Game Review – PHI 32, ATL 6

Posted: September 19th, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Game Review – PHI 32, ATL 6

I know I’m way late with this, but I want to share my thoughts from the Eagles season-opening win over the Falcons. The game was fun to watch live and was just as much fun to rewatch.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni had a masterful debut. This game made me think of Andy Reid in 2000. The Eagles were well-prepared and it showed right away. This looked like a veteran team. There wasn’t confusion about who was supposed to be on the field or what play to call. Sirianni and his staff were smart and efficient. They ran a smooth operation.

Sirianni made good decisions. He went for it twice on fourth downs. Neither got converted, but those were smart, aggressive decisions. Sirianni went for 2 after a penalty on the Falcons moved the ball to the 1-yd line. Smart.

Jonathan Gannon mixed in 3-4 and Nickel looks. I’m not sure he ever played a pure 4-3. He blitzed at least twice, but I’m not sure if there were more than that. Gannon got his D to clean up their play against the run and after that the DL took over. There wasn’t a need to be too creative or complicated. Smart coaching.

OFFENSE

QB

Jalen Hurts played the best game of his young career. He and the coaches were on the same page. Atlanta took away deep throws so Hurts got the ball out to underneath receivers and kept the chains moving. He made a couple of terrific throws in the game, the best being the TD to Dallas Goedert. Hurts threw him open. Hurts also ran well and gave the Falcons fits. He was 27-35-264 with 3 TDs in the air and ran for 62 yards.

There are things to improve on. He won’t be able to rely on quick screens in every game. Hurts will have to get the ball downfield to his WRs more in the future. Hurts underthrew Zach Ertz on a play that had huge potential. You have to make a good throw when someone is that wide open.

RB

Good showing for Miles Sanders and Kenny Gainwell. Sanders ran for 74 yards and had a 25-yard reception. He moved the chains and delivered some nice gains. He blocked well. Gainwell was the 2-minute RB late in the half. That shows a lot of trust from the coaches. Gainwell was good as a blocker, runner and receiver. My only complaint came on a 4th down run when he looked a bit hesitant. Attack the LOS. Don’t read blocks.

WR

DeVonta Smith lived up to the hype. He ran crisp routes, got open and caught everything that came his way. He finished 6-71-1. Hurts hit him for a 19-yd TD early in the game. Good throw and Smith plucked it naturally. That felt so good to see, like we got the toy we wanted for Christmas and it turned out to be just as cool as we hoped.

Jalen Reagor caught a quick screen late in the game and raced 23 yards for a TD. Last year it seemed like his speed only showed up on deep balls. It was great to see him make a play like that. He and Quez Watkins combined to go 9-72-1.

The receivers did a

TE 

Good game by Goedert. He was 4-42-1. He made a couple of key catches, one that set up a TD and one for a TD.

Ertz was 2-34.

OL

Strong showing by the guys up front. Jordan Mailata got a ton of attention for his block on Reagor’s TD. Mailata got out in space and just destroyed a DB. Glorious play. Jason Kelce had a terrific game.

Seumalo, Brooks and Johnson also played well.

Hurts was only sacked once. He escaped a couple of pressures, but never took a big hit. The OL generally gave him a clean pocket.

There was one issue. The Eagles had several false start penalties. This looked to be the case of an OL playing extended snaps on the road for the first time in a long while. They’ll need to clean this up.

DEFENSE

DL

Great game. This wasn’t 11 sacks vs Troy Aikman in 1991 dominant, but it was a great way to open the season. Javon Hargrave was the star of the day. He destroyed the LG all game long. The Falcons preferred to double Fletcher Cox and that left Hargrave free to wreak havoc on the offense. Cox barely missed a sack of his own, but mostly ate up blocks.

Hassan Ridgeway also got to take on the LG and made some plays. That guy truly stunk. Milton Williams played DT and DE. He mainly used power rush moves, but did get some pressure. He got driven off the ball on early run plays, but improved.

Josh Sweat was the best edge player. He was outstanding against the run. He got pressure on Matt Ryan as well. Derek Barnett just missed a sack. Brandon Graham had a key TFL in the Red Zone. Ryan Kerrigan played mostly LDE and had a couple of pressures. The edge group played OLB and DE. Barnett dropped into coverage on multiple plays.

LB

Up and down showing. Eric Wilson tied for the team lead in tackles, but he really struggled at times. He was replaced by Shaun Bradley at times. Alex Singleton only played in the Nickel, which seemed odd. I thought he was fine. TJ Edwards played in the base and was okay.

Genard Avery and Patrick Johnson both played SAM. Avery struggled. Johnson had one impressive tackle and looked comfortable for a rookie.

S

I only got to watch the TV copy so it was hard to see much of the secondary. Marcus Epps left early with a concussion. Anthony Harris and K’Von Wallace played the vast majority of the game. No real highlights or lowlights.

CB

Steve Nelson and Darius Slay were solid on the outside. When the Eagles had control of the game in the 2nd half, these guys played off and attacked the ball. It was fun to see that. Slay was sloppy early vs the run, but got better as the game went along. He and Nelson combined for 13 total tackles.

Avonte Maddox played in the slot and had a good showing. He missed a couple of early tackles, but also got better. He was good in coverage vs Kyle Pitts on some plays.

ST

Arryn Siposs had a great game, pinning the Falcons deep several times.

Jake Elliot was 1 of 1 on FGs.

The return game didn’t have much. Reagor did too much dancing as a PR.

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