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Friday, November 6, 2009
Linebacker Will Witherspoon was the Eagles' most frequent blitzer last weekend against the Giants. (AP)

The Cowboys have allowed 13 sacks this season. Only three NFC teams have given up fewer.

So a major question facing the Eagles Sunday night is: How should they go about getting pressure on Tony Romo?

I went back and took a look at the Eagles' defensive performance against the Giants to see how often they blitzed Eli Manning and company. A breakdown of that is below.

But first, a quick note on the offense, and specifically Stacy Andrews. You probably noticed Andrews on the field more last week, rotating with Nick Cole at right guard. That might have had something to do with the fact that the Eagles were up big, and Andy Reid wanted to get Andrews work.

Or maybe it means Andrews is progressing and could be ready to take over the starting spot soon.

Reid rotates the guards on a possession-by-possession basis. Cole and Andrews each played five possessions against the Giants. During six first-half possessions, it was Cole for four and Andrews for two. Andrews played the final three drives of the game, with the Eagles protecting a big lead.

Just something to keep an eye on this week against Dallas.


Now on to the blitzes. Eli Manning dropped back 43 times. Here's a breakdown of how many players the Eagles rushed on those plays:

Four (23)
Five (11)
Six (7)
Seven (1)
Nine (1)

So overall they sent just four guys after Manning on 53 percent of the Giants' passing plays. But numbers don't tell the whole story, given the way the game played out. Some notes:

** The Eagles rushed four defenders on 11 of the Giants' final 13 plays, when the game was already in the bag. Perhaps a more accurate number to look at would be the first half. Manning dropped back 17 times before halftime. Here's how it broke down:

Four (7)
Five (5)
Six (5)

So in the first half, the Eagles sent four men after Manning on 41 percent of the plays.

** Linebacker Will Witherspoon was the Eagles' most frequent blitzer. He blitzed on 14 different plays. Interesting that a guy who was lauded for his skills in coverage when he arrived is being used so frequently as a blitzer. It's only been two games, but Sean McDermott has not been shy in using Witherspoon in a variety of ways.

** Sean Jones was the DB who blitzed the most. He went after Manning six times.

** The Eagles only rushed four on Asante Samuel's first-quarter interception.

** On a couple plays, the Eagles rushed five, but no linebackers or defensive backs. In the first half, they had a line of Jason Babin, Mike Patterson, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws and Trent Cole. In the second half on one play, the line looked like this: Juqua Parker, Dixon, Jason Babin, Darren Howard and Cole.

** Chris Clemons dropped back into coverage on a play in the first half as Witherspoon, Jones and Joselio Hanson blitzed Manning.

** The Eagles rushed five on the Quintin Demps interception.

** The nine-man rush was when the Giants had the ball inside the Eagles' 1-yard line in the second half.

** The seven-man rush was Jones, Akeem Jordan and Witherspoon.

Posted by Sheil Kapadia @ 1:48 PM  Permalink | 7 comments
7
Comments   
Posted 02:41 PM, 11/06/2009
JimG
All the talk is about Andrews at RG but he was a RT last season. When he's healthy, why can't he replace Justice at RT and we can leave Cole at RG? Justice has played better than expected but he's mediocre at best.
Posted 03:40 PM, 11/06/2009
TBear
Andy is juggling live grenades with the O-Line this year. The fact that Mc5 is still upright has more to do with his ability to get away from contact than it does with the line being good at pass-blocking. Or run blocking for that matter.The line last year, even without Andrews, was quite good at both. The single exception being : you DO NOT run to the left! If Peters ever gets what this system is all about, and if the Andrews folks can ever get straightened out, this MIGHT be a line to pay attention to. Maybe.
Posted 05:37 PM, 11/06/2009
richd618
Do not run to the left? You can't be serious. The long td runs by Weaver and McCoy against NY and by Jackson asgainst Washington were ALL to the left. Haven't gotten your GED yet, have you?
Posted 07:16 PM, 11/06/2009
BadgerVMD
As richd618 pointed out the big runs have come to the left. Peters is pretty good in run blocking. He's very athletic (for a lineman) and gets down the field well. He also has shown good hustle with turnovers. I think it was the Carolina game where he chased down the guy who got an interception. Again, impressive for a 330 lbs man. His pass pro has been bad so far. He seems late off the ball and vunerable to a bullrush. But it is a new system and the LG position has been fluid as well so lets give him a chance before we judge him. He needs to work on holding his man in position and not allow himself to get pushed back into the pocket.
Posted 08:03 PM, 11/06/2009
Nothing but the truth
Hands down Peters is the best pass blocker and run blocker on this line. When he's totally healthy defenders weren't even getting close to the QB. Plus is run blocking is phenomenal. The only real weakness is at RT where Justice has been serviable
Posted 09:40 PM, 11/06/2009
mosquito killer
Thanks for the breakdown, Sheil. (Whispering) Any word on what Shawn Andrews is up to? Is he still in Cali?
Posted 02:33 AM, 11/07/2009
Robhenniker
philly.com can go to hell until you get rid of those videos. You just lost a regular visitor.
About Moving the Chains
Sheil Kapadia is a sports producer for philly.com. His earliest memories as a sports fan include several trips to Veterans Stadium with his dad, most of which turned out disappointing results. He's here to discuss the NFL 365 days a year. E-mail him at skapadia@philly.com or by clicking here

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