First and foremost, the addition of Jim Washburn to the coaching staff excites me. No more will we have to watch Trent Cole dropping into pass coverage or see the defensive ends pause to read run before going after the quarterback.

This is going to allow Cole to do what he does best -- rush the quarterback. And it will allow whomever is playing the left side to do the same.

Not only that, but it doesn't appear as though the defensive tackles will be asked to play a two-gap technique under Washburn. Granted, I only saw a limited amount of Titans games, but it looked like the guys in the middle were able to shoot a gap and, like the ends, get after the quarterback and create havoc behind the line of scrimmage.

But the positives to that could also expose a glaring weakness -- at least for the time being -- on this defense and come with a whole new set of negatives.


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Could Dixon successfully transition into a noseguard?


With Sean McDermott out as the defensive coordinator and a 3-4 trend hitting the NFL once again, everyone is wondering whether or not the Eagles could, and should, consider a switch in defensive philosophy.

First things first, Andy Reid and the new defensive coordinator (whomever that may turn out to be) would have to decide if they have the talent on the roster to make it work.

When transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4, a team must first make sure they have a reliable noseguard. The Buffalo Bills made the switch and found Kyle Williams, the Green Bay Packers made the switch and drafted B.J. Raji, the Washington Redskins made the switch and had absolutely no one.

Williams is a Pro Bowler, the Packers are in the NFC Championship game, and the Redskins are in complete disarray -- so clearly a noseguard is very important.

For the Eagles, they might have one in Antonio Dixon. From what I've seen, I would be cautiously optimistic that he could handle playing the middle and covering both A-gaps. He has a great first step and clearly understands leverage and how to stop an offensive lineman's momentum.

He's also 6'3 and 325 pounds, so that certainly doesn't hurt.

For defensive ends, the only one I'm certain could pull it off is Brodrick Bunkley. He's got a good mix of speed and power to play the end position. If he's asked to control C-gap and squeeze down to B-gap, I believe he could do that.

His pass-rushing ability could be an issue, but that is something that could be worked on and taught over the offseason.

The other end would have to either be Mike Patterson or Trevor Laws, and I find myself leaning toward Laws because of his ability to rush the passer. Of the defensive tackles, he has the best feet but might lack in the running game.

There's a good chance that Laws could get washed out and create a huge hole up the B-gap or lose contain if he tries to take an inside step and gets caught. At 6'1 and 305 pounds, he has a low center of gravity but hasn't shown an ability to play the run consistently.

Patterson could be a guy used in a 4-3 set or as a backup to Dixon. He isn't even as big as Laws at only 300 pounds but has shown an ability to stand his ground and play the run. It would be a real shot in the dark as to whether he could hold up for an entire game, but should Dixon go down having Patterson would be a good safety net.

The linebackers are much easier to choose. In a 3-4, the outside linebackers obviously have to be able to rush the passer and have enough athleticism to drop back into coverage. The two clear-cut favorites on the roster are Trent Cole and Brandon Graham.

Cole spent a lot of the season dropping back into coverage because apparently McDermott thought it would be a good idea to send his best pass-rusher backwards. Even though it was a ridiculous thought to put him in coverage, he did a pretty decent job of it.

Cole would be asked to rush the passer more often than not, and we've seen him do that in a stand-up position before when he played the Joker role for both Jim Johnson and McDermott.

Coming out of college, Graham was considered a 'tweener. In fact, a lot of scouts and draftniks thought he would be better suited as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 and had him going to the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots -- two teams in need of 3-4 outside linebackers.

And the draftniks aren't the only ones who think Graham would be good in a 3-4.

"Woo, man, I would love that," Graham said Sunday in a conference call with reporters. "Being a stand-up [linebacker] with Trent [Cole] on the other side? That would be nasty. That would be nice. I would be excited about it, I can tell you that much."

I'm also of the thinking that Graham is probably more suited as a stand-up linebacker. That doesn't mean he can't play defensive end in the 4-3 or even that he won't be a very good 4-3 defensive end, but he reminds me a lot of Elvis Dumervil and could probably play just as well.

So far, we have Laws, Dixon, and Bunkley on the line with Cole and Graham playing outside linebacker. All that's left is finding two inside linebackers.

The obvious two choices for that would be Jamar Chaney and Stewart Bradley.

Chaney is tough enough to play MIKE in the 4-3, so he shouldn't have any issue being given half the responsibility as a 3-4 inside linebacker. Then Bradley, who is a natural SAM in the 4-3, should be more than capable of handling the calls and playing half the field in coverage when the outside linebacker next to him blitzes.

The secondary is obviously unchanged by the move and would remain the same.

If the team chose to switch to the 3-4, they would have an entire offseason to pick from free agency and the draft in order to fill their needs, but should they decide to make the 3-4 nothing more than a variation from their normal 4-3 set a handful of times during a game, they could probably run it with some success given the talent currently on the roster.
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Vick put the team on his back and made it happen.


-- First of all, that was the most incredible comeback by this franchise I've ever seen (thank you Matt Dodge). The Eagles scored 28 points in the final eight minutes after going down 31-10. I'm about to point out a lot of bad things, but one thing that can be said is this team never even thought about quitting.

-- After that final drive, Michael Vick has convinced me he's the only choice for MVP. Tom Brady has been good, but Vick is clearly the most valuable player to his respective team. He put everything on his back and made him happen. What an absolutely astounding finish.

-- LeSean McCoy was very good when he actually touched the ball. Only 10 carries is a catastrophe, especially since running the ball in the first half could have really calmed things down and McCoy has proven week after week that he's a play-maker.

-- He didn't see a ton of time and appeared to have gotten a bit banged up during the game, but Owen Schmitt did his job. He continues to be impressive, but why can't the guy get a carry?

-- Schmitt shouldn't feel too bad, however, since James Harrison can't get many carries either. Does Andy Reid know this guy has a 286-yard game on his resume' and a 100-yard game this season?

-- Jeremy Maclin continues to back me up when I say he's the best overall receiver this team has. If Vick had any time on the one long ball he attempted, Maclin would have had three touchdowns and about 60 or 70 extra yards.

-- The punt return was incredible. That is undeniable. But as a receiver, I was not impressed with DeSean Jackson. He was out of the game early and was very lazy running his patterns. He has to stick with his time during the bad times as well, and he wasn't willing to do that.

-- Jason Avant did his job. He didn't have any incredible plays in a game that was full of them, but he was there for a few underneath routes to keep the chains moving.

-- Not to burst any bubbles, but if there's a single Giant defender in the area, Brent Celek drops that ball. He bobbled it as it hit his hands, but did a nice job of turning up-field and making sure he was getting in the end zone. The team will still need more from him as a receiver and blocker, but this was a good step in the right direction.

-- Outside of getting duped by a corner blitz once, Jason Peters had another very good game in both run and pass protection. He's turning into the guy the Eagles thought they were trading for when they gave up three picks including a first-rounder.

-- Todd Herremans, Mike McGlynn, and Max Jean-Gilles were less than impressive. They did not work well together, they could not get out of each other's way, and constantly got Vick hit or allowed guys in his face. Herremans, however, will inexplicably continue to be overrated.

-- King Dunlap needs to work on the mental part of the game. He was stepping inside to help Jean-Gilles with a defense tackle while a linebacker or defensive back came around the edge. He must recognize things like that before he can be counted upon on a weekly basis.

-- As far as Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg go, there isn't a whole lot of good. The play-calling was atrocious. They were getting Vick killed with the predictable calls, and Reid not challenging that Hakeem Nicks catch and the Jackson fumble is unforgivable. The team won in spite of these guys.

-- Trent Cole is just a guy in the second half of the season. Where's that key sack? Where's that key play? If he wants to be considered one of the best in the league, he must step up and make the plays when they need to be made. Right now, he's not doing it.

-- Brodrick Bunkley, Antonio Dixon, and Mike Patterson were alright. They got handled a bit too often, but they stepped it up in the second half and contributed by keeping blockers out of the second level. They must all step up, especially in giving a pass rush.

-- The defensive tackle not mentioned, Trevor Laws, wasn't very good either until the Giants' final drive of the game. Laws had a tipped pass and sack on that drive and was instrumental in making sure the Giants had to punt.

-- The defense still needs much, much more out of Darryl Tapp, Juqua Parker, and rookie Daniel Te'o-Nesheim. Tapp had a tipped pass on third down in the fourth quarter, but Parker and Te'o-Nesheim were manhandled most of the game.

-- I've said it before but I'll say it again. I hate Ernie Sims. He's brought nothing of value to this defense and it's mind-boggling that he hasn't been benched for Akeem Jordan yet.

-- Moise Fokou had a decent game with six tackles and a sack, but let's not forget he nearly missed that sack because he couldn't bring down the strong and elusive Eli Manning. Hopefully the sarcasm is coming through.

-- Jamar Chaney is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. This guy had 12 solo tackles and still contributed on special teams. Did you see the huge block on that punt return? That was Chaney throwing his body at that guy for the good of the team. If he keeps this up, Stewart Bradley might have some serious competition next season.

-- What happened to Dimitri Patterson? He had to know they were going to target him with Asante Samuel coming back, but he just seemed out of place all day. He did a decent job tackling in the open field, but he's got to be better at sticking with receivers than he was against the Giants.

-- There weren't a ton of passes thrown his way so it's tough to say what kind of day Asante Samuel had, but one thing is for sure: the Giants were afraid of him. Which I guess qualifies as a good day.

-- Despite the interception, Quintin Mikell did not have a good game. He missed tackles and blew coverage that allowed the Giants to go up 31-10 when he gave up covering Kevin Boss. I'm not sure what's wrong with him this season, but he's got to figure things out quickly.

-- Nate Allen is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn patella tendon. It's a huge loss for this defense and a damn shame for Allen. Kurt Coleman, who did a decent job filling in, will take over as the starter. Expect the Eagles to bring in another safety in the coming days.

-- Like the offense, the defense played in spite of their coach. I loathe Sean McDermott and the way he calls this defense. He plays soft and in turn has created a soft defense. Hooray for them for standing strong at the end, but they still gave up 31 points and a vast majority of the blame falls on McDermott.

-- I'm not sure if Bobby April or Andy Reid came up with the idea for the onside kick, but David Akers executed it to perfection. That is the best onside kick I have ever seen, and Riley Cooper did a great job of getting it at its highest point. From start to finish, that was spectacular.

-- On Jackson's punt return, Omar Gaither made an even better block than Chaney. Coming down the field, Gaither blocked one guy into two other Giants and effectively took out three defenders with one block. With that block, Jackson might not have broken that.

-- The big play wasn't there, but I love the grit and determination Jorrick Calvin shows on kick returns. He refuses to go down and gets as much as he possibly can with no blocking.

-- What an unbelievable game. The Eagles are now in the driver's seat and their magic number is one. One win either next week or the week after, or one loss by the Giants gives them the NFC East title. If the Chicago Bears lose one of their next three games and the Eagles win out, they will earn a first-round bye.

-- There was a lot of good in this game, but the bad cannot be overlooked. The coaches were awful all game and the defense still allowed 31 points. If they can go in and correct what went wrong in the first three quarters, this team could (again, could) be legitimate contenders.
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Chaney must show he can handle the mental aspect.


New York Giants wide receiver Steve Smith has torn his ACL and will not play this week when the Eagles head up to the new Meadowlands. Mario Manningham also looks highly questionable for the pivotal NFC East showdown.

That's the good news.

The bad news, however, is that the lack of receivers will force the Giants to run the ball more often at a young defense filled with holes and a rookie in Jamar Chaney making his first start at middle linebacker.

Antonio Dixon and the rest of the defensive tackles have stepped up their game to help make up for the sub-par linebacker play, but it might not be enough against the Giants.

Starting center Shaun O'Hara and backup left tackle Shawn Andrews are practicing this week, so Sean McDermott and the Eagles defense will not face the same decimated unit they faced the first time around.

Not only that, but both Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are running very well -- unlike last time the two teams faced when Jacobs was clearly frustrated with his playing time and not entirely in the game.

If the Eagles hope to sweep the Giants and take a firm hold of the lead in the NFC East, Chaney is going to have to step up and show that he's learned the defense. Physicality isn't a problem as he's shown he's capable of making plays, but if he's caught out of position, a guy like Bradshaw can stick a dagger in a defense by breaking off huge runs at any time.

And all it takes is once. One bad read, one bad call, or even a late read or call could lead to a big play that winds up being the difference.

I'm not a big fan of Stewart Bradley, but at least we don't have to worry about him having the defense out of position because he's familiar with how it's run. Chaney has only been in the scheme since April, so it's likely that he's not as versed in it as he should be in order to start.

My first thought when the announcement was made that he's the starter was curiosity as to whether or not this was an endorsement of Chaney or an indictment of Omar Gaither.

Gaither has run this defense in the past, so it would make sense that if Chaney wasn't ready they would go with Gaither and find a way to make up for his lack of size.

Hopefully that means we can expect the best out of Chaney, but Andy Reid has put his faith in some pretty bad linebackers in the past -- Barry Gardener, for instance, comes to mind.

If he's made the same mistake with Chaney, taking the NFC East from the Giants is going to be something of a daunting task, if it wasn't bad enough already.
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Losing Graham thins out the defensive end rotation.


As if the final weeks of the season weren't going to be difficult enough, the Eagles will now have to do it without two starters on defense as Stewart Bradley and Brandon Graham are expected to miss the rest of the season.

Once Graham hit the turf, there was an immediate cause for concern due to the way he was writhing and clearly in pain. When they showed the replay, I was hoping for some sort of contact to his knee that would imply perhaps a sprain or hyper-extension.

No such luck. He's clearly shown attempt to plant and having his leg give out on him. More often than not, that means a torn ACL.

Those fears were realized Monday as head coach Andy Reid announced Graham had in fact torn his ACL and would be out for the remainder of his rookie season.

Graham had been an off-and-on starter with Juqua Parker, starting six of the first 13 games of the season. Parker will now be expected to start the remaining games and will likely see more snaps than he's used to seeing in a single game.

Rookie defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, who has been more than disappointing, will likely be active for the rest of the season as the team's fourth end. The problem, however, is that both he and Darryl Tapp are right defensive ends. One of them, likely Te'o-Nesheim, will be asked to play out of position.

Bradley injured his elbow after being cut by one of the Dallas Cowboys running back. When he put his hand down to break his fall, his elbow clearly gave out and created one of the nastier replays you'll see this season.

The elbow bent in, let's say, an unusual fashion. It didn't take years of medical school to know it was dislocated and that the team would likely need to find a replacement for the final weeks of the season and hope he can return for the playoffs.

I'm not a huge fan of Bradley's and losing him doesn't worry me too much, but there's no denying that at this point he's the best option in the middle. Rookie Jamar Chaney did a good job filling in, but there's no guarantee he'll be the guy moving forward.

Veteran Omar Gaither has seen significant time in the middle in past seasons and even started one game in the middle this year when Bradley was forced to miss with a concussion. Gaither, however, has been falling out of favor with the coaching staff for the past couple seasons and would have to really shine to prevent Chaney from starting.

Another option could be Kawika Mitchell, the former Buffalo Bills linebacker the Eagles worked out last week. Mitchell would likely need a week or two to pick up the defense first, but as a veteran he could step in without much of an issue.

If I was a betting man, I would put my money on Chaney getting the first starts of his young career with Gaither as his backup and replacement on the special teams units.

In other injury news...

Rookie linebacker (and part-time safety) Keenan Clayton will miss at least one week with a sprained knee.
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