Billy Davis can't explain D's collapse, but vows to fix it

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Once upon a time, this wasn’t a terrible defense. Once upon a time, the Eagles weren’t the laughing stock of the NFL. Once upon a time, they weren’t getting blown out on a weekly basis.

And once upon a time wasn’t even that long ago.

Just 38 days ago, the Eagles ranked ninth in the NFL in points allowed, sixth in the NFL in yards allowed per play, 12th in touchdown passes allowed, ninth in rushing yards allowed per play, 10th in sacks and second in takeaways.

Just six games ago.

Since then, the roof has caved in. The sky has fallen. The bottom has dropped out. Take your pick of cliches. They all apply.

The last six weeks, the Eagles have put together one of the worst six-game defensive stretches of any team in NFL history.

The unit that was ranked in the Top 10 in almost every category just a month and a half ago is now embarrassing itself on a weekly basis.

We’ve all seen bad defenses before. But a defense playing that well that almost overnight turned into one of the worst defenses ever assembled?

It’s tough to explain, and embattled defensive coordinator Bill Davis, speaking before practice Tuesday, had no answers.

Davis said he expects to return next year as the Eagles' defensive coordinator but acknowledged that there are very serious issues facing his unit.

Starting with how a relatively effective unit simply stopped making plays halfway through the season.

“I’ve got to find the answer to that, and right now, without diving into it like we do in the offseason, the inconsistency is what jumps out,” Davis said.

“It’s from third down to stopping the run to the X plays, the red zone touchdowns are really something I’ve got to solve. It’s points on the board. It’s something we haven’t had an issue with before, but now we have. We’ll look at all of it.

“We’re all responsible. Eveybody’s got to look at themselves, and it starts with me. Why did we start in an area that we were happy with at the start of the season, and the thing that keeps coming back to me is the consistency. When you have the ability to play good defense and you show that, you know you do have talent there and you do have coaching and you do have scheme.

“But the inconsistency is the part of it that let us down this year, and I’m the first one in line to make sure I get that consistency right. Consistency in tackling. Scheming it so the guys are in position to make plays and then getting out of the way and letting them make plays.

“We’ll focus on the Giants this week and after that we’ll have a lot of time to reflect on how it went south on us. And everybody’s got to start with themselves, and that starts with me.”

The Eagles finish the season Sunday against the Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

If the Giants gain 400 or more yards, the Eagles will become the first team in NFL history to finish a season by allowing 400 yards in its last seven games.

Here’s a look at where the Eagles rank in the six games since the Tampa game in the same categories that are listed above:

• Last in points allowed

• Second-to-last in yards per play

• Last in touchdown passes allowed

• 29th in rushing yards per play

• 25th in sacks

• 31st in takeaways

If the Eagles allow 421 yards Sunday, they will set an NFL record for most yards ever allowed over the final seven weeks of a season.

Even if they hold the Giants to 325 yards, the Eagles will still have allowed the second-most yards in NFL history over the last seven weeks.

And this was a Top 10 defense six weeks ago.

“I really believe we were turning the corner and had it turned at the eight- or nine-game mark and we were really excited about the group, and then it went south on us,” Davis said. “And that’s the problem I have to solve.

“I have to figure out why and when and how and then how we’re going to fix it and how we’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen next year. Because we’ve shown we’re capable of playing top defense, but we didn’t hold serve.

“We didn’t maintain it through a 16-game season, and that’s disappointing and that’s what I have to figure out.”

One obvious change that occurred right about when the defense began struggling was Jordan Hicks’ season-ending pec injury.

Hicks, the rookie third-round pick, was the best player on the defense before he got hurt in the second Dallas game, with a sack, two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Hicks’ injury meant more playing time for struggling Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks and removed the Eagles’ biggest defensive playmaker.

But Davis rejects the notion that the loss of Hicks is one of the main reasons the defense spiraled downhill.

“We’re very excited about Jordan and the way he was playing and what he contributed to the defense, but I don’t say that’s when it turned on us and without Jordan we can’t succeed,” he said.

“There’s no way we’ll go there. We’ve got a lot of capable players that I have to put in better position to make plays, and that’s really what it is.”

Davis also continued to refuse to use excessive playing time thanks to the offense’s struggles as an excuse for the drop-off.

The Eagles’ defense has played an NFL-high 1,067 snaps and has been on the field an NFL-high 34:09 per game.

“We are responsible defensively to get ourselves off the field,” Davis said. “The other night, on third down, we were 5 of 13. Three of those five were 3rd-and-long and they were converted, and on those drives they turned into touchdowns.

“So we’ve got to get ourselves off the field and get our third down up higher than it is. Those are things we’re in control of, so I can’t point outside of ourselves when the defense controls when the defense gets off the field.”

Davis was asked again about his future. There’s a reasonable chance Davis will be out of work a week from Monday, but he said he expects to be back and is only concerned now with preparing for the Giants.

“Every week it’s on the line and you see that as the firings that happen from head coach to coordinator to position (coach) all through the season.

“There’s never a day or a week that you don’t think your job is on the line as a coach. That’s why we dedicate ourselves like we do, and it’s a big boy business. It’s part of the deal.

“The only way to stop the conversation about job security is to win more games. That’s all it’s about. So we’ve got to make sure we find the reasons we didn’t win enough games this year and change it for next year.

“And that’s all you think about. In this business, you can’t worry about the other stuff. Because the wins will solve it.”

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