Eagles' aim on defense this week? Simplify and play fast

[time2rock]

Eagles' aim on defense this week? Simplify and play fast

The Eagles plan this week on defense? Simplify so they can get back to playing faster.

By Dave Zangaro • Published January 12, 2024

 

Earlier this week, Eagles de facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia talked about wanting to give his players a chance to play fast and aggressive.

You know how you do that?

You simplify things on defense. And, according to some players, there has been a concerted effort from the Eagles’ coaching staff this week to simplify things as the team prepares to face the Buccaneers in the wild card round on Monday night.

"Yeah, there honestly has,” veteran safety Kevin Byard said. "I think the plan this week will be to try to be as simple as possible so guys can go get lined up.

"Obviously, there are going to have to be some things we do coverage wise to be able to limit Mike Evans and things like that. You don’t just want to ignore him. You have to be aware where certain guys are. There are some things we have to do on the back end. But I think for the most part, the first down, second down plan will be pretty simple. [Patricia] just wants guys to be able to line up and go play fast.”

The Eagles haven’t been able to play fast in recent weeks.

In fact, in the last few games, there has seemingly been a lot of confusion on that side of the ball. While Byard said there actually hasn’t been as much miscommunication as it seems, their issues have been glaring. When the communication has failed, they’ve given up huge plays, like that touchdown to a wide-open Darius Slayton on Sunday.

So maybe this will help.

"It’s definitely simplified,” cornerback James Bradberry said. "One of the reasons to simplify is to let us play faster. Less communicating and play faster.”

The Eagles were still 10-3 when they made the switch from Sean Desai to Patricia as the defensive play caller and it hasn’t been an easy transition. The Eagles haven’t changed the overall structure of their defense but they wouldn’t have made a change if they didn’t want Patricia to alter some things. 

Last week, Pro Bowler Haason Reddick talked a bit about the difficulty with the switch.

"It's hard, man,” Reddick said. "It's a hard thing to do. But it's our job. So there's no complaints about it. But, yeah, it's definitely a hard thing. You spend so much time with one DC – and a new DC at that. At the beginning of the year and trying to learn everything that he wants us to do, his terminology, the way that he calls things. 

"And then, toward the end of the season, we switch. But it must get done, that's what the higher-ups here felt was needed to get done in order to try to make a change and get some things corrected so as players we’ve got to go out there and do our best to perform.”

In the last couple of weeks there have been long periods in games where the Eagles just offered no resistance on that side of the ball. Against the Cardinals in Week 17, the Eagles gave up touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second half. Against the Giants in Week 18, the Eagles gave up touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second quarter.

What the Eagles have been doing clearly hasn’t been working.

"I think sometimes coaches do want to simplify things as much as possible,” Byard said. "That’s how I always look at defenses: Keep It Simple Stupid. Just let guys go out there, quick communication, line up, see what you see, go and play fast and aggressive. And sometimes when you do make a mistake, it gets covered up by guys just running around, flying around, making plays.”

While there’s always a balance to strike so the defense doesn’t become overly predictable, simplifying their coverages makes sense.

Earlier this week, Patricia hinted at the plan going into this game.

"I think at this point, too, it's a good opportunity for us to say, ‘OK, what do we think are the things they do, and what are the things that will put us in some of those tough communication systems? And do we want to utilize those or not?’” he said. "And as you go, sometimes you improve those communication situations as you go. Certainly, it's always the more you can do it, then the better you get at it from that aspect of it. I don't think there's a lot of really actually different communication than what we've done from that aspect of it.”

Since Week 15, when Patricia took over the Eagles’ defense, they are 28th in points allowed, 28th in total yards allowed and 27th in opposing first downs.

By almost every metric, the Eagles’ defense has been near the bottom of the league. Most teams hope to hit their stride going into the playoffs and the Eagles weren’t able to do that.

Maybe simplifying things will help. Or maybe it won’t.

"We’re going to see where we get out there,” Bradbery said. "We’ll find out.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-aim-on-defense-this-week-simplify-and-play-fast/558074/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I like that concept. With these players I feel that is what you need to do. Put the best players in a position to do what they do best. Don’t have Reddick drop in to coverage. Have the corners press at the line rather than play super soft. Keep it simple and be aggressive and play tough. That may be too much to ask of this defense but that’s what they need to do.