Demeco Ryans

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Without sore-hipped Jeremy Maclin, and with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg having apparently misplaced the pages in the playbook that had to do with LeSean McCoy running the ball, the Eagles didn't have much rhythm or consistency in Sunday's loss to the host Arizona Cardinals. One guy who might have given them that was DeSean Jackson, but nobody was more effectively stymied by the Cards' aggressive defense. Jackson finished the day with three catches, on 10 targets, for just 43 yards.

Andy Reid confirmed Friday that he will use all of his linebackers, shuffling them in and out depending on the package, when the Eagles open the season Sunday at Cleveland. Since the Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans in March up until, really, Friday, Reid has said that Ryans is a three-down player. Now he isn't. "I've been very happy with DeMeco," Reid said. "I'm just giving everybody an opportunity. The one thing we've got is experience with play time at positions there. Everybody's going to have an opportunity to get in and do their thing.

The Eagles finally jumped into the linebacker market, and they did it in a big way and, as we probably should have expected, with a surprise. At first blush, the DeMeco Ryans trade has a lot to like. A lot. He was a Pro Bowler in 2007 and 2009 and AP defensive rookie of the year in 2006. Playing as a true middle linebacker in the 4-3 early in his career, he recorded more than 100 tackles each season. Equally importantly, according to reporters in Houston, he was a leader who ran the defense from the middle, something the Eagles sorely lacked last season.

IT TAKES A village to cover a tight end, or something like that. Jamar Chaney said Thursday his hamstring is 100 percent, as the Eagles continued to try to find the right mix of linebackers in base and nickel for their season opener Sunday at Cleveland. Rookie Mychal Kendricks, the strongside starter who also plays in nickel, said he expects all the linebackers who are active to play some sort of role against the Browns, not only the starting group of Kendricks, DeMeco Ryans and Akeem Jordan.

They all gush about DeMeco Ryans the leader. But if Ryans the player can't deliver on even average expectations, then it won't matter if he leads like Abraham Lincoln. The Eagles may have never needed a middle linebacker to be so many things as they do this season. When they traded for Ryans in March, they said he would fill that multifaceted role - a three-down player who will be the defensive quarterback and lead not only a young linebacker group, but the entire defense. He appears to have already taken the reins in the relatively brief time he's spent with the Eagles.

CLEVELAND - While it wasn't difficult to label the effort of the offense for what it was - a disgrace - the strong outing from the Eagles defense on Sunday had to come with one significant qualifier. Brandon Weeden was terrible. The Browns quarterback had a truly wretched first NFL game. He completed only 12 of 35 pass attempts, tossed four interceptions and missed several wide open receivers. He didn't get much help from teammates, either, a few of whom dropped easy throws. So there was that.

These are the moves that defined the Eagles' offseason. We're attempting to rank them by importance: 1  The trade for DeMeco Ryans: If you said the signing of Demetress Bell to replace left tackle Jason Peters was really the most important move of the offseason, you might be right in a strict football sense, but if you're talking about intangibles, about calming the smoldering outrage of the fan base, Ryans has to be No. 1. For so long, the...

A COME-FROM-BEHIND victory in Week 6 of the 2010 season normally would have prompted celebration from the Houston Texans, who advanced to 4-2 entering a bye week. Instead, there was devastation in the Reliant Stadium locker room. The Texans lost starting middle linebacker and defensive captain DeMeco Ryans for the season with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon and dropped eight of their final 10 games. That was the last time Ryans played at an elite level. Ryans, whom the Eagles introduced yesterday as their new middle linebacker, was acquired for a fourth-round pick and a swap of third-rounders on Tuesday.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - DeMeco Ryans trailed Casey Matthews out of the locker rooms and into the players' parking lot after the first full-team practice of training camp Thursday. Matthews gave Ryans a lift back to the living area because Ryans doesn't have his car at training camp. Akeem Jordan brought the new Eagles starting linebacker to Lehigh from Philadelphia on Wednesday, so Ryans is fetching rides wherever he goes. The front passenger seat might be the only place this season in which Ryans must yield control.