Mikell will help continue Brian Dawkins legacy of aggressive and physical play to the Eagles Safety position in 2009

Dawkins leaving town has us all spinning.

But one way or another, life and Eagles football will go on.  Jim Johnson will still call his style of aggressive defense, or at least I pray he is able to.  The prospective 2009 Eagles secondary may be built more like the past than we think, and may have the potential to be an improved unit in the upcoming season.

Asante takes Lito’s place as the gambling, INT making #1 corner (which is an upgrade), and Sheldon is better than he has ever been as a #2.  They may be the best 1, 2 corner combo in the NFL.

Hanson has cemented his spot as the Eagles nickel corner this off-season, even if only due to the contract he was given.  Hanson has shown flashes of playing every bit as well as the #3 corners of the past few years like Roderick Hood, Dexter Wynn and William James.  Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor haven’t been with the Birds since 2003, but it seems like a whole lot longer.

At Free Safety, Dawkins has always been the enforcer, emotional leader, and last line of defense for the Eagles secondary.  He has been coupled with quite a few Strong Safeties to mixed results.  Michael Lewis was a physical SS who got exposed for his lack of coverage skills after his Pro Bowl season in 2004, then walked away in Free Agency and didn’t amount to much in San Fran.  The Considine experiment was a miserable failure, and then Mikell stepped up.

Click here to read why we think Mikell is ready to step up in the void left by B Dawk

I’ve heard fairly mixed reactions from the SOB Nation regarding Friday’s signing Free Agent Safety Sean Jones, but the Eagles are spinning it as a big plus.  For every positive that I can find in Jones, there is a negative or uncertainty that has yet to be answered.

We will all be watching Jones closely in training camp and and throughout the pre-season, it will be interesting to see how he pans out.   I think he will be given the opportunity to make an impact this season.  Not sure why, but I do feel a lot more comfortable with Jones on the roster than I did a few days ago when Demps was the only remotely viable Safety option outside of Quintin Mikell.

Jones, although coming from a 3-4 defensive scheme, he’s excited about coming to the Eagles and playing in Jim Johnson’s aggressive 4-3 defense:

I watch (defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson. He brings pressure defense and I’ve always admired that. I always wanted to be in that kind of defense. I have experience playing the 4-3 in college. I still have experience doing that. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to just showcase my skills.

Jones (#26) looks significantly bigger than former teammate Safety Brodney Poole at the :34 mark.

Click here to read our full take on the Eagles newest member, Sean Jones

There is no dollar value that can be placed on Brian Dawkins' importance to the Eagles.

Brian Dawkins is the first thing that you think of when considering the Eagles and their Safety position.  Although he turned 35 in October, last year’s strong performance leads me to believe he still has football to play and a championship to win.  The fact that upon posting Dawkins has yet to re-sign is surprising and a little unnerving, but I remain confident B. Dawk will be terrorizing opposing offenses for the Eagles in the ’09 season.

Outside of Weapon X, if it weren’t for the development of Quintin Mikell the Eagles would be in serious need of a Safety.  For years the fans have been thinking that the Eagles would draft an heir-apparent to Dawkins, but that has yet to happen.  I’m not ready to say Quintin Demps can’t play Safety in the NFL, but that TD he gave up to Larry Fitzgerald in the NFL Championship game sure doesn’t help his case.

There are quite a few starter quality Safeties available in the 2009 Free Agent market, but I’m not sure the Eagles are going to commit to a player of that level so that they can sit on the bench behind Dawkins and Mikell.  The most rational option would be to draft a young, strong and fast safety who can learn from Dawkins for a year or two before his career fades to black.

Click here to check out all the Safeties available in NFL Free Agency.

Brian Dawkins Must Be Resigned

Since this is my first post about Brian Dawkins, I think for the sake of full disclosure I need to divulge that Dawkins is by far, my favorite Eagle of all time.  Now that that is out of the way, on to the point of this post - Brian Dawkins likely returning in 2009 to continue terrorizing the NFC East.

According to Pro Football Weekly, Dawkins will most likely be back with the Eagles in 2009.

Eagles FS Brian Dawkins might be 35 years old, but his strong finish to the season and his desire to return to Philadelphia make it a strong likelihood he’ll be back. The Eagles probably would like to sign the free-agent-to-be to a one-year deal but might be willing to offer Dawkins two years. The team does not believe Quintin Demps, drafted as a possible long-term replacement for Dawkins, is ready to take over in that role.

Resigning Dawkins should be one of the top priorities for the FO this off-season.  Dawkins isn’t going to look to break the bank and is the heart and soul of this defense.  With the relative youth of this defense, its an absolute must that Dawkins comes back next season.  There’s also no way the Eagles can let Dawkins end his career in any way other than wearing Midnight Green.

Anyone who watched the NFC Championship game last weekend doesn’t think that Quintin Demps isn’t ready to start though - they know it.  Demps is a great kick returner right now, but he’s not a starting free safety in the NFL just yet.  I’m actually still wondering why Demps was even on the field in some of those situations while Lito Sheppard collected dust.