After reaching the Super Bowl in 2016, the Atlanta Falcons roster grew old and expensive and their football team gradually got worse in each subsequent season. In 2017, the Philadelphia Eagles reached the Super Bowl, and well, the same, but at least they have a Lombardi trophy to prove it.
These are our five clashes to see the opening of Week 1 on Sunday between a couple of teams that have had similar drops in recent years.
1) The Eagles ’fast receivers versus the Falcons’ cheap side
The Eagles have invested a lot of draft resources in the wide receiver position over the past three years, and it is still unknown if they have found a group that can be reasonably successful. The top three receivers coming into the season are DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins, all unproven, but all capable of making big plays.
The Falcons, meanwhile, allowed the maximum number of passes of more than 20 yards in 2020, with 66 of them. They also tied at TD’s third most allowed reception, with 34 of them.
In 2021, coach Dan Quinn is no longer there, and the Falcons have three new high school starters they found at Dollar Tree, CB Fabian Moreau, S Duron Harmon and S Erik Harris.
| Player | Duration of the contract | Tap number |
| S Erik Harris | 1 year | $ 1,350,000 |
| CB Fabian Moreau | 1 year | $ 987,500 |
| S Duron Harmon | 1 year | $ 987,500 |
These three boys join second-year CB AJ Terrell, who was the team’s first-round pick in 2020.
If this young group of Eagles receivers will have any kind of impact this season, they should be able to start well against this less than impressive Falcons side.
2) The Eagles ‘offensive line against the Falcons’ pass
If the Eagles receivers get underway with the good start mentioned, it wouldn’t be bad if the offensive line gave Jalen Hurts plenty of time to shoot. They should be able to do it against what seems on paper like a sadness of hawks. Its first seven projected starters feature 73 combined race sacks.
| Player (age) | Race games | Race bags |
| Dante Fowler (27) | 77 | 30.5 |
| Grady Jarrett (28) | 93 | 23.5 |
| Deion Jones (26) | 69 | 6.5 |
| Tyeler Davison (28) | 93 | 5.0 |
| Jonathan Bullard (27) | 61 | 3.5 |
| Foyesade Oluokun (26) | 47 | 3.0 |
| Jacob Tuioti-Mariner (25) | 24 | 1.0 |
| TOTAL | 464 | 73 |
And it’s not like it’s a young group. His average age is just under 27 years. There are 15 active NFL individual players with at least 73 career sacks. Three Eagles players have at least 50.
So to sum it up, we’ve established that the Falcons have a secondary bargain bin and a pass full of players who have often not reached the quarterback during their careers. Not a good combination.
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3) The Eagles ‘running attack on the Falcons’ hasty defense
The Falcons ’defense wasn’t bad last year, and if I’m being honest, I can’t come up with any convincing reasoning as to why they’ll be good or bad in 2021.
But from a schematic perspective, it will be interesting to see the offensive aspect of the Eagles. Given their offensive staff, it would make some sense for the Eagles to use a very intense approach similar to that of the Baltimore Ravens. After all, the Eagles have a fast, tough quarterback to Jalen Hurts, an explosive runner to Miles Sanders, a good offensive line to block races and speed on the outside to keep opposing safes from getting caught. in the box.
During the preseason, the Eagles’ game plans were extremely vain both offensively and defensively, based on the premise that they were trying to maintain the schematic mystery of a coaching staff that includes a neophyte offensive caller in Nick Sirianni and a first. time defensive coordinator to Jonathan Gannon.
Sunday will be the first real vision of the Eagles ’schematic identity in 2021.
4) The Eagles ’inside defensive line against Falcons C Matt Hennessy and LG Jalen Mayfield
The usual holder of the Falcons at LG would have been Josh Andrews, but he is in IR with his hand broken during practice a week ago. You may remember Andrews from a couple of passes with the Eagles initially from 2014 to 2017 and again in 2018. Andrews, now 30, is on his fifth NFL team. …
According to PFF, Andrews was the second worst pass blocking goalie in the NFL last season, with a grade of 18.1. So if he can’t go, who’s the guy who isn’t good enough to defeat him for an initial job? This would be the selection for the third round of 2021, Jalen Mayfield, who looks set to probably make his professional debut in week 1. Asked about the possibility of this scenario, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith gave a strong answer:
Arthur Smith to Jaylen Mayfield, possibly starting on the first left of the left guard and facing Fletcher Cox: “Everyone has to be baptized at some point.”
– Kris Rhim (@ krisrhim1) September 2, 2021
You may also remember Hennessy from the 2020 NFL draft, as he was a guy of local interest, who had played in the Temple. Hennessy was selected in the third round, which he held the protective position at times as a rookie, and started in the center at the end of the season after then-starter Alex Mack suffered a concussion. Nothing went well, as he got a blocking score of 28.6 from PFF.
Fletcher Cox remains one of the best defensive attacks in the NFL, and Javon Hargrave had a fantastic training camp. These two boys must dominate the interior of this young and trembling line O interior of Falcons.
5) Eagles defenders and safety against rookie TE Kyle Pitts
Pitts was a star player at the University of Florida, who the Falcons finished fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, after routinely toasting the best in the SEC. corners. Its university emphasizes:
It’s rare to write one of these matching articles, and Julio Jones isn’t the most obvious threat to the Eagles ’defense. While Calvin Ridley is a good receiver, the most dynamic player on the Falcons roster is probably Pitts, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles defend him.
“With Pitts, we saw all that college tape coming out of all those DBs and he was a guy who was constantly winning against all the DBs he was watching, and he jumped off the tape,” Jonathan Gannon said last week. “I was like,‘ Who is this guy? “It will be a challenge for us to find out, especially in the first week, how they will deploy it.”
It could be an early test for Anthony Harris to prove his worth.
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