Gocong still a rookie, but has year's experience

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Chris Gocong is the only Eagles starter other than Donovan McNabb taking part in the "rookies and select vets" portion of training camp, which ends after a morning session today. The bulk of the team reports this evening and, after fitness testing tomorrow, full-squad workouts with pads start Wednesday.

Gocong is here now because he has the most tenuous hold on a job of any Eagles starter; the coaches never have seen him play a single down in an Eagles uniform.

He was tapped as the successor to the underwhelming Dhani Jones at strongside linebacker on the strength of the potential the team felt Gocong had when he was drafted from Cal Poly in 2006's third round, and the strides he seemed to have made in picking up defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's system during minicamps, after missing his rookie season with a neck injury incurred early in last year's camp.

But as Johnson acknowledges, the Birds also like this year's third-round pick, linebacker Stewart Bradley, from Nebraska. Tank Daniels, an undrafted-free-agent find a year ago, also could figure into the strongside mix.

"I haven't played a game yet; this is a big camp for me," Gocong said recently. "I'm definitely attacking this as my first camp. I'm going to be taking this real seriously, real hard."

Over the weekend, Johnson reiterated his belief that you really can't tell much about defensive players until the hitting starts, which is Wednesday. Gocong has the inside track, but Johnson clearly feels his defense will be better at the SAM position this season regardless of whether Gocong, Bradley or even Daniels comes out on top. All are bigger, more physical players than the Birds have employed at that position in recent years.

"I think the biggest thing we have right now is that we have three good-sized SAM linebackers," Johnson said Saturday. "That allows you to do some things we haven't been able to do since Carlos Emmons."

Emmons, the Birds' strongside starter from 2000 to '03, matched up well against even the biggest and best tight ends. He was lithe and athletic at 6-5, 245. Gocong, a defensive end in college, is listed at 6-2, 263, though he says he's a little lighter than that. Bradley clocks in at 6-3, 254, Daniels at 6-3, 248. The Eagles listed Jones at 6-1, 240; they must have weighed him with his banjo, and maybe an amp.

Gocong knows Eagles fans - harshly critical of Jones - are watching every rep he takes at Lehigh.

"A little pressure always keeps you honest," Gocong said. "I know the fans are going to keep the pressure on me."

Even before he got hurt last year, Gocong wasn't off to a great start. He looked lost, as he began the transition from Division I-AA defensive end to NFL linebacker.

"Compared to last year, I'm miles ahead," Gocong said. "It's one of those things where, if you're just confident in your athleticism, you can make the transition . . . you have to change your whole perspective of the game, when you go from D-line to linebacker. You're really focused on the O-line and the quarterback [as a defensive end]. All of a sudden, it's the line, the running backs, the receivers, the quarterback - that definitely changes your game.

"I need to show that I can be a consistent playmaker, that I can be dependable . . . We might have lacked consistency last year, and I think I can bring that to the table."

Eagles coach Andy Reid said yesterday that preseason games will be especially important for Gocong.

"From what I've seen, he's made that transition well," Reid said. "The unknown is the camp, and then, once he gets into the games, that he can transfer what he's doing now into those situations. He's a smart kid, tough kid; he's got a great change of direction. He has all the things that he needs to do it, it's just a matter of doing it. We'll see, but I feel comfortable with him in there as of today."

Bradley has the advantage of having spent his entire college career at linebacker (though he said yesterday he was an option quarterback in high school who rarely played defense). But he lacks Gocong's year of preparation for playing in John-son's intricate scheme.

"Hopefully, he's going to get there by the time training camp is over. He's not there yet," Johnson said of Bradley. "It takes a while. He's still learning, we're putting him at MIKE linebacker as well as SAM linebacker. He's still learning the position, and it's going to take him a good training camp to get there."

Bradley said learning the middle as well as the strongside was more useful than confusing.

"Playing MIKE is helping me understand the SAM position," he said. "I'm kind of just getting a better grasp of the whole defense . . . obviously, the linebackers work a lot together . . . If you understand the MIKE, you understand when he's going to help the SAM and when he's not. That helps me play SAM."

Just before the April draft, Gocong acknowledged he was eager to see what the Eagles were going to do at linebacker. Had they gone for a linebacker in the first round, there was talk that Gocong could be switched back to defensive end. As it turned out, the Birds traded out of the first round and took quarterback Kevin Kolb with their initial selection, but they chose Bradley high enough to keep Gocong from feeling too secure.

"I wouldn't say we hate each other, Stew and I, but it's a nice little competition, and we're definitely pushing each other," Gocong said.

Gocong was eager to get training camp started, having waited so long to prove himself, but arriving in Bethlehem brought back at least a whiff of last season's frustrations.

"I was riding by the Lehigh [Valley] Hospital," Gocong said. "I was going, like, 'Oh, man, that's where I got my MRI and all that stuff.' But it's going to be a bunch of good memories this year."