The Eagles are 7-2 and as the late, great John Madden would say, “Winning is the best deodorant”. That certainly is true, but as the team continues to hit its stride, especially on the defensive side of the ball, linebackers Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean have stepped up in a major way this season to help supply the metaphorical deodorant at a position that has been lackluster for more than a decade for this organization.
PSN’s Chris Babos wrote about Baun and how good of a return on investment he has been after signing an unassuming $3.5 million contract. Baun, who is currently 11th in the NFL with his 87 total tackles and 6th in solo tackles with 55, has been a springboard for the defense after the unit struggled in the first few games of the season. The fifth-year linebacker has led the Eagles in tackles in five games this season and has had the second-most tackles in three other contests.
The former Saint has been a pleasant surprise to many, but according to the linebacker, he expected this type of production as he told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro after the 34-6 rout of Dallas on Sunday.
“No, I don’t think so. I think through my time in New Orleans, of course people say I was an on-ball linebacker, but when I was in New Orleans, I was putting in the time, putting in just the same amount of work as the starters were.”
“Just to prepare for a moment like this, my opportunity. And all I had to do was take advantage and just let it fly,” Baun said.
Baun is becoming quite the playmaker for the Eagles and stands alone as the only player in the league to have 80+ tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and an interception.
Dean Rising to the Occasion for the Eagles
Now enter Nakobe Dean. One of the two highly coveted Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 NFL Draft that the Eagles selected. It has been a tumultuous journey for the third-year linebacker. Dealing with injuries and lack of performance slowed down Dean’s ability to be the potential impact player the Eagles and others across the league envisioned him to be. Since Week 6, the inside linebacker has finally shown his skillset and ability and has formed quite the duo in the linebacking corps for the Eagles alongside Baun.
Since the Eagles’ 20-16 win against the Browns, Dean has been sensational. During that stretch, he has tallied 40 tackles, with 23 solo, three tackles for a loss, two sacks and the game-sealing interception in the endzone against Jacksonville.
After making that game-winning play, Vic Fangio said that Dean has taken some big steps to get to where he is, but there’s still room for the young linebacker to grow.
“He’s gotten better obviously. Made a tremendous play there at the end of the game. I do think he has improved. I still think he can improve some more, but I’m very pleased with the progress he’s made in that area of the game.“
With the strong showings, Dean has paced the Eagles defense in tackles twice, second in another and is inside the top-40 in the league with his 66 total tackles.
Building a Bond
The duo has continued to build their connection on and off the field as the two have blossomed into one of the more unlikely dominant linebacking duos in the league this season.
Dean said after the Jaguars game that he and Baun have been harping on getting more takeaways as a defense and the duo delivered in that Jaguars win, both getting an interception, the first time a pair of Eagles’ linebackers accomplished that in the same game in 24 years, a game affectionately known to Eagles’ fans as the “Pickle Juice Game”.
In the Dallas win, Baun and Dean combined for 14 tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
“The more we play and the longer the season, the more we become more than teammates,” Dean said. “You feel like you’re playing with a brother, a good friend out there. The more we play, the more we work off each other, learn each other’s tendencies, learn what we both like and what we don’t like.”
That camaraderie has helped the defense surge in the takeaway department with ten over the last three games, which in turn, has started quite the collection of footballs in the linebacker room, as they now keep the turned over footballs as trophies.
“A couple of weeks ago our linebacking coach says, ‘Takeaway Thursday’s’ and gives us a presentation to the defensive unit and he was talking about catching that wave, catching that wave,” Baun said. “We haven’t had too many turnovers, but I think we caught the wave, and we are getting it now.”
Baun, Dean, and the rest of the defense will look to continue to ride that wave into their pivotal matchup against the Washington Commanders on Thursday night with the NFC East division lead up for grabs.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
