For the first three weeks of the 2011 season, Kurt Coleman was a starter. During the Week 3 loss to the New York Giants, Coleman was replaced by fellow second-year safety Nate Allen and found himself watching from the sidelines when the defense was on the field until the fourth quarter in the Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Now, entering Sunday's do-or-die clash against the Washington Redskins, Coleman once again finds himself in a position to start, alongside Allen this time.
"This is the NFL and every day you have to fight for your job," Coleman said. "We're trying to get the best people on the field. So right now they've gone through a couple combinations and hopefully something's going to stick because we need to have continuity in the backfield. We have to start making some plays. The bottom line is if we make plays, we win the game."
While Coleman was frustrated that he wasn't able to contribute defensively for the last two weeks, he took the ostensible demotion as an opportunity.
"My body had a little chance to heal, but really it was an education point for myself," he said. "It brought me back down to ground and to know that anything can happen at any time. So when I go back out there, I think I'm going to have some extra fire out there and bring the wood to people.
"I know what I'm capable of doing. I know what I can and can't do on the field ... Obviously I wasn't exactly happy about it, but it is what it is and I continue to work hard and now I'm ready to get back out there."
It's apropos that Coleman regain a starting role at FedEx Field, where he made his first career start - and recorded his first interception - last season. But even though the Eagles won that game 59-28, Coleman said there's no chance the team will take the division-leading Redskins lightly.
"Washington's good," Coleman said. "They have some big (running backs) who run hard and I think they really establish the game pace and really allow Rex (Grossman) to really be comfortable in the pocket.
"We're going to have to go out there and play our best ball yet. And we have to."
The Eagles, as Coleman says, have to play their best game if they're to have hope of making a playoff run. The easiest path back to playoff relevance is through the division, and any run must start with a win against the Redskins.
"It's frustrating," Coleman said. "I've never lost four games straight in my life. I think we're putting in more and more time every week. We want to right this ship. We're continuing to work. We're busting our butt in practice, and when we go out to Washington it's strictly business. We're not there to have fun, not there to look at the monuments, it's strictly business."
