” ‘Trust no one! The minute God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was hatched against one of them! Get up goddamn you!” – Col. Hunter Gathers
JUST a thought, but what are the odds thatChip Kelly decides to bring in Marcus Mariota in 2015.
I first floated the idea during camp last year that A) Mike Vick(who I said would start) wouldn’t be here in 2014 (nailed both); and B) that less than a stellar 2014 from Foles would get him benched in favor of a more mobile rookie QB.
Having lost DeSean Jackson will now change the way the offense was able to function last year. This sets Nick Foles up to take a step back. Knowing the ol’ Chippah’s weakness for former Oregon players…
[ANTHONY Barr] is on the front page of the Eagles website as the subject of discussion on filling defensive needs.
While we couldn’t land Miami’s Dion Jordan in a trade, the idea that we were even actively wheeling and dealing for a young pass rusher indicates that perhaps the Eagles DO know what they’re doing after all.
Pass rusher is a need for this team. Not a luxury, a need. While fans may have gotten used to Trent Cole being a terror on the outside, it’s been awhile since he was worthy of consistent double-teaming. It would also be nice to have an OLB that was more natural in coverage.
Brings me back to Barr. There is no mock Draft that still has him on the board at 22. I have yet to see one where he makes it past 12. There are lots of OLB’s in this Draft and some of them are pretty good. Few have the size, and many are one dimensional (pass rushers OR coverage backers).
Barr gives you size and dynamicism, but in order to even reasonably have a shot at him we have to move up at least ten spots. I say “at least” because I’ve seen him go as high as 6 on some boards.
If I hadn’t seen this on the Eagles website, being discussed on a podcast ( after about 7 minute) by guys like Baldy (Brian Baldinger) and Bo Wulf, I wouldn’t even be mentioned it. But with the way that the Dion Jordan thing failed to happen, a trade up just seems like the next logical step; because their proposed scenario where Barr slides to 22, I just don’t see happening.
In any case I think it pays to be aggressive and get after what you want, instead sitting and hoping it comes to you. Especially after Baldy said the guy is like a bigger version of former LB William Thomas. So in that spirit I think dangling Matt Barkley, Brandon Graham and our first to move up should be enough to catch someone’s eye. Or at least get a dialogue going.
Comment box right below. Tell us what you think or how you’d do it better.
(NOTE: This film used in this article is of the 2013 Eagles/Bears game. All the snippets (none longer than 34 seconds), are culled from a video I got off of YouTube. There’s more film out there, but this was the most extensive example that wasn’t just scoring plays.)
LAST year the speed of DeSean Jackson forced defenses to begin many downs with their FS practically lined up in the parking lot. This did two things for our Offense.
Made the FS late to help in run support, and even to most tackles after a pass.
Forced OLB’s to frequently play inside the DE and back from the Line Of Scrimmage (LOS). They’re of almost no use as blitzers, late to fill against the run, and out of position to defend the outside pass. Remember our LB’s in the Wide 9? This is what we reduced opponents to.
And we gained these advantages prior to the snap of the ball!
The OLB’s playing on the DE’s inside hip changes everything from an Offensive Tackle’s perspective. The OLB being “in and back” means the OT doesn’t have to worry about two players on the edge. Since there’s no LB “out and over”, there’s no stunt or outside overload blitzer for the Tackle to worry about. Everything is literally in front of the OT. As an ex-O-lineman I can tell you, that’s the easiest block you can make without being on Hollywood Squares.
Remember how Jon Runyan would have to turn to his outside to block Mike Strahan? Take notice how on this running play Jason Peters completely ignores Julius Peppers
Here it is again
and again
and again
The FS isn’t so far back here, but again watch the OT ignore the DE
and again
Gotcha didn’t I?
In almost every one of these plays the FS lines up in in the press box, the OLB is inside the DE, and the OT just steps forward, ignores the DE and makes himself a problem for a LB. (Big people beating up little people.) It’s 1-2-3.
Against the pass it’s almost sad to watch. Almost.
There is nothing remotely resembling Safety help underneath; and due to the run game’s success, TE’s are getting easy releases off the line and into those underneath patterns. Here’s an example
Here’s another
Hold up, I have one more
Okay last one, I swear
Since the FS had to move so far back, teams had to compensate inside with a LB to fill what would normally be the FS’s run support lane. If teams didn’t do that instead of seeming unstoppable, our run game might literally have been unstoppable. And it was ALL, (every play you just saw) dictated by the one player.
This is what we have to make up for in 2014.
That’s not saying we have to find a player that moves a FS out again (though it would help). But we need to find a way to routinely make blocking schemes easy; get TE free releases; and practically renders one of the defensive players non-existent.
Yes. It is indeed a tall order.
The scheme’s keys weren’t hard to decipher, so believe me if an ex-semi pro OT can do it, you can bet your ass that NFL DC’s would have been too. This is partly of why I think Chip Kelly is going to a truer version of the Spread this year. But again, if I’m onto that, you can guess who else will be.
PLEASE stop crying about DeSean Jackson. Everything from:
“They out to get Trayvon! I mean, DeSean!” to “I’m burnin’ his jersey! While I’m still wearing it!”
Please fellow Eagles fans, for our collective dignity can we (you really), stop letting a REDSKINS PLAYER have so much control over our conversations?
I mean honestly, some people are starting to sound like that friend who keeps saying they’re over their ex, but won’t shut the fuck up about them.
Meanwhile they keep coming home to the WR’s we do have, and either talking about the ex or the next. It’s all Cooks or Jackson. Evans or Jackson. Riley CooperandJeremy Maclin who?
That’s no way to treat somebody who’s gonna lay it all out for you. Be a fan. Support YOUR TEAM. Leave the Foreskin players to the Foreskin fans.
LET me share something with you. On an average day Eaglemaniacal.comgets about 40 visitors and 68 views. The site itself is little older than a month old, and those numbers (at this stage) are actually pretty solid.
When I posted the LeSean McCoy story I was (of course), hoping for better than my average day. What I could not have anticipated was the 500+ views and all the responses the story got. At first I was happy. I was up all night responding to your individual takes on the situation. (Mostly on Facebook because for some reason you guys won’t post comments on the website itself.) But by the time I got to 250 hits, something in my gut began to sink.
I realized that people were clicking the link or reading the story not from curiosity like I’d hoped, but with a sense of dread. A sort of “Oh no, not again!” was sitting in the back of your minds, because this has happened to you before. And it has happened you TOO OFTEN.
It was never my intention to freak you out, but the idea that fans couldn’t just dismiss the idea of the Eagles moving McCoy, speaks volumes about fan’s trust regarding how our team handles our favorite players.
To be clear: I HAVE NOT HEARD OR READ THAT LESEAN MCCOY IS GOING ANYWHERE. It was just fan conversation.
But it brings up a very interesting point.
I created Eaglemaniacal.comso that fans could BE HEARD. I’m not a journalist, I’m just a regular fan. But I got HEARD, didn’t I? You too can get heard. In fact, Dammit you SHOULD get heard!
Write something on here. Make it story about your favorite Eagles moment, or your favorite player. Or about the time you met________. Or about why you love tailgating, or your favorite tailgating spot. Make it about the sports bar where you watch the games, or that drink you invented (It’s called a Joe Banner: 3parts vodka, 1 part Kool-Aid.) Make it about anything. Just make sure we all hear YOU.
ACCORDING to 6abc’s Jamie Apody (3/28/14) though the Eagles won’t issue a public statement regarding DeSean Jackson’s release, they basically had some issues with his character. Here’s a direct quote from Apody:
“Jackson happens to be one of the team’s highest paid players and they want their highest paid guys to be stewards of the Philadelphia Eagles and represent what they’re all about. The higher ups in the organization were concerned he was not representing them well and that it was increasingly getting worse.”
When I read this I couldn’t help but think of LeSean McCoy. Does anyone else recall last year when he doused a woman with a drink and tossed her off a bus in the middle of Pigfuck, New Jersey? Is that what a steward looks like?
And Jason Petersdid get a new deal after being arrested for leading cops on a high speed chase.
Stewards? But of course!
When you get right down to it, Jackson was cut because he was a vastly overpaid, one-trick pony, whose contract threatened the long-term stability of the franchise. But instead of manning up and admitting that he made a huge mistake awarding Jackson that deal, Howie Roseman and company are trying to make this an issue of character.
Because you know…Stewards.
At least until it’s time to move another large contract off the books. Then there will be a need for a new scapegoat. Another sacrificial lamb. Another trusting player who’ll be a deer in headlights. (Wow. We’re really awful to ruminants, aren’t we?)
Meanwhile in the next 3 years Shady is due 11, 8, and 7 million respectively, at what is currently the sport’s most undervalued position.
So when Shady gets run out of here (a la Reggie, Randall, T.O., McNabb, Dawkins, and Jackson), what do you think it’ll be? They just did “gang”, and they played that “player didn’t call us back” card with Reggie and Dawk already. My guess is since it won’t be a contract year it’ll be something new. Maybe something with midgets…..
NOT sure why everyone wants to talk about a guy who isn’t here anymore. Seems a little disrespectful to the guys who’ll actually be putting their bodies on the line in Eagles uniforms.
No disrespect intended to those who’ve come before, but shouldn’t it be the future we want to talk about? That and the players now responsible for fulfilling the dream? Maybe they deserve to be on our minds a little more. Maybe it should be those players we’re discussing so passionately.
I mean, they do inspire the fans don’t they? The fan base does Trust Chip, right?
If so, then act like it. Don’t say it, show it. Not to me. Not to each other. Just show it.
Don’t talk big, BE big. Because our future, is now.
JASON Avantand I were sitting down at Penn’s Landing eating walnuts, with our feet in the water, enjoying the warmth of late spring/early summer. George Washington was leaning out of his kayak, yelling about the boat traffic on the Delaware, how he had a war to get to, and how “ain’t nobody got time fo’ dis!”
I told Jason that the Eagles had released DeSean Jackson. He started to nod, then he looked at me and said “Released? You mean traded, right?” I shook my head “Naw. Just released. They only want players of high character.”
Jason stared at me for what was the most uncomfortable three or four seconds of my life. I was almost certain he was going to swing on me. Understand I’m no punk, but no one wants to be the guy who drowned when Jason Avant knocked him into the Delaware. I tensed up, because no one wants to be the guy who swung on Jason Avant for no reason. When he finally spoke, I flinched.
“So they’re into character now?!” He asked with his eyes as wide as eggs.
What was I supposed to tell him? I looked around for inspiration and saw George and a 6-foot squirrel in a canoe, trying to hit each other with their paddles. Kanye West urged them on, screaming into a megaphone “Yes! This is how it ends! This is how it all goes down!”
“They won’t have any luck for this” Jason said and bit into a walnut. He was himself again but something had changed the moment. There was a chill to the warm air now, and I remembered that I don’t really like walnuts. Suddenly it seemed silly to be biting them through the shell. Slowly the seagulls became an alarm clock, and it became obvious that I’d been dreaming.
Funny thing. Hours later and awake, I just can’t shake Jason’s words.
I love the Eagles team, but I detest the Eagles organization. I enjoy the football. The memories. High-fiving strangers who only needed a green shirt to become family. Being able to go anywhere and shout “E-A-G-L-E-S!” and have others stop to join in, and help me finish. I love that part.
What I hate is this constant manipulation of us. The way their “reporters” feed us only the angles that make the organization look good, even though the parts they leave out are readily available from outside sources. It’s one thing to be lied to. It’s another thing entirely to have the one who’s lying know that you’re aware of it, yet continuing to do it while smiling in your face.
This latest debacle just had us giving away a (vastly overpaid) Pro Bowl WR. So far there is no official reason for it. Just a kindergarten level smear campaign of leaked bi-level information that on one level is decidedly false; and on the other level would be just as damaging to the Eagles if it were true.
But if you go to THEIR website, all you’ll see is what a perfect place Duloc is.
And that’s why I created THIS website.
Look around and you’ll see me hyping my team, trumpeting good news, and trying to see the bright side of some situations. But when something stinks, expect to see it here. Because you deserve real information. Your loyalty buys you that. And if the Eagles media won’t give it to you, know that in this place you’ll always find it.
I started Eaglemaniacal.com for Eagles FANS. For you. That’s why I made it where you can write on it. It’s why I’m always asking your opinion. It’s why I take it to Facebook, and Google+, and other social media and blogs. It’s why our neighborhoods are the backdrops for it.
I’ve always taken it personally and spoken up when they do this to fans, but now I can BE HEARD as something other than just one tiny voice on a message board.
LAST year LeSean McCoy led the NFL in rushing yards. Part of that was due to his 314 carries. Part of it was the Offensive Line opening holes for him. Part of it was the Line having fewer people in the box to block. Don’t expect Shady to repeat in 2014.
With the subtraction ofDeSean Jackson from the line-up, Chip Kelly is going to do things to try mimicking that effect, even if he no longer has the last year’s cause.
Expect to see Darren Sproles in motion a lot. Expect to see the TE split wide 30-50% of the time. (When they’re out there.) Expect to more 4 WR formations than you’ve seen here since the days of Greg Lewis and Hank Baskett.
Expect to see “The Spread” as God and Mother Nature intended it. In many ways we’re finally about to see Oregon’s Chip Kelly.
Last year Jackson’s presence gave Kelly’s system a shot of pure adrenaline. Kelly had never had a WR who could give him what Jackson did in 2013. Never before did Kelly have a WR who could take the top off the defense and evacuate the box, but that’s gone now. Those days are over. Then again that’s not where Kelly’s head is anyway.
In 4 years as Oregon’s Head Coach, Kelly’s system produced just one WR with 700 yards or more (Jeff Maehl in 2010). Kelly (like early Andy Reid) simply doesn’t value the position highly. He wants blocker/tackle breakers, not dynamic field stretchers. Role players, not game changers. He wants a Billy McMullen, not a DJax.
And you don’t spend a 1st round pick on a role player.
Believe it or not, I don’t expect the passing game to be less efficient. I do expect the running game to be less explosive though. There are a number of reasons why. (Especially if they trade Evan Mathis, when it was Todd Herremans who struggled.)
1. McCoy won’t see as much work. In 4 years as Oregon’s Head Coach there were no 300+ carry RB’s for Oregon. Kelly likes to spread the carries out between his QB and (usually) 2 RB’s.
2. The box will be stretched horizontally to create more space, but there will still be just as many defenders in the box. Last year wasn’t a true test of the spacing aspect of Kelly’s system, but he gon’ learn TODAY! Especially since Kelly can no longer take advantage of collegiate hash mark spacing.
3. NFL defenders are faster than college players. With fewer players in the box last year, Kelly didn’t have to coach against this. Expect a few plays this year where Shady gets blown up by lateral hits he didn’t see coming.
4. Last year I said there were some smoke and mirrors along our 10-6 season. One of them was the Offensive Line. I’m waiting to see if a fundamental problem gets addressed in the Draft, because it’s been ignored so far.
That being said, not leading the league in rushing isn’t the same thing as being ineffective. McCoy will churn out yards and will probably even tote a decent average (4.1 maybe?). However more guys in the box will make him pay a lot more often for those sick juke moves.
BTW: If Sproles finishes 2014 as the starter, don’t say no one ever mentioned it.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 