Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Examining Eagles Pass Rush Group
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: What's happened?
- 0:10Speaker 2: Everyone? Welcome into another episode of the Check o'daly Andrew Dicheco,
- 0:13Speaker 2: Eagles beat reporter for Inside the Birds dot Com. The
- 0:16Speaker 2: positional preview series continues on We're looking at the defensive
- 0:20Speaker 2: side now, specifically the group of pass rushers that the
- 0:24Speaker 2: Eagles are taking with them into training camp, and it's
- 0:27Speaker 2: headlined by Jonathan Garnard. We'll talk about him. I've talked
- 0:31Speaker 2: a lot about Jonathan Garnard, but just to kind of
- 0:35Speaker 2: cover all the bases here, the Eagles top of the
- 0:38Speaker 2: rotation pass rusher. I believe that that was their best
- 0:41Speaker 2: offseason edition. A better pure pass rusher than Jalen Phillips.
- 0:45Speaker 2: I think that's fair to say. While I do believe
- 0:47Speaker 2: that Jalen Phillips gives you a little bit more in
- 0:49Speaker 2: terms of run defense and overall size and power, Jonathan Garnard,
- 0:54Speaker 2: I think is going to be a seamless fit for
- 0:56Speaker 2: a Vic Fangio defense. Yes, he's turning twenty nine later
- 1:00Speaker 2: this month, but I think he still has another level
- 1:04Speaker 2: that he can reach.
- 1:05Speaker 1: Thirty eight career.
- 1:06Speaker 2: Sacks seventy seven games, but a quick, twitchy type of
- 1:10Speaker 2: player coming off a down season. The left shoulder injury
- 1:14Speaker 2: that shortened his twenty twenty five campaign to twelve games.
- 1:18Speaker 2: He had three sacks last year. But if you watch
- 1:21Speaker 2: Jonathan Gernard play from any of the games from last season,
- 1:26Speaker 2: you saw a player that didn't have a lot of
- 1:29Speaker 2: drop off when it comes to get off and pressure
- 1:32Speaker 2: and quality rushes. So that to me indicates that the
- 1:35Speaker 2: Eagles are getting the version of Jonathank Garnard, assuming that
- 1:39Speaker 2: shoulder is fully healed, that was wreaking havoc around the
- 1:43Speaker 2: NFL in twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four, where
- 1:46Speaker 2: he can bine for twenty four and a half sacks.
- 1:49Speaker 2: He headlines this group. They're in good shape there. Then
- 1:53Speaker 2: you have jay loox Hunt, who's entering his third season.
- 1:56Speaker 2: Jay loox Hunt to me, is on the cusp of
- 1:59Speaker 2: breaking out, and he is actually my twenty twenty six
- 2:02Speaker 2: defensive breakout player. Knowing that you have a headliner beside
- 2:07Speaker 2: him in Jonathan Grenard. You saw the effectiveness of jay
- 2:11Speaker 2: loox Hunt once the Eagles traded for Jalen Phillips. In
- 2:15Speaker 2: the weeks that the Eagles had Phillips into the defense,
- 2:19Speaker 2: jay looks Hunt accounted for five and a half of
- 2:23Speaker 2: his six and a half sacks last season. A player
- 2:26Speaker 2: like that commands a lot of attention. It sort of
- 2:28Speaker 2: unlocks that second player and jy loox Hunt, to me,
- 2:32Speaker 2: is someone who continues to build confidence and become more
- 2:36Speaker 2: refined as a rusher the more reps that he gets.
- 2:39Speaker 1: And he's a player that's.
- 2:41Speaker 2: Coming from Houston Christian and it's not exactly a powerhouse.
- 2:44Speaker 2: He played two hundred and forty one snaps as a
- 2:46Speaker 2: rookie six hundred and ninety three last year. I'm imagining
- 2:50Speaker 2: that that's going to stay right around the same. But
- 2:53Speaker 2: this is someone who last summer showed up the training
- 2:56Speaker 2: camp looking noticeably more filled out in terms of his frame.
- 3:00Speaker 2: He looks stronger, and his body type allowed him to
- 3:05Speaker 2: be an effective two way player, meaning he could play
- 3:08Speaker 2: the run and rush the quarterback. He is developing more
- 3:12Speaker 2: of a plan in terms of his pass rush, and
- 3:15Speaker 2: he has a lot of variety, a lot more variety
- 3:19Speaker 2: that he's picked up along the way that he can
- 3:21Speaker 2: add in terms of his pass rush moves and things
- 3:24Speaker 2: like that. I really do believe that he's primed for
- 3:27Speaker 2: double digit sacks this year, and he's in a role
- 3:29Speaker 2: in which I think he's more ideally suited as the
- 3:32Speaker 2: second edge rusher in this group. So Jay looks Hunt,
- 3:35Speaker 2: you can kind of highlight him as a player that's
- 3:37Speaker 2: right on the cusp of.
- 3:39Speaker 1: Really breaking through here.
- 3:41Speaker 2: Nolan Smith is another player that I think is greatly
- 3:44Speaker 2: going to benefit from the Jonathan Grenard edition pound for pound,
- 3:47Speaker 2: And I've said this frequently on this podcast, I've written
- 3:50Speaker 2: about it. I think that Nolan Smith is one of
- 3:52Speaker 2: the more physical defensive linemen in the NFL. Pass rushers
- 3:57Speaker 2: two thirty eight to two forty five is typically where
- 4:00Speaker 2: he plays, but he throws his body around in the
- 4:03Speaker 2: mold of a throwback player, sets the edge with violence
- 4:06Speaker 2: and authority, plays the game with his hair on fire,
- 4:10Speaker 2: very effective in run support.
- 4:12Speaker 1: You just worry about the durability. And I'm assuming he's going.
- 4:17Speaker 2: To be the number three as rusher in this rotation
- 4:19Speaker 2: based off of the way that things trended last season,
- 4:22Speaker 2: and Jay looks Hunt expected to take a big leap
- 4:25Speaker 2: forward again. I think that that should help preserve Noan
- 4:29Speaker 2: Smith and keep him available for the full complement of
- 4:33Speaker 2: games are close right or thereabouts, but he's such an
- 4:37Speaker 2: effective player that you don't want to put him out
- 4:40Speaker 2: there for an extended period of time, because sometimes that
- 4:43Speaker 2: can provide diminishing returns if you're looking at a player
- 4:46Speaker 2: wearing down or accumulating a lot.
- 4:48Speaker 1: Of wear and tear. But I love the way that
- 4:50Speaker 1: he plays.
- 4:51Speaker 2: I've talked a lot about Moro Jomo and how he's
- 4:53Speaker 2: one of my favorite players to watch on the Eagles defense,
- 4:56Speaker 2: and how he uses his body and leverage get around
- 5:00Speaker 2: offensive guards and his short area of quickness and violence.
- 5:05Speaker 2: The way that he plays is really fascinating to watch.
- 5:08Speaker 2: But Nolan Smith isn't too far behind Moro Jomo.
- 5:12Speaker 1: At least the way that I see it.
- 5:13Speaker 2: I love the way that Nolan Smith plays because I
- 5:16Speaker 2: think it's when I see him play, it reminds me
- 5:19Speaker 2: of a throwback type of player and a Vic Fangio
- 5:23Speaker 2: type of player who just plays with a blue collar mentality,
- 5:27Speaker 2: doing whatever it takes and throwing his body around with
- 5:30Speaker 2: reckless abandon for the betterment of that defense.
- 5:33Speaker 1: And he brings a toughness and a tenacity.
- 5:35Speaker 2: So having him slot in projected anyway as the number
- 5:39Speaker 2: three edge rusher, you have your top three guys that.
- 5:41Speaker 1: Are really well at hand.
- 5:43Speaker 2: Then he get to Arnold Ebacadie, who the Eagles signed
- 5:46Speaker 2: to a two year deal in free agency. He was
- 5:49Speaker 2: a second round pick of the Atlanta Falcons a few
- 5:52Speaker 2: years ago. He began his career at Temple, then he
- 5:57Speaker 2: finishes off at Penn State. I think there's a lot
- 6:01Speaker 2: more that he can provide and sometimes a change of
- 6:03Speaker 2: scenery is needed. Now, he never quite amounted to that
- 6:06Speaker 2: second round billing in Atlanta, but you can see the athleticism,
- 6:10Speaker 2: you can see the burst and the closing speed that
- 6:12Speaker 2: he has.
- 6:13Speaker 1: It's about finishing.
- 6:14Speaker 2: It's about putting everything together to become a more technically
- 6:18Speaker 2: refined pass rusher, and that's what Jeremiah Washburn is going
- 6:22Speaker 2: to be tasked with now. It's important to note that
- 6:24Speaker 2: as the fourth edge rusher, he's not likely to see
- 6:27Speaker 2: a lot of snaps. Vic Fangio typically doesn't rotate when
- 6:31Speaker 2: it comes to the pass rushers. He operates with a
- 6:34Speaker 2: three man rotation largely, and josh Usha last season as
- 6:38Speaker 2: the fourth edge rusher had just about two hundred and
- 6:40Speaker 2: forty snaps.
- 6:41Speaker 1: So, barring injury, you're likely not going to see a
- 6:44Speaker 1: lot of honored a Wikadi.
- 6:45Speaker 2: But you look around the NFL, you're not likely to
- 6:48Speaker 2: find a better fourth edge rusher than ak Ebukati. He
- 6:53Speaker 2: likes to go by ak as we learned in his
- 6:56Speaker 2: first media availability with reporters, and you can see the
- 7:01Speaker 2: athletic movements that he has. I really think that he's
- 7:05Speaker 2: gonna be a good fit for this defense. How much
- 7:07Speaker 2: he factors in well. As I mentioned, it would take
- 7:11Speaker 2: an injury, I would imagine for him to really take
- 7:13Speaker 2: on meaningful snaps.
- 7:14Speaker 1: But the depth, all of a sudden, is there.
- 7:17Speaker 2: Then you look beyond that, you have Joe Tryon show
- 7:20Speaker 2: Yanka really good size at six' five, two six d,
- 7:23Speaker 2: ish longer type of, player more of a power. RUSHER
- 7:27Speaker 2: i liked him coming out Of washington, again another player
- 7:30Speaker 2: who was drafted in the first round and didn't. Well
- 7:33Speaker 2: he was drafted in the first, round but he didn't fulfill,
- 7:36Speaker 2: expectations sporadic sack. Production he was drafted by The buccaneers
- 7:40Speaker 2: and he split time between two.
- 7:42Speaker 1: Teams last.
- 7:43Speaker 2: Year he wasn't re signed and The eagles are sort
- 7:46Speaker 2: of taking a flyer on. Him he has sort of
- 7:49Speaker 2: an uphill battle to make the. Roster though you can
- 7:51Speaker 2: see a, path there's not someone right away that immediately
- 7:54Speaker 2: jumps out that that can sort of claim that spot
- 7:58Speaker 2: at the, moment but he is coming from a place
- 8:03Speaker 2: of experience and he's versed in various. SYSTEMS i like
- 8:07Speaker 2: his body, type but more often than, not AND i
- 8:11Speaker 2: look At Patrick johnson from years, past that fifth edge.
- 8:14Speaker 2: Rusher if you're going to be, active you have to
- 8:16Speaker 2: be able to contribute on special teams and not necessarily
- 8:19Speaker 2: be on the back end of the roster collecting. Dust,
- 8:21Speaker 2: Now Tryon shoyinka could set the world on fire and
- 8:24Speaker 2: training camp and claw his way into a roster. Spot
- 8:29Speaker 2: BUT i think it's also important to mention that he's
- 8:32Speaker 2: not that he doesn't look that out of place when
- 8:35Speaker 2: asked to drop into coverage where you can see his movement,
- 8:38Speaker 2: ability and he's a little bit more of a fluid
- 8:41Speaker 2: athlete THAN i THINK i originally, thought and certainly THAT
- 8:46Speaker 2: i thought coming out of the. Draft but that's someone
- 8:48Speaker 2: who's going to be in contention for that fifth. Spot
- 8:51Speaker 2: you also Have Keyshawn James, nuby who The eagles drafted
- 8:54Speaker 2: in the seventh.
- 8:55Speaker 1: Round not a big, guy not a.
- 8:57Speaker 2: Power, rusher but he does run a Fourth he does
- 9:01Speaker 2: have a lightning quick release off the, line a good spin,
- 9:04Speaker 2: move and a very productive background when it comes to
- 9:10Speaker 2: wherever he, Played Montana, Tech idaho and finishing off his
- 9:14Speaker 2: career At New.
- 9:14Speaker 1: Mexico he was productive at every.
- 9:16Speaker 2: Stop so he's obviously another player versed in different defensive
- 9:20Speaker 2: systems and you like that, athleticism WHICH i think would
- 9:24Speaker 2: lend itself to contributing on special. Teams so he's kind
- 9:28Speaker 2: of the draft pick that's often forgotten. About he was
- 9:30Speaker 2: their final, pick and there's a lot more picks that
- 9:34Speaker 2: are sort of garnering those. Headlines AND i understand that
- 9:38Speaker 2: he's a seventh round pick and not much is known about,
- 9:41Speaker 2: him and he's. Undersize he'll be twenty four years old In,
- 9:44Speaker 2: august so he's kind of getting lost in the shelf
- 9:47Speaker 2: a little. Bit but until they're on the, field until
- 9:51Speaker 2: you see these battles sort of, manifest it's it's kind
- 9:54Speaker 2: of impossible to deem somebody out of the running for that.
- 9:57Speaker 1: Spot and being a draft, pick he's.
- 10:00Speaker 2: Yeah he's going to be in contention With Joe Tryon,
- 10:01Speaker 2: shoyinka AND i would imagine, that if all things are,
- 10:04Speaker 2: equal you're going to defer to the.
- 10:06Speaker 1: Draft pick and keep him. Around.
- 10:08Speaker 2: Now Antoine Powell ryland was a player that The eagles drafted
- 10:11Speaker 2: in the sixth round last year out Of Virginia. Tech immense,
- 10:14Speaker 2: production a lot of force, fumbles and for whatever, reason
- 10:18Speaker 2: he wasn't able to generate enough snaps and catch the
- 10:23Speaker 2: eyes of the coaching. Staff it wasn't until the final
- 10:25Speaker 2: preseason game where he looked like Vintage Bruce smith out,
- 10:30Speaker 2: there but it wasn't enough to make up that kind of.
- 10:32Speaker 2: Ground so it's not a certainty That Keishawn James newby
- 10:37Speaker 2: is going to be pushing for a, Spot BUT i
- 10:40Speaker 2: like his skill set AND i think it differs a
- 10:42Speaker 2: little bit from some of the other players. There so
- 10:45Speaker 2: he's someone That i'll be keeping an eye on that's
- 10:47Speaker 2: sort of flying under the radar a little. Bit and
- 10:49Speaker 2: then you Have Jose ramirez who signed a reserve futures.
- 10:54Speaker 2: Deal he was in The Canadian Football, league played in
- 10:57Speaker 2: four GAMES i think it was with The. Buccaneers different
- 11:00Speaker 2: type of, body AND i think he's going to be
- 11:04Speaker 2: more of a special teams guy if he's able to stick.
- 11:05Speaker 2: Around he's THE i guess you could quantify him as
- 11:09Speaker 2: the longest of long. Shots when you're looking at this
- 11:13Speaker 2: group of pass. Rushers when you're looking at it through that,
- 11:15Speaker 2: scope and you know he does have a little bit of.
- 11:17Speaker 1: Experience the reps are going to be.
- 11:20Speaker 2: Infrequent the further down the pecking order you, are you
- 11:23Speaker 2: really have to attack each rep and almost like you're
- 11:28Speaker 2: like like you're playing in a. Game you have to
- 11:31Speaker 2: really go all out in your opportunities because they're so
- 11:34Speaker 2: infrequent that there's not a lot of.
- 11:37Speaker 1: Opportunities to catch the eyes of the coaching.
- 11:39Speaker 2: Staff so The egles typically brings seven or eight pass
- 11:42Speaker 2: rushers to training, camp AND i just mentioned seven right.
- 11:45Speaker 2: Now we'll see where things go from, here but this
- 11:49Speaker 2: group is far more well stocked than it was going
- 11:52Speaker 2: into the. OFFSEASON i would argue that finding a top
- 11:57Speaker 2: of the, rotation an ace to lead your pass rush
- 12:00Speaker 2: was among the most the highest. Priorities The eagles came
- 12:04Speaker 2: away With Jonathan, gernard AND i go back to the
- 12:08Speaker 2: plan was always to sign or make an attempt to
- 12:11Speaker 2: bring Back Jayalen, phillips but he priced himself out of
- 12:15Speaker 2: The eagles.
- 12:15Speaker 1: Budget they.
- 12:16Speaker 2: Pivoted they looked At Trey hendrickson of The Cincinnati bengals
- 12:19Speaker 2: in free. Agency he signs a massive deal with The
- 12:22Speaker 2: Baltimore ravens and then and this shouldn't be viewed as
- 12:25Speaker 2: a consolation at, all they end up with the best,
- 12:28Speaker 2: option at.
- 12:29Speaker 1: Least in my. Estimation And Jonathan, gernard.
- 12:32Speaker 3: All, right, everybody just a quick break to remind you
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- 16:08Speaker 2: Up so sometimes good things come to those that. Wait
- 16:12Speaker 2: AND i think back to twenty twenty when The eagles
- 16:15Speaker 2: were heavily involved in The Byron jones, sweepstakes trying to
- 16:17Speaker 2: get the corner from The Dallas cowboys to fill that
- 16:21Speaker 2: void because it had been a revolving door. Corner and
- 16:25Speaker 2: he gets a four, year eighty two million dollar deal
- 16:28Speaker 2: from The Miami, dolphins a little rich for The eagles,
- 16:30Speaker 2: blood but then they end up striking a trade with
- 16:32Speaker 2: The Detroit lions and instead Getting Darius, slay they got
- 16:36Speaker 2: the better. Player so sometimes you know you have to
- 16:39Speaker 2: let things play out a little. Bit BUT i just
- 16:41Speaker 2: love the fit For Jonathan, bernard and not only on.
- 16:44Speaker 1: The, field but also off the.
- 16:46Speaker 2: Field he exudes, leadership, ACCOUNTABILITY i, guess a selfless, mentality
- 16:52Speaker 2: and all those things were conveyed in just his brief
- 16:55Speaker 2: interaction with the media in the.
- 16:57Speaker 1: Twelve minutes that we spoke to. Him BUT i think
- 17:00Speaker 1: that was clearly conveyed in.
- 17:02Speaker 2: Conversation so he's gonna fit the culture and on the,
- 17:06Speaker 2: Field i'm expecting an early.
- 17:08Speaker 1: Impact so that's.
- 17:10Speaker 2: The eagles Edge rusher group as it goes into OTAs
- 17:13Speaker 2: and mandatory mini camp and, shortly you, know training camp
- 17:17Speaker 2: will be around the, corner AND i think you should
- 17:19Speaker 2: feel really confident with where they are and the steps
- 17:22Speaker 2: that they've taken to sort of rebuild that room and
- 17:25Speaker 2: add some pieces in the aftermath of Losing Jalen. Phillips
- 17:28Speaker 2: they're in a good, spot at least on. Paper now
- 17:31Speaker 2: we'll see how those pieces fit when The eagles are
- 17:34Speaker 2: on the practice field in training, camp when pads are
- 17:37Speaker 2: on and they're. Popping but, yeah on the, surface it
- 17:40Speaker 2: looks like a group that's primed for, uh that's prime
- 17:45Speaker 2: for a lot of. Success but for, now that's gonna do.
- 17:48Speaker 2: It for this episode Of The Czech O, Daily I'm
- 17:50Speaker 2: andrew De. Checo we'll catch you all on the next.
- 17:53Speaker 1: One