Elite NFL trainer predicts Eagles depth chart

[jsb235]

https://heavy.com/sports/2020/07/eagles-super-bowl-secondary-footwork-king/

The Eagles haven’t even hit training camp, yet their secondary already looks elite. Philadelphia might have the best crop of defensive backs in the NFL.

Rischad Whitfield, aka Footwork King, has been working with four defensive backs on the regular this summer — veterans Rasul Douglas, Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman, plus undrafted rookie Grayland Allen — and the results have been staggeringly good. In fact, the renowned Houston-based trainer thinks the Eagles own a championship-caliber secondary.

"The Eagles are loaded at defense. If there was ever going to be a year for them to win the division or the conference or the Super Bowl, it’s going to be this year,” Whitfield told Heavy.com. "Just the addition with [Darius] Slay and Nickell Robey [Coleman] … it’s go time. Go time. I know what those boys can do.”

If anyone knows what they are talking about, it’s Whitfield. The kinesiology major from the University of Houston has been training elite athletes since 2010, a passionate hobby he fell into after injuries ended his own college football career. He focuses on teaching the mechanics behind the movements and relies on what he calls "The Octagon,” a maze of cones in which players must get low to the ground and swiftly change direction.

"I feel like, whomever I’m working with, my name is on the back of that jersey, too,” Whitfield said. "I make sure, the way I train … I expect the best and I expect a lot out of them.”

First, the biggest misconception surrounding cornerbacks is they have to be fast. They don’t. They need to break quickly and efficiently off the line of scrimmage. It’s all about having disciplined feet, according to Whitfield. Once they learn the proper technique, he removes the cones and the muscle memory activates their feet and hips.

"There are receivers that aren’t that fast that beat corners all the time, guys like Davante Adams and Keenan Allen,” said Whitfield, who trains both of those elite receivers. "Thing is, everybody thinks that cornerbacks need to be fast but actually you don’t. Corners are doing everything in reverse so the issue is everybody tries to go out and draft fast corners but they are not quick-footed, they have undisciplined feet … quick hips are great but receivers aren’t always running in a straight line.”

His methods aren’t limited to cornerbacks, either. Whitfield works with all different positions, including guys like LeVeon Bell, Odell Beckham, DeAndre Hopkins, Rashan Gary, Kendall Sheffield, Mecole Hardman, Melvin Gordon, Emmanuel Sanders and David Montgomery. His newest client is Eagles pass-rusher Genard Avery.

"He’s a beast. He’s an animal,” Whitfield said of Avery. "Oh, he’s working with me now? Wait until you see him when he gets done with me. They always leave moving way better. If somebody can get there in three steps, I’m going to find a way to get them there in one and a half steps.”

Whitfield’s eyes light up when talking about his newest prized pupil, Rasul Douglas. It’s not a matter of if he wins the starting cornerback job opposite Slay, it’s a matter of when.

"He’s going to be the starter coming out of training camp,” Whitfield said of Douglas. "If you watch Rasul, everybody thought he was just getting beat by speed. He really wasn’t. He was getting beat before the receiver turned on the speed. It was a footwork and leverage issue. His technique was good. His hips weren’t as fluid. We’ve been working so hard.”

"I got him to where his feet just scrape the ground,” Whitfield said. "When he was playing man-press coverage he was kind of just picking his feet up. The kid [Douglas] is long and he can run. He’s a long strider. He wasn’t moving efficiently. Before any receiver can get into any route, they need release separation. He was getting beat at the line.”

Not anymore. Whitfield believes he has molded Douglas into a capable starter — a far cry from a player that was benched at the end of last season and rumored to be on the trading block.

"His mind is set,” he said. "If I were the Eagles, I wouldn’t get rid of him.”

[jsb235]

I didn't post the whole article, but it is worth reading.

This guy certainly works with some outstanding players, so if he believes in Douglas, that is a pretty good sign. I doubt that he is going to make that kind of commitment to a guy who then goes out and gets burned for 70 yard touchdowns every week.

He also had some positive things to say about Slay, Robey-Coleman and Avery.

Overall, if this guy can improve the guys who worked with him, the team would be wise to hire him as a staff member and have players work with him in the offseason.  

[time2rock]

Secondary ... elite. 😳

Defense ... loaded. 😳

 

😂😂

[time2rock]

OK seriously though, in trying to keep an open mind, I am looking forward to seeing if the work with Whitfield makes a difference in the players he is working with.  If Douglas wins the starting spot opposite Slay because he is that much improved then great.  On a side note I wish Jones was working with him as well.  

[20dawk4life]

If he’s so good can we sign him to a coaching deal? 

[jsb235]

3 hours ago, time2rock said:

On a side note I wish Jones was working with him as well.  

I seem to remember Jones working with a footwork guy last year but I don't know who it was, and obviously the results weren't great. Although stats show that Jones was by far our best corner, and his lack of playing time was probably due more to Schwartz hating him than his performance. 

[mrmagoo]

If they don't start coaching them to turn and locate the ball it won't matter.

[Rob331]

Sure wish there were some details regarding Douglas - I'd love to be optimistic about him, but so far there's no reason to do so. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

On 7/8/2020 at 5:18 PM, jsb235 said:

The Eagles haven’t even hit training camp, yet their secondary already looks elite. Philadelphia might have the best crop of defensive backs in the NFL.

Really? I'd put it in that mid range at best. Too many question marks at both corner and safety.

[eagle45]

Breaking news: pro trainer hypes up his clients.  Odds on the sun setting this evening to follow.

[mikemack8]

5 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Breaking news: pro trainer hypes up his clients.  Odds on the sun setting this evening to follow.

Any idea when the report on water being wet comes out?

[YubaEagle]

I did an informal poll of the moms and girlfriends/wives of all of our DBs. Every single one said we have the best DBs in the world.

[PoconoDon]

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[nipples]

I have a sliver of hope for Jones still. He really made a couple of clutch pass breakups down the stretch last year, which without them they probably lose those games and don’t make the playoffs. Holding out some hope that those were the type of confidence builders he needed after a shaky start to his career. 

Maddox is much better suited to the slot, not a big fan of him on the outside, so I think Jones stepping up and locking down the side opposite Slay would also indirectly help the slot position. 
 

Douglas... meh. He’s a safety that they’re trying to force to play CB. He just doesn’t have the speed or hip fluidity needed to play corner. But he does have decent ball skills, which is why I think he’d be effective playing that "center field” safety position.