Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Gang Green for real?

Four games into the season and the Eagles defense is looking good. They are 3rd in yards allowed and 7th in points allowed. We lead the league in sacks and run defense. We lead the NFC in takeaways.

Not too bad.

The defense was tough to move the ball on and score on last year, but didn't make enough plays. The takeaways are very encouraging. We've also scored a TD and gotten a safety. Again, this is what we needed.

The odd part of all this is that the front seven is getting the job done. The secondary still feels like a work in progress. The 3 CBs are not fully clicking at this point. Asante Samuel is doing his part. He's covered well and has 2 INTs.

Lito and Sheldon are the guys who seem to be figuring things out. They are getting moved around. Lito is in and out of the lineup. Sheldon is playing both RCB and the slot. He didn't get much time in the slot last year.

Part of the problem is that we've faced teams with mediocre receivers to this point. Dallas was the only passing challenge. We shut down TO for half the game, but Jason Witten was a problem all night long.

It will be nice to face some 3 WR sets and see just what the 3 CBs can do. Neither Lito nor Sheldon has an INT or even a pass breakup to this point. If we can get them going, the defense could be even better.

The D-line is looking good. Darren, Juqua, and Trent combined for 18.5 sacks last year. They already have 8 this year. We have 2 sacks from backup DTs. We're clogging running lanes. And we still haven't gotten help from Chris Clemons and Victor Abiamiri.

The LBs are actually making some plays. Omar has played really well the last couple of weeks. If he, Bradley, and Gocong continue to improve and make plays, the defense could be dominant.

There is still work to be done. Allowing the Bears to score 24 points shouldn't happen. Our defense is better than that. These kinds of growing pains are going to happen as the players learn and grow. Also keep in mind that the coaches are still figuring out exactly what they've got.

I like what I'm seeing to this point. We're only four games in, but the signs are very positive for the Eagles defense.
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3 comments:

channa02 said...

Thanks for another nice piece.

The Skins should be an interesting test for this D. I'm looking forward to seeing how our LB's and secondary respond to a balanced and agressive west coast offense, which we really haven't faced yet this year.

Can Jim Johnson afford to be as agressive (as he has been with blitzes the past 2 weeks) against a Skins offense with various weapons, including a top TE? I'm seeing visions of the Dallas game and hoping JJ has learned...

AaronStampler (a.k.a. Michael Erler) said...

Hey Tommy, I apologize for using this forum to ask you this but your mailbox was full on pe.com and I didn't know any other way to reach you.

I was just wondering if you've sent me the Game 1 and Game 3 tapes yet and if you haven't if there's anything I can do to assist you in doing so.

Thanks, Michael.

Tommy Lawlor said...

Redskins offense reminds me of the Steelers. I hope we attack it in a similar fashion.