Moise Fokou

If sound, logical football decisions are the pathway to success in the NFL, then the Eagles apparently missed that part of the seminar. As they take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon with a 1-2 record, you've got to wonder whether their corporate policy of being smarter than everybody has not only caught up with them but also tripped them into the muddy puddle. Please explain to me how this makes sense: You employ a new defensive scheme called a "wide nine. " This new defensive scheme has all down linemen spread out, leaving gaps as wide as JFK Boulevard, and at the snap has them rushing directly up the field without regard.

By now you know the plot: Big tight end faces the Eagles. Big tight end has a big day. Big Red says everyone needs to get better. The actors might change, but the script doesn't. At least not yet. The Eagles face another tight end test Sunday, this time hoping to alter the ending with the help of some new faces. Brian Rolle, the new starting weakside linebacker, said he hopes he gets a chance to match up with the 49ers' star tight end, Vernon Davis. Another defender to watch is Nnamdi Asomugha.

Looking for another fix to their linebacker woes, the Eagles demoted Casey Matthews as their weakside linebacker - a week after sliding him over from the middle - and replaced him with Brian Rolle . Rolle will start in the Eagles' base defense, and the two rookies will split time in the nickel. Jamar Chaney will remain at middle linebacker, and Moise Fokou will stay at strong side. Rolle confirmed the move, which some speculated would happen, before practice Wednesday.

Looking for another fix to their linebacker woes, the Eagles demoted Casey Matthews as their weakside linebacker - a week after sliding him over from middle - and replaced him with Brian Rolle . Rolle will start in the Eagles' base defense, and the two rookies will split time in the nickel. Jamar Chaney will remain at middle linebacker, and Moise Fokou will stay at strong side. Rolle confirmed the move, which some speculated would happen, before practice Wednesday.

Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin strained his hamstring in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 29-16 loss to the Giants and did not return. The team did not have prognosis on when Maclin will be back, but the last time the Eagles had a player with a hamstring strain he was inactive for two games. That was quarterback Vince Young , whose injury was originally described as being day-to-day. There are, of course, different grades of hamstring strains, but Maclin's status for next week's game against the San Francisco 49ers is up in the air. Maclin injured himself on the same play in which quarterback Michael Vick broke his right hand.

Continuity is a funny thing with the Eagles. When they have consistent starters at a given position, coaches tell you how that builds chemistry that translates onto the field. But when coaches shuffle the deck and move players around, continuity suddenly becomes overrated. On those days, it's just gaps and assignments and everyone doing his job no matter who is out there. One of these explanations makes intuitive sense. The other one is what we heard last week when the Eagles, again, shuffled their linebacker lineup, moving Jamar Chaney back to the middle, rookie Casey Matthews to the weak side, and Moise Fokou from the weak to strong side.

When the Eagles selected Casey Matthews in the fourth round of the NFL draft, there was little doubt what the team intended for him. "I know he can step in and be your Mike [middle] linebacker," Andy Reid said. It wasn't just wishful thinking - the coaching staff and player personnel department liked Matthews very much - but if he fulfilled Reid's assertion, that would grant one of the organization's fondest wishes: finding a long-term middle linebacker. Sure enough, Matthews was the first-team man in the middle from the very start of training camp at Lehigh and, just as Reid predicted, he stepped in and held the job when the regular season began.

The Eagles' linebacker shuffle may be designed specifically for Sunday's opponent - the New York Giants - defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said. Rookie Casey Matthews , moved from middle linebacker to weak-side, isn't convinced. "They said that. I guess we will see how it turns out," Matthews said Thursday. "If you have success with it I'm sure it will stay. I'm going like it's permanent. " The moves, implemented first at practice on Wednesday, have Jamar Chaney replacing Matthews in the middle, Moise Fokou filling Chaney's spot at strong-side, and Matthews taking over for Fokou.

A LITTLE less than 2 months ago, Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo sprung a little surprise on his linebackers, and on the fan base. When the 136-day NFL lockout ended and the Birds reported to Lehigh, Castillo moved Jamar Chaney from the middle to the strongside, where Chaney had never practiced as a rookie in 2010, moved Moise Fokou from strongside to weakside, and most surprising, made fourth-round rookie Casey Matthews his starting...