Bennie Logan a small wonder on Eagles' defense
The nose tackle is only 6-2 and 309 pounds, but is a sizable presence on defensive line.
ON THE Green Bay Packers' first offensive play Saturday night, Eagles nose tackle Bennie Logan powered his way by center Corey Linsley into the Packers' backfield and just missed tackling running back Eddie Lacy for a loss.
On the next play, he put Linsley on roller skates and drove him 5 yards into the backfield, where he teamed with linebacker Brandon Graham to drop Lacy for a 4-yard loss.
On the first play of the Packers' next possession, there was Logan again, 2 yards on the other side of the line of scrimmage, forcing running back John Starks to take an unwanted east-west detour, where linebacker Connor Barwin was waiting and held him to a 1-yard gain.
"Bennie has really been a disruptive force in the run game for us," Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said yesterday morning. "I think he's been difficult to block in all three of these preseason games. He's causing a lot of havoc, getting penetration into the backfield and disrupting the timing of plays.
"I think he's played really well, and may be playing as well as anybody on our defensive line right now."
Yes, he is. And maybe this would be a good time to point out that there was more than a fair amount of skepticism about Logan two years ago when the Eagles selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft.
At 6-2 and 309 pounds, many wondered whether he was big enough to play nose tackle in defensive coordinator Bill Davis' two-gap 3-4 scheme. OK, yeah, if you must know, I was one of those who wondered that.
Kelly and Davis never wondered, though. And neither did Logan.
"People look at nose tackle and think you have to be this huge guy," Logan said. "But I don't measure a nose tackle by [body] size. I measure them by heart.
"How much heart and effort are you willing to put in to be the best? Size doesn't really mean anything. It's all about the heart and pride you have when you're lining up against a guy."
The Eagles are one of 17 NFL teams that play a 3-4 base defense. Ten have a starting nose tackle who weighs 330 pounds or more. That doesn't include Houston's Vince Wilfork, who is listed as 325, but hasn't weighed that little since he was in kindergarten.
Logan is the league's second lightest starting nose tackle. Only the Chargers' Sean Lissemore is lighter (303).
"Early on, people were skeptical just because of my weight," Logan said. "But I weighed the same my first year as I weigh now. I didn't pay any attention [to what people were saying]. I just went out and worked on my technique and fundamentals. I just went out and tried to be dominant within the scheme.
"It's all about technique and how hard you want to work to be better than you were yesterday."
Here in Kellyville, they refer to that attitude as growth mindset.
"I don't think you have to be 340 to play this defense," defensive end Fletcher Cox said. "You just have to be really physical and put your hands on people."
Said Barwin: "I've been in the league for a while now. You see guys who look like they should be the most dominant players and aren't. And I've seen guys who are a little bit smaller and are some of the best football players I've ever seen.
"I've learned to hold any kind of judgment until I see what they do when they put the pads on. And as soon as Bennie got here, you could see what kind of player he was going to be."
Logan, Cox and Cedric Thornton form one of the best 3-4 fronts in the league. Last year, the Eagles finished tied for fifth in yards allowed per carry (3.7), and were third over the final eight games (3.5).
"It's all about the way we train," Logan said. "It doesn't just happen on game day. It happens during the week. Coach [Davis] does a great job of getting us ready for each opponent we face. It's the preparation during the week and in OTAs and the preseason."
Logan played in a one-gap scheme at LSU, but has made a smooth transition to Davis' two-gap 3-4. He has the versatility to play anywhere along the front, and often does.
"I felt I could've fit into any defensive scheme wherever I went," Logan said. "When I came here, [Davis] told me he wanted me to play the nose. It was a challenge for me, but one I was looking forward to. I've never been one to run from a challenge. I accepted it and faced it head on."
Logan said the perception that two-gap linemen mainly try to occupy blockers so that their linebackers can make plays isn't necessarily accurate.
"Most of the time you're playing one gap," he said. "But at the same time, you're still playing the backside gap whenever the ball presents itself. It's not like we're hanging on blocks for the linebackers to run free or anything like that. We just play our technique and our responsibility. And if the ball is there, just get off and make the play. But we do keep our linebackers free because we play our technique."
Logan has started 24 games the last two seasons, including all 16 last year. He had two sacks as a rookie, when he played 488 snaps, but none last year when he played 656, although his five hurries were the fifth most on the defense.
That's mainly because he wasn't used much on passing downs. He had only 296 pass-rush opportunities in 656 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. By comparison, Cox had 569 in 962 snaps.
Because of depth issues at outside linebacker, Vinny Curry, who had nine sacks last season primarily as an interior rusher in sub-packages, is expected to be used some at linebacker this season.
When Curry moves to linebacker, Logan or Thornton would replace him as an interior rusher alongside Cox.
"I'm looking forward to it," Logan said. "But whatever they need me to do I'm willing to do it. Whenever my number is called, I'm always ready."
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