Darren Howard shined even in a spectacular group effort.
Here's a novel thought, let's focus on a player that actually played Sunday (sorry Jeff!). Enough QB talk for the moment.
As a group, the Eagles defensive performance on Sunday was DOMINANT so it's difficult to single out 1 particular player. But for the purposes of this post my main man from Sunday was DE/DT Darren Howard.
Based on last season's stats Sunday's perforance for Howard wasn't too surprising. Howard finished the 2008 season with 10 sacks. So his 2 sack performance Sunday shows that a repeat performance this season is a strong possibility. With possible questions at LB and a rookie starting FS getting pressure from the front 4 is a must for the Eagles this season.
Banking on a season of double digit sacks from Howard used to laughable for Eagles fans. Howard was signed to a big-money contract prior to the 2006 season and then proceeded to tank. In 2006 Howard finished with 5 sacks and in 2007 Howard finished with only one more sack than you or me (one).
As a fan you were thinking the Eagles signed themselves another Kearse to the roster. But then a funny thing happened. The Eagles figured out how to use Howard properly. Put Howard at the DT postion on passing downs. Howard isn't DE quick, but he is DT quick. The result was 10 sacks in 2008 and a DT rotation that could generate pressure on the QB.
With 2 sacks and a FF against the Panthers is it too early to think that the Eagles may have another William Fuller in the nest? A marquee DE signing that could actually deliver a Pro Bowl appearance. If Howard get get himself 10+ sacks this season it may happen.
