Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Their Best Shot

Posted November 28th, 2023 | 3 Comments »

The Eagles are in the middle of a brutal stretch of games. They’ve already secured wins against Dallas, Kansas City and Buffalo. They still have the Niners, a rematch with the Cowboys and then a game with Seattle. This is a huge test for the Eagles, with them having to face star QBs and good defenses. Their might also be a decent coach or two going against them.

I just re-watched the Bills game and the biggest thing that stood out to me is how well Buffalo played. Josh Allen was friggin’ incredible at times.

Jalen Hurts is a stud QB. Josh Allen is a freak. He’s got special ability. The Eagles defense gave up 505 yards and 34 points, but I thought they played pretty well for most of the game. They just didn’t have answers for Allen. He’s the kind of special player that can do things you just can’t account for. I hope we don’t see him again for four more years. Wow.

There is real value in Buffalo playing well. They pushed the Eagles to the brink. Buffalo was up by 10 at the half and going into the fourth quarter. They made big plays on offense and defense. The Eagles finally got off the mat in the second half and came alive. The Eagles cut the score to 17-14. The Bills went right down and stretched it to 24-14. It wasn’t until James Bradberry picked off a pass that the Eagles were able to take control of the game. And even that didn’t last long. The teams exchanged scores until the Eagles won in OT.

Winning in the postseason isn’t easy. You need to be tested. That doesn’t mean just playing good teams. You want them to push you. What did SF learn from blowing out Dallas? It was fun to watch, but it didn’t tell them much.

The Eagles were also tested by KC. I know the Chiefs had several dropped passes, but they also got a great showing from their defense. DT Chris Jones was dominant in that game. That’s the kind of thing you’ll see in January (or February). Patrick Mahomes had some special moments in the game. He had me yelling at the TV and wishing death and destruction upon him. Mahomes has replaced Russell Wilson as the player who tortures my soul the most.

Think back to Dallas. The Cowboys led that game at halftime. Dak Prescott played his best game of the year (numbers aside). He wouldn’t go away. The Eagles got up 28-17, but Prescott kept firing. He cut it to 28-23 and then had a chance to win at the end. Dallas started their final drive at their own 14 and got inside the Eagles 10. The pass rush finally got him with a big sack and that helped to seal the win.

These tests should serve the Eagles well in the postseason. They are going against good QBs and you know you’ll run across one or two of those guys in the playoffs. They are facing veteran defensive coaches who can create challenging gameplans. The Eagles have dealt with some star players and found a way to control them or at least stop them in a key moment.

Eagles coaches and players should be getting better as they deal with this. That doesn’t mean their won’t be issues. Each of these games has had a point where you seriously questioned the Eagles and if they had a chance to win.

“What are they doing?”

The Eagles respond. Coaches make adjustments. Players make plays.

I’m excited to see how things play out over the next three weeks. The Niners can be a force to reckon with and they seem to be obsessed with beating the Eagles. Dallas is playing at a high level and will have a chip on their shoulder after losing the first meeting. Seattle is never an easy place to play.

More tests.

It will be great if the Eagles continue to pass the tests, but there will be value in just playing the games. The Eagles will continue to learn about themselves, good and bad. So far there has been a lot more good.

It would be nice if the fellas could blow someone out and give us a relaxing Sunday. We don’t need every game to go down to the wire.

*****

Good piece from Zach. I thought this was interesting.

Speaking of upgrades from the 2022 roster, D’Andre Swift’s talent should be obvious by now. The Eagles upgraded over Miles Sanders with Swift, even if he doesn’t finish with Sanders’ volume at the end of the season. Swift’s 36-yard rush was the longest play of the game against the Bills, and he now has five rushes of 25-plus yards this season. That’s more than Sanders had in either of the past two seasons.

And this is not to pick on Sanders — Swift’s big-play ability trumps most running backs in the NFL. Only Saquon Barkley and De’Von Achane have as many as 25-plus yard runs this season. The chunk plays have made the offense more dynamic and have come at opportune times.

Great nugget on the 25-yard runs. Nick Sirianni loves chunk plays so you know he loves a RB who can deliver those runs.

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Patience Pays Off

Posted November 27th, 2023 | 3 Comments »

Knowing when to wait and when to make changes is a critical part of success in the NFL. That is true for owners, GMs and coaches. The Eagles have been a patient franchise in the past couple of years and that patience has paid off. Not always, of course. The Eagles will walk away from someone when they feel the move is needed, but they don’t do it at the first sign of struggle. They give the person a chance to turn things around.

If you follow Les on Twitter (and you should), you know he wasn’t a fan of Michael Clay’s last year. That was understandable. Clay’s special teams unit struggled more than you want. We all wondered what would happen at the end of the season when Nick Sirianni reviewed the situation. After all, STs was one of the problems in the Super Bowl.

Sirianni stuck with Clay. And it looks like that was the right decision.

https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/1729213258467287045

The Eagles have quietly built up a good STs unit.

  • Jake Elliott might be the best kicker in the league. He certainly seems to be the most clutch kicker.
  • Braden Mann is off to a good start as the punter. He’s 9th in the league in gross average and 11th in net average. Mann has done a good job as the holder for kicks.
  • Rick Lovato is the long snapper and we never hear his name called. That’s a sign he does a good job.
  • Britain Covey is 3rd in the league in punt return average at 14.8 yards per return. He’s developed into a weapon.
  • Covey and Boston Scott each have KORs of 30 or more yards.

The group isn’t perfect to be sure. Some of the punt coverage in the KC game was porous, but Josh Jobe did make a great tackle late in that game that helped the Eagles to win.

The Eagles stuck with Clay and upgraded his personnel. Suddenly STs is part of the winning equation.

*****

Think about the patience the Eagles showed with Covey. He struggled in the first half of his rookie year. There were more fumbles than good returns. The coaches kept working with him and Covey finally adjusted to the NFL. He played well down the stretch and has been terrific this season.

There’s no more dancing or hesitation. He tries to stay as north-south as possible. When he finds a seam, Covey hits it and bursts up the field. We’ll see if he’s got a TD in his future.

*****

There was a time this year when the Eagles were 27th in the league in red zone offense. People got out their pitchforks and went after Brian Johnson. To a certain extent, it made sense. He’s new to calling plays in the NFL. He must have been the problem.

When you watched the tape, poor execution was as much a problem as play design or play-calling. The Eagles made red zone offense a point of emphasis since mid-October and the results are impressive.

The Eagles are now 5th in the NFL in red zone offense. How’s that for improvement?

People wondered if Sirianni should start calling plays. They sure thought something needed to change. Johnson and the players figured some things out and the Eagles are now once again scoring TDs. That’s been critical to them beating good teams. If you kick FGs against Dallas, KC or Buffalo, you’re not likely to win.

Sirianni showed patience with his young offensive coordinator and that worked out.

*****

Frank Reich didn’t get much patience from David Tepper, the owner of the Carolina Panthers. Reich was fired on Monday morning. Immediately you have to think Sirianni would be interested in hiring his former mentor. Sirianni was asked about that on Monday, but said he’d been focused on evaluating the Bills game and had not had a chance to think about adding anyone.

I’m sure he’ll reach out to Reich to see if he’s interested in a role. I don’t know that Reich would be significant schematically, but he might be valuable for getting the fiery Sirianni to settle down a bit. We’ll see what happens.

*****

Barnett did nothing this year so I’m glad the Eagles let him go. I hope he goes to Houston and plays well.

I know some of you don’t care for Barnett. I get that. I also know he was a key part of the DL rotation in 2017 and helped the Eagles win their first Super Bowl. I’ll always be thankful for that.

*****

I hope Cunningham is okay, but if not, going after Leonard would make sense. Leonard will be in Dallas on Tuesday to talk to the Cowboys. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out after that.

Sirianni was asked about Leonard and said the two had a good relationship so that could be important in the LB choosing where to play.

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