from philly.com <<Did the Colts provide the rest of the NFL a blueprint for beating the Eagles' vaunted defense? No, say the Birds.>> i hope the Birds are right, as we know everybody is studying that game film. Max
<<Defensive resurgence in Cards?
Eagles expect to rebound against Arizona
By LES BOWEN
bowenl@phillynews.com
THE EAGLES' defensive players say they are over the shock and humiliation of Sunday's 35-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, in which coordinator Jim Johnson's proud unit gave up more touchdowns in one afternoon than it had allowed in the previous four games combined.
As the Eagles talk about bouncing back and putting aside those searing memories of being torched by Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, a troubling question remains: Did this game give opposing offenses a blueprint, a guide to carving up the Birds' sophisticated blitz schemes? Can we expect more of the same?
Not surprisingly, the Eagles don't think so, as they prepare for Sunday's game against Jake Plummer and the Arizona Cardinals. The 6-3 Birds know a second successive loss in this season of great expectations would send their excitable fan base spiraling into panic.
Check out the entire EAGLES PLAYBOOK for the game against the Cards, and check in to BARK'S BYTES to tell us what the score will be. Winner gets a T-shirt and a spotlight to tell us why you were right!
"Anybody that's struggled against this defense, they're going to say, 'We've got to pick up some of the things Indianapolis did.' But the thing about Jim is, they won't see that again. The things we did wrong that tipped off the Colts or whatever, they won't look the same this week," said linebacker Ike Reese, who was at the epicenter of Sunday's disaster, filling in for the injured Carlos Emmons. "And part of that was Peyton; not all quarterbacks can do those things, or we would get exposed every week...they may see [some of the things Manning saw] but they can't do it."
Free safety Brian Dawkins agreed.
"We don't use the same blitzes every week. We use different packages," Dawkins said. "I'm not worried about that."
Plummer isn't Manning, but he can give the Eagles trouble, as he has shown in compiling a 3-1 record as a starter at the Vet. Upper-echelon quarterbacks tend to beat the Birds, and Plummer has certainly put himself in that category when playing against them, anyway.
The Cards' media guide lists 16 game-winning comebacks Plummer has led, in which his team was tied or losing in the fourth quarter. Five have come against the Eagles, including Plummer's most recent visit, the 21-20 Arizona victory on Oct. 7, 2001, in which Plummer hit MarTay Jenkins for a 35-yard TD pass with 9 seconds left in regulation.
"We caught 'em in blitzes last year," Plummer recalled earlier this week. "Sometimes you can catch 'em if you man it up, block it up...Last year, we caught 'em with a big play...If you can make a big play against their blitzes, they tend to back off a little bit."
Plummer agreed that the Colts "had a great game plan," against the Eagles, but he didn't seem to think it would be all that valuable to the Cards, who this season have shown more of a run-based offense.
"A team is going to do what they do best," Eagles middle linebacker Levon Kirkland said. "They can steal a play or two, but they're not going to steal the whole playbook."
Johnson said Manning's much-discussed smart reads were only part of the problem. The other part of the problem, he said, was that "everything we did, we were a step slow. We were a step slow on our blitzes, we were a step slow on our coverage, and we weren't very good against the run."
Johnson said Manning can probably figure out clues to coverage in reading most of the defenses he faces. Not all QBs are able to audible as well and as often as Manning, who would bring his team to the line of scrimmage early and then spend 10 seconds or more changing or pretending to change his calls.
"I know that system a little bit," Johnson said. "He gives a lot of dummy audibles...The game came down to coverage. I really believe our coverage was soft, and I told our guys that...You've got to respect Marvin. I think we respected him a little too much, and it came down to showing some of the blitzes too much. Especially on third down."
Contrary to Plummer's memory, Johnson recalled being able to pressure him pretty well. The Eagles have won three of their last four against the Cards.
"We've been able to pressure him a little bit, but he'll throw the ball," Johnson said yesterday. "One thing about Jake is, he will not take a sack. That's why he doesn't take a lot of sacks, he'll throw the ball up in the air. The thing you worry about with him is his scrambling ability."
Plummer will be missing All-Pro wide receiver David Boston, out for the season with a knee injury. Last season, Boston set a franchise receiving yardage record with 1,598, on 98 catches, with eight TDs. He'd caught 32 passes in eight games this season before being sidelined.
Eagles linebacker Shawn Barber said discipline will be important against Plummer's scrambling.
"He's very mobile and he has good vision," Barber said. "He creates enough time for his receivers to get open. We'll have to be sure to stay in our coverage until he crosses the line of scrimmage, because if you come up, that's when he'll throw over you.">> |
