Unfinished Business

NEW ORLEANS — Seated off to the side at a table inside the Backatown Coffee Parlour in this Super Bowl host city during a mid-day lull, Patrick Robertson lit up when asked about his client of nearly seven seasons.

Robertson, owner and operator of nearby “The Lab Performance and Strength” since 2014, has trained Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson since Gardner-Johnson’s rookie year.

The two have since become virtually inseparable.

Robertson, who knows what makes Gardner-Johnson tick, routinely sends him a text message before every game, typically something simplistic, like reminding him to lock in.

They’ll also FaceTime each other after games, a long-standing tradition.

“That’s my little brother,” Robertson said, grinning, as the Eagles prepare to face the Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX.

“We have a big bro-little bro type of relationship. He’s intense, for sure. But you want that intensity on the field. I think he’s misunderstood, for sure.”

Gardner-Johnson and Robertson initially connected through a friend, but ran in similar circles, as Gardner-Johnson was teammates at the University of Florida with Robertson’s nephew, safety Brad Stewart.

Stewart, along with Robertson’s two younger cousins, were his first clients. Former Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis was another early regular.

His list of athletes has since grown exponentially, including Saints wide receiver Bub Means, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, Ravens wide receiver/return specialist Deonte Harty, Saints three-time All-Pro J.T. Gray and Eagles safety Andre’ Sam.

His closest relationship, however, was forged with Gardner-Johnson, a bond tight enough to the extent of Robertson comfortably challenging the highly competitive Eagles safety, pushing him to his limits toward greatness. He’ll always find something wrong.

“Hell, yeah,” Robertson said. “Let’s say before a game, it’s just like, ‘Go handle your business.’ Something simple, nothing too much. After the game, let’s say I see something I didn’t like, I’m gonna let him know.

“If he did something good, I’m gonna let him know, too. So, he takes it all in stride. He’s never too big on himself about it. He misses a pick or he misses a tackle, he blew a coverage — I’m on his ass.”

Because of last season, when Gardner-Johnson missed all but three regular-season games for the Lions, the offseason training focused on injury prevention and turnover creation.

The first part of the plan fixated on extensive weight room sessions, along with conditioning circuits that included sand work and on-field drills.

As for the second piece, well, the lofty goal was for Gardner-Johnson to reel in 10 interceptions.

“He ended up with six, but he dropped, like, four,” Robertson quipped. “So, we would have had 10.”

Gardner-Johnson, misunderstood by many, epitomizes the mentality of a champion.

The intensity that he exudes can often be misinterpreted for being mercurial and aloof. But it’s a demeanor and mentality that illustrates his thirst for greatness, a steadfast pursuit of excellence.

Gardner-Johnson hones in on the most minute details, complementing his inherent football IQ.

He’ll put in extra work. And if you happen to train with him, as Robertson said, “they know he’s gonna push them to the edge.”

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles S C.J. Gardner-Johnson worked on leadership and turnover production this offseason.

Much like you’re more likely to hear Gardner-Johnson before seeing him in most any circumstance, he brings the same energy to his training.

He sets the temperature.

“If we’re in a drill and somebody messes up, he on they ass,” Robertson said. “But if he’s in a drill and he messes up, he’s on his own ass.

“There’s been plenty of times he’ll start a drill and start all the way over … ‘I didn’t like it.’ That’s who he is. He’s intense like that. He’s a competitor.”

At his Super Bowl media availability, Gardner-Johnson said there isn’t “a specific drill we work,” that they just try to find “areas that my game is weak at” to improve.

“Because every day, you wanna try to work on everything,” he said. “Try to critique everything in football, no matter if it’s good or bad. Even my good reps – my interceptions – sometimes are my worst reps. So, we gotta be able to critique everything.”

While not a directive from Robertson, a self-imposed focal point for Gardner-Johnson this offseason was leadership, again highlighting the growth and evolution of one of the league’s most enigmatic talents.

A singular focus during training, and an elevated standard set for whoever happens to train with him, points to his lead-by-example tendencies.

But Robertson observed signs of a budding leader off the field, with Gardner-Johnson taking Sam, currently an Eagles rookie, under his wing – another example Gardner-Johnson’s maturation in his sixth NFL season.

When Sam, a Louisiana native and already a client of Robertson’s, signed with the Eagles as a rookie free agent, he phoned Robertson, requesting that the trainer connect him with Gardner-Johnson.

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles S C.J. Gardner-Johnson is appearing in his second Super Bowl in three years.

In response, Gardner-Johnson offered one message for Robertson to pass back to Sam: “Tell him we about to work.”

Apart from Gardner-Johnson aiding Sam with the playbook and holding him accountable in training, the two position mates have struck up a friendship, with Gardner-Johnson often hosting Sam for dinner, including on Thanksgiving.

Gardner-Johnson will playfully rib the rookie at times in the locker room, with Sam returning the light-hearted jab with a smile and his own quip.

When the Eagles landed in New Orleans, Robertson received a FaceTime from Gardner-Johnson and Sam, as both walked together down Canal Street.

Like Robertson did for him, Gardner-Johnson is paying it forward with Sam, showing leadership that the public rarely sees.

“The same way I look at Chauncey, Chauncey looks at him,” Robertson said.

One run through Eagles media availability this week is all that’s needed to gauge how intently focused Gardner-Johnson is as the hours tick by to Sunday, when the Eagles take on the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Given everything he’s gone through throughout his career – from the injuries, muddied reputation and changing of teams to the national slights – it feels as if Gardner-Johnson has finally found a place to call home, a city that values his brash and edgy tendencies and spirited chatter.

He found a franchise that allows him to be unapologetically himself.

Gardner-Johnson was brought back for his toughness and physically as much as his ability to take the football away and alter momentum.

In many ways, his personality mirrors that of the city in which he plays. He lays it all on the line and demands the same from those around him.

The look in his eyes tells you how much he craves a Lombardi Trophy.

As Robertson usually does, he has checked in on Gardner-Johnson throughout the week, ensuring that the Eagles’ safety remains focused and secure from a mental perspective.

Gardner-Johnson, with Robertson’s help, might have achieved his offseason goals, but to truly illustrate his one-track mind, he dismissed the notion that he had his best offseason to date, one that prepared him for this moment.

“Hell naw,” Gardner-Johnson said.

And why not?

“Cause the job’s not done.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.