'New normal' for Eagles is about the grind, not winning

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has talked often about the "new normal."

He mentioned it to his players when they assembled on April 16 to begin offseason workouts. For many, the "new normal" could be interpreted as playing deep into the postseason on an annual basis, as the Eagles did this past season when they won the Super Bowl.

The Eagles played one month later than 20 of the 32 NFL teams, and at least two weeks later than all but one other team.

But that's not how the players are looking at it. 

"When I hear the term ‘the new norm,’ I’m not thinking about the end result,” Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “I’m not thinking about the championships and the parades and all that. I’m thinking about the work that it took to get to where we were. How we started last year in April and grinded and competed all the way throughout.

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"So, for me, that’s kind of the new norm. That’s the standard and the base we’re trying to start from to try to defend that title."

For the Eagles, that process begins with rookie minicamp May 11 and the start of spring organized team activities on May 22.

But there are many questions, the biggest at quarterback. There's no timetable on Carson Wentz's return from two torn knee ligaments suffered last December against the Rams.

Just in case, the Eagles restructured the contract of backup Nick Foles, previously the subject of trade rumors despite being named MVP of the Super Bowl.

Foles will get the first-team reps at least through the spring workouts and likely into the start of training camp as Wentz recovers.

There was also plenty of turnover for a team that had to trim payroll to get under the salary cap. Key contributors to the Super Bowl season, such as wide receiver Torrey Smith, running back LeGarrette Blount, tight end Trey Burton, defensive tackle Beau Allen and nickel corner Patrick Robinson were allowed to leave in free agency (Smith was traded).

The Eagles filled some of those vacancies with veterans such as wide receiver Mike Wallace, tight end Richard Rodgers, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and defensive end Michael Bennett. They're also counting on the return to health of left tackle Jason Peters, linebacker Jordan Hicks and ageless running back Darren Sproles.

That's why the Eagles might not get much from their draft class. The Eagles had just five picks, their fewest since they had four in 1989. But none of them are expected to contribute much, if at all, this season.

That includes second-round pick, tight end Dallas Goedert, who will start out third on the depth chart behind Zach Ertz coming off a Pro Bowl season and Rodgers, the veteran signed from Green Bay.

"It kind of takes off the pressure," Goedert said. "But at the same time, I'm a competitor and I love to play the game. So I'm going to be out here competing every day. I might not see the field right away, as I would in some different situations, because you do have Zach Ertz and Richard Rodgers."

The same is true with fourth-round pick Josh Sweat, a defensive end who's behind veterans Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Bennett and last year's first round pick, Derek Barnett.

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But many of those veterans are on short-term contracts, meaning that at some point, perhaps as soon as next year, the Eagles will need their draft classes in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to take over. To that end, the Eagles could have up to 10 draft picks next year.

One of those players expected to take over is cornerback Sidney Jones, who missed all but the regular-season finale in 2017 with a torn Achilles. Jones was the Eagles' second-round pick last year. He's expected to start this season.

Because of that, Eagles executive VP of football operations Howie Roseman counts Jones as a draft pick this year.

"We came in, we didn’t have a lot of picks, but we kind of looked at it a little differently," Roseman said. "Being able to get Sidney Jones last year and basically redshirting him and having him right now. We view that as a big part of our draft. In fact, in our draft room, on our draft board we view Sidney Jones as part of this."

All of that will sort itself out in the months ahead. 

"I think what it'll do is add more competition because we had a lot of guys step up last year in those spots," Jenkins said. "To me, it's going to be that injection of some real competition especially when we get to training camp seeing who is going to be on the field, and I think competition breeds excellence."

But that tone has to be set during the spring workouts and training camp.

Already, the Eagles have gotten a taste of their celebrity status after winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history and first championship since 1960. 

It is easy to get caught up in the euphoria.

"I think in Philadelphia, there’s maybe a little more joy here than in years past," Ertz said. "I think people are extremely grateful, which is kind of eye-opening when people say thank you for winning. I’m like, I don’t really know how to respond. I just say, 'you’re welcome,' I guess.

"We’re going to grind no matter what time of year it is. We’re going to compete all the time. That was a staple of the team last season."

That will be up to the veterans. Jenkins knows this, too. He was a rookie on the New Orleans Saints when they won the Super Bowl in 2009. The Saints couldn't do it again. But Jenkins learned a valuable lesson, one that still motivates him today.

"For me personally, success is a lot harder to deal with than failure,” Jenkins said. “I thrive off people telling me I couldn’t do it, or I'm not good enough. That motivates you. But you can easily start believing the hype when people here in April start telling you why you’re the favorite to repeat.

"You lose focus of the day-to-day grind. That’s up to the veterans like myself, other guys on the team, the coaches, to make sure we’re not looking or listening to anything else out there but what we’re doing today.”

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.

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