BIG TIME performance for the Eagles’ defense on Sunday, and Ross Tucker, who joins Joe Giglio & Hugh Douglas every Tuesday, thinks they’re the best in the NFL.
“I do think they’re the best defense in the NFL, and statistically, they've proven that since the bye – and I think that more than anything else is the biggest reason why the Eagles have such a good chance to win the Super Bowl,” Tucker said. “We weren’t really talking about their defense that much in the off-season or even earlier in the season, but Sunday, for them to do that against Baltimore, it was a favorable performance for a defense that didn't even have one of their better players in Darius Slay.”
They’ve lost pass rushers, they’re without Slay, and playing a former edge rusher as their coverage backer…and yet, to Tucker, the coming out party of Zack Baun in that latter role is ‘one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen.’
“I mean that sincerely – it’s such a hard sport to play and to excel at, so for a guy to basically switch positions and play this well at the new position right away, and to have such good instincts at the new position right away, it’s crazy,” Tucker said. “A lot of that is he's obviously a very smart player and he's able to do the work during the week in preparation to have a good feel for what's coming, but I can’t emphasize this enough.”
As Tucker explained, Baun’s role was, ideally, supposed to be a rotational edge rusher and plus special teamer, but the brass saw enough in some preseason snaps that earned him the opportunity to play where he is now…and here we are.
“Sometimes there is some good fortune, but I think if they were being honest, even Fangio and Howie would tell you they weren't expecting him to be this good,” Tucker said.
They probably weren’t expecting what they’ve gotten out of second-round pick Cooper DeJean, either, but since he entered the starting lineup, they’re undefeated, and his de-cleating hit of Derrick Henry on Sunday may be an Eagles signature moment.
“This is like the third or fourth week I’ve been on with you guys and we’re talking about a Cooper DeJean play – he’s not just a good player, he’s clutch,” Tucker said. “That hit, Henry had kind of just caught the ball and I get that it's not like he had a head of steam, but it doesn’t matter – it’s the mindset and the confidence that gives the whole rest of the team. I saw them going crazy on the sidelines, and I don't know what that celebration thing is that he did afterwards, but I'm here for it. I knew he’d be good in coverage, but I don't think I knew he was this physical – he’s basically playing that third linebacker as a nickel, and he’s showing that he can cover like a corner but he can hit and play physical like a safety. He’s a rare breed. That was an amazing, pure form tackle by Cooper DeJean that looked awesome.”
And to that point about his confidence, Hugh asked if ‘tackling is contagious’ and DeJean is hyping the team up to be better in that regard, and, well…
“I think physicality is contagious. You can tell when an offensive line has like a bully or two and you can see the offensive lines that don't, I've always noticed that – when Jon Runyan was here, the rest of the O-line gave it a little more than they naturally would have because they saw what he did and they didn't want to look bad by comparison,” Tucker said. “I think on defense that when you have guys out there laying the wood, I think you see the reaction on the sideline and you want to be a part of that, and we know a lot of guys aren’t afraid to hit people and show what they’ve got.”