Eagles' Brandon Graham wants two sacks every game

Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham is bound to see much more of the game this season from a starting position. He found himself with a quarterback in his grasp 5.5 times during his campaign in 2014 as a reserve.

That's not nearly enough for him now. After tasting the sheer power that comes with being a starting NFL linebacker, as he now is presumed to be in 2015, Graham set himself a new goal.

"All I'm saying is double digits," he said after practice on Friday. "It could be 10, it could be more that."

Then came the zinger.

"My goal is two a game," he slipped in at the end.

Grade school math apprises us that Graham's ideal total would be 32 sacks, 9.5 more than the current record held by former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.

It's not that many as far as Graham is concerned.

"Let me tell you," Graham said. "This is how I think about it. Out of 70 plays [on average in each game], why not two? I don't care how they come, as long as they come.

"I want to be able to pick up where we left off," he added of the team's accomplishments last time out. "We're going to get a lot [of sacks] as a team. We're trying to be No. 1 this year."

That, if we're honest, is a more realistic goal. The Eagles in 2014 placed second after Buffalo and tied with Baltimore with 49 sacks of their own. Generally speaking the Eagles were by leaps and bounds superior against the run than the pass, thanks to one of the elite front-sevens in football.

Graham sees the revamping of the secondary unit as the final step in making Philadelphia among the best in overall defense. The Eagles were a miserable second-to-last, better only than Atlanta, against the pass.

He says the difference in the unit has already made a difference in how long quarterbacks are holding the ball in the team's training camp sessions over the past week.

"I'm excited to see us taking away that first read for a quarterback," Graham said. "We're going to be there a lot faster. All a quarterback wants is to throw his first read. This year, with the DBs we have, it's going to be a major change. We've just got to stay healthy. It is tight coverage."

Tight enough for 32 individual sacks? The preseason is a time for optimism, but optimism and delusion are two distinct states of mind.

Graham, a first round pick in 2010, was given a four-year deal worth $26 million this offseason as a reward for still being in the building after the Eagles carved Trent Cole off the roster. He really wants to prove that was the right move. Maybe too much.