Double-Check for Eagles defense

THEY REMEMBER the year they watched the phenomenon unfold.

Bradley Fletcher was a junior at Iowa. He intercepted two passes that season and began to pop on scouts' radar, a big step in his college career that helped him go in the third round 2 years later.

Brandon Boykin was a senior at Fayette County in Fayetteville, Ga., a high school star preparing to head to UGA.

That was 2007. From different sections of the country, they, with the rest of the football world, turned their eyes to New England and witnessed history. Randy Moss broke Jerry Rice's 20-year-old record for touchdown receptions in a single season. Moss' 23 TDs might never be touched.

A side note that season was the emergence of what soon would become Tom Brady's all-time favorite receiver. Wes Welker, then a lightly regarded kick returner, joined the Patriots and caught eight touchdown passes . . . along with 104 other passes.

Combined, the 31 touchdown passes for Moss and Welker are a record for any NFL tandem.

That record might fall.

Green Bay slot receiver Randall Cobb has 10. Jordy Nelson has eight. That's a pace for 32, as NFL.com writer Dan Hanzus cleverly noticed Wednesday.

This week, Fletcher, Boykin and an inconsistent pass defense stand in their way.

"I could care less about their little record," Boykin said. "Good for them. Our goal is to not help them reach that."

It is an obvious goal . . . but is it attainable?

"I think they're talented," Boykin said, in an accurate assessment; then, he lapsed into understatement: "and they have a good quarterback."

Well, the Packers have a "good quarterback" the way Tom Brady has a "cute wife."

Aaron Rodgers, statistically, is the best passer in NFL history, and he seems to get hotter when the weather gets colder. It will be about 30 degrees in Lambeau Field at kickoff Sunday, but, in 17 career games played at 40 degrees or colder, Rodgers has a passer rating of 110.5, with 45 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.

That's even better than his overall career rating of 106.2, which is more than eight points better than the guy in second place, Peyton Manning . . . which is a difference of about 8 percent. Or, huge.

Rodgers' passer rating isn't skewed by anything. He plays outdoor home games in the league's harshest climate against divisional teams with similarly bad weather. Still, he is the most accurate passer in history, and he is the least intercepted.

The Eagles have faced Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Cam Newton and Carson Palmer, all of whom have at least two Pro Bowl appearances. They also faced Colin Kaepernick, whose raw talent eclipses all of theirs.

They haven't faced anyone like Discount Double-Check.

"Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as you've ever seen him play," defensive coordinator Billy Davis said. "They've got a very accurate thrower, a good decision maker [who] can get out of trouble and makes good decisions, hasn't thrown very many interceptions."

Rodgers has 25 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Boykin is only 5-10 and 185 pounds, but he will be matched up frequently this week against Cobb, a 5-10, 191-pound touchdown machine since he was drafted in the second round in 2011 out of Kentucky. Since 2012, Cobb has 22 touchdown receptions in 30 games. His 10 this season are second in the NFL.

"He's a good opponent. He's a fast guy, really good at running routes and anything thrown around him, he's going to catch it. He's athletic enough to contort his body, and Rodgers puts it in places where only he can catch it," Boykin said. "But if I do what I'm supposed to do, there's no one who will be flat-out just better than me."

Big and fast, Nelson's eight TDs are tied for fourth. Nelson's 56 total receptions are tied for seventh in the league. The responsibility for containing Nelson, of course, will fall to outside corners Cary Williams and Fletcher.

"He's a big target and he knows how to get himself open. He understands how to play. He lines up all over - left, right, slot formations," Fletcher said, but that's OK: "We're very multiple right now. We can play a lot of different coverages, a lot of things a quarterback has to look at."

Their unremarkable play through the Eagles' first six games gave cause for support to move little Boykin outside.

That clamor has subsided, now that the Eagles shut out the Giants in Game 6 and dominated last week's win over visiting Carolina.

Really, the corners were never that bad, Davis insisted.

"We don't have guys running wide-open uncontested. We had guys that are covered and they have made some plays on us," Davis said. "I think our guys are getting better and better at the ball on making plays. We understand our assignments better and that helps you play better."

Perhaps the improved play simply is a byproduct of familiarity. The three starting corners were thrust into Davis' defense when he arrived with a new coaching staff last season, along with free agents Williams and Fletcher. That was 26 games ago.

"What's different now is our understanding of how we're playing routes - we're playing everything pretty aggressively. Guys are really tuned in, connecting on all levels," said Fletcher, who appreciates the addition of Nolan Carroll, an accomplished backup who can play against four-receiver sets. "The fact that we have the personnel to throw 'dime' on the field is great."

Base, nickel, dime - Rodgers, Cobb and Nelson can beat it all. And they have at a record pace.

"We plan on stopping all of that," Fletcher said.

"This will be a real good test," Boykin said.

It might be the best.