Last night I think we got a glimpse of what we might see on the Eagles defensive side when the season starts. I think it’s reasonable to expect them to struggle because of all the changes in the defensive leadership.
It’s dangerous to have a young defensive coordinator living by the blitz.
It was the first quarter when Eagles new defensive head man Sean McDermott had dialed up a couple of blitzes and gotten to Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard. He had the Jags on the run and was interested in producing another successful defensive play which would help get the Eagles defense off the field.
Going into the game, the Eagles knew that the most dangerous weapon the Jaguars had was running back Maurice Jones-Drew. He’s built like a fire hydrant with big, strong legs, great quickness, tremendous speed and the ability to take the ball the distance every time he touches it.
Like Brian Westbrook you wouldn’t put one linebacker on him, you would put at least two of them on him and try to get some safety help as well.
It was third down and I knew they were going to be coming again on the bltiz but so did the Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. He had Garrard draw the Eagles bltizers to him like setting a trap for some animals.
All the Eagles bit, while Jones-Drew and his offensive linemen set up a screen on the right side of the Eagles defense. The linemen took off from their positions in front of the Jags running back looking for somebody to block but nobody was there to block because McDermott had sent them all after Garrard.
This was a recipe for a big play and it’s something McDermott has to be aware of as we approach the season. He could have sent a couple of extra blitzers after Garrard but he should have had somebody checking on a guy as dangerous as Jones-Drew.
Every defense in his game plan should have had at least one defender and most of the time two guys responsible for covering a running back as good as Jones-Drew.
These are the lessons he has to learn as a defensive coordinator.
