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The Philadelphia Eagles made several changes to the secondary, none more important than the addition of defensive backs coach, Marquand Manuel.
Eagles cornerbacks have suffered over the past two seasons under Cory Undlin, but he’s off with the Lions now and Manuel, a former college star and NFL safety, has been hired to retool a once confident secondary.
The initial reviews have been glowing and star safety Rodney McLeod told reporters during a zoom meeting that Eagles defensive players have already started to gravitate towards Manuel.
“I think people respect him because one, he’s played the game,” said McLeod via NJ.com on Thursday. “His passion and because of the way he coaches this group and the expectations that he has for us. It’s a very high standard,” McLeod said. “He’s coached a lot of good secondaries. We want to be another group to be respected in this league and treated as such. He’s going to fit perfectly, man.”
The additions of Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Will Parks, and K’Von Wallace were instrumental as McLeod believes the Eagles’ secondary has lost some respect in recent seasons with the linebackers and secondary taking the bulk of the heat after being labeled the weakest link.
“As a defense, I think we lost a little bit of respect,” said McLeod. “It was gained as the (last) season went on, I believe. We caught our stride, guys (got) confident in one another. We were getting to the spots that we needed and you saw things coming together. But as a secondary, I felt that we were a little disrespected at times.”
With Slay manning the corners and Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot, the Eagles should have a different presence in pass coverage this season. If Wallace can transition his versatility and physicality early-on, the Eagles could have a top-10 secondary.
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