The 40-degree difference in the weather temperature aside, August felt a little like last November for the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was then, after Week 9, when the team signed a pair of veteran defensive tackles in a 24-hour span – Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh, and the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. Fast forward to Sunday and the Eagles did it again, bringing in a pair of veterans who play the same position.
This time, it was linebacker Myles Jack and Zach Cunningham after they each signed one-year deals on Sunday. Neither player took the field with their new teammates for the only open practice of summer at Lincoln Financial Field, so the 50,000 or so fans who turned out didn’t get a chance to see the newcomers.
That will come soon enough, perhaps as soon as Tuesday when the team returns to training camp after Monday’s day off.
The sooner Jack and Cunningham hit the field the better for the Eagles, though head coach Nick Sirianni pointed out an hour or so after the signings were completed that the additions do not reflect his view of the linebacker room or second-year man Nakobe Dean.
It’s just that playing linebacker is like playing quarterback on offense in that they must know what everyone else is doing.
“It’s going to be a work in progress to get these guys up to speed,” said Sirianni. “We are confident on the studies that we’ve done on these guys that they are smart football players that should be able to get caught up to speed.
“That’s our job as coaches to make sure the job description for them is very clear so there’s no questions, but they are the quarterback of the defense, (they) and the safeties so there’s work to be done. We’ll work out butts off to do that.”
Sirianni stressed that Jack and Cunningham were being brought in not just because of their experience but also to raise the level of competition in the linebacker room and to bring depth.
“Nick (Morrow) has some experience but other than that, we’re down some experience there, so that’s a good thing to have,” he said. “Again, no indication on the room itself. I’m pleased with the room.
"We were low at numbers there and we wanted to bring in some competition to further drive the level up because that’s all that competition does, that’s why it’s one of our core values. They have experience and that’s a good thing.”
Sirianni ticked off the players in the linebacker room and was pleased with each one, especially Dean, who suffered an ankle injury during Thursday’s practice.
“I feel really good about Nakobe,” said the coach. “When he was out there, he’s doing a nice job running the defense, being in position to make plays.
"Had a really big splash play knocking a ball out and has done really good in coverage and just being around the football and knowing what to do. So, really pleased with where Nakobe is right now.”
As for the rest of the linebackers, Sirianni said: “We really do feel good about the room, we just want to bring in some extra competition to let things shake out. At the end of the day, the best guys will play.
“Nick Morrow has looked good and so has Christian (Elliss) and Shaun (Bradley) and we feel that Ben (VanSumeren) is a good developmental prospect. We just wanted to add competition.
"When you bring in good players like these two guys who have been in this league, that’s only going to raise the level of everybody else in the room and on the defense.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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