Making Plays

I wrote something about the Dallas defense recently and talked about their lack of playmakers at safety. I went back to look at some numbers and was surprised to see that Dallas didn’t make all that many plays overall.

Dallas

Points allowed – 6th
Yards allowed – 7th
Takeaways – 20
Interceptions – 9
FF – 14
Sacks – 39
TFLs – 69
Passes Defensed – 66
Defensive TDs – 1

Philadelphia

Points allowed – 12th
Yards allowed – 23rd
Takeaways – 17
Interceptions – 10
FF – 12
Sacks – 44
TFLs – 86
Passes Defensed – 68
Defensive TDs – 0

Most defensive coaches focus on points allowed. Jim Schwartz is a disciple of the Buddy Ryan coaching tree and those guys wanted their defenses to make plays.

It is surprising that the Eagles out-performed the Cowboys in so many categories when you think about how banged up the Philly secondary was. Rookie Avonte Maddox had two INTs for the Eagles in less than a full season. That total would have tied for the team lead in Dallas.

Schwartz and his staff preach the importance of takeaways. They make that a focal point of gameplans.

Rod Marinelli has been on some teams that came up with a ton of takeaways, but you wonder how much of that was scheme and how much just individual talent. Coaching guys like Derrick Brooks and Peanut Tillman can make anyone look good.

The Eagles made a ton of plays in 2017 on their way to winning the Super Bowl. They picked off 19 passes and even scored five TDs.

Stopping offenses is important, but making plays on defense takes things to a whole other level.

The Eagles have playmakers all over the defense heading into the 2019 season. They should once again make their fare share of plays and that will help them to win a lot of games.

More of this please.

_