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Our scouts take a second look at this week's matchup between the Vikings and Eagles.
The Eagles may have good success when they use multireceiver sets against
a Vikings secondary struggling with injuries. Minnesota is at a
disadvantage in nickel and dime packages, and Eagles WRs Freddie Mitchell
and Billy McMullen could have productive days. If the Vikings try to
double-team or roll coverage toward Owens, it gives the Eagles an even
bigger advantage.
Russell
Chavous
The Vikings' safeties, Corey Chavous and Brian Russell, made headlines in
2003 with their combined 17 interceptions, but opposing offenses will tell
you that neither has great speed or man-to-man cover skills. TE L.J. Smith
is a difficult matchup for either Chavous or Russell, and he will have the
chance for some big plays down the seam. The Eagles will look to get him
matched up one-on-one and then try to exploit it.
Look for the Eagles to run some counter plays and misdirection for RB
Brian Westbrook. These plays are designed to start right, then cut back
left over LOT Tra Thomas and LOG Artis Hicks. The target of these runs is
young and inexperienced WLB Dontarrious Thomas and MLB E.J. Henderson.
Both are athletic, but they tend to over pursue and neither read blocks
very well yet.
The Vikings use formations, shifts and motions very effectively in the
pre-snap phase, which disrupts the defense's front mechanics as they look
to identify the strength of the offensive formation. When you overlay that
with the need to double WR Randy Moss, you see the Vikings bring a lot to
the equation that makes for a difficult matchup
What the Vikings force the defense to do is stabilize its front, and the
Moss factor limits what the defense can do with coverage. So the result is
that the Vikings often see predictable fronts and predictable coverage.
QB Donovan McNabb is not considered among the top play-action quarterbacks
in the league, but if the run game has early success, McNabb could have
good success with play-action fakes. Westbrook could find some room to
maneuver in the short passing game, and Moss could have opportunities on
some fade routes off of play action.
Both of these quarterbacks are hot right now, but in much different ways.
McNabb is using his feet and athleticism to make plays on the move. When
he scrambles, McNabb puts added pressure on the defense and eventually
they break down; he is actually more accurate throwing on the run. It
seems that WR Terrell Owens is already in sync with McNabb and is doing a
great job of breaking off his routes and finding open spots in the
secondary when McNabb scrambles. Culpepper looks more like a pocket
quarterback. He is making great reads and the game seems to be slowing
down for him. He is finding secondary receivers, he is calm versus the
rush and he seems to be playing with supreme confidence. Both are off to
great starts, but they are going at it very differently.
One area in which Culpepper has made dramatic strides is the pre-snap
phase, which is the key to defeating the multiple blitz schemes of the
Eagles. A great example was the 63-yard TD to Smith last week: Culpepper
read the "Zero" overage pre- snap, audibled and broke down the Dallas
defense, all before the snap of the ball.
The Eagles' blitz foundation is the overload concept. No one attacks and
breaks down the two-man side of the OL better than defensive coordinator
Jim Johnson. This is why the pre-snap phase is so important against
Philadelphia. You must understand where the blitz is likely to come, based
on film study and percentage tendencies, before the snap of the ball.
Otherwise, you play the Eagles' defense in a reactive mode, not a
proactive mode.
The Eagles continue to struggle stopping the run. One thing that really
jumped out watching their tape against the Giants was the change in their
defensive front mechanics from a year ago. With SLB Carlos Emmons, they
often had him on the line of scrimmage, head up on the TE. Emmons was the
NFL's best SLB when it came to playing over the TE. Now, with Dhani Jones
as the SLB, the Eagles predominantly play with their LBs stacked inside,
so Jones can be protected by the DL. This was predictable against the
Giants in normal down-and-distance situations, and the Vikings will be
able to exploit this with their run game.
Another thing evident watching tape was that DE Burgess can be handled by
TEs in the run game. He was easily sealed to the inside on perimeter runs
when the Giants pulled one or more OL. This is a staple of the Vikings'
run game. Along with Kevin Mawae of the Jets, Matt Birk is the best
pulling center in the NFL, and the Vikings will not have trouble getting
to the edge with their running against the Eagles' defense.
The Vikings did an excellent job of confusing the Cowboys by constantly
shuffling their personnel groupings. They ran the ball out of
multireceiver sets and threw the ball in goal-line and short-yardage
situations. The Cowboys never quite got a handle on the Vikings' game
plan. The Vikings are confident and feel that they can accomplish anything
they want offensively with all of their offensive skill players are
involved. When everyone is involved, it leads to a happy locker room.
The Eagles may not blitz very much, but they must get pressure on QB
Daunte Culpepper. The problem is they want to protect their young corners
and cover the backs out of the backfield, and they can't do that if they
are blitz-happy. It will be a huge advantage for Culpepper if the Eagles
have to rush five or six, instead of just their front four.
The Eagles may come out and try to establish the run to keep the Vikings
offense off the field and not allow Minnesota to dominate the line of
scrimmage and wear down Philly's front four. RB Brian Westbrook, however,
is not built to carry a heavy workload, and his 20 touches last week were
well above his average of 13 touches per game in 2003.
There is some concern on the Eagles' part about the play of their
offensive line, especially LOT Tra Thomas, who has looked sluggish in Week
1. LOG Jermane Mayberry has a nagging hamstring and rookie ROG Shawn
Andrews was lost for the season with a broken leg and now Mayberry moves
to ROG and journeyman Artis Hicks takes over LOG. This has been a
competent and stable group the past few years, but the organization must
have seen the warning signs prior to last spring because they drafted four
offensive linemen. The Eagles will have to stay healthy and play better up
front to avoid problems in the run game.
The Eagles' linebackers could struggle against the Vikings' big and
physical offensive line because the Philly's defensive tackles are one-gap
penetraters and not two-gap, read and react types that can protect the
linebackers. The Eagles' linebackers, particularly MLB Mark Simoneau, will
have to do a better job of seeing the play, reacting, stepping up and
avoiding blocks.
The Vikings' young linebackers – Dontarrious Thomas and E.J. Henderson –
are both going to improve the athleticism of this defense with their great
speed and range. When they are completely comfortable in their schemes
their natural abilities will take over, and they will be tough matchups
for opposing offenses. Right now, Henderson does not play with enough
discipline; both tend to overrun plays.
The Vikings are taking advantage of Culpepper's ability to make good reads
and to get the ball to his second, third or even fourth options. WRs Nate
Burleson, Kelly Campbell and Marcus Robinson are seeing single man-to-man
coverage, and Culpepper is able to spread the ball around to all his
weapons; nine different offensive players grabbed passes last week. The
Eagles will struggle to play press coverage at the line of scrimmage.
Vikings DC Antoine Winfield may be the best tackler at his position in the
league. He registered nine tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered
another fumble last week against the Cowboys. He will have a very physical
matchup this week against WR Terrell Owens.
Special Teams
Both teams are well coached and their coverage units do an excellent job
of not giving up field position. But the Vikings struggled with the short
kickoffs of veteran PK Morten Andersen. The Cowboys returned one kick 62
yards, and that could end Andersen's experiment as the kickoff specialist.
In a field-position battle, the advantage has to go to the Eagles with PK
David Akers.
Matchups
Minnesota WR Randy Moss vs. Philadelphia DC Sheldon Brown.
Philadelphia WR Terrell Owens vs. Minnesota DC Antoine Winfield.
Minnesota QB Daunte Culpepper vs. Phildelphia FS Brian Dawkins.
Philadelphia LDE Jevon Kearse vs. Minnesota ROT Mike Rosenthal
Philadelphia TE L.J. Smith vs. Minnesota safeties Corey Chavous and Brian
Russell.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Eagles 23
The Eagles may have good success when they use multireceiver sets against
a Vikings secondary struggling with injuries. Minnesota is at a
disadvantage in nickel and dime packages, and Eagles WRs Freddie Mitchell
and Billy McMullen could have productive days. If the Vikings try to
double-team or roll coverage toward Owens, it gives the Eagles an even
bigger advantage.
Russell
Chavous
The Vikings' safeties, Corey Chavous and Brian Russell, made headlines in
2003 with their combined 17 interceptions, but opposing offenses will tell
you that neither has great speed or man-to-man cover skills. TE L.J. Smith
is a difficult matchup for either Chavous or Russell, and he will have the
chance for some big plays down the seam. The Eagles will look to get him
matched up one-on-one and then try to exploit it.
Look for the Eagles to run some counter plays and misdirection for RB
Brian Westbrook. These plays are designed to start right, then cut back
left over LOT Tra Thomas and LOG Artis Hicks. The target of these runs is
young and inexperienced WLB Dontarrious Thomas and MLB E.J. Henderson.
Both are athletic, but they tend to over pursue and neither read blocks
very well yet.
The Vikings use formations, shifts and motions very effectively in the
pre-snap phase, which disrupts the defense's front mechanics as they look
to identify the strength of the offensive formation. When you overlay that
with the need to double WR Randy Moss, you see the Vikings bring a lot to
the equation that makes for a difficult matchup
What the Vikings force the defense to do is stabilize its front, and the
Moss factor limits what the defense can do with coverage. So the result is
that the Vikings often see predictable fronts and predictable coverage.
QB Donovan McNabb is not considered among the top play-action quarterbacks
in the league, but if the run game has early success, McNabb could have
good success with play-action fakes. Westbrook could find some room to
maneuver in the short passing game, and Moss could have opportunities on
some fade routes off of play action.
Both of these quarterbacks are hot right now, but in much different ways.
McNabb is using his feet and athleticism to make plays on the move. When
he scrambles, McNabb puts added pressure on the defense and eventually
they break down; he is actually more accurate throwing on the run. It
seems that WR Terrell Owens is already in sync with McNabb and is doing a
great job of breaking off his routes and finding open spots in the
secondary when McNabb scrambles. Culpepper looks more like a pocket
quarterback. He is making great reads and the game seems to be slowing
down for him. He is finding secondary receivers, he is calm versus the
rush and he seems to be playing with supreme confidence. Both are off to
great starts, but they are going at it very differently.
One area in which Culpepper has made dramatic strides is the pre-snap
phase, which is the key to defeating the multiple blitz schemes of the
Eagles. A great example was the 63-yard TD to Smith last week: Culpepper
read the "Zero" overage pre- snap, audibled and broke down the Dallas
defense, all before the snap of the ball.
The Eagles' blitz foundation is the overload concept. No one attacks and
breaks down the two-man side of the OL better than defensive coordinator
Jim Johnson. This is why the pre-snap phase is so important against
Philadelphia. You must understand where the blitz is likely to come, based
on film study and percentage tendencies, before the snap of the ball.
Otherwise, you play the Eagles' defense in a reactive mode, not a
proactive mode.
The Eagles continue to struggle stopping the run. One thing that really
jumped out watching their tape against the Giants was the change in their
defensive front mechanics from a year ago. With SLB Carlos Emmons, they
often had him on the line of scrimmage, head up on the TE. Emmons was the
NFL's best SLB when it came to playing over the TE. Now, with Dhani Jones
as the SLB, the Eagles predominantly play with their LBs stacked inside,
so Jones can be protected by the DL. This was predictable against the
Giants in normal down-and-distance situations, and the Vikings will be
able to exploit this with their run game.
Another thing evident watching tape was that DE Burgess can be handled by
TEs in the run game. He was easily sealed to the inside on perimeter runs
when the Giants pulled one or more OL. This is a staple of the Vikings'
run game. Along with Kevin Mawae of the Jets, Matt Birk is the best
pulling center in the NFL, and the Vikings will not have trouble getting
to the edge with their running against the Eagles' defense.
The Vikings did an excellent job of confusing the Cowboys by constantly
shuffling their personnel groupings. They ran the ball out of
multireceiver sets and threw the ball in goal-line and short-yardage
situations. The Cowboys never quite got a handle on the Vikings' game
plan. The Vikings are confident and feel that they can accomplish anything
they want offensively with all of their offensive skill players are
involved. When everyone is involved, it leads to a happy locker room.
The Eagles may not blitz very much, but they must get pressure on QB
Daunte Culpepper. The problem is they want to protect their young corners
and cover the backs out of the backfield, and they can't do that if they
are blitz-happy. It will be a huge advantage for Culpepper if the Eagles
have to rush five or six, instead of just their front four.
The Eagles may come out and try to establish the run to keep the Vikings
offense off the field and not allow Minnesota to dominate the line of
scrimmage and wear down Philly's front four. RB Brian Westbrook, however,
is not built to carry a heavy workload, and his 20 touches last week were
well above his average of 13 touches per game in 2003.
There is some concern on the Eagles' part about the play of their
offensive line, especially LOT Tra Thomas, who has looked sluggish in Week
1. LOG Jermane Mayberry has a nagging hamstring and rookie ROG Shawn
Andrews was lost for the season with a broken leg and now Mayberry moves
to ROG and journeyman Artis Hicks takes over LOG. This has been a
competent and stable group the past few years, but the organization must
have seen the warning signs prior to last spring because they drafted four
offensive linemen. The Eagles will have to stay healthy and play better up
front to avoid problems in the run game.
The Eagles' linebackers could struggle against the Vikings' big and
physical offensive line because the Philly's defensive tackles are one-gap
penetraters and not two-gap, read and react types that can protect the
linebackers. The Eagles' linebackers, particularly MLB Mark Simoneau, will
have to do a better job of seeing the play, reacting, stepping up and
avoiding blocks.
The Vikings' young linebackers – Dontarrious Thomas and E.J. Henderson –
are both going to improve the athleticism of this defense with their great
speed and range. When they are completely comfortable in their schemes
their natural abilities will take over, and they will be tough matchups
for opposing offenses. Right now, Henderson does not play with enough
discipline; both tend to overrun plays.
The Vikings are taking advantage of Culpepper's ability to make good reads
and to get the ball to his second, third or even fourth options. WRs Nate
Burleson, Kelly Campbell and Marcus Robinson are seeing single man-to-man
coverage, and Culpepper is able to spread the ball around to all his
weapons; nine different offensive players grabbed passes last week. The
Eagles will struggle to play press coverage at the line of scrimmage.
Vikings DC Antoine Winfield may be the best tackler at his position in the
league. He registered nine tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered
another fumble last week against the Cowboys. He will have a very physical
matchup this week against WR Terrell Owens.
Special Teams
Both teams are well coached and their coverage units do an excellent job
of not giving up field position. But the Vikings struggled with the short
kickoffs of veteran PK Morten Andersen. The Cowboys returned one kick 62
yards, and that could end Andersen's experiment as the kickoff specialist.
In a field-position battle, the advantage has to go to the Eagles with PK
David Akers.
Matchups
Minnesota WR Randy Moss vs. Philadelphia DC Sheldon Brown.
Philadelphia WR Terrell Owens vs. Minnesota DC Antoine Winfield.
Minnesota QB Daunte Culpepper vs. Phildelphia FS Brian Dawkins.
Philadelphia LDE Jevon Kearse vs. Minnesota ROT Mike Rosenthal
Philadelphia TE L.J. Smith vs. Minnesota safeties Corey Chavous and Brian
Russell.
Prediction: Vikings 24, Eagles 23
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