I want to start out by writing that I wish Jim Johnson the best in his battle against cancer, but because this is a sports column (and I get queasy just by talking about medical issues), I’m going to focus on the football side of Johnson’s indefinite leave of absence from the Eagles.

As productive as this offseason has been for the Eagles, the one part of the team that has been largely neglected is the defense. The Eagles have upgraded their offense with the additions of Jason Peters, Stacey Andrews, Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Cornelius Ingram, but other than the draft day trade for Ellis Hobbs, the defense has gone mostly ignored.

Now with the defensive coordinator on an indefinite leave, the worst case scenario for the third-ranked unit from last season is unfolding.

Despite the very lofty ranking in 2008, the Eagles’ defense is mostly devoid of difference-making talent in the front seven. The unit only succeeded in registering 48 sacks, 15 interceptions and 22 forced fumbles because of Johnson’s creativity and a talented secondary that knew how to cover for an underwhelming group of linemen and linebackers.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, neither of those two keys to the defense’s success will be at the organized team activities this week, which could spell doom for the 2009 season.

Because of the talent level on defense, the Eagles already would have had an uphill battle repeating the success of 2008, and that was before the loss of Dawkins, and the contract dispute involving Sheldon Brown, but what happens if Johnson’s leave of absence extends into training camp and the regular season?

Looking at the personnel on the roster, which player in the front seven can take over a game or strike fear into the heart of an offensive coordinator if the secondary is sub-par and Johnson isn’t coming up with brilliant schemes from week to week? The answer is none of them, with Trent Cole having the ability to cause minor indigestion, but certainly not fear. The front seven is full of solid players that were able to excel as a unit only because Johnson had the ability to get the most out of them. He had the ability to devise a scheme that played to their strengths and almost always put them in position to make a play.

While Dawkins’ departure for Denver is not a huge loss in terms of Xs and Os, he did call out the assignments for the secondary, and was the emotional leader on the sidelines. When he signed with the Broncos, I didn’t think the loss would be that devastating, but that was when Sheldon Brown was happy and Johnson wasn’t expected to miss any time.

If Johnson isn’t healthy enough to coach during the season, how far will the defense fall in 2009, and more importantly, who will step up and lead the group onto the field when a big stop is needed?

Right now, the longest tenured players on defense are guys like Quentin Mikell, Trent Cole and Mike Patterson. Are these guys ready to become vocal leaders and make sure the offense gets the ball back in its hands to win the game?

What about Stewart Bradley and the rest of the young linebackers? What will happen to their growth process if they are suddenly forced to be playmakers and don’t have the comfort of Johnson’s schemes to protect their shortcomings?

It’s only May, but the third-ranked defense from 2008 already has a lot of question marks. I guess it’s a good thing that the offense received some serious upgrades because the Eagles will be engaged in quite a few USFL-style shootouts in 2009.

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