The Eagles have finally learned to appreciate Brandon Graham

“Its been a looooong time comiiiiing, but I knooooow a change gone coooooome. Oh yes it will!”

I’m pretty sure Brandon Graham has had to listen to a lil’ Sam Cooke at some point during his first five years in the league to get through the day. Here’s a guy who came out strong his rookie year in 2010, only to tear his ACL near the end of the season. This was before the Adrian Peterson ACL rehab timetable, so Graham’s recovery ended up cutting into his second year as well. He started the season on the PUP list, which meant he couldn’t play in the first six games. Eventually he did heal up, but he was only active for three of the last seven games that year. From that point forward, it seems like he was never fully appreciated in Philadelphia.

Oh, he would end up being active for all 48 regular season games since then, but he would only start seven of those contests. Well, at long last Graham’s primary obstacle to starting (Trent Cole) is no longer a factor after Cole left for the Indianapolis Colts via free agency this spring. I get why Cole was a favorite of the coaching staff in Philly. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played with reckless abandon. From 2007-11, Cole was basically a double-digit sack guy and that kind of consistency is hard to come by.

It’s hard to overlook the fact that even though Cole started 47 of 48 regular season games over the last three seasons, and his sack totals weren’t much better than Graham’s over that same timespan, 17.5 to 14. I keep saying this and I truly believe it: folks can continue to make the claim that pressures are as good as sacks, but just wake me up the next time a dude with a whole bunch of pressures but less than double-digit sacks gets a big money contract. I’ll wait.

That’s not to say pressures aren’t important, but give me the guy who consistently gets the quarterback on the ground with the ball still in his hands every single time.

I’m a Graham fan after watching his film. When I said Cole played the game the right way that was not meant to imply that Graham doesn’t. In fact, if you like a defensive end who is intentionally physical all game long, it doesn’t get much better than Graham.

He may not look all that imposing at 6’2 and 265 pounds, but he reminds me a lot of another guy who used to be an edge rusher for the Eagles (Hugh Douglas) in that a lot of his weight is in his lower body. This is a dude who obviously does not skip leg day and it shows. Like Douglas, he explodes out of his hips to knock people on their ass. It really doesn’t matter whether it’s a run or a pass, or whether Graham is blitzing, trying to play off a blocker or dropping into coverage. I can guarantee you he is going to find a way to knock the shit out of somebody on just about every single play.

Guys who play the game the way Graham does may not have super long careers, but their production tends to be consistent because as long as the guy keeps lifting, power moves tend to be money in the bank once you get good at executing them. One thing any tackle that has pass blocked against Graham can attest to is that he’s pretty damn good at executing those moves.

After the Eagles re-signed him to a pretty nice four-year deal earlier this spring, Graham will finally go into training camp as the unquestioned starter. Barring injury, that will mean more opportunities for him to be productive. Add to that the fact that he has the skillset and playing style to be consistent throughout the season, and I don’t think there is any question that Graham is primed to have a career year this season.