The Chip Wagon

What Do We Gain with Mark Sanchez?

For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Eagles playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Mark Sanchez. While it is unclear how many games Sam Bradford is going to miss, at 4-5, the Eagles have left themselves with such a low margin for error that the game this weekend against Tampa Bay has to be considered a must-win. With Sam Bradford at the helm, the Eagles offense has been inconsistent and uneven all season long. However, while Bradford was showing some improvement, he just wasn't get the job done. As much as I've seen my fill of Sanchez as the Eagles starting QB I must admit, this offense desperately needs a spark from somewhere. Can it be from Mark Sanchez? Based on the predictable back-breaking INT he threw vs. the Dolphins last weekend in relief duty it doesn't look likely. During much of the offseason, it seems the basement most people set for Bradford, "if healthy" was that he could be Mark Sanchez without the turnovers. Whoops. In 9 starts this season Sam Bradford has 10 INTs and 6 fumbles. In 8 starts last year, Sanchez had 11 INTs and 7 fumbles. I could sit here and right a post about how Mark Sanchez is a poor decision maker and a turnover machine but everyone knows it and everyone has covered that.

Bradford's performance this season begged the very good question from Jimmy Kempski, "What Does Sam Bradford Do Well?" Truth is, while Bradford has had some bright spots this year, there's absolutely nothing that you can hang your hat on that he has done consistently well. We thought we were getting an excellent decision maker. We haven't seen it. We thought we were getting an accurate passer. We haven't seen it. We thought we were getting a guy who would thrive in the fast pace no-huddle offense. Haven't seen that either.  

The one immediately noticeable thing we all saw when Sanchez took over was a dramatic difference in the pace that this offense moved. It appeared Bradford was running this offense at a snails pace compared to everyone else who has run this offense. Pace and tempo is one of the competitive advantages of Chip's Kelly's offense. Bradford hasn't been able to run it that way for whatever reason. 

But unfortunately, tempo alone doesn't win football games. If you are looking for perhaps a glimmer of hope on what Sanchez might offer that could jump start this offense, I might have something for you. 

A Momentary Sigh of Relief but QB Struggles Continue

Let me first start by saying that it's great to get the first win. Especially combined with a Cowboys loss. The defensive play was very encouraging and Darren Sproles gave us another instant classic on STs. All I can say is thank the Pope that the defense and STs unit showed up. We'll have more on the running game a bit later once the All-22 comes out. Lots of interesting stuff mixed in and it was great to see so much outside zone eventhough the execution remains a hair off. But let's get right down to it. I'm generally not the guy who dumps on the team after a much needed win, I'll generally take wins anytime I can get it. But I have bigger aspirations for this team than simply a title in a crappy NFC East and a playoff appearance. It was widely acknowledged that the biggest thing Chip Kelly needed to get this team over the hump was a franchise QB. Unfortunately, Sam Bradford continues to NOT look the part. 

Know Your Enemy: Beating the Falcons Cover 3 with the 4 Verticals Switch Concept

Looking ahead to the season opener, Greg Cosell did a great job on PE.com breaking down Dan Quinn's Cover 3 defense. He showed ways in which offenses approach Cover 3 and how to beat it. Specifically he focused on 4 verticals. I wanted to go back to when the Eagles played Dan Quinn's Seattle Seahawks defense last year and show another 4 verticals concept that I expect we'll see more of tonight. 

 

Odds and Ends from Preseason Weeks 1 & 2

Sorry I haven't been posting much through the first few weeks of preseason. I am in the middle of changing jobs and things have been pretty hectic. I'd been working on this post bit by bit over the last few weeks but didn't get around to posting it so it's basically a hodgepodge of thoughts through 2 games. Many of these plays have already been covered elsewhere (if you somehow haven't seen Fran Duffy's piece on PE.com yet, check it out here).

The Philosophy and Evolution of the Eagles Run Game Part 11- Foles vs. Bradford; Same Old Scheme, Same Old Compromises

I’ve been looking forward to getting to this post as I think it really brings us full circle in this series when talking about the philosophy and evolution of the Eagles run game. We started this series by talking about why the Eagles run so much out of the shotgun formation. The reason is arithmetic by nature. By running from Shotgun, the offensive line can leave a backside edge defender unblocked thus gaining a blocker on the playside. Furthermore, because the QB is in shotgun he can “read” that unblocked defender and make a decision that always makes the defender wrong. If he collapses down on running back, the QB keeps and runs through the spot the edge defender vacates. If he stays put to protect the backside he hands off and the Eagles getting a blocking advantage on the playside. Of course this advantage and philosophy only goes so far when you have a QB who isn’t really a major threat to run.