The Eagles Washburn remains confident in the rotation. On Nov 6, in the win over the Lions, Barnett again played more snaps than Reddick, but against the Chargers, Barnett played only 18 snaps to Graham’s 24, Reddick’s 51 and Sweat’s 47.
Over the last three games, Barnett has played 61 snaps (the Lions game) and 43 (the Chargers) and hasn’t recorded a sack in six games.
In each of the Eagles’ last two games, their defensive ends have played fewer than 40 percent of the snaps, so it’s clear the coaches don’t think Graham and especially Barnett are where they need to be. Sweat’s made big strides. He’s always been able to pressure the quarterback, but he’s become a more well-rounded player this year.
But will Sweat’s emergence and Reddick’s resurgent season push Graham onto the sideline even more?
“It’s based on production,” Washburn said. “So if everyone is producing, it (the rotation) is not going to be as big. And then that’s always good. You want to have a lot of good pass rushers. It’s the most important part of the game outside of the quarterback position.
“As long as everyone is producing, the rotation is not as important. At that time, it (the rotation is) not as big of a deal. But, keep rotating, keep going. Keep putting pressure on the quarterback. Keep it fresh. Just like we do on the back end. Nothing will change, and we’ll be all right.”
One thing is for certain, though. A few weeks ago, we couldn’t even have imagined Sweat and Reddick playing this many snaps.
Now? It’s clear the Eagles are a better team with those two on the field as much as possible. Who would have guessed?