“You guys are worried about turnovers, I’m worried about stopping the run,” Eagles D-boss Jim Schwartz lectured at yesterday’s presser. “I’m worried about getting third-down stops. If we take care of those things, then turnovers will come.”
By Michael Donovan
As the Eagles’ season is circling down the toilet, you have to wonder what their defensive coordinator is smoking.
Last season, when they won the Super Bowl, the Eagles produced 31 turnovers, fourth-most in the league.
This season they are minus-six in the turnover battle.
They’ll play a vaunted New Orleans Saints offense on the road on Sunday, and don’t expect a rapid reversal for a woefully underperforming defense..
“We can’t hunt those plays and chase those plays,” Schwartz said. “When you do, you start giving up gaps in your run game. You start guessing on routes and start looking bad in coverage when you start chasing turnovers. We need to guard against those things.”
While the Eagles’ run defense ranked second-best in the league entering Week 10, the group gave up 151 rushing yards and a touchdown to Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in the 27-20 loss. The Eagles also rank 23rd against opposing passing attacks.
“Like I said, if we do a good job stopping the run, we do a good job getting stops on third down, turnovers will come,” Schwartz said. “[Takeaways are] important to us, but it’s one of those things where the harder you try to get them, sometimes the more you press, and the less likely you are to get them.”
