A Secondary That Generates a Differet Kind Of Turnover

Going into the 2009 OTA’s and summer training camp, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive backfield will be the most highly scrutinized group of the team. After losing 7-time pro bowl safety Brian Dawkins to free agency, and an eerily familiar contract dispute with a cornerback (2009 Sheldon Brown is apparently 2008’s Lito Sheppard), the Eagles will potentially have a defensive backfield in 2009 that has half its starters replaced.

For thirteen years Brian Dawkins played for the Eagles as one of the most dominant and physically imposing safeties in the NFL. During the 2009 offseason, Dawkins departed through free agency to the Denver Broncos, leaving a void in playmaking and leadership.

Now, second year man Quintin Demps is poised to be Dawkins' successor, but he will have to continue to work hard and learn all the nuances of the defense. He has to make another jump in his progression as a player to even begin to replace Dawkins' three sacks, six forced fumbles, and one interception from last season.

In the last game of his rookie campaign Demps was burned for a long touchdown pass against Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Demps further showed his youth when he took out his frustrations on Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner with a late hit several seconds after the play was over, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.

Despite the poor decision in that game, the Eagles organization thinks very highly of Demps. Throughout the 2008 season Demps saw more and more work at the safety position as Jim Johnson unleashed more three-safety sets.

Those sets were utilized by Johnson so Brian Dawkins could be closer to the line of scrimmage to force fumbles and pass rush because he was still very valuable in that aspect despite a deterioration in his coverage skills.

Besides finding a way to keep Dawkins on the field, the three-safety set was also utilized to get Demps on the field. In college Demps was a ball hawk and his 17 interceptions at UTEP were the most of any player in his NFL draft class. Demps served as coverage insurance while Dawkins was at the line of scrimmage as a hybrid linebacker/safety.

Now, with Dawkins' departure, Demps has the opportunity to be the starting free safety. During the recent post draft mini-camp he was given the reps at the first team free safety.

Demps will not be expected to fill the void left by Dawkins alone though, as the Eagles also brought in former Cleveland Brown starting strong safety Sean Jones at the start of the 2009 offseason.

Jones comes in being only one of four active NFL players to record at least four interceptions in each of the last three seasons, the others being teammate Asante Samuel, the Packers' Charles Woodson, and the Ravens' Ed Reed.

Jones most likely will not be starting for the Eagles due to Quintin Mikell, who was named as a second-team All-Pro last season, already entrenched as the starting strong safety. Jones can fill a similar role that Dawkins held last year however as a hybrid linebacker/safety.

Jones was declared by Johnson as a strong safety in this system, but the three safety sets will most likely be utilized again because of its success. If the three-safety set is not utilized as much, the Eagles will still have a starter level talent as a backup to Quintin Mikell.

Besides Mikell, Demps, and Jones, there is still one safety spot left on the roster which will be fought over by journeyman Rashad Baker, who spent the last two seasons in Oakland, and rookie Victor “Macho” Harris who was drafted in the fifth-round of the 2009 draft and is being converted from cornerback to safety.

Harris saw action as a cornerback, a returner, and a wide receiver during his time at Virginia Tech. Known as a hard hitter and playmaker, Harris had 15 career receptions and four of them he returned for touchdowns. The battle for the fourth safety spot will largely depend on how fast Harris or Barker can digest and execute the playbook.

Other then the safety position, the cornerback position is one that has become increasingly talented and crowded over the 2009 offseason. Part of this influx of talent has been due to increased contract disputes between cornerbacks and the organization.

Contract disagreements, like Sheppard’s in 2008 and now Brown’s in 2009, are the business side of the league that has become more and more prevalent over recent years due to big money free agent contracts. Since these disagreements have affected the Eagles over the past two years with cornerbacks the team made it a point in the offseason to fortify the position with young depth.

If Brown is still on this team for 2009 (He will not be cut and he has not been cleared to shop himself for a trade) he will face a challenge to keep his starting job. If the Eagles do decide to trade him, he will see reduced playing time to prevent injury up until the trade. If he has a few bad games back-to-back the coaches may bench him thinking that the contract dispute is affecting is play.

On the second day of the 2009 draft, the Eagles traded two fifth round picks for former New England Patriots starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs III, who can serve as an immediate fix to any problems that the Eagles might have with Brown this year.

Hobbs, now entering his fifth year, reunites with former New England Patriots teammate Asante Samuel with the Eagles. Together Hobbs and Samuel contributed to the Patriots' 2006 secondary which gave up only 10 passing touchdowns (that number lead the league that year, and was a franchise record).

Brown will be pushed by Hobbs for the starting job throughout the summer months and training camp as he continues to learn Jim Johnson’s defense. Hobbs is the clear front runner to take over the right cornerback position should things with Brown’s contract situation continue to sour.

While Hobbs will have to learn a new defense with new terminology, he comes in with the added benefit of immediately upgrading the special teams. Hobbs currently holds the league record for the longest kickoff return (108 yards), which he set against the New York Jets in 2007.

Last season Hobbs ranked second in the league for kickoff return average and lead the AFC in the same category. Hobbs and new fellow teammate, Quintin Demps,  give the Eagles the second- and fourth-ranked return men in kickoff return average from last season.

Besides acquiring Hobbs, the Eagles already had former Wisconsin Badger Jack Ikegwuonu as a fourth round pick from the 2008 draft. Ikegwuonu plays with a physical style similar to Brown and had the reputation as a shutdown corner in college.

Ikegwuonu came into the league originally heralded as a consensus late first round pick, but his draft day stock plummeted when he tore knee ligaments while preparing for the NFL Combine. Also he has had some legal troubles off the field for an alleged breaking and entering to steal a video game system which also contributed to his draft day fall.

In terms of athletic ability the knock on Ikegwuonu coming out of school was that he lacked top end speed. A lack of top end speed is not always a great reason to avoid a player though as it has not stopped Al Harris from having a great career, nor did it make the New Orleans Saints shy away from 2009’s 14th overall pick Malcolm Jenkins.

The Eagles got a player with a lot of potential upside when they took Ikegwuonu in the fourth round with very little risk. Ikegwuonu will have to fight to make this football team as long as Brown is still here, but not because he does not have the ability to make the team.

The issue is that the cornerback position is the deepest it has ever been on the team and it will be hard for Ikegwuonu to find playing time right now behind Samuel, Brown, Hobbs and Hanson.

Ikegwuonu has had a year to mentally prepare himself and learn the playbook, and with his knee healed, he has the physical tools needed to get the job done in the NFL; now it is only a matter of applying what he learned this past year on the field.

Over the past two seasons the Eagles have undergone massive changes in terms of getting younger, faster, and stronger. The defense returns 10 of 11 starters from last year, even though one is somewhat disgruntled, and the depth at these positions is such that many of the backups could be starters for other teams in the league.

There are many interesting possibilities with the personnel in the secondary as Demps, Ikegwuonu and Harris could play cornerback or safety if necessary. If Demps underperforms at free safety the Eagles could move Quintin Mikell over to free safety and plug Sean Jones in at strong safety.

With the moves the Eagles have made in the 2009 offseason in the defensive backfield they have tried to prepare for all possible scenarios that could hurt the team be it injury, another disgruntled cornerback, or underperformance.

The Eagles lost significant pieces with Dawkins departure, trading Sheppard, and potentially losing Brown but the organization has addressed the situation and they have brought in the players they feel can help the team win a Superbowl. Only training camp will reveal how the new players will fit into the defensive rotation but there are a lot of possibilities.