Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Disguise

Posted July 4th, 2024 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles defense must take a big step forward this year if the team is to get back to being a title contender. Vic Fangio was hired to run the defense and bring all of his knowledge and experience to that side of the ball. It was definitely needed.

Jonathan Gannon did get the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2022, but let’s examine that a bit.

Jonathan Gannon

2022

Divisional Round – Daniel Jones – 38-7 W
NFC title game – Brock Purdy/Josh Johnson – 31-7 W
Super Bowl – Patrick Mahomes – 38-35 L

2021

Wild card round – Tom Brady – 31-15 L

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Jim Schwartz

2019

Wild card round – Russell Wilson – 17-9 L

2018

Wild card round – Mitchell Trubisky – 16-15 W
Divisional round – Drew Brees – 20-14 L

2017

Divisional Round – Matt Ryan – 15-10 W
NFC title game – Case Keenum – 38-7 W
Super Bowl – Tom Brady – 41-33 W

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Do you notice something there?

When Gannon faced a quality veteran QB, his defense gave up 30 or more points and lost. When he faced mediocre players and could overwhelm them with talent, the Eagles did well.

Schwartz coached in 6 playoff games and only gave up more than 30 points once. And that was in a win. His defenses were far from perfect, but they made it tough for opposing offenses to score. Wilson threw for more than 300 yards in Seattle’s win, but the Seahawks only put up 17 points.

Jim Johnson was the defensive coordinator for 10 seasons. He coached in a lot of playoff games. His defenses only allowed 30 or more points in one game, the NFC title game loss to the Cards in 2008.

Defenses must be able to perform well in the postseason. And that means being able to go up against good QBs and slow them down. One of the best ways to do that is for a defense to disguise coverages and mix things up. All you need to do is slow the QB down so he holds the ball an extra half second. You want to disrupt his rhythm. You want to make him think instead of making quick reads.

Gannon used a version of Fangio’s scheme, but obviously didn’t do a good enough job with it. Having the playbook is one thing. Being able to teach the scheme and make the right calls at the right time is a whole other challenge.

Here is a good video on Fangio and his scheme.

And something on disguises.

Fangio has been working with this scheme for a long time. He has the knowledge to be able to teach the coverage players where to be and what to do. He also has shown a good feel for knowing what to call to keep QBs off balance.

Fangio would be the first to tell you that coaching and scheme won’t be enough. The defense needed a talent upgrade.

Edge Bryce Huff
Edge Jalyx Hunt
LB Devin White
LB Zack Baun
LB Oren Burks
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr
S CJ Gardner-Johnson
CB Isaiah Rodgers
CB Quinyon Mitchell
CB Cooper DeJean

There are still questions with the defense. What version of Devin White will we see? Will Huff be a good replacement for Haason Reddick? Will the CBs be as good as expected?

I think the Eagles made a great hire in Fangio. I think they made smart moves in the offseason so that he’s got the talent he needs to win. That said, this defense won’t suddenly be 1991’s Gang Green unit. They still have some issues and will struggle at times. Still, they won’t be Charmin-soft like last year and they should do a much better job in coverage with all the changes at DB.

With the firepower the Eagles have on offense, this defense needs to be good enough. And I do think that is possible.

*****

Hard Knocks is underway and is a bit different this year. They are focusing on the offseason for the first few episodes. Giants GM Joe Schoen is the focus and so far the show isn’t doin him a lot of favors. Then again, he hasn’t exactly helped himself with some of his moves.

This is a big year for Schoen and Brian Daboll. 2022 was a fun mirage for Giants fans. Last year was 6-11 and a miserable offense. The Giants scored 10 or fewer points in 7 of 17 games. Losing is bad. Losing and be boring is torture.

The pressure is on.

*****

Happy July 4th to everyone. May your day be filled with hot dogs, Funyuns and some ice cold PBR.

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When Bad Is Good

Posted July 1st, 2024 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles meltdown at the end of the 2023 season was ugly with a capital U. Letting Drew Lock drive the length of the field to pull off a comeback win? Ugly. Giving up 35 points to the Cardinals and blowing a 15-point lead in that loss? Ugly. Losing by 23 points to Baker Mayfield and the Bucs in the wild card round? U-G-L-Y.

Yikes.

As bad as that finish was, it was actually good in a way. Had the Eagles gone on a run in the playoffs or won some of those late season games, the front office might have thought major changes weren’t needed. When the team loses 5 of 6 going into the playoffs and then gets dominated in the wild card round, things are going to change for sure. Jeff Lurie and Howie Roseman weren’t going to sit still and hope for the best.

It would have been interesting to know what Nick Sirianni’s thoughts were a few days after the season was over. He is ultra-competitive so he had to be incredibly frustrated by the disastrous finish. At the same time, Sirianni is a coach. They are loyal to assistants and players. I wonder how differently things would have gone in the offseason if he was in control.

He’s not, of course. Lurie and Roseman let Sirianni know that changes were needed. Not just for the sake of change, but rather to fix the flaws that had become glaring issues late in the season. The defense was ineffective, but even worse…embarrassingly soft. Buddy Ryan was rolling over in his grave as he watched some of those “tackles”. Ugh. The offense failed to score 20 points in 5 of the final 7 games. When they needed to step up, they sat down.

The worst thing you can do is come away from a season thinking “We’re pretty close”. Sometimes that is true, but more often than not it proves to be wrong. Very wrong. The meltdown made it clear to everyone that changes needed to be made. People might have differed on what they wanted, but this wasn’t an offseaon that called for caution and discretion.

Most analysts agree that the Eagles had a strong offseason, both in the draft and with pro personnel moves. They got younger, faster and more athletic. They added playmaking DBs. They signed a stud RB in Saquon Barkley. They added good role players. They took chances on former first round picks Devin White, Mekhi Becton and John Ross.

We don’t know if the Eagles made the right moves. Only time will tell that. I do like the fact the team added talent and some attitude. CJ Gardner-Johnson plays with an edge. That was sorely lacking last year. Isaiah Rodgers missed all last season due to a gambling suspension. He is desperate to get on the field and show what he can do. Devin White isn’t happy about how last season went for him. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. Barkley is desperate to win after a mostly miserable run with the Giants.

Last year the Eagles played like fat cats. They had more of a sense of entitlement than an edge. The extra large humble pie they ate throughout December and January should have gotten rid of any of that.

If the Eagles come out hungry, they can get back to winning and contending for a title. Let’s hope they made the right changes on and off the field to get this team back to where it needs to be.

*****

Jimmy Bama shared some of his thoughts on why the Eagles could be very good again this year.

He’s no Danielle Steele, but Jimmy did make some good points.

*****

Here is a good piece by Dave Zangaro.

The Eagles have more than a few breakout candidates. Do we consider Milton Williams a breakout candidate? I would. He’s got a chance at a lot of playing time this year. Huge opportunity for him.

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