There was a direct correlation.
As the Philadelphia Eagles' defense improved last season, so did the success of the team.
Following a 3-5 mark through the first half, the Eagles won seven of their last eight games to finish 10-6 with an NFC East title in coach Chip Kelly’s first season.
It was also the first season for Bill Davis as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
The Eagles gave up 22 or fewer points during a nine-game stretch. They allowed 52 at Denver early in the season and from there, the defense slowly began to click under Davis.
Philadelphia added safety Malcolm Jenkins, cornerback Nolan Carroll and draft picks Marcus Smith (linebacker, first round), Jaylen Watkins (defensive back, fourth round) and Ed Reynolds (safety, fifth round), among others.
“I think the biggest thing you see is a year ago, you saw more assignment football,” defensive coordinator Bill Davis told reporters. “Guys were studying hard to know their assignment, what was asked of them and they were trying real hard to get to their assignment and maybe not understanding their whole picture of how they exactly fit with their teammates and how it all came together. It's a learning curve, and you've got to start at the bottom and learn yours first, and then you spread out and learn around yours.”
Davis has been impressed with how the defense has evolved in a short amount of time.
“We've had an awesome offseason,” Davis said. “Not only our attendance but the participation and effort that went into the meeting time and everything else. I think our guys have a much better understanding of not only their assignment. I think they feel the whole package now, the whole defense, how they fit, why their teammates rely on them to do a certain technique we are asking them to do or align in a certain way. I think all of that has grown and will make the package stronger. The personality of this group will show itself when we play games in the preseason and as we play games on Sunday. Every year your team takes on a different personality. Our goal defensively is to break the rhythm of an offense and to get them off the field as often as possible with turnovers and third downs. We have a lot of room to improve, and hopefully we pick up where we left off at the end of last season.”
Jenkins was the biggest addition on defense, which has lacked a hard-hitting safety since Brian Dawkins left after the 2008 season. Jenkins can also play cornerback, which gives Davis another dimension.
“I was drafted as a corner so now I’m one of those guys where I can play deep -- I’m a football junkie so I can be the quarterback of the defense -- I can still cover receivers in the slot, I can cover tight ends, I can blitz,” Jenkins told Philadelphiaeagles.com. “Whenever I can do all those things, I have the freedom to move around and not be stagnant. That’s when I’ve had my best years. So I’m not your typical safety, I’m kind of that hybrid that the league is moving to now with the bigger tight ends, the faster tight ends. You need guys that can be versatile, go down in the slot, so you’re not worried about them.”