Eagles odds and ends: First down should be main focus for Birds improvement

If predictability and play calling is really the issue, it's most hurting the Eagles on first down.

By Geoff Mosher
PhillyVoice Staff

Vincent Carchietta-/Imagn Images

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on during the first half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.

The Eagles on Wednesday will reconvene from their "mini" bye week to start preparing for a wildly inconsistent Vikings team on Sunday in Minneapolis.

If you were looking for head coach Nick Sirianni to take you inside the failures that have produced the team's first two-game losing streak since 2023, sorry. Sirianni mostly spoke Monday about finding solutions, not rehashing the issues that contributed to the Eagles losing 21-17 to the Broncos last Sunday, followed by Thursday's embarrassing 31-17 loss to the Giants on a national stage.

"We have a lot of thoughts, a lot of things that we want to put into action," Sirianni said. "I think when you look at it, just being more efficient on first and second down, because right now, we're not near our standard on third down."

After the Giants loss, right tackle Lane Johnson blamed predictability for the offense's season-long struggle to rediscover its imposing ground game that last year powered Saquon Barkley to a 2,000-yard season.

In fairness, the Eagles were fairly predictable last year – in both design and frequency of their run game. The Eagles ran more than any other team on first down, using mostly inside zone concepts, and were still able to set up advantageous second and third downs.

The biggest issue facing the offense right now, along with a banged-up offensive line that just isn't as dominant, is first-down efficiency. The Eagles aren't getting enough yards on first down to set up favorable down-and-distance scenarios on second or third down.

They have faced third-and-long this season on 55 percent of their snaps, up from 47 percent last year. Amazingly, the Eagles have been in third-and-long (7+ yards) this season more times than third-and-short (1-2 yards) and 3rd-and-medium (3-6 yards) combined, and they're converting just 17 percent on third-and-long.

In order to fix their third-down issues, the Eagles must improve on first down. Here's how they rank compared to the rest of the NFL in first-down yards and efficiency, per Next Gen Stats:

If the Eagles are being too predictable, it's not because they're running the ball when everyone expects it. Last year, they had the NFL's lowest pass percentage on first down (32.3); it was almost a given they were going to run on first down, and when they did, they had the NFL's seventh-best EPA per rush (-0.02).

Usually, when one aspect isn't working, it's not just one problem or breakdown. Whatever the issues are, they must go back to being more impactful and more efficient on first down.

Light in the EDGE

The abrupt retirement of edge rusher Za'Darius Smith didn't just leave the Eagles thin in numbers at that position, but also in size.

Smith, who called it quits Monday, was the Eagles' biggest edge defender at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, which is why he's also been a strong run defender during his career and has moved inside at times to rush over guards and centers. 

Here's what the Eagles' current edge group looks like in size without Smith:

Only one of the Eagles' edge defenders weighs more than 250 pounds, snap count leader Jalyx Hunt, while Josh Uche, who has played the second-most snaps among EDGEs and will likely play more to compensate for Za'Darius Smith's retirement, barely makes it to 230 pounds.

Last year's EDGEs, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham, each weighed around 265 pounds, and both were known as stellar run defenders. The Eagles last year ranked in the top-10 in both rushing yards allowed and rushing yards per play.

The Eagles were already struggling uncharacteristically against the run before the Za'Darius Smith retirement, allowing 134.3 rushing yards per game (26th) and 4.66 yards per rush (24th).

Corner Carousel

Kelee Ringo is apparently back where he started the season – not among the starters.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Tuesday that "it would probably be" veteran Adoree' Jackson starting opposite Quinyon Mitchell, if Mitchell isn't sidelined by the hamstring injury that forced his early exit against the Giants. That would put Ringo, a third-year corner who had briefly usurped Jackson in the pecking order, back into the No. 3 role.

Ringo experienced some struggles against the Giants that illustrated the challenges of being a 207-pound corner whose hip fluidity and change of direction aren't ideal for the position he plays.

Below are two receptions he allowed that showed where he struggles most, the first being his ability to close quickly to erase space between himself and the receiver.

On this crosser he allowed to Wan'Dale Robinson, Ringo also appeared to be concerned about getting beaten deep, dropping while Robinson is crossing to create even more space between he and Robinson. 

This was a mesh concept that also involved a crosser from the opposite side by tight end Theo Johnson (84), but look how closely Cooper DeJean has Johnson covered on virtually the same route concept compared to Ringo versus Robinson.

On that third-down catch by Lil'Jordan Humphrey, a receiver elevated from the practice squad, Ringo couldn't throttle down on the timed pass from Jaxson Dart in time to make a play on the quick comeback. Humphrey's catch on third-and-long allowed a subpar Giants offense and passing game to move the chains on a critical down.

Dart threw the ball before Humphrey had even turned around because he anticipated that Ringo wouldn't be able to get into position to make the stop.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-odds-ends-first-down-should-be-main-focus-birds-improvement-nick-sirianni-saquon-barkley-stats-analysis/

Get ahead of the sticks! Don’t get in to 3rd and long situations because then our already predictable offense has to be even more predictable.