The Philadelphia Eagles entered the season with what was presumed to be one of the best offensive lines in the league, and through five games they’ve lived up to the hype when they’ve been healthy. However, being healthy is quite a caveat, especially in a short week like the one they’ll face as they make the trip to Charlotte for a Thursday night game against the Carolina Panthers. Tackle Lane Johnson, thought to be one of the best offensive linemen in the NFC, is currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol and is unlikely to be cleared for game action on Thursday night; the Eagles are 2-11 since the start of last season when Johnson has not played. “It’s day-by-day with him, we’ve just got to keep monitoring him and until he’s cleared to go, we’ll just keep monitoring him each day,” head coach Doug Pederson said about whether Johnson would be ready to go for Thursday night.
With Johnson out, that will leave Halapoulivaati Vaitai as the starter at right tackle, where he will be matched up with the platoon of Julius Peppers and Charles Johnson on the outside; a tough road to hoe as Peppers is fifth in the NFL with 5.5 sacks through five weeks. Vaitai has improved since last year, when he was thrust into the starting lineup and struggled before tearing his MCL in Week 11, the tackle was once again forced into action at left tackle in Week 1 this season when Jason Peters tweaked his groin and while he performed better than last year, Vaitai is still a huge downgrade at tackle for the Eagles from Lane Johnson.
“Up front, obviously, they’re big, physical powerful guys. I think Peppers is playing really well right now; it’s situational with him and keeping him fresh, but he’s playing with a lot of explosiveness and power.”
-Doug Pederson
The improved play of center Jason Kelce has solidified the middle of the Eagles line, and for a team that runs as much outside zone runs as the Eagles (almost a third of their total run plays), Kelce’s ability to move in space and get his hands on defenders has vastly improved as we move further into the season; he struggled mightily against the Chiefs early and was the weak link on a very strong offensive line in 2016. If Kelce is able to handle Star Lotulelei or Kawann Short one-on-one, which has been a tough ask for most centers thus far this season, that will free up guards Brandon Brooks and whichever guard is on the left side at the moment to match up with blitzers or the rest of the powerful defensive line. There is a reason the Eagles rushes behind Kelce have averaged over five yards per carry.
The Eagles use a guard rotation between veterans Chance Warmack and Stefen Wisniewski; while the snap counts have been increasing for Wisniewski, who has outplayed Warmack in this young season, the former Alabama offensive tackle Warmack still played 37% of the snaps against the Cardinals on Sunday.
“Going forward with the guard rotation, we will continue that,” Pederson said after the game Sunday. “However, we do anticipate probably Wis getting a few more reps in there just based on his play in the last couple of weeks. Chance’s strengths are Wis’ weaknesses and Wis’ strengths are Chance’s weaknesses, so they really feed off of each other and they don’t miss a beat.”
Photo: Chuck Howard/USA Today Sports
Jason Peters matching up with Mario Addison will be one of the more intriguing matchups on Thursday night, as Addison has excelled thus far this season while Peters maintains his slow march toward Canton, leading this offensive line group that has allowed the Eagles rushers to average 4.5 yards per carry and almost 140 yards per game through 5 weeks. Addison has had three sacks in the past four games, and has been a true handful for left tackles, forcing double teams and chip-help throughout the season. Watch for Addison to use his spin move to try and get Peters off-balance and put inside pressure on Wentz; if Peters can push Addison to overrun the pocket and allow a lane for Carson Wentz to escape, he will have been successful.
Overall, the Panthers are up against the best offensive line they’ve faced in 2017, and perhaps the best offensive line in the NFL; Carolina will have caught a huge break if Johnson misses the game as the inferior Vaitai will be going up against an extremely fast and strong defensive end for every snap of the game. Look for the Eagles to slide protection and send running backs and tight ends to help Vaitai, which will make for one-on-one matchups for the rest of the defensive line. Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei, and Mario Addison have shown that they can win one-on-one matchups on a consistent basis; moving Carson Wentz out of his comfort zone and maintaining gap discipline against the Eagles running backs will be one of the keys to the game.
