Eagles Doing The Safety Dance?

For my SB Nation Philly column I wrote about the Eagles and their increased focus on Safety prospects for the upcoming draft.

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Someone yesterday asked about which players might struggle with the new line coaches.  Fair question.  Howard Mudd and Jim Washburn drive their players hard.  Not all guys handle this well.  Washburn has a really strong reputation with his players, though.  Albert Haynesworth took years to buy into Washburn’s style of coaching, but once he did, Big Al became the best defensive player in the league.  And very rich.  I think Eagles players will see that and what he did with Babin and Antwan Odom and be motivated.  Washburn made those guys good players and lots of money.  That will play a big part in the way the guys respond to Washburn.  Bunk would be the guy I’m most curious about.  I think he can take someone riding him.  Mickey Andrews ran the FSU defense and was hard on his guys.  I just wonder what will happen if Bunk is a backup and gets limited playing time.  Will he respond to that situation well?  If he’s struggling for reps and Washburn is riding him hard, that could be a situation to watch.

Offense is different.  Winston Justice has his contract.  He’s not exactly known as a guy with a driven personality.  Things were very competitive at USC, but it was also a fun atmosphere.  Mudd is a no-nonsense guy.  We really do need Winston to buy in and respond well to the pushing and prodding.  King Dunlap is another player that wasn’t exactly known as a grinder, in college or the pros.  He lost his starting job as a Senior at Auburn to a Freshman because he wasn’t playing up to his potential.  Dunlap has made a lot of progress since then, but Mudd will be a tough adjustment for him.

Jason Peters had a reputation in Buffalo as a talented, but fickle player.  He was great on Sundays, but didn’t have an ideal work ethic the rest of the time.  I think coming to a better environment has had a positive effect on him, but Mudd will be an adjustment.  Again, Peters has his money.  His only motivation for working hard with Mudd is to hone his craft.  When I say the phrase “hone his craft” Jason is about the 11 millionth person I think of.  This is a situation that bears watching.  The good news is that Jason played lights out down the stretch last year so maybe Mudd won’t be riding him that hard.

As I talked about yesterday, the key is for the coaches to make the players realize they are being hard on them for a reason.  Mudd and Washburn did a good job of this in their previous stops so I expect that to mostly be the case here.

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I was looking over the roster the other day while confirming some info.  Two names that jumped out at me as guys I’d forgotten about – Reggie Wells and Jorrick Calvin.  I don’t know what to make of their futures.

Calvin showed some potential as a RS, but he didn’t make the kind of impact that makes him a lock for that role in 2011.  I was disappointed that he didn’t get better as the season went along.  As a CB, we still don’t know much about him.

Wells was a solid veteran for the Cardinals, but struggled as an Eagle.  Reggie needs a strong training camp to have a shot at a roster spot.  Maybe he meshes well with Mudd and plays much better.  I don’t see that as likely.  I think his best days are behind him, but the Eagles will give him a chance to show what he can do.

Is There Hope For Brodrick Bunkley?

Bunk and the Eagles defense prepare to let Jahvid Best run wild.

I was on the phone with a friend the other day and we started talking about Brodrick Bunkley.  In some ways, he is the key player for the DTs.  Based on 2010 it is easy to forget where he came from.

Bunkley was the 14th overall pick in the 2006 draft.  He was a terrific prospect.  Very few people expected him to last to pick 14.  Many thought the Bills might take him at #8.  Instead, they went for S Donte Whitner.  Bunkley had okay size, but was incredibly strong.  He ran well and was athletic.  His Senior season at FSU was impressive.  He had 25 TFLs (might have led the nation).  Bunk didn’t pile up these numbers against Duke and The Citadel.  His best play was down the stretch in big games.  There wasn’t much not to like.  Bunkley wasn’t a pick that was pushed for by a scout or coach.  The whole organization wanted this guy.  He was someone that much of the league coveted.  4-3 teams all had to love Bunk.  He was strong enough to 2-gap.  He was athletic enough to play 1-gap.  3-4 teams could look at him as a DE.  Heck, some could consider him as a NT with his strength and power.

In his time as an Eagle Bunkley hasn’t lived up to his draft expectations.  He started for 3 years (plus the early part of 2010).  He played well in 2007 and 2008.  He was an above average DT in those years.  He didn’t make a lot of plays, but some of that is not his fault.  Bunk came here at a time when we moved to the 2-gap system in our base defense.  That limited his chances to attack upfield.  He had limited chances to rush on passing downs because also at that time Jim Johnson had moved to playing DEs on the inside.  That didn’t happen in the past.  Corey Simon got to play on 3rd down.  Jim first mentioned the possibility of using DEs on the inside when discussing the signing of Darren Howard in March of 2006.  I don’t recall us doing it that year, but we moved to it heavily in the 2007 season.  It was all we did from 2008-10.

What fascinates me most about Bunk’s situation is that he was a good player with Jim Johnson as his defensive coordinator and Pete Jenkins as his positional coach.  Bunk then regressed under Sean McDermott and Rory Segrest.  They are gone.  Juan Castillo has the right personality to get Bunk back on track.  Juan is fiery and energetic and a good motivator.  Jim Washburn is the best DL coach in the NFL.  He should be a major improvement over Segrest and that has to help Bunk.

The Eagles have had a mixed relationship with Bunkley over the years.  He held out and missed valuable TC time as a rookie.  That made the 2006 season basically a waste.  Bunk then played well for 2 years.  The rumors I’ve heard is that the Eagles approached him about an extension, but that Bunk wanted elite DT money.  He wasn’t playing at that level so the Eagles backed off the contract talks.  Obviously the last 2 years have done nothing to help Bunk’s case.   The team has been frustrated with him at times throughout his career because his play doesn’t always match his potential.

Right now Bunk is a mystery to us and the Eagles.  That doesn’t mean he’s someone to give up on.  You can’t ignore what he did in 2007 and 2008.  You also have to look at the position he plays and the erratic nature of it.  Albert Haynesworth was the most dominant defensive player in the NFL in 2007 and 2008.  He left the Titans for the Skins as a FA.  He was used differently by the Skins and wasn’t nearly the same player.  This past year they moved to the 3-4 and Big Al was a role player.  He isn’t any less talented.  Put on the WAS/CHI game.  That was the best performance by a DT all year.  Al was awesome in that game.  He needs to be in the right system.

DTs can take time to develop.  Big Al was nothing special in his first 5 years.  He totaled only 9.5 sacks and wasn’t dominant in any way (other than leading the league in face stomps).   The light went on in year 6 and he was great for the next 2 seasons.  Pat Williams was a backup for 4 seasons before he became a starter.  It then took him a couple more years until he became an impact starter.  Jay Ratliff didn’t really emerge until his 4th year in the league.

Bunk might fall flat on his face in 2011 and prove to be a guy who just lost it somewhere along the way.  He could also thrive in the new system and turn his career completely around.  He still has the talent to be a good starting DT.  And I’m curious as heck to see how he responds to playing in an attacking scheme for the first time since college.  Bunkley’s career can go in a number of directions.   I don’t trust him enough to count on a certain level of performance, but it won’t shock me if he plays really well this year.  Bunk still has the highest ceiling of any of our DTs.  If he thrives in the new system, that makes life a lot easier for the coaches and rest of the defense.  It makes things very complicated for Howie Roseman and Joe Banner, but that’s a good problem to have.

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More on Quintin Mikell.  Let’s remember what we’re saying.  I expect him to leave because someone overpays him.  The Eagles aren’t going to match a hefty offer to Q.  They didn’t do it for Dawk.  I’m not saying the numbers would be the same, but the principle would.  Joe Banner has a piece of paper in his office that shows what the Eagles feel Mikell is worth in terms of salary.  If we can keep him for that figure, great.  If not, he’s gone.

The Eagles can have this attitude for a couple of reasons.  First, they liked what they saw from Kurt Coleman last year.  He showed that he can start and be a contributor.  Ideally, you’d like to get him another year or two to learn the ropes before making him a starter.  Kurt isn’t physically special.  He needs to know what is going on to be at his best.  Some young guys soak up the game quickly.  Others take time.

Also, the Eagles have a couple of veteran players targeted in FA.  We don’t know when/how this will happen, but at some point it is almost a certainty that we’ll have some kind of offseason.  The Eagles can add a player they really like or just someone to help get us through 2011.  That isn’t ideal, but neither is giving Quintin Mikell a big deal.  His leadership would be missed, but I think Nate Allen is ready to make a big step forward in that area.

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Someone asked about Jamar Chaney and whether we should be concerned since his stellar play occurred late in the year when he had fresh legs and other players were worn down.  This is a good point and possible concern.

That said, I don’t think the fresh legs made him look substantially better than he would have been.  Jamar played in all games but the season opener.  He was a regular on Special Teams.  He got to play on defense in blowouts over JAX and WAS.  It wasn’t as if he joined the team at midseason and had a couple of extra months of total rest.  He certainly was in better shape than others because of his limited snaps, but even after he played for a few weeks Chaney continued to be highly active and productive.

The only way we’ll know for sure is when he only posts 5 tackles in the entire month of November.  Or if he has to borrow House’s cane to get around after games.