Pat Kirwan of NFL.com rates the Eagles defense as the second best third down defense in the league. They are second to the Super Bowl champion Steelers.
Kirwan makes these comments about the Eagles third down defense.
"The Eagles had 16 different players sack the quarterback last year. That speaks to the creative scheming of the coaching staff and the roster depth assembled by the front office. Philadelphia sacked the quarterback once every 11.9 drop backs and returns every key player in its pass rush group. The secondary lost veteran safety Brian Dawkins, but the addition of Ellis Hobbs on the corner gives Philadelphia excellent nickel and dime coverage groups.
Last year, the Eagles were the second-ranked third-down defense, holding teams to just a 32.2 percent success rate. The big question for the Eagles is the potential loss of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who is battling cancer. Hopefully Johnson will still have an influence on this great defense."
The Birds had 16 players register a sack last year. That's great but that statistic says to me that their success has more to do with the design of the defenses rather than the talent of the players.
This points us again to the importance of Jim Johnson to the team's defensive success. He has been one of the anchors of the team for the past decade.
He has been a genius at studying a team's blocking scheme and concocting a blitz which expose the blocking scheme's vulnerabilities.
This have been one of the reasons they have won so consistently.
Unfortunately there's a good chance he won't be available when the season starts. Sean McDermott who has been an assistant under Johnson for eleven years may have to take over.
McDermott will have to figure out the vulnerabilities of the opposing offense's blocking schemes then design bltizes to take advantage of them. You can't expect him to be as brilliant as Johnson immediately.
it's true you can point to the success of Johnson's prodeges like Steve Spagnuolo with the Giants, Ron Rivera with the Bears and Leslie Frazier with the Vikings, but there's one big difference.
New York had Pro Bowlers Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. The Bears had Pro Bowlers Tommie Harris, Adwale Ogunleye and Pro Bowl alternate Alex Brown. The Vikings have Pro Bowlers Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Jared Allen.
Still I think the Eagles will be successful during the season because the offense is more potent and will give the defense more room for error. This was the case in 2004.
They've got more deep speed in their wide receivers, which will allow them to throw downfield more often.
Donovan McNabb is a better downfield thrower than he is a short thrower. This will allow the Birds to strike from any where on the field. A healthy Brian Westbrook will make them even more potent and consistent.
