FLOWERY BRANCH — Rookie Clark Phillips, who has started the past three games at cornerback opposite A.J. Terrell, is coming on strong late in the season.
Phillips, who was taken in the fourth round (113th) of the NFL draft, is set to make his fourth consecutive start when the Falcons (7-8) face the Bears (6-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Soldier Field.
Phillips caught the staff’s attention with his play in practice.
“We look at guys and see what they’re doing in practice,” Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray. “We’ve got good offensive guys and we have a competition period that we’ve been doing since training camp, which is good for us because we’ve got good versus good. We see our guys competing. We see the young guys competing against Drake (London) and guys like that.”
Phillips was not shying away from the competition.
“That’s a good sign,” Gray said.
Phillips enjoys his new role.
“The coaches put us in great positions,” Phillips said. “We’ve got to capitalize. (I’ll) keep on chopping wood (and) keep on working.”
The Colts, with quarterback Gardner Minshew, tried to go after Phillips on a deep pass. He was stride for stride with the receiver and forced an incompletion.
“They threw a go-ball, and he didn’t panic on the go-ball,” Gray said. “The guy made a great catch on the curl, so there are little things that you see him growing in and not panicking. When you see that, you know he’s going to hopefully keep taking the next step.”
Phillips is becoming more comfortable with the additional playing time.
“I feel like I embodied that being a guy that kind of got thrown in the fire when a guy goes down,” Phillips said. “So, I have just got to continue to bring (my) hard hat, work and prepare like no other.”
Terrell, who started as a rookie in 2020, has taken notice, too.
“He’s coming along quick,” Terrell said. “He was playing nickel. Between nickel and corner, he’s just a competitor all around. Anytime that we put him out there on the field, he seems to be making plays. He knows what he’s doing. He’s been somebody that we can all count on back there on the back end.”
With Jeff Okudah injured, Tre Flowers opened the season as the starter. Okudah started against Detroit in Week 3 and started the next eight games. But Phillips kept developing in practice, and he started against the Bucs on Dec. 10.
“When you look at Clark, he’s always energized, No. 1,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “He’s always running. But whenever you watch him and he’s making plays, you think a little guy wouldn’t try to go in there and make a big guy tackle, (but) he’s doing that, or on the go-ball, he doesn’t panic.”
Smith wasn’t fond of Phillips’ celebration after he broke up the deep pass against the Colts.
“Then, he gets up and does some little antics after that,” Smith said. “But it’s little things that they do that it’s been choreographed, so it’s like, ‘Hey, back to the huddle. They’re going to come at you again.’ But you want guys having fun … they all feed off each other.”
It hasn’t all been perfect for Phillips. He was called for pass interference during that 17-play, 90-yard game-winning drive by the Panthers. He was working at nickel back.
“I think when you have a lot of depth at that position early on in camp, and then guys got injured, he got an opportunity,” Smith said. “Now, he’s playing a little more outside, where he was playing inside in camp.”
Phillips has mastered the Falcons’ coverage schemes.
“It’s not just man coverage and, ‘Hey, take your guy’ – there are some nuances,” Smith said. “He’s done a great job. Talk about a guy that consistently – it’s a long season for a rookie even when he wasn’t playing – but the guy comes in here early every week, competes every day in practice. Now, he’s got his opportunity and has found that consistency.”
Phillips play bodes well for the future. Okudah, who was acquired in a trade with the Lions, is in the final year of his rookie contract and appears headed for free agency.
“He’s a fun player to watch,” Smith said. “There are always things that you go back and watch Clark that make you smile when you see the tape – just little subtle things. He likes to play.”
In addition to Phillips, Mike Hughes has taken over at nickel back for Dee Alford while rookie safety DeMarcco Hellams has started the past two games at safety, and Richie Grant has moved to a nickel-back role.
“(Phillips and Hellams) did a really, really good job of just focusing on their job, competing (for) their job,” Gray said. “I’m a guy that’s like when a guy has a hot hand, let him keep shooting. That’s kind of what we did last week. It wasn’t anything against the other guys. It was just those guys were playing so well, let them keep playing.”
Terrell, who’s set to sign a long-term deal with the team, is fine with the moves.
“It’s good just to have depth,” Terrell said. “We still have guys like Richie and Jeff and Dee who are valuable pieces to our defense. Just having the depth and the younger guys being able to come in and produce as well, just goes to show you how much trust and depth that we have in the back end in all of the guys being able to contribute is good for us as a whole.”
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