Patrick Chung: A safety is a safety in today's NFL

Share

According to new Eagles safety Patrick Chung, there's really no difference between a strong safety and a free safety anymore.

So the former Patriot's position switch really hasn't been much of a transition, he said.

"The NFL has changed now, it's not really strong or weak so much as right or left safety," Chung said Monday after practice at the NovaCare Complex. "You've gotta be able to do everything."

The Eagles have Chung plugged in as a free safety, where he played most of the 2011 season in New England. Last year, Chung spent most of his time as a strong safety.

But either way, he doesn't see a big difference between the two.

"You've gotta be able to cover, tackle, blitz -- whatever coach asks you to do, you just gotta do it," Chung said. "The traditional strong safety or free safety, that's out. [In the] NFL, you've gotta be able to cover now."

Chung did it all in the Eagles' second preseason game against the Panthers in which the secondary held Carolina quarterback Cam Newton to 112 yards on 8-for-17 passing. Chung tied for the team lead in tackles with four, and through two preseason contests he tops the Birds' defense with eight.

But for the man who finished second on New England with 67 tackles in 2010, the evolving safety position is more about pass coverage than anything else. He feels he's adapting well.

"Things can always get better -- you can be good at something but you can be great at it, you can be bad at something but then you can get good at it," he said. "It's always about the constant work ethic, the constant strive to get better. That's what I'm trying to do."

After witnessing Tom Brady pick apart the Eagles two weeks ago -- when the Patriots racked up 31 points -- Chung was glad to see improvement by holding Carolina to nine points on three field goals.

"I think we all did good," he said. "You hold a team to only nine points, you're doing pretty good. ... We're all getting good, learning the same things, getting better day by day. Our group, team, it feels like we're coming along."

The Eagles signed the 26-year-old to a three-year, $10 million deal in the winter to help shore up a porous secondary that finished 31st last season in opponents' passer rating.

Chung is with the Birds to win a starting job, and thus far he's enjoyed his time in Philly.

"I like the city, I like the team, I like the coaches, I like the players," he said. "It's a lot of fun."

In a secondary that could feature as many as four new starters, Chung isn't worried about the instability of a revolving door of safeties and cornerbacks the new defense has utilized so far this year.

"Absolutely not," he said. "Best guys are gonna play. We're all learning the same things. We have a lot of athletes, a lot of competitors out there. Whoever's gonna play is gonna play.

"We're brothers, man, so whoever plays, we gotta encourage them and make them ball out. We're not really worried about who's playing right now, we're just having fun."

Contact Us