Eagles film: Scheme, not Jordan Davis, had more to do with run defense struggles vs. Lions

The team had problems stopping the Lions on the ground. The film shows how the rookie made an impact.

Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis (90) with Javon Hargrave during the opener against the Detroit Lions.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Published Sept. 14, 2022, 1:01 p.m. ET

While the old adage that you’re never as good or as bad as you looked in Week 1 may apply to the Eagles’ split-personality performance against the Lions, the one about teams improving the most in Week 2 is probably an axiom better reserved for football below the NFL level.

Jonathan Gannon was handed five new starters on defense during the offseason — one of whom arrived just 12 days before the season opener — but personnel had little to do with the Eagles’ struggles in stopping the run.

The defensive coordinator, for whatever reason, decided to open Sunday’s game with four down linemen, and on the second play from scrimmage, local star D’Andre Swift (No. 32) ran off tackle through a gaping hole, deked cornerback James Bradberry (No. 24) and was off to the races.

If Bradberry had made the stop, the Eagles may have been looking at second-and-2 rather than a 50-yard gain. Safety Marcus Epps (No. 22) tripped, as well. But if you’re relying on a cornerback to fill the B-gap, the odds will eventually be against you.

Gannon had his reasons for opening with a 4-3 front on the first drive, with newly acquired safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (No. 23) as the pseudo linebacker on the above play. Gannon didn’t offer much explanation on Tuesday, which didn’t come as a surprise, but in general terms, he probably just wanted an extra body in the secondary.

While it stands to reason why he would want additional coverage vs. Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Gannon’s early approach may have simply been because he didn’t want to overplay rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

Davis was in for the Eagles’ goal-line defense at the end of the first series, but he didn’t play nose tackle until the third drive. With five down linemen, and the 6-foot-6, 340-pound Davis (No. 90) occupying the middle, Swift was held to just one yard on that first-down run.

Davis played well in his NFL debut. But when the Eagles were effective against the Lions’ ground game, it had as much to do with Gannon’s alignment choices as anything. When they had five across the front, Detroit running backs gained only 42 yards on 13 carries (3.23 average), and when they had four, the Lions gained 130 yards on 13 rushes (10.0 avg.).

It’s not as though having a five-man front is a foreign concept to Gannon. In fact, it was the Eagles’ base defense last season and how they opened against the Falcons in Week 1 a year ago. It was a prominent reason why they traded up for Davis in the first round, and requires a technique that he is most familiar with.

“I just do my job. Hold down what I’m supposed to hold down,” Davis said after the game. “That was my role for this game — to clog up the middle.”

And clog the middle he did.

At Georgia, Davis did a lot of two-gapping, which required him to hold up blockers to account for run gaps on each side. The Eagles employ a slightly different 1-½-gap technique, which allows for more penetration, depending upon how he’s blocked.

On this play, Davis slipped the sliding guard, and forced running back Jamal Williams (No. 30) to cut back inside toward swarming, unblocked, second-level defenders.

Davis played only 22 of 69 snaps (32%), behind fellow defensive tackles Fletcher Cox (39), Javon Hargrave (38), Milton Williams (33) and Marlon Tuipulotu (29). The Eagles clearly intended to ease him into the NFL, which was understandable considering his inexperience and size.

“He did a good job when he was in there,” Gannon said Tuesday. “I thought that he played his technique well, and what we’re asking him to do, he did a good job of executing.

“The 22 snaps, those guys all played, the five D-tackles that were up. They’ll continue to all play, and I think Jordan will keep maximizing his opportunities.”

But how long will it take before Davis moves up the depth chart?

“I’m sure my opportunity will come soon,” the rookie said. “It’s all about my role. I’m a role player this year. It’s just learning everything, getting acclimated to the game. It’s my rookie season. I’ve got a lot of guys that can help me.”

Cox and Hargrave have base salaries of $14 million and $12.75 million, respectively, this season. In terms of interior defensive lineman spending, only four teams have more money devoted to the position than the Eagles. It’s a sound philosophy and the Davis investment certainly factors into that equation.

But will the Eagles get enough out of their highest-paid defensive tackles until the younger set is deemed ready? In 53 pass-rush attempts, Cox and Hargrave had just a combined four pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, and the former’s split sack with defensive end Brandon Graham came after a low snap.

It was just Week 1, but Davis didn’t get any opportunities in the Eagles’ four-man front.

“I feel comfortable with Jordan playing in the three- and four-man fronts,” Gannon said. “He’s a defensive tackle and can play all those techniques within all those schemes. Moving forward he’ll be playing in everything that we do.”

When Davis did rush, it was only because the Lions threw off play-action. On this play, he drew two blockers, which helped free up Hargrave (No. 97), who forced Goff into a near interception.

There is always the chance that offenses will throw against five-man fronts or check to passes pre-snap. If the Eagles are in their 5-2 alignment with two off-ball linebackers, they may be susceptible through the air. They weren’t on the above play.

An opponent’s tendencies will often dictate Gannon’s personnel usage. But if offenses are balanced on first down, utilizing a 5-1 alignment makes more sense — as seen below — which could be the case against the Vikings this Monday night.

The Eagles have high expectations for Davis. But it may take a full offseason for him to get into ideal NFL shape, not unlike many rookies.

“We rotate. So it’s good. Same thing at Georgia,” Davis said when asked about his conditioning. “Whenever my number’s called, I know I’m ready. Obviously, as you go along you’re going to get a little tired. But that’s the game. Everybody’s tired.”

If Gannon is concerned about Davis’ conditioning, it’s not like Hargrave can’t play the nose. He lined up over the center around 60% of the time when the Eagles were in an odd-man front last season. Tuipulotu can also handle those duties.

But stopping the run often comes down to a defensive coordinator’s commitment. If you have five men at the line, more gaps are accounted for and fewer offensive linemen are getting free passes into the second level against linebackers.

If you build an impenetrable wall, you can either force offenses to become one-dimensional or into longer third downs.

Gannon can point to poor tackling or execution as much as he likes, but when defenders are placed in strenuous spots, or there isn’t population to the ball, there are going to be technical errors. One game does not a defense make, but the adjustments he makes this week after seeing his new personnel for an entire game — and, of course, with Minnesota in mind — could say a lot about Gannon the coordinator.