Eagles Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

Following a legend never is easy, but injuries have made it even more difficult for the Eagles’ new defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott.

McDermott, 35, who replaced Jim Johnson, who lost his battle with cancer in early August, took over a talented young defense that finished in the top five in just about every pertinent defensive category last season.

But then the bodies began to fall. It started the second week of training camp when middle linebacker Stewart Bradley(notes) went down with a season-ending knee injury and has continued through the first 11 weeks of the season.

Through 10 games, McDermott’s unit has had eight starters and key backups miss a total of 28 games. That doesn’t include cornerback Sheldon Brown(notes), who injured his hamstring in the Eagles’ 31-23 Week 10 loss to the San Diego Chargers, yet somehow managed to suit up and play in last week’s 24-20 come-from-behind win over the Chicago Bears.

“With any job there’s going to be challenges,” said McDermott, whose banged-up unit still is ranked eighth in the league in total defense and second in sacks and takeaways. “You prepare for those challenges, while you’re preparing for the job.

“If we didn’t have a great staff, if we didn’t have great leadership in players that come to work every day, it’d be a lot tougher. But this is an opportunity I’ve worked hard for. And I’m not going to balk at this opportunity just because we’re facing a few challenges right now.”

Weakside linebacker Akeem Jordan(notes) has missed the last two games with a hyper-extended knee and probably won’t be ready to go yet this week when the 6-4 Eagles host the Washington Redskins. That has forced McDermott to juggle the rest of his linebacking corps.

Middle linebacker Will Witherspoon(notes), who was acquired at the trade deadline to fill the huge void left by Bradley’s absence, slid over to Jordan’s spot. Against the Chargers, strongside linebacker Chris Gocong(notes) replaced Witherspoon in the middle, a position he hadn’t played since high school. Last week, Gocong moved back to SAM and Jeremiah Trotter(notes) and Joe Mays(notes) rotated at MIKE.

The Eagles opened the season with one of the deepest groups of cornerbacks in the league. They had two very good starters in Asante Samuel(notes) and Brown. They had Joselio Hanson(notes), who is one of the league’s best slot corners. And they had Ellis Hobbs(notes), a three-year starter with the New England Patriots, whom they had acquired in a draft-day trade.

But earlier this month, Hobbs suffered a season-ending spine injury. Three days later, Hanson was slapped with a four-game suspension for taking a banned diuretic. Then Brown hurt his hamstring. Then Samuel suffered a neck stinger in the first half of the Bears game.

In the second half of the Bears game last week, McDermott had a gimpy Brown on one side and inexperienced Dimitri Patterson(notes) on the other. But the Eagles still managed to hold Bears quarterback Jay Cutler(notes) to 3.97 yards per attempt.

“Dimitri has done a heck of a job,” said McDermott of a guy who was cut by the Chiefs last November and signed by the Eagles to basically play on special teams. “Sunday night, he played on just about every special team. And then he turned around and played corner for the majority of the game, playing all three downs at corner. He’s a tough-as-nails kid who just needs more and more playing time. He’s really stepped up.”

So has McDermott, who has silenced all of the critics who wondered whether he was ready to be running an NFL defense.

“He’s done a marvelous job handling Jim’s death and taking over as defensive coordinator following a legend,” head coach Andy Reid said. “That’s a tough thing to do. But he’s done it very gracefully and graciously.

“And he has the players’ respect. He’s earned that respect. He’s getting them all involved because we’ve had quite a few injuries. So he’s had to overcome that part of it. But the guys that have stepped in have given all they’ve got for him. That’s a tribute to him.”

Series History:   149th regular-season meeting. Redskins lead the series, 77-66-5. The teams also have met once—in 1991—in the playoffs. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Eagles won the first one, 27-17, in Washington. They had a season-low 11 first downs in that game, but sacked quarterback Jason Campbell(notes) six times and forced four turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Will Witherspoon.

NOTES, QUOTES

—A few months ago, Winston Justice(notes) was considered a bust, a second-round pick (in the 2006 draft) who seemed to be a step from getting cut. But a season-ending back injury to Shawn Andrews(notes) forced the Eagles to hold their breath and make Justice their starting right tackle. Ten games into the season, they’re not holding their breath any longer. While he probably won’t be getting any Pro Bowl votes, Justice has done a serviceable job this season. So much so that the Eagles rewarded him with a four-year contract extension on Tuesday. His deal is believed to be worth $18.7 million, including a $6 million signing bonus. It’s not clear what Justice’s extension means to Andrews, who has played just one game in the last two years. “That’s really irrelevant right now,” Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. “We obviously thought enough of Winston to think he’s our starting right tackle. That’s the way it is right now.” Said Justice: “I don’t wish bad upon anybody. It was a good opportunity that opened up for me. As I played more, as I had more reps, my confidence grew more and more. I think a lot of playing in the NFL is confidence. You have to have faith in your technique. You have to have faith that what your coaches are telling you is actually going to work. I think that grew, the more reps I got.”

• A lot of people thought the Eagles got a steal in the 2008 draft when they took Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu(notes) in the fourth round of the draft. Ikegwuonu had been considered a first-round talent until he suffered a major knee injury preparing for the NFL scouting combine three months before the draft. The Eagles took him with an extra fourth-round pick even though they knew he wouldn’t play in ’08. But Ikegwuonu was slow to come back from the injury, and when he did, he wasn’t the player the Eagles saw before he got hurt. They put him on their practice squad at the beginning of the season, put him on the 53-man roster two weeks ago, then released him this week when they signed another cornerback, Geoffrey Pope(notes), off Cincinnati’s practice squad. Asked why the Eagles gave up on him so quickly, all Andy Reid would say was, “It just didn’t happen. It might happen somewhere else for him. But it didn’t work out.”

• A year ago, the Eagles allowed just 21 sacks. Through 10 games this season, they’ve already given up 25. Most of the problem has been a rebuilt offensive line that hasn’t been able to establish much continuity because of injuries. But there is plenty of blame to go around. Quarterback Donovan McNabb(notes) often has hung on to the ball too long. And rookie running back LeSean McCoy(notes), who has had to play more than the Eagles expected because of injuries to Brian Westbrook(notes), has struggled with blitz-recognition. “I think we’ll be OK there,” Reid said of his offensive line. “(Left guard) Todd (Herremans, who missed the first five games with a foot injury) has been out there for a month. He had to go through the training camp phase that he missed. Now, he’s back in the swing. He’s had an opportunity to play next to (left tackle) Jason (Peters). So they’re getting better every week. I think you’ll see the offensive line continue to progress as the season goes along here.”

By The Numbers:   452—Rushing yards for RB LeSean McCoy, who is starting in place of injured Brian Westbrook. He’s averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

Quote To Note:   “He’s had a couple of headaches, but he’s doing pretty good. He said he got a headache watching me coach the other day. So I think that’s a good sign.”—Andy Reid on RB Brian Westbrook, who is recovering from his second concussion of the season

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Weak-side linebacker Akeem Jordan, who is recovering from a hyperextended knee, is expected to miss his third straight game Sunday. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott is expected to do what he did last week, which is slide middle linebacker Will Witherspoon over to WILL and rotate Jeremiah Trotter and Joe Mays at MIKE in the Eagles’ base defense. In their two-linebacker nickel, Witherspoon and Tracy White(notes) will be the two linebackers. Two weeks ago, McDermott moved strong-side linebacker Chris Gocong into the middle and replaced him at SAM with rookie Moise Fokou(notes). But Gocong struggled inside and that experiment was abandoned.

Player Notes  

• WLB Akeem Jordan, who is recovering from a hyper-extended knee, didn’t practice again Thursday and probably will miss his third straight game.

• LB Will Witherspoon probably will start again on the weak side Sunday against Washington. The Eagles’ starting WILL, Akeem Jordan still is out with the hyper-extended knee. Witherspoon will return to the middle when Jordan returns.

• LB Jeremiah Trotter is expected to rotate at the MIKE position on first and second down with Joe Mays on Sunday against Washington. The Eagles’ starting middle linebacker, Will Witherspoon, will start at WLB for the injured Akeem Jordan.

• CB Sheldon Brown, who played last week with a hamstring strain, practiced on a limited basis for the second straight day but probably will play Sunday.

• CB Asante Samuel, who suffered a neck strain against the Bears, didn’t practice for the second straight game and likely will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Redskins.

• RB Brian Westbrook continues to exercise and be monitored following his latest concussion two weeks ago. He won’t play Sunday and probably will sit out next week’s game against Atlanta as well.

• CB Geoffrey Pope was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad on Tuesday. It’s uncertain whether he’ll be activated for Sunday’s game against Washington.

Game Plan:   The Eagles converted just 4 of 15 third-down opportunities against the Redskins in their first meeting. The main reason was too many third-and-longs. They want to be more productive on first and second down Sunday so they can stay out of obvious passing situations that will allow the Redskins to tee off on quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Matchups To Watch:   Eagles RDE Trent Cole(notes) vs. Redskins LT Levi Jones(notes). Cole had two of the Eagles’ six sacks in their Oct. 26 win over the Redskins. But Jones didn’t play in that game. He has played pretty well since becoming the starter.

Eagles WR Jason Avant(notes) vs. Redskins CB Fred Smoot(notes). Avant, the team’s slot receiver, didn’t have a catch in the first game against the Redskins. But he’s got 12 receptions the last two games. He’s got a size and strength advantage on Smoot.

Injury Impact:   WLB Akeem Jordan’s injury (hyperextended knee) will force Sean McDermott to shuffle his linebackers again, moving MLB Will Witherspoon over to SAM and rotating Jeremiah Trotter and Joe Mays in the middle on first and second down. CB Sheldon Brown (hamstring) will play, but the Eagles won’t put him out there on every down.