In free agency, scheme matters to Eagles

ATLANTIC CITY - If you want to know why the Eagles didn't sign high-priced, possible future Hall of Fame players such as Darrelle Revis, DeMarcus Ware, and Jairus Byrd, the answer was on the field last season.

Chip Kelly has a system, and within the confines of the NFL salary cap, he and general manager Howie Roseman have spent the last two offseasons spearheading an effort to fill structured needs.

Do Kelly and Roseman consider Revis, Ware, and Byrd great players? You bet they do. Do they think the three players would reach their full potential within the confines of the Eagles' defensive scheme? Probably not.

So why spend top dollar on free agents when they aren't ideal fits? The Eagles may have had the cap space - $24 million heading into free agency - but not splurging on prime meat had nothing to do with alligator arms, according to Kelly.

"I don't think price tag has ever been an issue, especially with [Eagles owner Jeffrey] Lurie. It's not how we talk about things," Kelly said on Friday before attending the Maxwell Awards banquet. "It's who fits in terms of what we do on either side of the ball, and where do they fit special teams-wise?"

Kelly didn't come out and say it, but it was clear he believes the Eagles still aren't quite on the level of the Seahawks, Broncos, 49ers, and Patriots. "We still have some holes in terms of being a complete football team," he said - knowing that there are still opportunities to plug them, up to and including the draft.

But it's unlikely one or two players - especially rookies - will put the Eagles over the top. The teams that signed Revis (Patriots), Ware (Broncos), and Byrd (Saints) all have quarterbacks 35 or older and rosters with fewer holes.

The last time the Eagles thought they were that close, they signed Nnamdi Asomugha and several other free agents who weren't ideal fixes.

So for the second straight offseason, they bypassed premier defensive names in free agency and targeted specific players they thought fit their scheme, could provide in-roster competition, and were versatile enough to help on special teams.

Safety Malcolm Jenkins, who was the sixth-highest-paid safety in free agency, will be penciled in as a starter. Cornerback Nolan Carroll, safety Chris Maragos, and outside linebacker Bryan Braman were signed with special teams in mind, although each will be given the opportunity to compete for a starting job.

"I have no idea," Kelly said when asked if he thought his defense had improved after the acquisitions. "We've never got those guys on the field. I don't know what Bryan Braman is. Is he just a special-teams player? Is he really going to get an opportunity to compete? We liked him on film. How does Chris Maragos fit in? I don't know.

"Let's get them out on the field. We got a ways [to go]."

Indeed, Roseman could have a trade up his sleeve (Vinny Curry or Brandon Graham would seem the most likely to be on the market), and starting-caliber pieces could come in the first two rounds of a deep draft.

But each addition follows the template the Eagles have established since Kelly arrived. The 6-foot Carroll is relatively tall and long-limbed. The same goes for the 6-5, 250-pound Braman. Jenkins is smart and a great communicator - musts for any Kelly safety.

"You really need a guy on the back end to set the back end," Kelly said. "And that's part of the whole deal with Malcolm's versatility. And to have a guy back there that is a student of the game, studies it, that puts us in the right [coverages]."

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis may send in a play, but what happens when the offense changes its formation? The safeties - they're interchangeable in Davis' scheme - have to be able to check the secondary into another coverage and be versatile enough to change roles.

Kelly wasn't pointing the finger at departed (for now) safeties Nate Allen and Patrick Chung, but he said some of the longer plays the defense allowed last season were because of communication breakdowns.

Jenkins not only has the communication skills, according to Kelly, but he also has the versatility to jump between free and strong safety and even into the slot against receivers. The top free agents specialized as either center-field safeties (Byrd and Antoine Bethea) or in-the-box safeties (Donte Whiter and T.J. Ward).

"I think when you look at some guys, they're just free safeties, and you look at some guys, they're just strong safeties," Kelly said. "We need some versatility. . . . When you're playing guys like Peyton Manning, you better not have the same guy doing the same thing."

The same premise applies to other positions. Revis played well in the Buccaneers' zones last season, but he's best at man-to-man, and that is how the Patriots intend to use him. In the Eagles scheme, that's not a priority.

Ware probably made more sense than either Byrd or Revis, but at 32 years old and with a $10 million-a-year price tag, the Eagles were unlikely to make a push. The defense needs to improve its pass rush, and Ware is a prototypical 3-4, stand-up pass rusher. But the scheme also needs outside linebackers to set the edge and take care of coverage.

Sexy free agents can sometimes complete the picture, but not when the puzzle isn't close to being finished and the piece doesn't fit.

@Jeff_McLane