LB Kiko Alonso has missed several practices with concussion symptoms. Photo by T.J. Engler / contrastphotography.com

Eagles Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis Press Conference

8.9.15

Q. Do you expect to have LB Kiko Alonso practicing today?

COACH DAVIS: Kiko, I don’t think he’s up today, no. I think he’s the only one that’s not up. I think we have a full slate other than Kiko.

Q. S Jerome Couplin?

COACH DAVIS: Cup, I’m sorry, yeah.

Q. Kiko, what have you seen from him the past couple days talking to him?

COACH DAVIS: Kiko’s fine. Kiko’s fine. Just one of those things. I’ve been coaching linebackers my whole career. It’s just part of that position, when it sneaks up on you nowadays, we have great protocol. It’s not an issue. Kiko’s doing great. He won’t miss a beat.

Q. How much progress have you seen from S Earl Wolff?

COACH DAVIS: It’s nice to have Earl out there finally. In his rookie year he was really showing some promise and he hit the injury bug with the knee and we missed him all offseason and now we have finally just really one week of Earl being back out there. He’s coming along. He’s coming along.

Q. You look last year, when the inside backers were backed up, it was a big issue. How different is it this year?

COACH DAVIS: You know we really are deep. I don’t think I’ve been through a training camp as a linebacker coach where the inside backer doesn’t get thin at some point in training camp. I don’t know what it is about training camps, that happens. It’s nice to have the depth we have.
We also have a nice little pattern going of swinging inside and outside backers. So wherever we might get a little light, we can just move a guy for a practice or two. So the linebacker coaches [outside linebackers coach Bill] McGovern and [inside linebackers coach] Rick [Minter] have done a great job of kind of cross-training those guys. And having depth on top of that makes training camp much more easier.

Q. The guys that you are cross-training – LB Brad Jones and LB Brandon Hepburn – how are you splitting them up?

COACH DAVIS: Right now, Hep is almost there. He’s there the majority of the time. Hep is over there and Brad will continue to switch. And then [LB Emmanuel] Acho we pop in and out a little bit. Hep is outside and Brad switches. He goes back and forth depending on where the need is. We are cross‑training him, and Acho pops back and forth.

Q. Last year you basically only played three outside linebackers on game day. Did you like that? Or do you like the flexibility of having four?

COACH DAVIS: I’d rather have four than three any time. Obviously more good players are better than less good, solid players. The rotation, we do have a lot of reps. We’ve had that both seasons now. And part of that, it’s great to have a rotation. It helps them. It helps the scheme.
But also, we rotate on a basis where the talent level is equal enough that we can do that. If there’s a big drop, then you don’t get to do it as much because you’ve got to make sure that you’re solid in there at all times.

Q. Along those lines with the inside backers, how does LB DeMeco Ryans look now that he is recovered from the Achilles injury?

COACH DAVIS: DeMeco, for an Achilles injury, especially a second one, is ahead of schedule. The fact that he’s out there playing some team reps and seven‑on‑seven reps is where you need to grow.
He’s such a professional. He knows how to practice and still come back from an injury without going backwards with the injury, without having something else give on him. DeMeco is a pro all the way through and is taking strides ahead of where most people would be, but he still has a little ways to go.

Q. Is DE Vinny Curry getting some work in?

COACH DAVIS: Yeah, we move Vinny around a little bit. It’s smaller pieces. Vinny is a chess piece that you can move around in a lot of different ways and we’ve done that, anywhere from two‑gap d‑line to a penetrating three technique. And now we have him out wide as an end and we can make him a little bit of a predator at times and put some smaller packages together. So Vinny has a lot of flexibility for us. He’s doing a nice job.

Q. The defensive line has been the one constant with three starters, what have you seen from those three?

COACH DAVIS: In year three with [assistant head coach/defensive line] coach [Jerry] Azz[inaro] and what [assistant defensive line] coach [Mike] Daws[on] do out there, I don’t know if you guys notice them wearing those sleds out. I’ve never been part of a group that hits the sleds and gets as much out of that as they do. The starters are taking big steps.
It’s the third year in a system which is always a really nice place to be. I’m excited. And I think the young guys haven’t gotten as much press as you would think because the conversation goes to the secondary but our young defensive linemen and our second year defensive linemen are really taking some big strides.
I’m anxious to see them Sunday against the Colts and see how they fair and I think we will see good things out of the d‑line.

Q. What about DE Taylor Hart specifically?

COACH DAVIS: The thing about Taylor, he really reshaped his body and he is a good football player. He was at Oregon where he’s a solid run defender and he’s got enough of a pass rush to where it kind of sneaks up on you. I’m anxious to see the step that Taylor has made and see what he can do out there and when the bright lights are on.

Q. Do you feel that a guy like DT Bennie Logan might be underrated? Seems like he goes about his business quietly and all that?

COACH DAVIS: Yeah, I would say absolutely Bennie is underrated. Bennie is a big part of our defense and defensive line. He’s a steady player that has both ‑‑ and from a nose guard position and a 3‑4 [scheme perspective], you are really looking for a stout run defender and the bonus is when they have some suddenness in the pass rush and Bennie gives us both of those.

Q. How deep into camp do you start identifying the ones and twos?

COACH DAVIS: I’m going to say right around the Green Bay, the second preseason game is right about where you want to start getting the continuity guys playing next to each other. We have 500 reps under our belt right now after one week, and that’s a lot of reps for guys to compete and then we’ll have another 500 to 600 after next week. Right around there with two preseason games under their belt, they kind of separate themselves from each other.

Q. How has CB Eric Rowe responded to getting a lot of first team reps?

COACH DAVIS: Nice. You know, it’s nice, one of the biggest reasons we switched those guys around is to see them matched up against our depth on the offensive side of the ball. Different sizes and shapes and talent level and experience level of our own receiving core by switching our guys up, we get a better evaluation all the way across the board and Eric has done a nice job of fitting in there and going up against the guys he was going up against. But you really are evaluating them day‑in and day‑out. Eric is taking nice progress.

Q. You have so many different combinations you run out there in the secondary. Is part of the evaluation kind of how the group works, how the chemistry is among the four or five guys who are out there at that time?

COACH DAVIS: Yeah, I think one of the main things that I’ve always said ‑‑ my philosophy in the preseason is that is really the only time in the NFL we can truly grow the young guys; that they actually get your defensive reps, they get to be active and they get to communicate with each other and then the regular season starts. In your week of practice, those second and thirds really are all scout team. They don’t even get your defensive reps because you have to give your ones the defensive reps.
And then, all of a sudden, somewhere in week eight, nine or 10, injuries pile up, and that young guy, the last time he really played was in preseason, and if he didn’t have enough of a chunk in the preseason, then it’s tougher for him to shine or at least fill in a hole to get you through a couple games that you need to win to get you to where you want to go.
The preseason is so valuable for the growth of your young [players] and the bottom of your roster. We get a lot of reps in practice and we play them, we play those young guys a lot in all the preseason games. That’s how we grow them.

Q. LB Jordan Hicks played outside in college. Was there ever a consideration to move him when you had the injury there?

COACH DAVIS: No, we didn’t go to him first. I struggle to move rookies too much. I really like him and he has a natural ‑‑ he really is a natural athlete for an inside backer. So that didn’t come up.
But I really like his progress [this] offseason. The one week we’ve had him in training camp, he really understands football and he’s picked up the scheme well and moves well in space. He’s an athletic young man.

Q. No tackling in training camp. How does that effect evaluations?

COACH DAVIS: You’ve gone back and forth and sometimes you’re in a place where you want to actually practice tackling on the ground. And remember the first year here when we really were struggling with tackling, if you really feel that you’re in a place that you need to get that done, then you go ahead and you get some real structured tackling drills. We do it in individual live and we have a couple periods for tackling set aside. We stress heavy the two‑hand tag below the waist in practice. You see a runner or receiver run by our guys. But we are in a position to two‑hand tag below the waist; we are also in a position to make a tackle. If you can’t get two hands, you only get one, then you’re probably missing an arm tackle. That’s how we evaluate the body part of it, the come into balance part.
The actual tackle to the ground, it doesn’t take long into a season where you have got a lot of tackles under your belt already through the preseason. You go back and forth. It’s really where you are as a team and where you think you are. If you have to tackle to the ground, then you do it, and the last two years, we haven’t felt we had to.

Q. CB Nolan Carroll is obviously competing for a corner spot. Why is he different this year and why wasn’t he involved more with the way things happened last year?

COACH DAVIS: It’s his second year in the system. When he came in, there was ‑‑ we were competing. You have to make the call. You have to choose. I chose [cornerback Bradley] Fletcher and [cornerback] Cary [Williams] over him last year like we do at all positions. You have to pick one at the end of the day. It was a close battle. I love the acquisition of Nolan a year ago just like I love it now and I’ve said this, I believe last week, that maybe I should have in hindsight probably got him in there more.
But Nolan Carroll took a huge step. It’s almost like everybody that comes into our program, year one – this is different than other places. This is different. And everyone kind of checks it out, and then they dive in. And Nolan has been, like I said last week, he’s probably had the best offseason I’ve been around. He is completely in, leading the way, saying, ‘Guys, this way, follow me’ and it’s been neat to watch.
He’s made huge progress. I liked him last year and I like him this year. He did a great job learning the dime position and I’m excited to see what he does at the corner spot.

Q. What about the o‑line, d‑line and one‑on‑one drills? How much effort do you guys want them putting into those drills and what are you looking to see? Doesn’t seem like they are trying to beat each other ‑‑ trying to get a grasp of what ‑‑

COACH DAVIS: You talking about the pass rush drills?

Q. Yes.

COACH DAVIS: The pass rush drills are really about the first couple steps, for them and for us. The finish, there really is no quarterback in the drills. Usually the young man, ball boy, who is trying to get out of the way so he doesn’t get killed.
It really is about the technique of the first couple steps and then the hands and you’ll see them peel off and that will be the end of it. If you have put a quarterback in you have to protect him. So it’s really about the first couple steps, angles, their sets, our angles, our hands, their hands, those type of things are what you are looking at.

Q. Have you noticed the way LB Marcus Smith has reacted since LB Travis Long went down? Have you had any conversations?

COACH DAVIS: Everybody is in complete competition mode. Marcus came into camp knowing that it’s on and he has to really step up and have a much better camp then he did last year. Your rookie year is so much different from your second year and you can see a calm, confident Marcus who is in shape, ready to go, understands the scheme, understands the techniques we are asking of him, he’s working hard at mastering those. And hopefully it shows in the preseason games that you see a different Marcus out there than you saw a year ago.

Q. How about Brandon Hepburn as an outside guy. He’s been mainly an inside guy?

COACH DAVIS: Yes, he has.

Q. How do you see him outside?

COACH DAVIS: Hep is making a nice transition. He has some size to him, he’s 250, 254 pounds I believe; he can go to 260. So he kind of fits size‑wise out there. He has length to him. You don’t like outside backers who don’t have much length.
He asked to move out there. He’s very anxious about going out there. He thinks it’s a good fit for him. Hasn’t done it much. So there’s some technique things that he has to master and work on.
But Hep is a hard worker. The offseason, I don’t think there was a day I didn’t go into breakfast or dinner, he wasn’t there in the building studying. You walk in the linebacker room and he’s there studying. Hep is all in and I hope that I see some success for him in the preseason game.

Q. Would you clarify what drills you’re talking about?

COACH DAVIS: Team and seven‑on‑seven. I think we are at 520 or something like that after a week. We just try to go where we ‑‑ try to spread it out where all the guys get the reps. But yeah, it’s all team and seven‑on‑seven.

Q. The third outside backer spot, that was a big role last year. Do you want it to be a big role this year or just two starters on the field?

COACH DAVIS: I think we need it to be a big role. We played so many snaps that we have to ‑‑ and hopefully we get those snaps down. That’s on us that we have to control the snaps and get off the field quicker. But a big part of that, we play fast and we play often and we are a no‑huddle defense. That rotation at all spots is what we covet. We love it. Yeah, I’d love it to be just as big as it was last year.

Q. How are the veteran players reacting to the new players on the defensive side?

COACH DAVIS: The one thing about the NFL is that the constant is change. I don’t care where I’ve been, change happens. I think NFL players are used to it. They adapt quickly. Most of the guys, the kind of person you are when you come in, they get to know each other quick. They are very accepting of all people, so it’s gone well.

Q. LB Brandon Graham set some pretty lofty expectations. What does that confidence do for the rest of the unit?

COACH DAVIS: I think BG ‑‑ I love confidence. I think it’s awesome. I’m not a big fan of predictions and calling the shot. But everybody gets to be who they are, and Brandon wants to go for ‑‑ what did he say?

Q. 32 sacks.
COACH DAVIS: So he’s going to shatter the record. I’m excited to see that, trust me.