Omar Gaither has been there before, so the fact that he is starting at middle linebacker when the regular season opens in Carolina comes with a sense of knowing his game and how he can help the defense. Having Macho Harris at free safety, a rookie starting right off the bat is a little bit different around here.

Andy Reid has started rookies right away before. Corey Simon did it in 2000. DeSean Jackson started at wide receiver in Week 1 last season. In the history of the Eagles, there have been rookies who have started as rookies -- Randy Logan in 1973, Wes Hopkins in 1983 and Brian Dawkins in 1996 -- and all three of those players went on to have outstanding careers as Eagles.

Let's hope Harris follows suit. He replaces Dawkins as the starter at free safety. Dawkins held down the position since the second game of that 1996 season and went on to earn seven Pro Bowl bids in his great Eagles career. So it has been done. In the case of Harris, well, the situation now is a bit different. Logan played on a lousy Eagles team looking for answers, as did Hopkins at that time in the pre-Buddy Ryan days. Ray Rhodes' Eagles were coming off a playoff season in 1995 and saw a young, hungry Dawkins ready to go right away.

That's what the Eagles see in Harris. As soon as they took Harris and used him at safety after his All-American career at Virginia Tech as a cornerback, the coaching staff and scouts used words like "instinctive" and "good football player" and other footballspeak that suggested to everyone that Harris was a player counted on to make an impact sooner, rather than later.

Sooner is here.

And the Eagles defense, one that returns nine starters from a group that ranked third in the league last season, is going to be tested immediately up the middle.

Let's first talk about Gaither. He is a fine player, a superb leader and someone who is athletic in coverage and a sure tackler who is going to be in the right place at the right time. He isn't Stewart Bradley, because Bradley packed 255 pounds of wallop on a 6 feet 4 frame before suffering a torn ACL in the summer, but Gaither is going to be fine in the middle. You worry a little bit because Gaither weighs 238 pounds and the Panthers have road-graders along their offensive line, but Gaither has played and has played well as a starter in this defense.

Is there any doubt that Carolina will test the middle of the Eagles defense with its running game on Sunday? For the Eagles to succeed, Gaither has to play well, and everyone around Gaither has to play well to slow DeAngelo Williams and Co. and not allow Carolina to dictate the rhythm of the game.

The Eagles also have Joe Mays here, and he could see time in short-yardage and goal-line situations to keep Gaither as fresh as possible.

Harris is another story, a wonderful story. He beat out Quintin Demps for the job. He flat-out took away from Demps a job that everyone thought Demps had locked up long ago. Instead, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott kept the competition going, kept the job open, and Harris' outstanding play in the preseason prevailed. Harris has that innate something special you look for in young players. He doesn't get fazed. He plays at a high tempo and absorbs things very quickly.

As a rookie -- and this is remarkable to think about when you let it sink in -- Demps has the job of running the secondary. Oh, it helps him extraordinarily that the Eagles are swimming with veteran talent back there. Quintin Mikell is a pro's pro and one of the best strong safeties in the game. The Eagles have a great situation at cornerback with Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and more depth than they have ever had.

Having so much experience around him will help Harris. Demps and Sean Jones are also in the mix, too, should the Eagles want to alter their look in the secondary.

Carolina's approach isn't fancy, but it sure has been effective. They love to run the football and beat the brains out of a defense. Then they like to use a play-action fake and throw the ball over the top to star receiver Steve Smith, who is one of the most difficult players in the league to handle in one-on-one coverage.

The Eagles have their work cut out for them, that's for sure. But I like McDermott's move here. Gaither was an easy choice after the Eagles took a good, long look at Mays in the preseason and felt he needed just a touch more seasoning. Going with the rookie, Harris, over the second-year man Demps, was more of a long shot because history says experience in the system is a benefit at the free safety position. Instead of playing as a starter at free safety, Demps will be used as a gunner on punts and kickoffs and will likely be part of the package on kickoff returns. He is still being counted on to make a large contribution.

All of a sudden, though, it's Macho Time for this Eagles defense. In some ways it will be the longest week of his life as he watches film until his eyes bleed and studies everything he can about the Carolina offense. In other ways, the time will fly between now and Sunday as Harris attempts to mature rapidly to fill the role at free safety.

Test No. 1 for the Eagles defense comes Sunday with the Panthers looking for ways to test the belly of the defense. Gaither, Harris and the other nine Eagles on defense are going to find out where they stand as a unit very quickly in this 2009 season.