Roster Breakdown: Secondary

In the Andy Reid Era, the Eagles have always had an outstanding secondary. Guys like Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis, Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Litto Sheppard, and Sheldon Brown made this secondary one of the elite secondaries in the league for a very long time. That was the past, and now in 2010, none of the guys I just mentionedd are on the roster, and going into the upcoming season, the Eagles present secondary is surrounded with a lot of question marks. If the season were to start tomorrow, the projected starters would be, Nate Allen and Quintin Mikell as safeties, and Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel at the corners. The Eagles also have guys who will try to compete for a starting spot, let me break all of them down for you.

Asante Samuel: Let's first start off our secondary breakdown with Asante Samuel. Samuel takes a lot of heat for his inability to make open field tackles, and rightfully so. There were times, especially last season when he should have wrapped his arms around a guy and instead only hit him with his shoulder. I think what people have to realize is Asante Samuel is not the typical Eagle defensive back that is usually hard hitting and just plain mean. Assante is not Brian Dawkins, he's not going to pop someone right under the chin, and he's not going to destroy Reggie Bush like Sheldon Brown did in the playoffs a few years ago. Asante is more a guy who is going to try to intercept the football. He trys to read the quarterback's eyes and force turnovers using his athleticism. It's not that Assante doesn't know how to tackle, it's just that he is more preocupied with getting interceptions. Having said that, Samuel definitely has todo a better job of tackling this season in order to help this Eagles defense.

Ellis Hobbs: The next projected starter at corner for the Eagles is Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs suffered a severe neck injury last year, and it is still up in the air as to whether he will be fully healthy. Neck injuries are serious so I think it's important for Hobbs to ease himself back into football shape. I like Hobbs as a starter because when the Patriots had their undefeated season, their starting corners were Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel. That fact alone should put any fan's mind to ease. These two guys have had success at corner in the past and I expect them to have continued success heading into this season.

Joselio Hanson: Joselio saw decent minutes last season and I expect him to be a solid backup. If Hobbs can't stay healthy or just isn't the same after his injury, Hanson maybe able to step into the starting role, but I'm not convinced that he is a starter.

Macho Harris: Macho spent alot of time last season at safety but will be looking to compete as a cornerback in this year's training camp. If his name was Marcus or Eugene instead of Macho, I bet he wouldn't be getting this much respect. But because his name is Macho, people think that he is good because Macho is an awesome name. That's all I'm going to say about Macho.

Quintin Mikell: Quintin Mikell in the year when he played next to Brian Dawkins looked awesome. Last year without Dawkins, Mikell didn't look to hot and this year he has to prove that he can play without Dawkins. I really like Mikell, he has the skills and has a great knowledge of the game.

Nate Allen: Nate Allen was drafted in the 2nd round this year and is going to be expected to come in and start immediately. I like what I'm hearing about Allen but I'm worried that he might not be able to jump into this defense and start immediately.

Quintin Demps: Demps was drafted by the Eagles in the 4th round in 2008 and has done absolutely nothing in his 2 years with the team. Demps needs to step it up this season because I believe he has potential.

The secondary is the one part about this Eagles defense that worries me the most. The safeties are very young and there are problems at corner. Still, I think that the Eagles have a good enough defense in the front 7 that they can get away with an OK secondary. I also believe that the Eagles have the talent in the secondary, and it's just a matter of putting it all together during training camp.