Eagles' defense has to carry the load

GOOD PROTECTION. Strong running game. These are things that can ease Carson Wentz's first NFL start, as he becomes the first Eagles rookie quarterback to lead the team into its opener since Davey O'Brien in 1939.

But just as important as what happens on the other side, with the Eagles' defense. It's hard to predict what Wentz is going to do Sunday against the Browns, off just 39 preseason snaps, all coming in one game, a month ago, but there is an excellent chance he isn't going to throw five or six touchdown passes in a shootout.

"We all knew coming in (to training camp) that if this team was going to be good, the defense was going to have to (step up)," defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said.

Certainly, the weapons weren't exceptional, even before Sam Bradford was traded to Minnesota on Saturday, giving Wentz eight days to prepare for his first start. Now, the margin for error is smaller.

"We've got to force turnovers, we've got to stuff the run, we've got to not give up big plays," middle linebacker Jordan Hicks said. "We've got to keep them out of the end zone."

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has been reluctant to answer any questions involving Wentz, ever since back in the spring when Schwartz was lured into talking about how he tried to develop Matthew Stafford when he was head coach of the Lions. Schwartz seemed to suggest Wentz should be allowed to compete for the starting job, which was not the Eagles' plan at the time.

Asked Thursday about the defense helping Wentz, Schwartz said that didn't factor into his thinking. Asked a second Wentz question, Schwartz protested that he was just "trying to farm my own land."

"Let me just stay with the defense," Schwartz said, before addressing the question. "I think we can help any quarterback by keeping the score down; we can help any quarterback by giving him good field position; we can help any quarterback by giving him the ball back, whether it's on a third-down stop or a red-zone stop or whatever . . . I think that's the part that we are going to play. We need to worry about our own selves, and we need to worry about stopping the opponent, and not really worry too much about what's happening on the other side of the ball . . . Our job is to go out and get them stopped regardless of what happens."

The Browns don't have a lot of film on Wentz, and nobody has regular-season film on Doug Pederson's Eagles offense. The Browns probably are studying Kansas City, where Pederson was Andy Reid's offensive coordinator.

Against any rookie quarterback, the defensive plan is almost always pressure and confusion - disguise coverages and blitzes, force hurried decisions.

Browns defensive lineman Carl Nassib, from West Chester and Penn State, lauded Wentz's mobility and his arm to Browns media, but added: "Release is a little slow, so we plan to take advantage of that."

The Eagles' defense is in a similar situation when it comes to getting a read on Robert Griffin III quarterbacking new Browns coach Hue Jackson's offense, though Jackson is more of a known quantity, having been the Raiders' head coach in 2011 and an offensive coordinator at four stops, including Cincinnati the past two seasons.

"Coach Jackson, from what I hear, he's very intense, somebody who doesn't like to get pushed around," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "When you look at the Bengals team, they're pretty tough. I think he's going to try to have that attitude."

Graham and fellow starting defensive end Connor Barwin said Barwin should be opposite the Browns' most decorated player, nine-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas, most of the time, though Graham and Barwin will switch sides on occasion.

"He doesn't make a lot of mistakes," Barwin said. "His game is really kind of sound. He doesn't blow protections or really have any bad snaps. He's a very consistent player . . . You gotta match that. That means I need to be good every single play, and then we'll just have a dogfight."

Does Barwin feel more pressure with a rookie QB starting?

"I don't really think in terms of pressure, necessarily. What I think is that we need to be better than their defense," Barwin said. "Whatever defense plays better on Sunday is going to win the game."

Cox and several other Eagles know Griffin from his time with Washington. Griffin completed just 57.9 percent of his preseason passes with the Browns, but emerged with a 100 passer rating. It was hard to say how much of his early career magic he might have regained, after being kept inactive all last season by the Redskins.

"That story hasn't been written yet, to tell you the truth," Schwartz said, when asked if he could make a determination off what Griffin has shown in Cleveland.

Cox said the approach to Griffin is no great secret.

"Keep pressure in his face. Don't give him throwing lanes. Hit him early, hit him often. I think we'll do a good job with that," he said.

Schwartz was asked if he took anything from having allowed the fewest points and rushing yards in the preseason, and having created the most turnovers.

"On my bio, does it say anything about preseason stats anywhere?" Schwartz said, turning to public relations director Derek Boyko. But it wasn't really a question.

"Yeah, there are positive signs; yeah, I think we've shown signs that we can execute the schemes and we're trending in the right direction. But you know, let's not start getting ahead of ourselves. We've got a lot of work to do and it's a long season . . . There aren't going to be any asterisks that say, 'Yeah, they were crappy this year, but they played really good in the preseason.' Are any of you guys going to write that? I'm not going to put that on my wall, believe me."

Obviously, turnovers were a focus, though, that Schwartz wants to maintain, and Barwin said they don't just happen randomly.

"It's a result of everybody being where they're supposed to be and being disruptive. Being disruptive up front, and being disruptive on the back end," Barwin said.

@LesBowen

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