Why is Jonathan Greenard ‘not into a groove?’ Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio points to practice.
Fangio cited Greenard's limited availability during the week due to injury as an obstacle in his impact for the Eagles.
Jonathan Greenard played 47% of the defensive snaps in the Eagles’ 27-10 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
It was the highest percentage of snaps Greenard has played this season, a fact that on its own is a disappointment for a team that traded two third-round picks on draft weekend to acquire the edge rusher and then signed him to a four-year deal worth nearly $100 million.
But the facts get worse.
Of Greenard’s 28 snaps Sunday, 18 were pass rushes, and he had little impact on the game. Pro Football Focus credited him with zero pressures, and Next Gen Stats gave him one, on Jalen Carter’s third-quarter sack.
Greenard’s pressure rate Sunday was 5.9%, according to Next Gen, and his season-long pressure rate fell to 9%, down more than six points from his 15.4% rate in Minnesota last season. He has yet to register a sack, and all five games he has played in have resulted in Eagles losses.
Missed time explains a lot of what has been a woeful start to the 29-year-old’s Eagles tenure. A pectoral injury suffered while lifting weights before camp led to Greenard missing all of training camp and the first two games. Then he suffered an ankle injury in Week 4 that kept him out of Week 5 and has limited his ability to play more snaps over the last three weeks.
What gives? Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was talking about practice on Tuesday.
“What I see is a guy that has had very, very little practice,” Fangio said. “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 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. Contrary to some people’s popular belief, practice is important. And he has had next to none.”
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How does he get back to where he needs to be?
“Practice,” Fangio said. “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. Guys got to practice.”
Even a veteran pass rusher with six-plus seasons under his belt?
“Practice is important for everybody,” said Fangio.
“He’s just not into a groove. 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] hadn’t executed it. Walkthroughs are an assignment check. It’s not an execution. I don’t know if I’ve had a guy that’s had so little practice.”
Greenard has been listed as a full participant in just six Eagles practices so far this season.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was pressured just eight times on 33 dropbacks (24.2%), according to Next Gen. That’s his lowest rate of the 2026 season.
The Eagles rank 29th in pressure rate (31.5%) and in total sacks (10), according to Next Gen.
“It’s been there some, and some it hasn’t been,” Fangio said. “Like all of us, it could get a little better.”
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Fangio calls J.J. McCarthy ‘a steal’
The New York Giants are coming off their bye week and should feel pretty good about their offense after pulling off a 27-21 overtime victory in Houston before the break.
The division leader at 4-2-1 lost starting quarterback Jaxson Dart in Week 2, turned to Jameis Winston, then handed the keys to J.J. McCarthy after acquiring the 2024 10th overall pick in a trade from Minnesota.
Fangio said he sees a blend of what the Baltimore Ravens used to run when Greg Roman — now an offensive assistant in New York — ran the show for John Harbaugh in Baltimore and what offensive coordinator Matt Nagy used to run in Kansas City.
“They’ve got it going right now,” Fangio said. “They’ve got good wideouts, good tight ends, two good backs, and the quarterback has come in in a short period of time and really done a nice job. For them to get him for a [fifth]-round pick is a steal.”
The Eagles have problems. Eight games into the season, that much is sure. But which ones are symptomatic, versus the ones that are systemic? From the head coach to the personnel, from coordinators to the front office, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy scrutinize the micro issues that point to some of the larger dilemmas the Eagles now face: should they start to pack it in, and who will be held accountable for the team’s shortcomings? Listen here.
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