Eagles Coverage: The importance of the secondary

If you were a Packers fan watching them face the Eagles this past Sunday, you saw a dominating offense predictably defeat a mid-to-low ranked defense and a mid-to-low ranked defense dominate a dominating offense. If you were an Eagles fan watching that same game, you witnessed a playoff team, headed by a Superbowl winning quarterback, beat the Eagles defense into the ground through the air; something that long-time Eagles fans are having a problem getting used to.

Eagles fans have only been subjected to poor pass defense by their favorite team within the past few years; arguably beginning with the acquisition of Nnamdi Asomugha in 2011 (ouch). However, the league office is partially responsible for the defensive fall-off of the NFL’s pass defenses. Quarterbacks are becoming untouchable in today’s game and cornerbacks are forbidden from even staring at wide receivers too hard after the reaching the five-yard mark down the field.

The results of these kinds of rules make older football fans’ heads explode. In 2004, the top eleven pass defenses in the league allowed less than 200 yards passing. In 2014, there isn’t a single team that can claim this feat, and in 2013, only three teams accomplished this feat. See the trend?

This leads to a wonderfully difficult question that requires a wonderfully difficult answer. How are the Eagles going to build a sustainable amount of winning and success without a top notch secondary in a pass-happy league?

Answer: Ask the Giants…………… Or build a great secondary.

Every Superbowl winner within the past ten years, maybe except the New York Giants, had at least one vaunted member of their secondary that was considered great throughout the league.

2014 – Seahawks, Richard Sherman and the LOB
2013 – Ravens, Ed Reed
2012 – Giants, ???
2011 – Packers, Charles Woodson
2010 – Saints, Darren Sharper
2009 – Steelers, Troy Polamalu
2008 – Giants, ????
2007 – Colts – Bob Sanders
2006 – Steelers – Troy Polamalu
2005 – New England, Rodney Harrison and Asante Samuel
2004 – New England, Rodney Harrison and Asante Samuel

You get the idea right?

(Just to address the elephant in the room, the Giants didn’t really have a great player in their secondary. It was the their destructive defensive line that covered up their back-end and led Eli straight to the Superbowl………..twice.)

Even when the Eagles were in their prime with the late, great Jim Johnson calling the defensive shots, the Eagles, quite notably, saw their entire secondary unit go to the pro-bowl. Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis, Sheldon Brown, and Lito Sheppard were all named NFL celebrities in one season. Talk about a dream team…….. I mean, an actual good team.

Fast forward to this year and it’s only fair to say that the Eagles secondary haven’t exactly faced great pocket passing quarterbacks this season except in week two against Andrew Luck and the Colts. So to a certain degree, the secondary of the Eagles was largely untested by a vaunted signal caller for most of the season and even when they were matched somewhat favorably against young or sub-par QB’s, they allowed huge yardage and point totals.

This is not what you would call a great secondary. Rather, a pretty impoverished one.

Then again, no one ever accused the Eagles of having a great secondary anyway. Chip Kelly made obvious moves that would suggest that the Eagles need more talent and play-making on the back end. This past off-season, the Eagles drafted Louisville’s Marcus Smith, who they thought would be a big contributor to their future pass rush (no one expected the rookie to take the starting spot from Connor Barwin or Trent Cole in year-one).

Kelly also targeted Malcolm Jenkins in free agency, which provides Eagles fans a clue to the kind of players he and Billy Davis need in order to fit into their defense. Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher are not the answers at CB that the Eagles can depend on long term and Nate Allen, while becoming a more consistent player, has not been the player that the Eagles need him to be in coverage (he is also on a one-year deal). Brandon Boykin shows flashes of being one of the better slot corners in the league, despite his size, while also proving that he has the potential to be a good outside corner as well.

Considering the idea that the two corners that play the most snaps for the Eagles are not expected to be a part of the Eagles developmental future, drafting and signing young talent that the coaching staff believes can be a long term option to replace the current starters is the best way to create the framework for long term success. High round draft picks aren’t necessary for this to work either, the prime example being the secondary of the Seattle Seahawks and Boykin (4th round), who is currently the slot corner.

Building a long term and successful secondary like Andy Reid and company did in the early to mid 2000’s is a lot tougher now than it has ever been before. So much more innovation is required of today’s defensive schemes because of changing offenses and personnel that DB’s are being asked to become complete defensive players. The days that players like Asante Samuel dominated the league in coverage, while simultaneously avoiding contact, is over.

Corners are being asked to tackle like safeties, press some of the biggest wide receivers we have ever seen, and blitz much more frequently all while maintaining their responsibilities in coverage. It is now possible to be in great position to make plays as a defensive player and still allow catches to receivers that are the size of tight ends and tight ends that are the size of linebackers; Both of which are becoming faster and stronger with every passing year.

The Eagles will not have a great secondary this season. They may not even have a good one. However, it has never been more clear that they are going to need one moving forward if they ever plan to beat quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs. That’s for sure.