Tapp could be running out of chances to contribute.


When the Eagles traded for Darryl Tapp, I thought they overpaid big time. A fourth-round pick would have been bad enough, but including Chris Clemons in the deal sent it over the top.

Heading into Week 12, it's looking like my first reaction was right. As it stands, Tapp has two sacks, 15 tackles, and has only played in eight games, starting none of them. Clemons, on the other hand, has 7.5 sacks to go along with 34 tackles and 10 starts.

Tapp has been nearly invisible all year long with his most notable play coming against the New York Giants last week when he recovered Eli Manning's fumble to seal the win. Outside of that, the deal is looking like a total misfire.

But now, with Juqua Parker likely to miss the Bears game and the team clearly having no faith in third-round pick Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Tapp must step up and give the team -- and the fans -- a reason to believe he was worth the hefty price the team paid.

Parker on the bench means the team will likely have four defensive ends active: Trent Cole and Brandon Graham will be the starters, Tapp will be the primary backup on both sides, and Te'o-Nesheim will likely see time on third down as an inside pass-rusher.

Tapp is going to be counted on to create a pass-rush against a weak Chicago offensive line. Cole usually plays over 90 percent of the snaps (on a bad day), but Graham is still in the learning phase and could split time with Tapp almost 50-50.

Overall, that's not an exciting prospect.

Tapp reminds me a lot of Jevon Kearse in that he's a one-trick pony. His move is usually a bull-rush, and if that doesn't work he's basically out of the play. He doesn't seem to have an overly active motor or any real ability to disengage a blocker.

Even in the "Joker" position where he stands up and is essentially an inside linebacker, he seems to get tied up very easily if there's too much movement ahead of him. He seems flustered and is usually watching guys run right past him while in coverage.

Blitzing isn't much better as he usually gets stood up by the center or guard and stopped dead in his tracks more often that not.

Hopefully his poor performances thus far mean he's due for a big game. He could get the chance to see a substantial amount of snaps and turn his season around, but to date he's shown nothing to give anyone the slightest inclination that he'll do anything but disappoint.
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Darryl Tapp will compete with Parker to start at LDE.


On Tuesday evening, the Eagles pulled a trade for a defensive end and, they feel, addressed their most pressing need when they sent Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Darryl Tapp.

A fourth-round pick and Clemons? I don't say this very often, but the Eagles got royally fleeced on this deal. The only thing that might save it is that Tapp is three years younger than Clemons and has the ability to be a three-down defensive end whereas Clemons was a situational pass-rusher.

However, even as a situational guy, Clemons was able to rack up three sacks compared to Tapp's less-than-impressive two and a half. Not only that, but even a straight-up fourth-round pick might have been a bit steep for a guy who has never lived up to expectations.

He was a second-round pick back in 2006, but since then has never had more than seven sacks and has only started an entire season only once.

In fact, since 2007, he's only been getting worse. He started all 16 games in '07 and racked up seven sacks, only started 11 games in '08 with five and half sacks, and most recently only started five games with a paltry two and half sacks.

Isn't a young guy supposed to get better as the years go on, and not worse?

Usually, I'm willing to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt. Andy Reid has shown over and over that he simply knows more than the rest of us, but he must really have some insider information to give up so much for Tapp.

The talk is that he should compete with Juqua Parker to start across from Trent Cole, but at this point, barring some sort of coming out party Tapp is not even good enough to be in the conversation.

And not only that, but Tapp is a restricted free agent. That means the Eagles are going to have to work out an extension right away and, since they overpaid to acquire him, will probably wind up overpaying to keep him.

I wanted the Eagles to make a move at defensive end as much as the next guy, but I truly hope they don't believe Tapp fixes the problem and still target one in the first or second round.

Because if they don't, it's going to be another long season for the defense.

UPDATE: Tapp has confirmed that he has signed a contract extension. Details of the deal are not yet available.
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2010 is a make-or-break season for Chris Clemons.


Chris Clemons was brought in via free agency out of Oakland a couple years ago with the intention of turning him into nothing more than a situational pass-rusher. He would be the guy called in to relieve Juqua Parker on the left side when it was clear that the opposing offense would be throwing the ball.

He had eight sacks as a backup in Oakland, so bringing him in to play in the same role, but on a better team, should have resulted in better stats. That, however, has certainly not come to fruition.

In 2008, his first season as an Eagle, he racked up four sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the Eagles' 44-6 drumming of the Cowboys in Week 17. The stats weren't great, but for a situational guy it was about as much as the coaching staff expected.

2009 was a different story, unfortunately, as Clemons was only able to rack up three sacks, no forced fumbles or recoveries, and he only appeared in seven games as opposed to all 16 in 2008.

It's a significant drop-off from 2008 and is surely causing the coaching staff to take a second look at what was deemed the best "under the radar" free agency move from '08.

He lost snaps (and apparently, entire games) to newcomer Jason Babin, who overtook him in the situational roles. Babin's contract his run out however, and could result in more chances for Clemons if the Eagles decide to let Babin walk.

If they resign Babin, however, it could mean trouble for Clemons who will have to show something in training camp if he wants to a) keep his roster spot and b) then earn some playing time behind Parker and the defensive end the Eagles will most likely draft or sign to replace him.

Clemons can still contribute to this team, and should rebound in 2010, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he wound up getting cut before training camp begins.
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If Macho can't play, he'll hear the calls for Jones.


After practice today Andy Reid said that there is a chance that safety Macho Harris will play. He has been practicing and didn't appear to be hurting too much, but game speed could put added pressure on that ankle and prevent him from cutting properly.

Sean McDermott and the rest of the coaching staff isn't too worried about it, however, because of the new-found confidence in first-year Eagle Sean Jones. If Harris sits out, Jones would most likely start with Quintin Demps active as the third safety.

Personally I'm not worried if Harris has to sit out. He's been okay this season, but nothing more than that. His coverage has been good and he's tried to be a physical presence, but he misses too many tackles and is far too inconsistent.

A veteran like Sean Jones could bring the consistency to the position that the Eagles need.

I was a big proponent for Jones to win the starting job over Quintin Demps at the beginning of the year, but he was unable to grasp the system and eventually was even asked to take a pay-cut or be released from the team. He's stayed and contributed on special teams and should now get his shot to show what he can do.

Brian Westbrook is in a shaky position with a concussion, and will most likely not play. He's listed as questionable officially, but the more honest status would probably be "doubtful." I give it a 25 percent chance, and maybe even less than that, that Westbrook plays this Sunday.

He has to pass a test before he can even begin excercising, and even if he passes the test it may be a bit too late. He's got to pass an excercise test before he can be cleared to play after a concussion, and it would take a lot of work for him to get to where he needs to be before Sunday.

Chris Clemons was also held out of practice with an illness, and is probable for Sunday.
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Last season the defensive line was good. Not great, but good. They helped lead the way for the third ranked defense in the NFL, and the best overall defense in the NFC. However, there is room for improvement.

Trent Cole is a Pro Bowl guy, and has been year in and year out. He’s been phenomenal during his career with the Eagles and is recognized throughout the league by offensive coordinators as a guy for whom they must gameplan.

He commands the double team, which should allow for other players to make plays. Unfortunately that has not happened as much as it should from the guys on the other side, specifically Juqua Parker.

Parker accounted for only five sacks last season, being overshadowed by Darren Howard who doubled that amount with 10. Chris Clemons, the third end, finished with one less than Parker with four.

In the Eagles’ Jim Johnson-led defense, no one player will have more than between 13-15 sacks because of all the rotation and various blitz packages for various players. But with that said, five is just simply not enough out of a guy who is supposed to be our starter opposite Cole.

Howard has had a resurgence and could, or rather should, overtake Parker for the starting role while limiting him to a backup status (which for this defense of rotation simply means Howard should start getting some of Parker’s snaps).

Clemons, Victor Abiamiri, and second-year man Bryan Smith should all push for more playing time at defensive end next year. A healthy Abiamiri and Smith will mean more fresh legs and more speed on the edge, allowing for more sacks in ‘09 than in ‘08.

No one should be shocked if the Eagles also decide to take a defensive end in the middle rounds, somewhere between the third and fifth.

Brodrick Bunkley was originally drafted to be an inside pass-rushing presence more than a run-stuffer, but it would appear as though the opposite has happened. Bunkley was only able to muster up two sacks last year (to put that into perspective Dan Klecko had two in the first three games he played defense - more on him later), but came on big in the running game.

Bunkley’s most memorable plays from last season would have to be his stuffs of Eli Manning and Brandon Jacobs on fourth-down plays in the playoffs.

Mike Patterson also suffered in the area of rushing the passer, coming up with zero sacks last season. That’s struggling at its best. However Patterson seems to be in the same boat as Bunkley in that he has come on very strong in stopping the run and being a huge presence in the middle.

In their defense, these guys do come off the field on third downs to make way for Johnson’s pass-rushing line consisting of Howard and Abiamiri in the middle.

However with that said, they still need to step up on first and second down to get pressure on the quarterback. If they show they can get to the passer, perhaps they can be left in on third down.

Trevor Laws was the Eagles’ first pick in the draft last year, going 47th overall in the second round. Laws seems to have a lot of potential and should find his way into some healthy playing time in the coming years if he can turn that potential into production when he gets the limited time he’ll likely be receiving for at least another year.

Dan Klecko will likely be coming back to his natural position, and that’s right where he belongs. Weaver is a significant upgrade at fullback, and I’m sure Klecko will be happy to bulk back up and play defense.

He played admirably, but what we saw was the best we were getting out of Klecko on offense. He showed promise last year as a defensive tackle, registering two sacks in the first three games before being switched to fullback.

Now Klecko can go back to defense while making the occasional appearance on offense inside the 20’s.

Overall this is a group filled with immense talent. Some of that talent when untapped last year and must be taken advantage of in 2009. The line is what makes this defense go, and without a good year from the line we Philly fans could go through a rather agonizing season.
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