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Although there is a scare concerning a mutating staph infection, the Philadelphia Eagles are readying themselves to clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. There are a lot of headlines that are overshadowing the bird’s terrible defense, but that doesn’t make it less of a concern.

What is the Eagles defense ranked these days? 51st? 70th? I have stopped keeping track, but it is bad.

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However, there is a gleam of sunlight bursting through the shadowy, plague-riddled atmosphere of Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers’ offense is just as sickly as three of their players are at the moment.

If our defense doesn’t stop them, then we are truly not growing as a unified defense and creating a “culture” like Cary Williams suggests.

To stop them, it will take a great pass rush to throw the rookie quarterback, Mike Glennon, off of his game. He threw two interceptions against the Washington Redskins, and their defense is suspect. The Skins are not the imposing force that they were even a year ago.

Connor Barwin needs to prove why he is still on the field. Also, Trent Cole was almost invisible in the last game. He needs to intimidate off the edge and beat his man. Seeing the hunter coming in would make any quarterback pee his tights and hand the ball over to the defense. I am not concerned with Mychal Kendricks and Vinny Curry too much.

It is also encouraging to note that the Eagles were able to create three turnovers against a horrific New York Giants‘ offense. Brandon Boykin made a diving interception against their star receiver, Victor Cruz, which seems to indicate that the team hailing from the Delaware valley may be starting to come together. It needs to against the receiving core of Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams.

So Sunday, after they fight off the plague, the defense needs to step up and prove that they are not the worst in the league. Doing it against the Giants this year doesn’t prove a thing.