PHILADELPHIA – DeMeco Ryans heard the whispers. The Houston Texans thought his gas tank was getting close to “E” back in 2012. That’s when they traded Ryans to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It’s been a blessing for me,” Ryans said. “Everybody has questions about this on the outside. But as players, as long as you know yourself, you believe in yourself, you know what you can and cannot do, the outside chatter really doesn’t matter. So it really didn’t affect me from my standpoint because I knew I could still play ball.”
Ryans, who returns to Houston for a game Sunday against the Texans, not only can still play -- he plays constantly. The 30-year-old inside linebacker led the NFL in defensive plays last season. Although the Eagles were determined to cut his workload a bit this year, Ryans is right back at it. He had to leave the Eagles’ game against the New York Giants with a groin injury, but was right back in the lineup Sunday in Arizona.
“DeMeco is one of the finest men I've been around,” Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “He's a relentless worker; you can't outwork him. He's a great leader. He's a very calm leader. He makes good, quick decisions that set our defense up. We have a lot of checks and he gets us in and out of calls based on formation or the quarterback audibling. Without DeMeco, I don't know if we could do as much as we do.”
Davis has overseen the implementation of a 3-4 scheme over the past two seasons. That process would be chaotic without the intelligence and calming presence of Ryans.
“I just try to be myself, man,” Ryans said. “That’s one thing I learned growing up; you just be yourself. You do things the right way, handle yourself properly, treat other people with kindness and respect, you know, people will respect you. It’s simple – I know everyone has heard it before – but that’s just how I live my life.
“It’s humbling to hear that from a D coordinator. I know he’s been around a lot of great players. So for him to say that, it really means a lot to me. Again, I just always go about my business, treating people how I want to be treated and respecting others.”
Davis’ respect is based on how Ryans prepares, but also on how he delivers on Sundays. In Sunday’s game in Arizona, Ryans broke up what would have been a touchdown pass to Cardinals tight end John Carlson.
“You have to be able to make that play,” Ryans said. “I knew the ball was coming to me and we were in man coverage. I knew I had to make that play for the team. We couldn’t let them score a touchdown at that point. It was big.”
It was the kind of play you can’t make when you’re finished. Ryans still has enough left in the tank after all this time.
“I don’t know how much I’m different,” Ryans said. “The game is a lot slower to me. My mindset has changed. I’ve seen a lot of things over the past years. I’m a lot more confident as a player and just know what’s happening around me a lot quicker. I’m probably missing a step or so, but I think that makes up with the mental capacity, just the understanding what teams can or can’t do.”