I expected more from the Eagles’ defense against the Titans. There were some outstanding individual plays, and the Titans managed only 20 points (7 of them caused by Hurts’ early INT), but the performance was not what I expected from a Vic Fangio defense. The Eagles gave up 5.7 yards per play, and the Titans’ offense generated far too many easy yards on the ground and after the catch. The missed tackles and slow reactions were particularly odd because rallying to the football has been such a consistent
strength of this group.
I think the heat probably contributed. But I don’t want to make fatigue the explanation for everything. Unlike last week, the Eagles’ offense gave the defense real breaks. The defense only faced 51 offensive plays. My feeling watching this was that the Eagles were too easy to attack in situations where they should have been comfortable.
Defense
Let’s start with the run game. The Titans get movement with duo, and I don’t love the response from either linebacker. Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell arrive late, and the safeties don’t get downhill with enough conviction to help out. Despite this rep, Campbell had a pretty decent game against the run, but this is a bad rep. He still doesn’t trust his eyes. duo can test linebackers because the double teams create space and the back can choose his crease late. You need decisive second-level fits and help from behind. The Eagles didn’t give themselves enough of either on this rep.
I’m not saying every run was a disaster. The Eagles had some very good reps. But this is the kind of rep that sets the tone early on in a game.
The biggest challenge the Eagles faced was outside zone runs. On this play, the Eagles slant their defensive line away from the direction of the run. Slanting can disrupt blocking angles and is a tool that Fangio loves to create negative plays, but it carries a risk. If the offense runs the other way, the defense can be displaced from the point of attack.
I also wasn’t a fan of these five-man fronts that put Campbell out at edge and left Baun as the lone conventional linebacker. I can see the appeal of getting more bodies on the line, but it asks a lot of Baun if the offensive line wins its blocks. Once again, I wanted the safeties to arrive faster. The Titans had 10 outside-zone attempts for 67 yards, so this wasn’t an isolated run-fit issue.
There was plenty to like about Jalyx Hunt, though. On third-and-16, Moro Ojomo and Hunt work the stunt beautifully. Hunt’s rush is the reason the Titans cannot take advantage of what develops behind it. He played with real energy throughout the game, both as a rusher and in pursuit. I was impressed by his athleticism and hustle.
But look at the coverage as the rush gets home. Campbell reacts to the short route and leaves too much space over his head. Tariq Wool is shouting at him to get depth, and you can almost see Campbell have the ‘OH NO’ moment when he turns around and sees the receiver. Campbell still has to be more aware of the route developing behind him. Opponents will notice plays like this, and they will keep testing him until he gets better.
However, watch how smoothly Campbell moves to cover the flat here. He has the length and athleticism to make plays in space. My concern in zone is how quickly he recognizes the route combination, gains the right depth, and understands where the next threat is coming from. That should improve with experience, but the Eagles need it to improve relatively quickly.
This call caught my eye. Fangio usually majors in weak rotation, moving the safety away from the nickel, and match principles that make routes less predictable for the quarterback. I saw more strong rotation and what looked like conventional spot drops (just think straight-up Cover 3) than I expected outside the obvious third-and-long situations. Fangio has simplified things early in a season before, but I was surprised by how often it showed up here. I have a sort of worry that he could be doing this to protect Campbell and/or Marcus Epps. Does he trust these guys?
This is a great job collapsing the pocket on 3rd-and-long. Nolan Smith has been particularly good at these cleanup sacks since his rookie year. His athleticism and effort mean that when another rusher forces the quarterback to move, Smith can close the remaining space quickly. It’s not your classic ‘bend the edge’ win, but Smith does find ways to get sacks and make plays.
This play bothered me. The Eagles put Michael Carter on the field in dime, a personnel package I was happy to see and I think we probably should see more, and allowed a short completion to become a substantial gain. Ojomo gets after the ball, but the secondary is too slow to respond. For a defense that normally rallies to the football, it looks completely out of character. Too many players in the secondary aren’t hustling to the football, and it happened multiple times. Does the defense lack speed on the back end? It looked like it this week. Plays like this can’t happen.
This is a much better run-defense rep, and Campbell deserves credit. He avoids the blocker and gets to the football. I included this clip to showcase how Campbell gets around offensive linemen, because he prefers to run around them rather than take them on. Ojomo does the hard work by fighting through the combo block, Jordan Davis holds up inside, and Hunt drives the tight end backward. Once the front prevents the Titans from creating their intended gap, Campbell can use his athleticism to finish. That’s the version of this run defense we need to see more often. Ojomo was excellent in this game.
Now for a play I still find hard to understand. I’m just a little confused. The Eagles play what looks like standard spot drop Cover 3 on first-and-10. When I say standard spot drop, this means there are no ‘match’ principles that Fangio is well known for. They have seven defenders in coverage against three eligible receivers, and someone still ends up wide open. This is just a weird one to see.
Are players still getting comfortable with the system early in the season? Has Fangio chosen some simpler zone looks because he doesn’t fully trust everyone in a more demanding assignment? I don’t know. I do know that this much space against this few immediate receiving threats is not something I expect from this defense. The Titans had a lot of success against Cover 3 this week.
Jalen Carter’s right hand is a concern. He is wearing a club, and on this run it looks as if he is trying to handle the block with one functional hand. This happened a few times throughout the game. That is a difficult way to play defensive tackle. He loses control of the rep, and Ojomo has to fight through the mess to make the play despite nearly being taken out by his teammate.
Also, I also have no idea where Marcus Epps thinks he is going on this play. It was a rough day for Epps.
Another missed-tackle sequence, and this one is difficult to excuse. Baun misses first, but Andrew Mukuba still has a chance to get the back down. He comes in with enough speed to make the stop and misses wildly. I’ve seen Mukuba lower his shoulder and make a terrific goal-line stop in this same game. The issue isn’t whether he is willing to hit. He makes splash plays when it matters. But the routine open-field tackles have become routine.
And once again, look at Hunt chasing the play. His effort stands out because other players simply aren’t matching it. That is not the usual feeling I get from watching the Eagles’ defense. I rarely see one or two players (in this game it was Hunt and Ojomo) play harder than those around them.
Campbell’s coverage issue shows up again. He has to gain depth sooner and recognize the threat developing behind him. Campbell has now been involved in costly coverage plays in consecutive weeks. I am nowhere near calling for him to be benched. He can do things athletically that most linebackers cannot, and the run-defense clip earlier showed another part of his value. But talent doesn’t make these coverage errors disappear. He will need to learn fairly quickly, because Vic Fangio doesn’t strike me as a patient man.
This is so unusual for this defense. Epps takes a horrible angle, while Mukuba and Baun are too slow to get across. Even Quinyon Mitchell could fight through his block more effectively. The Titans turn a play that should be contained into a much bigger problem because the defense does not move and tackle together. This could have cost the Eagles the game.
I had hoped Epps could be good enough to steady this position, but this was a bad game, and I am worried about his range. He looks physically slow on several plays. Mukuba had an uneven game too. I don’t want to pin everything on the safeties when there are mistakes at multiple levels, but safety was a concern for me coming into the season, and this performance did little to ease it.
Of course, Carter reminds us why you leave special players on the field even when they are struggling. He gambles, probably because he recognizes something from film study, and bursts through for a huge sack of Cam Ward, which changed the game. It doesn’t erase the difficulty he had playing with the club. You live with some imperfection because Carter can still make a play that changes the result.
Final Thoughts
The Eagles won, and the defense made enough plays to keep the Titans to 20 points. But I hold this defense to a high standard because I know how good they are under Fangio. The run fits, the tackling, the safety play, and some of the zone coverage were below the standard that Fangio will set.
The heat may explain some of the lack of urgency, but the long offensive drives mean I cannot blame this on the defense being out there all day. Fangio’s defenses can start slowly and grow as the season goes on, so I expect the staff and players to learn a lot from this film. I also suspect Vic will be furious watching it. I reckon there could be some interesting words said in meetings this week…
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