
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Even though former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Babin may have worked great with his defensive line coach, a football team has to be firing on all cylinders. When things aren’t meshing, it can lead to an implosion, and that’s exactly what happened with the 2012 Eagles.
Despite his ferocious style of play, which earned him back-to-back Pro Bowl honors in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Babin, a defensive end for the Eagles in 2009 and 2011-2012, was known for more than the sacks he tallied on the field.
“It’s funny — even now I go to these … events [with] guys that I played against. They’re like, ‘You’re a great dude. I thought you were an asshole,’” Babin said. “Maybe I was on the field, for sure — but off the field, I got your back.”
Babin was one of several top-notch players the Eagles had in 2012. But despite its talent, the team’s lack of cohesion created chaos.
Heading into the 2012 season, the Eagles were hoping to return to the playoffs after missing them the year prior and finishing 8-8. Even though they might not have known it at the beginning of the year, 2012 saw a changing of the guard, and as things got worse throughout the season, Babin said he could smell blood in the water.
“It was not good. We all knew what the situation was — that everyone was going to get fired at the end of the season,” Babin said.
Babin says that, even though the pieces seemed right, there were too many square pegs meant to fit in round holes.
“It just wasn’t the right fit,” he said. “The parts were great, but they weren’t the right parts to join together.
“Honestly, it could have been something really special. It was crazy. There’s a fine line of working and not working. It could have been something special.”
Looking back at why it didn’t work, Babin recalled the relationship he had with defensive line coach Jim Washburn and their ability to work together in Washburn’s signature Wide-9 defensive front that led Babin to record 23.5 sacks in 27 games.
But even though Babin and Washburn may have worked great together, the assistant had a falling out with head coach Andy Reid, a point Babin thinks was part of the team’s downfall.
“I just think that [Washburn] did not fit into Andy’s culture. [Reid] has a very specific culture. There’s a very specific hierarchy for his ecosystem to work,” Babin said. “When you inject too much of a not-right thing ... that’s what you get. You get a [expletive] disaster.”
Listen to ‘unCovering the Birds’ Episode Seven: Sack master, or master of chaos?
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