Haason Reddick Heats Up vs. Jaguars
PHILADELPHIA - Hasson Reddick grew up in South Jersey and played his college football in Philadelphia at Temple, so the star edge rusher knew what he was getting into when he signed a big-money deal in free agency with his hometown team.
Production was not only going to be expected but demanded and sure enough, after Reddick started his Eagles' career with two sackless games, Nick Sirianni was fielding questions on the lack of production.
“I’m like, man, it’s close. It’s close to having a big game,” Sirianni said back in September when discussing Reddick “That is my experience with defensive ends at times, is that maybe they’re quiet for a couple weeks as far as the amount of hits they get on the quarterback or pressures or the amount of sacks.
"Then boom, like that, it can change like that. I just keep thinking he’s close to having a breakout game, so that means he is getting some of the pressure that we want on the quarterback.”
Reddick turned Sirianni into a soothsayer after that with 1 1/2 sacks against Washington in Week 3 before exploding Sunday in difficult weather conditions in a 29-21 win over Jacksonville with two strip sacks on Trevor Lawrence.
Reddick now has 15 forced fumbles in his career after victimizing the 2021 No. 1 overall pick.
"First is just taking drill work to the game; we practice it," Reddick said of his propensity for forcing QB mistakes. "[Eagles Linebackers] Coach [Nick] Rallis and [Eagles Defensive Line Coach Tracy Rocker], they both harp on it. So, just taking what I’m coached to do. What we do at practice, and then just taking it into the game.”
The defense is heating up just as Reddick, coming into Week 4 as the No. 5 ranked unit in the NFL and allowing just 219 total yards to the Jaguars.
"We are [coming together], and we’ve still got some ways to go," Reddick said. "We know that. Right now, our thing is just getting better each week, and so far we have been doing that. We’ve got to continue to harp on the details and continue to hold everybody accountable, so that way we can rally back in games like this."
Like many of his teammates, Reddick was impressed with how the team handled adversity and persevered after falling behind 14-0 early.
"We were on the sidelines saying, ‘there’s a lot of ball left.’ We knew the game was far from over, and we just decided to go out there, work and do our best to dominate the men that were in front of us," Reddick said.
Reddick was the leader in that domination Sunday.
"He was balling today," receiver A.J. Brown said. "He was balling. He’s a great pickup for this team. I know he’s a hard worker with how he comes to work and how he prepares, so I’m glad to see it all manifesting.”
Sirianni never doubted he was going to see it.
"You know what's great about Haason, and Howie [Roseman] was just talking to me about this. He's a guy that has been able to force a lot of fumbles. Not only get to the quarterback, but force a lot of fumbles," the coach said.
"We talk so much about creating turnovers and how you create turnovers. ... Make no mistake about it, it's about the players creating the turnovers, and good players know how to create turnovers."
And creating them in Philadelphia as one of the city's own?
That's special.
"Haason, man, I said to him and [LB] Shaun Bradley and [LB] Kyzir White after the game, ‘Hey, there is nothing like winning in Philly.’ Because they know about that," said Sirianni.
"They know about -- especially Haason and Shaun playing here at Temple. They're quick to tell me at Temple they had College Game Day here. There is nothing like winning in Philly, and I'm glad we got some Philly guys here that we're winning with."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
