I really hope this is true

[musicman]

I love running the football and our horses up front are suited for it



The biggest philosophical difference between Nick Sirianni and Doug Pederson
19H AGO
/BY REUBEN FRANK
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/reuben-frank][/URL]Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER
span>You’re almost certainly going to see the Eagles run the ball more than they have since 2017.Y

Now, it’s no great revelation that the Eagles aren’t going to throw as much now that Pederson is gone. That would have been true no matter who their new head coach was (unless it was Andy Reid).

But the difference in philosophy between the Frank Reich / Sirianni School of Football and the Pederson School is massive.

Let's go back to 2017.

The Eagles had the 9th-most rushing attempts in the NFL in 2017 on their way to the Super Bowl championship. Their offensive coordinator, of course, was Reich.

LeGarrette Blount had 173 carries, Jay Ajayi 70 in seven games and Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood and Darren Sproles added another 152.


APR 7, 2021
They still threw a lot - 37 1/2 times per game. But they were balanced, they were unpredictable and they were effective.


When Reich left, a few things happened. First, he hired Nick Sirianni as his offensive coordinator. Then the Colts began running the ball a ton and the Eagles began running the ball a lot less.

Sirianni didn’t call plays in Indy, Reich did. And Reich didn’t call plays here, Doug did.

But a detailed look at the Colts and Eagles over the last three years gives us a good idea what to expect from Sirianni when it comes to offensive philosophy. He’s a Reich disciple, and that’s one of the biggest reasons he’s in Philly today.

I broke down the run-pass ratio for every NFL team over the last three years, including only rushing attempts by running backs and counting pass attempts and sacks as pass plays.

Let’s look at the numbers:

Colts from 2018-2020: 59.7 percent pass, 40.3 percent rush

Eagles from 2018-2020: 65.8 percent pass, 34.2 percent rush

The Colts had the 6th-highest percentage of rushing plays in the NFL, and the Eagles had the 8th-lowest.

The Colts under Reich and Sirianni averaged 35.6 pass plays and 24 running back runs, and the Eagles under Pederson averaged 40.7 pass plays and 21.1 running plays.

So the Colts threw the ball an average of 11 times more per game than they ran it, and the Eagles threw it an average of nearly 20 times more per game than they ran it.

Along with that, the Colts averaged more than three more points per game than the Eagles (25.9 to 22.6). The Colts were 8th in the NFL in scoring the last three years, the Eagles were 19th.

Now, the way the NFL is these days, everybody throws the ball a ton. But the Eagles threw it too much. They became predictable under Pederson, Miles Sanders was underutilized, the quarterback became a sitting duck against the pass rush and the offense was just unable to operate at a consistently high level.


Turns out there is such a thing as throwing too much, even today.

Here are the 10 teams that ran the ball the most the last three years, along with their W-L records:

29-19 … Titans

35-13 … Ravens

33-15 … Seahawks

23-25 … 49ers

25-22-1 … Vikings

28-20 … Colts

24-23-1 … Browns

19-29 … Raiders

30-18 … Patriots

38-10 … Saints

That’s a combined 284-194-2, or a .594 winning percentage, and only two losing teams (one of which went to a Super Bowl during that period).

Of the 10 teams that threw the most over the past three years, only three had winning records, including of course the Chiefs.

Part of this is teams that lose a lot are forced to throw more because they’re always trailing.

But over three years, the numbers are pretty revealing. Yes, it’s a throwing league. Offenses are becoming more and more pass-centric with each passing year, as officiating and rule changes continue to favor quarterbacks and offensive football.


But we’re not at the point yet where the running attack is obsolete. It’s still possible to win a lot of football games with the running game playing a significant role in your attack.

And you can bet Sirianni will be trying to do exactly that.

[NoDakIggle]

Aaaaand that leads into my thought that the best way for this team to be successful in 2021 is to have a dominant running game. Sanders, Scott, pick one (Harris, Sermon Gainwell), and Howard

[musicman]

And play some real defense

[andrewaters]

I get that everyone thinks you have to pass it all the time. And you do have to pass it. As Jaws says... points come in the passing game. But if you can't run it... and at some point run it with power... you are going to get beat. It also is critical right now to have a QB that can be a threat to run as well. That is one thing that Hurts really gives you. He can keep on that spread play and threaten the edge guy to keep him home instead of just crashing on the run both on the front and backside when you boot.

That is why I think this team is not going to be as bad as folks think. This team should be able to run the ball really well. I would even consider selecting another RB fairly high in the draft or trying to get a guy that can spell and be impactful in the run game when Sanders is either needing a break or out with injury. Guys like Hubbard and other like Trey Sermon should be available in the middle of the draft. Get another guy that can run and just run the ball.

That will help Hurts the most. Run the ball and pull those LBs up to open up the 12-15 yard zones.

[Eagle60]

And play some real defense

Which was always a staple in Philadelphia for such a long time. Kotite couldn't move the ball but even his defenses were always battlers. Philly's identity is defense and that's why our Birds are tough to watch lately.

[ThoughtProcess]

The return of the OL, plus a change in strategy and a nice 1-2 punch at RB is just what the new QB needs to keep the pressure off.

Stout defense too. I used to love those 10-7 and 7-3 defensive slugfest games (Eagles prevailing), where the Eagles defense would stifle the opponent for a full four quarters...In the 1990s the Saints vs Eagles games were good for that...

[Eagle60]

I think that the most important thing in football is how you can run the football on the goal line. All tems can move the ball between the 30's.

[ThoughtProcess]

I think that the most important thing in football is how you can run the football on the goal line. All tems can move the ball between the 30's.

Concur.