Eagles notebook: Just don't throw Big Fred the ball

Eagles notebook: Just don't throw Big Fred the ball originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Most offensive lineman who get reps as an eligible receiver eventually begin to campaign and beg for a target to come their way.

Not Fred Johnson.

Hell no," Johnson said this week. I can't catch for s-."

That's OK. Because Johnson has been performing well as a blocking tight end well over the last month since the Eagles inserted him into that role. Since Week 6, the Eagles' backup swing tackle has taken 33 snaps at the tight end position and that jumbo package has been a fun and productive wrinkle for the Eagles' offense.

What has made Johnson good in that role?

The reason we got to that in the first place is that every time Fred goes in to play, he's played good in his role at tackle," head coach Nick Sirianni said. So, doing similar things, obviously at a little different spot, but he's been playing consistently like he does when he goes in. I think that he earned the opportunity to get more of the role of what we're doing with him based off of how he's played.

Just like [how] everything goes, we build confidence in practice, we build confidence through the reps that we have in games. I think that he's done a really nice job and that's why he's just earned more and more playing time."

The biggest difference for Johnson is literally his positioning on the field. There's a learning curve to get the timing of the snap down simply because he's farther from the ball. But after that, all the skills that make him a good tackle have made him a good blocking tight end.

It's good film out there," Johnson said. It's a good thing to be out there. The team needs you to deliver and you gotta go do what you gotta do.

Blocking is blocking whether you're at a tight end or you at center."

The other element to these snaps for Johnson is to report as eligible to the referee. His instruction is just to make sure he's seen and heard to avoid a penalty.

Even if Johnson wasn't getting these reps, he'd still be a really valuable piece of the offense as the Eagles' top backup offensive tackle - we have seen that this season when Lane Johnson misses time. But now Big Fred is adding value in a different way.

Just don't expect him to get any receiving stats. He's not even going to push for it.

Do not throw me the f-ing ball," Johnson said. Please."

A heads-up play

Plenty of folks were wondering what the heck Xavier Gipson was doing in Green Bay, fielding a punt deep in Eagles territory. But Gipson picked up the ball only after the Packers had already touched it.

He knew the rule.

Basically, after the kicking team touches the ball, it becomes a free play for the returner.

Man, I've been talking about that since college," Gipson said. I always learn from other players, coaches. I'm always learning the game. It just came to fruition. It came to fruition last year and the same thing happened to me, people didn't know the rules. I don't really care about trying to prove a point or something. It's just knowledge."

Gipson, 24, said that rule is always on his mind. Even in practice, when Eagles gunners touch the ball, he tells them to grab it. Because if they don't, he's going to take advantage of his free play to advance it without repercussions.

I'm always thinking in games," Gipson said. Sometimes it can help you out."

A Tush Push ally

Give the Detroit Lions some credit. They were the only team on the Eagles' 2025 schedule to vote with them this offseason to oppose a rule change proposal that would have banned the Tush Push.

And Lions head coach Dan Campbell continues to be a staunch supporter of the play.

Here's why," Campbell said this week to reporters in Detroit. I'm a purist, man. You take something else out of the game, then we're taking the next thing out of the game, then you're taking another thing out of the game and pretty soon we don't have pads anymore and pretty soon you're only playing 30 minutes and then pretty soon ... that's why I don't want to take it out of the game.

It's something, a teams got a niche, they found something, they're good at it and it's for everybody else to stop and it's unique and it's physical. More than anything, I just don't want to take anything else out of the game. I just want to leave the game alone. That's me."

As a reminder, here's a look at the way the Eagles' 2025 opponents voted on the Tush Push:

Against a ban: Lions

For a ban: Cowboys, Chiefs, Rams, Buccaneers, Broncos, Giants, Vikings, Packers, Bears, Chargers, Raiders, Bills

While Campbell is in favor of the play staying, his team doesn't run it. But he has given a lot of thought to how his defense should try to stop the Eagles' signature play. The Eagles and Lions seemed to be on a collision course last season in the playoffs until the Lions were upset in the divisional round by the Commanders. Because they were the two best teams in the conference last season, Campbell has thought an awful lot about the play.

It's always come up in conversation with us and what would you do, how would you handle it?'" Campbell said. There's nothing easy about it. Every team can say they've got something and then they run it on everybody and have success. They've mastered it, they play with leverage, they know the snap count and then they've got a couple of curveballs off of it. You gotta be careful. If it's an all-out sellout with 11 people, then they're off on the perimeter.

But we've talked about it. We've got a plan, we've got an idea. But you got to execute and if you don't, you gotta line up and do it again if it comes up again and just find a way to stop them. Hopefully it's a critical. If you end up getting three or four in a game, maybe it's that one that you stop that changes the whole game."

A split role

The Eagles began the season with rookie Jihaad Campbell as a full-time starting inside linebacker but then Nakobe Dean came back. Dean began the season on the PUP list but is now back to being a huge part of the defense, which means Campbell's role is split.

Some of the rookie's snaps are coming at inside linebacker and some of them are coming as an edge rusher. Against the Packers in Week 10, Campbell played a total of 34 snaps - 22 at linebacker and 12 on the edge.

What's his role moving forward?

Just what it's been," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. We're mixing him, he's playing some outside, playing some inside. Totally happy with his play at both spots and thrilled to have him."

It seems likely that there will be even fewer snaps for Campbell going forward as Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham continue to ramp up their workloads. So through no fault of his own, the first-round pick from Alabama might have a smaller role the rest of the season.

When the Eagles drafted Campbell, they talked up his potential as an edge rusher but that's where it remains - potential. Fangio this week was asked if Campbell could develop into a full-time edge rusher and said, maybe."

I like him as an ILB," Fangio said, but we'll see."

All he does is win

The Nick Sirianni stats are insane. He has a 7-2 record after nine games for the fourth time in his five seasons as the Eagles' head coach. According to Elias Sports, Sirianni is just the fifth coach in NFL history to do that, joining four Hall of Fame coaches: Paul Brown, Guy Chamberlin, George Halas and Don Shula.

With the win over the Packers on Monday night, Sirianni took back the fourth spot on the NFL's all-time winning percentage list from George Allen:

1. Guy Chamberlin (1922-1927): .784 - 58-16-7
2. John Madden (1969-1978): .759 - 103-32-7
3. Vince Lombardi (1959-1969): .738 - 96-34-6
4. Nick Sirianni (2021-2025): .714 - 55-22-0
5. George Allen (1966-1977): .721 - 116-47-5

It's obvious that Sirianni isn't a perfect coach. It's obvious that he has his flaws. But every time you look at these stats, you have to give him credit.