great read on best dline in leaugue

[phillymaster]

Jasper gives nod to young rivalsBy LES BOWEN
bowenl@phillynews.com
THE INTERVIEW began with reporters asking Ed Jasper about his success at blocking kicks over the years. Somehow, it morphed into him basically cutting himself from the team.

Sometimes, a day in the locker room is like a box of chocolates...

The whole thing started when Eagles special-teams coordinator John Harbaugh noted that Jasper has blocked five kicks in his nine NFL seasons with the Eagles, Falcons and Raiders, two short of the NFL record, Harbaugh said. (By the way, that apparently isn't true; Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks is credited with blocking 25 field goals or extra points. Seven is Hendricks' one-season record.)

At any rate, Jasper, 33, then said he didn't think being able to block kicks would be of much help in making the team, and he talked about what an excellent group of young defensive tackles the Birds have now. Jasper signed with the Eagles as a free agent before the team drafted first-round rookie Brodrick Bunkley and sixth-rounder LaJuan Ramsey.

"How do I fit in? The truth is, now, I'm going to tell you what - if I was a d-line coach or a head coach, I would always go with the young guys," Jasper said. "It's so hard to find defensive linemen, you can never let a young defensive lineman go. Is it hard for me to say? No. I've had my moment in the sun. Not at all. There's some young guys here - Bunk and Ramsey - who have a bright, long future if they keep their head right."

Jasper has done a respectable job in the preseason, but probably does face an uphill fight, even if defensive coordinator Jim Johnson gets his wish and is allowed to keep 10 defensive linemen, something Johnson spoke of recently. It's pretty easy to count to 10 without Jasper: ends Jevon Kearse, Darren Howard, Trent Cole, Juqua Thomas and Jerome McDougle, then tackles Darwin Walker, Mike Patterson, Bunkley, Ramsey and Sam Rayburn.

Jasper apparently has done the same math.

"Don't get me wrong. I ain't saying it because I can't play or anything like that," Jasper said. "I'm just telling you what I would do. Those young guys, I'd keep a couple of vets around to help [new defensive line coach Pete] Jenkins out but... Just think about how long and how far between it's been since I've been here [1997 and '98] that you've found defensive linemen. They're few and far between. It's not just like that here, it's like that everywhere. When you get some good, young defensive linemen that you've got a chance to groom, you've got to let them do their thing."

Young talent is one reason Jasper thinks the Eagles' d-line will be really good this season. Another reason is Jenkins, whose philosophies Jasper knows well from having played for Jenkins disciple Bill Johnson at Texas A & M and then for the Falcons, where Johnson remains the defensive-line coach.

"What it is, is a gap-control type of line play. It's not two-gap and hitting guys in the middle... It's kind of like a gap-edge defense. And there's no sitting back watching; it's an attack defense. You'd be surprised how much it helps," Jasper said.

Jasper said the Jenkins-John-son methods helped make Pat-rick Kerney a Pro Bowler in Atlanta.

"This is just one of those defenses that takes advantage of football being a game of angles - and of fewer steps," he said. Then he gave an involved demonstration of one-gap play, focusing on one shoulder of the blocker, instead of trying to overpower him straight-up. Jasper noted that defensive linemen often are quite a bit smaller than offensive linemen these days, and trying to overpower them often doesn't work. (Until we add video to the stories, that's the best explanation you'll get.)

Jasper said he sometimes translates Jenkins for the younger players, who don't always relate to the 64-year-old coach's manner.

"They tend to have a harder time with Pete, because Pete is real old school," Jasper said. "There's, like, a generation gap. They don't know it, but for a long time, Pete Jenkins was known as the best defensive-line coach in college football... If they listen to it and buy in, the defensive line around in the next few years - you all are going to really have something to write about."

Jasper said Jenkins "expects things to be a certain way."

"The communication on the pro level and the communication on the college level are different," he said. "There's nothing wrong with anybody, everybody is getting along. I'm not saying that; it's just that there's a generation gap."

Asked about Bunkley, who notched 1 ½ sacks last week in Baltimore in only his second preseason game, after getting a late start because of a contract dispute, Jasper said: "I think he's got a chance to be really good. And I'll tell you who else - Ramsey has a chance to be just as good. Ramsey is kind of a natural pass rusher. He's kind of a natural edge guy, so he really falls right into everything that Pete is teaching right now."

Jasper said he wasn't giving up; he just has never seen this much youth and depth around him.

"Until that day comes, I'm going to work as hard as I can," he said. "But these guys are young, man. When I was down in Atlanta, I was there about 5 years before they brought in another good defensive lineman."

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