Previewing the Eagles’ offense against the Falcons

We’re one day away from the Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) tilt against the Atlanta Falcons (0-1)! Having already previewed the defensive side of the ball for the Eagles, The Kist & Solak Show #118 takes a look at the problems the Falcons’ defensive schemes and personnel might present the Eagles’ offense. Plus, there’s a certain trade target out there that we are very much “in” on.

Here are the main topics discussed on the show with some extra analysis:

• We’re on the “Trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick” hype train. Some would say we’re the conductors. It’s really not hard to justify when you have a first round talent available on an incredibly affordable deal. If you could guarantee whatever pick you shipped off in trade would be as good as Minkah, you’d do it right? Let’s not over-complicate things. Get it done.

• The Falcons may try to utilize a “bear front” against the Eagles. This incorporates a nose tackle and two defensive linemen lining up at a 4i (inside shade on the tackles). It’s meant to clog the middle and soak up blocks with the outside players creating a wall that funnels action into the now free-flowing linebackers. The Falcons have an incentive to do this with their lighter linebackers Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell.

They used it often against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, as noted on the show. The problem with any front like tite, mint, okie or bear is that it’s susceptible to gap schemes with tackle pulls or stretch plays with a guard pull (ex: Stretch G or G-Lead). The Eagles could also utilize dart concepts (tackle pull) with quick passing game pairings (i.e. Dart RPOs) to really challenge the Falcons’ linebackers from a post-snap processing perspective.

Special shout out to Coach Vass and his podcast “Make Defense Great Again”. This episode with ULL defensive coordinator Ron Roberts was key in preparation regarding these fronts.

• The obvious match-ups are Alshon Jeffery vs. Isaiah Oliver and DeSean Jackson vs. Desmond Trufant, right? Oliver is twenty pounds heavier than Trufant, and Trufant ran in the 4.3s while Oliver ran in the 4.5s. Watch for the Eagles to move DeSean again and try to get him screaming at some slower options, like with that happened to Josh Norman last week.
• Grady Jarrett is still a force to be reckoned with and ruins Eagles’ staple run plays like Wham better than any interior defensive lineman that I’ve seen. He’s one of the smartest defenders in the league when it comes to processing pre-snap and is explosive with his get off and violent with his hands. If the Eagles’ run game sputters, it’s probably because Jarrett is in the backfield splashing the pot.

You can hear the in-depth discussions about those topics and more on The Kist & Solak Show #118! Listen on the media player below or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts?! Check out our guide on how to listen to BGN! FLY EAGLES FLY!