‘I Got Ran Right Over’

PHILADELPHIA — While the first two games of the season were spent watching from the sideline in team-issued apparel, Monday night offered a different perspective for Eagles rookie offensive lineman Micah Morris.

In the days leading up, veteran Fred Johnson popped up on the injury report with a knee injury, leaving the Eagles thin in the trenches. The Eagles typically dress eight or nine offensive linemen on game days, so Morris suited up for his first regular season action — under the bright lights of Monday Night Football.

Morris, whose lone snap came on special teams (providing a memory he shares below), wasn’t afforded much of a taste — even with the Eagles trailing by double digits late in the contest — but the experience is one that should serve him well as he navigates his rookie season. From seeing his jersey and pads inside his locker pregame for the first time this season, to coming away with a pointed reminder, Morris’ debut was memorable.

Johnson was again ruled out for Sunday’s game, meaning Morris will likely dress for the second consecutive week, giving him another opportunity to make an impression whenever he’s on the field.

As part of a season-long Inside The Birds “Rookie Diary” series, I’ll be checking in with Morris every week, learning more about the first-year offensive lineman and chronicling his rookie campaign.

Eagles rookie OL Micah Morris experienced his “Welcome to the NFL” moment against the Bears.

On Thursday, we chatted for our fourth installment.

Andrew: Last week, you talked about consistency with your hand placement. How would you grade yourself?

Micah: “I’d probably say like a B or a B-minus. I mean, it’s way better improvement. It all starts in indy (individuals), but the fundamentals, just understanding coming off the ball, kicking on the proper angles, avoiding up kicks, avoiding fleshing hands, just trying to keep taking out the bad habits. And I feel like I was pretty productive at it last week.”

Andrew: Are you someone who writes things down, whether it be motivational or just things to reinforce, in a notebook each day?

Micah: “Oh yeah. I write notes. And as far as motivation, I mean, I just go through me and my dad’s message thread. He sends me motivational videos, like, whether it’s just little YouTube shorts or something he finds. He sends me that every day, if not multiple times a day. So, I’m definitely big on it. But as far as note-taking, I’m a big heavy note taker. Just even from high school, I would say starting just ’cause you retain more when you write it physically, not just listen.

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with just listening. It depends on how you work, how your mind works. But me personally, I feel like writing it down helps me retain it and remember it more, ’cause I physically have to write it down, you know? I feel like it helps me the most.”

Andrew: Yeah, I agree with that. You said you went through, like, four notebooks and that you were considering transitioning to a tablet. Have you done that yet?

Micah: “No. I’m probably gonna wait till after this week because [motioning to the notebooks in his locker] that’s my one, two, that’s the fourth one right here. I got another one I got at home. But yeah, that’s the fourth one right there.”

Andrew: You got your first taste of regular season NFL action on Monday night. What do you remember most from the experience?

Micah: “It was surreal. It felt good seeing my jersey with the pads on. And then, just pre-game, going through a warm-up. I got a little taste of it in preseason, but being out there in the regular season, Monday Night Football, it was an honor. It was a great experience.”

Andrew: In Chicago, did you get a chance to explore?

Micah: “Yeah. We went to, I think Carmone or Carmine (edit: It was Carmine’s). It was an Italian restaurant. It was really good. I had the chicken parm. I thought the guy was exaggerating about how big it was. It was literally, like, the size of a personal pizza. It was huge. It was good though. It was really good.”

Andrew: I went downtown to this Australian cafe and I had a kangaroo burger.

Micah: “Really? Did you like it?”

Andrew: It was actually really good.

Micah: “Okay. How’d you get it cooked?”

Andrew: Medium. It was really lean, obviously, but it was good stuff.

Andrew: But you also mentioned last week that the movers, for the guest room, you had a 4:00 appointment, but it didn’t end up working with the schedule here. Did they end up coming through for you?

Micah: “Tomorrow. They’re supposed to be coming this Friday at 4:00, so I should be good this week.”

Andrew: One thing we haven’t talked about is what an average day is like for you when you get to the facility. What time do you get here and what’s your day-to-day process like?

Micah: “Well, it depends on what we have first, whether it’s 8:30 meetings or 8:00 lifts. I try to get here about 30, 45 minutes prior just to get comfortable. Sometimes, if I don’t cook at my apartment, I’ll grab something to eat, just come here, talk to Kel (Markel Bell) for a little bit, just watch some stuff on YouTube. Just relax before the day gets going, a little relaxation time, a little calm before the storm, so to speak.

“And then I’ll get my loop on and then, if it’s workouts, I’ll go in there and stretch with the Theragun, get loose before, depending on if it’s upper body or lower body. And then if it’s just meetings, just having my notebook ready and grab a Gatorade or a water. Just have something to drink while you’re ready for those meetings and make sure I’m taking notes.”

Andrew: You mentioned doing the Wolverine Claw (Lego set), I believe, last week.

Micah: “Yeah, I finished that.”

Andrew: How long did that take you?

Micah: “A little bit under an hour, ’cause I think it was one and a half episodes of “A Different World”. So, a little bit under an hour.”

Andrew: “So far, what would you say is the most noticeable difference for you personally in the NFL compared to college?

Micah: “As far as my game?”

Andrew: No, just anything. The biggest contrast.

Micah: “The biggest difference, I would say, is just realizing that it’s a man’s game up here, you know? And college is 17-year-olds. I was 17 when I first went to college, but up here I’m the young guy now. So. just understanding that it’s people in their thirties, grown men out here. So, just you gotta be on it. You gotta bring it every day. For sure.”

Andrew: They say football is a fraternity and you have many Georgia teammates in the NFL. Do you keep in touch with any of them regularly?

Micah: “Yeah. I talk to Monroe (Freeling), Dylan (Fairchild), (Amarius) Mims, Tykee (Smith). I mean, I talk to all the guys I was at Georgia with here or there, whether it’s just a text message or we swipe on each other’s Instagram stories or something like that. We all keep in touch, so it’s a brotherhood, for sure.”

Andrew: Thinking back, what was your welcome to the NFL moment?

Micah: “My welcome to the NFL moment probably happened last game. Field goal, I didn’t get my foot down in time and I got ran right over. Luckily, they didn’t block the kick, but that was definitely my welcome to the NFL moment. I hadn’t been on my butt like that in a while.”

Andrew: You majored in learning design and technology?

Micah: “No, no. I majored in sociology. My minor was criminal justice.”

Andrew: What inspired you to undertake that?

Micah: “Well, initially, I was gonna be a double major with criminal justice and sociology. But at Georgia, you gotta do internship hours, and with football I wouldn’t have time for that. But I guess the main thing was wanting to help people. And then I grew up watching, like, Criminal Minds, Law & Order, Blue Bloods, like cop shows growing up.

“And I always thought it was cool. So, I knew I wanted to help people in some way. And then with sociology, it’s such a huge pathway. Well, such a huge, I guess, degree. Like, just multiple pathways that you can veer off to from that degree. So, I felt like that was the best way. And then criminal justice as my minor, just understanding some of the law and understanding how people work and how the judicial system works, how the world works pretty much.”

Andrew: So, the food spots that we talked about last week, did you get a chance to try any? I think you said you were planning on going to one last Saturday.

Micah: Tell me the names again.

Andrew: I think I mentioned Oh Brother, Villa Da Roma, Angelo’s…

Micah: “I went to Angelo’s. I went to … Yes, that’s where I went. I went to Angelo’s. I had the upside-down pizza, and then I had a Philly with extra Cooper Sharp cheese, and that was it. Like, all the stuff that came on it.”

Andrew: So, how was it?

Micah: “It was good. It was fire.”

Andrew: Whenever I recommend something, I’m always nervous.

Micah: “So, my mom’s from Beaver Falls. It’s a pizza shop called D&G in Beaver Falls. Like the thick crust like that, that’s kind of what the upside-down pizza reminded me of at Angelo’s. It was good.”

Andrew: I think they’ve now built a second spot, because the first one is so successful.

Micah: “I think I might have went to the new one then, ’cause I went to the one … it’s like a train station back there or something, or a robotrack, and it’s, like, by a car wash. I got a membership to the car wash over there.”

Andrew: So you were able to like … You didn’t have any problems parking?

Micah: No.

Andrew: Then you might have went to the second one.

Andrew: I know you’re waiting for “Doomsday”, but that’s not out until December. Have you gotten a chance to get out to the movies?

Micah: “Not yet. I might go see something tonight. I gotta check and see what’s out. I might go do something tonight.”

Andrew: If “The Weight” is still out, I recommend that.

Micah: Okay.

Andrew: But you did mention you were trying to find a TV series to watch. Any luck?

Micah: Oh, I finished, it’s a spinoff … it’s an older show called “A Different World”.

Andrew: It’s (originally) an early ’90s show.

Micah: “Yeah. They just added, they made a spinoff on Netflix. And I watched it all, unfortunately. Like, I binged it. It was great. It was a great show, though. I like it, but now I gotta find something else again, ’cause I binged it all on an off day.”

Andrew: So, if there were ever to be a movie about you, who would play you?

Micah: Oh, God. Let me think. I don’t know. Denzel Washington’s my favorite actor.

Andrew: Well, we’ll go with that then.

Micah: For sure.

Andrew: What’s one or two things that you have on your bucket list? Traveling, accomplishments?

Micah: “Oh, well, honestly, traveling, get out the country. ‘Cause when I graduated high school, I was supposed to go on a cruise to Jamaica, but it was COVID, so it got canceled. So, going to London again would be great. I’ll be able to mark that off for sure. So, going to see the world.”

Andrew: What’s one or two things that you’re working to achieve this week?

Micah: “Just harping on keeping my feet in the ground in pass pro. And then it goes back to, with the run game, just getting my second step in the ground and coming through on contact with force. Just making sure that second foot’s in the ground so I’m grounded and have a good base.”