PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles’ offense has been tough to cease in previous years once they have used run-pass possibility (RPO) ideas.
During the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2022, they led the league in passing yards utilizing the RPO (1,281), in response to Pro Football Reference. Last season, the Eagles ran the play a league-high 171 instances.
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Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore introduced in a new scheme this season, however he didn’t take the RPO out of the playbook. They have used the RPO 28 instances within the final two weeks, the third-most within the league. However, the play hasn’t been a power of their offense.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts has solely completed with 18 yards on seven RPO passing makes an attempt.
In the Eagles’ 22-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, three ineligible man downfield penalties had been known as in opposition to them. Center Cam Jurgens was flagged twice, and offensive deal with Lane Johnson was known as for it as soon as.
These five-yard penalties are the results of poor RPO execution. Before Hurts throws the ball, the Eagles’ offensive linemen can’t go down the sector to make blocks. They can’t go down subject till the ball is thrown or till they understand it’s a run play.
The Eagles have a resolution to wash up these penalties to make the RPO efficient once more.
“It’s just a timing thing on our own end,” Eagles offensive deal with Jordan Mailata advised NJ Advance Media on Thursday. “It’s a simple fix. Put a tag on the play call so we know that we need to hold onto the blocks a little longer. That’s pretty much it. It’s not that complex of an issue. It isn’t.
“Again, once you add that tag, you become more clearer on what read comes first and what you need to do as an offensive lineman. It’s not that deep. Everybody’s making a big deal about it, but it’s not a big deal on how to fix it.”
NFL analysts Brian Baldinger and Dan Orlovsky are each involved in regards to the Eagles’ penalties.
“What is the CP on this RPO? How is the offensive line supposed to know if the ball is pulled to throw? Birds are constantly penalyzed on this issue,” Baldinger tweeted during Monday’s game.
“This has gotta get fixed in Philly,” Orlovsky said on Tuesday, via X.
Former Eagles middle Jason Kelce responded to Baldinger’s question and defined the nuance of the play. Kelce mentioned RPOs “bail out a lot of bad run looks,” however he hated the play as a result of it made him run block timidly.
The Eagles have run the ball 21 instances for 123 yards on RPOs, the second-best complete within the league.
Hurts and operating again Saquon Barkley are one of many league’s most harmful backfield tandems. The Eagles may end with probably the most dashing yards on RPOs this season, however that gained’t occur if the passing offense can’t execute it higher.
“We had some really, really good discussions just because it’s been a really successful component for us,” Moore mentioned. “So we don’t want to lose that element of our offense. There’s part technique, part scheme. There’s really a combination of that. … The timing of everything and when to make those decisions and when to call those plays all have critical moments. We had some really fun discussions about this that I think will help us moving forward.”
Mailata mentioned the Eagles’ offensive line is “taught to do our job and take care of our job first.” On RPOs, they don’t know if Hurts will select to throw or run the ball.
Eagles guard Mekhi Becton mentioned the “communication” has to be higher. Becton additionally mentioned the Eagles use a code phrase on RPO performs to ensure everybody is aware of it’s coming.
Over the subsequent few weeks, the Eagles’ offense has to be extra environment friendly.
They want to attain a lot of factors to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, so that they can’t make too many self-inflicted errors.
“The thing that led to our downfall is the penalties,” Mailata mentioned about their efficiency in opposition to Atlanta. “You break momentum. Then, you have to fight and claw back to get a first down again or get back to where you started. The momentum kind of gets broken up. If you keep letting penalties in, eventually they are going to (expletive) you. They (expletive) us.”
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Cayden Steele might be reached at [email protected]
