Did Eagles fix their LB problems?
Will the return of Stewart Bradley and the addition of Ernie Sims be enough to solve the Eagles' linebacker problems in 2010?
Did Eagles fix their LB problems?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
What was the Eagles' biggest weakness in 2009 that limited them from advancing past the first round of the NFC playoffs?
That's the question Doug Farrar examined in a recent Yahoo Sports article.
His conclusion was that the linebacker play really killed the Eagles. If you ask me, there are really only two possible answers: the linebacker play or the secondary play.
Farrar does a good job explaining specifically how the LBs hurt the Birds, referencing the 73-yard run by Felix Jones in the wild-card round loss to the Cowboys. Interesting stat to consider: In 2008, when the Eagles blitzed on a run play, they allowed a league-low 3.7 yards per carry. But in 2009, that number jumped to 6.4 yards per carry, ninth-worst in the NFL.
Obviously, Sean McDermott tried just about everything in 2009 after Stewart Bradley's season ended during training camp. We've discussed the different personnel groups at length here, and clearly, none of them worked. But Farrar believes that a healthy Bradley and the addition of Ernie Sims from Detroit could be enough to solve the Eagles' problems:
With Bradley back in the fold, and talented young linebacker Ernie Sims(notes) brought over from Detroit to play the weak side, the Eagles should be in better shape when it comes to their intermediate defense. Sims always put up high tackle totals with the Lions when he was healthy, and while his coverage abilities have been questioned, it was difficult to know how talented any defender was in the Matt Millen era. With major changes on offense (in addition to Donovan McNabb’s departure, the Eagles also severed ties with running back Brian Westbrook(notes)), the Eagles could rely more on their defense than in recent years, and more consistent linebacker play is the key to improvement.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of competition there is at linebacker during training camp. After the draft, I thought that two of the three spots would be up for grabs, but now I'm not so sure.
Bradley's got the middle locked down as long as he's healthy, and he'll pretty much always be on the field.
During OTAs, it was Ernie Sims manning the weak side. I thought Akeem Jordan would get a shot to win that job, and he still might, but during spring practices, Sims was the guy. Andy Reid and McDermott may have just wanted to get Sims more reps since he's new to the system and Jordan's been here for three seasons.
And on the strong-side, it's tough to figure out who could really push Moise Fokou for the starting job. I know many of you are down on Fokou after he piled up 73 penalty yards as a rookie (most on the Eagles' defense), but considering the circumstances, he deserves a chance to prove himself. Remember, Fokou was a seventh-round pick who worked to get on the roster and eventually found himself in a starting role. He admitted to me during OTAs that he was just kind of running around trying to figure things out last season. If anyone can benefit from an offseason of practices and more time in the system, it should be Fokou.
Other links:
* Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports ranks the Eagles' defensive line 15th in the NFL:
Welcome to the Eastern version of the Bengals line, although it’s very likely the Eagles could leapfrog the Cincy bunch and other teams this season. The Eagles have a bunch of lunch-pail guys who don’t seem like much when you look at them individually. End Trent Cole, who is the best of the bunch, is undersized and seemingly not explosive. Tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson aren’t overwhelming. The combo of Darryl Tapp and Juqua Parker on the other side doesn’t make the toes tingle with excitement. But when you put them altogether, they’re really a pretty good group. No stars, but nobody you can sleep on either.
* NFL.com's Steve Wyche warns readers not to sleep on the Eagles just because they changed quarterbacks this offseason:
To not bore you with the mundane, one matter has been consistently trumpeted over the past few weeks by a lot of NFL folks -- mainly players and former players or coaches: The Philadelphia Eagles could surprise a lot of people. Most people feel the Eagles will be good depending on new full-time starting quarterback Kevin Kolb. If he struggles under the pressure of stepping in for longtime fixture Donovan McNabb, then things could fall apart. The majority of opinions I've heard are that coach Andy Reid and president Joe Banner wouldn't have traded McNabb to Washington if they didn't think Kolb could handle things -- and handle them well.
* Remember that Bobby Taylor comeback report last week? Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News thinks the Cowboys could be one of the teams that should at least consider taking a look at the former Eagles CB.
* Adam Caplan of FoxSports.com says Brandon Graham's arm length was what caused some NFL teams to have a second-round grade on him:
The top question surrounding Graham seemed to be whether he was better off playing in the 3-4 or 4-3. Graham, who dominated Senior Bowl practices, rocketed up draft boards after that week. However, a source said at least at few teams didn’t have a first-round grade on him because of his shorter than ideal arm length. Philadelphia has decent depth at both end spots, but the talented rookie figures to be high in the rotation right away.
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Re: "this team can easily be 1-14-1 with this woeful defense" I hope you're joking. They had a middle of the pack defense last year on which they've made some nice improvements during the offseason, especially regarding the pass rush and linebacking corps. At worst, their defense should be somewhere in the middle again.— clonewolf- OK GOLDY2007 - is he still going to be lightnight fast and cover all that ground after tearing up his knee? I just think a lot of people are overrating this guy as the teams savior I don't think Bradley would have saved us from getting whooped by the Cowboys, nor do I think he will do anything spectacular to prevent this team from being mediocre at best this year. Just my opinion...— EaglesBleedMoney
I agree EaglesBleedMoney...Bradley is a decent MLB. Nothing spectacular. Add in his history of torn ACL's and he is below-average in my opinion. Its why he slipped to the 3rd round or whatever in the draft and Reid gladly took another ACL patient. What a steal. I doubt he stays healthy for more then 1 full season. Reid is an idiot and will continue to draft guys with previous blown ACL's in college and hope by some miracle they will be able to stay healthier then the other guys, or that somehow throwing it 60% will magically win a SB, when it NEVER HAS IN HISTORY. Reid is delusional and will NEVER WIN A SB. DO NOT DRAFT PLAYERS WITH TORN ACL's IN COLLEGE AND EXPECT THEM TO BE HEALTHY. more stupidity.
Comment removed.- JofreyRice: I challenge you to name ONE strong-side linebacker projected to play in a 4-3 scheme that was available in Round 2. In fact, I challenge you to name ONE SAM in this draft capable of being an automatic starter. There wasn't one, and that factored in to the Eagles draft decisions. The only possibility was Sean Weatherspoon, and he is more of a WIll or a MIKE, definitely not a SAM. The Eagles drafted their future SAM in Round 5: Ricky Sapp out of Clemson. He'll be the starting SAM by week #14. If there was a good SAM available early, the Eagles wold have considered drafting one. But this draft pool was very scant on outside linebackers.— montgomeryhopkins
8-8 the best they will do.- Are we all talking about the same Bradley who couldn't complete the last week of OTA's last month? You know the one who couldn't run at all because of a pulled calf. Ask Jimmy Rollins about how long it takes to play shortstop with a pulled calf and that's not like playing middle-linebacker in the NFL. I understand the optimism from Eagle fans but these comments are dreams of what use to be.— JACK V
- We won't know much about the linebackers or the rest of the team in 2010 until January, 2011. If Bradley and Sims are starters in September, I expect them to be in street clothes by November. So the linebackers could be as good as the group of Jordan, Fokou, Gaither, Cnaney, and friends. The Eagles need to get Bradley through this season completely healthy; then turn him loose full blast next year. Same with Ingram, and maybe Sims too.— tacklinjoe
- Montgomery Hopkins, I challenge YOU! To drink a gallon of milk in under one hour! I was hoping Sapp would be the SAM, but he got moved back to DE pretty quickly. If they really were tabbing him to play SAM, don't you think he would have been playing SAM a lot, rather than a little? As far as naming other SAMs they could have gotten in the draft--no, I can't. I don't get paid to watch hours of college tape on players my team might pick. There were plenty of LB's and DE's projecting to LB to pick from, including Sergio Kindle, Jermaine Cunningham, Pat Angerer, Jason Worilds, Koa Misi, Jerry Hughes, Darryl Washington to name a few. They have holes, it's their job to fill them. In ten years, this stockpiling of mid-round picks has produced 2 probowlers--Cole and Celek. You get what you pay for, and they are always looking for a bargain ESPECIALLY at LB.— JofreyRice
- The Tonner can drink a gallon of Genny Cream Ale in under an hour.
- The Tonner can probably drink a gallon of lonewolf's "cream ale" too...— EaglesBleedMoney
- Is there anyone who can hit on this defense? If I was a WR or RB that was going to play Philly I would be salivating. It is sad what has happened in a few short years.— lenmako
- lonewolf brews his own beer? Outstanding news EaglesBleedMoney. The Tonner has thought about doing that but it seems like a lot of work.
- LB position will be better this season, but still a mediocre group. Fokiu; I don't get it. I watched last year, he doesn't impress me at all. I strongly question McDermott. IMO, I don't feel he's the right guy for the job.— beegal99
- I think we'll see a much improved LB play this year. I am concerned about the secondary. Nate allen will be good, but he is a rookie. The CB's are worrisome, and they should definitely draft a CB in the 1st round next year, which will be a better for corners than this year's draft was.— ol duke
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