Nate Allen

TRYING TO determine the primary reason for the Eagles' bad-awful pass defense last year is like trying to find an answer to the old chicken-or-egg question. Was it the meek pass rush, which recorded just 30 sacks and too often gave opposing quarterbacks enough time to get a mani-pedi let alone find an open receiver? Or was it the mistake-prone secondary, which managed to turn coverage-blowing into a 16-game art form? Clearly, there was enough blame to go around for the franchise-record 33 touchdown passes the Eagles gave up, their league-worst 99.6 opponent passer rating and their measly eight interceptions.

Nate Allen Safety Cape Coral High School Cape Coral, Fla. Nate Allen passed for more than 5,000 yards as a quarterback at Cape Coral High School in southwestern Florida. To place that in perspective, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick passed for 4,846 at Warwick High School in Newport News, Va. Allen laughs. "So I passed for more yards?" he asks. "I did not know that. I have something to brag about now. " So how did Allen end up playing safety in the NFL? Along with quarterback, he also played safety in high school.

In a peculiar move, Eagles coach Andy Reid announced that Kurt Coleman and Colt Anderson would start at the safety positions on Sunday ahead of Nate Allen. Allen will work into the rotation, Reid added, but the switch was a clear demotion for the Eagles' 2010 second-round draft pick. "I was all right with it," Allen said Wednesday. "You've got to be a professional about it and just go out there and continue to work and contribute and help the team out however you can. " A demotion this late in the season suggests the Eagles have given up on Allen.

Eagles strong safety Nate Allen did not practice Friday after suffering a left hamstring injury during Thursday's workout. Allen strained his right hamstring in the fourth quarter of a 26-23 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions on Oct. 14. After the bye week, he returned and played in Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons, recording nine tackles. He said his right hamstring is fine. "It is frustrating," he said of the latest setback, but "Monday is not out of the picture. " If Allen is not able to play against the New Orleans Saints, David Sims would start.

YES, IT'S EARLY. Two games isn't much time to come to a conclusion about anything - well, except for switching quarterbacks. But I digress. Sure, some mistakes have been made, but, for the most part, the first two games of Nate Allen's career as the Eagles' starting free safety couldn't have gone much better. As one of the Eagles to be watched closely this season, Allen already has given us some positives. He intercepted a pass from Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the season opener and got another pick off Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill Sunday.

BETHLEHEM - No mints on Nate Allen's dorm-room pillow when he finally settled into Eagles training camp at Lehigh around 2:30 a.m. yesterday. But fellow rookie safety Kurt Coleman had thoughtfully placed Allen's playbook on his bed, before Coleman settled down to sleep, about 4 hours earlier. Allen didn't start studying it right then, since he had to be awake at 6:15 for his first practice, after signing a 4-year deal for an undisclosed amount of cash. "I feel good. I just need to seize the moment.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Nate Allen was back on the field Monday morning for his first full-contact drills of training camp. The second-year safety, returning from a torn patellar tendon in December, said he felt good, though he admitted to having a little hesitation when rushing into the offensive line on blitzes. "It's in here a little bit," he said, pointing to his temple. "But I feel good. " Allen, reserved and quiet by nature, has had to become a more vocal presence on the field.

Safety Nate Allen, the rookie who has started every Eagles game this season, has a neck sprain and will likely miss the team's game at Washington Monday. "It looks like he's going to struggle to make it for this week, but we'll see how he progresses," coach Andy Reid said. If Allen is out he'll likely be replaced by fellow rookie Kurt Coleman, a seventh-round draft pick who had his most extensive showing of the season Sunday after Allen got hurt. The team has just three safeties on the roster - Allen, Coleman and Quintin Mikell - so if Allen can't play, they would be thin in that area.

SOMEWHERE FAIRLY high among the reasons why Andy Reid almost certainly will coach his final home game for the Eagles Sunday is this: Reid's team drafted safety Nate Allen in the second round in 2010, 37th overall, and safety Jaiquawn Jarrett in the second round in 2011, 54th overall. Neither Allen nor Jarrett will start for the Eagles against the visiting Washington Redskins. Jarrett was cut Sept. 11, and on Wednesday, Reid announced that Colt Anderson will take Allen's starting role.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy left Monday's practice early with an apparent knee injury. McCoy stretched on the sideline at one point before leaving the practice field. McCoy was spotted after practice walking through a NovaCare Complex hallway with a plate of food. He said the issue was with his knee. He did not appear to be limping or in pain. The Eagles did not have an official report on McCoy's condition. Bryce Brown took first-team snaps at running back in McCoy's absence.

TRYING TO determine the primary reason for the Eagles' bad-awful pass defense last year is like trying to find an answer to the old chicken-or-egg question. Was it the meek pass rush, which recorded just 30 sacks and too often gave opposing quarterbacks enough time to get a mani-pedi let alone find an open receiver? Or was it the mistake-prone secondary, which managed to turn coverage-blowing into a 16-game art form? Clearly, there was enough blame to go around for the franchise-record 33 touchdown passes the Eagles gave up, their league-worst 99.6 opponent passer rating and their measly eight interceptions.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy left Monday's practice early with an apparent knee injury. McCoy stretched on the sideline at one point before leaving the practice field. McCoy was spotted after practice walking through a NovaCare Complex hallway with a plate of food. He said the issue was with his knee. He did not appear to be limping or in pain. The Eagles did not have an official report on McCoy's condition. Bryce Brown took first-team snaps at running back in McCoy's absence.

Earl Wolff already has mastered one aspect of winning the approval of Eagles fans. The safety cited the franchise's icon at that position as his inspiration. "Before I even started playing safety, I watched Brian Dawkins," said Wolff, the Eagles' fifth-round pick out of North Carolina State. "Once I made that move to safety, that's when I fell in love with him. Honestly, my first couple of years, that's what I watched before the games. I'd put on a Brian Dawkins highlight film, and now I'm here.

The Eagles added four defensive backs in free agency, but none that can be considered slam dunk starters. So there was a feeling entering the draft that Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman were going to address the secondary fairly early in the process. In the end, though, the Eagles waited until the third day before they added North Carolina State safety Earl Wolff in the fifth round and Oregon State cornerback Jordan Poyer in the seventh. While Kelly said they selected prospects with grades higher than where they were drafted, not many fifth- or seventh-round players project as starters.

ELEVEN YEARS ago, the Eagles hit the trifecta in the second and third rounds of the 2002 draft, selecting Colorado safety Michael Lewis, cornerback Sheldon Brown and a Division 1-AA running back by the name of Brian Westbrook. Lewis spent five seasons with the Eagles, three as a starter. Went to a Super Bowl and Pro Bowl with the Birds. Brown was a rock at right corner for the franchise, starting 98 games in eight seasons and helping the Eagles advance to five NFC Championship Games.

Chip Kelly will finally see his players on the field this week. The Eagles will hold their first minicamp from Tuesday to Thursday, offering Kelly his first glimpse of the team actually participating in activities that resemble football. The voluntary veteran minicamp is an important landmark in Kelly's first season with the Eagles, and especially as he begins to evaluate his roster. For Kelly's first two months, he reserved judgment on his team because he was not able to talk football with the players or work with them.

In 2004, the Eagles started Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis at safety. Both reached the Pro Bowl. Both were also second-round picks - Dawkins in 1996, Lewis in 2002. Those picks were the highest the Eagles allocated on a safety since Jesse Campbell in 1991, and the Eagles' evaluations proved to be correct. Replacing them has been an ongoing issue. Other than Quintin Mikell, who was a four-year starter and one-time Pro Bowler, the position has been a revolving door in Philadelphia.

While the Miami Dolphins acted as if they were the 2011 "Dream Team" Eagles and other teams snatched up high-priced veterans, the Eagles signed five under-the-radar players on the first day of NFL free agency. The Eagles announced the moves in rapid-fire succession Tuesday evening, a little more than four hours after free agency kicked off. They signed defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga, safety Patrick Chung, and tight end James Casey to three-year contracts and cornerback Bradley Fletcher and linebacker Jason Phillips to two-year deals.

The stars have aligned. The Eagles need starting safeties - again. More than a handful of proven starters are waiting to be snatched up in free agency. And the Eagles have more than enough salary-cap space to sign one of the top talents. Does that mean the Eagles will chase Dashon Goldson, William Moore, or Glover Quin? Not necessarily. They do have a number of holes to fill. General manager Howie Roseman and coach Chip Kelly recently reiterated their belief that splurging in free agency is not the way to build a championship-caliber squad.

INDIANAPOLIS - No part of the Eagles roster is expected to undergo as much of an overhaul this offseason as the secondary, with uncertainty reigning at the cornerback and safety positions. There will be opportunity for the Eagles to address those needs in the draft, particularly in the middle rounds. This is an abnormally strong class of safeties - one that Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery said includes five or six potential starters, and one that has more quality than NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock can ever remember.