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Nate Allen

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Eagles Depth Chart Outlook: Safeties

This is the first in a series. Throughout the next week or two, we’ll take a position-by-position look at the Eagles’ roster. Today, we start with the safeties.

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Earl Wolff And the Eagles’ Safety Picture

Howie Roseman was high on this safety class heading in, and admitted afterwards that “there were a lot of safeties that we wanted in this draft.”

Despite the temptations the Eagles stayed disciplined and watched while 12 safeties came off the board (Kenny Vaccaro, Eric Reid, Matt Elam, John Cyprien, D.J. Swearinger, T.J. McDonald, J.J. Wilcox, Shawn Williams, Duron Harmon, Duke Williams, Shamarko Thomas and Phillip Thomas) and were content to walk away with  the 5-11, 209-pound Earl Wolff, whom they selected in the fifth round with the 136th overall pick.

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What’s Left From the McNabb And Kolb Trades?

As recently as last offseason, it looked like the assets acquired in the Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb trades would play a major role in re-shaping the Eagles’ defense.

But looking ahead to 2013, that probably won’t end up being the case.

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The Eagles’ Safety Options In Free Agency

The Eagles will have options to fill their safety needs in free agency and the draft. This year’s group of safety prospects is considered deep and talented. But as we’ve seen in years past, going into the draft searching for specific needs can lead to mistakes.

And this is not an either/or situation. The Eagles should look to identify young safety talent in free agency and address the position if possible in the draft. As we wrote about on Sunday, the Birds are in good cap shape and could be in position to take advantage of a market where the supply might very well out-weigh the demand.

Here is a look at some of the Eagles’ options.

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Once Again, Eagles Look To Draft For Safety Help

It seems to be a story we write pretty much every offseason around these parts: The Eagles are looking for safety help.

They’ve tried and failed in previous years to fill the gaping hole in the back end of the defense. And so, Howie Roseman will try once again this offseason to find safety help in the draft and/or free agency.

“To me, that’s the hardest position to evaluate in college football is safeties,” Roseman said last week at the Senior Bowl. “The guys that used to be the most explosive athletes and were playing in the back end, they’re going to play corner because they feel like maybe at corner, they can play 10 years. You look at the franchise tag numbers, the corner position is higher than the safety position. That is going to be the constant struggle. When you talk to people around the league, it’s hard to find safeties.”

The good news for the Eagles is that this appears to be a pretty good group of college prospects.

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Allen Demotion Another Hurdle For ’10 Draft Class

The top of the Eagles’ 2010 draft has been a popular topic of conversation here in Philadelphia, and not for the purposes of throwing verbal bouquets at the parties in question.

Brandon Graham, the choice over Jason Pierre-Paul and Earl Thomas.

Nate Allen, the Donovan McNabb pick and successor to Brian Dawkins that just doesn’t have those Dawkins’ qualities.

Both have spent time recovering from serious knee injuries and both have spent time down on the mat. Graham’s struggles have been highlighted more given that he was the 13th overall pick and it’s so easy to contrast the start of his career with that of Pierre-Paul’s. Beat up and labeled a bust, Graham looks like he has turned the corner and his stock has rebounded.

Allen’s, meanwhile, has taken a hit, as Andy Reid announced on Wednesday that Kurt Coleman and Colt Anderson would be the starting safeties against the Redskins this week.

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Cheat Sheet: Eagles’ Defense Vs. Bucs’ Offense

Philadelphia Eagles LB DeMeco Ryans.From draft positioning to poor safety play, here are 10 things to know about how the Eagles’ defense matches up with the Bucs’ offense.

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All-22: More Breakdowns From the Eagles’ Defense

From Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to Nate Allen to Brandon Graham, here’s an All-22 look at the latest miscues (and a couple bright spots) from the Eagles’ defense.

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Under Bowles, Eagles Secondary In Tatters

A sad and maybe symbolic scene unfolded in the Eagles locker room just before reporters were ushered out late Sunday night. A pained Kurt Coleman, who needed assistance getting his shirt off moments before, walked up to Nate Allen and asked if he would be able to put his deodorant on for him, as he was unable to lift his arms and do it  himself. Allen sustained a shoulder injury in the game and was also limited. But using his good arm, he dutifully performed the task for his fellow safety.

Officially, Coleman was listed with a chest contusion. But he was hurting bad, and it wasn’t all physical.

“It’s a little bit of everything right now,” said Coleman, his voice unable to get above a whisper.

“This sucks. It just sucks. I can’t piece one thing — it just sucks right now…We knew what we were doing, we knew what they were doing. It’s inexcusable really. We’re trying as hard as we can but that’s not enough, we have to be able to execute all the time.”

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Offseason Makeover Likely For Eagles’ Secondary

Early on during today’s press conference, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was asked about potentially making personnel changes in the Eagles’ secondary.

“We have possible lineup changes, and people compete everyday,” Bowles said. “There are no spots set in stone. We’re playing our best guys. If there was somebody that was stepping up to play better, they would be playing.”

Bowles didn’t mean it as a slight on the Eagles’ depth, but his comment spotlights the team’s lack of young talent at cornerback and safety.

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Bowles: ‘It’s a Messed-Up Situation’

Philadelphia Eagles secondary coach Todd Bowles.When answering a barrage of questions about what exactly is going on with the Eagles’ defense right now, Todd Bowles made it clear that his players are failing to properly execute the simplest of assignments.

“The first one was high school cover-3,” Bowles said after the team’s 30-22 loss to the Panthers. “The ball was thrown down the middle of the field. We gave up a touchdown. Inexcusable. The second one was inexcusable too.”

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Cheat Sheet: Eagles’ Defense Vs. Panthers’ Offense

From draft positioning to the future of the Eagles’ secondary, here are 10 things to know about how the Birds’ defense matches up with the Panthers’ offense.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Five Thanksgiving Leftovers

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Like many of you, I spent much of the day in front of the TV watching football. Here are five leftovers, with an Eagles slant.

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All-22: The Emergence Of Fletcher Cox

Here’s the All-22 breakdown of the Eagles’ defensive performance against the Redskins. And since it’s the holiday season, I threw in some positives – primarily of Fletcher Cox, who turned in a 10-tackle/one-sack performance.

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Eagles Wake-Up Call: Using the Shanahan Method

Philadelphia Eagles right guard Danny Watkins.Mike Shanahan caught some flak for his comments following Washington’s loss to the Panthers two weeks ago where it sounded like he was conceding the season.

“Now you’re playing to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come,” Shanahan said. “Now we get a chance to evaluate players and see where we’re at.”

You never want your coach to sound like he has thrown in the towel with seven games to play, but it’s hard to totally dismiss Shanahan’s mindset. His team just fell to the lowly Panthers, dropping them 3-6. He has a promising rookie quarterback and a grouping around him that obviously isn’t getting the job done collectively. So you use the remaining games to decipher which individuals fit with your vision moving forward.

The Eagles, also at 3-6, will be doing much of the same thing.