Lots of Help

[time2rock]

Lots of Help

Posted: January 12th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

Jalen might be the league MVP. Nick Sirianni is in the running for coach of the year. Those guys get the bulk of the attention, but a lot of people had a hand in the Eagles success this season.

 

Reddick turned out to be a great signing. I thought he was a good addition who would help the defense, but I didn’t see him racking up 16 sacks and 5 FFs. He has a legit shot at Defensive Player of the Year. Reddick is an impact rusher, but also a good run defender. Beyond the plays he’s makes, Reddick creates sacks for his teammates. He gets into the backfield and the QB has to move. The Eagles didn’t have 70 sacks by accident.

Brandon Thorn charts sacks so he can grade pass rushers accurately. He factors in quality as well as quantity. His top rated pass rusher? Haason Reddick.

Josh Sweat was 7th and Brandon Graham 9th. That’s incredibly impressive.

Let’s give some credit to a coach.

Washburn coached the edge rushers for the first time ever and I don’t think their success is a coincidence. Washburn wasn’t splitting time with teaching Fletcher Cox and Reddick the same stuff. He focused on the edge guys and what they needed to do to succeed. Winning on the edge is very different from winning inside. Kudos to Washburn and his pupils.

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Jeff McLane wrote a great piece about the Eagles head of security, Big Dom.

Make sure you read that. Also a reminder of the value in subscribing to local papers. Support them so we can get good stories like this.

Big Dom is part of the Eagles success. He helps with a lot of different things behind the scenes. You don’t win games without someone like him who can connect with people as individuals and not necessarily coaches or players or whatever their role is.

It also helps that he can keep some players out of trouble and can help players navigate situations when they do get in trouble.

Very good story.

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Let’s go back to the coaches side of things.

Gannon and Steichen have done an outstanding job of running the offense and defense this year. They deserve to be looked at for head coaching jobs. People get mad at Gannon for not being aggressive enough or Steichen for throwing too much, but each guy can point to terrific results this year.

I think you also have to give credit for Sirianni for hiring them and developing them as leaders. He lets Gannon run the defense and Steichen has been calling plays since the middle of last season. Some head coaches micro-manage. Sirianni empowered his guys and they have rewarded him with great performances.

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The key to success is having good players. Somebody has to go get those players.

Good piece from Zach. Another reason to subscribe.

We’ve all given Howie a hard time for his bad moves and outright failures. He deserves a ton of credit for the moves he has made the last two years, putting the Eagles into position to win a Super Bowl.

The real challenge Howie has had is keeping a team at the top. It will be interesting to see how he does this coming offseason. He will have some tough decisions to make on who to keep and who to let go.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/01/lots-of-help/