At least Isaac Seumalo isn’t delusional. Nor is he in denial.
The Eagles left guard, according to ProFootballFocus gave up eight pressures (six hurries, two sacks) in the loss to the Falcons on Sunday night and graded as the worst offensive lineman in the league in Week 2. It was an awful performance from a player for whom the Eagles had high hopes going into the season.
He knows it.
It wasn’t my best game,” Seumalo said Friday. “I take ownership of that. I didn’t play well and the Falcons played well. I wasn’t happy about it at all.
As he spoke to reporters on Friday, Seumalo said he had already moved past last week’s game, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t learn from it. The tape showed that he was oversetting and playing too high, things he said he hadn’t done all summer or in the season opener.
Those things are correctable.
The bigger issue to worry about is how Seumalo responds mentally. He’s physically gifted enough to play in the NFL, but confidence might have been an issue earlier in his career and Seumalo even admitted on Friday that he has a tendency to be an over-thinker.
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“As soon as we watch the film, man, I put that all behind me because you can't let it domino effect or any of that,” he said. “You just have to move on. I still have a ton of confidence in myself going into this Sunday. That's how I look at it, you know?”
Seumalo, now 25 and in Year 4, said he’s learned how to put games and plays behind him, whether they be good or bad. That’s a skill that has come to him over time. “Sometimes the mistakes linger and that kind of leads to more mistakes,” he noted.
Despite Seumalo’s poor performance in Week 2, head coach Doug Pederson isn’t planning on benching him. Pederson said on two different occasions this week that he still trusts Seumalo. That confidence means something to Seumalo, who said he’s often his hardest critic.
Just two years ago, Seumalo was benched after a horrendous game against Kansas City, also in Week 2. But since then, Seumalo has a larger body of work and plenty more experience. (And the Eagles don’t have a backup with the kind of experience Stefen Wisniewski had in 2017.)
So Pederson isn’t making a switch.
“It's not going to define Isaac,” Pederson said. “It's not going to define our season.”
The Eagles drafted Seumalo in the third round back in 2016; he was their second pick in that draft after Carson Wentz at No. 2. They tried to make him the starting left guard at the beginning of 2017, but he lasted just two games before he was replaced by Wisniewski. After four games last year, roles reversed and Seumalo replaced Wisniewski and started until he got hurt in December. Wiz filled in and played well, but Seumalo started both games in the playoffs and this offseason signed a three-year extension.
Meanwhile, Wisniewski was cut before the season and is currently without a team.
So Seumalo is the Eagles’ guy at left guard. At least for now.
“I feel good about where I’m at,” Seumalo said. “I’m going to continue to feel that way. Go in on Sunday and just play with my hair on fire, play loose, have a good time.”
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