Bodog Beat

First it was Brian Westbrook (ankle surgery earlier this summer) and now Eagles' middle linebacker Stewart Bradley is going to need surgery to repair a torn ACL. Ouch. (AP Images)

He had just one quarterback sack, forced just one fumble and picked off only one pass last season, but middle linebacker Stewart Bradley was probably the most important member of the Philadelphia Eagles defense heading into 2009.

Thus the news Monday that Bradley probably will miss this season with a torn ACL he suffered at Sunday night's practice is a definite blow to the Eagles' hopes this season. Bradley had a team-leading 151 tackles in his first full season as a starter last year. With veteran safety Brian Dawkins having left via free agency, Bradley was basically going to be the quarterback of the defense this year as the primary signal caller.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Bradley, a third-round pick in 2007 out of Nebraska, played a big role in the Eagles ranking No. 4 against the run last year. He also came up big in the upset of the Giants in the NFC divisional playoffs with 11 tackles in the Eagles' 23-11 win at the Meadowlands, which sent Philly to the NFC Championship Game. Bradley was projected by many as Pro Bowler this year.

Philadelphia, which is 9/2 odds to win the NFC this season at Bodog, now turns to either second-year player Joe Mays or Omar Gaither, who was a backup to Akeem Jordan at weakside linebacker in 2008 but started 15 games in the middle in 2007; Bradley's emergence forced Gaither's move, and then Jordan eventually beat Gaither out as well.

Mays, who is just 5-foot-11, 245 pounds, was working with the first-team defense in Bradley's spot at Monday's practice. But Mays saw action in just two games last year. Gaither took over Bradley's spot in the nickel package Monday.

This obviously hurts Philly's depth at the position, which already was a bit weak to begin with. Look for the team to try and find a veteran linebacker either as a free agent or via trade. But there's no question the Eagles defense, which already is without late defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, just got a little bit more vulnerable.

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