How will the Eagles attack the Falcons new-look defense?

The Philadelphia Eagles 2015 season begins tonight when they travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. The Eagles are currently 3 point favorites on most betting sites and I expect them to win the game as they match up well with the Falcons. However, it will not be an easy game as the Falcons offense will put up points with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. The Falcons defense is now run by their new head coach Dan Quinn who was previously the Seahawks defensive coordinator. The Eagles will need to put up points on Dan Quinn’s defense to beat the Falcons.

The Seahawks run an execution style of defense. They run a cover 3 defense with a 4-3 under front the majority of the time and beat you by simply executing and not by disguising their coverage or using unique blitzes. The Falcons now have Dan Quinn as their head coach so we can assume the Falcons will run a similar defense to the Seahawks. Throughout preseason the Falcons ran cover 3 with a 4-3 under front the majority of the time so I expect them to continue this tonight which should benefit the Eagles.

Dan Quinn might be about to find out that running cover 3 for a lot of the game and having success isn’t easy when you don’t have players such as Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas in the secondary or Michael Bennett rushing the quarterback. Chip Kelly managed to come up with a lot of plays that beat the Seahawks defense when the Eagles and Seahawks played last year but Mark Sanchez missed a lot of throws.

This year the Eagles have Sam Bradford who should be able to hit those plays. Chip Kelly has also had a long time to come up with a number of new plays that will beat the Falcons cover 3 defense. The Eagles had a lot of success using the ‘switch’ concept as shown below with Zach Ertz‘ deep touchdown against the Seahawks. I expect the Eagles to go back to this a lot.

The Eagles will miss Zach Ertz if he doesn’t play as he had success against the Seahawks last year. I expect the Eagles will use the switch concept a lot against the Falcons and will use Jordan Matthews and Darren Sproles down the seam as well as Zach Ertz if he plays. I expect some four vertical plays to overload the Seahawks 3 deep defenders in the secondary too.

The Seahawks haven’t blitzed much under Dan Quinn and they relied on their front 4 to get pressure. The Falcons have a couple of good pass rushers, including first round pick Vic Beasley, but they aren’t as good as the Seahawks front 4. If the Eagles offensive line can give Sam Bradford time in the pocket, Bradford will be able to pick holes in the Falcons defense. This will also put Dan Quinn out of his comfort zone as he will be forced to blitz and get pressure.

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If the Eagles offensive line can control the line of scrimmage the Eagles will be able to have success on the ground with the DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews too. The offensive line should have no problems against the Falcons front 4 and should be able to open up some big holes. If the Eagles can establish the running game, the Falcons linebackers will have to play closer to the line of scrimmage and therefore be susceptible to throws over the top of them. Bradford should be able to make those touch throws in between the linebackers and secondary.

One problem the Eagles will face is that their no huddle offense may not have a big impact on the Falcons defense scheme wise. The Eagles no huddle offense often prevents teams from changing the play or lining up properly. However, if the Falcons play mainly cover 3, there will be less communication involved and they should be able to line up correctly and not be put off by the Eagles fast tempo. This won’t stop the Falcons defense from becoming fatigued though as the game goes on of course.

So overall, the Eagles should be able to score on this Falcons defense if they are able to pick holes in their cover 3 defense. Expect to see the switch concept that include some wheel routes from Darren Sproles out the backfield. I also expect to see some four vertical passing plays and after establishing the run, a lot of crossing routes to Jordan Matthews off of play action. Let’s hope the Eagles execute and get the win!

Next: Eagles Analysis: Five matchups to watch vs. Falcons

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