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‘There's no magic potion:' Vic Fangio pinpoints the issue with Jonathan Greenard
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- ‘There's no magic potion:' Vic Fangio pinpoints the issue with Jonathan Greenard
'There's no magic potion:' Vic Fangio pinpoints the issue with Jonathan Greenard originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Jonathan Greenard, the Eagles' $98 million free agent edge rusher, doesn't have much to show for his first two months as an Eagle.
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Two tackles, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble (that the Eagles didn't recover) to show in 118 snaps over parts of five games.
And Vic Fangio knows why.
"What I see is a guy that has had very, very little practice," Fangio said Tuesday. "I mean, when I say very little, minuscule.
"He missed all of training camp, missed the first two weeks of the season, no practice, started practicing, was on a pitch count, played 19 plays, was going to increase the next week, got hurt early in that game, didn't finish that game, didn't play the next game, and he's been limited in practice."
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Greenard hasn't had a full week of practice yet. The Eagles, 2-6 with a six-game losing streak, open the practice week on Wednesday for a home game Sunday against the Giants.
Greenard has had exactly six days of full practice so far this year – the Friday before the Bears game, all three days leading up to the Rams, the Friday leading up to the Panthers and the Friday before the game Sunday night in Washington.
"You know, contrary to some people's popular belief, practice is important," Fangio said. "And he has had next to none."
Greenard missed all of training camp and the first two games with a pectoral injury, played 18 snaps against the Bears and 19 against the Rams, then missed the Jaguars game with an ankle injury. He's played 24, 29 and 28 snaps the last three weeks with modest results.
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Prior to the Cowboys game, Greenard was limited on Thursday and missed practice Friday and Saturday. Last week, he was limited at practice on Wednesday and Thursday and full on Friday.
When he has played, Greenard hasn't been close to the player the Eagles envisioned. This is a guy who had 24 ½ sacks in 2023 and 2024 and made a Pro Bowl in 2024. His $24.5 million average annual salary is 12th-highest among all NFL edge rushers.
How can he get to where he needs to be?
"Practice," Fangio said. "You know, there's no pill, there's no magic potion. You can watch all the tape you want, you can sit in meetings all you want, you can do walkthroughs all you want. The guy's got to practice. Practice is important for everybody."
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The Eagles could sure use some pass pressure.
Nolan Smith has four sacks but he's the Eagles' only edge rusher with any sacks. Overall, the Eagles have just 10 sacks, 4th-fewest in the league and the fewest in franchise history through eight games.
You always take Pro Football Focus grades with a grain of salt, but out of 118 edge rushers who've played at least 100 snaps his 57.1 overall grade ranks 93rdand his 65.1 pressure grade ranks 77th.
According to Stathead analytics, Greenard has no quarterback hurries, and he's played the 6th-most snaps among all edge rushers who have no sacks or hurries.
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"Yeah, he's just not into a groove," Fangio said. "He's not comfortable in our system totally and what we want him to do. And it's not because he doesn't know or doesn't want to. It's just he hasn't executed it. Walk-throughs are an assignment check. It's not execution.
"I don't know that I've had a guy that's had so little practice."
