defensive coordinator

All posts tagged defensive coordinator

OUR 2023 DEFENSE

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/03/14
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, playoffs, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE Eagles 2023 Defense is going to be hard for me to pin down for a while. We have Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, who is said to favor a 3-4 base. Like the man he’s replacing (Jonathan Gannon), Desai is also favor a “multiple alignment” approach. However, it’s our base which will drive the type of personnel that the team either adds, or allows to slip away...

Right now all the talk is about whether or not SS Chauncey “CJGJ” Gardner-Johnson will re-sign; and whether CB Darius Slay will be traded. These guys are important, but those aren’t the big issues for this Defense. Those guys benefit from our identity. They don’t create our identity.

Let’s start with something you already know: Pass rush and winning up front, are what the Front Office wish to be the calling cards of our Defense. So they usually spend the big money, and the early draft picks, on the front seven. Which poses a bit of a problem for this season.

If we’re switching to a 3-4 base, under contract, we have Haason Reddick at LOLB to build off of, and Jordan Davis to plug in at NT. However, every other player at the DT position: Fletcher Cox, Ndamukong Suh, and Linval Joseph, are all free agents as of this week, or already gone (Javon Hargrave). So we have no interior depth.

At 3-4 DE, we have possibly Milton Williams, but DE Josh Sweat and DE Brandon Graham aren’t 3-4 DE’s or OLB’s either. In fact, the last time Graham played in a 3-4, (back in 2015), he was moved to OLB, and was a liability vs the pass. Those legs are 8 years older now. So, two of our better 4-3 players don’t fit the new 3-4 scheme.

If we do switch, it would make far more sense to play Nakobe Dean at ILB. That would give OLB/DE Patrick Johnson a chance to shake his ill-fitting tweener label. Johnson has been used as a situational, pass rush, 4-3 DE; but he’s too small for every down use there. A move to 3-4 OLB could transform his career.

With OLB Kyzir White being a free agent, we really don’t have a presence at RILB, let alone depth. So there’d have to be a fair amount of roster rebuilding between now and September, with everyone learning how to communicate new terms, as they fill new roles. Which basically sounds like missing the playoffs, due to the division’s weakest defense.

Of course, if we stick with a base 4-3, we just need a DT to pair with Davis, and to re-sign White. After that, we’re building depth, and guys who are used to their 4-3 roles, are just learning new terms. Better still, the new DC can lean on veteran leadership. If everything is all new to everyone, we’re essentially playing 11 rookies.

BUT! Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We’ll revisit this when Free Agency quiets down.

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/02/15
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), playoffs, Rants, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

EAGLES Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon, has fucked off to become Arizona’s head coach. This is a HUGE break for our team! Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen also left, to become the Colts next scapegoat, but I don’t give shit about that right now. I want to celebrate Gannon’s departure RIGHT NOW! This is addition by subtraction.

The very first article that I ever wrote on this site, was ‘WANT A SUPER BOWL? THEN FIRE BILL DAVIS.’ In it, I mentioned how continuing to settle for Davis as our Defensive Coordinator, wasn’t going to get us where we wanted to go. I wrote that on February 2, 2014.

During 2015, the Eagles fired then head coach, Chip Kelly, and Davis followed. In 2016 Doug Pederson, became our new Head Coach. Pederson was joined by DC Jim Schwartz, who inherited the talent that Davis had been squandering on Defense. The result was that we won our first Super Bowl on February 8, 2018.

Similarly, Gannon has been squandering the talent on the defensive side of our roster. Yes, yes, I know! We got 70 sacks in 2022. But what else did we do? Let me give you a quick rundown:

We got turnovers in bunches at the beginning of the 2022 season. When those dried up, no adjustment was made. Just more and more soft coverages, allowing easy completions which kept our Defense on the field. Look at how we finished the season:

Ryan Tannehill: 14/22 – 63.6% – 141 – 1 – 0

Daniel Jones: 18/27 – 66.6% – 169 – 1 – 0

Justin Fields: 14/21 – 66.6% – 152 – 2 – 0

Dak Prescott: 27/35 – 77.1% – 347 – 3 – 1

Andy Dalton: 18/22 – 81.8% – 205 – 0 – 1

Davis Webb: 23/40 – 57.5% – 168 – 1 – 0

That 3rd and 30 vs Dallas? Our four man rush allowed Dak Prescott to move gently left, and heave a 50 yard strike, to a guy who had recently been on his couch! Who dialed up that rush? Who called for that loose coverage?

Looks like our Secondary wasn’t set right?
NOPE! We were set. This alignment is just how it was called.

Hey, how about the development of the rookies, DT Jordan Davis and LB Nakobe Dean?

Davis was injured in Week 7, and sat out three games. Prior to his injury, he had five starts. Once he returned, he would never again see 20 snaps in a game under Gannon. Free agent additions DT Ndamukong Suh and DT Linval Joseph, helped give DT Fletcher Cox relief during Davis’s injury, but they should have never out-snapped Davis after his return. Both did in every game.

Dean played all of 34 snaps all season long. He played a total of 43 if you count the playoffs. There is no way to convince me (or most of you), that Dean should have played behind LB Kyzir White for most of this season. Don’t even get me STARTED about CB Zeck McPhearson barely seeing the field.

Does anyone want to discuss his adjustments in the Super Bowl? What adjustments? Great question. The Chiefs played pitch and catch all game long. I’ve seen clouds under more pressure than QB Patrick Mahomes saw that night. And yet how often did we see a five man rush? How about Man-Press? A Fire Zone Blitz?

When asked what defensive system he ran, Gannon answered with “Multiple”. I hated that answer right from the get-go! Multiple should mean that we see all kinds of exotic looks, but this guy didn’t come with the resume for Multiple. (Few in history have.)

Instead of “Multiple” what we got was mostly 4 – 3, off-Corners, 2 Deep Zone. Translation: Missionary, under the covers, in the dark, while wearing pajamas. Just get me someone who wants to play with his toys, and dreams up inventive things to do with them. Handcuff her behind her knees, and hit it from the back with your foot on her cheek. Let’s see some imagination!

My fear was that Gannon was going to stick around, and continue to squander talent. However, his fucking off, opens the door to a quick return to the Super Bowl. Maybe even as soon as next season, despite free agent departures like DT Javon Hargrave and CB James Bradberry! We could stumble into a dynasty here, folks.

Hold on. Let me dial it back a sec. I haven’t been a fan of any of our DC’s since Jim Johnson. Most of you have ridden that ride with me (hey, remember Juan Castillo?), so I don’t have to go into detail. We could still screw this up, but as of now, we’re stronger for having lost him. Today, we had some addition by subtraction.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: PLAYOFFS SUPER BOWL: CHIEFS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/02/14
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HORSESHOES and hand grenades.

EAGLES 35 – Chiefs 38

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (27/38 – 71.0% – 304 – 1 – 0)

Rushing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (15 – 70 – 4.6 – 3 – 1)

Receiving : (S) WR Devonta Smith (9 – 7 – 100 – 14.2 – 0)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (3 (18) + 2:3 (2) – 2 (-4) = 16) LG Jason Kelce

Drive Killer : NA

Sack Leader : NA

Ace : NA

****

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Chiefs did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) No Clean Releases: All we did, was give them clean releases into their routes across the board. They were running routes unimpeded, like they were in unopposed drills. The Chiefs QB could have thrown the ball just on timing, with his eyes closed. This was an embarrassing display of non-adjustment by the coaching staff. (NOT DONE)

2) Attack their LB’s and NCB: We lived on this in the first half. It lulled the Chiefs to sleep, opening up a nice 45 yard scoring strike to WR A.J. Brown (8 – 6 – 96 – 16.0 – 1). The second half seemed to feature more runs for our QB, which led to points, but seemed to leave most of our weapons a lot less involved. We still made use of the TE and such, but it wasn’t nearly as pronounced later. (DONE)

3) Force their QB Left: We didn’t do this. Instead he mostly went to his right repeatedly, and gutted us for 3 scores, and not one turnover. We let him do what he’s good at, and we let this game become a shootout. Which is the only kind of game they can win.

Our pass rush sacked him all of ZERO times, as we rarely sent five and allowed receivers to roam where they chose.

Some may choose to blame a shitty field surface, but the Chiefs had to play on that field too. Beating us for two touchdowns on a play, run twice, based on quick change of direction. (NOT DONE)

4) Quick Throws Off of Play-action: The Eagles handed the ball off, all of 17 times, to three RB’s. No one had more than 7 carries. The Chiefs simply didn’t buy the play-action and Hurts was the QB who spent most of the day under duress. (NOT DONE)

****

So we end the season on a note of 1 out of the Four Things getting done. The score was only this close because the Chiefs defense was really, really porous.

****

On The Whole:

While everyone else wants to fawn over Hurts three rushing touchdowns, I feel it necessary to bring up how his fumble was the biggest single moment, difference in the game. Those seven points off the board, would have netted him a Lombardi. Instead, there is no guarantee that he ever sees another opportunity.

Though that moment was indeed huge, it wasn’t why we lost.

Defensive coaching is why this game was lost. Or better said, a lack of defensive coaching is what lost this game. I’m on record REPEATEDLY expressing my lack of trust in Defensive Coordinator Jonathon Gannon. I was really hoping that he was going to take a head coaching job, and leave Philly. Sadly, it looks like we’ll still have him next year.

I know some will point out 70 sacks, but I’m pretty sure most DC’s could find success with this much talent. In fact, other DC’s may have found a way to keep the turnovers coming. Given that we likely won’t be able to afford as much talent next season, Gannon may have blown our shot.

THE EAGLES HAVE ME EXCITED

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/01/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FIRING Head Coach Doug Pederson the way that Owner Jeffery Lurie did, was definitely bad optics on the Eagles part. That said, bad optics and a bad move are not the same thing. I am not billing new Head Coach Nick Sirianni, as a savior. What I am, is low-key excited about the likely directions that the Offense and Defense are going in.

On Offense, (according to ESPN) we ran more vertical routes than any team last year, and had the 3rd slowest time ‘from snap to pass’. While I didn’t know that until I read it this week, that information doesn’t surprise me in the least. Not one iota. It also explains pretty much everything about last year. Check it out.

Long routes take longer to develop. That means the QB has to hold the ball longer. Behind last year’s shaky Offensive Line, that was a recipe to be sacked 50 times. Meanwhile QB Carson Wentz was thrown under the bus on a weekly basis, and ultimately benched, for rookie QB Jalen Hurts. Mostly for doing what the system apparently asked of him. That sort of thing will sour a QB on a coach.

That spark that Pederson said he was looking for? Completion percentage: Wentz 57.4/Hurts 52.0 – TD percentage: Wentz 3.7/Hurts 4.1 – Interception Percentage: Wentz 3.4/Hurts 2.7 – Sacks per Attempt Wentz 10.3/Hurts 8.1.

Before you get caught up saying one is better than the other, consider: ALL of these were bad numbers. Particularly when compared to most winning NFL QB’s. Arguing in favor of either is just picking gnat shit out of pepper. Those kind of numbers, with this much QB talent, will get a head coach fired. And then not offered a job anywhere. Despite his jewelry. (Sips tea.)

Sirianni has never called plays. His career has been spent designing them. Last year he designed plays for practically immobile QB Phillip Rivers. Rivers was sacked just 19 times in 2020.

Sirianni’s play designs have typically favored getting the ball to a receiver within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. The Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen worked with Sirianni in San Diego, and they are both of like mind. That means the ball will have to come out quickly and accurately. It also means more of the weight is on the WR’s to uncover quickly. So the passing game isn’t 75% on Carson anymore. So by design, there is no more Superhero Ball!

If everyone does their jobs well, it will mean fewer negative plays. That keeps third downs manageable, and helps the Eagles win the field position game, even when drives don’t result in points. That makes life easier on the Defense.

Speaking of defense! Our Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon, has his primary background with the 4 – 3 system, has developed star DB’s, and is rumored to favor a Cover Two base. If I were a woman, I’d be floating in my chair. I’ve been asking, begging, praying for this sort of coordinator, since Jim Johnson died in 2009.

Keep in mind, all of this is all just reading tea leaves, right now. That said, these are some of the biggest damned tea leaves I’ve ever seen!

Did I mention that on Offense, Sirianni is a big believer in 12 Personnel? I didn’t? Well guess what?!

We still don’t know what this means for the run game, or how this is going to change how the Defensive Line attacks. Today’s press conference should shed more light on that.

What we do know, is that many of the weaknesses that we’ve learned to live with, are getting fundamentally wiped away. They will of course give way to new weaknesses, but we’ll burn those bridges when we get to them.

So yeah, I’m low-key excited. Can’t you tell?

CH-CH-CHANGES.

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/01/10
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Howie to players.jpg

FIRING Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh and Wide Receivers coach Carson Walch seems to have caught everyone off-guard.

Everyone except me, that is.

I know, I know. At the joint press conference with General Manager Howie Roseman, Head Coach Doug Pederson outright said that the two would be back. And you believed him. This is why everyone was confused.

doug pederson water bottle presser 2020.jpeg

Well, that was PARTLY what had everyone confused…

I have to say, when Doug said that both would return in 2020, THAT is what left me confused. It would have meant Doug spending a second straight offseason defending the job Groh has done, had Groh stayed. Had Walch stayed, it would mean keeping a position coach who A) failed miserably to develop young players, and B) couldn’t help any player (young or established) once they started to struggle.

ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen, said on December 2nd “Barring a run in the playoffs, I would say that there is going to be some significant changes on the Philadelphia staff“. Local scribe Rueben Frank echoed those thoughts on THE SAME DAY. 

roob-lurie-story_1.jpg

Two reporters, from two different agencies, with one story? Folks, that’s what we sportswriters call “a done deal”. I think many people (both fans and media) either ignored them, or forgot that they said it. I did neither. So for me, these firings were natural. They were the final result, of sustained poor results.

I’m in that large pool of people who thinks that the OC job should go to Assistant Head Coach/Running Back Coach/Run Game Coordinator Duce Staley. I hate the idea of losing him as a position coach, because we’ve generally gotten great results out of his pupils. However, it’s time that Staley got a chance to see if he has higher level coaching chops.

ccard.duce.staley

Snubbing him a second time… If the Eagles do that, he should leave. He’s done nothing but succeed for this team, both as a player and as a coach. He’s earned it. More than earned it.

If we don’t give him a bigger nibble, we are officially an obstacle to any higher aspirations that he may have. If we don’t offer him the spot, a serious question has to be raised as to (and I can’t believe it’s me raising this issue), why Duce keeps being passed over, for lesser qualified White candidates. (It’s a non-issue of he gets the nod this time.)

At Wide Receivers Coach, I’d like to see us bring in someone like former WR Cris Carter. He’d bring Immediate Hall Of Fame credibility, high standards, and would make Philly a more attractive destination for free agents, who want to work with coaches who understand what they go through.

I also like Ricky Proehl, but I doubt he could be coaxed up here, from his life in North Carolina. Carter on the other hand, may be (ahem) looking for a next move. Making the move here, could be just the doctor ordered for a man with a much knowledge as he has. Especially, given that it could finally grace him with the Super Bowl ring that has eluded him.

In any case folks, I hardly think we’re done with this overhaul. And just so we’re clear, my 6th sense is telling me that Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz won’t be here in 2020. Regardless of whether or not Cleveland hires him as their new head coach. .

 

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 6 – VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Jim schwartz vikings loss.jpg

WE were exposed in this game. There are certain flaws and deficiencies we can hide against a bottom-feeder, doormat team like the Jets. However, a team like Minnesota while riddled with their own flaws, required us to be more on top of hiding ours.

Instead, we put them on display like a buffet.

EAGLES 20 – Vikings 38

There were very few bright spots in this game. For the Eagles. While QB Carson Wentz (26/40 – 65.0% – 306 – 2 – 1) threw for over 300 and rushed for 23, the entire Offense was hampered all day by the lack of a second wideout. Our leader in receiving yardage was RB Miles Sanders (3 – 6 – 2.0 – 0 – 0 / 3 – 86 – 28.9 – 1) on a day when he’d score his first pro touchdown.

card.miles.sanders

It’s hard to tell if WR Alshon Jeffery (10 – 76 – 7.6 – 1) had a big day. He had 10 grabs on 12 targets, but his yardage was meager. He was not used as explosively as he can be. It’s not that he was dropping deep passes, it that he mostly wasn’t even running intermediate routes!

Defensively, our pass rush fell back to Earth, getting one sack all day. That was courtesy of DE Brandon Graham (3 – 1 – 0 – 0). Then again it’s hard to get pressure when there’s no Safety help deep and a second rate QB gets to play catch, instead of football for most of the game.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Stop the run: For most of the game, the Eagles did exactly that, and for there were even a few downs where they ended up in a 4-3 Under look. But alas! While DC Jim Schwartz could have stopped the run with that 43U, he’s addicted to bringing a Safety into the box. The result was no deep help, which resulted in us getting shelled early. (NOT DONE)

2) Protect the ball: One pick from Wentz late in the contest, after the Vikes had already tagged every wall. Can’t hate on that. (DONE)

3) Go BIG: Alshon Jeffery saw 12 targets and pulled in 10 of them. TE Zach Ertz (4 – 54 – 13.5 – 0) saw 9 targets, and TE Dallas Goedert (5 – 48 – 9.6 – 0) saw 8 targets. That’s 29 of Wentz’s 40 attempts going to big boys. It’s a shame there was no outside threat, to open up the inside and let those monsters roam a bit more, but all in due time. (DONE)

missing-milk-missing-person-milk-carton-template-group-with-54-51729343.png

This is the WR opposite Alshon Jeffery

4) Show fear: At one point we were down 3 – 17, and FOX showed a shot of our sideline. There were players smiling. This confused me, so I double checked the score. 3 – 17. Vikings. No fear. No urgency. By the time Wentz was slamming his helmet at the end of the 3rd, over two fuck-ups by C Jason Kelce, it was well past time for that. (Those fuck-ups by the way: The first, was not snapping the ball while Wentz was screaming for it, which led to a delay of game. The second, was on the down immediately after, when a guy came straight down the pipe and sacked Wentz.) (NOT DONE)

That makes this week’s score 2 of 4, and our season total to 12 of 24. A .500 mark, for a .500 team. Next week we journey to Jerry World, to face our division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. Both of us are 3 – 3, so the winner gets to sit alone atop the division at 4 – 3, and bragging rights about beating them in their own home. (See what I did there?)

On The Whole:

At least for a half. So mad that I had to laugh. Kirk went to work, on Steph’s gift of grab.

No deep Safety.

Funeral dirge played on a violin. Corner without help in the back. They runnin’ by him.

No adjustments.

Write me as traitor, or you can call me hater. But I’ve had it up to here, with defenseless coordinators. Either this staff, has to adjust the system. Or someone needs to take away their keys, then dismiss them.

THE 12: #2 GROOM A SUCCESSOR

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE122018#2

Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

************

DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz’s has already been an NFL head coach. It wasn’t a good showing, but it was only Detroit, so folks will be willing to grant him a pass. With that in mind, you can expect that any time his unit finishes in the top 12 in points allowed, some team or another will to try and steal him at the end of the year. Get comfy with that reality.

So it would be nice to have a successor, right? That way we don’t end up in the situation we ended up in, when DC Jim Johnson* passed (from melanoma) in 2009. At that point we got stuck with his assistant, Sean McDermott, who tried to run a version of Johnson’s blitz-heavy system. Johnson’s real expertise lay in being able to make tiny adjustments to his scheme.

McDermott lacked that touch. He lasted one season and was fired. A mess ensued after that, Jim Washburn, Juan Castillo… (be nice if we could forget about that one, right?)

Eagles 2017 LB's.jpg

SO! We need to be ready for the day that Schwartz goes all Frank Reich on us. I personally like LB’s Coach Ken Flajole. He was a DC under Steve Spagnulo for three years, and that unit performed solidly, given that they were saddled with (just about) the NFL’s worst offense.

This is provided we want to promote from within, and hit the ground running with a DC who already knows the players.

*Jim Johnson’s name appears in green, bold, italics like current Eagles, because he was an Eagle when he passed. This is also why Jerome Brown’s name is bolded, but Reggie White’s and Andre Waters names, usually are not.

THE GAPS IN OUR WIDE NINE

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/06/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Players, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FLETCHER Cox just signed a huge deal, and already fans are calling for him to get 12, 14, 14.5, and 15 sacks this year. He’s coming off of a career high 9.5 and moving inside to DT. So if double digit sacks is your idea of Cox having a good year, get ready to be angry.

In most cases DT’s don’t notch 10+ sacks and with all the attention Cox will get, 8 sacks would represent success. (At least as far as a stat sheet goes.) However Cox’s biggest impact won’t be the number of sacks he gets, but instead it will be the havoc he wreaks on blocking schemes. 

Drawing a double team on the inside will allow MLB Jordan Hicks to roam mostly untouched and stymie the run game between the Tackles. As you can see in the diagram below:

Attacking us Set-up

(I’m expecting a monster season from Hicks.)

This will also give everyone else on the Defensive Line one-on-one match-ups in pass rushing situations. With DE Vinny Curry being virtually unblockable one-on-one, opponents will want to get that ball out FAST. The easiest way to do that is with a slot receiver. As is indicated here by the yellow dot:

Attacking us Step1

If you don’t cover him he’s an easy pre-snap read for the QB. So you have to walk the WLB over to him:

Attacking us Step2

This unfortunately opens up a natural lane to run through:

Attacking us Step3

Here is where my concern lies. The knee jerk reaction to this problem is to either walk the FS down over the slot instead of the WLB; or (as we used to do under Jim Washburn) walk the FS into the gap vacated by the WLB. Both of these are wrong.

The first option robs the CB of any deep help. If man coverage on that side is beaten, it becomes a game of catch. In case you aren’t clear on what I mean, let me say two words: Nnamdi Asomugha. Let me follow that with three letters: DRC. 

So what you want is Safety help deep.

The second option (walking up the FS) is what we did under Washburn. Funny thing about 200 pound Safeties. They’re utter shit at taking on 320 pound Offensive Linemen. The result was footprints on the front of our defensive player’s jerseys. We were easy to run against, throw against, score against, lean against…

The correct solution is to shift the WLB over to the slot, and slide the DE from outside the LT to the edge of his outside shoulder:

Attacking us Solution

Truth: I could have just written that from the start, but I did it this way for a very good reason.

Lots of fans are still worried about the Wide Nine because we were thoroughly embarrassed using it before. So I wanted to show step by step, the cause and effect of doing certain things. I wanted to show that the problem wasn’t the system, the problem was how the system was run. The problem was who we had running it.

Today we have better people running the system. Today we have an actual Defensive Coordinator, not an Offensive Line coach masquerading as one. Today that system has been installed by the DC, not by a position (Defensive Line) coach. Today it’s an entire system for an entire defense, not just a technique for the line. 

Today, the gaps in our Wide Nine have been closed.

 

GET US BILL COWHER

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/31
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 11 Comments

Coaches-Cowher-2

 OUR team’s next head coach should be Bill Cowher. I mean why dream small, right? Owner Jeff Lurie said that he’s looking for a strategic thinker. One who understands the passion of Eagles fans, and who possesses emotional intelligence when dealing with those he expects top performance from. If this is the case, then the search should begin and end with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

Cowher proved his strategic mind as the Defensive Coordinator of a stifling Chiefs unit back in the early 90’s. I’m sure it didn’t hurt to have weapons like the late HOFer Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross, Deron Cherry and big ass NT Dan Saleamua. (Saleamua was a 300 pounder before it was all the rage.) It also didn’t hurt to have either Tony Dungy or Herman Edwards (I can’t recall which) on that staff.

As far as understanding the fan base here, Cowher actually played LB as an Eagle, so he knows what Philly can be like. In addition to that, he’s a PA native who made his fame coaching in Pittsburgh. So there can be no doubt about him understanding our passion, and he likely won’t wilt under its heat.

Emotional intelligence you say? The man’s players LOVED him. He was the proverbial coach that players would run through a brick wall for.

As a side note, Cowher’s background as a Special Teams Coordinator, could entice our current STC Dave Fipp to stick around. That means players like LB Byran Braman, FS Chris Maragos, and WR Seyi Ajirotutu would be well worth retaining. I remember the days of having one ST ace in former Eagle LB (turned local sportscaster) Ike Reese. I love the idea that we have three now. I’d love to retain them in meaningful roles.

I have no idea what it would take to land Cowher, but if it means we have to “pass the hat” down Broad Street, I’m all for it. I’m 100% in. What do you think?

HEY! SHARE THIS ARTICLE AND MAYBE WE CAN REACH LURIE’S EAR!

REPLACING BILL DAVIS

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

bdawk

WHILE Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis hasn’t been fired yet, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he gets to return for the 2016 season. For that reason I’m as giddy as a kid on Christmas Eve. I’m generally the last person to advocate for anybody getting fired, but we can’t get any better as long as he’s hanging around here. Every year we’re a joke versus the pass, and many fans (as is common with sports) blame the players.

Last year I made it a point to say that our Cornerbacks weren’t the problem and that the real problem was our defensive scheme, which I mentioned last November, and even Brian Dawkins took issue with it a month later. I specifically pointed out our flawed cover coverage concept. I said our pass defense problems would persist until the defensive scheme was changed. Many disagreed and clamored for a new Secondary.

Lo and behold fans got what they wanted. If you were one of the fans screaming for a new Secondary, congratulations. How did that work out for you? What did I tell you would happen? The Eagles even went so far as to overspend on the top Free Agent on the market in CB Byron Maxwell. They were aggressive and didn’t cheap out. There were about a million and five things wrong with that signing. I even went so far as to point out some of what they were.

Side question: Who leases a shiny, new, 12 mil a year CB, and then uses a rookie back-up to cover WR Calvin Johnson with no Safety help? Answer: Someone who should be fired.

If Davis is fired we’ll need a replacement. QUICK! Of all of the assistants on this staff who would you like to see take over for him? (Cue the sound of crickets). And other ideas? Please don’t say Brian Dawkins. I love the guy but he hasn’t even been a position coach yet. Asking him to come off the street and put together a defensive scheme and game plans that worked, is to set him up for failure.

And please, no one say Rob Ryan. I’m so sick of hearing his name. He’s been awful everywhere he’s gone. If he wasn’t Buddy’s son and Rex’s brother, he’d be one more fat guy buying two buckets of KFC while saying “It’s not as good as it used to be when it was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Hey, you remember Gino’s?” So please don’t mention him.

If Chip Kelly were to be fired, I don’t really know who I’d want to replace him yet, but I already have a short list of people who I’d like to see replace Davis. You’ve likely never heard of any of them before and that’s part of the point. These are guys hungry to prove that they’re ready for the job. There’s also no book on their tendencies that would help opponents early on.

If say…Rob Ryan, came here, you already know it’s a 3-4 with a blindside rush LB, a NT that plays over the Center, and multiple ineffective coverage looks. The NFL would have to learn a new guy just as he’d have to learn the NFL. If you get a position coach already in the league, he has several legs up on any collegiate coach that we could bring in, and so the NFL is where I focused my search. Here’s my short list:

Kris Kocurek: Currently the Defensive Line coach for the Detroit Lions. He has a knack for getting production from young players, which hints at him being able to motivate people on their lown evels. It would be nice to have a coordinator who could also develop players we draft instead of wasting pick after pick like we’ve been doing.

Bryan Cox: Currently coaches the Defensive Line for the Atlanta Falcons. He also coached the front seven for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s a former player, who brought his lunch pail and intensity on Sundays. That doesn’t always make for a good coach, but Cox seems to have made the transition. The positions he coaches tend to be solid but not flashy. It would be interesting to see what a whole defense coached with that solid, intense, hard-nosed attitude would look like.

Adam Zimmer: Currently the Linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings, over his 9 year career he’s had success both working with and without his father (famed DC now Vikings HC Mike Zimmer). While he’s never held the reigns as a DC, he may be itching to be more than a position coach, and has a GREAT brain to pick for advice.

Andre Patterson: Currently the Defensive Line coach for the Minnesota Vikings, he has plenty of NFL coaching experience but none as a coordinator. He’s been collegiate DC, and twice he was a collegiate Assistant Head Coach. Having coached at the high school, college and NFL level, he’s yet another candidate that has shown that he knows how to get young players to produce early.

These guys also have one very important thing in common (as far as I’m concerned). They all come out of 4-3 systems. While the 3-4 is faster and more flexible, it’s also less stable and easier to exploit. There is no point in shipping out Davis for a less good version of the same thing. I’m no Kelly fan, but I think with a 4-3 defense this is a team that has a shot at winning playoff games. A 3-4 serves as a poor counterbalance for the offensive system we run.

Time to make a change.