Game Week

Posted: September 4th, 2024 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

Football season is here. This wasn’t a long crazy offseason, but the end of the 2023 season was long enough and crazy enough to last us all a lifetime. The Eagles turned a 10-1 start into a miserable finish and that has me both excited and curious to see what the 2024 Eagles are going to be.

We know the coaching will be better. Nick Sirianni has to find his way in a new role. I think he’ll do that. More importantly, the Eagles have veteran coordinators who can offer schematic solutions to problems that arise during the season. That just didn’t happen last year.

The Eagles decided if they wanted to run the Vic Fangio scheme that it might be a good idea to go get Vic Fangio to coach it. He’s been fun to follow this summer. Fangio isn’t a modern coach with a focus on good PR. He speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to let players know they need to get better. He might be old school, but sure feels like the right kind of old school. I think he’s just what this defense needed.

Kellen Moore came to town to turn the Eagles attack from Jalen Hurts-to-AJ Brown into a real offense. Pre-snap motion. Players moving around to different spots. Different alignments. Passes to players other than WR1 and WR2. Revolutionary ideas. Hurts had the best camp of his career so I’d say he’s taken well to Moore and the new scheme.

Some of you may want me to pump the brakes on the coaching talk. I understand that there will be ups and downs. Sirianni has to learn how to handle his new role. There could be times when he steps on some toes. Fangio didn’t seem to connect with the players in Miami so that is something to watch. Moore will be running an offense that is a mixture of his ideas and Sirianni’s. That could lead to issues here and there. I still think the coaching situation is greatly improved from last year.

It is tough to say if the roster is better. You subtract great veterans like Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. That’s going to hurt. You add an impact RB in Saquon Barkley, a legit #3 receiver in Jahan Dotson, a playmaking DB in CJGJ, improved LBs and a potential impact rookie in Quinyon Mitchell. This is a good roster. This team has a lot of potential.

There are questions to be sure.

• How will Hurts play in the new system?
• Can Mekhi Becton get the job done at RG?
• How will the backup OL perform if called upon?
• Is the young DL ready to step up?
• Will Bryce Huff be an impact pass rusher?
• Will the LBs actually be…good?
• Is the secondary as improved as it seems to be?

None of these is a lottery ticket type of situation. The Eagles have talented players at all of the spots. We’ll find out if Howie Roseman drafted well and if the coaching staff has developed the young talent.

I think one of the advantages for this team will be playing young guys. Last year’s team felt old and complacent. Young players tend to be hungrier and more competitive. This group is more likely to have an edge. It will also help to have someone like Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the mix. He plays with a lot of attitude and emotion. The defense should feed off of him.

The defense was dreadful last year, finishing 30th in points allowed and 26th in yards. The pass defense was especially awful. They were 31st in TD passes allowed. Opposing QBs had a rating of 97.6 against them. The back seven flat out stunk.

The Eagles feel very improved at LB. CJGJ adds a playmaker at safety. The team added multiple bodies at CB and the players looked good this summer. The pass defense won’t be elite overnight, but should be vastly improved. That should make a huge difference.

The player I’m most curious about is Nakobe Dean. Eagles fans were thrilled when he was drafted in 2022. He barely played that season, but was projected to start last year. That didn’t work out, due to performance and injuries. Dean started slow this summer and then played like a mad man. If he can be a good LB, that will help the defense a lot.

I am most excited to see Saquon in action. I watched him for three years at Penn State. He was a special player there and has done some special things while trapped as a member of the Giants. Saquon finally gets to be part of a good team. He has good blocking. He’s part of a good passing attack. All of this could bring out the best in him. Saquon could have a special season.

Special Teams is an x-factor every season. With the new kickoff rules that could be especially true. Michael Clay did a terrific job with the STs last year. Let’s hope he can repeat that.

This team should once again be a Super Bowl contender. They need to stay relatively healthy. They need Jalen Hurts to play like he did in 2022. And they need the defense to be good enough. This offense can be special, but they can’t be in a shootout on a weekly basis.

2024 should be a fun season. At the very least, it will be interesting.

http://igglesblitz.com/2024/09/game-week-2/

I don't think we can overestimate the impact of the coordinators.  The eagles had 2 first time coordinators who struggled out of the gate and never improved....the units actually got worse as the year progressed.

Kellen Moore is light years better than Brian Johnson......and Fangio is an experienced, proven DC with a better group of players at his disposal. 

It always takes a few games for units to iron out some issues during live games.....but with the talent on the eagles offense, those issues may seem minimal. There are so many match up problems for opposing DCs and Moore is great at exploiting mismatches.  I think the eagles offense gets rolling pretty quick.

Defensively, there are more question marks.  The new guys and young players have to produce while the defense as a whole has to mesh.  But with leaders like Graham, CJGJ and Nakobe Dean, hopefully, that learning curve is short.  As always with this team, if the defensive line plays like it's capable, everybody's job gets easier.