Eagles star explains the meaning of his tweets.
PHILADELPHIA — Before taking questions from reporters on Wednesday, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown cleared the air about his cryptic social media posts after Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“First off, I want to start off by saying, obviously Sunday after the game, I let my frustrations boil over,” Brown said. “I didn’t speak to the media. I had a chance to correct my frustrations and I continued to let it boil over. That’s on me. I take full accountability on that. Posting that my message on Twitter wasn’t directed at anyone in the building. Not my coaches, not my quarterback, my GM, nobody.”
Brown never revealed the intention of his posts that led to speculation of him being unhappy with someone in the organization.
The first one: “I Love yall with all My heart.”
The second came directly from Mark 6:11 in the Bible: “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
Instead, Brown explained the reason he was upset about finishing with two catches for seven yards against Tampa Bay and with his overall lack of production this season (14 catches for 151 yards and one touchdown in four games).
“I think it’s normal to have frustrations because of the standard that we hold ourselves to,” Brown said. “We have a lot of talent on offense and to be honest, defense and special teams have been low-key carrying us. It’s just like we need to clean up what we need to clean up and get on the same page and play to the ability that we say that we can and be who we are called to be. So it’s a standard that we preach. Yeah, so it’s easy to have that frustration. I think it’s fair to have that frustration. But I can’t let that boil over.”
Despite popular belief that Brown is complaining about not getting enough targets, he claims it’s not true.
“It’s not that much of communication because during the game, I’m not the person that’s on the sidelines saying, ‘Give me the ball. Give me the ball,’” Brown said about his communication with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. “So, I don’t understand where people say, ‘He’s forcing me the ball because I’m complaining.’
“And if you ask any of my teammates, I’m probably the quietest one on the sideline. I don’t even go to the huddle during the timeouts. I try to let the game come to me, and I don’t even tell KP (offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo) to call this and call that. That’s the player I am.”
After ESPN reported on Wednesday that Philadelphia could explore trading the All-Pro wide receiver during the offseason, Brown clarified that he still wants to play for the Eagles.
“Absolutely,” he said. “This is home. This is my home. Unfortunately, I did it to myself. I won’t even say unfortunately I did it to myself, but this is my home, man. I love it here, but you just see frustration because obviously, we want to be great. And most definitely, I want to be great as well.”
During training camp, Brown said he wanted to be the best wide receiver in the NFL this season, but he is unlikely to earn that consideration after getting off to a slow start.
However, his personal aspirations are not the biggest reason he wants the ball more.
“It’s fair to want the ball to get us going,” Brown said. “Like last week against the Rams, I caught the sluggo, got the offense going. Next play opened up for (tight end) Dallas Goedert, the safety came over to my side and opened it up (for a touchdown).
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing for wanting the ball. It’s not just for targets or anything, to put numbers up. But, no, I see that we’re struggling, and I’m a guy that wants the ball in those times when we can’t find a way. Give it to me. When the game’s on the line, give the ball to me. I want that. I want that pressure. I put it on myself, and I work hard for it.”
Behind the scenes, Brown is meeting daily with Sirianni, Hurts and Patullo to find solutions for their inconsistency.
The Eagles rank 30th in total offense and have the worst three-and-out rate in the NFL, causing Brown and other players to be frustrated.
“I don’t care, to be honest, because my teammates know that when the game’s on the line, look at me,” Brown said about the narrative of him being a selfish teammate. “I want everybody in the stadium to know that. That’s not a secret. I’m not shying away from that. And so that’s where you see that frustration, because that hunger comes out. And it’s because I see you struggling, and I believe that you give the ball to me, I’m going to open up things, and I’m going to get this thing going. You can put it on my back.”
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Category: General Sports
