Bob Ford: Even in draft, Eagles remain steadfast

At least one thing the Eagles' organization didn't lose during the crashing completion of the 2009 season was faith in its way of building a football team.

After watching the Eagles operate during the endless arc of the NFL draft - the longest three days in American history since the Battle of Gettysburg - there is little question Andy Reid and the front office still believe they have been doing it right. Everybody might be talking about a new way of walking, but the Eagles aren't going to lose their minds just because of a setback here and there.

Using the draft - and three predraft trades plus a free-agent signing - to put an emphasis on improving the defense, the Eagles stayed true to their core values. Compared to the Eagles, the Tea Party is a bunch of wafflers. Reid and company kept going to the well, and it seemed that each time time they cranked the rope, there was a smallish defensive end or a little defensive back inside the bucket.

Their buzz words for this draft were "high motor," "relentless," and "speedy," even though recent results might indicate they need a few guys who can knock the slobber out of opponents instead of maneuver around them. That, however, is not a conclusion reached by the Eagles, apparently, even as they used nine of their 13 draft picks for defensive players.

Starting with defensive end Brandon Graham, for whom they moved up 11 spots in the first round, the Eagles didn't grab anyone who someday might line up opposite Trent Cole and offer a solid rock in contrast to Cole's scissors.

Graham, according to everyone who should know, including the Eagles, will be a very good football player, but in the same mold as Cole. The question that remains unanswered is whether the Eagles would benefit from some counter-programming at that position.

In the same way, the Eagles took a pair of secondary players relatively early on - free safety Nate Allen in the second round and cornerback Trevard Lindley in the fourth round - who are known more for their pass coverage than their tackling or intimidation. That's fine, particularly if the billing is accurate, but it doesn't represent much of a change in philosophy.

Where the Eagles did step out of their normal pattern was the fervor with which they have collected linebackers recently, an indication that the position was viewed as a particular concern. They used two draft picks on linebackers and picked up another two in predraft trades. At the moment, if you count unrestricted free agent Tracy White, the Eagles have 10 linebackers on the roster. Within that bunch, perhaps they can find five who can stop the run and not fall down in coverage, or vice versa.

The main need on defense was simply to get better, and the Eagles think they have done that. Getting nothing but big guys wouldn't have ensured that, but they do need to reach the quarterback more often, and tackling a little better wouldn't hurt, either. In their five games last season against Dallas and the New York Giants, counting the playoff loss to the Cowboys, the Eagles gave up an average of 425 yards in net offense to their two biggest division rivals. In the back-to-back losses to Dallas that closed things out, they allowed a combined 900 yards and 58 points.

If that gap wasn't closed somewhat during the draft, it wasn't for a lack of trying. The 13 selections were the most by the Eagles since they took 15 players in the 1986 draft, which was then 12 rounds.

This time, they traded down to amass some of the picks, had some left over from 2009 deals, and received a pair of compensatory picks for the loss of free agents. During the three days of the draft itself, the Eagles completed six trades, including a dying-light deal with Detroit to pick up a seventh-rounder on Saturday for a sixth-round pick in 2011.

Why it was so important to get the 220th pick to land Mississippi State linebacker Jamar Chaney - whose NFLDraftScout.com profile says he "looks smaller on film than his program-listed size" - is hard to tell, but once you start making trades and hoarding players, it is tough to stop.

And, remember, this is a team that says it isn't rebuilding. That's not the way it has looked this off-season as the Eagles got rid of their figurehead quarterback, dumped some underachievers, and brought in a slew of new players. When minicamp opens next week, several hours will have to be set aside for introductions.

They certainly are rebuilding. What they aren't doing, however, is rethinking. The Eagles plan to stay small and quick on both sides of the ball, although the end results with that formula have been mixed.

Faith in oneself and one's methods is a great thing. Reid and his organization obviously have that. Somewhere amid all this movement and change, the Eagles believe they have the group that finally will finish the job. As noted football analyst Bullwinkle J. Moose always said, "This time for sure."