Birds' 'D' showing its depth

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Eagles' defense put in an excellent practice day, looking tough, aggressive and sharp; the "D" has been impressive so far in training camp.

The thing is, a year ago, the defense also looked very good at Lehigh. Veteran players were being asked if they'd ever played on a more talented unit. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was excited.

Then defensive end Jevon Kearse went down in Game 2, in an overtime that never should have been necessary, and rookie defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley turned out to not be ready to contribute, after all. Strong safety Mike Lewis melted down when asked to do more in coverage. Undersized weakside linebacker Matt McCoy suffered a shoulder injury that made him an outright liability. Supposed pillars such as defensive end Darren Howard and middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter wore down and started looking old after they were asked to play more snaps than anticipated.

By midseason, nobody was wondering where the 2006 unit ranked among the greatest Eagles defenses. The Birds caught some traction down the stretch, but they finished the year ranked 15th in overall defense, ninth against the pass and an ugly 26th against the rush. Only seven teams exceeded their average of 19.6 first downs allowed; only one team exceeded their total of 126 rushing first downs allowed (although that one team was Super Bowl champion Indianapolis).

Everybody involved says it's going to be different this time.

Before your eyes glaze over, they just might be right. Last summer's dominant-looking "D" was not exactly a mirage - the Eagles had some solid pieces of the defensive puzzle. What they didn't have, at least along the line and at linebacker, was quality depth.

"For the first time, especially at the linebacker position, we have a lot of depth," Trotter said yesterday.

Trotter apparently will be on the field less in passing situations this season, with Omar Gaither, who was a revelation as McCoy's unheralded fifth-round rookie weakside replacement down the stretch, getting some of Trot's snaps. The new weakside starter is two-time Pro Bowler Takeo Spikes, a free-agent signee who seems completely recovered from his 2005 Achilles' tear. There are two untested kids on the strongside, Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley, both of whom are bigger and faster than departed 2006 starter Dhani Jones. The Eagles really like backup linebacker Tank Daniels, who was promoted from the practice squad late last season. McCoy, a second-round selection in 2005, might have a hard time making the team.

Howard said he thinks the defensive line also has been fortified, though free-agent defensive tackle signees Montae Reagor and Ian Scott suffered minor knee injuries right off the bat and haven't been able to contribute yet.

"You can't predict [injuries], but you know what kind of guys you have," Howard said. "We're stacked on the d-line, stacked at linebacker and stacked in the secondary. We have a lot of depth and talent."

Johnson is thinking along the same lines.

"I remember the last couple of years when we started out good, and kind of went into a slump . . . You hope you can maintain health and consistency all year and not have to switch guys around. I think we've got some good depth here, and hopefully we'll keep the guys healthy," Johnson said. "We're going to get nicks and bruises, there's no question about it. The name of the game is making sure you have depth."

The absence of Reagor (who was a partial participant yesterday) and Scott has raised the profile of Jeremy Clark, a 6-3, 309-pound rookie free agent defensive tackle from Alabama who has had a very good run so far.

"Sometimes guys fall through the cracks," Johnson said. "Sometimes they're injured in college - there are so many cases. Take Jeremy Clark. We like Clark, a big defensive tackle . . . but he got injured [an ankle] a little bit as a senior. It probably hurt him in the draft . . . He showed us at minicamp the way he can move. He's got good athletic ability, and the guy - he's over 300 pounds - is a big guy."

Bunkley, as has been noted before, looks like a different player, after losing 30 pounds and seemingly shedding the constant befuddlement that marked his rookie season. Kearse has been relentless, Trent Cole aggressive enough to be listed as the starter on the right side ahead of Howard. Second-round rookie Victor Abiamiri has the size and run-stopping power the Birds have long lacked at defensive end.

Johnson still maintains that the Eagles weren't that terrible against the run last season, that they only got smacked around in a few games, such as the Nov. 26 debacle at Indianapolis (237 rushing yards allowed in a 45-21 loss) and the playoff defeat in New Orleans (208 rushing yards allowed in a 27-24 loss). But Johnson also knows they have to beat teams like the Colts and Saints to win the Super Bowl.

Asked if he is happy with how his run defense is looking, Johnson said: "Yeah, and I want to make sure we're physical . . . I think we will be better against the run, because we're more physical upfront. I think our linebackers are physical, and with Bunkley in there and some other young tackles, I think we're more physical up the middle."

Johnson was asked if Abiamiri is everything Johnson expected him to be.

"Yeah, maybe even more," Johnson said. "He's a very sound defensive end. He can play the run. [Defensive line coach] Pete [Jenkins] is working with him on his pass rush. He's a very, very strong defensive end with nice size [6-4, 267] . . . a very solid player."

As you've read before, Johnson wanted to come out of the offseason with a different look, more size and strength. So far, he seems to be on the right track. As Howard noted yesterday, "the only way you can measure something is to test it," and the Eagles won't even play a preseason game until Monday at Baltimore. Still, they seem to have little reason not to be confident going into the real tests.

"I think you see a physical team now, an aggressive team, and hopefully that's going to remain," Johnson said. "I think you always set your philosophy in camp, [the] attitude you have, and I think that's the kind of attitude we have right now - very aggressive and tough-minded." *