EAGLEMANIACAL.com

WE not only beat a 5 – 1 team on national television, but we looked damned good while doing it, in our throwback Kelly green uniforms. We also looked good converting red zone trips. On six trips, we posted four touchdowns and one field goal. On the last trip QB Jalen Hurts knelt three times to run out the final two minutes. So that trip should hardly count.

This week we head down to D.C. (brooms in hand), to handle the trash and start buttoning up the NFC East. A few weeks ago it took overtime to put the Commanders away. It won’t go that way a second time.

A win and we move to 7 – 1, and remain the top team in the conference. It would also mean a divisional sweep, and turn down the volume on needing overtime, in that last game.

A loss would drop us to 6 – 2. We however, would still lead the division, by virtue of win percentage, over opponents who this week can’t finish better than 5 – 2.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: the Commanders.

1) Run the Ball: It’s silly that I should have to say this, but when I don’t, they forget what a hand-off is. Not only should we run for all the regular reasons (balance, sets up play-action, chews clock, physically wears down pass rushers, breaks defenders will, prevents big momentum swings, etc.), but it would also limit the number of hits Hurts (and his knee) would have to take.

In fact, on the Brotherly Shove play, we should send someone else in to run it. Not QB Marcus Mariota. We may need him soon, so we don’t need to lose him over something dumb. My pick would be RB Rashaad Penny, but he won’t be active. Aside from him, maybe TE Dallas Goedert? Or maybe LS Rick Lovato?

(Hey, wouldn’t RB Derrick Henry look great in Kelly green? I’m just saying…)

2) Run Swift to Brown: Back in Week 4, WR A.J. Brown outright torched the Commanders for 9 catches, 175 yards (19.4ypc), and 2 touchdowns (from 59 and 28). He hit them with the all-night, electric freak show, and there was nothing they could do, but watch and get clowned on.

They will NOT be looking to let him romp and frolic in their wilderness, for a second time in five weeks. Especially since he would set the all-time record for most consecutive 125 yard receiving games, essentially on their backs. So expect heavy bracket coverage from a Cover Two shell, this time. That’s where our advantage lies.

If they have to keep a Safety back deep on Brown’s side, then “the box” is light and soft there. Getting RB D’Andre Swift around 15 carries, mostly to Brown’s side, will either pull the Safety off of Brown, or force the Commanders to weaken another area of their defense to compensate. Paging WR Devonta Smith. Paging Devonta Smith…

3) Get At Least One Turnover: The Commanders are 2 – 1 when they don’t turn the ball over. Their only loss, was our overtime victory. So that should paint you a picture of how hard it is to beat them without a turnover. Of course, it’s real hard to pick a ball off, when the receivers are always granted five yard cushions and free releases.

Our coverages are going to have to be tighter, than they were a few weeks ago. If not, we won’t be in a position to create turnovers; and we’ll just give up another 70% completion day, to a mediocre QB.

4) Lock Up Their Run: The last two times we played this team, they were tough to beat, partly because they committed to the run. They weren’t any good at it, but they kept doing it. They used it to control the pace of the first half of both games, and were up at the half, in both games.

Nothing fancy here. Just wrap-up the ball-carriers, and throw points on the board. Their run game can’t get them out of trouble, and their QB isn’t suited for comebacks. Even if he was, he lacks the tools to make it happen. Lock up the run, put the ball in their QB’s hand, and feed sheep to lion.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

This is a division game, and the Commanders are trying to avoid being swept, in their own home. So expect a fight.

It’ll be interesting to see the evolution (if any), of Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, over these last few weeks. What he has learned (and hasn’t), will be on display. As this is the first rival he’s coached against twice, we will see how fast he learns and utilizes new information. Can he grow over weeks, or does he need an entire offseason?

Offensively, unless Head Coach Nick Sirianni is a fool, he will have Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson protect Hurts from himself. If Hurts has to scramble, that’s one thing. However, there should be no called runs for him, this week.

Two things. Devonta Smith’s focus seems to have slackened since he became a father. That’s fine. Totally acceptable and to be expected. Before the baby was born, his expectation was probably with him as the breadwinner, the mother would tend to baby.

That all ends abruptly, when mama becomes willing to bulldoze a neighborhood, for an hour of uninterrupted sleep. So believe me, Devonta is pulling long nights too now. So his focus isn’t going to be razor sharp this season. It just isn’t. Don’t bother expecting it.

What he can do, is wet and rub his hands down, before he puts his gloves on. Nothing fancy. Just regular H2O. It’ll keep his gloves from shifting against his skin, and cut down on the double clutching and drops. (That’s some way old school stuff right there!)

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WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know FOOTBALL and that’s it. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.