Laws Playing A Key Role On The Eagles Defensive Line

After the Eagles-Jaguars game I wrote an article claiming Jacksonville’s inept offense had more to do with the Eagles defensive success than the Birds defense.  I have to take that back.  I must give these guys credit for playing well, especially the guys up front.

The Birds pass rush showed up and put the game away.  Any time you notch seven sacks, (Trevor Laws was credited one after study of game footage), you have to give a defense its due. Yes, David Garrard and the Jaguars were horrible but the Philly defense led by the front four went to Jacksonville, handled their business and made sure the Jags had no chance of winning.

That brings me to a clear development on the Eagles defensive line that made a huge difference in the game.  It was the pass rush pressure up the middle supplied by backup defensive tackle Trevor Laws.

During the off season, I sat in the Nova Care complex and heard new Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman explain why they were so intent on getting pass rushers.  The Birds didn’t want to be dependent on blitzing to get pressure on the quarterback.  Roseman wisely pointed to pass rushing from the front four correlating with Super Bowl championships.

They wanted to be able to rely on their front four and they wanted inside as well as outside pass rushers.  When the draft took place in April, Roseman and the Birds kept to their word and went out and drafted pass rushers.

Now after three games have been played, it turns out that the one player who has helped add an inside pass rush to their defense was already on the roster and I’m talking about Laws.

He’s playing a very important role right now on the football team.  Everybody knows the Eagles have a tremendous pass rusher from the right side in Trent Cole.  They’re getting a quality pass rush from the left side with rookie Brandon Graham and veteran Juqua Parker, but that outside pass rush can be negated if you don’t get a push from inside.

I asked Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott about the importance of Laws’ inside pressure against the Jags on Sunday.

“That’s been big. It’s huge, because Trevor dedicated himself this off season to becoming more physical and more sturdy”, McDermott said yesterday. “And that inside push is very important to us because of the speed we have outside. If you have speed outside, but the quarterback can step up all day, it doesn’t do you any good. Trevor’s had a good start to the season so far.”

If Laws can supply consistent pass rush pressure up the gut, it will allow McDermott to not rely on blitzing to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, he’ll be able to trust in his front four to get the job done.  That will make the secondary better.

Laws had been a major disappointment in his first two years with the Birds, but he committed himself to get better this past off season.  The young defensive lineman cut down his body fat and added about 20 pounds of muscle.

From the moment he showed up at training camp, he showed he was a much-improved football player.  Laws made plays consistently.  He stayed in the offensive backfield during work against the team’s number one offensive line.

Laws continued his improved play during the preseason, now he’s had a coming out party against the Jaguars.  He’s going to have his work cut out for him as we get deeper into the season.  He will face much better centers and guards, who will be smarter, tougher and quicker than what he dealt with in Jacksonville.

We’ll have to wait and see if he continue to put the pressure on passer from “up the gut”.