Philadelphia Eagles: DeMeco Ryans Is Their Biggest Bet in 2012

No Stephen Tulloch, no Curtis Lofton, no David Hawthorne. The Philadelphia Eagles surprised the majority of the football world when they ignored free agency and opted to upgrade at linebacker by trading.

Their chosen one was DeMeco Ryans, the middle linebacker of the Houston Texans. The Eagles had to give away a fourth-round pick, while swapping third-round picks with the Texans.

Is Ryans the answer for Philadelphia? Is he the player that can stop the opposing running backs from being all over the field?

No one knows the answer to these questions yet—not even Ryans himself. Until the 27-year-old shows his mettle in a handful of regular-season games, we won’t know if the Eagles have solved what was their biggest problem last year.

There are definitely things to like and dislike in this trade. Ryans has been one of the best players to play the middle linebacker position in the last few years. He was the captain of the Texans defense and his teammates held him in high regard for his leadership skills.

Ryans averages more than 100 tackles per season. He has missed only 10 games in his NFL career and started every game he has played in. The Eagles didn’t have a linebacker of this caliber for a long time.

However, this trade has also a “dark side.” Ryans ruptured his Achilles tendon in 2010 and missed the rest of the season. He returned last year, but he looked like a different player. He was significantly slower and less explosive.

Ryans was pulled from the field for the most third-down situations. He also had to learn to play in a 3-4 defensive scheme, which Houston utilized after hiring Wade Phillips as their defensive coordinator.

The truth is that Ryans was not very effective. Playing fewer snaps, learning a new defense and coming back from a severe injury resulted in shrunken statistics in 2011. Despite that, the Texans had one of the best defenses in the league.

Apparently Ryans was not indispensable anymore. The Texans didn’t find it hard to trade him to the Eagles.

A fourth-round pick for a linebacker of such quality is not a high price. Philadelphia acquired an experienced player with great ability that can turn a team weakness into team strength. However, that requires a stronger Ryans that the one we saw last season.

It’s true that Ryans looked better towards the end of the regular season. He confirmed that by saying, “Toward the end of the season, I was moving around feeling like myself again." If his condition returns to a full level, then we can expect great things in 2012.

Nevertheless, there is still a question left unanswered: Why did the Eagles choose Ryans when so many high-profile free agents were available?

Surely, it’s not about the money. Tulloch agreed to a 5-year, $25.5 million contract, while Ryans will make more than that if he stays with the Eagles the next four years.

No matter what, hope is that the Eagles’ decision will be vindicated.