You probably want the Eagles to bench Jalen Mills, but on Monday afternoon, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson stressed the importance of not making a “knee-jerk reaction.”
Pederson wasn’t speaking specifically about Mills when he talked about possible personnel changes, but there aren’t really any other candidates to send to the bench.
“We gotta be careful that we’re not just, on a whim, swapping people out,” Pederson said. “Because if you start doing that, it starts moving other people around as well. We’re going to take these next couple of days and really evaluate everybody. … If there’s a change to be made, we’ll make it. If not, we’ll leave it alone.”
If Pederson was thinking of Mills when he said that, it makes sense. Because if the team decided to move Mills from his post at left cornerback, it would obviously affect other spots. It would likely mean Sidney Jones would take over outside and could move Mills inside or possibly take Avonte Maddox away from his newfound role as an extra safety and into the slot.
Jones is a first-round talent and will probably make a great outside corner one day, but — sans a couple plays Sunday — he has been an outstanding slot corner through the first quarter of the season. Is it wise to take him out of that role for the unknown? Maybe, but there’s probably some reason for hesitation.
If the Eagles do decide to either bench Mills or change his role, it’s not like they would make this move in a vacuum. Mills would just be the first domino.
The Eagles lost a tough game Sunday afternoon. They were up two touchdowns and folded before losing to the Titans, 26-23. It was a bad loss and Mills gave up a handful of big plays. It wasn’t all on him, of course, but he’s not just a scapegoat either. Mills has played a big role in the Eagles’ lackluster pass defense.
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Here’s what Pederson said Monday specifically about Mills:
It’s tough. These corners are on islands a lot. I think, too, I look at it from an offensive perspective. That when you see a guy that you can maybe attack, you attack. I think that’s what offenses are doing right now. He’s a good player. We have a lot of confidence in him. He has a lot of confidence in himself. A lot of it comes down to just detail the work and understand the situation, what teams are going to try to do against you. Understanding that, and try to use that as a strength. He’s working through it, he’ll get better and we’ll get better as a team.
It might seem obvious that Pederson admitted teams are attacking Mills. We all know it. But it is relatively significant that the head coach is willing to admit it. If teams see a player that they consistently exploit, that’s obviously a big problem.
When asked about the comment later in the press conference, Pederson walked it back some. He said he didn’t think teams were necessarily attacking Mills as much as they’re just attacking the Eagles with big plays on the whole. That’s a little fair, but it’s pretty apparent Mills is the main target.
“Until we can address it and fix it and get better at it in practice, as you guys know, teams will continue to do it,” Pederson said. “It’s like, if a team can’t stop the run, keep running. That’s just where we are right now.”
If Mills is still the starter next week — and the odds are he is — he’ll simply need to play better. The Eagles are against “knee-jerk reactions” but at a certain point, bad play will force their hand.