The BBH/Big Hitter's Scouting Report: Eagles Offense

[bighitterdalama]

Eagles Offense

The 2020 Eagles were a fiasco. Only three years removed from a stunning Super Bowl victory over New England, the Eagles sunk to an NFC East last place record of 4-11-1. Their offense ranked 24th in yards and 26th in points and the normally stout defense stumbled to 19th and 20th. Franchise quarterback Carson Wentz pouted about, ultimately benched himself, and backdoor demanded a trade. The final straw occurred in the season's final week, a game against Washington that had huge playoff implications. HC Doug Peterson, either on his own or on orders from above, purposely tanked the game in the fourth quarter by pulling starting rookie QB Jalen Hurts in favor of nonentity Nate Sudfeld. As expected, Sudfeld was terrible, the Eagles lost, and Washington won the division. A players' revolt ensued, and Pederson was fired a few days later.

In their subsequent HC search, the Eagles went but a short distance outside the organization. In a bit of a surprise move, they hired then-39-year-old Nick Sirianni, who was then serving as offensive coordinator for the Colts under Eagles' former OC Frank Reich. Sirianni then hired as Eagles OC Shane Steichen, then 35 years old, who had recently served as OC of the Chargers. Sirianni and Steichen were quite familiar, having coached together in the mid-2010s in San Diego. For defensive coordinator, Sirianni hired Jonathan Gannon, who had been the Colts corner backs coach.

Despite their 2020 record, the Eagles were not bereft on talent. The defense retained a solid core group, although it did need an infusion of talent. (More on the defense later.) The offense also possessed a solid base with which to work. They possessed one of the NFL's best offensive lines and had a plan in place to keep that line current and top-shelf. They also had a terrific young tight end and a running back unit that was solid. Two big questions required addressing: wide receiver and quarterback. The wide receiver corps was weak and under-performing. At quarterback, Wentz was gone and Hurts, entering sophomore year, remained a question mark. Step-by-step the Eagles built a strong wide receiver unit while Sirianni and Steichen designed an offense that accented Jalen Hurts attributes while minimizing his shortcomings. The Eagles finished a solid 9-8 in 2021, making the playoffs as a Wild Card. In the ensuing off-season, the Eagles added three huge pieces to the roster: wide receiver AJ Brown, SAM OLB/EDGE Haasan Reddick, and cornerback James Bradbury. These additions vaulted the Eagles from a good team into the elite. The Eagles finished the 2022 season at 14-3, the best record in the NFC.

Statistically, the Eagles' offense finished 3rd in the NFL in both points/game (28.1) and yards/game (389.1). Their rush attack ranked 5th (157.6) and rush attempts 3rd (544). The Eagles scored 32 rushing touchdowns, tops in the league. Their passing attack, 241.5 Y/G, ranked 9th, while the completion percentage, 65.3%, ranked tied for 13. The Eagles had 25 passing touchdowns (14) and only 9 interceptions (3rd best). They gave up 44 sacks (tied for 11th most) for minus 259 yards (17th most). The QB rating, 99.0, was 6th best. Time of possession, 30:33, was 9th best. The Eagles were 2nd in first downs (385) and 4th in both third-down and fourth-down conversion rates (46.0% and 68.8%). The Eagle offense committed 90 penalties (T12) for 682 yards (8). Their run pass ratio was a very balanced 48.4%.

The Eagles average just one running back per snap. They run 12 personnel about 34% of the snaps and 11 personnel 66% of the snaps. As stated above, they run the ball 48.4% of the plays and pass 51.6%. The Eagles are not much for passing towards the backs. On the season, running backs have been targeted with 12% of the pass attempts, garnering just 5.5 yards/completion and 4.3 yards/attempt, with zero touchdown catches. Tight ends have been targeted with 18.4% of the passes, averaging an impressive 12.8 yards/catch and 9.7 yards/attempt. The obvious showcase of their pass attack is directed towards the wideouts. With 69.5%of the targets, the WRs average 13.9 yards/completion and 9.1 yards/attempt. The Eagles aren't big on trickery: on the season, wide receivers have run just 4 reverses and tight ends none. They do run some wildcat plays (I don't have the statistics), but have not tried a RB/TE/WR option throw all year.

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts has answered, in a big way, those (including myself) who questioned his ability to be a quality NFL quarterback. As a lifelong Alabama fan, I saw Hurts quite a bit during his college years. No doubt about his physical ability, smarts, and toughness, but I thought that Hurts, who at 6'1" is short for an NFL QB, struggled at Alabama and Oklahoma to throw accurate short and mid-range passes over the much taller offensive linemen. What I saw in his rookie season in Philadelphia seemed to support this. Come 2021, this issue disappeared and Hurts now looks to be close to joining the NFL's "elite" category. This season, Hurts made his first Pro Bowl. On the season, he completed 306 of 460 passes for 3701 yards, a completion percentage of 66.5%, 22 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. Her averaged 12.1 yards/completion and 8.0 yards/attempt. Hurts was sacked 38 times for minus 231 yards, had a quarterback rating of 101.5 and a QBR 101.5. Hurts is a terrific runner. On the season, he rushed for 760 yards on 165 carries, and average of 4.6 yards/carry, and an amazing 13 touchdowns (three more than the 10 he scored in 2021). Hurts did have 9 fumbles. PFF gave him grades of 80.6(passing)/84.4(running)/85.9(overall), ranking him #4 of 39 qualifying quarterbacks.

Hurts did miss two late season games, replaced by Gardner Minshew. The Eagles lost both games, a 40-34 road loss in Dallas and a 20-10 home loss to New Orleans. In all, Minshew took 151 snaps, completing 44 of 76 passes (57.6%) for 663 yards, 3 touchdowns and three interceptions. Minshew was sacked 6 times for minus 28 yards and committed four fumbles. Minshew does not have Hurts running ability: on the season, he rushed just 3 times for 7 yards, 1.4 Y/C, and 1 touchdown. He earned a quarterback rating of 83.4 and a QBR of 38.7.

Offensive Line

Philadelphia's offensive line is, perhaps, the best in the NFL. Over the years, the Eagles have done a terrific job of first building, then maintaining, the consistency of that line. Consider left tackle. For 12 seasons, that position was anchored by All-World and future Hall of Famer Jason Peters. In 2019, with Peters approaching 40 years of age, the Eagles drafted his future replacement, highly touted Washington State left tackle Andre Dillard, with the #22 overall pick. Peters continued at left tackle through 2020, then was left unsigned at the end of the season. (He is currently a quality backup/spot starter in Dallas.) Meanwhile, Dillard suffered a torn bicep in the 2020 preseason and spent the entire year on the IR. In his place emerged Jordan Mailata, a developmental player the Eagles had taken in the seventh-round of 2018. Mailata, an Australian rugby player who did not attend college and had no football experience, entered the NFL under the International Player Pathway Program. After two years of tutelage under the Eagles staff, Mailata began 2020 as the Eagles primary swing tackle. He subsequently started ten games, primarily at right tackle for Lane Johnson, who missed time due to injury and covid. An absolutely mammoth man, even by NFL O line standards, the 6'8"/365 lb Mailata showed a surprising athleticism that soon impressed. In the 2021 preseason, Mailata firmly entrenched himself as the starting left tackle, a position he has held ever since. In 2022, Mailata missed most of two early season games with a shoulder injury but otherwise played 1026 out a possible 1179 offensive snaps. He earned PFF scores of 75.9(run blocking)/72.5(pass protection)/76.5(overall), ranking #16 out of 83 qualifying tackles. Dillard, on the other hand, has struggled to find a role on the Eagles line. Dillard took just 37 offensive snaps, earning an overall PFF score of 67.9. The Eagles declined to pick up Dillard's fifth year option and he is likely gone after this season is over.

Ten-year veteran right tackle Lane Johnson is suffering from a debilitating groin injury that will require off-season surgery. Season-wise, Johnson has been terrific, earning his fourth Pro Bowl selection. In fact, Johnson recently set an NFL record of not allowing a sack in 26 consecutive games. On the season, Johnson posted PFF scores of 73.5(run)/89.8(pass pro)/83.2(overall), ranking #6 out of 83 qualifying tackles. Johnson did miss some playing time this year, including the season-ending game against the Giants. On the year, he has played 974 out of 1179 snaps. Johnson has vowed to play through the injury until after the season, but, nonetheless, his availability and/or effectiveness for Saturday's Giants game is, at best, questionable. Johnson's backup is third year player Jack Driscoll, a 2020 fourth-round pick from Auburn. Driscoll, who has played 354 snaps backing up both Johnson and Mailata, earns PFF scores of 61.6/56.2/60.5, ranking #66 of 83.

35-year-old center Jason Kelce, a six time Pro Bowler and five-time All Pro, mulled retirement this off-season before signing a one-year/$14 million contract. The contract paid off well for both Kelce and the Eagles, as Kelce's play this year has been flat-out terrific. Having taken 1151 out of a possible 1179 snaps, Kelce earned PFF grades of 89.4(run)/82.0(pass pro)/88.5(overall), ranking #2 out of 40 qualifying centers. The Eagles have already taken steps to replace Kelce, having drafted rookie Cam Jurgens in the second-round of the 2022 draft. Jurgens took just 35 offensive snaps this season, earning an overall PFF grade of 60.1. At guard, the Eagles took steps to replace three-time Pro Bowler but oft-injured Brandon Brooks (who officially retired last off-season) by selecting Alabama guard Landon Dickerson in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.  Dickerson was installed at left guard while Isaac Seumalo, who had started five years at left guard, moved over to right guard. This realignment worked out well for both players: in 2022, Dickerson was selected to the Pro Bowl and Seumalo was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate. On the season, Dickerson, who played 1096 (93%) of the offensive snaps, earned grades of 65.3/76.8/67.3, ranking #23 of 77 qualifying guards. Seumalo, who took 1137 (96%) of the snaps, scored grades of 69.5/79.1/75.2, ranking #7 of 77. The primary backup guard, Sua Opeta, a 2019 UDFA from Weber State, did not, in limited playing time, play particularly well. In 92 snaps, he earned PFF scores of just 40.8/57.1/38.1.

Running Backs

The Eagles offense has the NFL's fifth-best rushing attack at 147.6 yards/game. Much like the Giants (4th best), the Eagles run attack relies primarily on a single running back and a fast, elusive quarterback, with a smattering of quality yards spread among backup running backs and QBs. The Eagles had 544 rush attempts, 3rd most in the league, and averaged 4.6 yards/carry. They ran for a league-high 32 touchdowns. Unlike the Giants, who feature their backs in the pass game, the Eagles runners tend to be one-dimensional. On the year, the Eagles' backs have been targeted with just 12% of the pass attempts, catching 48 passes on 61 targets for 262 yards, an average of just 5.5 yards/completion and 4.3 yards/target. The Eagles' backs have zero touchdown catches.

Fourth-year player Miles Sanders came into his own this season, becoming on of the league's best. A 2019 second-round pick from Penn State, Sanders, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl, finished 5th in the NFL with 1269 rushing yards on 259 carries (8th most) and 11 touchdowns (also 8th most). In the pass game, Sanders caught 20 passes on 26 targets for just 76 yards, an average just 3.9 yards/catch. Sanders earned PFF scores of 82.3(run)/35.5(receiving)/74.0(overall), ranking 28 out of 63 qualifying backs. Sanders is backed up by second-year player Kenneth Gainwell, a 2021 fifth-round pick from Memphis. Gainwell garnered 240 yards on 53 carries, 4.5 yards/carry, and had four rushing touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes on 29 targets for 169 yards, 7.3 yards/catch. Gainwell graded 62.3/49.8/57.0, ranking #60 of 63.

As usual, third-string running back Boston Scott did little all year EXCEPT in his games against the Giants. Scott's season totals were 54 carries for 217 yards, 4.0 Y/C, and three touchdowns, with 5 catches on 6 targets for 16 yards. In two games against Big Blue, Scott had 87 rushing yards on 15 carries, 5.8 yards/carry, and 2 rushing touchdowns. Also against the Giants, he returned three kickoffs for 119 yards, an average of 29.7 yards/return, including a long of 66 yards. Sort of reminds me of baseball player Tommy Hutton, a lifetime .248 hitter with 22 home runs who, in 62 plate appearances against Tom Seaver, batted .320 with 11 walks, an OBP of .452 and three home runs. Go figure.

Tight End

The Eagles have one of the NFL's best tight ends in Dallas Goedert. On the season, the 2018 second-round pick from South Dakota State caught 55 passes on 69 targets for 702 yards, 12.8 yards/catch, and 3 touchdowns. Goedert, who took 735 (62%) of the offensive snaps, earned PFF scores of 81.7(receiving)/55.1(run blocking)/76.2(overall), ranking #4 of 74 qualifying tight ends. The backup tight ends, Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra, were adequate if not spectacular. Stoll, a 2021 UDFA from Nebraska, took 574 (49%) of the offensive snaps, catching 11 passes on 14 targets for 123 yards, 11.2 yards/catch, and zero touchdowns. Stoll graded 46.4/57.4/50.6, ranking #66 of 74. Calcaterra, a rookie sixth-round pick from SMU, took 227 (19%) of the offensive snaps, catching 5 passes on 9 targets for 81 yards, 16.2 Y/C, and zero touchdowns. Calcaterra grades 57.2/63.0/61.4. End of bench/PS tight ends Tyree Jackson and Noah Togiai respectively played 34 and 12 offensive snaps. Neither has a measurable statistic, and neither have played in weeks. Barring a late week injury to one of the top three TEs, I'd be shocked if either Jackson or Togiai suited up for Saturday night.

Wide Receiver

When hired in early 2021 as the Eagles' head coach, Nick Sirianni inherited a mess at wide receiver. Despite having spent considerable draft capital on the position, the Eagles' WR unit was perpetually weak. Sirianni, a first-class offensive mind who once coached wide receivers, began work with the Eagles' front office in an earnest effort to upgrade the unit. This effort began with a housecleaning that saw former first and second round draft picks Jalen Reagor and JJ Arcega-Whiteside traded away for peanuts. (Reagor is now buried deep on the Vikings depth chart while Arcega-Whiteside was recently cut from Seattle's practice squad.) Retained was 2020 sixth-round draft pick Quez Watkins, a former star at Southern Miss. Next up, early in the 2021 draft, the Eagles engineered a trade with the Cowboys which gave them the opportunity to select former Alabama star and Heisman Trophy winner Davonta Smith (and allowed Dallas to select Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons). The third move occurred in March 2022 when the Eagles signed free agent WR Zach Pascal, a favorite of Siriani's during his time with the Colts. The final, biggest, and best move occurred during the 2022 draft when the Eagles traded the 13th and 101st overall picks to the Titans for superstar WR AJ Brown.

Brown's acquisition paid immediate dividends, transforming the Eagles' offense from solid into elite. On the season, Brown caught 88 passes (13th) on 145 targets (10th) for 1496 yards (4th), an average of 17.0 yards/catch (4th) and 11 touchdowns (tied 3rd). Brown, who took 1005 (85%) of the offensive snaps, earned a PFF receiving grade of 89.2, ranking #6 out of 123 qualifying wide outs. Smith was also terrific. Having played on 1083 (92%) of the offensive snaps, Smith caught 95 passes on 136 targets for 1196 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Eagles pass-heavy attack also got quality play from its backups. Watkins, who took 681 (58%) of the offensive snaps, caught 33 passes on 51 targets for 354 yards, 10.7 Y/C, and 3 touchdowns. Watkins earned a PFF grade 55.1, ranking #114. Pascal, who took 338 (29%) of the snaps, caught 15 passes on 19 targets for 150 yards, 10.0 Y/C, and 1 touchdown. Pascal earned a grade of 62.6, ranking #94 of 114.

Next up (hopefully): The Eagles Defense

[Bob In PA]

Brian: Massive effort. Thank you so much for doing this!  Bob

[beaugestus]

Brian, I look forward to your reports every week, another great job.