The Eagles’ defensive coordinator is looking forward to the challenge that awaits them in Kansas City and is thrilled to see some players return from injury following the bye week.
Despite numerous injuries affecting the team, the Eagles defense has been incredibly strong and aggressive this season. However, after the bye week, players are recovering from injuries, and the team may finally have a full-time nickel cornerback. In a Friday press conference, defensive coordinator Sean Desai discussed the defense’s midseason standing, his excitement for Bradley Roby, and their preparations for Monday night’s game against the Chiefs.
Here’s what the DC had to say:
Regarding his thoughts on the first part of the season
“We’re still expanding. We’re still working to improve, in my opinion. We want to keep getting better in some areas where we’re excelling, as well as in others where we feel good about our performance after taking a close look at our roles as teachers and coaches and working to position our players to make plays a little bit more frequently.
The players I’m referring about have been performing so well on the field that they’ve been able to help us win some of these games in pivotal moments. Many of the things they have been doing well are things we want to expand upon.
When Bradley Roby comes back
After the bye week, most of their guys return, as Desai noted, and their goal is to continue developing them.
“Roby is an experienced player who has spent some time with us and playing for us. That should help us maintain continuity and simply get more players back, in my opinion.”
The DC concurred with Roby, who mentioned that he became more familiar with the defense during his time off the field. Desai clarified that Roby will now benefit from having more time to study and learn the defense in the meeting rooms on the practice field.
Regarding the defensive plan
Desai cited a number of factors, including players, opponents, and linebacker and secondary rotations necessitated by injuries, in response to the observation that the Eagles haven’t used a lot of dime this season.
The DC stated that they’ll keep working on it and aren’t content to have a wide receiver matched with a linebacker due to personnel issues.
“I believe we constantly strive to place our best players against the best individuals. The play caller is always responsible for finding the best matchups, and even when it comes to nickel players, there are various ways to modify the scheme. We’ll keep getting better in those circumstances as well, as it was part of the bye week.”
Regarding getting ready for the Chiefs, Desai discussed how Patrick Mahomes can evade sacks and mentioned that they must consider their entire opponent.
“Because he is skilled at dodging sacks, as you mentioned, the main strategy is to try and alter his throwing time.”
He does an excellent job of holding the ball, extending plays in that way, and waiting for his teammates to find openings. That’s their truly artistic area.
Our main focus is on trying to comprehend that fact and attack them from various angles, including rush and coverage, to affect his time to throw.
The DC continued to praise Mahomes as a unique, generational player while admitting that their approach to getting ready for him is the same as getting ready for any other team.
When asked about the tape, Desai stated that he prefers not to talk about the team’s loss in the Super Bowl the previous year, but he acknowledged that the players gave it their all.
“But that was a year ago. Our guys are in such a great frame of mind right now, and they are eager to take on our opponent this week and give it their all. We’re not the team from last year, and it’s not the opponent. To be honest, that hasn’t really come up in our conversation at all.”
Later, the defensive coordinator briefly discussed the Chiefs’ use of bunch formations, stating that they aim to run players in different ways and create matchups for their players.
“It is important to have a well-thought-out plan on how to acquire the variety of their bunch routes from all the displacements they come out of, as displacement and how people leave the bunch influence how you pick up the bunch.”
The Eagles defense will prioritize building up and tidying up their necessary equipment this week in addition to maintaining sound coverage techniques.
About Rashee Rice, WR for the Chiefs
“[Rice] is expanding. It appears that his trust level, target share, and variety of routes within the offense have increased. A good receiver, he is. He’s done a great job for them because he can run a variety of routes, catch the ball, make some one-cut moves, and force people to miss in space.”
Other notables
Desai mentioned that before trading for Byard, they watched tape of previous matches between Travis Kelce and Kevin Byard, and Byard has performed admirably in those situations.
“I believe [Byard] has a positive outlook. I believe he is aware of some of Travis’ route stems, at least when it comes to the tape in question. He then issues them with a challenge.
“Additionally, they had some distinct appearances from a structural perspective, which Tennessee had implemented to his advantage in those circumstances.”
Desai wouldn’t commit to Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow being the only two linebackers with Nakobe Dean back on injured reserve. He clarified that, given the presence of Christian Elliss and Ben VanSumeren, they would still think about rotating players as they had done with Dean. Weekly matchup-based discussions will take place.
According to Desai, James Bradberry could still see some situations in the nickel. The Eagles, as they do, are focused on making sure they have enough depth and answers at this point in the season so they can rotate players as needed.