Rams vs. Eagles: Breaking Down Philadelphia's Game Plan

In the year 2014, NFL teams actually allow the St. Louis Rams defense to dictate the offensive game plan.

That just isn’t Chip Kelly’s style.

Kelly prefers the shoe be on the other foot. The Philadelphia Eagles head coach wants his offense dictating the defense’s game plan—and that’s exactly what he’s going to get when the Birds host the Rams at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 5.

No defense has faced fewer three-or-more-wide receiver formations this season than St. Louis, based on statistics from Pro Football Focus (subscription required). On one hand, it makes sense, as the Rams finished third in the NFL with 57 sacks in 2013, and keeping an extra running back or tight end to block theoretically helps the offense relieve pressure on the quarterback.

On the other hand, the Rams defense has only one sack through three games this season. Not only that, but offenses are seemingly overlooking a potential vulnerability in the secondary.

Who’s covering the slot receiver?

The Rams are down a man at cornerback to begin with—Trumaine Johnson, still out with a knee injury, according to Jim Thomas for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That’s forced sixth-round rookie E.J. Gaines into a starting role. That sentence alone indicates depth issues at the position. As far as who the primary slot corner is, however, that would be 2014 second-round draft pick LaMarcus Joyner.

A couple of things to note about Joyner right off the bat: he played safety for Florida State and is 5’8”. So in addition to being largely untested, he’s undersized and learning a new position.

GM	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Wk 1 vs. JAC	2	37	18.5	0
Wk 2 @ IND	1	17	17.0	0
Wk 3 vs. WAS	8	59	7.4	2
Wk 4 @ SF	4	28	7.0	0

Meanwhile, Philadelphia ranked third among NFL offenses in percentage of three-receiver formations last season, according to Football Outsiders Almanac 2014, so you know Kelly loves to attack defenses this way. Plus, the club invested a second-round pick in Jordan Matthews out of Vanderbilt, a 6’3” slot specialist that could terrorize smaller cornerbacks.

What comes next should be obvious.

Matthews had a bit of a breakout performance in Week 3 against Washington, with eight receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns. That might only be scratching the surface of what this young man is capable of, and against a defense that has yet to see a similar player in that role, the breakthrough could happen on Sunday.

Of course, such a plan is strongly contingent upon the offensive line allowing quarterback Nick Foles to feel comfortable in the pocket. Then again, that may not be as far-fetched as it sounds, either—even for the current patchwork unit.

For starters, All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters should be matched up against defensive end Robert Quinn most of the time. While Quinn racked up 19.0 sacks in 2013, and could no doubt push any lineman in the league on his best day, the fourth-year pass-rusher has been invisible this year, while Peters is widely considered among the best tackles in the league.

Quinn’s recent struggles might also be traced to the injury to Chris Long at the opposite end to some degree. Whatever the case may be, Long’s absence could only aid Philadelphia’s cause, especially with Lane Johnson returning from suspension at right tackle—an addition that allows Todd Herremans to go back to his natural position at guard as well.

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

My guess is Foles still feels some heat this week, particularly up the middle while reserves are still stationed along the rest of the interior. He’ll also have opportunities to get his feet set and really drive home a bunch of throws.

If Foles locates Matthews on a few of them, there could be multiple opportunities for big plays.

Make Their Third-String Quarterback Beat You

Based on what he’s been able to accomplish in his first two NFL starts, it would be would be foolish to write off Austin Davis at the mere mention of his name. After all, Davis is leading the league with a 72.3 completion percentage, not to mention doing some damage with it at 8.0 yards per attempt. He guided the Rams to a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, and nearly upset the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

I don’t pretend to know what Davis’ long-term prospects are, but right now, he’s throwing a good football. So how does Philadelphia with its 23rd-ranked passing defense stop a hot quarterback?

Simple. Stop the run, first.

The Eagles secondary isn’t a disappointment—it’s what we’ve come to expect. Actually, it’s better, because 23rd actually represents progress. Last season, Philly finished dead last in total yards through the air.

YR	YDS/GM	YDS/ATT	20+	TD
2013	104.2 (10th)	3.8 (t-4th)	7 (t-8th)	12 (t-15th)
2014	133.8 (26th)	4.0 (14th)	3 (t-20th)	1 (t-3rd)

On the ground, however, there surprisingly has been more of an issue. The Eagles entered Week 5 ranked 26th in rushing yards surrendered and 14th in yards per carry, compared to 10th and fourth in the same categories, respectively, a season ago.

In order to impose their will against Davis, the Eagles must first re-establish their dominance against the run.

The idea is to put more work on the quarterback’s plate. In theory, limiting production on the ground means more passing attempts. It means longer distances to go on second and third down.

More dropbacks means more chances for a negative play—a sack or a turnover. Longer to go for a first down means there are lower percentages of converting.

That wouldn’t be enough to stop some passers, but Davis has a long way to go before he’s hailed as the second coming of Kurt Warner in St. Louis. An undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss in 2012, Davis has been working hard for his opportunity, but there’s a reason it took three years and two quarterback injures for him to finally get a chance.

In all likelihood, Davis is Cinderella waiting for the clock to strike midnight. The Eagles simply need to speed up the march of time.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

It’s not like the St. Louis rushing attack is unstoppable, either. Running back Zac Stacy is off to a nice start in his second season as the offense’s feature back, averaging a respectable 4.3 yards per attempt, but he isn’t especially explosive or deceptive with the ball in his hands. At 224 pounds, Stacy has a better chance at running through most defenders than by them.

Stacy can be contained, but what Philadelphia really needs to do is shut him down. If the Eagles can hold the Rams closer to the 3.7 average they limited ball-carriers to in 2013, that’s going to put Davis in some difficult situations.

If at that point an unknown quarterback beats you, so be it. Either your secondary is more of a mess than you thought, or you really might be dealing with the NFL’s next big thing.

I would be willing to take that chance. With few weapons of consequence at wide receiver or tight end, I want the no-name quarterback trying to win the game in his third career start. If the Eagles get that, they could very well wind up cruising to an easy victory.