The Eagles offense is ranked 8th with 361.1 yards per game to the Seahawks 258.7 yards per game (31st). Offensively, the Eagles need to solve their problems in the red zone, particularly in the goal-to-go situations. The team converted just two of four red zone possessions against Atlanta . Running back Brian Westbrook gained a career-best 167 yards on the ground last week and he totaled 209 yards from the line of scrimmage. With last week's 22-carry, rushing effort, Brian Westbrook's rushing average jumped from 3.5 yards per carry to 4.8. Despite 28 touches, his still-healing fractured ribs came out of the game no worse for wear. Westbrook has eight of the Eagles' 21 touchdowns despite playing just 17 of 28 quarters. Quarterback Donovan McNabb shrugged off a slow start to throw for 253 yards in the victory over Atlanta. Donovan McNabb is fifth in the league in passing yards and sixth in completions, but is averaging just one TD pass every 30.6 attempts. That's the poorest TDs-to-attempts ratio of his career. He's thrown just two TDs in the last 15 quarters. Eagles Wideouts have caught 90 passes, but just three have been for touchdowns. That's the fewest by an Eagles' WR group after seven games since 2003, when they had none. However, he hasn't thrown many interceptions (3 in 245 attempts). Kevin Curtis played 59 of 68 snaps last week in his first game back from sports-hernia surgery, and rookie DeSean Jackson was on the field for 50. The Eagles offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks, though Donovan McNabb has helped with his mobility. Eagles have come up small in short-yardage and goal-line situations. They're 29th in the league in 3rd-and-1 conversions. Much of the blame for that falls on center Jamaal Jackson, who makes the blocking calls.
Seatle's quarterback Seneca Wallace tossed two touchdown passes in a virtually error-free performance to beat the 49ers and will need more of the same against the Eagles' aggressive defensive scheme. Wallace will make just his seventh career start in place of injured Matt Hasselbeck. He threw for 222 yards in last week's win over the 49ers, but 105 of those yards came on dump-offs to Leonard Weaver that the FB turned into TDs. All four of their top four projected wideouts have been hurt. Two (Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu) are out for the season. A third, Deion Branch, has played in just one game and is out Sunday. The fourth (Bobby Engram) who returned in Week 5, is averaging just 9.1 yards per catch. Wallace needs an effective ground game help his play-action passes. The Seahawks had hoped Julius Jones would be a carry-the-load guy, but he's better suited for the complementary role he had in Dallas. In the last four games, he's averaged just 3.7 yards per carry and has been sharing the ball-carrying responsibilities with Maurice Morris. The Seahawks' offensive line is a veteran group that has a combined 399 NFL starts. Tackle Walter Jones and guard Mike Wahle are as good a left-side tandem as there is in the league. Despite all of the injuries at wide receiver and quarterback, this unit has given up just 13 sacks.
Defensively the Eagles are ranked 7th alowing only 287.1 yards per game to the 31st ranked Seahawks 367. In this game, the Eagles defense faces a struggling Seahawks offense that awakened last Sunday in a win over San Francisco. Jim Johnson's faith in Darren Howard is paying off. Howard, who rotates at both end spots in the Eagles' base package and plays inside in nickel, has 4 sacks and five hurries. With Victor Abiamiri healthy again, Johnson is able to rest his starting DTs (Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley) in passing situations. The Eagles have held five of their first seven opponents to 3.2 yards per carry or less, and their talented, young linebacker corps has been a big reason. In the secondary the Eagles have had just one QB complete better than 57 percent of his passes against them (Tony Romo). Since Romo's 312-yard, three-TD performance in Week 2, they've held opponents to 6.23 yards per attempt and have allowed just six TD passes in the last five games.
The Seahawk's LE Patrick Kerney is one of the league's better pass-rushers. He had an NFC-high 14 1/2 sacks last season, and has five this year. But he injured his shoulder last week, the same one on which he had offseason surgery, and it remains to be seen how effective he will be. MLB Lofa Tatupu is a three-time Pro Bowler who had three interceptions and 11 tackles in a 28-24 win over the Eagles last year. OLB Julian Peterson is a dangerous blitzer who has four sacks and seven hurries and has forced three fumbles. The Seahawks are ranked 30th against the pass. Opposing quarterbacks have a collective 103.4 passer rating against them. They've given up 11 touchdown passes already, have just two interceptions and have allowed 7.97 yards per attempt. CB Josh Wilson is young and still developing.
On special teams both Seahawks' coverage units are in the bottom third of the league, which could provide some running room for PR DeSean Jackson and KR Quintin Demps. Jackson's increased role in the offense may be taking its toll on his return production. He's got just five double-digit returns in the last six games. While the Seahawks are averaging 5.7 punts per game, which is the third most in the league. P Jon Ryan has had 16 of his 29 punts returned. PK Orlando Mare has made 13 of 14 FG attempts and is 5-for-5 from 40-plus yards. Seahawks are 25th in punt coverage (11.7) and 20th in kickoff coverage (23.3).
All season, the Eagles have been looking to get on a roll. A win in Seattle would give the team three straight wins and a chance to gain some momentum going into the second half of the season. The Eagles are the better team in the standings and on paper, and they need to play like it on Sunday. This could be the defining game for this team, they should be able to pull off the win and with the Seahawks in such bad shape the game should provide some opportunities to get the struggling offense some confidence leading into the next part of the season.
What to watch this week:
- Eagles pass rush vs. Seahawks QB Seneca Wallace
- Eagles DE Trent Cole vs. Seahawks LT Walter Jones
- Eagles WR Kevin Curtis vs. CB Marcus Trufant
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment