On his way out of town earlier this offseason, Connor Barwin talked plenty about his drop in production and said the biggest reason for it was his switch from the left side of the line to the right.
On the left side for his first three years in Philly, Barwin faced right tackles. On the right in 2016, he was forced to face left tackles, normally where teams place their better player.
Big deal, right?
But two of the best left tackles in football -- Dallas' Tyron Smith and Washington's Trent Williams -- reside in the NFC East, which means whichever Eagle plays the right defensive end position spends a quarter of their season (four of 16 games) facing an All Pro.
Still, if the Eagles ask Brandon Graham to take that role this year, the veteran says he's ready for the challenge.
"We in this business to compete and running away from competition is not me," Graham said on Tuesday, the day after the Eagles began their offseason program at the NovaCare Complex. "And it's never going to be me while I'm playing. I think wherever they want to put me, I'm going to go out there and make plays and help this team win."
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Graham, it's worth noting, is an eternal optimist. Before the 2015 season, he said his goal was to pick up two sacks per game, which would give him 32 for the season, thus shattering the single-season record. He finished with 6 1/2.
On Tuesday, the 29-year-old said he has been working on both sides of the line this offseason after playing predominantly on the left in 2016. Last year, Barwin was shifted to the right side after Vinny Curry was penciled in as the starter on the left. Graham then clearly outplayed Curry in the summer and took the starting gig. Then, he and Barwin stayed on their respective sides.
"It's either what Vinny wants or Chris (Long) wants. Whatever," Graham said. "Whoever wants to switch sides, it don't matter. I gotta play both. I feel like I've done well on both sides. It's just all about getting the reps and making sure I get comfortable again with the other side."
In his place on the left last year, Graham thrived, putting together the best season of his seven-year career.
Graham was named a second-team All Pro and was a first-alternate for the Pro Bowl team after a season in which he forced constant pressure. He was third in the league with 60 quarterback hurries and second in quarterback hits with 17, according to ProFootballFocus.
The constant pressure was there but the sacks were not. Graham too often in 2016 couldn't finish the job. He had just 5 1/2 sacks. Forty-seven players had more sacks than him, and there clearly weren't 47 better pass-rushers.
For Graham, who has 29 sacks in seven years in the NFL, 2017 is all about finishing.
"My next step is to make sure I get the quarterback down," he said. "I think I missed a lot of sacks last year and I think for me, it's just making sure I'm making my technique a lot better.
"Because when I look back at it, sometimes when I missed it's just because I wasn't as violent as I should have been in certain times. And I think just critiquing myself, working on my technique and doing what I'm supposed to. Because I think the effort is there. It's really just taking that next step of being a technician."
Graham was taken with the 13th pick in the 2010 draft and is the longest-tenured defensive player on the team, so it might be obvious that he should be a leader of the defense. But the veteran said he didn't really realize his teammates looked at him in that role until last season.
This year, especially after the team cut Barwin in March, Graham is making a concerted effort to grow into more of a leader.
"I need to make sure I step up this year, make sure I be more vocal, especially off the field," he said. "On the field, I do talk a lot and I do have fun with it and I think I'm going to have that same approach off the field and kind of have those guys coming in try to feel at home, because that's what it's all about."
