Friday Figures: Eagles Offensive Play Count Stats

Philadelphia Eagles Brent Celek Offense Play Count Run Pass

Not a lot of complexity to this post. Just some stats and (hopefully) a few interesting observations. Let’s jump right in.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Eagles offensive player play counts, broken down by run/pass, courtesy of PFF:

2009 Philadelphia Eagles Play Counts Offense Players Run Pass

So about 40% of the Eagles’ offensive plays were runs last year. When some of these players were on the field though, one could make a pretty good guess that a run was coming. Take Mr. Eldra Buckley for example. When he was in the game the Eagles were over two times more likely to have Donovan hand the ball off.

The embattled wildcat quarterback, the second/blocking tight end, and the fullback, all also signaled to the defense that a run was on the way. Brian Westbook on the other hand? Not so much.

Let’s take a gander at 2008 for comparison’s sake:

2008 Philadelphia Eagles Play Counts Offense Players Run Pass

Basically the same team run/pass ratio, but it gives us a few more data points and intriguging spots to look.

  • Eldra Buckley is apparently Kyle Eckel part 2. Not good for Eldra’s chances of making this team — the Eagles can easily use Charles Scott for those 30-40 plays.
  • Speaking of which, notice how almost all of the guys who heavily skew to rushes tend to get replaced: Eckel, Klecko, Schobel, Baskett, (Alex) Smith. If you can’t be multidimensional in Andy’s offense, you’re going to have a hard time sticking around.
  • Hank Baskett is a tight end in wide receiver’s clothes. Meaning Riley Cooper better work on blocking if he wants to supplant Baskett as the #4 guy off the bench.
  • Actually there is a pretty clear correlation. The further down the depth chart a player is at wide receiver, the more run blocking he’ll be required to do.
  • Brent Celek played almost every offensive snap. What a beast.
  • Brian Westbrook became much more pass-centered last year. Might be part of how the coaches tried to shield him from a big workload.
  • Andy Reid must feel much more confident in Kevin Kolb now than a year ago. Back in 2008 he was helping Kolb out by calling runs more than half the time. In the two games in 2009, however, Kolb passed about as much as McNabb.