It has been an entire work week since the Eagles got embarrassed in Dallas 41-21. I think that was enough time to process the frustration and really delve into what needs to be done moving forward. In this case, the obvious is correct: Miles Sanders needs more than two carries.
Remember 2017?
After a week 2 loss to the Chiefs, fans demanded that Doug Pederson and co stop trying to be cute and just run the damn ball. What happened? The Eagles went 15-2 the rest of the year including a super bowl victory. Now do not get me wrong; the three-headed monster of LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, and Corey Clement is almost irreplaceable. But what we did do is have Wentz and Foles line up under center from time to time, and give it to a back to do some early-down work. It tired defensive fronts out and made the RPO game open right up. When all three were healthy, we were able to drop 50 burgers on potent defenses like Denver, and bury our opponents.
Nick Sirianni’s approach has been completely the opposite. Jalen Hurts has taken virtually every snap in the shotgun. From there, and RPO is called with one of three things happening: a shotgun handoff (rare), Jalen Hurts looks to his first read, or Jalen Hurts takes off. In theory, this should work because the defense will never know what is coming, and Miles Sanders is one of the league’s better running backs at taking shotgun handoffs. But as Dallas proved to us, all a defense needs to do is stack the box and make Jalen Hurts make the decision to throw to his first read, which more often than not is Devonta Smith who the cowboys could then focus on.
More on the RPO
This offense was supposed to be simplified for Hurts, but this offense does not allow that. The run-pass option makes Hurts have to make multiple pre-snap reads and mid-play adjustments with a bunch of moving pieces. Also, giving the decision to Hurts can greatly confuse the o-line. It is no secret that the Eagles o-line has been penalized to oblivion, and one of the main calls we heard was illegal man downfield. If the o-line thinks the run option works best, they will run block and of course get downfield. This means if Hurts does decide to pass on those plays, we move backwards regardless because the big guys are down the field pancaking dudes. What’s even worse for the o-line is when Hurts takes the pass option and his first read isn’t there so he has to extend the play. They understand that RPOs are typically short plays that do not require them to block for very long. When Hurts moves out of the pocket, he forces the o-line to make decisions on the fly against aggressive pass rushers. I am no analyst, but the eye test says about 75% or more on Monday Night’s holding penalties came from Hurts scrambling when Devonta Smith wasn’t open.
If there were more called runs, the offense would be on the same page. If we lessen the thinking Hurts has to do, we increase his chances of success. Miles Sanders is a beast in the yards per carry category because of these called run plays.
Misdirection
Nick Sirianni recently came out and said that this will not be a team that runs pre-snap motions just for the sake of running them. My question is why not? Some of the best offenses in the league are pioneers of pre-snap motion. The Packers, 49ers, and Rams have all mastered it and are some of the premier offenses in the league. We even saw the cowboys put their dangerous weapon Cedrick Wilson in motion a whole bunch and they dropped 41 on us. No matter how disciplined the defense, a misdirection to get them on the wrong feet is how big plays form. And it’s not like we do not have the personnel for it either. Jalen Reagor was a demon with the ball in his hands at TCU. Quez Watkins speed is ridiculous. If we put Jalen Hurts under center and had one of these two run a jet sweep we are looking at ridiculous chunk plays. If we run it enough, then we can motion them just to scare defenses and get them moving laterally while we jam the ball down their throat. It’s a tried and true formula that will make any offense look good.
It is not too late to turn the ship around. There are still 14 games to go. Starting with the Chiefs this week, we can become a running team like we are supposed to. To hell with all the injuries! To hell with all the personnel! Just run the damn ball.
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Jish Sokolsky is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Jish, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
