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The Philadelphia Eagles quietly made a change with the defensive play calling this week, as Sean Desai has been replaced by Matt Patricia. A source confirmed to CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones that Patricia will call the plays, starting with Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, relaying the plays to the “green dot” of the defense.
The source also told Jones that Desai retains his title as defensive coordinator, but will move to the booth as Patricia handles the play-calling duties. The Eagles signed Desai to a four-year contract this offseason after Jonathan Gannon departed for Arizona to take the Cardinals head coaching position. Desai will move to the coaching booth starting this week, which is where he called defensive plays when he was defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears in 2021.
Philadelphia made the change to the defense after two poor performances against the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, but there were problems prior to those two games. Since Week 8, the Eagles are 32nd in the NFL in third down defense (54.8%) and red zone defense (78.3%), also allowing a league high 428.2 yards per game and 297.8 passing yards per game. Philadelphia is 31st in the league in points per game allowed (30.0) and has allowed 30-plus points in three consecutive games for the first time since 1967.
The change in defensive coordinator comes days after head coach Nick Sirianni publicly defended both his coordinators after being under fire over the last several weeks. Sirianni and the Eagles didn’t make changes on the offensive side of the ball.
“I feel good with the people that we have in this building,” Sirianni said. “We’re 10-3. We’re in control of our own destiny, and we’re going to keep rolling and finding answers with the people that we have.
“To single somebody out, one person out, is not the right move here. It’s how do we get better as a team….
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/eagles-juggle-jalen-hurts-illness-matt-patricia-calling-defensive-plays-ahead-of-monday-game-vs-seahawks/
Author : Jeff Kerr
Publish date : 2023-12-17 19:31:49
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