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2018 Eagles Training Camp Preview: Defensive Line

Adrian Fedkiw|

The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t have the best defense in the NFL, but it was the clutchest.

And it all starts up front, deeeeeep penetration!!!

After getting shredded by New England’s offense in the Super Bowl for nearly 58 minutes, the Eagles’ defensive line rose to the occasion and Brandon Graham’s strip-sack was instrumental in Philadelphia’s victory. It wasn’t luck either, this was a trend by season’s end.

It began in Week 1 against Washington when another Graham strip-sack sealed a 30-17 Eagles win. Philly’s defense stood firm against Carolina in Week 6 when the Panthers were unable to convert a 3rd-and-1 or 4th-and-1 with just over a minute remaining. The Los Angeles Rams moved the ball up and down the field against Philly at will in Week 14 and with the Birds trailing by a point midway through the fourth and Carson Wentz already tearing his ACL, it was Chris Long recording the strip-sack to swing all of the momentum in Philadelphia’s favor.

The Eagles defense stiffened the Giants inside the 10 with less than a minute remaining in Week 15 and forced five turnovers against Oakland in the second half a week later. Ronald Darby’s interception with less than a minute to go following heavy pressure from Vinny Curry led to a Jake Elliott go-ahead field goal and a 19-10 victory. And finally we saw another impressive goal line stand against Atlanta in the divisional round to solidify a 15-10 triumph.

Along with being clutch, the Eagles’ defense also stuffed the run. They surrendered just 3.8 yards per carry, sixth in NFL, and led the league in rushing yards allowed per game at 79.2. The wide 9, one-gap attacking unit registered 38 sacks, which was tied with Dallas for 15th.

A story to potentially keep an eye on during the summer is Brandon Graham’s potential extension. Extending Graham would also keep the quartet of Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, Derek Barnett and Graham in Philly for the long haul. Barnett and Jernigan are signed through 2021, while Cox is here until 2022.

Yes, Graham is 30 now, but the way the Eagles rotate defensive linemen in and out and keep everyone fresh, his age doesn’t worry me as much. He also doesn’t rely on athleticism as much as other defensive ends. He’s about technique, strong heavy hands and timing the snap.

How big of a leap should we expect from Derek Barnett in year two? Jim Schwartz answered that question in June during OTAs.

Most players make a significant improvement from year one to year two. I think it’s sort of one of the adages of the NFL. That’s where you see a significant improvement. He set that bar pretty high in his first year. Made a lot of big plays for us. Also gained a lot of experience dealing with the long season and not just four preseason games [and the regular season], but deep into the playoffs and things like that. He had some bumps and bruises just like everybody, and the experience of dealing with that stuff. But, yeah, I think he’s more seasoned now, little bit stronger now. Obviously, he’s been through the ringer, knows what to expect. I think that’s a big part of young players too. When you’re a rookie, there is so much uncertainty, and after you do it once, it settles down.

The pass rusher Barnett recorded five sacks during his rookie campaign, which was one behind Derrick Burgess for the franchise’s all-time rookie mark. Barnett bent the edge as well as any rookie I’ve seen in a while, the balance he’s able to maintain with the shoulder dipping nearly hitting the ground is extraordinary. The key for him in year two is to build off that move and add counters off of it. The great pass rushers have multiple pass rush moves in their arsenal, right now Barnett has one great move. Once he adds another one or two to his game, that’s when the double-digit sack totals will come.

Michael Bennett was acquired by the Birds along with a seventh-round pick from the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round selection and wide receiver Marcus Johnson. So the Birds went from Vinny Curry to Bennett, not bad! Here’s what the 32-year-old had to say about the Washington Redskins’ Alex Smith, New York Giants’ Eli Manning and Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott.

“I know Eli Manning is probably watching this and thinking like yes, I’m coming. I know Dak (Prescott) is watching this like ‘Yeah, he’s coming.’ So yeah, I am, man. Alex Smith, he knows he can’t run from me. I told him in the Pro Bowl. So it’s definitely going to be a great season. It’s going to be fun to be out here and be able to chase quarterbacks.”

He also talked about the absurdity that will be the Eagles’ defensive line. One of the best ever, huh?

“I think we could be one of the greatest. I think we can have one of the greatest defensive lines to ever play the game if we approach the game like every single way. Just go out there and just keeping doing what they doing and finding a way to add and keep showing how many great players (we have). I think a great defensive line is about the rotation. It’s kind of like Golden State, you want to be able to have those guys who can come in and shoot and shoot and score every time.”

Speaking of that rotation, Bennett won’t be asked to take as many snaps as he did in Seattle when he had 941, which was 84.8% of its total. To compare that with Philadelphia, Graham led the team with 728 snaps, just 64% of the team’s total. Again, Schwartz likes to shift his defensive linemen in and out of the game like a hockey team.

Chris Long is back to join that rotation and the Birds took a chance on Josh Sweat’s knees in the fourth round.

Eagles defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan signed a four-year, $48 million extension with $26 million guaranteed in early November, but his production declined following the contract. Jernigan was acquired for a swap of third-round picks from the Baltimore Ravens during last year’s offseason and when he’s at his best, his presence allows Cox to see less double and triple teams.

Jernigan, however, suffered a back injury while working out in March and underwent surgery in May when it was announced that he’d miss 4-to-6 months. With Beau Allen now in Tampa Bay, Haloti Ngata, Destiny Vaeao and Elijah Qualls will be fighting for the starting spot until Jernigan returns. I’m guessing that the run-stuffing, 34-year-old Ngata will get the nod.

The Eagles’ defensive line is the team’s strongest unit, not only talent wise but the amount of depth it has. We haven’t talked about Steven Means yet and he’s been a practice squad extraordinaire the last few years. He’d be on any other defensive line’s rotation in the NFL.

They say football games are won in the trenches and the Birds have the two best lines in the league.

 

You can follow Adrian Fedkiw on Twitter (@AdrianFedkiw) and e-mail him at [email protected]. Subscribe to The Bitter Birds on YouTube here. Follow Philly Influencer on Twitter (@PHL_Influencer), Facebook and Instagram.

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