The Five Most Effective Plays of the Eagles 2008-2009 season

These are the five most effective plays of the 2008 season, as well as what formations they came out of.

This is just a look back at last season- next season the Eagles shold change up the play-calling after adding several pieces to the offense.

Anyways, here are the top five most effective plays of last season, including the playoffs-

*Note: Statistical data is not provided in this piece, it is all generalization

Post Route

The post route can be either a moderate or deep route, in which a receiver runs about ten yards straight down the field and then cuts towards the middle at a 45 degree angle.

This pass play resulted in some of the most memorable plays from this past season, with DeSean Jackson making most of them.

It was on a post route that he dropped the ball at the one at Dallas and caught the go-ahead touchdown against Arizona in the NFC championship.

The post can be run out of several formations. In the NFC championship, for example, the Eagles lined up in a three receiver set, with Curtis motioning in the backfield. Westbrook and Klecko were also lined up in the I formation.

(Pictured above is a diagram of this play)

The Eagles love to get the ball to Brian Westbrook in space, and they commonly do this by calling screen plays.

However, the screen was not called as often as it has been the past few seasons, due in large part to the aging of offensive tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan.

Because of that, Reid had to be a bit creative in how he put Westbrook into space. One way he did this was by calling a "jerk" route.

The jerk route is sometimes called out of a split backfield, with two receivers and a single tight end. Basically, the x receiver can run several different routes, but usually he runs a post. The Z receiver also runs a crossing route.

The "B" running back runs towards the sideline, while the tight end(Y) runs a corner fade. This allows the running back(A) to get into the middle of the field, and usually he gets matched up one on one with a linebacker.

With Westbrook, this is a matchup nightmare for defenses.

Screen Pass

Despite the dropoff in the number of called screen plays last year, it was still a big part of the Eagles' offensive attack.

Westbrook was banged up with multiple injuries last year, but his electric speed still allowed him to excel whenever a screen play was called.

He is probably the best screen runner in all of football.

The Eagles often call screens out of a double tight end, two receiver set, with Westbrook in the backfield.

Short Passing Game

The Eagles struggled to run the ball for most of last season because of ineffective blocking from tight ends, fullbacks, and offensive tackles.

Therefore Andy Reid Often had to use the short passing game(quick outs, curls, slants, etc.) to supplement the run.

This tactic wasn't always succesful, especially if a defense dropped 7 defenders back into coverage. But it still was a crucial part to an Eagles offense that struggled at times.

Fade Route

The fade route to Baskett was by far the most underused play in the Eagles offense last season. It had a very high success rate in the red zone, where the Eagles often struggled.

It was called only three times in the red zone, and it resulted in a touchdown twice.

Why Reid avoided calling a fade route to Baskett when it worked so well is unkown, but it will hopefully be called more in 2009.

The fade route was often called out of a three receiver set, with a single back in the backfield and a tight end.