Rolle, Allen to start
Changes have arrived on defense.
Rolle, Allen to start
Jonathan Tamari and Jeff McLane
Changes have arrived on defense.
Brian Rolle said he has been elevated to first team weak side linebacker and Nate Allen will be starting at safety in place of Kurt Coleman. Linebacker and safety have been glaring weaknesses early in the season.
Rolle, a sixth round pick, has looked more instinctive and aggressive than Casey Matthews, the fourth round selection he'll replace in the starting line up. He is short, however, generously five-foot-10.
Rolle said he will continue to play in some nickel packages as well. Coming in as a sixth round pick who began with limited playing time, Rolle said his goal was to make sure that when he did get on the field, his name was called out.
"Every time you see me on the field you hear my name," Rolle said he told his father this week. "My coaches must have seen that light and felt that I need to be on the field more."
Rolle, a speedy but short linebacker, said he believes he is actually better against the run than he is against the pass. But he said he hopes he gets a chance to take on tight end Vernon Davis this weekend.
"It’s going to be a lot of fun get out there, play in space and hopefully get matched up with Vernon Davis," Rolle said. "Everybody has their weakness. You can be fast, but being fast isn’t everything, it’s all about technique in this league as well."
Rolle has worked at weakside linbacker since training camp, unlike Matthews, who was in the middle until last Wednesday, and showed Sunday he still has learning to do.
Rolle said he wasn't concerned about being a sixth round pick or starting low on the Eagles depth chart.
"I just thought about working hard and letting that pay off and it has," he said.
Allen replaced Coleman Sunday after Coleman missed a tackle, leading to a 74-yard touchdown. He entered training camp as a starter, but was hampered in his recovery from a torn patellar tendon and lost his job to Jarrad Page.
More soon.
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LMAO...Casey Matthews from MLB to WILL to Bench. It only took them almost three months to realize he couldn't play yet at this level. The Smarter Than All group comes up small again. The Reid, Castillo, and Matthews apologists have just gone underground and will not be heard from until further notice.— billro33- Mark1npt - There's nothing wrong with their 'diamond in the rough approach' in the later rounds - we actually pretty consistently get decent starters from rounds 4-7. What would be nice is if we consistently got starters or even (dare I say) stars from rounds 1-3. I agree - they need to get over themselves and just draft the obvious talent. They may not end up feeling like they outsmarted anybody, but at least we'd have a defense that tackles and a line that blocks...— J.P.Melle
- Well, Rolle would have been a 2nd rounder if he had more height. He's got a chip on his shoulder and that's the kind of guy we need. If he can be half the player London Fletcher has been I'll take it. Thank God, the Matthews saga is over.— auntesther
- LET'S GO PHILLIES!— dgabs
- We can keep switching players around, but I doubt it makes a difference unless we bench the defensive coordinator.
I guess it takes more than intensity and energy to be a coordinator in the NFL after all.— bc3030 - Come one everybody! Take a ride on Andy Reid's neverending linebacker carousel! And while all this is going on, that Samoan linebacker Tatopu is just sitting there as a free agent. Way to go Eagles, this makes a lot of sense.— Imbrianfellows
- Wow! What's that noise I hear? Could it be fans jumping off the bandwagon once AGAIN? Everyone knew, regardless of what the front office said that this was a transition year for the team and all the hype about SB win is just that. The truth is that if this team can get it together enough to make the playoffs it will be quite an accomplishment. New coaches at key positions, new players at key positions, new offensive and defensive schemes. It all adds up to taking time to jell. This is no more than I expected at this point in the season. If they are still looking like this a month from now, then I will be disappointed. The sky is not falling, guys!— Bill_C
- Reid, being the fat kid that's always 20 steps behind everyone else, took him forever to notice that Matthews looked more like one of the zombies from Night of the Living Dead than a LBer.
BRAINS!! WHERE'S YOUR BRAINS??!! WHO ATE YOUR BRAINS?!!!
— DanLeone - HA HA for anyone here who thinks Brian Rolle (5'9" 225 lbs) is going to make any difference in this linebacking core newsflash: You're out of your mind. All I hear about Casey Matthews is that he's not playing "instinctually" AND he's "TOO SMALL". Oh ok great! Right now in the Nickel package Brian Rolle comes in, meaning it's usually third and long, and in those small percentage of plays he's playing "more instinctually" than Matthews...that's like saying "60% of the time, it works everytime" (thank you Brian Fantana from Anchorman). Wake up people. These linebackers are 2nd rate at best and there's no simple "Rolle for Matthews" change that is going to all of a sudden bottle up the run. Oh and I saw something about Earl Thomas...don't even get started on that.Brandon Graham. Yeah what a player he is— Fumblersuki20
- Well, it looks like he can cover the wheel route effectively. Here's a newsflash for you. Brian Rolle was one of the most productive LB's ever to play at OSU and was first team all big ten in 2010. You can scoff at that, but it proves that he's not some project, he's achieved something, he's made plays and has demanded respect from opposing coaches. He's undersized, but he's strong and fast. He's a football player, and he plays with instincts and heart. He's not going to be a one man wrecking crew, but he'll be much better than Matthews. You just need a disruptive force back there, not someone who's standing around waiting to get blocked. — auntesther
- Lofa Tatupu— blueye7
- The only thing that has not been written is that the HC and GM haven't drafted well in the first 3 rounds in 4 years. REID needs to go... MOST overrated coach in the NFL.— UGHROLF
- If the defense continues to struggle a 6-10 season awaits.— greenbloodVAEagle
- Garbage In, Garbage Out
