Greg Cosell's Week 4 analysis: Eagles have to consider adjustments

In Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, you could see two things affecting the Eagles: injuries on the offensive line and opponents are playing them differently than they did last year.

Both factors are disrupting the offense. I think Eagles coach Chip Kelly is at that moment when he’s going to have to make some adjustments.

The Eagles are a run-first offense (last year they were one of four teams to attempt more runs than passes, and keep in mind that quarterback Nick Foles isn't a runner and doesn't affect that stat), and this year they are having trouble running the ball. Against the 49ers, left tackle Jason Peters was the only member of the Eagles' regular offensive line who was playing and in his normal position, due to injuries and Lane Johnson's suspension. You saw the Eagles try a little bit of everything to get the run game going against the 49ers and nothing worked.

The Eagles showed an unbalanced offensive line in the second quarter to try to get the run game going. LeSean McCoy was stopped for no gain. The Eagles had Foles go under center on a number of plays in the second half, something you rarely see from the Eagles, to spark the run. Still no success. McCoy is bouncing it outside too much; he must hit the point of attack even if it's not well blocked. That’s the only way to find some stability.

The rushing problems are affecting the passing game too.

The Eagles utilized six- and seven-man protection concepts, often with multiple tight end sets, to compensate for the offensive line's pass protection issues. That's not what the Eagles want to do. It cuts down on the available targets for Foles.

The Eagles are also seeing teams take away other things they do well. The 49ers relied on zone coverage and a four-man rush. San Francisco blitzed just four times on Foles' 45 drop backs. They ran zone 77 percent of the game. It was part of a fundamentally sound game plan that featured disciplined reading of keys in the running and passing game, and the utilization of lurk concepts to take away crossing routes. The Eagles had zero catches on crossing routes or over routes the entire game, and those are two staples of their pass game.

The 49ers also lined up their base defense against the Eagles for most of the game, which is the same thing the Washington Redskins did the week before. That means the Eagles aren't spreading it out against nickel and dime defenses and getting numbers advantages in the box that they can exploit in the run game.

Here's an example of the 49ers taking away an important play for the Eagles, and the Eagles not adjusting to it. Late in the second half, the Eagles called an angle route for Darren Sproles out of the backfield, a play that has been very successful this season. This time linebacker Michael Wilhoite played with inside leverage and took it away, forcing Sproles to cut to the sideline. Jeremy Maclin was wide open on a vertical seam down the middle of the field, but Foles stayed on Sproles too long and threw it incomplete to a covered Sproles even though he was under no pressure.

Foles has a tendency to linger too long on primary reads and doesn't eliminate things that aren’t there quickly enough. That play was a good example.

Another example of the 49ers taking away something the Eagles like to do came on Antoine Bethea's interception in the third quarter. The Eagles ran an orbit motion, making it look like a receiver screen to the left to get the defense moving that way, then Foles was to hit Brent Celek on an over route. But safety Eric Reid did a good job seeing it, taking it away and Foles couldn't throw it. Then Foles committed a cardinal sin and threw it deep and late over the middle.

Teams are defending the Eagles differently, so Kelly has to take a peek this week and see why stuff he has done before is not working.

The easy answer: It’s the NFL and there are good coaches game-planning against you. And some of it has to do with the injuries.

Kelly is an incredibly smart guy. He’s more than capable of making adjustments. We'll see what he comes up with.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.