More Offseason Eagles Defense Analysis

It's been a slow couple of days for the Eagles, and it will likely continue to be until the new CBA is created. Until then, there promises to be a lot of speculation regarding potential moves teams might make when an agreement is finally reached.
One such speculation that continues to thrive is the Eagles' interest in Oakland comeback Nnamdi Asmougha (I'm getting pretty good at spelling his name). Joe Banner's comments on 610 WIP give room for speculation that should the Eagles want to pick up Asmougha, there would be no conflict between his salary and CB Asante Samuel's, a definite good sign for the Eagles'secondary. Giving more room for Asmogha speculation is the announcement that CB Ellis Hobbs will be retiring. Hobbs suffered two neck injuries, with the second being described as "career-ending." Hobbs' departure highlights the ever-present need for an elite CB in the Eagles' secondary to complement Samuel. This would push Dimitri Patterson down in depth, but it would be a good idea to keep him behind Asmougha, since he did have some good games, though these were often overlooked when opposing offenses found ways to get the pass game around him.
One defensive acquisition that won't likely happen is the pick up of the recently released Bob Sanders. After being released by the Colts, there was some talk of the Eagles being interested in the safety, but now team officials are saying they will not try to acquire him, citing his high incident of injuries over the years. This is a smart move, seeing how the Eagles have been affected by injuries over the past eight to nine years. Bringing in a defensive player who's missed about half of the games in his career is not a move this team should be thinking about.
In other offseason news, Eagles safety Nate Allen was honored by his hometown of Fort Meyers, Florida by being named the co-grand marshal of Fort Meyers' Edison Festival of Lights parade. Allen, currently rehabing and training at the NovaCare Complex in Philly after injuries sustained in his 2010 rookie season, was flattered by the invitation and is excited about it. Allen is slated to return to the Eagles in 2011. He was named starting free safety just before the start of the regular season, and performed extremely well until an injury in the second Eagles-Giants game benched him for the remainder of the season, giving Kurt Coleman the starting spot. Allen should be fun to watch next year, and will hopefully be part of a rebuilt and stronger Eagles defensive unit.

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