Is the Eagles defense too small?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Is the Eagles defense too small?
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
As big as he is, Andy Reid believes good things come in small packages.
The Eagles coach may not actively pursue defensive players that are below average in size, but when you value speed over strength you're going to end up with pieces that are more pawn than rook.
"On defense, I like fast players and like guys that can run and play fast," Reid said last month at the owners meetings. "Size – I don’t really necessarily get too caught up on the size. I care about playing strength and speed and quickness."
While it may be hard to argue with the success of Reid's defensive units over 12 seasons, the results haven't been as strong over the last two seasons. And those struggles have only strengthened (puns intended) the argument from those that criticize Reid for his undersized defense.
And his defense is on the smaller size. The numbers (see below) from 2010 say so. But the argument that Reid's defenses are no longer as dominant because of their relative lack of size is a difficult one to make. While many of the last season's top units were on the larger size, success may have had as much to do with being a 3-4 defense.
Reid and general manager Howie Roseman have said they don't necessarily look at the measurables when they evaluate players. They look at the tape. But with the draft less than a month away and with a number of holes on defense, it's safe to assume the Eagles will grade speed guys higher than strength guys.
"Obviously it’s hard not to look at how tall they are and how much they weight and how long their arms are," Roseman said. "But I wouldn’t say it’s a conscious effort either way to either just get smaller guys in terms of height or go the other way and make sure we’re getting really big guys. We’re just trying to find good players."
Whether they were reacting to the smurf charges or not, Roseman said the Eagles re-evaluated their approach in the off-season. He used 2010 No. 1 pick Brandon Graham as an example.
"Graham is 275 pounds [he's listed 6-2, 268] as a defensive end," Roseman said. "Yeah, he’s probably a little shorter than the height-weight specifics you’d look for in a defensive lineman. But he’s not an undersized guy and sometimes that helps for defensive linemen for leverage. … I think ideally you’d like big, fast guys. You’d like them at every position. But it’s hard to find those guys."
Comparatively speaking, Graham's weight is in line with many NFL ends, but as Roseman said, his height isn't. Graham's listed height is also a stretch, although most teams fib some in that regard. Trent Cole measured out at 6-2, 238 pounds coming out of Cincinnati as a linebacker. He is now a stout 6-3, 270.
Juqua Parker, Cole's starting counterpart, is 6-2, 250. He has wore down over the past two seasons, although that could have more to do with age (32) than with size. Defensive end Darryl Tapp is 6-1, 270. Last-season rookies Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (6-3, 263) and Ricky Sapp (6-4, 252) are perhaps better suited to a 3-4 defense, but they may just need time -- as Cole once did -- to grow into their frames.
But it's not just at end where the Eagles are on the smaller side. Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (6-2, 306) and Mike Patterson (6-1, 300) have always been among the undersized at their position, although the emergence of Antoinio Dixon (6-3, 322) has given the Eagles some girth in the middle.
Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley has Brian Urlacher-type size (6-4, 258) -- if not skill -- but Moise Fokou (6-1, 236) and Ernie Sims (6-0, 230) are petite for a strong-side and weak-side linebacker. Sims may be as fast as linebackers come but his instincts were tortoise-slow and he's likely not back next season.
Second-year linebackers Jamar Chaney (6-0, 242) and Keenan Clayton (6-1, 229), both of whom are expected to compete for starting spots, are also undersized.
While the average size of the Eagles' front seven (6-2, 267) is below the league average (6-3, 276) it isn't that far off from the how other 4-3 defenses (6-2.5, 269) stack up. Even though there's one less defensive lineman, 3-4s are for the most part bigger than 4-3s. Here's how the Eagles compare to other 4-3s (and 3-4s) and how each defense ranked by the end of the season.
4-3 DEFENSES
Team - Height - Weight - Rank
Raiders - 6-4 - 280 - 11th
Seahawks - 6-2 - 281 - 27th
Bengals - 6-3 - 275 - 15th
Texans, 6-2, 274 - 15th
Jags - 6-3 - 273 - 28th
Bears - 6-3 - 272 - 9th
Vikings - 6-4 - 271 - 8th
Rams - 6-2 - 271 - 19th
Eagles - 6-2 - 267 - 12th
Saints - 6-2 - 267 - 4th
Bucs - 6-2 - 265 - 17th
Giants - 6-4 - 263 - 7th
Colts - 6-1 - 262 - 20th
Falcons - 6-2 - 261 - 16th
Panthers - 6-2 - 261 - 18th
Titans - 6-2 - 256 - 26th
Average - 6-2.5 - 269
3-4 DEFENSES
Team - Height - Weight - Rank
Redskins - 6-3 - 284 - 31st
Ravens - 6-2 - 284 - 10th
Browns - 6-3 - 281 - 22d
Packers - 6-2 - 282 - 5th
Dolphins - 6-3 - 278 - 6th
Broncos - 6-2 - 279 - 32d
Jets - 6-3 - 277 - 3d
Cowboys - 6-4 -276 - 23d
Pats - 6-2 - 276 - 25th
49ers - 6-3 - 273 - 13th
Chiefs - 6-3 - 273 - 14th
Chargers - 6-3 - 270 - 1st
Steelers - 6-2 - 271 - 2d
Bills - 6-2 - 267 - 24th
Cards - 6-4 - 265 - 29th
Average - 6-3 - 276
I'm glad someone figured this out. But I think it goes deeper; Andy Reid has an unconscious psychological issue; the only players on the field with size should O linemen and tight ends; it's related to his own weight too; the analysis doesn't even include drafted players and free agents that have been cut; how did they ever let Bradley through?— rcmercer- ONLY IF WINNING COUNTS......duhhhhhhh YES they are too small to stop a ground game.....and too slow and too small to cover tight ends and recievers crossing the middle.....Andy must go....Jeffery muct deceid to COMMIT TO WINNING IT ALL.....otherwise....same sh%$# different day.....— nuggett
- The problem isn't the size of their D; they just can't play!— JBinPA
Where's the beef?- Who cares about weight? We need more fastballs to throw at the defense. I wouldn't mind a couple more high motor guys in the draft too. Andy should seriously consider drafting a small lineman and playing him at LB. That kind of outside the box thinking might net us a Superbowl.— dragoon6
- Eagles defense is way too small, like the font size of this article...— RockStar
Comment removed.- What a dope you are. Everyone knows fastballs win championships. If they don't take a "high motor" guy with the first pick, I'll stop watching football. — dragoon6
- Not too small, just not good enough.— phillyceltic
- Tooooo small D has been my constant refrain for years. Especially at DT we need some immovable objects. As I've been pointing out over and over and over, our DL can't run quick when they're on their backs with the OL running over them.— 4thand10
- The Eagles pay by the pound - so what do you expect - the cheapest/lightest D line money can buy— ox
- @Dragoon. I hope you're being sarcastic (I think you are), that is the kind of thinking that has kept us OUT of the superbowl. Reid has not had a dominant defense since he inherited Ray Rhodes defense. He is terrible, and worse, stubborn. He should have ZERO input on defense, Now we have a rookie D.C. with no defensive background coaching an undersized questionably talented defense. Thank god for the phillies— yourdaddy!
- Can't coach height.— dcm220
- in think rusing th passer has become the most important defensive issue in the last decade.Everything on the D starts there.A great pass rush covers all of your D weaknesses.A great rush changes the other teams offensive play calling.Even when we had the best in Reggie,he still needed help and support Why are we talking football I thougth those crybaby players and owners left town.— lewisbratspis
- OX. the theory that the Eagles are cheap does not fly. Get something new to complain about.— phillyceltic
