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 CBDarius 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 Davisto 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.
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 Whitefor most of this season. Don’t even get me STARTED about CB Zeck McPhearsonbarely 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.
He’s the DT that the Eagles have put on Injured Reserve. Remember when they carted him off the field on Monday ni-, oh right. They didn’t. The Eagles put him on I.R. on Wednesday the 16th. This is Sunday morning the 20th. Quick! What’s his injury? Anybody? Anybody? His injury is sucking ass, and being pushed aside for two better players, that’s what his injury is. Please! Go to the Eagles website and get the details on this “injury”. I’ll wait…..
Over the last 5 weeks, the Eagles have allowed 124 rushing yards or more, in every game. It got really bad after the Bye week, when we allowed 144, 168, and 152 respectively. Many things factor into that. Not bringing arms to tackle attempts, holding runners up to claw at the ball, tackling shoulders instead of thighs. All of which are quickly correctable.
The biggest reason we’re getting run through however, is because we’re getting beat on the line of scrimmage. The knee jerk from fans, has been to either blame DT Fletcher Cox for falling off, or to blame the injury to DT Jordan Davis. Both are correct, but only in a round about way.
Cox was being asked to play more snaps than usual, as the coaching staff hoped he could fill the hole left by Davis, both as a presence and rotationally. As a result, we’re running Cox into the ground. In fact, we’re using him the opposite of how we should be using a player his age. (More on that in the upcoming Quarterly Report. Yes, it’s late. I know. Bear with me.)
Linval Joseph working the “One Half” technique. Ndamukong Suh gets a taste of Philly’s sports media.
So the Eagles added 34 year old DT Linval Joseph, and then DT Ndamukong Suh, who is 35. While Joseph is more of a space eater for the run game, Suh is a flat-out disruptor of blocking schemes. Even when he doesn’t make the play, he frequently causes havoc.
Understand, the worst of our run defense has coincided with the ramp up in snaps for Tuipulotu. Over the last three games, he’s averaged 33% of the defensive snaps. And that is not a good thing! I made it clear in last years Draft Reportthat I didn’t see selecting him as a good move. He stuck anyway.
I repeated my point about Tuipulotu in this year’s Pre-Draft Preview. My specific choice of words: “Marlon Tuipulotu played like trash, with a side order of ass last year,”. Yet he kept seeing the field this year. And the more he did, the more others like Cox were asked to compensate for everything that Tuipulotu can’t do. Which, you know, is pretty much everything.
Cox eats double teams and disrupts the pocket; DT Javon Hargrave is an ‘A’ gap penetrator who gets to QB’s; Davis is a space eating, pocket collapser. Those are our true DT’s. While DTMilton Williams can play that spot, he’s more of a DE/DT tweener. He’s coming along, but we still don’t really know who he is, just yet. Tuipulotu is just a 300 pound guy. Hell, I’M a 300 pound guy! There should be more qualifications than that, to get a roster spot.
When Davis went down, we were left with a bum (Tuipulotu), and two guys who specialize in slipping the point of attack, not holding it. That’s not saying that Cox and Hargrave can’t play the run! We all know that they can. But that’s not where their salary size comes from.
Do you realize that at worst, if Suh and Joseph don’t contribute much as players, those two, plus Cox and Hargrave, will be pouring wisdom into Davis. Meanwhile we have no timetable on Tuipulotu’s return date. Which is totally understandable without an actual injury to assess.
OLB Hassan Reddick and DT Fletcher Cox have a meeting at QB Carson Wentz
THIS wasn’t a game. It was an execution.
EAGLES24 – Commanders 8
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.
Sack Leader : (S) Brandon Graham (4 – 2.5 – 0 – 1)
Ace :N/A
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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: Commanders did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
Rookie DT Jordan Davis deflects Wentz’s first attempt.
1) Invert the pocket: From the start the Eagles were on this. QB Carson Wentz(24/43 – 55.8% – 240 – 0 – 0) had no room to step-up, and was a sitting duck for 9 sacks on the day. His first attempt was deflected by rookie DT Jordan Davis (no stats), after which: The hunt, was ON! DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) is up to 3 sacks for the young season, where he had just 3.5 in 2021. DTJavon Hargrave (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) had a fumble recovery.
Added to this, was the Commanders in ability to run the ball. They were held to 77 yards on 22 carries (3.5), as the Eagles focused on clogging up the middle of the field. In fact 22 of those yards were from Wentz on three scrambles. Without those numbers, the Redsk- Commanders, ran for 55 yards on 19 carries (2.8). (DONE)
2) Go Deep Off Play-action: We didn’t get around to this until the second quarter, but when we did, it drew a 17 yard pass interference call. There were quite a few deep shots, but almost none of them came with the use of play-action which made things more difficult throughout the game. This was technically done, but was woefully underutilized. (DONE)
3) Score in the Fourth: Not only did the Offense not score in the fourth quarter, we began it by giving up a safety. For the third time in three games, the team fizzled out in the second half. This is beyond embarrassing. It is downright alarming. The Eagles have scored 86 points this season, with 65 of them in the second quarter of games. We’ve scored just 7 in the first quarter (Vikings), 14 in the third (Lions). Zero in the fourth. In fact, the Offense is now giving up points directly. (NOT DONE)
DE Brandon Graham wreaked havoc in this one.
4) Set the Edges: And OB-HOY did they! Our man Brandon Graham (2.5 sacks) ATE TODAY! On the other side of the line DE Josh Sweat (2 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) ATE TODAY! On top of which, they kept the action bottled up, making it easier to close in on the QB. Of course, the Commanders offense featuring a seven step drop, only helps to facilitate DE’s getting to their QB. (It’s why they gave the Lions five sacks last week.)
Our DE play was aggressive, but more importantly it was sound. Contain, then rush. It’s the mindset they should bring every week, regardless of it’s a mobile QB or a statue; a power RB, or a slasher. Good technique yields consistent results, and often consistent rewards. This having been said, I still think Graham’s replacement should be top priority in the next Draft. (DONE)
****
This week saw 3 of Four Things accomplished. This week we got to smack up the QB who helped us win our first Super Bowl, and next week we try to smack up the Head Coach who won it for us. Feels like the schedule makers just felt like being bastards, and making us look like friggin’ ingrates.
****
On The Whole:
Alright. Same as last week. Gripes then glory. Let’s start.
So much of the credit for this win will go to Jalen Hurts and that’s a shame. It’s damned near criminal. He essentially phoned in the second half of this game, like he’s been doing since the season started. I wonder what it would look like if he played a whole game.
If I was RB Miles Sanders I’d start preserving my body for my next team. I wouldn’t come back to the Eagles. The way they dick around with his playing time, (in a contract year, no less!) is disgusting. Especially since the coaches keep putting lesser players on the field, in his stead. Neither back-up can break an arm tackle, and one is absolute liability in pass protection. It’s part what’s wrong with the Offense in the second half of games.
Between not playing our best players in key situations, and doing silly shit like having Devonta Smith return a punt, we’re only outsmarting ourselves. We should have buried Washington in the second half! Their back-up QB should have started the 4th quarter. But noooo! We’re too busy being fucking clever, while posting no points in three quarters.
And now for a happy tune. I want to start with Avonte Maddox tackling a TE, 67 pounds heavier than himself, in a goal line situation, to force a turnover on downs. Trap game, my ass!
WR A.J. “Swoll Batman” Brown
Eagles WR’s played outstanding today. Devonta (Skinny Batman) of course, played out of his mind today. The there was (Swoll Batman) WR A.J. Brown (10 – 5 – 85 – 17.0 – 1) who pulled a man with him into the endzone after a 9 yard strike from Hurts. Unfortunately (Fast Batman) WR Quez Watkins (no stats) only saw one target today.
Jalen Hurts had a very good first half. No turnovers, didn’t run too much, or too soon. He looked good in the pocket. His protection probably would have been better, if the play-calling involved handing off the ball more.
Remember when everyone assumed MLB T.J. Edwards would lose his starting gig to a rookie? Remember when I said not so fast?
THESE LB’s! MLB T.J.Edwards (9 – 1.0 – 0 – 0), and OLB Kyzir White (8 – 0 – 0 – 0) were out there cleaning up whatever slipped through the D-Line. OLBHassan Reddick (2 – 1.5 – 0 – 1) also ATE TODAY!
DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jonathan Gannon came to Philadelphia saying that his defensive system wasn’t a system. He said that he wanted to “be multiple”. As in: Use multiple defensive fronts (4 – 3 , 3 – 4, 5 – 2, 4 – 2, etc.) He did much of that last year, primarily playing out of a 4 – 3 base. This year however, we’re hearing rumblings of using more 3 – 4.
I will never say that the Eagles shouldn’t strive for versatility, but we can’t allow ourselves to fall in love with the 3 – 4 this year. By “fall in love with”, I mean starting more than one game in it. By “fall in love with”, I mean more than 15 snaps per game in it, or using it EVERY single week. The 3 – 4 can be a weapon. It just needs to be concealed carry. Not hanging off the brim of our baseball cap.
Understand, most of the players we have on Defense, were plucked from 4 – 3 systems in college, and have played 4 – 3 as pros. That means 4 – 3 is what they are good at. They have become experts in 4 – 3. So why strand them in something they aren’t proficient in? The idea is to spend as much time as we can, getting the most out of our players.
We do have players here, who have played in a 3 – 4. DE Brandon Graham played OLB, and DT Fletcher Coxplayed DE, in a 3 – 4 Wide Nine, back when Bill Davis was here. You remember him?Chip Kelly brought him here, and he ran our Defense into the ground. You may remember that I wrote an article called “WANT A SUPER BOWL? THEN FIRE BILL DAVIS”. Then we fired Bill Davis and won a Super Bowl. Yeah, that Bill Davis.
My point is that switching 4 – 3 players, to 3 – 4 players didn’t work well for us. So again, why strand them? Look, sprinkling in a little 3 – 4 could be a major weapon for us. A major one if used just 5 to 8 downs per game (out of an average of 60). An opponent isn’t going to devote much time to stopping something we run only about 10 percent of the time. The time isn’t there. Not with less than a week of prep time. That alone makes it scary.
Also, with DT’s Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jordan Davis, andMilton Williams playing in the ‘A’ gaps, it’ll be much easier to keep our LB’s clean. Compare that to using a NT with open spacing, which allows opposing G’s to get up on our ILB’s. It’s no contest. The 4 – 3 should be the base, and we shouldn’t do to much with the 3 – 4.
NOTE: Every day of the Draft I will add to this article, tracking the hits (H), questionables (Q), and misses (M).
EAGLES fans, get excited about 2022! Two days ago, I said“Properly armed, the Eagles can win the NFC East.” I then went on to explain what and who I meant by, “properly armed”. I said on Tuesday that we should trade up from #15 to #13 to draft DT [Jordan Davis], and then we should add big, physical WR [Treylon Burks] at #18. That in itself would have been great.
And then on Thursday night, General ManagerHowie Roseman, pulled off not one, but two master strokes, mere minutes apart. Let’s get at it!
DAY ONE:
Round 1 (13th overall): DT Jordan Davis(H)
How big is Jordan Davis? His Fletcher Cox sized 6’3″ 315 pound teammate is the guy in the middle.
Davis is not a pass rusher. What he is, is a pocket collapser, and a run stuffer. He’s a guy who demands a double-team, and he’s virtually unblockable one-on-one when he finds his way into an ‘A’ gap. By the way, we will be pairing/rotating this kid with DT’s Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave.
With the three man triangle of Davis, Cox, and MLB T.J. Edwards, seeing the Eagles finish once again in the NFL’s Top 10 vs the run (9th in 2021), almost seems like a given. Surely it’s the basis that the Eagles pass rush will be built upon, now that the DE’s will see a ton of one-on-one match-ups. And this was all done by adding ONE GUY. If you don’t love this pick, you don’t understand football.
I said on Tuesday, that to avoid Baltimore grabbing Davis at #14, we should package our #15 and #101 picks to Houston for the 13th pick. What happened instead, was Howie packaged our #15 with two 4th rounders and 5th, to move up to 13. Dumping late rounders in a shallow Draft, when we have a ton of guys on futures contracts already? Absolute master stroke, Howie.
Round 1 (18th overall): TRADE for WR A.J. Brown. (H)
A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. Eagles fans, are you happy now?
I wanted WR Treylon Burks with this pick, but Brown is so much better. Everything I said about why I wanted Burks, is true about Brown, and then some. With Brown it’s all been proven at the NFL level, and he’s more physical. In addition to which, he keeps his nose clean off the field. So we already know that we’re getting a real professional.
The knock on him is that in three seasons, he’s already had seven missed games due to injury. The worry is that now that the Eagles have given him a 4 year, 100M$ (57M$ guaranteed) contract, he might not ball out anymore. Really? Did I mention that he spent the offseason working out with QB Jalen Hurts? Before he was traded here. Does that sound like someone who doesn’t want to get at it? Or does it sound like a guy with a point he wants to make?
Aren’t you excited to see just what Hurts and Brown worked on this Spring? Shiiiiid, I know I am! With this ONE MOVE, the Eagles Offense is suddenly stacked! This guy was totally worth the 18th and 101st pick. Hell, if I was the GM, we’d have already blown it on Davis. So score one more for Howie!
DAY TWO:
Round 2 (51st overall): C Cam “Beef” Jurgens(Q)
The Front Office sees traits of C Jason Kelce in him, but I’m still not really all that excited. Jurgens moves well enough for all the second level stuff in the run game. He’s also smart enough to recognize fronts, and make the blocking scheme calls. Which is great. That’s all good news.
What he doesn’t do, is generate a new line of scrimmage with his blocks. Watching the videos (one and two), he doesn’t drive defensive linemen backwards, without a combo block. He turns them out of the hole, or ushers them down the line when they chase the ball carrier. Get them going backwards though? No.
He’s lean and has a lack of lower body mass, which betrays a high center of gravity. Not possessing a natural anchor, it opens the door to him being ridden back into his QB, at the NFL level. If he’s Kelce 2.0, then great. If he’s not, this was a wasted pick.
Round 3 (83rd overall): LB Nakobe Dean (H)
He has first round talent, but his medical history saw him slide two rounds. No one is saying what his injury is specifiaclly, but my guess is that he tore his pectoral muscle off the shoulder bone. A quick glance at him shirtless would confirm that, but even after scouring the Internet for a couple hours, there doesn’t seem to be even one. (Which is side-eye inducing.)
Here’s why he’s a hit, and not questionable or a miss. So far he has opted not to have surgery to repair the tear. Doesn’t matter why. Don’t focus on that. Get him in here for mini-camp and OTA’s. Let him see the pros and realize that to stay one, he’ll need to be at his best to win a roster spot. He’ll decide on the surgery, which will basically sideline him for his rookie year.
We don’t need him this year. We have MLB T.J. Edwards, who is coming off a good year. We have OLB Kyzir White on a one year deal. Get Dean the surgery, let him take his time to heal, and then get him out here, better than he’s been in years. We got a steal. To watch it pay off, all it will cost us, is some patience.
DAY THREE:
Round 6 (181st overall): OLB Kyron Johnson (M)
He’s a 3-4 OLB used mostly as a pass rusher in college. His draft dimensions are listed at 6’0” 235, which would be undersized for that role in the NFL. However, he has college listing that put him at 223 pounds as a senior. Which would make him a liability in the NFL, in the role to which he is accustomed. In coverage, he has 5 passes defensed in a 51 game career.
The have been some rumblings about the Eagles wanting to use a 3-4 front, from time to time, so Johnson may have been selected with an eye towards that. Or, he may have been selected to light a larger fire under 2021 draft pick, OLB/DE Patrick Johnson in competition for that role. If he’s motivation, this is a good pick. If the Eagles are looking to rely on him on Sundays… Meh.
Round 6 (198th overall): TE Grant Calcaterra (M)
In 2019, after waking up from a hit suffered in practice, at the age 20, Calcaterra made the decision to retire from college football. It wasn’t because of one hit that he retired. It was because after multiple concussions, he realized that they were coming closer and closer together.
He took a year off and made a comeback in 2021, posting decent numbers as a receiver, but offering little in the way of physicality as a blocker. Knowing what we know, it’s hard to blame him for being less physical. Unfortunately, his position demands it. If retirement was his reality at 20, then someone was trying to tell him something. He just wasn’t wise enough to listen.
You want to root for this kid? Root for him to live. Root for him not to make the final cuts, or the Practice Squad. Root for him to be 50, and still recognize his wife and his kids. Having suffered multiple concussions means that CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) is already part of his future’s landscape. Root for it not to be made worse by wearing midnight green.
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I said on Tuesday that because it’s a shallow draft, we should load up in the first three rounds, and treat the remaining picks like lottery scratch-offs. Apparently Howie reads my articles, because that’s exactly what we did. He was aggressive in the first round, took what fell to him in the next two, and then practically bailed on the rest of it. Which was genius actually.
The top of this Draft was excellent. As a fan, I can only put it behind the 2002 Draft (Lito Sheppard, Mike Lewis, Sheldon Brown, and Brian Westbrook, in that order), in regards to how excited it got the fan base. Jordan Davis and A.J. Brown will make an impact in 2022.
The middle was saw us do some important pantry stocking. Nothing we have a pressing need for, but good to have in the house already. Neither Beef Jurgens (I do love the nickname), nor Nakobe Dean has to start in 2022. The game can be shown to them at a pace that allows them to be great when we do need them.
The bottom of this Draft is a head scratcher. Neither guy even seems like a Special Teams contributor. Maybe they’re here to push players already on the roster? Hell, I’m just disappointed that WR(?) Jalen Reagor is still on the roster.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 