APP ONLY: McDermott deserves credit

By Sheil Kapadia

Philly.com

When the Eagles struggled defensively in the first seven weeks of the season, many were quick to point the finger at Sean McDermott.

And that wasn't entirely unfair. McDermott is the defensive coordinator, and is ultimately responsible for whatever happens on that side of the ball.

Which is why he deserves some credit today.

Against the Titans, McDermott was ripped for leaving Ellis Hobbs to cover (or try to cover) Kenny Britt, instead of switching Asante Samuel to the right side. And, well, we all know how that turned out. Even though Hobbs later revealed that he was playing injured, the coaches did nothing to adjust as Britt burned the Eagles play after play.

But yesterday's game against the Colts was a different story. Indianapolis went into halftime having scored on three straight offensive possessions to take a 17-16 lead. At the time, it seemed like a pretty good bet that Peyton Manning would go on to have a big second half and give the Eagles' defense fits.

Instead, the Birds forced the Colts to punt on their first four possessions of the second half. Indianapolis did not register a second-half point until after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. Overall, six second-half possessions, four punts, one touchdown and one interception.

Not bad.

Keep in mind, Dimitri Patterson was making his first career start at cornerback. And Kurt Coleman had to fill in for an injured Nate Allen at free safety. In other words, half the secondary in the Eagles' base defense had never started an NFL game before.

So for that, McDermott deserves credit.