When the 2011 season kicks off, Brodrick Bunkley will be the starting defensive tackle next to Mike Patterson, and Antonio Dixon will be on the bench.

And the reason is simple: Bunkley better fits the new scheme.

New defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has already made it very clear that defensive line coach Jim Washburn will be able to do whatever he wants with the guys up front. It will be Washburn's scheme, and Castillo, along with Mike Caldwell, Mike Zordich, and Johnnie Lynn will have to work accordingly.

In Washburn's scheme, the defensive ends go after the quarterback. That's been talked about to death, so we all know that, but something that's not being talked about is the fact that his defensive tackles also play a one-gap responsibility rather than two.

Under Sean McDermott (and, to a degree, Jim Johnson as well), the defensive ends were taught to look inside and play run before attacking the quarterback. That half-second on every snap was the difference between a sack or a touchdown pass on several occasions.


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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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Trevor Laws with a pick means things are going well.


-- For the most part, Michael Vick's decision-making was pretty good. He did get picked on an underthrown ball and almost got picked because he stared down a receiver, but other than that he was hitting the open guy and allowing his receivers to make plays. Vick threw for 300 yards for the third time this season and continues to look like a real quarterback.

-- LeSean McCoy was, once again, under-utilized. At an embarrassing 12 carries, head coach Andy Reid continues to ignore McCoy's value as a runner. At one point, McCoy was well over five yards per carry, but carries in garbage time into a Texans' defense expecting it dropped his average to under four per carry. He did, however, have eight receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown.

-- He still has yet to carry the ball even once, but Owen Schmitt chipped in with his first touchdown reception as an Eagle. Schmitt continues to be a great blocker and a reliable option out of the backfield.

-- Like McCoy, Jerome Harrison was disgustingly under-used. Three carries. That's it. If he was upset about his playing time in Cleveland he's got to be fuming now.

-- The big story this week was DeSean Jackson. Even though he didn't have the big game everyone expected, he chipped in with three receptions for 84 yards. It doesn't sound like a lot, but they were all big catches that kept the offense moving. The team will still look for more out of him, but it was better than what they got last week.

-- With five catches for 68 yards, Jeremy Maclin actually had a down game. He's been red-hot as of late but, like Jackson, most of Maclin's receptions were key within the drive in which they occurred. He also turned and went straight up-field for once. So, three cheers for Maclin.

-- What is going on with Jason Avant? He had another dropped touchdown pass. Even one is a lot for a guy like Avant, and this recent one was almost as bad as his drop against the Giants.

-- Brent Celek made the best play of the night with his key first down on third-and-long. The awareness to understand that he was not down because he was on top of a defender and make one last reach for the sticks was worth applauding. Unfortunately, it only canceled out a dropped touchdown catch of his own.

-- Chad Hall, playing in place of the injured Riley Cooper, only accounted for three yards on three carries, but accounted for a first down along the way. I, like most Eagles fans, believe Cooper has a bright future, but right now Hall is more valuable player because of his versatility.

-- The offensive line was just short of spectacular. They had a couple breakdowns that forced Vick to move out of the pocket, but more often than not they were man-handling the Texans' defensive line and giving Vick tons of time. They just have to cut down on the random mental lapses and they might turn into a very good unit.

-- Even King Dunlap was impressive in limited time while filling in for an injured Winston Justice (who, by the way, is said to have a sprained MCL and will have an MRI Friday).

-- The play-calling was suspect at best. Reid and Marty Mornhinweg are still calling far too much play-action without actually establishing the run first. I would love to ask them what they think that's going to accomplish. And the designed runs with Vick are just going to get him hurt. It's time to seriously cut back on those and just starting handing the ball to McCoy instead.

-- For the fourth time this season, Trent Cole was held without a sack. He got some good pressure and chipped in with three tackles, but overall it was a disappointing game for the Pro Bowl defensive end.

-- Antonio Dixon, once again, was monumental in containing the running game. Arian Foster is the league's leading rusher and was held to 83 yards on 22 carries. Dixon's ability to play two gaps at a time is a huge reason for the defense's recent ability to stop the run.

-- Mike Patterson chipped in with a sack, and Brodrick Bunkley did a good job of controlling the line in limited action. It seems like the team is trying too hard to turn Bunkley into a two-gap player like Dixon. He's a guy who belongs in the three technique and shooting a gap, not trying to eat up blockers.

-- In his fifth start of the season, Brandon Graham was basically invisible. Were it not for his ability to do all the little things, his rookie season would be a pretty big disappointment. Juqua Parker should easily re-take his job when healthy.

-- There is not a happier man on this earth than Trevor Laws. Coming down with that interception had to be the greatest feeling of his young career and is just another positive step forward for the former second-round pick. Now all they need to do is teach him how to hold onto the football.

-- I'm not sure what to say about Darryl Tapp or Daniel Te'o-Nesheim anymore. Neither one did anything worth while until Tapp recovered Matt Schaub's late fumble. Both look completely inept. This is looking like a miss on the trade for Tapp and drafting Te'o-Nesheim in the third when most scouts graded him around the sixth round.

-- For the first time since all year, Stewart Bradley looked like a middle linebacker this defense could build around. He was blitzing well, reading plays very well, and even making tackles and finishing plays. Hopefully he's starting to get healthy and this is the Bradley we'll see moving forward.

-- Ernie Sims continues to be a disappointment in my eyes. I haven't seen the speed when it really counts. The only time it seems to show up is when he's running past a play. He doesn't seem able to control himself and might be another linebacker rental.

-- Not much to report on Moise Fokou. There weren't any spectacular plays, but he did a very good job of forcing Foster back to the middle and not allowing him to hit the edges.

-- The secondary could not stop Andre Johnson. But then again, few can. We saw Joselio Hanson get beat a couple times again, but he was much better than last week. I did take notice that Trevard Lindley played most of the game on the outside while Hanson stayed on the inside in nickel situations. That's what I was yelling for last week, and it worked this week.

-- The more I see of Dimitri Patterson, the more he starts to look like Sheldon Brown.

-- Rookie safety Nate Allen got ran over in the endzone by Foster early in the game, but made up for it with a late strip-sack of Schaub. Overall, Allen is looking like an absolute steal in the second round.

-- Quintin Mikell was clearly sick of hearing the talk about his demise. He nearly had a couple sacks, would have had an interception were it not for his stone hands, and would flying around the field all night long. It hasn't been a great year for him, but he picked it up against the Texans.

-- Was I the only one who saw the graphic showing that the Eagles' defense is the worst in the redzone since the 1988 Houston Oilers? That's a direct result of Sean McDermott's soft play-calling and the soft way he calls a game in general. I'm still on board to see him fired.

-- I'm officially a fan of Colt Anderson. I would be lying if I told you I knew who he was coming off the Minnesota Vikings practice squad, but he keeps making big plays on special teams and has proven to be a good under-the-radar pick-up.

-- Following Anderson, the coverage for both kicks and punts was very good. It was great to see after a complete breakdown against the Bears last week. Bobby April should stop Reid's streak of firing special teams coordinators.

-- Nothing to report in terms of DeSean Jackson returning punts. He called a fair catch and let the ball roll another time on both of Matt Turk's punts. Jorrick Calvin had a 102-yard kick return, but it was called back by a questionable holding call. I think, before the season is out, Calvin will have a return that actually counts.

-- At 8-4, this team controls its own destiny. All they have to do is keep winning and they'll take the NFC East for the sixth time in the Reid era. But with two games against the Dallas Cowboys, one more against the New York Giants, and a potential trap game against the Minnesota Vikings, that's easier said than done.
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Losing Bunkley would be a huge blow to the defense.


Early in the Eagles' Week 5 game against the San Francisco 49ers, defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley was forced to leave the game and head to the locker room. He had been hit by a teammate while both were trying to make a tackle, and his elbow bent sideways and backward in a rather unnatural fashion.

Now, according to head coach Andy Reid, Bunkley will be forced to have surgery and will likely miss the rest of the season. Reid, as always, was non-committal on whether or not Bunkley would actually wind up on IR, but that seems to be the popular opinion.

In Bunkley's absence, Trevor Laws and Antonio Dixon will likely start in a rotation next to Mike Patterson. The team could go out and sign another tackle if they put Bunkley on IR, but it's more likely they'll use Laws, Dixon, and Patterson as the primary tackles and bump Brandon Graham or Darryl Tapp inside on passing downs.

The Eagles' seventh-round pick Jeff Owens is also available to them on the practice squad, but they'd probably like to keep him there. If they felt he was ready to contribute, he likely would have made the active roster.

With the way Laws has stepped up his game this season, the team probably isn't panicking too much. They will, however, need a lot more production out of middle linebacker Stewart Bradley if they're going to fix their woes defending the run.

Bunkley seemed to be the only guy actually doing his part in that respect, and with him gone there will be a lot more blockers getting their hands on Bradley. Hopefully the first five weeks of the season were just a warm-up for Bradley and he's ready to get back to his 2008 form.

In other injury news...

Reid said left tackle Jason Peters was unable to put weight on his knee after the Eagles' 27-24 win over the 49ers Sunday night, and said the tackle does have some ligament damage. Reid did, however, sound optimistic that Peters would be able to go Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

If Peters can't go, the start would either go to King Dunlap or Todd Herremans could be slid out to left tackle and Reggie Wells could get the start at left guard.

Also, Asante Samuel and Riley Cooper are expected to be available next week while Michael Vick's status remains up in the air.
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Henderson doesn't appear likely wind up in Philly.


All across the blogosphere there seems to be rumors of John Henderson finding his way to Philadelphia and entering the rotation at defensive tackle with Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson.

However, it's highly unlikely Henderson even gets a sniff from the Eagles much less a visit, a contract, and playing time. It's not even necessarily a knock on Henderson -- a guy who has been to a couple Pro Bowls and was once considered a premier defensive tackle -- as much as it is a testament to how the Birds feel about the guys they've got.

It's obvious why they like what they have in Bunkley and Patterson. Both guys have been very good run-stuffers and, perhaps with any sort of pass-rush from the left side and a solid linebacking corps behind them, they can finally elevate their game to the next level.

Trevor Laws was a second-round pick a couple years ago (and in fact was taken two spots before DeSean Jackson), and the Eagles refuse to give up on him just yet. They believe he can be the inside pass-rush they've been looking for, and will give him at least one more year to make an impact before moving on.

But the biggest reason why Henderson won't wind up in Philly is Antonio Dixon. Dixon was the forgotten man a lot last year, but he always seemed to be making plays when they needed him to. Whether it was getting a pass-rush or playing the run, Dixon was impressive in his rookie season and looks to see an extended role in 2010.

Right now he's the third tackle and the Birds have a lot of faith that he can turn into a playmaker one day; They have so much faith, in fact, that they're going to ignore the urge to go out and sign a guy like Henderson who has been so dominant in the past.

Patterson, Bunkley, Dixon, and Laws will probably be the four defensive tackles, so there's really no room for Henderson. He doesn't fit the youth movement taking place, and he would certainly want far more money than the Eagles would ever be willing to pay him.

They might kick around the idea of bringing in Henderson if one of those four were to get injured, but even then the spot would most likely go to Jeff Owens, a seventh-round pick out of Georgia.

Either way, it doesn't look like there's going to be a scenario that ends with Henderson in Philly.
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Laws is only one of several guys who must step up.


Since the free agent class was very weak this offseason, the Eagles are going to have to do most of their improving internally. They will have to squeeze everything they can out of a few guys who have not lived up to their billing as either high draft picks or high-priced free agents.

And it's not just guys like Trevor Laws, Stacy Andrews, and Victor Abiamiri. They're the obvious bunch to point to because Laws and Abiamiri were second-round picks who haven't panned out yet, and Andrews was given a heft payday to bring him to Philadelphia.

(By the way, I recently found out that Laws and Abiamiri were roommates at Notre Dame. Both second-round picks, both from Notre Dame, both are disappointments, and they were roommates. Maybe they need to find someone else to bunk with?)

But guys like Stewart Bradley, Todd Herremans, Chris Gocong, Brodrick Bunkley, and Mike Patterson must all be better than they've been in previous seasons. Bradley is of course a special case because of his injury, but he is going to have to battle through it and be the linebacker he was in '08 so this defense can get better around him.

Gocong is an obvious guy as well. He looks poised to be in a training camp battle with last year's seventh-round pick Moise Fokou for the SAM linebacker position and, while it's good to see Fokou make the team as a late-round pick, everyone is hoping that Gocong can win the job.

He hasn't really taken his game to the next level like I thought he would a couple seasons ago, but maybe on a contract year he'll have the extra bit of motivation to play up to his obvious athletic ability.

Bunkley and Patterson are guys who regressed last season after the duo had a Pro Bowl-caliber season in '08. It could have been the lack of sufficient talent around them in the front seven, but they appeared to lose the hard-nosed attitude that had some calling them one of the best defensive tackle tandems in the league.

Neither guy is a great pass-rusher, but they've got to be more stout against the run. The Cowboys offensive line man-handled those guys, and with Bradley likely playing at less than 100 percent behind them, they're going to have to eat up blocks and allow him to roam free behind them.

Herremans got thrown around by Albert Haynesworth and the rest of the defensive tackles he faced, and will have to increase his upper-body strength if he wants to keep his spot. He can't keep getting pushed back into McNabb and expect to keep his job, so a few more reps on the bench press will go a long way.

The Eagles will of course look to make moves in the draft, but a class of rookies is only going to do so much. If this team wants a legitimate shot at taking the next step in 2010, they're going to need the young veterans on this team to take their game to the next level.
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2010 is a make-or-break season for Trevor Laws.


The Eagles drafted Trevor Laws in the second round back in 2008 with the hopes that he could be a good addition to an already-impressive defensive tackle tandem in Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley, and maybe even push one of them for some starting snaps.

It goes without saying that it has not happened yet. In fact, Laws seemingly took steps backwards in his second season and was a non-factor all season long. He didn't have any meaningful stats and was even a healthy scratch for the last month of so of the season.

Laws was -- unbelievably -- taken two spots before the Eagles' young superstar DeSean Jackson, but he hasn't even been able to replicate Jacksons snaps or games played, much less his production.

His rookie season seemed promising as Laws was getting more and more snaps as the season went on. He would come in and relieve either Patterson or Bunkley, and because he's a quicker tackle, was even helping get a pass-rush up the middle outside of the Eagles' nickel package.

He seemed to be progressively getting better and better, but there were no big plays to speak of or anything to really make him stand out. However, there wasn't anything like that for Bunkley in his rookie season either, so there was no reason to panic.

But this offseason, I saw him working out day after day with the trainers off to the side with the walking wounded. He was injured for a good portion of training camp, and though he seemed to be moving well enough as far as I could see, day after day he was missing more and more practices.

Missing practice could have been the reason for his lack of production, or it could have been a lingering injury, but either way he wasn't nearly productive enough for the Eagles and is now facing a crossroads in his career.

Next year will be his third season, and if he doesn't produce, the Eagles could let him walk once his rookie contract is up. In order to avoid that, Laws is going to have to show that he has the power and quickness to make an impact and get a pass-rush up the middle. That's why he was drafted, and if he can't do it, he will be shown the door.

Andy Reid hasn't had much success with second round picks over the years (Matt McCoy, Barry Gardener, Quinton Caver, Victor Abiamiri, etc.), so seeing Laws fail to make an impact wouldn't exactly be a surprise, though it would be a disappointment.

Laws certainly has the talent to produce at this level, so as long as he stays healthy and is able to participate in training camp this season, my personal belief is that Laws will produce the way they expect him to, and that he will make an already-impressive defensive tackle tandem in Patterson and Bunkley even better.
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How long will it take for Demps to get back on the field?


The inactive players have been announced, and it does not look good for some of the young talent on this Eagles roster.

Kevin Curtis and Todd Herremans are inactive because of injury, and the veteran Jason Babin is inactive for the third time, out of four games, this season. The big surprise comes in the form of a young crew of guys who were expected to start or see significant time in Joe Mays, Quintin Demps, and Trevor Laws. Brandon Gibson is also inactive, but he's a rookie, so it's not so bad.

Mays and Demps were looking at earning starting positions in training camp, but both players fell off during the preseason and were replaced. In Demps' case, he was replaced by a rookie. Mays can at least find some solace in being replaced by a veteran with an entire starting season at middle linebacker under his belt.

Laws may actually be the most disappointing of this bunch because he had a lot to prove after basically a wash for his rookie season, and was expected to give a break to both Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson a break in the defensive tackle rotation.

When your second-round pick from a year ago is a healthy scratch, it doesn't bode well for his future with this team, and in this league. Add that onto the fact that the Eagles picked up Antonio Dixon, a rookie, off waivers the week before the season started, and have decided to play him over Laws, and you have a recipe for a short stay for Laws.

These guys will have to pick it up during the practice week to show the coaching staff that they belong on the field with the rest of these guys. One of them got the short end of the deal because it appears as though Reid will be keeping all three quarterbacks active, but it's still an eye-opening list.

We'll see how the idea of three quarterbacks and only four wide receivers pans out for the next few weeks, but it will likely stay that way until one of these young guys can step up and prove he deserves some playing time.
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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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