The Secret to the Eagles’ Short-Week Success

The Eagles have a chance to notch their second win of the season on Thursday night, a night when the organization is a perfect 5-0 during the Doug Pederson era

PHILADELPHIA - Which interval do you want to focus on?

The Eagles are a dismal 1-4-1 so far in the 2020 season. On the other hand, the organization is a perfect 4-0 on Thursday Night Football during the Doug Pederson era in advance of the woeful New York Giants making the short trip down the Jersey Turnpike for a midweek affair at Lincoln Financial Field.

Most teams hate a short week, something that limits recovery time from a physical perspective and virtually eliminates any meaningful preparation. Yet, somehow the Eagles have persevered in such circumstances.

“My wife tells me all the time, ‘You can put a game plan together in a day and go win on Thursday night. Why can’t you do that for a Sunday game?’” Pederson joked earlier this week. “She kind of kids me a little that way.”

It's actually an interesting question from Jeannie Pederson so we tried to track down an answer when talking with two of the coach’s coordinators and quarterback Carson Wentz.

Defensive chief Jim Schwartz is typically very game-specific when it comes to his planning. 

For instance, with Baltimore and a powerful running game and tight end-centric passing game on tap in Week 6, Schwartz moved Jalen Mills back inside to deal with TE Mark Andrews and allowed slot cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman to play outside because getting the football outside the numbers is not the strength of Lamar Jackson.

That kind of detail isn’t a path forward with a truncated week.

"We take every team independently of their past," Schwartz said Tuesday when asked about the short week and how much previous knowledge of NYG offensive coordinator Jason Garrett helps. "But after we get done all of our breakdowns, then we can sort of DNA match it and say we have some carryover here and there's a certain percentage of carryover, obviously different personnel and things like that, but there is a certain percentage of carryover."

For special teams coordinator Dave Fipp the expedited process provides a sense of urgency, almost a shock to the system.

"As far as the Thursday night games, I really enjoy Thursday night games," said Fipp. "Obviously, my body is not as beat up as some of these players, so it’s probably a little bit different for them.

“For me I really enjoy it, both teams are under the same circumstances. You are both coming off a Sunday game. You got to hurry and get ready, but you got to hustle up, get ready, and get ready to play the next game. That's always enjoyable for us, for me. I like that."

Wentz is one of those banged-up players after getting hit 16 times against Baltimore.

"I mean, it’s still Tuesday," he said. "At the end of the day, it’s still Tuesday. We just played. Quick turnaround. Trying to convince my body that it’s Friday. I think that’s the challenge for everybody on these short weeks.

“You play a lot of snaps in a game and you have to turn around on Thursday night. It can be a challenge. But that’s a big point of emphasis, is finding a way to maximize your recovery to get back out there on Thursday. And for me, I’m doing fine. I’ll be just fine come Thursday night, I’ll take care of myself and we’ll be fine."

When it comes to the on-the-field process Wentz explained that a streamlined week helps some play faster.

"You do kind of go back to 'ok, what do we do best, what's kind of our DNA?,'" Wentz told SI.com's EagleMaven. "But, it is still game-planning. There is still that involved. Maybe it's dialed back a little. Maybe it's simplified a little bit. Just because you don't have those reps. Maybe you're not adding as much stuff situationally so I think guys will use that and play fast and respond really well on Thursday night."

While counterintuitive to most, in the past short weeks have forced the Eagles, from Pederson on down, to use the K.I.S.S. principle -- keep it simple stupid.

“It’s more of a narrow focus,” said Pederson. “It’s all about mental preparation over the physical.”

And why the success?

"It’s a great question and it’s one you’d have to think long and hard on why that’s the case," Wentz said. "I think guys just enjoy the opportunity on national television first of all, under the lights is always fun and gets you kind of excited a little bit extra, but it helps that we just play fast.

“We don’t overcomplicate things, we don’t do anything crazy, and the same thing for the defenses. They don’t usually have a whole lot of new stuff, so you can really just watch the tape and go play and let you guys make plays and play fast. I think we’ve done a good job of that over the years and hopefully, we can continue that streak."

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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