Evolving Eagles Defense is No Surprise to Jonathan Gannon
PHILADELPHIA - From 15 missed tackles in Detroit to 15 points allowed over the span of six days, with two of those given up by the offense after Boston Scott was tackled in the end zone by Washington's Daron Payne on Sunday.
Don't look now but the Eagles' defense that was much-maligned after a season-opening shoot-out win over the Lions is now the No. 5 ranked group in the NFL on the heels of two dominant performances against Minnesota and Washington.
On Sunday, it was the defensive front that dominated, torturing Carson Wentz to the tune of nine sacks and 17 hurries during a 24-8 victory over the Commanders.
"Obviously, the front affected the game," defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday. "... I think a lot of you saw a lot of players win their one on ones."
Gannon is fond of pointing out the complementary nature of the pass rush and the coverage on the back end, and each part of that equation can pick up the other on occasion.
It seemed like everything was clicking against the Commanders with slot cornerback Avonte Maddox and outside corner James Bradberry having stellar afternoons but it was the front that set the tone, particularly interior defenders Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave early with edge rush Brandon Graham serving as the closer.
Only two of the Eagles' nine takedowns of Wentz came with the aid of a blitz, and it was such a dominant performance that it enabled Gannon to scale back in-game and give the back end more attention.
"There are some things that we had up that we didn't need," Gannon told SI.com's Eagles Today. "I'm not talking about just pressures or coverages.
"When the game's going how it's going, again, we have really smart players, and they can adapt as the game goes. We had a couple things up that the players were like, we don't need that right now, or let's keep rolling with this because we're doing a good job with it."
Gannon is embracing what is almost a living organism when it comes to his defense.
"Perfect," the DC said of the in-game feedback. "I'm not out there playing, they are."
Gannon then made it clear it was the line that impacted the mindset.
"When the D-line is affecting the game the way they were, you can devote more into coverage," he said. "It makes it hard for the quarterback."
It also makes it hard for the critics who were sounding the alarm after 60 minutes of football and often live and die with the sack numbers, especially in Philadelphia.
"You guys saw the production stand out. I know everyone sees that stand out from the box score, but that's why I wasn't really sweating the production in the first couple games because I knew at some point, if they keep winning at a high level, doing what they're coached to do, that will come," said Gannon.
"Honestly, that didn't surprise me how that game played out."
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John McMullen covers the NFL and the Eagles for Sports Illustrated and JAKIB Media. He’s also the co-host of “Birds 365,” a daily streaming show covering the Eagles and the NFL, and the host of “Extending the Play” on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or follow John on Twitter: @JFMcMullen.
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