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Lane Johnson struggled last week to put it mildly. He gave up 3.5 sacks to outside linebacker Justin Houston in a wake-up call for the rookie right tackle. Johnson will need to forget about this performance in a hurry before Sunday.
Johnson and the Philadelphia Eagles will have to go into a raucous environment in Denver and face the Super Bowl contending Denver Broncos. This is going to be another huge challenge for the rookie. While superstar pass rusher Von Miller is still out due to suspension, he will in all likelihood be charged with the task of blocking veteran pass rusher Shaun Phillips. Phillips is an experienced veteran who has had a few double-digit sack seasons. This is another “learning on the job” task for Johnson.
If the Eagles want to run their offensive operation at full speed and efficiency, the offensive line will have to do their jobs up front. This starts with the rookie Johnson who is charged with the tall task of protecting Quarterback Michael Vick’s blind side.
Johnson is an ultra athletic kid with a high football IQ. So far in his young career, one of his best attributes has been forgetting about his last mistake, correcting it and moving on. This will have to be the case on Sunday. As a rookie who is relatively new to the position of offensive line, it should only be expected that Johnson will experience his share of bumps in the road.
The key is to learn from them and become a better football player. He is well on his way to doing that. We will need to see Johnson and his line mates in top form for the Eagles to pull off the upset of the season.
