Coaching

FOUR THINGS: WK 14: EAGLES – CARDINALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/17
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THANKS to our running game, the underdogs prevailed against the Saints! Last week we ran the ball 36 times, 18 of which were by QB Jalen Hurts for over 100 yards. We’ll likely be looking to do more of the same this Sunday.

An Eagles win and wins by Seattle and Cleveland, keeps the Eagles in the fight for the NFC East crown. If that scenario unfolds, it would put us a half-game out of first place. In fact, if that scenario plays out, then we would control our own destiny after this week.

A loss wouldn’t mathematically eliminate us from contention. Unless the Redskins (don’t @ me), beat Seattle. At which point we’d just be playing out the string. So if you want the Eagles to win the East don’t forget to root for Seattle and Cleveland this week.

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money.

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

1) Keep running: Hurts has proven that he is dangerous as a runner. However, passing the ball still seems to be a work in progress. That means we’re going to have to lean on him as a runner. Oh yeah, and RB Miles Sanders too.

2) Contain our mirror image: The Cardinals offense is a more experienced, and better version of what we’re doing these days. We need to have an answer for how to keep their QB in the pocket, and make him beat us from there.

3) Pray for diarrhea: My suggestion for stopping WR DeAndre Hopkins is sending him some shrimp. Deep fried in Olestra. Remember when Lay’s chips used that, and it led to rampant anal leakage across the country?

Seafood fried in that stuff would make Hopkins unable to leave his bathroom for the game. If he’s on a toilet, forcibly shitting out half his DNA, he can’t hurt the Eagles wounded Secondary. Cross your fingers, and pray for flu-like symptoms!

4) Control the clock: Posting a mark of 36 to 24 minutes in time of possession, would go a long way to making sure that the Cardinals don’t get a lot of shots on our Secondary. Play complimentary football and help the Defense, by holding the ball.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Cardinals 24

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

2020 SEASON REVIEW: THIRD QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/15
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters. Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 3 – 8 – 1, 3rd place in the NFC East

OPPONENTS:

(L) New York giants 5 – 7

(L) Cleveland Browns 8 – 3

(L) Seattle Seahawks 8 – 4

(L) Green Bay Packers 9 – 3

OVERVIEW:

When you drop 4 games in a row, without breaking 17 points in any of them, you clearly have systemic problems within your Offense. But we’re not going to address that, because we can ship out a franchise QB, and create some badly needed cap space. Oh you didn’t know? A number of your favs are hitting the chopping block in a couple of months, leaving you with a DECIDEDLY different team in 2021.

A lot of that was General Manager Howie Roseman constantly forwarding contract money to the future, in the form of bonuses. Well now, many of those bonuses have come due, which Howie planned for. What he could NOT have planned for, was the Covid outbreak, leading to decreased revenue for the league.

Next year’s salary cap won’t grow as in prior years. In fact, it’s actually going to shrink as the league spreads the revenue shortfall, across the next few seasons. This is a joke, since the salary cap is imposed on the owners, by the owners. But that’s a TED Talk for another day. The handle on this is, owners now have yet another excuse to look players in the eye and cry poor mouth, while holding a bag of money in each hand.

In any case, the Eagles have to make deeper cuts than they planned on, even a year ago. This is why Head Coach Doug Pederson doesn’t call certain plays. It makes our QB look goofy, and it’ll make many fans okay with him being traded to the Colts, or the Jets. We’ll be well into 5 – 7 next year, when most of the fan base even starts to realizes what happened here. Most likely won’t get it until late 2022.

POSITIONAL GRADES:

QB: (F) – Over the last 4 weeks Carson Wentz has thrown three interceptions, against just 4 touchdowns. The Eagles have scored just 17 points in each of the 3 games he has completed. Balanced against the balance of the rest of his 2020, it was enough to get him benched for half a game. (At least.) Jalen Hurts in a relief role provided a spark, but was a long way from being able to ignite a fire. A passer throwing both a touchdown and interception while completing just 41.6% of his passes, is nothing for a franchise to hang its hat on. There are MUCH deeper problems here, but this position is the place where they show up the most, albeit not clearly.

RB: (C ) – The Eagles run game has been highly productive, but used sparingly. Miles Sanders is an electrifying runner, but beyond that, his game is fraught with small problems. Poorly run routes, dropped balls, missed blitz assignments, slips… While Boston Scott has been nice in spots, he’s not starter material, so is incapable of truly pushing Sanders to hone his game. This is the reason for the re-entry of Jordan Howard, who looked good in limited action vs Green Bay. To his credit Corey Clement has 2 carries for 11 yards and score in the last 4 games.

WR: (F) – Over the last 4 weeks Travis Fulgham has 4 catches for 32 yards on 16 targets. Jalen Reagor has 12 catches for 114 yards on 20 targets. I point them out first, because they appear to be the 2021 starters. Greg Ward has caught 12 of 18 this period for a meager 108 yards. Alshon Jeffery has started the last two games, producing 2 catches on 5 targets for 15 yards. A lot of these horrific numbers are due to these guys generally taking several weeks to get open. Whether player technique or the scheme is at fault, the underlying cause is a coaching breakdown. This is a de-fanged offense.

TE: (C ) – Dallas Goedert has been the Eagles leading receiver in each of the last three games, but failing to reach 80 yards in any of them. The question of whether he can replace Zach Ertz has been answered, and the answer is “No”. Ertz has more dynamism and is more sudden in his breaks. Unless the Eagles have plans on spending a high draft pick here, they’d better be willing to spend some serious coin. Richard Rodgers over the last 4 games has 9 grabs on 13 targets, for 161 yards (17.88) and 2 scores. This position has been productive, but not threatening enough to help others get open.

OT: (C ) – Lane Johnson was lost for the year, and Jason Peters was moved inside. Jordan Mailata looked better before being sat down for Peters during weeks 10 and 11. We found out that Matt Pryor is only viable if he’s playing between Pro Bowlers. Thus, rookie Jack Driscoll got his third start vs the Packers. Mailata shows promise, but he looks far more like a RT than a LT, if we’re being honest. (I still want to see him catch a pass!)

OG: (C) – Despite all the wreckage around him, it’s hard to feel like Isaac Seumalo’s return upgraded the O-Line. Jason Peters broken/dislocated toe is the world’s worst kept secret. Opponents are targeting it and beating him inside, as his ability to pivot on it is almost non-existent. Nate Herbig shows potential as a plugger at LG, but still needs to hit the weights if he’s going to play RG.

C: (C ) – Jason Kelce seems like he’s not always mentally checked in. Bad snaps, or delayed snaps, his errors have become too frequent for a guy playing his position. My guess is that these next four games will be the last of his storied career.

DE: (C) – Brandon Graham started the season on fire. Since the second half of the year, his tackles are down, QB hits are down, and sacks are nonexistent. Derek Barnett on the other hand, is coming off of his best quarter of the season so far. Josh Sweat doesn’t get enough snaps. He’s active and brings plenty of heat. Don’t be surprised to see him starting in 2021. Vinny Curry is doing a good job rotating behind Graham, but he’s so much better and more impactful on the other side.

DT: (B) – Fletcher Cox has a sack in 3 of the last 4 games along with 9 solo tackles. Javon Hargrave has stepped up his statistical production, and has become difficult enough to make life easier inside for Cox. Malik Jackson hasn’t been the same since Hassan Ridgeway went down in Week 7. Still, this interior is the heartbeat of this Defense. It’s the primary reason we’ve been able to hang in games, despite losing them.

OLB: (C) – Alex Singleton wants a starting job in 2021. He’s no longer sticking to blocks as much, actually can get penetration, and for the last couple of games really seems to be feeling the action more than reading it. He’s nothing flashy, but if paired with a difference maker on the other side, the second level would make our Defense nearly impossible to game plan for. Duke Riley is a special teams player, and not capable of impacting a game. Davion Taylor was being trusted with more defensive snaps, but he suffered a serious knee injury and may be done for the year.

MLB: (D) – T.J. Edwards has been serviceable. Mostly doing clean-up duty vs the run, he’s not been much of a factor vs the pass, or as a pass rusher. In fact, his sack this quarter is the result of a QB slide while he was in pursuit. In the last 4 games, 6th round rookie Shaun Bradley has logged 8 downs. Clearly he is not progressing as fast as was hoped.

S: (F) – No Eagles Safety has a deflection, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, NOTHING in 4 weeks.

CB: (F) – Darius Slay has been getting prison raped this quarter. Teams know how to make him look bad because he has no support opposite his leverage. Avonte Maddox is straight trash. (We covered that last quarter.) Nickell Robey-Coleman is very good at cashing his paychecks.

LS: (A) – I have yet to hear Rick Lovato’s name or notice a bad snap from him.

P: ( C) – Cam Johnston’s punting average has come down significantly this quarter. These last 4 games have seen him averaging just 44.8 yards per boot. Then again, 21 boots is the most he’s made in a quarter this season, so it could be wear and tear on his kicking thigh, or fatigue on his plant leg. Either way fewer punts mean fresher leg. We need to start scoring points.

K: (D) – Two missed extra point in the last two games, and just 4 field goals from Jake Elliott, in the last 4 games. Also, of his 16 kickoffs, 9 were returned for an average of 21.7 yards. No scores, but that’s not the point. Every return is a chance for the opponent to bring a kick back and change the momentum or break a game open. Part of kickoffs is to stifle hope, dim confidence, and let our Defense start off feeling that the wind is at their backs. Elliott isn’t giving us that.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

We managed to go 0 – 4, and now our franchise QB is on the bench. He might start against New Orleans. He may have already played his last snap as an Eagle. There is no longer any rhyme or reason to what is happening with this team. Usually that means that something is brewing in the Front Office.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Sake of argument, playing Devil’s Advocate. Let’s say the Saints don’t wipe the floor with us (regardless of QB), we squeak past the Cardinals, sweep the Cowboys, and split with the Redskins (don’t start with that shit). That puts us at 7 – 8 – 1. Will that be enough to win the NFC East? Do we even WANT to at this point?

Let me nutshell this for you. At this point, the season should be considered a wash, and we should start playing the guys who will be on this team in 2021.

Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Alshon Jeffery, Carson Wentz, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Zach Ertz, Jalen Mills, Vinny Curry. These guys should be benched and the youth movement that is about to start, should begin to see significant action together. If we win, we win. If we lose…

Look, the performances of the young guys will tell us where, and how badly we need to draft a position. There is nothing to be gained by sweating out a bullshit QB controversy. There is nothing to be gained by fiddling around with makeshift O-lines. There are no fans to boo at games. The blow can be delivered now, with minimal impact.

Just get it over with.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 13: Saints

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Fans, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Time-out on all the handjobs and high fives.

Eagles 24 – Saints 21 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Jalen Hurts: (17/30 – 56.6% – 167 – 1 – 0)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (14 – 115 – 8.2 – 2 – 0)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (6 – 4 – 43 – 10.7 – 0)

(R ) DE Josh Sweat: (3 – 2.0 – 0 – 1)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: Saints did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Lose the game: Didn’t happen. Now the Eagles exist in a third place limbo that neither helps their playoff chances, nor Draft position. Needing SERIOUS salary cap relief, this team will need a massive infusion of young contributors, if we’re not trying to make a habit of sitting behind New York and Washington. Both of which are respectively 2 and 1 year ahead of our rebuild effort. The win may have felt good to the fans, but a look at Owner Jeff Lurie’s face, as he sat in the press box with his team ahead in the fourth quarter, will plainly tell you this win was NOT in the plans. (NOT DONE)

2) Don’t bench Hurts: This was only for if he looked shaky out there, and he didn’t. Total freebie. (DONE)

3) Give up 35 points: Nope. The Defense played very well, thanks in part to the Saints starting a QB made of tofu. They insisted on playing into the strength of the Eagles Defense, even after 75% of our starting Secondary was hurt on one play! Our Secondary is trash on a good day, and their RB/TE/KR/FB/H-Back/QB was too dumb all day long, to audible into anything that could have hurt us. Any Eagles fan who sees this team part ways with DT Fletcher Cox, or DE Brandon Graham, will see it as a step back. Especially without the Draft capital to replace such players. (Now are you starting to see how all this fits together?) (NOT DONE)

4) Doug has to look clueless: Don’t look now, but Pederson has just out-coached Sean Payton, with a rookie QB. Calling a plethora of plays that we haven’t seen for 12 games (that 40 yard Slot Drag to WR Jalen Reagor was a poorly executed thing of beauty!), the Saints had no answers, as everything they studied this week had to do with a pocket-based offense. Next week the Cardinals will be trying to keep Hurts from immediately bootlegging right, but this week it took the Saints an entire half to even try to start a containment. (NOT DONE)

Put plainly, the team won the game, but it was a MASSIVE step back for the Front Office. We’ll see what shakes out next week at Arizona. And please don’t get too caught up in the “who starts at QB” thing. We’re 4 – 8 – 1. At this point, that’s window dressing. Look ahead to the BIG picture.

On The Whole:

Allow me to bring up a few points.

Fewer than 200 passing yards, less than a 60% completion rate, one touchdown and one turnover. But the fans are happy?

We didn’t give up a sack, largely because the QB was running from the pocket. Even before pressure. On practically every down. But the fans are happy?

Before you make the Michael Vick comparisons, remember what his hand looks like. Lamar Jackson? Kyler Murray? Cam Newton? Robert Griffin III? Randall Cunningham? All terrifying runners. Not one ring between sixty fingers.

Guys like Russell Wilson, Steve Young (HOF), John Elway (HOF), and Aaron Rodgers all use/used their mobility to buy time to make a throw. Not to outright sprint for sidelines. As a result…they have rings.

Jalen Hurts can run, but we have yet to see him play QB. This game featured him running to a side, and then operating on that side. So before you become enamored with that style of play, scroll back up and take a long look at the two lists I put up. The fans were happy with the win on Sunday. But by the time you read this, it will be Monday.

FOUR THINGS: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

“If you get to that spot where you don’t start him or you bench him, I think you’re sending the wrong message to your football team that this season is over, and that’s a bad message,”

EAGLES Head Coach Doug Pederson said that when asked about benching QB Carson Wentz on Sunday November 22nd. Just 14 days later, he was benching Wentz for rookie QB Jalen Hurts.

If we’re taking Pederson at the words that he said, then the Eagles 2020 season is over. This deprioritizes winning, and makes it seem as if we’re tanking without outright saying that we are. Save Carson some wear and tear, put out the rookie, and dunt, dunt, dunt, dunt.

The problem is, Four Things is all about how to best go about pursuing the win. So how do we win when it no longer is the real mission?

Are we chasing a draft spot? Is the goal for Doug to prove that Wentz was holding him back? Is the goal make the fans so disgusted, that they’re okay with General Manager Howie Roseman, gutting the team?

Personally, I think it’s the last one. It totally would explain the Eagles drafting Hurts, instead of getting a CB (since the team had little confidence in CB Sidney Jones), or a DE (with DE Brandon Graham being old and pricey). What’s more, it explains why we’d Drafted WR Jalen Reagor and not Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk or LB Kenneth Murray. It also explains why Hurts over S Jeremy Chinn.

If Doug was already starting out 2020 on a warm seat, then Roseman would be hella reluctant to draft a bunch of scheme specific studs, for a coaching staff which might be on its way out.

Reagor played all the WR spots in college. Hurts wasn’t going to be a starter in 2020. Neither man would be married to an identity, if the whole team needed to change. Perhap Aiyuk also had that flexibility, but all the other guys on the prior list, would have had to be untaught everything he knew about being an NFL player, before starting to reconstruct him. Reagor and Hurts are still lumps of clay.

SO! With “winning” this week being defined as disappointing YOU the fan, here are the Four Things that Howie needs this week:

1) Lose the game: A win keeps us in the hunt for the East, whereas a loss (coupled with a win by No Frills, or the giants) basically equates to a mercy killing for our season.

2) Don’t bench Hurts: No matter how bad he looks, benching Hurts would be DISASTROUS for this franchise. It would serve to de-legitimize the position from top to bottom. Right now, this can still be written off as a slump that Wentz needs a break from. Swapping QB’s in and out makes it look like there is no deep confidence in anybody. It would only be worse if Wentz comes in and saves the day.

3) Give up 35 points: Something needs to happen to justify getting rid of DE Brandon Graham, and DT’s Malik Jackson and Fletcher Cox this offseason.

4) Doug has to look clueless: Remember the day that Doug outcoached Bill Belichik? Well Howie needs you to forget that he can do that. Forcing him to start a rookie vs a Sean Payton coached team, is the equivalent to blindfolding Doug, putting him in the ring with Mike Tyson, and then demanding a win.

Remember:

Beating Sean Payton with a rookie, would suggest that Doug is a beast, and Wentz is the dead weight.

Roseman needs a loss. The worse the loss we suffer, the easier it will be for him to tear the team down to the studs.

The worst thing that could happen for everyone, is a concussion or anything else that means Hurts can’t finish the game. Wentz leading a comeback victory would be the absolute nightmare scenario for both Pederson and Roseman.

I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 13: Packers

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/07
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LET’S get to the elephant in room.

Eagles 16 – Packers 30 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(B) QB Jalen Hurts: (5/12 – 41.6%– 109 – 1 – 1)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (10 – 31 – 3.1 – 0 – 0)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (7 – 5 – 66 – 13.2 – 0)

(S) DT Javon Hargrave: (1 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: Packers did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Run to pass: Running on first down had us moving the ball on the first drive, but then we abandoned it. Silly enough, we didn’t really pick it up when we put out our rookie, back-up QB. On the whole, there were 17 handoffs in this game (1 to a WR.) Compared to 27 pass attempts and 8 QB runs, it’s just not how to run an offense. (NOT DONE)

So can we talk about the coverage scheme being a problem? Or are we still blaming the CB’s?

2) Force their QB left and hit him: We did this. Unfortunately on those same downs, NO ONE was covering, and it led to big plays. Easy, big plays. I don’t know whether we’re failing at succeeding or succeeding at failing, but both paths led to a big fat “L”. (DONE)

3) Start fast: We came out and established a 3 – 0 lead. Our first lead since they tore down the Vet. Or at least that’s how it felt. Then we abandoned the run and started playing like chumps again. (DONE)

4) Avoid starting drives inside of our 20: We did a much better job of this than we have in many prior weeks. We also didn’t bury ourselves in penalties. (And that holding call on LG Isaac Seumalo was bullshit. So was the ticky-tack push off on WR Alshon Jeffrey.) (DONE)

We actually did 3 of 4 things this week. But we had problems elsewhere that were laid bare, when we switched QB’s in the 3rd quarter. Next on the docket: the New Orleans Saints.

On The Whole:

Let’s get to the elephant in room. Should Jalen Hurts be the starter next week? The answer is “No”. Inserting him didn’t fix any of the problems we’ve been suffering all year long.

Today Wentz was sacked 4 times, to Hurts 3 times. Hurts ran for 29 yards on 6 carries (5.8 yards per run), to Wentz’s 18 yards on 3 carries (6.0 yards per run). One repeated knock on Wentz, has been that this year, he’s as likely to throw an interception (15), as he is a TD (16). Today Hurts threw one of each. Everyone has been upset that Wentz has had trouble completing 60% of his passes in games. Hurts had a completion percentage of 41.6 today.

If results matter to you more than the color of the QB (Oops! Did I put that out there?), you can’t claim to be happy with what you saw. Everything Hurts did, was slightly worse than what we’ve come to expect from Wentz. If you want to grade Hurts on a rookie curve, go right ahead. I won’t even argue. What I will do, is point out that wins and loses stem from his results, not curved grades.

Folks, the problem is with the system. I told you this WEEKS ago, and I even mentioned how to fix it, and I EVEN said that it likely can’t be done in-season.

FOUR THINGS: WK 13: EAGLES – PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/05
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE Seattle loss was a hard pill to swallow, but our Defense kept us in that game, and kept a very mobile QB, under a fair amount of duress. DT Fletcher Cox and DE Brandon Graham, should make it difficult for Green Bay’s QB to consistently step up into his throws.

Depending on how the week shakes out, a win could put us back at the top of the division. That is, when this weeks spate of games (the Cowboys play on TUESDAY), is over. A loss combined with a giants win (over Seattle), would be a serious blow to the Eagles chances to see the post-season, from anything other than a couch.

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money.

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

1) Run to pass: The Eagles Offense works better when using the run to set up the pass. Running on first down helps open up passing lanes for QB Carson Wentz, and legitimizes play-action.

2) Force their QB left, and hit him: While QB Aaron Rodgers can throw moving to his left, he’s deadly moving to his right. Get him doing things he doesn’t want to do. Take the control and the confidence from him. While getting hit and sacked are part and parcel of the position, he doesn’t shake it off emotionally. So beat him to shit. Take him away from his team mentally. We’ve seen what he looks like when he checks out emotionally. That’s the guy we want to face.

3) Start fast: Beating Green Bay likely means having to win a shootout. Since the Packers are not a team that lets opponents climb back into games, the Eagles need to throw points on the board ASAP.

4) Avoid starting drives inside of our 20: Part of our problem is that we keep losing the hidden yardage/field position battle. Frequently when RB Boston Scott returns a kickoff, he fails to reach the 20. Since we don’t have a dangerous KR man, down kickoffs in the endzone. WR Greg Ward shouldn’t let any puts roll inside the 10. A fair-catch at the 11 sucks ass, but it beats a rolling ball, downed at the 2.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

EAGLES 24 – Packers 21

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

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 12: Seahawks

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’M starting to believe this is being done deliberately.

EAGLES 17 – Seahawks 23 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (25/45 – 55.5% – 215 – 2 – 1)

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (5 – 42 – 8.4 – 0 – 0)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (10 – 7 – 75 – 10.7 – 1)

(S) DT Fletcher Cox: (4 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: Seahawks did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Attack, attack, attack!: Yardage-wise, the Seahawks are the worst defense in the league, on their way to being the worst pass defense in NFL history. Unfortunately, it seems like the Eagles have forgotten how to do simple things. Something as simple as getting open and catching a ball. Something as simple as spotting a wide open man. Something as simple as both players knowing the play. (NOT DONE)

2) Run the damned ball: This game featured 51 passing plays (45 attempts, 6 sacks), and just 9 TOTAL handoffs, all game long. This game at no point, had gotten out of hand. There was no reason to abandon the run. (NOT DONE)

3) Go For Two: Get two turnovers was the mission. We didn’t sniff even one. (NOT DONE)

4) Do Better with Hidden Yardage: HA! We were penalized 9 times for -79 yards, and returned 2 of 3 punts for a total of 19 yards. So we weren’t exactly helping our struggling Offense with advantageous starting field position. (NOT DONE)

WR Jalen Reagor being interfered with.

This week we hit 0 of 4 marks. It’s hard to believe the Eagles can be this bad, without making a concerted effort at it. Honestly, I’m starting to believe this is being done deliberately. Next week we get just what every reeling team needs: A trip to Lambeau Field, in December! We beat the Packers at home last year, but that was in September. I sense a prison shower scene, in our near future.

On The Whole:

Let me start by saying, I told you so. Those rumors about QB Jalen Hurts getting extended playing time this week, were just that. Rumors. This was evinced by the standard THREE snaps (officially two), that Hurts logged in this game. I’ve been telling Eagles fans all season, that Wentz is your starter. Monday Night Football went as far to put up a graphic depicting why the Eagles are financially tied to Wentz until 2022. (Unless a trade is made.) That graphic, by the way, repeated what I said to you last week in ‘DOUG CAN’T BENCH CARSON‘. 

Now to the game.

Aside from not being able to play football, our Offense is in great shape. We have blockers who can’t, receivers who don’t, and a coaching staff that seems hell-bent on getting the QB murdered.

For all this talk of Wentz not having to play “hero ball” and “not having to wear the cape, all the time” it damned sure looks like he does. Please point out to me the other player attempting to carry the Offense during the game, or shoulder the blame after a loss.

FOUR THINGS: WK 12: EAGLES – SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/28
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

SILVER lining to last week was, despite how shitty we looked, we still only lost by 5. My point is, that we aren’t “in over our heads” talent-wise. What we are is, in our own way. This week features a shuffling of the Offensive Line, and a head coach who said he was looking at 2017 and 2018 film. This week is the wisest the Eagles have looked from top to bottom, since they figured out several ways to mask Halapoulivaati Vaitai at LT in 2017.

A win puts us back in first place in the NFC East. A loss would have us still within striking distance, but with no shot at any sort of Wild Card seeding.

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money.

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

Remember WR Travis Fulgham? I hope the Witness Protection Program is treating him well.

1) Attack, attack, attack: I saw our passing attack on a milk carton yesterday. Seattle is giving up 28 points per game, and can’t defend the pass. Win, lose, or tie, the Eagles need a game where we TOTALLY cut loose, and try to work on some things. With all the people calling for QB Carson Wentz’s benching, using this game as a lab is basically playing with house money. What’s to lose? It’s not like most Eagles fans could pretend to be disappointed. Many have already thrown in the towel! We need to be aggressive and either get the knockout, or go down swinging.

2) Run the damned ball: Usually I say “hand it off 20+ times”. We did that last week with 9 carries on the first drive, and just 12 carries for the REMAINDER OF THE GAME! That was 20+. Get it? That was Doug playing with my emotions.

So I’m going to breadcrumb this, this week: “Doug, hand that motherfucker off 12 to 16 times per half. Commit to running the ball to set up play-action. Make life easier for the O-Line and the QB. Save yourself some frustrating questions after the game.”

3) Go For Two: While it’s true that our Offense (cough cough, Carson) is giving the ball away entirely too often (20 in 10 games, Carson has 18 of them), it’s equally true that our Defense doesn’t generate many takeaways (just 11 in 10 games). All three of our wins are in games where we snagged two or more turnovers. All the games with 1 or less, have been losses or a tie. In every game this year where Seattle committed more than 1 turnover, they lost that game. This is an easy one to figure out.

4) Do better with hidden yardage: That means being penalized less for fewer yards. It also means returning more punts than we let roll dead. After allowing a punt to be downed at the 2, (which led to a safety last week), Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp needs to be on notice. His unit has gotten beyond sloppy, and worse than that, there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to make a serious, or sustained effort. He needs to find a return man who wants the job, instead of using WR Greg Ward and RB Boston Scott who are merely going through the motions.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should look a lot like:

EAGLES 32 – Seahawks 24

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

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 11: BROWNS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/23
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WE gave this one away.

EAGLES 17 – Browns 22 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (21/35 – 60.0% – 235 – 2 – 2)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (16 – 66 – 4.1 – 1 – 1)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (6 – 5 – 77 – 15.4 – 1)

(S) OLB Alex Singleton: (8 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: BROWNS did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) The limit is 150: We held the Browns to 137 yards rushing. So technically we hit the mark. However, our Defense wore down, and began to wilt under an attack that saw 34 handoffs in inclement conditions. Compared to just 22 pass attempts. The Browns coach did a masterful job of calling this game. Didn’t he Doug? (DONE)

2) Hand it off 20+ times: The Eagles handed the ball off 21 times this week. So technically we hit this mark too. Of course NINE of those attempts came on one drive. Specifically on the first possession. So, for the remainder of the game, we only handed it off 12 times. Or roughly 4 times per quarter. The rest of the game was put on an unprotected Carson Wentz’s shoulders. This is probably why Miles Sanders attempted to rip a handoff away from Wentz on a critical 3rd and 7. (DONE)

3) Return punts: The Browns punted 5 times. WR Greg Ward returned 2 punts for 8 yards, with his longest return being 10 yards. Do the math. The Offense is getting no support at all this season from Special Teams. Hidden Yardage used to be this team’s middle name. Now we can’t be bothered to try to earn any. (NOT DONE)

4) Go zero to sixty: For the first time in 6 weeks, Wentz completed 60 percent of his passes. Exactly 60 percent. I won’t knock it. He spent the day being beat to shit, the only people catching balls were TE’s, and his coach stopped dialing up runs, on a day that was a rainy mess. (DONE)

The underdogs put together 3 of the 4 things, and made a game of it. Makes you wonder what ONE fewer turnover would have meant. (Or if the Brown’s QB fumbling wasn’t ruled as stopped forward progress.) In any case, next week we get a Seattle team that beat us 17 – 9, TWICE last year. We’ll be heavy underdogs in that one as well.

On The Whole:

Three takeaways from this game. (Get it?! Too soon?)

1) LB Alex Singleton wants a starting job next year. The guy was all over the place today, and did a much better job of getting off blocks than he did a week ago. It’s good to see evolution in at least one guy out there.

2) CB Avonte Maddox is trash. He doesn’t cover, can’t catch tipped balls, and won’t tackle. I don’t understand why the coaches keep starting him. CB has to be THE priority in this next Draft. One in the first, and a tall Nickel in the fourth, if we can swing it.

3) It’s time to move LT Jason Peters to RG. The truth is, Peters will be excellent in the role, and will have people (who have short memories) wondering why we didn’t stick to this move earlier. Sadly, if a move to LG had come a couple years ago, moving him inside wouldn’t feel like a demotion. 

EAGLES ARE BETTER ALREADY

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/22
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DO you see? Just like that, the Eagles are already getting better.

NOTE: I wanted to get this one in before we play the Browns today.

I wrote last week in EASILY FIXING THE EAGLES that the team’s issues stemmed from a culture without enough competition built into it. I also wrote a week prior to that, in HOW TO HELP CARSON WENTZ that he is at his best, with a hard-nosed running game, not a finesse one.

So what moves did the Eagles make?

Move The First: We signed RB Jordan Howard to the Practice Squad. For casual Eagles fans there’s a lot in that move that’s easy to miss. For someone like me, it’s all the subtle things that jump out at me. It’s all the “down the line” implications that I’m excited by. It likely won’t impact THIS game, but that’s beside the point.

Howard should have never been cut in the first place. Despite RB Miles Sanders’s obvious talent, he still could benefit from the presence of a veteran RB, to bounce things off of. RB Corey Clement fits the bill, but the Eagles spotty commitment to him, gives his voice less weight when talking to younger players.

With their treatment of Clement and cutting of Howard, the Eagles created a situation where there was no player to mentor Sanders. Thus, he’s still making small mental mistakes, that have huge impacts. Like on his blitz pick-ups, and pass route landmarks. Signing Howard, and letting Sanders see a vet do it, will help with that.

Move El Dos: Elevating RB Elijah Holyfield from the Practice Squad to the Active Roster. The advertisement on Holyfield is that he will be a tough, between the Tackles runner. The film on him says different. It says that once he gets past the line of scrimmage, there’s been too much East-West running in his very short football history. At least for my taste.

That being said, he was young and playing in Carolina. The Panthers had a playbook developed for a WR small RB trying to prove a point. So coming here, may help fix some bad habits that Holyfield may have picked up there.

*****

Those two moves by themselves are solid personnel moves. Add a veteran mentor, who has a skill that you clearly lack. Then elevate a guy from the Practice Squad, so you can get enough tape to evaluate him at season’s end, to determine pressing Draft needs. Solid GM-ing.

Now for the parts that are easy to miss.

Last week the giants made forcing-feeding us the run, look like Bluto force-feeding spinach to Popeye.

Popeye (1980) starring Robin Williams. My Uncle Michael took my brother and I to see this. Then we went to the Zoo. Huge lollipop and punch balloon on a rubber band. Great day.

But how was the Eagles Defense supposed to practice stopping that kind of downhill run game, without selling out to stop it? Practicing against which RB? Sanders? Clement? RB Boston Scott? Holyfield was on the PS, but he isn’t the downhill runner that Howard has proven to be.

There is a role for a short yardage/back-up RB on this team. The elevation of Holyfield and signing of Howard (who mostly still knows the playbook), is a competitive situation. Two players making Practice Squad money, who want real contracts. Real careers. Suddenly the Eagles are going to be practicing better. Do you see?

For a RB to impress in practice, he has to embarrass defensive players. If a defensive player is embarrassed too often, he may lose starts. That means our LB’s and Safeties are officially on notice. If they don’t get it now, they will the first time one of them gets run over by a teammate. Do you see?

I wrote just four days ago that THIS was the way to fix the team, and it is already underway! I doubted that the Eagles could/would do it during the season. Yet here are two subtle moves, that will spur culture change in the team’s practice habits. On both sides of the ball! Practice habits are work habits. They become game habits.

Do you see?