How Jenkins' return affects the DT picture
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
How Jenkins' return affects the DT picture
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The Eagles announced Tuesday that they've restructured Cullen Jenkins' contract and the defensive tackle will be back with the team in 2012.
That's good news for Jim Washburn, Juan Castillo and the entire defense.
Jenkins finished third on the team with 5.5 sacks and tied for third with 24 hurries, behind only Jason Babin and Trent Cole. Only five defensive tackles league-wide had more sacks than Jenkins.
His seven tackles for loss were tied for second on the Eagles. And according to Yahoo Sports' Doug Farrar, Jenkins led all defensive tackles in run defeats, defined as "the total number of plays that prevent the offense from gaining first down yardage on third or fourth down, stop the offense behind the line of scrimmage, or result in a turnover."
Jenkins also led all defensive tackles in run stop rate. Stops are defined by Football Outsiders as plays that prevent the offense from gaining 45 percent of needed yards on first down, 60 percent of needed yards on second down, and 100 percent of needed yards on third or fourth down.
Even with Jenkins back in the fold, the Eagles face some questions at defensive tackle. Mike Patterson also had a very good year, but he underwent a brain operation earlier this offseason. Assuming he's healthy, the Eagles have their starters in place.
But as we know by now, the backups will see a lot of action too. I looked up defensive tackle snap counts on Pro Football Focus. Keep in mind, these are percentage of snaps played by each guy when active on gameday.
| PLAYER | PCT. OF SNAPS |
| Mike Patterson | 66.3% |
| Cullen Jenkins | 61.6% |
| Derek Landri |
44.2% |
| Trevor Laws | 38.2% |
Juqua Parker also saw some time inside. And Antonio Dixon played in parts of four games.
The point here is that the Eagles must decide on their rotational tackles, who will play a big role in 2012.
Two of them - Trevor Laws and Derek Landri - are unrestricted free agents. Laws has had four years to establish himself since the Eagles drafted him in the second round of the 2008 draft, but hasn't done so. He could get a shot to compete for a roster spot in training camp, but I don't think Laws is someone the Eagles are counting on going forward.
Landri, on the other hand, made the most of his opportunity last season. He led the Eagles with eight tackles for loss to go along with a pair of sacks and 18 hurries. In 2010, Landri played over 70 percent of the Panthers' defensive snaps. Only eight defensive tackles were on the field more than him. But last season, he didn't make the Eagles' roster out of training camp and didn't catch on with another team, allowing the Eagles to re-sign him in Week 5 after Dixon went down. While there apparently wasn't a lot of interest from other teams before last season, things could be different this time around. Landri is a great fit as a rotational defensive tackle here. The Eagles would be wise to bring him back, but we'll have to see how the market plays out.
And finally, Dixon is a restricted free agent. In 2010, he was the Eagles' best run-stuffing defensive tackle and arguably their third-best defensive player overall. He didn't show much in three-plus games last season before going down with an injury. Washburn and the Eagles will have to decide if he fits into the team's plans going forward.
Age is also a factor here. Jenkins turned 31 in January. Patterson and Landri turn 29 in September. The Eagles could stand to get younger at defensive tackle. A high draft pick could join the DT rotation as a rookie and eventually (ideally) move into a starter's role.
One wild card here is Brandon Graham. He played inside at times as a rookie. The Eagles are set with their first-team defensive ends next season in Babin and Cole. Darryl Tapp was productive when healthy. And Phillip Hunt should compete for a roster spot as well. If the Eagles add a defensive end in free agency or high in the draft, perhaps we could see Graham get some snaps inside.
If you missed my What they're saying about the Eagles post earlier, click here.
You can follow me on Twitter or become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Sheil, you're wrong about Trevor Laws. Adam Caplan found out that the Eagles want to re-sign Laws to a new multi-year deal. He's a good rotation player.— soulman386- Sheil, maybe you should scout defensive talent for the Eagles. I remember last year you were pretty high on Landri before they cut him. Then he came back and had a big impact, just as you suspected he would.— words_matter
- They need a wide body in middle for those 4th and inches situations.
And I agree with Words_Matter, Sheil would do better then Howie on picking D players— camasbud -
"One wild card here is Brandon Graham. He played inside at times as a rookie."
Very undersized, coming off an injury, high motor. It's the perfect Eagle solution!
— banned - Laws and Graham both stink cut them after the draft of Stills from PSU.The eagles will NEVER EVER draft a LB in the 1st rd.Remember AR said "Lbs are not an important part of our scheme".Thats 1 of the many reasons that he has never ever won a SB and NEVER EVER will.— sewell guy
- they'll sign some under sized guy they can get cheap , why do you think the cheap bastids restructured cullens contract— tgo2go
- Th Giants won the SB twice in 5 years with BIG D linemen,,, i dont recall them drafting a "high-motor small linemen" just sayin. Good luck Juan in year 2 of "working hard" lol— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
- Try paying attention during games next time. The problem with the Eagles D isn't their D-line dummy. If anything, it's their strong point. Tuck in listed at 268, the same size as Cole. Osi is 255. When will dummies like you ever learn, weight is hardly the only factor when it comes to being productive in the NFL.
And if you're about to whine about how poor the Eagles were against the run, you should know the Giants big, massive, monstrous defense actually ranked below the Birds.— phillychaos - Sheil your analysis is the only thing keeping me from switching from becoming a Royals fan (and the associated counseling bills).— willbert31
- Eagles draft a DT in the first round as they should and pick up either 2 LB's or (1)LB and (1)Safety in the 2nd. The fact is that the difference in grade between Kuechly, Burfict and the 5th best Inside LB prospect is almost nothing with all receiving less than 7.0 talent scores. The 4th best DT is still over a 7.0 prospect. Anyhow, there are a few better scenarios than drafting a LB at 15.(can you say reaaaaach!)— UncleStosh
- How long until Broderick Bunkley comes back?— jman
- I'll agree with you Sheil about keeping Landri, unless some team wants to make him a starter. Is it possible we lose Laws and Desean in the same offseason? Nice '08 draft Andy.— dragoon6
- @phillychaos -
You obviously have comprehension issues..
All i was stating was “the giants don’t draft small linemen with high motors” go ahead,, read it again! or better yet – have mommy read it to you. DA~!!!!!
— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011 - Actually, HALF of what you were babbling about was that the Giants won 2 Super Bowls by drafting BIG linemen, when in fact, they're not much bigger than the Eagles'. And they're D-line certainly weren't any more productive than ours. That's what I addressed.
So, what were you saying about "comprehension issues"?— phillychaos - wow! you still dont understand! Good luck in life..
— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
