Eagles-Commanders Film Review: Vic Fangio’s defense is young, aggressive, and talented

Ooh, baby, this Philadelphia Eagles efense is good. It’s cool watching a Vic Fangio defense ball out. This defense is young, aggressive, and talented. This performance against the Washington Commanders was a fun one.

(Previously: Eagles-Commanders offensive film review.)

At the start of the year, I remember the Eagles could not stop teams having success when using bunches. In one of these articles, I sarcastically wrote that Fangio should start using the ‘box’ call where you use four defenders to distribute the opposing three receivers. I wrote this sarcastically because I learned about the ‘box’ call from reading articles on Fangio’s defense! It appears the Eagles’ defense was slow at the start because Fangio was taking his time and giving his players time to learn the intricacies of the defense. It looks like a Fangio defense now. Look how good the communication and route distribution is.

Zack Baun isn’t bad either, is he? This is perfect coverage from a linebacker. He reads the quarterback’s eyes and makes a fantastic play on the ball. Pay the man.

Reed Blankenship also plays this really well, and he’s fantastic being the ‘Trix’ safety (meaning he is away from the passing strength, which has three receivers, so he looks that way rather than the side he is lined up on), and he may have broken this play up anyway.

The one issue I saw from the defense this week was covering the flats. This makes me look like an idiot because I raised it as a strength last week! It does show you how week-to-week the NFL is. The Eagles had trouble when Washington was in 21 personnel and used motion and play-action, so I’m not too worried, as not many teams run 21 personnel a lot, but it’s something to watch out for.

In the past month, I’ve only posted amazing plays by Zack Baun. So, I thought I would include a missed tackle. To prove he’s human. If his agent reads this, I hope he realizes that Baun’s play is now guaranteed to decline, and he should immediately sign the Eagles contract offer. It’s the best for everyone.

Nakobe Dean is playing so well at the moment. This is another ‘box’ call where the Eagles play 4-over-3 to the bunch side and distribute the routes evenly. Jayden Daniels refuses the checkdown and hopes he can beat Dean in space. I don’t think there are many linebackers that Daniels does not believe he can beat one-on-one in space. Nakobe Dean makes a fantastic play and forces the punt. This is a challenging play for a linebacker to make in space and it highlights how well Dean is playing right now.

Washington left their guards one-on-one with Jalen Carter quite a lot, and to be honest, I thought Sam Cosmi actually did a good job against him. However, playing well against Jalen Carter doesn’t mean you shut him out. I’m not sure any guard in the league can stop Carter from making plays. He made a handful of freakishly athletic plays in this game, and I was glad that the broadcast kept highlighting him because he deserves national recognition. The guy is going to be a complete superstar. I’ve been saying it since I scouted him pre-draft!

Sometimes, I think analysts like myself can get a bit obsessed with the X&Os and the finer details. It’s fun to learn about the scheme. But it’s important not to forget that the basics are always the most essential part of winning football games. I don’t care how good your defensive coordinator is and how good the scheme is. If the players are not giving 100% effort and rallying to the football on every play, then you won’t be a top defense. High-level effort matters hugely. Now, effort and coaching are intrinsically linked. Because players will give effort when they know it will lead to rewards. Right now, this defense is playing tough. It is obvious that they trust the scheme and know it is working. This is such an excellent play to see. This was not the only play I saw rallying to the football. Check out Jalen Carter above on play 4. Nolan Smith made another play out in space on a screen pass. This defense is playing fast and aggressive. I love it.

Fangio’s disciples have a bit of a reputation for being a bit passive on important downs. Fangio was anything but passive in this game. He was aggressive with blitzes and man coverage on 3rd downs. He would stack the box in short yardage. It won’t always work, but seeing a defense that wasn’t predictable was good. He used some unique looks, such as the one below, to try to confuse Jayden Daniels. This may be an odd comment, but I don’t think the Eagles’ coverage was ‘as good’ as it looked live. On the all22, it was evident that guys were open at times. But Daniels didn’t know what he was looking at. He was confused on a lot of plays and missed open receivers. That points to the defensive coordinator doing a good job mixing up his looks.

My favorite part of the game plan was how aggressive Fangio was in short yardage. He didn’t want to give up easy first downs and came out with this aggressive front in short-yardage situations. This defensive front must weigh a lot. Brandon Graham is still such a versatile defensive lineman. He looks like he could play as a defensive tackle at times. He is so stout in the run game. He’s the only Eagles’ defensive lineman who can line up as an EDGE and then kick inside as a defensive tackle while Baun takes his position at EDGE. This gives the Eagles a lot of versatility and unpredictability pre-snap. BG maybe 36, but the Eagles do not have another defensive lineman like him. We are going to miss him when he goes.

Nolan Smith is developing nicely as this season progresses. He’s still a much better run defender than a pass rusher, and he doesn’t consistently impact the quarterback, but he is making splash plays such as the one below. As much as I would like to see consistent pressure from him, considering where he was a pass rusher last season, I am perfectly happy with the occasional splash play from him. His athleticism in space and aggressiveness against the run makes him a very handy EDGE rusher. He might not be perfect and still has a lot he could improve on, but he’s had a good 2nd season.

The best sequence of the game was the turnover on downs the Eagles caused. Rarely, a good NFL offense can’t convert from 2nd and 1, but the Eagles defended that yard like the game depended on it. What I liked about this sequence was that every play involved someone different and a different look from Fangio. It wasn’t just one player making the same play every time. The first one was all about Jalen Carter. This one-arm club move is so difficult to stop, and he creates havoc with it every week. Even if a defensive lineman makes a play in the backfield, he will need support from other defenders to stop the back from falling forward for one yard. He got support here from Nakobe Dean.

Jordan Davis deserves the most credit for the stop on 3rd and 1. He does a fantastic job blowing up this run, but just like on 2nd and 1, he can’t do it alone. Baun and BG do a really good job cleaning up and stopping the running back from falling forward.

The final stop on 4th and 1 was just a ridiculous play from Baun. I didn’t realize live that he was lined up at EDGE and had to take on a pulling guard. Being able to take on a pulling lineman in space, get off that block, and still make the tackle for loss is outrageous. He’s so good. I joke about it every week, but the Eagles really do need to sign him.

I can’t think of many Eagles’ defenses over the past few years who would have made a stop on 2nd and 1, 3rd and 1, and 4th and 1. That’s impressive stuff, especially as short yardage is not something we associate with Fangio’s defense!

I feel like Reed Blankenship is the most underrated Eagles’ defender. He’s rarely spoken about, but he rarely has a bad game. How often do you watch a game and notice Blankenship make many mistakes? He just goes under the radar. It’s a little surprising because his ball skills are outstanding.

This is a high-quality interception. Jayden Daniels reads this correctly and expects Blankenship to take the post route which would leave the intermediate route open. Techincally, Blankenship probably should take the post route. But he reads Daniels’ eyes and knows he isn’t going to throw the post route, so he jumps in front of the intermediate route. This is awesome. I think it also shows Blankenship’s trust in Quinyon Mitchell, as he has faith that he could cover the post route if it is thrown.

This was a good performance against a good offense. Sean McVay’s Rams will bring a very different challenge, so I’m excited to see this defense go to work once again.

Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here.