DeMeco Ryans suffered his second Achilles tendon injury of his career on Sunday in Houston against the Texans. Ryans will certainly be out for the rest of the year and his absence will leave a big hole in the middle of the Eagles defense and locker room. Some of the possible replacements for Ryans include Casey Matthews, Emmanuel Acho and rookie Marcus Smith.
According to ProFootballFocus.com, Ryans is the 24th ranked 3-4 inside linebacker. Furthermore, Ryans is the 11th ranked inside linebacker against the run and one of only 15 inside linebackers with a rating over 1.
Matthews has played sparingly throughout the entire season and started three games with linebacker Mychal Kendricks out of action. In extended action Matthews can be exposed with subpar speed, subpar coverage ability, and average run defense. Ultimately, Matthews boils down to a special teams player at best. Matthews’ overall PFF grade is -1.4 although his run defense grades out at 1.2. His pass coverage defense which has always been the worst part of his game is graded out at -2.5. Matthews has consistently been beat by tight ends since he entered the league as a fourth round draft pick in 2011.
Second year linebacker Emmanuel Acho has had the same kind of season as Matthews but with fairly better success. Acho has mixed in some starts because of Kendricks’ injury and his overall PFF grade is -0.4. Acho’s run defense mirrors Matthews but his pass coverage, in comparison to his counterpart, is better which makes Acho a more viable option to take over for Ryans in the short-term.
The Eagles 2014 first round draft pick, Marcus Smith, has played sparingly in his first year. Appearing in only four games thus far, Smith has played a meager 50 snaps at right and left inside linebacker. Smith was drafted after playing defensive end with Louisville and was quickly told he’d be transitioning to linebacker in defensive coordinator Bill Davis’ 3-4 system. Smith is still learning the system and has experienced some learning curves in his limited action. For a team with division title hopes and furthermore championship hopes, Smith is not the quick answer.
Ryans’ injury coupled with the ineffectiveness of Matthews and Acho should push Smith into a bigger role but not a starters’ role. Smith is not capable of stepping into the large shoes that Ryans has left on the Eagles defense and neither is Matthews or Acho. The Eagles, to be successful, must use a combination of Acho and Smith. Acho is the best short-term answer and this is the perfect time to get Smith the game experience he needs to further his development as the inside linebacker of the future for Davis’ defense.
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