How Good Is Our Defense?

 How good is the Eagles defense really? Well let's be honest here, I would dare to say that outside of redzone touchdown percentage, that the Eagles offense is better than its defense. Some stats will claim my statement to be very true. And we are definitely going to talk about today. Now remember before reading this. I am typing this before the Jets game. So, changes may come after the game. But that won't change my mind on my thoughts too much. Whether we do better or worse this game. So, enough with the chitter chatter, let's get into the point.

In total defense we are in the top 10! Which let's be realistic here, is a really good thing. Talking about an overall defense, we are good and being in the top 10 is an indication that we are. We are consistently putting pressure on the quarterbacks, and of course making plays when it matters the most.

Our defensive line is clearly top tier and linebackers are playing better than what I would dare to say better than what most of us expected. The expectations of linebacker play this season was very questionable going into the season. But one big bright spot would be for me at least, Nicholas Morrow. What a surprise, but clearly a welcomed one. Another thing I want to point out is our D-Line rotation. We are younger and we look to be able to grow with the young studs there. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham is still playing at a high level, but clearly not their prime level. But it is more than enough to keep this D-Line top tier and going into the right direction. Having veterans like those two is probably the main reason they're still around. Being the best if not once was the best in their position. They can definitely and have helped the younger talent. As long as the D-Line keeps playing the way they do and stay healthy all season we are in good hands! 

Passing Defense

Now let's talk about the passing defense here. As you can see here, yes, we are a top 10 defense overall, but that doesn't mean we're the best in every category. Exhibit B, as you can see in this chart, we are ranked 25th in the league in passing. Allowing 247.6 yards per game and allowing 11 TD's this season so far. I don't know about you, but I personally don't like these numbers at all. Resigning Slay (Extension) and Bradberry most people would've felt as they would play the same as they did last year. Or at least a bit better being the duo have another year under their belts playing alongside each other. But that hasn't been the case this year. And with Maddox out we are struggling to keep opposing offenses from scoring and gaining massive yard on us. The reality here is that we need to do something about it now. Before the post season. Hopefully Howie can make some moves and bring someone in. The reality here is that both Slay and Bradberry are probably past their primes being 32 (Slay) and 30 (Bradberry). Now I know some are going to say they are still young; in part I would say yes. But in another we have to remember that these two players at one point in their career were considered injury prone. 

There's a chance that their bodies aren't holding up against father time, and their play is kind of looking like it. Outside of them two we do have some young players like Josh Jobe, Eli Ricks, and Kelee Ringo. Josh Jobe has been the one probably whose played the most out of the group. But has yet to show much in the time that he's been on the field. The other two hasn't played much either so I can't really speak much about them at the moment. The truth though is we need another CB, someone young but proven, which I did talk about in another post. You can find that here. I would hope that the position would get upgraded before the trade deadline, but I won't hold my breath. 

Rushing Defense:

One thing for sure that we do have, and we should all be proud of is our rushing defense. We are number 1 in rushing defense allowing only allowing 61.2 yards per game and only allowing 2 touchdowns on the run. That's definitely a good thing. But like I said earlier that D-Line is the ones to thank for such a stat line. Their resilience, strength, smarts, and more is what allows this team to stop the run almost immediately. If we continue to slow the run, we will always be in a game to win it. And this defense shows it's more than capable of stopping the run. 

Scoring Defense:

Ranked in the top 15 at 13 our scoring defense should be better. We've allowed 20.8 points per game and have allowed 14 total TD's. Now I won't say it's the worse, but of our DB's could play better I could see this be much better. I know I'm asking for too much here. But if we're planning to win it all, we have to be the best in all categories. That's basically the truth. If Howie can get someone in here before the trade deadline, it may help us out big time. Or alternately, if the DB's can up their game we should be fine, and these numbers will be better. But only time will tell of course.

Redzone Defense: 

Now this one is a "see it to believe it" one. Our redzone defense is as bad if anything worse than our redzone offense. Ranked 30th not is unacceptable and that's the cold hard truth! Having the talent we have on the D-Line and the linebackers playing very well. This should not be happening. But then again what can you expect when the team is running up and down the field because the DB's can't help on third downs. Which leads me to our 26th ranked 3rd down defense. Allowing big plays in key situations is not okay. The D-Line and linebackers can only do so much. The help that the DB's are getting from the D-Line should be enough to help them out in coverage. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. All in all we need to do better here! 

Conclusion:

Being that we are a top 10 defense is great. But let's be honest here, if we don't make some moves in key positions or at least get better play from those positions. We are going to fall flat on our face when it matters the most. I believe that our offense is going to continue to help us out by scoring. But we can't always depend on them either. Remember this old saying, "Defenses wins championships." And that's surely the truth. There is clearly room for improvement, and we have to see those improvements if we plan to win it all this year.

Let's Go Birds! E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

All Stats Spoken About Can Be Found Here!