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.