Josh Wilson paused and cracked a smile after being asked where he ranked the explosiveness of the Eagles talented wide receiving corps.
“[Where do they] rank?” he exclaimed. “Number one. I mean [they’re] the fastest guys in the NFL.
Wilson wasn’t a member of the Redskins last year when they were torched by DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in a 59-28 rout. The two receivers combined for 177 receiving yards on just six catches, dismantling Washington’s secondary in decisive fashion.
In fact, the game was over on the first play from scrimmage as Michael Vick hit Jackson on a gorgeous 88-yard bomb that traveled over 60 yards through the air. The Eagles led 35-0 early in the second quarter and had Wilson scrambling for his remote.
“I actually turned the game off because it got pretty ugly,” he said. “The things you go back and you look at – I would have never thought that [Vick] could throw the ball that far either, but now I know.”
As Wilson was chatting at his locker, Phillip Buchanon called him over to join the secondary for a meeting. Buchanon returned from a four-game suspension last week and there’s a chance he’ll play this week to help give the defense a boost against the Eagles’ eighth-ranked passing attack.
“I’m glad that he’s back,” Wilson said. “He’s been coaching us up all doggone week so I’m about tired of him talking – get out here and do something man.”
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Wilson laughed before getting serious.
“But it’s good man,” he continued. “That’s a great player [and] anytime you get great players back, it just makes your team even better.”
Buchanon is the second defensive back to return after missing the start of the season. LaRon Landry has been back at full go for three weeks and this could be his breakout game.
“He’s like the defense’s Red Bull,” said Kevin Barnes. “Just seeing him out there – he gives everybody energy, he’s boosting everybody [and] you see how passionate he is about the game. He wants you to try and match that level of intensity so it’s definitely great having him back.”
What’s most impressive is the secondary was able to stay afloat without two of their bigger pieces for the first few weeks. There had been concerns Reed Doughty and the depth at corner wouldn’t be able to hold up, but they did and now Washington enters their game against the Eagles with the eighth-best pass defense in the league.
Yet that success doesn’t mean they’ll take the Eagles receivers for granted. Covering the Jackson/Maclin duo is one of the more unenviable assignments in football and failure to respect their speed and talent will lead to big plays for Philadelphia’s offense.
“Everybody sits there and can tell you they run a 4.3 [40-yard dash],” Wilson said. “These guys actually run 4.3. They are very fast and can stretch a defense. You got to make sure that you’re on your A-game because they’ll hurt you quick.”
If the secondary can do that, fans won’t have a reason to turn the game off like Wilson did last season.
“You just got to go out there and play your defense,” he said. “We got to always make sure that at the end of the day we went out there did what we know the Redskins defense is capable of doing.”
