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  • Brandon Brooks will be a fan favorite


    Eagles Recruiting Efforts Helped Land Brandon Brooks


    By Tim McManus | March 11, 2016 at 4:55 pm


    Brandon Brooks got his relationship with the Eagles fan base off on the right foot by saying he heard Philadelphia is “like a smaller, cleaner version of New York” at his introductory press conference Friday.

    And it was the Eagles that made a good first impression on him earlier in the week through their words and actions the moment the free-agency gun went off.


    "The biggest thing for me is when [the legal tampering period] opened up on Monday, pretty much from the get-go the Eagles let me know I was their guy," said Brooks. "I felt wanted. Players on the team -- [Jason] Peters, [Jason] Kelce, Lane [Johnson] -- all texting me saying, 'Come here. We have an opportunity to build something great.'"



    Brooks said there were other teams in pursuit including Houston, where he spent the first four years of his career. But the Eagles showed him the most love. That, plus the five-year, $40 million deal ($21 million guaranteed) they were willing to give him, secured the services of the 6-5, 343-pound 26-year old out of Milwaukee.

    Brooks started 44 of a possible 48 games over the last three seasons for the Texans, playing mostly right guard. Doug Pederson told reporters on Thursday that he will start him off on the right side, where he's expected to plug the hole between Kelce and Johnson. Brooks called Johnson "one of the best young right tackles in the league" and Kelce "one of the best pulling centers I've ever seen since I've been watching the game." He had praise for Pederson and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and said he feels like he's a fit for this scheme.

    "They do a lot of things -- wide zones, powers, whatever it is," he said. "And I think Coach Stout is a really good coach. I think he can help me take my game to the next level."


    Brooks was rated as a top-8 guard in 2014 by Pro Football Focus, though he fell off some this past season in their view.


    Brooks joins the Eagles coming off of his worst season in three years, but that was still good enough to earn a positive overall grade. At his best (2013 and 2014), Brooks provides solid pass protection, but crucially brings back the consistent, physical style (with occasional dominance) that was the calling card of the Eagles’ ground play when Mathis and Herremans manned the guard spots on either side of Kelce.

    Brooks says he's not necessarily feeling more pressure now that he has a sizable contract, but perhaps an added sense of responsibility. He has been working towards a masters in finance and made time for two internships last offseason, but will put such pursuits on hold for the moment.

    "At this point in my life, 100 percent of the time in-season and offseason now, I feel like if you're going to pay me, I need to really every second be breathing it, living it," he said. "That's kind of how I look at it."

    Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/20...RzAJOiIQM1D.99
    "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

  • #2
    I think he will be the best signing of the off season and the type of signing the could be on par with Runyan and Peters. Not T of course but as far as longevity and a stalwart on the OL
    Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
    Hope is not a strategy
    RIP

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    • #3
      Good stuff

      Battles with J.J. Watt made Brandon Brooks ‘tremendously better’

      March 15, 2016, 8:00 am





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      Brandon Brooks (right) takes on J.J. Watt (left) in a one-on-one drill during training camp in 2013. (AP)













      In Houston, Texas, training camp under the sweltering summer sun in late July and early August is daunting for just about anyone.
      Especially for someone charged with stopping the world’s best football player.
      That was the reality for Brandon Brooks.
      Brooks, whom the Eagles signed to a five-year deal worth $40 million last week, was drafted by the Texans in the third round of the 2012 draft out of Miami of Ohio. By the time training camp rolled around a few months later, he was facing off against a second-year player named J.J. Watt, who was about to start his ascension to become the best defensive player in the sport.
      Over the next four years, Brooks vs. Watt became a training camp staple.
      What percentage of those battles did Brooks win?
      “I held my own,” Brooks said with a smile to CSNPhilly.com last week. “I’m not going to give you a percentage, but I held my own. I’ll say that.”
      Brooks, now 26, was really the only player on the Texans strong and big enough to face off one-on-one against Watt, who has been an All-Pro in each of the last four years. In the four years since Brooks came into the league, Watt has been named Defensive Player of the Year thrice.
      It’s possible the battles helped both players improve.
      “Going against him every day, I think it’s made me a tremendously better player,” Brooks said. “Not only do you get a great player, but you get a great player with a motor that is virtually unmatched. There’s no reps that I can take off because I know he’s going 110 percent 110 percent of the time.”
      Brooks really did hold his own against Watt during those training camp battles.
      And his teammates took notice.
      “It was good,” former Texan Ben Jones said in a phone interview with CSNPhilly.com this week. Jones was a member of Brooks’ draft class and played four years in Houston with him before leaving to join the Titans as a free agent this offseason. “You really don’t pay too much attention because you’re tired and banged up, but when you see it in the film room, you always see guys like that. Because he was the one you knew was matched up against [Watt].
      “He does it every day. And you kind of expected [Brooks] to block him because he does it so often. Not many guys can do it. But you kind of get used to it seeing it every day. You expect so much from a guy like that, who can do so much.”
      At 6-5, 335 pounds, Brooks had the size and power to combat Watt. He was one of the few guys on the team who could at times handle the superstar.
      Even though Brooks held his own, he still got beat plenty by Watt. Anyone would. And often, after practice, Brooks would meet with his teammate to get some tips.
      Since becoming a starter, Brooks has been a very good run blocker, but he has consistently improved as a pass blocker in each of his four seasons in the NFL. There’s no doubt working against Watt helped in that area.
      If he can stop Watt, who has 69 sacks since 2012 (18½ more than the next closest player), he can stop anyone. Brooks said he was always confident facing Watt, but admitted his confidence level would get a boost whenever he would beat him.
      “You’re going against one of the best D-linemen in the league,” Brooks said. “Every rep you get, you can always learn something. How to sit on the bull rush, if the bull rush turns into him dipping his shoulder, dipping ripping, things of that nature. You come talk to him even after practice. Like ‘what do I need to do as a player to get better vs. someone as good as you?’ Those are the things that I learned going against him every day.”
      While Watt, who declined an interview request for this story, has found unparalleled levels of success on the football field, which he has parlayed into countless endorsement contracts, Brooks hasn’t quite put it all together yet.
      The Eagles are hoping he does, after they handed out a $40 million contract, which includes $21 million in guarantees.
      No, Brooks hasn’t become a Pro Bowler yet, but the one thing not many people question is his athleticism. Jones said his former teammate looks like a bodybuilder and is a “physical specimen.”
      “Brandon’s a heckuva player,” Jones said. “I don’t think there’s another guy in the league that’s as physically gifted as Brandon. He’s very talented and he deserves every penny he got, because the guy is something else. His career is just taking off.”
      And those battles with Watt certainly helped.
      We're looking for people that are fundamentally different,” vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl said Saturday night. “The love and passion for football, it's non-negotiable. They're caring, their character, they do the right thing persistently, and they have a relentless playing style that you can see on tape. The motor, it burns hot. You see them finishing plays. They have a team-first mentality. They're selfless individuals.

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      • #4
        Don't say it AW!!!! Keep yourself under control.
        "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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