In his first series back as the starting left guard, over a year since he was ignominiously benched in favor of two rotating backups, Isaac Seumalo did not look ready. On the first offensive snap of the Vikings game, Seumalo looked like little more than an anthropomorphic blocking sled as defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson quickly backed him up into the grill of Carson Wentz, causing a near-interception. Two plays later, on 3rd and 7, defensive tackle Linval Joseph overpowered Seumalo so much that the guard was unable to lay so much as a finger on defensive end Danielle Hunter, who looped inside and sacked Wentz to end the series.
Advertisement
In 2017, there’s a good chance that ugly start would have snowballed into a disastrous game like the one against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 that led to Seumalo’s removal from the starting lineup. This time around, whether it’s because of better perspective, better technique, better build for the position or some combination of the three, Seumalo says he’s been able to leave the bad plays in the past.
“For sure,” Seumalo said when asked whether that poor series would have had a negative effect on his play last season. “Just being able to move past stuff real quick, as soon as that play’s done, move on, is something I’m really focused on.”
“Right after that first series, he took off,” offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland said earlier this week. “He’s played well.”
Standing on the field in Minnesota last February as the confetti rained down must have brought an odd mixture of emotions for Seumalo. He had just won the Super Bowl, contributing along the way on special teams and as the rotating sixth offensive lineman in certain packages. But the offensive line had become the league’s best in his absence, perhaps because of his absence, as Stefen Wisniewski and Halapoulivaati Vaitai held down the left side of the line. Despite his third-round pedigree, he was mostly considered an afterthought during the offseason. Heck, he wasn’t even invited to lunch when six members of the offensive line got together for a Sports Illustrated story.
But the time away proved important for Seumalo’s growth as a player. First, came the literal growth. He says he’s about 320 pounds now, up from around 300 last season.
“It was nice, because I was kind of by myself where I was at,” he said. “So I would eat in the morning, and then eat after workouts, and then eat again, and then try to eat something before I went to bed. Kind of bigger meals. You just kind of stack those. It just depends how much you’re working out. I mean, if you’re working out a ton, you gotta eat a ton. On off days, you can’t really eat that much because you’re not doing anything.”
Advertisement
That added bulk has paid off.
“The biggest (difference from last season), I think, is his power and his strength,” Stoutland said. “He’s extremely athletic, we all know that. The guy went out and played right tackle like it was nobody’s business. That’s never been an issue for him. It’s been the power and the strength portion of it and I think our people in our weight room have done an unbelievable job with him all year. That’s where you notice the huge difference in my opinion.”
The other influential part of Seumalo’s offseason was the time taken to reflect on his disappointing second season in the league.
“During the offseason, you kind of take time to think and reflect on the season,” he said. “As preseason went on and stuff, kind of felt like, you know, it was worth it, man. I wouldn’t want to change anything. So I’m thankful for it.
“I think it was one of the best things that could’ve happened. Sometimes, like, you only kind of really get better, you kind of have to lose a lot. So it happened and I’m thankful for it. It kind of changed my mentality on how I played and it kind of set me on the path to where I am today.”
That change in mentality, according to Seumalo, means “having a lot more fun, playing a lot looser,” in contrast to his first two seasons, when he constantly overanalyzed things. Among the offensive linemen, Seumalo has a reputation as one of the most “cerebral” players in the group. But that could sometimes manifest itself into “thinking too much” when he played, getting in the way of the quick-twitch reactions needed on the football field when inches in any direction make a big difference.
“Really just taking it one play at a time,” he said. “I know that’s cheesy and corny, but, man, you really cannot focus on what’s already happened, you can’t focus on what’s about to happen, you gotta be in the moment as much as you can.”
Advertisement
In this moment, he’s a left guard. Last week, he was a left guard, then a right tackle. In the summer, he was a center.
“Honestly, the moving around kind of makes you think less,” he said. “I don’t know if that makes sense. The more you think in football, the slower you play and the slower you play the more you get beat. On gameday, you just try to play as fast as you possibly can, and not worry about mistakes or where you’re playing or this or that. You’ve got so much time after the game to worry about that.”
2. Seumalo’s session with the media earlier this week was his first since he re-ascended to the starting lineup.
If I could describe my brother in a tweet, it would be this 😂 https://t.co/vfzgzVAkp8
— Jessi Seumalo (@Swagomalo) October 6, 2018
The truth is Seumalo prefers to let others have the spotlight.
“I just figure we got about four other really great players and they can talk more, they don’t need me to talk,” he said. “It’s just, I’d rather my teammates be highlighted and my coaches, coach Stout and them. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. So, nobody does it on their own. I don’t need to be the guy in front of the spotlight.”
As such, Seumalo was appropriately diplomatic when asked about Wisniewski’s comments that he had personally been benched for non-football reasons.
“I’m not gonna comment on what other teammates and stuff said, I’m gonna focus on what I’m doing,” Seumalo said. “(Our relationship) is good, man. Great teammate, mentor, has helped me out a bunch, good friend.”
Seumalo will be tested on Sunday alongside a balky Jason Peters. Aside from Luke Kuechly, the Panthers’ defensive tackle tandem of Dontari Poe and especially Kawann Short is the strength of their defense.
3. Lineup-wise, the biggest question for the Eagles on Sunday is how they’ll deploy their nickel defense. With Sidney Jones and Corey Graham already declared out, the options are slim. Last week against the Giants, rookie Avonte Maddox slid from his new free safety position to the nickel spot when the Giants had three receivers on the field and Rasul Douglas came in to occupy the deep safety spot. That’s an option again this week, although Douglas missed practice Wednesday and Thursday (the meat of the practice week) for a personal matter. Earlier in the week, the Eagles re-signed cornerback Dexter McDougle, who spent some time with the team last summer and into the early part of the season as a backup nickel. It’s possible, maybe even probable, that the Eagles will then leave Maddox at safety in the nickel defense on Sunday and let McDougle cover the slot. The final possibility is that Maddox continues to play both positions and Tre Sullivan takes over the deep safety position when the Eagles are in nickel.
Advertisement
The Panthers have three wide receivers on the field exactly two-thirds of the time and are averaging 5.9 yards per play in 11 personnel, which ranks 16th in the league.
4. Maddox, meanwhile, has earned the title of official 2018 coach’s pet. Here is an incomplete collection the plaudits laid upon the fourth-round rookie just this week.
“He has that skill set where it’s not all about coverage with him. He is a physical guy, he tackles extremely well. He takes great angles just because his instincts are good. So you put all that together, it doesn’t matter what position you’re at, whether it’s nickel or it’s safety, it’s going to be a huge benefit for whoever he’s playing for.” — Safeties coach Tim Hauck
“I spent some time at his pro day and talked to him. There was no question marks on can the guy learn. He’s a sharp kid. He gets ball. He loves ball. And if you get it and you love it, then you got a chance. You can be the smartest guy, but if you don’t love it, then it’s not gonna matter.” — Defensive backs coach Cory Undlin
“Avonte’s a great player. I mean, we loved him on film coming out. We knew he was competitive on special teams and on defense. We liked his college film a lot. He was a great jammer in college also. He did a great job of that for us on the outside. Obviously, we’ve lost him a little bit, unfortunately for us, defensive role. But the guy’s a great kid, he works hard, I love seeing him have success. We call it “graduating” when a guy ends up going from special teams to defensive starter. So he’s done good, we’re proud of him, he did a great job for us when he was really a prime contributor, made some great plays as a gunner, did a good job holding up on the outside on punt return, great kid, works hard, really good story.” — Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp
“He’s a smart guy, he’s mature beyond his years. From the time he’s got here, there really hasn’t been a situation where things were too big for him. He’s just got a great attitude. When we said, ‘Hey, we need you to take some safety reps.’ He was like, ‘OK.’ We said, ‘Hey, you have to go in there and play the nickel.’ ‘OK.’ Those guys with that low blood pressure, that serves them well in stressful situations like that. Doesn’t serve defensive coordinators well or secondary coaches or anybody else, but those guys on the field, he never bats an eye no matter what you’re asking him to do, special teams, you know, any position on defense.” — Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz
“Here’s one thing I’d say about watching him in college. I loved the way he played. He played fast, he played hard, he played physical. And then you take those three things and throw ‘em together and you go, ‘Well, he’s got a chance to play safety,’ Even though he hadn’t done it before. The skill set is obviously there. Love the kid to death because of what he does. I mean, he works hard at it and he plays extremely hard. You get that part done, you’re halfway there.” — Hauck
Advertisement
“Avonte tough, now.” — Undlin
5. Much of the focus for the defense this week has been on handling Cam Newton in the open field, and rightly so. Newton ran 11 times against the Eagles last season for 71 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown run.
“He got all the tools. He got everything. He can throw, on the run, in the pocket, and then his feet always can beat you. And he’s physical. He’s a big guy. So the first guy coming in most likely is not gonna bring him down. He carries a lot of stress on the defense,” said Douglas. “Some quarterbacks, you don’t have to hit ’em, they (go down themselves). Him, he gonna look for it. He’s sizing you up just like you try to size him up. I mean, the best thing to do is just make sure you get him on the ground.”
Unsurprisingly, Newton ranks ninth in the NFL among all qualifying rushers with an average of 2.64 yards after contact per rush, according to SportRadar. Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, ranks seventh from the bottom.
6. Defensive tackle Tim Jernigan, who has been sorely missed this season, has recently started appearing as an observer at practice for the first time this year. Jernigan has not yet been cleared for contact and doesn’t appear to be necessarily close to hitting that threshold as he recovers from offseason back surgery. Still, it appears more likely that he might end up playing this season than some of us might have originally thought.
Meanwhile, Haloti Ngata is listed as questionable after Destiny Vaeao was waived/injured earlier this week. That means Treyvon Hester could potentially start for the Eagles alongside Fletcher Cox, with Bruce Hector (promoted from the practice squad Friday) rotating in as well. The truth is that with Cox playing so often and at such a high level, the lack of production from the second defensive tackle spot isn’t a huge concern, especially with Brandon Graham and Michael Bennett rotating inside on passing downs. But against an offense that ranks third in rushing DVOA, the Eagles will be tested inside.
According to the NFL’s official stats, the Panthers are their most efficient when running inside. They rank third in the league with 4.98 yards per carry up the middle, fifth with 5.37 yards per carry when running behind the left guard and seventh in the league with 5.37 yards per carry when running behind the right guard.
Advertisement
7. For the first time since Wentz returned in Week 3, the Eagles saw some success last week when he was able to extend the play to backyard football time. His first touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery and the 58-yard completion to Nelson Agholor both came on busted plays and were the first two passes of the season for more than 12 yards in which Wentz took at least four seconds to throw the ball. There were six such plays from Wentz in 2017.
“Well, you’ve got an outstanding quarterback who’s able to extend plays and any time you do that and have people that can break away from people and have that little extra bit to do that and they have a feel for each other and where they are without knowing where they are and that’s hard to explain,” said wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer. “That was just a couple tremendous plays when you scramble and find guys, Alshon’s first touchdown and then you got that big play to Nelson there. Those are backbreakers for your defense when you think you’ve got him hemmed up and you don’t and then you break away from a guy, you can only cover for so long.
“It’s practiced a bunch and then when it happens in practice obviously it’s talked about how to get open and where to go when you are on a scramble. It may look like chaos but it’s organized.”
The Panthers rank 17th in the league in sacks per rush.
8. Last year’s matchup between the Eagles and Panthers served as a coming-out party for Nigel Bradham, who laid wood all over the place with 10 tackles, one tackle for loss and two passes defensed. It turned out to be a borderline legendary performance in last year’s locker room. From last season’s story on Bradham:
“He hit somebody, I think he got a stinger in his neck so he had to come out,” (Malcolm) Jenkins remembers, “and three plays later he came screaming out onto the field to whoever was his backup to get off the field.”
Later in the game, (Najee) Goode remembers Bradham delivering a punishing hit on Panthers tight end Greg Olsen.
“He hit the dude, and Nigel was still hurt,” Goode recalls. “He’s getting up and he’s still hurt. I’m looking at him like he’s still hurt, and he gets up talking crap (to Olsen) like, ‘Yeah, I know you see it. I know you see it.’”
Goode says Bradham then began to walk away dragging a limp arm until Olsen returned fire.
“And he turned back around like nothing ever happened,” Goode says, mimicking Bradham’s return to perfect posture. “‘I know you see it! What!’ Talkin’ shit.”
Advertisement
As Ryan Sasaki uncovered earlier this week, Bradham and Jordan Hicks have yet to have many memorable moments in 2018. Could this be the week?
9. If there’s one matchup where Carolina has a clear edge coming in, it’s on special teams, where the Panthers rank sixth in the league overall, according to Football Outsiders. The Eagles rank 18th, despite Cameron Johnston’s historic start. According to Football Outsiders, the Eagles rank 27th in both kickoff coverage and punt coverage. That’s not helped this week by the absence of Corey Graham, D.J. Alexander, Nate Gerry and Jones, who suffered his hamstring injury on punt coverage.
10. Predictions time …
Coming off a mini-bye and a dominant performance over an admittedly hapless opponent, I think Wentz picks up right where he left off against a Carolina defense that has been inconsistent. Wentz throws for 300 yards with touchdowns to Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. After a week in which the Eagles got their RPO game going, it will be interesting to see how they do against someone like Kuechly. Schwartz came out with a great game plan last week, and the front seven will need to be prepared against the jet sweeps and option looks the Panthers have. Newton, McCaffery and Co. move the ball fairly well for the majority of the game, but a late overthrow ends up in Maddox’s hands to get the Eagles over .500 again. Eagles 30, Panthers 23 — Rich Hofmann
I’ll admit that I don’t have a great feel for this game. Offensively, I worry about the Eagles playing two injured offensive tackles against a formidable Panthers front, but I think Doug Pederson will scheme some things up to take advantage of Carolina’s safeties. On the other side of the ball, the most obvious concern is the safety position when the Eagles are in their sub packages. I also expect a contested catch or two from Devin Funchess against Ronald Darby. In the end, I think this will be a fun back-and-forth affair between two competitive teams. The Eagles win their second straight before heading to London. Eagles 27, Panthers 24 — Sheil Kapadia
The Panthers defense has not been very good this season and I don’t see much resistance for Wentz as he starts to round into MVP form. The mini-bye gives Pederson some time to come up with the honorary Andy Reid “special game plan week” and I think we might see some tendency breaking in the form of an increased role for Corey Clement. The defense does enough, thanks to a forced fumble by Bennett, and the Eagles get back to their winning ways at home. Eagles 31, Panthers 24 — Bo Wulf
(Top photo: Rich Graessle / Getty Images)