Imagine an Eagles five-man front with Jordan Davis in the middle flanked by Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh with Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham on the outside.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon would only have to call out – "send in the old men and the rook."
That’s not meant to be offensive. It’s just a fact.
Look here: Joseph, Suh, Cox, and Graham, have combined to play in 705 games. Davis has played in seven. The four experienced linemen are a combined 135 years old; Davis is 22.
Any rookie would love to be in Davis’ shoes, to be able to learn from some of the best defensive linemen to play the game, all four with Super Bowl rings who, when they call it a career, could make a case for enshrinement into the NFL Football Hall of Fame.
It is quite a deep pool of knowledge for Davis to tap into.
All the Eagles have to do now is activate him from Injured Reserve to make it happen and they have until Saturday at 4 p.m. to do so.
The path has been half-cleared, with Robert Quinn coming down with a knee injury on Friday that has him unable to play on Sunday vs. the Titans.
A four-game trip to the IR for the 32-year-old Quinn wouldn’t be such a bad thing after having already played 12 games this season without the benefit of a bye week.
Quinn would be able to return with fresh legs and a new sense of purpose for the Eagles’ final two regular season games and whatever playoff games await.
Meanwhile, Gannon can go crazy with all sorts of defensive line configurations: Cox and Milton Williams on end now and then…Graham at DT here and there…the permutations are endless.
Davis doesn’t have to be over the center.
Joseph thinks the rookie can line up in other spots on the line, too, and that would mean he and Davis would share the field on occasion even though they are considered nose tackles.
“When you play d-line, you play off each other," said Joseph at his locker on Friday afternoon. "To be as big as he is, he can do a lot more than just play one position, so that’s pretty good.”
Joseph could hardly contain his excitement after practicing this week with Davis, and he wants to do whatever he can to help the rookie get better.
“He listens and he just wants to be great, so that’s good,” said Joseph. “The drive is to try to be the best you can be. Every day it’s competition, but it’s good competition because you know you’re going to get his best and that’s what you want from a young player.
“He’s going to be a helluva player. I can’t wait to watch him.”
Joseph said he never had anybody to help him grow as a player when he entered the league in 2010.
“I came in the old era where guys would tend to be scared they’d lose their job to a younger player, so when I first came into the league, they helped me for about the first three weeks, then when I got the opportunity to get on the field and make some plays, the help disappeared,” he said.
That’s not the case anymore.
Joseph is here to help the Eagles win games but to also tutor Davis, Williams, and whoever else wants to come along for the ride.
“I know what it feels like to come into the league and not really have a role model, or someone to help me and guide me, so I told myself once I became established in this league, I wanted to give back to the younger guys,” he said. “He loves the game. …At the end of the day, I’m not worried about competition. I’m not worried about my job.
“To help someone to become better for themselves and to feed their family, that’s the ultimate win.”
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