Seahawks versus Eagles: six questions with Eagles expert
The Seahawks host the Eagles Sunday night. Can Seattle knock off Philadelphia to stay in the hunt? Here’s what Inside the Iggles Geoffrey Knox has to say.
At 6 – 4 the Seahawks need this win badly. The Eagles are 10 – 1 and definitely a formidable team. They are far from the team the Seahawks defeated last season. This is their biggest challenge so far this season. To get a better picture of what to expect, we spoke with FanSided’s Eagles expert, Geoffrey Knox.
All about the Philadelphia offense
12th Man Rising: How has Carson Wentz improved so much, going from a passer rating of 79.3 in 2016 to 104.0 this season?
Geoffrey Knox: Carson Wentz just knows how to play this game. He’s a winner. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Last season was the aberration. You also can’t discount the importance of stability. Year two began for him and he was surrounded by the same head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That’s huge, especially in an ever-changing NFL.
We expected a jump in year two, but I doubt anyone saw this large of a leap. Wentz may be one of those rare talents that can be as good as he wants to be. He stated earlier in the season that the game is slowing down now. I think that says it all.
12th Man Rising: Other than Wentz, is there one key player to the Eagles offensive success?
Geoffrey Knox: There may not be one because I believe this game will be won by the Eagles dominating in time of possession. That means they’ll need to rely on and stick with their running game. That being said, who knows who’ll have the big game?
Corey Clement, Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount have become the Eagles three-headed monster, and they’ll probably decide this one. Even without Richard Sherman, I’m not sure that Wentz will carve up “The Legion of Boom” like he’s carved up everyone else.
Predicting the Eagles defense
12th Man Rising: The Eagles defense has been savage against the run, and hasn’t allowed over 250 yards passing in over a month. Do you expect Coach Schwartz to scheme any differently against Russell Wilson?
Geoffrey Knox: I don’t actually. Schwartz doesn’t change much. He, pretty much, has a system, and he just kind of goes about his business like ‘Here’s our system. Let’s see if you can beat us,’ and that’s fine. As far as Russell Wilson goes, who knows how you can scheme this guy? If you stay in coverage, you give him too much time. If you blitz, he’ll escape the pressure and freelance.
Perhaps, a mixture of both is key, but as far as Sunday goes, expect Philly to try to create pressure with the front four while the linebackers and backend of the defense play coverage. Then, expect Schwartz to mix in some well-timed blitzes. We’ll all learn if it works together.