Bill Davis not concerned about pass rush

The Eagles had just one sack in Sunday's 23-20 loss to Washington – late in the first half by linebacker Brandon Graham on a third-and-9 play.

They have just six sacks, the sixth fewest in the league, through four games. They are 28th in sacks per pass play.

But defensive coordinator Bill Davis said sacks don't always tell the story of a pass rush. He said Tuesday that he actually has been pretty happy with his pass rush.

"There's been more pressure than there have been sacks,'' Davis said. "When you face teams like the Redskins, where the ball is out lightning-quick, it always looks like the rush isn't getting there.

"We had (Kirk Cousins) in our hands three times where we did not sack him. And that's frustrating. But we're running stunts better than we've ever run stunts. When we get to the quarterback, we just have to get him down.

"So I don't think it's a pressure problem. The sack numbers aren't where you'd like them. But we actually aren't horrible right there. The sack numbers are.''

The last two quarterbacks the Eagles have faced – Cousins on Sunday and the Jets' Ryan Fitzpatrick the week before – take short drops and get rid of the ball quickly. They'll face a similar type of quarterback this week in the Saints' Drew Brees.

"(The Redskins) are a quick, get-the-ball-out-of-their-hands operation and they had a lot of short, quick passes,'' Davis said. "They didn't throw a lot of vertical passes. A couple that they did throw I thought we had a shot at intercepting.

"But they did what we were expecting. Quick, methodical, move the chains, west-coast offense style. A lot like what we're going to be facing this week.''

Davis talked about the Redskins' game-winning, 15-play, 90-yard drive.

"If you ask me specifically about the plays on that drive, I think the two runs (a 16-yarder by Alfred Morris on the first play and a 13-yard cutback run by Morris five plays later) really hurt us,'' Davis said. "And they hadn't had those earlier.

"And a couple of the penalties hurt us" -- two defensive holding penalties on cornerback Nolan Carroll.

As he did after the game, Davis said fatigue wasn't a factor for his defense on the Redskins' final drive.

"I honestly don't see it that way,'' he said. "In talking with the players, they are in great shape. There was nobody talking about being gassed.

"I said this before and I just got done saying it to the guys again. I hope the next 12 games come down to the same scenario. Because we'll win the next 12. This group of guys will make those plays.''

The Eagles entered the game ranked ninth in the league in third-down defense, but allowed the Redskins to convert 9 of 17 third-down opportunities.

"We weren't as good as we needed to be and have been on third down,'' Davis said. "If there was one thing I really wish I could've done better at, it's third down and how we get ourselves off the field.''

The Eagles lost three defensive starters in the first quarter. Cornerback Byron Maxwell left with a quad injury. Linebacker Mychal Kendricks reinjured his hamstring, and defensive end Brandon Bair injured his groin.

"Three first-quarter injuries are hard to absorb because you don't get those bodies back,'' Davis said. "We had each position group lose a player in the first quarter. So that did put some strain on the reps.''

--As far as injury updates, Davis said defensive ends Cedric Thornton (broken hand) and Taylor Hart (shoulder) are "going in the right direction.'' He wasn't hopeful that Bair would be able to play this week. He was optimistic about Maxwell. "I think Max is OK,'' he said. "I really do. He's day-to-day, but I think he's fine.''

--Davis praised the play of defensive lineman Bennie Logan, who was in on nine tackles Sunday. Said Davis: "Bennie is playing at a very high rate right now. The d-line in general is. Bennie is unselfish and tenacious and really making a lot of plays. He's taken a huge step this year. He's playing really good football for us.''

--On facing Saints quarterback Drew Brees: "I think the common theme in facing the five or 10 top quarterbacks is they have the playbook at the line of scrimmage. And those are the hardest to defend. You show a blitz, they run a screen. You don't show a blitz look and open the box up to where you split the safeties, and they make their best run play. They're constantly moving off of what your look is. If you're not ready, he snaps the ball, set, hike. If you are ready and lined (up), he reads what you're in and changes his play. So I think facing the Drew Breeses of the world, it's really like having a coordinator at quarterback.''