The LB Corps

[Procus]

http://igglesblitz.com/2020/05/the-lb-corps/

Quote

The LB Corps

Posted: May 9th, 2020 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 76 Comments

Back in 1983 the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series (my apologies Phillies fans). One of the keys was the Orioles outfield. The outfielders produced 59 HRs, 275 RBIs and 102 doubles. Who were the outfielders?

John Lowenstein, Dan Ford, Al Bumbry, Gary Roenicke, John Shelby and Jim Dwyer. The Orioles used a platoon system and also got creative with how to get the most production out of their players. They didn’t have three studs to put out there so they found a way to use all six guys.

I mention this because the Eagles might do the same thing with their LBs in 2020.

The starters project to be Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards and Duke Riley. Free agent Jatavis Brown and rookie Davion Taylor will push for roles. Alex Singleton will battle to make the roster and find a role. Rookies Shaun Bradley and Dante Olson will also fight for roster spots.

Gone are the days of Seth, B.E. and Willie T.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. You can’t spend big everywhere. You must go cheap somewhere. For the Eagles, that spot is LB. I do think the Eagles can get effective play from this group. This is the most athletic group they’ve had at LB in a while.

Nate Gerry		6-2, 230	4.58
T.J. Edwards		6-0, 230	4.77
Duke Riley		6-0, 232	4.58
Jatavis Brown		5-11, 221	4.47
Davian Taylor		6-0, 228	4.49
Alex Singleton		6-2, 240	4.67
Shaun Bradley		6-1, 235	4.51
Dante Olson		6-2, 237	4.88

This isn’t a huge group, but they run well and are pretty athletic.

Nate Gerry is a player on the rise. That comment is a double-edged sword. Gerry is improving, but he’s still got a long way to go. Tackling is his biggest issue. There are times when Gerry wraps up and puts the runner/receiver down smoothly. There are too many misses. Some of them bad misses.

But Gerry has gotten better each year in the league. He is a gifted athlete. Gerry has become a good blitzer. He had 2.5 sacks last year. He’s gotten much better in coverage. He used to look lost at times. Things have slowed down for him and he now can use his speed more effectively. Gerry broke up 5 passes last year. And we’ve seen him make big plays in the passing game.

DIE-HARD  Fans@Eaglesfans9

 

 

Nate Gerry with a CLUTCH interception in the end zone! #FlyEaglesFly

 

 

72

10:42 PM - Sep 15, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See DIE-HARD  Fans's other Tweets

 

John Clark

 

✔@JClarkNBCS

 

 

Nate Gerry with Eagles first Pick 6 since Patrick Robinson in NFC title game vs Vikings

@Eagles

 

 

619

1:30 PM - Oct 6, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

86 people are talking about this

 

Gerry is a player with ability. This isn’t like Casey Matthews, where the team hoped a player would show something. Gerry has legitimate skills and real upside. We don’t know if he’ll flat line and stay where he is or continue to improve.

Here’s Fran Duffy showing Gerry in action.

Fran Duffy

 

✔@EaglesXOs

 

 

I know he was the culprit on one of the turning points of the game, but I thought that overall Nate Gerry showed up well in the run game against the Pats. Played sideline to sideline and found ways to defeat blocks downhill as well. Always where he needed to be #FlyEaglesFly

 

 

61

6:44 PM - Nov 19, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See Fran Duffy's other Tweets

 

This will be a huge year for Gerry. He needs to keep improving if he wants to keep his job.

Jimmy Bama wrote an excellent piece on T.J. Edwards. He also put together some good clips of Edwards in action.

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 · May 9, 2020

 

This offseason, we're looking at a handful of Eagles players who are either new, or are already with the team, but we perhaps don't know a lot about them just yet due to limited action. Here we'll cover LB T.J. Edwards. (Thread and article) https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-new-player-or-current-player-new-role-series-tj-edwards-edition/ …

Eagles new player (or current player with new role) series: T.J. Edwards edition

During the offseason, we'll be taking a look at a handful of players who are either new to the Philadelphia Eagles, or are already with the team but we perhaps don't know a lot about them just yet....

phillyvoice.com

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 

Edwards (#57) was very good against the run in 2019. He does a great job of avoiding/shedding blocks & getting to the ball carrier, whether that be against a FB, or an offensive lineman with 80 lbs on him. Here he helps the RG run by him, then makes a physical tackle on the RB.

 

 

19

7:42 AM - May 9, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See Jimmy Kempski's other Tweets

 

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 · May 9, 2020

 

Replying to @JimmyKempski

He also almost seems to like crashing into fullbacks. He’s the LB on the left side of the screen here. He slams into the FB, then makes the tackle.

 

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 

Crashes violently into the FB, makes the tackle on Zeke.

 

 

14

7:42 AM - May 9, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See Jimmy Kempski's other Tweets

 

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 · May 9, 2020

 

Replying to @JimmyKempski

So, OK, he's tough and he plays downhill. Cool. He also plays under control. On this outside run, he reads, reads some more, and makes the play for no gain.

 

Jimmy Kempski@JimmyKempski

 

Here he waits behind big No. 66, and when the hole opens, Edwards hits it and makes a physical tackle.

 

 

17

7:42 AM - May 9, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See Jimmy Kempski's other Tweets

 

Edwards showed a lot of promise as a rookie. He wasn’t a playmaker at all (no sacks, INTs or TFLs), but Edwards was a terrific run defender. He’s got some speed limitations that will cause him issues. Edwards has good instincts and excellent quickness, but out in space it helps to have speed. At the very least, he could be a good 2-down LB for the Eagles.

Duke Riley started 16 games for the Falcons between 2017-2019. He was a role player for the Eagles last year and played better than I expected. This year he will have a chance to start. Riley is another small, speedy LB. He’s got some experience and he’s a good tackler. Riley hasn’t done much as a playmaker. He has 2 career TFLs and 2 PDs. Other than that, just tackles.

The Eagles will have Jatavis Brown pushing Riley. Fran Duffy put together a piece showing Brown in action.

Another small, speedy LB. Brown does have 23 career starts and has shown potential as a playmaker.

Taylor is a very athletic LB with outstanding potential. He’s also very raw. I think the Eagles can get him on the field this  year, but it will likely be in a limited role.

Michael Kist@MichaelKistNFL

 

 

Eagles official visit LB/S Davion Taylor in attack mode is quite fun. High energy player w/plenty of speed/explosion to his game (sub-4.4 at his pro day w/a 36" vert) -

 

 

73

9:26 AM - Mar 12, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

17 people are talking about this

 

You can find a way to use his speed in sub-packages.

Singleton, Bradley and Olson all have a real fight ahead of them as they try to make the team. Singleton did play last year and was good on STs. Bradley is an excellent athlete. Olson is instinctive and was a playmaker in college.

_

 

[PoconoDon]

The Eagles have a LB'ing corps??

Hmmm...who knew.

[Uscg-green]

29 minutes ago, PoconoDon said:

The Eagles have a LB'ing corps??

Hmmm...who knew.

What is this "LB Corps" you speak of?

[UK_EaglesFan89]

LB is the least important position in football. Us not prioritising the position makes sense and put the money in to other positions. 

[birdman#12]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

LB is the least important position in football. Us not prioritising the position makes sense and put the money in to other positions. 

Yet, you're only as strong as your weakest link.  A good QB and OC can destroy a defense with weak linebackers.  

And once again, the eagles linebackers are brutally underrated.  No, they're not stars and they're not "big play" types, but they're young, improving and support the run well and are about average in coverage.  

The eagles prefer spending the big money on the defensive line and I agree with that.  The fact that Cox is healthy going INTO the season, Jackson and Ridgeway are healthy and they added Hargrave, their pocket push is going to be the best in the league.  That could benefit the DEs and DBs.  The pass rush will cause quick dump offs to RBs and short yardage to TEs......the linebacker must limit the YAC in those situations.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

15 minutes ago, birdman#12 said:

Yet, you're only as strong as your weakest link.  A good QB and OC can destroy a defense with weak linebackers.  

And once again, the eagles linebackers are brutally underrated.  No, they're not stars and they're not "big play" types, but they're young, improving and support the run well and are about average in coverage.  

They've done OK the last couple of years though... And what they need is good coverage linebackers which I believe they have with the Safeties they have.

[time2rock]

3 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

The Eagles have a LB'ing corps??

Hmmm...who knew.

Tommy misspelled corpse.  

[PoconoDon]

5 hours ago, Uscg-green said:

What is this "LB Corps" you speak of?

I'm guessing it's a secret weapon the Eagles have but are hiding from us.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 hour ago, PoconoDon said:

I'm guessing it's a secret weapon the Eagles have but are hiding from us.

Lying b@**ard corps?

[Road to Victory]

It’s hard to sugar coat it but if this is the group we start the season with we’re going to run into trouble at some point. I understand you can’t spend everywhere but there were some other options that they passed on especially in the 2nd round of the draft. 

[DeathByEagle]

On 5/11/2020 at 5:18 AM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

LB is the least important position in football. Us not prioritising the position makes sense and put the money in to other positions. 

That kinda of depends on who the DC is, the scheme and the player. If you have a Luke Kuechly type of player then it is important. 

Now we dont have a Luke type of player and in Jim's system he hangs LBs and DBs out to dry. So in our current system, LB is the least important for sure. 

Next year could be a different story when Jim is gone. 

[jsb235]

Since I have way too much time on my hands right now, I watched some all 22 film today of Jatavious Brown against the Chiefs and LJ Fort against the Seahawks from last season, as well as the Eagles-Bears game.

Fort was light years better than Brown. He was better at every single aspect of the game. He made a few keys plays, including a stop on Wilson in the open field and a qb pressure in the red zone, and didn't miss a tackle.

Brown is just not good. He doesn't attack the LOS on run plays, he can't get off blocks and he loses interest in coverage. He's better than Gerry, but not by much, and only because Gerry is terrible.

Edwards is just solid. If the team had him and Fort at LB, you could just put them out there and forget about the position for the next few years. They shed blockers, they make tackles and they find the ball. Both guys are constantly in the right spot.

I honestly don't know how the eagles looked at the Chiefs/Rams game from last season and thought: "That guy who is always out of position and not making plays? That's the guy we need." I also watched two of his games from 2018, and it wasn't much better.

I am just bewildered how Fort never saw the field here when he was light years better than anyone we had last year.

[time2rock]

12 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

That kinda of depends on who the DC is, the scheme and the player. If you have a Luke Kuechly type of player then it is important. 

Now we dont have a Luke type of player and in Jim's system he hangs LBs and DBs out to dry. So in our current system, LB is the least important for sure. 

Next year could be a different story when Jim is gone. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone said/typed that.  

[DeathByEagle]

7 hours ago, time2rock said:

If I had a dollar for every time someone said/typed that.  

His contract is done. I would expect if the FO wanted him back he would have his extension by now. Its just how they work. They dont let a coach go on his final year of his deal if they want them back. 

[time2rock]

3 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

His contract is done. I would expect if the FO wanted him back he would have his extension by now. Its just how they work. They dont let a coach go on his final year of his deal if they want them back. 

Ahhhh, didn’t realize Schwartz was in the final year of his deal.  Guessing they’ll see how the defense plays this upcoming season ..: if improved it wouldn’t surprise me if he is extended mid-season.   But honestly, with what he had to work with the past few seasons, he did a commendable job.