Eagles notebook: Kelee Ringo dominating his role

Eagles notebook: Kelee Ringo dominating his role originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Kelee Ringo was asked a question he wasn’t ready for: Which position does he like more on special teams — Gunner or vice?

“Ooohhh! That’s a hard question,” Ringo said. “I’m not sure I can answer that.”

He seems to like them both.

And even though the second-year cornerback out of Georgia isn’t playing much on defense these days, he has become a key special teams contributor for Michael Clay’s units. While Ringo’s work as a gunner on the punt team gets the most attention, Clay this week brought up Ringo’s ability as a vice (or jammer) on the punt return team.

“Where he really shines, in my opinion, is at the vice spot,” Clay said. “We put a lot of trust in Kelee that we’re going to leave him on an island. He’s got to take care of their best gunner one-on-one. He’s stepped up to the plate every time, and he’s really delivered for us. That allows you to get a vice somewhere else or play 8 in the box, knowing how good he is on the outside.”

Ringo, 22, takes his role on special teams seriously and enjoys playing that vice spot. He said the key is using leverage and being physical the whole way down the field.

When asked, Ringo agreed that his background as a cornerback helps in this role. He starts off the punt play going backwards and then has to stop the gunner. The only difference is that as a vice, he can make contact the whole way down the field without worrying about a pass coming.

“Yessir, most definitely,” Ringo said. “Just being a protector. I always compare playing corner to being a left tackle as well. Because the receiver attacking like a D-end is attacking.”

In this case, the gunner is the attacker and it’s Ringo’s job to stop him.

“Having the feeling that you’re able to free your guy up to make a play, it’s a good feeling for sure,” he said. “You have to be really selfless to do it.”

A prized possession

Christmas came a little early for Saquon Barkley, who got an autographed Barry Sanders jersey sent to him recently. He can’t wait to hang it in his house.

“I’ve had some amazing jerseys sent to me and have experienced (meeting) some guys but that tops it,” Barkley said. “Barry Sanders is one of my favorite players, if not my favorite player, so it meant a lot to me.”

Barkley this season is on pace to have a 2,000-yard rushing season and is just off the pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL record. Barkley is a student of the game and is a huge fan of Sanders. Sanders played 10 years in the league, made 10 Pro Bowls, was a six-time All-Pro and led the NFL in rushing four times.

The Hall of Famer is an all-time great with a unique style that Barkley said he tried to emulate as a kid.

“Yeah, I tried but I don’t think many can really, actually succeed at that,” Barkley said. “He’s one of a kind. You’ll never see another player like him. Also, the way he carried himself, he’s a great football player to study and learn. Like I said, having his jersey and being able to hang it up in my house is going to be pretty cool.”

Kenny G, the favorite

If you ever want to hear Nick Sirianni gush about on of his players, just ask him about Kenny Gainwell.

“I think the guys make fun of him sometimes because they know he’s one of my favorites,” Sirianni said on Monday. “I say, ‘Don’t say that to anybody.’ I think they just perceive that because I’m always talking to Kenny to reinforce what you want your culture to look like. ‘Hey, guys, it takes everybody. Watch this. The two opportunities that Kenny got, watch what he does with it.’

“Now, he’s contributing on special teams, and I don’t just mean returning. He’s making tackles on special teams. Every opportunity that he has, he takes advantage of.”

Gainwell, 25, also seems to be a favorite in the locker room as well. After he scored his first touchdown of the season against the Rams in Los Angeles, the entire sideline erupted.

Now in his fourth season, Gainwell has never gotten the opportunity to be the Eagles’ feature back. The 2021 fifth-round pick has backed up Miles Sanders, D’Andre Swift and now Saquon Barkley. But it seems like whenever he does get a chance to contribute, he comes through.

“What’s there not to love about Kenny Gainwell?” Sirianni asked. “I think you set me up here because you knew I was going to gush about Kenny. I love having him on this football team. I’ve loved getting to know him more and more over the last four years of being together.

“He’s a special, special player. He’s a special, special teammate. Really, he speaks so much to what our culture is here. He may not have a ‘C’ on his chest, but he leads in his own way. He’s really taken advantage of all the opportunities that he’s gotten here, and that goes back. That has been consistent through the last four years here with the Eagles.”

Nolan’s toughness

Nolan Smith is listed at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds. As a defensive end, Smith is a little undersized.

But he doesn’t play that way.

Not only has Smith taken great strides as a pass rusher in his second NFL season, but he’s also been stout against the run and has put his toughness and physicality on display all season. He really embraces playing against the run and consistently sets good edges.

“It’s unusual in today’s day, but again, like you said, I think you used the right word. You said embrace it,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week. “You’ve got to embrace the challenges of your position, everybody does, where they might be a little deficient either from a size or a movement standpoint and learn to work with it. And he’s done that.”

Smith began the season as the Eagles’ fourth edge rusher behind Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff and Brandon Graham but he’s now a starter. And after injuries to Huff and Graham, Smith has played the most snaps of the edge rushers in four consecutive weeks.

Through 14 games, Smith has started 8 and has 5 1/2 sacks, 10 QB hits, 7 TFLs, 2 batted passes and 37 combined tackles.

“He’s really taken it and put it on himself to improve and learn his position, learn the techniques of his position, learn the ins and outs of his position that can help him make a play or two,” Fangio said. “As we know he has good speed and he is a good athlete. He’s been able to amp up his physicalness to make up for his lack of size– the ideal size for the position.”

How leadership changes

During his Wednesday news conference this week, Jalen Hurts went into depth about how his leadership role has changed with the Eagles throughout his five seasons in the NFL.

Hurts has said before that each team requires different things from him as a leader and he explained in great detail how his leadership has changed during his time in Philly.

The whole answer is worth a read:

“I think from a leadership perspective, there are definitely a lot of things that come with the task that I have at hand. I think you go through phases and you go through seasons and the team changes. This is a totally different team than what I walked into. That’s just the way it goes. And I think that some of the things or maybe my words or my perspective of wisdom, whatever that is, you’re pouring into that and you’re trying to come in, you’re trying to set the right example, you’re trying to earn the respect of your peers. I think that’s one thing that you have to be cognizant of. I was coming in, earning the respect of my peers and that was the whole main thing. You had guys that had won championships, guys that had done things, veterans, and they had done those things. And now we’re younger but it’s still required that you do that. But you have to understand as a leader that the way you do it is going to be different because everyone is different. That’s something you have to navigate as time goes on. Definitely be able to adapt and change with the times but also stay true and real to who you are. That’s what it’s all been about. It’s been an exciting journey in that because I feel like I’ve been able to grow and further develop myself in this journey and in my career and in all facets. I just want to show up and be the best version I can be every day and be a present guy.”

Back when Hurts was drafted in the second round in 2020, the Eagles already had a starting quarterback and had a roster full of veterans that Hurts had to prove himself to. And that veteran-heavy team remained even as Hurts became the starter. But this year, after the retirements of Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox, the Eagles have a younger roster. It makes sense that his leadership role has changed.

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