Crunch time for Eagles' defense

LATE LAST August, Malcolm Jenkins looked at the defensive talent in the Eagles locker room and hoped. He hoped, he said, "That we could go out there and be a good enough defense to compete with our offense."

And now?

"At this point I feel like we're better than our offense," he said yesterday. "That's what we're competing for . . . The potential is there. But we've got to go out there and do it."

Three years ago, when Chip Kelly finally settled on Bill Davis as his defensive coordinator, more than a few scalps were scratched. Davis had produced underwhelming defenses and lost his job in two places already, but the narrative in each case was that he was dealt an untenable situation where the talent was sparse and not complementary to his concepts.

That too, could be the plea copped over his first two seasons in Philadelphia, when his defenses were ranked near the bottom of the league and last year, led it with a whopping 72 pass plays of 20 yards or more.

Not now. Not after an offseason of intense upgrades, in which two elite secondary players were plucked from other teams, and the Eagles all-time rushing leader was swapped for a starting linebacker, and two defensive backs coaches were replaced and five of the first six draft picks in June were defensive players, including the (so-far) impressive Eric Rowe.

Add in the formidable and deep defensive line that recorded 49 sacks a season ago and it appears Davis has more talent to work with this season than he has ever had as a coordinator.

Does he, I asked him yesterday?

"It's tough to compare, but it's a great feeling right now," he said. "We do feel like we have a lot of talented young men who we're looking forward to using all their skills. I don't know if I can compare every roster I've been on, but this one is absolutely one of the top.

"We're deeper. We're absolutely deeper."

This, then, is the all-in season for Billy Davis as a defensive coordinator. This is the season the "teachable system" that he has spoken repeatedly of and that made him Kelly's choice, plays uninhibited. No more communication gaffes. No more safeties waving their arms at cornerbacks, no more cornerbacks waving right back at the safeties.

This is the season his defense should be repeatedly handing the ball to Chip Kelly's offense, not playing keep away. Time of possession should not be an issue if they are getting off the field on third down the way they were Saturday night. Kelly's desire to run more plays than the other team - it was more than 2-to-1 during the meaningful part of Saturday night's 40-17 thrashing - should be realized on most, if not all weeks.

That page they have been bouncing on and off of over the last two uneven seasons? Now, said DeMeco Ryans, "I feel like we have so many guys who are comfortable with what we're doing. I feel like we're a lot further along than we were last year at this time as far as what we're able to do. The teachings. The technique of our guys. From the front end all the way to the back end, it's really sound."

One example: Mychal Kendricks, signed Monday to a four-year extension potentially worth $29 million. Rumored to be trade bait this spring, Kendrick yesterday was described as a prototype inside linebacker amid other glowing praise by Davis, and Ryans seemed to nominate him as a successor when he praised his improved "communication on the field as far as him just seeing the game, anticipating things much better. Sometimes he's out there telling me what to do. He's come a long way."

And yet . . . Any Eagles fan with even a short memory recalls how the unbeatable vibe from the "Dream Team" summer - in which they added a slew of free agents including Jason Babin, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - quickly morphed into that sour grapes season of 2011.

Davis knows that can happen here. So do several of his players, who have seen it happen in other places.

"It's a fine line," said Malcolm Jenkins, once part of a strong New Orleans Super Bowl defense. "There's always that argument about the difference between reality and potential. You look at what we have on paper and how we've played so far, it seems good.

"It seems like he has more toys to play with and everybody's versatile and making plays. It seems like the sky's the limit. But . . . we try not to get caught up in that. That stuff is down the road. You start thinking about what you could be, you forget about the process. And I think the process and the details are what got us to where we are now."

On the brink. Of a statement season. Of Billy Davis finally establishing his brand. I asked Ryans if he thought his coordinator was on the spot.

"I don't think about that," he said, but then he kind of did.

"Of course this could be our best year. It should be our best year. It's our third year into the system. So it should definitely be progressing towards being that top defense."

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