There has been much speculation on whether there will be a changing of the guard for 2nd year Defensive Coordinator Sean McDermott. He is in what most call the sophomore year of his Defensive Coordinator’s career. Most fans and sports writers alike considered his overall coaching performance last year adequate at the most, but definitely not great. He didn’t shine like we had hoped he would running the traditional Jimmy Johnson Defense that most Philly fans adore and remember.
But this is a new year and another chance to prove himself that he was the right decision for the job. With the signing of Dick Jauron (whom many consider a defensive minded coach) and hiring draft consultant Phil Savage (worked under Ozzie Newsome as the Pro Personnel Director with the Baltimore Ravens ’96 – ‘03 and had a very successful career with the Ravens drafting 11 pro bowler players and 2 possible hall of famers Ogden and Lewis).
We have already shown our dedication to improve and change things up from last year by drafting 9 defensive players out of a total of 13 picks (And I might add that not one of the 13 picks was an offensive lineman, which is quite shocking given Andy Reid’s love for drafting big hogs in the draft). And of those 9 picks, 4 of them were DL. I believe that we are seeing a changing in the guard of really focusing on returning the Eagles to the forefront of becoming a defensive powerhouse.
Well, today we saw another push in that direction and fueling the debate of whether the Eagles are going to do more than entertain the thought of moving to a 3 – 4 defense. Today the Eagles signed rookie DT Boo Robinson out of Wake Forest. Now, some will down play this that this is not enough for indication and that Robinson is not grade A talent. But I would argue that Robinson is no slouch either. He scouting report is not stellar, but it does show a few indications that we want some real beef upfront (Trevor Laws beware) to stuff the run.
Scouting Report Walter Football
Height: 6-1. Weight: 295.
Projected 40 Time: 5.11.
Pro Day 40 Time: 5.00.
Benchx225: 33. Vertical: 27.5.
Projected Round (2010): 7-FA.
1/24/10: Lost a ton of weight over the years, so you know he has a solid work ethic. Unfortunately, his numbers (37 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks) don’t translate. Note: Plagued with a back injury for most of his senior season.
2/14/09: A monstrous nose tackle who compiled six TFL and five sacks. Somehow just an All-ACC honorable mention.
8/1/08: Boo Robinson started every game for Wake Forest in 2007. He had 23 tackles.
With the addition NT Boo Robinson at 295 pounds and NT Antonio Dixon 320 pounds, the Eagles are beginning to add some serious beef upfront to begin to combat the forever ground pounding run game of the NFC East.
If still not convinced. In an interview with McDermott and he was asked about the switch to a 3-4 defense and he replied: As he tries to find ways to use all his new personnel, he is thinking of doing more with 3-4 looks. The Eagles’ base defense will remain4-3, but they’ve shown 3-4 here and there in the past, and that tendency very well might increase. The biggest obstacle would seem to be the lack of a true 3-4-style, monster nose tackle. McDermott said he thought Brodrick Bunkley could fill the bill, and he noted that Antonio Dixon is “320 and rising.”
I believe just like the draft we are going to see many new changes on Defense this year and one of them maybe testing out how a switch to a 3-4 defense can help them stop the ground attack of the Redskins, Cowboys and Giants. If it appears that it is successful in doing so, I believe we will see much more of the 3-4 defense. The same defense that helped the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens and Giants win a combined 7 championships in the last decade. It will be an exciting year to be an Eagles fan to see how it all pans out and if we can return to the Defense of old that struck fear into the hearts of NFC East teams.
.jpg)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.