Eagles trade Brandon Gibson for Wil Weatherspoon

[Leonard Tose]

Per the Eagle Web site.

Eagles also send a fifth-rounder next year to St. Louis.

This will suck in a few years, Gibson is going to be a good one. But they need LB help bad.

Sorry about misspelling Wil Witherspoon's name. Guess I was thinking of Clarence Weatherspoon.

[MDFAN]

I don't understand. He is an outside backer, only 239 lbs... don't we need the help in the middle???????????????

[stevemc]

Witherspoon is a decent player at a position of need. Although he has been playing weakside, Witherspoon has played some MLB.

[BIGPHILLY]

Good deal. Nice addition.

[Leonard Tose]

Witherspoon is a decent player at a position of need. Although he has been playing weakside, Witherspoon has played some MLB.

right. he filled in for dan morgan a bunch of times when he would get hurt in CAR

[stevemc]

Started all 16 games for the Rams in '07 at MLB. Plus I'm sure Big Red & Spagnuolo talked of how he could fit here. Rams are bad, need picks and he's a big salary for the future ($5MM salary next year) that the Rams in rebuilding mode probably wanted to move.

[Ike]

I remember wanting him years ago.

[MDFAN]

Thanks, I didn't too much about him, but his size was the first thing that jumped out at me.

Hate to lose Gibson, but ya gotta give something to get something.

[andrewaters]

Gibson will do nothing in St. Louis unfortunately because they don't have a thing to help him out meaning bad OL, bad QB play.

[BowieBirdFan]

Why this trade had to be made from ESPN Outsider

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
FBO: The Eagles' "Death Star" defense

By Vince Verhei
Football Outsiders


In Any Given Sunday, Football Outsiders examines the most surprising result of each NFL weekend and where the two teams involved can go from here. Week 5's result is the shocking defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles by the Oakland Raiders.

The Eagles' loss to the Raiders on Sunday was set in motion all the way back in training camp, when injuries befell Philadelphia linebacker Stewart Bradley and offensive linemen Todd Herremans and Shawn Andrews. When left tackle Jason Peters joined his fallen teammates on the sideline in the first quarter against Oakland, it put a fourth backup on the field.

All four backups failed to deliver.

"Jeremiah, you are my failure." Ah, "Star Wars" jokes.

King Dunlap stepped into Peters' role at left tackle, joining Nick Cole (filling in for Herremans at left guard) and Winston Justice (subbing for Andrews at right tackle) as reserve soldiers forced into active duty. The makeshift offensive line struggled mightily against Oakland, allowing six sacks and eight total quarterback hits on 52 pass plays. Dunlap was particularly abused, surrendering a pair of sacks to Richard Seymour.

Things were no better on the ground. The Eagles ran only 14 times Sunday; given their anemic rushing attack, it's surprising they notched even that many carries. At Football Outsiders, we consider rushing plays to be successful if they gain 40 percent of needed yardage on first down, 60 percent on second down and 100 percent on third or fourth down. Of the Eagles' eight first-half carries, only two qualified as successful. The other six carries gained a total of three yards; three actually lost yardage. In the second half, the Eagles ran six times for 54 yards, but only three of those runs could be called successful.

The good news for the line is that Herremans and Peters should be able to play Monday night against Washington. Herremans fractured his foot in training camp but was nearly able to play against Oakland. Peters suffered a knee contusion and ankle sprain, but should start against the Redskins. (Andrews is out for the year with a herniated disc in his back.) For the season, Philadelphia ranks sixth in Adjusted Line Yards and ninth in Adjusted Sack Rate (Football Outsiders' stats that measure run- and pass-blocking, respectively), so the performance against the Raiders is likely an anomaly.

The Eagles' defense, however, resembles the Death Star: a very imposing unit with one weak spot that can be fatally exploited.

That weakness is veteran middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, signed off the street a few weeks ago. He simply can't cover backs or tight ends on pass routes. At Football Outsiders, we chart each defender in Success Rate and Yards per Pass Allowed in pass coverage. Trotter ranked 75th or worse in these categories in both 2005 and 2006 with the Eagles. He then played only three games in 2007 before sitting out 2008. The Eagles signed him after Omar Gaither proved unable to fully replace the injured Bradley in the middle, but Trotter has not improved over the past two years.

Oakland burned Trotter for two of the biggest plays of the game: Zach Miller's 86-yard touchdown that put the Raiders ahead, and Gary Russell's 13-yard catch on third-and-10 that allowed them to run out the clock. Philadelphia's defense ranks first in the league in DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average, Football Outsiders' statistic that evaluates every play of the season adjusted for opponent, down-and-distance, field position, score and other factors), seventh against the rush and first against the pass. They rank fourth against No. 1 receivers, seventh against No. 2 wideouts and first against all other wideouts -- but just 15th against both tight ends and running backs. As long as Trotter remains on the field, the Eagles' Death Star defense will remain vulnerable to the Luke Skywalkers (and Jason Wittens and Tony Gonzalezes) of the league.

Should the Raiders be excited about their second win of the season? Probably not; there was a lot of luck involved in this win. While the defense deserves credit for limiting the Eagles to five field-goal attempts, they were fortunate that David Akers missed two of them. Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled twice. Football Outsiders research shows fumble recovery is a random event; the Eagles could easily have fallen on either or both of those balls. More than a quarter of Oakland's total yardage came on one play, that being Miller's touchdown. In the future, Raiders' opponents will hit their field goals, they'll recover fumbles, they'll be able to cover tight ends -- and they'll win far more often than not.

Even after Sunday's win, the Raiders' offense is dead last in passing DVOA. While JaMarcus Russell gets (and deserves) much of the blame for this, he is throwing to some of the worst wide receivers in recent memory. His top two receivers -- Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey -- rank 70th and 77th among receivers in DYAR (Defense-Adjusted Yards above Replacement, Football Outsiders' statistic that measures receivers). Heyward-Bey, the first receiver selected in this year's draft, has been an unmitigated disaster; he's caught only two of the 21 passes thrown his way.

Vince Verhei is an author of Football Outsiders.

[Luzinski's Gut]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gocong move into the middle and Witherspoon take his position. They ran a few sets last week with him playing MLB.

As for Gibson, we hardly knew ye. But that's what the Eagles get for not paying attention to the linebacker position this offseason. Everyone knew we didn't have depth, and once we saw Mays was grossly overmatched, we were in trouble if any injuries occured.

[BowieBirdFan]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gocong move into the middle and Witherspoon take his position. They ran a few sets last week with him playing MLB.

As for Gibson, we hardly knew ye. But that's what the Eagles get for not paying attention to the linebacker position this offseason. Everyone knew we didn't have depth, and once we saw Mays was grossly overmatched, we were in trouble if any injuries occured.

I was thinking of them playing some hybrid 3-4 at time with Gocong as a rush LB.

[BowieBirdFan]

2009 Scouting Report - Scouts Inc.
Grade: 75 | Key


Comment: Witherspoon is an eight-year veteran who can play the ILB or OLB position. He is a quick read and react player whose lateral quickness and agility allow him to make a lot of plays inside out. He lacks true MLB size and strength however and is better when he can flow to the ball without having to take on contact. He has good burst, change of direction and acceleration to the ball. He breaks down quickly and can make sound tackles in space or in traffic. Witherspoon is quick enough to slip contact on his path to the ball but is inconsistent with his hand use and gets stuck when forced to take on a lot of OL contact. He has very good acceleration and speed to the perimeter. He is agile in space, can break down quickly and shows good body control. In coverage, he has very good awareness and instincts along with good solid range. He can get plenty of depth in his pass drops, read the QB and show good closing quickness to tackle. Overall, a solid starting LB who can play inside or outside if needed. Birth DateAugust 19, 1980Birth PlaceSan Antonio, TXHeight6-1Weight239 lbs.Age29PositionLBExperience8 yearsCollegeGeorgia*** His scouting report from ESPN Insider***

[Leonard Tose]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gocong move into the middle and Witherspoon take his position. They ran a few sets last week with him playing MLB.

I dunno. Witherspoon is basically a WIL backer who can also play MIKE. He's not a SAM. He doesn't cover tight ends. He's best suited as a playmaker at the WIL position. But he's better than Trotter at MLB.

[andrewaters]

3-4 might be a good fit with the personnell they have, although Cole isn't really big enough. Still, they could occassionally go with Howard and Abiamiri at the ends... Bunk and/or Patterson on the nose and bring in Clemons and Gocong and Weatherspon and Jordan.

The big thing to me is Gaither must be pretty hurt to have to trade for Weatherspoon.