To Beat The Dolphins, The Eagles Need To Get Physical
The Eagles face by far their toughest test of the season this weekend. The Dolphins offense is as explosive as it gets. Are their numbers a little inflated by beating up on the Broncos, Giants, and Panthers? Sure. But they are still the most dangerous offense in the league. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert, and of course Tua Tagovailoa himself,a ll present serious threats. They lead in almost every offensive metric, and in some cases the gap between them and the second team is wide.
But the Eagles have a very clear plan to try and stop them. And Sean Desai told you himself what they plan to do. In his Tuesday press conference, Desai talked about his approach to beating a team with elite speed. The takeaway? “Speed can hurt you, but physicality can hurt speed.”
And later in the week, Tim McManus joined ‘The Best Show Ever?’ and gave his thoughts on what Desai meant by that, and how the Eagles will approach trying to stop the Dolphins’ offense.
“I love that line. There is a lot of truth to it. And I think that it tells you exactly what the Eagles are going to try and do in this game. They will try and make it a brawl. So what does that mean from the defensive side of the ball? Number one is that they have to win at the line of scrimmage, they have to wreak havoc in the backfield, and they have to get after Tua.
It puts a highlight and a focus on the strength of this team. Jalen Carter, Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat… This has to be their game. As good as the corners are for the Eagles, it has been proven through 6 weeks that there is nobody stopping this attack. Certainly not going mano a mano. So you are just going to have to get Tua off of his spot.”
And that is one thing the Eagles have done great all season long. Yes, their sack numbers aren’t as high as last year. But they are still 6th in Pass Rush Win Rate, and 7th in sacks per game. Josh Sweat is behind only Michah Parsons in QB pressures, and despite missing last week, Jalen Carter is still first among DTs with 25 QB pressures. Haason Reddick had a slow start to the season, but now has 3 straight weeks with a sack, and 2 straight with multiple sacks.
That is the way this defense wins. Darius Slay returning will help a banged-up secondary a lot. But no matter how good Bradberry and Slay are, if Tua has time, the Dolphins are going to score points. Tyreek Hill is too good and too fast. But if he doesn’t have time to beat his guys deep, then they can’t pull off deep plays. So it falls on the best unit the Eagles have to do what they do best. Get after the QB. Put pressure on Tua, and force him into quick decisions. And then when he makes those quick throws, make your tackles. Dont let them get yards after the catch. Which is where the physicality comes in for the Corners.
It is all easier said than done. But it is not like the Dolphins offense has been flawless all season. The Bills held them to 20 points. In that game, Tua was sacked 4 times and hit 9 times. The Bills pulled off the gameplan the Eagles will be attempting to do this weekend. They also got out to an early lead and forced the Dolphins to be more one-dimensional, which helped.
So some of the onus on stopping the Dolphins also falls on the offense showing up. Not just by sustaining long drives, as the Eagles have done all year long. But finishing them, and scoring TDs.
You can listen to the full conversation with Tim McManus below:
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Philadelphia Eagles Projected 2023 Week 7 Starters
Jalen Hurts
Quarterback, #1
Oklahoma University/University of Alabama
4th NFL Season- Drafted in 2nd Round (53rd overall) in 2020D'Andre Swift
Running Back, #0
University of Georgia
4th NFL season- Acquired in a trade from Detroit Lions (April 2023)A.J. Brown
Wide Receiver, #11
Ole Miss
5th NFL season- Acquired in a trade from Tennessee Titans (April 2022)DeVonta Smith
Wide Receiver, #6
University of Alabama
3rd NFL Season- Drafted in 1st Round (10th overall) in 2021Olamide Zaccheaus
Wide Receiver, #13
University of Virginia
5th NFL Season, Signed in Free Agency (April 2023)Dallas Goedert
Tight End, #88
South Dakota State
6th NFL Season- Drafted in 2nd Round (48th overall) in 2018Jordan Mailata
Left Tackle, #68
Jeff Stoutland University
6th NFL Season- Drafted in 7th Round (233rd overall) in 2018Landon Dickerson
Left Guard, #69
University of Alabama
3rd NFL Season- Drafted in 2nd Round (37th overall) in 2021Jason Kelce
Center, #62
University of Cincinnati
13th NFL Season- Drafted in 6th Round (191st overall) in 2011Sua Opeta
Right Guard, #78
Weber State University
4th NFL Season, Signed as Undrafted Free Agent (November 2019)Lane Johnson
Left Tackle, #69
Oklahoma University
11th NFL Season- Drafted in 1st Round (4th overall) in 2013Josh Sweat
Defensive End, #94
Florida State
6th NFL Season- Drafted in 4th Round (130th overall) in 2018Fletcher Cox
Defensive Tackle, #91
Mississippi State
12th NFL Season- Drafted in 1st Round (12th overall) in 2012Jordan Davis
Defensive Tackle, #90
University of Georgia
2nd NFL Season- Drafted in 1st Round (13th overall) in 2022Milton Williams
Defensive Tackle, #93
Louisiana Tech
3rd NFL Season, Drafted in 3rd Round (73rd Overall) in 2021Haason Reddick
Edge Rusher/Linebacker, #7
Temple University
7th NFL Season- Signed in Free Agency (March 2022)Nakobe Dean
Linebacker, #17
University of Georgia
2nd NFL Season- Drafted in 3rd Round (83rd overall) in 2022Zach Cunningham
Linebacker, #52
Vanderbilt University
7th NFL Season- Signed in Free Agency (August 2023)Darius Slay
Cornerback, #2
Mississippi State
11th NFL Season- Acquired in trade from Detroit Lions (March 2020)James Bradberry
Cornerback, #24
University of Arkansas/Samford University
8th NFL Season- Signed in Free Agency (May 2022)Terrell Edmunds
Safety, #26
Virginia Tech
6th NFL Season- Signed in Free Agency (March 2023)Sydney Brown
Safety, #21
University of Illinois
1st NFL Season, Drafted in 3rd Round (66th Overall) in 2023
