THE EAGLES' defense is doing a lot of things exceptionally well these days.
They're keeping people out of the end zone (three touchdowns in the last four games). They're snuffing the run (3.3 yards allowed per carry in the last eight games). They are forcing turnovers (13 in the last six games). They are frustrating the hell out of opposing quarterbacks (.491 completion percentage and 5.38 yards allowed per attempt in the last seven games).
They also have taken the opposing tight end out of play, which wasn't the case earlier this season.
In the first nine games, opposing tight ends feasted on the Eagles like Yogi Bear going after a pic-a-nic basket, catching 47 passes and averaging a hefty 13.6 yards per catch.
"I never used to worry that much about tight ends," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "But when they started getting big yards and making plays down in the red zone, that's when you pay more attention to it."
Johnson did more than pay attention to it. He made a couple of fairly significant changes to rectify the situation. The first was giving strong safety Quintin Mikell primary responsibility for covering the tight end on first and second downs.
The second was benching weakside linebacker Omar Gaither after the Eagles' Week 11 tie with Cincinnati and replacing him with the more athletic Akeem Jordan, who generally is matched up against the tight end on passing downs.
Like just about every other move Johnson has made this season, these have paid big dividends. In the last eight games, opposing tight ends have caught just 28 passes and averaged only 8.2 yards per catch.
The starting tight ends for the other three teams in the NFC East - the Cowboys' Jason Witten, the Redskins' Chris Cooley and the Giants' Kevin Boss - combined for 21 receptions, two TDs and a 13.7 yards-per-catch average the first time around against the Eagles. The second time around, the Eagles held them to 12, zero and 6.8.
"Sometimes, you just get into matchups you don't want," Johnson said. "We've been more careful in our matchups. I've used Quintin and Akeem. One of the main reasons I brought Akeem in [as a starter] was to match up with the tight end.
"People say, 'Well, what about Omar?' Omar did a good job. I just felt that Akeem was ready to play. I thought he could do a good job with the run defense, which he has. And I liked his matchup [against the tight end]."
In last week's 26-14, wild-card win over the Vikings, the Eagles held tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who had three TDs and averaged 14.9 yards per catch in the previous four games, to one catch for 7 yards. The week before that, they held Witten, who caught seven passes for 110 yards against them in Week 2, to 7.1 yards per catch.
"Witten's a hard guy to match up with," Johnson said of the Cowboys' wide-bodied, 6-5, 262-pound tight end. "Quintin is about the only guy who can match up with him."
Boss caught six passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in the Giants' 36-31 win over the Eagles in Week 10. In the Week 14 rematch won by the Eagles, 20-14, he was held to one catch for 5 yards. Johnson is confident that Mikell and Jordan will be able to keep him in check.
"[Boss] has had a good year," Johnson said. "He's not [Jeremy] Shockey as far as down-the-field speed. But he's a good tight end. Quintin has good athletic ability. He has a little bit of that corner ability. For a safety, he's got very good closing quickness. He's got pretty good speed. He's a very competitive guy. A tough guy."
Around the league
* Now that the Browns have hired
Eric Mangini as their coach, the leading candidate to replace
Phil Savage as their general manager appears to be Baltimore Ravens pro personnel director
George Kokinis. When Mangini was interviewed by Browns owner
Randy Lerner, he was asked who he would like to have as his top personnel man. He said Kokinis. Mangini will not have final say in personnel matters, but would have no problem working under Kokinis. Ravens GM
Ozzie Newsome won't let Kokinis go unless the Browns give him GM authority.
* Reports that unreasonable demands were the reason the Browns didn't hire Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli as their GM aren't true. Lerner decided it was more important to hire the "right" coach before hiring the "right" general manager. Once he settled on Mangini, that pretty much eliminated Pioli as a GM possibility. Why? Well, for starters, Spygate. Eagles GM Tom Heckert had been scheduled to interview for the Browns GM job, but pulled out of his interview after Mangini was hired.
* League sources say that Lions GM Martin Mayhew, who has been put in charge of hiring a coach by owner William Clay Ford, is getting a lot of pressure from the Fritz Pollard Alliance to hire a minority for the job. The FPA is an advocacy group headed by former NFL player and Eagles front-office man John Wooten that works with the NFL on creating coaching and front-office opportunities for minorities. Mayhew is African-American.
* Oklahoma sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford, who has not decided if he will come out early, and Georgia junior quarterback Matt Stafford, who Wednesday announced that he will, could be the first two players taken in the April draft. Both are looking at deals that that figure to include about $40 million in guaranteed money. The Lions own the first pick. The Rams have the second selection, followed by the Chiefs, Seahawks, Browns and Bengals. And a pox on the house of the first knucklehead who e-mails me and asks if the Eagles could move into the top five if they offer one of their first-round picks and Lito Sheppard.
2-minute drill
FROM THE LIP
* "He is a physical presence. He is a guy that we count on to set the physical edge. And we are looking forward to getting him back in the lineup." - Giants coach Tom Coughlin on running back Brandon Jacobs
* "Surprised? No, surprise doesn't even come close. Shock, either. It was just, 'Whaaaa?' I almost fell out of my chair. And then my wife almost fell out of her chair." - Ex-Broncos and current Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce on Mike Shanahan's firing
* "I feel for Herm and his staff. You know, we had a plan. We put it in progress. A lot of things happened that were not good. But, at the end of the day, you have to win football games. It's not my decision anymore, and I'm pleased that it's not." - Former Chiefs president Carl Peterson on the possible fate of the team's coach, Herm Edwards
* "I'm an emotional guy, and I'm sure people are tired of seeing me get emotional. People would probably say, 'Oh, here he goes again.' I think it would just be better for me to just thank the Jets, and I sincerely mean that. It was well worth what I invested. But I'm going to just quietly step away if that's what happens." - Jets QB Brett Favre, who said he will not call another press conference if he decides to retire.
BY THE NUMBERS
* The Eagles' seven playoff berths in this decade are the second most in the league. Only the Colts, with eight, have more. Three teams have made it to the postseason six times since 2000: the Patriots, Steelers and Giants. The Patriots are the only team that has won more division titles this decade than the Eagles' five. They've won six. The Colts and Steelers also have won five.
* The 11 wins by the Ravens' John Harbaugh, the Falcons' Mike Smith and the Dolphins' Tony Sparano this season are the fourth most ever by rookie head coaches. George Seifert won 14 games with the 49ers in '89. Steve Mariucci won 13 with the Niners in '97, and Barry Switzer won 12 with the Cowboys in '94.
* All of the league's top five rushing teams made the playoffs, but only two of the top five passing teams. The top five rushing teams: Giants, Falcons, Panthers, Ravens, Vikings. The two top-five passing teams to qualify: Cardinals (second) and Colts (fifth). The No. 1 Saints, No. 3 Broncos and No. 4 Texans didn't make it.
* The Giants' Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward are just the fourth set of running backs in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Jacobs rushed for 1,089 yards. Ward had 1,025.
