Adjustments Have to Come Quicker For Eagles' Defense

Vic Fangio came in with a solid game plan against Tampa Bay until the Bucs threw a curve ball.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles' defense was incredibly well-prepared for a then-high-flying New Orleans offense averaging 45.5 points per game entering Week 3. 

The Saints are a classic Mike Shanahan/Gary Kubiak team, emphasizing the stretch running game, traditional play-action, and max protection. More so, at 2-0  and scoring at a breakneck pace, New Orleans wasn’t about to incorporate any curve balls.

You don’t fix something until it’s broken.

The style of the fight allowed Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to move off his flawed nickel looks and implement more five- and even six-man fronts. The result was a 15-12 upset Philadelphia win in which defensive tackle Jalen Carter dominated.

Fast forward to the prep for Tampa Bay in Week 4 and Carter was champing at the bit thinking about the extra time the Eagles front would have to chase after Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who typically holds onto the football longer than most of his peers.

The Bucs, though, were coming off their own New Orleans-like moment after a 2-0 start before a 26-7 reality check against the lightly-regarded Denver Broncos at Raymond James Stadium.

Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen was ready with a curve ball that fell off the table.

Instead of playing to their reputation, the Buccaneers came out with a quick passing game that put a Philadelphia defense expecting longer-developing routes into a blender.

That complementary aspect to that by the Eagles offense was even more inept and by the time you could blink, Philadelphia was down 21-0 and planning bye-week vacations.

“Yeah, they came out throwing, obviously, and throwing quick,” Fangio said on Tuesday. “We weren't close enough. We played a lot more man in those first three series than we usually do, or we were in some tight matchup zones, and we just didn't play it good enough. 

“Their pass offense was better than our pass defense.”   

According to Next Gen Stats, Mayfield’s average time to throw in the 33-16 rout ended at 2.22 seconds, the second-fastest time in his seven-year career.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia came into the game playing less press coverage than any other team in the NFL, and Fangio was asked about his coverage philosophies.

“Our guys, particularly the corners, have the ability to press based on formation,” Fangio said. “If they're stacking receivers and stuff, it's hard to press then. But on normal splits, they have the ability to press in almost all our calls.”

The defensive staff read curve ball quickly enough but essential adjustments were lost in translation.

“We tried to communicate that early, that we had to get tighter,” Fangio said. “But credit to them. They threw it and caught it better than we defended it.”

Tackling issues – 15 missed by the Eagles’ in-house assessment – only compounded to the difficulties.

“A lot of their bigger gains came after missed tackles, so that would've had a major plus for us it we could have tackled better,” said Fangio. “But still, we’ve got to be tighter, too.”

A big baseball fan, Fangio left the presser at his almost always does, asking about his beloved Phillies, who are getting ready for a potential October run understanding you can’t always sit on the fastball.

“[We have to do a better job] understanding that sometimes, teams come out in different stuff, different tack than what you saw going into the game,” Fangio admitted. “We’ve got to adjust.”

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