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Eagles ‘D’ Has Potential To Be Best Since Jim Johnson’s Era

By Austin Vitelli

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It’s not really a secret that the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defense has either been mediocre or downright bad the past six or so years. Since the passing of former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, the defense just hasn’t been the same. Defensive coordinators came and went, including Sean McDermott, Juan Castillo and Todd Bowles, all of whom lasted no longer than a couple seasons each. The Eagles now have Billy Davis, and while as a defensive coordinator he is not exactly elite, I believe he has the talent to return this team to the top of the league in terms of defense.

From 2009-2014, the Eagles’ scoring defense ranked 23rd (2009) , 17th (2010) , 30th (2011), 10th (2012), 22nd (2013) and 19th (2014). While they only had one year at the bottom, they also only had one season in the top half of the league. That needs to change if this team wants to win a championship, and they have the talent to do that in 2015.

While they have seen flashes of strong play in either the run or pass defense over this time period, they have never been able to craft together a great, complete defense. In 2012, they had the 9th best pass defense, but the very next year, they reverted back to the worst pass defense. In 2014, they had one of the better run defenses, but were still 31st in pass defense.

But, even though their defense ranked just 19th in the league last year, I believe this year it has the potential to return to the top 10.

Defensive line

When people say the Eagles have the one of, if not the best, front seven in the NFL, it starts with the defensive line. Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan and Cedric Thornton make one heck of a trio. Cox is arguably the best player on the defense, and Chip Kelly even called him the team MVP last year. Thornton has proved to be a great run stopper, and Logan has done the same in the few years since he was drafted. Add Vinny Curry to the mix, who finished last year with an astounding nine sacks and four forced fumbles as a backup defensive end, and that’s an amazing four players, all of whom are young and hopefully going to stick around for a while. Cox is in line for a Pro Bowl or All-Pro season, and Curry is bound to improve even more as long as he gets on the field more. This is where the greatness starts.

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Linebackers

The Eagles lost Trent Cole in free agency, but they re-signed Brandon Graham and expect him to step in and become an impact starter at outside linebacker, which I fully expect him to be. In limited snaps last year as a backup, he was rated as one of the most efficient defensive players in the league, racking up 47 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Connor Barwin also had a Pro Bowl campaign in 2014 and is becoming one of the leaders of the defense. Those two guys could easily combine for 25+ sacks in 2015 now that both will start.

One could argue that the Eagles are even stronger at the inside linebacker position with Kiko Alonso, DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks. I honestly think that’s the best trio of inside linebackers in the entire NFL. No matter who starts, they are bound to have success as long as they stay healthy. Alonso could be the best of them. In his one season (his rookie year), he put up nearly identical numbers to Luke Kuechly, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award that year. If Alonso is fully healthy all season, he could easily return to a Pro Bowl caliber form.

Defensive backs

This is where the defense has improved the most. While in the other position groups it’s mostly just younger guys getting better, the Eagles completely re-did their defensive backs. While last year’s starting four were Malcolm Jenkins, Nate Allen, Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams, just Jenkins remains on the roster. They signed Walter Thurmond, who appears to be the favorite to start at safety alongside Jenkins, as well as Byron Maxwell, the best cornerback on the free agent market. Chip Kelly may be an offensive-minded coach, but he definitely added some key pieces to this defense.

In addition to this, they drafted Eric Rowe in the second round, who played both cornerback and safety in college. Rowe may not start in 2015, but will definitely earn playing time at some point, most likely at cornerback. They also have Nolan Carroll, who has apparently worked hard in the offseason to move up the depth chart to a starting position after playing limited snaps in 2014. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the second-highest rated player in pass coverage for the Eagles last year. The number one guy was Brandon Boykin, one of the top slot cornerbacks in the NFL.

All in all, I honestly think half of the Eagles’ starters on defense have the potential to make the Pro Bowl in 2015, and combined, they could easily be a top 10 defense. With the run defense already pretty strong, their focused effort to improve the pass defense should pay dividends this season with a very deep group of guys. It’s time to return to a time when the Eagles’ defense was feared. I think 2015 is the year.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles: Overview Of The Safety Position

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