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  • Spence is no slouch

    Akeem Spence is 'all smiles' as his fortunes changed for the better
    By Andrew Kulp September 12, 2019 9:52 AM


    Less than a month ago, defensive tackle Akeem Spence was preparing for a bleak season in Miami, his own future uncertain. Now, he’s a member of the Eagles, in a defensive scheme he’s familiar with, playing for a Super Bowl hopeful.
    Fortuitous isn’t something Spence has been very often during his seven-year NFL career, though he may have finally caught a break with the latest chain of events.
    “I’ve never been on a winning team, so just being here, I’ve been all smiles,” Spence said following his first Eagles practice on Wednesday.
    The Eagles will have a difficult time replacing Malik Jackson, a Pro Bowl player whose Lisfranc injury is potentially season-ending. That being said, Spence isn’t simply a body at a position where depth can seem interchangeable.
    He’ll help fill the void.
    Don’t be fooled by the fact that Spence, 27, was released in August by the Dolphins, a team everybody has pegged for an 0-16 season after a Week 1 blowout. This is a quality interior lineman whose departures from Miami and the Lions in 2017 were largely the result of scheme changes.
    “I was playing for (former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell) in Detroit, a great coach, loved him, and then they brought in Matt Patricia,” Spence, who was traded to the Dolphins for a seventh-round pick last year, said. “I wasn’t a 3-4 guy.”
    Spence said it was the same situation in Miami with the hiring of Brian Flores and saw the writing on the wall all along.
    “I was kind of expecting it,” Spence said of his release. “Just the direction they were taking things. It was just a matter of when.”
    A former fourth-round pick by the Buccaneers, Spence has made 57 starts, recording 177 tackles, 10.5 sacks and a forced fumble. The last two seasons account for almost half his production as a pro with 81 tackles and 5.0 sacks.
    Spence should feel right at home in the Eagles defense, too. Both Caldwell and Matt Burke — who joined the Eagles’ coaching staff as a special assistant after two years running Miami’s D — utilized the Wide-9 front defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is known for.
    “I feel like this defense is something that I’ve been in before playing for Coach Burke, so it’s just gonna be getting down the terminology and being able to communicate with the guys on the field,” Spence said.
    “I’ve got a high passion for those guys. I love the way they coach defense, I love the way coach D-line and I have a passion for playing attack defense.”
    It remains to be seen whether Spence will be active when the Eagles meet Atlanta on Sunday. He needs to get comfortable with the playbook and work his way back into game shape after three weeks away from football.
    Whenever Spence makes his Eagles debut — likely this week or next — he’ll come with a plan.
    “When I get my hand in the dirt, just whoop the man in front of me,” Spence said. “Just playing ball, what I’ve done for seven years in this league.”
    "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

  • #2
    For the time of the year he is a good pickup.
    Were from Philly F in Philly no one likes us we DON'T CARE!

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    • #3
      Here's an encouraging little tidbit from Tommy L.

      Spence was productive for Miami last year. He had 2 sacks, 6 TFLs and 9 QB hits while starting all 16 games.

      The Eagles have had good luck with finding 1-gap DTs. Justin Hamilton, Treyvon Hester, Hassan Ridgeway, etc. Spence is 6-1, 303 and is at his best attacking up the field.
      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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      • #4
        Spence goes from outhouse to penthouse!!

        World’s happiest man


        Akeem Spence has to be careful not to injure a cheek muscle from smiling too hard.

        Seriously.

        The Eagles’ newest defensive tackle, signed Tuesday after being released by the Miami Dolphins, projected the image of the happiest man in the world Wednesday after his first practice in Philadelphia.

        “This is a sports town,” he said. “The Eagles fans, they’re die-hard. I mean, you can’t wear Redskins or Cowboys gear [pause for laughter] in this city, because you might get mauled. But the fans are die-hard and they should be. The city’s great ... and this is a great organization and first-class, really. First class.”


        Even more importantly, it’s not the Dolphins, who have a full-blown mutiny going on after trading away top offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil just before the start of the season and appear to be in tank mode under first-year coach Brian Flores.

        He couldn’t believe his good fortune when his agent called Monday.

        Said Spence: "He asked me, how would I like the opportunity to be on a Super Bowl contender? I said, `Who wouldn’t?' "

        [More Sports] What you need to know about Eagles vs. Falcons: How to watch, who to watch and prediction »
        You will never see a happier man than Akeem Spence was Wednesday afternoon.
        "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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        • #5
          Awesome. If he plays 1/2 as well as he speaks, the town will love him.

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