The five greatest cornerbacks in Eagles history, a depressing look at the Eagles' leading rushers since 2015, a Miles Sanders prediction and lots more in this weekend's edition of Roob's 10 Random Eagles Observations!
1. I’m more concerned with the defensive ends than the cornerbacks. The pass defense has been shaky but when you factor in the injuries and the fact that the Eagles are going to start getting some guys back, I’m confident the corner situation will get better. The last three QBs the Eagles faced — Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford and Aaron Rodgers — rank 3rd, 5th and 9th in NFL history in passing yards per game. So they're going to put up some big yards against a battered secondary. Even so, the Eagles’ pass defense is actually ranked 13th in opposing completion percentage, 16th in opposing passer rating and tied for 5th in interceptions. Pass rush? The Eagles are missing a couple interior linemen but all their defensive ends are healthy. And they have an NFL-low three sacks in four games, which is nuts. And the defensive ends have just one of those. Every other NFL team has at least five sacks. The Patriots and Panthers have 18. With the Eagles’ youth and inexperience at corner, they need the pass rushers to do their job so they don’t have to cover forever. So far, those guys haven’t gotten it done.
2. Here are the defensive rankings (points allowed per game) of the Eagles’ next six opponents:
9th - Jets
7th - Vikings
4th - Cowboys
6th - Bills
2nd - Bears
1st - Patriots
3. It also blows my mind that the Eagles went into Lambeau Field on a short week and beat the Packers, holding Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to seven second-half points and finishing the game with just one cornerback that had ever played a defensive snap in the NFL, and my Twitter feed is jammed with people whose only takeaway is “Fire Jim Schwartz.” Where is this coming from?
4. One thing about the Eagles’ defense. They keep the Eagles in just about every game. Despite all the injuries and turnover, this defense has only allowed 30 points three times under Schwartz. By far the fewest in the NFL since 2016. That’s the Bengals game in 2016 (32-14 loss) and the Saints (48-7 loss) and Texans (32-30 win) last year. Considering everything, that’s impressive.
5. And one more on the defense: Under Jim Johnson from 1999 through 2008, the Eagles allowed the 6th-fewest points in the NFL. Under Jim Schwartz since 2016, the Eagles have allowed the 6th-fewest points in the NFL.
6. The Eagles haven’t rushed for 150 yards in back-to-back games since late in the 2017 season. I’d really like to see that streak to end Sunday. Doug Pederson said the Eagles’ 176 rushing yards against the Packers could be a blueprint for how the Eagles attack moving forward, and Carson Wentz said he loved how the running game took pressure off him. They have the line. They have the backs. Doug just has to stick with it. Prediction: Miles Sanders gets his first 100-yard game Sunday.
7. If the Eagles don’t get at least four sacks against the Jets, it’s time to seriously re-think their defensive end rotation.
8. One of the more underrated aspects of Carson Wentz’s game is his ability to convert on keepers. Wentz is now 24-for-26 in his career (and 24 of his last 25), and Cam Newton is the only QB to convert more since 2016 (he’s 32-for-35). Also interesting to note that the Eagles have already dialed up more keepers for Wentz this year (6-for-6) than all of last year (3-for-4), which tells you something about his health. Even though nobody ever admitted it, Pederson was not calling games the same way last year. With his combination of strength, size and athleticism, Wentz is almost impossible to stop in short-yardage. That's a huge weapon.
9. My top 5 Eagles cornerbacks of all-time: 1. Eric Allen, 2. Troy Vincent, 3. Asante Samuel, 4. Tom Brookshier, 5. Lito Sheppard.
10. This list of the Eagles’ top 10 rushers since Chip Kelly traded Shady to the Bills is simultaneously sad, hilarious and ridiculous: 1. Ryan Mathews (1,200), Darren Sproles (991), Wendell Smallwood (850), LeGarrette Blount (766), DeMarco Murray (702), Carson Wentz (596), Jay Ajayi (592), Corey Clement (580), Josh Adams (511) and Kenjon Barner (310). Just hang on a few more weeks and both Sanders and Jordan Howard will break into that list.
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