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.
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LAST year I said that QB Carson Wentz should stop trying to beat defenders around the edge, and run for cheap and easy 5 yard gains here and there. I guess he reads these articles, because that’s more or less exactly what he did.
Instead of being cute and trying to sprint out, he mostly took yards that were presented to him when players receded into coverage. For a guy without 4.4 speed, he certainly turned into a dangerous runner as QB and as a result, teams had to adjust how they played us, which made it easier for receivers to get open. It was clockwork.
Due to his ACL/LCL injury during the season, fans who really don’t understand his injury, think he should stop running, or slide more. Both of which are idiotic notions. His running helps get receivers open, and he wasn’t injured as result of not sliding. He was diving for a short yardage touchdown that he’d have had, if not for a penalty. Sliding applied nowhere in that scenario.
Thankfully, Wentz has said that he’s not going to change how he plays (in regards to when he chooses to run). That statement right there will continue to force opponents to defend against him running, and make things easier on the entire Offense.
For his part he should do just what he did in 2017. Don’t get cute. Just run for cheap, easy yards right in front of him. Due to his injury, it’ll be a year or so before he gets full explosiveness back in his takeoff. That’s fine. No one needs him to win foot races to the sideline. Just get what’s in front of him and get down.
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.
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DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz’s has already been an NFL head coach. It wasn’t a good showing, but it was only Detroit, so folks will be willing to grant him a pass. With that in mind, you can expect that any time his unit finishes in the top 12 in points allowed, some team or another will to try and steal him at the end of the year. Get comfy with that reality.
So it would be nice to have a successor, right? That way we don’t end up in the situation we ended up in, when DC Jim Johnson* passed (from melanoma) in 2009. At that point we got stuck with his assistant, Sean McDermott, who tried to run a version of Johnson’s blitz-heavy system. Johnson’s real expertise lay in being able to make tiny adjustments to his scheme.
McDermott lacked that touch. He lasted one season and was fired. A mess ensued after that, Jim Washburn,Juan Castillo… (be nice if we could forget about that one, right?)
SO! We need to be ready for the day that Schwartz goes all Frank Reich on us. I personally like LB’s Coach Ken Flajole. He was a DC under Steve Spagnulo for three years, and that unit performed solidly, given that they were saddled with (just about) the NFL’s worst offense.
This is provided we want to promote from within, and hit the ground running with a DC who already knows the players.
*Jim Johnson’s name appears in green, bold, italics like current Eagles, because he was an Eagle when he passed. This is also why Jerome Brown’s name is bolded, but Reggie White’s and Andre Waters names, usually are not.
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.
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WEneed to play a slightly more smash-mouth style now.
In 2017, at RB we had LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. That was the pecking order we started with. Power up top, and dynamic changes of pace behind. 250 pounds, 190, and 208.
Then we lost Sproles in Week 3, and Smallwood fell out of favor after Week 7. CoreyClement ascended, and we traded forJay Ajayi, both in Week 8. At that point our back-field looked like Ajayi, Blount and Clement. 223, 250, and 220. See the shift? It was a bigger, more physical group from top to bottom.
Whether or not Blount or Sproles is back in 2018, the offensive playbook for this year, can’t be written for last year’s roster. Not if we’re going to use our players to the best of their ability. An offense should be tailored to the roster, not the roster to the playbook. We adapted on the fly last year, but this year we need to tailor to our strengths.
During the prior two seasons the Eagles Offense was coached by two former QB’s in Head Coach Doug Pederson and former Offensive Coordinator (now Colts head coach), Frank Reich. It was a fast-paced, wide-open, QB friendly style, underpinned with fundamentals that both coaches knew would work reliably at the NFL level.
That’s gone now. Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh has never been an NFL QB, so the viewpoint will be different in terms of play design. Experience isn’t something that can be faked. You either have it or you don’t. So, instead of trying to be something we aren’t quite any more, the smartest play would be to adjust to who we are in 2018.
Don’t try to be the 2017 Eagles. Be the 2018 Eagles, and rely on the strengths we have now.
ANYONE who thinks the 2018 Eagles Offense will be similar to the 2017 edition, is woefully misreading the situation. While Head Coach Doug Pederson was the guy who called plays for the Offense, play design had a ton to do with whether or not a called play would succeed.
Any former NFL coach will tell you there’s as much art as science, in designing and maintaining a system. As no two artists paint, write, or draw exactly alike, so to are NFL coaches. For example, we all know about Jon Gruden’s version of the West Coast Offense, but who runs it like Jon does? Nobody. Who ran the 46 likeBuddy Ryan? Nobody. Who runs Zone Blitz like Dick LeBeau? Nobody. Sean McDermott studied under Jim Johnson, and when Johnson passed, McDermott was overwhelmed by all of the on-the-fly adjustments, required to make Johnson’s system work.
Coaches are artists. Never loose sight of that fact.
That’s partly why our Head Coach is in no rush to replace Frank Reich, “I’m not going to rush into it, I’m going to make sure it’s the right person, the right fit for what we’re doing. I think that’s important too, that that person fits the culture and his way of thinking has to coincide with the way we’re thinking…”
The artist (Reich) that Doug spent the last two years crafting our offense with, has moved on. At some point either one guy (or two), will replace him. That means we’ll get a different personality (or two), a different source of experience (or two), and a different perspective (holding mic out to the crowd) helping design plays. From that mix we will get different art.
Understand, who we pick will affect who we draft, who we sign, and who we re-sign. At times during weekly prep, they may oversee or manage something that Doug cannot, because his attention has to be elsewhere. This will impact the win/loss column. It will affect playoff seeding. This isn’t some minor thing.
If you didn’t know how much this mattered before, you certainly do now. And you will likely never underestimate it’s importance ever again.
We spent two weeks hearing how the Patriots QB was going to single-handedly carry his team to victory. The media (showing an inability to learn), basically said that the “scrappy” Eagles would only be speed bump on the Patriots way to a 6th ring. Well, seems like Super Bowl MVP, QB Nick Foles(28/43 – 65.1% – 373 – 3 – 1) didn’t quite agree with that assessment. In the end, the Patriots bitch of a QB, ran off without even shaking Foles hand.
Speaking of hands, the Patriots attempted to throw a pass to their QB early in the game, but he proved to be… Let’s say “less than clutch” in that situation.
OOPS!
Later on, Nick Foles would not only catch a pass, but catch a a touchdown, off a one yard pass from TE Trey Burton (1/1 – 100% – 1 – 1 – 0), on a honey of a trick play:
(I told you that Doug was gonna hunt these fuckers.)
Former Patriot RB LeGarrette Blount(14 – 90 – 6.4 – 1 – 0) won a second consecutive Lombardi, by splitting carries with RB Jay Ajayi (9 – 57 – 6.3 – 0 – 0). That helped balance the offense and kept New England’s defense honest. Not to be counted out however, was rookie RB Corey Clement (4rec – 100 – 25.0 – 1) who led all Eagles in yards from scrimmage with 108.
Defensively there weren’t a lot of “stats” to talk about. The one sack allowed all night proved to be fatal (for New England), as DE Brandon Graham (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 1) forced a fumble in the process. Rookie DE Derek Barnett (0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) didn’t get cute and simply recovered the fumble. After rookie K Jake Elliott(2/3x, 3/3, 46) added a 46 yard field goal to our 38 -33 lead. it pretty much snuffed out any realistic chance for any last minute heroics. That left the Patriots hoping for a miracle. Miracles however, require good karma to occur. And so naturally the Patriots lost.
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) Work the middle: Be it TE Zach Ertz (7 – 67 – 9.5 – 1) diving across the goal line (for a score); Corey Clement cornholing an over-matched LB (for a 22 yard score); WR Alshon Jeffery(3 – 73 – 24.3 – 1) going up and grabbing a 34 yard score; or WR Nelson Agholor(9 – 84 – 9.3 – 0) on a crossing route, the Eagles made sure to work inside. That kept the Patriots from loading the box, and allowed our top 2 RB’s to average 6.4 and 6.3 yards per tote. (DONE)
2) Destroy the pocket:Not nearly enough pressure was generated inside for most of the game, which would be forgivable if we also hadn’t allowed 113 yards on 22 carries (5.1 per tote), mostly up the middle. The fact is, that this area of the defense has fallen off since mid-season and we need to find a way to turn it back on by July. (NOT DONE)
3) Blount. Force. Trauma: LeGarrette Blount was the games leading rusher in terms of yards and carries. It was his best game since November, and in my view, his best in an Eagles uniform. The man has been a monster for these playoffs and it irritates me that he has likely played his last down as an Eagle.(DONE)
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)
Well,2 out of 4 Four Things was good enough to get the “W” this week, and bring our playoff tally to 9 of 12. Usually this is where I’d mention the next opponent, but this officially brings us to the end of this season’s road.
There’s nothing left to do now, but celebrate at the parade which will begin Thursday at 11, on Broad and Pattison, heading north up Broad before swinging up the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Art Museum steps. (Isn’t it funny how we say “The” Art Museum, even though Philly has a few of them?)
On The Whole:
I told you that HC Doug Pederson was going to be aggressive vs New England and boy was he ever. We had an internationally televised brawl, with the NFL’s last champion, and we TOOK from them what was rightfully ours.
We started with the Draft at the Art Museum in April, and we’ll end it with the Super Bowl parade ending at the Art Museum in February. The football gods have smiled upon Philadelphia for the 2017-2018 season. Despite adversity, despite injury, we were smiled upon. Recognize that and be grateful, fellow fans. Recognize that and be grateful.
Let this stand as a lesson to you. Just because someone doesn’t believe in you, or thinks they know your situation, don’t you ever, EVER stop believing and working for your dreams.
YES. The Eagles can beat New England. I’m not saying that I think the Eagles can beat them. I’m saying that I know we can beat them.
In fact, we beat them the last time we faced them 35 -28. We went on the road as a 4 – 7 team, while they were 10 – 1. And we won. In their house. We started QB Sam Bradford, and they started the fella they’ll start Sunday We were playing in an ill-fitting 3-4 defensive scheme, vs the stifling 4-3 front that we play today. We were also being coached by an idiot.
Everything about us is better than it was when we faced them last time. So we can beat this team. That’s not a wishful opinion, that’s a matter of fact. Banish from your minds, ANY other notion.
Just ask Dawk:
During the playoffs, our victories have been 15 – 10 and 38 – 7. Our margin of victory has grown, indicating that we are getting stronger as our opponents have gotten tougher. Conversely, New England’s victories have been 14 – 35 then 20 – 24. That trend indicates that things are getting tougher for them as they move forward.
The media wants to frame this as a battle of two QB’s, but it isn’t. This is a battle of two teams, and the Eagles are the better balanced, deeper, more talented, and hungrier team. Keep in mind, no amount of media sycophants, verbally polishing the knob of New England’s quarterback, will put a single point on the board on Sunday. New England will have to earn any point they score. And our Defense isn’t known for giving points away. (8.5 per game. IN the playoffs).
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Patriots:
1) Work the middle:New England is solid at CB, but everything else about their pass defense isn’t very good at all. They’re going to want to take away anything quick and easy for QB Nick Foles, which has a way of opening up down-field passing, if we can protect long enough. If they want to put their Safeties against WR’s Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, let’s make them regret it.
2) Destroy the pocket:New England’s interior offensive line is on the small side. Technique and raw brute power should be used by DT’s Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan, to invert the pocket and ensure that we don’t have to pass rush with more than four players. Every ounce of effort must be left on the field at this position.
3) Blount. Force. Trauma: RB Jay Ajayi is the starter, but we need RB LeGarrette Blount running behind RG Brandon Brooks and RT Lane Johnson this week. New England likes to start 2 LB’s and 3 DB’s, because their LB’s can’t cover for shit. If they want to play small, then we should use 12 Personnel (2 TE’s) and run off-Guard at their smallish DE’s.
4) South Paw Switch: New England does a good job of making adjustments at the Half. So DC Jim Schwartz should throw out the first half gameplan and switch it up entirely in the second half. Fake a number of front-side blitzes in the first half; then bring them off the blind-side in the second. Single-high, with 8 man fronts in the first; Man-press Cover Two in the second. Start out Tyson, then switch to Ali. Let them out-think themselves. Turn their greatest strength into an insurmountable liability, before they can even realize what’s happening to them.
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:
Head Coach Doug Pedersonis gonna hunt these fuckers. If you don’t think he’s going to come out swinging, then you haven’t been paying attention this season. Expect aggression. This game is unlikely to be decided by the foot of rookie K Jake Elliott.
New England will attempt to take away anything quick and easy for Foles. When they do, they’ll have to drop guys into coverage instead of sending extra rushers. If they can make Foles hold the ball, they’ll expose LTHalapoulivaati Vaitai, and push Foles to his right all night.
If I know this, then our coaching staff knows this. So look for that to be built into the game plan. We’ll find ways for Foles to deliver the ball down the field, and eat up chunks of field inside with WR Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz, vs those LB’s that can’t cover. I’m also keeping my eye out for a backside Screen to RB Corey Clement, which could prove devastating to New England.
In order to tone down our pass rush, we’ll probably be tested with a couple of middle screens and delayed hand-offs early on. That’s fine. Even if we get gashed a couple times, it’s important to pick up on how they want to key those this week. If we see them early, we’ll know how to shut them down later.
Middle Screens be damned! We’ll need that penetration from our DT’s. I expect DE’s Brandon Graham andVinny Curry to set hard edges, while playing the run first. That will keep the RB’s inside the box, where all the help is. While the opposing QB can scramble, he’s no match for the speed of OLB’s Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks.
Facing pressure, New England’s QB is as human as anyone, and so can be be forced into making mistakes with the ball. That’s bad news when you’re facing a Safety like Malcolm Jenkins. Or a CB like Ronald Darby (4 picks). Or a CB like Patrick Robinson (3 picks). Or a Safety like Rod McLeod (3). Or a CB like Jalen Mills(3).
Don’t be fooled by the media hyping up a QB and TE. Step back and look at their WHOLE team. Not two guys, but all of them. Overall, they’re an average team that plays great against inept teams, and not nearly as good against decent-to-good ones. Only two teams in the league gave up more yardage this year. That’s not the mark of a champion. That’s the mark of an average team. Hell, maybe even a bad one.
Look, who told you IN 2014 that we needed to fire Bill Davis for a Super Bowl? This guy.
Who told you IN APRIL that we were going to win the East this year? This guy.
Who told you IN DECEMBER that there may be a QB controversy next Fall? This guy.
Who told you IN THE FIRST ROUND not to worry about Nick Foles? This guy.
Who’s telling you NOW that the Eagles will win the Super Bowl? That’s right. THIS GUY.
SUPER BOWL!!!!! What did I tell you? I said, Minnesota doesn’t belong in the playoffs. I said, this game will be about which Eagles team shows up. I said, during the Bye Week that the only playoff team I fear is Philadelphia. Now look at us. ONE WIN away from winning our first Championship since 1960. One win away from hoisting one of those annual replicas that our rivals are so fond of.
Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery scores on a 53 yard bomb from QB Nick Foles. Image courtesy of Philadelphia Daily News
EAGLES 38 – Vikings 7
The Vikings went down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, running the ball as well as they would all night. Then the nightmare began.
Your beloved Eagles responded with 38 unanswered points, as we dominated, harassed and humiliated Minnesota’s defense that (I’d heard) was the best in the NFL. Didn’t look like much to me. Or apparently to our Quarterback.
QB Nick Foles(26/33 – 78.7% – 352 – 3 – 0) put on an absolute clinic, dissecting (what we’d all been told was) the NFL’s second-rated pass defense. Well no, that’s not fair. The Vikings did seem very second rate out there.
RB Jay Ajayi (18 – 73 – 4.0 – 0 – 0) found creases to run in, which helped us move the chains and set up manageable 3rd downs. That led to a 3rd down conversion of 71% (10/14). For the second game in a row, RB LeGarrette Blount (6 – 21 – 3.5 – 1 – 0) found paydirt early.
WR’s Alshon Jeffery(5 – 85 – 17.0 – 2) and Torrey Smith(5 – 69 – 13.8 – 1) gave the Eagles the sort of outside deep threats, I’d been looking for since Week 1. Foles heaved touchdown bombs to each man, (53 and 41 yards, respectively). It was almost enough to overshadow TE Zach Ertz(8 – 93 – 11.6 – 0) who had a beautiful 36 yard catch and run, that set up a 38 yard Field Goal by KJake Elliott (5/5x, 1/1f, 38) to end the first half.
Those are great numbers, but it was the Defense that won this game. They put a lid on the Viking’s offense after that opening touchdown. On the very next possession, CB Patrick Robinson(2 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a pass and took that tasty treat back 50 yards to cancel out Minnesota’s only lead of the night.
Rookie DE Derek Barnett(2 – 1 – 0 – 1) got our only sack of the game and forced a fumble (pictured), which was recovered by DE Chris Long (2 – 0 – 0 – 0). Safety Corey Graham (5 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a dropped interception attempt by CB Ronald Darby (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) who had a serious impact on the game with that interception, and the block which sprang Robinson on his interception return.
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 Thingswe were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?
1) Stop the run: We held the Vikings to 70 yards on 18 carries.(DONE)
2) Challenge their defense:At no point did Nick Foles shy away from attacking and turn into Captain Checkdown. Even better, the playcalling wasn’t trying to protect him. That 41 yard flea-flicker to Smith was outright ballsy; as was that double-faked handoff to set up a Middle Screen. The Eagles didn’t show a single ounce of fear and decided to make the Vikings earn everything. (DONE)
3) Collapse the pocket:The Eagles got good pressure throughout the day, but we didn’t get nearly as much up the gut as I was anticipating. This is likely why the sack production was so low this week.(NOT DONE)
4) Speed Kills:
There were a few deep throws by Foles in this game. Better still, there were a few completions for scores. The idea was to challenge Minny’s corners and make them earn their reps. They weren’t up to the job. At least not against the Eagles. (DONE)
This week we went 3 out of 4 in Four Things, which brings our playoff total to 7 of 8. There are a couple of things we need to clean up in the next two weeks, before our SUPER BOWL re-match with New England.
On The Whole:
This was a great “get your confidence” game. I think Nick Foles NEEDED a game like this. It’s one thing to have your teammates say they believe in you, it’s a completely different thing to give them a reason to believe in you. No one is going to make Nick Foles the favorite over New England’s QB, but at this point people understand that Foles is not to be taken lightly.
We need more explosiveness from our run game. Ajayi gets the starting nod due to Draft pedigree, but he seems less explosive, and isn’t as good at catching the ball, as RB Corey Clement(2 – 20 – 10.0 – 0 – 0). Ajayi also doesn’t have a great nose for the endzone.
Our interior pass rush
has to show up next week or our odds of winning drop significantly. If we can stop New England’s QB from stepping up to deliver the ball, and make him come off of his first read, our odds or winning almost crack the ceiling.
LET’Stake this one step at a time. People here are consumed with the term “underdog” but then they look right past Minnesota. I’m not sure if that’s irony or outright hypocrisy. In any case, Minnesota should get our full attention this week. We need to focus our positive energy on our team, and our negative energy on our opponent.
Win and we’re in. There’s no assist from Mother Nature this week, so it seems Philly fans will be the only X-factor that the Eagles can rely on. We’re going to need it, because dumb luck has seems to be on Minnesota’s side this season. Whether it’s last second fluke plays, or having the fewest number of key players on I.R., they’ve had a cushy road up until now. So we need sauce for the goose.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Vikings:
1) Stop the run:We need to put this game squarely on Minnesota’s QB’s shoulders. To this point he’s been lucky even when he’s makes mistakes. His coach even said so in November, telling a reporter “…he’s got a horseshoe right now.” Look at last week… 40 attempts and his only TD is on that goofy last play? C’mon! Enough! Let’s see him put that offense on his back, and go toe-to-toe with our Defense for 30 minutes.
2) Challenge their defense:Might sound nuts, but watch Minnesota’s defense, and you’ll notice that they generally rush 4 linemen, and keep 2 LB’s in the box. (Like most teams their 3rd LB may split time 50/50 with a DB.) Those 2 LB’s don’t immediately drop into coverage. They “float” for a second looking for the run and to discourage any underneath “Cross” or “In” routes. That floating also allows them to react quickly to “Hitch” routes and even lets them help on “Slants” and “Screens”. In short, they don’t give you anything quick and easy. It’s not “clever”, it’s plain genius. But it has an Achilles Heel. If either of those LB’s are forced to cover a RB “Wheel” or a TE “Out” route, the defense loses integrity and allows the QB time to find an open man down-field, or even scramble for a quick 4 – 5 yards. QB Nick Foles averaged 8.2 yards per pass against Atlanta’s vaunted Cover Three last week, and this scheme is a lot simpler to read. Oh yeah, Minnesota is also small on their left side, so a 2 TE formation gives their opponent an easier time running inside.
3) Collapse the pocket: DT’s Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan
should have a field day on Sunday. (Bit of trivia: Of Minnesota’s starting offensive linemen, the only one they spent a draft pick on, was their C, in this year’s 3rd round.) Minnesota’s interior o-line was already kind of ho-hum, but with the loss of G Nick Easton, they’ll have to rely on a back-up with almost no upside. He’s also 6’6 with a tendency to play tall. At Guard. If we take away the middle, it shuts down the run, and puts their QB within arm’s reach of a forced fumble by our DE’s.
4) Speed Kills:Given how few balls Minnesota’s CB’s have intercepted this year, I can’t understand why anyone fears them so much. In fact, given CB Xavier Rhodes 3 pass interference to 2 interception season, I think forcing him to get grabby against WR Torrey Smithis a recipe for free yards and easy points. Make these son-of-a-bitches work for it. Enough of these guys being allowed to cash in on a rep that they haven’t really earned.
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:
This game will be decided by which Eagles team shows up. The Vikings don’t matter in this equation. They can’t win this game unless we hand it to them. Period.
When the head coach is telling the media that the QB has been getting lucky, something’s wrong. When that same head coach is telling the media that the QB that he just activated from I.R. stands a chance of replacing the starter, something’s wrong. When the offensive line has less depth than a kiddie pool, something’s wrong. When you telegraph your play selection by which RB you have on the field, something’s wrong. There is plenty wrong with Minnesota. However, half a year of playing Mitch Trubisky (twice), Brett Hundley (twice), Deshon Kizer, Jameis Winston and the 2017 version of Joe Flacco, has a way of masking any deficiencies.
Minnesota doesn’t belong here, but we have to take them seriously, otherwise we beat ourselves FOR them. They’re scarcely a playoff team, so they damned sure aren’t a Championship team. Our Eagles need to be about the business of setting that record straight. If this team comes out like the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, then the Minnesota Vikings 2017 season is a wrap.
UNDERDOGS. That’s what we were. Despite being 13 – 3, the #1 seed in the NFC, and having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, we came into the game as an underdog. In fact, no #1 seed, playing at home had ever been an underdog in NFL history until someone decided that, we were over-matched and could not defend our home turf. Well. We saw how that shit ended, didn’t we?
Matt Ryan sacked by Rod McLeod. Courtesy Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
QB Nick Foles(23/30 – 76.6% – 246 – 0 – 0) didn’t have a stellar game. All he did was distribute the ball in a saavy, veteran manner, to eight different receivers. He did not push the ball downfield much. Then again he was playing against Cover Three, so why would he. That’s why I said what I said in Four Things. (More on that, down the page.)
While no Eagles Offensive player seemed to do much damage statistically, there were enough collective moments, to sustain a couple of long drives and put points on the board. RB Jay Ajayi(15 – 54 – 3.6 – 0 – 1/ 3 – 44 – 14.6 – 0) was the workhorse and looked much better than his yard per carry average indicates. Same with RB LeGarrette Blount(9 – 19 – 2.1 – 1 – 0). WR Alshon Jeffery(4 – 61 – 15.2 – 0) led the Eagles in receiving yards, catching three of his passes on one drive. That proved that he can find a rhythm with Foles, so should put those questions to sleep now.
DTFletcher Cox(7 – 1 – 0 – 0) was a terrorist out there.
Cox spent the game blowing up the interior of Atlanta’s offensive line, recking their inside run game and not giving QB Matt Ryan(22/36 – 61.1% – 210 – 1 – 0) a pocket to step up into, most of the time.
The biggest killer in the game however, was K Jake Elliott(0/1x, 3/3fg, 53L).
His five wittle piggies put up the last 9 points of the game, which helped the Eagles capture the lead and then surge ahead.
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 need to run it at least 25 times. There were 27 called (i.e. non-QB) runs to 30 passes. We won time of possession 32:06 to 27:54, gave our Defense time to breathe, and limited Atlanta’s opportunities to score points. (DONE)
2) A thousand cuts:High percentage passes to the TE’s outside of the numbers. Foles said, okay, and I might do you one better! Not only did he get TE’sZach Ertz(3 – 32 – 10.6 – 0), and Brent Celek (1 – 6 – 6.0 – 0), but he also hit Alshon Jeffery 4 times and snuck in 5 passes to RB Corey Clement(5rec – 31 – 6.2 – 0). Why not? With Atlanta playing Cover Three, it left things like Slant routes, Screens and Crosses open. Foles isn’t flashy, but he is saavy. Teams thinking he’s harmless is probably his deadliest asset. (DONE)
3) Alter the launch: The idea was to get Matt Ryan to throw while moving or resetting his feet. We did that quite a bit (thank you Fletcher Cox). The hope was to get a turnover or two out of him. Well, we didn’t get a turnover, but what we DID do was hold him to 5.8 yard per attempt. That matched his lowest mark of the year, during a Week 4 loss to Buffalo. (DONE)
4) Stay grounded:It’s points like THIS ONE HERE, that separates me from other would-be experts. Nine days ago, the NFL and it’s media bag were praising, lauding, exalting Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, for being such a young genius. Such a prodigy! Wait no, it was “coaching supernova”. That’s what they called him. And then there’s this-
His career mark is 11-6! It was amazing that they could speak with that much of his shaft in their collective windpipe.
Then what happened last week? He got locked into a close game against the Falcons, panicked because he’s as green as peas, and stopped running the ball, even though his team was doing it better. Experience counts! Our coaching staff is battle-tested, so even when we were down, even though our average run (on paper) was 3.0 yards per carry, we stuck with it. We stayed grounded. We stayed balanced. (DONE)
At half-time I wasn’t sure about some of these, but Nick Foles has a nice second half and in doing so, helped the Eagles deliver a 4 out of 4 Four Things score. This will be out well before we know who our next victim is, so I can’t really offer a tempting tidbit for next week yet.
On The Whole:
It was more grit than glitter. More spit than polish. War of attrition, is what I called this game after the half. This game was about will. It was about who wanted it more, and who had the players who could seize the moment.
In the end (as I said), we were deeper and more talented. The Falcons were no match for us. They were never going to be. While some will point out that we only scored 15 points, we also only allowed 10. Meaning we only needed 11.
I told you not to worry about Foles, didn’t I?
Foles isn’t a Lincoln Continental, he’s more like a Buick LaCrosse. As an Eagles QB, he’s been solid and efficient. Trouble is, solid and efficient are not sexy adjectives, and people like their QB’s to be attached to sexy adjectives. The actual problem isn’t the QB. It’s people perception of him, despite the fact that in Eagles green, he’s 18 -11 (.620) as an Eagles QB. (That’s about 9.9 wins per 16 games.)
No single Eagle won this game. There was no outlandish performance by any one player. This was a team effort. That’s how this team has won 14 games this year. It’s how they’ll keep winning. This year.
PHILADELPHIA returns to the postseason with a home game against last year’s Super Bowl loser. After a 13 – 3 regular season run, the Eagles have secured home-field advantage, in the pursuit of becoming NFL Champions.
For the Falcons this is unfinished business. Last year they were up 28 – 3 over New England in the Super Bowl, before they ran out of energy, fell apart, then imploded, self-destructed, and shit the bed. The slack-jawed Falcons would go on to lose 28 – 34, after surrendering 31 un-fucking-answered points. (Man, I hate the Patriots.)
Their 2017 season has at times included bits of that same falling apart, imploding and self-destructing. While they can be a dangerous team, they are frequently their own worst enemy.
For the Eagles this is about Next Man Up. Despite over half a ton (1,383 pounds) of injuries this year, the Eagles kept winning games, and overcoming adversity. Having lost QB Carson Wentzto a torn ACL, veteran Nick Foles will step in to do his best Jeff Hostetler impression.
Just to drive that point home, here’s a look at Hostetler’s 1990 playoff run:
Stop worrying about Foles. The Eagles are a complete team, and can only be done-in by poor execution. As long as the Eagles bring our “B” game or better, we’ll walk out of this thing with the “W”.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Falcons :
1) Run. The. Ball:Nick Foles isn’t a once-in-a-generation type of QB. He’s a complementary piece. This isn’t a bad thing to realize, it’s a bad thing to ignore, once you’ve realized it. The load for beating playoff caliber defenses cannot be shifted entirely onto Foles shoulders.
Let’s get north of 25 carries. We were the NFL’s #3 rushing team this season. However, in the last 4 games we’ve run the ball 28, 25, 23, and 17 times respectively. In each game we’ve run less, and each game has been harder to win as well. I sense a connection there.
2) A thousand cuts:MLB Deion Jones is Atlanta’s leading tackler and best cover LB. He’s also undersized (222 lbs.), and they only carry 3 DT’s. Because of that, I’d hammer Atlanta with the run and keep Jones in the box and out of coverage. Since their OLBs are poor in coverage, I rip them up outside the numbers with high percentage passes to TE’s Zach Ertz and Trey Burton(not WR Nelson Agholor), to freeze Atlanta in their base defense. The idea being to deplete their edge pass rush, catch their CB’s peeking back at the flat, and physically exhaust their front seven. (Like in the Super Bowl.)
3) Alter the launch:Most of the time hitting a QB is effective for getting in his head. That trick doesn’t always work so well with (local product) Matt Ryan. What’s needed is to change his launch point and delivery. Atlanta’s (overrated) receivers don’t do a great job of adjusting for balls, and they are prone to mental lapses. For example:
Ryan cares about the small details more than his teammates do. Over the years that’s been abundantly clear. Lucky for us that makes him easy to frustrate. (Lord knows what resentments he harbors from his team’s practices.) While sacks are nice, beating the hell out of him won’t net us as much tactical advantage, as simply forcing him to move his feet, change his delivery, and make him feel like he’s all alone out there. Thus allowing us to corrupt their passing offense at the source.
4) Stay grounded:The Rams lost to the Falcons last week because they couldn’t keep a cool head under the pressure of the moment. At no point was that game out of hand, nor were the Rams hopelessly behind. But while Atlanta kept their (non-QB) run/pass ratio at 33 to 30, the Rams had a ratio of 16 to 45. What’s funny is that the Rams were having a much easier time running than the Falcons (7.2 ypc vs 3.2 ypc), but still it was the Falcons who stuck with it. Once more and with feeling: They stuck with it! They didn’t panic. They stayed balanced and grounded.
That’s what we need to do this week.
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:
Saturday’s forecast calls for a breezy 50 degrees, with showers. Rain is something that dome teams seldom handle well, and “breezy” takes on a different meaning when it whips through a stadium. Add on top of that, 66,000 (mostly Eagles fans), in full throat on whenever Atlanta’s offense is on the field. The cherry on top of that, will be DT Fletcher Cox, already pissed over the media’s perception of his team:
The Eagles will come out of the gate full of nervous energy, but the weather will help us offset any initial jitters. However, after the jitters wear off, the weather will still be there, the ground will still be wet, and with the Eagles being the better team, Atlanta will feel the game start to slide away from them.
The Falcons defense is athletic, just not athletic enough nor deep enough, to defend against a bevy of Eagles offensive weapons. On the flip-side, the Falcons only have a couple of weapons worth fearing on offense, and the Eagles have more than enough depth and skill-sets to compete, Even if wholesale adjustments need to be made. Few teams can boast that. Especially after so many injuries.
THE QUESTION that most Eagles fans have is: How will Nick Foles look out there? The answer is that Foles has been a very solid QB, when he plays for the Eagles. Especially when he plays at home.
Since 2013, Foles is 9 – 2 when starting at the Linc. His one regular season “loss” (note the sarcasm), was two weeks ago vs Dallas. His other loss, was in our 2013 playoff game vs the Saints. He completed 69.7% of his passes for 2 TD’s, with nary a pick or a fumble, in what ended up as a 24 – 26 loss.
I’m hardly worried about Foles. If you’re smart, you’ll stop worrying about him too. As back-ups go, we could scarcely be in better hands. If things around him operate efficiently, then he has the potential to be downright dangerous.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 