V is for Violence
Posted February 10th, 2025 | 2 Comments »The Super Bowl is the most analyzed sporting event of each year. Often that means it is over-analyzed. Let’s talk about scheme and adjustments and gameplans. Which coaches had the best ideas? Which players were able to execute better?
There has been a lot of talk about how physical the Eagles have been this year and certainly were in SB LIX. Brian Baldinger made a point on the NFL Network that I think is important. The Eagles weren’t just physical, they were violent.
My goodness, @SmithNoland2 pic.twitter.com/SFVr6qYPrX
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) February 10, 2025
Wow. That is your 235-pound edge rusher just blowing up a 320-pound RG who is one of the more physical blockers in the league. Plays like that set a tone and show which team is going to be the hammer and which one is going to be the nail.
The Eagles have been a violent team for most of the year. They have bullies on the OL and the DL. They have big hitters in the secondary. Dallas Goedert can be a bully of a TE. Anyone remeber this play from Saquon?
Saquon Barkley my goodness. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/4zek3cFZI9
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) October 20, 2024
Nick Sirianni said in his press conference that sometimes we make things too complicated. He talked about his defense being good because of basics. They tackle well. They destroy blocks. They take the ball away. They play with relentless effort in going after the football. They are also a violent defense.
Not dirty. This isn’t Gang Green blowing up players with vicious hits. The current defense has to play within stricter rules. Tyler Dunne pointed out in this piece that there is still room for violence in football.
KC wasn’t ready for this. The Eagles DL didn’t try to fly off the edges. They used power rushes and boxed Mahomes in by driving his OL back into him.
Philadelphia’s pass rush took over the game and they didn’t even need to blitz or get much from Jalen Carter (besides a holding penalty)
– 2.5 sk/8 prs from Josh Sweat, including the pressure that forced Mahomes’ 2nd INT
– Jalyx Hunt out of nowhere was beating Joe Thuney with… pic.twitter.com/c2ZxV6U1Fz— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 10, 2025
Watching BG blow up 74 is probably my favorite moment on there. That was friggin beautiful. I only wish BG had gotten one final sack. His retirement isn’t a sure thing, but I would guess he goes out while he’s still a good player and leaves as a champ.
The Eagles will go right on mauling people and winning the line of scrimmage. Check out this for some context.
DJ’s guy Howie Roseman is so committed & successful at building through the trenches in the draft that the 2024 Eagles lost a HOF OC (Kelce), 6x Pro Bowl DT (Cox) and their sack leader from 2022 & 2023 (Reddick) in one offseason & still bullied the 2x defending champs to win a SB https://t.co/4yAyJmjBGU
— Jack Andrade (@RealJackAndrade) February 10, 2025
That is crazy. Amazing job by Howie and the front office.
The Chiefs were physically pounded, but also overwhelmed by the atmosphere. On the NFL Daily podcast they talked about the crowd affecting the Chiefs. The crowd was clearly pro-Eagles. Beyond that, they were a boisterous crowd. Sometimes the Super Bowl can have more of a corporate feel. Apparently this one felt like an Eagles home game. The trio on the podcast said the level of hostility caught the Chiefs off guard.
There is also the fact the Eagles are simply more talented. When you have good players who are also smart and play with the level of physicality the Eagles do, you can do special things. That’s how the Eagles were up 40-6 over the two-time defending SB champs.
It is mind-blowing to think that an Eagles team played at that level in a Super Bowl. Eagles fans who have been around a while are used to the team making mistakes or having bad luck at the worst possible moment. Michael Vick’s INT in 2010. Giving up a long KOR at the end of the wild card game in 2013. Alshon Jeffery’s drop in 2018. Carson Wentz getting hurt in 2019. The slick field in 2022.
This year’s team took care of business. They played their best game on the biggest stage.
This is a young team so they can be a contender for the next few years. I’ll write a piece in the coming days on what the future might hold. Some of the players talked about this being just the beginning. That’s very possible, but definitely easier said than done. Still, this team is unique.
Teams that won Super Bowl & conference championship game by 18+ points in the same NFL postseason:
1984 49ers
1985 Bears
1989 49ers
2024 EaglesSo I think it’s safe to say it’s been a while since we saw any team dominate the 2 biggest games of its season like this Eagles team.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) February 10, 2025
I need to write a piece on just how special a season this was. As you can probably tell, there are a ton of good stories here. That’s part of what makes the Eagles winning so compelling.
*****
If you need a good laugh…
Reliving the Eagles’ Super Bowl win through the eyes of Cowboys, Giants, and Commanders fans https://t.co/aHdgk3AT0o
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) February 10, 2025
Great work by Jimmy Bama. My favorite one is the Commanders fan who thinks they were just a few plays from winnng the Super Bowl. Drug test that man!
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[…] V is for Violence – Iggles Blitz […]
[…] V is for Violence – Iggles BlitzThe Chiefs were physically pounded, but also overwhelmed by the atmosphere. On the NFL Daily podcast they talked about the crowd affecting the Chiefs. The crowd was clearly pro-Eagles. Beyond that, they were a boisterous crowd. Sometimes the Super Bowl can have more of a corporate feel. Apparently this one felt like an Eagles home game. The trio on the podcast said the level of hostility caught the Chiefs off guard. There is also the fact the Eagles are simply more talented. When you have good players who are also smart and play with the level of physicality the Eagles do, you can do special things. That’s how the Eagles were up 40-6 over the two-time defending SB champs. It is mind-blowing to think that an Eagles team played at that level in a Super Bowl. Eagles fans who have been around a while are used to the team making mistakes or having bad luck at the worst possible moment. Michael Vick’s INT in 2010. Giving up a long KOR at the end of the wild card game in 2013. Alshon Jeffery’s drop in 2018. Carson Wentz getting hurt in 2019. The slick field in 2022. This year’s team took care of business. They played their best game on the biggest stage. […]