How Eagles are getting Gardner-Johnson ready to play in just 11 days

[time2rock]

How Eagles are getting Gardner-Johnson ready to play in just 11 days

 

Eleven days doesn’t seem like a very long time to learn a new defense and a new position. That’s all C.J. Gardner-Johnson has.

But he might still be OK.

"These guys have all played football before,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. "It's not rocket science.”

The Eagles brought in Gardner-Johnson in a trade on Aug. 30 to be their new starting safety next to Marcus Epps. But will he be ready to start the opener on Sept. 11 in Detroit? It’s a fair question without an answer early in the practice week.

Gardner-Johnson, 23, is playing catch-up right now.

"Everybody is a little bit different with that,” Gannon said. “[Our DBs coaches] are obviously spending a little more time with him to try to get him caught up.

"But he's very smart. He's intelligent. His skill set fits to what we want to do, and when he's ready to play, he'll play.”

That last part makes it sound like Gardner-Johnson might not be ready to play in the opener but all three Eagles coordinators went a little overboard withholding information for the sake of competitive advantage on Tuesday. This might be Gannon talking down Gardner-Johnson’s potential readiness so when he’s out there starting on Sunday the Lions might not be ready. It is no doubt an adjustment for Gardner-Johnson, but he’s apparently handling it quite well.

And Gardner-Johnson didn’t seem too concerned last week.

"Just getting in, staying in, putting in a little bit of overtime,” he said. "I’m new here, I’ve got 10 days before the season starts, so the coaches have been A-1, the players have been A-1. They’ve been helpful.

"First day of practice I was out there flying around with the guys. Got some one reps, got some two reps, Everything felt natural. Felt like I was back in high school or middle school again, just out there playing like a kid, having fun.”

In his very first practice with the Eagles, he had a pass breakup that impressed his coaches and teammates. And even if there is a learning curve, Gardner-Johnson is a playmaker. The Eagles brought him in for a reason.

And remember, the only other safeties on the roster aside from Epps and Gardner Johnson are K’Von Wallace, rookie Reed Blankenship and nickel corner/safety Josiah Scott.

"Really the newest thing for those guys is just the verbiage,” Gannon said. "Like, ‘Hey, you've played this a million times, but this is the verbiage that we use, this is the calls you have to make, this is your body positioning, where you need to be.’

"It's just really from a verbiage standpoint, communication standpoint within the scheme and the defense, and then understanding how he fits into all the calls.”

The Eagles will kick off their practice week on Wednesday and will have three practice days and a walkthrough on Saturday before the season opener in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Gannon spoke about "execution benchmarks” he’ll want Gardner-Johnson to hit this week in practice to alert him that the newcomer is ready to play for him.

But there’s a reason the Eagles were eager to trade for Gardner-Johnson when he became available.

"We've talked about a modern-day safety is doing it all, coverage ability, being able to play in the box, having range, playing post closed, post open, covering, tackling, communicating, being smart,” Gannon said.

"I feel like he's going to integrate well into the defense.”

And in no time, too.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-chauncey-gardner-johnsons-short-acclimation-process

[Rob331]

With Josiah Scott limited with a hamstring it would be shocking if he weren't out there. The options (Wallace and Blankenship) just don't make sense