Looking at the biggest takeaway from the Eagles 2021 preseason

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Looking at the biggest takeaway from the Eagles 2021 preseason

Glenn Erby 

 

September 6, 2021 5:50 am ET

 

The Eagles preseason is over and although a lot of the questions have surrounded Jalen Hurts, it’s the defense that will see the biggest change.

With Jonathan Gannon now at defensive coordinator, Philadelphia will play less man to man coverage, forgoing some man to man concepts for more cover two-zone

According to Pro Football Focus, the days of opposing wide receivers running free for deep scoring opportunities are gone thanks to Jonathan Gannon’s new scheme.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
The Eagles are going to run a lot more two-high, zone coverages in 2021
The Eagles ran man coverage at a top-five rate in the NFL during the 2020 season, but it looks like that’s changing under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Philadelphia led all defenses this preseason in Cover 2 rate (39%) and number of snaps with two-high safeties post-snap. On the flip side, no defense ran less Cover 1 than the Eagles over the past month (7%). It’s a trend that should carry over into the regular season, given Gannon’s tendencies while with the Colts.

Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps have elite ball skills that should translate to more turnovers against the opposition in the passing game, while Darius Slay and Steven Nelson should benefit the most from having two athletic safeties over the top.

https://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2021/09/06/philadelphia-eagles-2021-preseason-takeaways-cover-2-defense/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR27OsSwmuq55T-SEYGcY1Vd6YxlLyyNcOwhK6hhtNXnsY80D_2tHojqcOI