Andy Reid is right; his linebackers are young.
They range in age from 22 to 26, average out to 23.9 years of age, and are two years younger than the average age of the Eagles roster.
"They're just a young group," Reid said Friday, echoing a refrain he's only recently made. "We're young at safety, we're young at linebacker. Zero excuse on that - that's not what that is - that's reality."
Apparently, it took four months for reality to hit Reid. When the Eagles were signing free agents left and right during training camp - sometimes overstocking at positions like cornerback and wide receiver - the general feeling was they also had to add a veteran linebacker at some point.
They did not.
Instead, they stuck with their homegrown group of Casey Matthews, 22; Brian Rolle, 23; Keenan Clayton, 24; Jamar Chaney, 25; Akeem Jordan, 25; and Moise Fokou, 26. None were drafted higher than the fourth round. Only Jordan had more than two years of experience coming into the season.
Predictably - and it can be written as such because nearly everyone saw it coming - the Eagles linebackers have struggled all season. And so, Reid has started playing the youth card.
So does that mean, in hindsight, that he should have signed an experienced linebacker in light of the lockout and also to assist his young charges?
"I don't do that," Reid said about looking back. "We're teaching them, they're listening, learning, and getting better, so that's what it is."
It's sometimes difficult to decipher who is getting better and who isn't with the way defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has shuffled the deck at linebacker. The latest move has Matthews, who was benched in September, replacing Chaney in the nickel package for Sunday's game at Miami. There have been five different starting lineups and four different nickel packages at linebacker this season.
The lack of continuity at linebacker has been a running theme since Reid took over the Eagles 13 seasons ago - more so of late. Castillo's predecessor, Sean McDermott, substituted at linebacker so much that it sometimes seemed as if the defense didn't know who was on the field at what time.
Many teams rotate linebackers for matchup reasons, but the Eagles are forced to do it because they just don't have linebackers versatile enough to play on all three downs.
