The Philadelphia Eagles defense has been incredibly stingy to start the season, yielding just 17 points in their first two games. But according to Doug Pederson, Pittsburgh’s offense is a prolific unit, executing at a rate much higher than most of the NFL.
Pederson’s Eagles will face their first truly arduous opponent of the season when they host the Steelers this weekend in a Keystone State showdown. Pittsburgh will be without one of their top playmakers in tailback Le’Veon Bell, who’s serving a four-game suspension for missing multiple drug tests. Still, Mike Tomlin’s team boasts elite talent at several key positions, including wideout Antonio Brown and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“[Ben’s] such a smart guy, they’re almost on a different level,” Pederson said. “He can get the ball out of his hand extremely fast. [Defenses] aren’t getting to the quarterback just because of that. It’s fun to watch him really, how he manages that offense and how he commands that team. Everyone rallies around him, obviously a big leader. And as you know, he’s a tough guy to get to.”
“Big Ben” is arguably performing better than ever 13 years after being drafted 11th overall by the Steelers. Roethlisberger’s mountainous 6’5”, 241 lb. frame makes him one of the hardest quarterbacks to sack in the NFL, and to complicate matters, his ability to evade pressure with his legs while keeping his eyes downfield is unparalleled.
“I think because of his size, he’s hard to bring down,” Pederson said. “The older you get, the more you have to put an emphasis on your offseason program, and your diet and all that stuff. And then just how mentally sharp you can be, and knowing your offense inside and out, knowing your personnel and moving the guys around. Getting the ball out of your hand, it’s much like Peyton [Manning] was doing at the end of his career, he was getting the ball out extremely fast. And that’s tough, going against a pass rush like we have, getting the ball out of your hand, it can frustrate a defense.”
“Ben is one of the best quarterbacks in the league at extending plays. One of the things he does well is he keeps his eyes down the field. As defensive backs, sometimes you get caught looking into the backfield and sort of let your coverage down. This is a week with the weapons they have on offense, you just gotta stick with your guy and maintain discipline that way throughout the entire play.”
Brown is Roethlisberger’s favorite target, and the duo dismantled the Redskins secondary in week 1. “A.B.” pulled in eight catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns as Pittsburgh cruised to a victory in the nation’s capital. Unlike most of the top receivers in the league, the former sixth-round draft pick isn’t a physically eye-catching player, listed at 5’10”, 181 lbs. Instead, Brown uses blazing speed and precise route running to exploit opposing defenses.
“You gotta know where [Brown’s] at,” Pederson said. “You see what they’ve done with him, moving him around the field in different spots, single him up, put him in bunch packages, stack packages. One thing Todd does well is he moves his personnel around, he takes advantage of that and he knows what he has. But they’ve got some explosive guys on offense that I think if you put all your attention to one guy, another can beat you, so you’ve got to pay attention to all those guys.”
The Eagles did well to keep perennial Pro Bowler Alshon Jeffery in front of them for most of the game on Monday night, particularly considering they were without their top cornerback, Leodis McKelvin. Even if McKelvin suits up this Sunday, look for Jim Schwartz to provide help in coverage against Brown will sending four rushers after Roethlisberger.
You can watch the full press conference from Pederson below.
Patrick Del Gaone is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Del_Gaone.
