Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Semi-Game Review – NYG 27, PHI 10

Posted January 11th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

This is not a normal game review. There is no reason to go over Sunday’s crapfest with a fine-tooth comb. I did want to rewatch it to get a better feel for what happened. My primary question is whether that game means anything for this week.

I don’t think it does.

Once AJ Brown went out, the starting offense fell apart. Jalen Hurts loves to feed the ball to his star players. Without them, he struggled. The offense looked better in the second half with Marcus Mariota running the show and only backups to work with.

The defense was good for 2 of the first 3 drives. And then it fell apart. Missed assignments, poor coverage and bad tackling turned a 3-0 game into a 24-0 debacle. The defense played better in the second half, limiting the Giants to three points.

One of my big takeaways from the game is that Nick Sirianni didn’t approach it well. He talked about maybe resting players, depending on how the Dallas game went. He sat Fletcher Cox out to get him rest. I think some of the veterans weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders. Sirianni would have been better to tell his guys they were playing all game, regardless of other scores, or to just sit them. What he did was logical, but his players didn’t handle it well. I think they assumed they would beat the Giants and that showed in the sloppy play.

This week is a playoff game. No one will rest. Sirianni won’t have to worry about trying to motivate players. They should be fired up for this.

MISC

It was good to see Mariota play. Hurts injured his finger against the Giants. I’m sure he’ll start in Tampa, but you never know what might happen in the game. Mariota got to knock the rust off and play for a half. The offense looked different with him running it. Mariota got the ball out quicker on a regular basis. He spread the ball around. If he does have to play in the postseason, I’ll feel better knowing he got some time in the regular season finale.

***

Quez Watkins just played the best game of his Eagles career, going 8-93-1. He didn’t just catch a deep ball and then a bunch of screens. He actually caught a variety of passes and looked good doing it. Watkins added RAC yards, which is something he’s struggled with in the past. His TD catch was genuinely impressive.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1744145309436109178

Unless I’m forgetting something, that’s the best catch of his NFL career. I’m not trying to put the guy in Canton, but it was good to see him actually play well. That has to help his confidence. He’s never lacked potential. We’ll see if he can build off this showing.

***

Kenny Gainwell ran hard and finished 7-62. He had a couple of nice runs in there.

***

Britain Covey was 3-35. He almost made an impressive TD catch, but just couldn’t get both feet in. He can be a good role player on offense. Mix him in here and there. Take advantage of his elusiveness and RAC skills.

***

Fred Johnson played RT for much of the second half. Jack Driscoll is a free agent so we don’t know if he’ll be back. Johnson could be a backup OT next year. He’s big and strong. His pass pro needs work, but he showed good potential.

***

I am not a member of the Bradley Roby fan club.

I hate people who turn one play into a defining moment, but boy that bugs the hell out of me. I would have a hard time keeping that guy on my team. Sirianni talked about the Eagles being a physical, violent team in his PC on Thursday. Maybe he should let Roby know about that.

Ugh.

***

There is no question that the Giants had the better gameplans on offense and defense. The Eagles didn’t handle the blitz well at all. I think that’s been discussed pretty thoroughly.

The Giants offensive play-callers had some really good stuff.

I hope the Eagles coaches are saving the good stuff for this week. We sure didn’t see it last Sunday.

***

James Bradberry didn’t make the Pro Bowl. He wanted to let voters know they didn’t make a mistake and played accordingly on Sunday. Amazing how far he’s fallen in one season.

***

Backup safety Tristan McCollum was physical and tackled aggressively. If you’re inexperienced, just play full speed and knock the crap out of people when you can.

***

Rashaad Penny isn’t a big believer in blitz pickup.

***

The run defense was better this week. Saquon Barkley finished 18-46. Jordan Davis was much better than the Arizona game. Having Zach Cunningham back helped. Tyrod Taylor did hurt the Eagles with his mobility, sometimes running and sometimes throwing on the run. Mobile QBs are tough on everyone, but it sure feels like they give the Eagles more trouble than most. Part of that is a back seven that struggles to communicate and adapt on the fly.

***

Boston Scott used to be the Giant killer. He had two quiet games this year. The Eagles must do a better job with backup RBs in 2024.

_

The Playoffs

Posted January 10th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

Marty Schottenheimer is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. He was a head coach for 21 seasons. He won 200 games and finished with a career winning percentage of .613. Tom Coughlin coached for 20 years. He won 170 games and had a career winning percentage of .531. Why is Schottenheimer the guy no coach wants to be compared to?

He was 5-13 in the postseason and never got to the Super Bowl. Coughlin was 12-7 in the postseason and won two Super Bowls. Coughlin lost double-digit games six times in his career. Schottenheimer only did that once. His teams were consistent. But he couldn’t get them to peak in January.

The playoffs are strange. Crazy things happen and alter football history. Scott Norwood’s kick at the end of Super Bowl XXV went wide right. Buffalo lost that game and the next three SBs as well. If that kick goes in, who knows what might happen. The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and had one of the greatest offenses of all time. They lost to the Falcons in the playoffs and didn’t even reach the Super Bowl.

The Giants went 10-6 back in 2007, hardly anything compelling. They won three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. Then they upset the undefeated Patriots in an all-time shocker.

Can this Eagles team snap out of its funk and pull off a run like that? Can they make some noise?

The 2008 Eagles went 9-6-1. They didn’t secure a playoff berth until the late afternoon of the final week of the regular season. That team was a couple of plays away from going to the Super Bowl. Flawed teams can have postseason success. They need a few things.

Good QB

Jalen Hurts is a talented QB and the Eagles can win any game where he plays well. The problem is that Hurts was erratic this year. He turned the ball over too much and didn’t always run the offense smoothly. If Hurts protects the ball and makes plays, the offense will be fine. If he forces the ball downfield, there will be issues. Aggressive is good. Careless is not.

Playmakers

The Eagles do have playmakers. We’re just not sure who is going to be healthy right now. D’Andre Swift will be back. Dallas Goedert is healthy. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are the key guys. Hurts needs them healthy for the offense to be at its best. It sounded like DeVonta had a chance to play last week, but the Eagles were cautious. AJ is the real mystery. If he just banged up his knee, a week off might be all he needs.

Darius Slay and Reed Blankenship are the only two playmakers on defense, but they have limits. They combined for 5 INTs this year, hardly a compelling figure. Those guys do have the ability to make impact plays. They just didn’t do it with any consistency this year.

DL

The Eagles have good pass rushers, at least in theory. Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, Jalen Carter and Brandon Graham can all get to the QB. The problem is that they’ve been missing in recent weeks. Maybe they’re worn down. We know the coaches have had them dropping into coverage too much recently. The run defense was great for half the year, but has become a problem down the stretch. If this group can come alive and recapture their midseason form, the Eagles defense will look a whole lot better. If not, this could be a one and done January.

Good Coaching

Another category that is hard to answer. 6 weeks ago, Nick Sirianni was flying high and had a sterling reputation. How times have changed. Now there are lots of discussions from fans and the media about whether he should be fired. Yikes.

This game is critical for Sirianni and his staff. A good showing will quiet some of his critics. A bad performance will put him under intense pressure. I’m curious to see how the coaches respond to this situation. Will they be desperate or will this bring out the best in them?

*****

Playoff football affects teams in different ways. Some teams come alive. They play with a sense of urgency. The situation gives them a kind of clarity and they play focused, high level football.

Other teams shrink in the moment.

I have no idea what to expect from the Eagles. Last week I bought into all the talk of the team having a different vibe. Things were going to be different. Then they played like crap against the Giants. I won’t try to psychoanalyze the team this time around.

I do expect the offense to play well, assuming the playmakers are back. If the Eagles are missing AJ and/or DeVonta, Monday could be a long night. The defense is the real mystery. They have struggled mightily in recent weeks. This group must come together and play much better football.

This team has talent.

But it also has flaws.

The playoffs will make one of those things really stand out.

Let’s hope it’s the talent.

_