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.

Hunt had the most edge snaps vs Tampa. Did anyone see him do anything?

59 minutes ago, weko said:

Hunt had the most edge snaps vs Tampa. Did anyone see him do anything?

Nada. Your point stands. We have little on the edge which am guessing is why Fangio is blitzing a lot more these days. Can’t rely on four to get home.

Hunt has 8 hurries, 11 pressures, 5 stops, 2 TFL, 1 FF and 1 PD. We're talking about a guy that came into the NFL 1 year ago super raw from a very small college program. I'm not exactly sure what some of you are expecting. I see a young player that flashes big play potential, that has responded remarkably well to coaching, but has to continue to gain and learn from experience. I am encouraged by what I have seen and am optimistic about his future. Remember this is also a Vic Fangio defense and he has had 22 snaps in coverage (4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards allowed).

3 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Philadelphia Eagles . com has Hunt down for 2 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles and no sacks in 4 games.

They don't list hurries or pressures. Where did you get those stats?

3 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Hunt has 8 hurries, 11 pressures, 5 stops, 2 TFL, 1 FF and 1 PD. We're talking about a guy that came into the NFL 1 year ago super raw from a very small college program. I'm not exactly sure what some of you are expecting. I see a young player that flashes big play potential, that has responded remarkably well to coaching, but has to continue to gain and learn from experience. I am encouraged by what I have seen and am optimistic about his future. Remember this is also a Vic Fangio defense and he has had 22 snaps in coverage (4 targets, 2 receptions, 5 yards allowed).

Hunt played 53 snaps, by far the most of our edge defenders. ESPN box score had Eagles team making 70 tackles. Hunt had 1 solo tackle and 1 assisted tackle, no sacks no QB hits

Should also add he was credited with a forced fumble

Week 3

Eagles had 74 tackles. Hunt had 2 assisted tackles, no solo tackles, no sacks, 2 QB hits

Week 2

Eagles had 61 tackles. Hunt had 0 tackles no sacks, 1 QB hit

Week 1

Eagles had 60 tackles. Hunt had 1 solo tackle, 2 assisted tackles, no sacks, no QB hits

5 hours ago, weko said:

Philadelphia Eagles . com has Hunt down for 2 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles and no sacks in 4 games.

They don't list hurries or pressures. Where did you get those stats?

You can get stats at profootballreference.com, Next Gen Stats, PFF, and various fantasy sites that track stats.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HuntJa02.htm

https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/jalyx-hunt/105989

You may need an NFL+ subscription (and sign in) to see everything at Next Gen Stats. It doesn't really let me share links. Here's a screen shot:

I looked up the definition of "pressure rate." It is defined by sacks, QB hits and QB hurries.

Hunrt has no sacks in 4 games and 4 QB hits or 1 per game. So the bulk of these stats are due to "QB Hurries."

The definition of a QB hurry is when pressure forces the QB to alter their intended play by throwing earlier than planned or making a poorly delivered pass

or scrambling out of the pocket..

Having two top DTs that flush QBs out of the pocket either up back or sideways can often result in a hurry for the edge rusher who is the beneficiary of DT penetration.

A QB could sit in the pocket for 15-20 seconds and the edge rusher could get creditied with a hurry if he finally got near the QB. I don't see where forcing a QB to scramble outside the pocket

is always a good thing. There are many long 3rd down QB runs around the ends in this league. The QB could scramble and get away from the edge rusher and that's a positive stat? Many times the edge rusher has responsibility for containing the edge. But under this definition the rusher could get a positive hurry stat by allowing the QB to get around the edge and up the field. The Oline could completely dominate the DL line and provide a clean pocket for 10 seconds or more and the DLman could in many cases be credited with a hurry at the end of the play. And a poorly delivered pass could be the result of a defensive back covering a receiver well.

The adage you can make any argument with statistics seems to apply here.

Bottom line Hunt is starting, playing a very high number of snaps in a passing league and has no sacks in 4 games and only hits the QB one time per game. Each hurry needs to be looked at to see if

there's any reason to credit the pass rusher with a good play. On the whole they are padded stats as a total number. You'd have to look at each one indvidually to determine whether or not there is merit

to defining that hurry as a good play. The overall number is meaningless.

9 hours ago, weko said:

I looked up the definition of "pressure rate." It is defined by sacks, QB hits and QB hurries.

Hunrt has no sacks in 4 games and 4 QB hits or 1 per game. So the bulk of these stats are due to "QB Hurries."

The definition of a QB hurry is when pressure forces the QB to alter their intended play by throwing earlier than planned or making a poorly delivered pass

or scrambling out of the pocket..

Having two top DTs that flush QBs out of the pocket either up back or sideways can often result in a hurry for the edge rusher who is the beneficiary of DT penetration.

A QB could sit in the pocket for 15-20 seconds and the edge rusher could get creditied with a hurry if he finally got near the QB. I don't see where forcing a QB to scramble outside the pocket

is always a good thing. There are many long 3rd down QB runs around the ends in this league. The QB could scramble and get away from the edge rusher and that's a positive stat? Many times the edge rusher has responsibility for containing the edge. But under this definition the rusher could get a positive hurry stat by allowing the QB to get around the edge and up the field. The Oline could completely dominate the DL line and provide a clean pocket for 10 seconds or more and the DLman could in many cases be credited with a hurry at the end of the play. And a poorly delivered pass could be the result of a defensive back covering a receiver well.

The adage you can make any argument with statistics seems to apply here.

Bottom line Hunt is starting, playing a very high number of snaps in a passing league and has no sacks in 4 games and only hits the QB one time per game. Each hurry needs to be looked at to see if

there's any reason to credit the pass rusher with a good play. On the whole they are padded stats as a total number. You'd have to look at each one indvidually to determine whether or not there is merit

to defining that hurry as a good play. The overall number is meaningless.

Feel free to share clips that prove your point. Making a long rebuttal to disprove a statistic that has been used in credible football discussion for years is going to require some visual proof, not an imaginary "what if" scenario. Stats such as pressures, hurries, missed tackles, PDs, etc... can see varied totals as each source that tracks them often does their own tallies. So when you see NGS, PFF, PFR, etc... (multiple independent sources) all showing similar totals, it naturally lends credibility to them. You can choose to dismiss whatever stat or stats you want, but at the end of the day, every argument you just made to discredit a "hurry" can apply to a sack. A DT can do all the work that disrupts a play that leads to a fortuitous sack for an edge rusher.

I agree. Let's see if Hunt can sack or hit the QB

On 10/2/2025 at 8:54 AM, brkmsn said:

Feel free to share clips that prove your point. Making a long rebuttal to disprove a statistic that has been used in credible football discussion for years is going to require some visual proof, not an imaginary "what if" scenario. Stats such as pressures, hurries, missed tackles, PDs, etc... can see varied totals as each source that tracks them often does their own tallies. So when you see NGS, PFF, PFR, etc... (multiple independent sources) all showing similar totals, it naturally lends credibility to them. You can choose to dismiss whatever stat or stats you want, but at the end of the day, every argument you just made to discredit a "hurry" can apply to a sack. A DT can do all the work that disrupts a play that leads to a fortuitous sack for an edge rusher.

As for stats, they are often created to manipulate.

Look at the government's 1.2 per cent annual inflation number for the past decade plus. Real inflation has run at 3-5 % those years. They drop food and energy from the equation using the replacement theory that states that when prices of things increase, steak for instance, people will switch to alternatives like ground beef and they don't count the price increase in their computations. They rig the numbers so they won't have to increase monthly payments to retired workers on SS and government pensions and so they can keep interest rates artificially low to lower their massive debt payments. Or the monthly government jobs figures which are completely made up based on a phantom birth/death model that is completely made up. Those numbers are then revised lower by hundreds of thousand of jobs in later months when the real numbers come in.

Yes you are right, to get a completely accurate read on DL performance you would need to watch and re watch every play. The stat like many is subjective and arbitrary and often does not accurately measure what it claims.

Eagles had 77 tackles today. Hunt had 1 tackle and 1 QB hit but only got that because his OT slanted in at the snap and there was no one in front of him.

He's playing like he doesn't belong in the NFL. Giving us nothing

14 hours ago, weko said:

Eagles had 77 tackles today. Hunt had 1 tackle and 1 QB hit but only got that because his OT slanted in at the snap and there was no one in front of him.

He's playing like he doesn't belong in the NFL. Giving us nothing

So this thread is officially the whine about Jalyx Hunt thread now, I guess. I'm pretty sure Fangio knows whether or not Hunt is doing what he is being asked to do. It's not like he's missing tackles or regularly getting penalized. His skill set allows Vic to drop him in coverage from time to time and he's above average in effectiveness in that area. The defense as a whole has not generated many sacks to date. If you look at the stats like you do and see that Jalen Carter has played more snaps than Jalyx Hunt and has produced less per snap played, I guess you can only conclude that Carter also is playing like he doesn't belong in the NFL.