How the Defense could be fixed level by level.

I will say, everyone is wanting to put Jarrett in there. Which I dont disagree with. But something worries me about him. You would have to think that if they made this pick in the 2nd round after letting Q walk, that they would be real excited to get him on the field. So, I see no real reason why they havent tried him yet EXCEPT….he must not be ready. What if Jarrett is looking awful in practice? What if he is getting beaten worse then Page in practice? While Page has not been great, that tells me that Jarrett must be worse right now. People say, it cant possibly get any worse….well boys, I beg to differ. It most certainly can get worse.

wild eagles didn’t you just question me for saying we should bring in a linebacker or trade for one in the “hey you idiots blaming washburn” fanpost?

Jamar Chaney is talented enough to play Mike and I have been pleasantly surprised with Rolle. I think it would be a faster fix if the defense was simplified rather than getting a free agent up to speed on the playbook, especially if they have to call the plays.

Castillo even admitted that the players are lost at times and I think thats most of the problem.

I know he got caught juicing…But he should be back in the league by now. If he’s even 3 quarters as good as he was, he would be an upgrade over coleman/allen.

whyd youd question me when i said we need to bring in another linebacker? change of heart or what man im curious?

You HAVE to get Trevor Laws in the game. He isn’t rushing the passer quite like he was last year but his run defense in the wide 9 scheme is far superior to that of Mike Patterson. Trevor Laws has been firing off the ball quicker, he is keeping his shoulders square, he is keeping blockers off his frame and he is doing a good job of popping them. Obviously the attributes that Laws always had (leverage, hands, bubble) are all still there. Trevor Laws looks really good in the wide 9 scheme, you can tell that he is more comfortable in the 1 gap scheme defending the run than he was in the 2 gap scheme, he looks coordinated and effective. He NEEDS more playtime.

I think Moise Fokou is doing just fine at his SLB spot, it’s business as usual for him. He is still a good downhill run defender who has made some good stops. He is the guy who brings the most energy to this defense and he is still a very active run defender. He isn’t a great player but he really has been our best LB the past two years.

Brian Rolle has the WLB spot on lock. He was screwed over in the second half last week because Juan Castillo sat back and put everyone in zone coverage. I love Brian Rolle but there is no way that he should end up on a WR. That was a mistake on Castillo and Asante for giving him such a clean release.

The two guys that I really, really think should get more playtime are Akeem Jordan and Keenan Clayton. You cannot keep trotting our Jamar Chaney and expect to win. Jamar Chaney is a back-up. End of story. He is such a straight line athlete it’s sad, he has awful fluidity in his hips and he loses so much speed when he changes directions. That is why he gets roasted in man coverage, he can’t stick with his man. If you’re going to play man coverage with your corners you’re almost stuck playing man coverage with your safeties and linebackers as well. Akeem Jordan and Keenan Clayton are our two most athletic linebackers. They’re both very rangy linebackers who have the ability to stick with players in man coverage. I’ve flat out watched Keenan Clayton cover Donald Driver and Akeem Jordan is effective whenever he gets on the field.

On Keenan Clayton: People say he isn’t a strong enough run defender and that is true but how is he going to improve if you don’t get him any reps? He brings enough in coverage that you can overlook his deficiencies in run defense. And he is just a flat out playmaker. He barely played last year (122 snaps) and when he did he had big hits in the secondary (see Austin Collie, not the concussion hit), he forced a fumble against the Giants, he sacked Aaron Rodgers, he had 2 QB hurries, he defended a pass and he only gave up 11 yards to Jason Witten in the Dallas game (on 5 targets, 2 completions). And then look at last week when he flew downfield and tackled Ted Ginn Jr. You can’t tell me that our defense couldn’t use a playmaker like that.

We’re not trading for anyone.

On the back half of the defense we really just need to stop moving Nnamdi around and let him do what he does (man coverage). And somebody should tell Asante to make an effort, what a bad showing from him against San Francisco, he didn’t even make an attempt to tackle Josh Morgan on that TD catch. And tell Asante to get over his “I need to see the QB’s eyes” stuff and tell him to stop giving up free releases like he did.

AND START JAIQUAWN JARRETT!!! Good god. He might not know the defense but there is no way he is any worse than Jarrad Page. Jaiquawn brings a nasty temperament, he finishes plays (!!!), he is a striker and does not get knocked backwards, he takes good angles and he aggressively takes on blocks (very aggressively actually). We need that sort of a presence at safety.

At the other safety spot its just a crap shoot. If things continue at this pace Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman and Jarrad Page should all be cut next year. Kurt Coleman is limited because he isn’t that talented (lacks range, size). Nate Allen is playing like a hot mess out there, he is dancing around blocks, he is dragging guys down, he isn’t active in run support and he is getting beat in coverage because he very clear is sluggish. And then Jarrad Page just takes some of the absolute worst angles I’ve ever seen, he has no football intelligence. Jarrad Page is the Ernie Sims of safeties.

And then of course there is Juan Castillo… Give me a new defensive coordinator! We really missed the boat on the defensive coordinator spot. We should’ve gotten Jerry Gray, Darren Perry, Winston Moss, Pepper Johnson or Jon Hoke.

From Lawlor’s game review, Fokou got off a few blocks and generally had a decent (but not mistake free) game at SAM. That makes sense in that it’s a position he’s familiar with, he may not be able to attack straight downhill under the new scheme, but his reading of keys and general instincts in space should be more familiar. I’d have hope for him there, wouldn’t go moving him around. WILL and SAM both look promising, Rolle and Fokou can maybe take care of their respective sides of the field to a competant NFL level.

In the same review, Lawlor called out Chaney on a terrible game, lowlight being that Smith rollout and pitch to Hunter as he was standing in Chaney’s zone (while Chaney was ten yards away in pursuit of Smith). Neither Chaney or Matthews are set up to show the kind of decisiveness, discipline, and quickness (mentally as much as physically) to take care of that middle. Where do you find that? Tulloch might have been the answer, but we missed the boat there. Anybody else that it would be remotely possible for us to go get?

But one of the biggest FA signings in the offseason for the Eagles might be the one they didn’t make in Stephen Tulloch. Second in total tackles last year, played behind the Wide 9 in Tennessee, and he went to the Lions for a meager 1 year, $3.25 mil. I don’t know that he’s great in coverage, but at least he’d have been an upgrade in stopping the run over what we’ve got right now. I was very upset the Eagles didn’t get him.

There’s always next year I guess…