I want to see the Eagles linebackers take a step up this season by taking chances in pursuit of big plays.
Turnovers are the most important stat in a football game. The Birds linebackers are capable of forcing more turnovers but they can't continue playing safe football.
Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley had a very good year for the Birds but he should improve this year. Bradley along with strongside linebacker Chris Gocong and Will linebacker Akeem Jordan must be thinking turnover all the time.
Jim Johnson has been drilling the defense on this mentality for the past couple of years. I want to see him let Bradley and his fellow linebackers play with more freedom. That means you let them free lance a little bit when their instincts dictate they can make a big play.
Buddy Ryan was the best I've seen at pushing his defensive players to be willing to take chances and go for the turnover. He would allow you to take a gamble, if you had good reasons for doing it.
As a defensive player, you can have the mindset of being safe and just doing your job. That's not good enough.
The linebackers have got to be willing to make educated gambles. For instance if they sense a screen or a draw, they should fly into the backfield even though they may be responsible for another area of the field.
They've got to be smart about this and they can't get to the point of being undisciplined about playing the defense called. They've got to pick their spots when they're almost sure about what they think the play will be.
If they can decipher that a back is going to run an out route, they should run underneath it and go for the pick. Yes there will be times when a pass is completed over their heads, but if they're smart about it, they will cause more turnovers.
They must get their hands on more footballs, if the Eagles defense and linebackers are to make the improvements that they are capable of making. This is a mindset of good linebackers.
It's much like in baseball when a power hitter like Ryan Howard studies the pitcher he's facing and guesses that he's going to throw him a two-strike change up or curveball and he guesses right and hits it into the upper deck.
He could be up there just trying to get a piece of the ball and every now and then get a line drive single up the middle. Instead of that he goes for the home run and sits on a certain pitch.
I want these linebackers to take some home run swings and go for the big play.
Bradley, Gocong and Jordan are all much more comfortable and familiar with the defense, than they were at the start of the 2008 season. They've got to proced to the next step where you're three and four moves ahead of the offense. know their assignments, responsibilities and adjustments like the back of their hand.
They can't be thinking and playing passive, they must be reacting and attacking. Versus the run they should play more downfield football, where they're headed toward the line of scrimmage when they make the tackle.
They must put in the time looking at enough video tape until they're be able to sense a play before it's run. I want to see this group in the attack mode more often. I want to see more tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Reading plays a split second or two ahead of what they did a year ago is the goal.
Split seconds are the difference between knocking down a ball or picking it off and returning it for a touchdown.
They've got to be able to study and focus on formations and situations until the light goes off in their heads. If they study it long enough they'll be able to decipher the opposing offensive coordinator's personality.
What does he like to do when he gets into a do or die situation? Does he like to get the ball into the hands of his best player or does he like to run a certain play which he believes in?
Most of the time, if you study a team closely, you'll find that they like to run certain plays at specific times during the game.
You can see this with Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg and it's true of all offensive coordinators.
Many times interceptions and fumbles are caused when a defensive player gets to a spot sooner than the offensive player was expecting.
Bradley could have had three or four more interceptions if he caught every pass that touched his hands.
