Enough Kolb and Vick. Let's argue about the defense

[Leonard Tose]

1) Why the Jekyll and Hyde performances? Is it is personnel issue or is the defensive coordinator an issue?

2) When are they going to invest in a decent linebacking corps?

3) I can't believe the d-line didn't dominate the lousy Redskin o-line, how did they get gashed in the run game so badly?

4) What is wrong with Bunk? Is he playing hurt?

5) Why didn't Laws and Dixon play more on Sunday? In his few snaps, Dixon absolutely blew up the guard across from him. Bunk and Patterson are not the reliable runstoppers this year that they have been in the past.

6) Is Bradley going to get better as the season progresses? Is he still recovering from the ACL? I sure hope so.

7) Brandon Graham -- I'm underwhelmed a little bit at this point, but I still think he's a good player. But I want to see more in the coming weeks.

8 Ernie Sims is really fast, as evidenced by that amazing catch up speed on his McNabb sack Sunday, but he otherwise sucks. I'd use him as a nickel linebacker only.

9) If Sims goes out of the starting lineup, should the Eagles move Jordan back to WIL and either Fokou to SAM? Or move Bradley to SAM and maybe go with Chaney at the MIKE?

10) I have no serious complaints about the secondary. They're just meh. Nate Allen is a player.

11) Did Q get benched for a while Sunday? Why was Kurt Coleman in the game missing his assignment on that 55-yarder? Looked like he was in for Mikell. This is where not having another solid veteran safety hurt them.

[stocknowledge]

What is there to argue about? You already said everything!

[YourPalChrisMal]

1) Why the Jekyll and Hyde performances? Is it is personnel issue or is the defensive coordinator an issue?

2) When are they going to invest in a decent linebacking corps?

3) I can't believe the d-line didn't dominate the lousy Redskin o-line, how did they get gashed in the run game so badly?

4) What is wrong with Bunk? Is he playing hurt?

5) Why didn't Laws and Dixon play more on Sunday? In his few snaps, Dixon absolutely blew up the guard across from him. Bunk and Patterson are not the reliable runstoppers this year that they have been in the past.

6) Is Bradley going to get better as the season progresses? Is he still recovering from the ACL? I sure hope so.

7) Brandon Graham -- I'm underwhelmed a little bit at this point, but I still think he's a good player. But I want to see more in the coming weeks.

8 Ernie Sims is really fast, as evidenced by that amazing catch up speed on his McNabb sack Sunday, but he otherwise sucks. I'd use him as a nickel linebacker only.

9) If Sims goes out of the starting lineup, should the Eagles move Jordan back to WIL and either Fokou to SAM? Or move Bradley to SAM and maybe go with Chaney at the MIKE?

10) I have no serious complaints about the secondary. They're just meh. Nate Allen is a player.

11) Did Q get benched for a while Sunday? Why was Kurt Coleman in the game missing his assignment on that 55-yarder? Looked like he was in for Mikell. This is where not having another solid veteran safety hurt them.

1) Partly young and inexperience...Partly, that's just the way things go in the NFL.

2) Never.

3) Good question, that was an embarrassment.

4) Bunk has been getting less and less playing time. Laws has gotten more snaps than Bunk the entire year.

5) Not sure. Dixon hasn't played much all year. Laws was playing as much as Patterson, and more than Bunkley to this point. I haven't seen the playing time stats yet for this last game.

6) I think we all were expecting a little too much to expect him to come back and immediately dominate. It's just one game though. He's still a game changer for the most part IMHO.

7) I don't think you can judge his pass rush on this last game. How many times did Donovan actually drop back to pass? 19 or something crazy like that, and a bunch of those were roll outs. Clearly Shanahan didn't want to place the game on Donovan's shoulders.

Yeah, jury's still out, but I wouldn't give up just yet. All we have to replace him is mediocrity which I'm not sure is any better than Sims.

9) I'd vote Fokou to SAM, Jordan to WIL, keep Bradley in the middle.

10) Asante is what he is, I guess, but he's still an embarrassing tackler. How does an NFL player forget he has arms?

11) I wondered the same thing. I'm guessing he got benched for a bit for getting run over by Torain on that TD run. WOW, was THAT embarrassing. Unlike Samuel, he used his arms, and it was still like Torain was running over my 5-year old daughter.

[musicman]

I've got to watch the tape again,but at least 3 times on Sunday the entire front 7 were slanting hard and the skins caught them and went opposite the slant for big to very big yardage.Are we showing some thing they are keying on or what ? I remember the Lions game and seeing the same thing with much the same results.I know it was a few plays here and there,but if I remember correctly,they bounced the runs wide to the left side of the field and we had taken ourselves from the play.The entire game can not be blamed on these few runs,but this is what I noticed. What are skilled professionals picking up ? Is McDermott showing his plays in some way ?

[Blitz]

1) Why the Jekyll and Hyde performances? Is it is personnel issue or is the defensive coordinator an issue?

2) When are they going to invest in a decent linebacking corps?

3) I can't believe the d-line didn't dominate the lousy Redskin o-line, how did they get gashed in the run game so badly?

4) What is wrong with Bunk? Is he playing hurt?

5) Why didn't Laws and Dixon play more on Sunday? In his few snaps, Dixon absolutely blew up the guard across from him. Bunk and Patterson are not the reliable runstoppers this year that they have been in the past.

6) Is Bradley going to get better as the season progresses? Is he still recovering from the ACL? I sure hope so.

7) Brandon Graham -- I'm underwhelmed a little bit at this point, but I still think he's a good player. But I want to see more in the coming weeks.

8 Ernie Sims is really fast, as evidenced by that amazing catch up speed on his McNabb sack Sunday, but he otherwise sucks. I'd use him as a nickel linebacker only.

9) If Sims goes out of the starting lineup, should the Eagles move Jordan back to WIL and either Fokou to SAM? Or move Bradley to SAM and maybe go with Chaney at the MIKE?

10) I have no serious complaints about the secondary. They're just meh. Nate Allen is a player.

11) Did Q get benched for a while Sunday? Why was Kurt Coleman in the game missing his assignment on that 55-yarder? Looked like he was in for Mikell. This is where not having another solid veteran safety hurt them.

1) I believe it's a personnel issue. We've been having these same problems since JJ was here. Which says to me it's not the DC but the parts he has to work with.

2)Like YPCM said, never.

3)I really don't know what to say. This team was not ready to play. It seems like they have a bit of Lindros syndrome but replace Lindros with Vick. The team is too busy standing around watching Vick instead of doing what they have to do. Not a shot at Vick BTW.

4)I think Bunk may be playing with some kind of injury. He just doesn't look like himself out on the field.

5) The way Laws has been playing I would LOVE to see him on the field more. I don't know who lit the fire under his butt but damn it worked. Dixon looked pretty damn good too. I would like to see them get more time.

6)Don't know what's up with Bradley. Maybe his brain is still a little scrambled. Not trying to make a joke.

7)Graham is playing exactly how I thought he would. He gets pressure but he gets pushed out of the play too easily. He's still just a rookie so maybe given time he will get better.

Ernie Sims sometimes takes himself out of plays because he's so fast. I don't think he sucks but I wouldn't call him great either. I don't think being a nickle LB would be such a bad thing.

9)I have no idea and don't really think it matters. For the time being I would stick with what they're doing and see if they can grow a bit together.

10)They need to get more turnovers. Allen is playing very good but the others need to start holding onto the ball. I didn't expect Allen to play so well so fast.

11)I don't know what was happening but I hope it's a learning experience because Coleman got burnt, BAD. You could tell Asante was expecting safety help and Coleman was out getting lunch somewhere. But kind of like Graham he's still young and getting burnt will happen.

[Theo]

I'm not crazy about the D, but I thought they did a good job overall against the Skins. They got caught in some things early, and Skins took advantage. McDermott made some adjustments and after the first quarter, they played pretty well and kept us in the game I thought.

The DT's are still something that pisses me off to no end. Would love to see Laws and Dixon a little more, they both seem to have an edge and a little attitude..... Bunk and Patterson---make a play, just one, please!!

[Leonard Tose]

Here's my issue about the personnel vs. coordinator/scheme issue: I am inclined to say they are just not good enough yet, or they have too many young starters, or whatever. But two veterans who failed in this scheme last year and were basically dumped for nothing are now prospering elsewhere -- Wil Witherspoon and Chris Clemons. Those two guys have eight sacks already between them, Witherspoon has 21 tackles and a forced fumble; Clemons has 15 tackles. Shoot, even Jason Babin is getting widely praised in Tennessee for his play so far. Were they just poor fits in the scheme? Did McDermott fail to use them properly?

McDermott concerns me. He tinkers incessantly and seems to make decisions on a whim. They brought Antwan Barnes in, basically for free, just before the start of the year and Barnes basically walked into the starting lineup. Graham got moved inside, Tapp was deactivated.

Barnes didn't do well, so now he's on the inactive list on Sundays and Tapp is thrown back into the line of fire. I'm all for giving guys chances, but I might have gone to war in Weeks 1 and 2 with the guys who were in there battling it out all throughout camp instead of this 11th-hour change in personnel patterns right before Game 1.

In-game on Sunday, McDermott made shaky decisions, IMO. He appears to have benched Mikell for whatever reason, probably because he got trucked by Torian on the TD, and thrown Coleman into the fray. Just in time for the rookie safety to forget about giving help over the top on that 55-yard pitch and catch on third and long.

And I also thought McDermott made a terrible call on the third and long play where McNabb took off for about 20 yards. They had no outside contain on Donovan. How does that happen?

I just thought it was a poor defensive game plan on Sunday. They had no answer for Shanahan's zone blocking schemes, even though he's been doing them forever. It's not like there's no film out there on how Shanahan's o-line likes to block. I'm really disgusted with how the shaky Redskin o-line dominated the LOS.

[sonnyj]

The reason the Eagles don't get sacks is because teams have schemed away from the blitz packages and they run against us, exposing our defend the pass first offense. Our MLB is coming off surgery. McNabb when playing for the eagles got creamed in most games, even winning ones. His uniform was too clean after that game.

The reason the other team is getting sacks is because our O line in a mess. I don't predict games...but at the beginning of the season look at teams and can generally guage how well they will do by the play of the O line and the D front four. Solid lines make everyone else look good. The fact that teams don't have to blitz to get to our qb will have to be addressed, as well as the fact that our D line can't stop the run.

[Vote for Kalas]

1) Why the Jekyll and Hyde performances? Is it is personnel issue or is the defensive coordinator an issue?

New players, new schemes, varied competition, varied execution of opposing offenses in the game, only 4 games into the season etc.

You did not expect everything to be perfect right away, did you?

2) When are they going to invest in a decent linebacking corps?

Oh please...the Eagles have rotated in LB every year and tried new guys at different positions etc. It is not an investment problem IMV, its mostly a consistency and execution problem with some scheme issues or poor calls for certain plays at times thrown in...

Bradley went from holy avatar & savior to scrap in one week? Wow...

Sims has been up and down like much of the D and team for that matter

Jordan is learning a new position; we've struggled to find a great true SLB LB for years, but so have other teams. Why? Because they are largely a rare breed, colleges and the NFL are going for smaller, faster hybrid LB for all positions

3) I can't believe the d-line didn't dominate the lousy Redskin o-line, how did they get gashed in the run game so badly?

Thats why on paper and on game day are two different things--Redskins OL did a good job I thought and the run game obviously kept us off balance. We adjusted and clamped down on them pretty good as the game progressed, but the early mistakes cost us.

4) What is wrong with Bunk? Is he playing hurt?

No idea, did not see him alot Sunday and they were rotating DL in pretty heavy trying to find ways to get pressure and stop the run. I do not know if he is injured

5) Why didn't Laws and Dixon play more on Sunday? In his few snaps, Dixon absolutely blew up the guard across from him. Bunk and Patterson are not the reliable runstoppers this year that they have been in the past.

What I saw was a pretty regular rotation as normal, Redskins did a good job to start but we shut them down pretty good from the middle of the 2nd quarter on from what I saw...sometimes the opponent plays well too

6) Is Bradley going to get better as the season progresses? Is he still recovering from the ACL? I sure hope so.

Bradley did not have his best game, but one does not lose all his talent from one game. He was outstanding just one week ago.

7) Brandon Graham -- I'm underwhelmed a little bit at this point, but I still think he's a good player. But I want to see more in the coming weeks.

I agree, but again as a rookie I was not expecting more than we're seeing...in fact I think he has shown more than I expected

8 Ernie Sims is really fast, as evidenced by that amazing catch up speed on his McNabb sack Sunday, but he otherwise sucks. I'd use him as a nickel linebacker only.

Major over-reaction IMV...he does not suck. If he did, he would not play or still be in the league. Who would you start over him?

9) If Sims goes out of the starting lineup, should the Eagles move Jordan back to WIL and either Fokou to SAM? Or move Bradley to SAM and maybe go with Chaney at the MIKE?

Weren't you one of the guys negative about Fokou at SLB? Chaney at MLB? And you would expect perfect play with that lineup? C'mon, give them time to play together and grow in their positions

10) I have no serious complaints about the secondary. They're just meh. Nate Allen is a player.

Hobbs and Samuel have done pretty well overall IMV...Mikell had a bad game, but had improved over last season from what I saw before that. Allen is doing well, but he is a rookie so you'll see some mistakes at some point

11) Did Q get benched for a while Sunday? Why was Kurt Coleman in the game missing his assignment on that 55-yarder? Looked like he was in for Mikell. This is where not having another solid veteran safety hurt them.

Read igglesblog for a good explanation of what Coleman faced on that play...he had to make snap decision with two open WR in his area, McNabb would have probably completed to the other if Coleman makes a different choice. Mikell probably was banged up after the RB collision since his play went south after that

[Eagle60]

We've been watching some fairly poor defenses for a number of years, even JJ's last few. I'd like the team to dump McDermot and go in a completely new direction.

[NoDakIggle]

I was concerned the only way Wash could really get into this game was running over our small guys. They showed they could do that although the D was able to buck up once in a while. I'm afraid other teams that have strong run games will have one gameplan---run them over.

[sfphillyfan]

I was concerned the only way Wash could really get into this game was running over our small guys. They showed they could do that although the D was able to buck up once in a while. I'm afraid other teams that have strong run games will have one gameplan---run them over.

Oh they will. After the skins game, the teams coming up on our schedule are thinking "run the ball, they can't stop it."

This is especially troubling against SF because the easy way to beat them is to make Alex Smith beat you. But they'll just come out and pound Gore down our throats. It could be a long day for the defense and time of possession.

[Leonard Tose]

New players, new schemes, varied competition, varied execution of opposing offenses in the game, only 4 games into the season etc.

You did not expect everything to be perfect right away, did you?

OK, a few new players. But what are these new schemes you speak of? The main reason they transitioned to McDermott was so they would continue with the basics of what JJ did on defense; McDermott was his pupil.

Oh please...the Eagles have rotated in LB every year and tried new guys at different positions etc. It is not an investment problem IMV, its mostly a consistency and execution problem with some scheme issues or poor calls for certain plays at times thrown in...

Come on, even the Eagles will admit they don't invest in the position. The FA's are guys who have been set adrift or are coming off of injury, like Nate Wayne or Shawn Barber or Dhani Jones. They trade for guys who have fallen out of favor with their teams and are cheap, like Ernie Sims and Takeo Spikes.

The draft picks are almost always mid-round guys. The highest drafted guys in the last 10 years were Quinton Caver (2nd round), Matt McCoy (2nd round), Chris Gocong or Stewart Bradley (both 3rd round). Two of those four guys are outright busts. Not a single first round pick spent on the position in more than a decade.

That's an investment issue, IMO. The players they acquire are either descending or are guys they take a chance on. The players they draft are not the top guys at their position in the draft, and they seem to have trouble spotting talent at the position in the draft.

In 11 years, I can think of maybe three real good LB transactions -- signing Carlos Emmons, re-acquiring Jeremiah Trotter and drafting Stewart Bradley. And we wonder why they struggle year after year?

Bradley went from holy avatar & savior to scrap in one week? Wow...

Who said he was either savior or scrap? I just noted he had a bad game and am wondering if he is still working on getting fully healthy. He is having trouble shedding blockers, and that shouldn't be happening. He's 260 pounds. That tells me he is not exploding into blockers.

Sims has been up and down like much of the D and team for that matter

I'm seeing more downs than ups.

Jordan is learning a new position; we've struggled to find a great true SLB LB for years, but so have other teams. Why? Because they are largely a rare breed, colleges and the NFL are going for smaller, faster hybrid LB for all positions

Jordan is badly miscast at the SAM. He's probably a better WIL than Sims. We're already seeing that he's being phased out in favor of Fokou. I'd like to see Akeem back in his natural spot.

I agree it's hard to find a good SAM backer, which is why the idea of moving Bradley back to his college position appeals to me, as it does to many other Eagles fans.

Thats why on paper and on game day are two different things--Redskins OL did a good job I thought and the run game obviously kept us off balance. We adjusted and clamped down on them pretty good as the game progressed, but the early mistakes cost us.

They were flat-out not ready to play early on Sunday and I've got to lay some blame on the DC for that. They played better as the game went on, but I'm not sure if it's because they stepped up their play or that Shanahan got extremely conservative with a lead.

No idea, did not see him alot Sunday and they were rotating DL in pretty heavy trying to find ways to get pressure and stop the run. I do not know if he is injured

Bunk's playing time is way down this year, and so is his effectiveness. I am suspecting an injury.

What I saw was a pretty regular rotation as normal, Redskins did a good job to start but we shut them down pretty good from the middle of the 2nd quarter on from what I saw...sometimes the opponent plays well too

Agree, though this Redskin o-line is not very good and I saw our d-line really struggling with the Shanahan zone blocking scheme.

Bradley did not have his best game, but one does not lose all his talent from one game. He was outstanding just one week ago.

I certainly hope he rebounds, they really need him to play well if this defense is going to compete.

I agree, but again as a rookie I was not expecting more than we're seeing...in fact I think he has shown more than I expected

I like Graham, I'm not really down on him.

Major over-reaction IMV...he does not suck. If he did, he would not play or still be in the league. Who would you start over him?

Sims is not good. He's fast, but his football instincts are lacking. He overruns plays worse that Trotter used to. And teams that run on his side can just run over him because of his lack of size. I think Jordan would be better back at WIL, and I think he will be back there before too much longer.

Weren't you one of the guys negative about Fokou at SLB? Chaney at MLB? And you would expect perfect play with that lineup? C'mon, give them time to play together and grow in their positions

I don't recall being overly negative about Fokou, other than his tendency to take dumb penalties, especially on special teams.

You want to give them time to play together? McDermott is already pulling the plug and getting Jordan out of there.

Chaney was just a thought because he's now been promoted to backup MIKE and Bradley may be better back at SAM (I can hear IMK screaming at this suggestion).

Hobbs and Samuel have done pretty well overall IMV...Mikell had a bad game, but had improved over last season from what I saw before that. Allen is doing well, but he is a rookie so you'll see some mistakes at some point

Right, they're doing OK.

Read igglesblog for a good explanation of what Coleman faced on that play...he had to make snap decision with two open WR in his area, McNabb would have probably completed to the other if Coleman makes a different choice. Mikell probably was banged up after the RB collision since his play went south after that

I'm not saying it wasn't a tough play for a safety, I'm wondering why Mikell was out of there. I think McDermott gets a little impulsive and benches guys temporarily in-game and I think that cost him here.