Watkins: I Was Just Disappointed
The mood was light Wednesday afternoon as a large group of reporters surrounded Danny Watkins’ locker before practice.
Evan Mathis even got his iPhone out and started mockingly recording his teammate’s comments.
On Monday, Watkins declined to chat, creating a bit of a stir in the process.
“I think that got a little bit blown up,” he said today. “I was asked a question, and you know what? I was a little disappointed with just the way myself and the team had been playing. I just didn’t really have anything to say and said, ‘I think it’s best if I don’t say anything today.'”
It’s been an up-and-down year for Watkins, but the second-year guard felt like he was playing well before the 26-23 loss to the Lions.
“Overall, just the focus and technique, I got away from it,” Watkins said. “I felt things had actually been going pretty well up until that point. And I feel I had done a pretty good job of getting honed in before each game – got ready for the Giants and Pittsburgh and Arizona. It just kind of got away from me that game.”
Watkins certainly wasn’t the only problem as Nick Fairley, Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Bosch and company harassed Michael Vick all game long and stifled the Birds’ running game. But he didn’t help matters either.
“I won’t tell you that his last game was his best game,”Andy Reid said. “But he had a few games in there that were just top, quality games. And so, he just needs to get back to doing what he does.”
As Tim mentioned yesterday, part of the issue with Watkins is probably that he’s no longer playing alongside Jason Kelce this year. With Dallas Reynolds filling in at center, Watkins said the line will need some time to build chemistry.
“Dallas is doing a really good job,” Watkins said. “But we just have to learn his calls, his mentality, where is he taking us, where we’re going. It’s just a chemistry thing. It’s just going to take a little time.”
Of course, time is not something the Eagles have a lot of. They’ve got the undefeated Falcons coming to town, and a loss would put them under .500 for the first time all season. Reid fired Juan Castillo last week, sending a message to the entire team that it’s time to start turning out better results.
“We’ve got to start producing,” Watkins said. “We’ve got to start doing better. We’ve got to start winning. It’s a lingering shadow on everyone, I guess you could say.”
Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.