RATHER encouraging debut for Head Coach Nick Sirianni.
EAGLES STATS:
New categories include a weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s – 3rd downs converted of 2 yards or less on the ground – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF).
Passing: (B) QB Joe Flacco – (10/17– 58.8% – 178 – 1 – 0)
Rushing: (B) RB Jason Huntley – (4 – 15 – 3.7 – 0 – 0)
Receiving: (B) WR Quez Watkins – (2 – 1 – 79 – 79.0 – 1)
O-Line Report: (0 – 0 – 2)
Drive Killer: (B) S Elijah Riley – (1 – 0 – 0 – 0)
Sacks: (B) DT T.Y. McGill – (1 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)
I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Steelers did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Simple Communication: At no point did the Eagles starters, seem out of sync with each other. There were points where there were lapses in execution, but given how new the systems are, it’s far too early to make that into a real complaint. (DONE)
2) Bring the Violence: OLB Alex Singleton and S Anthony Harris came to lay the lumber! Everyone else…not so much. Maybe we’ll see more ill will next week. (NOT DONE)
3) Have a Ball: We managed just one take-away all game long. Worse yet, the time of possession, felt like we had the ball for just 10 of the 60 minutes in the game. (NOT DONE)
4) Shelve the cute shit: The play-calling was very vanilla. Playing the game straight-up, allowed us to take a real assessment of our big men in the trenches. (DONE)
So we did 2 of the 4, and it clearly wasn’t enough. Next week we should get a longer look at our starters, vs a 1 – 0 New England team that just handed Washington one of these:
On The Whole:
Our starters looked much sharper than I was anticipating. Especially given that Pittsburgh had already played a preseason game. As the game wore on, our Defensive Line wore out visibly. Why there wasn’t any substitution, is totally beyond me. That said, instead of harping on negatives, using this game to emphasize positives, would likely go much much farther, in terms of player development.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 