"I think I'm anxious," the Eagles' defensive coordinator said yesterday before practice. "I think everyone is anxious. We don't get a chance to play too much in the preseason. Now, all of a sudden, you get 60 or 70 snaps and a lot of things can happen.

"We want to find out what kind of pass rush we have. We want to find out what kind of turnover team we are. I think we are going to be a good cover team."

There is no way in the NFL to be entirely sure of what you have until it unfolds in front of your eyes. The Eagles' defense has no statistical advantage over the Rams going into Sunday.

That's why Sheldon Brown laughed out loud two days ago when somebody asked the Eagles cornerback if this was the year.

"I don't know that," he said.

The Eagles think they have a good defense as they get ready to embark on this new season. They spent to improve in the off-season, investing most of their free-agent money in cornerback Asante Samuel and defensive end Chris Clemons. Even one of their offensive additions - former fullback Dan Klecko - is now part of the rotation at defensive tackle.

But only now do we begin to get answers about a defense that includes a middle linebacker, Stewart Bradley, who has started just twice in his brief career; a veteran safety, Brian Dawkins, who is coming off an injury-filled season; and another safety, Quintin Mikell, who has never been an opening-day starter.

"There are certain things we want to find out, and you don't find them out until you play 60 plays in a game," Johnson said.

Samuel, who had 16 interceptions over the previous two seasons with New England, and Clemons, who had eight sacks despite starting just 10 games for Oakland in 2007, were added in the hope of improving the takeaway statistic.

Johnson seemed confident that Samuel would make the same big plays he did with the Patriots, but was not sure how often the ailing Clemons would be on the field in the opener.

Bradley will call the signals in the defensive huddle even though he is the least experienced of the starters and probably has the most to prove.

"I just want to go out there and play my game and do what I'm capable of . . . and hopefully good things will happen," Bradley said.

Good things happened in Bradley's brief time on the field a year ago. The Eagles won both games he started, and he contributed a sack, an interception and 10 tackles in his first career start.

Bradley thinks it is important for the defense to get off to that same kind of start in 2008, especially in the turnover department. A year ago, the Eagles were last in the league in takeaways with 19, and the entire defense has heard about that a time or two million leading up to the opener.

"If you look at it from a different team's perspective, I think Green Bay really got a jump last year after winning that first game, and I think it propelled their season," Bradley said, referring to the Packers' matchup with the Eagles. "The first game is important, and I think it can set a good tone."

Bradley isn't the only young linebacker. Chris Gocong is in his second year as a starter, but knows he needs to be better and more disruptive.

"The linebackers have to prove themselves," Gocong said. "Sometimes, it hurts me to watch the film of myself from early last year. I feel like I've grown so much from that, and it just seems like it's a bad portrait of myself up on the screen.

"There are just small things that I see that seemed like rocket science then, and now they are no-brainers."

As for Dawkins, Johnson believes the fans are about to see a new-and-improved version of perhaps the best free safety in team history rather than an old, broken-down one.

"I have a lot [left]," Dawkins said.

It would be shocking if he said anything else, but the young, the old and the in-between on this defense all have a lot to prove in 2008.

"I think we have the potential to be a real good defense," Dawkins said.

Asked about Mikell's durability and inexperience as a starting strong safety, Johnson was unconcerned.

"I don't even worry about that," he said. "He's a soldier, he's a player, and he can play every down."