Pederson Tips His Cap to 'Big Ben,' Won't Point Fingers

Doug Pederson tipped his cap to Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger instead of pointing fingers at embattled Eagles linebacker Nate Gerry

PHILADELPHIA - There is a difference between losing and being beaten.

The subtlety of that is lost on many but that’s the path Doug Pederson took coming off a 38-29 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

It was time to tip the cap to Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger not point fingers at embattled Eagles linebacker Nate Gerry.

After any setback, Pederson has to give a pound of flesh three times over a 24-hour period, post-game, on his contractually-obligated spot with the organization's flagship radio station the next morning, and finally at his afternoon presser on Monday.

Through all of that this time, the coach was very consistent by giving credit to Roethlisberger for checking out of the called play when he saw the Eagles’ reaction to an empty set.

The future Hall of Fame signal-caller managed to communicate to multiple receivers what was going on before finding Claypool for a 35-yard touchdown.

In Philadelphia, however, when Gerry is involved, acknowledging the opposition can be pretty good is obfuscated by a necessity to blame the least popular player with the fan base despite overwhelming evidence that would enable any federal prosecutor to label this case "a Grenada."

That’s a reference to the United States speedy victory during the 1983 Grenada invasion which is now used as the label for any case that's impossible to lose from the government’s perspective.

The evidence here started with Big Ben himself post-game who explained what went on in detail.

"That's a new formation we put in this week," Roethlisberger said. "... So we expected them on that particular play to kind of go with an all-out blitz. So we had a play called to get the ball out quick and hopefully try and beat the blitz. They sat back in cover-two zone, and I just wanted what we expected.

"I saw that and changed the play."

Former Eagles LB Emmanuel Acho takes it from there explaining exactly what went on and just how much Roethlisberger was doing at the line of scrimmage:

Ben Roethlisberger is a hall of famer for stuff like this! He beat the #Eagles singlehandedly on this final TD. It wasn’t Jim Schwartz fault.
Here’s what actually happened: @LesBowen @EliotShorrParks @KNegandhiESPN @Jeff_McLane pic.twitter.com/IzWYk2zSQZ

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 12, 2020

Roethlisberger not only adjusted Claypool's route. The veteran QB told JuJu Smith-Schuster to run an out route of his own to take Rodney McLeod out of the picture. From the Eagles' standpoint, Nickell Robey-Coleman identified what was going on and attempted to get Gerry to understand he was going to need more depth to his coverage.

That went unheeded and when Gerry stumbled a bit, Claypool left the LB in the dust and McLeod was late after dealing with Smith-Schuster.

"It’s empty (set)," said McLeod. "So, we have certain rules in empty sets, where certain individuals are responsible for individuals. On that play, everyone is responsible, typically, corners are responsible for one, safeties are responsible for two.

"In empty sets, it kind of falls on Nate in that situation. Like I said, that’s a tough play for Nate, going against a receiver like Claypool, who’s had a great day versus us as a defense and us as defensive backs. Like I said, Ben saw it and we have to live with that play."

In other words, tip that cap.

Pederson, meanwhile, also kept pounding on that sentiment on Monday.

"Ultimately it was a touchdown, so obviously we can coach the defense and coach the play a little bit better," the coach explained. "The awareness of where we were on the field, the down, the distance, all that kind of stuff we teach during the week. I mean, listen, it's about awareness, down and distance, could Nate have maybe backed up a touch and tried to keep the play in front of him? Sure.

"The way the coverage was designed, though, from -- listen, it was five wides. It was empty. The safeties had to be wide. Again, it's great execution by the Steelers. I mean, I don't know what else to tell you guys. They recognized the defense, attacked and got the touchdown."

Case closed, at least until Jim Schwartz has to offer up the same explanation on Tuesday.

"It's as much a really good call by the Steelers and really, between Ben and Claypool, then it was the call on defense," said Pederson. "He saw what was going on.”

So what’s next?

"... I'm going to pull out my inner (Patriots head coach) Bill Belichick and say I'm focused on Baltimore."

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM and every Monday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportsMap Radio. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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