Eagles modified D-line ‘engine,’ will be just as powerful, Jim Schwartz says

His defensive line, Jim Schwartz reminded us again Friday, is “the engine that runs the defense.”

The Eagles did a lot more than change the oil this offseason, they swapped out some spark plugs and tinkered with the timing. Though the group might look deeper on paper, some fans and observers fear it will be less dynamic, with reliable pass rushers Michael Bennett and Chris Long gone. Those two veterans combined for 15 ½ sacks last season, more than a third of the defense’s total (44). Also, defensive line coach Chris Wilson was not retained; he was replaced by his assistant, Phillip Daniels.

Schwartz said his D-linemen know the deal.

“They know they have to set the tempo for our team being physical, swarm around the quarterback, chase the ball, all those different things,” he said. “But I think every team is a little bit different … Everybody has a little different strengths and weaknesses.”

It might be a while before we know exactly what Schwartz and Daniels have this year. Four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is still limited in practice from the foot injury he suffered in the New Orleans playoff loss. Also limited is defensive end Derek Barnett, the 2017 first-round pick who played in only six games last season before undergoing shoulder surgery.

But Schwartz noted that defensive tackle Tim Jernigan, whose recovery from a serious neck injury cost him 13 games last season, is finally healthy again.

“It was a tough time for him last year. Starting from the very first play [Thursday], you felt his presence on the field,” Schwartz said.

The Eagles brought back DE Vinny Curry, after a one-year interlude with the Bucs, and signed Jacksonville defensive tackle Malik Jackson in free agency. They declined to guarantee to Long the role he sought, giving some management-mandated breathing room to youngsters Barnett and Josh Sweat. Schwartz was effusive Friday about Jackson, Barnett and Sweat, though Sweat made no impact last season as a fourth-round rookie defensive end.

“He's long. He can play with some power. He has speed,” Schwartz said of Sweat. “He's around the passer when he rushes because he's so long. There are a lot of good things with him. He just needs to have a good camp, and I think he's focused to be able to do that.

“Malik, it took Malik half a minute to understand what we were doing on defense. He's a tough out. He's so long and big in there [at 6-foot-5, 290]. He’s a really good pass-rusher in there.

“You get a guy like [Fletcher Cox], and Derek Barnett back. A healthy BG [Brandon Graham], he wasn't practicing this time last year.”

Schwartz then name-checked Curry, former Colts DT Hassan Ridgeway, returnee DTs Treyvon Hester and Bruce Hector, 2018 practice squad hustle guy Joe Ostman, and fourth-round Penn State rookie DE Shareef Miller.

“Might look a little different than last year, but I think we'll find enough pieces that we can go,” Schwartz said. “When you have guys like Malik and Fletch who can rush inside, we might not have to go to having defensive ends inside as much as we did last year and the year before, with guys like Brandon Graham and Michael Bennett.”

Sweat, though still listed at 6-5, 251, said he put on 22 pounds over the offseason, and now weighs 265, making him look less like a tight end playing out of position.

“I’m a lot stronger, a lot faster ... I’m a lot more explosive,” he said.

Sweat played more than 10 defensive snaps just twice before going on injured reserve Dec. 11 with an ankle problem.

“I was definitely disappointed, but I still showed up every day, still practiced my hardest,” he said. He added that he didn’t care whether Bennett and Long came back, he had to approach his job the same way regardless.

As Schwartz noted, Sweat was mostly a “four technique” at Florida State, lined up over the offensive tackle, instead of outside him, as is the case in Schwartz’s scheme. There were adjustments.

“I wanted to play, obviously, but of course, I needed to earn it. I’m a fourth-round pick. We [had] straight first-rounders in there. They got the right-of-way, they been playing,” he said.

Sweat said he learned “discipline, how to be a pro,” as a rookie.

Jackson also had a difficult 2018, after making the Pro Bowl the previous year. He predicted the Jags would go 16-0, something that was mentioned a few times as they slid toward 5-11. Jackson, who had been a stalwart on the Denver team that won Super Bowl 50, eventually was benched.

At 29, Jackson remained a strong commodity in free agency, and the Eagles gave him $30 million over three years, with $17 million guaranteed. He is the most accomplished player the Eagles have ever lined up next to Cox – or he will be, once Cox is completely healthy.

“To have Fletcher here – Mr. Philly, Mr. Eagle, a guy I’ve been watching on TV dominate -- now I get to personally stand back and watch him,” Jackson said. “ Where he sets his hands, how he works his get-off, what he’s thinking.”

Jackson has played in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes but he said he has never been asked to prioritize rushing the passer this much.

“This scheme is definitely different for me. In the past I’ve been an ‘engage and read,’ clean it up for the linebackers, let them make the tackles,” Jackson said. “Now it’s just go hit the gap, go pass rush every down. That’s been kind of a challenge for me … It’s what you want as a D-lineman, but I’ve just gotta get out of that ‘read’ mode that I’ve been in for the last eight years.

“Luckily I’ve been able to have Tim Jernigan here, he’s helped me a lot, just showing me what it means to do the technique and what it’s supposed to look like.”

Jackson has been on some productive lines, and he agrees that this is a deep unit.

“The guys we have on this line, and then the backups we have, it’s like a 1A, 1B group,” he said. “We have the talent to pass rush, we all know how to read off each other.”