2023-02-02 08:00:00
They are the unsung heroes of this NFL season. But what the Philadelphia Eagles defense conjures up on the gridiron week following week is record-breaking. Time to take a closer look at the important part of the team just before the Super Bowl and to highlight a few special playmakers before the big fight for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Glendale, Arizona.
There are hardly any weaknesses in the Eagles squad anyway. A particular strength of the Super Bowl participant is definitely the defense. Throughout the season and now in the playoffs, the defensive bar withstood most attacks. One of the leaders is Haason Reddick. Only moved to Philadelphia before the season, the linebacker seamlessly continued his previous achievements.
Defense as a total package
But just naming one hero here doesn’t do justice to the overall performance of this section of the team. So it is an unprecedented scenario that four players on a team can call up double-digit sack numbers in the regular season. Reddick leads here with 16. Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrave and Brandon Graham follow with eleven each.
Not surprisingly, they smashed their own sack-per-season record in Philly, even surpassing the all-time high of the legendary Chicago Bears Defense set in 1984 at the end of the season. Two more sacks ended up missing to level with the Monsters of the Midway.
So the Eagles defense comes to the quarterback, gives him little time to throw the ball and regularly knocks down the most important player on an opposing offense. This opens up the game for the entire defense. Knowing that Reddick and co. are putting the pressure on the pass attack, other players can attack the ball more deliberately and thus achieve more turnover.
Fly, Eagles, Fly
“Fly, Eagles, Fly” echoes through Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field following every touchdown. This chant is almost a mockery of the opponent, considering how difficult it is to get the ball through the air towards the end zone once morest the Eagles. Because in addition to the record number of sacks, the secondary, the easy defense so to speak, allowed the fewest yards through the air within the regular season.
Marcus Epps, CJ Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay and James Bradberry are responsible for half of the 27 turnovers in 2022. Here, too, an important new addition stands out. Gardner-Johnson traded from the New Orleans Saints to the east coast this summer. Judging by his six interceptions and his low trade compensation (swapping a seventh with a fifth and sixth round pick), a real coup that Howie Roseman pulled off there.
The Eagles are headed to the Super Bowl because of Howie.
-AJB trade
-reddick signing
-saints trade
-Gardner-Johnson trade
-Linval and Sun mid season additions
-Slay trade
-Bradberry signingAnd cutting bait on a QB he’d JUST paid and a HC who’d JUST won a SB.
What a menace.
— Dalton Miller (@DaltonBMiller) January 29, 2023
Howie Roseman “Father of Success”
The Eagles general manager built this defense. Without exception, there are players in the secondary who have never or never reached their actual level of performance with their previous teams. When signing James Bradberry and others, Roseman was counting on the Eagles getting back on their feet better than they’ve been before.
The same applies to the Front Seven. Of course, homegrown players Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham stand for stability and a lot of experience on the part of the Eagles. But things have been going really smoothly since Reddick and Hargrave completed the front row.
Middle linebacker TJ Edwards is another good example of Roseman’s skill at picking new players. Edwards came to the Philadelphia Eagles three years ago from the University of Wisconsin undrafted. Now he’s the main tackler on the team. Together with Kyzir White, who found his way to the city of brotherly love from the Los Angeles Chargers, he creates the necessary security so that the pass rush in front of them can fire from all tubes.
Haason Reddick
And yet, finally, the focus is once once more placed on Haason Reddick, who is playing the postseason of his life. He is currently the most effective pass rusher of the playoffs with 3.5 sacks. Especially once morest the San Francisco 49ers he made the most important plays of the game.
Surely Reddick wasn’t wantonly trying to hurt Niners quarterback Brock Purdy when he slammed his arm into the attacker’s throwing arm. However, it was this action that forced the game’s first turnover and where Purdy badly injured his elbow.
Shortly therefollowing, Reddick landed with a crash on freshly substituted Josh Johnson. He was so impressed by the hit that he turned his eyes to the oncoming pass rusher with almost every snap followingward, instead of concentrating on his own game. The result was an untaken snap that slipped out of Johnson’s hands while he kept staring at Reddick. It didn’t help Johnson much, because despite the fumble, Reddick hit the quarterback.
Super Bowl LVII
In preparation for the Super Bowl, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will ask himself how he can get his playmakers, especially Reddick and Gardner-Johnson, in the limelight as much as possible. The more the Eagles’ defense can influence quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ attacking play in the final, the better Philadelphia’s chances of winning.
So far, Gannon has done this very well, which is why he now has several offers for a head coaching position in the NFL on his desk. The 40-year-old assistant coach will only deal with that following the game in the Arizona desert. Now it’s time to set up your defense in such a way that all hungry mouths are fed and in the end the big title jumps out.
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