PHILADELPHIA — It’s Atlanta versus Georgia on Monday night.
Kind of.
Football fans in the state are familiar with the “Philadelphia Bulldogs.” The Eagles have gobbled up seemingly every Georgia product they can over the past few years. They have five Bulldogs on defense, three of whom — linebacker Nakobe Dean and defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter — are starters. Edge rusher Nolan Smith and cornerback Kelee Ringo also play roles.
“Not only do we push each other on the field, but also off the field,” Dean said. “We’ve been able to vent to each other when we’re going through other stuff just in life. We have that immediate vent we can go to right there. We can go over to Nolan’s house and everybody is just chilling. We sit there on Saturday and just watch Georgia football and talk for a couple hours about how we feel, how we’re doing outside of ball, and then with ball. You just have that immediate comfort because we already know each other.”
Carter added: “It’s been very cool. Every year they’re adding someone else and someone else. We just had another guy from Georgia get on the practice squad, (receiver) Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. He plays offense but he’s a Georgia boy, so it’s still all good.”
The Georgia defenders are tasked with slowing the Falcons’ new-look offense in a pivotal early-season NFC meeting. In the bigger picture, they’re the foundation of an Eagles defense that’s pivoting from stalwarts Fletcher Cox (retired) and Brandon Graham (likely retiring soon) to youngsters. The former Bulldogs should be around a while; Davis, who’s slimmed down to handle what’s expected to be his biggest workload yet, is the oldest at age 24.
“That back-to-back (championships) they won, of course everybody is going to want a piece of that team,” Graham told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We got some good dudes. I do (see them as our future foundation). I really do. It’s their decision, though, on making sure they choose to help each other, push each other during these times. I’m doing the best I can to push them and let them know they have a unique opportunity that doesn’t happen all the time, so make sure you take advantage of everything.
“How they prove it is what they do every day. I’ve been loving it so far for them.”
Graham thinks the familiarity has helped those players acclimate to professional football and more easily move past any on-field miscues. It’s a rare level of comfort, as Ringo acknowledged: “It helped a lot during my rookie year, getting more comfortable in an NFL system. But listening to the different guys and their experiences, it’s helped me get through mine.”
Ringo, who delivered the famous title-clinching pick six against Alabama in Indianapolis, played just four snaps in the season opener against Green Bay. He’s trying to earn a larger role on the defense. The same goes for Smith, a 2023 first rounder who’s with an edge rusher group that includes Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff and Graham.
Dean, whose early career has been stalled by injuries and struggles (43 tackles over first 22 games), earned a starting inside linebacker job over Devin White, a free-agent acquisition who once played a key role for the 2020-23 champion Buccaneers. Dean played well in Week 1, though he dropped a surefire pick six (he promises to practice more with jug machines).
“Just everything I went through, from the injuries and not playing much; people think you couldn’t play because you got hurt, but it’s all good,” Dean said. “I’m blessed. The opportunities I got, everything I do I continue to be blessed and take advantage of everything I got.”
“From that whole thing, you get better. If you have to go through something, you might as well take something from it, and it might as well be positive. My mental (state), my spiritual (state), I was able to get closer to God. Then on top of that, I was able to appreciate being in the locker room more, being with the guys, being on the field with the guys and taking advantage of every opportunity I have to be on the field.”
Dean has emerged as a go-to teammate for the Eagles. That won’t surprise anyone who followed his Bulldogs career. It certainly doesn’t shock those who played with him in college.
“Nakobe, to me, he’s the leader of all the Georgia boys,” Carter told the AJC. “He’s been the leader since we were at UGA. He’s starting, now he’s leading us on the Eagles defense. He’s always been the leader to me, so any time he needs something or wants to look at something, ‘do this, do that,’ I’m there. Very happy (that he earned the starting spot). I knew he could be a starter. Just like me coming out in the draft, having things being said about me, he had things being said about him, which I knew obviously wasn’t true. But I knew he was a dog. I knew what he could do. He could play for any team in the league. I believe he could play for any team in the league right now and start. It just happened that we’re on the same team, and now me and him, JD, are starting for the Eagles. It’s a dream come true for all of us.”
Carter was viewed as perhaps the most talented of the bunch. He was an uber prospect who might’ve gone in the top three of the 2023 draft if not for troubles and off-field issues (including his involvement in the car accident that killed a Georgia football player and staffer). Ultimately, the Eagles traded up and still took Carter in the top 10.
He was profoundly effective to begin his rookie year before cooling off as the season wore on. If Carter is properly conditioned and focused, he could be the Eagles’ best defender. Carter noted that Dean, who fell to the third round, likewise had concerns that hurt his draft stock (injury, size) and that the duo has tried to use outside doubt as motivation.
“I use it as motivation because at the end of the day, I know myself. I know what I did, what I didn’t and how good I treat people,” Carter said. “I use it as motivation. There are still things being said now – you probably saw, it just went viral (Carter injured Packers quarterback Jordan Love on a tackle) – like that, but I use it as motivation. I don’t know how those guys go about it, but as of right now, I don’t see them being down or anything like that because of people saying stuff about them.”
The Eagles are going for a 2-0 start against two NFC playoff contenders in the Packers and Falcons. They lead the NFL with five Georgia products on their active roster. The Packers and Raiders each have four former Bulldogs.
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