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Defense-The sky isn't falling

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  • Defense-The sky isn't falling

    Bad Day at the Office
    Posted: September 17th, 2018 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 344 Comments
    The Eagles lost a real game for the first time in a long while. That has more than a few fans in panic mode. I don’t know if they legitimately feel this way or this is just being done for the sake of nostalgia.

    Jim Schwartz and his defense are getting ripped for their performance. The Eagles defense did not play well in Tampa. However, I think there is a definite over-reaction to what we saw on Sunday. There are really two situations where you should worry…lack of effort or lack of talent. Neither was the case on Sunday.

    That game really boils down to two plays, each of them a 75-yard TD pass. On the first, Malcolm Jenkins simply made a dumb decision. He jumped an underneath route and let one of the fastest players in the league go deep on a CB with mediocre speed. Dumb, dumb and dumb. And Jenkins knows that.


    Sheil Kapadia

    @SheilKapadia
    Malcolm Jenkins took responsibility for the first DeSean Jackson TD. Said he vacated the deep middle of the field. Fully accountable, called it “inexcusable.”

    5:05 PM - Sep 16, 2018
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    On the next TD, O.J. Howard caught a pass about 10 yards up the field. Jordan Hicks had tight coverage and just missed deflecting the pass by three or four inches. Ronald Darby was there to make the tackle and limit the play to less than 15 yards. Inexplicably, he decided to try and strip the ball (or something like that). Howard went right by him and down the sideline for a TD. Darby chased him as hard as he could, but didn’t catch up until Howard was in the end zone.

    If Jenkins stays in the middle and Darby makes his tackle, those plays are solid gains, but nothing noteworthy. Instead, there were two breakdowns and they gave Tampa long TDs.

    The Bucs had three drives that went for 70 or more yards. Two of them were one-play drives. That means there was one long, sustained drive in the whole game. There were also drives that covered 22, 25, -6, 27, 21, -1 and 8 yards.

    Here’s a shocker…Tampa punted more in the game than the Eagles did!

    And let’s put some perspective on this. The Steelers just gave up 42 points to a QB making his third NFL start. And the Steelers were at home. Carolina gave up 31 points to the Falcons, who were 4 for 4 in the Red Zone. The Patriots gave up 31 points to Blake Bortles and the Jaguars. Last week the Saints gave up 41 offensive points to Tampa.

    The Eagles gave up 27 points. It felt a lot worse than that, but it wasn’t.

    We thought the defense might be great this year. That could still happen, but they have a lot of work to do before we can re-visit that conversation. They were bad in Tampa. Give the Bucs credit, too. That offense is clicking right now. Ryan Fitzpatrick seems to see every open receiver and puts the ball right on the money. The line is playing well and the receivers are making big play after big play.

    Jim Schwartz will not be a happy man this week. He’ll see the mental mistakes on tape and it will eat at him. Jenkins knows he has to stay deep on DeSean. For some reason, he got greedy at that moment. Darby had several good tackles in the game. Why on earth did he decide to do whatever he did at that moment vs Howard? There was the play where Chris Godwin was wide open in the end zone. We haven’t seen a good replay to know who is at fault on that, but it was clearly a blown assignment.

    Jalen Mills gave up a RZ score to Mike Evans. Mills had pretty good coverage on that, but there was a perfect throw and he couldn’t get to the ball. I’m guessing Schwartz will be fine with that. You can’t expect to stop every play. You just can’t have breakdowns that give the opponent huge plays. Those are devastating.

    I need to re-watch the game a couple of times to really get a feel for what Schwartz was trying to do strategically. He had his guys play off a lot and that made shorter completions easy. When you face fast receivers like Evans and Jackson, there is no simple strategy.

    I still believe in Schwartz and the Eagles defense. Sunday was ugly, but it was one game. We’ve seen too much good out of this unit for people to go into panic mode. There are issues to be sure. Veteran QBs give them fits. They aren’t nearly as good on the road. But at the end of the day, this is still a good defense.
    "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

  • #2
    Do I trust the media or my own eyeballs?

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by MDFAN View Post
      Do I trust the media or my own eyeballs?
      Panic halfway through September? That's doesn't sound like the MD that I know. It sounds more like something that I'd write to tell you the truth. Role reversal at it's best.!
      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

      Comment


      • #4
        Not panicking at all, just not thrilled right now. 60 you know better, I don't panic, just gently swing side to side week to week. It's all in the ride.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by MDFAN View Post
          Not panicking at all, just not thrilled right now. 60 you know better, I don't panic, just gently swing side to side week to week. It's all in the ride.
          I think that we should have made a run at Gordon. Low risk high reward. NE got him for a conditional 5 at league minimum and got Clevenand's 6th.
          "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Eagle60 View Post
            I think that we should have made a run at Gordon. Low risk high reward. NE got him for a conditional 5 at league minimum and got Clevenand's 6th.
            Agree, part of the reason I worry about Wentz a bit.... Right now our WR's outside of Aggy...... Suck.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Eagle60 View Post
              I think that we should have made a run at Gordon. Low risk high reward. NE got him for a conditional 5 at league minimum and got Clevenand's 6th.
              Interesting contrast: Leaving Cincy out of the discussion because Mike Brown is a penny pinching asshole who invites problems in part because he tries to do things on the cheap, there are 2 high profile teams who frequently take risks on talented players with checkered pasts. Belichick's gambles almost always seem to pay off while, on the other hand, the players that Jones gambles on almost always shit on him and the team.

              My suspicion is that Belichick 1) lays down clear, inflexible limits that the 'newbie' knows will be strictly enforced and 2) avoids guys who's past misdeeds harmed victims. Jones, OTOH, will gamble on violent thugs and lays down rules that are about as clear cut as most of the mush mouth shit that flows from his pie hole. I'm guessing (totally) that Jones also believes that being the 'Newbie's' buddy will win both the their loyalty and highly motivated performance. Again my guess, is that the talented turds that Jones gambles on think he's an old fool and laugh at him behind his back while they piss in his Johnny Walker Blue when he 's not looking.

              As far as receiver help: Bryant? Never! But I wish we'd taken a shot a Gordon.

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              • #8
                I look at it this way- the defense could not have played any worse than they did Sunday and they l gave up 27 points to one of the hottest QBs in the league and STILL the team had a shot to win it in the end.


                Indy provides a different type of opponent when your former OC is on the other sideline and has his team playing hard for him.

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                • #9
                  championship defenses don’t give up two 75 yard TD,s in one game, blow a coverage on another TD.

                  My eyes tell me if this defense doesn’t get enough pressure it can’t stop my grandmother. Schwartz needs to get more creative period
                  Were from Philly F in Philly no one likes us we DON'T CARE!

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                  • #10
                    I'm not fretting. I don't think anyone thought we had shut down corners (although I would like to see Jones being talked about more highly since people did nothing but rave about what a steal he was). The vast majority knew that the signature of this D was its DL and that DL getting pressure.
                    I also don't believe anyone thought 16-0 as a real possibility.
                    Should have played better in this game for sure. But they had a chance at the end. So Doug & Co need to get the film, see what needs to be worked, and make sure the team knows it and fixes it. I want to see more before I fret too much but I agree they didn't look good this week.
                    Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
                    Hope is not a strategy
                    RIP

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by NoDakIggle View Post
                      I'm not fretting. I don't think anyone thought we had shut down corners (although I would like to see Jones being talked about more highly since people did nothing but rave about what a steal he was). The vast majority knew that the signature of this D was its DL and that DL getting pressure.
                      I also don't believe anyone thought 16-0 as a real possibility.
                      Should have played better in this game for sure. But they had a chance at the end. So Doug & Co need to get the film, see what needs to be worked, and make sure the team knows it and fixes it. I want to see more before I fret too much but I agree they didn't look good this week.
                      When a game starts the way it did last Sunday you knew we were in for a tough day. That friekin Jackson asshole destroys us every time we play him.
                      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Eagle60 View Post
                        When a game starts the way it did last Sunday you knew we were in for a tough day. That friekin Jackson asshole destroys us every time we play him.
                        And guarantee that will be his only big play of the year.

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                        • #13
                          Still have questions in my head as to why Jeffries and Jerrnigan seemed to delay surgeries?

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                          • #14
                            I agree with your take and wondered that myself. I am surprised to have read nothing about it from inside or outside the organization. Spadaro has a place on the Eagles website where he answers questions. I should try to send that in
                            Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
                            Hope is not a strategy
                            RIP

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              The defense is number one in run defense, allowing only 58.5 yards per game in the first 2 games.
                              Fly EaglesFly!

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