I came across an interesting stat from Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.¬† And when I say “interesting,” I mean “very alarming if you are a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.”Of course I should preface this with a statement about how good Saints’ QB Drew Brees is and their offense is as a whole.¬† This was not a game against the human turnover machine known as Jake Delhomme.¬† But, I always thought that this Eagles defense was supposed to thrive when they got teams in long down and distances.¬†
Well, that wasn’t the case on Sunday.¬† When the Saints were faced with downs and distances of 10 yards or more (which technically includes 1st and 10), Brees was a scorching 15-20 for three TD’s and no picks.¬† That’s a passer rating of 150.4.¬† Ouch.
Isn’t that supposed to be when the clamps come down and the turnovers get forced?¬† That’s been one of the staples of Jim Johnson’s defensive philosophies.¬† Get the other team in some down and a lot to go, then make them figure out where and how the blitz will come.¬† Snap the ball…have fun.
This clearly wasn’t what happened and you have to think that this is a stat that Sean McDermott is going to have to look at closely.¬† Just wanted to pass this info along.
