Jim Schwartz believes in pressuring the quarterback first, last and always

In 2007, the New England Patriots were only the second team in NFL history to run the table in the regular season, going 16-0.

Their offense was unstoppable. They averaged a then-NFL-record 36.8 points per game. Their average margin of victory was 19.7 points.

And then they ran into the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII and lost, 17-14. They lost because the Giants' defense spent most of the game making quarterback Tom Brady's life miserable.

They were constantly in his face and moving him off his throwing spot. They sacked him five times.

"If you can rush the passer, you've got a chance in this league," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said a few months after that game. "Rushing the passer, that's the name of the game."

Jim Schwartz couldn't agree more. His Wide 9 scheme is all about getting pressure on the quarterback with a minimal amount of blitzing.

His defense has finished in the top 10 in the league in sacks in eight of the 14 seasons he's either been an NFL defensive boss or head coach. He's hoping to make it nine out of 15 this season in his first year as the Eagles' defensive coordinator.

He inherits a unit that gave up a franchise-record 36 touchdown passes last season and saw its sack total slip from 49 in 2014 to 37. Those numbers aren't unconnected. The more time a quarterback has to throw, the easier it is for him to find an open receiver. The less time he has, the better the chance he'll make a mistake. In their last eight games last year, the Eagles forced only six turnovers.

"A lot of turnovers come from rushing the passer," Schwartz said. "Quarterbacks are very vulnerable to fumbles in the pocket. If you can hit those guys, you can get some balls out and make them throw it too quick, which leads to interceptions."

Schwartz is working with mostly the same players up front as his predecessor, Billy Davis. But he'll be using them differently and rotating them more regularly in an attempt to keep them fresh.

Connor Barwin, Brandon Graham and Marcus Smith, who were outside linebackers in Davis' two-gap 3-4 scheme, now are hand-in-the-ground defensive ends in Schwartz's Wide 9.

Vinny Curry, who was an interior nickel pass-rush specialist for Davis, will move back to his natural position as a 4-3 end for Schwartz.

The Eagles' best defensive lineman, All-Pro Fletcher Cox, who was a two-gap end in Davis' defense, will move inside to tackle and be a one-gap penetrator, which is the position he was drafted to play by the Eagles in 2012.

Cox, 25, who signed a six-year, $102.6 million contract extension with the Eagles in June, will be the key to the Eagles' pass rush. He is one of the league's two or three best defensive linemen. A disrupter who is virtually impossible to single-block.

While the Eagles don't have an elite pass-rusher on the outside, Cox will allow the ends to be more impactful simply because of the attention he will command.

"Who wouldn't be excited about playing in this defense?" Cox said. "It's basically about being disruptive. It's going to create a lot of havoc. Getting after the quarterback. Stopping the run.

"(The defensive line) has got to be the unit that takes over out there. We've got to be the guys who take over games."

The Eagles have competent, high-motor pass-rushers on the outside. Barwin, who will turn 30 in October and has played more than 3,100 snaps over the last three years, is the only defensive end on the roster who has had double-digit sacks in a season (he's done it twice, including a career-high 14.5 in 2014).

Curry had nine sacks in only 371 snaps two years ago, but only 3.5 sacks last year. Judging by the hefty contract the Eagles gave him in March (five years, $46.25 million, $18 million fully guaranteed), they obviously believe he can play at a Pro Bowl level in Schwartz's scheme.

Graham, who is in the second year of a four-year deal, had a career-high 6.5 sacks last year.

Schwartz hopes to rotate eight players on the defensive line.

"We're keeping an open mind," he said. "We're going to have some sort of rotation just to try to keep guys fresh. I think you're at your best when you can keep guys fresh and they can be giving maximum effort when they're out there.

"You just can't play wide open for however many plays you're going to be out there if you're out there every snap."

Nobody is happier about Schwartz's fresh-legs approach than Barwin, who was on the field for 93 percent of the defense's snaps the last three years.

"I haven't played in a front like this where we're going to rotate like this," he said. "That's exciting for me to think about. In my career, I've averaged 80 to 90 percent of the snaps on defense. So I'm kind of excited about this. Play four to six plays, get a breather, go play four to six more plays."

The Eagles really could use either Smith or Steven Means to develop as a reliable fourth end. Not just for this season, but going forward.

Hits

* Fletcher Cox: The 2012 draft-day trade up from 15 to 12 to get Cox has been one of the smartest moves of Howie Roseman's career. Cox has developed into one of the two or three best defensive linemen in the NFL. He was an All-Pro selection in Billy Davis' two-gap 3-4 last year, notching 9-1/2 of the Eagles' 37 sacks, but should be even better as a one-gap penetrator in Jim Schwartz's 4-3.

* Connor Barwin: He's been a solid performer and defensive leader for the Eagles since they signed him as a free agent in 2013. Has 26-1/2 sacks in three seasons with the Birds, including a career-high 14-1/2 in 2014, when the Eagles finished second in the league in sacks.

* Brandon Graham: The Eagles took Graham with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 draft, ahead of All-Pro safety Earl Thomas and Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Had only 11-1/2 sacks in his first four seasons and was considered a bust. But he has slowly but surely developed into a solid player. That said, Thomas still would have been the way to go in '10.

* Vinny Curry: The Eagles gave the 2012 second-rounder a five-year, $46 million contract during the offseason, despite the fact that he has just 16-1/2 sacks in four NFL seasons. He found a niche as an interior nickel pass rusher in Billy Davis' 3-4 scheme, but he's a natural 4-3 end who the Eagles think will have a breakout year in Schwartz's defense.

Misses

* Marcus Smith: He was a reach with the 26th overall pick in the 2014 draft. He's played only 194 defensive snaps in his first two seasons.

* Alex McCalister: A 6-6 project with a huge wingspan. Needs to add weight and strength. He'll have a lot of time to do that. He was tucked away on injured reserve with a minor injury.

* Mike Martin: Martin, signed as a free agent in the offseason, would have been a nice part of a four-man tackle rotation. But he injured his knee early in camp and couldn't come back from it.

@Pdomo