Good D

When you think Eagles football, you’re more likely to think defense than offense. Reggie White. Brian Dawkins. Chuck Bednarik, as a linebacker of course. Philly fans have appreciated good defense for decades. That made last year’s team especially painful to watch. They were soft and they played bad defense.

This season didn’t start off too well, but things have definitely changed. The Eagles have put together 4 good games out of the last 5. In those 4 games, the Eagles held opponents to 280 yards or less and 17 points or less. Check out these numbers from the esteemed Sheil Kapadia.

Defensively, there are reasons to believe that the players are taking to Vic Fangio’s new scheme. In three games since the bye, the Eagles are second in defensive success rate and EPA per drive, and they have allowed just two touchdowns on 31 possessions by opponents. Rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have played well, and the coverage and pass rush units are working well together.

Pretty decent.

This recent hot streak is very promising. We still need to see the defense play this way for an extended period. One of the challenges in the NFL is making adjustments and then dealing with the adjustments that your opponents makes to what you’re doing. The Eagles changed some things up for the Saints game and the defense was fantastic. Tampa saw that and countered with a quick passing game. The Eagles couldn’t solve that on that day.

The Eagles have now played three good games in a row. The biggest thing for me is that the defense looks smart. Guys are in position. They cover well. They tackle well. For the first few games, there was too much confusion. That’s what happens when you have young players in a new scheme with new coaches. Confusion.

Everyone is finally getting on the same page. The players are playing better and Vic Fangio has figured out how to get the most out of this group. There is no magic elixir. Just good, solid football. Fangio is making good calls and the players are executing.

Fangio didn’t blitz much in the Giants game. He was more aggressive in Cincinnati.

Eagles blitz report: Vic Fangio rushed 5 v. Burrow on 9 of 38 pass plays (32.1%). Burrow completed 6 of 8 passes
for 58 yards and was sacked once when Eagles sent 5. Fangio also used 4-man zone blitzes 4 times, incl. on CJ-GJ’s 4Q INT.

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) October 28, 2024

The Eagles had 8 sacks in the Giants game. They only had one sack against the Bengals, but they got regular pressure on Joe Burrow. He was forced to get rid of the ball quickly and wasn’t able to attack down the field very much. He threw 37 passes for just 234 yards. Jalen Hurts threw 20 passes and had 236 yards. Wanna guess which guy had more time to throw?

Fangio can attack or cover. He can use zone blitzes. He can mix coverages. All of this forces a QB to slow down his reads and decisions.

Adding Cooper DeJean to the lineup has paid dividends. He is fast and athletic. DeJean is tough and tackles well. There was a play against the Bengals where he took on a blocker and disrupted a running play at the line of scrimmage. Not all nickelbacks do that.

DeJean is also pretty good in coverage.

#Eagles Quarters Coverage — Don’t cover grass, cover people. Find work in zone coverage.

As an underneath defender, Cooper DeJean steps into the throwing window and nearly gets the INT.

Having a great nickel corner can impact a defense and the Eagles might have one in DeJean. pic.twitter.com/UAAU40wKxq

— Kendell Hollowell (@KHollowell_) October 29, 2024

The pass rush has come alive. Nolan Smith is flying off the edge and has gotten to the QB for three straight games. Josh Sweat is getting regular pressure and QB hits. The DL is making their impact felt.

Nakobe Dean has played well the past two weeks. Fangio is letting him play more downhill and it is working well. Dean got to blitz several times in Cincy and got good pressure. He blew up the RG a couple of times.

Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay are covering well, which syncs up nicely with the pass rush being more effective. If the QB has to hold the ball an extra second, the rushers have time to get there. If the rushers get quick pressure, the CBs don’t have to cover as long. What a lovely symbiotic world of happiness and teamwork.

The defense came up with 2 takeaways and a 4th down stop against the Bengals. Those were game-changing plays. If Fangio’s guys can do more of that, the rest of the season will be a lot more fun.

This defense features a lot of young players and new guys. They can still get better, individually and as a group. There is a lot of potential here. I’m excited to see if Fangio can get them to continue to play at a high level. This just feels worlds different than 2023.

*****

I know some people want the Eagles to make a trade. For now, I lean toward them staying put. If they could add a true impact player, go for it. The guys we’ve seen get traded so far don’t feel like difference-makers.

The current players are better now than Week 1. I’d prefer to see them get more playing time so we can just how good this group can be.

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