Malcolm Jenkins: Eagles defense ahead of schedule

Amidst the fanfare of opening training camp after a long winter away from football, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins returned to Philadelphia to begin his second season with the team. 

And, he thinks, for good reason.

Jenkins is very optimistic with what he's seen so far from his teammates, players coming in already in shape and hungry to compete, all factors that put the unit overall, he says, ahead of schedule.

This group, even with all the new faces and turnover, is already in a better position than they were last season.

"It's early, and last year we had some question marks on the defense, whereas this year, we're looking at the defense and it's safe [to] to say we are ahead of where we were on defense this time last year," he said. "Even though we have a whole new secondary for the most part, we as a unit have a better grasp of the defense."

Jenkins says preparation has been key in the improvements he's seen.

"The first day of training we had the entire playbook up, as opposed to starting back to Day 1 last year when we didn't," he said. "I think that's a testament to the coaching staff and to the guys on this team and the amount of work they did this offseason."

Philadelphia posted the 28th overall defense last season, one of only five teams to allow more than 6,000 total yards. Against the pass, the Eagles were second-to-last, ahead only of Atlanta, permitting 265 yards every game to the Falcons' 280.

Jenkins sees progress from the moves the team made this offseason to their pass defense, of which he's an integral part.

"Guys haven't missed a beat," he said. "We know what we're doing and we know what we have to do. I'd say right now we're ahead of where we were last year as far as knowing the playbook and the schemes. We'll have to see how that translates on the field."

The Eagles begin their preseason on Aug 14 when they host the Colts to Lincoln Financial Field.