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On his way out of the locker room following the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys, veteran lineman Lane Johnson had some comments about players being held accountable — including being on time for practices and meetings.
Lane Johnson on next team meeting
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 21, 2019
“Really its gonna probably be a callout session. Everybody will be held accountable. Little stuff that slides during the week, late to practice, late to meetings. Stuff will be held accountable for. I think that will maybe creep into the games” pic.twitter.com/TveM5JCXC1
Safety Malcolm Jenkins responded to those comments on Monday afternoon on 94 WIP, and wasn’t sure what Johnson was talking about.
“I don’t really know where this narrative is coming from. I don’t know exactly who is being referenced when they talk about this stuff. So, yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what Lane is talking about.”
And Jenkins also addressed whether he knew of guys being late to meetings and practices.
“No. Not any of the meetings or practices that I’m apart of, and if that is happening, it’s not the responsibility of players.”
Sure, the safety isn’t in the same meetings as the offense or offensive lineman, but that last little bit alluding to the coaches needing to take control of that situation, if it were one, is interesting.
Doug Pederson was also asked about Johnson’s comments during his press conference on Monday, and he made note that the accountability messaging starts with himself as the head coach.
Pederson, like Jenkins, said that players being late wasn’t an issue, but the underlying tone is that little things are perhaps being overlooked. And, if there is an issue with accountability, the coaches need to be the ones to address it.
It sounds like a situation that Jenkins and Pederson would prefer to keep in-house, and Lane Johnson — being his extremely blunt self — didn’t mince words publicly.
Given the current 3-4 record of the team, it’s hard to imagine players not buying in and being dedicated to their role and improving as a unit. But, if that’s what is really happening, it would certainly explain a lot of the sloppiness so far this season.