In a Rush

PHILADELPHIA — From the outside, it’s easy to glance at a defensive box score and scan it for sack totals to gauge the overall success of a pass rush group. The reality, however, is that there are many moving parts and intricacies within the role on game days that often elude the untrained eye.

Tuesday morning presented the most relevant example, when Eagles Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio offered a notably ringing endorsement for a recently acquired veteran.

“I thought Za’Darius Smith played his best game since he had been here, which is expected,” he said.

GETTY IMAGES: The Philadelphia Eagles are leaning on 33-year-old Za’Darius Smith.

Smith, signed on Sept. 5, logged a season-high in snaps (36) last Sunday in Tampa, combining for a pair of stops in the Eagles’ 31-25 win. The 33-year-old was active, flowing to the football with urgency and setting the edge with violence. Bear in mind, Fangio identified the Bucs game as Smith’s best opposed to his debut against the Chiefs, where the veteran notched a half-sack and a quarterback hit of Patrick Mahomes. Further evidence that sacks don’t always tell the whole story.

At least for now, Fangio has implemented a workaround, dialing up pressure with traditional blitzes and simulated pressures. At times, patience is required. Things take time to take shape. And if you commit to the process and play your game without fixing on the most prominent designation for pass rushers, as the old adage goes, sacks tend to occur in bunches.

Complicating matters is that the Eagles, once well-stocked with seven edge rushers, are becoming thin at the position. Third-year pro Nolan Smith Jr., the centerpiece of the new-look unit, sustained a triceps strain and landed on injured reserve on September 24. Against the Bucs, veteran Ogbo Okoronkwo — a close friend of Smith as well as a locker neighbor — exited after just four defensive snaps and was placed on injured reserve days later with a triceps injury of his own.

“I look at, man, it’s football,” Smith said. “It’s a part of the game. It’s always next-man up. Obviously, you don’t wanna see your brothers get hurt, but it comes with it. And that’s why we prepare the way we do, and the younger guys getting more reps, to where a situation like this, where guys gotta go out and play in a big game. I feel like we got enough guys in the room to get it done.”

For the second consecutive week, the Eagles must embrace a next man up mentality, with former New York Giant Azeez Ojulari, rendered inactive the first four games, next in line to get the proverbial call from the bullpen. While Smith and second-year pro Jalyx Hunt remain the starters and will assume the lion’s share of the workload, the team has gotten quality rushes from free-agent addition Josh Uche — perhaps the Eagles’ most effective pure rusher through the first four weeks. Patrick Johnson, primarily a core special teamer but a pass-rusher by trade, chipped in last week with 15 snaps.

But even though the room has temporarily thinned and has yet to consistently affect the quarterback, Fangio is hardly sounding any alarms at this time, instead expressing confidence in his group as currently constructed.

“I think we’re good with what we have,” Fangio said. “The numbers are dwindling and if we need more, I’m sure Howie (Roseman) will get something done.”

The most accomplished, by a wide margin, is Smith, who boasts 69.5 sacks, 86 tackles for loss and 174 quarterback hits. Prior to signing with the Eagles, Smith last played in a game back in January as a member of the Detroit Lions. By Smith’s estimation, he’s “really getting back in the groove of things” and working his way back into full-fledged football shape, as evidenced by his weekly uptick in snaps. But beyond his experience and on-field contributions, Smith provides a stabilizing presence to a unit that finds itself under the microscope. The 11th-year veteran also adds savvy and invaluable league experience to a young room, imparting wisdom and perspective along the way.

“It’s little things that I’m keying in on and seeing that they don’t know yet as players,” he explained. “They’re young pros and I’ve been in it 11 years. So, it can be things that I can see from a tackle standpoint, that I know that the blocker may be going the opposite way, and they can see it faster and they can go and capitalize on those plays if they see it.”

Besides arming Fangio with more optionality, dialing in a consistent pass rush will be paramount in unlocking the full potential of Fangio’s swarming, attack style defense. Perhaps getting ahead of things, Smith has been in the position of pressing and chasing sacks to no avail. And, especially for younger players, that’s something in which to easily fall victim, as opposed to staying present, living play-to-playn and letting the sacks pile up organically. Fortunately for the room, Smith can share that perspective, reinforcing a clear-mind and letting the plays come to them. It’s a sentiment that’s resonated with his room.

“If you can go back to my first year where I had five and then my second year I had one sack,” he said. “I missed seven sacks. I was supposed to have eight that year. I missed ’em because I was so worried about sacks, sacks, sacks, and when I got to the quarterback, I couldn’t finish him. Obviously, those were still pressures and affecting the quarterback, but I wasn’t getting the numbers. So, I stopped worrying about it, and the next year I think I only had three-and-a-half, my third year.

“And then my fourth year, I really said, ‘Man, I’m not gonna worry about sacks.’ And I had 8 and a half. So, got me a nice pay day from Green Bay, so, obviously, the guys see that and know that now, where I’m coming from. And telling them about not just worrying about sacks; just go play ball and they gonna come to you.”

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