Post originally appeared on Pro Sports Notes
September 7, 2018
Ronald Darby shines in Eagles win
Image: Chris DeSanctis via Flickr
Ronald Darby shines in Eagles win
Posted on September 7, 2018
Eagles win a messy one
The season opener was messy. There’s no doubt about that. It was ugly for both teams, but it was ultimately an Eagles win. There were a lot of penalties, a lot of dropped balls, a lot of mistakes, but one player who stood out during the messy winwas Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby.
Another clutch move by Howie Roseman
The Eagles acquired Darby in a trade last summer with the Bills that sent Jordan Matthews up to Buffalo. It was late in the preseason, but it addressed a serious need the Eagles had. Another good young corner was one of the missing pieces to the Eagles puzzle.
In the first game of the 2017 season in Washington, Darby dislocated his ankle in the Eagles win, keeping him on the sidelines for the next eight games. He still finished the regular season with 34 total tackles, nine passes deflected, and three interceptions. One of those interceptions sealed the week 16 game against the Raiders, clinching the number one seed in the NFC. He added 14 more total tackles in the postseason as well as six passes deflected.
Darby had a fantastic offseason
It was clear that Darby had improved while watching his preseason play. With an entire offseason to work with the same team, he was a bright spot coming out of camp. Even Jim Schwartz mentioned that Darby probably had the best offseason of any defensive player.
The Eagles win against the Falcons
It was clear from the first snap that Darby was going to make it difficult for the Falcons receivers all night. He was on his man step for step everytime the ball came in his direction. He also did a good job wrapping up and tackling during completed passes. The yards after catch were kept to a minimum when Darby was in coverage. He finished last night’s game with six total tackles and three passes deflected. One of those was on a key play that would have been caught for a first down on a 3rd & 3 in Eagles territory.
Eliot Shorr-Parks✔@EliotShorrParks
Ronald Darby really shined against the #Falcons. Especially on big downs. Great job on this play breaking on the ball and getting their to force the incompletion #Eagles599:50 AM – Sep 7, 201825 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy
A guy like Jones is going to get his. He still racked up 169 yards but no touchdowns. That is obviously credited to Darby.
The game came down to the final play rightfully made by Darby. Home field advantage played a big factor in this game, as Darby said the Eagles fans screamed “Ball!” when Matt Ryan made the throw. This allowed the cornerback to turn his head, get into position and make sure either the ball was dropped, or Jones landed out of bounds.
Ronald Darby said he felt he could have played two more quarters. He said the crowd told him when the ball was coming on the final play.50312:52 AM – Sep 7, 2018 · Philadelphia, PATwitter Ads info and privacy94 people are talking about this
This is Darby’s year
Darby is in a contract year looking to make a statement and solidify a contract. Hopefully that will be with the Eagles but obviously, there are many factors at play there. Regardless, an Eagles win is an Eagles win and Darby is on target for a fantastic year. He looks like he is ready to go and will only continue to make key plays as he did last night.
