Schwartz thinks Eagles' Tim Jernigan may be flying under the radar

Jim Schwartz is a really smart guy with an economics degree from Georgetown, but there is nothing terribly eggheaded about the defense he runs.

He's not big on blitzing and doesn't have a ton of complicated coverages. Everything revolves around his front four and their ability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

When they're able to do that, the results generally are positive. When they're not, well, things tend to go awry.

Such was the case last season. In the Eagles' first six games, the front four was a pain in the neck for opposing quarterbacks. The Eagles notched 20 sacks, 15 of them with a four-man rush. Opposing quarterbacks had a 76.3 passer rating when the Eagles rushed four.

But in their last 10 games, the front four didn't play nearly as well. They had just 14 sacks, 10 with a four-man rush. The opponent passer rating against a four-man rush in those 10 games: 92.7.

The Eagles made some significant offseason moves to upgrade their defensive line, using their first-round pick on one of the draft's top pass rushers, Derek Barnett, adding veteran defensive end Chris Long and trading for defensive tackle Tim Jernigan.

"I mean, everything looks good on paper,'' Schwartz said of his new and improved line. "But it's like Mike Tyson said: Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

"This is the same sort of thing. It's one thing to rush without pads. It's one thing to rush when it's controlled situations. But when you've got to rush when there are running backs chipping you, when the quarterback's on the move, when you've got to also respect the run, it can look a lot different.''

While Schwartz is hopeful that Barnett, perhaps the best pure edge-rusher in the draft, will be able to step in and make an immediate impact, the guy he really is bullish on, the guy he really thinks could make a difference in the Eagles' pass-rush numbers this season, is Jernigan, an athletic 6-2, 295-pound fourth-year tackle acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in an exchange of third-round draft picks.

"I don't know if it flew under the radar, but it was an important acquisition for us,'' he said. "He's really going to be a big addition for us. I think it will affect our pass rush as much as bringing a first-round pick [Barnett] or a veteran player [Long] into the mix.''

Schwartz feels Jernigan, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, will give the Eagles a better interior pass-rushing threat alongside Fletcher Cox than Bennie Logan did last season.

Cox, who signed a six-year, $103 million contract last summer, faced constant double-teams last year. He had four sacks in the first four games, but just 2 ½ in the last 12. He had just three hurries in the last six games.

Logan wasn't able to take advantage of the extra attention Cox received. He had just 2 ½ sacks and nine hurries.

"After Fletch had such a good start, teams adjusted,'' Schwartz said. "They started taking him away, and we didn't win enough one-on-ones away from him because that other tackle (Logan) got the one-on-ones (and didn't win them). Timmy's able to get good pressure.''

Jernigan has never really played in an attack-oriented, one-gap scheme like Schwartz's. He played in a 3-4 two-gap scheme in Baltimore, and also played in a 3-4 in college at Florida State.

But his first-step quickness is evident when you watch him play.

"On third down, regardless of what kind of scheme you run, pretty much everybody attacks,'' Schwartz said. "Everybody is in a pass-rush mode. It's just that, a lot of times, they're not doing it on first-and-10 or second-and-6.

"Everything we needed to see from him, he had done at some point in his NFL career.''

Jernigan had five sacks last year, but just one in the last nine games. When the Ravens gave nose tackle Brandon Williams a five-year, $52.5 million contract extension in the offseason, Jernigan knew his days in Baltimore were numbered, though he thought they would hang on to him through this season and then just not re-sign him.

The fact that they gave him away to the Eagles for the opportunity to move up 25 spots in the third round of the draft has left him with a fairly large chip on his shoulder.

"I do (have one), there's no denying it,'' he said. "I feel I've got a lot to prove, man. They got rid of me. That's always going to be in the back of my head. I've got a point to prove.''

Not to mention a second contract to play for, even if it's unlikely that it will be in Philadelphia given the money they have already invested in Cox.

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Jernigan loves everything about Schwartz's scheme.

"I really like the way we attack,'' he said. "Every play is attack, attack, attack. We're always trying to get to the quarterback. We're really playing the gap versus playing the man.''

Jernigan is excited about playing next to Cox, a two-time second-team All-Pro selection. He knows it's going to mean a lot of one-on-one opportunities.

"It's going to be interesting,'' he said. "At the end of the day, I feel good about my ability to beat one-on-ones. I think teams are going to have to pick their poison. (They're going to have to decide) which guy they want to beat them that game.''

Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks has been very impressed by what he's seen of Jernigan so far.

"He's a big guy who can play small,'' Brooks said. "He's got a lot of wiggle to him. He can move his hips. I think our defense is really suited to his skills. He can get off the ball and get in the backfield.

"He's really going to help the defense in that, if you decide to try to double-team Fletch inside, Tim's going to have a lot of one-on-one matches that he's going to win. He'll make the most of the situation.''

Cox and Logan were good friends. So Cox is a little wary of being too effusive in his praise of Jernigan for fear of it sounding like criticism of Logan. But he acknowledged, "I think he's going to be really good in this defense.''

If he is, Schwartz's defense will have a lot more than 34 sacks this season.