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Brian Johnson Says Hideous 3rd and 20 Play Call Had “Multiple Options”
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Brian Johnson on Tuesday addressed the atrocious QB run/QB run/bubble screen sequence from Sunday’s pitiful loss to the Cardinals:
Q. Can you take us into the sequence after the penalty that backed you up to first and 20? Those three plays and why you called them?(Dave Zangaro)
BRIAN JOHNSON: When you get in those type of four-minute situations, there are three different things that you’re managing at that point. I think the first is obviously down and distance. You’re managing the clock. Obviously, you don’t want to try to give them the ball back and then you’re managing the kick line. All three of those things really come into play.
So, the first down, we get four. Second and 16, (Budda Baker) makes a fantastic play. It was a play that had a chance to be really, really big and be a big hit. Credit to Budda Baker. He made a fantastic play on that particular play. Then what ends up happening is you lose four yards and so you’re third and 20. The priorities of what you’re trying to manage really change each play throughout that sequence.
So now you get yourself into a third and 20, and you want to put yourself in a position to score points, because that’s not obviously an area on the field where you’re going to punt the ball and with the way the wind was in that stadium on that side, like we had to get to the kick line.
That was the third and 20. Obviously had multiple options on that play call. If you get a pressure look, that’s what we are going to, and if we didn’t get a pressure look, then the play would have been something else. The guys executed what we tried to do. Unfortunately, just weren’t able to get it done.
Alright, there’s a bit to digest there.
First things first, Budda Baker did make a “fantastic play” coming through the A gap, but I also see a pulling Landon Dickerson whiffing on a block. They had Jordan Mailata ready to rumble downfield, but even if Baker didn’t get through, I think BJ Ojulari has an easy play here:
On the 3rd down, Johnson says the Eagles “obviously had multiple options on that play call.“
Sure, it’s a pressure look, but Arizona sends five and drops others back. The linemen can’t even get out to block before the 262-pound linebacker is in the flat and blowing up the play:
To me, it’s not an issue of making the right defensive reads and pre-snap checks. It’s an issue of the play options being complete ass.
These bubble screens should never be thrown in the first place, because they don’t fit the personnel. Jalen doesn’t throw the ball with enough zip. 170 pound DeVonta Smith shouldn’t be a lead blocker. A.J. Brown is a brilliant slant runner and downfield threat who had just moved the sticks for 18 yards a few plays earlier. There’s just zero reason to have the perimeter screen in the playbook at all. The only screens the Eagles should be running are that shallow screen to Dallas Goedert (rarely does he start out wide), and that middle screen to D’Andre Swift. Those are the two screens they’ve had the most success with this season. Using receivers or backs in this fashion is not a viable pressure/blitz beater.
It’s nauseating. I am nauseous.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com