The Defense

[rjs246]

IGY just likes to cover his ass. He does this by talking out of both sides of his mouth. "The team is doomed BUT if things work out they'll be successful." "They don't have enough talent BUT they could still win it all." It's an endless theme. It's sort of brilliant because he can always claim to be right, which is all anyone on the internet really wants.

[Rome]

they could be excellent, good, average, fair or poor depending on who they're playing, what type of lead the offense gives them, what the weather is like during the game, and what they ate during the pre-game meal.

[ice grillin you]

"The team is doomed BUT if things work out they'll be successful." "They don't have enough talent BUT they could still win it all."

link any post anywhere ever where i said either of these things

ive said a team is doomed as in the phillies last year and been wrong...but i never waffle...

the irony is that youre playing both sides....one second youll say i am hyperbolic to a fault saying everything is definite...now youre saying i play both sides of the fence...which is it cause im confused?

[rjs246]

It's both. See, now I'm right no matter what.

[General_Failure]

Stop saying the loss of Dawkins will hurt. Other than one game where everyone looked like an all pro, he did nothing impressive all season. Yes it sucks that he went to another team, but lets stop pretending that he's still great.

Oh, but he's a leader! Well maybe its time for one of these other highly paid professionals to put on their big boy pants and say doggone a couple hundred times a game.

[rjs246]

If I were a millionaire athlete I wouldn't wear pants of any sort. Fact.

[General_Failure]

Just the smoking jacket and fez?

[ice grillin you]

its not that dawkins is some great player or the best leader ever (even tho he was pretty damn good and i would have kept him for only this reason)...but hes still a better player than the guy who replaced him so thats a downgrade

and combined with the loss of jim johnson they will miss leadership greatly on that side of the ball

a kid defensive coordinator leading babys like quinton demps and joe mays plus a bunch of veterans from other teams isnt an overall sunny feeling

i just dont see who keeps the order on the defense when people arent doing as they should or taking their jobs seriously enough

but more importantly than that is that they dont have very much talent...were they overstocked with playmakers that would greatly minimize the loss of jj and dawk in terms of both X & O's and leadership but they dont

[General_Failure]

So you think the guy that reads comic books to excess is going to keep the younger guys in check when they're not being serious enough?

[Rome]

if the eagles lost dawkins five years ago it would have hurt.  losing him now means nothing because he's done.  he was a liability last year and even though i think demps isn't much of a replacement, he's no worse than dawkins would have been.

[ice grillin you]

So you think the guy that reads comic books to excess is going to keep the younger guys in check when they're not being serious enough?

i dont know check with the dozens of players who worship him like a god and traced his footprints in the sand the entire time they played with him

if the eagles lost dawkins five years ago it would have hurt.  losing him now means nothing because he's done.  he was a liability last year and even though i think demps isn't much of a replacement, he's no worse than dawkins would have been.

dawk had lost multiple steps and couldnt do certain things anymore but jesus the guy was still NFL defensive player of the month in december

ill admit he might be done in denver because that often happens when youre old and switch teams...he clearly doesnt have his heart in it out there has to learn a new system...live in a different part of the country...and all that usually leads to disaster...

but theres no doubt in my mind that had he stayed he would be a better player than quinton demps...i know its natural for fans of all teams to revisit reality when they lose a player they like but a lot pf people are going way overboard with dawk...and to be fair this is happening on both sides...theres some people that think the day he left the defense was automatically dead because of it

do i think the defense is going to be a weakness just because dawk left...not a chance i would be that naive...but do i think it will be a real factor in it?...yes

[Rome]

he was rather atrocious in pass coverage last year.  johnson did a fantastic job of covering up his weakness in that aspect, and yeah, he was pretty good as a pseudo-linebacker, but overall i think he's cooked now.

to me the leadership angle is overplayed.  they're going to go through some growing pains with demps but i don't think he's going to make or break the team one way or the other.  i think he's going to be an adequate replacement for the player that dawkins is now. 

[Drunkmasterflex]

I do have serious concerns about this teams defense, but as was said before it is only the preseason.  I believe it was two years ago this teams defense looked awesome in the preseason and totally shtein the bed during the regular season. 

[ice grillin you]

to me the leadership angle is overplayed.  they're going to go through some growing pains with demps but i don't think he's going to make or break the team one way or the other.  i think he's going to be an adequate replacement for the player that dawkins is now. 

if it was any other sport id agree on leadership...but i dont think you can over esitmate it in football...i even think it can be the downfall of an entire team...see dallas recently

but not with the eagles this year...their biggest problem is easily the talent on defense...but i dont think you can ignore the leadership issue either...would be far less of a concern if they hadnt lost three big pieces all at once...the eagles defense was sumatra and these losses a leadership tsunami

JJ who was the overall leader....dawk who arguably was the franchises all time best leader and bradley who by all accounts had become or was fast becmong the leader of the defense not to mention the on the field leader in that he called all the blitz gaps and formations for them...i just dont know how than cant be a very real concern this year

[General_Failure]

So, what value does a leader have for a bunch of shlubs who aren't very good, particularly one that's equally mediocre?