Schwartz happy with Gerry, linebackers
Nate Gerry’s season-long struggles give credence to the longstanding belief about the Eagles’ inability to evaluate linebackers.
Gerry, the team’s top linebacker, is an example of the organization’s failure to draft, trade or sign via free agency players who make a difference at the position.
But if you ask defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for his thoughts about Gerry’s performance through the first four weeks of the season, you may be left scratching your head at his answer.
“You know me, I’m not a big, like, tell you how a guy is, tell you how a guy’s playing, but Nate has been a very solid player for us and has helped us win a lot of games, “Schwartz said Tuesday. “And I would just caution this: There’s probably a lot of plays that people outside of our building think might be his fault, that he just happens to be the closest guy when someone else made a mistake, and I think they end up blaming him a lot of times. He’s sort of the closest guy just from plays, and I mean that’s just sort of the way the ball bounces. We just need to be more efficient overall, and more consistent overall and he just plays his part in it.”
Gerry had five tackles (three solo) and one QB hit against San Francisco on Sunday, and his 33 tackles on the year lead the team. Alas, the former safety and fifthround draft pick grades very poorly, according to ProFootballFocus.com. Gerry’s 40.4 grade sits near the bottom among qualifying linebackers. (For comparison, Jacksonville’s Jack Myles leads the NFL with a 91.1.) According to Thomas Peterson of NFL Network, Gerry has allowed 19 catches on 19 targets and a passer rating of 148.2, the second worst in the NFL. He has been OK against the run, but completely exposed in pass coverage.
Schwartz doesn’t want to hear those facts, though.
“I think that any time that you have people outside the building that grade players, you can get things like that,” he said. “I tend to try to keep our evaluations inhouse and just work on improving in our own building.”
Schwartz’s assessment notwithstanding, the Eagles need Gerry to play better. T.J. Edwards suffered a hamstring injury Sunday, and Doug Pederson said Monday that he expects Edwards to “miss some time.” Edwards excelled against the 49ers prior leaving.
The rest of the linebacker unit has not played well. Duke Riley struggled, missing five tackles Sunday. Rookie Shaun Bradley has spent most of his time on special teams
Edwards’ injury and the overall ineffectiveness of the corps should earn playing time for Alex Singleton, one of the unsung heros against the 49ers. Singleton’s pick-six in the fourth quarterback sealed the 25-20 victory. Singleton was a practice-squad signing in 2019 after spending most of his professional career with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, with whom he earned the league’s defensive player of the year award in 2017.
“He has good instincts, has sort of done a little bit more, was on our practice squad. Got promoted. Played special teams. Had a chance to play a little defense,” Schwartz said of Singleton. “I don’t think his intercep
tion was his best play on defense. He sort of was there. (Jalen Mills) had really good coverage on that. I think J-Mill had an opportunity to make that interception. I was sort of standing right there and saw that ball and was like, man, the corner is going to pick this and all of a sudden it was right to Alex.
“It was a great thing for our team, and a great thing for him, but he made a couple plays in the run game I thought that were probably better plays for him, and he does have some flexibility as a player. He can play outside, can also play inside.”
Mills views Singleton as an impact player who can make a difference as a starter. Singleton might get the chance to prove it, too.
“Dude works extremely hard, not only on special teams, but now he got his opportunity on the field and he made the most of it, and I know that’s not going to go unseen by the coaches,” Mills said. “So, I’m thinking he’s going to get a little bit more extra playing time now.”
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Among the other players Schwartz applauded from the win over the 49ers was defensive end Genard Avery, who came over in a trade with Cleveland last October.
“He’s always been a skilled pass rusher, it’s just fitting him in with all the other stuff. I think he’s really done a good job of refining his technique and sticking with what works best for him,” Schwartz said. “He’s certainly made a difference in this game. He was fresh when he came off the bench, which is a big thing for our guys that are coming off the bench, and he gave us that changeup and made some big plays for us in the game.”
Avery’s height and weight limit his ceiling. He may never be an every down edge rusher, but he showed what he could do against the Niners. Avery’s hit on quarterback Nate Mullins in the red zone resulted in an interception, the defense’s first of the season. Avery then delivered a sack of CJ Beathard with the Niners driving late and looking to pull ahead.
“That was sort of the breakout game we’ve been waiting for from him,” Schwartz said.
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After the cross-country trip Sunday night, players were given off Tuesday and will return to the NovaCare Complex Wednesday. The Eagles travel to Pittsburgh Sunday to play the 3-0 Steelers, whose game last week against the Titans was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Tennessee locker room.
Ben Roethlisberger has passed for 777 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. The Steelers feature a balanced rushing attack led by James Conner (224 yards, two TDs) and Benny Snell Jr. (129 yards, two TDs).
“They challenge the whole field with the run game, with the pass game. You have obviously an experienced quarterback that is not afraid to throw balls into tight coverage,” Schwartz said. “They got a lot of different play-makers at those wide receivers. They have got an experienced offensive line. There’s a lot of things, but it’s one of those teams that I think if you devote too many resources to take in any one player or one aspect of their offense away, they certainly have the capability to make you pay in other ways. So it’s going to take a good, solid team outing to play well on Sunday.”