Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Eagles Notebook – KC Week

Posted November 16th, 2023 | 3 Comments »

Staying healthy is a huge part of success in the NFL. The Eagles had great health last year and it helped them get to the Super Bowl. They have had a lot more injuries to deal with this year, but they’ve still carved out an 8-1 record. That’s impressive.

The good news is that help is on the way.

The return of Roby and Evans should help the secondary a lot. They have talent and experience. The secondary has been lacking in both areas at times this year.

Jurgens could give a big boost to the OL. Sua Opeta and Tyler Steen have had good moments, but have also struggled at other times. Jurgens was playing at a high level before his injury. Getting him back will help in pass pro and the run game. He’s got the ability to get out in space and take out LBs or DBs. That help help a RB to break long runs.

Calcaterra hasn’t done much to this point in his career. He’s played in 23 career games and has a total of 5 catches. This would be an ideal time for him to come alive. The injury to Dallas Goedert means Jack Stoll will become the primary TE. Unfortunately he’s a limited receiver. Calcaterra is a good athlete and has good hands. He needs to show the team he can be a playmaker. This is a huge opportunity for him.

We’ll see if Albert O gets any playing time.

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One other good bit of injury news is that Jalen Hurts is well-rested and says he’s feeling better. That shot to his knee late in the first half against Dallas was scary. I think we all were reaching for the panic button. Hurts somehow never missed a snap.

He hasn’t been the same guy physically for much of the year. He doesn’t have the same speed and burst as last year. We’ll see if the extra rest can help that out.

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Not all the news is good.

I hate to say it, but that news doesn’t bother me much. Zach Cunningham has been the team’s best LB. Nick Morrow has made plays and done some good things. I’m fine with them being the key LBs down the stretch.

As for Dean, his future is up in the air. He’s had injury issues this year and didn’t exactly play at a high level. He will have to earn a job next year. You can bet the Eagles will have more competition for him.

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This is a mind-blowing stat.

QB wins are overrated by some, but 25-2 is a pretty special record. Donovan McNabb had a 25-3 stretch from 2003-2004, but he was 27 years old and was the QB of a veteran team that had been on quite a run. It still feels like Hurts is young and the Eagles are an ascending team.

Daniel Jones is in his fifth year and has 22 career wins.

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Jimmy Bama wrote a fun piece the other day. Here are his 10 reasons the Eagles are set up for a Super Bowl run. I thought #5 was interesting.

5) Opposing offenses aren’t even trying to run the ball.

The Eagles are allowing 66.3 rushing yards per game in 2023, which (a) leads the NFL, and (b) is down from 121.3 rushing yards allowed per game in 2022. They are allowing 3.7 rushing yards per attempt (T-4th), and have only allowed three rushing touchdowns on the season, tied for the fewest in the NFL. They are also allowing a league-low 18.3% of rushing attempts resulting in a first down.

The Eagles’ stout run defense has caused opponents to stop trying to run it against them. They are facing a league-low 17.8 rushing attempts per game, and just 29% of opposing offenses’ plays are runs, also the lowest in the NFL.

You might remember that KC ran for 182 yards in the Super Bowl. It sounds nuts to say this, but would be the best thing be to take away their run and force Patrick Mahomes to throw the ball? This is an odd NFL season.

I’m curious to see what both sides do strategically.

I’m especially curious to see if the Eagles can have any success in coverage. Making a few plays in coverage might be what you need to win this game.

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A Big Test

Posted November 15th, 2023 | 4 Comments »

In case you forgot, the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl last year. Kansas City had a great season and won a lot of big games last year. They were a deserving champion. The Chiefs are off to a 7-2 start this year, but don’t feel the same. They will still be a big test for the Eagles.

KC had the top scoring offense in the league last year. They went 14-3 in the regular season and won five games by 14 or more points. This season the Chiefs are 11th in scoring offense and have only won a single game in a blowout. They are still really good, but they are different. They are vulnerable.

The calling card this year has been the defense. They are second in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed. Andy Reid’s guys aren’t lighting up the scoreboard, but they keep opponents from scoring as well. That’s not the worst formula in the world. Patrick Mahomes makes just enough plays to win games. And that Kelce guy they have is still a pretty good player.

The big difference this year is that the other skill players aren’t doing much. Eagles WRs have 12 TD catches this year. Chiefs WRs have 7. The whole team only has 4 rushing TDs. The Eagles have 12. Mahomes still makes the Chiefs a dangerous offense, but not in the same way they’ve been in the past.

The X-factor here is that both teams are coming off the bye week. Reid is still one of the best offensive minds in football. He has been masterful throughout his career at getting his teams to play well after the bye and down the stretch. I’m sure Big Red and his staff have some ideas on how to fix the KC offense.

The Eagles will be different as well.

NB Bradley Roby should be healthy and ready to play. That could make a big difference. Roby isn’t going to come in and be some elite defender, but if he can prove to be effective most of the time, that would be a big upgrade.

Evans probably won’t be back this week, but he’ll be returning soon. That will give the Eagles another veteran DB. They can be more creative with multiple safety looks or dime packages with Evans and Roby in the secondary.

Sean Desai has the Eagles playing the run well. He has them rushing the passer well. The next challenge is getting them to improve in pass coverage. Some of that is scheme, but a lot is on a leaky secondary. Having stability and veteran players back there could make a big difference. The numbers aren’t pretty right now.

https://twitter.com/ClayWendler/status/1724912811434725805

One of the added challenges for Desai is figuring out what to do with Travis Kelce. The Eagles have struggled against TEs this year. Kelce is the best TE in football (apologies to Jack Stoll). I’m sure Desai will throw double-teams at him, but he can’t do that on every play. It will be interesting to see who Desai chooses to use on Kelce. I would think he’ll mix things up. This might be a good match for James Bradberry. He certainly owest the Eagles a big game this year.

In the Miami game Desai proved he could put together a gameplan to slow down an elite offense. The Chiefs aren’t elite right now, but Mahomes is still a special QB and you have to be at your best to slow him down. Desai needs a strong plan this week. One or two key stops could prove to be the difference in the game. That was certainly the case last week.

The Eagles couldn’t get that stop in February and it cost them the Super Bowl. The defense isn’t putting up the same kind of overall numbers they did last year, but they feel better in the sense that they aren’t just getting the best of scrubs, rookies and backup QBs. They beat Tua, Dak, Stafford and Cousins already.

Monday night will give us another clue about where the defense is and if they have the potential to win key games in the postseason.

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We’ll see if Desai tries some of this.

Desai has had time to study the first nine games. He will have a healthy defense. He can be as creative as he wants. It will be fun to see what he does.

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