Brooky: Linebacker position is a major concern

Media sessions, missed tackles, and blown assignments all get under the skin of new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, a throwback coach with an NC-17 vocabulary.

For the media that means no explanations of what happened - good or bad - immediately after games, a courtesy provided by the team's defensive coordinators at least since the Jim Johnson era. That's too bad because when Schwartz does speak he is almost always enlightening and entertaining, which is why he has probably developed a following among former players.

Four of his former defensive players have reunited with him in Philadelphia and will be part of the 53-man roster when the season opens Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. The quartet consists of linebackers Stephen Tulloch and Nigel Bradham and cornerbacks Leodis McKelvin and Ron Brooks.

"It is about being in a great scheme and he knows what kind of guys he wants in his scheme," said Bradham, who played for Schwartz two seasons ago in Buffalo. "He feels comfortable having guys who know the defense and can teach the guys who are new to it. That is how he has always been."

Schwartz has reinstalled the 4-3 defense that was an Eagles staple for years before Bill Davis became Chip Kelly's defensive coordinator in 2013 and implemented a 3-4 scheme that never maximized the deep talent pool along the defensive line.

The Eagles did a decent job stopping the run during Davis' first two seasons, but they had serious coverage problems. Last year, they were not good at anything. They allowed the third most yards and the fifth most points and finished dead last in the NFL against the run.

Fixing that is Schwartz's job, and the prevailing opinion coming out of the preseason is that he will be able to do it. Like any good defense, it will start with stopping the run, something the Eagles did exceptionally well in the preseason. In fact, the Eagles' opponents averaged just 2.2 yards per carry (187 yards on 84 attempts) in four preseason games. They were the only team that did not allow at least 300 rushing yards.

"Stopping the run is always the number one thing you want to do in this league," said Tulloch, a 10-year veteran who joined the Eagles in late August and played for Schwartz when he was a defensive coordinator in Tennessee and a head coach in Detroit. "If you can't stop the run you don't have a chance."

The Eagles were actually pretty good at shutting down opposing running games early last season, but they crumbled in the second half of the season. That was in a 3-4, and in safety Malcolm Jenkins' opinion that is a better scheme for stopping the run.

That does not mean Jenkins thinks this Eagles defense will be more susceptible to the run. In fact, he believes the Eagles could be outstanding in that department for one big reason: the defensive line.

"I honestly think when you're talking about the run that a 3-4 is better for stopping it, but the way we have our front four playing where they can cut it loose and be disruptive I think that's the most important thing for us," Jenkins said. "If they play the technique that we've been playing without being disruptive and they're running around blocks, you have the potential to get gashed all the time.

"But our guys have been doing a good job of being physical and setting edges and that is allowing our linebackers to get downhill and allowing our safeties to fill and flow. It's really based on their technique and what they're doing up front."

The star of that front, of course, is Fletcher Cox, who has shifted back to being a 4-3 defensive tackle from a 3-4 defensive end. He was drafted as a tackle and is best suited for that position, although he is strong enough and quick enough to play any scheme at a Pro Bowl level.

The defensive line, however, goes much deeper than Cox.

"It is very good and very deep," Tulloch said. "You don't really have starters on this defense. You have rotational players and they are all ready to play. If you are a two deep at a position, it is my experience that you are going to play a lot in Jim Schwartz's defense. I've seen guys over the course of my career who were quote-unquote second-stringers that became Pro Bowlers."

Bennie Logan will be the other starter at defensive tackle, and while he's not in the class of Cox, he has emerged as a quality NFL player.

The defensive ends have the additional challenge of playing in a wide-nine technique that can sometimes make it easier for offensive linemen to get second-level blocks on linebackers. It obviously was not a problem in the preseason for the guys in the rotation, and the ultimate goal of the wide-nine is to get more pressure on the quarterback. The Eagles did that well, too, compiling 11 sacks in four games, which helped lead to a league-best 11 interceptions.

All those numbers have been erased now, however, and the Eagles defense must now show it is improved against teams that have schemed for them and are playing their best players in all four quarters.

We do not know if that's going to happen, and linebacker, the most important position when it comes to stopping the run, is a major concern. Jordan Hicks will be in the middle after a strong rookie season that was cut short by a torn pectoral muscle. Bradham, known as a big hitter, will be the strongside linebacker and Mychal Kendricks will be at weakside linebacker after being injured much of training camp and the preseason. Tulloch is the top reserve and Kamu Grugier-Hill, a sixth-round draft pick by New England, was added to the mix Sunday after being released by the Patriots.

A year ago at this time the Eagles thought they were deep and talented at linebacker. Injuries destroyed that belief. Now, the Eagles are rail- thin at the position and it's possible that could be the downfall of the defense again.

One of the most dangerous places to be on a football field if you were a member of the Eagles the last two seasons was inside linebacker. That starting job this year belongs to second-year man Jordan Hicks, whose solid rookie season was reduced to eight games after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle near the end of a Week 9 game in Dallas.

No Eagles inside linebacker has started 16 games since DeMeco Ryans in 2013. A year ago, Ryans was limited to 13 games after playing in only eight in 2014. Kiko Alonso, who was supposed to be a notable addition at the position, was limited to 11 games after suffering an opening-night knee injury in Atlanta. Mychal Kendricks, meanwhile, missed seven games with an assortment of injuries the last two seasons.

The good news? The Eagles have returned to a 4-3 defense this season under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, which means they will have only one inside linebacker on the field. The better news is that veteran Stephen Tulloch is an experienced reserve known for stopping the run if Hicks goes down.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob