Brandon Graham Heating Up at Right Time for Philadelphia Eagles

After enduring five long years in a reserve capacity, Brandon Graham's sixth season for the Philadelphia Eagles and first as a starter got off to an inauspicious debut. The outside linebacker failed to record a single sack through two games, or make much of an impact at all while the club's record fell to 0-2.

Since then, Graham has been living up to his promise not only as Trent Cole's replacement, but as a former first-round draft pick. Over the past six games, the 27-year-old has 26 tackles, 4.0 sacks and three forced fumbles—and the Eagles are 4-2 since.

The best part is it appears Graham is just getting warmed up. If he can continue to provide consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, as he has in recent weeks, it would provide a huge boost for the Eagles as they gear up for a playoff run.

GM	SACK	HIT	HURRY	STOP
Wk 1 @ ATL	0	0	1	2
Wk 2 v DAL	0	1	3	2
Wk 3 @ NYJ	0	2	6	1
Wk 4 @ WAS	1	0	3	3
Wk 5 v NO	0	0	1	0
Wk 6 v NYG	1	1	3	3
Wk 7 @ CAR	0	0	2	1
Wk 9 @ DAL	2	0	2	5

Graham had a pair of sacks against the Dallas Cowboys during the Eagles' 33-27 victory on Sunday night, an effort that was even more impressive than it sounds. Both were at the expense of All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith, the first sacks he surrendered all season. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Smith has only allowed eight sacks total dating back to 2012.

One of those sacks killed a drive, and either could've changed the course of the contest, as Graham stripped the football on both. The Cowboys just happened to recover them.

This type of performance is much more in line with what the Eagles expected when they awarded Graham a long-term extension in the offseason. Based on numbers by Spotrac, the 13th-overall selection of the 2010 draft signed a four-year, $26 million contract, $13 million of which was guaranteed despite making only one start the previous two seasons.

Sound crazy? Graham flashed the potential to be a dominant defender in his situational role, racking up 8.5 sacks and five forced fumbles between 2013-14 as a backup. PFF had him ranked sixth, then No. 1 among all outside linebackers in pass-rush productivity for those seasons—a metric that combines sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rush opportunity.

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Nobody knew for sure how Graham would handle a starter's workload. However, logic dictated his numbers, including sack total, could only grow with his playing time increasing roughly twofold.

Yet his slow beginning to 2015 was a cause for concern. It was uncharacteristically quiet of Graham, who lightheartedly set his goal for sacks at two per game, or 32.0—9.5 more than the NFL single-season record. Obviously, he'll fall far short of that.

But Graham is getting hot, it seems, and at exactly the right time of year. He's climbed to 11th in PFF's pass-rush productivity measure, with 17 hurries, three quarterback hits and four sacks over the past six games.

That's helped supplant an Eagles pass rush that hasn't been registering sacks at quite the torrid pace it did in 2014. Last season, Philadelphia finished tied for second in the NFL with 49 sacks. So far, the unit is middle of the pack, knotted at 14th with 19 as a team. Connor Barwin, the other half of that outside linebacker tandem, has 3.0 after blowing up for 14.5 the previous year.

YR	GMS	TKL	SK	FF
2015	8	31	4.0	3
2014	16	47	5.5	4
2013	16	19	3.0	1
2012	16	38	5.5	2
2011	3	4	0.0	0
2010	13	13	3.0	2

To be fair, the dwindling number of sacks isn't all the fault of the rushers. As defensive coordinator Bill Davis pointed out, the Eagles' reputation is precipitating quarterbacks get rid of the ball faster—often to disastrous results.

"I love the way the guys are rushing together," Davis said. "I think this is the best year we've had of four guys being where they're supposed to be together.

"You put a good coverage behind that like we are, and now the quarterback has to make that choice. 'Am I going to force the throw and throw interceptions,' which we're getting more of, and that's kind of replacing some of the sacks that were happening a year ago."

The Eagles are one behind the league lead with 13 interceptions this season.

To his credit, Graham also does more than rush the passer. He's powerful at the point of attack, setting the edge against the run and making stops at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. Graham really is the total package.

Still, very often the greatest impact an outside linebacker can make in a 3-4 defense such as Philadelphia's is by sacking the quarterback and creating negative plays in the backfield. The Eagles like to say sacks come in bunches, and right now, that's exactly what's beginning to happen for Graham.

If it keeps up, Graham's pressure on opposing passers could prove to be the difference in a handful of games as the Eagles attempt to mount a playoff run.

All quotes were obtained by the author.