http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...7-1346169.html
PHILADELPHIA — The number change is symbolic of something far greater.
A new number. A new man.
No. 78 is history, abandoned by Brodrick Bunkley and now worn by rookie Victor Abiamiri.
Bunkley now wears No. 97, available with the departure of Darwin Walker.
“Last year was the worst year I ever had,” Brodrick Bunkley said. “I had to get out of 78. I really needed to change everything about last year.”
Last year was a mess. Brodrick Bunkley reported out of shape, got into defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's doghouse, couldn't get on the field, struggled when he did, was suspended for a game after missing a team flight to Indianapolis and looked every bit like a first-round bust when the season ended.
Then something happened. The proverbial light went on.
“He's a different person,” Johnson marveled yesterday.
Johnson and head coach Andy Reid felt so strongly about Bunkley's development this offseason that the team cut ties with five-year starter Walker, traded to Buffalo as part of the Takeo Spikes trade, and backup Sam Rayburn, released last week. It took a year, but Bunkley is now a starting defensive tackle.
“I came in with a new mind set,” Bunkley said after yesterday's morning minicamp practice at the NovaCare Complex. “Last year kind of rung a bell for me. I wanted to come in early and just work on every aspect of my game, and get stronger, get quicker, slim down a little bit, which I've done, and try work on the get-to-the-football aspect of things now.
“With the news happening with Darwin Walker, it pretty much put me in the No. 1 spot. It told me, "You're going to have to get it done this year.' I've got to hold my own this year.”
Johnson was tough on Bunkley last year. So was Reid. So were the fans.
It's not a good sign when you're an Eagles first-round pick and you suddenly find yourself compared with Antone Davis, Bernard Williams, Leonard Renfro and the litany of first-round failures in franchise history.
“It's tough,” he said. “That's something you don't want to be looked upon as. That gives me motivation to work my way out of it.”
Johnson sat down with Bunkley soon after the season ended and bluntly told him that he needed a totally new approach or his career would be over before it began.
“I had a little talk with him, and all of a sudden, he's been here every day,” Johnson said. “I never had to call and ask, "Where are you?' This is his home now.”
Bunkley missed much of training camp before signing a six-year, $10.62 million contract that paid him $7.466 million in guaranteed money.
For that, the Eagles got about 50 snaps. Bunkley finished with just eight solo tackles, only one during one 10-game span.
“Coming in as a first-round pick, I had high expectations and I saw a lot of that shot down the drain,” he said. “It hurt me, man. Coming (into) the offseason I told myself it's a new year, it's time to make things happen.”
Bunkley, still only 23 years old, said his weight is down, from the 320 pounds that he reported at last summer to what should be a more effective 295 pounds.
You can't tell much from spring minicamps, when players practice in shirts and shorts. But the Eagles are encouraged with Bunkley's transformation and believe he'll give them the kind of commanding play at defensive tackle they thought they were getting when they made him the 14th pick in last year's draft.
“He is what we thought, and he looks good in practice,” Johnson said. “He's a different player right now. Hopefully he will be the player we saw in college, being a physical force in front and making plays.
“This is what we anticipate and right now, he's on track to be our starting tackle. He has a great attitude and he's working hard.”
Bunkley plans to change everything
Bunkley plans to change everything
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