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  • People are overreacting to bad Eagle defense

    Terrible, Awful Defense
    Posted: October 16th, 2018 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 68 Comments
    The Eagles defense has been awful this year. Right?

    Wrong.

    The Eagles are 5th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed. The Eagles have played three teams in the Top 10 in the league in yards gained. Two of the teams are in the Top 10 in scoring.

    Adam Thielen lit up the Eagles secondary. He happens to be the leading receiver in the league this season and has set an NFL record by having six consecutive 100-yard games to start the season.

    I’ve written a few times already about how this is the Year of the Offense. We are seeing some amazing things done this year. We have to keep that in mind when judging the defense. I’m not excusing them for blowing the lead in the Titans game, but the defense hasn’t been nearly as bad as some would think.

    The Eagles have the third best 3rd down defense in the league. They have the best Red Zone defense. What about big plays?

    Sheil Kapadia had some good information on that angle.

    In terms of explosive plays (runs of 10-plus yards and passes of 20-plus), the Eagles are allowing 5.5 per game. That might seem like a lot, but it’s actually the seventh fewest in the NFL. League average is 6.5 per game. And last year, the Eagles allowed 4.8 per game, fifth fewest. The lesson: Playing defense in 2018 is really hard.

    Sheil’s piece has lots of good info and nuggets. He is always must-read material.

    The bottom line is that the defense has been better than you think. They aren’t immune from criticism, but context and perspective tell a different story than the thoughts of angry fans after some painful losses.

    The struggles of the offense have put extra pressure, and scrutiny, on the Eagles defense. If Wentz and company can get going, it will have a big impact on the whole team.

    *****

    Eagles coaches met with the media today. There were some good nuggets.


    Zack Rosenblatt

    @ZackBlatt
    #Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland said that Isaac Seumalo is starting over Stefen Wisniewski because he wants to start the five best offensive linemen, and Seumalo was outperforming him in practice. He emphasized that there’s nothing more to it than that.

    4:36 PM - Oct 15, 2018 · Philadelphia, PA
    56

    I know Wiz doesn’t like hearing that, but Seumalo has played better than him. This isn’t about making Wiz a goat for the offenses struggles. It was just a way to improve the OL.


    Jeff McLane

    @Jeff_McLane
    #Eagles OL coach on Jason Peters: “I don’t think he’s going to miss any time, personally.”

    4:27 PM - Oct 15, 2018
    148

    It would be great for Peters to say healthy. Injuries have affected him this year. Having him bounce in and out of the lineup doesn’t help anyone.


    Dave Zangaro

    @DZangaroNBCS
    Eagles ST coordinator Dave Fipp says Darren Sproles will take back his punt returner when he returns.

    5:00 PM - Oct 15, 2018
    148

    I’m very happy with DeAndre Carter right now, but Sproles has earned the right to get another chance as the PR. It will be interesting to see if Carter is active. His primary value is on STs. Does Sproles mean Carter now becomes a spectator?


    Zack Rosenblatt

    @ZackBlatt
    #Eagles OC Mike Groh indicated that Mike Wallace is “progressing” and could return this season.

    3:56 PM - Oct 15, 2018 · Philadelphia, PA
    140
    33 people are talking about this



    Mike Kaye

    @mike_e_kaye
    The #Eagles coaching staff LOVES Avonte Maddox. Undlin, Fipp and Hauck raved about him throughout today’s interviews.

    7:34 PM - Oct 15, 2018 · Echelon, NJ
    19

    Maddox made sense to me as an Eagles target before the draft. He’s their type of player. I’m glad he’s off to a good start. It will be interesting to see if he plays FS or Nickel this week. I thought he did good things at both spots last week.
    "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

  • #2
    The problem with the defense is not about yards, td's etc. Its when they are allowing those yards, TD's etc. We lost to Tennessee on a 4th down TD pass at the end of the game, The Falcons could have won the game the same way etc.

    The other thing is the 3 and out, which helps the offense. They don't seem to have as many 3 and outs this year which is flipping the field position.
    Were from Philly F in Philly no one likes us we DON'T CARE!

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by taz View Post
      The problem with the defense is not about yards, td's etc. Its when they are allowing those yards, TD's etc. We lost to Tennessee on a 4th down TD pass at the end of the game, The Falcons could have won the game the same way etc.

      Agree totally on this. It's not the overall points or yardage given up. It has been the startling failures in a couple key situations in each game they lost...whether it was multiple missed tackles turning a 5 yard gain into 4O or complete brain farts in pass defense by both players and Schwartz.



      The Birds aren't alone in this. I don't think there are more than 5 or 6 teams in the league that are reliably playing good D week in and week out.

      Comment


      • #4
        You can point to these things and while they are true the fact is if the Eagles offense didn't suck until this last Giant game we wouldn't even mention this stuff.
        "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

        Comment


        • #5
          Who to believe my stats or my lying eyes?

          No they aren't "terrible" or "awful" BUT they aren't as good as they should or need to be.

          Comment


          • #6
            The games are won and lost in the red zones for the most part and our defense has been great there for the most part.
            "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by MDFAN View Post
              Who to believe my stats or my lying eyes?

              No they aren't "terrible" or "awful" BUT they aren't as good as they should or need to be.
              Here's one that passes my eye test. "And in the red zone, they're once again No. 1 in the league, allowing touchdowns on only seven of 21 opposing drives."
              "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Eagle60 View Post
                Here's one that passes my eye test. "And in the red zone, they're once again No. 1 in the league, allowing touchdowns on only seven of 21 opposing drives."
                Nice stat...... maybe a better stat might be how many times they in fact let teams get into the red zone..... or .... or how quickly they get their O back on the field.

                Again they aren’t awful or terrible.... but they aren’t Playoff caliber yet either.

                The writer is just filling space ..... very few have claimed that the D has been “terrible “ or “awful”

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by MDFAN View Post
                  Nice stat...... maybe a better stat might be how many times they in fact let teams get into the red zone..... or .... or how quickly they get their O back on the field.

                  Again they aren’t awful or terrible.... but they aren’t Playoff caliber yet either.

                  The writer is just filling space ..... very few have claimed that the D has been “terrible “ or “awful”
                  I don’t know what a playoff caliber defense is anymore. I mean we gave up 600+ yards and 33 points in the SB but still won.
                  Last edited by rspurr; 10-16-2018, 11:02 PM.
                  Canada's #1 Eagles fan.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I said before that I don't believe this team is that far off the mark. The O needs a few people back and the D needs a couple of people to step up and start making an impact. I think they are getting there. The LBs played much better or had more impact this week (albeit it was the gints).
                    Most believe you can't let teams get to the red zone every chance they get and then hope to stop them although the birds have been pretty successful so far. Bend but don't break is scary. Some of what I see that I believe should be easily fixed and can stop a lot of these drives is better tackling. I've seen more missed tackles than I care to count.
                    I have to be in agreement the team has looked middle of the pack so far even if stats say they are higher and the record indicates that.
                    Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
                    Hope is not a strategy
                    RIP

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by rspurr View Post
                      I don’t know what is playoff caliber defense is anymore. I mean we gave up 600+ yards and 33 points in the SB but still won.
                      Ain't that the truth spurr? The QBs are confident as hell now as they stand in the pocket because nobody is allowed to hit them. Drew Brees throwing 80% and if you are 60% now you might qualify to be a backup but I doubt it. It's almost impossible to play cb these days too, and God forbid that you tackle someone and you hit his helmet. If the QB is running with the football you can only "touch him in a gentle way as not to hurt him or his feelings" or you will be suspended. And let's not forget my favorite "illegal contact". It used to be football.
                      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by taz View Post
                        The problem with the defense is not about yards, td's etc. Its when they are allowing those yards, TD's etc. We lost to Tennessee on a 4th down TD pass at the end of the game, The Falcons could have won the game the same way etc.

                        The other thing is the 3 and out, which helps the offense. They don't seem to have as many 3 and outs this year which is flipping the field position.
                        This.

                        And, that's why they look a lot worse than the stats indicate. They are failing to get stops when they need them, and that's what people see with their lying eyes.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I don't know what the hell their plan is at DT but right now it looks pretty awful. Cox, Ngata and Hester. That means Cox never comes off the field and a banged up Ngata who only can play about 30% of the plays when healthy are your 2 starters with Hester playing at least 1/2 the snaps. Sure Graham and Bennett can slide inside sometimes but that's not the best idea unless it's 3rd and 10. I don't see how we do it this week. That big Australian guy might play his first game at DT!
                          "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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