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Through 6 games...this defense has been bad at the worst times. The offense is by far carrying this team and making up for the complete lack of focus on this defense. Other than the Houston and Green Bay games, the other two wins have been because of the leads the offense built up that the opponents just couldnt catch up. The two losses have come due to defensive colapses...It's time for him to call it a career. He is constantly overmatched and cought with his pants down. This defense relies too heavily on the big play. And everything that made his defenses in the past stand out, are turning into liabilities today. And it's happened since the superbowl.

First look at when the scores are let up, this team is either unprepared and taken by surprise, or they just can't get it together in the end of the game, here's how this breaks down

1st Quarter 18 Opponent Possesions 9 Punts 3 Turnovers 4 TDs 2 Fgs

2nd & 3rd Quarters 38 Opponent Possesions 21 Punts 7 Turnovers 4 TDs 5 FGs + 1 Missed FG

4th Quarter + Overtime 17 Opponent Possesions 6 Punts 4 Turnovers 4 TDs 2 FGs

* End of halfs not counted, and 4th down stops are counted as turnovers.

Basically, the eagles have let up more TDs in the 1st and 4th, than the 2nd and 3rd.

Statistically they rank :
24th in total yards
14th in rush yards
27th in pass yards
18th in 3rd down % allowed
29th in penalties

30th in 1st downs allowed

32nd in overall plays allowed (slightly skewed due to playing ever week and a high power offense)
They rank high in turnovers and sacks. (7th in INTs #1 in sacks)

The constant rotations and subtitutions. When they work, it's ok barely. But the players are constantly out of gas when they are stuck on the field for more than 5 or 6 plays. Through the first 6 games, an ungodly amout of drives over 7 plays end up in scores.

31 Opponent Drives have lasted 7 plays or more.
16 have resulted in scores. (+ 1 Missed FG)
4 Turnovers
10 Punts

It doesn't help that Michael Lewis forgets how to play football, Jeramiah Trotter has never been worse in pass coverage, and sheldon brown has seemed to lose all ability to make a tackle, let alone a big play. This defense is completely undisiplined and unorganized and relies soley on a big play (turnover or sack) to get the ball back into the offense instead of playing sound defense.

Through 6 games, there has been 31 7+ play drives, and only 19 3 and Outs.

Flat out pathetic.

Johnson has been figured out, the blitz is ineffective. Yet Johnson calls them up when everyone knows they are coming. He's not taking anyone by surprise anymore. The birds need to move on, and bring a better base defense to the table. And stop relying on these overly complicated blitz packages that just dont work consistantly. Otherwise this team will not do a thing in the playoffs.

This is a thread worth discussion, all you Pollyanna motherfargers.  Take notes. 

great stats. big concern.  :yay :yay

So are we actually going to discuss it or just 'ooh and ahh' at Wingspan's work? 

I'm a huge JJ fan.....I think most of us are.  But I gotta agree and say that it's time for him to be put out to pasture.  I'm not calling for him to be canned today because I don't think it would be wise to fire him mid-season, but Reid definately needs to be scouting a new DC for next year though. 

He's been a great DC, but as already stated, other teams have basically figured him out and he simply can't adjust. 

Wingspan, I've felt like this, althought not asking for his head at the time, that in the Superbowl, he got married to the blitz at the wrong times. Deion Branch and some of the screens in the 3rd qtr kind of killed is in the big game.

Vs. Dallas on 4th and 18, I had that sinking feeling that something wrong was going to happen.

If the blitz isn't working...isn't our coverage supposed to be decent enough to force the other team to make plays instead of us giving them big plays? Our coaching staff more than anyone should know our own player's weaknesses and its hard for me to believe that they have been ignoring Michael Lewis's lack of brain.

I agree with you Wingspan...but the only thing that I would be concerned about is who would replace him. I still think he's better than most...but I guess based on some of those numbers....maybe he's not.

Quote from: Sgt PSN on October 16, 2006, 01:00:14 PM
So are we actually going to discuss it or just 'ooh and ahh' at Wingspan's work?

I'm not yet capable of much more than 'farg everyone.'  So for now, that's what I plan to contribue.

he was, at one point. but no longer.

this team has an extremely potent offense, that after it's all said and done i really can't and dont complain about side of the ball.

However, i see this playing out like the Cheifs of a few years ago where they could score almost at will, but also couldnt stop a damn thing. The defense needs to be better.

Also Wingspan, the Greenbay game was a bit of a fluke. Green Bay, like us gave breaks to the opponent's defense. If it wasn't for a few dropped balls by Green Bay, they could have easily scored on us and possibly be in a position to win as well.

this isnt a knee jerk reaction to yesterday. this whole thing has been going on since 04.

even last season, the defense was...for the most part...completely healther (minus Lito) and sucked.

i agree with wing for the most part, however, i think that this defense is not as talented as we once believed or would like to believe.

Dawkins is still good, but no longer great
Lewis is awful at pass coverage, solid against the run
Sheldon and Lito are to dependent on the quarterback not being able to scan the defense, set his feet, and throw a good ball
Trotter is what he is, good against the run, awful againt the pass
It's too early to tell with McCoy, but Dhani, ha!
starting ends are very good, the tackles are more pass rushing tackles and get blown off the ball way too much.  is Bunkley even playing?

i agree that the blitzes are no longer effective.  part of that is due to familiarity by the other teams, no doubt.  but i thought last year, they don't have good blitzers anymore, outside of Dawkins and occasionally Lewis off the edge.  too many times i see a big time blitz and Hood or Hansen or Ware (last year) were running up the back of a d lineman or linebacker.  those 2001-2003 defenses had very good blitzers, who knew how to get to the QB, they don't have as many anymore.

Way to nail it SunMo on the Sheldon and Lito. Couldn't have said it better.

Quote from: Diomedes on October 16, 2006, 01:07:07 PM

Quote from: Sgt PSN on October 16, 2006, 01:00:14 PM
So are we actually going to discuss it or just 'ooh and ahh' at Wingspan's work?

I'm not yet capable of much more than 'farg everyone.' So for now, that's what I plan to contribue.

Well........keep up the good work.

also a good point on the blitzers.  i just think he doesn't have personal to run his defense anymore.

Yeah, that's a tough call.  Chicken or the egg?  The tough thing is that to this point I don't think that Johnson has schemed well enough to account for the individual shortcomings of the defensive players.  He's still calling plays like he has the parts he needs...and at this point, he doesn't.  It's no secret that Lewis is killing us against the pass, but the overall depth in the secondary is too shallow to accommodate what he wants to do.

Quote from: Zanshin on October 16, 2006, 02:24:26 PM
Yeah, that's a tough call. Chicken or the egg? The tough thing is that to this point I don't think that Johnson has schemed well enough to account for the individual shortcomings of the defensive players. He's still calling plays like he has the parts he needs...and at this point, he doesn't. It's no secret that Lewis is killing us against the pass, but the overall depth in the secondary is too shallow to accommodate what he wants to do.

I see what you're saying about him not having all the right parts to fit his scheme.  But rarely will a coach ever have ALL the right parts.  I will say that I think this is probably the least talented defense he's had to work with in terms of overall talent.  But even though he doesn't have all the right parts, I think a great coach will be able to tailor his scheme to best fit what he's got to work with.  Either Johnson's not doing that or he's just not getting it right. 

When it comes to the defense and blitzing I've really been wondering where all the crazy blitzing angles went too. Before blitzers would fly in from every direction at any time. Safety's up the middle or the edge. Corners off the edge. LB's up the middle or looping around. People were flying around all over... that's what made all those blitzes effective. Now if there's a blitz, it's either coming from one side with the blitzer right on the LOS or the LBs are jammed up in the middle before the snap. You can see the blitzes coming a mile away. All the trickery seems to be gone.

Just as passing is the crack AR loads into the glass dick he's constantly sucking, blitzing is the heroin JJ is pumping into his collapsed veins.  It's become utterly predictable.  You can rhapsodize all you like about how complicated and inventive the blitz schemes were/are, but if the opposition can count on the blitz coming reliably, then all they have to do is figure a way to block it more often than not, and they have the winning solution.  We've seen that JJ isn't making good adjustments to his strategy mid game, so stopping the blitz is about all opponents have to do.  He doesn't need more inventive blizting, he needs more inventive strategy generally.

That's the point though, Dio. The blitzes were harder to block before because opposing O's never knew where they were coming from (or even when). Now, since they're so predictable and obvious, a decent line will jam up the middle and negate the blitz and any halfway decent QB will shred the secondary all day. I'm also curious why the corners are so laz on the press at the LOS and why they usually have 10 yard cushions all day allowing 5-7 yard underneath passes with alarming consistency. If it wasn't for TD Lewis back there I'd wonder why teams even bother to throw deep when they can dink and dunk down the field all day.

Jim Johnson is fine. For one, the personnel has to be accountable, and secondly... where was this topic after we sacked Bledsoe 7 times last week and held one of the league's most explosive offenses to 3 points in the second half?

Again, as I said in my other topic, this team has always been a bend but don't break defense. When they start to break it looks awful. Well factor in Lewis and stupid mistakes, this defense couldn't recover. You can't give other teams the ball on the 15 and expect to hold them to field goals every time. The Michael Lewis play was, well... Michael Lewis. On the first TD drive McCoy gave the Saints that 15 yard horse collar penalty.

Does the defense need to play better? Yes. Do our players need to play smarter? Yes. Does Jim Johnson need to go? No.

Without the horse-collar penalty, the Saints have the TD then and there.

I thought Aikman was talking about how Jim Johnson wasnt blitzing against the Saints.    ???

They may or may not have scored a TD on that drive anyway, but eventually teams are going to score TDs. The fact is if it weren't for Michael Lewis then we they wouldn't have even scored a TD in the second half, and if it weren't for the 12 men on the field, they wouldn't have score a point period. Jim Johnson can actually adjust at half-time unlike Andy Reid.

Start Considine, cut down on the penalties, and this defense drastically improves on those two things alone. But that doesn't mean they don't still need to fix other things because they do. They need to stop the run better, and cover the underneath stuff better.

Quote from: Bunkley78 on October 16, 2006, 03:40:48 PM
Jim Johnson is fine.

More proof that you should have done the world a favor yesterday and paid up.

Quote from: MURP on October 16, 2006, 03:45:08 PM
I thought Aikman was talking about how Jim Johnson wasnt blitzing against the Saints. ???

Perhaps I'm going overboard by accusing JJ of being a worn out one trick pony, but I'm not so sure that it's an unfair criticism in spirit, just in degree.  It used to work a lot more often than it has of late.  I didn't see yesterday's game, so I have no idea how much blitzing was done.

There wasn't much blitzing, just short dropbacks to negate the pass rush. Oh, and that thing where they just hand the ball off to somebody instead of throwing it. I forget what that's called.

Overall, I feel we've been doing great against the run. Maybe as far as top ten and things like that we're not up there, but it has felt as though we've controlled the opposing running game and limited its overall impact in the game.

Houston-they were pretty much shut down.

New York- Tiki didn't rape us as he usually does.

San Franicsco- Gore who?

Green Bay- Can't name him.

Dallas- Jones & Barber were invisible most of the game.

New Orleans- McCallister & Bush, they had a few 7 to 9 yards gains but it came in spurts.

Our weakness has been against the pass, which I find it disappointing.


New Orleans's game plan and execution was perfect in the first half in making us play on our heels. Bush was heavily utilized as a reciever out of the backfield ala Westbrook. It sucks that we have to wait until the half to make adjustments. I never understood that part of football.

Quote from: MURP on October 16, 2006, 03:45:08 PM
I thought Aikman was talking about how Jim Johnson wasnt blitzing against the Saints.    ???

almost as soon as the commentators said they had only blitzed on 4 occasions up to that point... seemed to me johnson started to call more.

Seems just like yesterday that everyone was bitching about the defense "carrying" the offense.  :P

I disagree that he needs to go.

What he needs to do is change things up a little bit from time to time.

When he sees a QB taking 3 step drops he needs to have them play press coverage. Do unto them what the Panthers did to the Eagles offense in 2003. Push them off thier routes. In a 3 step drop its all about timing. If the guy isn't where he is supposed to be the QB has to pull down the ball and run or make a hurried throw.

He played too much zone yesterday. Way too much.

i didnt get to see the game so im going by what ive heard....but after the dallas game where we showed that no matter how good the WR's corps is...if we get early pressure we can disturb the offense....why didnt we blitz all out to start out with?

Quote from: Magical_Retard on October 16, 2006, 05:52:05 PM
i didnt get to see the game so im going by what ive heard....but after the dallas game where we showed that no matter how good the WR's corps is...if we get early pressure we can disturb the offense....why didnt we blitz all out to start out with?

Because when a QB is only taking 3 step drops the blitz will not get there fast enough and it opens it huge spaces for guys to catch and run. When an offense is doing quick timing stuff you play coverage. Not zone - it should be man to man press coverages.

Has Trotter even been that good this year even at stopping the run?  Maybe it's because JJ can be less dependent on LB blitzes or maybe I just have a selective memory, but I remember Trotter making more plays in the backfield in years past.   

What's funny is I've seen the blame on Johnson in a few key games over the last years, but I thought he called a very good game on Sunday and the problem was in the sound execution of it (ie: tackling, staying on assignments).

Trotter has been non-existent this year. I can't see how anyone would say Dawkins is not the same player. He's prob one of the few that has played consistently and up to his ability so far this year.

I agree the defense is giving up waay too many points. I think another angle to look at it is that our defense seems to be on the field more than our offense. Our offense is NOT the time consuming type, but more a quick strike short drive scoring machine.  That's not helping out of defense at all, being on the field so often. Can this be an accurate theory for why our defense gives up so many points? Make sense to me. Our lack of running game just kills us sometimes.  I think both sides of the ball need to compliment each other. Our main problem this year IMO has been lack of game management and playcalling, the coaches are hurting the team more than the players.

Quote from: mussa on October 16, 2006, 07:13:41 PM
the coaches are hurting the team more than the players.

incorrect

well convince me otherwise?

i didn't think i needed to, and i'm not trying to be a prick either.  but to say that any coach at anytime can hurt a team more than the players is somewhat ludacris in my mind. 

is it anybody but Michael Lewis' fault that he can't cover? 

is it AR's fault that Hank Baskett and Reggie Brown drop the ball more than they should?

is it AR's fault when Donovan holds onto the ball longer than he should and gets sacked?

the coaches have impact, absolutely, but to say that they hurt the team more than the players?  that's a big time stretch.

A defense on the field 80% of a quarter is going to be tired.  Getting burned is not hard when you've been running around play after play without rest. Reid is calling bomb after bomb to no success, we have the 3 and outs, the defense has to go right back out. thats the case in yesterday's game. games before, its mostly been the lack of run game, or the lack of calling the run game. I think Reid is hurting the defense more than anyone.  Yea our offense can score, thank god McNabb has been great, but we need to be more than one dimensional.

1. The coaches share in about 10% of the blame. The players are the ones ultimately responsible. Jim Johnson and Andy Reid and John Harbaugh can only put those guys in a spot to make the plays. It is up to them to execute the plays. With that being said - and I will harp on this until they do it - is they need to play more press coverage with the corners.

The Giants had success with the dink & dunk and so did the Packers and Saints. Press the receivers so they cannot get to the spot where the ball will be delivered.

2. Trotter's impact has been diminished because of two reasons;

a. Offenses are not running it up the middle much. They seem to be going outside more often. They do this to stay away from Trot.

b. Teams get him off the field by going into 3WR sets so th Eagles use their nickle. Or they throw against the base set and make sure to isolate Trot in coverage. We know he sucks at covering.

That is the thing I don't get there were absolutely no adjustments made whatsoever, if offenses are going to dink and dunk down the field get in their faces and hit them in the mouth.  They were giving cushins all day long or year for that matter.  And I am getting on board the Jim Johnson must go bandwagon.  I love the guy  but he just doesn't seem to have it anymore for whatever reason.  From the four games I have seen this defense has played one really good half of football this year and that was lastweek. 

What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Quote from: mussa on October 16, 2006, 07:13:41 PM
Trotter has been non-existent this year. I can't see how anyone would say Dawkins is not the same player. He's prob one of the few that has played consistently and up to his ability so far this year.

I agree the defense is giving up waay too many points. I think another angle to look at it is that our defense seems to be on the field more than our offense. Our offense is NOT the time consuming type, but more a quick strike short drive scoring machine.  That's not helping out of defense at all, being on the field so often. Can this be an accurate theory for why our defense gives up so many points? Make sense to me. Our lack of running game just kills us sometimes.  I think both sides of the ball need to compliment each other. Our main problem this year IMO has been lack of game management and playcalling, the coaches are hurting the team more than the players.

We don't lack a running game.  They averaged over 5 yards a carry yesterday.  We just never used it consistently, threw >65% of the time and lost.  That's coaching, not production.

Quote from: mussa on October 16, 2006, 07:29:47 PM
A defense on the field 80% of a quarter is going to be tired.  Getting burned is not hard when you've been running around play after play without rest. Reid is calling bomb after bomb to no success, we have the 3 and outs, the defense has to go right back out. thats the case in yesterday's game. games before, its mostly been the lack of run game, or the lack of calling the run game. I think Reid is hurting the defense more than anyone.  Yea our offense can score, thank god McNabb has been great, but we need to be more than one dimensional.

That argument used to be suffice, but this team does not have that many three and outs.  This defense has always given up yards and never cared.  It wasn't the offenses fault yesterday, the defense let the Saints grind out a long drive on the very first series.  Then the offense put a small drive together and then stalled.  The defense then allowed another scoring drive.  That was not the offenses fault, if anything the defense has held the offense back.  When the offense is in rhythm they don't get them the ball back fast enough.  This defense rarely gets 3 and outs.

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:04:34 PM
What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Coaching skills and he lost them in the second half of the Super Bowl. 

Quote from: Drunkmasterflex on October 16, 2006, 08:23:11 PM

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:04:34 PM
What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Coaching skills and he lost them in the second half of the Super Bowl. 

So you want to fire Johnson and Reid? Crazy.

Jim Johnson certainly has not lost his skill. Is he perfect? No. But he's still one of the better DC's in the game.

Quote from: MadMarchHare on October 16, 2006, 08:05:55 PM

Quote from: mussa on October 16, 2006, 07:13:41 PM
Trotter has been non-existent this year. I can't see how anyone would say Dawkins is not the same player. He's prob one of the few that has played consistently and up to his ability so far this year.

I agree the defense is giving up waay too many points. I think another angle to look at it is that our defense seems to be on the field more than our offense. Our offense is NOT the time consuming type, but more a quick strike short drive scoring machine.  That's not helping out of defense at all, being on the field so often. Can this be an accurate theory for why our defense gives up so many points? Make sense to me. Our lack of running game just kills us sometimes.  I think both sides of the ball need to compliment each other. Our main problem this year IMO has been lack of game management and playcalling, the coaches are hurting the team more than the players.

We don't lack a running game.  They averaged over 5 yards a carry yesterday.  We just never used it consistently, threw >65% of the time and lost.  That's coaching, not production.

thats my point. what i meant and thought i wrote was lack of commiting to the run game. yea we averaged 5 yrds yesterday, but how many attempts? thats not effective if we run 3.5 out of 10 plays. Reid said he's going to balance out the offense and has yet to show it. he's not kidding anybody with the pass happy offense. i can't stand the 3rd and long playaction calls. NO shtein we are passing! Why take away those extra few seconds for McNabb to get the ball out. The Saints blitzed the hell out of us on 3rd down yesterday.

Quote from: SunMo on October 16, 2006, 07:21:07 PM
is it AR's fault when Donovan holds onto the ball longer than he should and gets sacked?

More run plays need to be called. They often work, and it might actually do something to settle McNabb down.

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:41:51 PM

Quote from: Drunkmasterflex on October 16, 2006, 08:23:11 PM

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:04:34 PM
What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Coaching skills and he lost them in the second half of the Super Bowl. 

So you want to fire Johnson and Reid? Crazy.

Jim Johnson certainly has not lost his skill. Is he perfect? No. But he's still one of the better DC's in the game.

no, he was one of the better DC's...he's lost the edge. right now, through 6 week, there are 23 better defenses in the NFL, this carries over from last season as well.

look at some of the very telling stats i pulled. 2:1 long drive:3 and out ratio is terrible. the TOP is so lopsided because they can not stop anyone on third down. there are only 2 teams with a worse 3rd down % on defense. that is not even CLOSE to acceptable, let alone good.

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:41:51 PM

Quote from: Drunkmasterflex on October 16, 2006, 08:23:11 PM

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:04:34 PM
What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Coaching skills and he lost them in the second half of the Super Bowl. 

So you want to fire Johnson and Reid? Crazy.

Jim Johnson certainly has not lost his skill. Is he perfect? No. But he's still one of the better DC's in the game.

Yeah, but it is a pipedream.  I would love to see a coach here that covets a power run game.  I am sick of AR and his lack of flexibility.  Could you imagine how great this offense could be if they had balance. 

 :drool :drool :drool :drool :drool

This offense already is great. #1 in the NFL right now.

The pass is working, I don't know why everyone wants to get away from it. Could we run the ball more? Sure, but that isn't the issue with this team right now.

Quote from: Bunkley78 on October 16, 2006, 10:20:13 PM
This offense already is great. #1 in the NFL right now.

The pass is working, I don't know why everyone wants to get away from it. Could we run the ball more? Sure, but that isn't the issue with this team right now.

You are right they are good but they could be even better.  Running is paramount when you have a defense that is having problems. 

It seems like we always are better running the ball in the second half of games. When we start out a game we always run the ball and it gets minimal gains. Then once we wear out their defense a bit, we can start getting some nice rushing. So if they run it should be in the second half.

As much as it would be nice to run, I'm sick of Andy only running on first down and us having a 2nd and 9 after Westbrook only gains a measly yard.

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on October 16, 2006, 08:04:34 PM
What exactly doesn't he have anymore and when/why did he lose it?

Post of the year nominee.

This line is a cycle of funny. Good times! :yay

Quote from: Bunkley78 on October 16, 2006, 10:20:13 PM
This offense already is great. #1 in the NFL right now.

The pass is working, I don't know why everyone wants to get away from it. Could we run the ball more? Sure, but that isn't the issue with this team right now.

Don't be mislead by that #1 ranking.  IMO, the offense still has a lot of work to do.  The last 2 games they have been horrible when it comes to lengthy drives.  They've been reliant on the big play in order to move the ball down field and score.  I love seeing them with 5 or 6 plays of 20+ yards every game but what I don't understand is why this team can't use that to their advantage and go underneath more often to help chew up clock.  I think it's great that this team has the ability to go 80 yards in 2 minutes.  But if they are constantly scoring quickly then it doesn't do the defense any good.  It doesn't give them any rest.  It's almost the same as going 3 and out. 

That's the balance that they are lacking this year.  It's not so much the balance between run and pass that's out of whack.  It's the balance between the big plays and small ones.  I can't believe I'm actually saying this but I would love to see a little more dink and dunk in the offense.....just to chew up some clock and give the defense more of a breather. 

Holy Hannah - The Eagles are transforming into the Houston Oilers.  :paranoid

I would agree that offense and defense go hand in hand. The Eagles are averaging 4.7 per rush vs 3.6 for the opponent.  Maybe the big play would be more efficient if the they started the game with the run and short controlled passing game.

I'm interested to see how JJ juggles the dime personnel after hood comes back, With hood taking Hanson's spot. Whether it's Wynn, Hanson, Mikell, or Gaither, it better not be Lewis in there.  :boom

29th in penalties

30th in 1st downs allowed


That speaks volumes.

I agree with Phreak. The Eagles definitely need to play press coverage in those situations and chuck people off their routes. The QB is getting the ball off in less than 3 seconds. Guys need to be in a position to make plays. Even with a well-executed blitz, a QB with a nice quick release will get the ball out and more likely than not a WR will make a catch for 7,8,9 yards. It really allows for 1st downs to rack up (just like the Eagles have been giving up).

Also, the only reason I think the 3rd down % percentage is not as horrible is because the Eagles are giving up a lot of first downs on first and 2nd down. Teams are getting the ball out quicker, getting the first down in one play or getting in 2nd and extremely short situations, and picking up the first downs on those 2nd downs. It would be interesting to see how many 1st downs the Eagles D gives up on 2nd downs. I'm sure it is very high.

I think I alluded to this instance in a previous thread, but IGY labeled more a homer. Go figure.

HOORAY!  Finally, someone has come to their senses! I have been wanting to get rid of JJ for a few years now. He has not evolved along with the game, and is now a has been. Sometimes simple is better. I honestly feel his scheme has cost us at least one superbowl win, and possible an  appearance in at least one other. While this offense was learning the ropes, his D kept us a float during a few regular seasons, and a few playoff games....but at crunch time, and against a well balanced offense, he routinely gets exposed. If he is scheming against a one dimensional offense, he is great at making up a game plan to stop it. But when you can throw the ball short to avoid sacks, and have a potent running attack to mix in, he is basically helpless.

The fact is that he isn't going any place, any time soon. They owe him a lot of money, and this front office doesnt have the balls to pull that trigger. The SHAME in it is: we aren't but a decent running attack away from being a legit superbowl caliber offense. If they can replace him with a proven comodity at DC in the next year, we have a shot to win it all. I'm just VERY perplexed that FINALLY, we have an offense that is no joke, and as fate would have it, the stinkin D can't stop anybody now...freakin lovely.  :poison

cant recall who it was but last week someone on here said that the eagles 24th ranked D really was a top 5 or 10 defense....now that they are the 27th ranked defense did they move up to one of the three best in the nfl?

at the start of the year i thought they would be middle of the pack in the league...unfortunately they are a lot worse than that

Quote from: Wingspan on October 17, 2006, 01:46:05 PM

Lack of TOP being the fault of the offense is a myth...

Houston Game
Eagles - 32:51
Texans - 27:09
4 Longest Sustained Drives
8:56   PHI - 16 Plays (end game after 11 play houston drive)
6:16   HOU 10 Plays (opening drive)
5:54   PHI 13 Plays (after houston 3-and-out)
5:10   HOU 7 Plays (after 7 play eagle TD drive)

Giants Game
Giants 46:13
Eagles 28:45
4 Longes Sustained Drives
9:55   NYG 13 Plays (after eagle 3-and-out in OT /end game)
5:19   NYG 9 Plays (after 5 play eagle drive)
4:26   PHI 11 Plays (1st drive of game)
4:11   PHI 7 Plays (1st drive of 2nd half)

San Fran Game
Eagles 24:39
49ers 35:21
4 Longest
6:16   SF 11 Plays (after an 8 play eagle drive)
5:50   SF 10 plays (after eagle 3-and-out)
5:08   SF 16 plays (after eagle 3-and-out 2 minutes)
4:40   PHI 8 plays (after SF 3-and-out)

Packer Game
Packers 32:43
Eagles 27:17
4 Longest
6:39   PHI 15 Plays (opening 2nd half)
4:53   GB 10 Plays (after eagle 6 play drive w/ fumble inside the 10)
4:09   GB 10 plays (after eagle 3-and-out)
4:04   GB 8 plays (after eagle TD, which was immediately after the buckhalter fumble, then green bay fumble)

Dallas Game
Cowboys 36:59
Eagles 23:01
4 longest
5:43   DAL 12 plays (after eagle fumble/5 play drive)
5:40   DAL 10 plays (after eagle TD, immediately following a 1 play dallas drive in which they fumbled)
4:10   DAL 12 plays (after eagle 5 play drive)
3:53   DAL 11 plays (after eagle 3 and out)

Saints Game
Eagles - 25:57
Saints -34:03
4 longest
8:26   NO 16 plays (after 8 play/4 minute eagle drive)
5:56   NO 11 plays (opening drive)
4:49   NO 9 plays (after eagle 6 play drive/4 minutes)
4:49   PHI 11 plays (after saints 3-and-out)

Bucs Game
Eagles - 28:59
Bucs -31:01
4 longest
7:58   TB 14 plays (opening of 2nd half)
5:51   TB 11 plays (after eagle 7 play TD drive)
5:33   TB 11 plays (after eagle 7)
4:39   PHI 8 plays (opening drive)

The Defense has forced, 22 3-and-outs this season, and they have produced a turnover on the opening sequence of plays in a drive 5 times. (total 27 "quick opponent drives) to which the eagles offense came on the field and got at least 1 first down or scored immediately 20 times. thats a pretty high % - 74%

the offense is giving the defense time to rest, the defense has just been horrible. Even on the quick scores, you have the extra point, 2 commercial breaks, and the kickoff in between.

the eagles offense has only gone 3-and-out 18 times. they've turned it over in less than 3 plays once.

Edit...#s updated

i'd like to point out that tampa went 3 and out 0 times in the 2nd half of the game. the eagles only went a true three and out twice.

tampa had the 3 longest drives in the game...2 in the 2nd half, one that started the second half. 3 of 4 drives in the 2nd half led to TB points.

not discounting mcnabbs terrible play for over half the game. but this defense is the most undisiplined, and most unclutch than i can remember in the past 8 years.

this defense can not stop anyone when it really matters.

on three losses this season, the defense has given up:
a 20 second, 20 yard losing drive
a 8 minute, 70 yard losing drive
a 9 minute, 80 yard losing drive

in 19 4th quarter/OT drives, the opponents gone 3-and-out 1 and scored 8 times

Quote from: Wingspan on October 24, 2006, 12:23:45 PM
this defense can not stop anyone when it really matters.

That's all that needs to be said.

Quote from: Wingspan on October 24, 2006, 12:23:45 PM
in 19 4th quarter/OT drives, the opponents gone 3-and-out 1 and scored 8 times

That is pathetic.

Houston Game
Eagles - 32:51
Texans - 27:09
4 Longest Sustained Drives
8:56   PHI - 16 Plays (end game after 11 play houston drive)
6:16   HOU 10 Plays (opening drive)
5:54   PHI 13 Plays (after houston 3-and-out)
5:10   HOU 7 Plays (after 7 play eagle TD drive)

Giants Game
Giants 46:13
Eagles 28:45
4 Longes Sustained Drives
9:55   NYG 13 Plays (after eagle 3-and-out in OT /end game)
5:19   NYG 9 Plays (after 5 play eagle drive)
4:26   PHI 11 Plays (1st drive of game)
4:11   PHI 7 Plays (1st drive of 2nd half)

San Fran Game
Eagles 24:39
49ers 35:21
4 Longest
6:16   SF 11 Plays (after an 8 play eagle drive)
5:50   SF 10 plays (after eagle 3-and-out)
5:08   SF 16 plays (after eagle 3-and-out 2 minutes)
4:40   PHI 8 plays (after SF 3-and-out)

Packer Game
Packers 32:43
Eagles 27:17
4 Longest
6:39   PHI 15 Plays (opening 2nd half)
4:53   GB 10 Plays (after eagle 6 play drive w/ fumble inside the 10)
4:09   GB 10 plays (after eagle 3-and-out)
4:04   GB 8 plays (after eagle TD, which was immediately after the buckhalter fumble, then green bay fumble)

Dallas Game
Cowboys 36:59
Eagles 23:01
4 longest
5:43   DAL 12 plays (after eagle fumble/5 play drive)
5:40   DAL 10 plays (after eagle TD, immediately following a 1 play dallas drive in which they fumbled)
4:10   DAL 12 plays (after eagle 5 play drive)
3:53   DAL 11 plays (after eagle 3 and out)

Saints Game
Eagles - 25:57
Saints -34:03
4 longest
8:26   NO 16 plays (after 8 play/4 minute eagle drive)
5:56   NO 11 plays (opening drive)
4:49   NO 9 plays (after eagle 6 play drive/4 minutes)
4:49   PHI 11 plays (after saints 3-and-out)

Bucs Game
Eagles - 28:59
Bucs -31:01
4 longest
7:58   TB 14 plays (opening of 2nd half)
5:51   TB 11 plays (after eagle 7 play TD drive)
5:33   TB 11 plays (after eagle 7)
4:39   PHI 8 plays (opening drive)

Jags Game
Eagles - 23:09
Jags -36:51
4 longest
6:35   JAC 11 plays (after eagle 13 play drive)
5:35   PHI 11 plays (after jac 7 play drive)
5:08   JAC 9 plays (after eagle 3 and out)
4:54   PHI 13 plays (after jags shortest drive of the day)

The Defense has forced, 22 3-and-outs this season, and they have produced a turnover on the opening sequence of plays in a drive 5 times. (total 27 "quick opponent drives) to which the eagles offense came on the field and got at least 1 first down or scored immediately 20 times. thats a pretty high % - 74%  (note this number it did NOT change this week)

the offense is giving the defense time to rest, the defense has just been horrible. Even on the quick scores, you have the extra point, 2 commercial breaks, and the kickoff in between.

the eagles offense has only gone 3-and-out 22 times. they've turned it over in less than 3 plays once.

i'd like to point out that jacksonville went 3 and out 0 times in the ALL the game.

for the first time since week 2, the eagles had two of the top 4 longest drives of the game, irony since this was probably the low point of this offense...maybe this entire decade.

not discounting the offenses terrible play for over the game. but this defense is still the most undisiplined, and most unclutch than i can remember in the past 8 years. they gave up scores in 2 of 4 second half drives, and another right after an eagle score.

this defense still can not stop anyone when it really matters.

on three losses this season, the defense has given up:
a 20 second, 20 yard losing drive
a 8 minute, 70 yard losing drive
a 9 minute, 80 yard losing drive

in 19 4th quarter/OT drives, the opponents gone 3-and-out 1 and scored 8 times


just updating numbers...

ugh  :boom :boom :boom

I'll need the rest of the season to decide whether it is JJ or the personnel. Right now I'm leaning toward the personnel. The defensive line has been awful besides Cole. Kearse wouldn't have mattered either to be honest, because it sucked last year with him. The key is the interior and our DTs farging blow. No pressure up the middle, no run stopping ability. Just getting manhandled.

where are the 2 amazing lines who were subbing for each other and producing pressure?

wow, we really suck.

My take on why the team can't execute the pressure schemes they once did in part is because the league is catching up with the scheme. The trend I see is toward alot more 2 TE sets and max protect and 3 step drops that dare you to blitz away. I see alot of qb's who are either young or simply can't get past their second read anywaybefore they look to their check down (Donovan is one of them) so what's the point of sending out 4 wideouts if a qb only looks at 2 then a dump off or take off running? Might as well keep a couple of more in and protect, and neutralize the blitz.

It seems to me it is more common now to see delayed TE releases and backs releasing off a chip block after blitz protection is secured (and therefore more zone blitzing to shut down these shorter routes). It's still not uncommon to see bunch formations or the use of four wides to spread out a D, but we're out of the Mike Martz type crazy passing era where JJ style of good corners and blitzing worked optimally (if it wasn't for Troy Vincent's pulled groin muscle when playing the Rams in the NFCCG, I really believe the Birds have a ring).

The Eagles are going to see 3 steps and runs until they can prove they can stop them. They have to learn how to "mush rush" better so when they know they won't get there on 3 step drops they can clog the passing lanes and swat balls down.

If any OC runs 7 step drops against this D he should be fired because Payton put it on film on how to beat this team (actually Eli and the Jints in the 4th & OT started it) and TB and JAX followed up.