Last Sunday, the 49ers used the big play to defeat the St. Louis Rams. This Sunday, they will look to do more of the same as the Philadelphia Eagles come to town and bring their blitz-happy defense with them. Make no mistake about it, the 49ers are going to have a tough time with the Eagles' D, but the potential for big plays is there. The Niners just have to take advantage of their opportunities while minimizing their mistakes.Defensive lineKey Losses: Jevon Kearse (injury) / Hollis ThomasKey Additions: Darren Howard (New Orleans) / Brodrick Bunkley 4 Brett Favre White jersey
(rookie)Jevon Kearse, the key ingredient to the Eagles' pass rush, is out for the season. Stepping into his place (according to Eagles.com) is Trent Cole, a former fifth-round pick out of the University of Cincinnati. Cole will likely rotate with Juqua Thomas, a 250-pound situational pass rusher who has nine sacks in 59 career games, and Jerome McDougal, an oft-injured first-round pick from 2003, who has only 23 tackles in 19 career games. Lining up opposite the revolving door defensive end is free agent acquisition Darren Howard, who has only three tackles in two games this season.In the middle of the line, the Eagles rotate veteran DT Darwin Walker along with their 2005 and 2006 first-round selections, Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley.The Eagles' front four is very aggressive. They are also very susceptible to big runs if you catch them in a poorly-timed blitz. If the Rams' game is any indication, the 49ers' offensive line should be able to hold its ground in the passing game and open up decent-sized holes for Frank Gore. Look for two or three runs of 10 yards or more out of him.LinebackersKey Losses: Mark Simoneau / Keith AdamsKey Additions: Shawn Barber (Kansas City) This is an area of concern for the Eagles. Their starting outside linebackers are Matt McCoy and Dhani Jones while Jeremiah Trotter mans the middle. Trotter is a tackling machine, racking up 121 a year ago and 14 this season. McCoy, Philly's second-round selection out of San Diego State last year, had an impressive offseason and convinced the coaches to insert him into the starting lineup. He has rewarded them thus far with 11 tackles. Jones, on the other hand, has not played up to expectations, recording only 146 tackles and half a sack in his three seasons wearing the green and white. The Eagles also brought in Shawn Barber from Kansas City for depth.Other than Trotter, the Eagles' linebackers are only slightly better than average. Not one of them can cover Vernon Davis one-on-one, and the 49ers should look to take advantage of that whenever possible.SecondaryKey Losses: Lito Sheppard (injury) / Roderick Hood (injury)Key Additions: noneFor the past several seasons, the citadel of the Eagles' defense has been its secondary (Sorrell's note: the citadel is the strongest part of a castle). Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins each manned their quarter of the last line of defense with razor-sharp precision. However, after injuring his ankle in the season opener, Sheppard is out for 4-6 weeks. To make matters worse, nickel back Roderick Hood is questionable with a heel injury. If he can't play, it leaves a huge hole in the Philly secondary to be filled by unproven dime backs Dexter Wynn and Joselio Hanson. Here's Jets 6 Sanchez AFL50th jersey
a bit of math trivia for everyone: three quarters and two dimes minus a nickel does not equal a dollar. The losses of Sheppard and Hood have opened up a major vulnerability the San Francisco's offense should look to exploit. Brown will probably line up on Antonio Bryant most of the game, while Dawkins will likely be shading rookie tight end Vernon Davis (more on him later). All that means Arnaz Battle will probably be matched up on either Wynn or Hanson. Against these two backups, along with Philly's attention being focused elsewhere, Battle should be able to slip free and put up six or seven catches for 100-plus yards. Also, look for the Niners to line Bryan Gilmore up in various ways in the hopes of matching him up downfield against Michael Lewis -- Philly's weakest link (regarding pass coverage) of its normal starting four. One last thing regarding the secondary. As we saw last week, the Philly corners are vulnerable to jump balls against taller, more physical receivers in one-on-one coverage. Here's something to think about. I'm not saying anything is going to come of it, but just take a look.Vernon Davis is 6-foot-3, weighs 250 pounds, runs the 40 in 4.38 seconds, and has a remarkably high vertical leap. Philly's tallest corner (Brown) is 5-10, 200. I'm only saying....Bottom LineThe Eagles are at their best when they effectively pressure the quarterback, and their defense has racked up 13 sacks in two games. Their lighting-quick pass rush forces the opposing quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly. Throwing under duress into the strongest part of a defense before the receivers can make any real moves results in interceptions. That is Football 101. However, with Kearse out for the season, the Eagles' pass rush will not be as effective, meaning they will not be able to get to the quarterback as quickly. That will give Alex Smith more time to stand in the pocket, allowing his receivers to make a move or two on their defenders. The longer the O-line can hold back the pass rush, the better chance there is for a mistake in the secondary. It's virtually impossible to cover an NFL receiver one-on-one for more than two seconds every single play. You're eventually going to make a mistake, and that's when the big play comes.Without the Eagles' starting cornerback, 4 Brett Favre Purple jersey
there's even more potential for mistakes in the secondary. Just look at what happened last week. The Eagles' defense sacked Eli Manning eight times, yet he still managed to throw for 371 yards and completed five passes that went for gains of 20 yards or more...nearly all of which came on plays when the blitz was a fraction of a second too late. The 49ers can do the exact same thing, and will look to on Sunday.
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