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Eagles Rookie Converts 'Layup,' Praises Teammates Who Helped Make It Happen
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

After his first few days of training camp, rookie Ty Robinson called the experience eye-opening. After his first preseason game, the defensive tackle opened some eyes by playing a team-high 50 snaps (77 percent) in the Eagles’ 34-27 win on Thursday night.

“It was surreal,” said the fourth-round pick from Nebraska. “Just grateful for the moment, kind of take it all in, the smells, the colors, and the emptions. Just getting a chance to compete. You’ve been working so hard to get to this point, so wanted to go out there and attack it. If things don’t work out, then it’s OK. You go watch film, get better, and get ready for the next one.”

Robinson recorded a sack, but it didn't come with a sack dance. Only some finger-pointing. Not at the Bengals offensive linemen, but two of his teammates. The sack came on a twist with defensive tackle Gabe Hall, who played 49 defensive snaps, while Josh Uche went up the field from the edge.

“It was a defensive line sack,” said Robinson. “Gabe picking the center, allowing me to wrap, then Ooch (Uche) on the edge rushing. That quarterback felt he couldn’t escape out of the pocket, so he steps up and I’m just the lucky guy that got the sack. I made sure when I got up to be sure to point to my boys and said, ‘That’s cause of you guys.’”

That’s called being a team player. All Robinson had to do was make sure he finished the setup and brought the QB down.

“It doesn’t happen often like that,” he said of the free run he had on Browning. “We call those layups, and you can’t miss a layup. That was my thing, ‘Don’t miss the layup.’”

Robinson was simply putting his old basketball playing days to good use. He said he played a lot of basketball, and at 6-5, 290, there’s no doubting that. He was a layup guy, not a jump shooter.

“I was in the paint,” he said. “That’s where I lived. I was more a defensive guy, rebounds, that stuff.”

Those days are behind him, and he has to feel good about how he played on Thursday. The coaches and front office, too, especially since the decision was made to trade away defensive tackle Thomas Booker to Las Vegas earlier in the week for a cornerback.

Robinson said he and Byron Young were in the locker room for a while after the game, watching the Raiders play the Seahawks, and they had a good laugh at Booker’s new number, 47. He wore 59 with the Eagles.

“We’re like, ‘How do you get 47 as a D-lineman?’” Robinson laughed. “(But) I’m super grateful for the opportunity that’s been given to me. … It allows me the opportunity to take that step. I’m gonna make sure I take full advantage of that opportunity.”


This article first appeared on Philadelphia Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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