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LB Brian Rolle (Official Thread)

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Eagles' Rolle looking to build on rookie year
January 3, 2012

Brian Rolle, one of three rookies starting by the end of the season, said he still considers himself a backup, at least from the standpoint of work. He said he?s going to approach the off-season with the mentality that he hasn?t proven anything and has to work as hard as ever to keep his job.

?I?m going to continue to get better,? he said. ?I?m still young and I haven?t made it yet. I?m still second-string in my eyes, so I?m going to work hard and continue to get better knowing I have to vie for a job next year.?

Rolle was one of 10 rookies getting ample playing time by the end of the year. Along with starting offensive linemen Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce, that group included Phillip Hunt, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Lewis, Alex Henery, Chas Henry, Casey Matthews and Curtis Marsh. All were on the field a lot down the stretch, when the Eagles won their last four games.

?I think it?s a great job of them putting us out there and giving us a chance and we showed that this is one of the most talented classes that we?ve had,? Rolle said. ?Next year, the fans can look forward to a lot of production out of this group.?
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http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/eagle...o-build-on-rookie-?blockID=623606&feedID=2229
Brian Rolle - Of the Eagles' three starting linebackers at the end of the season, Rolle is probably the most likely to keep his spot next season. He had ups and downs against the Redskins. Rolle came on a blitz and hit Grossman on the second-quarter interception by Nate Allen. He brought Darrel Young down after a 4-yard completion in the third and broke up a screen in the fourth. Rolle missed a tackle on Royster’s 28-yard run in the second and got blocked on Roy Helu's 47-yard touchdown in the third. If he develops, Rolle can probably be a good, starting-caliber linebacker.
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/moving_the_chains/136588183.html#ixzz1iUnJRXgl
 
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LB Brian Rolle, Sixth Round (No. 193 overall)

Brian Rolle, like Jason Kelce, had a productive college career, but was overlooked by NFL talent-evaluators because of his lack of prototypical size. Listed at 5-10 and 227 pounds, the Ohio State-alum quickly made a name for himself in Philadelphia, notching 2.5 sacks in the final two games of the preseason. In Week 4, Rolle overtook the weakside linebacker position for the remainder of the season. Against Chicago, Rolle forced and recovered a fumble on the same play before returning the fumble for a touchdown. He finished with 63 tackles and a sack along with five pass knockdowns in coverage. Rolle will battle for a starting role in 2012.
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http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/n...11-Draft/755f5444-fbc7-49b8-83e2-b35ca2737357
 
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Rolle Open To Giving Ryans No. 59
By Chris McPherson

New Eagles middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans wore No. 59 during his six-year tenure in Houston. One of the surprises of the 2011 season for the Eagles, rookie linebacker Brian Rolle, wears No. 59 now. Rolle is open to working something out if Ryans wishes to wear No. 59.

"He's a six-year vet, so it's kind of hard to argue with a guy of his magnitude - a guy whose played many years, Pro Bowls, rookie of the year," Rolle said Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex. "It'll be great to have a guy who has been through it all."

A sixth-round pick in 2011, Rolle took over the starting weakside linebacker position in the fourth game of the season and never looked back. In his 16 games (13 starts), Rolle was sixth on the team with 63 tackles. Rolle was also fourth on the squad with six tackles for loss. In addition to his 63 tackles, Rolle forced Bears running back Matt Forte to fumble the ball, picked it up and scored his first career touchdown during the November 7 meeting.
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http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/n...ns-No-59/a93f835b-af5e-47ec-8c4d-bf453ee0694d

With Ryans in middle, who else starts at LB?
March 21, 2012

OK, it's way too early to know for sure, but once the Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans (see story), it's only natural to think about the Birds' starting three linebackers for 2012.

Jamar Chaney seems to be a sure-thing at the strongside linebacker spot. He played there some last year before being moved back into the middle, which is where he belonged last season with that group.

Chaney is coming off of off-season surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck but if he's ready for the opener, which he should be, he'll be the guy at SAM. Chaney (6-0, 242) isn't very big, but he's pretty fast, which means the outside is a good fit.

The weakside slot might end up being an open competition between Brian Rolle, Casey Matthews, Akeem Jordan and Moise Fokou.

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http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/eagle...who-else-starts-at-?blockID=674150&feedID=692
 
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Brian Rolle - A sixth-round pick in 2011, Rolle probably had the best season of any Eagles linebacker. He took over at the WILL position in Week 4, showing he could compete against the run despite his size.

By the end of the season, he was being replaced in certain nickel packages. Rolle played about 62 percent of the team's defensive snaps; only Chaney was on the field more among linebackers.

I'd say Rolle is more of a favorite to win the WILL job than Chaney is to win the SAM job, but he'll still have to compete for it. The Eagles could sign or draft a player to compete at WILL. And several of the linebackers currently on the roster could at least be given the chance to unseat Rolle.
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/moving_the_chains/143817676.html#ixzz1pwWJjE6j
 
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Linebacker: Another summer, another new spin on the position that the Eagles can never quite seem to settle. Only this time, you have to feel better about the options. Barring some offseason nightmare, DeMeco Ryans will be the starter at middle linebacker. We still need to see how close he is to the Pro Bowl form he displayed before his 2010 Achilles tear, but if he?s even near that level he?ll be an upgrade.

The battles, then, will be at outside linebacker. Second round pick Mychal Kendricks and Jamar Chaney will start off on the strong side, but Kendricks already seems to have the inside track. The Eagles love his ability to rush the passer, which would give the team another look that quarterbacks would have to prepare for.

If Chaney is pushed aside, though, he would probably get a shot on the weak side, along with Brian Rolle and Casey Matthews. Rolle had some solid moments last year, but with his height you don?t know if he?ll be a long-term answer. The Eagles invested a fourth round pick in Matthews and will also give him a shot. He was one of the players Roseman raved about Monday for his offseason work. (I can hear some of you groaning, but let?s allow that Matthews A)was put in a very difficult position at the start of last season and B)showed some positive signs when given a second chance).
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/149709735.html#ixzz1tjFpj9C2
 
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Eagles WLB Brian Rolle will have to hold off Jamar Chaney to keep his starting job this year.
Chaney is heading to his third linebacker position in three years, but he's a better early-down choice due to his size advantage. At under 5'10", Rolle is ideally suited to a nickel role. Casey Matthews, up 15 pounds from last year, is working as the backup to middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans while Mychal Kendricks is penciled in as the strong-side starter. May. 23
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http://www.rotoworld.com/content/pl...news.asp?sport=NFL&id=6697&line=233782&spln=1
 
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Posted: Tue, Jun. 5, 2012
Rolle sizes up his opportunties to make big impact for Eagles
Les Bowen, Daily News Sports Columnist

BRIAN ROLLE wears jersey No. 52 now. Why? Well, the Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans in the offseason, and they handed Rolle?s No. 59 to Ryans, since that had been Ryans? number in Houston. Rolle says he got no say in the giving away of his old number, or in the choosing of his new one.

This is one of many things that Rolle feels he can?t let bother him, like fans who tell him he should shut up on Twitter because Eagles linebackers missed a lot of tackles last season, like reporters who repeatedly question his listed height of 5-10. (Rolle measured 5-9?5/8 at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine, but he looks at least an inch shorter. This might be something of an optical illusion; Rolle has short legs, a long torso, and the head of a much larger man.)

"It was more of a ?handshake and I?m 52 now,? " Rolle said after Monday?s OTA session, when a reporter asked what he got from Ryans for giving up his number. "It is what it is. I guess that?s how they look at it. I?m still gonna come out and play hard, regardless of what number I?m wearing."

Rolle is still the Birds? starting weakside linebacker, the only returning incumbent. He lines up now next to Ryans and second-round rookie Mychal Kendricks. All in all, Rolle has done well for a sixth-round 2011 draftee whom nobody projected as an NFL starter; not only is he small, even by Eagles linebacking standards, he lacks elite speed. His future might be as a situational player and special teams ace, but it?s clear the coaches see something in this stubborn, stubby little linebacker.

Reporters recently got a rare chance to speak with Eagles linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, and Rolle was among the topics that came up.

"Did he do everything perfect last year? No. But he understands that, and he?s working day-to-day to get better at what he?s doing," Caldwell said.

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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/157073885.html#ixzz1wv5wNTLs

Rolle Prepared For Next Step
By Bo Wulf

No one expected sixth-round pick Brian Rolle to start 13 games as a rookie. After all, the Ohio State product, like the rest of the rookie class, had no offseason and was thrown into the NFL deep end right away at training camp. But the scrappy Rolle fought his way into the starting lineup at the weakside linebacker position prior to the fourth game of the season and never relinquished that role. So what's the next step for Rolle, the only holdover among the three projected starting linebackers?

"You get to start from ground zero rather than being thrown right into (training) camp and thrown right into the fire," Rolle said of this offseason. "But it's a lot of fun for me. I know most of the defense, but at the same time, there is still some stuff I was unclear about because we didn't get a lot of time last year jumping into camp and then preseason coming so fast. So I'm just working on the small things.

"It's just little intricacies of the defense that you didn't get in camp and stuff last year. You had to kind of learn it on the fly. Now, you get a lot of time to talk to the coaches and go over the little things that you were confused with last year."

The coach who works closest with Rolle is second-year linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, himself a former Eagles linebacker. Caldwell was impressed, if not shocked, at Rolle's rookie performance.

"I wasn't surprised," said Caldwell. "I was just encouraged at him being able to take what he's been doing all his life and take it to the next level. What do I expect from him? I expect that to continue. Like right now, he's coming out here and - did he do everything perfect last year? No, but he understands that and he's working day to day to get better at what he's doing."

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http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/n...ext-Step/768171f0-3728-448b-acfe-b8a82e08fd27
 
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Pair of cousins battling for Eagles' LB spot
June 13, 2012
Jamar Chaney discusses battling Brian Rolle for the weakside linebacker spot heading into training camp. 6/12/12
DAVE ZANGARO

When Brian Rolle was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round in last year?s draft, his cousin told him he actually had a family member on the Eagles.

The cousin told Rolle that linebacker Jamar Chaney was actually his cousin too, which was news to the Eagles? newest linebacker.

So, Rolle arrived in Philadelphia and forged an immediate bond with his teammate and relative. They became good friends, helped each other learn (Chaney was drafted just one year earlier), and Rolle even moved in with Chaney before he had a place to live in Philadelphia.

Two and a half years later, the two cousins are battling for the Eagles? final starting linebacker spot on the weak side.

?We?re cousins,? Rolle said. ?We?re still close, teammates. It?s business.?

Neither seemed entirely sure how they were cousins. Rolle offered that his dad and Chaney?s uncle are brothers. Chaney offered that they have mutual cousins and it gets confusing because of his big family. Rolle is also the cousin of Giants safety Antrel Rolle and former Ravens defensive back Samari Rolle. Brian Rolle knew about them, but not about Chaney.

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http://www.csnphilly.com/football-p...ing-for-Eagles-LB-s?blockID=724292&feedID=704

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12cFY7NEkD8"]Brian Rolle - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Linebacking

Brian Rolle, a sixth-round rookie last year, showed solid instincts and played much of the season as the weakside starter. But he's generously listed at 5-10, and this spring, Rolle wasn't part of the nickel package, which featured DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks as the LBs. So if the weakside linebacker is going to be on the field mainly for running downs, it might make sense to start Jamar Chaney, the middle linebacker deposed by the acquisition of Ryans. Chaney is at least a couple of inches taller and about 20 pounds heavier than Rolle. This will be a tough choice ? between two guys who will work hard every day and compete.
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/162819276.html#ixzz20yPBX3Ci
 
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Posted: Friday, July 27, 2012
Rolle still starting at weak-side LB

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Brian Rolle entered training camp as the starting weak-side linebacker, but he knows nothing will be handed to him.

It's a long way between now and the start of the season on Sept. 9, and a long haul until the end of the season. Last year, Moise Fokou opened camp as the starter at weak-side. Fokou held that spot for two regular season games before he was moved to strong-side and Casey Matthews took over his spot after he failed at middle linebacker.

Matthews occupied weak-side for all of one week and that's when Rolle, a fifth-round draft pick out of Ohio State, came in. Rolle started there for the remainder of the year and had your typical season for a rookie -- he was up and he was down.

But he arrived at Lehigh up on the first team even though there were several linebackers with more NFL experience behind him on the depth chart. Jamar Chaney started 16 games last season, the final 14 in the middle, but after the Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans and drafted Mychal Kendricks he dropped to the second team.

Chaney opened camp behind Kendricks at strong-side, but he could just as easily slide to weak-side if Rolle falters. There are also other candidates ready should Rolle fail -- Akeem Jordan, Keenan Clayton, Fokou and Matthews.

"I know the opportunity that I have is great," Rolle said Friday after the Eagles' morning walkthrough. "I'm coming off a good rookie season. I know Jamar is going to push me as hard as he can to get that starting job. As long as I don't lose focus of that, focus of why I am here ... I'll continue to be the starter."

Rolle has also been out of the field in the Eagles' nickel defense (five defensive backs and two linebackers) with Ryans, although the Eagles are expected to have several different alignments based on matchups.

With Rolle (listed a generous 5-foot-10) and Kendricks (5-11) on the field together, the Eagles have one of the shorter linebacking corps in the NFL. Some had said that their height disadvantage could make them susceptible against tight ends.

"I think they're people that don't play the game or didn't," Rolle said of his critics. "I feel as long as you want you'll get the job done regardless of what size you are."

Ryans at 6-1 nearly towers over his fellow starting linebackers. The former Texans linebacker has already taken the reins of the defense. He coached Rolle and Kendricks on how to play against a particular offensive set today, and the Eagles coaches offered no additional instruction, according to Rolle.

"He's very demanding, I'll you that," Rolle said. "He's not afraid to speak his mind. If he wants something one way it's going to be that way. ... That's something that we need -- somebody that's been through the fire."
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/164013396.html#ixzz21utB68sz

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L4sa2j_rWE"]LB Brian Rolle- 2012 Eagles Training Camp 7-27-12 - YouTube[/ame]
 
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