Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/homeNewsDetail.jsp?id=68189 Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said on Sunday that second-year linebacker Chris Gocong is currently No. 1 on the depth chart on the strongside. On Monday, the Eagles released veteran linebacker Dhani Jones. Jones, originally a sixth-round pick of the Giants in 2000, was signed by the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent in 2004 and started in 47 regular season games over the past three seasons. In his three-year stint, Jones had 288 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. But the Eagles wanted more production from the position, so they drafted Gocong out of Cal-Poly in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. A defensive end in college, Gocong's size (6-foot-2, 263 pounds) and big-play ability (Division 1-AA single-season record 23.5 sacks in 2005) was enticing enough to the Eagles to draft him and move him over to linebacker. Gocong missed this past season with a stinger injury, but the Eagles' desire to utilize bigger linebackers at the strongside spot (Jones is 6-foot-1, 240 pounds) was evident. For the second-straight season they used a third-round pick on a big linebacker, this time it was Nebraska's Stewart Bradley (6-foot-3, 254 pounds). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 I just used the same damn phrase in a thread about Dahani. (You beat me by a few minutes apparently.) Great minds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostic Hog Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 WOW! Starting LB will be Gocong, a non-D1 DE switched to LB. Not that I liked Dhani, but still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 WOW! Starting LB will be Gocong, a non-D1 DE switched to LB. Not that I liked Dhani, but still. The buzz as far as this move is that Gocong will start with Bradley rotating. They want to go with size and speed at the OLB, and obviously Jones has neither. I'm confident that they will be okay. Gocong has had a full year to study and Bradley is a natural SAM with a mean streak to match is 6'3" size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurd Cudins Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Gocong is a bust. Bradley will be starting very early and should be decent with the veteran help of Spikes and Trotter. Gaither can always step in if Bradley doesn't work out. The rest of their D is so deep that a weakness at one position is not a problem. I think the release of Jones signifies that they really like Bradley. The good news for Feables fans is that he is much better suited for SLB than Gocong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostic Hog Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Gocong is a bust. Bradley will be starting very early and should be decent with the veteran help of Spikes and Trotter. Gaither can always step in if Bradley doesn't work out. The rest of their D is so deep that a weakness at one position is not a problem. I think the release of Jones signifies that they really like Bradley. The good news for Feables fans is that he is much better suited for SLB than Gocong. Trotter is done dude. If he starts, that D is much weaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 Trotter is done dude. If he starts, that D is much weaker. Not so sure about that one.....he has lost up to 15 lbs of fat from last season....that might help his knees hold up because of the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 Bunkley and Gocong are listed as starters with LaJuan Ramsey the 1st DT off the bench. That's a good thing because last season when he played (early part of the season) he was very productive against the run..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostic Hog Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Bunkley and Gocong are listed as starters with LaJuan Ramsey the 1st DT off the bench. That's a good thing because last season when he played (early part of the season) he was very productive against the run..... Gocong is listed as a DT starter? I thought this thread was about him as a LB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 Gocong is listed as a DT starter? I thought this thread was about him as a LB? My bad.... Gocong at SAM. Bunk at DT along with Patterson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunClintonRun26 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 The coaches must really be high on this kid to make him the starter despite not playing last year, coming off an injury, AND having a productive (albeit not spectacular) starter in Jones. Looks like Trotter may have to compensate for some rookie mistakes on that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 The coaches must really be high on this kid to make him the starter despite not playing last year, coming off an injury, AND having a productive (albeit not spectacular) starter in Jones. Looks like Trotter may have to compensate for some rookie mistakes on that side. He had to compensate for Dhani's mistakes last year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins84 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 hopefully GoClown will get to meet Chris Cooley this year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Trotter and Spikes are in very much the same position as far as their careers go... They can both still play -- when they're not hurt. This season could be great for Eagles fans, but if those two go down, Dawkins is going to have to step up hard. And they both have a good chance of going down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 I think Spikes has a much better chance of regaining past form than Trotter. Spikes talks like he is a ****ing animal in a cage. I see him as having a huge chip on his shoulder after having to hear all this crap over the past year. Trotter is just all talk at this point. I remember him saying he would be NFL MVP last year. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 hopefully GoClown will get to meet Chris Cooley this year... That would be a nice meeting.....especially seeing how Campbell will be running for his life....those two will probably to talking alot on that day...it should go something like this... Cooley - "Jesus, another f**king sack..." Gocong - "It could be worst, imagine if I was still a DE" Cooley - "What are you talking about kid?" Gocong - "You ain't know Curley? I used to be the baddest pass rusher this side of Dexter Manley...." Cooley - "Who?" Gocong - "Dexter Manley...you know #72, the Redskin great?" Cooley - "Who? Don't you mean Bruce Smith?" Gocong - "Nevermind, just go back to the huddle and tell Campbell to duck next time.....Spikes is in a head hunting mood and I'm too polite not to warn him." :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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