Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Up Front

Posted November 22nd, 2024 | 1 Comment »

Great offensive line play was a key part of the Eagles winning Super Bowl LII. They made it back five years later when they once again had the best O-line in the league. Jason Kelce is gone this time around, but the OL continues to be one of the best in the league. Right now they are probably second to Detroit among OL units.

The current group is especially impressive because Cam Jurgens took over at center and then Mekhi Becton took over at RG. That only leave three guys starting in the positions they held last year. Beyond that, injuries forced Fred Johnson to start at LT and Tyler Steen at RG. Despite all of this, the OL has been a real strength for the Eagles.

The overall line is 4th in pass pro, but the OTs are even better.

That is impressive. Johnson and Mailata are big, strong, athletic blockers who are also smart and skilled. Pass rushers have to work hard to beat them. The Eagles had good OL play even when Mailata was out. Fred Johnson started against Cincy and limited DE Trey Hendrickson to 4 tackles, no sacks and no QB hits. In the three games since then, Hendrickson has 4.5 sacks, 5 TFLs and 9 QB hits.

One of the special traits for this OL is their athleticism. They can do some special things.

As impressive as that is, this isn’t an undersized group that has to win with athleticism and finesse play. The Eagles are one of the biggest lines in the league and these guys can absolutely maul defenders.

Fran is right. That is a thing of beauty.

Let’s see some more.

Andy Reid used to collect huge O-linemen and then would have them pass block over and over and over. Nick Sirianni has embraced the run game this year.

1st – Rushing attempts
1st – Rushing yards
1st – Rushing TDs

In the Eagles worst game of the year, they ran for 113 yards. Last year the Eagles had 2 games with less than 60 yards. Sirianni has one of the best OLs in the league. He has arguably the best RB in the league. He has one of the best running QBs in the league. The players want to run the ball. Sirianni and Kellen Moore are running an old school type of offense and it has worked very well.

While this is old school, it isn’t just 3 yards & a cloud of dust. The Eagles average 5 yards per carry. They lead the league in runs of 40 or more yards and they’re second in runs of 20 or more yards. The explosive plays lead to TDs. This isn’t running the ball to work the clock and protect the defense. Sirianni wants points and right now they’re coming. The Eagles average 25.9 points per game and that figure should go up. There was a three-game stretch without AJ Brown that limited scoring. Points haven’t been an issue since the bye.

*****

Cam Jurgens is in his first year as the team’s center. He isn’t as athletic as Kelce, but he’s pretty darn close. Jurgens is fantastic in space. He’s able to pull and block on the move. He’s got some real pop when he hits DBs/LBs.

Jurgens still has room to improve. He needs to sustain blocks better. He occasionally will whiff when trying to get his hands on a DT.

We’re holding him to a high standard, but he’s got the talent to play at a high level so I don’t think he’d have a problem with it. Jurgens looks like he’ll be the man in the middle for a long time.

*****

Mekhi Becton is new to playing guard. I’m sure Jeff Stoutland was intrigued by his combination of size, strength, skill and ability. Becton’s potential was through the roof. Becton has been solid this year. He is absolutely dominant at times, but will also miss some blocks. His highlights are fun.

Tyler Steen has played well at RG when he’s been on the field. Becton has special potential and I’m sure that is a key reason he has the job over Steen. Becton can just do things most OL can’t. He’s like a Phillies hitter than can deliver HRs, but also strikes out a bunch. Stoutland wants those HRs.

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Game Review – PHI 26, WAS 18

Posted November 20th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

Since we are about a week removed from the game, I’m not going to do a standard review. Still, this is a win worth talking about. The Eagles took on the upstart Commanders and star rookie QB Jayden Daniels and handled business. This game doesn’t diminish the turnaround by Washington. They are a great story. But as we saw last week, they aren’t a great team. The Eagles were clearly better.

PLAYS

Let’s take a look at some of the key plays from the game.

The Eagles led 12-10 when Washington drove to the PHI 25. They faced 2nd & inches. Easy conversion, right? The Eagles stuffed a run, creating 3rd & 2. Jordan Davis blew up that play, which set up the play of the game. 4th & 2. I thought for sure Washington would kick the FG and try to take the lead. That would have put pressure on the Eagles. They would have had plenty of time to go score, but you never know if that pressure would have led to a mistake.

Instead, Dan Quinn decided to be aggressive. WAS had only been stopped once on 4th down prior to that play. Quinn felt good with the ball in Daniels hands. Oops.

Jalen Carter got into the backfield and disrupted the play. Daniels had already bobbled the snap and that threw off the timing of the play. Reed Blankenship flew up the field and took away any cutback lane. Zack Baun got off his block and nailed Daniels to kill the play. That was great team defense, and in a critical situation.

***

Sometimes a great play is more about hustle than talent.

I’ve been very critical of Calcaterra for his poor blocking, but he deserves a ton of credit for making this play. He could have just watched Goedert running down the field. Instead, Calcaterra hustled in pursuit and ended up making a huge play. The Eagles scored a TD three plays later and took control of the game.

***

With the Eagles up 19-10, Reed Blankenship picked off a pass and set up the Eagles offense in position to put the game away. Not all INTs are created equally and this was an impressive pick. It wasn’t a great catch so much as it was a great read and break on the ball. As always, if you want to get smarter, listen to Fran Duffy breaking down plays.

The Eagles were able to make the game 26-10 and basically put it away. WAS scored late to make it interesting, but the INT and ensuing TD gave the Birds an effective cushion and a good win.

***

The Eagles faced 3rd & 6 from their own 40. They trailed 10-3. The game felt uneasy at this point. Then we got this.

Hurts did the smart thing and got the ball to his playmaker. Then Saquon did the rest. His burst and elusivness led to a 43-yard gain and that play set up a FG that made the game 10–6.

***

Cam Jurgens is still more inconsistent than you would prefer, but he does have some great moments. And boy did he have one against WAS.

OL love to get out in space and pound on defenders, just like that. I’m sure Jason Kelce felt like a proud father when he saw that.

***

PLAYERS

Jordan Davis was credited with 3 tackles against the Commanders. Big deal, right? DTs should not be judged by the stat sheet. Davis played well and helped to limit the WAS run game. They were limited to 28-93, with 18 of those yards coming on one run. Davis came up huge on the sequence that resulted in the 4th down stop.

***

Jalen Carter was the defensive star of the game. He had 7 tackles and a TFL. Carter was disruptive all game long.

When Carter plays at a high level, the Eagles defense is really hard to deal with.

***

Saquon Barkley continues to show us just how special he is.

  • 43-yard catch and run
  • 39-yard TD run
  • 23-yard TD run

Barkley made that play look easier than it was. That what special players do. His big plays led to 17 points. Barkley is a game-changer. Thank you Giants.

***

Terry McLaurin went 13-149-1 last year in two games against Philly. He was 1-10 last Thursday and had to move around to get that catch. Quinyon Mitchell shut him down.

I’m starting to think Mitchell deserves the Defensive Rookie of the Year talk that he’s been getting.

***

Zack Baun gets most of the attention and deservedly so, but Nakobe Dean is playing well this year. He can be up and down in space so it was impressive to see him make this tackle of Daniels.

Dean finished with 10 tackles and a PD.

***

We have to mention Jake Elliott. He missed 2 FGs and an extra point. Ugh. Elliott is arguably the best kicker in Eagles history, but he had a bad showing last week. Thankfully the Eagles were able to overcome it and win the game.

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