The Eagles sneaked in a new defensive formation last week against the Giants that featured the latest twist on the team’s Linebacker position. The package was utilized for only a play or so, but it had Will Witherspoon and Chris Gocong manning the outside spots and Akeem Jordan (pictured) playing at MLB. Of course, veteran Jeremiah Trotter saw most of the repetitions at the position, but it is now being speculated that Jordan, who missed 4 games with a hyper-extended knee earlier in the season, will remain the primary Middle Linebacker.

Prior to his injury, the 3rd-year player had been atop the Eagles’ statistical leaders in terms of total tackles, and also had recorded a sack and a pair of interceptions. And what has been apparent all season, the Birds have constantly rotated the starter in the heart of the defense, going from young backups like Joe Mays and Omar Gaither to veterans of the Outside LB spot (such as Witherspoon and Gocong), and even to a player who was retired in 2008, Trotter.

Now the organization is contemplating Jordan’s role on the defense and may move him full-time to the middle. “We expect him to be a little bit better this week physically, coming off of the injury and then playing that middle position and moving around like he’s doing, having him build up a little bit of experience at the same time,” defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. “We want the best three on the field. You hate to keep moving players around from a continuity standpoint and consistency standpoint,” “Will Witherspoon being here now and having moved when Akeem went down to the [outside] linebacker position, we just hate to keep moving guys around, [we're] trying to get them in a position where they’re comfortable. The injuries haven’t allowed for as much of that as we would’ve liked up to this point.”

It is certainly a great thing that Jordan’s health is improving and he will be able to return in a bigger role on the field, but the rumored move to MLB also brings up some questions about the future of the position. The planned starter in the middle during the offseason was the young and talented Stewart Bradley, but obviously he was lost for the season with a knee injury. And Jeremiah Trotter, who has played quite well for a player who was previously out of professional football for almost two years, is also facing a loss in future playing time because of it, though he wasn’t expected to be with Philly for long anyway. For now, though, concentration should be on the next game and how the Linebacker position pans out for that…we’ll worry about the coming seasons later.