LB breakdown: Gocong out, Jordan's role
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LB breakdown: Gocong out, Jordan's role
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Like last week, I wanted to take a detailed look at how Sean McDermott shuffled his linebackers in and out of the game against the 49ers.
Against the Giants, five different Eagles linebackers saw playing time. Four of those players remained the same against the Niners. But instead of Chris Gocong manning the strong-side in the base package, it was Moise Fokou.
Here's the breakdown in terms of number of plays:
Will Witherspoon - 58
Akeem Jordan - 26
Moise Fokou - 12
Jeremiah Trotter - 12
Tracy White - 12
Gocong was not on the field for a single snap. Witherspoon, on the other hand, was on the field for every one.
Jordan continued to get eased back into the defense. He played 16 snaps against the Giants in his first action back from injury after a four-game absence. That increased to 26 here.
The Eagles' most popular linebacker combination was Witherspoon and Jordan (26 plays). The Birds were in their base package with Trotter, Fokou and Witherspoon for 12 plays.
Here's a breakdown of the number of plays for each of the four combinations:
Witherspoon and Jordan - 26
Fokou, Trotter and Witherspoon - 12
White and Witherspoon - 12
Witherspoon - 8
Against the Giants, McDermott used six different packages. One featured Jordan in the middle. That didn't happen this week.
Witherspoon was the lone linebacker on the field for eight plays, where Dimitri Patterson entered the game as a sixth defensive back, often times charged with covering tight end Vernon Davis.
The Eagles went with two linebackers on 38 plays, three linebackers on 12 plays and one linebacker on eight plays.
Each week brings a new set of questions.
Will Gocong get back into the rotation? How far away is Jordan from returning to his pre-injury form? Can Trotter continue to improve each week?
We'll see which direction McDermott goes this week and break down the rotation again after the Broncos game.
In case you missed it, we did Man Up on the defense yesterday.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, where would we be without Witherspoon added this season???— M60tanker- Great article again! D did good in containing TE Davis; not good in containing RB Gore. D-line got bailed out by secondary one more time.— Seed
- If Gocong was a pass-specialist in college, and we have problems getting pressure - um?— AllDawk_AllTheTime
- Without the offensive turnover, the D would have kept the 49'ers within 6-9 point. D is weak; Offense and Special team can not make mistakes; and Reid can't continue to commit BLUNDERS to put the D in a bad situation.— Seed
- Tracy White needs more snaps. The guy's a play-maker. This D is FAR from weak. Not perfect by any stretch, but not near weak. SF has a decent offense, and they only mustered 13 points.— montgomeryhopkins
- Strong-side LB is probably the toughest spot in the Eagles' scheme. It requires good contain against the run, especially when the TE is lined up on the strong side, so the LB must have some size. It also requires the ability to cover the TE man-to-man in pass, as well as more standard zone pass coverage. Since the Jim Johnson era, only Carlos Emmons has filled it well. Gocong may be the anti-Emmons, as his coverage skills are awful, and his instincts in the zone are below par. I don't really see anyone on the current Eagles squad taking this job long-term.
Comment removed.- Gocong needs to be ready to look for a new job next year. He's lousy, especially in our scheme. He might be better suited for a 3-4 defense, or he might not be suited to play at all. Hopefully the Eagles will learn from their mistakes in undervaluing the LB position and draft some real talent (and not a "project with great updside")early next year.— Rombo
- Wasn't Gocong converted from a college D-end, with the idea of using him mostly as a wildcard blizter? I cant really recall a game where he impressed me. Maybe the experiment is not working out. Witherspoon has been a great pickup though. Whats his contract situation - do we expect to keep him past this year? Him and a healthy bradley would be a nice linebacking core to build on.— duder
- I agree about drafting an LB. There's another Witherspoon in college, I think Missouri, who would be a nice addition to the D...— Cameiros
- I like the fact of all the varied rotations Sean does in the entire D lineup. It gives the team fresh legs and wind. It gives new looks. Witherspoon has been a God-send this year and White though smallish, 230lbs looks like he can track down with his speed the quick and fleet of , say, the Broncs this Sun. Prayerfully.— KGKoons
- Actually, if Bradley can come back healthy next year, I think we'd be just fine sliding Witherspoon over to SAM and continuing with Bradley and Jordan - Jordan was a BEAST early in the season when he was healthy, and I think 'Spoon's got the right blend of all-around skills to play the SAM role very well in this system.— JLB
- I'm with JLB. That's a VERY nice lineup for next year! Hopefully that rookie TE will be able to play next year, and we resign Weaver. That would give us a weapon at every conceivable offensive position! DE would be the biggest defensive priority. If Trent had someone worthy on the other side? ouch!— tdawg
- Thanks for the breakdown Sheil, continuing to show that your analysis crushes the likes of Domo and Les
- Agree with JD about Emmons filling the role so well (seems like a lonnng time ago), and nobody ever filling it nearly as well. Gocong is a puzzle (he's never impressed me, either) and I fervently hope that Jordan returns to his pre-injury form...he's a key to this D.— MG44
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