National Football League

It's Good To Be King, After All;N Reserve Tackle Dunlap Met The Challenge Of Atlanta's Abraham.

Published Oct. 20, 2010 10:17 a.m. ET

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Sports Editor

PHILADELPHIA - King Dunlap was doomed to a severe case of windburn, after three hours of watching helplessly as John Abraham flew past him on the way to wrecking Kevin Kolb's day as well.

It was a point on which nearly every Eagles watcher, 30-year veteran and relative newcomer alike, was in complete agreement. There was simply no way that Dunlap, the massive (6-feet-9, 330) third-year tackle making his first NFL start, could stay with Abraham, 11-year pro and author of 93.5 career sacks, including four this season.

For one thing, Dunlap - who yielded three sacks just last week in place of injured Jason Peters - was just too green. For another, he was actually too big - or at least not athletic enough to maneuver his bulk against NFL-caliber pass rushers. He had been compared, literally, to Frankenstein in terms of agility. He would be no match for a 6-4, 263-pound edge rusher like Abraham.

Then a funny thing happened. They played Sunday's game.

"I think he did a nice job and utilized his skills in what the Eagles wanted to do,'' Abraham said after notching just one tackle (and no sacks) in the Eagles' 31-17 victory at the Linc. "He did a nice job keeping some of our linemen down in the game.''

As a team, the Falcons had only one sack of Kolb, who personally took the blame for it. Clearly it helped that the Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but that jump included sharp passing from Kolb, who was 5-for-7 for 81 yards, including a 34-yard TD to DeSean Jackson, in the first quarter.

That doesn't happen without adequate protection.

"I thought big King did a pretty good job,'' Andy Reid said. "He had one penalty for hands to the face, but when a guy is trying to bull-rush you and you're 6-9, sometimes that's going to happen. I thought he bent well, and I thought he delivered his hands in tight.

"He has 35-and-a-half-inch arms, so when he extends those, I'm not sure there is anyone in the league that can get into his chest. He battled all the way through.''

Dunlap was expected to get help from the Eagles' tight ends and running backs, which Reid acknowledged afterward. But the coach said Dunlap was on his own "over 50 percent of the time.''

"(The Falcons) have so much speed on that side, you have to be prepared for it,'' running back LeSean McCoy said. "We sent a little help out to him, but for the most part, he didn't need it.''

Dunlap and the offensive line paved the way for a season-best 474-yard day from the Eagles, against an Atlanta defense that came in with a 310-yard average allowance. For his part, the 2008 seventh-round pick from Auburn took it all in stride.

"Well, I guess it feels good,'' he said. "I just try to go out there and do my job. I don't try to do anything more than I'm coached to do. ... Do what I'm coached to do, that's the biggest thing.''

Dunlap suggested that his long hours with offensive line coach Juan Castillo were beginning to pay off, but also that he never lacked confidence.

He comes from an athletic family. His father, King Dunlap IV, was drafted by the Colts in 1969. His mother, Robin, ran track at Tennessee State. His younger sister, Victoria, was the SEC Women's Basketball Player of the Year last season at Kentucky.

He did allow for "butterflies, a little bit,'' when he was introduced with the offensive starters.

"They were off after the first series,'' Dunlap said, "but it felt good coming out of the tunnel again and coming through the smoke, like we used to in college.''

Dunlap will want to be rid of the butterflies next Sunday, when the Eagles visit Tennessee. The Titans entered Week Six with a league-high 22 sacks, before Monday night's game with Jacksonville.

For now, though, it seems Peters has lots of incentive to recover from last week's meniscus tear.

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