Most egregiously, the Panthers failed to account for Cole when the right defensive end blitzed from the middle-linebacker position, early in the second quarter. Thanks to some stunting up front, Cole swooped in on Jake Delhomme unblocked and forced a fumble that Victor Abiamiri recovered for the Birds' first touchdown. The play seemed to completely turn around the flow of the game.
Under the late Jim Johnson, the Eagles often used a random blitzer, lined up in an unusual spot, called the "joker." He tended to be a reserve, not the line's top guy.
"Interchangeable parts. I guess that's a corporate America word, but that's what it comes down to. Our players have to be interchangeable," McDermott said.
Cole, a Pro Bowl performer in 2007, slipped from 12 1/2 sacks to nine last season, at least partly because of the extra attention he got from offensive lines.
"They can stick everybody on me; I'm still going to find a way," Cole said yesterday. Of course, McDermott is trying to keep that from happening.
This week, Cole said, against a much more potent arsenal and a more mobile quarterback, "we're going to have to get there quick as we can. Games like this, that's one thing d-ends hate. We're going to have to get the pressure on him, get him down" and get the Saints into extra-long-yardage situations that negate the three-step drop. "Get him back there lookin' instead of poppin'. We've got to try to take that [quick] route away from him."
The other starting d-end, Abiamiri, said a rusher has to make a quick decision.
"If you can beat your guy, you beat your guy. If not, you have to get your hands up," he said.
