Recently there have been several notes about the Eagles Defense.  Mark Eckel wrote this weekend about the linebacking corps, Igglesblog had an interesting take about the defense's supposed speed and Tommy Lawlor had a nice homage to Buddy's 46. 

I personally find it easier to come up with defensible things to say about the offense because that is the side of the ball which gets emphasized during network broadcasts.  Prior to the snap the camera is focused on the offense and afterward it follows the ball.  It's only during shows like NFL Matchup where we get to see any coaches tape showing the whole field.  

NFL Network recently rebroadcast last year's Cowboys victory and I rewatched their highlight reel a couple of times.  Several plays stuck out.  Three of the Eagles eleven interceptions on the season came in that game.  Unfortunately one of them resulted in an immediate turnover (screw on your head before buttoning your chinstrap Quintin), the second, Lito Shepard's pick before halftime, led to the games only TD, and and the last, which turned into Brian Westbrook's infamous knee, was Dawkins' only pick of the year.  Certainly you can't generalize based upon a sample size of one, but this example sure seems to say something about turnovers.

These plays were great, but one play - a 9 yard pass reception by Jason Witten - was the one that really got me thinking.

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via 700 Level

Remember early this month when I wrote about the bad Karma people who leave the Eagles have had? It continues... The Phreak was arrested for DUI.

Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse, a former Eagle who re-signed with his former Titans team in the off-season, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence following a traffic stop near the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville.

A Vanderbilt spokesman said Kearse was stopped early yesterday morning after campus police reported seeing the SUV that Kearse was driving weaving across the road.

He was arrested and charged with DUI and violation of Tennessee's implied consent law for failing to take the Breathalyzer test.

I wonder if Kearse will find someway to blame his DUI on Jim Johnson's defensive scheme...

via blogs.bet.com

Those were the words of Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn

"He's a punch line of some jokes. In Philadelphia, he's a joke," Washburn said. "I still think he has some ability if he can stay healthy."

That article also noted what might have been a little bit of a shot at Kearse on the part of Jim Johnson...

"Yeah, I think it’s been a good offseason. If you get Asante and Chris Clemons, those are two playmakers," Johnson said. "I told our defense that we are on a three-game winning streak. We beat Dallas and New Orleans on the road and Buffalo here, and we didn’t really lose any players. We picked up some more players and had a good draft with what we wanted draft-wise, so you feel good and you feel positive."

Honestly, it's not as if JJ is lying. Kearse has more or less given the Eagles nothing the last two years. He was hurt most all of 2006 and was generally ineffective last year. By midseason the Phreak was actually not even making the active gameday roster....

But in his first few seasons here I didn't think Kearse was a huge let down. He certainly never posted the kind of sack numbers we all expected him to, but he did play an important part on the line especially in the superbowl year. That said, the excuses Jevon has been making since leaving Philly have been pretty laughable...

"I'm still the same player, but that scheme up in Philly was different. All I've got to say is proof is in the pudding, so I can't even talk about it. Just watch and see."

The scheme? He repeated this same excuse the day he re-signed in Tennessee... I'm not sure how a scheme predicated almost entirely on rushing the passer somehow hurt a pass rush specialst like Kearse, but if it makes him feel better to blame the scheme... so be it. The Titans don't seem to think it was all about the scheme, as it seems their plan is to use Kearse as a situational pass rusher.
 He may say he's "the same player" he was when he left, but the fact is that he's not. I like Jevon and always thought he was a good guy so I don't want to come off as bashing him here... but we have to be honest about where the guy is at this point in his career. Sorry Phreak...