Bleeding Green Nation
Analyzing Philadelphia’s defensive performance from their Week 11 win over Washington.
Ooh, baby, this Philadelphia Eagles efense is good. It’s cool watching a Vic Fangio defense ball out. This defense is young, aggressive, and talented. This performance against the Washington Commanders was a fun one.
(Previously: Eagles-Commanders offensive film review.)
At the start of the year, I remember the Eagles could not stop teams having success when using bunches. In one of these articles, I sarcastically wrote that Fangio should start using the ‘box’ call where you use four defenders to distribute the opposing three receivers. I wrote this sarcastically because I learned about the ‘box’ call from reading articles on Fangio’s defense! It appears the Eagles’ defense was slow at the start because Fangio was taking his time and giving his players time to learn the intricacies of the defense. It looks like a Fangio defense now. Look how good the communication and route distribution is.
Zack Baun isn’t bad either, is he? This is perfect coverage from a linebacker. He reads the quarterback’s eyes and makes a fantastic play on the ball. Pay the man.
Reed Blankenship also plays this really well, and he’s fantastic being the ‘Trix’ safety (meaning he is away from the passing strength, which has three receivers, so he looks that way rather than the side he is lined up on), and he may have broken this play up anyway.
The one issue I saw from the defense this week was covering the flats. This makes me look like an idiot because I raised it as a strength last week! It does show you how week-to-week the NFL is. The Eagles had trouble when Washington was in 21 personnel and used motion and play-action, so I’m not too worried, as not many teams run 21 personnel a lot, but it’s something to watch out for.
In the past month, I’ve only posted amazing plays by Zack Baun. So, I thought I would include a missed tackle. To prove he’s human. If his agent reads this, I hope he realizes that Baun’s play is now guaranteed to decline, and he should immediately sign the Eagles contract offer. It’s the best for everyone.
Nakobe Dean is playing so well at the moment. This is another ‘box’ call where the Eagles play 4-over-3 to the bunch side and distribute the routes evenly. Jayden Daniels refuses the checkdown and hopes he can beat Dean in space. I don’t think there are many linebackers that Daniels does not believe he can beat one-on-one in space. Nakobe Dean makes a fantastic play and forces the punt. This is a challenging play for a linebacker to make in space and it highlights how well Dean is playing right now.
Washington left their guards one-on-one with Jalen Carter quite a lot, and to be honest, I thought Sam Cosmi actually did a good job against him. However, playing well against Jalen Carter doesn’t mean you shut him out. I’m not...
