Philadelphia Eagles: A Land-Based Approach

Week 8 was a welcome sight in the sore eyes of the Eagle nation. Michael Vick and the Eagles dominated every facet of the game. While there was a lot to like about the offense, certain elements stood out.

Andy Reid’s philosophy has often been backwards in the passing game. Instead of working on shorter and higher passes early in games to soften up the defense; Reid often goes for a plethora of deep balls. On Sunday, with Dallas playing two safeties 30 yards from scrimmage, the Eagles were forced to work their way down. This was a blessing on two levels.

First, he forced the Eagles to speed up the passing game. Instead of dropping Vick deep in his pocket and praying he had enough time to throw the football 40 yards down the field, the ball was out of Vick’s hands within seconds. The offensive line played well because the passing plays were quicker and conducive to a line still coming together as a unit.

Second, Dallas’ deep safety play forced Vick to look for Brent Celek. Vick has been wonderful since he took over in Week 1 of 2010, but one thing he hasn’t been able to do regularly is find Celek. Celek is a weapon in the middle of the field. He has good hands, good speed and is a nightmare for smaller defensive backs. His size and physique allow him to open up faster against tight coverage where DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin can’t. To reach the unit’s full potential, Vick needs to use Celek more often in midfield. If he does, he’ll help free up Maclin and Jackson on the outside for those deep pitches Reid loves.

Giving the ball to Celek wasn’t the only unusual detail revealed by the Eagle’s offense on Sunday night. No sir. The most obvious departure from a typical Reid game plan was the commitment to LeSean McCoy. McCoy’s 30 carries were the most by an Eagles running back this season. In fact, Sunday marked the second week in a row that McCoy had set a new career high for carries. Additionally, McCoy’s 28 carries in Week 6 and his 30 last week were the fastest attempts by an Eagles running back since Brian Westbrook got the rock 33 times against the New York Giants on Dec. 7, 2008. That it is not a typo. If anything felt different in the Eagles’ last two outings, it’s because it’s been three full years since we’ve seen a running back handle a workload like this. Wait. I’m going to give Reid a standing ovation… Ok, that was good.

McCoy is an incredible talent. He is undoubtedly one of the top five running backs in the NFL. In fact, as an all-around player, he’s probably the best. Matt Forte may be a better receiver, and Adrian Peterson and/or Arian Foster may have more polished running styles, but when evaluating the total package, McCoy is clearly the number one choice. Reid is starting to notice too.

Reid’s commitment to a more balanced approach wore down Dallas’ undersized defense and slowed their pass rush. Obviously, McCoy won’t have the same success every weekend, but a commitment to the running game improves the passing game, eases the pressure on the offensive line and gives Vick more opportunities to find Jackson and Maclin downfield. There is no doubt that Reid knows this. Despite his reputation as a pass-happy coach, Reid often relied on Brian Westbrook to lead the offense late in the season when passing conditions were less than ideal. On Sunday he showed that Reid is beginning to have (or already has) that same confidence in McCoy. If McCoy is attacking defenses for more than four yards a minute and Vick is bringing Celek into the offensive mix, the Eagles will be a tough offense to contain. Once teams start dropping safeties to help contain McCoy and cover Celek, the Eagles will find more opportunities to exploit the deadly speed of Jackson and Maclin.

The Eagle offense is finding its rhythm. And with the right commitment to McCoy and Celek, the Eagles could soon become an offensive juggernaut. That is, if they aren’t already.

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1. The Eagle defense benefited from a stellar offensive performance on Sunday night. If the Eagles hadn’t taken an early lead, Dallas likely would have been more confident in their running game. On their limited downs, the Cowboys were able to make big plays on the ground. Obviously, this isn’t as big of a problem if the Eagle offense is working, but there will certainly be games, especially when the weather starts to deteriorate, where the defense has to bail out the offense. And he can be sure that unless they face a big deficit, the teams will compete against the Eagles.

2. With Arizona, Miami, Seattle and Washington still on the Eagles’ schedule, it’s hard not to credit the Eagles’ four wins. But, if Week 8 taught us anything, there are no easy wins in the NFL. Parity continues to reign supreme. Getting out of the 1-4 hole to make the playoffs is a daunting task, so don’t expect an easy road, even against the denizens of the NFL’s basement.

3. The Eagles are just one Michael Vick injury away from joining the Andrew Luck draft.