Eagles’ red zone run concepts provide a boost | Forum

The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles had a peculiar problem in 2017. Despite having a backfield featuring sledgehammers LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi http://www.philadelphiaeaglesteamonlines.com/rodney-mcleod-jersey , the red zone was not an area where they thrived pounding the rock.They ranked towards the bottom of the league in rushing touchdowns and conversions from inside the 20 and struggled to punch through from 5 yards and in. The fault wasn’t that of Ajayi, however, who didn’t receive any touches from within 5 yards.Projecting a positive regression to the mean regarding red zone efficiency, I cited Ajayi’s career 5 for 11 touchdown rate before coming to Philadelphia. In the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Ajayi added on to his past success. He toted the rock on 2 red zone carries for 12 yards and 2 touchdowns. The first came in the 3rd quarter; a go-ahead score from the 1-yard line on a well designed inside run.Your browser does not support HTML5 video.What helps this play work is the Eagles use of jet motion and the unbalanced line. They screw with the snap timing a little, snapping it before tight end Josh Perkins screams across the formation. Instead of being merely used to take the defensive back with him, he lunges to get in the way of defensive end Vic Beasley.This allows Jason Peters, who is lined up outside of Lane Johnson Womens Jalen Mills Jersey , to get a piece of linebacker Duke Riley. Johnson does his part by showcasing his elite athleticism, securing a reach block on Grady Jarrett with the help of Brandon Brooks. A tick late to the hole, Riley and safety Ricardo Allen are unable to stuff the powerful Ajayi.The second of Ajayi’s touchdowns was even sexier. Down two points with a little over two minutes left in the game, the Eagles dialed up a pin-pull concept that they pulled off with flawless execution.Here’s the pre-snap look and how it’s drawn up:Eagles go heavy, so they’ve got their regular offensive line alignment, but they added Isaac Seumalo lined up outside of Lane Johnson. Zach Ertz is aligned outside of Jason Peters.Falcons safety Ricardo Allen is initially aligned over on Ertz’s side, but before the snap he goes to the heavy side with Seumalo. As Allen is flying across the formation, Nick Foles stands up and wipes his chest http://www.philadelphiaeaglesteamonlines.com/nelson-agholor-jersey , and it’s an educated guess in saying that he’s flipping the play.To the playside you’ve got 4-on-4, here’s what happens:Your browser does not support HTML5 video.Ertz pins the 5-tech to allow Peters to pull.Left tackle Peters pulls into space and displaces linebacker De’Vondre Campbell who is attempting to set the edge, which is a huge size mismatch.Left guard Stefen Wisniewski pins the 1-tech allowing Jason Kelce to pull.Center Kelce cuts off linebacker Deion Jones who is shooting his gap.Right guard Brandon Brooks, despite being grabbed, climbs and reach blocks the backside linebacker Foye Oluokun to seal him off from the play.Right tackle Johnson, who is unable to reach Jarrett, transitions to a modified “slingshot” technique and finishes with a pancake.Ajayi reads hats on the edge and finds a line before running through the attempted tackle by Allen for a touchdown.This is a positive grade for every player involved on this touchdown, with a bonus gold star for Johnson for his high difficulty slingshot. This is the type of execution that lacked at times for the Eagles and it’s of note that they didn’t attempt these pin/pull concepts to the left much when Halapoulivaati Vaitai replaced the injured Peters last year. The return of the athletic Peters allows the Eagles to use this concept ambidextrously and more effectively.It’s still early Authentic DeAndre Carter Jersey , but so far the red zone running for the Eagles has been lights out. That’s a big boost for an offense that has yet to find it’s way with several starters missing from the line-up. Week 7 of the 2018 NFL regular season schedule is in the books. Now it’s time to see where all 32 teams rank. For reference purposes, here is a link to last week’s NFL Power Rankings.BLG’S WEEK 8 NFL POWER RANKINGS1 - Los Angeles Rams (Last Week: 1) - The Rams continue to roll their opponents. LA owns the league’s best point differential at +107. That’s 29 points higher than the second closest team.2 - New England Patriots (LW: 2) - The Pats are riding a four-game winning streak after a quality win in Chicago.3 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 3) - Andy Reid’s team bounced back with a big win. Kansas City leads the league in points scored with 260. That’s over 37 per game. Must be nice.4 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 4) - The Saints eked out a tough victory in Baltimore. That’s five wins in a row for them.5 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 5) - Aaron Rodgers returns from the bye to take on the Rams in Los Angeles. Should be a good one. 6 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 6) - Justin Tucker picked a bad time to miss the first extra point of his career. He was previously 222 for 222 before failing to make the kick that would’ve sent Baltimore to overtime. 7 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 9) - Minnesota has won three in a row after starting out the season at 1-2-1. Playing a soft schedule has helped. 8 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 8) - The Steelers actually moved into first in the AFC North during their bye. Not bad. Pittsburgh returns from their week off to host Cleveland. It appears Le’Veon Bell will not be re-joining the team just yet. 9 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 10) - The Panthers got outplayed for most of Sunday’s game but they found a way to come back from a 17-0 deficit. They’re a resilient team. Kudos to Cam Newton and company. 10 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 12) - The Bolts are 5-2 after winning four in a row. Philip Rivers’ 117.8 passer rating ranks second in the league only behind Drew Brees. 11 - Chicago Bears (LW: 7) - Make it two weeks in a row where the Bears have suffered real close losses. They still have the fifth best point differential in the league despite being last in the NFC North.12 - Washington Redskins (LW: 14) - Ryan Kerrigan might be one of the most underrated players in the league. His efforts helped Washington maintain their NFC East lead. Houston (4-3) is the only team remaining on Washington’s schedule that currently has a winning record. 13 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 15) - Seattle returns from their bye to play a road game in Detroit.14 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 11) - Cincy suffered a 35-point to the Chiefs on Sunday, showing they’re not able to hang with the elites. 15 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 13) - For the second time this season, the Eagles blew a significant second half lead. It looked like the reigning Super Bowl champions were turning the corner but they just just blew it. Sad!16 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 19) - Atlanta’s season is still alive after reaching 3-4. It hasn’t been pretty but they’re not dead yet. 17 - Detroit Lions (LW: 20) - The Lions have won three out of their last four games with the defeat being a two-point loss on the road. Could be worse. 18 - Houston Texans (LW: 22) - Don’t really think this team is that great but they’ve won four in a row, so here they are.19 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 17) - Dak Prescott absolutely gifted a touchdown to Washington in the Cowboys’ loss. Sign him to a life-time extension, Jerry Jones.20 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 21) - The Bucs barely managed to beat Cleveland in overtime. After previously allowing 34.6 points per game, they kept their Week 7 opponent to just 23. Progress! 21 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 16) - Brock Osweiler is starting again this week, which means it’s hard to feel good about Miami’s outlook. 22 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 23) - Loved Mike Vrabel’s aggression to go for two while down one point with 31 seconds to go. Didn’t work out but it was the right call. 23 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 24) - Somehow the Browns are only 2-4-1 despite owning the league’s best turnover differential at +10. I’ll take a wild guess and say that Hue Jackson has to do something with that. 24 - New York Jets (LW: 25) - It’s a season of growing pains for 21-year-old rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. 25 - Denver Broncos (LW: 26) - The Broncos beat up on an atrocious Arizona squad but even they know they’re still not good. They’re believed to be sellers at the NFL trade deadline. 26 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 28) - Frank Reich led his Colts to a blowout victory over a bad Buffalo team. 27 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 18) - The Jags finally benched Blake Bortles. Only to then have him be their starter once again heading into Week 8. This team is averaging 9.3 points per game in their last three matchups. 28 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 27) - According to Football Outsiders Womens Fletcher Cox Jersey , Buffalo owns the worst offensive DVOA ever tracked through the first seven games of an NFL season. Putrid. 29 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 29) - Steve Wilks is looking like a one-and-done head coach, assuming he even makes it through the season.30 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 30) - The 49ers own the league’s longest losing streak with five losses in a row. 31 - New York Giants (LW: 31) - The G-Men are 1-6 this season. They’re 4-20 in their last 24 games. 32 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 32) - Getting a first-round pick for the underachieving Amari Cooper is easily the Raiders’ biggest win this year. Embrace the tank, baby.