The Day After – Talking Defense

Posted: January 9th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 3 Comments »

The Eagles went into Sunday as the #1 defense in the NFL. They only gave up 284 yards and 16 points, but that was enough to drop them down to the #2 spot in yards allowed. It would have been cool to have the Eagles finish as the top defense, but I think anyone who watched much pro football this year would tell you the Niners were the better unit. And they did finish #1.

The Eagles play the percentages. That has been an effective style for them this year. It can be frustrating because it gives short plays to the offense. Teams that are patient can move the ball on them. Eagles fans are used to having defenses that attack rather than playing the percentages. As good as this defense is, it can be tough to watch.

Jim Johnson wasn’t nearly as aggressive as Buddy Ryan, but JJ still believed in attacking situationally. Jonathan Gannon doesn’t like to blitz much and plays more off coverage than you prefer to see. Gannon’s defense shut down the Giants in the first half yesterday, allowing no points and just 77 yards. The Giants came alive in the second half, piling up 207 yards and 16 points.

A fair question is whether Gannon’s system develops the right mentality in his players. He was given a lot of talent to work with and they did some really good things this season, but it is fair to question if they could have been even better if they were more aggressive.

The Eagles lost to Taylor Heinicke and Andy Dalton. The offense had issues in those games, but the defense also could have done more. They gave up 16 points in a half to Davis Webb in his first NFL start. There were stretches in the Texans and Colts games that were frustrating.

The real test will be the postseason. If the Eagles win, Gannon can point to the scoreboard and his critics will have to shut up. If the Eagles don’t play well defensively, that will lead to a lot of offseason discussion.

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Speaking of Gannon…

Gannon has already been mentioned as one of the favorites for the job, along with DeMeco Ryans.

Teams like Gannon because he’s a young guy that communicates well. He’s not just coming in to play “tough, physical defense”. Gannon has specific ideas of what he wants to do and explains the ideas well. That makes him seem like a smart guy (he probably is smart) and makes owners think he could succeed as the head coach. He understands process and results.

You don’t just need someone who knows X’s and O’s. You don’t just need a motivator. Modern NFL coaches have to be CEOs. They coach, teach, lead, manage and also need to win games. They have to understand roster management and the business side of football. Gannon comes across as a guy who understands that and can succeed.

Some have asked why the Texans didn’t just hire him last year. Jack Easterby was a key executive for them last year. He left in October (mutual decision). The reports say Easterby was the one pushing for Josh McCown. With him gone, they might decide to pull the trigger on Gannon, who interviewed with them twice last year and seems to be highly thought of by their current management.

If Gannon leaves, there will be a lot of speculation about Vic Fangio replacing him. That might happen. Nick Sirianni might also go with DBs coach Dennard Wilson. Sirianni is a strong believer in promoting from within.

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The Eagles lone TD was a 10-yard run by Boston Scott. That gave the Eagles 32 rushing TDs for the season, one of the highest totals in NFL history.

Miles Sanders ran for 11 TDs. Jalen Hurts put up 13. Kenny Gainwell had 4 and Scott added 3. Gardner Minshew also got in on the fun with a rushing TD of his own.

Usually you think of some RB having a great year when a team has a bunch…LaDainian Tomlinson or Priest Holmes runs for 20-some odd TDs. The Eagles did it as a group.

*****

Jake Elliott picked a good time to have his best game of the year, going 5 for 5 on FGs. He hit a pair of bombs from more than 50+ (54, 52). Elliott has been excellent this season. He finished 20 for 23 on FGs for the year.

*****

DeVonta Smith finished the season with another strong outing. He went 7-67 on Sunday and made a couple of tough catches. Smith was targeted 8 times so he and Jalen Hurts were efficient. It is crazy to think back to the opener. Smith was targeted 4 times, but didn’t have a single catch. There was a lot of talk about whether the presence of AJ Brown might hurt him.

The opposite turned out to be true. Smith had a great year and set the franchise record for receptions in a season by a WR with 95. He was 95-1196-7.

AJ Brown “only” finished with 88 catches, but did lead in yards (1496) and TDs (11).

The Eagles have the most dynamic duo in the NFC. It feels so good to say that after so many years of mediocre WRs or getting older guys for a year or two. The Eagles can now work on building around Brown and Smith. They do need better depth at receiver.

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The Eagles began the season with a win over Detroit. The Eagles had a 31-14 lead in the early third quarter and also lead 38-21. The Lions never quit battling and the game ended up 38-35.

The Eagles closed out the regular season by going up 19-0 on the Giants and then holding on for a 22-16 win.

Those games showed how good the Eagles can be, but also how they do let teams back in games at times. They can’t do that in the playoffs or it could really cost them.

*****

The Eagles were great at taking the ball away for half the year. In the first 11 games, they had 23 takeaways and led the league in that category.

In the final six games, the Eagles had a total of 4 takeaways. They didn’t have more than one in a single game. That’s not ideal heading into the playoffs.

It isn’t as if the Eagles haven’t had chances. They could have recovered a fumble against the Bears. Chicago scored a few plays later. They could have recovered a fumble against Dallas. The Cowboys scored a few plays later. There were multiple dropped INTs against the Giants. A couple of those could have been pick-sixes and turned the game into a blowout.

The opportunities are there. The Eagles must capitalize on them. You don’t want to give playoff teams any breaks.

*****

Speaking of takeaways…

That’s fantastic.

*****

Jalen Hurts agrees that the Eagles need to work on a few things. Here is his NSFW postgame speech.

That’s the right message.

With him at QB, the Eagles are 14-1. That loss involved 4 turnovers and sloppy defense. The Eagles can win the Super Bowl if they clean up mistakes and play smart football. It’s all up to them.

NFC East champs…nice.

#1 seed…nice.

Enjoy those accomplishments.

But don’t loose sight of the big picture. There is still work to be done.

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Goals Accomplished

Posted: January 8th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 8 Comments »

The Eagles primary goal for the regular season was to win the division. Done. They also wanted to be the top seed in the NFC and earn a bye week. Done. They accomplished both by beating the Giants today. The Eagles got out to a 19-0 lead and then held on to win 22-16. It wasn’t an ideal day, but the team won and there weren’t any major injuries. That makes it a good day.

Jalen Hurts returned after missing the previous two games. I thought he was sharp early. Hurts hit AJ Brown for a gain of 35 to open the game. Last week the Eagles didn’t get a first down until there were 34 seconds left in the first half. Welcome back, Jalen. He finished the first half 12-18-140 and the Eagles were up 16-0. I thought he threw the ball well and looked pretty good.

Nick Sirianni said after the game that Hurts was still sore. Jalen confirmed that in his press conference. He knew his team needed him so he played through the discomfort. The Eagles did change the gameplan from a normal week. There was only one designed run (QB sneak). They didn’t seem to mix in RPOs. The offensive gameplan was pretty vanilla.

The Giants played backups, but still played aggressively. They blitzed a lot and gave the Eagles some problems. That led to some throwaways and a few sacks.

A lot of people were frustrated that the Eagles didn’t run the ball more. We know this staff likes to throw early and run later. They want to put points on the board early on. That means passing. I think the coaches also wanted Hurts to knock the rust off and get back into game shape. The way to do that is by throwing the ball. They’ll need to be able to throw the ball to win in two weeks.

The offense moved the ball pretty well. The big problem was struggling in the red zone. Coming into the game, the Eagles were the best red zone offense in the league. Part of that is Hurts ability as a runner. Defenses have to account for him or risk Hurts running for the score. The Giants weren’t too worried about him today and the Eagles offense wasn’t good near the goal line.

It wasn’t one thing. There were blocking breakdowns. Hurts took a bad sack. Hurts threw a bad INT. There were penalties. It was a group effort. The Eagles were 1 for 5 in the red zone. If they convert two of those, the score is 30-16 and the game feels different. But that didn’t happen. The Giants scored late to make it 22-16 and the Eagles needed Reed Blankenship to recover an onside kick to seal the deal.

The Eagles defense had an odd day. They only gave up 77 yards in the first half. No points. It seemed like the Giants might not score (and you know how happy that makes me). The second half was different. The Giants put up 207 yards and 16 points. They let the Giants back into the game. Davis Webb was 14 for 18 after halftime and he ran for a TD. Not ideal.

Give the Giants some credit. Brian Daboll sat starters, but called a very aggressive game. They tried a fake FG and two onside kicks. They used a trick play. They went for it on fourth down three times. That aggressive spirit got the players fired up.

The Eagles defense was sloppy. They dropped a pair of INTs and came close to several others. TJ Edwards failed to make a tackle on fourth down that would have ended a drive. The Eagles went into the game as the #1 defense in the league. They gave up too many yards and will slide down a spot or two.

It wasn’t the smoothest or prettiest performance, but the Eagles won and finished 14-3. They had a better season than I hoped for. The past 18 weeks now fade into the background and we enter the postseason. The Eagles have a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl. Sirianni won’t let the team talk about that, though. He’ll have them focused on fixing mistakes from the Giants game and staying in the moment.

One day at a time. One game at a time.

That mentality helped the Eagles have a great regular season. Now we’ll see how it does in the playoffs.

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