For the Eagles defense, the opening game against the Carolina Panthers was an opportunity to show that a preseason of vanilla defense was no indication of what was to come. It was an opportunity to display an attacking style and to provide a resounding answer to a few perceived question marks. It was an opportunity to honor the late Jim Johnson. And it was an opportunity to show that Sean McDermott is the right man to take this Eagles defense into the future.
"I've been telling you guys for a while now, but you wouldn't listen," said a chuckling Chris Gocong about the potential of the defense. "It's still Jim (Johnson)'s defense, but it's streamlined. It's real aggressive, very aggressive.
"A few of the things that (coach McDermott) did came up big for us," said middle linebacker Omar Gaither, who looked comfortable returning to his 2007 position as starting middle linebacker. "A lot of those big plays were things that he's changed. And obviously with our personnel ... it worked out well for us."
To about what Victor Abiamiri, Sheldon Brown, and Andy Reid had to say about the dominant defensive performance click here.
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 8:06 p.m., September 13
