The Mea Culpa: Nolan Smith Is A Crucial Piece On NFL’s Best Defense
The 2-2 Philadelphia Eagles looked anything but impressive entering their early bye week. The shift in offensive game plans deservedly consumes the media’s attention for a tremendous turnaround that’s landed them as home favorites entering the NFC Divisional Round.
However, it’s also taken the spotlight off an individual turnaround that very few people predicted.
Nolan Smith has emerged as the best pass rusher on a feared defense that’s carried the Eagles to 13 victories in their last 14 games.
The second-year edge rusher has forced the intense outside criticism (from people like me and other staff at 97.5 The Fanatic) to the background. After a standout performance with two sacks in a playoff win over the Green Bay Packers, it’s past time to change our tune.
Smith’s dedication to offseason strength training to improve a weakness he showed in a slow rookie season, intangibles like toughness and football IQ praised by his head coach, and his overall talent development have helped him become a key contributor to the best defense in the NFL.
A Rough Rookie Season
Howie Roseman loaded up on former Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts. The media praised the Eagles for raiding an SEC powerhouse. Nolan Smith slipped to the 31st-overall spot in 2023 despite various draft experts projecting him in the top half of the first round.
The excitement about Smith’s versatility on defense during his rookie training camp might’ve negatively impacted his immediate development.
He struggled to settle into any particular role as the defending NFC champion Eagles leaned heavily on Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick as their edge rushers in 2023. The two starters played over 80 snaps each in an overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills that improved the Eagles to 10-1.
The exhausted pass rushers then failed a struggling defense that allowed the season to spiral out of control. Smith somehow failed to work his way into the edge rusher rotation despite the desperate need for depth.
Matt Patricia replaced Sean Desai as the primary decision-maker on defense late in the season. He deployed Smith ineffectively in somewhat of a middle linebacker role through parts of a stunning 1-6 stretch and an early playoff exit.
Philadelphia’s slightly undersized first-round rookie inspired some doubt about whether his overall strength would allow him to develop into a contributing NFL defender.
Tim McManus spoke on The Best Show Ever in May about Smith’s offseason priority to bulk up, but could simple strength training offset the unceremonious departure of Reddick after his two consecutive Pro Bowl seasons?
Nolan Smith Silencing Critics
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio struggled to implement his complex system in the early weeks of the 2024 season without the benefit of extensive practice time during training camp.
Philadelphia’s pass rush looked dull with six sacks in four games when the Eagles reached the bye week. Bryce Huff took on the bulk of the criticism, but Smith wasn’t far behind.
Smith played under 50% of the defensive snaps in each of the first four games without a single sack, quarterback hit, or tackle for loss (TFL). His size contributed to his struggles defending the run.
The Eagles came out hot after the bye week. Smith finally found the stat sheet, and Fangio’s defense rounded into form.
The Philadelphia defense satisfied the traditionalists by finishing first in the NFL in total defense and second in scoring defense. They satisfied the stat nerds with a first-overall finish in DVOA and total EPA.
Sweat led the team with eight sacks during the regular season, but Smith exploded for 6.5 sacks in his final 12 games. He steadily earned the trust of Fangio and defensive end/outside linebacker coach Jeremiah Washburn.
“Nolan has been doing well. Obviously, speed and athleticism are his forte, which is good. We need that, and he’s been able to offset being kind of small for an edge position. To really work on being physical enough to play the run, play in his blocks… Wash (Washburn) has done a good job with him to get to where he’s competitively good enough to play the run.” -Vic Fangio (November 19)
Brandon Graham suffered a season-ending injury on November 24 against the Los Angeles Rams. Fangio thrusted Smith into an elevated role with very few other options.
Smith set a new season high with 39 defensive snaps in the Sunday Night Football victory. He exceeded 39 in each of his next five games before resting in Week 18.
Smith’s habit to swarm toward the ball with a ferocious motor consistently helped the Philadelphia defense develop their strength forcing disruptive plays, an important emphasis of Fangio’s scheme.
His impact was most obvious in a dominant victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 15. Smith finished with two TFLs, one pass deflection, one sack, and two quarterback hits.
Fanatic Birds Insider Andrew DiCecco has complimented Smith’s development with explosiveness as a pass rusher. The improvement has helped him move past shortcomings in pure strength from his rookie season.
An Excellent Fit With Vic Fangio
Fangio’s pass rushing schemes have confused quarterbacks throughout his 24 seasons as an NFL coordinator and head coach. He has successfully disguised coverages before the snap with a seemingly simple formations of four linemen and a back seven.
A defensive play call that sends four rushers and keeps seven defenders in coverage becomes more difficult to read, however, when an opposing quarterback doesn’t know which four will rush and which seven will drop.
Fangio is able to adjust some of the same concepts with varying personnel packages. The Eagles have used three tackles and two edge rushers as a five-man front frequently this season.
An athletic edge rusher like Smith who can drop into coverage allows a defender from the back seven to rush the quarterback in some creative packages. The shifts have created opportunities for All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun to make impact plays consistently.
Nakobe Dean also effectively rushed the passer in a breakout year under Fangio before a unfortunate season-ending injury.
The versatility that attracted the Eagles to Nolan Smith is finally paying off. He’s stunningly added an element to Philadelphia’s defense that Haason Reddick couldn’t bring as a pure pass rusher.
Standout Performance Against Packers
The Eagles stifled the Green Bay Packers in a 22-10 victory in the NFC Wild Card Round. Their first-half defense was especially effective in setting the tone for the victory. Guess who forced the first impactful negative play of the game.
Jordan Love dropped back to pass on third-and-3 just past the midway point of the first quarter. Nolan Smith slickly spun inside with a swim move, and Green Bay right tackle Zach Tom barely got a finger on him. Smith chased and dragged down the 6-foot-4 Love for a 14-yard loss.
He later jumped into a gang tackle on a third-and-3 in the fourth quarter stop that helped squash any Packers momentum to mount a comeback. He sacked Love a second time in the final minutes for his eighth tackle of the day.
Sirianni explained to the critics at 97.5 The Fanatic and everywhere else how his best pass rusher found his game by the end of year two.
“Guys might not come in (to the NFL) and just be world beaters, even though they were ones in college. They might not be world beaters right away. It takes some time to do it. We’ve seen Nolan grow into this player with the things he was able to do today to help us win a playoff football game. I can’t say enough about Nolan.” -Nick Sirianni
