Prior Previews
The linebacker position was an absolute mess last season for the Eagles. Going into the season they had middle of the road quality in terms of both talent and depth and then suffered a rash of injuries, including losing Stewart Bradley before the season started. This year, they appear monumentally better at the position with a couple new acquisitions and a clean bill of health.
Depth Chart
This is arguably our best looking depth chart at LB in some time, which isn’t really saying much. I believe that if he’s back to 100%, Stewart Bradley can be a pro-bowl caliber player at the MLB position. I loved the Ernie Sims move, and his tenacity in training camp is doing nothing but making me more excited about it. Akeem Jordan is an average starter who is somewhat overrated by a couple big tackle number games.
Backing them up are 2 solid guys with starter experience in Fokou and Gaither. I was concerned about going into the season with Fokou as a starter and was happy when Jordan passed him on the depth chart.
Keenan Clayton and Jamar Chaney are rookies with a chance to make the roster and compete with Tracy White for a back-up spot.
Most Important Player
Stewart Bradley. When Bradley got injured last season, I said he was the one player this team could not afford to lose. If McNabb went down, Kolb was a decent back-up. If Jackson went down, we still had a lot of offensive weapons. So on and so forth. Bradley was the most important player on the defense, playing at a position with no quality depth, and appeared poised for a break-out season. When people talked about the Eagles last year, I don’t think that the impact of Bradley being out was mentioned enough. It’s not quite Brian Urlacher (circa 2005) being lost by the Bears, but it was closer than you think.
Now, coming back from major knee surgery, Bradley finds himself in the same position he was in last year. The leader of the defense and poised for a breakout year. The question is is he 100%? Players can lose explosiveness coming back from knee injuries, and even a little down-tick can be the difference between stopping a runner for a 2 or 5 yard gain. All indications are that he is as close to 100% as can be expected. We won’t fully know until September 12th.
Biggest Question
Can Ernie Sims fulfill his potential here in Philly?
Sims was the 9th overall pick in the 2006 draft, when he was described as the “next Derrick Brooks.” In his rookie season, he finished 13th in the NFL in tackles. During his 2nd season, he finished 4th. However, after that the Lions began changing schemes in an effort to stop being so darn horrible. Sims had trouble adapting to the new defenses and his production declined rapidly and in 2009 he missed 5 games with injury and recorded only 49 tackles.
Sims is immensely talented. Only 7 linebackers have been drafted in the top-10 from 2000-2010. He hits like a truck, as he demonstrated A LOT in training camp. He’s only 25-years old. The man who drafted him (Matt Millen) said that he was a perfect fit for the Eagles defense (could be a good or bad thing coming from him). He’s got to be energized to be off that Lions trainwreck (12-52 in his 4 seasons) and coming to a winning franchise.
I think by week 3, he’ll be a huge fan favorite and people will wonder why Detroit gave him up for just a 5th rounder.
Division Ranking
It’s a little harder to rank the LB and DL for our division since Dallas and Washington both run 3-4′s. But here goes…
1. Washington
Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter each had 11 sacks last year, and Orakpo might be on his way to DeMarcus Ware territory. London Fletcher is a very solid leader at MLB and Rocky McIntosh is a solid starter. This is a huge strength for Washington.
2. Dallas
DeMarcus Ware might be the best player in the division and Anthony Spencer’s emergence irritated a lot of Birds’ fans last year since they got him from a pick traded to them by Reid and Co. Brooking and James get the job done, but are pretty much average starters for me. The greatness of Ware (64.5 sacks in 5 NFL seasons) puts them ahead of the Birds.
3. Philadelphia
Improved unit that could move their way up this list if Bradley and 100% and Sims breaks out.
4. New York
Keith Bullock is a nice addition, but this position remains an area of weakness for the Giants, who rely on their elite D-Line to take the pressure off everyone else.
Final Thoughts
I’m hopeful about this group for the Eagles. They have never emphasized the LB position, so it’s rare that we have high caliber guys at more than 1 position here. We’ve essentially been a revolving door of average talent for the last decade. In fact, let’s go on a tour of memory lane since 2000. Here are the top-3 tacklers for the Eagles at the LB position since 2000…
2000: Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons, Mike Caldwell
2001: Jeremiah Trotter, Mike Caldwell, Carlos Emmons
2002: Shawn Barber, Levon Kirkland, Carlos Emmons
2003: Mark Simoneau, Nate Wayne, Carlos Emmons
2004: Jeremiah Trotter, Dhani Jones, Ike Reese
2005: Jeremiah Trotter, Keith Adams, Dhani Jones
2006: Jeremiah Trotter, Dhani Jones, Omar Gaither
2007: Omar Gaither, Takeo Spikes, Chris Gocong
2008: Stewart Bradley, Omar Gaither, Akeem Jordan
2009: Will Witherspoon, Akeem Jordan, Chris Gocong
That’s a whole lot of average every year since 2002. I think Bradley and Sims could make this the best group since then.
Eagles linebackers are such an improvement over last year. They are all so athletic and can make plays. Are they the best linebacker group in the league? No, not even close. But for once in a long time, I like our group and think that they can make some plays and prosper behind a pretty good defensive line.
Im pretty happy with the Lbackers too. Bradley + 2 “starters” from last year as backups = improvement.
Suprisingly the defense actually looks better then the O to this point