There was a lot to take away from Doug Pederson’s first press conference as Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles but there seems to be one thing everyone is missing..the aggression. If there’s one thing we learned yesterday it’s that Pederson constantly reminded us that he aims to be “aggressive”..which could be the best thing to happen to the Eagles.
The biggest confusion people have is mixing speed and aggression, especially when it comes to play-calling. Many are quick to call the Eagles an aggressive team,but under Chip Kelly,they were far from it.His Offense was fast..it wasn’t aggressive. Sure, the number of deep passes increased once the season went on..but it was very rare to see the Eagles go for it on fourth down..at least in comparison to the season beforehand.
When you look at the talent on the Eagles..especially offensively it’s clear that they have all the pieces needed to play aggressively, but Chip’s idea of aggressive play-calling was far different from that of Reid or Pederson in Kansas.
Sam Bradford- Five 300 passing yard games
DeMarco Murray- NFL Leading rusher in 2014, struggles running in an unsuited playbook
Jordan Matthews- Early inconsistencies wiped out after late surge in form
Zach Ertz- Another huge season..especially in the closing games
But what happened in those closing games to see such drastic improvements? The Eagles began to throw deep more often..the seam routes increased, the play-action was becoming much more effective and the slant routes or swing passes started to drop…not much, but enough to play to the strengths of the team instead of the strengths in the playbook.
The Chiefs transformed Alex Smith this season and as a result the amount of “passing big plays” (courtesy of sportingcharts) went up drastically. The Eagles on the other hand, went backwards as shown in the charts below. The numbers themselves see Kansas only having three more of these “big plays” than the Eagles..but it’s the adaptation that’s the key here. The Chiefs went through a horrible spell of not having a receiving touchdown..so how do they combat their inconsistencies? Do they throw the same mud at a wall and hope some of it will stick like Kelly was so renowned to? Nope, aggression. The Chiefs began trusting Alex Smith a lot more and planning plays that met the strengths of Jeremy Maclin, that benefitted a strangely agile Smith and that didn’t depend on the running game to succeed. The result was a spike in these big plays Kansas City
The Eagles came into this season with the same mentality, same gameplan, same plays as they did last season..they just had vastly different pieces.
Kansas City
Philadelphia
The strange thing is that the Chiefs were actually the slowest team in the league this season, a direct contrast to the Eagles..the difference? One was fast, one was aggressive.
As we alluded to recently, Pederson’s arrival could actually be one of the best things to happen to the Eagles in recent memory.
Pederson likes Bradford ✔️
watched 2014 tape on Murray ✔️
Hires Schwartz, back to 4-3 ✔️
Next year: what the 2015 Eagles should have been— Philly Sports Network (@PhiladelphiaSN) January 19, 2016
Jim Schwartz himself has already claimed that he aims to play “aggressively” whilst not giving too much away when it comes to the formation he intends on using. But there’s evidently a common theme here..the Eagles are going to play with aggression..a playing style that represents Philadelphia’s core.
Fletcher Cox was able to have an astounding year despite being on a Defense that leaves him out on the field for extended periods or brings the unit onto the field in damaging scenarios due Offensive errors..could you imagine what the entire Eagles pass rush could do under one of the most renowned defensive names currently inside the NFL circle?
The Eagles already have the right pieces..they just had the wrong playbook and coach. Sure they need some holes patching here and there and sure, once the Offense was rolling it was hard to stop. But Chip Kelly played to the strengths of Chip Kelly despite having players who specialised in certain aspects of the game. Doug Pederson will not only acknowledge those talents, but play to them..in return making the Eagles one of the most exciting teams to watch in the off-season and beyond.
