How much blame does Sean McDermott truly deserve?


Akeem Jordan is definitely not the most talented linebacker in the league, or even the most talented on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster, but he has been the most consistent for Sean McDermott and his defense.

Stewart Bradley is constantly caught in the wash and taken out of the play and Ernie Sims gets bullied whenever a blocker can engage him. Jordan won't be seen making any spectacular plays, but he is capable attacking the play and forcing it back inside for Bradley to get his stats.

Or, as has been the case more recently, for the defensive tackles and Bradley to get completely washed down and watch the running back gouge the defense right up in the middle.

Sure, Jordan gets caught in the wash and bullied as well from time to time, but more often than not he's doing what he needs to be doing, ableit unspectacularly.

But it seems as though Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott would rather point to Jordan as the scapegoat and sit him on the bench in favor of Moise Fokou rather than correcting the things he's doing wrong as the man calling the shots.

Instead of recognizing that he needs to blitz more often when the situation calls for it and, when he does blitz, make sure the call is not completely predictable, he's going to reverse a decision he made in Training Camp to bench Fokou in favor of Jordan.

If he didn't think Fokou could get the job done back in camp, what makes him think he can get the job done now?

It could be that he doesn't, and is just looking for a way to divert the attention away from him and his deficiencies as a coordinator. Or, he could be completely oblivious to the fact that there's not an offensive coordinator or quarterback in the league that can't tell you exactly where his blitz is coming from and make sure they go the opposite direction.

Andy Reid has never been great drafting linebackers (see: Barry Gardener, Matt McCoy, Quinton Caver, Joe Mays, David Bergeron, Andy Studebaker, Tyreo Harrison and Chris Gocong), but the three starters the team has right now is good enough to get the job done.

It's McDermott's job to make the best of what he's got, and it feels like he's not only making the best of what he's been given, but he's holding back the unit as a whole with his predictable blitzes and uninspired schemes.

If this defense doesn't pick it up very soon not only will the team continue to lose games, but McDermott could be on the hot seat. There's a guy very capable of taking over as the defensive coordinator currently coaching the secondary in Dick Jauron.

I believe Jauron was brought in just in case the season started to go this way, and Reid likely wouldn't have to think too long before hiring his buddy to run the defense.
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Cooley has a history of gouging the Eagles' defense.


No matter how many times we see it happen, Sean McDermott refuses to fix it. Tight ends gouge the Eagles' defense play after play, game after game, and he seems to stick his head in the sand and ignore it hoping that the problem will just go away.

But, of course, it doesn't. And at least once or twice per season, a big game by a tight end winds up being the deciding factor in a loss -- usually in an important NFC East matchup.

This season will likely be no different. Chris Cooley is coming to town in Week 4 against the Eagles, and he's due for a big game. He's got a Hall of Fame quarterback in Donovan McNabb throwing to him, and doesn't need much of an excuse to put up big numbers against the Eagles.

So why do the Eagles always give up big games to tight ends? Well, quite simply, it's a flaw in how the Birds defend them coming off the line.

More specifically, they don't defend them coming off the line. The SAM linebacker, whomever that may be from year to year, is always told to play five yards or so off the tight end and just try to catch him in his break. But, as we can see, this doesn't work.

The 'backer has to get up in the tight end's face and hit him as soon as he comes off the line. This will throw the tight end off the route and make it much easier for the SAM to stick with him.

Tight ends are just too athletic, and asking a linebacker to keep up with them out of their break is unrealistic even for the most athletic of linebackers.

And did I mention the Birds handed Cooley -- arguably one of the best tight ends -- a Hall of Fame quarterback to throw to him? I did? Well, yeah, that should make Akeem Jordan's job a lot easier, especially since McNabb understands the defense's weakness covering tight ends better than anyone the team will face.

Don't be surprised if Stewart Bradley is manned up on Cooley all game long, but if someone isn't chipping Cooley off the line expect him to have a huge day and likely be the deciding factor in whether or not McNabb truly enjoys his return to Philadelphia.
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Jordan should win the competition for starting SAM.


If we're tallying up everyone who was impressed enough with Moise Fokou's play at SAM last year to hand him the starting job in 2010, make sure to leave me out.

For a rookie, he was impressive in that he did more than was expected. For his size, he did a pretty good job of not getting caught in the wash on running plays and seemed like he had the speed to keep up with tight ends, although his inexperience led to some blown coverage.

But if we're being perfectly blunt, he's just not impressive enough for me to feel comfortable with him heading into the season as the starter at SAM.

And since Akeem Jordan has been taking first-team snaps for a couple practices, it doesn't look like the Eagles are ready to hand him the job either. In fact, it looks like this could be a combination of a wavering confidence in Fokou as well as a desire to see Jordan on the field.

Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott denies the move has anything to do with Fokou and that he's just trying to "find the best combination" of starting linebackers. But, if he truly believed Fokou was that guy, why even insert Jordan?

Regardless of what he says, Fokou isn't giving them what they want to see in some area of his game. For me, he's just an average player in a lot of different areas, but I would attribute that more to his youth than his skill.

He could still turn out to be a very good, starting-caliber player. But, for now, he's definitely not better than Jordan.

And while most listings I find, including the Eagles' official website, have Fokou listed anywhere from two to 10 pounds heavier than Jordan, that certainly doesn't appear to be the case.

Jordan looks like he could handle playing the strong-side. He looks like he could toss a pulling guard off to the side, or stick that tackle-tight end combo and still make the play because he's so strong. Fokou, on the other hand, looks like a WILL in that he seems more lanky than bulky.

Not only that, but Jordan's experience in the defense leads me to believe that he's better suited in coverage. Part of being able to cover a linebacker or a running back is athletic ability, but a lot of it is understanding your responsibilities within the scheme and getting a good read on where the man you're covering is headed.

Right now, Jordan is better equipped to deal with that than Fokou.

I still believe the Eagles should have found a middle linebacker and kicked Stewart Bradley out to SAM where he could use his size to deal with the extra blockers, and his speed to cover a larger portion of the field and drop into coverage.

Kirk Morrison, for example, would have allowed the Birds to do that.

But, that's an opportunity that has passed them by so they must work with they have. And, for now, Jordan is the best option with Fokou as a reliable option off the bench were the situation to call for it.

Jordan is a play-maker, as he showed before his injury last season, and I don't think for a second that anyone could argue Ernie Sims at WILL, Bradley and MIKE, and Jordan at SAM is the most talented trio the Birds could currently field.
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For now, Akeem Jordan is the Eagles' starting WILL.


I said in an earlier article that I thought the newly-acquired Ernie Sims might be thrown into the mix at SAM linebacker, but given his size (6'0, 230) that seems unlikely. Quite frankly, there's probably no shot of that happening and I'm not quite sure what I was thinking.

Sims is about the same size as the Eagles' other two WILL linebackers -- Akeem Jordan (6'1, 230) and Omar Gaither (6'2, 235) -- but gains his advantage with his speed.

He was drafted to play weakside in a cover 2 defense, so that should give a clue as to what the Lions thought of his ability to drop back and cover in space. He wasn't afforded that opportunity as the Lions changed their defense almost immediately, but it could be something to give him a slight edge over Jordan heading into offseason camps.

Right now, Jordan will be the starter heading into the offseason workouts. He has been the guy here for a couple seasons, and Sims will have to uproot him if he wants to start.

Gaither has had his chance to start and was only average. He is playing on a one-year deal after being a restricted free agent; Otherwise he would most likely be playing elsewhere as the Eagles were unlikely to retain him had he been an unrestricted free agent.

And there's even still a chance Gaither gets moved this Thursday.

But even with Jordan as his only competition, there's no guarantee the former ninth-overall pick will be a starter in Philadelphia. The Eagles think very highly of Jordan and would have a hard time sticking him on the bench without being absolutely positive that Sims is the better choice.

So not only will Sims have to play well, he will have to make Jordan look like a scrub if Sean McDermott and Andy Reid are going to feel comfortable turning away from Jordan.

Both Sims and Jordan are playing on one-year deals, so whomever is put on the bench will most likely not be back next season. Both guys know that, so it's going be some quality competition all season long to see who stays and who goes.
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Will Witherspoon saved the Eagles' defense in '09.


In one of the more surprising moves of the day, the Eagles have decided to part ways with linebacker Will Witherspoon only one season after trading for him from the St. Louis Rams.

Witherspoon came in as Stewart Bradley's replacement in the middle after Omar Gaither didn't work out, but was moved to WILL after Akeem Jordan was injured. He kept Jordan on the bench all year long while the middle was a revolving door.

While I thought Witherspoon played fairly well, the Eagles apparently did not believe he was worth the $5 million he was due in 2010. His play doesn't warrant such a high number, but his versatility, to me, would have been enough to keep him around.

This isn't the first time the Birds have done this, however. They cut ties with Takeo Spikes only one season after trading for him back in 2007. A move that, like this one, leaves fans scratching their heads.

Linebacker is a position in which the Eagles are lacking, so either way you slice it this doesn't make much sense -- at least not from where I'm sitting.

I understand the money and that they really only traded for him because they had no other options once their 'backers started dropping like flies, but he was the only reason this defense didn't completely fall apart last season and, overall, was the best linebacker they had.

The Birds must figure that he becomes expendable with the return of Gaither -- a guy who is just as versatile and a whole lot cheaper.

Witherspoon certainly wasn't a superstar, but he was a guy who did whatever Sean McDermott asked of him and did it well, so it's shocking and a bit disheartening to see him leave. However, he should warrant some good attention as a free agent, and might even have a shot at returning to Philly at a reduced rate.
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Jason Avant is a guy the Eagles can't afford to lose.


Thanks to Twitter Nation, I've learned that the Eagles have tendered several of their expected 10 restricted free agents, eight of whom would have been unrestricted free agents in a capped season.

Multiple reports are flying in every few minutes, so it's a bit difficult to keep track of and there's really no way to check the reports since the Eagles have yet to report anything themselves.

The Eagles official website doesn't have a single thing about who has received what, probably because nothing has been made official yet, and most likely won't have a thing until sometime tonight.

Teams have until 11:59 to tender their restricted free agents, then free agency officially kicks off at midnight.



Akeem Jordan

Geoff Mosher is reporting that the Eagles will give Akeem Jordan a second-round tender.

Jordan is expected to compete with Will Witherspoon to be the team's starting WILL, but will most likely be a backup and special teams contributor. Either way, Jordan is a guy the Birds were not going to let get away.

Jordan will make $1.7 million this season on the tender.



Omar Gaither

Jeff McLane is reporting that Omar Gaither will receive a "low tender." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm guessing he'll receive an "original round drafted" tender. It just means that if a team wants to sign Gaither, they would have to fork over a fifth round pick to the Eagles in this year's draft.

Gaither is expected to be the primary backup in the middle if he sticks around. The Birds probably don't want to just let him walk, but would certainly take the fifth round pick for him if a team is interested.

Gaither will make $1.2 million if he does in fact receive the tender he's expected to receive.



Nick Cole

Nick Cole, according to Mosher, will receive a second-round tender. It's a bit higher than I expected, but the Eagles clearly like Cole and want to keep him for at least another season just in case Stacy Andrews is unable to go.

Cole will make $1.75 million in 2010 under this tender.



Jason Avant

Adam Caplan is reporting that the Eagles have offered a second-round tender to receiver Jason Avant. It's about what I personally expected the Eagles to do with Avant, although I think everyone would like to see him get an extension immediately.

It's absolutely imperative that the Birds keep Avant, but a first-round tender probably felt like too much. There is most likely not a team willing to give a second-round pick for Avant, so it's a safe bet.

Avant will make $1.75 million next season barring an extension agreement. There is, however, no signs that the Eagles are talking to Avant about an extension.



Chris Gocong

Chris Gocong will receive an "original round drafted" tender, according to Mosher. He actually says that Gocong will receive a third-round tender, but I'm not sure such a thing exists.

Gocong was, however, drafted in the third round so that would make sense.

Gocong will make $1.1 million if this is actually the tender that sticks.



Ellis Hobbs

There is a bit of mixed reporting going on involving Ellis Hobbs. Mosher is reporting that he's received a second-round tender, while Caplan is reporting that he's received an "original round drafted" tender.

There's a pretty decent difference in the money he'd make depending on the tender. He'll make $1.2 million under the "original round drafted" tender, and $1.85 under a second-round tender. Either way he won't be leaving Philadelphia based on the amount of compensation it would take, but it's going to make a difference for him based on salary.



And the others...

It's also believed that Max Jean-Gilles has received an "original round drafted" tender. Alex Smith will not be receiving a tender from the Eagles, so that just leaves Sav Rocca and Leonard Weaver as the only two who haven't been dealt with.

A deal could soon be coming for Weaver, and Rocca will probably receive a second-round tender.
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Would Stewart Bradley be more useful elsewhere?


I don't mean I want Stewart Bradley moved to wide receiver or have him take over at corner when Sheldon Brown moves to safety, but should the Eagles consider moving Bradley out of the MIKE position and slide him over to SAM?

Strong-side linebacker has been a problem for this team ever since Carlos Emmons left and headed to New York earlier this decade. The Chris Gocong experiment did not work the way they thought it would, and now the Birds are once again left with no answers at SAM.

However, Bradley is a guy who fits perfectly. He's got a rare combination of size (6'4, 254) and athleticism that would allow him to not only play the run on the strong side, but able to cover even the upper echelon of tight ends.

Let's also not forget that SAM is not uncharted territory for Bradley. In fact, he played SAM linebacker at Nebraska, and it was the move to MIKE that was actually the gamble for Bradley.

But as is usually the case, a solution to one problem only brings up more problems. The obvious one being, who would then move into the middle?

It's not ideal, but if the Birds were to draft Navorro Bowman with their first round pick, they could play him immediately at WILL and move Witherspoon into the MIKE spot again. It's not ideal because Witherspoon isn't quite big enough (6'1, 235) to play middle linebacker, but he's smart and quick enough to make up for it.

Not only that, but even in a down year Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson are still very good at eating up blocks and not allowing the guards to get to the second level.

I would rather see the Birds pick up a guy who can play SAM, or perhaps see Moise Fokou flourish and be able to cover the tight ends, but I just don't see it happening. For next year, the Birds could do very well with a trio of Bowman, Witherspoon, and Bradley.

Even Akeem Jordan at WILL (if the Birds don't draft Bowman) would work out just fine.

I'm drawing the line. I'm personally sick and tired of seeing tight ends gouge this defense and if it means moving Bradley to SAM to make it stop, then I'm all for it.

Will he be able to run as well as he did before the knee injury? I'm not sure, no one is, but it's a risk I would certainly be happy to see them take in an effort to stop the tight ends.
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Losing Jordan hurts, but having Bunkley is good news.


Brodrick Bunkley will most likely play this Sunday, but Akeem Jordan will most likely continue to watch from the sideline.

Bunkley suffered an ankle sprain last Sunday against the Washington Redskins, but defensive coordinator Sean McDermott says he expects Bunkley to be at 100 percent come game time. It's still possible that he could wind up sitting out, but should remain probable.

Jordan, on the other hand, ran with the scout team Wednesday while participating fully in drills. Thursday saw a setback for Jordan who was limited in drills and didn't even run with the scout team. He will most likely be ruled out for the game Sunday around game-time.

"We're on a day-to-day basis right now with Akeem, same as like we were last week with Akeem," McDermott said before practice on Thursday. "I think he did some things yesterday in practice and looked good."

It's a good sign that he'll return next week when the Eagles head to the Meadowlands to face the Giants, but doesn't give much hope that he'll play this week in Atlanta.

In his place, Will Witherspoon will most likely play WILL again with Joe Mays and Jeremiah Trotter rotating in the middle. Chris Gocong will stay at SAM.

Losing Jordan for another week is huge, but hopefully it won't prove to be as costly as the loss of Matt Ryan for the Falcons, along with the potential loss of RB Michael Turner, WR Michael Jenkins, and RG Harvey Dahl.
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Gocong has never played MIKE in the NFL or college.


This Sunday, we could see some new faces in different places in the linebacking corps given that Akeem Jordan will most likely not play.

Sean McDermott has openly said that if Jordan can not play that Will Witherspoon will line up as the WILL linebacker, Chris Gocong at MIKE, and Moise Fokou will get his second consecutive start at the SAM linebacker position.

So what does this say about Jeremiah Trotter? Apparently McDermott trusts Gocong more to start at a position he's never played over Trotter who's played the position for his entire career.

It appears as though the Eagles feel they made a mistake by bringing Trott back.

Either way, it will certainly be eventful to watch how this actually works out. Witherspoon has been a successful WILL before, so that's not a big deal. Fokou, while he didn't exactly impress last week, will get better and is a natural SAM. But Gocong has never played the MIKE position and may have some troubles.

He's the smartest guy in the linebacking corps, as well as the biggest (6'3 263), so it makes him the perfect candidate to give it a go. However, it's not quite as easy as all that, and everyone knows it.

Playing the MIKE is a difficult position and takes a superior mind and a superior athlete to play the position, especially in McDermott's defense.

Tossing Gocong into the middle could be for the fear of playing against Antonio Gates, who will probably need to be double-covered. Fokou, Gocong, and Witherspoon are the best coverage linebackers the Eagles have, which isn't exactly saying much, but having the three of them on the field at the same time may not be a bad idea.

Gocong and Witherspoon would be the duo on the field for the nickel package as well, which may not matter considering the cornerbacks situation and the depleted secondary.

Either way, buckle up Philly, because it's certainly going to be a trip.

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We now know that this will not be the starting trio Week 1.


Well, it didn't take long for my question of "roadblock or speedbump" to get answered.

The Eagles were doing 80 on the freeway, and something threw a huge brick wall in front of the Ferrari we were cruising in right to Miami.

Stewart Bradley, starting middle linebacker, has torn his ACL and is most likely done for the year.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the Eagles season just got that much harder. The defense is now faced with a daunting task of overcoming the loss of their starting middle linebacker, and the man who was supposed to lead this team.

While it's always a huge blow to lose a player like Bradley, it's not something that the Eagles are incapable of rebounding from.

Omar Gaither has played the MIKE position, and has played it well. After the Eagles cut Jeremiah Trotter, Gaither was thrust into the starting role almost immediately, and responded by having a solid season. Gaither is now a guy playing with a chip on his shoulder after losing his spot, and this is just the kind of opportunity that he has been waiting for.

Then of course Akeem Jordan would man the WILL spot and Gocong would stay at SAM, no need to change anything there.

Of course there is the distinct possibility that Joe "Headbuster" Mays could find himself with a starting spot if the Eagles like Gaither better as a role player at the WILL spot.

No one exactly knows what Andy Reid and Sean McDermott are planning at this point, but you can bet that they are in fact planning. McDermott already had a difficult task in front of him replacing a legendary coach like Jim Johnson, but losing a guy that he was banking on to be the team's leader and his starting middle linebacker only makes it more difficult.

Bradley will almost certainly be headed to the IR, so the Eagles will have an open roster spot. The problem they face is what to do with it.

Right now, without Bradley, they have Tank Daniels, Tracy White, and Gocong at SAM, Charleston "Chews" Hughes, Joe Mays, and Gaither at MIKE, and Moise Fukou and Jordan at WILL.

I don't see Hughes making the team, as he was a long-shot to begin with, and before this I didn't see White making the team, either. However that may have just changed. Fukou was a late-round draft pick and will probably make his way to the practice squad as I don't believe they think he's ready to be a primary backup.

So they could be left with the same people at SAM, Mays and Gaither at MIKE, and Jordan alone at WILL. They could perhaps move Daniels or White to backup WILL, but I don't think they want to do that.

Let's not forget that Daniels hasn't even been practicing at linebacker, but instead taking snaps at defensive end. That may have been his only shot at making this team, but with Bradley's injury they'll probably just attempt to move him back to linebacker.

So who's out there? Well, there's one guy who I think could really help the Eagles in terms of having a great backup, and adding leadership to a defense without direction.

Derrick Brooks.

He's the perfect fit for the scheme and for the situation. He's played linebacker in a 4-3, and played it extremely well as a walking Hall of Fame guy. Yes, he's a bit long in the tooth, but they're not asking him to start, only play as a primary backup. He says he has at least one good year left in him, so give him a one-year deal and give it a shot.

It couldn't possibly hurt, could it?

A move like this gives the Eagles the depth that they certainly need, and gives them leadership. On top of that, it also gives these young guys a chance to learn from a guy who most certainly will have a bust in Canton sometime in the near future.

Either way, the Eagles defense will have to step up this year. No Dawkins, no Bradley, and no Jim Johnson certainly puts them in a bind. This will test the will of every young man on this defense, and the young man running the defense from the sidelines.

You can't know the true character of a man until he is faced with adversity. Well, we'll be discovering the character of every man on this team, this year.
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Hopefully this is still the starting trio of linebackers in Week 1.


For the most part, last night's first annual "Flight Night!" was a roaring success for the Eagles.

Over 30,000 people came out to support the Eagles charity efforts, the players got in a practice, signed some autographs, and everyone had a great time.

Then came everyone's worst fears associated with such an event. Stewart Bradley injured himself during the practice. Worse yet, it was his knee, which he says made a "pop" noise.

Knees and popping noises are never good. Ask most any player who has torn a ligament in their knee and they will tell you that they hear a distinct "pop" before hitting the ground in agony.

Apparently, the trainers have told the coaches that they are concerned, and while they're hoping for the best, are expecting the very worst.

If Bradley goes down for a lengthy period of time, the linebackers should still be okay. All they have to do is slide Omar Gaither back to the middle, where he has started before, and start Jordan at WILL. Or, they could give Joe "Headbuster" Mays a shot in the middle and still have a battle between Gaither and Jordan for the WILL.

Of course, the best-case scenario is to have Bradley be just fine and able to play. A lot of people were talking Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams for him last year, and he was expected to take that leap this year. Not only that, Bradley has been looked at as the defense's leader in the absence of Brian Dawkins. He will be unable to fill either role from the sidelines.

The results should be back later today, or very early tomorrow, and we'll get to see if this season's road to the Super Bowl got a huge roadblock, or just a speed bump.
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Stewart Bradley and Chris Gocong were solid starters last season and seem to have their spots on this team solidified. However, the WILL position is another story.

Seemingly without cause, Omar Gaither was benched last season in favor of Akeem Jordan. The change took place after the horrendous display by the entire team in the Baltimore game, but for some reason Gaither seemed to be the scapegoat.

The dilemma here is that while Gaither was playing well, perhaps not great but playing well, Jordan played just as well as Gaither.

The problem is that there are four starting-caliber linebackers, but only three spots available. This is a situation that will be resolved in the summer months when the team reports to Lehigh University.

This young but talented group took enormous strides during the ’08 season, but still have a lot to prove after really being taken advantage of during the playoffs.

In the first two games against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants respectively, they took advantage of weak offensive units. While the Giants are usually not looked at as a weak offensive team, lingering injuries slowed Brandon Jacobs and the team was without Plaxico Burress due to his well-documented night club incident.

Reality struck this young group in the NFC Championship game, and can really be pointed to as a main reason for the lopsided first half. The Arizona Cardinals, unlike the Vikings and Giants, were far from offensively inadequate. Led by Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals attacked the middle of the field all game long with incredible success.

Personally, I don’t understand Gocong playing on the strong side. At Cal-Poly, Gocong was an unbelievable pass-rushing defensive end, registering 23.5 sacks in a single season. However here in Philly rather than rushing the quarterback, he’s been entrusted with covering the tight end.

To me, this doesn’t make any sense.

Why would you take a guy who’s already been taken out of his comfort zone going from DE to LB, then make it worse by asking him to cover the great tight ends who litter the NFC East? My suggestion would be to flip-flop the linebackers.

I believe Gaither should be the starter at SAM, while Gocong moves to WILL in order to take advantage of his pass-rushing ability. Some may say that Gocong is at SAM because he’s a better cover-guy, but is he that much better than Gaither that his pass-rushing ability should be ignored? I don’t believe so.

Stewart Bradley was a guy who a lot of people in Philly were clamoring for him to make the Pro Bowl, but I’m not so sure. He made a lot of mental mistakes throughout the season, but especially early on. Now that’s not to take away from a good first season that he had, but that’s really about all it was; Just a good first year.

However with that said, I do believe that he will evolve into a Pro Bowl player in the middle for Philly for many, many years to come. Unfortunately, that’s not happening just yet.

Gaither and Jordan both played well at WILL, and either of them will have the trust of Andy Reid and Jim Johnson to performed their role, whatever that may be.

Given that we have four starting-caliber linebackers with only three available spots, I have a solution to get everyone involved while also confusing opposing defenses to no end.

The 3-4.

Do I want the 3-4 full-time? No, of course not. We’ve had too much success and have the personnel for the 4-3, but the 3-4 could help us for a couple plays a game to get all of our linebacker talent on the field.

The linebackers would be Jordan at WILL, Gaither and Bradley at the MIKE, and Gocong at the SAM (or flipping Jordan and Gocong if it was up to me), with Broderick Bunkley playing nose in between Trevor Laws or Mike Patterson and Victor Abiamiri. This way, we get all of our linebackers on the field while throwing a curveball at the offense.

The line may be a bit small, but not by much. Abiamiri is 6’4” and 270 pounds with Laws weighing in at 6’1” and 300 pounds. As I said, a bit small, but not by much and worth it to confuse the offense.

In all, I think the linebacking corps needs a veteran guy to push all of these younger linebackers and help mentor them after getting rid of Jeremiah Trotter and Takeo Spikes. With a couple more years of experience and time together, I believe we’ll eventually be looking at one of the better NFL linebacker corps… Just not yet.
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