Eagles talk: Pat Shurmur speaks with Philly’s media, credits their defense
As is customary during the Philadelphia Eagles’ work week, the Philly media spoke with the opposing team’s head coach prior to their upcoming matchup. This one, they knew pretty well.
It’s no secret that New York Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur has ties to the Philadelphia Eagles. He served on the Eagles’ coaching staff from 1999 to 2008. During that time, he coached the tight ends, offensive line, and quarterbacks.
His real claim to fame came in 2013, when he was hired as the Birds’ offensive coordinator. Shurmur retained that position until 2015, when he became the team’s interim head coach.
Now, he will be coaching against his former team in what feels like a must-win game for both teams.
Recently, the Philly media caught up with their old friend via telephone.
hurmur gives credit to the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive unit.
So far, the Eagles aren’t looking like the team that won the Super Bowl less than a year ago.
The defense seems to be struggling the most. At this point in the season, they’re ranked outside of the top ten. That’s surprising considering the defense was ranked in the top five before the season began.
Despite all of that, Shurmur has a lot of respect for the team’s unit.
"I think they are an outstanding defense. I feel like they get good pressure on the quarterback. That’s sort of where it starts for them. Up front. They play a good scheme in the back end. Based on what I am watching on the film and getting ready to play them, I’ve got a lot of respect for what they are as a defense."
Thursday Night games can be a good thing.
There’s been a lot of discussion recently about teams having to play on a short week. Teams and players don’t seem too thrilled by Thursday night games. Both the Eagles and the Giants played on Sunday, and they both suffered losses.
For Shurmur, it’s different. He actually enjoys Thursday night games. He believes it is a way to put a Sunday loss behind his team early, and it forces his guys to focus on the next task at hand.
"I actually like preparing for short weeks Because I think you don’t over think it. From a game plan standpoint. Settle in on the things you feel you do best."
New York’s offensive line has a huge test ahead of them.
Shurmur knows that his offensive line has their work cut out for them, mainly because they’ll have to find a way to block Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham. That won’t be a picnic.
"They are two of the finer players in the league. The big challenge is somewhere along the line, we are gonna have to block them one on one. It’s not possible to double team everybody. So, our guys are gonna have to be on their game."
Shurmur is aware of their quickness, and he knows that they can present a problem for offensive lines.
"The thing with Fletcher is he is so powerful, but he is also quick. He can create pass rush from the middle. And that’s really tough on an offense. And then BG (Graham) , he can obviously rush well against tackles. But when they put him in on a guard sometimes, that quickness is a little bit of a surprise for a guard. With all those yards and all those points scored in the Super Bowl, it came down to one rush by Brandon Graham, against a guard, to knock the ball out of Brady’s hands. So, we are certainly aware of what they can do, and how they can affect the offense."
It won’t be long before we all get to see how Philly’s defense fares against this Giants offense. Kickoff is set for 8:20 PM EST on Thursday. The Eagles are looking to get back to 500, and the Giants are looking to get their second win of the 2018 campaign.