In addition to writing the All-22 offense and defense reviews after each Eagles game this year, I will also write this one called ‘Concept of the Week.’ I will break down a specific concept or play on offense and defense and explain the play in more detail. Hopefully, this will allow you to look out for that play in future weeks. This week, we will look at DeVonta Smith’s touchdown vs. the Cowboys.
Crash
I can’t believe I haven’t written a ‘Concept of the Week’ on the Eagles’ use of Crash this year because I would bet that it is their most common passing concept over the past two years. They run it over and over again. You’ve probably seen me speak about Crash before, so I thought I would put it under the microscope this week.
Crash is similar to the Smash concept, which I’m sure many of you have run on Madden! Smash is a short hitch route from the outside receiver and a corner route from the inside receiver.
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Crash is very similar. It’s a 2-man concept with a short in route from the outside receiver and a deep out route from the slot receiver. Here is the concept on the whiteboard. Shoutout to @TheHonestNFL for the diagram. This is about as simple of a concept as you can get! The great thing about Crash is that the receivers can alter their routes slightly depending on the coverage, as shown in the diagram below.
Here’s the diagram for anyone who wants to save it pic.twitter.com/1ds0TWIN0g
— Honest NFL (@TheHonestNFL) December 30, 2024
Crash is a 2-man concept that is exceptionally good against teams that play man coverage. The outside cornerback will normally have outside leverage, so that gives the wide receiver an advantage. It’s not as good against zone, but with it being a 2-man route concept, the quarterback will generally pick a side pre-snap. You would typically pair Crash with a concept on the other side (such as a 3-level stretch) that would work against zone coverage.
The Eagles run Crash a lot. I think it suits Jalen Hurts’ skillset as he also throws an outstanding deep out. I could give you a lot of videos of the Eagles running Crash over the past few seasons! Here is the video from this week’s touchdown to DeVonta Smith.
9) The Eagles have gone from the worst team in the NFL against the blitz in 2023 to a team that excels against it. This is Crash once again. It’s so easy. The OL wins their one-on-one matchups and they give McKee the time needed to complete the short route. DeVonta does the rest! pic.twitter.com/i8eh6jZ77X
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 31, 2024
And here are some bonus clips of the Eagles running Crash over the last couple of years…
Eagles Offense All22 vs. Cowboys. 1) Hurts was in a really good rhythm al LM throughout the game. Here’s a huge throw on 4th down on Crash (the Eagles favorite concept right now). Goedert is so good as these intermediate out routes and he does a great job here. pic.twitter.com/ICdwmz48hb
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 6, 2023
2) I’m not sure any other Eagles concept had any other real success except for Crash. They must run it 5-10 times a game, and it feels pretty much unstoppable when AJ Brown is facing one-on-one man coverage. You can tell how much more decisive Hurts is when it’s a concept he’s… pic.twitter.com/3x6heSmoxI
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) December 5, 2023
Crash pic.twitter.com/T4MtqUApQn
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) October 15, 2024
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