Gannon sees communication as key when it comes to Cox
PHILADELPHIA » Two days after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox very publicly said he couldn’t play in the Eagles’ passive scheme, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said he would try to give the six-time Pro Bowl player more opportunities to rush the passer.
That would entail freeing the soon-to-be 31-year-old Cox from the constant double-teaming that’s worn him down through a brutal 2-5 Birds start.
“We’ll try to do that and we’ve got some things in our pocket that we’ve done up until this point and some things that we’re taking a look at to get that done,” Gannon said Tuesday.
After the Eagles’ 33-22 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Cox said he was paid to get sacks, not stop screen passes and was frustrated by nonstop double-teaming. He had just two tackles playing 56 snaps versus the Raiders. Cox later portrayed himself as the victim and ripped the 38-yearold Gannon for not being aggressive enough after Raiders quarterback Derek Carr completed 91 percent of his attempts.
Yet, Cox has just one sack in his last nine games dating to last season, marking his biggest slump as a passrusher since Jim Schwartz became defensive coordinator in 2016. Last year, Cox made the Pro Bowl more on reputation than performance.
Barring a minor miracle, the Eagles are stuck with Cox at least through this season. In September he restructured his contract to convert $14.8 million of salary into a signing bonus, providing the team with almost $11 million in cap relief this year and $8.8 million next year. With the Nov. 2 trade deadline looming, the Eagles would be on the hook for almost $35 million in dead cap money over the next two years if they dealt Cox.
The last thing the Eagles need as they get ready to visit the winless Detroit Lions Sunday is a high-priced veteran questioning coaching decisions. That’s not the way to build culture, an objective of rookie head coach Nick Sirianni.
Against that background, Gannon tiptoed around the issues Cox has with him, blowing off the Cox critiques like they weren’t a big deal.
“I understand Fletch’s point,” Gannon said. “I think it comes from he’s an unselfish player that has a lot of passion for winning and losing. Our entire defense is frustrated that we’re 2-5 right now because we know we’re not playing well enough. So, talk to Fletch about, ‘Hey, what’s your viewpoint of how we can play a little bit better on defense?’ And do that with really all of our guys on all three levels from a standpoint of, ‘Hey, here’s the game plan. Here’s what we’re thinking. Here’s what we need to get done. … You can do this better. Coaches can do this better.’”
In the past year, the team’s big-name and bigmoney disgruntled veterans were traded. The Eagles took a record $33.8 million hit in dead money when they shipped Carson Wentz to the Colts, although they still could get a first round pick out of the deal. The Eagles saved $5.66 million by shipping tight end Zach Ertz to the Cardinals for third-day draft compensation.
Unless Gannon finds a way to make Cox happy, he risks losing the rest of his defense. For the record, Gannon’s description of the defensive line responsibilities differed from Cox’s explanation. Instead of teeing off on blockers to get up the field, Cox laments dropping back and taking on blocks based on the coverage behind him.
Moreover, with opponents completing 74.4 percent of their passes, it’s hard to believe the defense has bought
into Gannon’s schemes, including the complementary football philosophy in which giving up yardage isn’t a major issue when it doesn’t lead to a lot of points.
Gannon thinks the players believe in the system although, quite honestly, what would you expect him to say?
“I’m confident in that because, when we go out and install the game plan, they’re juiced up,” Gannon said. “When we explain to them, ‘Hey, here’s why we’re doing what we’re doing,’ they understand, and you see it in practice, and you see it in
the game. They are trying to do what we want them to do. We have to set it up a little bit better.
“A lot of people, they start pointing fingers at the players. I’ve never met a player that wants to mess up. So, when things aren’t going great, it always comes from, ‘Hey, let’s look from a standpoint of what are we asking this guy to do? How are we coaching it? What are we saying to the guy to improve the player?’ … Let’s serve the players because when you serve the players and they play better, you win football games.”