Eagles Should Focus on Offensive Basics to Reach Ultimate Goal

It seems pretty clear that the Eagles have made a major commitment towards becoming perhaps the most gimmicky offense in the NFL. They signed Michael Vick, and even with him still sidelined by suspension, they ran 9 Wildcat formations last Sunday against the Saints. Only Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg know what might be in store for us this week with Vick being activated to play.

While coaches have obviously spent considerable time drawing up trick plays in the dirt, a compelling argument can be made that they should be focusing on sharpening up on the basics of an already somewhat unconventional offense. The Eagles are one of a handful of teams that passes more than 60% of the time. This has proven effective for them as they have been a top scoring team, but it does require precision and doesn't need to be complicated further by an array of trick plays.

The Eagles have always added some "wrinkles" to their offense. Mornhinweg indicated in an interview yesterday that Reid's philosophy has been to infuse approximately four to six "special" plays each game into the regular offense. This year, he appears to be doubling down on that philosophy.

So, what's the rub here? A handful of "special plays" have been part of the Eagles typically high scoring offense for years. Besides being entertaining and sometimes explosive, these plays maintain an element of surprise that defenders need to account for as they interpret what is unfolding in front of them, on those gadget plays as well as others. Part of the value of these plays comes from forcing the opponents to watch for it at anytime.

Conversely, the Wildcat formations scream "trick play!" It does not present a variation or twist off of a more normal formation, so the defense does not have to be watching for it when the Eagles line up in their conventional formations.

Another byproduct of the Wildcat formation is that it appears to put players in positions for which they are not physically or experientially equipped, which introduces a much higher probability of someone getting hurt. Last week, DeSean Jackson aggravated a groin injury on a Wildcat formation. It stands to reason that placing smallish receivers in vulnerable positions will eventually result in wear and tear, as well as injury. It also stands to reason that a quarterback is going to be taken out as they are asked to play another position not so well protected by NFL rules.

It is even a little scary seeing Brian Westbrook alone in the backfield taking a direct snap. Everyone would agree that he is instrumental to the team's fortunes in 2009, so wouldn't it make more sense to protect his ailing body as much as possible? Perhaps the team is willing to take the risk of using Vick in more vulnerable formations because they have two other quarterbacks behind Donovan McNabb?

Another argument against the Wildcat relates to the increasing frequency that it is being used around the league. That is taken to another level, when one team increases its own frequency of use. Surely, the uniqueness and element of surprise diminishes, and ultimately the effectiveness. This being true, it begs to ask the question why would you invest in something that know will have declining value?

This leads me to a related question. Wouldn't it be better to invest your time, energy, mental resources and practice repetitions working on parts of the game that will be instrumental and necessary to reach your goal? All games are important in a short NFL season, but the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl.

Perhaps the best argument against gratuitous use of the Wildcat can be summed up in two words- Buddy Ryan. He was a defensive genius as well as an entertaining and somewhat successful coach. But his teams never fulfilled the promise provided by his dynamic defense or talent on the team.

The main reason for this was that Ryan attempted to compliment the dominating defense with an offense that was "hit or miss." It was not built on precision or excellence in execution, but rather the chance that playmaker Randall Cunningham would somehow break a run or throw a touchdown on a fire drill type of play.

By the time the playoffs rolled around, the Eagles had nothing in their offense to count on. Invariably, the opponents would develop a game plan to a account for Cunningham, reduce the probability of those happen chance plays and ultimately send the Eagles to another disappointing playoff loss. And, importantly, the Eagles offensive squad had no confidence or conviction when they took the field that they had a proven scheme and formula for success.

The 2009 Eagles would be wise to consider how they might be creating a similar scenario with their infatuation with the Wildcat formation and gimmick plays. When the season is on the line each week in the big games at the end of the year, even if the trick plays got them a couple cheap scores or higher than average yardage earlier in the year, what will they draw upon to win games when both sides have equal intensity and laser-like focus? History suggests that gadget plays don't get it done in those times. What has been successful, though, is a mindset of the players that exudes confidence that if they execute on what they do best, they will win.

Brees' Saints Breeze Past Mistake Prone Eagles

Just as last week, it was hard to tell where the Eagles performance started and the opponents performance ended. Unlike last week, it was the opposite scenario with Eagles fans wondering if their team was that bad or the Saints are simply that good after the 48-22 drubbing.

The Eagles failed yesterday in all three phases of the game, but were especially bad on special teams. The main culprits were Ellis Hobbs's costly fumble to open the second half as well as some shanked punts and multiple penalties that negatively affected field position all day long. It was going to be a difficult match-up anyway to contain the Saints high powered offense and take advantage of their somewhat vulnerable defense with an inexperienced QB behind center, so it was particularly damaging to have the special teams unit turn in a dismal performance.

Drew Brees wasted no time as he drove the Saints the length of the field with relative ease for a touchdown on the opening drive. Eagles faithful were hoping that after a few adjustments and shedding opening drive jitters, the defense would reverse course similar to a week ago. Unfortunately, the big pass rushing, turnover creating defense never appeared yesterday. Outside of some brief resistance in the second quarter, Brees and the Saints pretty much breezed all day.

Although they surely did not need help, Hobbs' fumble and Kevin Kolb's subsequent interception on the next possession meant the Saints only had to go a total of 46 yards to score 14 points. They barely had to break a sweat, taking only 7 plays to widen their lead to 31-13 and put the Eagles in a catch-up mode that was surely not going to bode well for them.

Kolb had some good moments throughout the day, completing over 60% of his passes, including 2 TD's and racking up 391 yards through the air. The highlight for the day was his 71 yard touchdown strike to a wide open DeSean Jackson on the Eagles first drive. Unfortunately, this performance was marred by three completions to the team in gold and black. The first two interceptions were similar mistakes to those that have haunted him in past outings, namely ill advised throws where he did not see the coverage underneath. And, like the Ravens game last season, the second one turned an attempted scoring pass into a long defensive return for a touchdown. His third interception was meaningless and closed the lopsided game, but it really had no chance as it was badly under thrown.

Besides Kolb, many of the Eagles offensive players played well, if that is possible in a 26 point route? Brent Celek and Jackson continued to look like stars in the making. The line provided time for Kolb to throw, Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy looked good and Jason Avant made several nice catches working the middle of the field, including a touchdown.

One other aspect of the offense that was unappealing is the team's apparent infatuation with gadget plays. On the day, they ran nine "Wildcat" formations, including one with a three man line. Although these "creative" plays bring back memories of those back yard touch football games and might make the highlights on ESPN Sports Center, they do not seem like a recipe for a NFL championship team and would seem to be unnecessarily flirting with injury.

Flanking out QBs and putting slightly built receivers in exposed positions could very well end up with those players lying prone on the football field. It surely does not help the team develop rhythm or the air of confidence to execute in crunch time.

Perhaps the coaches felt they needed to resort to gadgetry to help out Kolb, but the suspicion is that we will see a lot more of this, especially now that the team needs to justify signing Michael Vick. Although they mostly did OK on those plays yesterday, this does not feel like a winning formula from this vantage point.

Another thought that went through my mind yesterday watching the defense was whether the dramatic reversal in performance relates to losing Brian Dawkins' leadership presence? Somehow you can imagine him forcefully reminding his teammates not to get too enamored with their performance against the Panthers and that it was not going to be that easy going forward, especially against the Saints. Who would be filling that role on this year's team?

Very few can tell which way the Eagles head from here. Is it the Dr Jekyll from week 1 or the Mr Hyde from week 2? What a difference a week makes. Lets hope that the Special Teams unit tightens up over the week, the defense summons their Buddy Ryan spirit again and the offense dumbs things down a little to focus on flawless execution. If so, the Eagles could slip by a weaker Chiefs team, heal Donovan's broken ribs over the bye week and come back ready to fulfill its promise in week 5.