Running on his own merits: Jemal Singleton takes over an Eagles group forged by Duce Staley | Early Birds

Organized team activities are over for another year and Eagles players are off until they report to training camp July 27, leaving us to ponder the strange nomenclature of the NFL. Are there disorganized team activities? Maybe that would describe the Eagles’ 2020 season.

More on the team in a minute, but first a word from our sponsor: If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here​. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback on Twitter @lesbowen.

— Les Bowen (earlybirds@inquirer.com)

Jemal Singleton has a more formidable task than some of the other position coaches on Nick Sirianni’s staff. Not because the Eagles lack talent at running back — they seemed almost overstocked there — but because he succeeds Duce Staley, who had been the dean of Eagles assistants, having returned in 2011 to the team for which he starred as a runner.

Staley coaches running backs now in Detroit, where he also is assistant head coach, as he was here for Doug Pederson. Singleton got that title, too, along with that of running backs coach, when he joined up with Sirianni, a few weeks after accepting a coaching job at Kentucky.

Singleton has a longer and more diverse coaching history than Staley, having started out at his alma mater, the Air Force Academy, in 2000, the year after he graduated. But few position coaches have commanded the respect Staley received from his players.

Asked about stepping into those shoes Tuesday, Singleton avoided talking about Staley. Instead, he outlined his approach to gaining credibility with players.

“I just start with their tape, and I go through each and every one of their carries or receptions, their pass blocking,” Singleton said. “And what I try to come up with is just look at some things of how can I really help them get better? And really that’s what I present to each of the players when we meet. ‘Hey, these are some things that I’ve seen on tape. These are things that I love, that I think are awesome. These are some things that I think I can help you improve on.’ That’s the part about NFL players — when they see that you can help them get better, that’s what’s important.”

So far, the running backs seem unruffled by the change. Last month, Miles Sanders said that Singleton is “not like Duce, but his energy is through-the-roof stuff.” Sanders said Staley had energy as well, but joked it was “only when he was mad.”

Sanders acknowledged that parting with Staley “was definitely difficult, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, but it’s a business. ... I’m pretty sure he’d tell you guys that he didn’t want to leave here, either, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.”

Is Joe Flacco a contender for the starting job, or is the team’s insistence that he is just posturing? — Tom Elliott (@TomTheMeans) via Twitter

I think my understanding of this situation has evolved since the Flacco signing, Tom. Initially, I waved my hand at it, thinking, “OK, preserve the 36-year-old’s dignity, let’s pretend that a rebuilding team, trying to sell its fans on youthful promise, is going to start him at quarterback this year, sure, right.”

But I see now how Sirianni has made competition his watchword. He can’t very well trumpet that message to everyone else on the roster without including the most important position. And sure, if Jalen Hurts somehow has a terrible preseason and Flacco is lights-out all through camp, that will make for an interesting dilemma. But who really expects anything so cut-and-dried? Most likely, if Hurts is healthy, he’s starting.

And maybe they did have to soften the edges of the situation a little in their pitch to get Flacco to sign. I’m sure whatever they told him was not legally binding.

Also, you do note stuff like this, keep it tucked away in the back of your head. If 2021 comes and goes without Hurts having proved that he is a true franchise QB, that would probably portend drafting a first-round quarterback in 2022, or using a lot of draft capital to trade for one.