While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
WEAPONS are only effective if you use them correctly. This offseason, the Eagles re-signed CB James Bradberryfor 38M$ over three years; and restructured CBDarius Slay for 42M$ over three years. That’s 80M$ worth of CB over the next three years. So we’d better be about the business of using them correctly.
Putting them on cushions, backing them off five yards or more, is not the way to go. It prevents a CB from being burned right off the line of scrimmage, but if you have the sort of CB’s who can be beaten like that, you DON’T pay them 80 mil over three years. Capiche?
The best use of these guys is in aggressive Man-Press coverage. They should be in a receiver’s face, at the line of scrimmage. This takes away easy Slant routes; discourages WR Screens; flattens the blocking angle against the run; and lets the CB redirect the route, to throw off the timing of rhythm based passing games.
It also makes opposing QB’s hold the ball for a second or two longer. That would allow the pass rush to get home, and suffocate drives in their infancy. Or even better, lead directly to turnovers. That however won’t happen if opposing QB’s can just 1-2-3-FIRE!, 1-2-3-FIRE! We need to take that option off the board, immediately.
That’s not saying we shouldn’t mix up the coverage, and do some cushion work here and there. I’m saying it should be highly irregular. Teams should be almost confused when we give them a look that seems like an easy completion. Any time it looks like we’ve eased up, they should be mistrustful of the option we’re presenting them. They should immediately feel fucked with.
When in Man-Press, we should default to Cover Two on the back end. That way when a CB is beaten early, and the ball is quickly zipped to an opposing receiver, as that ball gets to him, there’s also a Safety arriving with just the absolute worst of intentions. What kind of hit are we talking? An absolutely FINE one, if you take my meaning.
Receivers should be jostled and frustrated, when trying to run routes, and brutalized when they do catch a ball. In the end, they should dread the idea of playing the Eagles. But first we gotta turn up the heat.
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
SOMETHING has to change, because in football, damage is cumulative. Which is why we’ve seen some players
get old all of a sudden. In two seasons as the Eagles starter, QB Jalen Hurts has played 30 games and run the ball 304 times. That’s an average of 10 times per game. Hurts is just 24. We don’t need him getting old at 26 or 27. So we have to stop running him 10 times per game.
To the Eagles credit, they’ve brought in an Offensive Co-ordinator in Brian Johnson, who is letting the world know, that Hurts will be throwing to his RB’s more. I love this. It’s best NOT to keep that new wrinkle a secret, because it tells opposing coaches, that now they can’t blitz Hurts without paying a stiff price. Fewer blitz attempts mean fewer hits on his body.
Also, when the coverage loosens underneath, it just makes Hurts scramble runs easier for him to get into, with more room to slide. Or dive head-first, as safely as football allows. The smart move would be (excluding QB Sneaks), limiting the OC to calling 3 Hurts runs per game.
Again, that’s called runs, not scrambles or Sneaks. Getting more short passes to RB’s should really cut into his scrambling. Hurts had 165 rushing attempts last year. That’s 11 carries per game. Getting that number down to 5 per game, would mean 85 for a whole season. And wouldn’t it be nice to see him play a whole season?
In prior seasons under OC Shane Steichen, pushing the ball downfield was the emphasis. So those RB Screens that RB Boston Scott was killer at, under Doug Pederson, didn’t get called. Scott saw just 6 targets last year. RB Kenneth Gainwell, who saw 50 targets as a rookie, saw just 29 last year.
While the team de-emphasizing passing to RB’s didn’t hurt our climb to the Super Bowl, overusing Hurts as the primary short yardage alternative to a hand-off, might stop us from going back any time soon.
The idea isn’t to handcuff him, like Rich Kotite wanted to do with Randall Cunningham. Nor do we want Hurts to avoid running, like Donovan McNabb(tried to do). We just need to limit how many high-speed, free shots we give defenses, on our QB. Including more checkdowns will help out with that.
So let’s keep it to 3 called runs per game. Circumstances permitting.
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
INJURIES happen and football isn’t a safe sport. That said, maybe we shouldn’t have our top two WR’s, running lots of routes which take them inside the numbers painted on the field. While we can’t be skittish about playing them, routing them through S’s and LB’s, is a lot like dancing in front of tigers with handfuls of steak. Eventually it ends badly.
So let’s do less of that in 2023. I didn’t say let’s not do it, just do it less. I mean this especially about Brown, because he’s the one who does it more.
Taken as a pair, WRs A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, not QB Jalen Hurts, are the straw that stirs the Eagles Offense. Defenses having to respect two full service receivers at all levels (shallow/intermediate/deep), is what opens up the field for the run game. Adding Hurts slows opposing defense’s reaction time vs the run, as they have to also account for him.
That’s not saying that Hurts is unimportant. It’s saying that he was a different QB before Brown got here, and we don’t have much depth at WR. Let me put it in plain English: If Brown goes down, WR Quez Watkins is the starter opposite Smith again. Like 2021 when we went 9 – 8, stumbled into the playoffs and were quickly dismissed, with our illiterate QB.
Now Hurts was clearly better in 2022, but I don’t want to find out that he’s largely “Brown dependent”. Better to keep Brown healthy, and the rest of the NFL scratching their heads over how Hurts got so good, so fast.
If we had more depth at WR, or if Quez hadn’t been a disaster in 2022, I wouldn’t be as worried about health at this position. However, knowing how and why the Eagles Offense works, I also understand how fast it can all unravel. So let’s be more careful with our top two WR’s.
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
SPORTS is great source for mixed metaphors. Yelling that a team should “work the body” (run more); or that they should “go to the upstairs” (throw it deep down the sideline); are two examples of football borrowing expressions from boxing. Well I’m borrowing yet another: We need to throw more uppercuts.
By this I mean, deep throws down the middle of the field. I’m comparing this kind of pass to an uppercut, because while it’s going to the upstairs, it’s taking a different route. Like an uppercut, it’s thrown behind the defense. If the defense can recover, the fight just goes on. However, if the uppercut lands, (if that deep pass connects), it can be a devastating blow.
A deep pass down the sideline often involves a CB and/or a FS with an angle, helping to run down the WR. A deep pass in the middle is usually against a FS. Look, usually a FS is a S, because he can’t run like a CB. If he also has no angle on the completed pass, then it’s just a footrace to the goal post. This is utterly devastating.
WR Quez Watkins rips the Vikings hearts out, during Monday Night Football, with this 53 yard score.
The Eagles have a couple of players who can make this into a real problem. First is WR Quez Watkins. The Eagles have used him like this on occasion, but I have no idea why they don’t abuse this as an option. He has blazing speed and and good enough hands to make uncontested catches. Throwing him open on a deep route needs to happen few times per game.
Second is WR Devon Allen. He’s an Olympic sprinter with 4..5 speed, who had a strong preseason last year, and spent 2022 on our Practice Squad. While WR Olamide Zacchaeus isn’t the burner the other two are, he has a talent for finding soft spots in the coverage, and making yards after the catch. Though at 5’8 he could be a difficult target to hit deep.
So we have the firepower to throw more uppercuts. The only question there is, will we?
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
QUICK knockouts in boxing usually come from punches to the head. So inexperienced fighters often fixate on (headhunting) throwing punches to the head. Even a mediocre trainer will instruct their fighter to “Work the body to bring down the head”; because punishing the body, can rob an opponent of offensive firepower, and make their arms feel heavy, loosening their defense.
Listen, there are no quick knockouts in football. No matter how hard the Eagles rock an opponent early, the game is still sixty minutes. Which just makes working the body even more important.
Running the ball is about power and will. Yes, technique is important, yes angles are important, yes quickness matters. However, the defense also has technique, they take angles, and they’re quick too. Once beef meets beef in the trenches, it’s power and will. And when you spend a day beating a man into the dirt, you break his will. You bring down the head.
The Eagles had three losses last year, and in two of them (Washington and New Orleans) we got away from our M.O. of running the ball, with just 14 handoffs in either game. We were in both games until the end, so there was never a need to get away from the run. We just sort of…did.
Instead of playing our game, our offensive coaching staff over-thought things, and played down to our opponent. Instead of doing what works, we got cute. Luckily we lost the Washington game, and it screwed our heads on straight. Had we gotten away with that game plan, who knows how far we’d have strayed from our fundamentals.
We are a running team, and we need to never lose sight of that. We’re a team that wins in the trenches! We win the street fights. We aren’t locked in here with them. They’re locked in here with US! Once the game starts, we get to play with our food for sixty minutes. So why not torture, torment, harass, and demoralize them? Punish them.
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
THERE’S an old expression in sports: “Dance with the girl who brung ya.” Well that girl, (running the ball), brought us all the way to a Super Bowl. So let’s stay right here. Dancing cheek to cheek with our run game.
Now that QB Jalen Hurts, has become more expensive, some may find it tempting to get pass happy. Others may want to run every single play through him. Well, either of those approaches would be stupid. Now that he’s more expensive, we should risk him less, not more.
Last year we averaged 31.2 rushes per game, 21.5 of which were hand-offs, with Hurts chipping in another 165 totes (in 15 games), for an average of 11.0 per game. We should scale down on the abuse he sees, and turn some of those 11, into hand-offs. Especially since it would be a waste of talent not to.
RB D’Andre Swift wearing the number “0”.
Although Kenneth Gainwell is (currently) listed atop the depth chart, let’s be serious here. Replacing RB Miles Sanders with RB D’Andre Swift, has the potential to be transformative to this Offense. While Sanders was very productive in his four years as an Eagle, Swift is a faster and more decisive runner. Which explains why even on a team with little supporting talent, he was able to be such an explosive player.
In each of his his three seasons, Swift has at least one run of 50 yards, with almost no help to draw attention from him. Here he has WR’sA.J. Brownand Devonta Smith. He has TE Dallas Goedert. He’s never had an Offensive Line like this. Oh, and his QB being a threat to run, makes every defense re-act half a step slower. This should be a career year for Swift.
The only way to screw this up, would be not feed Swift enough for him to get into a rhythm. If he sees 15 to 20 carries per game, we should be golden. That said, it’s not all about him. The RB room on this team currently includes: Swift, Gainwell, Boston Scott,Rashaad Penny, Trey Sermon, and Kennedy Brooks.
Ideally:
Swift should start, and see at least 15 carries in the game.
Gainwell could be sprinkled in for 2 carries per quarter, to give Swift some rest (and to play well enough to push him).
Penny comes in as the closer in the fourth. A big, fast, well-rested closer, capable of ripping off 60 yard runs to paydirt. Penny coming in basically ends Swift’s day, and we pack all of Penny’s carries (6 or so) into the fourth.
If the Eagles can put up 29 hand-offs per game, we should be unbeatable. In fact, last year we were 5 – 0 when hitting 29 hand-offs. In games of 17 hand-offs or fewer, we were 3 – 3 including a 17 hand-off Super Bowl. So yeah. Dance with the girl who brung us. Run the ball.
DESEAN Jacksonwants to retire as an Eagle; and WR DeAndre Hopkins listed Philadelphia as one of the places that he wouldn’t mind playing. So should we be interested? If so, which should we be interested in?
I won’t try to keep you in suspense. The answer is: Both. Depending on the money.
First, let’s deal with DJax. He absolutely should retire as an Eagle. If he wants to sign for a day and retire, sure, why not. He’s earned it. However, if he wants one last ride to chase a ring, as a limited contributor, he’d instantly become our best option at Punt Returner. We could give him WR Britain Covey’s roster spot. He’d certainly give us more as receiving option.
Now, let’s talk D-Hop. Let me use a word that nobody wants to hear: Injury. In the event of a long-term injury to either WR A.J. Brown or Devonta Smith, then WRQuez Watkins becomes our #2 receiver. Are you okay with that? I know I’m not! Last year we were disappointed in how Watkins handled being #3. Picture him having to fill-in for A.J. Brown!
Hopkins represents depth. While he hasn’t posted elite numbers in the last two years, no one doubts his ability to perform at a high level. While Hopkins may not have Watkins’s elite speed, he’s a better route runner, and his hands are near infinitely better. In the event of an injury to Brown or Smith, Hopkins can fill-in as a #2, easily.
Right now our WR depth is Brown, Smith, and Watkins. After that, we have Covey, Greg Ward, (Olympic sprinter) Devon Allen, Olamide Zaccheaus, Tyrie Cleveland, Charleston Rambo, and a couple of undrafted rookies. After Watkins, only Ward has ever caught a ball from QB Jalen Hurts. That was back in 2021.
Restructure that as Brown, Smith, Hopkins, Watkins and DJax. This covers depth, insurance, Special Teams, and legacy. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to see Watkins and DJax absolutely blowing the lid off of a defense? Putting them on the field together would have opponents lining their Safeties up in the parking lot. Imagine all the room to run on first and ten!
Keeping Ward, Allen, and one more on the Practice Squad, keeps us ready for DJax’s hamstrings to act up again. It’s an annual event, which is why I said limited contributor. However, for every down he can give us (especially in the postseason), he still has the ability to affect and aggravate a defense, just by lining up. As he reminded folks as recently as November 27th…
THANK you Schedule Makers! According to our opponent 2022 win percentage of .566 (which is the tool used to make this measurement every year), the Eagles 2023 schedule is the toughest in the NFL this year. That means, no one can claim that our winning the East again this year, was an easy road.
I want to thank the Schedule Makers for such a tough road. No sarcasm, I’m being serious. The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat winner since we last did it in 2003 and 2004. To do it vs the NFL’s toughest schedule, builds validation even from rivals, directly into every “W” that we earn.
I want that.
Now lets discuss Our 2023 Schedule itself. As with any year, there are things I love about the schedule, and things I hate about it. Let’s start with the good news.
Our Bye hits on Week 10. It’s after nine games played, leaving eight on the schedule’s back-end. It’s also right after our first meeting with the Cowboys, which will be a home game. No post-game travel means, one less plane ride for any of our guys leaving Philadelphia during the Bye.
Speaking of planes, our players won’t have to get on one from Weeks 6 – 10, or Weeks 16 – 18. That’s no jet lag, and we’re either playing home games, or in places (NY and DC) where our fans already have very healthy representation. In fact, we finish the season practically on a three game home-stand.
I also happen to love that our division games have quick turnarounds for each second match-up. We play Washington in Week Four, and again four weeks later. Then a Dallas game, with a re-match four weeks later. At season’s end, both giants games have just one game between them. Sweeps, splits… We’ll know pretty quickly where we stand vs each team.
The bad news?
Kansas City has the same Bye Week that we do. So we get Andy Reidafter a bye. Andy is damned near invincible with an extra week of prep time. (He’s practically Batman.) Then on a short week, after the KC game, we get Buffalo (but at least it’s a home game.) And then the Forty Whiners come to town. (Probably with 6 QB’s and JUGS machine wearing a jersey.)
I’m also personally not a fan of us playing just three 1:00 games. First, the Eagles have traditionally played well in that slot. Second, I have a whole routine based around early games. The earlier we play, the easier it is for me to get the Four Things Reviewed articles out, on time on Mondays. Those articles can take two to six hours to complete, depending on other games that impact us.
This is partly why I’m irritated with us having at least FIVE prime time games this year. I say at least, because that last giants game is “To Be Determined”. For Sunday night games, I can’t even start my articles until around midnight, while still having to be at work on Monday morning. So night games don’t exactly thrill me.
Thankfully we only have one Thursday Night game, and it’s a four day turnaround not just for us, but Minnesota as well. However for us, it’s a home game. The Vikes have to get in a short week of practice, then get on a plane, while also losing an hour.
On the whole, I’m happy with how the schedule works out for the Eagles. It’s an undeniably tough road, with validation built in. However, due to our geographical location and the way the division is laid out, travel fatigue should be about as light on us, as any team in the league.
DRAFT reviews usually come out immediately after the event. Everyone is in such a race to get it to you first, that they rarely ever give it to you good. Not me. I like to take my time and go deeper. Really explore all those places that others tend to ignore. I want to make sure that you’re satisfied. (And accurately informed)
First off, General Manager Howie Roseman is on another level. On the surface, this Draft haul is so amazing, that it’s easy to want to jump to the end of the season, and start spouting a bunch of expectations; but we really need to pump the brakes. Me included.
Now let’s get into it.
Round 1 (9th overall): DT Jalen Carter– We started with the 10th overall pick, but Howie made a deal that moved us up one spot, to take a player widely said to be the most talented player in the entire draft. Some teams were concerned about character issues, but since when did the Eagles make a habit of taking head cases? So I have to trust their judgment on this one.
DT Jalen Carter celebrates his sack by raising the QB into the air.
As an athlete, Carter is explosive, and powerful. He’s an interior penetrator and disruptor, who also can stand a blocker up at the point of attack, not allowing a hole for the run. Better still, from what I watched of him, he keeps a QB’s feet chopping. That means the QB’s normal throwing platform, is compromised.
It’d be a mistake to judge Carters rookie season by sacks and tackles. Those numbers can’t tell the true tale of his value. What Carter does best, is make offenses run off-schedule. He has the ability to make opponents a lesser version of themselves. Wreck a blocking scheme. Make the QB throw off-platform. There’s no stat for those things, but watch how often you’ll see him do it. Pick Grade: A+
Round 1 (30th overall): LB Nolan Smith – His highlights make him seem like a DE and pass rusher, but he only had 12.5 sacks over 4 years at Georgia. Smith is an active, high-motor player, who was used more like an x-factor than a player with a dedicated role. Watching him vs Clemson, a few things jump off the screen.
The first thing I noticed was the size mismatch. He’s only 238 pounds, but Georgia liked to deploy him as a DE/Edge player too often. If the Eagles don’t make this mistake, Smith should be just fine. The next thing you notice is his speed. The guy is blur off the line, and can run with just about any RB or TE.
Georgia used him as more as a Edge player, but the Eagles are going to have to transition him into a bonafide OLB. While he’s shown an ability to set an edge and corral RB’s, as well as rush the QB; he’s also displayed the speed and movement skills to handle coverage in zone and shallow man. So he has the tools to make the adjustment. Pick Grade: A
Round 2 (65th overall): OT Tyler Steen– There is talk of moving him inside to RG, but the move will likely not suit him well. Steen isn’t a lunch pail sort of guy. He had a round 3 or 4 estimate on him, but we reached and grabbed him in the second. From what I’ve seen, there’s no way he should have been drafted at all.
Watching him in the Alabama/Tennessee game, hurt me to my heart. There was no aggression in his game. He fell off of blocks constantly; lunged and ended up on the ground a lot; and his hand usage is atrocious. In the game vs Texas, he looked like outright trash. Finishing no blocks, and watching entirely too much football.
Not an entirely accurate statement, but you get the idea.
Sometimes teams will take a diamond in the rough, because he’s extremely explosive; or has the nimble feet of Ginger Rogers; or is freakishly strong, or has other in-born traits that can’t be taught. That said, I honestly don’t see what the Eagles will try to build off of with this kid. Then again, I’m not on a coaching staff. Pick Grade: F
Round 3 (66th overall): S Sydney Brown – Word is, that he’s an in the box thumper. (I used to have a pet rabbit named Thumper, so this term always tickles me when it’s used in football).
However, watching video of him vs Wyoming, was underwhelming. It shows him watching a lot of football, when others are swarming to the ball, as well as missing tackles.
I usually don’t watch highlight vids, but even his highlight reels don’t back up the hype of him being a hitter. Maybe there’s a Special Teamer here, but I don’t see much else. Pick Grade: D
Round 4 (105th overall): CB Kelee Ringo – Watching him against Oregon, it was hard not to like the potential that was clearly on display. Rarely do I fall in love with measurables, but 6’2, 207, running a 4.36?! Yet my favorite part was watching how when he played man-press, the QB ignored his half of the field.
His tackling could be better, and his mirroring needs polish, but these things are what coaches are paid to improve. This kid has excellent tools, and will spend the next three years learning from CB’s Darius Slayand James Bradberry. Pick Grade: A
Round 6 (188th overall): QB Tanner McKee – Watching bis game against Arizona State made me wonder why the Eagles spent a pick on him. He showed zero pocket awareness, happy feet in the pocket, and seemingly has no idea what a “touch pass” is. Seriously, he strong-armed every throw on a straight, flat line.
Initially when I saw him as a pick, I figured maybe he’d compete with QB Ian Bookfor the third string. After seeing him play, he seems like just a camp arm. Essentially a salaried jugs machine. Pick Grade: D
Round 7 (249th overall): DT Moro Ojomo– Video against Alabama is always quality study material, and that’s what we have here. Ojomo is active inside, but doesn’t rush with much of a plan. So he can muddle a blocking scheme, but he runs himself out of plays just as often.
He looks like a solid rotation piece. They type who can come in later in the game, vs a tired o-line, and rely on raw strength to shine for a possession or two. Pick Grade: B
While the trade for native Philadelphian RB D’Andre Swift happened during the Draft, it’s not a pick, so it won’t be graded. It was also further demonstrated proof that the Eagles don’t draft RB’s in the first round. (At least not under this GM.) Fans clamored for RB Bijan Robinson, but I said we wouldn’t go that route, and I even told you why. I wanted two defensive lineman and that’s what we took.
Notable Post-Draft signings:
WR Joseph Ngata – 6’3 217, not a burner, but makes tough grabs in traffic, as well as YAC.
CB Mehki Garner– 6’2, 212, needs to be moved to S/NCB.
I know other sites and publications gave the Eagles (and nearly everyone else) A-pluses, A’s and B’s, but they’re grading on curve so gentle, you’d think they were a public school teacher on probation.
On the whole, after taking a deeper look than the national media could afford to, for every team, I’d give our Draft a C+. While we hit some home runs here, three of four picks just don’t look like they’ll fit here. Reaching for one of them just makes that pick hurt worse.
KEEPin mind, when these predictions come out, no one knows who will be drafted by which team.
This is an assessment of the team as it is staffed by veteran players with track records.
Rookies don’t usually shake up the NFC East division, so there’s a pretty good chance that what you see here, will be how it shakes out for the year.
Strongest Offense: PHILADELPHIA – This was the NFL’s #3 scoring unit last year. They had two free agent defections, but the replacements have all been reliable contributors on this team fpr years. There are no holes, and no question marks. No other unit in the division can claim that.
Weakest Offense: NEW YORK – Everything is wrong with their offense. I won’t go into details here. I already did that, in the article.
Strongest Defense: PHILADELPHIA – Dallas has a deeper (better?) secondary, but up front, their line gets manhandled vs the run. Philadelphia does not have that problem, and is solid from front to back. (See: PLAYOFFS, San Francisco)
Weakest Defense: NEW YORK – Holdouts and defections cannot be great for team morale. There was already a talent vacuum, last year. This season can’t have made that any better.
Strongest Special Teams:NEW YORK– Reliable kicking in a stadium that sees the kind of winds, that New York, San Fran and Chicago sees, is nothing to dismiss. One team being able to count on their kicking when the other team can’t, has been the tale of many a victory in this league.
Weakest Special Teams: WASHINGTON – This unit has been limping along since 2020. Apparently the bar is just set to “Low” for this part of the team.
Projected Winner: PHILADELPHIA
This team has mitigated losing personnel extremely well. In fact, they didn’t lose as many players as they were expected to. Some even re-signed for less money than they could have gotten elsewhere. That’s the sign of a roster that believes, and is dialed in.
Darkhorse Winner: DALLAS – ESPN picked them to win the East. Given that New York and Washington don’t have the tools, if it’s not Philadelphia, it has to be Dallas.
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