Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Breakdown: Defense

Continuing the breakdown from yesterday, let’s take a look at how the defense shakes out as we head into the 2009 season.

Check out the offensive breakdown here.

Position: Defensive End

Starters: Juqua Parker and Trent Cole

Backups: Victor Abiamiri, Chris Clemons, Darren Howard, Bryan Smith

Pros: There is a lot of depth, as all five of these guys will play and can play. That helps limit injuries and keeps all of them fresher as the season goes on and the opposing offensive lineman wear down.

Cons: Besides Cole, no one guy can really stay on the field for all three downs. Plus, you always run the risk of having disgruntled players with this many guys splitting time on the field at one position.

Verdict: But having five quality guys at such an important position? Yea, you’ll take that.

Position: Defensive Tackle

Starters: Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley

Backups: Dan Klecko, Trevor Laws, Amon Gordon

Pros: Patterson and Bunkley are a great one-two punch inside. In addition, Howard can often shift inside on third-downs, which gives you another guy on the field who can get to the quarterback.

Cons: Neither Patterson or Bunkley, and especially a backup like Klecko, are particularly big. And that’s really what you like seeing inside—a big fat guy who takes up space and can’t be moved.

Verdict: On the whole, this is another pretty solid area for the Eagles. You’d like to see more depth, though.

Position: Strong Side Linebacker

Starter: Chris Gocong

Backup: Tank Daniels

Pros: Gocong improved as the year went on.  He doesn’t do anything too dumb on the field.

Cons: He’s not what you would call a "playmaker."

Verdict: The Eagles don’t invest in linebackers. We all know this by now.

Position: Middle Linebacker

Starter: Stewart Bradley

Backup: Joe Mays

Pros: Like Gocong, Bradley got better as the year went on. He also had 108 tackles last year, which is no easy task.

Cons: He forced a grand total of two turnovers, was not around the ball enough, and miserably failed the look test when he was drafted and that stuck with me.

Verdict: Eh, you can live with him. But it would be nice, just for once, to bring in a game-changing MLB here.

Position: Weak Side Linebacker

Starter: Akeem Jordan

Backup: Omar Gaither 

Pros: Jordan doesn’t miss a whole lot of tackles, plus Gaither is a quality backup who can certainly help when called upon.

Cons: Jordan became my boy two years at Training Camp.  You will never see me utter a bad word about him.  

Verdict: Jordan’s not the problem with this unit. Just one playmaker, just one, would be an improvement. But fine, don’t. See if I care.  

Position: Cornerback

Starters: Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown

Backups: Joselio Hanson, Ellis Hobbs, Trae Williams, Dimitri Patterson

Pros: Samuel is a beast, Brown isn’t a turnover-forcing machine but he doesn’t give up a whole lot, Hanson and Hobbs have both shown they are quality nickel and dime backs.

Cons: Can Brown put aside his justifiable anger with the front office? Can Hanson or Hobbs step up if need be? What will Williams and Patterson bring to the table? Will Samuel stay on the field?

Verdict: There are a lot of questions, but when on paper your starters are Samuel and Brown, you are in good shape.

Position: Strong Safety

Starter: Quintin Mikell  

Backup: Sean Jones

Pros: Mikell stepped up for the god-awful Sean Considine last year and was better than that talentless waste. Jones also provides solid depth and is a viable option to start.

Cons: He’s really more of a backup and special teams player.

Verdict: It’ll be an interesting Training Camp battle, but neither player should give you a whole lot of confidence.

Position: Free Safety

Starter: Quintin Demps

Backups: Rashad Baker

Pros: Demps has the makings of a solid player in this league.

Cons: Yea, the whole Brian Dawkins thing.

Verdict: Demps is probably best remembered for whiffing on a bat-down as Larry Fitzgerald waltzed into the endzone in the NFC Championship game. Hopefully he can improve on that. 

Position: Punter

Starter: Sav Rocca

Backup: ?

Pros: Rocca always had a leg, and with some work, his accuracy and ability to (Madden term alert) coffin corner the ball improved.

Cons: Sometimes his hangtime isn’t great, and when that happens, you leave your coverage unit out to dry.

Verdict: Rocca had a pretty decent year. He’s the punter. Again, like kickers, you just got to hope he doesn’t screw up too bad.

Position: Punt Returner

Starter: DeSean Jackson

Backup: Jeremy Maclin

Pros: Everything.

Cons: The fumbles. That’s not a good thing. Got to hold on to the ball, kid.

Verdict: It took Andy Reid about a decade, but he finally got a straight baller returning punts. And if something were to happen to The Pimp, then Maclin can step in.