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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Did a strong performance earn Fokou a roster spot?


-- Mike Kafka had a pretty noticeable regression. He was very erratic all night and was not making good reads. He's likely going to be the No. 2 quarterback next season, but for this year it's probably in his best interest that he's going to be doing nothing but carrying the clipboard.

-- Is there any way Kurt Coleman doesn't make the team now? Two fumble recoveries for two touchdowns tells me he's a playmaker the Birds would be fools to let loose.

-- Macho Harris, on the other hand, continues to look awful. He doesn't belong on this team and should most certainly get cut on Saturday. He's too slow to play corner but not tough enough to play free safety.

-- Mike Vick did a great job of moving around and keeping his eyes down field. He made a few very good throws and mixed in a couple runs for a very effective quarter of play. Andy Reid had said he might play the entire half, but Vick showed enough early and was able to take the bench and give Kafka some extra work.

-- Quintin Demps doesn't belong on the team either. He's made that obvious.

-- The rookie corner the Birds recently traded for, Jorrick Calvin, might have a play on the roster if Demps and Harris are both cut. He made a good play on defense when he stripped Santonio Holmes and had a couple good returns as well. He looks explosive and likely brings more to the table than Demps or Harris.

-- Unfortunately, Chad Hall wasn't able to do enough in his final showcase. He is most definitely gone by Saturday, but could find himself on the practice squad if the team decides they like him more than Jordan Norwood.

-- Pannel Egboh with a strip-sack was a pleasant surprise. He's another guy who could wind up on the practice squad.

-- Kelley Washington and Eldra Buckley are guys the Eagles cannot release. They're key special teams guys who will contribute more in the big picture than Hank Baskett or Martell Mallett.

-- Speaking of Buckley, showing the versatility to play fullback in a pinch could be something else that helps him stick around.

-- A personal favorite of mine, Tracy White, probably hasn't done enough during the preseason to make the team. I'm hoping, however, that what he did last season combined with the few plays he has made is enough to convince the team he belongs. They've ignored special teams for far too long.

-- Cornelius Ingram will likely find himself on the chopping block as well. It's a damn shame because he's got a lot of talent and could make an impact if he could stay healthy, but a series of bad luck injuries seem have ended his Eagles career.

-- Fourth-round pick Clay Harbor will be a guy to watch. He could be another Brent Celek in the making.

-- Moise Fokou played like a guy who understood his job was on the line. But after that performance, I think he's safe. He played well at linebacker and with his hand on the ground at defensive end, and that versatility is something Reid looks for.

-- Coleman gets two touchdowns, so he gets two mentions. He could turn into an incredible steal out of the seventh round.

-- No one is talking about it, but Sav Rocca is quietly having a fantastic preseason. He hasn't seemed to have any of those occasional shanks we've grown accustomed to seeing, and might finally be hitting his stride. If he can stay this consistent during the regular season, he could be a real weapon.

-- David Akers missed his first field goal attempt of the preseason. Oh well.
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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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How do the Eagles finally stop opposing tight ends?


Since the Ernie Sims trade went down, the talk of the Eagles' defensive woes against opposing tight ends has come back to the forefront. Many are hoping Sims can be the guy to stick with the multiple great tight ends in the NFC East, but Sims is a WILL linebacker -- the SAM is usually the one covering the tight end.

However, there's still an incredibly easy solution to the problem. A solution so easy that it's incredible a great defensive mind like Jim Johnson couldn't figure it out, and now neither can his protégé Sean McDermott.

If you watch the Eagles' defense pre-snap, they always have the SAM lined up a good five yards away from the tight end. When the ball is snapped, all the tight end has to do is run at the linebacker, whomever it may be, and cut one way or another -- leaving said linebacker in the difficult position of having to cover ground and regain position on the tight end.

It happens game after game after game after game, but nothing is changed. The linebacker stays in the same area, and that's precisely the problem.

All McDermott has to do is tell that SAM linebacker to get up in the tight end's face and give him a shot coming off the line. That way, the 'backer is the one with the position, and not the tight end. The shot knocks the tight end off his pattern and can create that half-second of hesitation that will lead to an extra half-second for the front four to get to the quarterback.

This will all-but eliminate the big plays we consistently see against the Eagles' defense, so I'm not sure why this hasn't yet occurred to anyone on the Eagles coaching staff.

I've been preaching this solution for a couple years now, but yet and still the Birds continue to get burned by tight ends week in and week out. And, until they figure this out for themselves, they will continue to have issues.

Perhaps they feel like giving the linebacker a cushion will help him gain position on the tight end, or perhaps they don't trust any of their linebackers to be that close to the line of scrimmage, or perhaps there's simply something I don't understand, but something needs to be done because the way they cover the tight ends now is going to continue to lose them games.

And if McDermott can't figure out a way of his known of fixing the issue, it might be time for the Eagles to look elsewhere for 2011.
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Could Keith Bulluck be the answer at SAM linebacker?


Adam Schein of Sirius NFL Radio and FOXSports.com believes that the Eagles and Giants could, and should, target veteran free agent linebacker Keith Bulluck as it's becoming more and more likely that he doesn't get an extension in Tennessee.

"If teams are serious about winning, I'm the guy," Bulluck told Schein on his Sirius radio show.

On his Twitter account, Schein said that he believes Bulluck is right, and that linebacker-needy teams like the Giants and Eagles should pursue the 33-year old strongside linebacker.

But how much interest would the Eagles realistically have in a linebacker of his age coming off a torn ACL? They have a history of parting ways with players over 30 who seem to be perfectly healthy, let alone a guy coming off a major knee injury.

The only thing that could catch the Eagles' interest is the fact that Bulluck can play the strong side and has played it very well. But a big part of playing the strong side is being able to cover the elite tight ends the Eagles face in the NFC East -- something Bulluck could find very difficult to do at his age and coming off an injury.

The Giants seem to have the same sort of reservations about the linebacker.

I don't see the Eagles going after Bulluck because of his age and the injury. They would probably feel better starting Moise Fokou full-time and going through his growing pains rather than using Bulluck as a one-year stop-gap player.

They might reach out and see how much he'd like in a one-year contract just because they like to do their homework and, if he's willing to come in dirt cheap, he might get a workout. If that workout blows them away, he might get a contract offer.

But he will probably want starter money, so don't expect to hear a whole lot about Bulluck continuing his career in Philadelphia.
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McDermott's refusal to blitz lost the Eagles this game.


With a depleted secondary and linebacking corps, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott was obviously afraid of Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, and the pair of 6'5" receivers the Chargers boast in Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd.

He feared their big-play ability to the point that he got out of what this defense does best, which is blitz and get pressure on the quarterback. Instead of sticking to the defense's strengths, McDermott opted to sit the safeties and linebackers in coverage.

The front four got some decent pressure on Rivers, but he was easily able to step up past the pressure into a clear pocket, allowing him to find Gates in the middle of the field, along with every other receiver on the team.

McDermott's inexperience came to the forefront yesterday by allowing himself to get scared of the opposing offense and take him out of his element.

There's a difference between tweaking your defense to best defend an opposing team, and it's another thing entirely to change your entire philosophy. When you change the philosophy of a defense, only bad things can happen.

These linebackers are not good enough to sit back in coverage and be effective. They have to constantly be attacking the line of scrimmage to fill gaps on running plays, and get at the quarterback on passing downs.

Will Witherspoon was playing the WILL position, a position he has played in the past, but Chris Gocong was forced to play the MIKE -- a position he has never played in either college of the NFL, which was quite evident during the course of the game -- and Moise Fokou made only his second career start at SAM linebacker.

Were it the original starters in Stewart Bradley, Akeem Jordan, and Chris Gocong this defense could have probably worked, but it was doomed with the trio the Eagles put on the field yesterday.

For that matter, even having guys like Omar Gaither at WILL or Witherspoon at MIKE might have worked, but this trio was absolutely not ready for what McDermott was asking of them.

If this happens again, Reid is going to have to step in and talk with his young defensive coordinator. This is not something that can be allowed to happen again because it lost the Eagles this game. Even with their redzone woes on offense, just one defensive stop could have given them the win.
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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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The rookie must be at his best against the Cowboys.


With starting SAM linebacker Chris Gocong doubtful for this week's divisional showdown with the Cowboys, rookie and former seventh-round pick Moise Fokou is in line to get the first start of his NFL career.

Gocong is probably the most under-appreciated player on the Eagles' defense. He doesn't have the flashy plays -- the sacks, the interceptions, or the 15-tackle games -- but until Witherspoon arrived via trade a couple weeks ago, Gocong was was the only three-down linebacker this team had.

It may not sound like a whole lot on the surface, but having a guy who can play all three downs are invaluable. The ability to play the run and pass is something the Eagles linebacking corps was lacking, and Gocong was the closest thing they had.

He may get beat by the premier tight ends every once in a while, but he's a smart football player and is very rarely ever out of position because of it. His intelligence has been a great asset to the defense, but now they're losing that for a very important game this week.

The rookie Fokou has much more raw talent than Gocong, but he does not have the football intelligence that Gocong possesses. It's something that a player acquires throughout their career, and Fokou just does not have the experience.

He's been very good as a special teams player, but even during the rout of the Giants Fokou was responsible for giving up the touchdown to Kevin Boss before halftime. If he can't cover Boss, he will have no chance against Jason Witten, who may be the very best tight end in the league. Because of that, Sean McDermott is going to have to devote a safety to covering Witten.

It's not the ideal situation by any stretch, but this defense is good enough to make it work while the rookie goes through some growing pains.

Hopefully Gocong will be back soon, but until then McDermott will have to find a way to put the rookie in the best position to succeed without asking too much from him. He will not be able to do the same things that Gocong did, but he's on this team because they have confidence in him in this situation.

Cross your fingers and hope we've got something in the rookie, or it could be a very long day for the defense.
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