How the Eagles are focused on winning the turnover battle

Jonathan Gannon spent a large chunk of the offseason studying turnovers.

When the Eagles defensive coordinator gets a sheet of statistics in the aftermath of a game, the first two places he searches for are the turnover differential and the number of explosive plays. More often than not, he claims, those numbers will make the difference between winning and losing.

After a 2021 season in which the Eagles’ 16 takeaways ranked 26th, Gannon and his defensive assistants searched for answers.

“We studied it hard-core,” Gannon said. “Any time you want to improve on something, like we’ve talked about, ‘Hey, these are the two things we really want to improve on.’ You’ve got to take a deep dive and study it.”

How much time did the group of coaches pour into the subject?

“There’s a lot of time on task,” Gannon said. “It’s not like you watch for one day, eight hours, and say, ‘OK, here’s what it is.’ It took a month with everybody in that room. We went through it. You start studying different people. You start talking to different people, how you drill certain things. ... I’m a big guy on language. You have to define things clearly for the players to understand, and then the why behind it.”

So far it appears the Eagles defense is speaking the language. The group is tied with the Baltimore Ravens with 10 takeaways, tops in the league through four games.

The Eagles forced five turnovers — four fumbles and one interception — against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday as the remnants of Hurricane Ian brought steady rain and windy conditions. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggled mightily holding onto the ball in the conditions, and the Eagles’ defensive front capitalized.

Edge rusher Haason Reddick led the unit, logging two strip sacks and two fumble recoveries.

“He affects the game,” Gannon said. “He makes big-time plays. He has a unique skill set. We use him different ways. Even if he doesn’t show up on the stats sheet, we deploy him in a way that creates good matchups for other people, so he’s always helping us win the game.”

» READ MORE: A closer look at new Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick’s usage in Jonathan Gannon’s scheme

Reddick, who leads the league with three forced fumbles this season, won defensive player of the week honors for his showing. While the former Temple star’s tendency to knock the ball loose from opposing quarterbacks is something the Eagles practice, some of it comes down to natural ability, according to Gannon.

“There is a skill set, a mentality, a feel for guys that take the ball away more than other guys,” Gannon said when asked about Reddick’s instincts. “What you want to do is get as many guys as you can that have a knack for taking the ball away and then drill it and teach it better and hopefully it comes to fruition, which it has.”

Some regression to the mean is to be expected when looking at the Eagles’ current takeaway total. Two of Lawrence’s fumbles were unforced errors that can be tied back to the wet conditions making the ball slick. They’ve also faced Carson Wentz and Kirk Cousins, two of the more turnover-prone quarterbacks in the league, so far.

The hot start gives the defense a high likelihood of surpassing last year’s total regardless, but the group will need more plays like James Bradberry’s interception against Jacksonville to maintain the status quo.

Bradberry recognized the route concept the Jaguars receiving corps was running and jumped a wheel route just as Lawrence let go of the pass. The veteran cornerback said after the game his play recognition wasn’t tied to film study, but experience covering the concept during his seven-year playing career.

“He’s extremely intelligent,” Gannon said. “He can play different styles, which you’re seeing that show up. He’s a team-first guy. He’s another one that’s producing at a high level. It’s hard to complete balls to him. He’s got length. He’s got range. He’s sticky. He’s got ball skills that you’ve seen. He’s a corner with a very unique skill set that can kind of do it all. I’m really pleased with where he’s at, and he’s going to continue to ascend, too.”

» READ MORE: Eagles corner James Bradberry’s big play impresses Darius Slay: ‘How you let that man out the building?’

Additions like Bradberry and Reddick have been major factors in the defense’s turnover turnaround. Gannon’s scheme often challenges teams to sustain long drives without making a mistake and therefore relies on explosive plays like sacks, pass breakups, or penalties to set a defense back. The scheme only works if it has the defensive playmakers to force those plays, though.

“The guys who came in did a really good job of understanding what they’re supposed to be doing within the scheme,” Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “Haas rushing, how good he is at getting to the quarterback and also in space, with James and his playmaking ability, you’ve seen it in the first four weeks. ... All it does is make you hungrier to make plays as well. It all goes hand-in-hand.”

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 5 game against the Arizona Cardinals and Zach Ertz. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday