February 04, 2016
Back in the Jim Johnson days in Philadelphia, the Eagles would load up on pass rushers, even if they had a stable of good ones already in place. Andy Reid wanted to throw as many "fastballs" as he could at opposing offensive lines.
The term "fastballs" is back. Speaking to reporters at the NoveCare Complex at Vinny Curry's "contract extension press conference," Eagles GM (let's just call him what he is) Howie Roseman took a page out of the Reid vernacular.
"The coaches want to make sure they have a bunch of pass rushers," said Roseman. "You know, ‘fastballs,’ as we used to say with Jim (Johnson), and now again with Jim (Schwartz). To be able to have guys who can get pressure on the quarterback who are versatile, who can rush inside and out, it was important."
The Eagles have an impressive group along their defensive front in Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry, Brandon Graham, Bennie Logan, and Connor Barwin.
Speaking with Derrick Gunn on CSN Philly's Quick Slants, head coach Doug Pederson identified the defensive line as the biggest strength on the team. "The strength probably on this team is the defensive line, linebackers, tremendous talent there," said Pederson.
Pederson is right. The defensive line has the chance to be one of the strongest in the NFL, and Schwartz is going to let them attack, as he said during an interview with Angelo Cataldi of WIP.
"We’re not gonna be a two-gap 3-4," said Schwartz. "I want those defensive lineman to be attacking. I want those guys to be creating and wreaking some havoc and putting pressure on the quarterback. They’re not gonna be playing at the line of scrimmage and grabbing guys and trying to keep the linebackers clean. I think we have some good guys up front. We can take the handcuffs off of them a little bit and get some more production out of them."
While the Eagles have a talented front four, there's an argument to be made that it lacks depth, considering many of the depth players acquired by the Chip Kelly regime may not be the best fits for a 4-3. Don't be surprised if the Eagles continue to add some more fastballs, however, they can get them.
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