Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Game Preview – PHI at WAS

Posted December 22nd, 2024 | 2 Comments »

Just another game. The NFC East title might be on the line this week, but Nick Sirianni is preaching to his team that this is just another game. Focus on beating Washington and don’t worry about the trappings around the game. Winning the division is certainly a goal, but Sirianni wants his players living in the moment. Beat Washington. Be the best team on Sunday and the season will take care of itself.

Washington is 9-5 and on a 2-game win streak. That follows a 3-game losing streak. They are light years ahead of last season, but still highly inconsistent. Their offense has been very good this season. They rank 6th in scoring and 5th in yards. The Eagles held them to 264 yards and 18 points in the first meeting. It will be interesting to see if Jayden Daniels and his coaches are able to make adjustments from that game.

Daniels ran for 18 yards against the Eagles. In the three games since then, he’s run for 184 yards and 2 TDs. His legs could be much more of a weapon this time around, whether by design or Daniels just tucking the ball and running. The Eagles must do a good job of rushing under control and tackling well when Daniels is out in space. Nakobe Dean had a highlight moment like that in the first game.

The Eagles won the first game 26-18. It was 26-10 until a late TD. And remember that Jake Elliott missed 2 FGs and an extra point. The Eagles could have had a huge lead. They were sloppy and that kept Washington in the game.

One thing the Commanders did well in the first game was get the ball to Austin Ekeler in space. He had 8 catches for 89 yards. Zack Baun struggled on some of those plays. You can bet Washington will try to do that again. Baun will be better prepared this time, but stopping Ekeler in space is easier said than done.

Terry McLaurin was a non-factor in that game, going just 1-10. Kliff Kingsbury will have to move him around more if he wants to get McLaurin more involved. Quinyon Mitchell locked him up. Kingsbury prefers to be static so things move faster. I think the need to get McLaurin involved will force him to mix things up.

OG Sam Cosmi did a good job against Jalen Carter back in November. Cosmi has been dealing with an illness this week, but he did return to practice late in the week. If he’s less than 100 percent, that will make dealing with Carter even tougher.

The Eagles passing attack came alive last week. They could decide to keep throwing the ball and attacking up the field. They also could decide to get back to focusing on the run. Washington is 25th in rushing yards allowed and 28th in yards per rush allowed. The Eagles ran for 228 yards in the first meeting.

There is one key difference this time around. Washington will have CB Marshon Lattimore, who they traded for at midseason. He can be a lockdown corner when he’s at 100 percent. The Commanders could try to rely on their corners and then load up the box to play the run. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles counter this. Not many CBs shut down AJ Brown so the Eagles might go right at him.

No matter what the Eagles do, they need to get the ball to Saquon Barkley. You might remember him making some plays in the first meeting.

Barkley had 198 total yards and 2 TDs back in November. He had TD runs of 23 and 39 yards. He had a catch and run for 43 yards that set up more points. Get that man the ball.

Kellen Moore has run a lot of no-huddle this year and it has been pretty effective. The Eagles might use that a lot on Sunday to try and get Barkley going and Washington on its heels.

The Eagles have won 10 games in a row. You might think they would be having fun and living the good life. Nick Sirianni couldn’t have been more business-like at his press conferences this week. He was as boring as possible. I’m taking that as a good sign. Sirianni is trying to make sure his team is locked in and focused.

_

Zack, Vic and Reggie

Posted December 20th, 2024 | 2 Comments »

The Eagles defense this season is better than anyone could have anticipated. Everyone expected Vic Fangio to make a real difference for the unit, but I don’t think anyone saw them leading the league in points and yards allowed. This isn’t all Fangio, of course. He would be the first to tell you the players are the ones making his ideas come to life and shutting down offenses.

Jalen Carter is the dominator up front. He eats up blocks and makes plays. Offenses have to account for him on every snap. Rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean brought speed, skill and toughness to the secondary that desperately needed those qualities. The key to the defense just might be Zack Baun.

Baun is a good LB. He’s also a versatile player that Fangio can move around and be creative with. You don’t see a lot of exotic fronts with the Eagles, but they obviously are creative enough and complex enough that offenses struggle to figure them out consistently.

Ollie Connolly wrote a fantastic piece that made the argument for Baun as the Defensive Player of the Year.

Baun has 35 – THIRTY-FIVE – run stops this season. Tack on coverage stops, and Baun is up to 63, ten more than any other player in the league. Baun also has a team-leading 14 tackles for a loss or no gain. Add to that, he has totted up three sacks – and has a season-wide pressure rate of 16.3%, a ludicrous total for an off-ball linebacker not playing in one of the mug-centric, read-blitz-heavy defenses in Minnesota or Denver.

And

But those light boxes do not always mean light fronts. The Eagles’ ability to fit the run from 4-2, 5-1, 5-2, or 6-1 boxes is reliant on having an off-ball linebacker comfortable toggling between playing off-the-ball, where he may fit an interior gap, and hanging on the edge as a true defensive end in the run fit. Baun is that guy. His versatility allows the Eagles to play heavy or light – and still stay sound against the run or pass. He is the linchpin of the early down success.

The roaming style has hung around every week. Sometimes, the Eagles back off, with Baun playing classic off-ball football and Fangio trusting his line to win on their own with an early-down plugger (one of Baun or Dean) helping to create a five-man wall at the snap. Other times, the Eagles max out Baun’s movement sliding him down to the line late in the snap count. But the option is always there, right on the surface, ready for when Fangio needs it most.

Sometimes we overrate versatility. It doesn’t mean as much unless the player is actually good at multiple things. Baun is. He is a strong, physical tackler. He is a good pass rusher. He can set the edge and be a stout run defender. I think the area where he’s really surprised everyone is in coverage.

Not only has Baun played at a high level, he’s allowed the Eagles defense to play at a high level.Going with Fangio’s light boxes and coverage ideas only gets you so far.

The Chargers have been one of the best defenses in the league, but they have given up 27 or more points in 4 of the last 6 games. They didn’t allow more than 20 points in the first 9 games. Keeping offenses off balance and executing at a high level isn’t easy. It makes you really appreciate what Fangio and the Eagles are doing.

Fangio gets a ton of praise for his defensive system. And that’s fair. But he’s been around a looooongggg time. He’s run the same defense for a loooonggggg time. What differentiates him from his pretenders is his week-to-week plan. The rules do not always change; the coverages hover around the same mark. But knowing when and what to call, recognizing and understanding tendencies, and attacking tells is what sets him apart.

Absolutely right.

Having the playbook is nice, but knowing how to use it is the key. It is also critical that a coordinator be a good teacher so that they can explain their system to the players and get everyone on the same page. Bill Belichick was a great teacher. Buddy Ryan was a great teacher. Fangio is showing us how good he is.

Let’s hope Fangio and Baun stay in Philly for a while.

*****

Reggie would have loved watching this current group play defense. He would appreciate how tough, physical, but also smart they are. He would have been a bit confused by the lack of blitzing of course.

Without Reggie White, I might have ended up a Carolina Panthers fan.

Thank you, Reggie.

_