Disguise

The Eagles defense must take a big step forward this year if the team is to get back to being a title contender. Vic Fangio was hired to run the defense and bring all of his knowledge and experience to that side of the ball. It was definitely needed.

Jonathan Gannon did get the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2022, but let’s examine that a bit.

Jonathan Gannon

2022

Divisional Round – Daniel Jones – 38-7 W
NFC title game – Brock Purdy/Josh Johnson – 31-7 W
Super Bowl – Patrick Mahomes – 38-35 L

2021

Wild card round – Tom Brady – 31-15 L

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Jim Schwartz

2019

Wild card round – Russell Wilson – 17-9 L

2018

Wild card round – Mitchell Trubisky – 16-15 W
Divisional round – Drew Brees – 20-14 L

2017

Divisional Round – Matt Ryan – 15-10 W
NFC title game – Case Keenum – 38-7 W
Super Bowl – Tom Brady – 41-33 W

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Do you notice something there?

When Gannon faced a quality veteran QB, his defense gave up 30 or more points and lost. When he faced mediocre players and could overwhelm them with talent, the Eagles did well.

Schwartz coached in 6 playoff games and only gave up more than 30 points once. And that was in a win. His defenses were far from perfect, but they made it tough for opposing offenses to score. Wilson threw for more than 300 yards in Seattle’s win, but the Seahawks only put up 17 points.

Jim Johnson was the defensive coordinator for 10 seasons. He coached in a lot of playoff games. His defenses only allowed 30 or more points in one game, the NFC title game loss to the Cards in 2008.

Defenses must be able to perform well in the postseason. And that means being able to go up against good QBs and slow them down. One of the best ways to do that is for a defense to disguise coverages and mix things up. All you need to do is slow the QB down so he holds the ball an extra half second. You want to disrupt his rhythm. You want to make him think instead of making quick reads.

Gannon used a version of Fangio’s scheme, but obviously didn’t do a good enough job with it. Having the playbook is one thing. Being able to teach the scheme and make the right calls at the right time is a whole other challenge.

Here is a good video on Fangio and his scheme.

And something on disguises.

Fangio has been working with this scheme for a long time. He has the knowledge to be able to teach the coverage players where to be and what to do. He also has shown a good feel for knowing what to call to keep QBs off balance.

Fangio would be the first to tell you that coaching and scheme won’t be enough. The defense needed a talent upgrade.

Edge Bryce Huff
Edge Jalyx Hunt
LB Devin White
LB Zack Baun
LB Oren Burks
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr
S CJ Gardner-Johnson
CB Isaiah Rodgers
CB Quinyon Mitchell
CB Cooper DeJean

There are still questions with the defense. What version of Devin White will we see? Will Huff be a good replacement for Haason Reddick? Will the CBs be as good as expected?

I think the Eagles made a great hire in Fangio. I think they made smart moves in the offseason so that he’s got the talent he needs to win. That said, this defense won’t suddenly be 1991’s Gang Green unit. They still have some issues and will struggle at times. Still, they won’t be Charmin-soft like last year and they should do a much better job in coverage with all the changes at DB.

With the firepower the Eagles have on offense, this defense needs to be good enough. And I do think that is possible.

*****

Hard Knocks is underway and is a bit different this year. They are focusing on the offseason for the first few episodes. Giants GM Joe Schoen is the focus and so far the show isn’t doin him a lot of favors. Then again, he hasn’t exactly helped himself with some of his moves.

Lol https://t.co/FqENGWdpzG pic.twitter.com/qNSw8fnXM8

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) July 4, 2024

This is a big year for Schoen and Brian Daboll. 2022 was a fun mirage for Giants fans. Last year was 6-11 and a miserable offense. The Giants scored 10 or fewer points in 7 of 17 games. Losing is bad. Losing and be boring is torture.

The pressure is on.

*****

Happy July 4th to everyone. May your day be filled with hot dogs, Funyuns and some ice cold PBR.

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