Both these guys have been uninspiring so far this year. Now Smith is out.

They have to add an edge rusher to the game day roster.

Ogbo had a good training camp. Why not give him a shot?

I don't think Smith has been uninspiring. I think he has gotten close to a couple sacks and just missed them. He and all the ends need to set the edge better. That's where Brandon Graham is sorely missed. He could set the edge, even undersized.

We don't have to panic just because N. Smith will miss a few games. Hunt is still learning the ropes and all the experience he gets will only help him grow. We already brought in Z. Smith and he can easily take more snaps --- especially this early in the season. I know most people here aren't all that excited about Patrick Johnson, but I'd love to see him get some meaningful snaps. He plays hard and always seems to produce when given a chance to play. Uche has also played well enough to deserve more snaps. Though he hasn't impressed thus far, Ojulari is still here too if needed.

I figure we'll just start by playing Z. Smith a lot more while Nolan is out. Patrick Johnson is already going to be active for ST, so he might as well rotate in a little bit.

Smith didn’t start off last year being that great but then he got hot in the second half and was a force in the playoffs.

Now Smith is Hurt. Hunt has probably promoted a season too early. Both have a lot of potential, nut Smith can’t seem to stay healthy.

8 hours ago, brkmsn said:

We don't have to panic just because N. Smith will miss a few games.

I don’t think it’s about panicking though? The DE spot was a concern during the offseason. And it’s not exactly been a great start by Smith or Hunt so to lose Smith is definitely a blow.

The defense started slow last year but it was a steamroller by the end of the season, people are overthinking it.

3 games in and our passing defense is top 10 in most categories outside sacks, the run defense needs work but overall points allowed we're solidly mid table after playing two play off teams from last year and a tough divisional. The sky isn't falling in, Zadarius will get some extra snaps, the defense will round into midseason form and everything will be OK even though none of our DE's put up gaudy sack numbers, just like last year.

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don’t think it’s about panicking though? The DE spot was a concern during the offseason. And it’s not exactly been a great start by Smith or Hunt so to lose Smith is definitely a blow.

It depends on who you are talking to whether or not a certain position was a concern. I'm pretty confident in the young duo of N. Smith and Hunt as our edge starters. Smith was playing 76% of the snaps and Hunt 62% through 3 games. Both guys have been playing well to this point. So the bigger question heading into this season was: how would the depth sort itself out? I think most of us thought Ojulari would be the top backup, but Uche has risen ahead of him. The Eagles had planned to add Z. Smith after week 1 (to avoid the contract guarantee) and he brings veteran experience to the group.

IMO, Ojulari being unable to impress at all in preseason/camp was the biggest surprise. But the addition of Z. Smith has compensated for that for depth purposes.

Teams tend to play against Fangio's defense with a game plan of getting rid of the ball quickly. So equating a lack of sacks as edge play that has been "not great" is not an accurate assessment --- Especially given that the offense wasn't putting any pressure on opponents to become one-dimensional. There's always a temptation by fans to take a short sample (like the 1st 3 games) and project stats for the rest of the season based on that sample, but in reality, there are a bunch more games and some of them will be much different. Through the first 2 games Hurts was on pace for 0 passing TDs through an entire season. He had 3 in the 2nd half last Sunday.

Nolan Smith plays with tremendous aggression for an undersized Edge...which I like. He's just not holding up well, unfortunately, and they're saying he's gonna be out until at least after the bye week. Edge Rusher will likely be the #1 priority next offseason barring some crazy trade in the next month or so.

Fangio has been blitzing more this season so it's fair to wonder if that's more due to the Edges not getting good enough pressure or he's trying to protect the lone weak link in the secondary.

I guess we will see how well Zadarius can play with increased reps and whether or not anyone else can step up.

Man, there's quite a few good points in this thread -

2 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Teams tend to play against Fangio's defense with a game plan of getting rid of the ball quickly. So equating a lack of sacks as edge play that has been "not great" is not an accurate assessment

5 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

3 games in and our passing defense is top 10 in most categories outside sacks, the run defense needs work but overall points allowed we're solidly mid table after playing two play off teams

2 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

Edge Rusher will likely be the #1 priority next offseason barring some crazy trade in the next month or so.

Theree have been quite a few hurries but the sacks haven't come. Even so, the Eagles pass defense hasn't been bad. Let's not WIP it and over react to every bit of news. Howie did load up on edge rushers and the 2 O's nowhave there opportunities to step up.

Looking forward to a 1st round edge in next years draft

I think Smith was playing very well. There haven't been sacks but he's been a good defender overall. I haven't noticed Hunt that much.