How Good Could The Eagles Defense Be In 2018?
Much of the focus this preseason for the Eagles has been on Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense, but what is frequently overlooked is the defensive side of the ball. In 2017, the Eagles Defense was top five in the NFL in Points Allowed (18.4 PPG/A), Total Yards Allowed (4,904 - 4th Best), Rushing Touchdowns Allowed (Seven - 3rd Fewest Allowed), and Turnover Percentage (15.4% - 4th Best in NFL). The Eagles Defense led the NFL Quarterback Pressures and this offseason added impact veteran Defensive Linemen Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata to a deep position group coached by Jim Schwartz in his third season as Defensive Coordinator.
NFL Network Analyst Brian Baldinger joined The Locker Room with Billy Schweim on Saturday and gave his perspective on the 2018 Eagles Defense:
“They were the number one (Rushing) Defensive football last year, gave up the fewest rush yards in the league. They were eight deep across the defensive line; Give them credit, one or two or three defensive lineman could end up playing on other teams. They were dominant against Cleveland, they hurt the (Browns Starting) Quarterback. The other quarterback looked like his neck got snapped, Baker Mayfield, and (the Eagles Defense) were just abusing the offensive line of Cleveland. - They’re good, they’re really good. And you know, when you watch Sydney Jones and Jalen Mills, you know they all wanna tackle. Nobody’s shocked that they put their nose in there....Haloti Ngata was unblockable (Thursday Night) - It’s just a good defense and they played lights out good after all those turnovers that happened to the offense the other night they gave up three points after all that.”
Checkout what Baldinger had to say about Eagles Offensive Lineman and his perspective on 2018 NFL season