What’s The Formula For Stopping Rodgers And Packers Pass Attack?
Eagles, General News, News Monday, January 3rd, 2011
I’ve said this before and I’m going to say it again. You can’t beat good veteran quarterbacks by blitzing them in the playoffs. I’ve think we’ve seen that during Jim Johnson’s tenure as the defensive coordinator.
Although the Birds had tremendous success in the regular season during the Johnson years with their blitz, they were only able to force a total of one fumble and one interception in four NFC Championship game losses and one Super Bowl loss. That’s two turnovers in five games. That’s losing defensive football.
In the playoffs, you normally play against veteran quarterbacks, who are playing at the top of their games. They recognize the blitz and get rid of the football.
If one of the Eagles defensive backs misses a tackle, then you’ve got a big play. The Packers receivers may be the best group of receivers in the league and they’re outstanding when it comes to running with the ball after the catch.
Now let’s get to the biggest question of the week. How should Sean McDermott and the Eagles try to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers passing offense?
The Birds have allowed 31 touchdown passes this season which is an average of almost two per game. I know you’ve heard how bad the Eagles defense is in the red zone. Well, it should convert you to know that according to Philly.com, Rodgers has a 107.4 quarterback rating in the red zone.
Should they blitz Rodgers and try to get hits on him, knowing that he isn’t that far away from a concussion? Can they get enough pressure on him with the front four or will they be forced to blitz?
McDermott should be able to pick up some tips from the Bears vs. Packers tape since Chicago was able to hold them to 10 points.
Every time you blitz them, you leave your defensive backs in one-on-one situations. Every time you go after him, you leave Dimitri Patterson or Joselio Hanson by themselves in man-to-man situations.
You know that the Eagles right cornerback position is suspect and will be a target of Rodgers and the Packers. The Birds have to be ready for it.
They can use a safety to help deep on the coverage then have the corners move up and jam the receiver. Patterson or Hanson must change where they lining up. Sometimes they could be up and sometimes they could play back.
Do you play a bend but don’t break style of defense? They could play a loose zone and give Rodgers and his receivers all the short routes. I don’t think it would be a good idea to give anything to Rodgers.
Despite some ups nd downs during the season, he had the highest quarterback rating in the NFC at 101.2.
You could play a lot of double-zone coverages and take away the deep throws to their wide receivers. That would leave middle linebacker Jamar Chaney alone with one of the Packers tight ends down the middle of the defense. Their tight ends are anything special, so this might be a good option.
Their wide receivers are talented and each of them can beat you if they’re not covered. Greg Jennings can make all the plays and he’s got big time speed. He beat Ellis Hobbs for a touchdown during the first game of the season.
Donald Driver is a bit older but he still has the deep speed and he catches everything that Rodgers throws. Driver and Jennings are Rodgers two favorite targets, but he does have confidence in the others.
James Jones is another playmaker for Rodgers to get the ball to. He makes the great catch, but will occasionally drop an easy pass.
Wide receiver Jordy Nelson has tremendous size, but he’s also capable of getting deep if you don’t keep an eye on him.
None of the tight ends have the talent of Jermichael Finley but they are capable of making plays on occasion. I would try to take away the wide receivers and force the tight ends to beat me.
I think the only real answer for the Birds defense is defensive end Trent Cole and his buddies up front. They must put pressure on Rodgers without relying on the blitz.
I saw the Giants try to blitz Rodgers and he picked them apart. The Bears didn’t do very much blitzing but they were able to get pressure on him with the four man pass rush. They nearly scored 50 points on the Giants but the Bears held them to 10 points.
Somebody get Trent Cole on the phone, we’ve got to get him motivated for a great performance on Sunday.
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Posted by GarryCobb
on Jan 3 2011. Filed under Eagles, General News, News.
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Rankings are are for rank amoung entire league
Okay I am done with this stat stuff, not my thing.
Who think the corners on the roster opposite Asante is better than Sheldon Brown now?
Sheldon was slowing down but have enough between the ears to man the position with the physical presence to lay a lick the recievers fear.
The corner spot there is weak and scared. Patterson have overachieved but is a career back up whos there when needed but I think it’s utterly ridiculous that we went into this season without addressing the cornerback position along with the O line after gassing us with “all those valuable picks” the FO was bragging about. Why must we have a serious blind spot every year but innumerous defensive playersdrafted that never make it on the field?
If it’s not recievers and linebackers in the past, it’s punt return in not so distant past. One year it’s fullback, and another Center, then Safety. This year it’s the Corner Back position. What makes these blindspots a pain in the behhind is that the organization let the players in certain positions go with lesser talent on any particular on the roster. That’s the issue here.
All those picks and you mena to tell me the best we could have starting opposite Asante is “Ellis Hobbs”?
Now, I know some people will say that teams can’t have every position manned but that excuse does not fly when you let go a player who is above average with no replacement. If that position suffers then we can directly point to the personel decision to play with lesser talent. that’s unacceptable.
We were told Kolb would do just fine when everyone who had eyes knew he was just another guy, and Vick pulled Reid’s behind out of the fire. Can you imagine if there was no Vick on this roster with Kolb as the starter?
These are serious problems when it comes to decision making within the organization and while we laud them for the things they do right in personel, I fear this one “Blind Spot” in the personnel decisions might be the the difference between a team that makes the playoffs and one that actually competes for a Super Bowl.
I’m a fervent Eagles fan and hope they can overcome but i noe confident with the reality of that left corner spot against any team we might face deep in the playoffs.
One spot can make all the difference in the world especially when the last line of defense is between the line of scrimmage and the goalline.
Sheldon Brown has been WORSE than any CB we have had — I’ve seen the games, trust me.
Sheldon Brown has been horrible this season (which will probably be his last)
If he was still with te Eagles, their pass defense would be dead last in the league instead of close to the bottom.. Stop living in the past Songs.. ..
Next thing you will be saying is we need TO, Brian Westbrook and J Trotter and B Dawkins on this team too… This 2010 Eagles Team is just above average, no more and no less…
Songs I agree. Funny how people now forget about what they did yo Dawk and agree with FO. I am sorry not over it and i dont care if the empty suit lovers disagree.
Its one thing to get rid of an aging player but you HAVE to have a better player ready and this has become a habit for this arrogant FO. lets not forget if Vick got traded like they originally wanted to, it would be the QB positions we are also talking about. FO got a pass with Vick taking over and Kolb is a distant memory.
This organization care about having wind turbines and soar panels on the linc more then winning a Super Bowl.
Dawk left on his own, on a crazy $$$ deal that the Broncos way overpaid for,
In fact, he ws only a role player for them this Season and wasn’t even on the field in most passing situations the last 1/2 half of season for his poor coverage skills .. He’s done and will retire this year
though the Eagles should have been better prepared and had someone groomed sooner to be ready
to replace him from the outside which they didn’t..
I think I stated many time back in the Spring that the former Panther Safety Chris Harris was available and the Panthers ended up trading him to the Bears for back-up LB and all Harris did was help solidify the Bears Secondary into one of the leagues best and made big plays and Int’s all season long for the Bears…
I wish I could slap ppl over the internet. Dawk left because Denver offered more than the Eagles. Plain and simple.
Dawk, the Eagle legend, left you for money, plain and simple. He didn’t care about you, he no longer lives here, he just wanted one more payday. Good for him getting more, but do not act like that was all on the Birds, or was a mistake. He is old and can’t play, just like Sheldon.
sheldon Brown is a good system CB and he was great and steady in the Eagles Defensive system. I believe he would be a safety in Philly now, and a good one at that. His future years will be at the safety position. Dawk’s position was not all about money, it was about the respect factor thing too.
Wow someone wants to slap me because i said something on a forum?. I am scared. If you research it Dawk tried to call Banner and Benner wouldn’t answer his phone. Dawk left because he is was pissed and was disrespected. Why would any one believe Joe Banner over Dawk? Come one…anyone knows Dawk isnt after the money! He wanted to be an Eagle. Keep beleiving Banner and the FO….they have brought so many rings to this town.
Mono all those stats are good but the most important stat I saw is that we allow around 24 points per game while the other teams in the conference allow a lot less.
GB – 15
Chi – 17.9
ATL – 18
NO – 19.2
Sea – 25.4
The only team that allows more is the Seahawks and they don’t even deserve to be in the playoffs. If they would have lost that game they would have had a top 10 pick in the draft. That’s how bad they really are.
Also, we aren’t getting turnovers like we were earlier in the season. That number is skewed by early season success and not so much lately. In my opinion all those stats mean nothing if you are allow too many points. I don’t care if you get 5 sacks and 2 INTs in a game and still allow 30 points and lose. There’s no way an offense should have to score 30+ points to win every game. And that’s likely needed for these playoffs. At some point, the defense has to man up or they just aren’t good enough.
paulman, we all know Sheldon had a bad year in Cleveland. Everyone has a bad year in Cleveland. I’m not saying he would have been the best CB but his year in Cleveland is not indicative of what he would do in Philly. That goes for any player that leaves a team they’ve been with for a long time. We all know how you feel about Sheldon but he’s better than Hobbs and garbage Dimitri Patterson. Having said that, I’m not going to get on the FO for trading him. I’ll get on them because they had crap to replace him.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Sheldon is a very good player anymore, I just think in this system he still would have been better than any guy we had starting opposite of Asante. Just my thoughts. And I won’t go there on Dawk because he left for the money and I don’t blame him. He played here for years underpaid compared to the better safeties in the league and never once complained. He left for the money. My problem is that we have a hard time replacing very good defensive players. I know it can’t be that easy but we can easily see Andy and whoever may have issues with finding good defensive talent.
Scorp
I mentioned numerous times that the Eagles have peaked as a team..
These Stats bear it out, the Int’s/Sacks that were all coming in the 1st 10 weeks of the Season, have now dissipated as they usually do every Playoff Season.. The Offense was able to cover for the Defensive deficiencies for Vick was playing at an ungodly high level, but now, that he’s come down to earth and the Offense has been kind of stuck in neutral, this teams has lost whatever momentum that had building up all Season..Can they get it back, maybe,maybe not, I don’t know, but I am a firm believer of past history and tendancies by the Eagles Team and by Coach AR and .
My gut says the Eagles are done, that they are unable to get that Mojo Back and lose a close winnable game to the Packers, which will give them 3 losses (All at Home) to end the 2010 Season with,which is inexcusable, and would actually get some Coaches get fired.. My take is that Coach
AR will Fire DC S McDermott and make him the scapegoat for this late Season Failure and
announce Dick Jauron as the new Defensive Coordinator..
I don’t believe the Eagles are playing well enough Offensivey & Defensively to make up for
Coach Ar’s weakness as a game/field Coach..
@Paulman…… AR will fire Mcdermott…. Your right on that one……
paulman, I’m not sure of they peaked yet but I think it’s valid to say so. That could very well be possible. Of course, we just hope they didn’t. Who knows until the game is played. Maybe the defense surprises everyone since they haven’t peaked all year long LOL. I’m not big on McDermott. I mean you hate to put it all on the coach especially with all the injuries to key players on that side of the ball. Unfortunately, someone has to be the fall guy. Andy doesn’t usually react hastily. So we will have to see. But I think as an organization the Eagles have a hard time getting quality defensive players. Even when JJ was the D coordinator, the defense was still guys that Ray Rhodes brought in, performed medicore in big games and didn’t replace aging defensive players who were cornerstones. I know they have tried, but every team tries. We don’t pay attention to the LB position enough. Keep drafting d-line bust and bust. Every goo defense in the NFL has a start LB. Our is Stewart Freaking Bradley. Please.
I hope we haven’t peaked though. We will see if they can get it back going.
Paulman? Your gut tells you????
Who cares about you gut?
Your gut claim Kolb would be an improvement over Mcnabb who broke the passing record for the Eagles last year.
I have your quotes about the quick release hitting players in stride, claiming the offence will be fine with Kolb and fans should more concerned with the defence.
Did your gut tell you that?
Kolb have turned out to be ass like most of us with eyes said from the beginning.
Enough of that…..When we spank Green Bay why don’t you come on next week and talk about the great Jay Cutler who threw a few picks we dropped right in our laps the last game.
This team will figure out the blitz this game and when that happens what will opposing defences do?
That’s my gut feeling….My gut told me before the season started that Kolb should have a 2 game grace period before wasting our season and that now have been proven to be correct.
I’ll stick with my gut feelings because yours would have Kolb as the starting quarterback with fans blogging about a coach change and mock drafts this time in the season opposed to an exciting season and a chance to represent the NFC in the Superbowl, in what have become an wide open NFC.
Your gut had the Panthers on an upswing after a good draft.
Remember that quote?
My gut tells me Paulman….. you are a closet hater.
By the way …Schillman have been missing in action since his added work now that the playoffs are ramping up…….He’s really Dave Spadaro
You were right about Kolb, he’s not a top QB, I think I stated that I would need to see him play about
10 games into the season to really get a good feel about him, well he’s played in about 5-6 games this season and has not impressed me enough to say he is the Franchise QB for the Eagles moving forward.. SO yes, I got on Vick Express Train after the Bye week and when Coach AR finally came out and stated that he was the #1 QB for remainder of the Season..This doesn’t mean that now I have to think that they are going to Win against the Packers or go deep in the playoffs, This also doesn’t mean I am not of fan of the Eagles. I just don’t think they are good enough in too many areas of the team to be a legitimate Championship Caliber Team
Between the O/Line, the Play-Calling, the D/L, the Secondary are just simply average and not up to par with the other teams to win and make a deep run in the Playoffs..
When playing all 4 teams from the NFC North this season, there was one thing in common in those 4 games (Packers,Lions,Bears & Vikings where the Eagles went 1-3 by the way)
In all 4 of these games the other teams not only controlled, but basically dominated the line of Scrimmage.. We do not match up well with the Packers or Bears ot the Saints in the NFC
The Falcons,Seahawks are no problem, but these other 3, I don’t see the Eagles doing much against them to be succesful..I want to the Eagles to do well and to get to another Super Bowl but I am realistic enough and watch enough Football to determine who the better teams are and I also know Coach AR and the Eagles all too well in how they perform in big games and it’s not a very good track record… How about Home Field Advantage at the Linc, which means diddly squat anymore.. They lost 1/2 their games at home this season (Packers,Redskins,Vikings,& Cowboys) which is a joke …
IN most NFL Cities, this would get the Coach fired… When Vick plays like Superman, he hides all the deficiencies that this team has (like to O/Line & Play Calling) but he can’t play like SUperman every game all season long and when he just simply plays good, they lose..He won 2-3 games by himself and has to play great for them to have a chance which is fine, but not very realistic on happening over the playoffs…
Paulman – my eagles hat is tipped for you’re well supported reasons for thinking they won’t succeed against the Packers. I agree with several points but hope your wrong about their ability to win and it sounds like you might even hope the same.
Go Birds!