The Dawgs did plenty of barking on Sunday, and Howie Roseman is probably woofing somewhere. This is what the Eagles general manager envisioned when he went to Athens and the campus of the University of Georgia a few years ago and fell in love with plenty of those Dawgs. He then began drafting them in droves in 2022 and 2023.
Maybe they’re starting to figure it out. Five of the Eagles eight sacks in their 28-3 win over the New York Giants came from those Dawgs – Jalen Carter had two, Nakobe Dean two, and Nolan Smith one.
It’s been a slow start for the Dawgs, but it's only been a few years since they arrived. Sometmes it takes time. Maybe Sunday will be the confidence-builder needed.
“We reiterate every time, we’re here for a reason,” said one of those Dawgs, Jordan Davis. “We have different skill sets but we’re here for a reason. We’re chosen. We’re blessed to be here.
“There’s not a lot of opportunities you get to play with four of your guys, five of your guys. Credit to Roseman. When you got those guys, you feel it. You have your brothers’ back, you know somebody’s got your back.”
Davis only played 12 snaps against the Giants, but you get a sense in talking to him and the others that he is the ringleader of the group. He organizes gatherings to watch football and dinners with his Georgia brethren, which includes Kelee Ringo, who had two special team tackles on punt coverage against the Giants.
“Being together, playing together, this is even from Georgia to here, we stay together,” said Davis. “If there’s anything I can do with D-line, D-ends just to have us together at all times, I do it. I don’t want to get too long winded about how it helps out a team, but when you have that connection, you have guys playing together, and you spend time together…we spend time together at work every day. Twelve hours maybe.
“But when you spend time outside that’s when you start to get to know who they are as a person. When you know somebody, you play harder for them. That’s all I can say, and it’s coming to fruition.”
The Dawgs are a big piece to what the Eagles have built so far.
Smith looks like he is showing signs of life being drafted 30th overall just two years ago, and 21 picks after the Eagles took Carter ninth.
How close are the Dawgs?
When Carter notched his second sack of the game, he pointed at Smith, whose pressure from the outside forced NY quarterback Daniel Jones to step up into the picket where Carter leveled him.
“I said ‘That’s cause of you, man. I’m mad that you missed that sack, but you helped me and I’m thankful for that,’” said Carter. “I wish he would have gotten that.”
Davis likes what he is seeing of Smith as the season goes on.
“Confidence,” said the defensive tackle. “Every time he touches the field, he gets more and more confident. We need to keep him going. He has a high motor, a high-energy player, a high-energy person. I love seeing him make plays because the blood is in the water, he’s smelling it, he’s sniffing it and ready to get after it.”
