Every day when Landon Dickerson shows up for work at the NovaCare Complex, he has an extra source of education: The guys he replaced.
Because while Brandon Brooks (pec strain) and Isaac Seumalo (Lisfranc) haven’t played for most of the season, they’re still around the building every day, they’re still in meetings, and they’re still helping their younger teammates fill their starting spots.
“The big thing is they’re always there for questions about a guy you’re playing, a team you’re playing, a defensive coordinator, head coach,” Dickerson said. “If you’ve got questions about something you did in practice, something you did in a game, what they saw in the game. Just there to kind of help out all around.
“It’s great that they have that mindset. Because it’s not an ideal situation to be hurt and I don’t wish that upon anybody but they’re always trying to help the team in any way possible and I really appreciate that. And I know the rest of the offensive line and the team does as well.”
Brooks hasn’t played since Week 2 when he strained his pec. Seumalo hasn’t played since Week 3 when he suffered a Lisfranc injury.
Dickerson initially replaced Brooks at right guard but after Seumalo went down, he moved to the left side of Jason Kelce. Dickerson, the Eagles’ second-round pick, has started the last six games at left guard and he’s really settled into that role.
In his first four games in the NFL, according to ProFootballFocus, Dickerson gave up 1 sack, 4 QB hits, 11 hurries and 16 pressures. In his last four games, Dickerson has given up just 1 hit, 2 pressures and 3 hurries.
“I feel like I’ve made improvements but I’m not playing how I want to,” he said.
Dickerson, 23, has been critical with himself all year and admitted a while back that he’ll never be pleased with his play.
While he obviously deserves most of the credit for his improvement this year, followed by the Eagles’ coaches, the presence of veterans in the Eagles’ offensive line room has helped too.
Sometimes, Dickerson will approach his veteran teammates to ask questions and sometimes they’ll come to him with something they’ve seen.
The young rookie from Alabama is happy to get any tips he can.
And he won’t limit himself either. Dickerson wants to gain information from everyone and figure out what works best for him. That’s been his process.
“It’s never bad to have a bunch of different opinions and ideas,” he said. “Everybody does things differently, we’re all built differently. When you talk about anatomy of people and how they’re built, different guys are better at different things. It’s always good to ask and see and that’s how you kind of build how you personally play. Everybody is a little unique in that sense.”
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube