Gold Standard: How will the Eagles attack the 49ers?

This week on the Gold Standard podcast, Levin Black and I talked with Bleeding Green Nation’s Eytan Shader to get an opposing view of the Week 2 matchup. Given Jalen Hurts’s success last week and the 49ers’ trouble against mobile quarterbacks, how will Philly try and move the ball on offense?

“What Nick Sirianni and company are going to do is, rely heavy on the RPOs, and make a decision to leave it up to Jalen Hurts. At the same time, really slim down the play-calling and the risk taking. I don’t think you’ll see DeVonta Smith down field 20-25 yards consistently in the first half just to try and take advantage of being a man down in the 49ers’ secondary. I think what you’ll see is getting the ball out super fast, or running…The RPO allows everything in front of Jalen Hurts for him to control, but also get the ball out fast…That’s how I think they’re going to attack at first, and then it’s a matter of what opens up.”

After the game on Sunday, Eagles’ RB Miles Sanders said, “every offensive play is a run play” that Hurts can then adjust as he sees fit.

It will be interesting to see how DeMeco Ryans chooses to counter that style of offense and if he will have more success than his predecessor Robert Saleh had against mobile quarterbacks.

Now that we know Dre Greenlaw won’t be available (which we didn’t know when we recorded last night), Ryans will have an even more difficult challenge in his second career game as a defensive coordinator.

Other topics in the show

• Kyle Shanahan’s continued double-speak when it comes to Brandon Aiyuk
• How do the Eagles view Lance/Garoppolo QB switch?
• What is the development plan for Trey Lance?