DC, OC and the Schedule

Posted: May 11th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on DC, OC and the Schedule

After lots of time with not much going on, the Eagles decided to let the assistants meet the media on the day the schedule was released. Ugh. Enough of my complaining, let’s talk about the news.

We finally got to hear Sean Desai talk about the Eagles. This was his first PC as the team’s new defensive coordinator. If you’re looking for any great soundbites or crazy moments, go elsewhere. Sean is well-versed in coachspeak.

He talked about wanting the defense to have a “palpable” effect. He wants them to be felt, so to speak. I thought that was sort of interesting. Desai talked about the need to affect the QB mentally and physically. I thought this is where he was most insightful. He talked about the need to disguise coverages. That is critical when facing smart, veteran QBs. You just want to slow them down for a second or two. Anything that puts doubt or hesitation in their mind is a good thing.

Desai didn’t talk too much about personnel. That will happen as he gets to know them better. He did mention wanting the defense to take on the personality of the city. That’s cool in Philly, but what happens if you’re in Vegas or Miami or Jacksonville? I thought that was a bit of a strange thing to mention. Clearly you can tell Desai loves Philly. This city isn’t for everyone so the fact he embraces it should help him. He won’t be scared of tough fans or tough media (unlike some other Gannon guy).

*****

Brian Johnson met the media for the first time since taking over as OC. He was absolutely awful. Just terrible. No other team should consider hiring him for a head coaching position. Don’t even bother watching the season.

(Hopefully that scared the other 31 teams away)

Johnson was smooth and polished. He didn’t say anything too crazy. I liked how he talked about the need for the offense to evolve. This isn’t a matter of just doing what worked last year. Defenses are going to adjust. You must be ready for that. You’ve got to keep growing and evolving. We saw how the defense changed from 2021 to 2022. Don’t expect a change quite that big, but there will be adjustments.

He was asked about Jalen Hurts contract. Johnson pointed out the new deal isn’t the end of the story, but rather the beginning. He joked about the fact the only thing that will change in Jalen’s world is the weather.

Johnson had very good things to say about Alex Tanney, the man who will be taking over for Johnson as the Eagles QB coach. Hopefully Tanney will be as good as Johnson has been.

*****

Michael Clay also spoke. It sounds like there will be legitimate competition between rookie Ty Zentner and veteran Arryn Siposs. Clay said Zentner has added value because of his ability to kick off.

Clay said it is his responsibility to get the STs units to perform more consistently. They were highly erratic last year. The Super Bowl isn’t something he’ll forget any time soon.

Clay said the rookie class has the potential to help this year. Good athletes with STs experience.

*****

The schedule.

I’m not going to break this down in depth. Go read Jimmy Bama’s piece for some details.

The one thing that jumps out is the gauntlet.

DAL
-Bye-
at KC
BUF
SF
at DAL

Yikes. River runners would see that as Class 5 rapids. The Eagles have to play the best teams in the league. Only the Bengals are missing.

If the Eagles can come out of that 3-2, I’ll be happy.

I talked about the schedule getting the team ready for the playoffs. The Eagles will be tested by that stretch. It could hurt their chance to make the playoffs or it could help their chance to win the Super Bowl. We just have to see how they handle it.

*****

Here is NFL.com’s take on the Eagles and the schedule. Prediction is for 11.1 wins (stats based model). That would be highest in the NFC and second in the NFL.

The Eagles have a good chance to rack up wins in the early portion of the season — in 58.1% of simulations, their record heading into the Week 10 bye is 7-2. After that, though, they face the toughest five-game stretch on their schedule: at Chiefs, Bills, 49ers, at Cowboys, at Seahawks. Weeks 11-15 will really tell us a lot about this team.

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