the confused part is more understandable for a rookie... some observers of the NFL scene have exhorted patience with rookies, as they didn't have normal time and reps for scheme installations...
though LB, like RB is one of more instinctive positions on either side of the field, but maybe MLB has more responsibilities than, say, SLB...
more disturbing is physically outmatched part of above quote, but there, too, maybe if he isn't thinking as much, he can get to spots faster, and look less physically outmatched...
i was surprised, with everybody, they didn't have chaney at MLB and matthews at WLB, especially given chaney looked decent in the middle last year... chaney was 7th rounder, i think, but may have been fastest LB at combine... wouldn't surprise me if they make that switch this week, before the next game...
it seems like in the reid era, the first and third levels were heavily prioritized in terms of draft capital and proportionate salary cap cost... LBs have sort of been the ugly, red headed, freckled step children of the defensive position groups, so to speak... trotter had some success, but he was a UFA (?)... they traded for witherspoon, but inexplicably let him walk (did he play that bad, or maybe he wasn't worth what he was making, in their estimation?)... bradley showed signs of being a very good player, but he had the knee injury, than multiple injuries last year (dislocated elbow, concussion), so i can understand not wanting to committ to him...
the late DC johnson had a bend but don't break philosophy (a sub-text here may be that it was anticipated that his leadership would be hard to replace, but the level of difficulty may have been underestimated?)... having smaller LBs may have been acceptable... it is hard in salary cap era to have stars at every level (the giants, incidentally, along with eagles stops for rams HC spags, seem to have a similar philosophy of late, prioritizing DL & DB at expense of LB)... yards were acceptable if not accompanied by TDs... for years, PHI not among league leaders in yardage stats, but were very good in scoring defense... when in the red zone, things are more compressed, and athletic DL & DBs could make plays, lack of elite, blue chip LB talent can maybe be more hidden...
for years, though, it has been a near cliche that PHI vulnerable to smashmouth, power running attacks... i'm not enough of a student of eagles history to conjecture if, with all the playoff flirtations, if the problems were sometimes related to almost institutionally short shrifting the position?
reid is also known for liking lineman a lot, on offense and defense, and no question that controlling the trenches is important... but sometimes the KIND of DL they got were quicker, athletic types, but again, vulnerabe to power attack...
its hard to not wonder if, some of those years, what their defense would have been like if they had drafted a stud, high pedigree LB, like ryans, willis, beason, lofton, laurinaitis, etc?
I can't add much more. Outside of Jenkins (and Cole) the DL is still poor. granted they started 2 new DTs but it looks like the same-old same-old as last year. The DEs are undersized pass-rushes as well.And then there are the safeties...All in all a poor performance all around. Coleman had a bunch of tackles cleaning up from the front 7. Allen doesn't look too great either. Not much of Dream team so poor down the middle (DT, LB, S)
