Eagles 360: Episode 6

try to find a way to win those games. And they didn't find that way to win, and you know, you learn from it and you move on. But here's the thing. Last year it was that kind of season, losing close games. At some point here, Doug Peterson, they want to they know they have to win those kinds of people. Did it the week before in Washington. Didn't happen against a better Kansas City team. It's a maturation process.

And anytime you go into someone's house and you make those types of mistakes, critical mistakes at critical parts of the field, it's going to be hard to win. The Eagles team has to learn that lesson that they want to win those games, those tight, close games. In the future. All right, So we're gonna talk about all three phases of the game. We're going to break down some of the big plays of the game as well here on

Eagles three sixty. But we begin with a conversation about the offense, and this is brought to you by Golden Nugget where Philadelphia gets engaged. All Right, the offense, Brian, we see it. We've talked about it, the coach, They've talked about it. Le Garrett Blunt had a bunch of reporters around him after the game at Arrowhead Stadium. Two questions, the run game, where is it? And then how long can you expose Carson Wentz to so many big hits?

You know, it is funny because I feel like I've lived through this in my past, like when I was playing. I lived through a situation where Andy Ree wasn't committed to the run at certain points in my career. And the first thing about the run game is that you have to have the guys up front that are willing to block in their effective blocking. So you have to win in the trenches. Yesterday they did not win the war in the trenches. We have to find a way, a better way to win that war. Second of all,

you have to have the running backs. They have patience and they also have some burst through the holes. I think yesterday are running backs in the limited opportunities that they had, they need to show a little bit more patience and a little bit more bursts. And you combine all those three things together, the commitment to the run, better blocking up front, and better running from your running backs, and then you have a running game. We didn't get

much of any of those three yesterday. Can you establish a mindset a commitment during a week of practice. I mean, we're getting ready here for the New York Giants and their great defense. During this week of practice, what can Doug Peterson do to kind of create that physical we're going to run the football mindset? Well, you have to, and I mean if you're gonna run a thousand plays at practice throughout the week, you need to run six hundred of those plays need to be run. Plays established.

That tone, set the tone. You walk into that film room with your offensive the team and you say, listen, we're gonna run the ball no matter what if they put eight guys in the box, nine guys in the box. This is what we're gonna do No matter what we're gonna do in this game, we're gonna run the football, Be physical, be effective. That's the tone you have to set.

And I'm not sure Brian will talk about the Giants later in the week here, but I'm not sure that's what you want to do against Snacks Harrison and that really good Giants front. Another tough defensive, a team, physical team that wants to get after you. You have to set the tone. You still have to be committed and willing to run the football because you don't want a defense that's team off coming after your quarterback, your young

quarterback throwing the ball forty plus times. You still have to be willing to run, even if it's not effective those two and three yard games. At some point you get a ten yard, at some point you get twenty yard. You have to be committed to it. Don't give up one or two early. Another part of the offense that the Eagles seem committed to but it hasn't been effective, is the screen game. And look, we've all watched you go through your career and have great success in the

screen game. Darren sproles great success in the screen game. Friends sell it in the tight end screen at times has worked. This screen game struggling. What are you seeing? Yeah, if we're a running back, you have to be patient. You have to be able to sell that it's not a screen. You know, a lot of the teams understand what to do. Eagles do well. You put Darren Sproles back there. You screen the football, That's what that we do well. That's one thing that we do a lot of.

So you have to be able to sell it that's not a screen. Then you meet your wide receivers and your offensive linement to do a good job down field throwing blocks. We haven't seen our running backs sell the screen very well. In our offensive linement as well as our wide receiver. They have to find a way to block better down the field. And we are talking about all these things that aren't going well for the Eagles offense, but there are stuff still a lot of things that

are going well. Four hundred and six total net yards against the Chiefs, better than fifty percentage of conversion on third downs again as they did in Washington. So there is Brian a lot to build on around here. And starts with number eleven. Your thoughts on him after two games, I think Carson has played well. There's some things that I think he needs to clean up. He has six sacks in his past game. Part of that, of course,

is the offensive line blocking. Part of it is the running backs blocking, but also Carson he has to play a part in that as well. He has to be able to get the ball out of his hands, live to fight another day. Don't just try to take the ball down with you. Throw the ball away. That's okay, We'll go to second down to ten, We'll go to third down to ten. Just don't continue to take those sacks. He has to learn that as a young quarterback, and

many young quarterbacks have the same problem. They stare down receivers and they hold onto the ball too long. I think Carson suffers from that just a little bit. Zach Ertz thirteen catches in two games. Alshon Jeffrey a touchdown catch. We'll dig into that a little bit later on. And then Tory Smith nearly cap that first drive with the back shoulder catch. I really felt if the Eagles could have taken a lead there, everything might have changed a bit. Anytime you can score, it's an a band as it

changes the complexion of a game. Tory had that ball in his hands, he has to find a way. Veteran receiver that you're accounting on, he has to find a way to bring that in because at that point, now that takes the pressure off your offense and puts the pressure on the other team and your defense going to attack more. You wish you had that catch. So that is our breakdown of the Eagles offense in the twenty seven to twenty loss to Kansas City, brought to you

by Golden Nugget, where Philly gets engaged. Later in the show, we will have a look at the defense and the special teams. But when we return to Eagles three sixty, Greg Cosell breaks down some of the big plays from Sunday's game, the good and maybe they're not so good. We're coming right back. This portion of Eagles three sixty was presented by Rothman atte Jefferson. Eagles High School Football Showdown, presented by the Rothman Institute at Jefferson, celebrates local high

school football teams and coaches. Visite Philadelphia Eagles dot com Slash Showdown to vote for this week's game of the week. Finding the end zone is his specialty. In fact, he's found it over seventeen times already. Today he is a professional football watcher because he has NFL Red Zone from NFL Network on Exfinity. He catches every touchdown from every

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but we're up to the task. We work for Philadelphia. Visit pgworks dot com. We're back at the Eagles three sixty days Fiderry O'Brian Westbrook. Time now for us to take a look at some of the players from Sunday that defined the game. Fran Duffy and Greg Cosell are all twenty two review the first play. We want to look at the al Sean Jeffrey touchdown, a catch and a scramble for the end zone. All right, Greg, Let's fast forward now to mid third quarter and the Eagles

really put together a great drive. Carson Wentz five for five sixty nine yards. All four of his completions to start the drive were for first downs, and then we get to this completion a touchdown past alshon Jeffrey. We were feeling pretty good at this point fan about the Eagles chances to win this game, and Wentz was very sharp today. And now we're dealing with Jeffrey. Who here he's actually in this slot and he's matched against Philip Gaines.

And this is what you're hoping from Alshon Jeffrey. This is the kind of receiver he is. He runs what we call a slot fade, and it's really the kind of route and kind of throw that's usually contested. You're not running away from a corner, and if you freeze it right here, what you're going to see. This is not bad coverage by Philip Gaines. Jeffrey look back for the ball. Games look back for the ball. So this is not a case where he's separating and he's wide open.

But this is what alse Sean Jeffrey is. He's the kind of receiver that can make catches when the corner is right there with him. And that's exactly what happens here. And it's a good throw too, by the way, Yeah, you can go back. This is a very similar play to when Carson Wentz hit Jordan Matthews for his first

ever NFL touchdowns. That a st the slot fade. And one of the good things about that slot fade the receiver's got so much room and the quarterback's got so much room towards the sideline to be able to put this ball and he puts it right on Alshan Jeffery's back shoulder and you see him come on. It's a really good route against man to man coverage because normally when you're in the slot, the outside receiver runs kind of a hitch and it opens the space for the

slot fade and you see it here. And as we said, that's what Alshon Jeffrey is. He's a big receiver, he's a physical receiver. He's, as they like to say now, a fifty fifty catch guy. He makes contested catches. Yeah, and someone we like to say that some of those fifty fifty balls with Alston not quite fifty fifty one, seventy five, eighty twenty. Well, we'd like to hope that's the question about it. So Alston Jeffrey really getting on the same page as Carson Wentz. Big day for the

big receiver. Thanks very much, guys, Brian. We see there that Alshon Jeffrey uses the big body, uses the wingspan, very impressive slot fade. Well, that's what you bring him here for. You're bringing Alexeon in here so he can catch testdowns. He's a big body, he's a guy that has to use that body effectively, and I think he did a really good job there. But you also see the timing from the quarterback. You see the accurate pass, those back shoulder throws, the slot fade, all those types

of things. It's about continuity. It's about Carson Wentz with his receivers trying to find a way to get it done. That was a great throw and a great kit and obviously when the defender is over the top, you look for that back shoulder throw and they executed it very well. Our second play all twenty two at this time went in the favor of the Kansas City Chiefs in the red zone. This time it was Alex Smith to Travis

Kelsey and Greg to wrap this all up. We know one of the hallmark players of the Andy Reid era here in Philadelphia was the shovel pass, especially they got down near the goal line. Brian Westbrook, Correll buck hal to remember so many big players JS Stanley touchdown catches on the goal line with the shovel pass, and they went back to it today. Travis Kelsey was the target here as it helped clinch the victory for the Chiefs. Yeah.

And what's interesting is when you watch the Chiefs, and this goes back to last season, they started to really add to it once Tyree Hill became a factor in their offense. A lot more backfield action which causes hesitation for the defense. But it's the same basic shovel pass. So it becomes a shovel pass with a lot of window dressing. But all that window dressing, all that backfield action causes a little bit of hesitation and uncertainty in the defense. Yeah, because really what it does is it

puts your linebackers and your safeties in a bind. And you could see in motion here Tyree Hill, who has moved back and forth pre snap before this play, He's running from the defense is right to be jet sweep right now, it could be a jet suite. Now. The other thing too, that in talking with former Egels that played during that time, I remember talking with Dan Kleco a few years ago and he told me one of the big things that they harped on each and every

time they ran in this play, they're his guy. If the shovel's coming this way, we have got to get some kind of action flaring out to this side. And they get that with the outside zone action here, yes, from the run game. And while that's going to do, it allows them to not have to block, to worry about this defensive end and get this linebacker sold the other way. Now, if you're Nigel Bradham here, you've got Tyree killing one way, you've got Kareem Hunt going the other.

It really puts you in a bond. Yeah, you're thinking outside zone if you're Bradham, and obviously I think that's Derek Barnett, is it. Yeah, that's bread So Barnett right now, like you said, you're trying to create a situation where you don't have to block people because ultimately you want to move up the field to block it. And let's let's run this play a little bit here. Well, first of all, there's Kelsey right over there and he's going

to be the one who gets the shovel pass. So look what you get right now as right here, which is perfect, perfect because now you have Barnett's not blocked and you had brid I'm taking out a position from the outside zone action. Look at this alley now that he's gone to the right. Here is the double team on the down block. And look at the hole. I mean, so this is set up beautifully with all the backfield actions.

So you take a basic play a shovel pass in a lot of playbooks in the NFL, and you add two backfield actions to it and it creates a huge hole. Thanks very much, Fran and Greg Brian. We've seen the shovel pass over the years. Here you had great success with it. What is the key to making it work? Well, First of all, the shovel pass is either you make the play and it's gonna score a touchdown or you're

gonna get blown up. And so I always feared this play because if the defense guess is right and they understand the play, I'm looking back at the quarterback I'm catching the ball and I'm gonna get blasted in the face. And so Andy Reid did a great job of disguising the play. So he he has guys going in motion, he has guys crossing the formation. Then you have Kelsey underneath, kind of dragging underneath near the offensive line of scrimmage, and he's catching the ball. The defense can't see him.

There's like a trap block for him built in there. It's a great play because you're putting the defense in the bind. They have to respect the motion. They also have to respect the quarterbacks ability to scramble, and you bring Kelsey right underneath. It's a great design. Andy Reid has added some extra wrinkles to the play with guys going to motion and moving around in the formation. The same exact play that we've ran a million times here, right, and me and Andy were together in theory it is

in Peterson's playbook. It a little bit who would be the ideal receiver in that situation. I still think you could do the same thing ERTs as you do with Travis Kelsey. I think you can use Nelson Aguilar. I think you can use Sprows. No one would be able to see sprows behind the line of scrimmage at all, and so we have plenty of guys that can do it. Now it's about calling those plays, getting yourself in the position to call those plays. It's partly does job. Should

you ever turn it into a shovel fade? Well, I'll tell you what what you can do is fake it. You had the option to throw the shovel pass, and defenses begins to play the shovel pass when you're in that position, and then you throw the ball up. It may not be a fade, but there is a pass off of that same action that you can possibly throw shovel fade. So I'm trying to get to the next generation. Marfore you can do slot fade. Here you go, all right? There?

You good? All right, that's our look at those plays all twenty two things too great, Cosel and fran Duffy. We've got one more segment to go here on Eagles three sixty. We look at the defense and there's special teams, a lot of good from those two, but also some questions that we have answers for when we return to Eagles three sixty. This portion of Eagles three sixty was

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you love. Turn to the orthopedic experts at the Rothman Institute and get back to what matters, because this is living. We welcome you back three sixty from the Novicare Complex. Davis Videy, O'Brien Westbrook. We've talked about the offense, We've broken down some plays. Now we talk about the defense and the special teams from Sunday's loss in Kansas City. All in all, Brian, the defense played well, not great because no takeaways and the fifty three yard run by

Kareem Hunt was a big one to give up. But this team is coming. They're bringing. If they're playing physical, they're playing passionate, and that front seven at times is really dominating well coming into the season. The only way that this defense is going to be effective is at the front four of the front seven do a great job of getting after the quarterback. Now, I think yesterday was a great example of exactly what Jim Schwartz wants. He wants guys to be aggressive. They were, They were

getting out there. Alex Smith there were so many times that he was not comfortable in the pocket, same as Kirk Cousins wasn't comfortable the week before. And so the front four of the front seventh they did a great job. Unfortunately, they were put in two bad situations because of turnovers fumble interception as well. They had their back to the goal line, they gave up ten points. That's an unfortunate assistant situation. Offense and special teams have to do a

better job of not putting them in that situation. And Brian, the Eagles did it without you know, Rodny McCleod went out, Jalen Watkins went out already without Derby, Ronald Derby out. So they're showing some depth on defense that maybe we didn't think was there. Resiliency. You also have a coordinator that plays a big part in that, putting guys in the right position, making sure that guys are playing to

their strengths. I think Jim Sports did so far this season has done a great job of making guys making sure that the guys are not outside of their comfort zone. That's a big part of the offensive coordinator as well as a defensive coordinated job putting guys in the right position, allowing them to play to their sprint. You know, the one play that really kind of encapsualized the day, third and four for the Chiefs late in the game, Vinny Curry bears down on Alex Smith and missed him. Smith

scrambles for five yards, keeps the drive alive. A sack there might have taken the Chiefs out of field goal range. Vinny's got to finish better in the coaches have talked about that, how do you finish better as a defensive linements missed opportunities in big situation, you have to be able to wrap up the most important thing for a defensive end when you get in there unblocked. You have to make sure the quarterback is down to the ground. It doesn't have to be pretty. You have to get

them down third down. If you can't fish on third down, get off the field, then you're not going to be completing the day the way that you want to. For a defense, get off the field. That's the biggest thing on special teams. Brian New kicker Jake Elliott missing a thirty yard field goal making two others kickoffs were fine. I mean, there's no excuse for missing a thirty yard

it was a chip shot of chip shots. When you're on the road and the hostile environment against a very good football team, world coached team, you have to take advantage of every opportunity. You miss a field goal that hurts, you drop out, and you fumble the punt that hurts as well. These are are mistakes that you cannot absolutely make at all on the road. Inspect to win a game six points in that instance there, well, you never

know how it would have worked out. And Darren Sproles fumbling when the long snapper got down the field and forced it. I mean, that's a that is a freak. That's a that's an eclipse of the sun kind of play. That's much better than that. That's not going to happen again. But in general, coverage was pretty good. One kickoff return from Kansas City that was big, and so we're still waiting for that big return from the Eagles some time. To get guys going, making sure the blocking lings are there.

I think it's gonna be there. They have some good returns, We have some good returns. We just have to make sure that we block it up to run the ball out. So what's ahead for you here on Philadelphia Eagles dot com and our official appets Now our Emiroso's on the menu. Look, we've got head coach Doug Peterson in studio on Tuesday. We'll talk about the Chiefs and the challenge ahead, the New York Giants coming to town, Glenn mac now his takeaways from the loss in Kansas City, and quarterbacks coach

John d Philippo breaking it down here in studio. Carson Wentz playing very well. So that's coming your way on Tuesday with me. That's our Amirosos on the menu. Look at what's ahead, Brian, it's the New York Giants. I know you've had great success against the Giants. I know you have a great affection and love for them. The rivalry you love to hate them is what I'm trying to get to. How is that rivalry? You know they're right up the rivals. Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know,

the Cowboys weren't very good when we were playing. When I was playing, the Giants certainly was our rival. It's a team that we just love to hate. Like you mentioned they we always would go back and forth with them. But every time we went up there to the meadow Lands at the time when they came here, we wanted to take advantage of them, and we did. Eli Manning interesting, great durability, two Super Bowls, all the respect for that.

But when you're watching play now, any hint of pressure and he's going down Eagles defensive line again, familiar refrain has to dominate. There's no doubt about it. Without Odell Beckma Junior, he's a different type of quarterback. You don't have that playmaker. He's willing to throw the ball to the other team, and so that pressure. But from the front four front seven is going to be critical to

get into victory this week. Brian Westbrook, Dave Spidero, we thank you for joining us here on Eagles three sixty on this Monday. Eagles looking to bounce back next week in the home opener against the Giants. Thanks for joining us. Everyone, have yourselves a great Eagles Day