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 had the whole case for signing McFadden outlined, and the post was scheduled for 7:30 tonight.  Of course, the good-for-nothing Cardinals had to ruin everything and sign McFadden to a 2-year, $10 contract at like 6:00 PM.

Not only does this impact the Eagles depth at corner, but also could undermine the sinister plot to trade for a #1 WR.  Trading Sheldon for Boldin doesn’t work if the Cardinals are now content with the CB depth.

Although frustratingly tardy, click here to check out the now outdated case to go after another quality CB like Bryant McFadden