Roddy White Takes Jab At Eagles Cornerbacks

Courtesy of USA Today

Roddy White took a swipe at the Eagles cornerbacks when discussing Atlanta’s upcoming matchup with the Giants.

“This is a different week, this is a different team,” said White, via ESPN. “To me, they’ve got better corners than the guys we played last week. So, it will be different.

“They’re good players and they can run. [Dominique] Rodgers-Cromartie has been in the league a long time. He understands stuff. Prince [Amukamara] is kind of following behind him. They’re going to try and put their hands on you and try to disrupt timings of routes. To me, they’re just a better bunch than the guys we just played. So, we’ll have to be on our A game.”

Jones said the Eagles DBs wanted to disrupt the timing as well with their press coverage “but we didn’t give them the opportunity to do that. We know they’re not tough at the line of scrimmage. They’re not put-your-hands-on-you guys. They just kind of want to shadow you and run with you.”

That will likely not sit well with defensive backs coach Cory Undlin, who has spent the offseason trying to refine the corners’ press technique.

“He wants us to be stout at the line and get physical at the line and not give them that space to move around and run,” said Nolan Carroll.

The secondary yielded 298 yards, a pair of touchdowns and five pass plays of 20-plus yards in their Monday night loss to the Falcons. Big free-agent acquisition Byron Maxwell yielded nine catches for 154 yards (17.1 average), including a key 44-yarder from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones in the second half.

“Max had a terrible technique at the line in his jam,” said Billy Davis of that play. “And it’s not one that Max usually does. But I have nothing but confidence in Max. He’s been a great football player in this league and he’ll continue to be one for us. He did not have a good game. He’s got to play better, he will play better, he can play better. He knows that, we know that, and I’ve got nothing but confidence in him.”

Maxwell and the rest of the Eagles corners have a chance to show that Davis’ confidence is warranted — and that White’s comments are off-base — starting Sunday against Dallas.