The Eagles have utilized the no-huddle offense in the past two games. In last Sunday's 24-20 win over the Bears, the Eagles incorporated the no-huddle offense early and often throughout the course of the game.
In fact, according to the NFL Game Book, the Eagles ran the ball seven times for 40 yards for a nice, robust 5.71 yards per carry. Donovan McNabb was 4-of-6 passing out of the no-huddle for 40 yards. He was sacked once for a loss of 9 yards and one of the runs was actually a McNabb scramble for 6 yards. McNabb did have a 17-yard completion to Jeremy Maclin out of the no-huddle wiped out by a penalty.
The Eagles ran the no-huddle for at least one play on six different drives. The Eagles scored their first 10 points of the game on drives that integrated the no-huddle. However, the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter did not feature any no-huddle.
Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg explained the rationale for the no-huddle offense against the Bears.
"Many things have to occur in your thought process. First of all, Donovan is very good at the line of scrimmage and always has been. There are multiple other things that I thought would be in our favor by doing that. We've done it many times in the past, so it's a tool that we use on occasion to give us an advantage," Mornhinweg said.
"If you're facing a blitz team, it's a little harder for them to do the fancy stuff and the crazy stuff on occasion. Teams are getting very good at that and still blitzing, but some of the details are hard for them to get to. There are several other things, as far as matchups and personnel substitutions. We do a good job with that in the no-huddle."
This week, the Eagles take on the Redskins, a team that despite its 3-7 record ranks fourth in the league in yards allowed and sixth in points allowed. The Eagles scored 27 points against the Redskins back in Week 7 and only one team (Atlanta, 31) has scored more on them this season. Just last week, the Redskins held the Cowboys to only seven points, but it was enough for a 7-6 win. Mornhinweg said that you can "argue that this is the best defense in the league."
"Washington is talented, they are well-coached, they have an excellent scheme. The scheme is not as complicated as others, especially in their base. What happens is that when you do it that way, you are very good at what you do and there are very few mistakes. They get a little bit more confusing and complicated in their nickel alignment and blitzes and coverages. They do their job very well on that side of the ball.
"They have been relatively healthy. I know (Albert) Haynesworth and (DeAngelo) Hall are a little gimpy right now but we expect them to play. They're talented, they have an excellent scheme, they're well-coached, they do their jobs well and they're fast. (London Fletcher) is a special guy, Haynesworth is a special guy, (Andre) Carter has eight sacks. They're doing a heck of a job on defense."
The Eagles were the beneficiaries of two big touchdowns by DeSean Jackson in the first meeting. Jackson scored on a 67-yard run and a 57-yard reception. In fact, the Eagles didn't execute a single play from the Redskins' red zone in the win.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 12:30 p.m., November 26
