IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
The conversation was about extra-large shoes.
In the spring, Sean McDermott, the Eagles' first-year defensive coordinator, was talking to Quintin Demps, the Eagles' second-year safety, about their common situations as the team prepared for the 2009 season.
"Quintin has given himself a chance, but he's coming into a situation where he's got big shoes to fill, just like my situation," McDermott said recently. "It's important that he walks in his own shoes and he's his own man.
"We've shared some conversations about it. He's tremendously talented. He's a lot more talented than I am and he's got a chance."
McDermott is replacing the late Jim Johnson, who spent 10 blitz-happy years in Philadelphia confusing opposing quarterbacks and offenses.
Demps, 24, has a chance to step into the gargantuan cleats of Brian Dawkins, a seven-time Pro Bowler whose departure to Denver caused angst and anger this off-season among Eagles fans.
"We just talked about it a few times," Demps said. "We talked about how we had to come in and be the best people we can be. We have to be ourselves and not the people we're trying to replace. You pay tribute to them, then you do what you're supposed to do as well as you can."
McDermott liked what he saw from his young safety during the series of spring camps at the NovaCare Complex and then at training camp at Lehigh University, although Demps is in a heated competition for a starting job with veteran Sean Jones.
Demps "is penciled in as the starter at free safety, and the reason being because that's how we finished up this spring," McDermott said. "The best 11 will play, and he will have the first opportunity to show us why he will be the starting free safety."
Demps and McDermott agree that they need to leave their stamp on the Eagles' defense but also say the safety has many of the attributes that made Dawkins a Philadelphia legend.
"I think our games are similar," Demps said. "I'm probably a younger version of him."
McDermott said he understood why Demps felt that way, but knew there was much work to be done.
"In terms of the skill set, they bring similar attributes to the table, and then we'll see how Quintin does from here," McDermott said. "Talent is one thing and ability is one thing, but how hard you work and the development process is what causes some people to rise above all the rest."
At this stage, Demps is younger and faster than his former mentor. That doesn't mean McDermott wants Demps roaming the field, just looking for interceptions. He expects Demps to be a good tackler who can also move up and stop the run.
"People don't realize that there weren't a whole lot of amendments to the defense in terms of what we did with Brian last year," McDermott said. "I know a lot of people say that you had to protect him, but Brian was one-11th of our defense. We weren't protecting him because of his age, and that's how the defense is going to be going forward.
"You have to be able to tackle. I believe that's the key fundamental to this defense and to any defense. We've talked about it as a staff and we want to make sure we're a good tackling team."
Becoming a solid tackler was on Demps' to-do list this off-season, and the work ethic he showed is what led to the opportunity he has at Lehigh. Even though the Eagles signed Jones and another veteran free agent, Rashad Baker, they decided that their own fourth-round draft choice from last year had earned the first crack at Dawkins' vacant spot. (Baker was released yesterday.)
"The biggest thing is his approach, and it started when the off-season programs started back in March," McDermott said. "He was there, so attendance was the first step, and then his whole approach to all the workouts and how much time he was spending on his own and with the coaches. He was investing in himself, so to speak."
McDermott admitted it was strange to be at Lehigh without Dawkins around.
"You know it is, but it happens in the NFL and in business," he said. "You have to be ready to move on. Good organizations have players that are ready to fill in and step up."
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
