Preseason has offered Eagles few answers about their secondary

SO, ABOUT THAT test the Eagles' secondary was going to face this preseason . . .

Andrew Luck played 11 snaps.

Joe Flacco played 19.

Aaron Rodgers played zero.

Hey, it's not their fault that preseason football has reached a farcical level of meaninglessness. Still, it would have been nice to see the group in action against somebody other than Brett Hundley and Jeff Janis.

In three games, the Eagles' secondary spent 15 snaps in pass coverage against starting wide receivers (Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Randall Cobb). Those are the kinds of receivers they will need to stop once the season starts (First up: Julio Jones and Roddy White). Those are the kinds of receivers they have struggled to stop for several seasons.

So what, exactly, have we learned about a unit whose success or failure could very well determine the Eagles' legitimacy as a Super Bowl contender?

First and foremost, Walter Thurmond looks as if he will bring a playmaking ability that did not exist with Nate Allen at safety. For a guy who is in his first year at the position and who has played in only 16 games over the last three seasons, he appears to have a remarkably natural feel for the position. In Saturday's win over the Packers, Thurmond was covering tight end Richard Rodgers in the slot when the Eagles' pass rush forced Hundley to make an ill-advised pass that Thurmond jumped in front of and returned for a touchdown. Against the Ravens the week before, he scooped a deflection out of the air in the end zone and returned it 31 yards.

Throughout training camp, he has shown a knack for making big plays around the ball.

"That kind of jumps out at you," defensive coordinator Bill Davis said last week. "He really is aware. I've said this from the beginning: One of the biggest reasons we moved him was because of his awareness and his vision of the whole field. He naturally took the right angles back there, so he jumped out, but I would say turnovers more than anything. He's a ball hawk. Not only causing fumbles, but the interceptions, too."

The big-play element is something that has been lacking in the secondary since the departure of Asante Samuel. The Eagles' 12 interceptions last year were tied for ninth-fewest in the NFL. In 2012, they picked off only eight passes, the third-fewest in the league. In 2013, they picked off 19 passes, which ranked ninth, but six of those came off Terrelle Pryor, Scott Tolzien and Kyle Orton.

While Allen was solid against the run last year, Thurmond's reaction time and ball skills are vastly superior to anything the Eagles have had at safety over the last few years. Allen's five interceptions from 2012-14 ranked 22nd among safeties with at least 30 starts over that time span. Patrick Chung's three interceptions ranked 36th. Earl Wolff finished his Eagles career with one interception in 18 games.

If Thurmond and Malcolm Jenkins stay healthy, the Eagles should have their best safety tandem since the Brian Dawkins years.

But that's a big word: if.

The Eagles have a pretty good idea of what to expect out of their top four defensive backs, with Byron Maxwell and Nolan Carroll on the outside. Beyond that, there are a heck of a lot of unknowns, leaving them one injury away from some serious questions. Their most pressing need is to decide on a nickel back, which leaves them in pretty much the same place they were on the first day of training camp, when they traded Brandon Boykin to the Steelers. The Eagles had planned on rookie JaCorey Shepherd filling that role, but he tore his ACL early in camp and is lost for the season. Second-round pick Eric Rowe has played a lot with the first unit over the last two games, but he has not put a ton of distance between himself and the rest of the pack, which includes second-year players Jaylen Watkins and Jerome Couplin, veteran free agent E.J. Biggers, and rookies Randall Evans and Denzel Rice.

The whole group should see plenty of playing time against the Jets in Thursday's preseason finale.

"We've got time," head coach Chip Kelly said yesterday. "We've got two weeks from today before we play. We'd like to solidify that before we get ready to play Atlanta and start to put in our game plan and all that stuff. There's still some real valuable reps for who the fifth DB is going to be coming up here."

The identities of the third and fourth safeties are also unclear. That's a concern, particularly when considering Thurmond's injury history.

As of yesterday, some folks in Las Vegas had the Eagles at 10-to-1 to win Super Bowl 50, behind only the Seahakws (7-to-1), the Packers (15-to-2) and the Colts (11-to-1). That's understandable, given the fireworks we've seen out of the offense. That's interesting, because when you think about it, the biggest question everybody had about this team is still very much without an answer.

On Twitter: @ByDavidMurphy

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