Getty Tay Gowan came over to the Eagles as part of the trade that sent Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals.
Lost in the shuffle of a dominating 44-6 performance was the play of new cornerback Tay Gowan. The young player received from Arizona in the trade for Zach Ertz saw 16 defensive snaps, including an impressive pass breakup on KhaDarel Hodge.
Gowan’s highlight-reel play came in garbage time so it probably went unnoticed to most fans. He had perfect coverage on a tight throw down the sideline and tipped a would-be touchdown out of Hodge’s hands. Twitter was abuzz with reaction from friends and former teammates. One user referred to Gowan as the “Tom Brady of corners” and labeled him “Gowan Island.”
The latter being a reference to former All-Pro Darrelle Revis, one of the greatest cornerbacks to ever do it. He retired with 29 career interceptions over 11 seasons, with teams usually refusing to throw to his side of the field.
The sixth-rounder out of Central Florida seemed to enjoy the comparison to Revis immensely. He called himself “Gowan Island” in a tweet and used an island emoji with palm trees. The Eagles may have found themselves a steal in the 6-foot-2, 185-pound corner who built a reputation in college as being a “strong challenger” on 50/50 balls (via NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein). Gowan had two interceptions and 10 pass breakups in 12 games in 2019. He opted out of the 2020 football season after testing positive for COVID-19.
I got Extra wings … thank you God
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Round 8 Going on Round 9
The Eagles are on to Round 9 after scoring a knockout in Round 8. Head coach Nick Sirianni likes to use the boxing analogy when describing his one-game-at-a-time philosophy. The team returns to the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field for a home date against the Los Angeles Chargers. Kickoff is slated for 4:05 p.m.
Before they take the field, Sirianni wants to see another strong week of practice. The days leading up to beating the Lions were extremely competitive.
“Today [October 31] was Round 8 for us and my message to them [the team] was sometimes it just takes a big round where you cut somebody and win a round to build some momentum,” Sirianni said. “There was no secret to why we performed well today.
“It happened every day in practice. What happened on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – the intensity was so high, the detail was so high – again, that was our message as we continue to grow. The only way to continue to grow is to have that intensity in practice.”
“Really, all we focus on is being 1-0 this week and winning the game this week against the Chargers, so we’re on to Round 9.” – Coach Sirianni
Jason Kelce: ‘Roots on Three!’
Jason Kelce is an unintentional public relations guru, or maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing. The Eagles released a video of Sirianni’s post-game locker room speech in Detroit. The head coach talks about needing to win a “big round” and playing physical football, then Kelce works his magic.
The All-Pro center breaks the team down and incorporates Sirianni’s infamous “flower” metaphor, the one where he talks about roots growing underneath the soil. Kelce huddles his teammates up and shouts out: “One, two three … roots!”