A question was raised yesterday – do the Eagles have the worst set of LBs in the league? I’m as optimistic as it gets, but this is a fair question.

First thing to point out is that we can only compare the Eagles to 4-3 teams. There is no way to judge our guys vs the pass rushers of the Steelers, Packers, or other 3-4 teams. Our LBs have a different skill set and different set of responsibilities.

PHI – SAM Jamar Chaney, MLB Casey Matthews, WLB Moise Fokou

and here is the competition (listed by division)…

NYG – SAM Matthias Kiwanuka, MLB Jonathan Goff, WLB Michael Boley

CHI – SAM Nick Roach, MLB Brian Urlacher, WLB Lance Briggs

DET – SAM Justin Durant, MLB DeAndre Levy, WLB Stephen Tulloch

MIN – SAM Chad Greenway, MLB EJ Henderson, WLB Erin Henderson

ATL – SAM Stephen Nicholas, MLB Curtis Lofton, WLB Sean Weatherspoon

CAR – SAM Thomas Davis, MLB Jon Beason, WLB James Anderson

NO – SAM Will Herring, MLB Jonathan Vilma, WLB Scott Shanle

TB – SAM Quincy Black, MLB Mason Foster, WLB Geno Hayes

SEA – SAM Leroy Hill, MLB David Hawthorne, WLB Aaron Curry

STL – SAM Brady Poppinga, MLB James Laurinaitis, WLB Ben Leber

CIN – SAM Manny Lawson, MLB Rey Maualuga, WLB Thomas Howard

CLE – SAM Scott Fujita, MLB D’Qwell Jackson, WLB Chris Gocong

IND – SAM Pat Angerer, MLB Gary Brackett, WLB Ernie Sims

JAX – SAM Darryl Smith, MLB Paul Posluszny, WLB Clint Session

TEN – SAM Akeem Ayers, MLB Barrett Ruud, WLB Will Witherspoon

DEN – SAM Von Miller, MLB Joe Mays, WLB DJ Williams

OAK – SAM Kam Wimbley, MLB Rolando McClain, WLB Quentin Groves

The first thing that jumps out is how un-inspiring a lot of these groups are. The Bears look head and shoulders above the rest of the league. I like the Falcons and Panthers as well, assuming Thomas Davis can stay healthy.

What are the 5 weakest LB corps? I’ll go with:

PHI

NYG

NO

CLE

IND

The Giants have moved Kiwi back to LB. I’m just not a huge fan of him there. I know they’re trying to get their best players on the field and that does make some sense, but he’s never impressed me at LB. Goff is solid in the middle, but what you see is what you get. Boley I liked a lot early in his career, but he’s no longer a playmaker. None of these players is special in any way.

The Saints have older guys at all 3 spots. Herring is getting his first chance to be a full time starter. I like him, but he’s got to show that he can be an effective starter. Vilma is highly productive. Shanle is a solid vet, but not much of a playmaker.

The Browns have one very good player in Jackson, but he must show he can stay healthy this year. He missed all of 2010 and only played in 6 games the year before. Fujita is a solid SAM, but is now 32 years old. Gocong isn’t meant to be a WLB. He’s dealing with neck stinger problems (remember that from 2006?) and has yet to play this preseason. If he’s unable to go, Kaluka Maiava would start. He’s unproven, but does have potential.

The Colts have an odd set of LBs. Pat Angerer was 6’0, 235 when he entered the league. That is a small SAM. Okay athlete, but nothing special. There were times at Iowa when Angerer would get engulfed as the MLB. Having him at the point of attack seems highly questionable. Brackett is a quality vet in the middle. Sims…do we really need to even cover this?

The biggest thing with the Eagles is that our guys are unproven. Matthews is a rookie. Chaney is new to SAM. Fokou has started and played WLB before so he’s simply adjusting to the new scheme. I think Chaney will be a good LB for us. I think Fokou will be solid (good at what he does, but not flashy or a playmaker). Matthews is the mystery man. I think he can be a solid MLB, but we need to see it to believe it.

I’d love to have the Bears LB corps, but that’s just not an option. As for the original question – do we have the worst LBs, we’re in the bottom 5. Beyond that, you decide based on what criteria you use. You can argue that we should be at the bottom of the list.

The thing to keep in mind is that we’re guessing right now. Jamar Chaney played very well last week. If he plays like that this season, we’ve got a stud LB and that makes the overall unit look better. I like the fact that we have 3 guys that run well. I also like the fact that all 3 guys are pure LBs. I’m excited to see what the guys can do. I’m not expecting greatness, but I think the LBs may surprise a few people this year.