The Eagles offensive and defensive lines will set the tone vs. Cardinals
6 October 2017 Eagles News
No team in the NFL has as good as a defensive and offensive line as the Philadelphia Eagles. These two units need to set the tone early versus the Arizona Cardinals and if they do, the Eagles will soar to victory.
Firstly, the Cardinals have a very good quarterback in Carson Palmer. With star running back David Johnson out, the Cardinals are leaning a lot on Palmer. Last week, Palmer threw 51 passes and on the season, he leads the NFL in pass attempts averaging 45 attempts a game. Knowing that, with that big of a volume of work, the Palmer has been a sitting duck in the pocket in some instances. Being a one-dimensional team, the Cardinals allow opposing defenses to really key in on Palmer. The Eagles have ten sacks this season, which is below the league average (12). However, they have been able to generate a lot of pressure on quarterbacks. Look for Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Derek Barnett to get on the sack sheet versus the Cardinals.
The Eagles really need to get pressure on Palmer because the state of their secondary is shocking. The unit is banged up and they are susceptible. By getting pressure on Palmer and setting the tone early, the Eagles defensive line will change the game and make the secondary look a heck of a lot better.
As for the offense, the Eagles have one of the best units. Now that the left guard position seems to have stabilized, the Eagles offensive line is playing at a high level. Lane Johnson and Jason Peters are doing a great job keeping pressure off of Carson Wentz, including shutting down Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram of the Chargers, who have combined for 23.5 sacks in their last 15 games.
Keeping pressure off of Wentz and allowing the Eagles to run the ball is easier said than done. But last week, not only did they protect Wentz, the Eagles offensive line plowed their way through the Chargers, allowing the team to rush for 214 yards. This unit can dominate and if they impose their will early on, the Eagles will control the game.
The Eagles have two very dominant and impressive units on the line of scrimmage. In the NFL, you win and lose games based off of these units and luckily for the Eagles, their defensive and offensive lines are playing really good football. They will set the tone early versus the Cardinals and help the Eagles win the game.
Ryan Neal Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles