Offseason Assessment: Defense

As promised, here are my thoughts on our defense going into the start of free agency next Friday. I'll update my post as free agency unfolds. Already my offensive post should be slightly revised, since Jordan Gross has signed with Carolina, and it also seems that the Eagles have no intentions of franchising Tra Thomas, or anyone else. I think this is a real mistake, unless they think they can get Thomas to stay for less. Personally I'd like to see him play here at least one more year, but I also don't want to give tens of millions in guaranteed money to a 34 year old with a history of back problems. I also think its risky to go into the season without a veteran tackle or to assume that Herremans can handle playing the blind side in the pros. For more of my offensive analysis, see the earlier post.

And now the defense...


Defensive Line
Here is, I think, one of the more intriguing spots on the roster for some tinkering. First off, let’s just get it out in there that the Eagles will not be pursuing either Albert Haynesworth or Julius Peppers. Haynesworth has been inconsistent at times and dominant at others, but he’ll be asking more than the Eagles want to spend on a position where they already have two starters they like. Bunkley really is a beast (his strength enables him to play the run as if he were much heavier) and Patterson is definitely a very solid player.
As for Peppers, he’s going to cost way too much, would require some serious trading chips in addition to the 20 to 30 million in guarantees he’ll want, and he claims to want to play in a 3-4 (Please not Dallas).
The Eagles should be looking at another defensive end to shore up their pass rush. It’s possible that Abiamiri, Clemons, or Bryan Smith can be that guy. I think at this point it’s safe to say Juqua Parker can’t be. We need someone who can take most defensive snaps on the other side of Cole and can help this defensive line get pressure with just the front four. If we can still get to the QB on plays that aren’t obvious blitzing situations it will make our defense so much more effective. This was supposed to be why they brought in the three guys mentioned above, but last year, it still felt like way too many of our sacks came on blitzes. For some potentially more reasonably priced pass rushers who could come in and win a starting job or make one of the other guys on the roster have to really develop to secure the starting job, I like a couple Cardinals defensive ends in Antonio Smith and Bertrand Berry. It’s unlikely the Cardinals will sign both. I think either could start in this league or at least platoon with Abiamiri more effectively than Parker, who just seems to wear down by the end of every season.
Also, I’d expect them to add a backup DT behind Laws, either a veteran (I’d love fat Grady Jackson for goal line situations), but probably more likely a mid-round draft pick.

LBs
Don’t expect any significant changes here. I think Gocong was adequate and Jordan looked good. Bradley still overpursues at times and is learning to cover, but I like his game a lot. I think he can be a very solid player. He’s got the size and nose for the ball to be as disruptive as Trotter was and should be better in coverage since he seems quicker moving laterally and really, really smart. I think management loves this starting three and feel comfortable with Gaither and Tank Daniels as backups (and special teams players). Look for Tracy White, Andy Studebaker, and Joe Mays to compete for the sixth LB spot. I’d love to have a game changing linebacker around here, but there’s only a handful of those guys in the league, and that just isn’t what the Eagles value. The truth is that with a great secondary and a great line, you don’t need to be wasting a ton of money on the linebacker position, and they do think that this group can be as good as any other linebacking corps that Jim Johnson has had here. If there right, well, you can certainly win in this league with guys like Jeremiah Trotter and Carlos Emmons, without having players like Ray Lewis or Derrick Brooks.

Defensive Backs
Obviously, Mikell, Brown, and Samuel are awesome—each it probably among the ten best in the league at their position.
The big one here is to try to bring back Joselio Hanson (This is perhaps as important as the safety situation). Lito Sheppard will almost certainly be gone, and we won’t be getting much for him. With Brown and Samuel we may have the best pair of cornerbacks in the NFL, but we need that nickel guy and Hanson was great at it. I haven’t heard a lot of buzz about him as a starter elsewhere (not like there was when Al Harris and Rod Hood were up for free agency), so I’m hoping we can bring back Hanson.
At safety, I think the Eagles will try to get something done with Brian Dawkins. Probably they’ll do what they did with Trotter and Runyan a couple years ago. They’ll let Dawk go test the market and then come back to him with a contract that requires him to give the Eagles a slight hometown discount, which he’ll do b/c he likes playing here. I think the Eagles truly believe that Demps is the free safety of the future, and I think that we’re going to see him on the field a lot more next year. Dawkins did some incredible things though when they asked him to play close to the line in the second half of last season, and I think they’d like to keep him in the mix. The fact that this happens to be a very strong year for free agent safeties should help keep the Eagles from being outpriced for Dawkins, and if he does go elsewhere (or retires), the Eagles will be able to bring in a veteran who can share time with Demps until he’s ready to take over full time. Free agent safeties of interest if needed include Jermaine Phillips, Buccaneers (probably too good of a player, and thus too costly, for what the Eagles would be looking for in this situation), Marlon McCree, Denver, Darren Sharper, Vikings (probably will be overpriced based on past accomplishments), Mike Brown, Bears (a beast a few years ago, but can he stay healthy?).
For more depth at the position, I’d love to see them bring back J.R. Reed. I really hope they let Considine walk. I know they love him as a special teams player, but that guy cannot play safety in the NFL—he’s not big enough to make up for his lack of speed, not fast enough to make up for his lack of size, not a great tackler, and makes routine mistakes in coverage. He’s like a smaller, slower, worse-tackling Michael Lewis. At least Reed played with some fire and could hit. Considine has been one of those players for whom the Eagles seem to have an addiction they can’t kick, no matter how much it puzzles everyone else (like Reno Mahe or Barry Gardner).

Special Teams
Finally we have good return men and don’t have to worry about that. Rocca had a breakout season. While Akers was spotty, I see no reason to try to replace him. He’s still one of the better field goal kickers in the league on a good day, and we’ve got him under contract