Philadelphia Eagles Will Thrive Under Jim Schwartz's Defensive System

The key to coaching in any sport is to adapt system to personnel, not try to force feed a system onto ill-fitting parts. That’s why new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is well on his way to fixing what ailed the defense of the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago.

Anyone who has followed the Eagles knew they have a couple of solid rush ends in Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry who never got the chance to show what they had a year ago in Billy Davis‘ 3-4 defense. Now, with Schwartz installing a 4-3, they will get more opportunities to meet at the opposing quarterback, and those kinds of plays should be infectious.

New head coach Doug Pederson deserves a lot of the credit, too, because he watched enough defensive film to know that the Eagles had 4-3 personnel, not 3-4, and went out to find the best available 3-4 guy on the market. That turned out to be Schwartz, the former Detroit Lions head coach. When Pederson was a backup quarterback with the Eagles in 1999, the defensive coordinator was Jimmy Johnson who believed not only in the 4-3 but pressure as a cornerstone of the 4-3. The Eagles could not do that without ends like Curry and Graham, and it should be interesting how much pressure the team is able to generate in that new scheme.

With impressive rookie Jordan Hicks as the middle linebacker and tackle Fletcher Cox holding down the middle of the line, the Eagles have the pieces in place for a solid front seven. If that front seven stops the run and brings the pressure, that makes the job of the back four a lot easier.

All things considered, the math adds up to a much better season for the Eagles in 2016.