The Right Approach
Posted December 15th, 2023 | 6 Comments »At his best, Nick Sirianni is a teacher. He is the son of a football coach and Sirianni has been around the game his whole life, as a player or coach. He understands that football is about fundamentals. The best coaches know how to teach fundamentals. You can talk about blocking, tackling, catching, etc. A good coach must be able to teach the details behind those actions.
Remember James Bradberry picking off a pass against Jacksonville last year?
Bradberry got his hands on the ball and then twisted so he landed on his back. Sirianni said later that twist was intentional. The Eagles coaches teach receivers and DBs to try to get their body twisted so their back hits the ground. That gives the player better control of the ball and makes a drop less likely. Think about the times we see a player go to the ground and the ball hits it and comes loose. Use the body to hit the ground and shield the ball and you’re more likely to have a catch.
That’s the kind of detail a good coach offers his players.
What does Sirianni do with his team on a 2-game losing streak? He turns a walkthrough into a padded practice. On Friday, he had his players focus on fundamentals, like holding onto the ball. The Eagles had three criticial fumbles in Dallas. The way to address that isn’t just saying “Don’t fumble.” You need to teach the players the specific details needed for them to hold onto the ball as they are going to the ground.
Teach ’em.
Fans and the media love to obsess on scheme. I get that. We all romanticize the football coach running over game film looking for some magical play or tweak that will solve everything. Scheme is important. But execution trumps all.
Think about some of the greatest defenses we’ve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key.
The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesn’t require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year.
What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys.
Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Let’s hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle.
*****
Good news/bad news on the injury front.
It looks like Reed Blankenship will be back on Monday. That is good when going up against a set of WRs as good as Seattle’s.
Cam Jurgens doesn’t look like he’ll play. We’ll see if Tyler Steen or Sua Opeta takes his place.
Zach Cunningham might miss the game. If he does, will Shaq Leonard get the start? The Eagles could go with more of a 5-1-5 look if they aren’t sure if Leonard is ready for extensive playing time.
Seattle has some key injuries so they won’t be 100 percent either. We still don’t know if Geno Smith is going to start. On Friday he said “We’ll see.”
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[…] El enfoque correcto: Iggles BlitzPiense en algunas de las mejores defensas que hemos visto a lo largo de los años. Los Bears de 1985 eran un equipo veloz que atacaba sin descanso. Los Ravens del año 2000 se construyeron teniendo en cuenta el tamaño. Los Bucs de 2002 podrĂan ser la mejor defensa de pase de todos los tiempos. Tres enfoques diferentes. Todo llevĂł a SupertazĂłn gana. Y esas fueron tres defensas muy diferentes. Los esquemas eran buenos, pero la verdadera clave eran los jugadores que los hacĂan cobrar vida. Las Ăguilas tienen talento para ganar y jugar buen fĂștbol. Tienen que eliminar errores y empezar a hacer jugadas. Eso no requiere nuevos esquemas. Eso requiere una mejor ejecuciĂłn. Por supuesto, hay momentos en que los entrenadores toman malas decisiones. Nadie lo discutirĂa. Pero los esquemas de los Eagles han funcionado bien en ocasiones este año. Lo que debe suceder ahora es que los entrenadores encuentren la mejor manera de lograr que los jugadores ejecuten a un alto nivel. Parte de eso es mĂĄs prĂĄctica y profundizaciĂłn en los fundamentos. Parte serĂĄ realizar las jugadas correctas para sacar lo mejor de los muchachos. Dos patadas en el trasero seguidas deberĂan tener a todos los jugadores y entrenadores lo mĂĄs concentrados posible. Esperemos que todo el trabajo de esta semana dĂ© sus frutos en Seattle. […]
[…] The Right Approach – Iggles BlitzThink about some of the greatest defenses weâve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key. The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesnât require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year. What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys. Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Letâs hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle. […]
[…] The Right Approach – Iggles BlitzThink about some of the greatest defenses weâve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key. The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesnât require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year. What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys. Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Letâs hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle. […]
[…] The Right Approach – Iggles BlitzThink about some of the greatest defenses weâve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key. The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesnât require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year. What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys. Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Letâs hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle. […]
[…] The Right Approach – Iggles BlitzThink about some of the greatest defenses weâve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key. The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesnât require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year. What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys. Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Letâs hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle. […]
[…] The Right Approach – Iggles BlitzThink about some of the greatest defenses weâve seen over the years. The 1985 Bears were a speed team that blitzed relentlessly. The 2000 Ravens were built on size. The 2002 Bucs might be the greatest pass defense of all time. Three different approaches. All led to Super Bowl wins. And those were three very different defenses. The schemes were good, but it was the players making those schemes come alive that was the real key. The Eagles have the talent to win and play good football. They have to eliminate mistakes and start making plays. That doesnât require new schemes. That requires better execution. Of course there are times when the coaches make bad calls. No one would dispute that. But the Eagles schemes have worked fine at times this year. What needs to happen now is the coaches figuring out the best way to get the players to execute at a high level. Part of that is more practice and drilling on fundamentals. Part will be calling the right plays to bring out the best in the guys. Two straight butt-kickings should have all the players and coaches as focused as possible. Letâs hope all the work from this week pays off in Seattle. […]