The Eagles defense leads the league in interceptions. They’re 12th in the league in total defense, 13th in run defense, which isn’t bad when you consider they’re not built to stop the run. Their pass defense is 17th which also isn’t bad when you consider they’ve had to play three games without Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, but they have one glaring problem.
The glaring problem the Eagles is their inability to stop teams when they get in the red zone.
Teams are scoring touchdowns at nearly an 80% rate, when they get in the Eagles red zone. The Houston Texans got inside the Eagles red zone three times and each time they scored a touchdown. We all know how the Eagles defense let the mediocre Jay Cutler throw four touchdowns against them.
It’s a fact that you can’t play well in the National Football League, if you thinking too much. Usually it also means you’re playing scared and hesitant.
That’s even truer in the red zone when you’re playing pass defense. That is one of the main reasons, the Eagles linebackers and secondary are playing so poorly in the red zone. You must play fast and not think too much. You have to be confident to play instinctively and aggressively.
“It’s too much,” Andy Reid said about the red zone success of opponents. “We’ve got to do a better job there. Sean (McDermott) is beating himself up over that. So, he’s looking at it, been looking at it.”
Preparation is one of the keys to playing well in the red zone. The defenders have know the strengths and weaknesses of the offense. They have to be well schooled in what the offense likes to do in red zone situations. You must know what to expect, then react, but you can’t be thinking too much. You must attack.
I want to see cornerbacks Dimitri Patterson and Joselio Hanson get more aggressive when receivers try to push off and use their bodies to get position on them. I want to see them in press technique, so they can get their hands on the wide receivers when they come off the line of scrimmage.
The safeties, both Quintin Mikell and Nate Allen, must read their keys better. They need to recognize run or pass, then attack the play. You’ve got to attack. They can’t continue to be careful. Allen was run over in the last game because he caught the running back rather than attacked him.
The linebackers have to be aggressive, even if they make some mistakes. It’s better to be aggressive and wrong, than read the play correctly, yet be careful. There are times that they can force the offense into mistakes, if they’ll be more aggressive. I want to see the safeties coming off the corner on blitzes.
The defensive line must do a better job of getting pressure on the quarterback and that means getting off on the snap. They must do a better job of containing the quarterbacks and not letting them roll out. The ends must get upfield and set the edge, so it limits the amount of time the secondary has to cover.
The defensive tackles must get penetration into the backfield on run plays. It means getting off on the snap and staying low. If they recognize pass, they must get hits on the quarterback.
Defensive coordinator McDermott needs to think about blitzing in those situations, so that the quarterback is forced to make a decision. It might mean coaching less, so that he doesn’t give the defenders too much to think about.
McDermott needs to disguise the coverages and make sure he’s putting pressure on the quarterback immediately. He must give the quarterback only a split-second to make a decision.
Great point and article G and this is probably the biggest Reason the Eagles are not a legitimate Super Bowl Contending team this season (if they make it to the playoffs)
The Bears,Packers,Giants,Saints,Bucs and even the Falcons all are better than the Eagles once it comes to Red-Zone Efficiency in stopping the opposing teams from getting TD’s..
This is where the galring need ofr big play LB and agressive,sure tackling Safeties come into play and to be honest, the Eagles are simply average in these areas compared to their competitors
Paulman,once again…b.s.. So the Pats who schemed there a$4 off too play that well last night are…they got creamed by the Browns.They fixed there problem and movedon. My point is your hinging the redzone d on our chances of a title. Which is b.s…..UTTER B.S. And further proves my point you say sh!t too just say it. So our explosive offense(probably tops in the league) doesnt make us legit? Our ballhawk secondary doesnt? iMPROVED RUN D. The Falcons have deficiancies too…OH RIGHT WE EXPOSED THEM WITH KOLB.Again Kolb…dont give me there place they win…we’re road dogs and we can play there any day. iF THYEY MAKE IT TOO THEP-OFFS?
Sometimes i hear the crap the media says and your b.s. posts and think people are almost perplexed that we’re NOT 4-8. i never bought that crap even with Kolb.
Bucs…joke…no threat. Packers….no rungame..at all…good luck….Bears..get the hell outta here Jay Cutler….Giants…we own them…Saints..some swagger back but run gameis suspect.SO who are the LEGIT Superbowl Contenders?
breath some more mountain air .
I do think the Eagles have to get better in the Redzone for a deep playoff run. But I am also not going to sit here and act like it’s impossible to get better. All teams (especially in the NFC) have flaws on defense. This year there aren’t any shutdown defenses. They have all given up a huge number of points at times. So this will be important. But talking about someone not a Super Bowl contender, if that’s the case, I don’t know who is in the NFC. They’ve all looked bad at times and we’ve only looked bad as a team when Vick wasn’t playing. As long as our defense gets turnovers I could care less about the other stuff. The Saints had a average defense that led the league in turnovers. They gave up points but they made big plays. So if we can do that, WE CAN BEAT ANYONE. Regardless of what wannabe journalists say.
Paul, the phrase ‘legitamte superbowl contender’ us plain utter bullshit. If you don’t know that, then I’m inclined to inform you that too much alcohol gives you a hangover and sticking your hand into fire will hurt! If predicting shit off of statistics works in football, than how on earth do you explain last nights game?
Newsflash, who makes the superbowl will be determined by the outcomes of the playoff games. That’s all
Super Bowl will be Patriots vs Packers
schiller, fully agree. “Legitimate super bowl contender” is an opinion and really doesn’t matter until teams actually make the Super bowl. Of course people can say what they want but that’s why they play the games. The only teams that are not “legitimate super bowl contenders” are the ones who aren’t making the playoffs. For everyone else, all bet’s are off.
Good point fellahs. Paulman,you have been chin checked.The Packers cant run the pill. No shot. Im not buyn New England yet.Jets offense stinks…and they have zero pass rush.
But there legit Superbowl Contenders?
Yeah i knew that for a while now! We are ranked last in red zone d. This is what i have meant by the defense needs to step up!!! We cant outscore everyone
True Scorp
One the Playoffs start it’s really anyone’s chance to go all the way..
I just think this Eagle Defense is not of Championship Caliber versus some of the teams that the Eagles would be playing against.. the play of the D/Line and the Safeties have me concerned,
It appears that T Cole is having his usual December Swoon and unless Parker,Graham,Tapp,Laws pick-up the slack and quick, where’s the pressure on the QB coming from..
The Safety play of both Mickell and Allen has not gotten better as the Season has gone along..
They started out hot and were playing great together early in the season, but since Allen’s injury, they have not been the same and appear to be playing a little gun-shy.. I would rather see K Coleman in there for Allen or Mickell
One real positive is the Kicking game which the Eagles are in good shape with Akers/Rocca and even the Eagles SPecial Teams has improved (especially since the arrival of Colt Patterson)
All the teams have issues..
Bears wih QB Cutler, spotty Wr’s (though the Eagles made them look like J RIce)
Packers – No real running game, Defense has had some injuried at LB and Secondary
Falcons – Can they win a big game on the road, will they eve have to.. Can D/Line put pressure on opposing QB to make up for a suceptible Secondary
Saints – No real running threat, Defense is not causing the turnovers,big plays like last year..(kicking game is shaky)
Giants – Can the injured players at WR/OL come back and help this offense, can the Secondary not give up big plays..Will the Giants continue to run the ball which is when they are at their best instead of relying on Eli’s arm when they make too many poor decisions nad turnovers….
Rams – Can a combination of RB S Jackson and QB Bradford short passing attack to WR’s B Gibson,D Amendola be eonough to beat good Defenses..
TB Bucs – Can a team younger than the Eagles win with skill players who average 22-23 years old
If Paulman predicts Patriots vs. Packers in the Superbowl……I suddenly feel better about our chances.
We’re not very good in the red zone, but we’re at, or very near, the top in the turnover differential, right?
I know what you’re trying to saw Paulman. And I also have concerns about the defense. So hopefully they start getting better in some of the weaker areas. The good thing to look at is that everyone has their flaws. So we will have to see how everything matches up and how one team can take advantage of another team’s weaknesses. Sometimes you get a little lucky and don’t play a team that could derail your season.
I think the thing that pisses people off when you make statements is that you say stuff like “they are legitimate super bowl contenders” as if that’s something that’s not subjective and there are bunch of teams heads and shoulders over the Eagles when their isn’t. You could easily say something like “I think with the poor redzone defense it’s going to be difficult to make it to the super bowl”. But you declare our team not even in contention and in my opinion that’s where the BS begins to spew and riles up other folks.
Paulman spews out his idiotic opinions as if they are fact — which is why he gets attacked on this board.
Looks like we’re tops with +15. Others with a positive number:
New England +14,
Pitt +11,
Atlanta +10;
Tampa Bay +9
Green Bay +8
Cleveland +7
KC +7
St Louis +5
Jets +4
Chicago +3
Detroit +1
The Eagles may be able to beat anyone, but this is the Philadelphia Eagles, the same ones who lost to the Deadskins and the awful Titans. People are going on about the Super Bowl and our MVP qback, that is really jumping the gun. Let’s see them beat the Cowboys first. This whole thing could unravel in 3+ hours on Sunday night if this team does not have its collective head screwed on straight. There are 3 very losable games left if the Birds do not play well, and only 1 loss makes the postseason significantly more difficult. People have to chill a bit, this is still an Eagles team with Oline issues and a suspect defense. The Patriots looked like a Super Bowl team last night, the Birds certainly did not against the Texans Thursday.
drummer, is many cases that matter most especially if you hold teams to 20 points or less. I think for the season we avg abut 24 points allowed. Not sure what the exact figure is for the last 5-6 games. Anyone know? I think if we hold teams to around 20 points and we are getting turnovers and our offense is clicking I could care less about the redzone points. Whether they score 20 points from the redzone or from the 40 yard line. It’s still 20 points. Holding teams like Packers and Saints and ATL to 24 points in the playoffs doesn’t really sound to bad given how good those teams are. Of course we would like to allow 0 but other teams get paid to play to so….
That means we’ve had 15 more possessions than the teams we’ve faced.
If that trend continues, Vick and the offense will have an additional 6 possessions in the remaining games.
Its week to week. I have seen plenty of games where the Eagles have looked like a Superbowl team and the Patriots haven’t. No one knows. All we can do is hope and pray and see who has the best chance.
Scorp
That makes sense to me.
paulman……words words words words words….oh yeah, and more words….
it’s all just blabber. Let’s just watch the games.
Sure, the Eagles should try to improve redzone D. And overall D. And Safety play. Yep.
Hopefully that happens, and/or they win anyway.
Should be fun to watch Sunday night.
Yeah anderson, I would say that this isn’t the same team that lost to the Redskins or the Titans. 1 key position has a different person playing. I get what your saying but it works both ways. The same way you can lose a fluke game is the same way you can upset someone who everyone thinks is better than you. There are always 2 sides.
I hope we can get a high pick for Kolb so that the team can get a stud at guard, a linebacker with speed and power, and a game changing corner.
we shoould be able to do this with an extra 1st or 2nd round in the bag.
Who knows what will hapeen in the next 4 weeks let alone come playoff time..
The important thing is that the Eagles take the approach of the “here,right now, sense of urgency” and focus on the task at hand which is beating the Cowboys>
A big advantage that the Eagle have is that Coach AR & his Staff have been through this typical wars thru December for years and are not going to panic like maybe some of these less inexperienced Teams & Coaches will
Bottom line, If the Eagles remain relatively hearlthy, become more balanced and stay away from the negative plays (Turnovers/Penalties/Sacks) then they can beat anybody,anywhere
Let’s go Birds
Paulman, we’re last in the league in RedZone D. I agree that it’s not a Champ. caliber defense, necessarily, but it can become one (or at least play one on TV) in a few weeks with some tightening. Our offense, when clicking, is most definitely Championship caliber. ST, not so much, and I don’t see it improving tremendously with the talent we have.
Does every game have to go perfectly for a team in order for them to be “Super Bowl Caliber”? Look at the Pats vs. the Browns, or the Pats vs the Jets early in the season: it changes from week to week, and you have to not get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.
We found a way to win by 10 last week despite giving up a 17 point lead to one of the top offenses in the league after getting pounded by one of the best defenses in the league 4 days earlier. The teams that find ways to win are typically the ones that end up winning Championships, not the ones that haven’t faced much adversity during the course of the season.
Are we a championship caliber team? We won’t know until these games play out, no matter what you or I think.
It boils down to posession defense, bottom line…forget the red zone, if the defense can actually get off the field on a 3rd down, the whole topic becomes mute! We all know the secondary has to be play better and we should be getting our lock down corner back. Parker should be back too. I believe the defense will look a lot better in this stretch run.
I think Parker will make a nice impact these last few games since he hasn’t played in a few weeks and should have a little extra hop in his step.. He has had big games vs the Cowboys & Giants in the past
He has played some nice games against the Boys.Nice addition back too the d-line. We need healthy d-ends.
Watching the Jets and Pats made me think the Jets really have no pass rush,noone was winning there battle and they werent even sniffing Tomkat.They would take any of our top 3 guys.
Best O/Lines in the NFC for Pass Protected their QB’s
#1) Saints
#2) Falcons
#3) Eagles
#4) Giants
#5) Packers
#6) Bears
#7) Bucs
Best Rushing O/Lines in the NFC
#1) Falcons
#2) Giants
#3) Eagles
#4) Bucs
#5) Bears
#6) Saints
#7) Packers
Best Overall Special Teams in the NFC
#1) Bears
#2) Saints
#3) Bucs
#4) Eagles
#5) Packers
#6) Falcons
#7) Giants
For whatever it’s worth
The Eagles have a great Turnover ratio of + 15 but it has not been as strong as it was earlier when Vick was playing Error-Free ball (which is impossible to sustain) and the Eagles Secondary hasn’t had as many INT’s with Samuel outt that will
The Eagles will still go as far as their O/L and D/L take them which is boring and old hat,but it’s true, if O/L protects Vick and creats some running lanes for MCCoy, the Eagles O is fine
If the D/L can get more pressure from the front 4 and sustain it over a game, then their Secondary becomes that much better. I think Cole, Parker,Dixon,Laws Tapp & Graham and even Mike Patterson are posied for strong finishes which takes this Eagles Defense from “average” to pretty “darn good” if they can get to the QB, or disrupt the running game and control the Line of Scrimmage. this my friends is what the Season will boil down to…
seriously boys,
middle of the pack in redzone offense and were the #1 offense with the most points.
we leave too many points out on the field every week, this offense could be the greatest show on turf.
we havent even reached our peak yet. atl, no, gb, chi, tb, nyg have all peaked
at the bottom of redzone defense but at the top of turnovers.
hmm…which means if ur last you can only get better…
with injuries and shuffling of starters, our backups are more reliable then those other “contenders”
teams have to put up 27 points on our defense minimum to beat us
when we play with the lead, the games over.
from behind we come back, and thats where our defense needs to bend and not break.
either continue getting turnovers or mcdermott adjusting the gameplan and improving in the redzone.
even our special teams is improving and playing well. rocca, akers, and bobby aprils unit finally
no other team in the NFC is a threat to us, we win or we beat ourselves.
playing at dallas this week and we will win cuz its basicallly another bye for reid to notch another W.
we will adjust to that giants defense and should pull out another win against them.
they are just too injury riddled to keep up with us.
stick a fork in the vikings and cowboys to end the year, most likely with the 2 seed and atl one.
i just dont see teams scoring a lot of points on us, nor securing the ball for 4 qtrs against us.
being the 2 seed gives andy another bye to prepare, another victory for us.
the giants and bears gave us the best the NFC has to offer defensively
we owned the falcons without vick and basically desean
and ill take our chances in a dome any day with our offense, vicks 2nd home…
GB got us in wk one, valiant comeback effort led by vick that started all of this
GB is just undermanned and one-dimensional
mcnabb to owens in 2004 was good stuff, but were in position to win this year and be great
not to mention the future with our youth, could be one of the greatest eagles teams
It’s time to pull nate allen and go with the Ohio State rookie. He cleans clocks and brings intimidation. Mikell and Allen take turns getting steamrolled.
I’m going to give nate allen one of my suits to wear on the field on sunday. after he gets steamrolled and pressed it will save me cleaners bill.
Stan Lee is going to hire Ernie Sims. Since he disappears in games he can be a new superhero. The fantastic scrub.
bsm — I’m not worried about allen getting “steam rolled” — if the opposing teams RB makes it that far into the secondary, he deserves to score, there is no excuse for our front 7 to allow that. Allen is learning and has played well above average overall this year.
How about a Safety Tandem of Kurt Coleman and Colt Patterson
We can nickname them the new “Salt n Pepper” or “McCartney & Wonder” or “McCartney & Jackson”
or something else racy like that…
The Eagles will have an interesting decision on whether to re-sign LB E Sims after this season who becomes a free-agent..
Does anyone think he signs a long term deal, a 1 year deal or no deal after the Season…
Paulman — who is Colt Patterson? Do you mean Colt THE BOLT Anderson?
And Coleman will be replacing Mikell, not Nate Allen.
The Giants,Bears,Saints are the teams I am most concerned with
The Giants and Bears have athletic D/L who can contain VIck (as least a little)
and they can Run the ball effectively
The Saints concern me for their Offense has been on a roll with 5 straight wins with ove r30 points per game and they are just getting RB R Bush back into form and RB C Ivory has progressed into a pretty good RB. The Saints D is not waht is was last year and they are not getting all these Int/’Fumble recoveries back for TD’s like they did last year which was a once in a lifetime thing.
To Birdman, Yes , I meant Colt Anderson who has been a great pick-up so far…
This is exactly the same team that lost to the Titans and Redskins. They almost coughed it up against the Texans, Nate Allen and Dimitri crashed into each other on the double move by AJ right in front of me last week. It was almost comical, receiver goes right by them and they took each other out after biting on the move. The Birds have the ability to play very good football, but the other side of that coin exists as well. Our rookie free safeties both have been run over, the Birds TE and 2 of the 3 wideouts drop touchdown passes. They could go south in the offensive redzone (again) and the D stops nobody in the redzone. This season is far from over, and I am not counting any chickens yet.
Birdo, Allen gets steam rolled within 10 yards. He runs up to attempt a tackle and then gets plowed. So it’s not all the RBs running 20 yards down field. But he is a rookie and will hopefully get better. He and Mikell can do a better job tackling along with the rest of the defense.
wow, you guys are turning on nate allen already. I’d say I’m surprised, but that would be a lie since I take it for granted that some Eagles fans will always be fickle. He’s a rookie safety who came out looking great early on, then showed that he has trouble covering the WR on the outside when the veteran corner in front of him plays like DOOKIE (see hobbs v. Britt in the tennessee game..) and then has a few bad plays. But overall, he seems to be a solid rookie safety. We won that game remember? And who was it that ran over him? The top RB in the sport right now? WOW. Oh my god. He should be cut.
Seriously, Allen should be lauded for his solid rookie campaign starting at FS. Not pulled for another rookie who would be on the field if he was outplaying/outpracticing Allen in the first place.
@schiller I agree, Allen has been solid, not perfect but solid…you have to expect some tough times starting a rookie…overrall, he’s played well, I think his injury set him back a bit too…He will only improve, and from what I’ve seen from him this year, he should become a very consistent player in future
I do not know if that is considered turning on him. He may indeed prove to be a solid NFL safety in years to come, I for one did not intend to suggest anything else. But right now he is still a rookie free safety, and when any FS makes a mistake, it can be a touchdown. Just because he has played decently this season does not mean he is not a mild liability as we get closer to the postseason. He will get a hearty well done and another sizable paycheck at the end of the season, if the Eagles win 7 more games. Plus, he has been run over twice, with Coleman being run over only once, but Coleman is not fast enough to be a full time starter. He is another Q Mikell, just a guy.
@anderson
I also agree, but I think he is the best option playing at that position…dont think anyone else adds more to that position…right now we just gotta play the hand we’re dealt..
it’s time to bring up Ingram from the practice squad to have a sure handed big receiver in the red zone. That is the reason we drafted him. Isn’t it?
First I love these young guys and new guys on defense, “koolaid drinker I am yes”. Time is coming.
Second if we when this Superbowl thing I vote that Paul not celebrate until one week later. He is one of us fellas so we can’t ban him from the fun, but there has to be a price for his crimes against nature (Eagles).
🙂 🙂 🙂
As always LONG LIVE THE EAGLES
Nate Allen is a good player who is having a very solid Rookie season.
The Safety position in today’s NFL is a difficult postion to come in and play right away
Even high 1st Round Draft picks Eric Berry for the CHiefs and Eric Thomas for the Seahawks have made big plays but have also looked bad at times.. It’s part of the learning curve and maturation process
But I do think Allen plays a little soft and needs to be paired with a slugger who will come up in run support and knock a receiver’s head off when the come across the middle which is not N Allen or Q Mikell’s game and never has been, theses players are pretty similar in that they rely of proper positioning,good anticipation and sound tackling with making plays on the ball but they do not strike fear to anyone coming into the middle of the field and when you look at the top defenses around the NFL, the top teams always seem to have that enforcer type back at Safety who let’s opponents know who owns the middle of the field and this Eagle Defense does not have this, they are “soft” up the middle from MLB to the Safety positions
Oh yeah Allen is a rookie (In others, just out of college), he is starting, and has held his own in this league thus far, not a stud yet, but whatever. I have seen veteran starting FS’s getting the same treatment he has been getting. Yeah he needs to step up, but only becasue the whole team needs to so we can dance in the streets.