MISSING: Offensive Production

Last season the Philadelphia Eagles finished the season with the number two raked offense, averaging 381.4 total yards per game, 257.4 yards of which came through the air. The 2006 Eagles were also the sixth highest scoring team in the league, averaging almost 25 points per game. It is now 2007, and the Eagles offense has returned eleven of 2006's twelve starters. The entire offensive line was kept intact (although LT William Thomas was forced to miss week four due to injury), Quarterback Donovan McNabb has returned from the ACL tear that cost him the final six regular season games and two playoff games last season, and although McNabb clearly does not have the mobility of years past, he stll boasts one of the biggest arms in the league. Running back Brian Westbrook is back, and is on pace to top last year's career season. Fullback Thomas Tapeh has returned as well. Despite not re-signing Donte` Stallworth, Reggie Brown has returned to his receiving role (if not in production than at least in presence), and the speedy Kevin Curtis has taken Stallworth's place as the "burner" at wide-out. LJ Smith, despite being in-and-out of the line-up while recovering from a sports hernia/groin injury (does any other city's athletes besides Philly suffer sports hernias?) is also back from last season, as is back-up TE Matt Schobel. With all of this said, and with basically the same personnel from last season's explosive, quick-strike (sometimes even too quick) offense, why has Philadelphia's 2007 offense been so... terrible?
The Eagles are averaging 20 points per game, and have scored 100 points through five games. These stats are even less impressive when the 56 point out-burst from week three's domination of Detroit is taken in to account. Without the fireworks display which was week three, the Eagles have averaged 11 points per game this season. There is only one word that describes the efforts of Philly's offense through five games: abysmal. Even in victory yesterday, against a bad New York Jets defense, the offense only put up 16 points (1 TD, 3 FG) and went 0-for-4 in the red zone. So the question remains: what has happened to this offense?
As does all criticism of this Eagles' team, the offensive troubles start with the quarterback. Donovan McNabb is not 100% healthy, and he will not be 100% for the rest of this season. In the past McNabb has been able to make up for his below-average receivers by scrambling to buy them time to get opened and running for big gains, forcing the defensive coordinators to designate a man to cover McNabb. This talent is gone, at least for this season, as McNabb recovers from a torn ACL, and almost a decade's worth of punishment after dropping back more than any other QB in the league for the majority of his career. McNabb is now a one-dimensional quarterback, and his lack of consistency and precision are far more evident, as receivers are not wide-open in a three-step-drop passing scheme. But not all can be blamed on McNabb. Reggie Brown came into the meadowlands with season statistics that would total one very good game. Despite contributing 6 catches for 89 yards on Sunday, Brown has a five game stat line that reads 14 catches for 170 yards and no touchdowns. These numbers average out to under 3 receptions for 34 yards per game. Brown has struggled against press coverage, and Donovan McNabb has always been very concerned about not throwing interceptions. With a receiver not getting great seperation and a quarterback not high on taking risks, the results will not be productive. Brown's counter-part, Kevin Curtis, contributed with a solid game against the Jets (5 Catches, 121 yards, 1 TD) but has been inconsistent in beating physical corners as well. Despite a season line of 24 receptions for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns, half of his totals came in the week three route of Detroit, in which Curtis caught 11 balls for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns. Again, Curtis has struggled in press coverage, which is something he has never been asked to beat, spending his prior years as St. Louis' slot receiver flanked by two Pro Bowlers in Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Missing LJ Smith's unique skill set has also hampered the passing game, as his combination of speed and size enabled him to make plays down the field against line-backers and safeties. Through Sunday, Eagles tight ends have combined for 123 yards on 15 catces. McNabb in past seasons has leaned on his tight ends to produce what his receivers could not. Chad Lewis was the man for years, and LJ Smith has stepped in recently, and without the presence of a big body in the middle, red zone production has suffered immensely, as well.
The red zone has been an uncharacteristically unproductive area for the Eagles' offense this season, and a lot of the red zone problems lie in LJ Smith's hands. The two speedy receivers on the outside are not big enough to beat double coverage in the shortened field. There is not enough space for them to run double moves and beat defensive backs with their speed. Even Brian Westbrook, the only player resembling a consistent offensive weapon on this team is not a huge receiving threat in the red zone. The field is too short inside the 20-yard line for swing passes, and the field is too bunched for screen passes to be effective. It becomes easier for defenders to cut down Westbrook's angles en route to the pylon, reducing the chance for Westbrook to score on any play other than a hand-off. This is where LJ Smith comes in. in the red zone Smith garners attention from a line backer to deal with the his size. One less linebacker opens up the middle for Westbrook to work his magic on screens, swings and crossing patterns. But Smith is also quite fast, especially for a tight end, which means either a safety or nickel back has to cover Smith over the top to account for his ability to make quick cuts and get inside a linebacker. This opens up either Brown or Curtis to be able to work one-on-one with a DB. The offensive decision-makers attempted to remedy the absence of Smith by using Avant's big frame in the red zone yesterday, but a combination of a good defensive play on a ball that was thrown too late prevented a touchdown. But Avant, and Hank Baskett, may be the answer to the immediate problem of red zone effeciancy.
Yet another problem hampering this offense has been the pass protection. Despite cutting down their sacks by 75% from the previous game, the line still gave up 3 sacks to a Jets defense that had only recorded 3 sacks the entire season. Some of the protection problems are personnel, as except for William 'Tra" Thomas, this is an offensive line made of maulers who beat a defense down by run blcking, not retreating into a pass block. But a lot of it has to do with McNabb. No longer mobile, McNabb must realize he only has a certain amount of time to release the ball, meaning he must find an opened receiver, throw to a spot and hope his receiver gets there, or throw the football away. Donovan has never had to throw the ball away of force a ball in to a tight spot, he's been able to wait. Waiting and buying time is no longer an option.
But how can this offense expect to become part of a playoff contending team, or at the very least, match the level of which the defense is playing. The answer, despite what Andy Reid and the rest of the coaching staff may say, is quite simple. Running. Running the ball will allow the entire offense to open up the way it did in 2006 and even 2004 (the T.O. days). The only argument against becomming a run-first offense, other than a pass-happy stubborn head coach, is that the team's feature back cannot handle more of a work load than he's already been given. Although Westbrook may argue otherwise, all indications lead to Westbrook not being able to handle 30-35 carries per game. But #36 does not need to touch the ball that much, in fact, I would not advocate giving Westbrook more than 20-23 carries, to go along with his 5-6 catches, per game. The change needs to come into when the ball is handed off, and to whom. First, running on third down is a must. It will keep the defense honest and result in more first downs. Westbrook is averaing 5.8 yards per carry. Give him the ball on third and five-or-less and it will result in a first down. And now that teams believe the Eagles will run in any situation, safeties will be brought up in to the box more often, leaving the receivers more room to make plays down the field. Also, play action will become a weapon, as it will actually work in the manner it was intended, and freeze the front seven as the decipher between run or pass and buy McNabb more time to go through his reads. Also, Correll Buckhalter needs to get more involved. Buck is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and ran for 103 yards on 17 carries in Westbrook's absence in the week 4 mess that was the Giants game. Putting both Westbrook and Buckhalter on the field together will result in major match up problems for a defense, especially considering the possibility of splitting Westbrook out wide. Even Tony Hunt can get involved, as his 233 pound frame can contribute in short yardage and red zone situations. This team could easily become an even better running team than the '03 Birds, whose "three-headed monster" of Westbrook, Buckhalter and Duce Staley carried the team to an NFC Championship appearance.
The Philadelphia Eagles offensive woes will not resolve themselves over night, and will, in all likeliood, continue against the Chicago Bears' stout defense in the upcoming week. But becomming a team that is willing to run in any situation is the only way to start the turnaround. Andy Reid must realize that running will not only bolster Westbrook and the RB's statistics, but the entire offenses'. The receivers will have more time to get open and McNabb will have more time to find a receiver down the field for a big gain. The defense has kept the Eagles in all five games this season. The D gave up no touchdowns to Green Bay, 1 TD to Washington, 3 TDs to the Lions, 1 TD to the Giants, and 0 TDs to the Jets. The offense, lead by Reid and his staff, must step up and realize the only way to capitalize on the strong play of the D is to run the ball to open up the rest of the offense and, ultimately, score more points. This comeback is a long-shot. The Cowboys are good. The Packers are off to a hot start. There are a handful of teams in the middle that will fight to win every week. The Eagles can break away from that pack by makng some minor adjustments. If it as obvious to Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg as it is to the fans (myself included) as to what must be done to fix this team than it should be a fun year. But if the coaches stay the course then this team will fail. Reid said he was stating the obvious by saying the offense had to score more touchdowns. Let's hope the "how" is as obvious as the "what",