Where was Asante during the Britt Show?
Where was Asante Samuel, the Eagles Pro Bowl cover man, while Kenny Britt was going wild? Plus a look at missed chances to get back in the game.
Where was Asante during the Britt Show?
In Tuesday’s Eagles rewind I looked at the team’s failure to convert on crucial third-down chances after the disastrous fumble Sunday.
As usual, though, there were many notes that didn't fit into the print version of the story. I’m hoping to get to a few of them here, including some more thoughts on those third down mistakes, and some positive impressions by the run defense and David Akers.
First though, the question of the week: what was Asante Samuel, the Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback, doing on Nate Washington while Britt was going crazy on the opposite side of the field?
The Eagles explanation to the press, essentially, is this: the defense plays a system in which the corners are assigned specifically to the right or left side. The best cover man plays on the defense’s left (offense’s right), because that’s where a right-handed quarterback naturally looks first when he drops back. That means the corner there – in this case Samuel -- needs to be good enough to be ready right away while the guy on the opposite side has a beat or two to adjust. This is what they practice every week, so switching it up mid-game presents some real challenges.
“In the middle of the game, you just don’t start flopping guys around,” Andy Reid said. “It’s not as easy just to go say ‘you’re playing man coverage over here.’ That’s not how you do it. There are a lot of different schemes involved, so it’s a tough thing to do.”
But here are two big questions to ponder.
First: doesn’t a scheme this rigid essentially allow the offense to dictate match ups to the D? Quality cover cornerbacks are one of the most valuable assets in the NFL. But if Samuel is fixed on the left side, it would seem pretty easy for, say, the Colts and Texans to line up Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson away from him, ensuring that the Eagles highly skilled Pro Bowler doesn’t get close to the most dangerous receivers on the field. That would leave the Eagles best coverage man on second tier receivers.
We’ve certainly seen other teams take a different approach, and lock their best corners on the best opposing receiver, wherever he lines up.
Second: even if you believe deeply in your scheme – and coaches need to have faith in themselves and their players to have success -- what did the Eagles have to lose once it became clear Britt was killing them? If the secondary is uncomfortable and gives up a big play – well, wasn’t that what was going on anyway?
Britt kept scoring while the Eagles best cover corner held the immortal Nate Washington to one catch.
Third Down Chances
The Eagles went 0 for 4 on third down after the fumble at the Titans’ three-yard line. What makes that so problematic was that no matter how bad the turnover, the Eagles were still in position to win the game. Even after the Titans turned the fumble into a field goal, the Eagles responded with a three points of their own and were up 19-10 with 13:26 to go. Even after Britt went for an 80 yard score, the Eagles were still winning 19-17, but they gave the ball back in a one minute, seven second three-and-out. Even after the Titans took a 20-19 lead, the game was there for the taking.
The offense’s inability to move the ball prevented them from stopping the bleeding and giving the defense a breather in a game that was still within reach. The offense similarly couldn’t drive late against the 49ers to eat up the clock, and it almost cost them there. Sunday it really hurt.
Bright Spots
There are few positives after a game like that, but the Eagles deserve credit for holding the dangerous Chris Johnson to 66 yards on 24 carries. If you knew that stat line before the game, you would be pretty confident of an Eagles win.
Many players had a role in that showing, including Stewart Bradley and Ernie Sims, who was an active tackler, Trent Cole – whose persistence is so reliable it’s taken for granted -- Mike Patterson, who plugged up the middle and Nate Allen who several times helped prevent Johnson from getting outside the Eagles containment.
Two players stand out: Antonio Dixon and Moise Fokou, who each have helped solidify the run defense since entering the starting line ups. Fokou had four tackles and an assist. Dixon has been stunningly good. He had six tackles, an assist, a sack and two tackles for a loss and was strong at the point of attack. The 6-3 322-pound Dixon is the team’s biggest defensive lineman, 18 pounds heavier than the man he has replaced, Brodrick Bunkley. His impact is a positive for the Eagles, but raises questions about their preference for smaller tackles.
Lost in the many stories of Sunday’s game was David Akers, who bounced back from a bad showing against Atlanta to hit all four of his field goal tries, including two from 46 yards out. Akers stood up and faced reporters after the Falcons game, but got little credit on Sunday. He deserved some.
Two other guys who stood up after bad days were Ellis Hobbs and Mike McGlynn. As Paul Domowitch pointed out, they were both pros about their mistakes, answering all the questions that could be asked. Criticize their play if you want, but give them respect for being big about it.
Hmmm, Collins is a right handed QB and yet Britt, their best receiver lined up on the left side on every play. Hey, you don't that the Titans somehow got hold of the Eagles "gameplan" and decided to counteract that do you?
DASTARDLY BAST*RDS!
— jimmyj- Jeff, the Eagles have assigned a CB to a WR before. Remember Lito Sheppard following TO around a few years back? But the entire defense has to prepare to do that during the week. You can't suddenly do that during a game. They didn't know Britt was THAT good coming into the game. The Eagles had big DT in the past. Remember Hollis Thomas? They never said they prefer small DT.— soulman386
- Jeff, the Eagles have assigned a CB to a WR before. Remember Lito Sheppard following TO around a few years back? But the entire defense has to prepare to do that during the week. You can't suddenly do that during a game. They didn't know Britt was THAT good coming into the game. The Eagles had big DT in the past. Remember Hollis Thomas? They never said they prefer small DT.— soulman386
- This is Andyspeak for "We don't know how to make in game adjustments"— Luriesucks
- I don't see the fault lying with the scheme on defense. Jim Johnson used it for quite some time, a corner playing on a specific side. He also got good corner tandems, such as Vincent and Taylor, Sheppard and Brown. Samuel has an upside, but he is not an especially good corner overall. And Hobbs gives great effort, and plays at the level of a nickel man. McDermott and Reid knew all of this going into the season, knew these guys could get chewed up by receivers like Britt, Miles Austin, and Hakeem Nicks. I'm not sure Britt would have had less success against Samuel. It's just not a good enough corner tandem to talk seriously about lots of wins. Any opposing coach who didn't know it now knows it. Our best corner could be Lindley, and the other starting corner should come in the spring NFL draft. JJ's defense was predicated on having a very good team of defensive backs. We have an average group. As much as I like Mikell, on a good defense he's the 3rd safety, and can be used in a lot of packages. Allen and Lindley are maybe the only guys who will hold up over time, although Dmitri Patterson maybe has it in him. And we don't know much about Lindley yet, except that he seems to have the strength and quickness to do the job.— tacklinjoe
- I agree 100% with that Luriesucks..... Andy Reid has never been one to make adjustments on the fly or keep time.....lol— Jerseymagic
- Hollis Thomas a "big DT" LOL. Man, some of you people are really stupid.
- Tommy Brookshier said he would start a fight and get them both tosed before hr would let a guy torch him like that.— Tom 20MAN
- did anyone ever try to jam britt on the line? sure didn't look like it. just watch, eagles will beat the colts because it's so apparent they should get destroyed. happens every yr to this team.— djack10
Comment removed.
I agree taclinjoe, Patterson and Lindley both have shown me they are better cover corners than Hobbs, who mostly played in zone coverages, relying on deep safety help. Problem is, Hobbs can be exploited when you are not playing two deep zone coverage. He is a better fit in the nickel and dime, a bigger version of Hanson, with less deep speed. He looked like a robot out there, he could not even turn and run with the receiver, even though he was giving such a large cushion, and when he tried to Jam Britt in bump in run , he was smoked even more. He is not a man coverage guy, never was. I agrre also with Mikell, he is not good enough in coverage for the type of safety needed in todays game, and he is not very athletic for a smaller safety.- Luriesucks is right on the money. The only Eagles coach worse at in-game adjustments than Andy Reid was Buddy Ryan. Pound for pound, I'd take Buddy.
— 88etrain - Asante was making another arm tackle as usual. Did anyone see his attempt on third down to tackle and he whiffed and of course they got a first down as a result.— faffy12
- That is the most ignorant thing I've ever heard a professional coach say. So the alternative is leave a guy their whos getting torched consistently? At the very least bring in someone off the bench. But you dont not try something just because its status quo. Or "its not how its done" "You cant" "It doesn't work that way" What a cop out. As a head coach you do whatever it takes. But what you dont do is stand their and do nothing at all. Those words "you can't", "its not how its done" are what drives athletes. Its whats driven into their heads since they were kids. Words you never ever say!!! If i am the owner and see those words come out of my head coaches mouth at the very least he is standing in my office first thing in the morning if not shown the front door. Thats pitiful!!— Scott10
the titans loss is not much different than the redskins loss. both games were perfectly winnable. the second half of the skins game was completely frustrating to watch as the eagles became inept. i skipped the titans game, thanks very much, although it sounds like the fourth quarter was just like the 'skins second half.
