Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Running Wild

Posted September 24th, 2024 | 4 Comments »

I remember hearing rumors that the Eagles might pursue Saquon Barkley back in March. I doubted them because the Eagles have been able to find good RBs at a cheaper price. Would Howie Roseman really pony up big money for a star RB?

Yes.

And it’s a great thing he did. Barkley has been everything the Eagles hoped for and more.

24-109-2
22-95
17-147-2

Barkley leads the NFL in rushing with 351 yards. He has been a workhorse for an offense that needed such a RB. With AJ Brown missing the past two games, the passing game hasn’t been as explosive. That meant Barkley had to help move the chains and make plays.

With the Eagles down 3-0 on Sunday, Barkley took a hand-off and went left. Good blocking got him to the second level and he just exploded down the field. I jumped up and started screaming at the TV “GO! GO! GO!” That was the most excited I had been all afternoon. Barkley’s run put a TD on the board and it gave life to the Eagles. They went up 7-3 and things felt immediately different.

The star RB made a star play. 65 yards like he was shot out of a rocket.

That play doesn’t happen if the Eagles go bargain shopping. D’Andre Swift’s long run last year was 43 yards. This year Swift has found that life away from Philly can be brutal. He has 37 carries for 68 yards for the season. Barkley almost matched his season with one run. Yikes.

Howie changed his mind on pursuing a RB when the market shifted. Barkley feels like good value right now. He’s not cheap, but you’re getting a difference-making player. He’s absolutely worth the money.

The Eagles offense is second in the league in yards. AJ Brown has only played one game. DeVonta Smith missed half of the Saints game. The OL was missing two starters for most of the Saints game. Jalen Hurts and Barkley have made the offense go. There are still some red zone issues to work through, but you have to be excited by the potential this group has shown.

It will be fun to see how the offense comes together over the course of the season.

*****

This needed to happen. Grant Calcaterra has really struggled as a blocker this year. He’s okay when he is on the move, but struggles as an in-line blocker. He has hurt the offense with missed blocks. Stoll isn’t a gifted athlete or receiver, but he is big, strong and physical. That can help the offense. Having Calcaterra and EJ Jenkins on the field at the same time wasn’t good if they had to block.

*****

Good breakdown here by Franimal.

Jalen Carter was the star on Sunday, but the whole defense played well and had a hand in shutting down the Saints.

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More Like It

Posted September 23rd, 2024 | 3 Comments »

Vic Fangio was brought to Philly to fix the Eagles defense. He wasn’t expected to be a miracle worker. The defense needed to go from bad to at least solid. After the first two games, the defense looked just as troubled as last year. That changed on Sunday.

So what happened?

Fangio made some schematic adjustments that worked well. The players were more physical and more aggressive. They played at a higher level than the previous two weeks.

And Jalen Carter.

All I had to do was say his name. If you watched the game on Sunday, you saw Carter dominate. He destroyed the Saints OL and lived in the backfield. I’m sure Alvin Kamara got sick of seeing him play after play. Derek Carr was only sacked once in the game, but he got hit and hurried on a regular basis. Carr finished 14 for 25 passing. He just didn’t have the time to sit in the pocket and run the offense.

Carter had flashed in the first two games, but this was him taking a game over. He was the best player on the field in New Orleans. This wasn’t a one-man show. Carter was the star, but the whole defense played well.

Zack Baun was a key player.

He led the team with 13 tackles, but also allowed them to be creative at the LOS.

The Saints used personnel packages that matched up well with the Eagles. Fangio was able to run more 5-2 and 6-1 fronts. When the Saints spread things out, Fangio would sometimes use 3 DTs in a 4-2-5 look. That made it harder for the Saints to run the ball.

The DL won a lot of battles and that kept the LBs clean more than last week. Baun had a monster game, but Nakobe Dean also came up big. He had 8 tackles and a TFL.

Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat were disruptive. Jordan Davis had a sack and a TFL. Milton Williams had a pair of TFLs. Darius Slay had tight coverage on a throw into the end zone and broke up the pass. Reed Blankenship came up with the pick to seal the game.

This didn’t feel like a fluke. No player did anything that can’t be repeated. At the same time, other teams will study this tape and try to find ways to spread the Eagles out and attack them. Fangio will need to have a counter to that.

Fangio is learning what his players can do. They are learning how to thrive in the new scheme. There will be ups and downs, but the defense can still get better. Sunday was a sign of how good the unit can be.

*****

No official word on the injured players. Let’s hope some of these guys are able to go on Sunday. It sounds like Britain Covey could be out for about six weeks. We’ll see if Cooper DeJean can be a good punt returner. He had one return for 6 yards on Sunday.

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