Eagles' Earl Wolff sees an opening on defense

When rookie safety Earl Wolff walked into the defensive backs meeting room on Monday morning, he saw his name listed atop the depth chart. Wolff paired with Patrick Chung in a place that Nate Allen typically occupies and the spot Allen played while the first-team defense struggled in Friday's preseason loss to the Patriots.

"I'm going to have a great day and show the coaches I can play with the ones," Wolff said, referring to the first-team players.

Wolff received that chance during Monday's practice, spending the team drills with the starters. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis downplayed the change, saying it was simply Wolff's day in the rotation. Maybe so, but the timing seemed important, especially considering the way the defense played on Friday and the fact that Wolff has never practiced with the first team as often as he did on Monday.

"It has nothing to do with somebody beating out somebody yet," Davis said. "As we're moving forward in these preseason games, that will start happening, and we'll start settling in on the core players. But nobody has been demoted."

Davis said Wolff would not play with the first-team defense on Tuesday. What's clear is that the team is experimenting. Rookie Bennie Logan took first-team snaps at nose tackle on Monday. Less than one month before the season begins, Davis is still trying to figure out his personnel and his scheme.

Davis, who has been a coordinator with two NFL teams, explained that he's trying to transition a defense from a wide 9 to a 3-4 base defense. Those are two opposite ends of the spectrum, and he might not get all the way to a traditional 3-4.

"It's about the guys being able to execute the defense they're trying," Davis said. "In the game, they reverted back a little bit. And some of the breakdowns happened from those, and we're all over it right now. In practice, we'll tighten it back, peel it back, if we have to. We'll play as many defenses as we can play well, and I'll throw the rest out."

One area in which Wolff might help is with tackling. He came to the Eagles with the reputation of a sure tackler. The Eagles started Monday's practice with a tackling drill, although the issue with the defense seemed to be more gap responsibilities than missed tackles.

Either way, safety remains one of the most contested positions on the roster. Chung, a free-agent signee from the Patriots, appears to be a starter. Beyond Chung, though, the spot is unsettled.

Allen is a former second-round pick who has never lived up to his draft billing, but the team remains intrigued by his talent. Kenny Phillips might have the most talent of any safety on the roster, but his injury history is the reason the Giants didn't keep him and the reason the Eagles offered only a one-year deal. Then there's Kurt Coleman, David Sims and Colt Anderson, all of whom seem to need special teams to stay on the roster more than defense.

Special teams are also valuable for Wolff, a fifth-round pick. But it's not inconceivable for him to be starting at safety this season.

"Even though I went in the fifth round, I still feel like I could have gone in the first and second," Wolff said.

Logan was the Eagles' highest drafted defensive player this season, and he impressed coaches in the preseason opener. Kelly said Logan did not play like a rookie when reviewing the film. He'll push for playing time at left defensive end in addition to nose tackle.

Coaches are lauding Logan for his ability to shed blocks, get off the line of scrimmage and pursue the ball.

Davis said the team is one step closer to evaluating the roster after the game, but there's still three more preseason games and three weeks of practice.

"I have a lot left to figure out about the car I'm driving here and how it fits, what it does well and what it doesn't," Davis said. "I've got some learning to do with the personnel, and we're growing it in the right direction. It wasn't the start we were looking for [Friday], but we've got another chance Thursday night to make a step forward."

The Eagles host the Carolina Panthers at 7:30.

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