The Eagles hired Chip Kelly mainly for his offensive ingenuity. However, his Oregon squads were never on par with Oregon's offensive juggernaut. While Kelly's up-tempo offense has been one of the best in the nation, New Eagles cornerback Cary Williams is an import from the Ravens locker room, where the emphasis titled towards defense-first and offense-second.
Williams has shown flashes of the physicality that was ingrained in him back in Baltimore. During a joint practice with the Patriots last Tuesday, Williams was ejected for getting into a scuffle with wide receiver Aaron Dobson. In his first media session since the fight, Williams apologized for getting ejected, but stated that the Eagles' porous defense is missing a "nasty" attitude necessary for a championship caliber defense.
Via ESPN:
"I feel like we've got to establish a toughness, a tenacity, a hard-nosed defense, something that's to be feared when it comes out there each and every week. I think [former Eagle] Brian Dawkins alluded to it a couple of times when I spoke to him, he's talking about 'bring that fear back here.' Right now, I don't know if there's anybody out there in the league who fears this defense, especially after last week," he said, according to the Inquirer.
When the two teams played on Friday in the preseason opener for both teams (a game Williams missed because of his hamstring), the Eagles' defense was manhandled by the Patriots, particularly in the ground game, where it allowed 248 yards rushing. The Patriots averaged 8 yards per carry.
