GREAT synopsis of LB situation (from goeagles99)

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I read this, and thought you all might appreciate it.

Linebacker has been an odd position for the Eagles. During the Reid era we have had a revolving door at each of the LB positions. It has been a problematic position for us. Think of all the starters we've had:

SLB -- Darling, Emmons, Jones

MLB -- Trotter, Gardner, Kirkland, Simoneau, Trotter

WLB -- Willie T., Gardner, Caldwell, Barber, Wayne, Simoneau, Adams


Did I leave anyone out?

What do we make of this?

That is hard to say. We've found the right players at OL and DB. We've found RBs. We found LJ at TE. LB has been a struggle.

We have drafted guys. We've signed FAs. We've tried just about everything. Nothing has worked to this point.

There have been good seasons by individuals, but there's been no consistency. 2001 was far and away the best group. Trot worked the middle. Emmons controlled TEs. Caldwell was effective in coverage and handled the weakside.

Jim Johnson loved Carlos Emmons at SAM. Unfortunately, Carlos got hurt as his contract expired. The Eagles considered keeping him, but didn't think it would be smart to give him a big deal. They let him go to NY and he's been pretty solid, but has missed 5 games over 2 years. Statistically, he and Dhani have been similar, but CE was better in coverage and gave us a different skill set.

Trot is the MLB that JJ has liked the best. He's just a unique talent. Who knows what might have happened had he not been gone in '02 and '03...

Our best WLB was Shawn Barber. We tried to sign him to an extension and then tried to get him to re-sign before he hit the market. No go. Shawn wanted a huge deal. Our holdup was a concern about his knee. He got that deal and had a terrific year for KC in 2003, but has only played in 10 games over the last 2 years due to a knee injury.

Nate Wayne had the potential to be a star at WLB. Unfortunately, he was just as inconsistent for us as he was for GB. Simoneau has shown flashes, but didn't pan out the way we expected.

We've re-invented our group once again. We have Dhani Jones, who I think is best suited for MLB. We have Trot, who is a MLB. We have Keith Adams, who played MLB in college. Our 4th LB is Mark Simoneau, who was also a MLB in college. None of these guys is particularly athletic. We have a bunch of guys who are best suited to stopping the run.

At first, that notion seems nuts, but think about our run D this year. We have played 11 games with Trotter in the middle (he was thrown out of the ATL game before it even started). We've given up 102 yds per game with Trot starting. That would be 11th in the league. We've given up 3.54 yds per rush. That would be 5th in the NFL. We faced 3 terrific runners in LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, and Lamont Jordan. We allowed them 52 carries for 75 yards. Think about that stat. 52 carries for 75 yards. Amazing.

Unfortunately, none of the 3 is adept at coverage. None is a great athlete. None of the guys is a sideline-to-sideline guy.

You'll hear fans gripe about how the Eagles don't value LB. That's not exactly true. Jim Johnson puts a premium on rushing the passer and pass coverage, the DL and DBs. Those are his priorities. However, it isn't as if Jim thinks LBs aren't important. We've tried to upgrade the unit, but nothing has really worked. That is the problem.

There is hope. We hired a new set of scouts and a new College Scouting Director prior to 2004. Last year we added WLB Matt McCoy in the 2nd Round. Based on what I saw of him in college, he is a good fit for us. Matt's only been on the field for a couple of games this year, so we haven't gotten to see if he can play or not. I'm hopeful. We signed SLB Greg Richmond in 2004. He's been banged up and that has hindered him. JJ seems to really like him. Those guys could help in 2006.

We know Keith Adams is gone from WIL. He's a FA and won't be the starter next year. McCoy has the inside track, but isn't a lock. Trot will be the MLB. Dhani is likely to be back at SAM, but the team may look around and see if there is a better player available. Jones hasn't been bad, but certainly hasn't developed into the played they'd hoped for.

2006 will mean another new starter at LB. That's been a regular event since Reid got here. We haven't had the same 3 guys in back to back years. Let's just hope this time they get it right.

[Wingspan]

easy solution
5-0-6 defense

[hbionic]

easy solution
5-0-6 defense

[JTrotter Fan]

If only we had Freeney.  Then it could be Freeney, Rayburn, Hollis, Patterson, Freak. 

[Rome]

Here is a list of the guys who were taken before Dwight Freeney in 2002:

2002 FIRST-ROUND SIGNINGS
No. Player, Position Team Contract Length
1. David Carr, QB Houston 7 years

2. Julius Peppers, DE Carolina 7 years

3. Joey Harrington, QB Detroit Undisclosed

4. Mike Williams, OT Buffalo Undisclosed

5. Quentin Jammer, CB San Diego 6 years

6. Ryan Sims, DT Kansas City 7 years

7. Bryant McKinnie, OT Minnesota 5 years

8. Roy Williams, SS Dallas 7 years

9. John Henderson, DT Jacksonville 5 years

10. Levi Jones, OT Cincinnati 5 years


Wow.   


Henderson & Peppers are the only guys I would even consider taking before Freeney upon further review.

[General_Failure]

Simoneau has shown flashes?

[Mad-Lad]

Joey Harrington will probably wind up in Philly as the 3rd string QB thanks to Marty Morningwhood.

[JTrotter Fan]

Peppers is the only one i'd even consider. 

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Simoneau has shown flashes?

Flashes of maximum suckitude. Totally. As if.

[Rome]

Peppers is the only one i'd even consider. 

Apparently you've never seen John Henderson play.  He's a fricken beast at DT. 

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Joey Harrington will probably wind up in Philly as the 3rd string QB thanks to Marty Morningwhood.

Joey Harrington is good... for a 3rd QB.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

I'm still not ready to discount David Carr. Talk about having a rough deal.

The guys on the ESPN crew did a twenty minute dialog about how Joey Harrington just needs a change of scenery, and that he has all the tools to be one of the greats. After that, and just before halftime, they downed a few hits of acid and started pulling each other's dorks under their blankies cause it was so cold in the Land of Brett.


Peppers and Henderson gotta in the list too, although Freeney IMO is slightly ahead of Henderson, and way behind the talent and ability of Peppers

[PhillyFan]

A few points -

He's right about the idea the Eagles don't value Linebackers being bogus.  They've signed a bunch of free agents (Emmons, Jones, Wayne, Kirkland, Barber), made a trade (Simoneau), and used three second round picks on linebackers (Caver, Gardner, and McCoy) under Andy Reid.  Unfortunately Caver and Gardner didn't work out - that's more a matter of poor drafting, rather than devauling the position.  Since those picks haven't worked out, they've been stuck in a cycle of short term solutions, because they have still needed to draft other positions as well - more critical positions like OL, DE, and CB.  This is actually the best example of the chink in the Eagles' philosophy's armor - poor drafting.  If the Eagles had drafted better - and awhile back on this board I compared their drafts of recent years to the Steelers, Pats, and Colts and it showed how relatively poor the Eagles were - their philosophy would work brilliantly.  Unfortunately though, they have not had the success at the draft that this philosophy requires and the problems at WR, LB, and DL are the result. 

It's way too early to call Matt McCoy a bust, but it's also too early to make him the front runner for a starting spot - he hasn't shown anything yet to make anyone think he will be a starter next year. 

The idea that things may have been different in 2002 and 2003 if Trotter were here is a tough thing to argue.  There's no question he was the more talented and better player than Gardner/Kirkland/Simoneau repacements, but he was not the player then that he has been the last season and a half.  He himself admits that his little detour through Washington and initial assignment on special teams upon his return here had a profound impact on him.  It humbled him and he has become a better all around player because of it.  Sure the system here may be more suited for his style of play, but his problems in Washington were more than just about the system.  If he signed a big deal here, he may very well still have let the money go to his head and very well could have had the same injury problems.  You can't just ignore the circumstances during the period he was gone and just assume he would have played then as he is playing right now.   

[pinoyboy2pt0]

Just say fargit and get Peterson.  A more atheletic CE.  I don't care if he goes on IR from day one, at least I can have him in Madden.

Our WR group sucks, we're fine there - then out of nowhere TO.
Our DE group sucks, we're fine there - then out of nowhere Kearse.
Our OLB group sucks, we're fine there - then out of nowhere...Simoneau?  PETERSON!         Do it.             Do it.

[Beermonkey]

Just say fargit and get Peterson.  A more atheletic CE.  I don't care if he goes on IR from day one, at least I can have him in Madden.

Our DE group sucks, we're fine there - then out of nowhere Kearse.
Our OLB group sucks, we're fine there - then out of nowhere...Simoneau?  PETERSON!         Do it.             Do it.

I don't know about that, he turned down a six-year, $37.8 million deal with a $15.5 million signing bonus from the Niners. While I can understand the Eagles value the LB position more than we give them credit for, I don't think they'd invest that much in him.