Eagles' Separation Of Powers Is Something To Keep An Eye On

The Eagles' new veteran coordinators don't seem to worry about each other.

Eagles OC Kellen Moore / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - The days of “10-10-10” practice sessions are over in Philadelphia.

A staple of the Andy Reid era and by extension, Doug Pederson, a 10-10-10 session is typically a lighter day consisting of a rotation of 10 offensive plays, 10 defensive plays, and 10 special teams plays in a team environment.

Unlike a more standard competition period where the units are trying to execute against each other, each segment of a 10-10-10 practice is used to “demonstrate what success looks like for the three respective phases.”

When the Eagles brought the format back for the first time under Pederson, they actually provided context to better educate the media and by extension fans as to what was going on, even offering a primer:

"The practice format cycles through 10 offensive plays, 10 defensive plays, and 10 minutes of special teams work. During the 10 offensive plays, the offense will be set up to succeed on every play, and the defense will act only as a scout team. You will notice the defense back off a bit, allowing the offense to see how each play is designed to work in its best-case scenario. The defense is merely there to give the offense 'a look' that they might see on a gameday, but not actively trying to defend the play.

“Conversely, during the defense's 10 plays, the offense will act as a scout team and allow the called play on defense to work to perfection. The drill is designed for the defense to successfully execute their plays, and the offense is merely providing 'a look' that the offense could encounter during a game.

“The final '10' of the practice refers to a ten-minute period of special teams work, after which the 10/10/10 cycle will repeat during the length of the practice."

Although the 10-10-10s are out with the current incarnation of the Eagles the idea of “helping” the other side is always a possibility when it comes to practice.

So when Vic Fangio arrived to practice on Saturday with a wide array of blitzes that were uncharacteristic from a volume standpoint, the defensive coordinator was asked whether the offense’s need to get better against the blitz factored into the day’s agenda.

“There was no consideration for the offense,” the always straightforward Fangio said before Sunday’s practice. “It was just time that we installed some stuff, and [Saturday] we worked on it. We installed it prior to [Staurday’s] practice and worked on it and called it a few times.”

When pressed Fangio doubled down saying there was no discussion beforehand with either head coach Nick Sirianni or offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

“Kellen did tell me afterwards that it was good for them to see that,” Fangio said. “They need that.”

Moore spoke before Tuesday’s practice and expressed a similar separation of the church of offense and the state of defense. 

The sheer volume of summer reps should cover the needs of both. 

“They got enough volume on defense. I think we have enough volume on offense that over the course of training camp, you're going to be exposed to a lot of different types of football,” Moore told Eagles on SI. “So that's the beauty of it.”

Moore, though is more political and open to collaboration.

“Every once in a while, we'll have a couple situations in practice where we do want to get something specific for the other side of the football,” the OC said. “... I don't think we missed a whole lot and if there's a couple things that maybe Vic wants to theme up, we can give him something in particular for a particular period.”  

The whole setup is something to keep an eye on.

The Eagles still have plenty of walkthroughs and will get into scout team work that services the other side.

That said, the idea of hiring veteran coordinators with autonomy on each side of the football could produce fiefdoms solely focused on their own agenda could force head coach Nick Sirianni to navigate two different paths to the same destination.

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