My new PE.com article is posted. I took a look at the LBs.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=17780
Some people view WIL as a weak spot. That's one way to look at the situation based on what we know. However, you can more accurately say that Akeem Jordan is more unknown than an outright weak spot.
Unknown doesn't always mean bad. Who was Marques Colston at this time in 2006? Go back to the legendary Bears of 1985. That defense is one of the greatest of all time. One fact that very few people know...2 starters held out and missed the season. LB Al Harris and DB Todd Bell, future Eagles (as of 1985 I mean...this is getting too Life on Mars-ish), both missed the season. With those guys, that defense wouldn't have been quite the same. I can't imagine it would have gotten better.
Jordan could turn out to be a great fit at WIL. We don't know. I don't think the Eagles are being dumb to stick with him. Jordan started down the stretch and the D played its best football of the season. That isn't a complete coincidence.
MCCOY
I'm very optimistic about LeSean McCoy as our backup RB. He had a good mini-camp. I'm hearing very good things about him. Apparently the coaches are really excited about him. That's a great sign. If they embrace him and aggressively work him into the offense, LeSean will adapt to the NFL that much quicker. He's not the kind of guy to learn by sitting on his hands and watching. Get him the ball and let's see what he can do.
I can say without hyperbole that he is one million times better than Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, and Darnell Autry rolled into one.
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6 comments:
Your article on philadelphiaeagles.com is a great discussion of the linebacker situation. Thankyou.
I think that Andy Reid deserves a lot of credit for having the confidence to stick with and trust his guys to develop. He has done this with his linebackers here and he as done this in many other cases.
I do believe that the Eagles have a long term personaity and that is bone jarring defense. And if they are going to win a Superbowl they are going to have to embody that personality. They can't just be good they have to strike fear in opponents and force them into fumbles, interceptions and other mistakes. To do this the Eagles need better play from the linebackers. Even if the Eagles put their money in the offensive line an the defensive backfield the linebackers must supply the devastating hits. If the lineman are blocking out the opposing team's O line and the corners and safeties are covering well, that should leave the linebackers free to do some real damage -- sacks, turnovers, touchdowns, etc. I know the Eagles were positive on turnover ratio last year but not positive enough. Crushing defense gives you the ability to beat good teams and win even when other aspects of the game aren't going just right. Crushing defense also gives you the margin of error you need to win three or four straight games in the playoffs against high quality teams. How many turnovers did we get against Arizona?
I agree with you on Akeem Jordan. He hasn't yet had a real chance to mature into his starters roll with only six starts so he could get a lot better and Omar Gaither has shown significant weaknesses. The interesting thing I notice with Jordan is that he just looks different than anyone on the field - he moves differently than anyone on the field. I'm guessing that is because of his unique and extraordinary athleticism.
when I see McCoy running up the middle in pre-season I will get excited. Until then he runs the ball outside just like Motes.
If I swapped McCoy's name for Booker's name, couldn't this a review of last year at this moment? Or have you heard more?
My only fear at LB is Gocongs situation. I like Akeem, I also like Gaither. This is a better situation than Adams and Simoneau fighting for the WiL spot.
Nice "Life on Mars" quote, they have moved on over here into the the '80s with a sequel show "Ashes to Ashes". Will it keep the Life on Mars fans happy?.
izzy~ Yes we need that type of D: itimidating, opportunisitic, play making ball hawks. That's what Jim Johnson's Defense is suppposed to do, right? Presuure QB, get turnovers, make short field for offense.
orangecrush and tsop~ y'all a re reading my thoughts! I feel burned by Booker last year, and will feel a whole lot better if we had a Dorsey Levens type behind Westbrook and McCoy at No. 3. We'll see what happens from now until September.
Tommy~ I really appreciate your posts. Your insightful and objective even though your a fan like the rest of us, and you bring a nice touch of humor...good work, as always. Thanks!
If you look at the linebacker situation you can see that Akeem Jordan is a restricted free agent in 2010 while Omar Gaither, Chris Gocong, Tracy White and Tank Daniels are unrestricted free agents. Stewart Bradley and Joe Mays are still on their rookie contracts. Clearly Stewart Bradley is the keeper of this group and the fate of the remaining free agents is going to depend on how they play this year. So while Reid is showing confidence in his young crew he is far from boxed in. The 2010 draft looks to be deep at linebacker but if past is prologue Reid will find the free agent market to his liking. This is the last year for Gogong to be figuring out how to cover-he had better have it down pat by year's end.
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