OH MY GOD! Mathematically we are still technically not eliminated from playoff contention yet. Someone PLEASE shoot me! This means even if we wanted to tank, we can’t do it in good conscience. Even worse, we’re better rested while this week’s opponent (Baltimore) is coming off of short week having played on Monday night. Odds are, we’ll win this game and diminish our Draft position just a wee bit more. For no good reason whatsoever.
It’s couple years old, but it says what I’m feeling.
The good news is that we improved in several ways in this last game against the ‘skins. We scored 22 points this time, when last time we scored 20. We scored Offensive points this time. We didn’t almost get our QB murdered in the opening seconds of this game. And we didn’t get ass-rammed for 230 rushing yards this time.
The bad news is that we lost, giving up the same 27 points we gave up last time, resulting in having been swept for a second consecutive year.
But what about the stuff that the stats don’t reveal? That’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. To have an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that we’re forced to honestly answer questions AFTER the game.
So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?
1) We need a plan for covering TE Jordan Reed. Yet again we didn’t have to deal with Reed very much since he spent a lot of the game sitting. I’m yet again forced to give this a passing grade even though it should be an incomplete or not applicable. I’ll be including those next year. DONE
2) Score an Offensive Touchdown early. We did, and as a result the game was a contest that guys poured themselves into. I was VERY proud to see so much pride from some of our players. DONE
3) Work the edges. This is a weird one for me. I normally complain that we don’t throw the ball down-field aggressively enough. I finally get my wish and it’s during a week when it’s not the thing I said we needed to do, for that week. Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from punching out all your windows. NOT DONE
4) Blitz relentlessly. We didn’t and the ‘skins QB had a better game this time than last time. NOT DONE
So that gives us a score this week of 2 out of 4 and as we continue our skid of not meeting these recommendations, we simultaneously continue our 4 game slide. Perhaps next week against the Ravens we’ll get around to playing some fundamentally sound football again. So we can win. Now that it doesn’t matter, of course.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
Would be nice if we didn’t break some NFL record for pre-snap penalties too…What we really should & will be doing (I think) is assessing who needs to go & who should stay. Y not evaluate the talent or lack of ? Nothing left to lose. Question for anyone who knows…what happened with B Graham again this season? I’m wondering if he doesn’t have some kind of undiagnosed illness. He’s missed games with the Eagles over the years & in Houston too. Very alarming to me.
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Graham has an anxiety disorder that he thought was an ulcer. He’ll likely have that treated with a prescription.
As for using the rest of the year as an evaluation tool, I’M ALL FOR THAT. Trot out some of the young guys and see if they have any juice or not. That way we don’t spend a later draft pick on something we already have, when we could address a need or lack of depth with that pick.
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When a team gives up like the Eagles have its a real cause for concern. One thing I will guarantee is that the ravens will give 60 minutes of hard play regardless of the score. Commitment comes from the top. Lurie and co has yet to show that Superbowl is the only goal. Its about dollars and the players know it. The Ravens expectations for hard nose play is now part of the culture while the eagles are still searching for an identity. They have put the weight of the organization on young Wentz. Hes solid guy somewhat like Flacco. But Eagles have nothing surrounding him. They need to send strong messages this offseason if they ever want to see change. Ravens will win this game
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There was a time when the Eagles defended their honor. I have not seen that in years. They have no heart or toughness. I would not pay to see them right now. They are just a cut above cleveland and jax.. Lurie has showboated for too long and now his little games have eroded any sense of commitment from the players. This is a real problem that will not be solved in a season.
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