Defense - where to do from here

[taz]

The theme to this season on defense was injuries and passiveness. Jim Schwartz really is probably the most frustrating coordinator I can ever remember in this town. We lived through Juan freakin Castillo as our defensive coordinator and he was nowhere near as stubborn as Schwartz was. I doubt Doug fires him but he really should look at it. But maybe he needs to bring in somebody to remind him its not against the rules to send more than five players against a QB.

Needs for the offseason:

DE - We will have Bennett back, Barnett will be healthy after that we will have guys like Josh Sweat, Deashon Hall. I wouldn't be surprised if we use our first round pick on a Defensive end. Too important of a position for Schwartz not to. I also wouldn't be surprised if Howie finds another deal like he did with Bennett. Graham will probably get too much money on the open market to come back, I think Long retires

DT - Fletcher Cox and Trevon Hester are the only certainties to be back next year. Jernigan is under contract but is due 13 million and all of it can be freed up if they cut him as they redid his contract and voided all the guarantees. Another area I can see that they could use a high draft pick on

LB - Hicks is a free agent and honestly I think they should let him go. He just isn't the same player he was before the Achilles. There are some good linebackers available in free agency and I wouldn't be surprised if we went there. Depth is still needed here.

DB - Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox, LeBlanc, Rasul, Sidney Jones if they can stay healthy and Schwartz plays to their strengths we will be fine here.

Safety - McCloud is on the bubble because of his contract and coming off a big injury. Sullivan played better the more time he got, he should be back next year as should Jenkins. I think they will use a draft pick or two here. I also am of the belief we should move Rasul there.

Overall I think the issues we have on defense are more scheme related than they were talented related. A couple of scheme tweaks and a couple additions through the draft and free agency and this defense will be back to being dominate. I stress though we have to do both. Just changing out players is not going to fix this thing.

[andrewaters]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Graham doesn’t get the payday he thinks he will and he is back. I also think Hicks, Darby, and Jernigan are injury prone enough they might be back as well.

[taz]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Graham doesn’t get the payday he thinks he will and he is back. I also think Hicks, Darby, and Jernigan are injury prone enough they might be back as well.

The question is that the right move to bring back the injury-prone players? Might be time to move on from them.

I think Graham will get paid more than the Eagles can afford to pay him. Hicks the same thing. Jernigan is going to get a pay cut, a significant one. He may just take it and stay here.

Darby won't be ready for most of next season, so I doubt they sign him and clog up the salary cap.

[andrewaters]

Darby will be ready I think just not all the way back.

Graham wants to stay. I think he gets a deal and brings it back to Eagles. I think 3 years $22 million maybe and I’d do that. It’s in line with what Bennett is getting.

McLeod has to go at that cap number.

I’m ok either way on Jernigan and Hicks.

They will most definitely have to go DL early.

[NoDakIggle]

Depending on what happens with Graham and Jernigan's willingness to reduce salary-- I am certain they have an idea of what they are looking at there-- will drive DT or DE with the first pick. I really feel they will go there.
I don't know about Hicks. He really hasn't done well this year so I also see him leaving or coming back because he doesn't find big bucks. Either way I would love to see a bruising LB like VanderEsch if they can find one. Realistically though I think they try to get one in mid-draft.
The DBs have come on pretty well so I can see them signing a low price FA and go with what they have.
Bottom line though is DL will be hit early in the draft and they do need to rethink older or injured players

[taz]

One thing on the defensive line. This is a very deep draft for Defensive Lineman. That could suppress the market for guys like Graham but even so, I don't think they can even bring him back at 7 or 8 million. They are that close on the cap.

[musicman]

we were covering them 7 on 5 and Brees is finding an open guy and with little time in the pocket. We sent more than a few blitzes and they got picked up. Brees is not someone to blitz, he is other worldly. So Schwartz is a piss poor coordinator because he didn't try to cover them in man with our 8th, 9th,10th and 11th string CBs? We held the best offense in the game to 20 points in their house and Cox was in and out of the game and arguably our best DE was injured as well. Sorry, but Schwartz came in with a plan to provide pressure with 4 and cover from 7, once we lost guys, what could he do. Hawkins was running around like it was a Chinese fire drill. He hasn't done much but cover kicks in his career and Schwartz is supposed to blitz and put him one on one with Thomas ?

[WCPhan]

we were covering them 7 on 5 and Brees is finding an open guy and with little time in the pocket. We sent more than a few blitzes and they got picked up. Brees is not someone to blitz, he is other worldly. So Schwartz is a piss poor coordinator because he didn't try to cover them in man with our 8th, 9th,10th and 11th string CBs? We held the best offense in the game to 20 points in their house and Cox was in and out of the game and arguably our best DE was injured as well. Sorry, but Schwartz came in with a plan to provide pressure with 4 and cover from 7, once we lost guys, what could he do. Hawkins was running around like it was a Chinese fire drill. He hasn't done much but cover kicks in his career and Schwartz is supposed to blitz and put him one on one with Thomas ?

This 👆is spot on

But, the loudest Eagles fans are too stupid to realize any of this.

[Rossovich]

I wonder who coached up all the replacement DBs to make them at least a decent squad?

[musicman]

a little credit to Douglas and his staff for finding them

[musicman]

Blaming Eagles' loss on defense is preposterous
By Reuben Frank January 14, 2019 2:05 PM

908



61 Comments

NEW ORLEANS — You want to blame this one on Jim Schwartz? On the Eagles' defense?
OK, blame him for holding one of the highest-scoring offenses in NFL history to 20 points.
Blame him for limiting the Saints to 14 fewer points than their average at the Superdome.
Blame him for figuring out a way to hold down the Saints despite being down to his 10th cornerback of the season, a recently promoted practice squadder named Josh Hawkins.
Blame him for keeping the Eagles in a game that they really had no business being in after the offense sputtered to a halt after a hot first quarter.
The Eagles’ defense finished the season very strong, and on Sunday it held a Saints offense averaging 35 points per game at home — 35 points per game — to just 20 in the 20-14 playoff loss at the Superdome.
This is one of the highest-scoring offenses ever.
It managed 20 in its own building coming off a bye against a team ravaged by injuries playing on the road for the fifth time in six weeks.
Ask 1,000 Eagles fans if they would have signed up for 20 points before kickoff and 1,000 fans would have said, “Hell yeah.”
Hold the Saints to 20 and you should win.
Was it perfect? No. Did the defense give up some long third downs? Yeah.
But forced to play stretches without Fletcher Cox and Rasul Douglas, and forced to play 38 minutes because of the offense’s inconsistency, the defense kept the Eagles in a game that rationally they shouldn’t have been in and held Drew Brees to his lowest point total ever in a playoff game at the Superdome.
The Saints are 13-45 under Brees when they score 20 or fewer points.
Putting this on the defense is preposterous.
All we do is focus on the process,” Malcolm Jenkins said. “We lean heavily on the guys we have in the locker room that have been through adversity and we just continue to fight and continue to trust in each other. This is no different, we just didn't get the result we wanted to. We put up a fight against a really good team on the road and gave ourselves a chance. That is all we ask for.
When you take a step back and look at what the Eagles accomplished despite being forced to use 10 different cornerbacks — going from 4-6 to within a snap or two of the NFC Championship Game — it really is remarkable.
The defense just kept getting better and better. During the last three games — which were all must-wins — the Eagles allowed three touchdowns and 35 total points.
Along the way, they found that some youngsters like Douglas, Cre’Von LeBlanc and Avonte Maddox can really play.
They didn’t win Sunday but Brandon Graham and others sure proved this isn’t the same unit that came to New Orleans two months ago and gave up 48 points.
We’re fighters. We fought hard. Despite what everybody thought. Everybody thought we were about to come in here and get whooped on. But we came out and showed we deserved to be here. That’s what I’m going to take away from it. How we dealt with all the adversity. I want to carry that on in life.
It looked like the Saints were on the brink of putting the game away after their monster 18-play, 92-yard TD drive.
But the Eagles held them to three points on their last three drives, giving the offense that final chance that fell just 27 yards short.
“I’m so proud of this locker room,” Cox said. “I’m so proud of the guys who fought and fought. We proved the world wrong. We just came up on the wrong end of the stick today.”
Look at the stretch run against elite offenses:
• The Rams average 33. The Eagles held them to 23.
• The Bears average 27. The Eagles held them to 15.
• The Saints average 32. The Eagles held them to 20.
And you're going to blame this on the defense? Really?

[stevemc]

DE - Barnett coming back will be huge. I think his season 3 could be a big one. Also, I think they like Sweat and a full off-season in our weight room should do wonders. I'm not so sure Chris Long won't come back at a cheap deal again. Bennett really showed his merit. I think Graham moves on.

DT - Do we think Ngata is done for sure? When healthy, he was productive as a rotational guy. I would think Jernigan can be had for cheap as well. They'll need to get some youth here for sure.

LB - Worrilow was someone they were counting on for depth coming into the season. He's a local guy and coming off an injury, he'll be cheap and most likely fully recovered from his May torn ACL.

DB - I like the young depth here. I think they will stick with the youth here. Maybe if Darby came back cheap but don't bet on it.

Safety - I like the idea of Douglas here although he improved appreciably at CB over the course of the year. They should get a ball hawk here to go with Jenkins' brawn. Not sure McLeod is the righ choice even though once he went down, so did the pass defense.

[Eagle60]

Blaming Eagles' loss on defense is preposterous
By Reuben Frank January 14, 2019 2:05 PM

908



61 Comments

NEW ORLEANS — You want to blame this one on Jim Schwartz? On the Eagles' defense?
OK, blame him for holding one of the highest-scoring offenses in NFL history to 20 points.
Blame him for limiting the Saints to 14 fewer points than their average at the Superdome.
Blame him for figuring out a way to hold down the Saints despite being down to his 10th cornerback of the season, a recently promoted practice squadder named Josh Hawkins.
Blame him for keeping the Eagles in a game that they really had no business being in after the offense sputtered to a halt after a hot first quarter.
The Eagles’ defense finished the season very strong, and on Sunday it held a Saints offense averaging 35 points per game at home — 35 points per game — to just 20 in the 20-14 playoff loss at the Superdome.
This is one of the highest-scoring offenses ever.
It managed 20 in its own building coming off a bye against a team ravaged by injuries playing on the road for the fifth time in six weeks.
Ask 1,000 Eagles fans if they would have signed up for 20 points before kickoff and 1,000 fans would have said, “Hell yeah.”
Hold the Saints to 20 and you should win.
Was it perfect? No. Did the defense give up some long third downs? Yeah.
But forced to play stretches without Fletcher Cox and Rasul Douglas, and forced to play 38 minutes because of the offense’s inconsistency, the defense kept the Eagles in a game that rationally they shouldn’t have been in and held Drew Brees to his lowest point total ever in a playoff game at the Superdome.
The Saints are 13-45 under Brees when they score 20 or fewer points.
Putting this on the defense is preposterous.
All we do is focus on the process,” Malcolm Jenkins said. “We lean heavily on the guys we have in the locker room that have been through adversity and we just continue to fight and continue to trust in each other. This is no different, we just didn't get the result we wanted to. We put up a fight against a really good team on the road and gave ourselves a chance. That is all we ask for.
When you take a step back and look at what the Eagles accomplished despite being forced to use 10 different cornerbacks — going from 4-6 to within a snap or two of the NFC Championship Game — it really is remarkable.
The defense just kept getting better and better. During the last three games — which were all must-wins — the Eagles allowed three touchdowns and 35 total points.
Along the way, they found that some youngsters like Douglas, Cre’Von LeBlanc and Avonte Maddox can really play.
They didn’t win Sunday but Brandon Graham and others sure proved this isn’t the same unit that came to New Orleans two months ago and gave up 48 points.
We’re fighters. We fought hard. Despite what everybody thought. Everybody thought we were about to come in here and get whooped on. But we came out and showed we deserved to be here. That’s what I’m going to take away from it. How we dealt with all the adversity. I want to carry that on in life.
It looked like the Saints were on the brink of putting the game away after their monster 18-play, 92-yard TD drive.
But the Eagles held them to three points on their last three drives, giving the offense that final chance that fell just 27 yards short.
“I’m so proud of this locker room,” Cox said. “I’m so proud of the guys who fought and fought. We proved the world wrong. We just came up on the wrong end of the stick today.”
Look at the stretch run against elite offenses:
• The Rams average 33. The Eagles held them to 23.
• The Bears average 27. The Eagles held them to 15.
• The Saints average 32. The Eagles held them to 20.
And you're going to blame this on the defense? Really?

[MDFAN]

I agree here in a lot of ways---yet in anger and emotion, I have jumped on the anti Schwartz bandwagon a few times myself.

BUT---- While this article makes some very valid points it does also miss on a couple of points also.

1. This defense while it was doing a pretty good job OF LATE in holding points down --- it did not give our O nearly as many chances (plays) because they could not get off the field and allowing the other O to grind out long drives. I hear the only thing that matters guys yelling --"Yeah but the only thing that matters is points allowed........."-- but that just isn't true!!!!

2. The eye test shows that this teams D scheme with 3rd and longs sucked as way toooo many times did the D do a great job on 1st and 2nd only to seem to be soft on 3rd down.

3. Early in the year the tackling was terrible on this team.... Terrible! That is on coaching and scheme. And we do play a whole year not just half.

4. How many games was the opposing QB allowed to have time to eat his lunch in the pocket cause "we"ONLY" bring 4?

I could go on-- but the drift is, as I have claimed all year long---- there is plenty of blame to go around on this team---- and plenty of accolades to be given out also. IMM, bigger than negatives about coaches, players, yes and even execution this year was the -------injuries.

Luck is a very big part of winning in the NFL. Yes talent, organization, coaches, schemes and even execution---- and unless the medical staff and trainers are pure quacks---- injuries are as big a part in winning as the rest of the factors. Ask the Redskins how they fared after the injury bug bit them? When was the last time Drew Brees was out for the better parts of 2 seasons? Tom Brady?

Yup the Defense deserves some of those accolades--- and some of the criticism! As does the O and as does the ST and as does the coaching!

That is why IMM Football, even in it's watered down version, is still the most ultimate team sport we follow. I don't pretend to know more about football, and x's and O's than the football lifers do(and if you do , you are just being totally irrational)--- so who am I to tell them what to change of do different--- all I can do is critique the final product the results.

Do I want Schwartz fired? Only if Doug and the organization think so. My guess is he will be here next year and I am ok with that. I just hope he realizes that there are deficiencies in his scheme that need to be addressed.

I'll say it again I was very very proud to claim this team as mine---- after observing the "rise " from the dead attitude and guts this team showed me.

[musicman]

DE - Barnett coming back will be huge. I think his season 3 could be a big one. Also, I think they like Sweat and a full off-season in our weight room should do wonders. I'm not so sure Chris Long won't come back at a cheap deal again. Bennett really showed his merit. I think Graham moves on.

DT - Do we think Ngata is done for sure? When healthy, he was productive as a rotational guy. I would think Jernigan can be had for cheap as well. They'll need to get some youth here for sure.

LB - Worrilow was someone they were counting on for depth coming into the season. He's a local guy and coming off an injury, he'll be cheap and most likely fully recovered from his May torn ACL.

DB - I like the young depth here. I think they will stick with the youth here. Maybe if Darby came back cheap but don't bet on it.

Safety - I like the idea of Douglas here although he improved appreciably at CB over the course of the year. They should get a ball hawk here to go with Jenkins' brawn. Not sure McLeod is the righ choice even though once he went down, so did the pass defense.

they just signed Ostman to a futures contract. He spent all season on the practice squad and they credit him as being each teams best rush end on the scout team. Sounds like they are high on him