PHILADELPHIA -- If Eagles second-round draft choice Eric Rowe's grand unsheathing in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving against Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions, defensive coordinator Bill Davis said Tuesday he's confident that better days are ahead for the Utah product.
After Nolan Carroll broke his ankle Thursday, Rowe stepped in at outside cornerback and that is where it sounds as if he'll remain for the final five games of the season.
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"It's time for him to go out there and see what we have," Davis said of Rowe prior to Tuesday's practice at the NovaCare Coplex. "He played 14 snaps matched up on Megatron last week. He caught four of them.
"I think Eric grew a little bit. Two of those catches were in the field when Eric was way too soft and far off the line of scrimmage. We talked about it. He just has to get up there, believe in himself and challenge him. He had two in the red zone. I think Eric is one of our best fade stop players in the red zone.
"The third and 17 was a rough one. I believe in Eric. We'll grow him. As a young guy he'll get more and more confident and we'll get more and more confident in him."
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Johnson totaled eight receptions for 93 yards and three touchdowns Thursday, but Rowe was only in coverage for four of those catches and two touchdowns.
Rowe's assignment in his first NFL start as an outside cornerback comes against Tom Brady who is not only a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but also one of the best quarterbacks in the game at changing the play at the line of scrimmage.
While Rowe won't draw a match up against a receiver of Johnson's caliber or size this week, there are games looming on the schedule over the final five games against the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown with the Arizona Cardinals, DeSean Jackson with the Washington Redskins and Odell Beckham Jr. in the season finale against the Giants.
"We picked him for his ability," Davis said. "His speed. His ball-skills. His length. When you have a monster like you have in Megatron, that isn't a bad match up. Most of the time he had help, but I can't give him help on every snap because there are other scenarios. He had help a lot. He actually did better without the help. He had better snaps when he didn't have the help than when we gave it to him."
With a 4-7 record, one thing is absolutely certain. While he is the best remaining option at the position, this is also the time to not only evaluate Rowe but give him the opportunity to learn on the fly.
Rowe's limited playing time outside of a Week 3 win over the Jets gives rise to question the coaching staff's confidence in the rookie until he was forced into action in Detroit, but Davis is handing the rookie a golden opportunity to earn that confidence the rest of the way.
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.