PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Can the Pats Copy the Eagles Defensive Plan vs. Falcons?

by

One game in my Falcons’ film study that has stuck out was their 24-15 loss to the Eagles in mid-November. The Falcons put up a season-low 303 yards of offense with just 48 yards rushing.

It’s important not to take one game, especially their worst of the season, and take it as proof-positive their offense can be easily stopped. The Patriots have had plenty of outliers over the years that were extrapolated as “The Blueprint” to beat the Patriots.

Still, there’s plenty of analyze in terms of the Eagles schemes and coverages that gave the Falcons problems.

Here’s what stood out to me and what I think the Patriots are well-equipped to reproduce.

— The Eagles played mostly a mix of Cover-1 Man and Cover-2 Zone, with the zone coverages coming usually on third-and-longs. The single safety coverages was their go-to and it was highly effective.

— Ryan took plenty of shots to Julio Jones, who finished with 10 catches on 16 targets for 135 yards. That’s one thing that always stands out, Ryan’s confidence to just toss it up to Jones down the field, especially when it’s man-to-man coverage. Jones’ other dangerous route are the slants and in-cuts, where the Falcons hope to get him yards-after-catch. But that’s what the Eagles took away throughout the game. Their tackling was excellent and it prevented the Falcons from establishing a rhythm. Even when they gave up a couple long passes to Jones, he was instantly tackled, minimizing the damage.

— There’s been plenty of talk about YAC this week and I think this game was a prime example of how the Falcons will play into the Patriots’ defensive strength, which is the strength of their fundamentals with tackling and physicality off the line of scrimmage.

— The Patriots are similar in that Cover-1 Man and Cover-2 Zone are their most common coverages. They played a ton of Cover-2 in the second half of the season and I’d expect they’ll spin the dial with it plenty in the Super Bowl. The shots to Jones and the slants/in-cuts are huge parts of the Falcon offense and Cover 2, which keeps safeties over the top and jams the middle of the field with defenders makes a lot of sense.

— The Eagles front four got good penetration that blew up a lot of plays before they had a chance to develop, especially with Devonta Freeman in the running game. The Patriots front four aren’t great penetrators so it will be more on the linebackers to make these plays. Still, the Eagles had just two sacks in the game.

— Play action and the screen game are staples of the Falcons offense, along with a lot of post-snap motion meant to hold the linebackers and open up the zones in back of them. This is what makes them so hard to defend, they keep you off balance. Sifting through all this motion will be critical for the Patriots linebackers. The Eagles’ did a good job of it, not getting sucked up in play action, and a lot of that had to do with how disruptive their front four were and how many plays they were making in the backfield.

— The 76-yard touchdown to Gabriel came when the cornerback bit on a double move and had no over the top help. This is a good example of how it only takes one play with this offense. That was the only big play out of the secondary Falcon receivers. Sanu finished with just two catches for 14 yards. I’d bet Logan Ryan and Eric Rowe will be on these two and they won’t have much help if they get beat over the top.

— Patrick Chung should play a significant role against the run out of Cover-1 and he might be a good option in coverage against Freeman/Coleman as well.

— The Eagles won the time of possession battle 38:10 — 21:50 holding Atlanta to 2-11 on third down. They allowed the Falcons in the red zone just once and stopped them.

Yes, this was just one game, but it’s hard to watch it and not think the Patriots can replicate this kind of gameplan, at least on the back end. The big question will be, as it always is in the Super Bowl, is how well the front four plays. Can they be disruptive? Can they get to Matt Ryan fast enough? Because Jones and Gabriel are too good to be covered forever.