Schwartz has reason to keep Mills cornered
Leave it to Jim Schwartz to throw cold water on the top overall suggestion to improve the Eagles’ pass defense.
Switch Jalen Mills to safety? Over the defensive coordinator’s deadpanned body.
“I’m firmly behind Jalen Mills as a corner,” Schwartz said Tuesday. “One of the reasons we had a big parade on Broad Street was Jalen Mills. He’s played a lot like a 2-2 corner. We’ve played a lot like a 2-2 defense. We’ve played a lot like a 2-2 team right now. There have been inconsistencies all around.”
If the Eagles want to have another big parade down Broad Street while Schwartz is working here they should come up with a comprehensive plan to cut down on the big pass plays. The trouble began before safety Rodney McLeod, a key cog in the defense last year, underwent knee surgery, sidelining him indefinitely.
The Eagles have surrendered
an average of 333.2 yards and two TDs through the air dating back to Tom Brady stamping 505 yards and three scores on them in the Super Bowl. There are opponents so open even the coaches are asking themselves, what happened? This would be a good week to attack the issue as the Eagles oppose Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and a lethal fleet of receivers that begins with Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen.
Mills has been susceptible to double-moves, which is to say his coverage responsibility comes to a screeching
halt at the top of his route, only to turn up the field when Mills bites on the fake. It happens a lot partly because Mills is so aggressive. It has created too many game-changing plays for the opposition.
The Titans, who are as committed to the run as a team can be, lit the Eagles up Sunday with four pass plays of 20 or more yards. Corey Davis beat Mills for chunk plays of 51 and 28 yards.
When the Eagles’ pass rush is wreaking havoc, Mills isn’t a liability. But opposing quarterbacks are neutralizing it with the short passing game with quick throws. They’re rolling out and dinking over the linemen to running backs,
tight ends and receivers. If the linebackers or safety Malcolm Jenkins don’t make the tackles, the sticks keep moving.
“We’ve got to tackle better,” defensive end Chris Long said. “We’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities when there’s an opportunity to make big plays and we’ve got to execute within the scheme. The play calls are there. Sometimes we’re not doing the right thing.”
In the Titans game, Mills played so far off his cover responsibility after being stung early that it looked like he was dropping back to field a punt. He became the No. 1 quick-fix at safety because 33-year-old veteran Corey Graham was a few more blown assignments
away from making his teammates wonder if he might retire at halftime, a la Vontae Davis of the Buffalo Bills a couple of weeks ago.
Graham was so out of position that Schwartz mixed rookie Avonte Maddox into the defense. Maddox (5-9, 180) isn’t the biggest guy, much like McLeod. But Maddox has serious recovery speed. Graham is what he is, which is a situational defender, not a guy who can play 71 snaps.
“There’s a lot of carryover between nickel and safety, also,” Schwartz said. “So, although some things are new, he has excellent quickness, he has great eyes for the football, he has the combination to recover and to play the run. All the things we
liked about him as a nickel, we also like about him as a safety. I think we’ll see more of him going forward in that role.”
Mills is a physical, suretackler with a motor that doesn’t quick. Schwartz, however, isn’t a fan of making Mills the last line of defense.
“Confidence, we don’t have to worry about that,” Schwartz said, referencing Mills. “I do think there’s a combination of scheme, technique and other things that go into that and that’s part of a position coach’s job, part of a defensive coordinator’s job. Our guys play with a lot of confidence. We don’t have to worry about that with them. We need to be more consistent.”
Schwartz mentioned the Eagles’ record once more, with meaning. That sounded like it must have been the theme of the team meeting.
“We played suspiciously like a 2-2 team,” Schwartz said. “That’s where it is. Probably any player you want to ask about how they’re playing, they’re playing a lot like a 2-2 player right now, a 2-2 team.”
While Schwartz lamented that in the auditorium, in the locker room, Long basically confirmed it.
“Everybody took a turn as a defense,” Long said. “A lot of it stays in house, what guys need to do to get better. We’re not going to call each other out. All three units have got to play better.”