Birds New Middle Linebacker Shines In 4-3
By "Ty Lackwaiter"

Regular Season 2123 (Philadelphia, PA) - When everyone else was scooping up defensive linemen at the 2123 College Draft, Philadelphia Eagles GM Andrew Lewis was determined to land the guy he had been coveting for four seasons, Georgia Tech standout LB Brent Caldwell. Lewis made Caldwell the #10 overall selection and he was immediately named the starting Middle Linebacker in the Eagles new 4-3 defense.

The Birds had long been a 3-4 defense with an emphasis on keeping the opponents pass game to a minimum. Lewis made the change to the 4-3 during the off-season with the mandate that they draft Caldwell.

'This whole plan hinged on drafting Caldwell,' said Lewis, 'We knew how many defensive linemen prospects were out there. It was our hope that all the pre-draft attention would be focused on those DLs - enough for Caldwell to slide to us at #10.'

'With that in mind, we moved to the 4-3, knowing that Caldwell had started all four of his seasons at Georgia Tech at the middle LB spot.'

Caldwell has responded well to the Eagles' plan. In his first 5 games with Philly he has 18 tackles, 1 sack, and a recovered fumble.