How the Eagles’ defensive leader became the ultimate glue

PHILADELPHIA – Veteran Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had an interesting take on the defense’s “Green Dot” this week.

“Some guys feel more comfortable with it,” Fangio said. “There have been some players in the league who don’t want it. They just want someone else to handle it and get the call. They don’t want the extra burden of it.”

That’s not a problem for the Eagles, as third-year linebacker Nakobe Dean is not only comfortable with the “extra burden,” he craves it.

“Nakobe likes to do it,” Fangio said.

It was never a debate for Dean, who really came on during Philadelphia’s three-game win streak.

“Ever since I became a linebacker in high school, I’ve learned that linebacker should be the heartbeat of the defense,” Dean told Philadelphia Eagles On SI. “He’s supposed to be the vocal leader, so it’s like, that’s the way it is. Like I’m not shying away from the green dot. When they were trying to figure out who wanted to be the green dot, I was like, ‘What do you mean who ?’ I want the green dot? I want the green dot.

Dean traces his thinking back to his college days at Georgia, where head coach Kirby Smart and co-defensive coordinators Dan Lanning and Glenn Schumann let Dean down big time in what was a Butkus Award-winning season en route to a national championship for Dean.

“I feel like communication as a linebacker is key,” Dean said. “I feel like it also goes back to when I was in Georgia. They used to bully me a lot when the safety didn’t get picked up or even when we got signals from the sideline. If the safety didn’t I got the call or that far corner didn’t get the call (they) didn’t yell at me as much, so I made it my duty to be the communicator, the ultimate glue.

The Eagles’ 5-2 start this season already has Dean on a career-high 409 defensive snaps with 58 tackles – seven for loss – two sacks, five quarterback hits, eight QB pressures, a pass breakup and a fumble attempt to rebound in last week’s 37-17 loss at Cincinnati.

Against the Bengals, Dean was rated by Pro Football Focus as the second-best LB in the NFL in Week 8. No. 1 was his running mate, Zack Baun, the Eagles’ linebacker who has to take over coverage on the rare occasions when Dean hasn’t been on the field.

“If we go to six DBs and Baun stays in the game, he does that,” Fangio explained. “If he does it now, it has to be more through signals, because you can’t have two. But when we know Nakobe isn’t going to do that – like recently on the two-minute drive in the half, which turned out to be only two plays to be, we put it in Zack’s helmet because we were going to the penny.

If it’s a signaling system, ILB coach Bobby King is tasked with getting the calls.

“I feel like the linebackers are the glue,” Dean said of the defense.

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