Patrick Johnson hopes it leads to bigger things.
The Eagles’ fourth-year edge rusher played the role of hero on Friday night when his strip-sack in the fourth quarter set up a game-winning field goal for Jake Elliott in the Eagles’ 16-13 win over the Ravens in the preseason opener.
“It felt great, man, confidence-wise,” Johnson said. “Going into my Year 4, I really needed something like that for myself to just kind of get in the flow. I feel like I’ve had a solid camp so for that to happen in the first preseason game, it was huge.”
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Not only did Johnson force the fumble but he also recovered it with 16 seconds left to give Elliott, who missed a 50-yarder seconds earlier, a chance at redemption. Johnson said when the play call came in, he was excited because he knew he had a chance to get to the quarterback.
As Johnson enters Year 4 in the NFL, he is still fighting to make the Eagles’ 53-man roster. He’s been on the team the last three years since he was drafted in the seventh round out of Tulane back in 2021. While Johnson hasn’t been a major part of the defensive end rotation, he has played 362 snaps on defense in three years.
Where Johnson has really made his mark, though, is on special teams. He has played 868 special teams snaps in the last three years — the most of any Eagle.
It seems pretty obvious that Johnson is firmly on the bubble with a little over two weeks before final cuts. But he’s hoping his strip-sack will provide some momentum going into the home stretch.
NFL
“Absolutely,” Johnson said. “Football is all about confidence so when things are happening, you keep building more confidence, you start playing faster, play more freely.”
Key to evaluating
In the Eagles’ preseason opener, most of the offensive starters sat and most of the defensive starters played.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio explained why.
“We are just so new on defense,” Fangio said on Sunday. “I think our offense is returning eight of their 11 starters, I believe. Although, albeit Kellen (Moore) is new, most of the position coaches are the same on offense whereas everything is new on defense: new players, new coaches, new scheme. You know, we need to play.”
It was very clear that Fangio wanted his guys to play in that preseason opener and he got his way.
Aside from working through the operation in a game, those reps are also very important for the evaluation process. Fangio explained what he can see in games that he can’t see in practice.
“A lot because in practice, particularly in pass rush, you don't finish,” Fangio said. “You know, we try and stay away from the quarterback, so he doesn't hit his hand on an offensive lineman or a defensive pass rusher, so a game is where you actually do finish.
“A game is where you actually do tackle. A game is when actually everything is at full speed, snap to whistle. The games are very, very valuable in developing players, and also in evaluating players.”
Calling their own stunts
In recent years, the Eagles’ defensive linemen have had some autonomy to call their own stunts on the field.
Under Fangio and new defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, that’s continuing.
“It’s a mixture of both,” Milton Williams said. “It’s just how we see it and how we think they’re blocking it. He’ll obviously call some. But Hurtt said if we see something we like throughout a game, we can call it ourselves.”
In some practices, the Eagles spend time practicing different variations of those games. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.
In general, Williams seems to like Hurtt so far.
“He’s a players coach,” Williams said. “He’s on us. He’s going to be on us. But we have fun in meetings. We work hard but it’s jokingly hard. He’s on you but he’s like, ‘He got on you here. You need to get back. This is what you need to focus on to get better.’ Then he goes on to the next guy. He’s a great coach. Him being a former defensive coordinator, he knows a lot of ball.”
Some love for Lew Nichols
On Friday night against the Ravens, the only Eagles running back who didn’t play was Saquon Barkley. The reps were split between Kenny Gainwell, Will Shipley, Lew Nichols, Tyrion Davis-Price and Kendall Milton.
Head coach Nick Sirianni praised all the running backs but then gave a special shoutout to Nichols.
“I remember a couple years ago watching Lew’s tape,” Sirianni said. “I remember watching his junior year tape at Central Michigan, and I was like, ‘Holy smokes’. His junior tape was unbelievable. And then when Howie (Roseman) told me we were getting him, I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I love this guy.’ So, I'm excited to see him continue to grow. I thought they all did a great job tonight of running hard for extra yards off some broken tackles.”
In the game, Nichols’ numbers weren’t mind-boggling — he had 7 carries for 21 yards and a touchdown — but he got some tough yards and looked good. That’s just a continuation of what we’ve seen all summer in practices. After the top three of Barkley, Gainwell and Shipley, it has been Nichols standing out. If the Eagles elect to keep four running backs, he’ll have a shot.
Back in 2021, Nichols rushed for an incredible 1,848 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Packers drafted him in the seventh round last year but Nichols got hurt. Eventually, he joined the Eagles practice squad during the 2023 season and is getting his chance to show them something this summer.
Some 21 personnel
During Sunday’s practice, the Eagles ran a few plays with two running backs on the field at the same time. While 21 personnel isn’t widely used in the NFL, maybe it will be an occasional change of pace for the 2024 Eagles.
“Obviously, we feel really good about all three running backs,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Any time you have three like that, hey, ‘Is there a place to put two of them on the field?’ It's something for us definitely to explore. Figure out that rotation as a running back, and hey, if by the game plan it fits into the mold that we can put two of these guys on the field, I think it’s an excellent opportunity.
“All three are very diverse players, they can play multiple positions, they can do multiple things. So, real positive.”
The Eagles ran just 25 plays out of 21 personnel last season. The Chargers didn’t run it at all with Moore last season but he did use it a bit in Dallas. It’s not like this is going to become a base formation but it’s something in the toolbox.
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