Eagles 2012 Defensive Overview

Defensively, you’ve got to like that defensive line.  They have an abundance of pass rushers, which will allow them to blow some teams out when they get ahead of them.  I love the effort Jim Washburn gets out of his defensive line.  The defensive ends Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Phillip Hunt, Darryl Tapp, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry may be the deepest group I’ve ever seen. They all play with tremendous intensity.

This team’s ability to score and rush the passer is the main reason I’m confident about them winning double-digit games. These guys play the game of football the way it’s supposed to be played except for some of the stupid penalties.  I’m confident they’re headed for a big year as individuals and as a group.

I must make this warning regarding Babin; most of the time, players who sit out the entire training camp and preseason, end up suffering injuries in some other area of their bodies because they haven’t been stressing their bodies enough and something goes wrong somewhere because their body isn’t totally ready for playing at game speed.  Hopefully I’m wrong.

The key to their level of domination right now is the play of the tackles, Cullen Jenkins, Derek Landri, Fletcher Cox, and Cedric Thornton.  If they keep winning their battles inside, the quarterback will have no where to go because I can guarantee you with those defensive ends flying up the field, the quarterback won’t be able to step back.  If he can’t step up either, he’s sacked.

This defensive line will come into greatness when the rookie Cox develops into the dominant player he can be.   The kid could become a special player, but he has a lot to learn.  That might happen late in the season this year, but it might not happen until next season.

Stopping the run isn’t the strength of this defense and I’m not totally convinced that middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans is going to be great, but I feel confident we will consider him to be a plus before the season is over.  I think Ryans will help defensive coordinator Juan Castillo more than anything else.  Coordination is the key word.  Everybody must be on the same page.

Regardless of how much good football Ryans has left in his body, he is a smart football player and knows the NFL game.  Castillo must have enough humility to accept advice from him.  The defensive coaching staff should get feed back from him when it comes to defending the run.  Castillo should give the veteran middle linebacker plenty of freedom to change calls on the field when he sees something.  It could save his job.

I don’t like the idea of them letting the defensive line fly upfield all game, if teams are slicing them up with a good running attacks.  The right solution is for them to give Ryans the freedom to convert that defensive line into a run stopping force, once he’s convinced that the other team is getting ready to run the football.  This makes common football sense to me.  It’s smart football.

I see the Birds working Jamar Chaney into the lineup gradually for Akeem Jordan.  I think they may move Mychal Kendricks to WILL linebacker before the season is over and have Chaney playing the tight end side, where they both belong.  Utilizing Kendricks playmaking ability by setting him free to roam and hunt ball carriers will make them a better defense immediately.

He’s going to cause fumbles because he plays the game violently.  The kid should be featured in this defense.  You can blitz him a lot more at WILL linebacker than you can at SAM.

Every week I would put together a blitz package for him and turn him loose.  I would give him the freedom to move around before the snap and scare opposing offenses with blitz packages combining the defensive line and Kendricks.  I would tell him, that I wouldn’t have any problem with any mistakes he might make, as long as they’re being made with him going 100 miles per hour.

Kendricks and defensive front can give this defense a personality and image, that make teams fear coming here to play them.

In the secondary at the cornerback position, I feel very confident about Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  He can be as good as he wants be.  DRC is as talented as any cornerback in the league today, but he needs to get in the weight room a little more and put the extra time in preparing for each game.  Hopefully Todd Bowles will teach these guys how to study receivers.

Asomugha isn’t as complete a ball player as he was advertised.  I would try to keep him rolled up in man-to-man coverage as much as possible with safety help deep.  He’s capable of taking a receiver out of the game, if he’s rolled up with help over the top. If you try to ask him to play too many coverages, you’re asking for trouble.  He’s not a complete cornerback, he’s limited.

The big cornerback doesn’t back pedal or change direction very well, which is very unusual for a top cornerback.  His size and his long arms are his biggest advantage.  They allow him to jam a receiver when the ball is snapped and delay his release so much so that the quarterback eliminates him as a target.   I would try to keep him rolled up in press technique with safety help deep, as much as possible.

He’s going to get beat at times by smaller quicker receiver, but I can live with that as long as they’re short gains.

Rookie Brandon Boykin will suffer some growing pains, but he’s a very good football player, who is a great athlete with the smarts needed to learn the NFL game.  He could become a great player for you.

Curtis Marsh has a lot to learn, but he’s got the raw skills of good size and speed.  His foot quickness and change of direction are questionable.

The Eagles don’t have great talent at the safety position, so they shouldn’t ask them to do too much.  I wouldn’t live by the all out blitz with this group.  Nate Allen is going to be a very good ball hawk.  He doesn’t play the game violently, but he’s smart with good quickness, speed and ball skills.  The more he plays, the better he will get.

Kurt Coleman is more limited as an athlete, plus he’s undersized as a tackler.  Staying healthy might be a challenge for him because he plays like a bigger guy.  He would be a backup on a team with good safety talent, but he’s smart and savvy enough to do a good job for you as long as you don’t put him in impossible situations.

I would emphasize to these safeties that they don’t have to kill anybody with their tackling.  The key is to wrap up, so you give other players a chance to come and help you make the tackle.  Rushing up and just colliding with ball carriers isn’t the answer because they bounce off you and keep running for big plays.  They must use their arms and hands to wrap up ball carriers and prevent big plays.

Jaiquawn Jarrett is limited by his speed deficiency, but he’s getting better and playing smarter.  Jarrett is a good tackler, but speed is a more important premium at the safety position in today’s pass-happy NFL.  I haven’t had the chance to scout David Sims as of yet.

I would convert some of the cornerback talent they have had come through here into safeties.  They’ve released numerous cornerbacks, who are as big as or bigger than their current safeties.  In addition some of these guys have better speed and coverage ability.  It doesn’t make sense to not convert some of them into safeties.  They should have a couple of these guys on the practice squad and be training them to play the safety position.

The Eagles should live in Cover 2-man with the cornerbacks rolled up in press technique and the safeties over the top.  That is their best pass coverage defense because it utilizes the strengths of their personnel (let’s Nmandi jam the receiver), takes away the quick throw which will helps the pass rush, takes away the deep ball by playing the safeties deep.

Cover 2-man only has one weakness and that’s the fact that it’s a weak run defense.  The safeties can’t help out very much on run defense when they’re playing deep.  Still I would play it as much as possible when I could.  It should be their number one pass coverage.  Again, I would let Ryans change into Cover two-man any time he detected the other team was going to pass.