Graham passes when he’s offered a day off
PHILADELPHIA » Rarely one to pass up a freebie, Eagles center Jason Kelce took advantage of his veteran’s day off at training camp Tuesday.
Kelce, 32, can use a nap now and then. His streak of 89 straight starts is tops among active pivots.
Thirty-eight-year-old offensive lineman Jason Peters also capitalized on his veteran’s day along as did wide receiver DeSean Jackson (33) and defensive tackle Malik Jackson (30).
Then there is defensive end Brandon Graham, who turned 32 in April. Unlike most of the Eagles’ over-30 set, Graham said thanks but no thanks to sitting out the Tuesday session in shoulder pads because practice is the only proven way he knows to get better.
“I’m trying to go All-Pro this year,” Graham said. “I mean, I understand you’ve got to take your rest, too. I’m not saying that. I want my rest on like lighter days than these days because I know when that first game comes, my adrenaline is going to be rushing and I’m going to need all the wind I can get. So, the extra reps definitely are going to work. They’ve scaled me back a little bit. But I don’t want to miss those hard days because you just can’t get that time back now. And we don’t have that much time to waste right now anyway.” Spoken like an old school veteran. Graham realizes it’s not a coincidence that two of his best seasons began when he participated fully in training camp.
In the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl campaign, Graham registered a career-high 9.5 sacks as the squad rolled to a 13-3 regular season record and playoff victories over Atlanta, Minnesota and the New England Patriots.
Graham’s strip-sack of Tom Brady was the difference between the Eagles being honored with a championship parade or becoming just another down and out victim of Brady and Bill Belichick.
Graham missed virtually all the 2018 training camp recovering from surgery to an ankle and finished with just 4.0 sacks.
Last year Graham recorded 8.5 sacks after — you guessed it — a full training camp.
For Graham, almost as significant as the conditioning is forming a bond with teammates, some of which he knew only through Zoom meetings because the other offseason camps were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s early but Graham likes the potential of the Philly defense starting with the Detroit connection at cornerback in free agent pickup Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox, in his second season.
Slay played seven seasons with the Detroit Lions while Maddox, like Graham, hails from the Motor City. If Graham has said it once, he’s said it 1,000 times, cover cornerbacks make the pass rush better.
Speaking of which, Josh Sweat is looking more and more like the extra pass rusher with defensive ends Derek Barnett and Vinny Curry setting the edge on run downs.
“I think he’s going to be a guy that comes in and gets off that rock and gets to the quarterback,” Graham said of Sweat. “He’s excited for his role.”
Linebacker Nathan Gerry, who picked off a Carson Wentz swing pass intended for Corey Clement Tuesday, is another huge piece of the defense that Graham wants to get on the same page with.
“He’s the man in middle now,” Graham said. “He’s going to be the guy that gets us lined up. I’m excited for him to show everybody what he’s been working on, too. It’s a lot of young guys. A lot of chips on their shoulders. I’m just trying to make sure I keep it that way because we’ve got a lot to prove. I’ve got a lot to prove. I’ve got to let people know that I’m 32, but I’m still moving. You know what I’m saying?
Graham already has stepped up to add leadership to a defense that lost a lot of that when Malcolm Jenkins was given his release. Jenkins joined the New Orleans Saints.
While Graham can be vocal, he leads best by example. And that typically is by suiting up and showing up.
“I’m just trying to make sure I keep working hard, keep on pushing these young boys just so they can keep this train rolling,” Graham said. “Because I really do believe we have a good team. It’s all about how we put it together and how we work together.”