Some DL Talk

Posted: July 18th, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

I recently re-watched some games from late last year. One of the guys I wanted to take a look at was DE Daeshon Hall.

The Eagles backup DEs will be Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat and rookie Shareef Miller. Hall showed some flashes last year, but clearly the team didn’t trust him enough to project him into a key role. I was curious to go back and take a look at him.

Hall is 6-5, 265. That’s an excellent frame for a DE. He is a good athlete. Physically, he looks like a good NFL DE. The problem is that he’s more athlete than football player. Hall is at his best on the run.

When Hall gets down in his stance and comes off the ball, not much happens. He doesn’t seem to have much of a plan for how to beat blocks. When plays go away from him and he can just chase the ball, Hall is impressive. He is a big, athletic dude. That’s what you want.

He just isn’t a technically sound pass rusher.

Watch Brandon Graham. He has studied the man who will block him and the opposing QB. Graham has a plan. Go inside. Go outside. Use speed. Use power. Use leverage. Mix up your moves and what you do with your hands.

Hall is talented enough to be a solid role player. He hasn’t shown the skill to be an effective pass rusher to this point, though. This is a critical offseason for him. He needs to impress the Eagles, or some other team. He must look like more of a polished pass rusher.

The one guy who will argue for Hall is STs coach Dave Fipp. Hall can be a terrific STer with his size and speed. You want him on the field in the kicking game. Is he good enough to carve out a Bryan Braman type of role? We’ll have to see about that.

I do wonder if some 3-4 team would give Hall a chance. Stand him upright and let him run. That’s him at his best./

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One of the things I’m curious about is how Jim Schwartz will use Malik Jackson and Fletcher Cox. Jackson has mostly played the 3-tech role in his career. That’s also where Cox lined up most of the time. Cox can move over to NT and still dominate. I’m curious about Jackson in that role.

The video above does show him 2-gapping. The Eagles don’t do a lot of that, but that is the kind of thing you might have to do at NT. The 3-tech gets to fire off the ball most of the time. The NT has to fight with blockers, often double-teams. You can’t just use athleticism in those situations. You must be able to do the dirty work.

Jackson has the size, strength and skill to play NT. It will be interesting to see how often he does it and how well he does it.

He and Cox are both big, talented athletes. They are going to give blockers fits.

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Should the Eagles consider making a move for Clowney?

This seems like a real long shot. Clowney is a terrific pass rusher and the Eagles love those guys, but Clowney would cost resources and money. I’m sure Howie Roseman has at least thought about making this move. Guys like Clowney aren’t easy to find.

The X-factor in this is that the Texans don’t have a GM. They are going to wait for the offseason to hire one. That could help or hurt the situation. Roseman could try to get a good deal by talking to someone who isn’t used to making trades. Or the acting GM could struggle to pull the trigger on such a key deal as this.

I really doubt anything comes of this. It would be interesting to know if Howie even makes a call.

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One Comment on “Some DL Talk”

  1. 1 Eagles News: PFF says Philadelphia has the NFL’s best pass rush unit – SportsHeadlines.News said at 7:13 AM on July 20th, 2019:

    […] Some DL Talk – Iggles BlitzShould the Eagles consider making a move for Jadeveon Clowney? This seems like a real long shot. Clowney is a terrific pass rusher and the Eagles love those guys, but Clowney would cost resources and money. I’m sure Howie Roseman has at least thought about making this move. Guys like Clowney aren’t easy to find. The X-factor in this is that the Texans don’t have a GM. They are going to wait for the offseason to hire one. That could help or hurt the situation. Roseman could try to get a good deal by talking to someone who isn’t used to making trades. Or the acting GM could struggle to pull the trigger on such a key deal as this. I really doubt anything comes of this. It would be interesting to know if Howie even makes a call. […]