A Fletcher Cox Appreciation Post

The Eagles lost to the Cowboys  and there is absolutely nothing worse than losing to that. Sure, the long-term implications benefit the Birds more by losing. Had they won it would likely place them at the top of the NFC East and set up a Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And it guarantees a better draft pick than their NFC East counterparts that will help them rebuild this heavily flawed roster. Or at least allow Howie Roseman to blow it again.

But still . . . losing to the Cowboys in a meaningful game makes you wanna stare into the abyss and recite the “Life’s but walking shadow” speech from Macbeth.

However, instead of ranting about how much Dallas Sucks and the Eagles sucked, lets take this as an opportunity for an appreciation. Before Fletcher Cox left the game with a Stinger injury the defense was doing decent with a 14-3 lead. After he left  the secondary that has been the worst in the NFL for six of the past seven seasons completely fell apart and the line couldn’t come up with any pressure.

That’s the kind of difference Fletcher Cox makes when he’s on the field. Football fans love statistics, but outside of skill position players there aren’t a lot to rely on. For a Defensive Lineman sacks are the biggest stat people look after and as a Tackle, Cox’s sack numbers aren’t eye-popping. But what he does do tremendously is “F the Play Up”, a stat that should be official in the NFL rule book. Whether it’s piling on the running back up the middle or pressuring the quarterback to throw it away, Cox has consistently been one of the best in the league at doing so.

Is he Aaron Donald? Of course not, similar to how in the ’80s the Patriots had a Hall of Fame linebacker named Andre Tippet who wasn’t Lawrence Taylor. But he’s still been the anchor of the defensive line for nine seasons now and still has a couple good years left.

Would his presence on the line have been enough to swing the game around? Who knows but it sure wouldn’t have become as much of a shit show as it did. What his absence shows is that the Eagles desperately need to draft and add players capable of going against the best in the league if they ever want to get back into Super Bowl form.

Cox is one of just three Eagles selected to the Pro Bowl this season alongside Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce. What those three have in common is that they are career Eagles who have little left to prove in the NFL. All three will at least make the Eagles Hall of Fame as key contributors to the franchises’ first Super Bowl championship. But those three likely won’t stay on the team long enough to see the franchise turn around in the next great era of Eagles football likely led by Jalen Hurts. Cox, Graham and Kelce have nothing left to prove, but the other Eagles players and organization have A LOT to prove over the next couple of years.

By Mike McCarrick | December 28, 2020
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