Legal line gets thinner for aggressive pass rushers

PHILADELPHIA » For as long as Brandon Graham has played football, his task was simple.

The quarterback? Tackle him.

It’s not that way anymore. It’s not that way in the NFL, where there are restrictions as to where to strike a quarterback’s body. It’s not that way when a defensive player is prohibited even from throwing his full weight down on a quarterback, as Clay Matthews tried to do for the Packers against the Redskins’ Alex Smith, and was famously flagged for a penalty.

“It’s tough,” Graham said Tuesday, after the Eagles’ practice. “You’re taught to be aggressive. And I am going to stay aggressive. I know people are going to stay aggressive. They just have to come up with a different technique on getting the quarterback down.”

Video of the Matthews hit, which looked absent of any ill intent, has gone viral in a raging public backlash against the over-protection of quarterbacks.

But NFL defensive coordinators don’t have the time to join that fight. Rather, they can only teach their players the new rules, while emphasizing that an ill-timed penalty can be the difference in a game, in a playoff race, in a season.

“Look, it’s not our job to officiate,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “It’s not our job to write the rule book. It’s our job to play within those and to play to the standard that the officials put out there.”

With that, the Birds will adapt, aware that the rules are not about to change.

“That’s above my pay grade,” Graham said. “At the end of the day, I am going to do what I can as a professional to make sure I don’t hurt my team and do the best I can. I am going to stay aggressive. But I am just going to hit him in the strike zone and twist going down, rather than just going straight down.”

••• Rodney McLeod injured his knee in the Eagles’ 20-16 victory over the Colts Sunday. Afterward, he said he felt fine. The Eagles, though, are being cautious with their updates.

“If he’s available, we’ll have him out there,” Schwartz said. “If he’s not, we’ll have a Plan B. That does not just go for Rodney. That’s sort of everybody. We’ll have a plan for everybody if they can’t play.”

Similarly, offensive coordinator Mike Groh is awaiting clearance on Alshon Jeffery (shoulder), Darren Sproles (hamstring) and Jay Ajayi (back), none of whom played Sunday.

“We haven’t had the same unit out there in the huddle each and every day, so we’re excited about their availability,” Groh said. “Whenever they’re cleared medically to get back out there on the field with us, we know the kind of players they are and we know their talents and the things they can do for this offense.”

••• The Eagles signed center Josh Andrews to their practice squad, replacing center Jon Toth.

Andrews had been with the Eagles from 2014 through 2017, mostly on the practice squad, but having appeared in 16 games. He was signed by Minnesota in February. The Vikings released him Sept. 7.