Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Game Review – PHI 20, CLE 16

Posted October 16th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

A game of what-ifs. Late in the half the Eagles called a pass play on third down near midfield. DeVonta Smith came wide open over the deep middle. Jalen Hurts wasn’t able to get him the ball because the Browns blitzed and Saquon Barkley missed the block he needed to make. A good block there and the score at halftime is 17-3. Instead the Eagles FG attempt was blocked and returned for a score to make the game 10-10.

What if?

The Eagles had a chance for an INT, but two players collided and the ball fell incomplete. That drive resulted in a FG. Those points could have been avoided if the DBs had seen each other and one had backed off.

There was a run play early in the game that could have gone for a huge gain. The DT pushed Landon Dickerson back just a bit and he hit Barkley as he was heading upfield. If Dickerson can hold his ground, that play goes for a lot of yards.

The Eagles always felt close to making a key play, but just a hair off. That’s why the game against such a bad team stayed so close. I would give the Browns defense some credit. They played well. And the Myles Garrett play before halftime was amazing. That is one special dude.

COACHING

I didn’t feel like the Eagles took the Browns lightly. The team played hard. The Eagles execution was just off in some key moments and that hurt. Nick Sirianni didn’t have a ton of key game management decisions. The Eagles were 2 for 2 on fourth downs. Sirianni challenged a play and got it overturned. That was a sack of Deshaun Watson instead of an incomplete pass. Good challenge.

The offensive gameplan was erratic. The Eagles used motion early in the game and then went away from it. They avoided play-action. Cleveland was aggressive against the run and the Eagles had mixed success at burning them with the pass. The Browns blitzed effectively. The Eagles did have some really good moments. The play before halftime was well-designed. There was a TE screen that went for a big gain. There was an option play late in the game that got a first down. That was a good call and well-executed by Hurts.

The most notable issue with the offense was the lack of first quarter points. The team still doesn’t have any this season. Ugh.

It is hard to judge Vic Fangio and the defense because the Browns are so bad. The Eagles didn’t give up an offensive TD to them. They held the Browns to 244 yards. The Eagles only gave up 2 plays of more than 14 yards. The pass rush came alive and had 5 sacks. It was a good performance, but it helped that Cleveland stinks.

OFFENSE

Jalen Hurts started 0 for 5 and then went 16 for 20. You hate the slow start, but appreciate that he played well after that. Hurts made good decisions in the run game. He finished 14-33 on the ground so those aren’t big numbers, but that also included several push plays. Hurts got quite a few first downs with his legs. He made some terrific throws. The pass at the end of the game was outstanding. There was a throw to Calcaterra over the middle that was impressive. His TD to AJ Brown wasn’t perfect, but was catchable.

The biggest issue for me was decision-making. Hurts forced the ball to Brown early when he had a TE coming wide open. On the next play he forced the ball to Goedert when he had Brown wide open over the middle. There were a few other plays where you wish he chose better. I did like him getting the ball to Calcaterra and Jahan Dotson. Hurts moved the ball around.

Barkley finished 18-47 on the ground. I thought he ran well despite the fact he didn’t have much room to work with. Cleveland played the run very well. Barkley caught 2 passes for 7 yards. He did have two key mistakes. Barkley caught a pass on 2nd & 1 late in the half. He sprinted for the sideline, but didn’t get the yard he needed. The Eagles tried to throw on third down. Barkley missed his blitz pickup and the player sacked Hurts. That forced a FG and I think you know what happened next.

It was great to have AJ Brown back. He went 6-116-1. Brown just makes the offense different. He caught a couple of short plays and turned them into good gains. Brown is so big and strong that even good players have a hard time getting him down. The TD catch was a thing of beauty.

That dude is a game-changer. DeVonta Smith was 3-64, including a 45-yard TD. The Eagles ran the mesh concept and Smith was wide open. Hurts hit him on the move and Smith went flying down the field.

Dotson technically only went 1-10 as a receiver. Hurts hit him with a backward pass for a gain of 13 yards. That goes down as a run. It was good to see Hurts getting him the ball. No other WR was targeted.

Goedert went out early. Grant Calcaterra finally made some plays, going 4-67. His long catch and run went for 34 yards. His blocking still drives me nuts, but at least the Eagles were able to take advantage of his athletic ability. If you’re going to keep him, throw the guy the ball in space a time or two each week.

The OL was up and down. They struggled to get movement in the run game. Give CLE some credit for winning battles and loading the box. The Eagles did keep Myles Garrett under control. He had 4 tackles and 2 TFLs. Jordan Mailata hurt his hamstring and got replaced by Fred Johnson at LT. Johnson did okay when I focused on him. The OL did a good job on the push play. The Eagles got a first down every time they ran it.

DEFENSE

The pass rush finally got going. Bryce Huff had a couple of tackles and half a sack. He was disrutive and did some good things. He was solid against the run. He’s still not where we’d like him to be, but we are seeing progress. Josh Sweat had 5 tackles, a sack and a couple of QB hits. It was good to see him making plays. He jumped to the inside on a run play and let the RB get wide for a gain of about 15. Sweat has to quit guessing and shooting to the inside. Dumb.

Brandon Graham had 5 tackles and a key TFL. Cleveland tried to run a jet sweep on 3rd & 1. BG stayed deep and tackled the runner for a loss of 5 yards. That forced a FG and that ball hit the upright. Huge play. Nolan Smith had 3 tackles and a sack. He also played the run well. Smith is another young player who is making progress.

Cleveland was able to limit Jalen Carter. He had 1 tackle and 1 sack. He did have 3 QB hits, though. Jordan Davis didn’t play a lot because the Eagles rotated their DL. That meant more snaps for others. Milton Williams had half a sack. Thomas Booker had half a sack. Moro Ojomo had a good game. He was disruptive on multiple plays and just missed a couple of sacks. He’s quick and agile. He’s also relentless. Really enjoy watching him play.

Zack Baun had 8 tackles. He didn’t have any big plays. His highlight moment came on a blitz when he ran over the RB. Baun did have a roughing penalty. Nakobe Dean led the team with 12 tackles. He was better on the re-watch than I expected. Dean was fine over the middle. He did struggle in space, missing at least 3 tackles. He’s got to do better than that.

The safeties didn’t have a great game. CJGJ had 6 tackles and 2 PDs. One of those PDs was when he collided with Quinyon Mitchell and neither guy came up with the INT. The other PD was on a throw to the TE and was a good play. CJGJ got beaten a few times. He hasn’t been the playmaker the Eagles were hoping for and is an inconsistent tackler. Reed Blankenship had 3 tackles. He had a quiet game.

The CBs were solid. Quinyon Mitchell had 3 tackles and had a couple of chances at the ball. CJGJ hit him on the one. The other pass was too tall and Mitchell couldn’t quite get to it. He was in good position. Isaiah Rodgers was out of position on a pass play that turned into a 35-yard gain.

Cooper DeJean played in the slot and had a good game.

If he can bring that kind of energy, effort and athleticism to the defense every week, things will get better. DeJean was a good blitzer. He covered well. He was physical and flew to the ball. I came away very impressed.

ST

There was the one disastrous play…the blocked FG.

Jake Elliott hit his other 2 FGs.

Braden Mann downed 2 of his 3 punts inside the 20.

DeJean was the PR and averaged 12.8 yards per PR, with a long of 19.

Isaiah Rodgers averaged 25 yards on 3 KORs.

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One Comment on “Game Review – PHI 20, CLE 16”

  1. 1 The Linc - Saquon Barkley talks about returning to MetLife Stadium - SportSourcio said at 10:01 AM on October 17th, 2024:

    […] Game Review – PHI 20, CLE 16 – Iggles BlitzZack Baun had 8 tackles. He didn’t have any big plays. His highlight moment came on a blitz when he ran over the RB. Baun did have a roughing penalty. Nakobe Dean led the team with 12 tackles. He was better on the re-watch than I expected. Dean was fine over the middle. He did struggle in space, missing at least 3 tackles. He’s got to do better than that. The safeties didn’t have a great game. CJGJ had 6 tackles and 2 PDs. One of those PDs was when he collided with Quinyon Mitchell and neither guy came up with the INT. The other PD was on a throw to the TE and was a good play. CJGJ got beaten a few times. He hasn’t been the playmaker the Eagles were hoping for and is an inconsistent tackler. Reed Blankenship had 3 tackles. He had a quiet game. The CBs were solid. Quinyon Mitchell had 3 tackles and had a couple of chances at the ball. CJGJ hit him on the one. The other pass was too tall and Mitchell couldn’t quite get to it. He was in good position. Isaiah Rodgers was out of position on a pass play that turned into a 35-yard gain. […]