‘We’re trying to right our wrongs’; What’s going on with the Eagles defense?
Vic Fangio prefers to blitz when he wants to. His defense was punished when he had to.
Seven defenders swarmed. It was as if the Philadelphia Eagles were frustrated for having just given up a fourth-down conversion, for having been futile when only rushing four, for having yet failed to rattle a fresh Atlanta Falcons quarterback who'd been erratic in an earlier debut.
Kirk Cousins flung the football deep, firing from his back foot. He made the decision in 2.46 seconds — a tenth longer, and Jalen Carter might've crushed him — and hurled the pass before Darnell Mooney broke inside. Four-time Pro Bowlers can make teams pay for testing them, and Cousins' 41-yard touchdown strike bankrupted an Eagles defense whose stock is plummeting.
Only the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams are underperforming on defense more than the Eagles. Their defense averages -0.13 points expected points added per play, according to TruMedia. They've played only two games, but it's a concerning sign considering Fangio was hired to rectify a calamitous system that averaged -0.05 EPA per play in 2023 under former defensive coordinator Sean Desai (who'd begun with promise through two games: 0.07 EPA per play).
Put in more tangible terms... That touchdown Cousins threw, those gashing runs by Bijan Robinson that saddled the Eagles with the NFL 's most rushing yards allowed per carry (6.4), those last-minute catches by Mooney and Drake London against a promising rookie cornerback ( Quinyon Mitchell ) and his mentor (Darius Slay) — they're inflicting more damage than expected against any team, much less one that made multiple offseason moves to ensure such plays wouldn't.
"I have to do a better job," Fangio repeated Thursday, holding himself accountable for a lengthy list of problems. Among them upon film review of Monday night's loss : Vulnerabilities within the defense's nickel package; poor preparation against cut blocks; paltry production from the team's pass rushers; a run defense that allowed more yards per carry than any other Eagles defense in its first two games since 2000. All of it is foreboding as the Eagles head to New Orleans on Sunday to play the Saints and their top-ranked scoring offense.
The respect Eagles coach Nick Sirianni holds for Fangio has been well-documented. Had there been more communication in the NovaCare Complex during the 2022 playoffs , Fangio might instead be entering his second season in Philadelphia. Although their defensive issues first flared in Sao Paulo, Sirianni still referred to Fangio as a "home run" hire. Sirianni repeated his confidence on Wednesday.
"We'll talk through things," Sirianni said. "I know this: that I trust the heck out of our defensive staff. Their track record is pretty darned good, and I trust our players."
Paying the price in nickel
The Falcons averaged 6.6 yards per play against the Eagles and didn't need to change personnel packages to do so.
Atlanta deployed 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) on every play. Well, except the two times Cousins knelt at the end of the game. The Falcons' staff clearly identified an advantage. They'd only deployed 11 personnel 48 percent of the time in their Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers . But Atlanta committed to the package a week after the Green Bay Packers gouged the Eagles at 8.1 yards per play within it. It's possible the Saints (22 percent usage) make a similar adaptation on Sunday.
It was clear in training camp that the Eagles would be vulnerable while playing nickel. They firstly don't have anyone available yet in the secondary who can make this package dependable. Fangio spent most of the summer deciding whether or not he was going to play Mitchell at nickel safety while on double duty — switching from the outside to the slot, based on the situation — before ultimately settling on Avonte Maddox.
Maddox has since struggled . Cooper DeJean remains the backup, Fangio confirmed Thursday. The second-round pick is still developing after missing the majority of training camp with an offseason hamstring injury. Since DeJean only logged two snaps against the Falcons, it's evident the Eagles don't believe he's yet ready to learn on the job. But Fangio may be forced to play his rookie. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed Thursday's practice with a foot injury. Tristin McCollum could make his first NFL start, but Maddox is the defense's most experienced available safety.
But Philadelphia's problems within its nickel defense extend beyond the package's namesake. Part of the idea in deploying pass-oriented packages is to prevent defenses from playing within their base structure. Fangio only fielded his base 3-4 defense twice against the Falcons. Both instances were on the same drive in the third quarter. Both were on first-and-10 situations against 11 personnel — therefore out of place, carrying a feeling of desperation to disrupt something, anything. Both failed to produce pressure on chunk pass plays.
On the first, Cousins zipped a 9-yard pass to London in 1.82 seconds.
On the second, Cousins unfurled the 41-yard bomb to Mooney.
Fangio sent the entire front seven of Philly's 3-4 front after the quarterback, leaving four defensive backs all in man coverage within a "zero blitz" that, to Cousins, carried all the subtlety of an Acme anvil falling from the sky. But, to that point, Philadelphia's pass rush had only hit Cousins twice. Did Fangio want to blitz? Or did he feel like they had to?
"It was both," Fangio said. "I felt it was a good time and felt... 50 percent (of me) thought it was a good time, 50 percent felt like we had to."
The Eagles were ineffective when they did blitz on Monday night. Cousins was 4-of-7 passing for 71 yards and the touchdown to Mooney. Their next opposing quarterback, Derek Carr , another veteran, has completed 13-of-17 passes against the blitz this season for 218 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Eagles must secure more production from their edge defenders in standard rushes, particularly Huff, whom Fangio said remains the starter despite his slow start.
"He's still learning how to play the total game and not just rush situations," Fangio said. "But he's working hard at it, and we're going to stick with him."
As for the defense's problems against the run within nickel, there are schematic limitations to first explain.
It's pretty simple.
Here's a base look: three interior defensive linemen.
Now, here's how Fangio usually arranged his nickel look.
Boom: two interior linemen.
The reduction of defensive linemen specifically affected the way the Falcons blocked the Eagles in a way we'll explain later ( Zack Baun 's knees may still be throbbing). But it's first important to note the extra responsibility those two interior linemen now hold. By removing a third lineman from the field, it essentially means a six-man defensive front must manage seven potential running lanes (when facing 11 personnel with an in-line tight end) — unless a member of the secondary, such as the nickel, is included in the run fit.
In base, there's an easier pathway for the interior linemen to play a single gap. In "two-gap" schemes, that means one of the two interior linemen, typically the nose tackle, plays two gaps. Fangio once had a history of his defensive lines playing a blended "gap and a half" — where linemen have a primary gap, but also have a "fall back" gap if their primary gap isn't threatened — but what became a league-wide trend has since waned, and Fangio also said in training camp that the Eagles defensive linemen won't play "gap and a half" most of the time.
The gap responsibilities of the interior linemen can change play call to play call. So can their alignment. When the Eagles deployed only two interior linemen against the Falcons, those two linemen were arranged in seven different ways. To spare you the "4i" or "2i" jargon, that essentially meant different pairings of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams , Thomas Booker and Moro Ojomo were arranged in different spots inside or outside the guards across from them.
More than anything, Philadelphia's lack of success however its interior linemen were arranged underlined the consistent effectiveness of Atlanta's runs behind its zone blocking scheme. Offensive linemen aren't so much blocking players as much as they are areas. They're on the move, shifting laterally, working together to wall off defenders and free others to work up to second-level defenders.
It's a difficult scheme to defend, Williams says. Interior linemen are often double-teamed, and knocking back one blocker doesn't do much good when the other can push them at the hip. It requires the strength to not get bullied, the mobility to be on the move, the balance not to collapse and the patience to know when to strike. One move to soon can create the lane the running back is waiting for.
"They're trying to stretch the front side of the formation and get everyone in kind of a tizzy trying to run over and stop it," Booker said. "Then the back just cuts it all the way back and hits it downhill while everybody's pads are turned. They can't shed and make a play."
The Saints also favor zone runs under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. His father, Gary Kubiak, wielded the scheme while head coach of the Houston Texans and Denver Broncos . Saints running back Alvin Kamara ranks fifth in the NFL with 5.7 yards per carry and leads the league with four rushing touchdowns.
"Yeah, the Saints definitely have that run in their repertoire," Fangio said. "They've run it a few times this year. And probably after watching our game, they may want to run it some more."
Cut it out
Atlanta exploited Zack Baun's inexperience at inside linebacker by cut blocking him relentlessly.
The Falcons averaged eight yards per carry on the five plays in which they cut Baun. The Packers hadn't cut blocked at all in the regular season opener, Baun said, "so, we weren't really expecting it."
Atlanta deployed the strategy immediately. On the first play, Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom cut down Baun, which opened a lane for Robinson on a 7-yard run. It's one of the common methods within zone blocking. As the frontside blockers take care of the interior linemen, the backside guard hunts the nearest linebacker to either eliminate a pursuing defender or create a cutback lane.
Baun had been an edge rusher at Wisconsin, a platoon pass rusher for most of his four-year tenure with the Saints. He had to refine his technique mid-game. He's since worked on his vision. To defend cut blocks, he says linebackers must transition their focus from the running back to the blocker — all the way through defending the block — then back to the running back.
"Which I wasn't doing," he said. "I had my eyes on the runner."
Baun began to adjust mid-game, but then he wasn't getting his feet out of the way.
He knows it's quite possible he'll see the same blocks against the Saints.
"It was the first time he was exposed to cut blocking, and he learned a valuable lesson, and I think he's going to be better prepared for it now," Fangio said. "There are some teams that will climb and cut. Some teams don't. That's the first time he's seen it. He needs to react better to it, but we need to get him ready for it, too."
There are ways Fangio can schematically support Baun. On a first-and-10 play on Atlanta's third offensive drive, Carter crossed the face of the backside guard, cutting him off from getting to Baun on another zone run. This freed Baun to pursue the opening lane. Robinson bobbled the handoff, and Baun nearly recovered the fumble.
Still, Baun knows such a schematic stunt won't always be available.
"I gotta beat that block," he said. "And I put it on myself. I don't put it on anyone else."
(Top photo of Vic Fangio: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
