Eagles Don't Win Super Bowl Without Doug Pederson's ‘evil Twin'

Get him away from the football field, and Doug Pederson is as laid back as anybody you'd ever meet. He speaks in a slow drawl, he's most comfortable in jeans and an Eagles warm-up top, and he's so relaxed and personable that everybody who comes in contact with him feels like his pal.
 
He seems like a guy you'd meet working in an Agway, not outsmarting Bill Belichick in a Super Bowl.
 
Turns out there are two Doug Pedersons.
 
There's the aw-shucks, down-home country boy who loves to go hunting, quiet time with his family and ice cream.
 
And then there's game-day Doug Pederson, who all of a sudden turns into a mad scientist. One of the most aggressive play-callers the NFL has seen in a generation.
 
"That's who I am," Pederson said. "That's my alter ego. That's my evil twin, I guess."
 
The Eagles last year went 13-for-27 on fourth down, most conversions and attempts in the league, but Pederson's penchant for aggressive play-calling was largely unnoticed because the team wasn't winning or functioning all that well on offense.
 
This year, during the regular season, they were 17-for-26, the second-most attempts and third-highest success rate. Because the Eagles were the best team in the NFL, Pederson's play-calling began getting noticed.
 
The Eagles the last two years became only the sixth team in NFL history to attempt 25 or more fourth-down conversions in consecutive seasons, and their 65.4 percent conversion rate this past regular season is fourth-highest in NFL history by a team attempting at least 25 fourth downs.
 
Pederson is the first coach in NFL history to attempt 26 or more fourth downs in each of his first two years.
 
But that was just a warmup.
 
On Sunday, Pederson took his aggressive mentality to new heights.
 
Unprecedented heights.
 
The Eagles became the first team in NFL history to convert two fourth downs on the way to a Super Bowl championship.
 
And both put Pederson's unique aggressiveness on display in front of the world.
 
There was the Philly Special, the 4th-and-Goal just before halftime, and there was an even wilder fourth down - the 4th-and-1 from the Eagles' own 45-yard-line with the Patriots up 33-32 and 5:39 left in the game. Foles converted that one with a two-yard pass to Zach Ertz on the way to the winning touchdown.
 
On Wednesday, Pederson spoke about his knack for aggressive play-calling, something nobody knew he had when he was hired.
 
"I learned that probably from my dad a little bit in his aggressiveness with us as kids growing up," Pederson said.
 
"I've always been sort of under the mindset, I want every play to score a touchdown, every play. I want every defense to lose five yards. That's just how I approach the game.
 
"I might come off as this soft-spoken guy to you guys, but inside, I want to win the game. And not at an all-costs type of expense but pretty close, pretty close."
 
Including the playoffs, Pederson was 20-for-29 this year on fourth down.
 
That's insane.
 
But it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a defense when the Eagles are able to extend drives with fourth-down conversions.
 
"Listen, when you're playing the Patriots and you're playing a Bill Belichick and a Tom Brady, if you're not being aggressive in those games, you're going to lose those games.
 
"It's been proven time and time again. You're just going to lose those games."
 
It helps that both of Pederson's quarterbacks are cool under pressure and able to function at a high level under the intensity of a fourth-down attempt.
 
Wentz was 5-for-9 for 61 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions on fourth down, and Foles was 3-for-4 for 41 yards and no TDs or INTs. Add in Trey Burton, and the three of them combined to go 9-for-14 for 111 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. All three had passer ratings of at least 107 on fourth down.
 
"I had my mind made up after the Minnesota game, and I knew we were playing the Patriots, that I was going to have to maintain that aggressiveness in this football game," Pederson said.
 
"The pressure of the game was not going to change who I am and … I communicated that to our team and that's how they responded Sunday."

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