National Football League

McDermott has a chance to make his mark

Published Jan. 6, 2010 6:45 p.m. ET

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Sean McDermott spent 10 years learning from Jim Johnson, soaking in every bit of information from one of the NFL's defensive masterminds.

There's no better time than now for McDermott to prove what he's learned.

The Dallas Cowboys blistered McDermott's defense in a 24-0 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. The teams meet again in an NFC wild-card playoff game Saturday night, so McDermott and his crew have a chance at redemption.

Clearly, the Eagles must make adjustments on offense and defense after an awful performance cost them the NFC East title and a first-round bye. Coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg handle the offense, and they've built an impressive resume over the years. But McDermott doesn't have the same pedigree. It's his first season in charge of the defense, and he's under intense scrutiny this week.

McDermott, who replaced Johnson as defensive coordinator after the longtime assistant passed away following a battle with cancer last July, adopted his mentor's aggressive philosophy.

But the Eagles scaled down their blitzing in Sunday's loss, especially in the first half. The result was no pressure on Tony Romo, who picked apart the Philly secondary. Romo completed 15 of 20 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as Dallas built a 17-0 lead.

Expect McDermott to make changes this time around.

``We blitzed on one of the first or second runs there that they broke off and didn't execute the blitz the right way. Then we backed off the blitz a little bit, which I take responsibility for,'' McDermott said Wednesday. ``I should not have done that. There are always going to be blitzes in every game plan and there were blitzes in that game plan, just by situation. We're just not going to go out and blitz carelessly or aimlessly. We're blitzing with a purpose and remaining fundamentally sound within and around that blitz.''

Perhaps McDermott was reluctant to blitz because Romo burned his defense in Dallas' 20-16 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 8. However, the Eagles have been successful blitzing Romo in the past and their entire defensive approach is based on being aggressive.

``When you play a team twice a year, they've got a lot of familiarity with your blitzes and your schemes,'' safety Quintin Mikell said. ``It's an issue. We didn't particularly blitz a whole lot last game and obviously, we know that they work on those things. I think what we have to do is, when we do blitz, we have to execute better. I think we have to cover better in the back half.''

McDermott stepped into a difficult position when he took over for Johnson one day before training camp opened. Injuries to key players didn't make it any easier on the 35-year-old coach. McDermott lost middle linebacker Stewart Bradley to a season-ending injury in August. Backup Omar Gaither later went down for the season and six different linebackers have started in the middle this year.

Not having Brian Dawkins in the secondary certainly didn't help. Dawkins, the perennial Pro Bowl free safety and defensive leader, signed with Denver in free agency.

Still, McDermott managed to put together a defense that helped Philadelphia finish 11-5. The defense ranked 12th overall, ninth against the run and 17th against the pass. The Eagles were third in takeaways (38) and third in sacks (44).

Having more stability instead of constantly rotating different players surely would've helped this unit.

``You never want to have guys moving in and out of different positions, but you're forced to do that,'' McDermott said. ``You're forced to adapt and overcome. That's what we do. We turn it into a positive and we look at it as a challenge. The players that are in those positions on the field have to make plays. They're expected to perform. If you're not performing and not producing at a position, then you're not going to play. If you're out there, you are expected to play and play at a high level.''

McDermott wasn't happy with the way things went last week and he's working overtime to correct the mistakes and make sure he puts his players in better position to succeed.

``Any time we lose I'm disappointed in myself,'' McDermott said. ``When it doesn't turn out your way, obviously the X's and O's weren't right. That's what we're trying to get corrected this week and that will be the plan going into this weekend.''

Johnson was a master at making adjustments. Now McDermott has a chance to make his mark.