Sometimes you have to look at your team through the eyes of another fan who hates them. Only then do you get the total picture of how much other teams’ fans covet some of our players…and how afraid they are these players will succeed.
Take Big Blue Interactive.com…. Here’s a Giants-fan-base website that rocks ‘n’ rolls with some witty commentary about Giants’ opponents…and especially delights in targeting the Eagles.
But they’re not laughing about the Eagles’ hire of new defensive line coach Jim Washburn… in fact, it seems like they’re a little worried that Washburn will get the best possible performance ever out of the Eagles’ defensive linemen in his Titans-like rotational system…
Not too long ago the Big Blue Interactive team of writers took note of this blurb about Brodrick Bunkley:
“FOX Sports’ Adam Caplan considers Eagles DT Brodrick Bunkley “unlikely” to regain his starting job from Antonio Dixon in 2011.
Dixon is a better run defender than the former No. 14 overall pick, and Bunkley has just three sacks in his last three seasons. Perhaps new line coach Jim Washburn will be able to get more out of Bunkley as a rotational tackle. Bunkley needs a big finish to his rookie deal. 2011 is his contract year.”
The Giants’ bloggers go on to comment:
“We were really worried when the Eagles drafted him in 2006…He was going to be some force in the middle of that D-line for Jim Johnson (RIP)… Was a tremendous talent out of Florida St. whom many scouts had rated as a bona-fide playmaker in the middle… Glad after 5 years (I assume this to be concrete determination for bust/fail status) it looks like we dodged a bullet there…”
“I hated it when the Iggles got him…really wanted the Giants to pick him… He was really a physical specimen coming out of FSU… But now it appears he was a draftee I was totally wrong about…. Coming into the draft I remember Brodrick being a svelte 290…now he looks like 10 pounds of sand in a 9-pound bag… Looks like he was more of a workout warrior than someone who was going to play at the weight that he worked-out at…”
Okay. We get it. But oh how quickly Giants fans forget how Bunkley played a big role in knocking the G-Men out of the 2008 playoffs. Bunkley ate O’Hara’s lunch in that game.
Brodrick Bunkley was the Eagles’ 1st Round draft pick in 2006… at Defensive tackle, 6-2, he now plays at a weight of 315… popular concensus is that Bunkley has underachieved… but I’m betting that Jim Washburn’s new DL direction is going to make Bunkley into the impact player he used to be at Florida State…
But even Giants fans are trembling at the arrival of Jim Washburn to Philadelphia and the possible effect he will have on turning Bunkley’s career around.
Here’s “Jay from Long Island”‘s take:
“I am really concerned about the arrival of Washburn… Jay on the Island : He has turned so many average players into big contributors. Look at Jason Babin last season. He was a first round bust who bounced around the league— and he goes to Tennessee and makes the Pro Bowl with 12.5 sacks… Dave Ball, a 30-year-old former fifth round pick who has jumped around the league, had 7 sacks despite missing 5 games… Washburn worked with Jevon Kearse, Albert Haynesworth, and Kyle Vanden Bosch… who was considered a bust prior to going to the Titans… Carlos Hall, a 7th round pick who had double digit sacks playing opposite Kearse, and then left the Titans and a couple of years later he was out of the league… Tony Brown and Jason Jones have played very well for the Titans. The Eagles have a lot of potential on their defensive line and I hope that they do not live up to it.”
Looks like Jim Washburn is the guy who’s here to make sure the Birds’ defensive line lives up to everything we hope it can be…
And it’s way too early for Giants fans to celebrate the “bust” of Bunkley.
My journalist friend Andrew Strickert writes for Total Titans , and he is convinced Jim Washburn is the best defensive line coach in the NFL. As Andrew points out, who else in the modern history of the NFL ever got a full season of total effort out of Albert Haynesworth?
As Strickert writes, Jim Washburn was the “Titans coach I least wanted to lose…”
Washburn was Andrew’s favorite on the Titans coaching staff. In the years Strickert was a regular observer at Titans training camp, the D-line was the group he spent the most time with. Part of this was because it was the position group which was most accessible to Strickert, who has press/photo media credentials to cover the Titans. A larger reason for watching them more often than any other position group was because Andy really enjoyed watching Washburn coach his guys.
“Entertaining, with his unique sayings and not infrequent cursing, to be sure… But that was just part of the enjoyment of watching him up close in August. What mattered more were the results he got starting in September”, says Strickert.
We know of Washburn’s ability to take players unwanted by anyone else and make them into very productive contributors, and sometimes even stars. Kyle Vanden Bosch was the best example of that. Cast off by the Cardinals, KVB was sitting at home waiting for a call from someone, anyone, when he was picked up by the Titans and became a three-time Pro Bowler for Washburn.
Andrew Strickert continued with his take on Washburn:
“Tony Brown was another guy on the scrap heap, a street free agent who was developed by Washburn into a star. ‘Touchdown Tony’ was the Titans best D-lineman in 2009, and best defender in my opinion, and twice has had his contract extended by the team. Pretty good for a guy that wasn’t good enough to play for any other team, and you have to credit Washburn for TB’s success.”
“Jason Babin and Dave Ball are two more examples of rejects who became successful under Washburn. Babin was selected for his first Pro Bowl this year and had 12½ sacks after a journeyman career with four teams in six previous seasons. Ball, now with his third team, had seven sacks last year, which is seven more than he had in his entire time with his previous teams. “
“Washburn was also able to develop young players, such as Jevon Kearse, who had outstanding physical skills, but no experience. Kearse, a standup linebacker in college, didn’t even know how to put his hand down and get into a proper stance when he was drafted by the Titans. The Freak went on to Defensive Rookie of the Year, All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in his first year as a defensive lineman.”
“We’ll also remember Washburn for his ability to identify talent that was unrecognized by others. Jason Jones may have been the best example of that.”
“Wash is a guy who can’t be replaced. Someone will be hired to be the new D-line coach for the Titans, but things won’t be the same.”
So why did Washburn decide to leave the Titans for the Eagles?
Andrew Strickert: “Washburn had a sign in the D-line meeting room which showed the (total) amount of money his players had earned
. That number was over $100 million, I believe, even before the Redskins spent stupid money on Big Al.” “We’ll miss Wash and I understand why he left. A three-year contract with a good team like the Eagles offers a lot more security than anything the Titans could offer him. I hope for his sake that he’s getting some big money like he helped his players make.”
The main thing about Washburn’s method is his insistence on rotational usage of all his personnel. Everyone gets involved in “playing fast”… “Attack, rest, and repeat” as Tommy Lawlor says. Bunkley, Dixon, Trevor Laws, Mike Patterson—all tackles— and the defensive ends will all be asked to contribute significant consecutive minutes… you won’t see Laws or Bunkley sitting out three or four series in a row as we did last season.
As for the possibility of trading for Haynesworth— I don’t rule it out at all, considering Washburn may be the one guy in all the NFL that can get into Albert’s head and make him want to play hard.
And I was surprised to learn that Haynesworth’s contract would actually not be that expensive for the Eagles to assume. Seems like Big Al got most of his money up front from the Redskins in that massive $41 million deal…
As Dave Stoessel pointed out in Eagles Addict, Haynesworth is due to be paid $5.4 million in 2011, which is the only portion left of the $41 million guarantee in his contract. He is due $6.7 million in 2012 but that is not guaranteed money. Contrary to popular belief, he is very affordable.
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