Adrian Fedkiw
The questions about Mychal Kendricks continue to fester.
Especially now after seeing 19 snaps (37 percent) in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 29-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Kendricks was the odd linebacker out in the nickel packages. He spoke about his situation for the first time in nearly a month Thursday afternoon, via Tim McManus of ESPN.com.
“I think the National Football League happened. It’s the NFL. You’ve got to play. And we have a lot of good LBs. When I was down, guys were up and they were able to showcase what they can do on that package. But you know what? I’m getting reps in practice and I’m going to stay ready. That’s my mindset right now.”
Kendricks has been inconsistent since the Eagles signed him to a four-year, $29 million extension last August. He commented on whether his career is at a crossroads.
“I think as I get older — and this has nothing to do with football — I used to be so wound up, like tight, and just wanted everything to go the way I wanted it to; still do in many ways, but there’s just some things you can’t control,” he said.
“And lately I’ve just been trying to, one, stay humble, two, remember I’m blessed, very blessed. My family is healthy, I’m healthy — I’m back healthy — and three, put that ego aside and feed your soul instead. I’ve really just been understanding of the situations and when it’s my time, I just have to be ready. I can’t focus on the things I can’t control but I do have high expectations for myself still, very much so.”
Blitzing is what Kendricks does best, but hasn’t been asked to do much of it in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s scheme.
“Where I can best help the defense is being ready on base, doing what my coaches ask me to do, and being a really good teammate, making sure the guy next to me isn’t slacking off or keeping them in check,” he said.