Cole On Graham’s Passion: “I share that hunger with him”

When Eagles Pro Bowl defensive Trent Cole came into the league, teams talked about making him a 3/4 outside linebacker and few people took him  seriously as a defensive end because of his size.   NFL personnel executives calculated his height, weight and speed but they couldn’t calculate his desire.

Cole who wasn’t drafted until the fifth round, turned on his passion for the game and became a Pro Bowl defensive end.  His motor doesn’t stop.  He’s driven to make more and more plays behind the line of scrimmage.  The former Cincinnati Bearcat  said he sees much of himself in first round draft pick, Brandon Graham.

“Just looking back, I’ve seen film of myself from years ago”, Cole told the media today.  “I see Brandon, that guy who likes to get after it, nonstop motor on him, and wants to get after it. He’s hungry. That’s one thing I like about him and my teammates in general, that hunger they have. I share that hunger with him. I’m the type of guy, I’ll never be satisfied. Until the day I stop playing football, I probably still won’t be satisfied.”

Graham was happy to hear that Cole made those comments about him.

“I appreciate everything he said about me” Graham said today. “I know that I feel the same way about him, because they are going to have to put two or three on him, so what are they going to do with me? That’s what I want to know. I’m just going to go out there and go hard like I know I can.”

Both of these guys play the game with a high level of emotion.  Now that Graham has been named the starter at left defensive end, they’ll be playing together all the time.   Cole and his younger teammate will each being trying to wreak havoc on each play.  They’ll each be on a mission to get to the quarterback when the ball is snapped.

They’re not the prototypical defensive ends at about 6’2” and 270 pounds, but they’ve been able to use their size limitations to create advantages.

First of all they get off on the snap of the ball.  Cole and Graham will then get underneath the big tackles who are trying to prevent them from getting to the quarterback, and they use their power to push back these big boys back into the quarterbacks face.

The offensive tackles that they battle against everyday are huge, but they’re also not nearly as quick as these lighter, more athletic defensive ends.  Cole and Graham use their explosiveness and power to attack these big fellas and sometimes they’re able to overpower them.  Once they get them thinking about taking away their power moves, they’re able to slip by them by using their speed to go outside.

They alternate their pass rushes like a good Major League Baseball pitcher mixes up their pitches.  They keep the big guys guessing.  They’ll go inside, then go outside and next they’re attacking the big offensive tackles head up.

It takes a certain kind of player to beat up on a guy who outweighs them but 50 or 60 pounds.  The Eagles happen to have two of those players and they’re so eager to give them a chance to work together and make life a living hell for opposing quarterbacks.