BALTIMORE – Every rookie has an NFL moment. For Philadelphia Eagles safety Sydney Brown, it was on the bus ride to the home of the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Stadium.
“I just took it all in,” said Brown, the Eagles’ third-round pick this past spring. “Obviously woke up (Saturday) and came to the stadium, I was like, OK, this is going to happen. No turning around. We’re going right into it.
“But being on the field and seeing the pros, especially the guys on the other side, guys like Odell (Beckham Jr.). It was cool seeing those guys on the sideline. I can’t wait to get to the regular season.”
It’s one step at a time before that Sept. 10 opener against the New England Patriots arrives. The Cleveland Browns arrive in Philadelphia on Monday for two practices with the Eagles, and two preseason games still remain.
Brown, though, took a big step in the exhibition opener.
Playing with the third-team defense, he was a tackling machine, showing his closing burst of speed and his ability to wallop a ball-carrier. He finished with a team-high nine tackles.
“I play really fast,” said Brown. “I like to take my shot. It’s kind of hard to show that in practice but making that tackle and wrapping up on contact is important. I’m working with the coaches, D.K. (McDonald) and Taylor Johnson to dial in my technique.”
Sometimes, Brown has a tendency to play too fast, a habit dating back to his college days at the University of Illinois.
“I always play fast,” he said. “I’m trying to process things mentally as fast as I can. If you think a minute before you play and miss that minute, you’re going to miss that opportunity.
"I try to pull the trigger on the gun and leave no regret and just move on to the next play. If something doesn’t go my way, I just move on to the next play and the next time.”
If he can harness that ability to play fast yet under control, he may find himself climbing the depth chart until the day he is a starter. The safety room is a crowded place right now, and he understands that.
“You have to look in the room,” he said. “There are a lot of guys who have played a lot of good football. I’m still unproven. I haven’t done anything, yet. I have to prove myself in these preseason games and take it week by week.
“We have Cleveland this week for practice then we play then. Again, Reed (Blankenship) is playing great, K’Von (Wallace) is playing great, Terrell (Edmunds) is playing great, Justin (Evans) is playing great, so I have to be part of that standard and keep chopping at it.
“My mindset going into this is if I’m better by the end of camp then that’s where I need to be, so just being the best version of myself every single day. It's about enjoying the grind. You have to enjoy this.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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