Packages

Jim Schwartz made an interesting comment in his press conference on Tuesday. He said that the defense will have six packages they can use in the opener against the Skins. That’s hardly a huge deal, but it is interesting for a coach like Schwartz who has been so focused on keeping things simple for most of his career.

I think there are a couple of reasons for the packages. First, the opponent. Washington runs a multiple offense. They have five WRs on the roster and four TEs. They have a pair of RBs that are more than 230 pounds. The primary backup is 191 pounds and lightning fast. They can go big. They can go little. They can spread you out. They can go base. You have to be prepared for a lot of looks.

The other key reason for the packages is that the Eagles have some talented backups that the coaches want to mix in to the gameplan. This is Year 2 in the scheme and that has the coaches more familiar with what everyone can do. There were also personnel changes that brought talent and depth to the defense.

Let’s talk about the possible packages. There are four we know of.

Base – This is the Eagles base defense, a 4-3-4 look that they will use when the opponent has two RBs or two TEs on the field.

Nickel – This is the package that the team plays the most. 4-2-5. LB Mychal Kendricks is replaced by CB Patrick Robinson, who lines up in the slot.

Goal line – This is when the defense loads up on DL/LBs and goes down to only a couple of DBs.

Big Nickel – Schwartz has talked about this a bit. Malcolm Jenkins moves into the slot and Corey Graham takes over his S spot. They use this when teams put a TE or big WR in the slot.

As for the final two, we are less certain.

Dime – This would be a 4-1-6 look. You could go with three CBs and three Safeties or four corners and stick with just two safeties. Either way you’re flooding the field with DBs to play the pass.

95 Nickel – There was a special version of the Nickel defense last year that had Mychal Kendricks on the field at LB. The Eagles didn’t use it much at all. He’s had such a good preseason that the coaches may want to mix this in. I assume he would play alongside Jordan Hicks in the middle, but we’ll have to wait for Sunday to see what they do. Another possibility for Kendricks is running a 3-3-5. That would be three DL and then all three LBs stay on the field. This would be a good look for blitzing.

NASCAR – This is where you would have only pass rushers on the DL. Most likely it would be Graham – Cox – Curry – Barnett on the field together. Chris Long could obviously work in there as well. Since this is just a front, I don’t know if Schwartz would consider this a package. The back seven would be a standard Nickel look.

I’m curious to see how Schwartz uses his players this year. With better depth on the DL and in the secondary, and with the emergence of Kendricks, Schwartz has a lot of interesting options.

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We know the Eagles offense will use packages. They did that last year. There are much better options this season.

The big focus on offense is how the coaches will use the RBs. The coaches get a ton of questions on this and generally give bland answers. I think they are keeping an open mind and going to let the players dictate what happens.

Chip Kelly used to say that players set the depth chart. I think that will be the case here. The coaches have an idea of what they want to do, but LeGarrette Blount is new to the offense. They need to see how he fits in during regular season games. Wendell Smallwood looked terrific this summer. When he was healthy, that is. If he hits the field on Sunday and looks great, why would you play someone else over him? If Blount is running all over the Skins, you leave him in.

Darren Sproles is the one known commodity. He will play a lot on third downs, but will also get touches with the base offense. He is healthy and fresh after a summer of light work.

I am curious to see if the Eagles have a fourth RB active. With the top three healthy, the coaches may look to go heavy at some other position. If someone does play, it will likely be Corey Clement.

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The Mean Season

Steven Means got one thing he wanted when he made the Eagles roster. He got something unexpected when the team gave him a 1-year contract extension. You know he wanted that kind of job security.

What he really wants is to play.

Means was great in the last two preseasons. I can post the numbers, but they won’t blow you away. You have to watch the tape to see just how disruptive this guy was over and over and over. I feel bad for the young OL and QBs the Eagles faced the past two summers. Those guys went up against the worst case scenario for the preseason…a talented player with experience who was desperate to impress the coaches. That meant you had a guy who knew how to make plays, was good enough to make plays and was hungry to make plays on every snap.

Will any of this translate to the regular season?

Paul Domowitch wrote a good piece on Means.

“I don’t think I ever played it before I came here,’’ said Means, who was a 3-4 edge rusher at the University of Buffalo and a traditional 4-3 end in his two years with the Bucs. “It’s real good being out there wide and just trying to wreck the edge.’’

With the jury still out on their corners, the Eagles need to be able to “wreck the edge’’ a lot this season. Their pass rush came out of the gate fast last season but petered out.

The Eagles had 20 sacks in their first six games but just 14 in their last 10. It’s why they drafted Barnett in the first round and signed the 32-year-old Long.

And it’s why Schwartz won’t hesitate to move Means ahead of Curry this season if Curry, who will make $7 million and has a $9 million salary-cap number, doesn’t stay on his feet more and step up his play.

Domo focuses on the play of Vinny Curry as to whether Means will get many snaps. I think the real key is STs. The Eagles had five DEs active on gamedays last year, if you count Bryan Braman at that spot. I’m not saying Means has to be as good at STs as Braman, but if he can find a niche on STs that will get him active, I’m sure the coaches will mix him in here and there.

Domo is right in a sense. The coaches are going to look for the best combination of rushers. They have the returning guys in Brandon Graham and Curry. They have the new veteran in Chris Long and the rookie in Derek Barnett. And there is Means. The best players will play.

I do think we have to be careful when talking about Means. He’s not going to be Trent Cole or Hugh Douglas. The Eagles just want him to be an effective part of the rotation. The quality of his snaps will be more important than the quantity.

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One interesting side note. Domo mentions that Means got a small signing bonus when he signed the extension. I was curious about the financial implications. The Eagles didn’t overpay him, but giving Means some money up front got him to pass on the chance at free agency.

His extension, like Chance Warmack’s, is somewhat about the future. Curry has a big contract. Unless he has a monster year, the Eagles could very well be shopping him or flat out cutting him. Means is a good insurance policy for 2018. Barnett would take the starting gig and Means would become the backup at RDE.

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Tre Sullivan and Alex McCalister both went to IR. They are done for 2017.

McCalister will continue to work in the weight room to help him get ready for next spring. He took a big step forward this summer, but needs to get bigger and better. He could be the #5 DE next year. He could take the #4 spot from Means if he makes a substantial leap.

As for Sullivan…it is really hard to judge Safeties without All-22 tape, which we didn’t have this summer. We still don’t know a lot about him. One thing we do know is that he will hit you.

https://twitter.com/_TreFIVE/status/904851956572807169

Wow. He destroyed the blocker and made the tackle. He has the physicality for the league. It seems like the big thing for him is working on his cover skills.

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