More On MLB And CB

Stewart Bradley, Jamar Chaney, and Casey Matthews are 3 very different players.  Those are the 3 candidates the Eagles have to be the starting MLB in 2011.  Let’s talk about what they do well and how they would function in the new system.

Stewart Bradley is the biggest of the bunch.  NFL.com lists him at 6’4, 258.  Even if that is off a bit, he’s still the biggest.  Stew runs well for a guy his size.  If you put on the 2008 tape you see a LB that is tough and physical.  He’s able to shed blockers and get to the ball.  Stew is underrated in terms of coverage skills, but can be awkward at times in space.  At his best, he’s a vertical player.  He is a short area guy that wants to attack North-South.

The new system is going to have the MLB play off the ball and be more of a read and react player.  This requires a LB that is more of a horizontal player.  Jamar Chaney has the speed and range to make plays all over the field.  Chaney wasn’t very good in college at getting off blocks, but the coaches worked with him a lot last summer and I was very impressed with the progress he made.  Chaney had the physical tools to shed blocks.  He just needed to work on technique.  He did that in practice and it showed on the field.  Chaney is athletic, but didn’t show much of a feel for pass coverage.  I’m sure that’s the area the coaches will focus on when the lockout does finally lift.

Casey Matthews is the most instinctive player of the trio.  Casey is lighter and slower than both Stew and Chaney.   Casey makes plays because of his eyes.  He has good field vision.  He trusts what he sees and then goes for the ball.  Bradley likes to attack immediately.  Chaney doesn’t have ideal key and diagnose skills.  He reacts to what is in front of him, but doesn’t process things as quickly and smoothly as Casey.  I think Casey has the best cover skills of the group.  He knows how to handle man coverage, but also how to get in the passing lanes and make things happen.  I guess I should temper that and say that he knows how to do this at the college level.

Casey is totally unproven in the NFL obviously.  He plays faster than he times because of his instincts and ability to know what will happen.  If those instincts don’t work as well in the NFL, Casey might not have the speed to be a good starting MLB.  Casey also has to show that he can handle blockers.  That was a weak point for him at Oregon.  He’s a physical player and should be able to improve in this area, but it does need a lot of work.

The new scheme requires the LBs to read the play and then go get the ball.  You cannot just attack at the snap.  Ernie Sims head might explode if he tried to fully embrace this concept.  Hesitation just isn’t in his nature.  Stew has the physical ability to play in the scheme, but I don’t know if he can adjust his style of play.  Old habits die hard.

One thing all 3 guys have in common is great intangibles.  All 3 are leaders.  All 3 are highly competitive, something that is critical at MLB.

I really think Chaney will be the WLB.  Stew and Casey then would battle for MLB, assuming Stew sticks around.  It is possible he’ll go to another team.  I think the stability of staying here will make it tough to leave unless he’s blown away by an offer.  We’re making changes in scheme and on the staff, but he still knows Andy Reid and his teammates.  Stew would still be in a comfortable environment and part of a successful tradition.  Were he to try and go to Carolina or Cleveland and meet up with an old coach, he’d be surrounded by strangers and less than ideal circumstances.  If he wants a 1-year deal, the Eagles are his best match.

We still don’t know if the Eagles want Stew.  I’m guessing they do for 2011, but that’s just a stab in the dark.  This isn’t like Quintin Mikell where you can read the tea leaves and see that he’s a goner.

So much uncertainty and confusion on July 1st.  This lockout mess is insane.

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Adam Caplan recently responded to the talk of a Kevin Kolb trade to Arizona.  Caplan said he didn’t see the Cardinals giving up on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  He did throw out the name of LB Daryl Washington.  Interesting.

I don’t know if the Eagles would have serious interest in Washington.  He would fit the new system quite well as a WLB.  Daryl is a gifted cover LB.  I remember watching TCU against Clemson in the fall of 2009.  He broke up a downfield pass.  I made a note to find out about the Safety from TCU who had the impressive PBU.  That pass break-up didn’t come from a S.  It was Washington.  He’s not just a finesse cover ‘backer.  Washington played inside a lot in college because TCU ran a 4-2-5 scheme.  It’s possible he could play MLB in our new system.

Washington had a solid rookie year for the Cardinals.  He started 11 games and played in all 16.  He had 78 total tackles, 6 TFLs, 1 FF, 1 INT, and 2 PDs.  By comparison, Stew had 60 total tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 sack, 6 PDs, and 1 INT.  He played in fewer games, of course.

Washington would give the Eagles a boost in the LB department and that does make him an interesting potential trade target.  The flip side is that we just drafted 2 LBs last year and 3 more this year.  We’re rebuilding our LB corps already.  That may make Washington less important.

The other key point here is that we’d have to get a pretty good pick with Washignton in a deal for Kolb.  Would Arizona pay that price?

I don’t see Washington as a likely target for the Eagles.  He could be a second or third option if the right picks aren’t available and DRC is truly off the table.  I just don’t anticipate Daryl playing for us in 2011.

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After the recent discussion about Ike Taylor and some other CBs, someone on Twitter got on me for earlier saying the Eagles would pursue a top CB.  Let’s examine this for a second.

The Eagles have Asante Samuel, who most think is a Top 5 CB in the NFL.  Even if you disagree a bit, he’s still Top 10.  The Eagles are looking for a #2 CB, someone to play the right side.

The notion that this is Nnamdi Asomugha or bust is silly.  Nnamdi is the #2 CB in the entire NFL.  He’s the guy you get and then build your secondary around him.  That’s drastically different than what we require.

Do I still love the thought of signing Nnamdi?  Heck yes.  It isn’t a “must” though.  Adding someone below him doesn’t mean the Eagles are settling at all.  Ellis Hobbs was the kind of guy we settled on last year.  He was purely a fallback option.  Had he been on the market, do you think multiple teams would have pursued him.  No way – as a starter at least.  Good KOR and role player, but marginal starter.

The CBs I mentioned the other day were DRC, Ike Taylor, Carlos Rogers, and Josh Wilson.  All of those guys would be upgrades on Hobbs.  All will have offers from multiple teams.  All of those guys are or have been the top CB on a defense.  Those are the kind of targets we should have at RCB.

I understand how as fans you fall into the “Nnamdi or bust” mindset, but holding the Eagles to that standard isn’t fair.  If we needed him, the Eagles would do whatever it took to land him.  That’s how they went after Troy Vincent in 1996 (great job by Joe Banner with a poison pill).  That’s how they went after Asante Samuel in 2008 (great job by Banner and the coaches who recruited Asante).

We might want Nnamdi Asomugha, but we don’t need him.  We need better play at RCB.  There are other options that might fit the better overall plan for the team and the offseason.  I would still love to see the Eagles work something out and land Nnamdi, but he’s a luxury item at this point.

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Newest PE.com column is up.  I was doing some research recently and got to thinking about the Colts, Pats, and Eagles.  What will Indy and NE be like without Manning/Brady?  We’ve already had our change and things are holding strong.

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.