Why Jamar Chaney of the Philadelphia Eagles Must Be Moved to Middle Linebacker

The Philadelphia Eagles got dominated by a veteran Pittsburgh Steelers team Thursday night, which could have been expected. 

The defending AFC Champions returned mostly all of their starters, and the Eagles had a lot of new ones. With very little offseason, the Eagles were not prepared for a talented Steelers team.

Several things can be concluded from the game. The main conclusion I have made is simple: The Eagles need to move Jamar Chaney back to middle linebacker.

That is not a knock on rookie LB Casey Matthews; I believe Matthews could very well end up being  a solid NFL player. 

He just is not a middle linebacker. 

Matthews seems like a natural OLB, and he should be moved out there, accordingly.

The Eagles defense is way too complicated for a rookie to be calling the shots, and Matthews is in over his head as the middle linebacker. He was out of position so much in the preseason game Thursday night that I actually felt sorry for him.

It was like watching a blind person try to pass an eye exam.

Matthews was confused, and it was obvious to anyone watching. It became clear that he cannot play that position. He may be able to at some point in the future but definitely not right now. 

He can't be the MLB on a team looking to win the Super Bowl. If he is for the Eagles, then they might not even win the division.

The only logical thing to do is to move Chaney back to MLB. He played there last year and has more experience than Matthews. 

Matthews could move to the outside, and the Eagles defense would be better for it.

If the Eagles are going to have any chance to go all the way this year, it will not be with Casey Matthews at middle linebacker; that much became obvious Thursday night at Heinz field. 

Now, will Andy Reid have the guts to make the change?

He switched quarterbacks after one game last season, so I do believe in Reid and that he will make this move at some point 

The question is: when?