Johnson, Long eating up the mask thing
PHILADELPHIA » In a few days we’ll see how many Eagles fans do the German shepherd mask thing that veterans Lane Johnson and Chris Long dreamed up to make a mockery of their underdog status.
The top-seeded Eagles were ’dogs in their NFC playoff opener, and are again this Sunday when they oppose the Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Hey, if the fans want to show up in dog masks and it’s like the Purge out here on Sunday, that would be awesome,” Long said Wednesday. “Just that creepy vibe at the Linc.”
The Purge is a dystopian horror film with masked characters. That’s as far as the fans need to take it because the masks are a fun thing.
“People were hitting us over the head with that narrative so hard all last week it was like, ‘oh, hell, we might as well have fun with it,’” Long said. “Honestly I still don’t care about being an underdog. But it’s something fun. And at the end of the day we’ve got plenty of motivation to win.”
The dog masks are interesting. The T-shirts featuring images of Johnson and Long, lettered “Home Dogs Gonna Eat” have been an instant success.
“Lane sold T-shirts that have raised like $50,000plus dollars for Philly public schools,” Long said. “So, there’s a lot of good that comes out of this team and the fun it is.”
Said Johnson, “We figured it would be a good way to raise some money for the schools.
“Really, just the masks took off,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it is. I just want people to know it’s kind of hard to see out of those masks. So, if they put them on they can’t really see the game. I’m just warning you.” *** leads Zach Ertz the Eagles with 74 receptions for 824 yards (11.1 average). With eight TD catches, Ertz is tied with Alshon Jeffery for second on the Birds, Nelson Agholor leading the way with nine.
Ertz also has vaulted to seventh in jersey sales, which may have something to do with the popularity of his celebrity wife, Julie, the international soccer star.
Minnesota’s Stefon Diggs is No. 4 (for obvious reasons), guys named Carson Wentz and Tom Brady are Nos. 2 and 1, respectively.
Be that as it may, Ertz has become the Eagles’ goto receiver on third down.
“I want to be the guy that gets the number called,” Ertz said. “I still hear that stuff from the Cincinnati game last year. Two years ago, it would have eaten me up. Living in the city, you’re going to develop some extremely tough skin. And I’ve rallied around the guys in the locker room, and they have definitely changed the way I look at life past year or so.”
Ertz was accused of giving up on a block in an ugly loss to the Bengals last year.
*** NOTES » Ed Hochuli referees the Eagles-Vikings game Sunday. The survivor of that contest gets Gene Steratore in the Super Bowl . ... Eagles middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe over the (hamstring) was held out of practice Wednesday. Rookie cornerback Sidney Jones (hamstring) was limited according to the practice report. For the Vikings, defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee, ankle) and wide receiver Adam Thielen (back) didn’t practice . ... The Vikings have lost five straight conference championship games, most recently in the 2009 season. … The Eagles are 2-4 in conference championship contests. … Malcolm Jenkins’ wife gave birth to their second daughter. … And finally, if the Eagles beat the favored Vikings and the Jaguars upset the Patriots Sunday, the Eagles would be underdogs in SB LII. They’ve be getting 2½ points according to Bovada.