How Do the Falcons Prepare for the Eagles' New-Look Defense?

I hate the Eagles. I just do. And I hate that there's been much ado about the Eagles defense.

In case you haven't heard, the Eagles have a new defensive coordinator. They fired Juan Castillo last week; Todd Bowles will take over in the interim. Apparently we should be worried - at least that's what the critics are saying.

“It’s still going to be the same guys we’ve seen on film,” McClure said. “I don’t think they are going to drastically change what they’ve done. They’ve had training camp to put in their defensive philosophies and the first six games of the season. I just can’t see them changing too much.”

I tend to think Mud Duck has a point. New defensive schemes aren't easily implemented. The Eagles don't have the time, motivation, or desire to reinvent the wheel. As Smitty suggests, they will likely feature some new looks, and that may require some adjustments on our end. But this is the NFL. These are professionals. We do have a very formidable offense.

Put simply, this isn't a simple proposition for the Eagles either. New-look defense or not, we're a difficult team to play against. Heck, we've averaged 378 yards of offense over our past three games, notwithstanding our anemic rushing offense. We're converting 45.33 percent of our third downs (4th best in the league). Roddy White is the third-most efficient receiver in the game right now (35.4 percent more efficient than league-average). I could go on, but I don't have to. This offense has turned a corner, it truly has. We're a formidable opponent for any NFL defense.

Look, there are no guarantees, but I do think the bye week will pay dividends. Why? Because our coaching staff saw this new-look defense coming. They aren't stupid. They know what they're doing.

So how do we prepare for the Eagles' new-look defense? We continue our pass-happy ways. We try to improve our running game. We keep the twinkie stash away from Sam Baker. We do us. Yeah, I said it, we do us. Because right now we're perfect. Right now we're the best team in the league.

Discuss!