Season Preview: Defense

Shut-Down CB......check

Pass Rush Specialist....check

Defensive Line Depth......check...

The three things the Eagles were lacking last season have been corrected. On the first day of Free Agency the Eagles went out and signed CB Asante Samuel. He was the automatic starter. The next day they signed DE Chris Clemons. The potential of this kid is great. 8 sacks last season while only playing 37% of the defensive snaps. With more playing time and Jim Johnsons blitzing schemes, look for a couple more sacks. Then they drafted Trevor Laws and added Dan Klecko. This solidifies the DT position.

The Eagles kept 6 DE's on the roster. Trent Cole leads the way. With 13 sacks last year, look for him to possibly increase that number this year. Juqua Thomas (Parker) is on the other side. He is a solid player. Victor Abriami injured his wrist early in preseason. He will miss the first couple games. When he returns, he adds size to the line. Rookie Bryan Smith has all the tools to be another Cole. All he needs is time to develop. Darin Howard is back again and can be used inside or out. It's a solid unit that will get some pressure and create plays.

Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson form a standout DT team. With Laws and Klecko backing them up, it might be the best DT rotation we've had since the Gang Green days.

The LB's are all young. Three years is the maximum experience level for any of them. But they will be good. All three of the starters are 245 or more. All have speed. It's just the experience I am worried about.

MIKE Stewart Bradley looks promising. In the two games he played last season as the starter he looked incredible. For hi to carry that over into this season would be great. He looks like a future Pro-Bowler. Omar Gaither moves over to the Weakside spot. It's a spot he played his rookie year. He has the experience there to be a great player. Chris Gocong again fills the Strongside spot. Another year in the system now, he looks more comfortable.

The backups are all young also. But again they show potential. Rookie Joe Mays was a standout in preseason. Some feel he could easily be inserted as the starter at MIKE. Akeem Jordan, like Bradley, played well last year at the end of the season. He can play all three spots if necessary. And Tank Daniels was brought back in after being cut by the Giants. He knows the Eagles system already. He is a ST standout. Someone we haven't had since Ike Reese.

The CB situation the Eagles have is a great one. Lito Sheppard was shopped around after the addition of Samuel, but the Eagles could not get a fair price for him. With Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Sheppard, the Eagles have three Pro-Bowl caliber CB's. Look for more take-a-ways than last season from this group. Joselio Hanson rounds out the CB position. He is a solid CB who plays mainly in the nickel and dime packages.

Brian Dawkins is back perhaps for his last season. The All Pro S leads this group with his attitude and experience. Quinton Mikell starts opposite Dawkins. Q had a solid season last year filling in for Sean Considine. Considine is back, but not the starter. He will see time though, as will JR Reed. Both these two add different elements to the position. Considine is a good cover Safety, while Reed is an excellent blitzer. Demps is the final S on the team. He will not see too much action there this season barring injuries. He will be used mainly on Kickoff returns. He is an explosive player. A year in the system and he will be ready to go.

Pressure, takeaways and redzone defense. Three keys to this years team. A top 5 defense in the league? It's quite possible. Growing pains for the LB's might be the only major setback we have. But overall this defense looks like the most solid one the Eagles have had in quite a while.