Graham’s determination paying off for Birds
PHILADELPHIA >> For as long as Brandon Graham would be blessed to play pro football, he would also be burdened with a distinction. First-round draft choice. Deal with it. “I got hurt my first year, so it was tough,” Graham said Sunday night, after the Eagles’ 34-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. “And it was a bad injury at that. They didn’t know what was up. Then they brought in a couple guys that they paid and they had to start in front of me.
“And I was just remaining a team player. My opportunity came. Now, it’s here. And I am just trying to stay focused.”
Graham was a 2010 pick, the 13th player selected overall, and was having a respectable, three-sack rookie season before injuring his knee, requiring micro-fracture surgery in Week 14. The next year, he played three games. Shortly after, he played the gamewithin-the-game: Would he be a bust? So, he played it through one head coach, then another, then into this season, under Doug Pederson. He played it for different defensive coordinators and in different defensive schemes.
He played that game when it wasn’t easy to play that game. “Hey, that’s the biggest thing, man,” Graham said. “You have to make sure you stay focused.”
As the Eagles improved to 3-0 Sunday, preventing the Steelers from scoring a touchdown, Graham provided a sack, a fumble recovery and another tackle for a loss, continuing what has become a signature season. The player who once famously set a personal goal of two sacks a game for a season, which would have been something of a Hall of Fame pace, at least has had one sack in each of the Birds’ this year.
Healthy and in his career prime at 28 years old, Graham’s seventh NFL season has a chance to be his best. The Eagles, widely expected to fail and fail often, have benefitted from his determination. three victories
“I definitely feel that it is a start,” the 265-pound defensive end said. “I feel good. I came in at the right weight. I am staying right here. And I am doing a little extra, as far as running after practice. And I’ve got a couple of the D-linemen, we work hard. Our group is really tight.”
The Eagles’ secondary has been sticky, easing the burden on the pass-rushers. Graham is on pace to beat his career-high for sacks, 6.5 last season in 10 starts. One reason is coordinator Jim Schwartz’s defensive rotation system, allowing Graham to rush from inside as well as out.
“It just gives them different looks that they have to worry about because the guards inside usually can’t move from side to side,” Graham said. “They can’t change directions real good. So I feel like that is a good matchup for me sometimes.”
The Eagles had plenty of good matchups Sunday, as they’ve had in their rumbling start.
“Now, we just have to keep preparing well, and stay with the message,” Graham said. “We have to remain humble. And remain focused. That was one thing we were preaching out there today, even when it was 20-3: The game is not over.”
It could have been over long ago for Graham, who has been through too many coaches and coordinators and position-changes and Xray machines to be as dominating as a high draft choice might have been expected.
Instead, he is having a sack-a-game season for a first-place team.