How Eagles coach Doug Pederson will approach this week | Early Birds

Good morning. The Eagles return to the NovaCare Complex today to start preparing for their Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and offensive coordinator Mike Groh have news conferences beginning at 1:45 p.m.

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It's interesting to see what approach Doug Pederson takes in his day-after-game news conferences. There are some weeks when he tries to push the team and some weeks when he tries to build them up, especially when outside criticism mounts. Pederson did not necessarily put heat on his team Monday, but he did not sugarcoat the Eagles' 26-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans, either. He's trying to find the right balance between being tough on them and encouraging them.

"I think it's a little of both," Pederson said. "I think you have to be tough on them. You've got to show them what's going on and why we're making these mistakes, and then, at the same time, you have to encourage them because there is still a lot of positives out there. There's still a lot of players busting their tail, and they're working hard and they're sacrificing their bodies for the cause and to help us try to win a game. So, we've got to be hard on them. At the same time, we've got to make sure they stay positive and we stay aggressive."

Last season, Pederson made a lineup change after a Week 2 loss to Kansas City, demoting Isaac Seumalo. Asked whether he would make personnel changes this week, Pederson didn't rule it out. He said everybody will be evaluated.

Pederson also said he wants to see more urgency from his team. At 2-2, the Eagles still have most of the season ahead of them. That's why he said they're not in "panic mode." But as pointed out in Monday's Early Birds, the Eagles enter a key stretch of the schedule during their next four games. So Pederson makes a good point about the urgency.

"We have to understand that we are champions, and … you're expected to play a certain way," Pederson said. "When you don't live up to that expectation, we need to just zero down on it and figure out why."

Derek Barnett continues to play the most of any defensive end after taking 76 percent of the defensive snaps against the Titans. Brandon Graham (58 percent), Michael Bennett (51 percent), and Chris Long (41 percent) were behind Barnett in playing time. Although the Eagles are keeping a rotation, Barnett is clearly the top defensive end based on playing-time percentage.

Corey Graham took every defensive snap as Rodney McLeod's replacement. The Eagles used Avonte Maddox as a dime safety. He played 28 percent of the defensive snaps in that role on Sunday.

On offense, Jay Ajayi led running backs with 53 percent of the offensive snaps, but Wendell Smallwood was not far behind with 46 percent of the snaps. Jordan Matthews is clearly the No. 3 wide receiver behind Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, playing 60 percent of the offensive snaps. Jeffery was on the field for 83 percent of the snaps in his first game of the season. Dallas Goedert played 40 percent of the offensive snaps with the Eagles playing more three-receiver sets.

Washington is now in first place in the NFC East despite an idle weekend. At 2-1, the Redskins are the only team in the division with a winning record. They return from the bye with a pair of games against NFC South opponents — the New Orleans Saints on Monday and the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 14.

Dallas is tied with the Eagles at 2-2 after beating the Detroit Lions on a last-second field goal. Running back Ezekiel Elliott led the Cowboys with 152 rushing yards. The Cowboys have two AFC South opponents upcoming — this weekend against the Houston Texans, and Oct. 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The New York Giants are in last place at 1-3 after a 33-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints. They made it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter before allowing a 49-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach. The Giants visit the Panthers on Sunday before hosting the Eagles on Oct. 11.

The question about why Jim Schwartz doesn't blitz more has been asked since he came to Philadelphia in 2016. And he does blitz, but he does so selectively. The defense is built around getting to the quarterback with the four-man pass rush. That's why the Eagles invested so much money and so many resources in the defensive line. The scheme is not the problem. The defensive line needs to get to the quarterback.

Schwartz joked that whenever he takes the field, fans call for him to blitz. As for Schwartz's rationale, here's how he explained it back in 2016:

“When you’re not forced to blitz to get pressure on the quarterback, you’re in a very good position on defense,” Schwartz said. “And I’ve been there before where you can’t get pressure and you have to blitz, and it’s not a great feeling. You want to blitz on your terms. You want to be able to blitz when you want to, when the situation is right, not, well, we can’t generate a pass rush unless we do. So allowing those guys to keep it simple, to be able to pressure with four and not make yourself skinnier, so to speak, in coverage can also take some of the big plays away from offenses.”