterparts at defensive end. When you're as dominating as the all-pro defensive tackle, a straight line is often the quickest way to the quarterback.
But Cox took on two blockers when Brandon Graham ran a stunt and sacked Robert Griffin III in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
"Fletch is an unselfish guy," Graham said, "and he wanted his boy to get a sack because he had already had one."
Caleb Sturgis had been nearly perfect during his training camp competition with Cody Parkey. He made more than 90 percent of his kicks in camp and every try during the preseason. But when faced with his first field-goal opportunity on Sunday, he pushed a 46-yarder wide right.
"It was a windy day, but I had the time to go out there in pregame and I knew I needed to start that ball further left," Sturgis said. "Made a bad kick and I just have to move on."
Sturgis made his next two tries from 22 and 38 yards. He also booted touchbacks on each of his six kickoffs. He got off to a slow start last season, missing a field goal and two extra points in his first two games, but he was good on 18 of his next 21 field-goal attempts and perfect on extras to finish the year.
Inside the locker room
Jon Dorenbos may have ended up third in America's Got Talent and missed out on having his own Vegas show, but the Eagles long snapper/magician expects to have many show business opportunities lined up.
"I'm super happy," Dorenbos said. "We're going slow and I'm going to evaluate what the next best move is and be tactical and smart. Hopefully Simon [Cowell, the show's host,] and I will have a talk here after all this dies down and see what he thinks."
Dorenbos is in the last year of his contract with the Eagles.
By the numbers
81.5
Average passer rating for the last 14 rookie quarterbacks (2007-16) when they started in the opener. Carson Wentz's was 101.0.
81
Consecutive regular-season games started by Connor Barwin, which is tied with J.J. Watt for most by a defensive end in the NFL.
40
Percentage of snaps (27 of 68) in which receiver Jordan Matthews lined up outside vs. in the slot (41). Matthews caught five passes for five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown from the slot and 2 for 31 yards from outside against the Browns.
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