Sizing up the Eagles' LB situation
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Sizing up the Eagles' LB situation
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
After spending a second-round pick on Mychal Kendricks and trading for DeMeco Ryans, the Eagles now have 10 linebackers on their roster.
Of the eight returnees, six (Jamar Chaney, Brian Rolle, Casey Matthews, Moise Fokou, Akeem Jordan and Keenan Clayton) saw significant playing time at one point or another last season.
So how will the pieces fit in 2012?
Players will get a chance to prove themselves at OTAs and training camp, but the 2011 season provided significant clues about where each guy stands.
Last year, the first with Juan Castilo as the defensive coordinator and Jim Washburn as the defensive line coach, the Eagles used their linebackers differently. According to Pro Football Focus, linebackers blitzed a total of 147 times, far less than 2010 when that number was 330. And even when they were sent after the quarterback, the linebackers weren't very effective. They accounted for just three of the team's 50 sacks and five of the team's 235 hurries.
Part of that can be attributed to the lack of talent at the position. And part of it is on Castillo, who made the blitz calls.
Given the Eagles' talent up front, I don't expect Castillo to blitz nearly as much as his predecessors Sean McDermott or Jim Johnson. But he has a quick, explosive option in Kendricks if he wants to use him to get after the quarterback. Kendricks had 11.5 career sacks in college, including seven in 2010.
In terms of coverage, the end of last season could signal which players the coaches like the most in sub packages.
Chaney, for example, was a three-down linebacker for the first 13 weeks of last season. During that span, he played all but six of the team's defensive snaps, almost never coming off the field. But things changed, starting against Miami. In the last three games (not counting Week 17, where he suffered an injury), Chaney played only about 47.3 percent of the team's defensive snaps, often getting replaced in passing situations.
Reid said he believes Ryans is a three-down linebacker. And Kendricks could prove to be one too. But the Eagles have options in their sub packages with Casey Matthews and Keenan Clayton. Matthews started the season in the middle, moved to the WILL in Week 3, barely saw the field until Week 14 and then was used quite a bit in the final four games, primarily in nickel packages. In his rookie season, Matthews struggled when asked to be a three-down linebacker, but he improved, specifically in coverage, at the end of the season. Looking back at my notes, Matthews did a good job on Jason Witten against the Cowboys and played well against the Jets as well.
Clayton, a fourth-round pick in 2010, remains an enigma. Despite the Eagles' struggles at linebacker the last two seasons, he's failed to show the coaches he deserves more playing time. His most significant action came in the final two weeks last season as Clayton played in nickel and dime packages. He has coverage skills, but doesn't give the Eagles anything against the run. Nothing would surprise me with Clayton at this point. He could be one of the two nickel linebackers to start the season, or he could get cut.
As a team, the Eagles were terrible at covering opposing running backs in the passing game last year, ranking 29th according to Football Outsiders.
Against tight ends, they were much better, ranking third-best in the NFL. Of course, the credit there doesn't go only to the linebackers. With three starting-caliber cornerbacks, the Eagles had the luxury of moving Nnamdi Asomugha inside on tight ends at times and having Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie take over at right cornerback.
With Asante Samuel gone, someone like Curtis Marsh, Brandon Hughes or rookie Brandon Boykin (who could steal the nickelback spot from Joselio Hanson) would have to fill in on the outside. Depending on the coaches' comfort level with the less experienced backups, Asomugha might see less time on tight ends in 2012.
Among the linebackers I've yet to mention, Fokou and Jordan could earn backup spots, especially since they have been good on special teams. Jordan led the team with 14 special teams tackles. Fokou had 10, but he only played in 11 games. I doubt there will be room for both of them though.
Brian Rolle was better than Matthews against the run last season, but he was replaced in certain sub packages. According to Football Outsiders, Rolle missed 10 tackles last season, one of the worst marks in the league. But he was still probably the team's most active linebacker (47 solo tackles, six tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, a sack and a forced fumble) and will get a chance to earn a starting job in the base defense.
Overall, the talent is better than last year, but there are still plenty of questions. It'll be up to Castillo and linebackers coach Mike Caldwell to figure out how the pieces fit.
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Kendricks, Ryans and Rolle. When Chaney actually makes a play it will be a first.— guyguy4- Wouls still like another vet to get rid of some dead weight. Some many LBs, so little impact.— tpizza
- 10 on the roster...but the best is coming off an injury and it is unknown at this time if he is anywhere half of what he was., the next best is an untested second round rookie, and after that there are no NFL quality LBs...Mathews is a bust and a atribute to AR's philosphy of trying to outsmart the rest of the world, and the others are has beens at best....Rolle could be a player but is really too short...so we have to hope the first two guys are really good or we are back to square one...— nuggett
draft Vontaze Burfict - HA! i fell for it -i finally got the joke from all the pre-draft posts on Vontaze Burfict ..i thought everyone was seriously suggesting the Eagles draft him! and looks like i was the only one who got faked out— daveH- Ryans, Kendricks, Chaney are starters.. Matthews, Rolle, and Clayton are the back ups. If Ryans is even close to being a Pro Bowler he once was and Kendricks can make up some plays, the group has improved a lot.— FABER
- They will probably keep Jordan as a back-up SAM and special teams player. I'm wondering if they would consider moving Clayton to Saftey, given his cover skills and their lack of depth at that position. — BeFrank
- nuggett, Ryans injury happened two seasons ago, he played all of last season and was running well by the end of it. Most rookies don't see the field much, Matthews was thrown to the wolves out of position and in a scheme that even the coaches were learning in the beginning. He deserves another shot. Most "experts" had Kendricks as the best 4-3 OLB in this draft. Rolle had his moments, Chaney was coming off a neck injury. Let's get a look at the product on the field, with the benefit of training camp, and then see what they got.— Paul SoTX
Comment removed.- Matthews is a player who got a bad rap. Castillo will give him every opportunity to win a spot.— JBP
- If anything, his name got him his job. There no way he gets drafted or even invited to a camp if his last name is Smith. — bc3030
- one thing the draft did was up the competition at several positions...so let's wait and watch.....Clayton at safety ?— oldBird
- Rolle deserves a spot as a starter. He made plays while Castillo was learning on the job. Ryans is assumed to be the starter. So Kendricks and Chaney will just have to fight for that final spot. All these guys will be rotational players so im sure they will still see plenty of playing time.— Yes_General
- I couldn't agree more on Rolle. Forget the height - Rolle makes plays. — bc3030
- Kendricks, Ryans, Rolle/Chaney. I do not wanna see guys like akeem jordan or Keenan Clayton on the field. They are absolutely terrible. Matthews can play solely for the fact that he has shown improvement.— Forthatass
- First sentence should read:
After spending a second-round pick on Mychal Kendricks and trading for DeMeco Ryans, the Eagles now have 2 linebackers on their roster.
— snakeplissken - exactly. I just Kendricks can tackle as well as advertised. — coloradoeagle
- Thank you for mentioning Rolle's abundance of missed tackles. No idea why he seems to get so much love for his play last. Maybe because the others were THAT bad. Jamar Chaney seemed to shoot the wrong gap at least once per series. Fokou/Jordan are useless. Hoping they sign a camp casualty as the season nears. Or we'll be playing a lot of nickel again
- Nicely written article, and well presented arguments. Perhaps with a full training camp and with DeMeco screaming at the younger guys, the Birds will have a solid line-backing corp out of this group of 10.
I'm guessing that they will.— DHowardisdaman - The Eagles have a LB coach??? I thought they were allowed to do whatever they wanted out there, based on last season.— CandyReidh8ter
- A lot of you are pretty quick to dismiss Casey Matthews. He did, indeed, get thrown to the wolves last season and while he's no "Clay" he may well turn out to be a decent WILL LB. Patience.— FishFryFrank
- Casey was what? A 4th? If he becomes a solid backup / spcl teamer / nickel LBer: that's OK for where he was drafted. Let's see!— Warhound
- Snake, you're funny!— Blue Hens Rule
- I think what I would say about Rolle was that he was exciting in that he could get into place to make a big hit or decisive tackle. But then would miss half the time. As aggravating as that is, it would seem easier to correct than overcoming the inability to get into position in the first place. In other words, missed tackles are still better than not getting a hand on them in the first place.— adamklee
- To repeat what I posted this morning on the Bird Eye View column. "They still need another quality linebacker or two. The 2 new additions don't complete the overhaul in that position thats needed. How many chances does Akeem Jordan get."
— watsonmr - All who say Rolle is too short, did you even watch the Eagles last year? He was the most successful linebacker on the squad. He is definitely ahead of Chaney, Mathews needs to realize his name can only get him so far and then he'll do okay. Does nobody remember Rolles' forced fumble that he picked up himself and returned it for a TD? This kid deserves more hype than he gets...height means nothing if you have heart and instinct. If you don't know that you don't know sports. Kendricks/Ryans/Rolle.— Eagles2Eagles
- Being born & raised in Philly I understand the passion of a die-hard Eagles fan. I presently live in Columbus, Ohio & had the pleasure of being Brian Rolle's mailman during his stay at The Ohio State University. The kid is so well mannered,extremely intelligent, and has a high motor for football. I watched as he grew hear at Ohio State, from special teams, to starter, to leader. I believe given the chance he will do great things for the Eagles either at linebacker Or perhaps strong safety.
So many LB experts here bashing our LBing crew these experts posting here discount the fact that with the new C.B.A last season a shortened off-season, New Scheme, New DC, many New Players and Coaches in a new scheme... Well some of y'all experts posting here seem to have selective memory. and in the least display a serious lack of knowledge about football... A TEAM SPORT. it takes time for players to GEL... learn to communicate as players... Bond with each other and execute with synergy on the field. As my Dream Team discovered too many New moving pieces and not enough time... WELL we saw the result. I will reserve judgement after a full off-season and Full Training Camp and let the players sort it out on the field of play. As for you experts posting on here and your conclusions hahahahaha WELL... Spit It Like you see it. Go Eagles.
- good to know the hardcore kool-aid drinkers are still pounding on the same old excuses for last year's debacle.
what will this year's excuse be?— ekw555 - Thank you for saving me the long Hunt and Pecking(can't type for bean dip)that i was about to lay down on all these armchair coaches and critics on here.If any of these knuckleheads were our coaches we would go 0-16 every year. — ackid38
- Agreeing w Kendricks, ryans & rolle. Rolle was in on a lot of the action last yr. I think Matthews will improve. And I still think you draft burfict in the 7th rd. why not?— djack10
- I thought Brian Rolle came in and did a good job. This LB corps has some teeth now.— hallux
- All the football geniuses who wanted the Eagles to use their first pick on Vontaze Burfict please stand up now.— p-diddy
- Casey should get the start based on hair alone.— Geno D
- I love the article asking us to grade the Eagles' draft!! Not AFTER they show they can play or not..but NOW! What a JOKE!!! I got an idea. How about we wait to see if they can play or not. I can grade the last 3 years' drafts if you want...— justacarpenter
- Yes another person claiming Chaney has never made a play. He had three picks!— operagost
- I will p-diddy. I still think the Eagles should have taken a 7th round flyer on Burfict, since their late round RB won't make the squad over UDFA RB Polk. The guy has serious maturity issues, but he made a ton of plays in college.— dragoon6
- terrific feature on NFLnetwork on Juan Castillo "Living the Dream" as a great guy and the hardest working coach in NFL..makes one really want him to succeed...unfortunately reality is that in football the coaches who are the meanest and most clever usually win out over the good guys— warbiscuit
- Ryan, Kendricks, and who….seems to be the question! All the other LB'S on the team seem to be special team candidates and not starters. This suggests the Eagles should still be looking at free agents and future cuts to fill the 3rd LB role this season. I am not comfortable with any of those 8 LB's being starter if we hope to win a superbowl. If we are just going out to play and are fine being 8-8 again then I guess the management will stick with one of the guys we have vs. improving the position this year. As I see it we are still 1 good LB short.— connorjr
- I hate how people act like Rolle was just the best of the worst last year...he was a rookie who played very well, and now this year should improve. Its not like Rolle was just good compared to the other Eagles LBs, he wasn't playing against them, he was playing against good NFL offenses, and playing well. So what he's short...So what he missed 10 tackles-what Eagles defensive player didn't- THE KID CAN FLAT OUT PLAY — Philsfan2012
- Fabio will make the team by a hair.— Astro Jones
- If Matthews makes the team it's because they don't want to admit drafting him was a mstake.— 1republican
- Fokou and Jordan are names I'm tired of hearing every year. If they haven't won the starting job by now, they never will.— ej610
- Our lousy play on defense was because of the shortened off season, new coordinator, new scheme, and an abundance of new players. I'm not worried about talent when it comes to the linebacker group. Matthews was a ROOKIE who was grabbed in the 4th round and thrown into a middle linebacker spot. Not exactly a smart idea, but he has potential and I could see him moving his way up to a WILL starter. Rolle was also a rookie who saw significant time. Although he played better than Matthews, he missed a good amount of tackles, but he was our most active LB by far. I could see him becoming a really good LB. Chaney is a really good linebacker. You could tell he was affected by the switching around and the new scheme. I originally had him as our WILL linebacker for this year, but he could end up going back to SAM if Kendricks doesn't break out right away. Ryans is a stud, hopefully he stays healthy and turns this already decent defense into a scary one.— colahead420
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