Which Eagles should benefit from scheme changes

OUT WITH the old, in with the new.

Out with Chip Kelly's tempo offense, in with Doug Pederson's hybrid West Coast.

Out with Billy Davis' two-gap 3-4, in with Jim Schwartz's attacking 4-3.

Who will benefit the most from the change in coaches and schemes? Here are my top five:

FLETCHER COX

Earlier this week when it was reported that Pederson would be hiring Schwartz as his defensive lieutenant and likely deep-sixing the 3-4 and going back to a 4-3, Cox couldn't hide his excitement.

"Did somebody say 4-3 . . . Or am I dreaming," he tweeted. No, Fletch, you're not dreaming.

Cox managed to become a dominant player in Davis' 3-4. Davis lined him up all over and he led the team in sacks (9 1/2) and tackles for losses (16 1/2) this season, and was voted second-team All-Pro for the second straight year.

But Cox has the chance to be an absolute beast as a penetrating three-technique tackle in a 4-3. He had 5 1/2 sacks in only 509 snaps as a rookie in a 4-3. And that was before he learned how to play.

Think 15 sacks a year. Think Warren Sapp. Think Canton. Think rich beyond his wildest dreams.

DeMARCO MURRAY

I honestly don't know how much gas Murray has left in his tank. He averaged a disappointing 3.6 yards per carry this season and that can't be totally blamed on poor blocking and questionable play-calling. Those nearly 400 carries he had with the Cowboys in 2014 clearly had an impact on him.

But if he has anything left, I think he'll have a better chance to succeed in Pederson's offense than in Kelly's. For starters, Pederson uses a lot less shotgun than Kelly, which Murray prefers.

He also will have the benefit of a blocking fullback. Not on every down, but a lot. Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman played almost 200 snaps last season. The Eagles didn't carry one on their roster in the three years Kelly was the coach. That will change.

BYRON MAXWELL

As with Murray, the Eagles gave Maxwell a lot of money, then didn't do him any favors with the way they used him.

Yes, for $63 million, you'd like a guy to be a shutdown corner. You'd like him to be able to go out on an island with a wide receiver and take care of business.

Maxwell wasn't that, won't ever be that. He's probably looking at only one more season with the Eagles before they release him. But he'll have a better chance to succeed - or at least not to fail - in Schwartz's defense than he did in Davis'. More zone and less man-to-man. A little more safety help and less man-press.

VINNY CURRY

Curry, an unrestricted free agent, found a nice little niche as an interior nickel pass-rusher in Davis' scheme.

Like Cox, he was drafted to play in a 4-3, only to find himself without a position when Kelly and Davis arrived. He wasn't big enough or strong enough to be a four-technique end, and he wasn't fast enough to be an outside linebacker.

But he registered 16 1/2 sacks and 36 hurries in a little more than 1,100 snaps over the last three seasons.

Curry can be an every-down end in a 4-3. He can be a good every-down end. His value to the Eagles shot up when Pederson hired Schwartz as his defensive coordinator.

BRANDON GRAHAM

Schwartz coached Graham at the Senior Bowl in 2010. Graham had two sacks in the game and is the kind of attacking, high-motor, ball-stripping edge-rusher Schwartz likes and needs.

Drafted as a 4-3 end by the Eagles, he made a successful transition to a 3-4 edge-rusher under Davis and finally became a full-time starter this season. Forced a team-high seven fumbles over the last two seasons.

As with Cox and Curry, the switch back to a 4-3 should benefit him.

Jim Schwartz is considered one of the league's top defensive coaches, but he is not a miracle worker. He can't turn water into wine.

If you look at the nine years he has spent as an NFL defensive coordinator in Tennessee and Buffalo sandwiched around a five-year stint as head coach in Detroit, he's done well when he's had good players and not so well when he hasn't.

His units finished in the top 10 in total defense four times and in the bottom 10 three times.

They finished in the top 10 in points allowed three times and in the bottom 10 four times.

They finished in the top 10 in sacks six times and the bottom 10 three times.

Finished last in the league in total defense with the Titans in 2006 and fifth and seventh the next two years. Finished 31st in scoring defense in '06 and fourth in '14 with the Bills.

As it stands now, the Eagles' defense isn't the '06 Titans, but it's also not the '14 Bills. It has one legitimate All-Pro player in Fletcher Cox.

It has several good players (Malcolm Jenkins, Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham, Bennie Logan). It has a kid who has the potential to be very good (Eric Rowe).

It has enigmatic players who underperformed last season (Kiko Alonso, Mychal Kendricks, Byron Maxwell).

It doesn't have a great pass-rusher. And it doesn't have a great, run-stuffing middle linebacker.

A look at Jim Schwartz's track record with the Bills and Titans. (His five years as head coach of the Lions were purposely omitted because Gunther Cunningham was his defensive coordinator during that period and did the lion's share of the play-calling):

Figuring the Eagles

* The Eagles ran just 70 of 1,132 offensive plays this season (6.2 percent) with the quarterback under center. That is expected to change quite a bit under Doug Pederson. In the Chiefs' two playoff games against Houston and New England, 48 of their 145 offensive plays (33.1 percent) were run with the QB under center. That was roughly the same percentage as in the regular season. The Eagles didn't run the ball particularly well with the quarterback under center. They averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. Out of the shotgun, they averaged 4.0.

*Chip Kelly once again favored "11" personnel groupings (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) this season, using them 70 percent of the time. What changed significantly, though, was his willingness to run out of 11. They ran the ball just 31.7 percent of the time when they were in 11, compared to 34.8 last year and 42.1 in 2013. Running backs DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner averaged just 3.7 yards per carry in 11 personnel, and 4.6 in other formations. That was in stark contrast to the previous two years, when LeSean McCoy ran the ball much better out of 11 than anything else. Last year, McCoy averaged 4.8 yards per carry out of 11 and just 3.2 out of other personnel groupings. Two years ago, he averaged 5.4 out of 11 and 4.6 in other formations.

*Murray led the Eagles in rushing with 702 yards. That's the lowest total for the team's rushing leader since 2009, when then rookie LeSean McCoy had a team-high 637 yards.

*Jim Schwartz isn't a big blitz guy. Two years ago, when he was the defensive coordinator in Buffalo, the Bills had a league-high 54 sacks even though they were in the bottom third of the league in blitz frequency (20.7 percent). Just 12 of those 54 sacks came on blitzes. His 2008 Tennessee defense finished fifth in sacks with 44, despite blitzing a league-low 13.7 percent of the time.

Retaining special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp was a no-brainer for Doug Pederson. Fipp has established himself as one of the top special-teams coaches in the league. In 2014, the Eagles' special teams finished first in Dallas Morning News football columnist Rick Gosselin's annual special- teams rankings. This year, they slipped a little, but not much, finishing fifth. A breakdown of how the Eagles did in the 20 special-teams categories Gosselin used to compile his rankings:

pdomo@aol.com

On Twitter: @Pdomo

Blog: Philly.com/Eaglesblog