From the Desk of Eagles Outsider Barry Bowe

Wednesday Nights

I usually listen to Ron Jaworski and Joe DeCamara on The Fanatic on Wednesday nights. Since last night was a Wednesday, I listened.

Now, for your information, a word I try to avoid using in the world of sports, in general, and in the world of sports-radio, in particular, is “great” – because there are rarely – if ever – great sports-radio shows. Based on the host(s) and the content, the shows range from bad to fair to good – but they are rarely great.

But last night’s show was great as Jaws and Joe broke down some key points.

Initial Disagreement

Although when the show started, Jaws said something I vehemently disagreed with. He was talking about NFL coaches in general and Chip Kelly specifically.

Jaws said that “coaches coach what they know” and don’t change their schemes. Therefore, Chip wasn’t going to change.

That comment moved me to tweet them.

I lived in South Florida during most of the 1970s – a period in which the Dolphins went to three straight Super Bowls and won two. Don Shula had a great game-manager at quarterback in Bob Griese and a trio of fine running backs in Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Mercury Morris.

Looking at the stats from just those three Super Bowl years, the Dolphins ran a run-heavy offense. He ran the ball almost twice as often as he passed – and gained more yardage running the ball. Talk about ball-control:

• Rushing – 1,398 attempts for 6,956 yards and 49 TDs
• Passing –    766 attempts for 5,762 yards and 51 TDs

A decade later, Shula had a whole new cast that included Dan Marino and the Marks Brothers of Mark Clayton and Mark Duper.

With that cast, Shula revamped his offensive scheme to match the talent. In Marino’s three best, consecutive three-year span, the Dolphins ran a pass-heavy offense. He passed the ball almost 1½ times more often then he ran the ball and about tripled the yardage and TDs:

• Rushing – 1,277 attempts for 5,192 yards and 46 TDs
• Passing –  1,754 attempts for 13,967 yards and 122 TDs

As you can see, Don Shula tailored his offense to best utilize his personnel. He changed his game-planning, changed his play-calling, and changed his formations.

The key word above being “change.”

Getting Back to Jaws and Joe

Jaws and Joe spent a few hours breaking down the Eagles-Cowboys game-film on Tuesday and learned that the Eagles have run 27 running plays from the shotgun formation so far. In 22 of those plays – or 81% of the time – the plays were extremely predictable:

• If the running back lined up to the right of the quarterback, the play ran to the left.
• If the running back lined up to the left of the quarterback, the play ran to the right.

Based on that input alone, is there now any wonder why the Cowboys defensive linemen and linebackers were making tackles in the backfield?

Okay, that’s one point Jaws and Joe exposed. How about another?

No problem. In Chip’s “vaunted” fast-pace offense, the Eagles pretty much run on a fixed-count rhythmic snap. It’s pretty much just “set-hut” and the ball’s snapped.

The defense becomes acclimated to the rhythm quickly. On Sunday, the Cowboys defensive lineman were snapping back the helmets of the Eagles offensive linemen. They were beating the Eagles across the line of scrimmage. Knowing the snap-count was no longer an advantage to the offense.

Okay, that’s two solid points. May I have another?

Yes, sir. And this next one dovetails with the last one.

Ever wonder why the Eagles rarely draw the other team offside – especially on those crucial short-yardage plays?

It’s that rhythmic snap count. There’s neither hard-counts nor hesitations.

There’s no hard counts like “set-HUT” with emphasis. You’ve seen Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning draw many offside penalties in that manner.

There’s no hesitations like “set-HUT-(pause)-HUT-(longer pause).” Those silent pauses make the defenders anxious to get going and sometimes draw them into jumping offside. If you don’t believe me, go back and watch the Eagles first two games and you’ll see Matt Ryan and Tony Romo getting the Eagles to jump.

Okay, that’s three solid points. Any more.

Sure, two more.

The Eagles don’t employ an audible or check-down system.

Have you ever heard the words “Omaha” or “Kill-kill-kill” followed by new sets of instructions come out of Sam Bradford’s mouth?

No, you haven’t. Sam Bradford’s not allowed to look over the defense and make adjustments. Why not?

Slows down Chip’s “vaunted” fast-pace offense.

And today’s last point is one I’ve been screaming about for the last two seasons – put the quarterback under center more often. When running out of the shotgun, you can’t:

• Run a quarterback sneak.
• Give the running backs a running start.
• Use those effective play-action passes.

Dear Chip

You’re not a genius – although for a while it did seem like you were. You’re not the smartest man in the room.

If Jaws and Joe figured out your offense to this extent, you better believe that defensive coordinators around the league have figured out your offense to an even greater extent. Your offense is now predictable. You’re no longer a step ahead – you’re now a step behind.

Most sports are games of adjustments. The rest of the league has adjusted to you. If you truly want to succeed in the NFL, it’s your turn to make adjustments.

But – unfortunately as a lifelong Eagles fan – I fear that you’re not man enough to make those adjustments. I don’t see you swallowing your pride. Like your predecessor, you impress me as someone who’d rather lose doing it his way, than opening his mind, his eyes, and his ears and modifying his way of doing things.

On a personal note, the third guy in the header image is Vince Papale.

Man, I wish I were there yesterday. Almost fifty years ago, I played him head-to-head on the football field. I remember it vividly. I wonder if he has any memory of it at all.

I’ll write about that personal confrontation in a week or two.

In addition to being an official Eagles Outsider, Barry Bowe is also the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
• Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
• Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow
• Soon-to-be-published Birth of the Birds