PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A couple of Philadelphia Eagles are aggrieved, and it just might be related to the dim 1-3 start to their season.
Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who may bristle at the suggestion that he is underperforming thus far, says he is working on improving his game — but he is also hinting at some frustration with his role on the team's new defense.
Meanwhile, cornerback Darius Slay wants everyone to know that he doesn't have a lot of time for people who "don't know football" — mainly journalists and fans on social media — spouting ignorance involving his good name.
After Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Slay leapt to his own defense on Twitter: "In my 9yrs [in the NFL] only 2 wrs had 100 [yards] on me!! Y'all go stop playing with my name!"
His defense also included a brief interaction with WIP host Glen Macnow.
"I work hard for my last name and my name to be on somebody's jersey," Slay told reporters Wednesday before practice, "and I hold a lot of weight. So, that's what it is really."
When he was younger, Slay said, he used to search his name on Twitter. But these days, he says, he finds himself too often tagged in critical posts that he finds disrespectful.
"I be letting people know what it really is. Some people don't know football. Some of y'all don't know football," Slay said.
He says he has to set the facts straight, "because I don't let nobody disrespect my name. I work hard for that."
So, what does he wish the sports media understood better?
"Y'all don't know the difference between zone coverage, man coverage, if he line up on your side, this and that and the third — all that crazy kind of stuff," Slay said. "Somebody getting doubled teamed, y'all think he getting killed. ... But, you know, y'all learn one day."
Is Fletcher Cox set up for success?
Cox — a six-time Pro Bowler and a cornerstone of his team — has only five tackles and no sacks in the first four games of the season.
"I know I could be better," he said Wednesday. "So, I mean, that's the problem that I gotta fix, and embrace whatever that we're doing and make the best of it."
The 30-year-old said he's not concerned about his lack of production — channeling his focus instead on improving the team's 1-3 record.
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This is his first season playing under rookie defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who is part of rookie head coach Nick Sirianni's staff, who have been preaching a player-centric approach from the beginning. If what the coaching staff are trying to achieve does not fit what a given player does best, they say they will try something else to set that player up for success.
Asked if the coaching scheme is playing to his strengths laughed and smiled for a couple seconds, gathering his answer. "We do a lot of different things, you know. And all I can do is prepare for it, week in and week out," Cox said.
But what he said a short time later stood out.
When asked to explain how his responsibilities have changed under Gannon since prior seasons under Jim Schwartz, he said he has found it difficult to settle in to games because he has too many things to do.
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"Sometimes I'm playing a '3-Technique.' Sometimes I'm playing a '4i [Technique.]' I mean, it's just one of them things where it's hard to get settled in in a game when you playing so many positions and doing so many things."
But Cox said he's going to be a pro about it and do whatever they ask him to do. And whatever happens, the team has Gannon's back.