Settling into his Rolle at WIL
Eagles weakside linebacker Brian Rolle went from being drafted 193rd overall to starting his rookie season. Now, as the only returning starter, he thinks he understands his role and the fan base a little better than he did during the tumult of 2011.
Settling into his Rolle at WIL
Brian Rolle is the only returning starter among the Eagles' linebackers. Hard to say what that means, exactly -- maybe Rolle was such a pleasant surprise as an undersized, sixth-round rookie that he was given a reprieve when the linebacking unit was reworked in the offseason. Or, maybe you can only change so much, and the Eaglers figured that with DeMeco Ryans in the middle and Mychal Kendricks on the strongside, they could get away with keeping Rolle at WIL. And Jamar Chaney, the former SAM and MIKE starter, plans to challenge Rolle for Rolle's spot, something Chaney can't really do until the team puts the pads on at Lehigh.
"Nobody ever gets better with a job given to 'em or nobody pushing 'em," Rolle said Monday, as the Eagles continued a seemingly endless series of OTAs at NovaCare. "I'm looking forward to it, the rest of OTAs and camp. We're going to battle it out, and may the best man win."
Rolle likes lining up with Ryans and Kendricks.
"I feel like we're going to make a lot more plays, we're going to contribute more to the team," Rolle said. "We're going to be a better-tackling group than we were last year. and bring the athleticism in with Kendricks."
Missed tackles were a problem for the Eagles in general and Rolle in particular, who measured at 5-9 5/8ths and weighed in at 229 at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine. The Eagles list him at 5-10, 240.
"In our defense, we're taught to pursue fast and take shots, so of course, your missed tackle rate is gonna be high," Rolle said. "At the same time, when you have the oportunity 1-on-1, you've got to try to make a play."
Philadelphia has been an adjustment for Rolle, who grew up in Florida and went to college at Ohio State, where the football stars are revered. Rolle and some other newcomers to the team got into occasional Twitter spats with caustic Eagles fans not thrilled with last year's 8-8 letdown after intense buildup. Rolle's most memorable tangle came during this year's combine. He was watching the linebackers bench press on TV, and Rolle, who'd managed an impressive 28 reps himself a year earler, tweeted "These LBs weak."
Some fans treated this as much more than an offhand observation, questioning how any Eagles linebacker could criticize others' performances, and so on. Rolle ended up talking with a fan who'd written about the dispute on Yahoo.com, Rolle trying to explain his perspective. The fan, Vincent E. Heck, Jr., then wrote another post giving Rolle props for reaching out.
"It's still funny to me, just for the simple fact that people look at us and think we can't be fans," Rolle said. "If a regular guy had said it, it'd be nothing, but I'm just as much a fan of the game as anybody else, a fan of the young guys that just came out in the draft. I feel like, because we give our opinion, people shouldn't look at it like we're looking down on them. I was just saying in one area, the bench press -- overall, I thought that was one of the most impressive linebacking groups I've seen at the combine ... I didn't mean any harm by it, didn't mean to talk down on those guys, I was just speaking my mind as a fan. I shoulda thought about it a little more. We can't be fans on Twitter."
"These fans are like none other," Rolle said. "Being booed at home here, I'm looking up in the crowd and I couldn't believe it. At Ohio State, I lost six games in college, but the ones we lost at home, you still get a cheer from the crowd, you still sing the alma mater. Here, you get booed, people talk down on you. But I understand that they expect nothing but the best. We're going to try and give them that."
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As previously reported DeSean Jackson is missing this week of OTAs because of a family matter. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie missed Monday. An Eagles spokesman said DRC went away to a funeral, was to fly back to Philly early Monday morning, but was delayed by weather. He is expected to attend Tuesday. These are optional workouts for veterans anyway.
Shut your mouth midget and try making some plays. Chayney can't beat this runt out? Oh and Rolle, we don't like Buckeyes around these parts.
— friedmozzarela- Take your college football biases to a city that cares about college football. Don't speak ill of the Little Ball of Hate. — bc3030
- Welcome to the NFL, where fans don't pony up their hard-earned coin to cheer Hip Hip Hooray and sing fight songs while the home team is getting blown off the field. You're a professional, not a fan. Start acting like it. And tackle somebody please
- Moldy mozzarella, speak for yourself. Brian Rolle has heart, and that you cannot teach.— rad205
- Yes, Rolle missed some tackles, but he also made quite a few plays last year. In fact, Rolle and Chaney both showed potential, and as long as they show some improvement this year, I'd be okay with either of them on the weakside, because Demeco Ryans in the middle will help.— kingsolomonsmind
- B-Rolle, just keep trying hard, improving, and give it your all out on the field and Philly fans will love you for life. All we expect from our players is that they give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.— DiggityWak
- friedmozzarela = internet thug and wanna be tough guy. If they saw Rolle face to face, what was written would never come out of their mouth, just some cheesy grin.— realtruth
- "Friedmozza" ... I don't care if he played for "Whatsamatta U" ... as long as he can play, we like anybody "around these parts."— petergou
- Mozzarella, Rolle would kick your a** from here to Columbus and back; you loser!— JBinPA
- hey mousearella and boloniface, why arent you guys playing or not in an NFL front office? oh, thats right you're both still making millions cleaning restrooms on the pa and nj turnpikes...BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! morons— jmleo
- Rolle was the lone bright spot in our L.B. corp last year. My only fear is that with Kendrick's, will opposing team go with to T.E. sets to attack our height issues?— yourdaddy!
- Weak play on the name for a sucky title. ...better not be 'settling'.
As Mr. Rolle points out: it's the NFL - no relaxing here; you gotta get better.
...and we're not 'talking you down' (other than losers like the 1st post above - sorry. every city has those). the booing is us yellin "dude! wtf are you doin out there? c'mon man! you can do better than this".
(It's just really hard to coordinate 65,000 people on much beyond booo)
oh. and... we're usually right— raoool - What it says is the linebackers were so horrible, that an undersized, 6th round pick with heart is still here....and that is hardly a compliment to the talent selection of last years linebackers......and now we are to beleive that our MLB coming off a major injury, who was removed during 3rd down plays, who is only now MAYBE ??? healthy is our savior.....Scary.......and as far as Ohio State goes....Rolle should know we don't give a dam about that program and we dont think much of it.....(and do they cheat much ) .....and here the only thing that counts is performace and the days of rah rah sis boom bah are long gone.....He is here to tackle and destroy the other team and he will only get applause when he does something and so far he has done nothing.....but survive on a team with a very bad linebacking corps.....— nuggett
- Better be able to play special teams or your next job might be out of FB— Ssteve115
- Rolle made some rookie mistakes but he made more positive than negative plays.. and he had to learn on the fly last year and play in a defense he was unfamiliar with.. now he and Chaney will have all the time in the world to fine tune and compete for the WIL slot.. I truely believe this linebacker core will be exciting to watch this year!!— nixman101
