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Today we continue the 2015 January edition of Philadelphia Eagles approval polls with defensive coordinator Bill Davis, who the team has committed to for the 2016 season. Don't forget to vote in the Chip Kelly approval poll from Monday if you missed out on that.
Must Reads
My stance on Davis hasn't changed from what I wrote at the end of the season.
"I know a lot of fans want the head of Billy D served on a silver platter but I don't think the team is going to give up on him. While he is far from flawless, I think the real downfall of this defense was personnel rather than coaching. People will point to the fact he didn't give Bradley Fletcher help, but it's not always that simple. He can't always give Fletcher help because that's not how their defense works. Also, you may have noticed he DID give some of his defensive backs help against New York and they were still beaten anyway.
On a side note: defensive line coach (and assistant head coach) Jerry Azzinaro seems to have more of an influence over the defense than people realize. Davis has the title of defensive coordinator and calls the plays, and I can't speak to the exact level of power Azzinaro has, but I get the sense it's far from insignificant."
Here are some defensive numbers to look at:
Opponent points per play: 0.359 (19th)
Opponent yards per play: 5.4 (T-14th)
Opponent third down conversion percentage: 37.93% (13th)
Takeaways: 28 (T-6th)
DVOA: 10th overall, 20th pass defense, 6th run defense
Weighted DVOA: 10th
PFF: 6th overall, 8th run defense, 5th pass rush, 13th pass coverage
Must Reads
Davis isn't the best coordinator ever, but the Eagles need to upgrade the talent on defense before they need to upgrade the man in charge. Also consider that the Eagles defense had to deal with an offense that turned the ball over more than any other team. Cutting down on turnovers should take pressure off the defense.
So, do you approve of the job Bill Davis is doing as the Eagles defensive coordinator? Vote now in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comments.
Bill Davis approval polls: