November 24, 2015

For Eagles defense, long runs are the new long passes

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Julio Cortez/AP

Tremendous news: If you take away the Buccaneers' 171 yards on three rushes last Sunday, the Eagles did an otherwise average job of stopping the run.

In 2014, the Eagles allowed 72 pass plays of 20+ yards, which was the third-most in the NFL since the league starting tracking that stat in 1991. In 2015, the Eagles are getting gashed on the ground instead.

Through 10 games, the Eagles have allowed nine runs of 20+ yards. Only two teams have allowed more. Four of those runs have gone for 40+ yards, which leads the NFL.

Against the Buccaneers last Sunday, Doug Martin had runs of 58, 86, and 27 yards. Three carries, 171 yards. If you're an optimist (we'll be kind and say "optimist"), then the point can be made that the rest of the Bucs' rushing attempts went for a reasonable amount of yardage.

"In the run game, there were 38 plays that totaled 97 yards that don't need fixing," said defensive coordinator Bill Davis. "They were alright... There were three problem plays that need to be fixed that had multiple issues on each one of them, and they went for 170 yards, some 50-something yard average for those three plays that we've got to get fixed."

Ya think? Long runs on the ground in the NFL really aren't all that common. In fact, since 1991, the record for the most 40+ yard rushes allowed in a single season is held by the 2012 Atlanta Falcons, who allowed what seems like a low figure (at least for it to be an NFL record) of eight. Only five teams allowed seven in a season during that span. In the NFL, a lot has to go wrong on all three levels of the defense to get a 40+ yard run.

"On those three plays we had misfits, missed tackles, and bad angles," said Davis. "And when you do that in the run game, and you give up an 80, and a 50, and a 40, you are going to have a game like we had, where it's just ugly. But I guess the good news is that 38 of them don't need fixing, but the other three damn well have to be fixed."

That is indeed terrific news.