Somewhere near the intersection of Reason and Excuse, the veterans on the Eagles defense have sorted out the results from the 2011 season to their own satisfaction.
It was the combo platter that sank the team in the early going and eventually hung the 4-8 record that doomed the season. There were a lot of roster changes. There were a lot of system changes. There was a new defensive coordinator. There was no offseason preparation because of the lockout. And the offense kept giving away the ball.
Add it up and the fact that the Eagles finished the season with an even record - fool's gold wins at the end or not - was remarkable. This year, everyone seems to agree, will be far different, if only because there will be a serious lack of excuses if it is not.
"I don't think we were looking for excuses [last season], but the excuses were convenient," defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said. "There were a lot of outs for us last year. We don't have that this year. There should be no excuses at all."
On their side of the ball, the defensive players are encouraged that having turned the page from last season, all phases of the defense are on the same one this season. Line coach Jim Washburn's pass-rushing philosophy is meshing with better run-stopping support from the revamped linebacker unit and, if all goes according to plan, the secondary will press opposing receivers long enough to let the line dogs eat.
"We all signed on for the long term," defensive end Jason Babin said. "There's no room for excuses, but we're happy to have it that way. Everyone knows our run defense wasn't where we wanted it to be last year. And on the other side of the ball, turnovers weren't where we wanted them to be and that's one of the most important stats in the game." (That said, takeaways are important, too, and the Eagles were only tied for 17th in the league in that department.)
Through the first five games of 2011, the Eagles didn't record a turnover/takeaway advantage in any game and got off to a 1-4 start. If that wasn't totally the reason, it certainly didn't help.
"We dug ourselves that hole early last year and then we did go on a run at the end," Jenkins said. "If we can set ourselves up in good position early, that kind of run can carry over into the playoffs. Unfortunately, we didn't give ourselves that opportunity."
The start of the season will be a big test for the Eagles again, even if they are in better shape to make it a more positive start this time around. Of their first nine opponents, only the Cleveland Browns, their opponent in Sunday's opener, finished 2011 with a losing record. The other eight teams in that beginning stretch were 82-46 (.641). That schedule will put a premium on getting it right quickly, and not digging the same hole.
"We've been together long enough now that we should know what's going on," Jenkins said. "We were a lot better team than 8-8 last season, but we just didn't do it when it counted. We went down in history as an 8-8 team and there's nothing we can do about it now. But we can control what we do this year, if we learn from last year and carry it over.
"We learned how to do things more consistently toward the end of the season. It wasn't just adjusting to the coordinator. It was adjusting to everything and everybody. It was a lot of stuff. A lot of the excuses from last year we were able to use have been taken out of play now. So, it's just a matter of are we going to do it or aren't we?"
That question will be answered during those first nine games, which include meetings with five of the nine NFL teams that had double-digit wins in 2011. If they get past that stretch intact, the season might really roll downhill for them. The last seven opponents played to a combined 46-66 (.411) record in 2011.
Regardless of the defensive play, however, the offense will have to invent its own turnaround on turnovers. That mostly means Eagles quarterbacks have to throw fewer interceptions, but the team's 13 lost fumbles on offense and special teams ranked them tied for 26th in the league.
"If you're minus-2 on turnovers, the chance you're going to win the game is something like 18 percent or whatever," Babin said. "But we all know it's a team game and sometimes we're going to carry them and sometimes they're going to carry us. It doesn't matter. All that matters is the win."
The Eagles were 8-4 in 2011 when they were minus-1, even with, or better than the opponent in turnovers/takeaways, and 0-4 when they were minus-2 or worse. That's a simple enough equation, and one the defense can swing toward the Eagles side by generating more takeaways.
It is a team game, after all, which is a better one to play than the blame game that became popular by midseason last year. Whether they came up with reasons or whether they came up with excuses, there was plenty of material. That's not the case any longer.
"It's all on us now," Jenkins said.
Yes, it is.
Contact columnist Bob Ford at bford@phillynews.com, read his blog at www.philly.com/postpatterns, and follow @bobfordsports on Twitter.
