The Philadelphia Eagles will be facing one of the most prolific passers of all-time on Sunday in Peyton Manning. Manning, already a lock for the Hall of Fame, is having one of the best seasons of his illustrious career. Through three games, Manning has thrown for 1,143 yards while completing an astounding 73% of his passes. He is averaging 381 yards passing per game with 12 touchdown passes, 0 interceptions and will be facing one of the weakest secondaries in the entire NFL. The Eagles have given up over 300 yards per game in the air while allowing 5 touchdowns.
None of these statistics bode well for the Eagles defense which will probably be starting rookie safety Earl Wolff. Wolff, along with Patrick Chung and Nate Allen, have been interchangeable in the safety position as defensive coordinator Bill Davis is trying to find the perfect match of these rag-tag safeties. Consistently, the Eagles defense has been burned by crossing routes and simple routes that run receivers across the middle of the field. It could be because all the defensive players are learning a new system but it could also be because the athletes in the secondary are just not good enough to cover NFL caliber wide receivers. There is no Brian Dawkins or Quinten Mikell in the starting secondary or even on the entire roster.
In order for the Eagles to account for their weak secondary, defensive coordinator Bill Davis must dial up more blitzes and attempt to get pressure on Peyton Manning. It will force him to make quick decisions and hopefully check down more often than not. This strategy will attempt to limit the big play over top of the receivers. Another strategy Davis can use is to show the same defensive front every time. He must disguise his blitzes because Manning is a master of recognizing and adapting to defensive schemes. Davis has to live and die by the blitz in this game because it would be impossible to play straight up with Manning and his trio of receivers.
The secondary will not be the only ones having problems covering. The linebackers will be burnt continuously by slot receivers and tight end Julius Thomas. Thomas has exploded onto the scene in the place of injured TE Joel Dressen. Through four games, Thomas has 14 catches for 194 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Broncos have multiple weapons and will be facing a defense that has a huge, glaring weakness in coverage. Peyton Manning will eat this defense up if they do not get continuous pressure on him and disguise their blitzes pre-snap. The chances of these two things happening are slim to none so we could all be in for a game with over 70 points scored.
You can contact Dave Mullen on Twitter at dmullen37 and through e-mail at [email protected].
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