Les Bowen: Raiders QB Russell can expect aggressive Eagles defense

THE LATE JIM JOHNSON was known for aggressive blitz packages when he ran the Eagles' defense, bringing rushers from unexpected spots, confusing quarterbacks. So far, in that respect, Sean McDermott seems to be Johnson 2.0.

Veteran Eagles couldn't remember running as many "zero- coverage" blitzes as the Birds threw at Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson last Sunday. This week, the Eagles face another struggling young quarterback in Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, who can probably expect the same treatment. If McDermott needed any extra encouragement, Russell was sacked six times in Oakland's 44-7 loss at the Giants Sunday. That's as many times as Eagles quarterbacks have been sacked all season.

For the Eagles, the downside last Sunday would be, despite winning 33-14, they gave up some plays and some yards; when Johnson wasn't running for his life, he had open targets in the middle of the field, most notably tight end Kellen Winslow, who caught nine passes for 102 yards and both Tampa touchdowns. Had Bucs wideouts not dropped several balls, the Birds might have been badly burned.

"We're a different defense than we've been in the past, and we're going to do stuff like that," strong safety Quintin Mikell said yesterday, when asked about the all-out blitzing. "We're not going to play scared. We're not going to back off. If we feel like there's something there, we're going to keep going.

"I think we learned a lot from that. Obviously there were some plays that we gave up, but this is the perfect time to fix them. We're learning and we're progressing as the season [goes on] and there are going to be times when we need [the all-out blitzes]."

One of the bigger surprises from McDermott early on was his decision to start rookie Macho Harris at free safety. Harris has shown himself to be a strong hitter and tackler, but he's still learning in pass coverage, as was evident against Tampa, especially when he was matched up against Winslow. On Winslow's first touchdown, Harris had good positioning but never turned as the ball arrived, in the back of the end zone.

"In a professional football league, at times it's going to happen like that," Harris said. "Who's to say? Next time it happens, those two catches he got on me might be picks."

Covering tight ends has been a continuing issue for the Eagles, and Oakland's Zach Miller is the guy Russell will be looking at when the pressure is on, just as Johnson looked for Winslow. Like Winslow, Miller (15 catches for 215 yards) is capable of making big plays.

If you were inclined to be critical, you could wonder whether three sacks was enough, given everything the Birds threw at Johnson.

"Pressure comes in a lot of different ways," McDermott said yesterday. "We came up with three sacks last week. Yet there were quite a few times, I think if you ask Josh Johnson, that he was feeling that pressure in some way, shape or form. That caused turnovers - all three of those interceptions came off pressure."

Trent Cole, who leads the Eagles with 3 1/2 sacks, felt differently, perhaps because Cole realizes the Eagles aren't getting terribly consistent pressure from their front four, without sending the house.

"We needed more sacks, I thought," Cole said. "We did what we were supposed to do - we got a lot of pressure . . . we had the guy running out of the pocket; he was running everywhere."

Apprised of what the Giants did against Russell, Cole said: "We want way more than six sacks, man; that's nothing. We just have that mentality of going out there and gettin' after it."

To Cole, the change from Johnson to McDermott means "less thinking and more gettin' after the ball, going out there and making plays."

Mikell said the major change has been "we're changing up our looks." He referenced the opener, when the Eagles surprised the Panthers by moving Cole and Darren Howard all around the line.

"Just little things like that, little wrinkles that change up and give different looks," he said. "That's one of the things that's been a lot of fun that we've done this year, little wrinkles."

Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said Johnson used to run more stunts than McDermott, maybe fewer all-out blitzes, but the emphasis has always been on pressure and aggressiveness.

"That's kind of who we are . . . What we do best is put pressure on the quarterback," he said.

Another change has been that McDermott tries to find at least a limited role for every defensive player who is active that week - even the guys who are primarily there for special teams.

"It's a work in progress to this point. Any time you use multiple personnel, there are substitution issues you need to be aware of, making sure you have 11 and not 12 or 10 or 15 on the field at one time," McDermott said. "But I think it gives ownership, and makes each player accountable. In that meeting room, they're not sitting there, necessarily, staring at the film, thinking, 'Well, I have no shot at playing.' If you're active, we're going to look to use you."

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.