Chaney to MLB; Matthews to WLB
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Chaney to MLB; Matthews to WLB
Jeff McLane
Jamar Chaney is now the Eagles' starting middle linebacker, replacing rookie Casey Matthews, who will move to weak-side linebacker, team sources said.
The shuffling of the linebackers included Moise Fokou moving from weak-side linebacker to strong-side linebacker in place of Chaney.
Chaney confirmed the moves following the afternoon practice.
"This is the position I like to play," Chaney said. "I liked playing [strong-side] but I was just getting used to it."
Chaney believed that the move was partly made "because I was at [middle linebacker] last year and had some pretty good success at it. ... Growing up you always want to be the leader of the defense and I take on the challenge and look forward to it."
Two games of watching running backs run rampant through the middle of the Eagles' defense was apparently enough for coordinator Juan Castillo to make the moves as the Eagles prepare for Sunday's home opener against the New York Giants.
"It's not really different, it's all basically the same," Matthews said of the changes.
The Matthews experiment in the middle is thus offically over. The rookie, a fourth-round draft pick, struggled in two starts. In fact, the entire linebacker corp has not played particularly well thus far. In the opener, the Rams ran for 154 yards on the ground. On Sunday, the Falcons gained 138 rushing yards, including a 61-yard run from Michael Turner in the fourth quarter that set up the game-winning score for Atlanta.
Chaney moves back to the middle where he played most of last season as a backup. When he did start, filling in for the injured Stewart Bradley, he fared well.
Then a rookie, Chaney tallied 16 tackles, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry against the Giants on Dec. 19. A week later against the Vikings, he recorded eight tackles. And then in a playoff loss against the Packers, Chaney notched 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a hurry.
Many had Matthews pegged as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 defensive scheme coming out of Oregon. He'll get his chance to play there on Sunday.
"He played outside in college so he might feel more comfortable out there," Chaney said. "He was out there practicing today. He said he's already starting to like the position so that's a good thing.
"With [weak-side] he doesn't have to worry about making no calls. He did a good job. Out of all the rookie linebackers in the league he probably had the most pressure or responsibility on him."
Fokou moves back to strong-side where he played most of his first two seasons.
"It's not a huge change but you're doing different jobs," Chaney said.
The Eagles had felt Chaney was better suited to play strong-side in Castillo's scheme because of his cover skills. But Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez had his way against the second-year linebacker on Sunday, although many have suffered the same fate against the future Hall of Famer.
Chaney said the nickel defense will remain the same at linebacker with either Matthews or Brian Rolle -- and sometimes Keenan Clayton -- playing alongside him.
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
I know he's been hurt, but we sign hurt players anyway...so was wondering why we didnt try to get Shawne Merriman during the offseason since Buffalo had to RESIGN him for him to stay.....even HURT hes better than anything we have....WTF.— chilljay- We will be out-coached a lot more often than out-played this year. That's the only area left to overhaul.— burholme
- Of course since everybody in the NFL knew Matthews was more suited to play on the outside, Andy had to show how much smarter he is than them and make him a MIKE. Well, at least he didn't wait until week 12 to make this move.
Let's see last two drafts high draft picks with our accountant GM...
1) Brandom Graham - hurt/can't play
2) Nate Allen - hurt/can't play
3) Daniel Teo Nabisco or w/e - already cut to the practice squad
1) Danny Watkins - 26 yr old rookie - can't play
2) Jaiquawn Jarrett - can't play
3) Curtis Marsh - can't play— Only in Philly... - Maybe we can get Bradley back from Arizona? They need corners. Trade Hanson and a pick to get Stew back.— Crazy_Canuck
- That's one big DUH!— ej610
- The little time they had in training was wasted on Mathews.— ej610
- Andy just makes all the right moves....in hindsight. Now the dreamteam is set for yet another unprecedented regular season championship.— Carlos2
- In the Eagles haste to remove all veteran presence at LB, they have left themselves with a small and inexperienced group to compete against the top teams in the NFL.. Linebacking is a position where smarts and experience count for more than just raw physical skills. How do you stop guys like Rodgers and Brees with such a group of linebackers? The answer is-- I 'm not quite sure.. Roseman..keep your eyes on Penn State's Mauti at LB.. guy was a true force in the game vs. Temple and is up for the Butkus Award. He looks like an NFL middle backer in the making.— bradco
- This shuffle should be a slight improvement. But basically you've got an average NFL starter in Chaney and two pretty good backups in Fokou and Matthews. When you add in a line where the ends are now lined up wide, how can the Eagles not get gashed by the run?
When it comes to drafting and free agents, the Eagles have basically said their goal at linebacker is to find three Ike Reese's. These guys are all working their butts off, but the result is similar to three Ikes. Add in average safeties and it's like a baseball team that's weak at pitcher, shortstop, 2nd base, and centerfield.
Not a solid, super team. An exciting team with high effort and great team speed.— armchairGM - Now all they need to do is plug Andy in his more natural position as a QB coach and bring in a true HCoach and we'll get somewhere.— greenflyer
- Questioning the Gold Standard? You should all know better. Who are you to think you know what you are seeing on the football foeld. Only his royal roundness knows football. This team will never win the Super Bowl w/Reid as their coach. It's that simple....he can't draft, he can't call plays, he can't adjust, he can't manage the clock, he can't challenge calls...must I go one. If it's not on his menu, he's lost. He plays not to lose, rather than to win. All you have to do is look at the Kafka play calling...he was worried about losing 42-31 rather than 35-31. Does it matter? Give your team a shot at winning. He really does need to do a better job. This guy is a pompous, arrogant loser. He should have been fired years ago.
- Comment removed.
