Offtopic » Eagles’ opener plagued by offensive inefficiency

The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles sputtered out of the gate in their first defense of their title. Before dissecting the film of their sloppy 18-12 win over the Atlanta Falcons http://www.authenticsphiladelphiaeagles.com/cheap-jason-kelce-jersey , there are stories to be told in the numbers that point to problem areas to be examined further.PERSONNEL QUIRKS...I charted each offensive play, extracted non-plays, accepted penalties and kneels, and came out of the other side with baseline numbers with which to track trends. While this is a small sample size and some tendencies won’t hold up, there are some interesting similarities and deviations from the 2017 season.First, the expected bonanza of 12 personnel with Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins out with injury did not come to fruition. Instead, wide receiver DeAndre Carter out-snapped rookie Dallas Goedert 53 to 17. Overall, their 11 personnel frequency (77%) comes in comfortably above their 65% from last year.This suited the Falcons just fine, who prefer to use their nickel package that boasts two excellent coverage linebackers in Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell. The duo provided tight coverage in the middle of the field all night and made the lack Jeffery on the outside even more pronounced. When the Eagles tried attacking nickel with the run http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-destiny-vaeao-jersey , they managed a mere 3.86 yards per carry and a 39% success rate. Falcons safeties are no strangers to sniffing around the box and being active in the run game.Doubling down on their philosophy to pass from two tight end sets, the Eagles jumped from a league 2nd 57% pass from 12 personnel to a hyper 91% last night. Did it work? Heavens no. Those passes went for an average of 3.30 yards per play as the duo of Zach Ertz and Goedert struggled to either catch or get open.Obviously not all the blame is on them for the passing game woes; separation was severely lacking across the board and Nick Foles had one his classic scattershot games. The biggest play from 12 personnel came on a Philly Special 2.0 troll job which went for 15 yards.The lone run from 12 personnel came on a 2nd & Goal carry from the 1-yard line that resulted in a touchdown for Jay Ajayi. On that play tight end Josh Perkins came in jet motion before the snap and was used to block up the backside end man on the line of scrimmage to create a numbers advantage.BIG BOY RUNS...What did work consistently for the Eagles from a personnel perspective is their use of six offensive linemen in the run game. They used this heavy set on 4 of their 8 under center plays with a mixture of one and two tight ends. Those plays averaged 6.75 yards on the ground and resulted in the game-winning touchdown scamper from Ajayi.You would expect the Eagles to continue to use these sets, as they have in the past, and show more play-action looks with them to not tip their hand in the future.SITUATIONAL EFFICIENCY...Early down inefficiency was a major reason for the offensive struggles as the offense found themselves behind schedule at an alarming rate.The problem isn’t with the play selection on first down; their 57% pass frequency is nearly identical to last years’ number. They just couldn’t get anything going through the air to take bites out of the chains. That problem got exacerbated when they turned in a truly awful 9% success rate on 2nd & long.Going run heavy there didn’t help, as it’s historically much less efficient than passing in that situation, but again, Foles wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire either. Still, I’d like to see them get back to what was successful for them in the playoffs in that regard.That fact that the Eagles converted on 50% of their third downs is no small miracle considering this early down performance. For the night, the offense didn’t convert a single first down on first down Nate Gerry Jersey , highlighting the stark difference between bad Foles and good Foles.On the plus side, the Eagles found their new short yardage money down back in.. :squints:.. Ajayi, Nelson Agholor, Corey Clement and Darren Sproles, who converted 4 for 4 collectively. Glad that’s solved.It’s just one game and there were extenuating circumstances that impacted how effective the offense could be. The Falcons also boast a young, fast defense that is on the verge of coming into their own.It’s not time to be concerned yet, but the longer Carson Wentz is inactive, the more Foles will have to improve on his atrocious 3.44 yards per attempt and the more the run game and defense will have to carry the load. It would also be good for the brand if the #GodErtz package stepped up.Titans writer gives three reasons why the Eagles will win on Sunday If Bleeding Green Nation’s FanPulse results are any indication, Philadelphia Eagles fans are NOT lacking confidence heading into the team’s Week 4 game against the Tennessee Titans. But there are some reasons for concern. We know the Eagles have had some road struggles Authentic Corey Graham Jersey , especially on defense. And while the Titans might not be viewed as a juggernaut, they ARE 2-1 with their one loss coming to an undefeated Dolphins team in a one-possession game. With that said, if you’re among those who might not be feeling super confident in the Eagles for some reason, today’s post might have you feeling a little better about the reigning Super Bowl champs.BGN already took some time to chat with Music City Miracles in order to preview this week’s matchup. (You can read that here.) Today, we’re back with three reasons why each team might lose. This format forces us to consider each team’s weaknesses, rather than just being homers.So, below are three reasons why the Titans could lose, as written by Music City Miracle’s Jimmy Morris. To see why I think the Eagles could lose, check out MCM.1. Marcus Mariota is still limited and can’t throw the ball down the field.We still don’t know the status of Marcus Mariota’s elbow/hand. Everyone is saying he feels better this week Youth Corey Clement Jersey , but what else are they going to say when they have no choice but to run him out there even if he is only at 75%. If he is still close to 75% and can’t push the ball down the field, this offense could be in for a very long day. The Eagles rank 11th in short pass DVOA on the season. They are also 2nd in rush defense DVOA on the season, so it isn’t like the Titans will just be able to line up and run it at the Eagles 40+ times. They will need to get creative with the offense for the 3rd straight week. I am concerned that they don’t have any surprising wrinkles left.2. Carson Wentz is able to take advantage of a Titans’ defense that has been giving up the deep ball.The Titans defense ranks 24th in the league against deep passes. Malcolm Butler has been particularly victimized by the deep ball. He gave up a 75-yard touchdown to Kenny Stills in week 1 and a 39-yard touchdown to Will Fuller in week 2. Wentz probably knocked off most of his rust last week. A guy like Nelson Agholor could get loose for a couple of deep passes.3. The Titans are in a let down spot after winning 2 hard-fought division games that no one expected them to win.The Titans have had an unbelievable start to the season with a 7+ hour game in Miami, a week 2 game without Mariota and their top 3 offensive tackles and a week 3 game in Jacksonville where Mariota had to play at far less than 100% after Blaine Gabbert suffered a concussion in the first quarter. Somehow they are 2-1, but that is a lot for any team. They are feeling good after 2 division wins and are essentially playing with house money in this one. It feels like it could be a classic letdown spot.