Vinny Curry had been playing hard. He had been doing all the right things. He had been causing pressure.
But through five weeks of the season there was a giant goose egg next to his name in the sack category.
Finally, the fourth-year pro picked up 1½ sacks against the Giants last week.
“Yeah, it felt good,” Curry said. “It felt real good, actually.”
Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis was happy to see Curry up his sack numbers last Sunday but doesn’t judge players on sack totals. He, instead, cares about technique, taking on double teams and moving quarterbacks from their spots.
So, Davis wasn’t concerned when Curry, who had nine sacks last year, didn’t have one through five weeks of the season.
“Vinny is always explosive, gap-penetrating … when it’s a passing situation, Vinny is disruptive every time,” Davis said. “He hasn’t had those sack numbers until this game but those sack numbers are coming for him.”
Curry had a nice game on Sunday, picking up 1½ sacks, three quarterback hits and one tackle for loss. And he did all that in just 19 snaps.
Curry is the kind of pass-rusher the Eagles put on the field to provide a spark. It’s a role he relishes.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Like the J.R. Smith of defense and the Lou Williams.”
This season has been a little different for the former second-round pick. Because of injuries during training camp, the Eagles moved Curry from defensive end to outside linebacker. Before this year, he had never played outside ‘backer.
But now, Curry hasn’t been playing just defensive end or linebacker. He’s sort of a hybrid.
“You said it right. Hybrid,” Curry said. “I’m just doing a lot of things they ask me to do.”
Curry said he doesn’t have a preference between the two positions. He just enjoys being a disruptive force when his number is called.
And he knows those sack numbers won’t be far behind.
“Absolutely. Definitely,” Curry said. “We were having team success and with team success, individual success will come. Just being able to cause havoc, whether you’re getting a holding penalty, an intentional grounding or a quarterback sack. At the end of the day, it all equals the same thing.”