Eagles’ Reed Blankenship ‘Lost Some Sleep’ Over Mistake vs. Giants

Second-year Philadelphia Eagles safety Reed Blankenship took his turn with the green dot in his helmet and ran with it, though he admitted to some sleepless nights after allowing a big play touchdown in a win over the New York Giants.

PHILADELPHIA – Everyone at Lincoln Financial Field and people spending Christmas Day watching on TV saw who was to blame for the 69-yard touchdown pass New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw to Darius Slayton with just over five minutes to play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.

What they didn’t see were the sleepless nights the play caused Blankenship or may not have noticed that the second-year Eagles safety was wearing the green dot inside his helmet, relaying the play calls from senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia.

“Give credit to Reed, obviously that’s a tough deal,” said Matt Patricia on Wednesday as the Eagles gear up for a Week 17 visit from the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. 

“I’ve used that in the past with some safeties in my history of having that green dot, communicate all that stuff to everybody, but it’s a hard deal. You might be 30 yards from the play, you’re running back, you’re putting a lot of mileage on right there.”

Blankenship didn’t use the mileage or inexperience at being in charge of setting the defense as an excuse for getting beat on the big play that pulled New York to within 33-25 with just over five minutes left in a game the Eagles ended up winning by that exact score.

“That was totally on me, technique-wise and the mental part,” he said. “I saw that formation throughout film study, didn’t see it throughout the game then finally it comes up and I just have to be prepared for it.

“At the end of the day, I’m the biggest critic of myself, and trust me, I’ve lost some sleep over it, but you have to move on, watch it, see it again, and not let it happen again. I have to do my job better at the end of the day.”

Reed Blankenship breaks up a pass during the Philadelphia Eagles' 33-25 win over the New York Giants in Week 16 / USA Today

Blankenship did just fine relaying Patricia’s calls, despite feeling rushed at times because, as a safety, he doesn’t have just five yards to get in position like a linebacker does, but most times he needs time to get back 10 to 15 yards before he is in position. Then he needs time to see the formation to understand what might be coming his way.

“You’re trying to communicate to the front and everybody else, but you’re looking for that continual voice that’s going to be on the field,” said Patricia. “It can be a little difficult when guys are on and off the field. So, you try to manage that the best and the consistency Reed brought to it, he did really good job with it in the game. That’s not an easy thing to do but give him credit for that.”

Leave it to veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox to make the job just a bit easier for Blankenship.

“Fletch calmed me down,” said Blankenship. “It was good to have that positive feedback and let me know that it’s OK to just calm down and say the call, because there are times when I felt them break the huddle and I’m in mid-call and I gotta go.”

The green-dot helmet has been passed around like a hot potato this season for the Eagles.

Nakobe Dean started with it and was supposed to wear it all season, but he answered the bell for just five games after a pair of foot injuries sabotaged his season. It got passed around from there between Christian Elliss and Nick Morrow. Zach Cunningham may have even had a turn with it.

Elliss is now with the New England Patriots and, when Cunningham and Morrow were ruled out for last Monday’s game against the New York Giants, the Eagles were left with very few options.

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Shaq Leonard had only been here a couple of weeks.

Ben VanSumeren was making his first career start.

So, the Eagles turned to second-year safety Reed Blankenship.

That the organization would turn to a former undrafted rookie free agent in just his first year as a full-time starter speaks volumes about how much they value Blankenship.

“It means a lot,” he said about the faith the organization has in him. “With new coaches and teammate-wise, they trust me. Personally, I try my best to earn a lot of people's trust. I try to be confident in my play style and in my calls.

“I want my voice to be the loudest on the field at the time. It says a lot when I do that and obviously, when I get the green dot, I don’t know, it’s kind of cool, honestly. If I have it again, I’ll enjoy it. I’ll take it and run with it.”