One of the most concerning parts of the preseason game on Monday night was the way the defense wilted on third down (against Patriots backups). I rewatched all the third downs in the first half and noted the formations and playcalls. See the full list of 13 plays below along with the pre-snap formation (click for bigger) .

The end result was different than I expected, though. I remembered Juan Castillo's blitzes as the main problem, and certainly they were a major issue. He blitzed on three third down opportunties. On two of those plays, Josh McDaniels saw it coming a mile away and called screens that burned the defense, gaining 36 total yards. The third blitz actually did work, sacking Ryan Mallett for a loss of nine yards, only to be nullified by Nnamdi Asomugha's holding call.

But I was surprised to see just how bad the defense was under the four-man rush. Despite decent pressure from the front four, the Patriots converted 6 of 10 opportunities against no blitz, gaining 74 yards and a touchdown. That's not anyone's idea of good third down defense. Still, like the sack above, this set does include an interception by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie that was called off for roughing the passer.

One more note, before I release you into the wild of all 13 plays: the Eagles pre-snap formations were 100 percent reliable in predicting their defense. When they had the DEs stand up, that indicatd a blitz. When they had a more conventional pre-snap look, a more conventional defense ensued. Now, Castillo may be playing a long game here, trying to trick the team's early opponents that those patterns will hold. But if not, the predictability of the defense will be easy to attack going forward.