Brandon Graham was kind of like a pitcher who kept throwing fastball, fastball, fastball.
On Sunday, when he finally threw a changeup, it worked.
“I think it’s all mental sometimes, especially when you’re going against a veteran guy like [Tyron Smith], that’s been there, that’s played against good pass rushers,” Graham said. “I think that’s the key. It’s a cat-mouse game.”
Graham had been using the bull rush a lot in recent games, something he noticed while watching film of the Carolina game. But he knew going against Cowboys left tackle Smith, that wasn’t going to get it done, so he altered it a little.
“He changed up his pass rush a little bit from bull, bull, bull, to the illusion of a bull rush and then he took the edge,” Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said.
Graham picked up two sacks while working against Smith on Sunday. They were the first two sacks the Pro Bowler Smith had allowed all season.
“Nah, I didn’t know that,” Graham said. “… Damn! For real? Oooooh.
“I know he’s been handling people, but even me, I was like ‘I gotta get this guy because he’s real good.’ And I think with him, he can take on the power but you gotta switch it up with him because, man, he’s long. Once he gets his hands on you, it’s hard to get him off, especially before the quarterback gets rid of the ball.”
Graham had a sack in the second quarter and then another in the third. On both, he was able to get wide on Smith and not only pick up a sack, but also strip Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel. The Cowboys recovered both fumbles but they were still big plays. Smith had given up just four sacks in 2013 and 2014 combined.
Davis, as he often does, dismissed the importance of the sack statistic. He claimed Graham has been getting good pressure and that’s the most important thing.
According to ProFootballFocus, Davis is right. Graham has 21 quarterback hurries this season, which ranks him ninth in the league among 3-4 outside linebackers.
“I don’t think I hit it yet,” Graham said about his ceiling as a pass rusher. “It’s only going to get better. I just have to stay consistent. I just want to work on staying consistent. Might have a game here and there and then I drop off and you don’t hear nothing. I just want to stay consistent.”
Graham hopes he finds that consistency as he becomes a better student of the game. As a younger player, the former first-round pick didn’t think very hard about which pass rush move would come next. He was just worried about the current play. As he’s aged and become a veteran, he not only thinks about his pass rush on the next play but on the next series and later in the game.
It’s a mental part of the game that took a while to develop.
“I always have it constantly on my mind,” he said. “You have to switch it up because you can’t be predictable.”
He’s also improved at another aspect of being a better student of the game: note taking.
Graham said he has always been good at watching and dissecting film but never took notes. Even his wife would ask him why he never wrote anything down. So what changed this year? Jordan Hicks.
Graham was impressed by the rookie’s penchant for taking notes and studying them. Graham noticed Hicks always knew what was going on and it motivated Graham to up his note taking.
Normally veteran players are the ones to teach rookies, not the other way around.
“You gotta put your pride to the side and know that you can learn from young guys,” he said.