I think one of the biggest testaments to Jim Johnson’s greatness as a defensive football coach was his ability to tailor his defense to the ability of his personnel. Former Eagles LB Ike Reese can attest to that.
Paul Domowitch of Philly.com focuses on Johnson's knack for deciphering the abilities of his players and creating defenses in which they could flourish.
Domo interviewed Reese the former Eagles linebacker and current 610-WIP talk show host and they discussed Johnson’s ability to use a large number of players in his defensive rotations and thereby keep everybody focused.
Like two of the great defensive coordinators, Buddy Ryan and Bud Carson, who have come through here, Johnson used elements of the 4-3, 3-4 and 46 defenses.
He made an offensive coordinators job very difficult because you had no idea what he was going to feature in the upcoming game.
Here’s the way Reese broke it down.
"That was one of the biggest things we loved about playing his defense. We knew Jim was going to use 16 to 20 players every game. An eight-man rotation at defensive line. A five-man rotation at linebacker. A six-man rotation in his secondary when you count his nickel and dime packages and his 'Okie' packages and 'Buffalo' packages.
