 [I was surprised last week](http://mcnabborkolb.com/post/28128046738/lets-talk-linebacker) to hear that, at least initially, DeMeco Ryans wasn't playing as a three-down linebacker. In practices, he was coming out in the nickel formation for Jamar Chaney, an inconsistent player at best. What happened to the versatile Pro Bowler that we were promised when Ryans was brought in from Houston? I wonder if Reid and company were ever being truthful whether said those things. Although Ryans was undervalued in the Texans' 3-4 scheme, indications were that he was taken off the field on passing downs partially because he had lost a step after his 2010 Achillies injury. I went back to look at the stats, courtesy of Pro Football Focus, and I didn't find any smoking gun. Here are the numbers:  You can clearly see the effect of taking Ryans out of the game on passing downs. His total snaps decreased substantially from his last healthy season (2009) and the percentage of pass snaps he was in for, as a portion of his playing time, declined by a rather large 10 percent. But that just tells us what we already know: that Houston didn't trust Ryans as much in pass coverage. Was that concern warranted? That's harder to tell. On one hand, Ryans was targeted more in pass coverage than in any other year from 2008 on. That may suggest that players he was supposed to cover we're open more often. The total yards per catch average against him was also the highest on recorded, meaning he gave up bigger plays. On the other hand, the completion percentage of players he covered moved in the opposite direction. It remains to be seen whether Ryans is actually a coverage liability in the Eagles defense. But the ramifications from this move will be large. Obviously, on the field it's not ideal. Having to sub out the middle linebacker removes flexibility and creates match-up issues that opponents can exploit. It also raises questions about about both the Ryans' long term future with the Eagles and the team's overall linebacker strategy. As a two-down player in an increasingly pass-heavy NFL, Ryans would be much less valuable--especially at his salary. Perhaps his acquisition wasn't the sea change in linebacker policy that we thought. After all, a fourth round pick for Ryans isn't as different as we would like from the fifth round pick it took to get Ernie "Shark in the Water" Sims. His salary jumps to $6.6 million in 2013, and continues at basically that level through 2015. It seem unlikely he would make that much in Philly as a two-down player. Let me stress, finally, that Ryans can still be a major upgrade at linebacker in 2012--even if he does have to come out on passing downs. Just having a reliable veteran leader in the middle to plug some of the gaping run holes would be a big deal. We just may have to temper our expectations for Ryans beyond that role. *Photo from Getty.*
