It isn’t a shock to me but it may be to others. The Eagles have moved Jamar Chaney back to middle linebacker and moved rookie Casey Matthews to the Will linebacker.
I guess defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has shown that he’s not willing to stay with something that isn’t working. The Birds have admitted making a mistake by making this change.
I can tell you right away that I think it was a good move. Chaney is a natural middle linebacker, while Matthews may be able to play the middle linebacker position later in his career but he’s not ready for it right now. Putting Chaney at Sam and Matthews at Mike was effective making both positions weaker.
You saw Chaney get torched at the Sam spot last week as Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez took him to the cleaners. While this was happening Michael Turner was running by and over middle linebacker Casey Matthews. I think making this move makes them a better defense immediately.
I can understand the Eagles coaching staff sticking with their decision for a while, but the truth is too obvious to hide. Matthews was getting swallowed up by the offensive linemen because of his lack of size and strength as well as lack of experience.
The rookie from Oregon was hesitating and that has been costing him quite a bit. The “Wide Nine” defensive alignment of the Eagles defensive front puts a lot of pressure on the linebackers in the run defense. They have to cover more area and more gaps than in the regular 4-3 alignment.
It was too much to ask of a youngster who has had much practice time because of the NFL lockout.
As things stand now, Chaney will be the middle linebacker, Matthews will play the weakside linebacker spot and Moise Fokou will be the team’s Sam linebacker.
Still think the best LB line-up for the Eagles is as follows
Chaney at MLB, Fokou at Strong-side (SAM) and Rolle at Weak-side (WILL)
Bring Matthews and Clayton in on passiing situations and play Special Teams
I think in a couple more weeks, we will see just this line-up that many of us have been stating since about Mid-August.. Matthews will be a decent LB, but he needs to get stronger and Rolle is the most instinctive, natural lB on this Roster without a doubt
I would like to see Rolle also. This move should of been done in preseason though. Anybody Notice Greg Jones starting at MLB for the Giants,?
“Putting Chaney at Sam and Mathew at Mike was effective (sic) making both positions weaker.” No Kidding. How many of the so-called lunatics or “haters” like the most rev. songs, bsmvideos runtheball09, ddcar, yours truly and others have been saying this for weeks, just to be constantly discedited and maligned by the eagles propaganda machine, led by one schiller
Bout time they got Casey out of there
And to those that swore the LBs were fine and Casey would get better, how is that working out now? He might get better but he won’t be at MLB!
Good move, but it cost us a game. This should have already been done. It was obvious that Matthews wasnt ready to be in there like that…
Eagles irk me when they do that… go the hard headed route and cost themselves games and then make the no brainer decision afterward..
I do agree that this should immediately make the LBs better because they will be in their natural positions and should be more comfortable. The experiment made both positions weak and possibly cost us the game. Experiment in the preseason and put your best players in their right positions in the regular season. Each game means too much to fool around. I’m glad they made the change, realized it wasn’t working (even though it was evident for weeks) and hopefully they can become a solid core.
about time. I wonder if it will matter… i wonder if we have a guy on this team that can play MLB with this wide 9. It seems to me that really what we should be doing is finding a guy who is about 325 and is slamming up the middle on every play.
pman- i agree with you… little brother is just not ready to be out there.
Anybody else surprised with how Herremans looks at Tackle…Winston Justice needs to pack his bags
After this year, I expect his salary along with Parker’s to go right in DJax and Shadys pockets. Honestly, I would try and sign Shady ASAP rather than wait till the offseason because by the end of the year his stats will be comparable to the top paid guys easily. The Eagles would never pay Chris Johnson or Peterson money to a RB no matter how good he is. Even Deangelo Williams money for that matter, one of the worst contracts I’ve ever seen a team make in quite some time but I mean thats why their the Panthers.
Why in the hell are we still talking about Matthews?
His ass should be on special teams or cut out right!
he’s garbage….You can see him just standing, and waiting before reacting.
He’s not an instinctive football player. runiing downfield on special teams, staying in his lane would suit this guy. Let’s bolster our special rteams with this bum, and put a more aggressive instinctive Rolle in the game.
And we are to believe that these guys no better than us….out top 2 draft picks are inactive every week and most of us here knew Matthews couldn’t play MLB day one……Rolle should be starting.
I agree Pheags that Herremans will be the permanent RT (unless injuries occur to the guys in the interior) and has looked really good thus far.. Peters looks fantastics and is playing like the #1 LT in the NFC.. He has a unbelievable game versus the Falcons and made over-hyped Falcons DE Ray Edwards look like Victor Abiamri..IT looks like Peters lost about 10-15 lbs and is in the best shape of his Eagle Career that I can recall.. He’s a beast
I also heard the Matthews and Watkins were going into the Restaurant business together and opening up a new Sports Bar in South Philly called “Here Today, Gone Tommorrow”, I also heard they Hired Jon Hart from
G.Cobb to manage the Bar.. Anyone want to start a pool to predict how long they will stay in business …
Pheags – no – fully expected Hermanns to rock at tackle. Hermanns was a tackle in college and played tackle as a rookie – doing very well in i think 7 starts – Stupid Ried said I need to get this guy on the field – learn guard – a couple times late in the year he rested Thomas and let hermanns play tackle – i think he even subbed him there for a short time one game – while evryone was complaining the Eagles had no plan at right tackle, all along I was saying (as did Ried) you have plan A (Justice returns from injury)), plan B (bring in Harris) Plan C Give Dunlap and or Howard a shot) and then the final fallback plan d) Just move Hermanns in –
hey sometimes you get one right.
Right now – O Line (and offense) looking pretty good.
How about that rookie Kelce – does he get out in front of plays – guards are looking pretty good too…. wait – maybe that dude Mudd – you know the guy that’s been coachuing since 1974, maybe he really knows his stuff?
Well you saw how the first three played out –
Most fans could see that the linebacker situation was messed up. Most fans wondered why the Eagles didn’t slot Chaney as the starting middle linebacker at the beginning of the season, based on his play last season. Most fans wondered why Reid would promote his offensive line coach to defensive coordinator, especially during a lock-out-shortened, all-in year.
Most fans have also wondered why Andy has refused to run the ball more often even when the run is working, even if his team has suffererd critical injuries, even if his offensive line and other personnel are better suited to run the ball. Most fans wondered why Andy wouldn’t get No. 1 receivers, FOR YEARS! Most fans wondered why the Eagles have devalued the linebacker and other positions.
Through all of this, and a whole lot more, most fans have been declared idiots.
Our top draft choices for the past two seasons have not panned out. We draft people who are older and haven’t played football. Then we switch players’ natural positions. Why?
Reid has many great attributes, but he has some blind spots that absolutely kill him.
Sorry, but I still contend that the emperor is wearing no clothes.
I was very impressed by Cewnter Kelco, not only does he look like Colts C Jeff Saturday, he plays a lot like him, a huge upside with him.. I also thought RG Devan played pretty well and was consistent most of the game.. The only one who was a little inconsistent was LG Mathis. He was excellent on many plays and looked real good and then would get blown up a few times and was a little late coming out of his stance on the snap count.. All in all, I am very happy with how this OL is coming together and give them about another 3-4 weeks together and they should be hitting on all cylandirs.. This is a 100% improvement over last couple of seasons in my opinion, and is not even close..
Should be the “Emperor is wearing Hawaaiin Shirts ” that looK like a Beach Umbrella on Coach AR,if you ask me.. Don’t the Eagle have a “fasion guru” who coordinates the Coaches, Employees Dress code of the Eagles, they have to be the worse dressed Coaching Staff in the NFL..
Drummer – if someone has sex for four years, are they a virgin? What if you cheat on your wife for four years – are you still monogamous? Then how can you say Watkins hasn’t played football?
Good post drummer. The fans that question these things and often are proven right, are called haters and idiots from the apologists throughout the year. Then the apologist disappear for a while after a playoff lost then come back acting like they weren’t wrong. I don’t agree with all the bad stuff people say nor the degree of harshness but a lot of things that people criticize this team and Andy about often come back as true. Now some people might sound like idiots when they voice their opinions but I pay attention to the content and not the tone.
schiller, I think you know what he’s saying. Most football players who are in the league have been playing their entire lives. Each time Watkins was mentioned, the length of his football career was often brought up. Now I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but I’m saying it’s not usual for a guy who hasn’t played the sport his entire life be a first round draft pick. Just saying.
I will say that, I hope he gets better. But I’m worried about this pick because there is no sign of him playing. The o-line played pretty decent last week and will most likely get better so this guy we drafted may not sniff the field. But I’m hoping for the best with him because I don’t want another 1st round bust.
really scorp – i for one think I repeatedly prove most of you that say stupid things wrong –
example – eagles adn running the ball – right now McCoy is #5 in NFL – exaclty 12 yards behind the #1 guy – and has exactly 1 yard less then Adrain Peterson.
They have attempted 69 pass attempts – oh… about 18th in the league
and oh my – looky lookie here – 62 rushing attempts so far… wow 69/69+62 = 53/47 pass run ratio
mpre imprtantly they are avergaing 31 a game – 5th in the league – 1 pt behind NO.
as I posted earlier – stupid cliche, dumb ESPN sound bite – cliche post comment
Scorp and Drummer – but I think that the times that may fans criticize/predict negatives for that turn out positive go unnoticed. Remember those who said Kelce as a rookie, Mathis and DeVan were bad ideas? That Jackson was too much of a gamble? Vick the same? That they should’ve drafted Moreno over Shady? The list goes on there too…Some even doubted the impact of Mudd and Washburn. Just sayin…
Hey guys..Give the fireman a break….He’ll be ready by the age of 30.
Damn..Isn’t that when the Eagle decides to let players walk?
Well anyway…..
Have some bad news for you guys…
I called this the last one and said if the Falcons are able to run the ball and the game is close. the refs will come in.
Well, guys…..That interception that clearly hit the turf?
You know the play Reid refused to challenge?
(By the way that league calling to apologize for not allowing Reid to see the paly is getting old)
Vick and the recievers should have kept their head in the game to see if that guy actually intercepted the ball. Players have the best view on the field which helps the coaches in some cases.
The bad news is the Eagles drop this home opener to the Giants.
their will be a little holdover from the game we let get away in Atlanta and the giants will run for over 200 yards.
Their tight end will have a career day too.
Why?
Because Reid believes linebackers are not really important…and Jarred Allen looks slower than my grand dad..( My Grand dad uses a walker)
Somebody please tell me what safety on our team right now that’s better than Dawkins who is almost 40.
Giants 24 Eagles 20
ha navy, like clockwork
And really drummer – the whole wide reciever again – if only Reagan would balance the budget, clinton would keep it in his pants or Bush would get out if Iraq…. we have the best quartet IN THE LEAGUE and you want to gripe becuase (what year did Dante Stallworth get here) we didn’t have that.
and of course my favorite -what other team #1 draft picks are doing – we play the giants this week –
2011 Prince A – he is out for the year broken foot –
2010 Pierre – didn’t start a game as a rookie (that accordning to Songs qualifies you as 1)ass and 2) a bust has 8 tackles in 2 games this year
hell lets go further
2009 Hakeen Nicks nice selection here – kind of on par with our selections of macLin (I think Mac’s numbers better) and Djax
2008 Kenny Philips – only started 3 games as a rookie – expected to step in and start and got beat out – ouch he is ASS. Only played 2 games following year due to injury now – looky here – he starts all 16 his third year – and is starting now – good thing the giants didn’t flush him after the first two bad year
Songs – safties on the Eagles right now better than dawkins right now – Page, Coleman, Allen, Jarret, Anderson
Songs – and that letting players go when they’re 30 thing – you dumb lazy sucker – Vick, Parker, (J) Jackson, Nnamdi, Asante, Jenkins, Babin – NEED I GO ON? It’s not a rule if there’s 7 exceptions now is it? Case in point of a hater being confident and loud as hell – but wrong
Songs – I figured out I know who you are – I do – You used to be a military intelligence officer. I can tell. You are constantly posting but never actaully saying anything of value, you are vague and ambigous when actaully challenged for a question to be answered, and when you do attempt an answer you post for a while without actually saying anything that can later be attributed to you. When actaully caught being wrong you immediatley plead you were misread, misunderstood or taken out of context.
Your criteria and judgement changes with each person/day or level and most importantly – you were ALWAYS right – every Monday you correctly predict EXACTLY what happened the day before – its almost like that show where the guy gets the paper and reads it to know what happened
I am still waiting for the answer to which game J Johnson moved Bobby Taylor over to cover TEs….. as I looked at the time Taylor, Carlos Emmons and Jimmy Johnson arrived and can’t fnd a time it happened…
Theyre halfway there .. now just get rolle on the field ..theyre so stuborn get it over and done with!!.. rolle is better than fokou and mathews if any rookie lb should be starting it should be rolle..
Yeah seriously?! What has been seen in Matthews to put him at WILL? Taken out on passing plays, and run over/out-of-position on running plays??! Jordan,Clayton, or Rolle are better options at this point……..
matthews has been slow , but is on the field ! our 1st round pick isnt dressing and what is our 2nd pick been up to?
When was the last time we drafted a linebacker that actually put fear in opposing defenses.
By the way Navy….read
Size: Taylor is 6 feet 3, huge in an era in which 6-foot cornerbacks are considered tall and the receivers seem to be getting larger. Taylor plays taller because of his long arms.
Taylor made a name for himself as a rookie in 1995 by almost completely shutting down the Cowboys’ Irvin in an Eagles victory.
Last October, the Eagles used Taylor to cover the New York Giants’ 6-5, 253-pound tight end Jeremy Shockey, who had 16 catches against Philadelphia the season before. Shockey had only 23 yards on five receptions, and Taylor broke up a fourth-down pass intended for the tight end on the final series to seal the Eagles’ 14-10 win.
Taylor doesn’t just play with sizable swagger, he can talk it, too.
“That’s easy,” Taylor said. “Putting me against any tight end in the league, that’s a no-brainer, really. If I go against the tight end, they shouldn’t catch a pass. Period.”
want the link?
http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/football/article/Taylor-brings-attitude-to-Seahawks-1140403.php
NEv – guess what – the Rams didn’t dress there first rd pick and the Giants is out for the year – Watkins dressed for game 2
you know the steelers first rd draft pick Cameron Heyward has barely played this year –
our number 2 pick I don’t think has dressed yet – the Eagles are dressing 4 safeties – the starters coleman and allen (two picks from last year) and Page (a 6 year veteran that has started 39 games in his first 4 season – he actually had the most interceptions out of any safety in the 2006 draft when he was with KC – had some injury issues original 7th rd but played in all 16 games as a rook then started every game next two years – left KC becuase he refused to sign RFA tender – traded to NE – played in 6 games and got hurt – so the Eagles picked him up in FA – Colt Anderson is the 4rth but he is the special team stud (costly hold on that last return — ouch –
oh – and since we are playing NYG this week – thought you would like to know there 2nd rounder the DT from NC Austin – he hasn’t played in a game yet – I think he tore a pec muscle or something –
so rest easy knowing that there is a real good chance that this weeks game on Sunday – Both teams will be playing without # 1 or #2 draft picks.
I thought Watkins was watching the Water Cooler for Game 2
Watkins, Allen, ..Eagles top picks will empty spit buckets this weekend so Banner can get the most out oo his shekel investment.
A crazy rumor from the Windy City..
Eagles to send QB VY to the Bears for LB Lance Briggs..
Bears QB Cutler has been whining and complaining to local media that he’s getting hit and beat up too much and the Bears are tired of his act and are looking to trade Cutler out west to either the Seahawks or 49ers ..Stay tuned..
no watkins dressed and was on the sideline – by my estimate very similar to about 22-24 of the other 1st round picks this week – SOngs – do you give all the NFL Presidents a montary unit – like does Holmgren protect his Euro investment – does John Elway now protect his rubles, does Tom Lewand protect his canadian dollar does Kevin Demoff protect his Brazilian Pesos?
navy , i guess your point is with no off season alot of teams picks just are not panning out ! yet why are the later round picks playing ?
Paulman, my sources on mars tell me that the clektonian tribesman of the vernacular galaxy are looking to trade for vince young.
Two games to realize to move Matthews to weakside is two games too many. Who did these bastards think they were fooling?… other than themselves. At least they realized it. This tub of shit better get his head out of his ass and start “putting us in a better position to win”
Nev – I hear you – tough. My opinion – coaches/scouts get wrapped up in the who played on what great (read hyped) team. What good players have come from LSU or Notre Dame – yet we keep doing very well with mid round picks from Cincy. Staying on the I love the big East – Pitt has had some quality players recently….. But I guess it comes down to 1) talent 2) who wants it more and 3) who finds an opening due to contracts/injuries or lastly – the folks they thought to bring in as backups to the higher round draft picks (like veteran S Page) decided they wanted to play Page balled in KC. Plus its tough – nobody on the 53 man roster wants to give up his spot – its not like college or high school where you just wait a year or two to graduate – by the same token – that freshman/rookie wants to put that vet/senior out of work.
and – I almost forgot – and I think this is the main reason they needed a much more realistic rookie salary structure – why is Watkins making more then Kelce right and damn – Kelce reminds me of Jeff Saturday and gives this old pullin guard a chill when I see him 20 yards down field spanking some DB
drummerwinslow-Most fans are also wondering why Reid is still here.
Ranked 30th in run defense after two games. Do Vicks sprints out of ther pocket
count as running plays since they were not called by the coaches. Yes I know they do but they inflate the real run ratio to pass.
slick1 – not most – change the word most to — foolish or stupid that would be more correct
but just to prove I am not a total tool – I have been asking for a couple days now – where is this mythical, magical coach that will ensure the Eagles a SB – where is he, and if he or she for that matter exists – why the hell hasn’t San Fran (maybe Harbagh can do it) or Buffalo (hey, now they are doing OK) or Detroit or Texas or any of these other teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in YEARS, gone out and hired him – I know the old Songs answer – the owners are saving their shekels
I know, maybe we can get Jon Madden to leave the both –
Big E – true the runs by Vick due count towards the pass/run ratio and the total rushing yardage totals… you could go look up the number of rushes Vick (and Kafka) have and refactor if you wish, but some plays look like VIck has a run pass option, other plays are pass plays he scrambles – I don’t have film to determine those things but…… it seems to me, and the numbers appear to show, a trend towards a much more balance run/pass ratio – and McCoy is still the #5 rusher in NFL only 12 yards from the #1 and 1 yard behind Adrian Peterson.
After running some #’s from the first 2 Games, I come up with the following #’s (I take the Rushing attempts from the QB position and apply them as a pass attempt for most likely they were passing plays called that turned into QB Scrambles and there may be a couple of Kneel Down/Designed Running/QB Sneaks
Game 1 (Rams) 64 Total Plays – 21 Rushes 43 Pass Attempts
Game 2 (Falcons) 67 Total Plays – 25 Rushes 42 Pass Attempts
Season to Date 131 Offensive Plays 46 Rushes 85 Pass Attempts
This comes out to the normal 65% Pass to 35% Run Ratio that Coach AR/MM have called over recent Seasons.. It’s still too high and puts more pressure on the OL, the QB and even the Defense by not shortening the game and allowing the OL to get in a good run blocking groove, expsoes the QB to needless hits and doesn;t help this small Defense get a longer breather between series… and a big reason that I never see this Philosophy winning a Super Bowl come in bad weather with the elements and the cold weather come Playoffs… (maybe if the Eagles played in a dome or a warm weather city)
Paulman, the best lineup for the Birds LB’s don’t currently play here! It is too late now, we have what we have. It is the same slop that is still out there, just at different positions. Absolutely pathetic & unacceptable. Some of us have only been saying this for 6 f^#@ing weeks, now! I said it before & i’ll say it again, Reid, Morningwood, Castillo & Rosebud, need to be $#!T canned, or we aren’t winning $#!T!!
I can’t believe that I made these @$$clowns, make me lose interest already, IN WEEK 3!! Makes me sick!!
Hey Schiller, we aren’t predicting negatives you idiot! We were stating the facts about our team. All I’ve been saying since free agency stopped is they did nothing to improve the LB’s, & O-line & that what they had sucks is not good enough. So where was I wrong!? 2 games in the O-line & LB’s have looked terrible, thus forcing square peg in round hole Reid, to make wholesale changes at both. It still isn’t going to help, because the LB’s are the same personnel still suck, no matter the position of them & the middle of the O-line is as soft as a cotton ball! But you still find ways to rip us, make excuses, & blindly support round rump Reid, no matter how times you are proven wrong, & we are proven right! Absolutely pathetic & asinine! You & in the Navy are delusional, step-ford, nut cases!
Could you imagine the 300 pound gorilla coming through untouched? Matthews would be killed instantly. LOL