Eagles Secondary prepares for Sean McVay’s Illusion

PHILADELPHIA – Welcome to Sean McVay’s “illusion of complexity.”

It’s pre-snap motion week for the Philadelphia Eagles (8-2), who will visit the standard for the motion that has become a rage among fans.

No one moves more than the Rams, who are over 75% when it comes to eye candy.

And it’s significant for the Rams, who unlike many other teams use a more performative aspect of movement meant to appease outsiders who think movement is synonymous with creativity.

McVay is intentional with his designs.

“We like to say ‘we don’t exercise just because it looks cool,'” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said earlier this month. “We’re always trying to gather information, whether it’s levers, whether it’s a schematic, whatever (it is).”

A good example of what the Rams do can be found here with the punts Puka Nacua released through the gap B in the line to lose for a big play:

“I think we’re moving for a lot of different reasons,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said on the Rams’ official website. “Whether it’s trying to create leverage, create communication from the defense, matchups, whatever, every play has its own reasoning as to why we do it, but it’s definitely something we take pride in and do well . and making it crisp and clear and all sorts of things to use to our advantage.”

The Eagles understand what’s coming.

“We will set it in motion. We know that,” safety Reed Blankenship said. “At the end of the day, we have to play smart, play with our eyes. We don’t have to overthink things.

“I feel like with what we’re doing, we have to stay the same… When you start overthinking, that’s when you get lost in the whole movement. Just be confident in what you see and play football.”

Rookie star Cooper DeJean will be in the deep end for the Rams at cornerback.

“These guys move around a lot. Not just one move per game, sometimes it’s two,” DeJean said. “So you have to be able to understand the call and understand when to run with motion, when not to run with motion.

“It will be a big challenge for us.”

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