Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Huge Win

Posted September 22nd, 2024 | 1 Comment »

After the first two weeks, the Saints looked like the best team in the league. The Eagles were highly erratic. Advantage Saints. And that is why they play the games.

The Eagles defense was dreadful on Monday night, but played inspired football in New Orleans and shut down the Saints. The Saints had three punts on the season coming into Sunday. The Eagles forced them to punt four times. The Saints lived on explosive plays the first two weeks. They only had two plays longer than 16 yards on Sunday.

The Saints did Vic Fangio a big favor by playing limited WR sets. By going with two RBs or two TEs, the Eagles were able to counter with more base personnel, using 5-2 and 6-1 looks. That allowed them to control the line of scrimmage and shut down the New Orleans run game. The Saints averaged 185 rushing yards the first two weeks. The Eagles held them to 89 yards on 29 carries.

Jalen Carter was dominant.

The Saints averaged 45.5 points per game coming in. The Eagles held them to 12. That is incredibly impressive. The Eagles played great team defense. Give credit to Fangio and his players.

The Eagles offense scored a season low 15 points, but still played well. They piled up 460 yards, despite missing multiple players. AJ Brown was out for the whole game. Mekhi Becton and Lane Johnson missed most of the game. Britain Covey and DeVonta Smith got hurt during the game.

Jalen Hurts and the other starters raised their game. Hurts went 29-38-311 and made some clutch throws. He didn’t have his usual weapons to work with, but fed the ball to Dallas Goedert, who had the best game of his career, going 10-170.

Saquon Barkley could make an argument for league MVP right now. He was 17-147-2, including a 65-yard TD run that came right after DeVonta was knocked out of the game. Barkley’s long run was a jolt of electricity that the team desperately needed. It gave them a 7-3 lead and suddenly the game felt winnable.

We have to talk about the O-line. Those guys played really well. Tyler Steen took over at RG and Fred Johnson took over at RT. The line got movement in the run game. Barkley’s go-ahead TD was beautiful blocking. The OL pushed the defense backward and Barkley ran right up the middle for the score.

No hesitation. They did the same thing on the 2-point conversion.

The line also gave Hurts time to throw the ball. He needed that with his star receivers out of the game. Hurts had to give time to his guys to get open. This was a game where someone had to step up. Goedert filled that role. He had catches of 61, 43, 30 and 22 yards.

The Eagles took the lead at the 1:01 mark. That gave the Saints time to drive the field and kick a tying FG. The defense got a chance for redemption after last week’s meltdown.

The Saints got 6 yards on first down. Derek Carr dropped back on second down, but was under heavy pressure from Brandon Graham. He put the ball up for grabs (sound familiar?) and Reed Blankenship picked it off to seal the game.

Exhale.

The Eagles out-gained the Saints 460-219. They dominated this game. A loss would have been devastating.

Why was the game close at all? Too many mistakes. Hurts threw an INT in the end zone. Hurts fumbled the ball while scrambling. The Eagles had two drives end on fourth down stops. Jake Elliott missed a long FG. The Saints blocked a punt. The Eagles had 7 penalties.

The Eagles did not handle adversity well at all last year. Monday’s loss to Atlanta was troubling. The Eagles could have fallen apart. Instead they responded with a terrific game on the road in a challenging place to play against a hot team. The Eagles had all kinds of potential excuses.

Instead, they played well and found a way to win.

This was only Week 3, but this is the kind of win that could have a huge impact on the season.

*****

Both DAL and SF lost, dropping them to 1-2. It is too early to think much about the standings, but it is nice for a couple of key rivals to be getting off to slow starts. The Cowboys defense is especially troubling.

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Game Preview – PHI at NO

Posted September 22nd, 2024 | Comments Off on Game Preview – PHI at NO

A game on a Sunday at 1pm. Who knew such a thing was possible? I know I’m looking forward to this. Primetime games can be fun, but also be annoying. There is still something great about Sunday afternoon football.

The Saints looked like the very defnition of mediocrity just a few weeks back. Oops. They are 2-0 and have the #1 offense in the league. The Eagles have a very tough matchup in New Orleans.

The Saints ran the ball all over Dallas last week (190 yards). They will try to do the same to the Eagles. Vic Fangio must get his edge defenders to do a better job of setting the edge. This was especially problematic for Bryce Huff. The LBs have to flow to the ball and tackle well. Zack Baun has to be praying that he doesn’t face cut blocks this time out. They ate him alive last week.

Alvin Kamara looks re-born. He started to look old last year. This is the best I’ve seen him in a while. He averages 5.7 yards per carry. He’s also averaging 13 yards per catch and is dangerous out of the backfield.

Derek Carr is 30 for 39 for 5 TDs so far this year. The Saints love to use max protect and then to throw the ball downfield to their speedy receivers. Rahid Shaheed averages 24 yards per catch.

The Eagles must find a way to pressure Carr. If you let him sit in the pocket, he can pick you apart. The Eagles also have to cover well. Receivers have gotten behind the secondary a few times in the first couple of games. If that happens against the Saints, it could lead to big plays.

Fangio’s defense has done well on third downs and in the red zone. They tend to struggle between the 20’s. This would be a great week for the defense to figure some things out and to make some plays.

The offense will be missing AJ Brown again, but still has enough weapons to move the ball. Jalen Hurts ran well against the Saints in the past. I’m sure Dennis Allen has studied those games and will have some twists ready for Hurts.

Hurts will need another strong game for the Eagles to have a chance in this. The Saints defense has weapons at all three levels. They are vulnerable, but have talented guys who can make plays. DeVonta Smith will need to have another big game. It would help for another receiver to step up this week.

I’m going to be interested to see how the Eagles respond to the bad loss from Monday night. Will that fire them up and get them to play with a sense of urgency? Will it erode their confidence?

I don’t have a good feel for this team right now.

Sunday will tell us a lot.

*****

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