How do Eagles bounce back? Blitz, blitz, blitz
By Clark Judge | CBSSports.com Senior Writer Follow ClarkPHILADELPHIA -- So this is how the Philadelphia Eagles win without star running back Brian Westbrook: They dial a familiar number, and, no, it's not five.
That would be Donovan McNabb, and while he might be a lot of things to the Eagles he is not the backbone of this team. The defense is, and seldom has it looked tougher, tighter and more difficult to solve than on Sunday in a 15-6 defeat of Pittsburgh.
It sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times and forced him out of the game. It sacked his backup, Byron Leftwich, a ninth time. It forced three turnovers. It produced a safety. Most important, it didn't allow a touchdown for the second time this season.
Yes, it's the Philadelphia Eagles as they're supposed to be, and that's good news because now, more than ever, they might have to rely on their defense. That's because star running back Brian Westbrook injured his right ankle and left the stadium on crutches, careful not to put much weight on his right foot as he walked.
X-rays revealed no fractures, and Westbrook is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday. But that's not the point. In all likelihood he'll miss the Sept. 28 game at Chicago, which means Philadelphia must find someone else to call on.
May I suggest Jim Johnson?
He's the team's defensive coordinator, and he called a near perfect game against Pittsburgh -- shutting down the league's eighth-ranked rushing attack and putting Roethlisberger in too many third-and-longs. Granted, Pittsburgh didn't bail out Big Ben with draws or screens or short passes, but I'm not here to talk about what the Steelers didn't do.
I'm here to talk about Philadelphia and how it shut down the Steelers six days after it was ravaged by Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. In a 41-37 loss, Romo shredded the Eagles for 312 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't those numbers that bothered me.
It was this one: Zero, as in sacks.
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| The Eagles are defined by their aggressive, blitzing defense, which comes alive on Sunday. (Getty Images) |
But not on that night. In fact, one scout who broke down the videotape counted nine times when Philadelphia blitzed, and, I'm sorry, that's not Philadelphia's personality. So something had to be done, and something was.
"Give Jim credit," safety Brian Dawkins said. "He said what he was going to do. He said he was going to let us loose, and he did."
Sometimes it was five pass rushers. Often it was six. Occasionally there were seven. And they were coming from all directions, with linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties involved.
"They blitzed and blitzed, and we just never made a play," Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker said.
Parker ran for at least 105 yards in each of his first two games. He had 20 against the Eagles, and why are we surprised? Philadelphia entered the game as the NFL's best against the run, and that won't change after it checked the Steelers to 33 yards.
But it was the pass defense that was supposed to be vulnerable, especially after what the Cowboys accomplished. Wide receivers were left uncovered. There was little heat on Romo. And the Eagles couldn't stop the track meet once it started, with Johnson criticized for not calling more blitzes.
"He made up for it this week," coach Andy Reid said.
The key was the Eagles' coverage. Where it wilted last week against Dallas it was superb against Pittsburgh, with no one catching a pass longer than 21 yards. Hines Ward was ineffective. So was Santonio Holmes. Heck, nobody did much of anything, which is what happens when you convert 2 of 13 third downs.
But that's where that Eagles' pass rush comes in. Roethlisberger was hammered early and often, finally exiting after he was sacked late in the game by Dawkins -- with the former All-Pro forcing a fumble he recovered.
"He's like a shark," defensive lineman Darren Howard said of Johnson. "Once that blood got in the water he was calling (blitzes) left and right. He called blitzes we didn't even go over last week, and it kinda confused us. He was dialing them up and they were all on time."
They had to be. The Eagles played without Westbrook for two-and-a-half quarters. They lost backup running Tony Hunt on the first series. Starting guard Shawn Andrews didn't suit up because of a bad back. And McNabb exited for a series with a chest contusion.
Yet Philadelphia held together, and it was Jim Johnson who did the surgery.
"Jim had a great game plan," said Reid, "and the players executed it and played their hearts out. I can't say enough for them."
But even when Johnson didn't bring the heat the Eagles were able to squeeze Roethlisberger, most notably the safety caused by defensive end Trent Cole. With Howard pushing through the middle, Roethlisberger was forced to flee to his left -- where he ran into Cole, tried to force a pass from the end zone and was called for intentional grounding.
"They didn't know what was coming at them," said defensive end Juqua Parker, who had 2½ sacks. "People were getting free, and (Roethlisberger) was getting flushed out of the pocket. The plan was to get pressure, and that's what we did."
Of course, the plan is always to get pressure -- but plans vary according to games and opponents. And this opponent was vulnerable to the rush, with Roethlisberger sacked 46 times in 2006 and 47 in 2007.
"I felt there were things we could take advantage of," Johnson said. "It was just there, and our guys were aggressive. You have confidence in your blitz when the coverage is good. Last week the coverage wasn't good. This week our coverage was excellent, and we executed the blitzes."
But that's how it's supposed to go in Philadelphia. McNabb has missed time in the past. So has Westbrook. Yet the Eagles have survived, and they survived because Jim Johnson never bowed out.
Good thing. Now more than ever he is needed.
"We keep doing this," Howard said, "and we're going to be good in December."
That's the idea.
