Broncos’ defense a model of what Gannon wants his to be
Watch the Eagles take on the Denver Broncos this weekend and you’ll see the defense Jonathan Gannon is trying to play.
Zone coverage, changing fronts, smart and physical two-high safety looks, and flexibility throughout the scheme. That’s the way the inventor, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, does it in Denver, and the way Brandon Staley does it with the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s the way the Green Bay Packers do it now, and the way anybody ahead of the curve should strongly consider doing it.
Fangio’s Broncos (5-4) are among just three teams ranking in the league’s top ten in defending the rush (98.3 ypg.) and the pass (223.4) and in total defense (321.8). They’re second in points allowed (17.0 per game). About the only thing they haven’t done is collect takeaways, although the 10 they own is two more than the Eagles.
Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen was vague when asked about the experience he’s had playing Fangio’s defenses, although he put in a plug for safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson.
“They’re very sound,” Steichen said. “He’s been running his scheme for a long time. He gets those guys playing hard … they’re two veteran safeties. They’ve played together for a while. They’re physical. Simmons is a rangy guy. Jackson is a heavy hitter in the box. He fills the run really good. And up front, they’re stout. They’re playing good football on defense. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us but we’re excited about it.”
More than anything, the Fangio defense requires discipline. Players that don’t or won’t do their job blow it up for the guys who do. When the defense works efficiently, you get what you had in the Broncos’ 30-16 blowout of the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday. It was a mind-blowing 30-0 with a little less than seven minutes remaining. Dak Prescott, who completed 80.7 percent of his passes with three TDs in a rout of the Eagles, was just 19 of 39 (48.7 percent) passing with two very late TDs and one interception.
The Broncos have solid, not spectacular players on defense. The linebackers are ordinary, much like the Eagles. Their strength is on the defensive line and in the secondary, just like the Eagles. Their coach, of course, is the inventor of the defense. He taught it to Staley, who took it to the Rams and the Chargers. Gannon and Staley are best friends. Gannon’s scheme is a play on Staley’s.
It’s become painfully obvious that the Eagles (3-6) haven’t embraced the Gannon scheme that’s supposed to capitalize on the strengths of players and keep the team in games. Gannon ideally wants to be able to change pre-snap to dictate changes by the offense. That rarely happens.
The Eagles this season rank 20th in rushing defense (119.7 ypg.), 12th in passing (235.7) and 15th in total defense (355.3).
And let’s not forget that the Eagles are last in the league in completion percentage allowed, the opposition connecting at a rate of 75.5 percent.
It’s not going to get easier this week for the Eagles. Broncos veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is 10th in the NFL with a 101.3 passer rating, having thrown 14 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He’s completing 70.2 percent of his passes.
“Definitely fixable, absolutely,” Gannon said of the completion percentage of opposing QBs. “I wouldn’t say alarming to me. I would say that we know the areas that we have to get better at, and we’ve done that at times. We just have to be a little more consistent. It really starts with us setting it up a little bit better, how I call the game a little bit better at some certain spots where you can throw a wrench into what the quarterback is seeing or when they call certain plays, you’d like to be in a couple better calls here or there.”
Bridgewater has taken 26 sacks, third among qualified quarterbacks. The Eagles have collected 16 of their 17 sacks on the road. Gannon is at a loss to explain that, other than the types of quarterbacks the Eagles opposed. What Gannon should be concerned about along with those other numbers is that only eight teams give up more points per game than the Eagles, who allow 24.2 per outing.
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Steichen applauded the performance of quarterback Jalen Hurts, who led the offense on a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter of the 2724 loss to the Chargers Sunday.
“Looking back at last week, I thought offensively, we moved the ball, did some good things, ran it well,” Steichen said. “Jalen was efficient throwing it. Overall, good performance. But the bottom line is we have to win the football game. We didn’t get that done. That’s the goal this week. Keep improving, getting better, and go win this week.”
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The Eagles cut cornerback Mac McCain Tuesday and signed cornerback Craig James to the practice squad. They protected practice squad players Le’Raven Clark, receiver John Hightower and defensive end Jared Mayden.
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The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns are the other teams ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in rushing, passing and overall defense. … The Eagles are 2.5-point underdogs at Denver, where they are 2-4 all-time, including three straight losses dating to 1998. … Bridgewater needs one more game with a completion percentage of 70 percent to notch six of those games in a single season, tying him with Peyton Manning. … The Broncos’ defense held the Cowboys scoreless in a half for the first time since 2019. Prescott completed just 35.7 percent of his throws in the first two quarters, the worst half of his six-year career. … Denver cornerback Ronald Darby played for the Eagles from 2017-19. He started at corner with Jalen Mills in their 41-33 Super Bowl LII win over the Patriots. … Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was interim head coach of the Eagles when Chip Kelly was fired in 2015, winning his only game against the Giants. Shurmur coached 13 years with the Eagles in a variety of posts, including offensive coordinator.