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Dallas Will be the "Real Test" (offensively)


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Sorry, couldn't resist the title.^_^

But, it's true.  Dallas will, by far, bring the best defense we have seen this year so far.  Combine that with our offensive troubles in the 2nd halves of games this year along with 5 games of film defensive coordinators now have on us, this will be a very interesting test.

The Eagles have 135 total points scored this year with only 29 of those points being in the 2nd half (14 of which were in week 1 so that's 15 total points in the 2nd half of the last 4 games).

Are defenses adjusting at half time and able to shut us down in the 2nd half?  Is Siri not adapting to the defensive adjustments?  Execution?  What gives?  They better have a good plan of attack on Dallas this week.

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1 minute ago, EaglesAddict said:

Sorry, couldn't resist the title.^_^

But, it's true.  Dallas will, by far, bring the best defense we have seen this year so far.  Combine that with our offensive troubles in the 2nd halves of games this year along with 5 games of film defensive coordinators now have on us, this will be a very interesting test.

The Eagles have 135 total points scored this year with only 29 of those points being in the 2nd half (14 of which were in week 1 so that's 15 total points in the 2nd half of the last 4 games).

Are defenses adjusting at half time and able to shut us down in the 2nd half?  Is Siri not adapting to the defensive adjustments?  Execution?  What gives?  They better have a good plan of attack on Dallas this week.

Eagles running clock in 2nd half of every game except Detroit..

Eagles 37

Cowboys 13

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I don't buy the killing the clock suggestion.  

Against Minnesota, entering the 2nd half we have a 17 point lead which isn't that much all things considered.  Playing against a team that can be explosive offensively with Jefferson, Thielen, Cook, etc., you want to keep the pedal to the metal.

Against the Jags the lead is only 6 going into the 3rd quarter.

Against the Cardinals the lead is only 4.  

I do think this is one area where Sirianni and Steichen are still learning ... how to make adjustments when taking a lead into the half.  You have to know the opponent is going to make adjustments since they are losing, so being able to come up with some idea of they might be and create a plan on how to counter is something that will hopefully get better with more time.  

And "yes" EA ... huge test (joking or not), no doubt.  

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1 hour ago, time2rock said:

I don't buy the killing the clock suggestion.  

Against Minnesota, entering the 2nd half we have a 17 point lead which isn't that much all things considered.  Playing against a team that can be explosive offensively with Jefferson, Thielen, Cook, etc., you want to keep the pedal to the metal.

Against the Jags the lead is only 6 going into the 3rd quarter.

Against the Cardinals the lead is only 4.  

I do think this is one area where Sirianni and Steichen are still learning ... how to make adjustments when taking a lead into the half.  You have to know the opponent is going to make adjustments since they are losing, so being able to come up with some idea of they might be and create a plan on how to counter is something that will hopefully get better with more time.  

And "yes" EA ... huge test (joking or not), no doubt.  

I don't buy the clock killing thing either...though I did wonder if we got conservative or lose some sense of urgency.  We need to get that killer instinct ,on both sides of the ball.

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The Eagles don't play 4 quarters of football. 5-0. What happens if they find a way to play 4 quarters, every game? 

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Not sure about you guys. But it's nice not needing to score in the 2nd half every game. What I hate is the limp Gannon defense especially against Zona

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1 hour ago, Portyansky said:

Not sure about you guys. But it's nice not needing to score in the 2nd half every game. What I hate is the limp Gannon defense especially against Zona

Not expecting that to fly this week...

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8 hours ago, time2rock said:

I don't buy the killing the clock suggestion.  

Against Minnesota, entering the 2nd half we have a 17 point lead which isn't that much all things considered.  Playing against a team that can be explosive offensively with Jefferson, Thielen, Cook, etc., you want to keep the pedal to the metal.

Against the Jags the lead is only 6 going into the 3rd quarter.

Against the Cardinals the lead is only 4.  

I do think this is one area where Sirianni and Steichen are still learning ... how to make adjustments when taking a lead into the half.  You have to know the opponent is going to make adjustments since they are losing, so being able to come up with some idea of they might be and create a plan on how to counter is something that will hopefully get better with more time.  

And "yes" EA ... huge test (joking or not), no doubt.  

Well said! The only thing we got in favor with a lead against the Cowboys is they have absolutely no offense. Gannon needs to blitz the crap out of Rush or Dak in the 2nd half and trust the secondary. 

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Me thinks that Cooper Rush is going to be picked off twice....that is, if Gannon does his job and applies pressure to rattle that red headed stepchild.  

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8 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

I don't buy the clock killing thing either...though I did wonder if we got conservative or lose some sense of urgency.  We need to get that killer instinct ,on both sides of the ball.

I don’t see any way you "go conservative” (or the players lose that sense of urgency) with only a 6 (Jax) or 4 (AZ) point lead going into the 2nd half.  They all know better.  

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Jokes about "the real test" aside, going 6-0 would have to cement the conversation of them being the best team in the league (at this time).

Strength of schedule be damned, they've proven to find ways to win and already overcome some injuries and some deficits like down 14-0 then staying focused and executing to win. 

 

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Jacksonville, statistically, is on par with the cowpies, who are being completely overrated by the media and even around here by the OP.  

Cowpies have more sacks and Jacksonville has more takeaways.......Cowpies have better pass defense, Jags better run defense.

So they are not the toughest defense the eagles faced "by far"......What is true is that this is the toughest offensive line the cowpies have faced this year.

Yes, better than the rams, the bengals, the giants and the foreskins.....and the bucs.

And I think the eagles are not only on a mission this year,  they had this game circled since it came out.......like us, they're tired of hearing all about dallas, cooper rush, and their defense getting the typical media dallas hype.

Eagles 31, cowpies 13

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5 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

Jacksonville, statistically, is on par with the cowpies, who are being completely overrated by the media and even around here by the OP.  

Cowpies have more sacks and Jacksonville has more takeaways.......Cowpies have better pass defense, Jags better run defense.

So they are not the toughest defense the eagles faced "by far"......What is true is that this is the toughest offensive line the cowpies have faced this year.

Yes, better than the rams, the bengals, the giants and the foreskins.....and the bucs.

And I think the eagles are not only on a mission this year,  they had this game circled since it came out.......like us, they're tired of hearing all about dallas, cooper rush, and their defense getting the typical media dallas hype.

Eagles 31, cowpies 13

I like the confidence.  And perhaps the "by far" comment was slightly exaggerated.  But, the Dallas D is certainly a better overall unit than the Jags and will be the toughest one we faced to date.  Combine that with the 2nd half offensive ineptitude we've seen so far, there is some cause for concern, hence a good test.  Their pass rush will be a serious challenge, especially if Mailata misses this game.  Hopefully Sirianni comes up with a better game plan vs Dallas than he did vs. the Cards.

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2 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

I like the confidence.  And perhaps the "by far" comment was slightly exaggerated.  But, the Dallas D is certainly a better overall unit than the Jags and will be the toughest one we faced to date.  Combine that with the 2nd half offensive ineptitude we've seen so far, there is some cause for concern, hence a good test.  Their pass rush will be a serious challenge, especially if Mailata misses this game.  Hopefully Sirianni comes up with a better game plan vs Dallas than he did vs. the Cards.

The Cowboys have the 7th best pass defense (based on total passing yards given up).

  • Jags are 14th
  • Commanders 19th
  • Cards 21st
  • Vikings 22nd
  • Lions 27th

Dallas as the 19th best rushing defense.

  • Cards 5th
  • Jags 6th
  • Commanders 14th
  • Vikings 20th
  • Lions 30th

The Jags had the NFL's top run D ... until we played them.   Even after dropping in that stat somewhat, they still look to have the better defense overall.  But these divisional games are a different animal.  Looks like we need to get the run game going offensively again to take advantage of a weaker run D (which will help to counter the pass rush).  Hopefully Dickerson is good to go this week and whatever injury Kelce suffered in AZ doesn't impact his play.  

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3 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

I like the confidence.  And perhaps the "by far" comment was slightly exaggerated.  But, the Dallas D is certainly a better overall unit than the Jags and will be the toughest one we faced to date.  Combine that with the 2nd half offensive ineptitude we've seen so far, there is some cause for concern, hence a good test.  Their pass rush will be a serious challenge, especially if Mailata misses this game.  Hopefully Sirianni comes up with a better game plan vs Dallas than he did vs. the Cards.

I'm not even buying that they're a better overall unit than the Jags......they have improved their pass rush.  

I think Dallas has a lot to be concerned about......they aren't great against the run and they have to account for Hurts improvising. They've played 5 teams with pocket QBs with Wentz and Jones having some mobility, but nothing like Hurts.   That "pin back your ears" hard rush the cowpies do could really cost them big time.

Hey, it's an NFC East game for the division lead....anything can happen and stats don't really mean much.  It could be a complete blowout one or a game decided on a last minute FG.

I just think the eagles have listened to all they hype Dallas has gotten, even predictions of the super bowl........and they're not only pissed but want to put that whole narrative to bed.

 

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10 hours ago, NOTW said:

Jokes about "the real test" aside, going 6-0 would have to cement the conversation of them being the best team in the league (at this time).

Strength of schedule be damned, they've proven to find ways to win and already overcome some injuries and some deficits like down 14-0 then staying focused and executing to win. 

 

I can buy them being the best team in the NFC if they beat Dallas. They aren’t at the level of Buffalo though IMO. 

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1 hour ago, time2rock said:

The Cowboys have the 7th best pass defense (based on total passing yards given up).

  • Jags are 14th
  • Commanders 19th
  • Cards 21st
  • Vikings 22nd
  • Lions 27th

Dallas as the 19th best rushing defense.

  • Cards 5th
  • Jags 6th
  • Commanders 14th
  • Vikings 20th
  • Lions 30th

The Jags had the NFL's top run D ... until we played them.   Even after dropping in that stat somewhat, they still look to have the better defense overall.  But these divisional games are a different animal.  Looks like we need to get the run game going offensively again to take advantage of a weaker run D (which will help to counter the pass rush).  Hopefully Dickerson is good to go this week and whatever injury Kelce suffered in AZ doesn't impact his play.  

Dallas is also 2nd in the league in sacks.  As vaunted as our OL is, we are susceptible to a strong pass rush.  We are in the middle of the pack as far as how many times Hurts has been sacked...and that is with his ability to escape sacks.  I agree about establishing the run to neutralize their pass rush, but you just know they will come out passing and only go to that if the pass isn't working.  Fully expecting a lot of 3-5 step drops and get the pass out quickly on slants and screens with the occasional deep shot.  If that doesn't work, they'll revert to the run.  

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21 minutes ago, birdman#12 said:

I'm not even buying that they're a better overall unit than the Jags......they have improved their pass rush.  

I think Dallas has a lot to be concerned about......they aren't great against the run and they have to account for Hurts improvising. They've played 5 teams with pocket QBs with Wentz and Jones having some mobility, but nothing like Hurts.   That "pin back your ears" hard rush the cowpies do could really cost them big time.

Hey, it's an NFC East game for the division lead....anything can happen and stats don't really mean much.  It could be a complete blowout one or a game decided on a last minute FG.

I just think the eagles have listened to all they hype Dallas has gotten, even predictions of the super bowl........and they're not only pissed but want to put that whole narrative to bed.

 

Agreed.  One thing that will impact how the Eagles call this game on offense is how our defense is faring.  If they can shut down the Dallas O or at least keep them "contained", it will certainly allow for the "whole playbook" to remain open (hence more balanced run/pass).  But if we find ourselves in a hole early, then we'll be pass happy and we'll have to see how we do against their pass rush "pinning their ears back".

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5 minutes ago, EaglesAddict said:

Dallas is also 2nd in the league in sacks.  As vaunted as our OL is, we are susceptible to a strong pass rush.  We are in the middle of the pack as far as how many times Hurts has been sacked...and that is with his ability to escape sacks.  I agree about establishing the run to neutralize their pass rush, but you just know they will come out passing and only go to that if the pass isn't working.  Fully expecting a lot of 3-5 step drops and get the pass out quickly on slants and screens with the occasional deep shot.  If that doesn't work, they'll revert to the run.  

I'd like to see a more balanced attack right out of the gate.  If you take away Hurts' runs (whether designed or not) the balance was heavily in favor of the pass by a ratio of 2:1 (36 passes, 18 runs by Sanders [15] and Gainwell [3]).  Ideally (and assuming the run game is effective ... obviously not a safe assumption and will have to prepare for adjustments as needed), Sanders gets closer to 20 touches, Gainwell 6-7, and get Sermon involved with another 4-5.  

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