Philadelphia Eagles: Here’s a plan to contain Julio Jones

Here’s a plan that will help the Philadelphia Eagles stop Julio Jones on Sunday.

In their Week 1 contest, the Minnesota Vikings held Atlanta Falcons star receiver Julio Jones to just six catches for 31 yards. The most obvious question is this. How can the Philadelphia Eagles achieve a similar result against a player who has been able to find regular success against their defense?

If stopping Julio Jones was easy, then everybody would do it right? If Week 1 taught us anything, it’s this. The Vikings defense is better than the Eagles defense right now. Unless ‘The Birds’ made some major adjustments in the past week, there will be some opportunities for Jones. There are are a few things Philly can do to limit him.

Here are a couple.

Effective Pass Rush

Last Sunday, Matt Ryan was sacked by Anthony Barr on the first play of the game. This hit set the tone for what would be an uncomfortable 60 minutes for the Falcons quarterback. Getting to the quarterback is imperative for an Eagles defense that did little to disrupt Case Keenum in Week 1.

It goes without saying, but more pressure created by the front seven results in less of a need for perfect coverage by the secondary. Against the Washington Redskins, the Eagles were able to muster up just one sack and seven quarterback hits on 46 dropbacks for Keenum.

Well-timed blitzes and block shedding will be critical to throwing off Ryan’s timing before Jones’ routes can develop.

Secondary Positioning

Tape of the last few Eagles and Falcons games reveals two things. Julio Jones is targeted early and often, and that’s almost always against man-to-man coverage with no safety help. If you watched last week’s game, neither of these points will come as a surprise.

The single-high safety look is a staple of Jim Schwartz‘s defense. This formation (below) allows for one safety, who’s often Malcolm Jenkins, to play inside the box to either stop the run or pick up the underneath crossing routes. While making teams one dimensional, it puts added pressure on the corners to stay with their man without the insurance of a safety’s help.

Fans saw the adverse effects of this formation when Redskins rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin torched Rasul Douglas for a 69-yard touchdown, and he almost did the same to Sidney Jones later in the game.

The Vikings used a tandem approach to limit Jones, shadowing him with their best corner, Xavier Rhodes, and pairing different combinations of safeties and linebackers to confuse Matt Ryan. Jim Schwartz must get creative with his schemes to take the pressure off of his young group of corners.

If the last two meetings between the Eagles and Falcons are any indication, the Eagles will figure out how to contain Julio Jones. They just can’t wait until the end of the game to do so. Getting home on the pass rush and giving the corners some safety help could help with keeping the game from coming down to the last play. The question is will Schwartz do the letter or send a blitz? It’s doubtful, but we’ll soon see.