Doug Pederson expects Isaac Seumalo to start against the Giants | Forum

The Eagles head coach had a lot to say on Monday following the team’s afternoon loss to the Vikings. Players have started chiming in on their concerns and Doug Pederson is now having to answer for those Rodney McLeod Jerseys Stitched , including why Isaac Seumalo got the start and how they plan to avoid self-inflicted wounds.Pederson spoke to the media about whether there’s discord in the locker room, and whether the group is still getting over their Super Bowl hangover.Here’s what the head coach had to say:On Ajayi’s quote about runningPederson’s first question of the day was regarding the comments made by running back Jay Ajayi following Sunday’s loss. Ajayi had said that they team has success when running the ball, and needed to do that more often — not just in opening drives, but throughout the contest.The head coach agreed, but pointed out that when they are having success with the run game, they try and stick to it. He noted that they had seven carries in one drive in the second half and it ended up in a turnover near the endzone — a turnover by Ajayi, so I’m considering this a bit of shade from Pederson.He continued to talk about how it’s challenging to commit to the run when they were playing from behind for so much of the game.“I’d love to run the football, and I think our guys are good at it,” Pederson noted. “But at the same time we can’t get behind in football games because sometimes the running won’t allow you to get back fast enough.”Pederson was then asked if the Eagles needed to establish the run earlier, in order to create more options later on, pointing out that the first four plays were passes on Sunday. The head coach was quick to note that the first play was an RPO, so there was a 50/50 chance that it ended up on the ground.He also talked about only having six offensive plays in the first quarter, and it going back to what he was saying last week, about the offense needing to get started faster and stay on the field longer. Pederson said that the team has had the most success when they are able to get on the board during the first drive and take the lead, opening up those rushing options throughout the rest of the contest.On offensive line changesThe head coach was asked why Isaac Seumalo started over Stephen Wisniewski, and Pederson said sometimes they evaluate players and if they need to make a change, they do. The team had faith in Seumalo getting the start, and Pederson also acknowledged that Seumalo had taken all the first team reps in practice in the week leading up to Sunday.Pederson was asked a follow-up about Wisniewski saying him being benched wasn’t performance related, although was unwilling to elaborate. The head coach smirked and said he wasn’t aware of whatever theory he may have about it, but that everything they do and every move they make is based around performance.He was then asked point blank if he felt pressure to play high draft picks, but the head coach was quick to shoot that down, “Not at all. I have no idea where that theory is coming from.”Looking for additional answers, a reporter pointed out that Seumalo hadn’t lined up in the guard position during the offseason, but was strictly being used at center. It was this line of thinking that made Pederson audibly chuckle, tilt his head, and continue:He went on to list most of the lineman and where they line up, and noted that Seumalo is a guy they feel comfortable with at all five spots. Pederson continued that Isaac is a year older, has been doing well in practice, and he’s earned an opportunity to play.Overall Youth Brandon Brooks Jerseys , Pederson would say that Seumalo played well on Sunday, and noted that it’s hard to make some personnel shifts on a short week and therefore expects the same starting lineup on Thursday against the Giants.It would be easy to put the issues on the offensive line, but there are things to point the finger out throughout the entire offense, Pederson acknowledged. He went on to say it’s not just one position, or one unit, and the issues have changed week-to-week, but there is definitely enough blame to go around for the issues they’ve had so far this season.On comparisons to 2016Pederson said that he can appreciate where some of the players are coming from in comparing the start to this season with the 7-9 season from 2016. He admitted that it certainly feels similar — particularly with regards to the mistakes they are making.He said those types of mistakes are something at least that everyone, from the coaches to players, is on the same page with and now committed to improving. Pederson noted he told the team yesterday post-game that championship teams cannot make these kinds of mistakes and expect to win.On coming off a Super Bowl seasonPederson was later asked if it was challenging to try and keep the same energy from a Super Bowl-winning season, in back-to-back years. He admitted that it is difficult. The head coach said those are things you have to guard against, as well as guard against what the new picture of success looks like and how that can distract players and coaches.He also talked about losing a month-plus that other teams had, pushing back some of the injury recovery times and offseason preparation. Pederson said that’s where they’re at now, is seeing that timeline others had to get back to the field.The head coach didn’t second guess letting some of the veteran players, and those coming back from an injury, take some additional rest during training camp. With a shortened offseason he thought — and still does — that they needed more time before getting back to 100%.Pederson did say his team is hungry and has really embraced the challenge of coming back to compete after a Super Bowl win. He pointed out that he can see it in the way that they practice and how they handle themselves during the week, but it’s just not carrying over into the games they way it needs to be.“The energy level is there. The effort is there,” Pederson noted. “We’re just self-inflicting ourselves with explosive plays on defense, penalties.”Speaking of penalties...Pederson was asked how the penalties seem to keep compounding. He agreed that part of the problem is guys trying too hard not to make a mistake that they end up putting a little extra pressure on themselves to perform, which he admitted isn’t the best way for them to play.Also, when asked about the flag on Michael Bennett for roughing the passer, all Pederson would say is, “the rules are the rules”.On discord among the teamSomeone pointed out that with Ajayi’s comments about the run game, Wiz’s comments about a theory for his benching, and the obvious exchange of words between Fletcher Cox and Jalen Mills on Sunday, some may be concerned that there is some discord among a group that has at times seemed incredibly close.On what he sees in the locker room, Pederson said he sees a group of guys working their tails off and competing to play, and guys who are upset with how things are going so far. He also noted, that he sees leaders on the team stepping up and leading — which is what they need right now.He said he could see how in another situation, these things would lead to even more issues Brandon Brooks Jerseys Stitched , but having guys stand up and hold their teammates accountable is a good thing.Crunching The Numbers: Week 5 Welcome to the first post in the 2018 edition of Crunching The Numbers! This is a weekly game preview where I play “armchair coach” based on certain statistics. I start in Week 5 because making predictions and judgments based off of small sample sizes is what you might call “misguided.” I only compile four statistics for insight: yards per pass attempt, sack percentage, time of possession, and yards per point. For more information on why I chose these metrics, and for background on my methodology in general, check out an archive of past Crunching The Numbers posts in this hub.Week 4 In Hindsight (and a plug) Before getting to the actual preview of the game, there are two topics I want to cover quickly. The first is a shameless self-promotion. Astute readers may have noticed my Twitter handle on this article has changed. That’s because that I’ve finally come to admit that as much as I would love contributing more to this site, life simply gets in the way too often. But I still want to share my thoughts with the community, so I’m making a more concerted effort to be active on Twitter, hence the rebranding of the handle to something less “AOL Instant Messenger.” For the past few years, my Twitter has been objectively “not lit,” and I want to change that. Starting with this week’s game, you’ll see me retweeting news and articles with my own commentary, offering small bites on the upcoming matchups, and live-tweeting the game action. Instead of getting my crazy commentary in the form of a ranting 1400+ word article here, you’ll see a steady stream of it throughout the week in small, digestible nuggets that are 280 characters or fewer. A lot of you already follow me (thanks!), but if you don’t, please allow me to shout football-related opinions through your computer screen via my new handle, @Harkenfootball.Enough about me. Onto the Eagles. Namely, what’s going on with them? They don’t look great. At the moment, I’m not hitting the panic button - the Patriots seemingly start 2-2 every season before hitting high gear - but I am concerned. Thankfully, I think their three biggest problems (pass protection, secondary play, and penalties) are all correctable.Penalties are self-explanatory: they just need more discipline. I’m not sure if you can really bench anyone along the offensive line at this point, but maybe some jumbo package plays (or at least some chips) until they get out of their funk can do them some good. They have two great pass-catching tight ends. It might be time to draw up plays where they’re in-line instead of out wide. Yes, this does limit your offense a bit, but running spread doesn’t work either if your quarterback is being crushed every play.The secondary is a different beast altogether. Schwartz might be stubborn at times, but I’m confident he will find a way to adjust for the devastating loss of McCleod. It seems fairly obvious that he assumed Corey Graham and Avonte Maddox would just split McCleod’s duties and at least provide an adequate level of play Youth Stefen Wisniewski Jerseys , but after one game it is clear that is not the case. Mills is also now a regular liability with the defense, but Schwartz loves him, and I’m not sure exactly what you do with him. Would he really be that much better inside against today’s slot receivers? I couldn’t imagine him effectively covering a receiver like Agholor all game. And are the players off the bench all that much better? One thing I would like to see is for Rasul Douglas to rotate in for red zone subpackages. He is notoriously slow, but that weakness is mitigated when there’s only thirty yards and a safety over the top behind you. Plus, the dude is the best pure ball hawk in the secondary and has great hands. If the Eagles can’t stop their opponents from marching down the field without McCleod, they can at least do what they can to force turnovers near the goal line.Okay I’m 650 words in and haven’t even talked about the upcoming game. Let’s take a look! For reference, statistics in bold indicate that team has the advantage, while the number in parenthesis is the league rank, for reference.Game Preview: Minnesota VikingsOn paper, the Vikings have simply been executing better than the Eagles, Bills game aside. Overall, though, these teams are not really that much different. They’re both struggling to score efficiently on offense (though the Vikings have a higher variance with this) and haven’t really been able to push the ball down the field, with the caveat that the Eagles’ YPA is tainted by that first week of Nick Foles. But apart from that, what specifically should we be keep in mind when watching the game Sunday?Eagles OffenseAs the Talking Heads sang in their song Psycho Killer, “run run run run, run run run away.” The Vikings may only have an average pass rush right now, but with the Eagles’ pass blocking as poor as it’s been, that might be enough to murder Carson. They can neutralize this by running a lot of stretch, sweep, and wham plays, with some traps sprinkled in too. These are run plays designed to get the ball carrier out towards the perimeter and stretch the defense. Their interior run blocking hasn’t been awful, so these calls would be most effective when the Vikings show blitz. Additionally, running the ball helps the Eagles play keep away (something they’ve always been good at under Doug), which could be necessary if Minnesota’s offense truly hit its stride last week and the Eagles’ pass defense does not improve.Additionally, they should incorporate more screen passes, and maybe some tight end throwbacks and quick slants. Again, this will help neutralize the rush, and it might honestly be more effective than asking Smallwood to pass block. It cannot be stressed enough how much the pass blocking is the linchpin of the offense’s struggles Stefen Wisniewski Jerseys Stitched , and so the Eagles should spend the early part of the game focusing on fast-developing rhythm passes, much like what the Giants did last year against the Eagles. Getting the tight ends involved early will be crucial, especially since Anthony Barr is a massive liability in pass coverage. Once the defense starts to cheat (or the offensive line shows signs of life), then you open up the downfield passing game by play-action, or even faking the screen.Eagles DefenseKurt Croutons eviscerated a Rams defense missing Aqib Talib last week and will be facing an Eagles secondary that has similarly struggled after losing a key player to injury. Their 17.3 Y/PT tells me that the Vikings have difficulty punching the ball in, meaning that if I’m Schwartz I’m doing whatever I can to avoid long scores and force the Vikings to overcome the Eagles red zone defense. My two suggestions for this both involve abandoning the Cover 3 Schwartz loves so much, which is a bit unfortunate since that’s the best way to deploy Malcolm Jenkins. Cover 3 also makes Mills into a liability, which through four games has more or less offset Jenkins’ impact. Since they have two great coverage linebackers, my suggestion is to either at least show Cover 2 prior to the snap, or actually run it, to take away the deep ball regardless of where it comes from. If you don’t want to move Jenkins out of the box, then go with something of a hybrid man-zone scheme where you ask Darby to play man on the outside and shade the single-high safety over to whomever Mills is covering. Darby, in theory, should have the speed to keep up with his guy, but he has also struggled to play well this season, so that strategy might (admittedly) be ill-advised.Closing ThoughtsWe’re five weeks into the season and both teams find themselves in what are essentially “must win games,” especially with the Rams cruising to a 4-0 start. On the whole, the Vikings have looked better than the Eagles this year, but have the disadvantage of playing on the road. Regardless, it has become clear that Philadelphia needs to significantly adjust what they’re doing on both offense and defense in order to remain competitive, whether it’s through screen passes, outside runs, or mixed coverages. I still believe that this is a good football team, and that Doug is one of the best coaches in the league, but now is the time to shut down any creeping narratives that they may have been a one-year wonder.