Adrian Fedkiw
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Eric Rowe is ready to put a disappointing spring behind him and start fresh when the pads get put on during Training Camp on Saturday.
Rowe spoke to Dave Zangaro of CSNPhilly.com Wednesday to discuss his struggles.
“I know I had a little ups and downs in OTAs, but now the pads are coming on,” he said via CSN Philly. “I feel like it’s a fresh start for me and I’m just ready to get out here.”
Rowe admitted that his problems didn’t pertain to having to learn a new defensive scheme.
“It wasn’t the new defense that was giving me whatever hiccups (Pederson) was talking about,” he said. “It was just, I was having trouble breaking on top of the routes, specifically the curl routes. But fade ball, deep post, digs, I didn’t have any trouble there. It was just curl routes. I just knew I had to work on it after the OTAs.”
The 2015 second-round pick was thrust into the fire last season once Nolan Carroll broke his ankle early against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Although he competed with Calvin Johnson that day, Megatron put up three touchdowns and 93 yards receiving. From there, the physical, press corner finished the season strong and was thought to be a sure starter heading into 2016. But it was Leodis McKelvin and Ron Brooks taking the first-team reps during the spring. Carroll is now back in the mix as well and seventh-round rookie Jalen Mills has been turning heads so far.
If Rowe continues to flounder when the pads get put on, he could find himself way down the depth chart. Rowe, however, doesn’t believe that will happen.
“Right now, I think I still stand in a good position (with the team),” Rowe said. “Football is about the game with pads on. Now we’re really about to see in a couple days when we put the pads on.”