Staring in the face of adversity: Eagles O-Line notes Week 3

Things continue to go in a negative trajectory for the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line. Although most of the line played well against the Dallas Cowboys, injuries and some poor debuts take the limelight away from them. The most significant news is the loss of Isaac Seumalo.
Seumalo, like Jason Kelce said, is by far one of the most underrated players on this team, and it’s horrible to see him go down with this injury. He has been one of the highest-graded players on this team to start the season and has a bright future ahead of him. Hopefully, Seumalo can make a speedy and complete recovery for next season.
In the meantime, the Eagles are lucky enough to have some depth at the guard spots. The bad news is all of that depth is now starting for the next several weeks. Landon Dickerson and Nate Herbig will be your starting guards through at least week ten, which isn’t such a bad thing. The major issue is if one of them goes down with an injury for an extended period.
Philadelphia brought in Jack Anderson from Buffalo, and they also have Sua Opeta on the practice squad. Jack Driscoll has returned to play but is best suited as a backup tackle for the team.
It was opposite day for Eagles fans on the offensive line. Most fans were confident in rookie Landon Dickerson while worried Andre Dillard would be abysmal at left tackle. Dillard led the Eagles with an 81.7 pass-blocking grade while allowing just two pressures on 53 pass attempts.
Landon Dickerson, meanwhile, didn’t look like himself at all. Dickerson had a 48.6 pass-blocking rating, four pressures, and a sack and committing a penalty. I still hold firm that this is not a significant long-term issue for the Philadelphia Eagles. Landon Dickerson played his first full football game in nearly a year last night, just a bit over a week after being fully cleared to practice.
Eagles offensive line grades per PFF:
- Jason Kelce, 77.6
- Andre Dillard, 77.4
- Isaac Seumalo, 68.2
- Lane Johnson, 63.8
- Landon Dickerson, 54
- Nate Herbig, 50.9
- 13 pressures allowed by the group, eight penalties, and one sack
Dickerson has also played at center for the last several seasons and had to adjust to a different position on a much higher level. According to our own Matt Martellucci, who had an incredible eye to spot this, Landon Dickerson’s biggest fault was his tell on the snap.
Now I don’t exactly know why he kept turning back. Lucci suggested that he needed the snap count, but that’s often a verbal cue that Jason Kelce or Lane Johnson can give without needing to turn. But every time Dickerson looked back at Hurts, the ball was snapped just a second after he turned around. This tell gave the Cowboys an easy indicator of how to time their blitzes and stunts.
Hopefully, Jordan Mailata will be back next week while the Eagles’ guards finally find their rhythm heading into the most challenging stretch of their season. Philly’s backs are against the wall, and successful teams are built at the lines. If this team wants any chance of turning their season around, it starts here.
Mandatory Credit: NBC Sports