May 20, 2024   3 MIN READ

Same Old Giants?

ITB: Matchup Intel For 1st Half of Birds Sked

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The Philadelphia Eagles will take on teams with major changes on both sides of the ball in 2024.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher provided intel on the Eagles’ opponents for the first half of the ’24 season.

Daniel Jones

GETTY IMAGES: The Philadelphia Eagles will face NFC East rival New York Giants in Week 7

Green Bay Packers

Adam Caplan: “Jeff Hafley was the Boston College head coach. He won’t have to worry about recruiting as a defensive coordinator. It sounds like he is going to run a 4-3 [defense], which is a complete departure. We have said over the years it always good facing a team with a new scheme in Week 1, you want to see them before they really get it.” 

Geoff Mosher: “The early matchup that you are looking at for the Eagles is: on defense, will they be able to stop Jordan Love with explosive plays? Especially on third down, it was a huge issue last year. On offense, will the Eagles’ new center and right guard have trouble with the interior presence that the Packers can bring?”

Atlanta Falcons

Caplan: “It is a west coast offense…their skill position group is pretty good and they have three former first round picks on the offensive line.” 

Mosher: “I expect this to be a 5-2 front, a 3-4 type of defense, the type that is going to move around a little bit. Raheem Morris has always done a good job with defenses, and these are the types of defenses that really came after Jalen Hurts last year.”

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mosher: “It was not just James Bradberry that Mike Evans was torching last year. Darius Slay was on the wrong end of a couple of catches. In the first game, Evans torched both of them but he dropped a couple of passes. I am concerned about that matchup, especially if Baker Mayfield and [new offensive coordinator] Liam Coen are on the same page early on and the protection is good.”

Caplan: “Here is where you beat them: this is another team not strong at cornerback. They traded Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean was hurt quite a bit last season. They just don’t have the depth.”

New York Giants

Caplan: “[New defensive coordinator] Shane Bowen is a Mike Vrabel disciple. He is going to run the Patriots 3-4, which is a lot of disguise, late movement and not a lot of blitzing. One of things they had to do was get more edge rushers, they brought Brian Burns in and gave him an extension.”

Mosher: “I think they can be a pretty good defense and ease up the backend because of the front seven, but they need the offense to be compatible and give them a break in order to be successful. When I look at the offense, they drafted Malik Nabers who can make a big difference, but they still have issues on their line, don’t have much of a running game and the quarterback is a big question mark.”

Cincinnati Bengals

Caplan: “Their offensive line is beatable, but if they protect (Joe) Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase is an absolute superstar, this is a fun game in Week 8.”

Mosher: “On defense, you don’t see a lot of splashy names, but they have always been a sum team than an individual parts team. They play good, solid, together cohesive defense under Lou Anarumo.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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