Eagles look to tackle defensive shortcomings

Overshadowed by the Eagles' quarterback controversy and buried beneath the other offensive problems are the team's defensive issues.

If you had listened to defensive coordinator Sean McDermott on Thursday, you might have thought those woes could be directly attributed to the unit's youth.

On two occasions when he was asked to explain why his defense struggled in the first two games of the season, McDermott pointed to his "young defense."

Although the group is on the youthful side - the average age of the starting 11 is 26.0; the average tenure, 4.9 years - it isn't as green as the team's offense (25.5 and 4.6 years).

Age aside, the unit that will face another beleaguered defense when the Eagles travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars at 4:15 p.m. Sunday is one that has allowed a league-worst 29.5 points a game and is 25th in total defense.

The Jaguars - by comparison, 26.3 and 4.7 years - are 29th in points surrendered and total defense and have the unwelcome task of preparing for the rejuvenated Michael Vick instead of the quarterback (Kevin Kolb) they faced in the preseason.

While Jacksonville starts one rookie on defense - defensive tackle Tyson Alualu - the Eagles start two, and that appears to be one reason McDermott considers his group so young. But if you break down the first two games, rookie defensive end Brandon Graham and free safety Nate Allen don't appear to be the primary source of concern. And parsing McDermott's comments backs that up.

Allen, who has two interceptions in two games, has "really handled himself fairly well up to this point," the defensive coordinator said. And Graham, who recorded his first sack last Sunday at Detroit, "just plays so hard," McDermott said.

If it isn't the rookies, who is it?

McDermott, again, subtly provided the answer Thursday.

He would "like to have more inside from" defensive tackles Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson, who combined for just five tackles a week ago. McDermott called strong-side linebacker Akeem Jordan's performance to this date "adequate." And he essentially gave the verdict on middle linebacker Omar Gaither, who was replacing the concussed Stewart Bradley, when he said "it's huge" getting the regular back this week.

So the problems aren't youth but rather up the middle and at linebacker. That's pretty much as it was last season, especially in the last two games, when Dallas outmuscled the Eagles in the trenches and the middle of the field.

"From a physical standpoint, we weren't very physical, and the vision for this defense is to be a flat-out physical football team on defense," McDermott said. "So I was disappointed in that."

But that hasn't been the only problem. Consistency has been an issue. In the opener against the Green Bay Packers, the Eagles started and finished strong but struggled in the middle. Against the Lions the next week, it was mostly the opposite. They were solid in the second and third quarters, shaky in the first and fourth.

The disparity is telling. When the defense played well, it allowed 58 yards, 2.5 points, and 3.3 first downs a quarter. When it struggled, the numbers were quite different: 129 yards, 12.3 points, and 7.8 first downs.

Of course, any way you dissect the numbers, they add up the same - near the bottom of the rankings.

"I don't think the problem is so much us being young, it's just being more consistent and doing the little things right," safety Quintin Mikell said. "Our defense is complicated, and young or old you've got to execute it."

Some players are deferring to others to make the plays, according to Mikell and cornerback Ellis Hobbs.

"I think it's human nature to always sit back and say, 'Well, if he doesn't get it done, then I'll get it done,' " Hobbs said. "What we need to go into it as a defense is, 'I'm going to be the guy to make the play.' "