By ERIC G. STARK, Sports Writer
You've come to expect the unusual when players visit the Eagles' End Zone store at Rockvale Outlets.
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Prior highlights include shoofly-pie-eating contests and guys running around shirtless with more tattoos than teeth (Tat Man).
Saturday was no exception.
John and Vickey Christman passed the time waiting in line for autographs by getting married. The Christmans and about 2,000 uninvited wedding guests braved the humidity and warm temperatures to meet Stewart Bradley, Todd Herremans, Quintin Demps and Juqua Parker, four Eagles players who either start or are competing for starting spots on this year's team.
Here's hoping the union for the Quarryville couple is as successful and lasts even longer than the one for three former Eagles.
The departures in free agency of mainstays Brian Dawkins at defensive safety and offensive linemen Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas have created new opportunities for playing time and leadership among the current cast of Birds in Philly. Several players are looking forward to new roles.
"There's a bunch of good leaders on the defense," said Bradley, who started for the first time last year at middle linebacker. "The sound in the huddle is not going to be that much different than it was last year. The guys will be talking and communicating, same as last year. There's guys anxious to step into that role. You'll see guys step up, and I plan to be one of those guys."
"Nobody is counting on one person," said Parker, competing for a starting defensive end spot. "We are all in it together. We don't need one veteran leader, because we all know what we need to do when we get out there [on the field]."
Said Herremans on losing his starting offensive linemates: "I knew it was a matter of happening sooner or later. It comes to a time when you move on."
The one to benefit the most from the departures is likely Demps, a rookie safety last year, who will compete for Dawkins' starting spot. He said replacing a player of Dawkins' status is not realistic, but he's looking forward to making the most of his opportunity. He envisions the two Quintins — he and Quintin Mikell — starting at the two safety positions. He will compete with free-agent signee Sean Jones. Demps said Dawkins taught him lessons on and off the field.
"In football [he told me] to keep my eyes out of the backfield and, in life, to always cherish what you do," Demps said. "You got to cherish the game, and love it, not just go through the motions."
He and his fellow defensemen believe the transition from Jim Johnson — he is receiving chemotherapy for a metastasized melanoma on his spine and his return is still up in the air — to Sean McDermott running the defense will be seamless. Demps thinks McDermott will "tweak" a few things, but at the end of the day, it's all the same.
"Sean has been a product of Jim's system; he's been in the defense longer than anyone else, 11 years, so it's not like we are going to reinvent the wheel here," Bradley said. "Jim's system works. He's had great defenses here, and we were the best defense in the NFC last year, so it's not like we need to start from scratch and rebuild a new thing.
"But every year you need to put tweaks in. You need to keep it fresh and have different wrinkles each week, and I'm sure Sean will do a great job of putting those wrinkles in. The changes that we'll go through, even though it's Sean and not Jim, would be similar small changes, even with Jim, just on a year-to-year basis."
Parker, who said he plays about 20 snaps a game as part of a defensive end rotation with Victor Abiamiri, Chris Clemons, Darren Howard and Trent Cole, thinks the defense can be better than last year's, when the D was ranked No. 1 in the NFC.
"If everyone stays healthy, we have a pretty good chance," he said. "It is just raw speed and raw talent out there. ... I love our rotations. You got speed and you got power and you got speed again."
Speaking of raw talent, Bradley said last year's defense relied a lot on athleticism to make plays. This year, with more experience, the defense will see things faster and play faster, and fans will see an improved defense, he said.
On the offensive side, Herremans likes the moves the team made — drafting receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy and signing lineman Stacy Andrews — but trading for offensive tackle Jason Peters was his favorite, although that transaction meant Herremans was not switching from guard to tackle, a move he embraced.
The current line, with him playing next to Peters, should have the ability to run the ball better than past teams.
"We are going to move a little better, and we're younger," he said. "I think we may be a little more explosive this year than we have been. Only time will tell."
As true in football as in marriage.
E-mail Sunday News sports writer Eric G. Stark at estark@lnpnews.com.
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