Wake-Up Call: Trotter Evaluates the LBs

This morning we yield the floor to Jeremiah Trotter. 

We asked the Axe Man to give his take on the Eagles’ linebacker play through six games, and he obliged. Pretty simple exercise: we fired a player’s name at Trotter, and he shot back with some analysis. This is how he sees it.

DeMeco Ryans: “This last game he got beat on a little shake route and came back on the next play and tried to kill the running back [laughs]…I would say at times he could play a little bit more downhill. But he’s playing good. He’s the leader out there. He’s the elder statesman and the guys are playing better, and I think that’s in direct relation to his leadership.

“Obviously he’s not the same guy he was in Houston. He was young back then. He can’t go back in time and get those fresh legs back but he still is a guy that you can depend on to make big plays.

“DeMeco is a football player. It doesn’t really matter what type of system you put him in, eventually he is going to adjust.”

Trent Cole: “He doesn’t look like he’s comfortable. He came out in the Redskins game and dominated like the old Trent Cole and I was thinking, ‘Wow, he picked this up a lot faster than I thought.’ Then he had some games where you kind of didn’t hear his name called, so that goes to show that he is still trying to get adjusted. He has to get to where he is not thinking so much and can just go out and play football. When Trent Cole can just go out and let it loose, that’s when he is at his best, when he is reckless and can just go out there and have fun and just not even think about what’s going on. Right now I think he’s just trying to get adjusted, and it’s going to take some time.”

Mychal Kendricks: “He is the best linebacker right now. He’s the most active linebacker I can see.

“He’s explosive. He has a great nose for the ball. He’s making a lot of plays for them. You see him around the ball a lot. He just has to continue to grow…When he’s facing veteran receivers or veteran tight ends they kind of get the best of him because he doesn’t really understand coverages as much as he should, covering a guy one-on-one like that, and they kind of take advantage of his aggressiveness. And that’s going to happen when you’re young, it’s going to happen. You just have to continue to play through it and continue to learn from it.”

Connor Barwin: “He is a little more consistent because he has played in a 3-4 before so he is used to being in space, used to being in that up position.

“He’s a pretty consistent guy. He’s not a guy that is going to go out and just take over a game but he is a solid player. He tries to go out and do what you ask him to do. You can tell he’s a little more comfortable at stand-up linebacker position then Trent is. He came up with a huge sack against Tampa. He goes out, plays solid, and you know what you have with him.”

Brandon Graham: “He’s going through what Trent Cole’s going through. He’s always been in a 4-3, always had his hand in the dirt. People don’t understand that going from a three-point and a two-point is like night and day. Both of those guys are athletic enough to get the job done, it’s just going to take a little bit of time to get accustomed to it. We’re only six games into the season. It seems like it’s been longer but it really hasn’t been that long. Hopefully around eight or nine games into the season you should start seeing those guys get a little more comfortable each and every week. They might never adjust to it, but they’re athletic enough, they’re hard workers, and I think they’ll get adjusted to it.”

WHAT YOU MISSED

Sheil provides a detailed review of the offense’s performance in Tampa.

Chip Kelly says there has been no dropoff in the offense since Nick Foles replaced Michael Vick.

Zach Ertz‘s playing time continues to rise. More in Kapadia’s weekly snap-count analysis.

A breakdown of where things really stand when it comes to these quarterbacks.

DeSean Jackson and Riley Cooper get loose in Tampa. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

John Gonzalez interrupts this QB debate to provide a little bright side.

There are the Michael Vick people and there are the Nick Foles people and there is nobody in between. The quarterback fervor is in full froth –- less a reasoned conversation than a screaming match between opposing camps who are utterly convinced that the other side is populated by slow-witted rubes unable to see the obvious truth. Both groups are so certain, so sure. The irony there is lost on almost everyone…

What we’ve missed so far, or ignored, or had drowned out by all the recalcitrant shouting, is the happy reality: The Eagles are in a good spot. They have two quarterbacks who have performed well this season. Even in this town, that ought to be cause for celebration rather than divisiveness.

The Cowboys are expected to be without two of their key players. From ESPN.

DeMarcus Ware has not missed a game since entering the NFL in 2005, but that streak could be in question because of an injury he suffered Sunday night.

Ware suffered a pulled quadriceps during the team’s 31-16 win against the Washington Redskins. A source told ESPN Dallas that Ware is not likely to play this week but the team would not rule him out yet, either.

Running back DeMarco Murray was injured against Washington as well and likely will be unable to play Sunday against Philadelphia, a source said. Murray suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

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COMING UP

We’ll hear from the coordinators in the morning, and Vick and Foles in the afternoon.