With so many moving parts and a new coach last year, some confusion on the defense was to be expected early on.
Today on Bleeding Green Nation Radio, 2nd year corner back Curtis Marsh detailed just how out of sync the defense was at times.
"If 11 people are running the wrong coverage, then at least 11 people are running the wrong coverage and they’re running that coverage well," said Marsh. "The problem is when you get 8 people running this, and 3 people running this, and then you get the blown coverage. As long as you’re communicating, then everything tends to work out. I think communication is one of the biggest things that we have improved from last year to this year.”
Marsh went on to say that the Eagles have fixed that this off-season, and in his opinion, that is the biggest difference in the defense so far. Still, it is an alarming statement on many levels.
Hearing that the defensive players were running two different packages last year at certain times gives an inside glimpse to just how much the lockout hurt this team. It would also explain the Eagles optimism about the defense this year, as they will have a full off-season to implement the defense this time around.
The Eagles also are likely hoping that having a veteran middle linebacker who is used to calling the plays and running a defense will get all of the defensive players on the same page.
However, while the lockout is an excuse, the statement is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the control Juan Castillo had over the defense last year. I heard rumblings last year that veteran players simply tuned him out at times, which is a problem lock out or no lock out. Having multiple players running the wrong defense is solely Castillo's fault, and would explain a lot of the big plays the Eagles gave up.
In addition to talking about the defensive struggles last season, Marsh got into some good detail about what kind of role he expects to play this season, Asante Samuel's departure, and how he feels about Michael Vick's "Dynasty" comment.
Listen to the full interview below:
Follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks