Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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…

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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Dominant D

Posted February 10th, 2025 | 1 Comment »

Super Bowl LII was an amazing experience. The Eagles won their first ever Lombardi Trophy and did so in dramatic fashion. The offense had a phenomenal night and led the team to a 41-33 win.

But that game was also frustrating. The defense gave up 613 yards in that game. If  you are an Eagles fan, a love of good defense is in your DNA. From Bednarik to Bergey to Buddy, you want to see the guys in green shut people down. As magical as that night was, it was strange to see the high-flying offense be the key.

That certainly wasn’t the case against the Chiefs. Vic Fangio’s defense was #1 in the regular season and they played up to that ranking in the biggest game of the year. The Eagles led 34-0 and 40-6 before giving up a couple of late TDs. Patrick Mahomes is one of the best QBs in NFL history. He looked like an average Joe against the Eagles. At halftime he was 6-14-33. That’s the worst first half of a SB since Rex Grossman back in 2006. The Eagles defense was so good they got us to compare Mahomes to Sexy Rexy. That’s mind boggling.

Mahomes masked some issues with his legs and overall ability this year. The Eagles pass rush dominated the Chiefs OL and showed the world that these teams were not close. The Eagles were on a whole different level.

The Eagles finished with 6 sacks and 11 QB hits. Brandon Graham said after the game that they had 15 pressures. Mahomes had never been sacked 6 times in his career. The Eagles did all of this with almost no blitzing.

Josh Sweat just played the game of his life. He had 2.5 sacks and his pressure created an INT. Milton Williams had 2 sacks and recovered a fumble on one of them. The Eagles DL just kept coming. If Mahomes wasn’t as mobile, he would have been sacked 10 times. He was under constant pressure.

That pressure got to him and Mahomes was jittery. He never looked comfortable in the pocket. He threw 2 INTs, including a pick-six to Cooper DeJean. What a time for the rookie to come up with his first INT. And on his birthday, no less.

The defense was special. Fangio had his guys locked in and they delivered in a big way.

The Eagles offense showed up in a big way as well. The Chiefs sold out to shut down Saquon Barkley. They limited him to 25-57. Steve Spagnuolo had his guys ready to stop the run.

But KC had no pass rush. The Eagles OL gave Jalen Hurts time to throw and he delivered. Hurts finished 17-22-221 with a couple of TDs. Hurts set a SB record for rushing yards by a QB, going 11-72-1 on the ground. This was the biggest moment of his life and Hurts came through in a big way. He was named Super Bowl MVP for his performance.

If you had to describe this win in three words it would be…tough, detailed, together. Okay, I’m just pandering to Nick Sirianni with that. He preached that message to his team this year and it resonated with them. This team was confident leading into the game. Not cocky, just confident. They believed in themselves and each other.

The moment wasn’t too big for them. There was no fear of facing Mahomes. The Eagles played a great game and showed undoubtedly that they were the best team in the NFL this year.

This is the best Eagles team I’ve ever seen. They had playmakers all over the lineup. The 2017 team didn’t have anyone like AJ. The 2022 team didn’t have anyone like Saquon. This team had it all and that showed on Sunday night.

Howie Roseman did a brilliant job of building the best roster in the NFL.

Nick Sirianni and his staff did a great job of having the team ready to play.

The players delivered.

What a special ending to a special season.

*****

This cracked me up.

*****

There was a time when just making it to the Super Bowl was great. The Eagles have now been three times in the last eight seasons. They have two wins. And this roster has a lot of young talent. The future could be a lot of fun.

*****

This is brilliant.

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