September 02, 2016
On the final play of the fourth quarter of a wholly meaningless fourth preseason game played by back-of-the-roster players, New York Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg lofted one last Hail Mary to try to tie the game.
Like almost every other pass Hackenberg threw, it was way off target, and was caught by Eric Rowe about three yards out the back of the end zone, mercifully ending a game that was sloppy from start to finish.
Rowe kept that game ball as a souvenir. Asked about his performance, Rowe thought he finished out the preseason on a high note.
“It was definitely strong," he said. "Every play that I was in there when we were playing man [coverage], no ball was completed at me, and that was a goal that I had. Every game I strive for zero percent completions if it’s man-to-man. If it’s zone [coverage] then I can’t do much, but I think I finished up strong.”
While Rowe may not have given up any completions against man-to-man coverage (I didn't cross-check that without the advantage of All-22 game film), he most certainly did not finish strongly.
Playing against the Jets' third and fourth team wide receivers, Rowe displayed poor technique on two passes that came his way in man-to-man coverage. The first example was in the third quarter, when Rowe was called for a 35-yard defensive pass inference penalty, shown here:
That's going to get called nearly every time.
On the second play, Rowe has sticky coverage, but he missed out on an easy interception opportunity on a horribly thrown ball, because he simply turned the wrong way. When the Eagles defensive backs work on technique as much as they do, it's hard to figure how that's possible:
Rowe was far better player a year ago than what he has shown so far this offseason. For example, this is the proper 'look and lean' technique that the Eagles taught on deep balls a year ago (and still do), leading to an INT against the Jets Week 3 during the regular season last year:
That is excellent. When asked if the technique on that type of play is different this year in a new defense, Rowe confirmed that it is not.
"It’s the same technique," he said. "On that so-called pass interference pass interference, I got a little pushoff so I was like, ‘OK, I’m kinda beat now, so I’m going to play through his hands and time it up, but the ball was short, so he slowed down, so I was like ‘Oh shoot,’ and I tried to keep my body off of him, but they called it anyway.
"On the other one… I turned the wrong way. I don’t know why I turned into him like a red zone technique. I should have just kept my same technique and turned toward the field and it would have fallen right in my hands."
So explains the Eagles' frustration with Rowe, and the reason for his tumble down the depth chart. Rowe is unsure if he'll even be on the roster this season.
“I can’t say that because it’s not in my control," he said. "All I can do is my thing in the game like I did today. I can’t really say yes or no.”
I'm beginning to wonder myself. A trade of Rowe doesn't make sense on paper. If Rowe were to simply play for the Eagles this season, his cap number would be roughly $1.1 million. If they traded him, the Eagles would have $1.36 million in dead money. The only way the Eagles should trade Rowe while taking that kind of hit would be if they got something worthwhile in return, which they likely won't.
Or, you know, if they're just done with him, which would be a very quick hook for a second-year player who was drafted 47th overall 16 months ago.
In 2015, Rowe showed real flashes of talent, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Eagles are exploring his worth.
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