WE got manhandled.
EAGLES 21 – Cowboys 38
EAGLES STATS:
Passing: QB Tanner McKee (23/35 – 65.7% – 211 – 1 – 1)
Rushing: RB Saquon Barkley (7 – 62 – 8.8 – 1 – 0)
Receiving: WR Makai Lemon (8 – 7 – 67 – 9.5 – 1)
Drive Killer: N/A
Sack Leader: N/A
Special Teams Ace: N/A
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these 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: COWBOYS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Don’t Get Bullied: Well the point of this one, was for our Offensive Line not to get bullied. (Maybe I should have stressed it for both sides of the ball.) The emphasis was on taking it right to the Cowboys defensive front, and get our RB to 100 yards rushing. We didn’t get a 100 yard RB, but that had nothing to do with the Line.
The blocking was mostly very good. Aside from McKee’s 1 yard run, we ran for 120 yards on 24 carries, and 5 yard per carry. If Barkley could have played more, he’d have hit 100 easy, so I’m not counting that against us. The O-Line took it to ‘em. We didn’t win this one, but this was definitely a building block. (DONE)
WR Makai Lemon fights for his first TD catch
2) Spread the Ball Around: Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion did the best job of scheming receivers open, that I’ve seen from from him all season. Unfortunately, Tanner McKee too often didn’t pull the trigger on bigger throws. Still, McKee did hit eight different receivers in this game. It would have been great though, if more of those completions were past the first down marker, instead of short of them. (DONE)
3) Take Away the Quick Stuff: In who’s book is an eight yard cushion considered covering somebody???! We saw a metric ass-ton of that bullshit last night, with ZERO adjustments ever being made. Some my want to put this on Head Coach Nick Sirianni, but those people are idiots. Sirianni has never coached defense a day in his life. The guy to blame for this is Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio.
Our pass rush never got within a fifty dollar cab ride of QB Dak Prescott (15/27 – 55.5% – 212 – 3 – 0), because he was playing pitch-and-catch all night with wide open receivers. On one reception their TE bobbled a catch twice, pulled it in, and then still made a few yards after the catch. If he was covered, the ball would have been incomplete or even picked off. (NOT DONE)
4) DE Jalyx Hunt Must Win: This motherfucker (2 tackles) was invisible. As was DE Jonathan Greenard (no stats). YET AGAIN! Everyone wants to complain about all the money that was spent at DT this offseason. This season, the DT’s have at least made some impact plays. Aside from Nolan Smith (DNP – Injured), the DE’s have been M.I.A.
Everyone keeps asking what Sirianni does. I want to know what our Ends do!!! That position has been a historical place of honor for this franchise, (White, Simmons, Fuller, Cole, Graham, etc.), but these days… it barely warrants a punchline. I’m not a fan of tanking or a fire sale, but if GM Howie Roseman can unload Greenard (and the contract extension that we gave him), by all means, please do it, Howie. (NOT DONE)
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This week’s Four Things score was 2 of 4. Offensively, we got some things heading in the right direction. Defensively, we threw the baby out with the bathwater, and jumped out the window after him. This Sunday we get an opportunity to sweep Washington, and get ourselves back in the win column. GO BIRDS!
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Game Hero: Saquon Barkley – No question about it. He showed toughness and leadership out there. Not just by being willing to gut out the pain, but by being effective every time he touched the ball. He led by example, which didn’t allow anyone else to hide inside their own excuses. The result was probably crispest offensive performance of the season. Especially when you consider who was missing.
Game goat: The Defense: I know that I said I blamed Fangio earlier, but that was just in comparison to blaming Sirianni.
Who I really put this stinker on, is the players. Vic Fangio didn’t fail to set the edges. That’s on our DE’s. Vic Fangio wasn’t constantly late or absent, in his run fits. That would be LB Jihaad Campbell (2 tackles). Fangio wasn’t the guy backing out of man-press coverage into a zone, and then choosing to press six yards downfield. That would be CB Riq Woolen (2 tackles, 2 PD).
Vic Fangio wasn’t out there physically getting pushed around. It wasn’t his pride that should have bowed up. It wasn’t Vic Fangio out there getting shoved past, for that final touchdown. I put this on the players, and the outright lack of manhood they showed out there.
I know this much: Until they redeem themselves, they need to tone down how much bass they put in their voices, when arguing with their wives. Keep it at a Kurt Russell and no deeper. All baritone is off-limits.
Defense was out there getting Apollo’d
On The Whole: I sound angrier than I am. Getting back LG Landon Dickerson and C Drew Kendall, really seemed to stabilize the Line, and from there the Offense. At one point the commentators noted that McKee was probably surprised with how much time he had in the pocket to throw. It was by no means a pristine performance, but it was all positive indicators.
As for McKee, he’s a back-up. If things around him are running on time, he’s a decent game manager, who still has some ceiling to reach. What he is not, is a genuine starter. His instincts for improvisation are almost nil. He’s a statue in the pocket. Worst of all, he’s too focused on not making a mistake, to swing for those home runs.
There was entirely too much clawing for the ball, instead of tackling the runner. Players make more on their contracts when they prove they can take the ball away. Problem is, when they don’t strip the ball out, they end up allowing extra yardage. Sometimes lots of it. Like last night.
It might be time to trade CB Cooper DeJean (7 tackles). Teams have enough book on what he can’t do. So we’re now watching different teams beat him in different ways. What’s worse, his dinged confidence is showing up in his eyes during interviews. That’s only going to magnified under the heat of competition. Competitors can practically smell it. We don’t want that to start infecting our defensive huddle. Either fix him, or ship him out ASAP.
