EAGLEMANIACAL.com

IT’S dark here in this basement. Can’t see a damned thing, and the floor is slippery with blood from all these self-inflicted wounds. Sitting here at 4-4 is damned embarrassing. Not because we’re awful, but precisely because we aren’t. If this team gets it’s act together and does a few simple things, there’s no reason we can’t run the table during this last 8 games. I’m not saying we will, I’m saying that we have everything we need in order to do the job. SO LET’S DO THE JOB!

These guys coming in? These Falcons… So they’re 6-3. They aren’t champs! We don’t have to lay down for them, just because the world expects us to lose. This is game is in OUR house. If those guys want to come to OUR house and pick a fight, they’d better bring their lunch pails, because they’ve got a full day’s work ahead of them.

Last week we learned about our limitations. This week we should be all about the business of cutting what doesn’t work and hanging our hats on what does. Particularly on Offense.

This week we get to face the NFL’s #1 team in scoring (33.9 ppg) , but on the flip they allow more scoring (28.8 ppg), than all but 4 teams. So there’s room for us to do our thing. Provided we actually make the attempt.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 10 versus Atlanta :

1) Get away from things we don’t do well. Screens, QB option runs, and utilizing Darren Sproles as a bell-cow RB are on this list.

2) Put Matty on ice. The Falcons allow more hits on their QB (61) than all but three teams in the NFL. This works for us, because if QB Matt Ryan is on his back, he’s not throwing passes to WR Julio Jones.

3) Be aggressive on Offense. The Falcons hemorrhages points already, and they have the NFL’s second worst pass defense. There is no reason to be tentative against this team.

4) Run behind the rookie. Most of our runs seem to go away from RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. It seems that most of our Offense is designed to not expose him. The result is that we keep tipping our hand and teams know they can load up on us, to one side. So why not even the playing field? Coaches may not want to stand QB Carson Wentz behind Vaitai, but if he gets a chance to mash down on someone, it could do wonders for his confidence.

Last week’s game was a measuring stick for our progress. This week’s game is a measuring stick for individual player’s pride. I could say more, but it would only be a waste of words.