Coaching

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND : SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IF nothing else, the ballooning debate over which QB we should ride with, has had most of the air let out of it. That’s the only silver lining here. The rest is muck and drivel.
I spent the latter half of the fourth quarter saying that I lay last nights loss at the feet of Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz. This is due to his repeated unwillingness to make adjustments, even when it’s clear that our opponents have. Former Eagles OLB Seth Joyner later echoed my assessment, and also fingered Schwartz for calling too passive of a game.

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Eagles 14 – Saints 20

QB Nick Foles (18/31 – 58.0% – 201 – 1 – 2) didn’t have his “A” game yesterday, an with the Eagles having no kind of run game, it was all on him to conjure up a win. It might have been possible had the Offense had more opportunities with the ball. Instead, DC Jim Schwartz seemed determined to make sure that the Saints had all the time and space that they needed, to operate their offense.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Spread the Ball: Three receivers with 50 yards or better was what we ordered. Two receivers with 50 or better is what we got. NOT DONE

2) Sack Attack: We got a couples of sacks, but we did not keep hands up in the QB’s face. As a result he had clear lines of sight to convert key third down after key third down. NOT DONE

3) Win Rushing yards: We started Wendell Smallwood. You can’t win rushing yards without a RB. NOT POSSIBLE

4) Take away the short pass: With all the off-coverage, and vanilla zones, we didn’t take away the short pass, the long pass, the hall pass…. NOT DONE

That makes this week’s Four Things score 0 out of 4. That also brings the 2018 – 2019 to a close.

While it would have been great to have this year end like last year, we all know that no team can win it all, every year. So we are are going to see more playoff runs that end like this, than like last year. Which will still make for exciting seasons.

That being said, this season was a fun ride while it lasted.

On The Whole:

After jumping out to a 14 – 0 lead, we had no business losing this game the way that we did. Personally I see this as worse than the 48 – 7 regular season loss, because it feels like it was almost an inside job. The only thing that keeps me from thinking Schwartz got an envelope, is the fact that he’s been doing this shit since he got here. Here’s what I said in Four Things Reviewed after the Super Bowl:
“ 4) South Paw Switch: To be fair, I didn’t really expect this to get done, since it isn’t actually DC Jim Schwartz’s M.O. to make wholesale changes at the half. It would have however, kept the Patriot from outscoring us 21 -19 in the second half. (NOT DONE) ”

This is who Schwartz is, and this is what we have to live with. For as long as he’s here. Given that this was the last year of his contract though….

FOUR THINGS: DIVISIONAL ROUND: EAGLES-SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

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REVENGE. Pay back. Bounties. Eagles players like LT Jason Peters have actually used those words. Earlier this year the Saints pasted us, 7 – 48. Did the Eagles players sulk? Did they feel sorry for themselves and mail the rest of the season in? They did neither of these things.

What the Eagles players did was meet as MEN. They talked about being embarrassed. They spoke of pride. They used it to resurrect a season that others had written off and were already throwing dirt on. And now, through teamwork and sheer will, the Eagles find themselves facing the same Saints team.

But they will do it, as a different Eagles team. Revenge.

I’m sure by now, most of you have heard about the cute stunt pulled by elderly Frankie Muniz.

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If you haven’t, let me nutshell it for you: He grabbed the Saints Super Bowl trophy and 225K in cash (representing an NFL player’s SB bonus), wheeled both into their locker room, and told the players if they want these, they have to win “three fucking games”.

I guess that no one told them that QB Nick Foles, has been making extra cake for killing motherfuckers since the Rams game! Bonuses of 250K for each regular season victim. Then a cool 1M, for that ice-in-his-veins, game-winning touchdown drive last week against the Bears in a playoff game.

FYI Saints: Eagles Owner Jeff Lurie, ripped that Wanted poster off the Bears carcass and nailed it to your team’s forehead for THIS week. Because this week we’re playing for revenge, and revenge is a dish best served, with a big ol’ bottle of ice cold Spite.

SPITE bottle

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Saints:

1) Spread the Ball: In 3 losses (TB1, DAL, CAR2) the Saints opponent had 3 receivers with 50 yards or better. In 5 close wins/near losses (CLE, ATL, BAL, PIT, CAR1) the opponent had just 2 receivers with 50 yards or better. Spreading the ball loosens up this defense.

2) Sack Attack: Since 2015, the Saints are undefeated when their opponent doesn’t record a sack. In our loss to them this year, we couldn’t get within a 50$ cab ride of the QB, and he dissected us on national television. Our mission couldn’t be clearer here. Get those hands UP to obstruct his line of sight, to make him hold the ball and give the pass rush time to hunt.

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3) Win Rushing yards: In all three losses, the Saints opponent led in rushing yards. So run it 25 times, not 11 like last time.

4) Take away the short pass: Don’t allow the RB easy releases into pass routes. Again, the idea is to make the QB hold the ball. As the rush gets closer, it gets harder for him to see over. Especially if those hands are up. It forces the ball more up than out, giving defenders a split second more to get to under the ball.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

Like Chicago, Eagles fans will NOT take over this venue. We will indeed be playing in a raucous and hostile environment, where it seems the very building is against us. With Chicago it was the field, in New Orleans it will be noise.

We’ll work to settle the nerves of our young Secondary, and get them to trust the communication. Once that happens, we can work on quieting that crowd.

New Orleans is going to try and come at us with a run game that they were able to lean on last time. But this time we’ll be ready for that. If their QB attempts to go by the film of how we played them the last time, this could end up as THE biggest debacle in his career.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 26 – Saints 19

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WILD CARD ROUND : BEARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/07
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ONE win down, three more to go. On the road, with a back-up QB, playing against the league’s top ranked defense. Oh, and down at the half. If it were any other team, that game would have turned into a blowout. Instead, OUR defense came out and showed our opponent the difference between being ranked as the best, and actually being the best.

(It also helped that our opponent kicked the potential game-winning field goal, smack into the upright. For the ELEVENTH time this year. Yes. Eleventh.)

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EAGLES 16 – Bears 15

QB Nick Foles (25/40 – 62.5% – 266 – 2 – 2) had the worst playoff game of his career. Meanwhile he proved as clutch as a handbag, slinging the go-ahead touchdown on 4th down, to WR Golden Tate (5 – 46 – 9.2 – 1) leaving less than a minute in the game. LT Jason Peters let the world know, that even with a bad wing, he’s still a one-on-one match for one of the best pass rushers in the game.

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The guy playing out of his mind was OLB Nigel Bradham (7 – 0 – 0 – 0). Deflections, tackles for losses, even diving on a loose ball that was an incompletion. His stat line can’t communicate how disruptive he was. S Tre Sullivan (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) got his hand on three passes and played the best game I’ve ever seen from him.

nigel bradham

Nobody made plans for Nigel. So he just wrecked shit.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Score more than 22 points: Okay, the Eagles didn’t score 22, but everything else in that section, we did. We left no points on the field due to 4th down gambles. We put the game on their QB. Though we accomplished the spirit of this, the heading wasn’t matched so I put ot down as not. NOT DONE

2) Run the damned ball!: We had 22 handoffs, not 25. We also started G Isaac Seumalo and got no push inside. In a way it’s like the coaching staff was just paying lip service to running. NOT DONE

3) Set hard edges: We didn’t allow a bunch of runs to the outside, and kept the ball-carriers well bottled. DONE

4) Work the edges: The TE’s saw plenty of work, but most of the passes on the outside were for WR’s. Still did the job. DONE

This game saw us snag 2 of 4 of our Four Things goals. Not bad since we got out with the win. Next week we head down to New Orleans, to give them the playoff game they wanted from us so much, last year. Careful what you wish for fellas!

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On The Whole:

Wanna hear something hilarious? Bears K Cody Parkey (3/4FG, 0/0XP), is in the first year of a four year deal. With 9M$ guaranteed. Yes. You read that right. Guaranteed. Current 49er and former Bears K, Robbie Gould was in the stands watching the game. Did I mention he’s the Bears all-time scorer? I didn’t? Well he’s the Bears all-time leading scorer. Aaaand they probably could have used him. Such a shame that they cut him. Looks like the team came down with a case of that there Karma. Heard it’s been going around and coming around.

Okay, stop laughing, stop laughing. We have our own glaring issue to stare down. This thing where we’re trying to wring one RB out of four players, has me worried. Yes, I said four. RB Boston Scott got to see time in the backfield, picking up at least one blitz.

The inability to manufacture meaningful rushing yards, is a problem. If we don’t figure out how to provide balance, this magic carpet ride likely ends next Sunday.

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FOUR THINGS: WILD CARD ROUND: EAGLES-BEARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/03
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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GUESS who’s back?

Back again.

Philly’s back.

We got in.

Guess who? It’s that team that nobody wants to see on their schedule! Say hello to 53 guys, pulling together, feeling disrespected, and trying to prove a point while playing with house money! Led by QB Nick Foles who’s trying to lay the groundwork for “Mucho Paper in March”. (You know they’ve been paying him to kill teams, right?) I feel sad for teams that just got an invite to the playoffs, because brother, we’ve been playing playoff ball for WEEKS now.

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Step One was qualifying for the playoffs. Now for Step Two.

Last year as the #1 seed, the Eagles only had to defend the summit. This year we start at the very bottom of the mountain, and have to slay monsters on our way up. The monsters this week, are the Monsters of the Midway. (And to be fair, the “vs” artwork on their website, is pretty cool.)

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At 12 – 4 and getting to play at home, national pundits are already convinced that the Bears will make short work of the Eagles. We are once again, dismissed as a non-factor in the NFL playoffs. No matter. We still have our trusty bottles of Spite.

SPITE bottle

Yep! Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to see us repeating as Super Bowl Champions.

But first we have to slay THIS monster.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Bears:

1) Score more than 22 points: Score however we can, whenever we can. Don’t roll the dice early on 4th and 2, and such. Just take the field goals. The Bears are 0 – 4 this year when they allow more than just 22 points. They are 2 – 6 when they allow 20 or better. That’s because in “shootout situations” their QB has a tendency to share the football with his opponents. Scoring points puts the game on his shoulders, and he can’t carry that load. So let’s hand him a shovel, and let him bury his own team.

2) Run the damned ball!: It’s a good luck charm and SCREAMED REMINDER, Doug! We need 25 carries. Not only has it worked for us, but 3 out of the 4 Bears losses have come against teams that attempted 25 runs or more.

3) Set hard edges: Let’s keep all runners directly in front of our tacklers. Let’s make tackling easy and hits painful.

4) Work the edges: Like the Redskins, much of the Bears pass rush comes from their OLB’s. That’s a problem against teams like us, who have players like TE Zach Ertz and TE Dallas Goedert.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

The last time we played this team (November 26, 2017) we whipped them 31 – 3. They have pretty much every major piece that they had last year. Except for OLB Khalil Mack on defense, and TE Trey Burton of course.

Otherwise this is the same team that we beat the holy hell out of, a little over a year ago. That’s not saying that they haven’t gotten better. What 31 – 3 says, is that there’s a fundamental factor, an elemental vibe if you will, that the Care Bears just have no deep-seated answer for. (Trivia nugget: QB Nick Foles was 3/3 in that game. 21 yards passing.)

To be fair, we were at home and also leaned pretty heavy on RB’s LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement that day. Scared? Worried? Don’t be. The hatchet that we did them in with was really Zach Ertz.

If you’re worried about the Secondary, we got apretty good day from S’s Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham, as well as CB’s Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas. Hey, aren’t most of those guys playing Sunday? Yeahhhhhh, baby. Feeling a little better? Oh, I knew you would. I knew you would. I knew would.

To make a long story short but always worth the telling, I hear New Orleans is nice this time of year.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Bears 19

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 17: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/31
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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IT was a must-win game and we won it. We needed help to punch our ticket to the tournament, but that help would have been meaningless, if we didn’t do our part, and take care of business.

To that end: We came. We saw. We conquered.

Put into modern parlance: Our fans and team rolled up to the stadium. We told them that they have a “nice place”,

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Then we proceeded to ruin that shit.

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EAGLES 24 – Redskins 0    (Motherfucking ZEE-RO!)

We pitched a shutout! Yes, yes, yes. The media narrative is all about the Quarterbacks, but the story, the REAL story here, is our Defense holding the Redskins to 89 total yards, 68 passing yards, 0 for 9 on 3rd down, and 16 minutes 41 seconds in time of possession. The only thing we didn’t do was put a leash on their players and make them beg for treats.

CB Rasul Douglas (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) came out and snagged a pick on the first play from scrimmage. At that point you KNEW what time it was. DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) grabbed 3 sacks, en route to his first 10 sack (10.5 actually), season of his career. DE Micheal Bennett (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) continued to make the case for being re-signed, by delivering his 9th sack of the season.

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QB Nick Foles (28/33 – 84.8% – 221 – 2 – 1) put on a clinic on how to dissect a defense, before leaving the game with “bruised ribs”. There were 30 handoffs and two QB sneaks, to bring our rushes total to 32, vs a pass total (34 attempts, 3 sacks) of 37. That’s 54% pass to 46% run, on our play-calling.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Run the ball: Our play selection was 32 runs to 37 passes. That’s not only meets the 25 handoff threshold, but it provides possibly the best balanced attack we’ve used all season long. DONE.

2) Make him run: Our front four did a great job of forcing their QB to move around and not allowing him to set his feet. Pressure right up the gut, forced their QB out of the pocket and into erratic throws. That was the idea here. DONE. 

3) Work the edge: We did a lot of work on the perimeter this game, but not the way I suggested here. The job the Eagles did was actually much better, since it incorporated many players, instead of focusing on just one. NOT DONE.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson (4 – 0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) was bottled up all day. The game was placed in the QB’s hands, and the ‘skins collapsed. DONE.

This week’s Four Things sees a score of 3 of 4, bringing the total for the regular season to 29 of 64. While the regular season is over, we have a playoff game next week, vs the Chicago Bears, who ironically helped us get in.

On The Whole:
This game was domination from start to finish. It was almost cruel. I loved it. Seriously, CB/FS Rasul Douglas and CB/FS Avonte Maddox (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) have been catching my eye for weeks now. I honestly can say, they have me not missing Jalen Mills in the least.

FOUR THINGS: WK17 : EAGLES-REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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TODAY we stand at 8 – 7, at least guaranteed to not have a losing season. While fighting our way into the playoffs is the hope, not finishing at .500 should be the immediate goal.

Making the playoffs requires us to win, and another team to lose. We don’t control whether or not another team loses, but we DO control whether or not we take care of our business. No matter how our playoff hopes shake out, we need to leave the 2018 regular season showing that we have righted our ship.

To be the man, you have to beat the man. Even if we don’t make the postseason, we need to leave the world KNOWING that we were worthy of it, and that whatever team wins the championship this year, they did it without truly having been put to the test.

There is no “looking past” the Redskins this week. We are looking dead at them.

They are the obstacle.

They are what stands in our way.

They are in extreme peril.

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So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Redskins:

1) Run the ball: Whether we make a ton of yards or not, is beside the point. The idea is to keep the ‘skins honest, when QB Nick Foles uses play-action. That’s it. If the ‘skins want to be water-tight vs the run, let ‘em. What they don’t give up up-front, they open up, deep.

2) Make him run: The Redskins QB has some mobility. Usually asking for an opposing QB to scramble is a recipe for disaster, but this week… It’s just what the doctor ordered. So far their QB has been playing better football than he really has a right to. I commend him for that. So bring heat up the gut, and get him running for his life. He doesn’t know the system well enough to ad-lib AND stay within it, at the same time. That leaves his teammates and coaching staff frustrated, and opens up opportunities for key moments in the game, to fail and break due to lack of trust. This is less about outright destroying the Redskins, and more about corroding them.

3) Work the edge: The main reason why the ‘skins can’t beat the Eagles anymore is because their pass rush comes from their OLB’s. When a defense takes an OLB from covering TE Zach Ertz, he’s open earlier than usual. Often on the boundaries.

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We can grab and rip the balls clean off the Redskin pass rush, if we force them to cover Ertz with a pass rusher. At which point Foles will have the time to launch missiles to WR Alshon Jeffery.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson has run for 1,000 yards. Not too shabby for a 33 year old, and it’s more than I thought he would do. That said, in 6 of 16 games this year, he’s averaged fewer than 3 yards per carry, and in 4 games he’s averaged fewer than 2. His game by game breakdown reveals a RB who is more of a detriment to his team than an asset. Make sure he gets on the ground when he runs, and put this game in their QB’s hands.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

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I expect to see more of THIS.

The Eagles will come out looking to put this team away. They will watch the scoreboard to see how the Bears/Vikings game is turning out. They will play with pride and passion. They will play for hope and the fulfillment of faith.

The Redskins will come out pumped to make a statement. Then we will punch them in the mouth. At that point they will sober the fuck up and realize that they are a bad team, that releases good players who speak up about being coached by idiots. They will deflate. Especially on defense.

As long at the Bears don’t get blown out by the Vikings, this game should be a cakewalk.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 30 – Redskins 10

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK16 : TEXANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ANY team (or fan base) that says they aren’t scared of the Eagles right now, is lying. Right now the Eagles are playing scrappy, ballsy, no holds barred, football. We’re playing with the swagger of a radioactive man, walking among his enemies, with nothing to lose. At this point in the year, when teams see the Eagles on their schedule, they swallow hard and just hope that we make it quick.

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EAGLES 32 – Texans 30

QB Nick Foles (35/49 – 71.4% – 471 – 4 – 1) set the team record for having the most 400 yard passing games of any QB in an Eagles jersey. TE Zach Ertz (12 – 110 – 9.1 – 2) set the ALL-TIME RECORD for passes caught by a TE in a season. On the way to those records, we took a minute to hand Houston a shiny new “L” for their Christmas tree.

The stats do no justice to the day that was had by RB Darren Sproles (9 – 32 – 3.5 – 0 – 0/ 3 – 76 – 25.3 – 1). Since returning from injury four weeks ago, Sproles has been playing like a man possessed. On just 35 touches, he has 3 scores, often fighting off multiple defenders, while he refuses to stop until he hits paydirt.

DE Chris Long (2 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) brought his sack total up to 6.5, which is his best year since 2013, when he had 8.5. The difference is, in 2013 he had 16 starts. This year he has zero. DT Treyvon Hester  (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)  25 games into his career, finally broke his NFL cherry and git himself a sack. CB/FS Rasul Douglas (8 – 0 – 0 – 0) despite being beaten by an amazing throw for a score, played a hell of a game, yet again. The pairing of he and CB Avonte Maddox (2 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) is giving the Eagles a real presence both against the run and the pass.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Run the ball: I said we needed 25 handoffs and we got 21. The run/pass play selection was 21 to 51. We can’t live that way. We got away with it this week though. NOT DONE

2) Take away the catalyst: The Eagles spent a lot of time in Cover Two, and kept the catalyst out of the endzone. We allowed completions, then we closed, made the tackle and didn’t let him become a problem. DONE

3) DE’s set the edges: The Defense was AMAZING at this! The Texans run game was served right up to our tacklers, who wrapped up and finished the down. DONE

4) Screen Time!: We didn’t do much in the way of Screens. NOT DONE

This brings this week’s Four Things score to 2 of 4 and the seasons total to 26 out of 58. Next week we get a shot at sweeping the Redskins in a game we need (along with outside help) to make the playoffs.

On The Whole:

Nick Foles picked up another cool quarter million, plus a record, plus a win, plus more validation for the shrine to him, created by Chris Long. On February 6th I said:  “If Foles wants to stay, we need to find a way to let him. If he doesn’t, we need to find a way to convince him.”

This game was a great win to watch, but there may be a very serious decision to be made at the QB spot for this team. This game ruined any chance of there being a cut and dried decision on it.

Have fun celebrating, but recognize that there is a headache and some extreme discomfort coming up. And the further we go, the worse it will get.