Chris Gocong

The Eagles' defense has no nickname, not yet at least, but Chris Gocong backed into a suggestion yesterday. The group has its glitzy players, Pro Bowl types everyone knows like Asante Samuel and Brian Dawkins and Trent Cole. And then there are the linebackers, that young group of no-names, average age 24.3, whose jerseys you'll rarely see in the stands (except on the bodies of their loved ones) and who, before Sunday, had no postseason experience. Gocong, Stewart Bradley and Akeem Jordan, who are they?

If you want to know how complicated defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's scheme is, talk to the engineering major from California Polytechnic State University. So, Chris Gocong, on a scale of one to a final examination in your biomedical concentration, how difficult is it to learn this Eagles defense? "It's definitely tough," Gocong said after he stopped laughing during a telephone interview earlier this week. "I think it's especially tough for linebackers. You really have to recognize a lot of checks.

Building a bridge takes knowledge, preparation, and the melding of many separate pieces to forge a connection between two ends. A football team is similar, and linebacker Chris Gocong is one of those pieces on the Eagles' defense. Yesterday, Gocong, who has a degree in engineering, lent a bit of sporting celebrity to a sixth-grade class lesson in applied science. Gocong was at Berlin Community Middle School yesterday as part of a contest sponsored by the New Jersey Education Association.

When the Eagles' season comes to a merciful conclusion and the damage is assessed, the inspectors will find a few nicks and dents here and there in the defense but nothing unsightly. They'll also realize that Jim Johnson, suspected of losing his touch the last two seasons, has regained his stature as one of the game's top defensive coordinators. Of course, this won't appease Eagles fans, who must deal with an empty playoff calendar in January. But with two games remaining, including Sunday's contest against the Saints in New Orleans, this is about next season.

1. Chris Gocong 2. Joe Mays 3. Jeremiah Trotter 4. Will Witherspoon

The Eagles have drafted 13 linebackers since Andy Reid was hired as their head coach in 1999. Six of those selections were in the sixth or seventh round. The Eagles have not drafted a linebacker in the first round under Reid and have taken just one in the second round since 2001: Round 1 (0) Round 2: (3) Barry Gardner (1999), Quinton Caver (2001), Matt McCoy (2005) Round 3: (2) Chris Gocong (2006), Stewart Bradley (2007) Round 4 (1): Keenan Clayton (2010), Round 5 (1)

Here's a look at the other linebackers on the Eagles' roster, including height, weight, college and years in the NFL: Omar Gaither, 6-2, 235 pounds, Tennessee, 4; the skinny: a former weakside starter; has most experience Joe Mays, 5-11, 246, North Dakota State, 2; the skinny: sixth-round pick last year; played in just two games Tank Daniels, 6-3 248, Harding, 4; the skinny: one of the Eagles' top contributors on special teams last...

Only the rearview mirror of history will determine whether the Eagles' brisk trading that resulted in the 2010 draft class was a case of brilliant maneuvering or simply wasted motion. However, the sheer volume of wheeling and dealing, as well as the sometimes frantic pace, was indeed impressive. Beginning in February 2009 and continuing through Saturday, Philadelphia made 18 trades with 14 teams that directly impacted the last three draft days. In those deals, the Eagles obtained 23 draft picks, from 2009 through 2011, and shipped out 19 selections.

Who says the Eagles don't care about linebacker? For the second time this offseason the Eagles made a major move to improve their linebacker corps, a perennial weak spot that has been as much a part of the Andy Reid experience as screen passes, fastball linemen, and "time's yours. " After landing DeMeco Ryans in a stunning trade, investing in a veteran middle linebacker with a significant contract to fill a significant need, the Eagles on Friday used their second pick in the draft, number 46 overall, to bring in Mychal Kendricks, a 5-foot-11 speedster from Cal. It's the earliest the team has drafted a linebacker since Reid's first draft, when he took Barry Gardner with his second-ever Eagles pick, 35th overall.

Last week I asked what was more likely, me predicting correctly 2 weeks in a row, or the Giants losing three in a row. It was a Karmic mismatch, of course. The poor Giants never had a chance after I picked them. Sorry, Eli. This week, having been painfully reminded of how good the Eagles can be, I'm back with the home team. Despite the fact that defensive coordinator Sean McDermott all but admitted he was worried yesterday, faced with a confident Tony Romo, behind a solid offensive line, commanding weapons such as Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Miles Austin and Jason Witten.

Who says the Eagles don't care about linebacker? For the second time this offseason the Eagles made a major move to improve their linebacker corps, a perennial weak spot that has been as much a part of the Andy Reid experience as screen passes, fastball linemen, and "time's yours. " After landing DeMeco Ryans in a stunning trade, investing in a veteran middle linebacker with a significant contract to fill a significant need, the Eagles on Friday used their second pick in the draft, number 46 overall, to bring in Mychal Kendricks, a 5-foot-11 speedster from Cal. It's the earliest the team has drafted a linebacker since Reid's first draft, when he took Barry Gardner with his second-ever Eagles pick, 35th overall.

The Eagles have drafted 13 linebackers since Andy Reid was hired as their head coach in 1999. Six of those selections were in the sixth or seventh round. The Eagles have not drafted a linebacker in the first round under Reid and have taken just one in the second round since 2001: Round 1 (0) Round 2: (3) Barry Gardner (1999), Quinton Caver (2001), Matt McCoy (2005) Round 3: (2) Chris Gocong (2006), Stewart Bradley (2007) Round 4 (1): Keenan Clayton (2010), Round 5 (1)

That spotlight following Green Bay's Clay Matthews around the field Sunday should help illuminate something about the Eagles, as well. Matthews is living, hirsute proof that linebackers still can be disruptive forces in the NFL. That is something you wouldn't know if you only watched the Eagles the last few years. It is almost as if they apply their old (and discarded) philosophy about wide receivers to the position, choosing a group of interchangeable "C" students over flashy, standout playmakers.

Another week, another difficult tight end challenge for the Eagles' defense. From the Packers' tall and wide receiver-fast Jermichael Finley (four catches for 47 yards) to the Lions' power-forward-strong Brandon Pettigrew (seven for 108) to the Jaguars' big, fast and athletic Mercedes Lewis. "Most teams have invested in a good tight end," said Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. "We've got to be able to hold up there. " Much has been made of the Murderer's Row list of quarterbacks the Eagles have on their 2010 dance card.

Turning-point games don't usually announce themselves ahead of time. They are recognized only in retrospect, across the long sweep of what came next. In that way, there is nothing particularly momentous about the setup for Sunday's game in the cavernous covered garage that is Ford Field in gloomy downtown Detroit between the Eagles and the Lions. The Eagles are already frayed around the edges after just one regular season game, and any outcome, even a loss to the woeful Lions, could be written off as nothing more than the hangover that resulted from the opening binge of injuries and bad luck against the Packers.

BEREA, Ohio - Sheldon Brown saw something last season that he had never seen before in his NFL career. Something disturbing. Something that he feels was every bit as responsible for the Eagles defense's struggles last season as the never-ending injuries and the departure of Brian Dawkins. What he saw were teammates - some, certainly not all - who didn't buy into what the team's new defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott, was selling. "You have to believe in what's in place," said Brown, who was traded in April along with linebacker Chris Gocong to the Cleveland Browns.

BEREA, Ohio - Chris Gocong finally is going to get to do something that he seldom got to do in his four seasons with the Eagles. Rush the passer. "Every year, I would take my reps at it and they would have plans to do it," said Gocong, who was traded to the Browns in April along with cornerback Sheldon Brown for linebacker Alex Hall. "Then we'd get to the game and we never really got around to it. I wouldn't say it was disappointing, but it was frustrating. " The 6-2, 263-pound Gocong was a pass-rushing defensive end at Cal Poly, whom most scouts projected as a 3-4 rush linebacker in the NFL. But he was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the '07 draft and converted into a run-stopping strongside linebacker in their 4-3 scheme.

BEREA, Ohio - Tom Heckert's job title frequently changed during his 8 1/2 years with the Eagles, but not his authority. No matter what it said on his office door - director of player personnel, vice-president of player personnel or, for the last 4 years, general manager - the reality was that Andy Reid always was the guy calling the personnel shots in the Eagles organization, not Heckert. And that never was going to change. Which, in a nutshell, is why Howie Roseman is the Eagles' general manager now and Heckert is here on the shore of Lake Erie serving as the GM of a Browns franchise that has had just two winning seasons in the last 11 years.

When the Eagles play the second game of the interminable NFL exhibition season in Cincinnati on Friday night, only two players from the starting offensive and defensive lineups of the 2004 Super Bowl team will be on the field. Of course, both of them will be wearing tiger stripes on their helmets. In some ways, that giddy romp to the league's championship game in February 2005, which followed seasons of slow growth and not a little frustration, seems like just yesterday. It is still the main reference point for the tenure of Andy Reid as the team's head coach.

BETHLEHEM - Three hundred sixty-odd days ago, Stewart Bradley's was the torn ACL that sabotaged the Eagles' defense before it even got started, the knee injury that turned the toughest games of 2009 into ACHell. In the aftermath, the quote from Cowboys tight end Jason Witten was the one that stood out. Here it is, repetition offered as context: "That's huge," Witten said, last August. "Playing against that defense last year, he was really the one that made it go. He probably didn't get as much credit as he deserved.