There's been a lot of questions about Casey Matthews, who has been the starting middle linebacker since day one of Eagles camp. The MIKE linebacker makes the defensive calls and has a lot of responsibility in the defense, so it's rare to see a rookie start there, but Juan Castillo says that so far Matthews has been up to the task.
"He did an excellent job running the defense, you know, with the substitutions, and there were a couple of times that they were in different personnel than we thought and he was able to handle that. He had an excellent practice today and he's working hard every day to improve." Juan said.
"I think he's got the same challenges that linebackers have. It's just being able to come up and take a block on, and shrug it, and get a release and make the play. That's the toughest thing for linebackers, and there are really not a lot of guys in the NFL that can do that. For him, he's a young guy, that's the thing that were trying to get him to do is be really good at that. As far as the way he handles the huddle and does a good job in coverage, he's excellent."