Eagles see Vinny Curry getting some action at outside linebacker

CHIP KELLY definitely got reporters' attention yesterday when the Eagles' coach talked about giving Vinny Curry some reps at outside linebacker.

Here, finally, was a new development in what has become an old and frustrating story, especially for Curry, a pass rusher of great potential who suddenly is closing in on his 27th birthday June 30, without ever having started an NFL game.

Curry notched nine sacks and forced four fumbles last season in just 371 defensive snaps, about a third of the plays the defense totaled. That's off-the-charts productivity. It makes sense to look for ways to get him out there more often.

But as most Eagles fans know very well by now, Curry, a second-round draft pick of the previous regime, in 2012, ideally is a 4-3 defensive end, a one-gap pass-rush specialist. The Eagles play a 3-4 base. Their defensive ends are two-gap run-stoppers. So Curry's 2014 snaps came in nickel or dime packages, when the team used four linemen. The Kelly-Bill Davis Eagles aren't going to do that for much more than a third of the snaps, ever.

If Curry can pass rush from the outside linebacker spot, he can add snaps playing in the base defense. And with Trent Cole gone, there might be outside linebacker snaps available.

"I think he's expanded his role, in terms of where we can deploy him," Kelly said. He also said Curry "is doing a hell of a job."

"One thing we all know, I can rush the passer. I got speed," said Curry, who has bulked his 6-3 frame up to 280 pounds over the past few years to play 3-4 DE. "I've been getting a lot of work [outside in the OTAs and minicamp], but it's also a lot of studying, man, watching [OLB starters Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham] and still trying to master my craft down at the defensive end position."

As Curry walked off the field yesterday, the next-to-last day of onfield work before the Aug. 2 start of training camp, he was talking to Barwin about playing OLB .

He asked Barwin about "little things that I saw out there that he did" that Curry would not have known to do, Curry said.

Curry won't be dropping into coverage a lot - "let's not jump out the window there," Curry cautioned a questioner - but he's quick enough not to look ridiculous playing in space.

"These coaches aren't stupid," Barwin said, when asked about Curry and pass coverage. "They're not going to put him out there to cover running backs and wide receivers . . . They'll get him going north [toward the quarterback]. There's a couple in there that he'll drop [on], just to keep people honest, but he won't be doing what I'm doing."

Of the two outside linebackers, Barwin generally is the one more involved in coverage.

Curry said he isn't thinking about this being the final year of his rookie deal or the possibility of free agency next winter.

"Not really . . . I've been to the bottom of the map," said Curry, who was active for just six games as a rookie on a 4-12 team. "Whatever comes my way now is going to come . . . I'm going to give it all I got and do what I do."

It isn't inconceivable that Curry could accomplish what Brandon Graham did last season. The Eagles' 2010 first-round pick, who many assumed would be headed out the door because he was a smallish 4-3 defensive end trying to play OLB under Kelly, showed himself to be both useful and versatile in 2014, and he ended up signing a new four-year, $26 million deal here in March.

Curry probably could play the run well enough to be a decent, every-down 3-4 end, but part of his problem is that the D-line is the Eagles' best unit. Fletcher Cox should have gotten more Pro Bowl consideration last year, and Bennie Logan and Cedric Thornton are solid starters. Beau Allen and Brandon Bair, along with Curry, provide quality depth.

"We think we'll have a good rotation," Kelly said, despite not drafting for the defensive line or signing a notable free agent. "We're excited about where we are, from a defensive line standpoint."

Last season, the guy at the "bottom of the map," as Curry described it, was fifth-round rookie defensive end Taylor Hart, the only Eagle on the roster who was inactive for every game. Kelly had words of encouragement for Hart, a former Oregon Duck whom Kelly has said he wanted to draft as early as the third round.

"Taylor has done a really good job," Kelly said. "Last year was almost like a redshirt year for him."

Kelly noted that Hart, 6-6, 281 as a rookie, has put on about 25 pounds during the offseason, and "has really kind of changed his body around in the weight room."

"I want to accomplish being able to show people what I can do," Hart said. He said he doesn't care that some fans figure he was drafted just because of his connection with Kelly.

Hart said he has talked to Curry about how to survive being buried on the depth chart, reacting with resolve rather than despair.

"He kind of went through the same situation his first year," Hart said. "You take it for what it is, and you do the best that you can."

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian