Now that the dust has settled from the NFL draft, the Eagles are preparing for minicamps and eventually training camp to get their latest quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy underway.
When the Birds do hit the field, their defense will have some new faces such as Malcolm Jenkins and first-round pick Marcus Smith to help bolster the unit.
The Eagles' D made significant strides in 2013, going through an 11-game stretch in which they held opponents to 21 points or less.
In a sitdown with CSN's Derrick Gunn, linebacker Connor Barwin said the group needs to find that rhythm again and take it from there.
"Well, I think you want to not exactly pick off where we left off but pick off a couple games before where we left off and then continue to improve from there," Barwin said. "We went on that stretch ... I think we need to start there and just improve as we go."
Barwin, a five-year veteran, knows the Eagles will have plenty of young guys vying for playing time on defense in the upcoming season. That doesn't mean he will hesitate to teach the up-and-comers the tricks of the trade. In fact, Barwin is more than happy to share his knowledge with teammates that could be aiming for his spot.
"No, I think it's kind of exciting. I want him to turn out to be a great player because I know I'll be the first guy that kind of showed him the ropes," Barwin said. "Eventually I know I'm gonna be done and I know he's going to push me to be a better player. But I hope when I'm done at some point he can say Connor pushed me and I became the player -- for a lot of reasons, mostly myself -- but at some point Connor showed me a couple things."
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See Barwin's full interview with Gunn in the video above.