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The Eagles made a trade! You all know the details by now, I don’t want to get into the money (the Bears are paying anyway!) or the compensation, I only want to look at the player. As Robert Quinn has been around a while it seemed weird doing a full scouting report, so I thought I would separate this article into 2021 and 2022 clips and then give an overall summary at the end. I didn’t want to watch further back as I am not sure how much that will really tell us about Quinn’s play moving forward which is what we care about now.
2021
I won’t go through every clip here as I wanted to get this piece done quickly before the weekend’s games. But you can read my thoughts in the tweet with the video!
Little Robert Quinn film thread... Let's start with 2021. You can see the movement traits when he stands up as an EDGE defender. He's a really smooth athlete with the ability to change direction effortlessly. pic.twitter.com/94tOd24Rx0
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
His best trait is clearly his ability to bend the edge with real speed. He's outstanding at using his hands to rip/dip and it's not easy to find athletes who can get this low whilst maintaining their balance. This is what you want from the edge! pic.twitter.com/PKFjlECgnI
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
That speed off the snap (his timing is excellent but he will get caught offside) also allows him to impact the game in other ways. Here his speed is too much for the tight end and he just shoots the guard and makes a tackle for loss. pic.twitter.com/r1QjqTQJLM
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
Even when he's off balance he can make a play! He loves to reach his left hand out to force the tackle to make a move and then he will counter that with a rip or dip move. The bend the edge ability flashes in every game you watch. pic.twitter.com/UNHYy9vWCq
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
Only a minor thing, but he always plays hard and with great hustle. He won't give up plays easily and will chase until the play is over. The Eagles have been really good at rallying to the ball this year as a team and I expect Quinn to contribute to that immediately. pic.twitter.com/hWOpkY09R6
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
He's not just a bend the edge guy. He can show power and isn't pushed off the ball easily. Here he throws down the tight end effortlessly and makes a play on the ball carrier. He's a good all around edge player and isn't someone you would only trust to play on passing downs. pic.twitter.com/Dbp9hljPVT
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
In a lot of the clips I’ve posted so far, you can see him stand up and rush from a wide position. This next clip makes me really excited because I expect him to be used in the Eagles 5 man fronts too and he has proved he can play the edge but also was used as the 4i technique (defender in between the nose tackle and the edge) which is an excellent sign.
This is a good sign - he wins here as the edge in a 5-man front which is something we know the Eagles like to use. He takes a wide angle but you can see that initial punch again with the left hand and then ability to counter to bend the edge and get to the QB. pic.twitter.com/Tv7HwZ9lKu
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
This is a pretty nuts play for a 30+ year old edge defender to make in space. Huntley is a fantastic athlete and for Quinn to keep up with him and even force a fumble shows incredible athleticism and speed in space. pic.twitter.com/4XMwrCw5GO
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
2022
With a lot of talk of his declining play this year, I thought it made sense to split the article into two. See if you can spot a significant decline!
On to 2022... He can still bend the edge! There's the left hand and dip and then just explosive speed to get to the QB. His 2022 tape is not as good overall but you can't watch this play and says he's finished or he's declined hugely. The traits/explosiveness are clearly there! pic.twitter.com/XWkb6QKa5d
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
I think a slight criticism of Quinn is that the way he wins most frequently (bending the edge) means he can be taken out a lot of plays by shorter drops/quicker throws. But this is a common criticism of this style of rusher. He'll be more effective on obvious passing downs. pic.twitter.com/d9MOmOxR74
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
I’m sure you’ve all seen the stats about him being double-teamed but I watched this game closely as I was interested to see how the Packers handled Quinn and it felt like they ran away from him a lot as well as doubling him too.
You've all seen the stats about him being double teamed more... Well it showed up on film of course. Having no Khalil Mack has clearly hurt his production but he won't have this problem in Philly. Quinn is good but I doubt teams will be doubling him often. pic.twitter.com/sO6w1Lwxs5
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
However, I do not think it's fair to just say his decline in production is simply because he's always being double teamed. That would be a little generous. He's looked a little less explosive to me at times and struggles if tackles win immediately at the snap. pic.twitter.com/SF6sAwNkmR
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
But, it's wrong to say that it's obvious he's lost a step this year. You can see the athleticism on show here outside the pocket and his speed to react/change direction. Daniel Jones is actually pretty mobile and he prevents him from making a throw here pic.twitter.com/G2HpL2MKs0
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
This doesn't result in a sack but it's a hell of a dip move, look how low to the ground he gets while maintaining his balance and not drifting upfield past the QB. The film still shows a talented edge rusher who will improve the Eagles. That is undeniable. pic.twitter.com/6cR1KG8Ohi
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
Let's end it here. This play from this year was really good to see. The speed to power rush is important because you can't just win on the edge or tackles will take that away from you. If needed, Quinn can win with power and a bull rush and is not just a bend the edge guy. pic.twitter.com/fRSQFgjY8U
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) October 27, 2022
Using Sports Info Solutions as always, I had a quick look at Quinn’s impact on the Bears defense this year using EPA. The Bears defense is better when he’s on the field, both in run and pass situations.
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Overall
Quinn obviously fits the bill as a very good rotational pass rusher. I think it is fair to say he has declined this year slightly and looks a little bit less explosive to me (you can still see the ability to bend the edge though) but I also think it’s probably fair to point out he’s playing on a not-very-good Bears team who are in a rebuild and don’t have a huge amount of talent around him. I would not be surprised to see him bounce back to form with the Eagles, especially as he will play fewer snaps which will help him stay explosive on a snap-to-snap basis. I won’t pretend to have watched every single snap from this year but it seemed to me that teams were scheming against Quinn this year (there were a lot of runs away from him) and I am sure you have all seen the numbers going around but how often he has been double teamed. This happens when you lose a player like Khalil Mack and defenses can focus on you more.
Personally, at this stage of his career, I expect him to be behind Haason Reddick/Josh Sweat as an EDGE defender but he will provide the Eagles with really good depth. He’s not just a pass rusher either, his run defense was better than I thought, and his issue in run defense was more to do with missing tackles and occasionally failing to set the edge, rather than being moved in the run game. He will give up a few penalties too as he does get caught offside a little too much as he tries to time the snap perfectly a lot. The final weakness I saw from him is that he will get caught upfield when rushing the pasher as he takes quite a wide angle because he likes to win by bending the edge and this means on 3-5 step drops he can overrun the play quite frequently.
Because of the way he rushes the passer, I think he will be an excellent fit on 3rd and long situations when he can really get upfield and bend the edge. Despite that, he’s not a one-trick pass rusher and can win with outstanding hand usage, and does have a bull rush in his locker too. But it’s not the way he wins the best.
There are certain positions you simply cannot have too many talented players at. Pass rushers are probably top of the list alongside pass catchers. The Eagles are a really good football team who are Super Bowl contenders this year. When that is the case, you need to do whatever you can to add talented players who will help you win it all. Robert Quinn is a talented player who increases the Eagles chance of winning it all this year. It’s really that simple!
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