Will the Eagles Regret Not Shaking Things Up in the Secondary?
Save for turnovers, nothing has cost the Philadelphia Eagles more dearly this season than the inconsistent results the secondary has delivered.
It ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in terms of passing yards per game and yards per pass attempt allowed, it's given up a league-high 63 completions of 20 yards or more and it's one of only three teams that has allowed opponents to convert more than 25 percent of the time on 3rd-and-10 or longer.
The personnel is at the heart of the problem.
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Cornerback Bradley Fletcher has given up a league-high nine touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He's been beat for 35-plus yards on seven different occasions and is ranked 74th among 109 qualifying corners at PFF.
At least Fletcher—the league's third-most targeted cornerback—has an NFL-high 17 passes defensed. His partner, Cary Williams, has just five—also the number of touchdowns he's surrendered.
Both starters have at various times had major issues this season, while "backups" Brandon Boykin and Nolan Carroll have yet to be charged with a touchdown on a combined 567 snaps.
And yet no changes have been made. And, if we're to believe head coach Chip Kelly, none are in the works, even after Fletcher was embarrassed Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys. From Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com:
"I've seen Fletch compete. I think he gives you everything he has and the one thing I like about Fletch is that he's going to compete out there. He made a bad turn once on the ball. The other ball, I think if you look at it really, it was a perfect football thrown by Tony [Romo] and a great route run by Dez [Bryant], and getting matched up with one of the best in the league: a big, tall, physical receiver and that's a tough matchup for anybody. But we still have confidence in Bradley and he's going to be our corner this Saturday.
"
That despite the fact Bryant beat Fletcher for three touchdowns, all without Fletcher getting much help.
But Fletcher also didn't help himself. Possibly fearing Bryant one-on-one, he was too conservative in those matchups. He didn't even attempt to jam Bryant on his first touchdown from the 4-yard line, failing to make any sort of contact until the big receiver was in the end zone:
Deja vu on Bryant's fourth-quarter score:
And on Bryant's second touchdown, this was a half-assed effort off the snap:
And it's not as though Williams, who took three penalties while covering Bryant, was much better off.
Of course, Davis probably deserves some criticism, too. He has been leaving his mediocre cover guys on islands far too often this season. This defense sells out to stop the run, often sacrificing deep safety help. That killed them Sunday night, just like it killed them when Fletcher was beaten to a pulp by Jordy Nelson when Philadelphia lost to Green Bay in Week 11.
I know providing constant safety help is easier said than done, especially with hindsight and especially when you're facing strong running teams like Dallas and Green Bay. And to his credit, Davis has adjusted.
"I was in it [double teams] more than I was out of it," Davis said after the game, per Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com. "But when I came out of it, Dez got the ball. And that’s a credit to Tony. We disguised it. We showed it a bunch of different ways to give double coverage to Dez, and when we didn’t, he hit us and made us pay."
His adjustments have arguably come too late at times, but they have come. A bigger problem, though, is the fact that added support hasn't always paid off. That's because safety Nate Allen isn't exactly quick when it comes to reading and reacting.
In fact, Allen has been notoriously slow with help, which is a big reason why Fletcher and Williams have taken such a beating.
It's hard to put into words how useless Allen has made himself in this situation because he hasn't moved from his spot despite the fact it's obvious where Romo is going and the slot receiver isn't running a deep route:
Similar situation on the fourth-quarter score:
The Eagles have been great in run defense this season, but some of that success has come at the expense of the pass defense.
An example of a pre-snap look that made it far too easy on the Seattle Seahawks passing game last week:
That resulted in an easy Doug Baldwin touchdown.
With five receivers running routes, this is just way too easy for Aaron Rodgers:
If you're going to line your guys up that way, you simply have to possess better cover guys, as well as better insurance for those cover guys (looking at you, Allen).
So does Davis have too much faith in his starters? When calling for either Fletcher or Williams to be benched, you do have to consider that the team has only four corners and that in this pass-happy era, most defenses use three corners a majority of the time.
In other words, it's almost impossible to "bench" guys in the classic sense of the word. Williams and Fletcher are outside corners and Boykin and Carroll cover receivers in the slot.
“Nolan and Boykin can go out, but Cary and Fletch aren’t trained to go in,” Davis said of a potential switch-up, according to John Gonzalez of CSN Philly. “It’s a long process to get those guys trained in there. It’s got a lot to do with leverage and help and it happens a little bit quicker, the guys are a little bit quicker in there. It’s a completely different role.”
But could it hurt to try? I mean, could it really get much worse? Boykin has been this team's steadiest cover man the last two seasons. He isn't as big or as strong as Williams or Fletcher, but that doesn't mean he can't hold his ground against X or Z receivers.
As for Carroll, he started 12 games for the Miami Dolphins last year, with 96 percent of his snaps coming in outside coverage. Opposing quarterbacks completed just 47.8 percent of their passes against him with an average passer rating of 65. He also had three interceptions and a pair of sacks.
This year, he's been on the field less than 10 percent of the time. Maybe he hasn't done enough in practice to earn Davis' trust, but what exactly have Fletcher and Williams been doing to keep it? Tinkering can be dangerous, but trying Carroll and/or Boykin outside, Williams inside and giving Fletcher a breather could be worth the gamble right about now.
| Comp.% | 53.1 | 52.7 |
| Opp. rating | 64.8 | 98.0 |
| PFF grade | 10.4 | -2.9 |
That's especially the case when you consider what lies ahead. The Eagles face DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and the Washington Redskins in Week 16 before having to go up against the hottest receiver in the league when they take on Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants in Week 17.
Fletcher and Williams both struggled while allowing Jackson and Garcon to combine for 255 yards and two touchdowns in their first meeting with the 'Skins. And when they faced the Giants in Week 6, Beckham wasn't yet a starter or a major threat while Victor Cruz missed nearly half the game due to a knee injury.
If the Eagles live to see January, they'll be dealing with guys like Bryant, Nelson, Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson. There's little relief to be found, and our current sample size is large enough to conclude that something's not working.
And yet Davis continues to be stubborn, which could be a fatal error as this season comes to an end.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.
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