The Eagles will have a new trio of starting linebackers once again. What makes this group different is that they are all young and homegrown, both good things.

Linebacker has been a troublesome spot over the years. Jeremiah Trotter was a force in the middle in his first stint with the team. He was more up and down during his second tour of duty. Guys like Mark Simoneau, Levon Kirkland and Barry Gardner were inconsistent when they manned the middle. Carlos Emmons was a very good player on the strongside for his four years in Philly. He was replaced by Dhani Jones, who never developed into the kind of player the Eagles had hoped.

There has basically been a revolving door at the weakside spot. Mike Caldwell played well in 2001, but then left as a free agent.  Second-round pick Quinton Caver proved to be a complete bust, not even lasting a season and a half with the team. Shawn Barber had the job in 2002 and played really well, but then left for a huge contract with the Chiefs. Nate Wayne replaced him. Wayne was great in Monday night games, but proved to be ordinary in Sunday games. Simoneau got some time on the weakside, but didn't stand out. Keith Adams got the job for a while. He played hard, but lacked size and ability. Matt McCoy was the starter in 2006. He played very well for half the year, then got hurt and lost his job to Omar Gaither. Last year veteran Takeo Spikes was given the job. He had a solid, but somewhat disappointing season.

LB Stewart Bradley

As you can see, linebacker has been a very unstable position. The Eagles have used high draft picks, signed quality free agents, and even traded for veterans. The problem has been getting three good players on the field at the same time. That last happened in 2001, with Emmons, Trotter and Caldwell.

The coaches and scouts, for whatever reason, finally seem to be on the same page. The current trio of Chris Gocong, Stewart Bradley and Gaither are all draft picks. All of them have shown flashes of being good players. Second-year player Akeem Jordan was an undrafted free agent in 2007, but actually got to start a game late in the year and looked good. Even a couple of guys no longer with the team, Tank Daniels and McCoy, showed good potential with the Eagles. That is six players added in the last three seasons that have either looked good as a starter, spot starter, or really stood out on special teams. This is a good trend.

The new guy this year is Bradley, who will be the middle linebacker. He got to play a lot late in 2007 when Spikes was hurt and a spot in the nickel defense opened up. In his limited time, Bradley proved to be a playmaker. He had a sack, half a tackle for loss and an interception. He also stood out in a goal line defensive stand against the Saints.

At 6-4, 255 pounds, Bradley is big. That size allows him to play the run well. He's able to shed blocks and is a powerful, physical tackler. He showed last year that he can be a good blitzer up the middle. Bradley sacked Drew Brees by basically running over a blocker on the way to get him. Again, that is where his size and strength comes in. He is the big, physical, rugged linebacker that so many teams want in the middle. Bradley is a solid athlete and can be a good coverage player. That is what makes him so intriguing. It is hard to find guys that are over 250 pounds, run pretty well and can play in space. We haven't seen Bradley play a full game at middle linebacker, but he has shown the potential to be a good player, possibly even very good.

After his showing last season, the coaches wanted Bradley on the field. They decided to put him in the middle and move Gaither to the weakside, where he had started for part of 2006. Gaither had a solid season in 2007. He led the team in tackles. He showed good coverage ability. He only came up with one interception, but Gaither was the most effective cover guy we've had in the middle in a long time.

Gaither showed promise when he played on the weakside back in 2006. He had a sack and interception, despite starting less than half of the year. He lacks ideal speed to play outside, but is able to make up for that by being a smart, instinctive player. Last season he bulked up in the 240-pound range to handle the inside. He may try to drop a few pounds into the 230-pound range for playing on the outside. Gaither is a good, physical tackler and his coverage ability will help him when playing more in space. I also think he'll be a more effective blitzer off the edge. He blitzed up the middle quite a bit last year, but didn't have a sack. Gaither isn't the kind of guy who is meant to run over blockers. Put him on the outside and he can be more creative in trying to get to the quarterback. I don't think he'll ever put up a bunch of sacks, but I'd hope for at least a couple this season.

Chris Gocong returns on the strongside. Last season was his first year as an NFL starter and first as a linebacker. I thought he played pretty well. Certainly he needs to get better, but Gocong showed enough in his first season to really get you excited about his potential. He was very good against the run, at times. He learned from Spikes to attack the fullback when possible. Gocong did this very effectively. He stuffed guys several times during the year, clogging the running lanes and allowing other defenders to make the play. Gocong finished the season with seven tackles for loss. That shows he can get up the field and make plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. His aggression got him out of position in some instances, but that is part of being a young linebacker.

The area where Gocong needs to step up is in coverage. He has the physical ability to be very good in coverage, but learning how to cover backs and receivers is not an overnight process. Gocong showed promise last year, but needs to look more smooth and natural this season. I didn't expect him to shine last year when really covering guys for the first time. That is a skill that has to be learned and developed.

I think most fans expected Gocong to be a good blitzer and pass rusher. He blitzed off the edge throughout the year, but didn't get to rush like a defensive end until the Patriots game. He did come up with a sack of Tom Brady in that game. Some fans were critical of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson for not being more creative with him, but Gocong had to focus on learning to play linebacker before worrying about being a defensive weapon. Johnson was smart in the way he used him. I do expect to see Gocong used creatively all year long in 2008.

The Eagles have some other young guys like Jordan and Pago Togafau, as well as draft picks Joe Mays and Andy Studebaker, that will be part of the mix. This is the deepest and best set of homegrown linebackers the Eagles have had since the glory days of "Gang Green." I don't know if the current group will reach the heights that that unit did, but it does feel good to see the team putting together a linebacking corps with this kind of potential.