Conversations

LET’S PLAY OUR YOUTH

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/05/08
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Marcus Epps being congratulated by Rod McLeod on his interception.

MANY Eagles fans were hoping that we would add S Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu. I said in February that we should re-sign FS Rodney McLeod, and I’ve long been pounding the table that S Marcus Epps should take over for McLeod. Well, we seem to be doing the thing I wanted, without the stop-gap move of re-signing McLeod. Which has me thrilled. Let’s play our youth!

I know many fans wanted “a name”. I however, want to see the Eagles produce young, impact players that we either drafted, or claimed off of waivers in their first year or so. Like Marcus Epps. In 2019 he was drafted by the Vikings in the 6th round, and they cut him in September of that same year. He’s been an Eagle ever since. I want to show that we can grow those guys.

The giants are cutting CB James Bradberry. No surprise there. I told you that, in early April. Though he had 4 picks, his yardage allowed is way up. Teams seem to have found something on tape about him that they can exploit. Yet I’m seeing and hearing Eagles fans say that we should bring him in here. Why?! Why do we need to drag in everyone’s fading star?

Why not start CB Zech MacPhearson opposite CB Darius Slay? MacPhearson was low-key amazing last year. (Seriously, click the link.) Facts: 1) Without signing someone else, the Eagles let CB Steven Nelson go; 2) They followed that by not signing, trading for, or drafting a CB.

We traded for picks, a player, signed people, but didn’t add a CB, even in the 6th round. Draft and Free Agent, we completely de-prioritized the Secondary this year. Ignored it! Shunned it! You probably didn’t notice that at all, until just now. The Eagles weren’t at all concerned with finding Nelson’s replacement. Which strongly suggests that they already have one.

When Training Camp starts, if we have any sense, our starting Secondary should look like:

CB Darius Slay

CB Zech MacPhearson

SS Anthony Harris

FS Marcus Epps

NCB Avonte Maddox

K’Von Wallace makes a deposit.

Guys like S K’Von Wallace are going to be in the mix, because the Eagles spent a 4th round pick on him. Honestly, I think I prefer him more as a box Safety than back deep. Even better would be if we saw more of the Two-Deep look, that we were promised last year. Single-high is going to bumpy for almost any young player, so it’s no wonder Wallace is progressing slowly.

Not exactly a shadow in coverage, CB Andre Chachere is more of a NCB. In fact, his play suggests that he too should get a look at the FS spot. His passion and physicality may limit how often QB’s throw into his area, for fear of losing a favorite target to a concussion. He’s also one hell of a gunner on Special Teams, which may work against him getting Defensive snaps.

My point is, we have guys that we should be and could be developing. That said, it’s hard for a young guy to learn from mistakes and show what he’s got, if like Wallace, he only sees 184 snaps in a 17 game season. (It’s 10.8.) Even worse, it becomes almost impossible to develop our young guys, if we keep stacking “names” and fading stars ahead of them.

Look, an NFL roster is a highly fluid thing. So the make up of what we have here, may change as you read this. People get elevated, signed, cut, and moved for all kinds of reasons. Usually for talent, but sometimes as financial easement, or to attract another player. (Example: WR A.J. Brown wanted 80M$ guaranteed to stay in Tennessee. If QB Carson Wentz were still our starter, would Brown have accepted just 57M$ guaranteed to move to Philly? Nope. Brown’s best friend, QB Jalen Hurts made Brown 23M$ more affordable. So we got him at like 30% discount.)

Noooo! Not that Count, DIScount (I regret nothing!!!)

Hey we get it. If an All-Pro CB suddenly becomes available, sure the Front Office is going to chase it. As fans we understand that. We may not always like it, but we get it. That said, while we are still constructed this way, while the roster looks like this, let’s give this version of the Secondary a fair chance. Let’s play our youth.

2022 NFC EAST WINNER

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/04/16
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

KEEP in mind, when these predictions come out, no one knows who will be drafted by which team. So this is an assessment of the team, as it is staffed by veteran players with track records.

While rookies may contribute heavily to their team, they don’t usually shake up the NFC East as a division. That being said, there’s a pretty good chance that what you see here, will be how it shakes out for the year.

If you’ve read all of the articles leading up to this, you’ll understand my conclusion. Good job! If you didn’t, you’ll likely be annoyed because YOU did a bad job of preparing. (Read the supporting articles!)

CONTEXT!

Now let’s look at 2022:

Offense, defense, special teams. Three units, multiplied times four teams, equals twelve total units in the division. Easy math, right? Out of twelve units, only three units across the division either stayed strong or got stronger. Nine units however, either stayed weak or got noticeably weaker during the free agency period. Put plainly, so far the NFC East is already weaker than it was in 2021.

Strongest Offense: DALLAS

They have all kinds of issues with their offensive line, but they have a real QB, and they have the most dangerous collection of skill players in the division. Philadelphia has a great offensive line situation, which allows for the smoke and mirrors, which they use to offset a lack of WR talent or a QB who can read a defense.

Weakest Offense: NEW YORK

Their offensive line is shit. It’s just shit! They have the least talented QB in the division. In fact, it can now be argued that he might not be as good as his new back-up (eventual replacement). Their RB clearly has his eye on the exit, and they lost their underachieving TE, and replaced him with- No. They’re about to draft a TE. They have to be. There’s no way they can be serious about going into 2022 with him as the starter.

Strongest Defense: PHILADELPHIA

This was the easiest call. In 2021 the Eagles surrendered fewer passing yards and fewer rushing yards than the Cowboys. The Cowboys allowed 21.1 points per game to the Eagles 22.6. From that, the Eagles added not just a pass rusher, but a sack artist, as well also upgrading speed at LB. The Cowboys lost a starting DE and a starting S, then replaced neither with a player of similar caliber. The other two teams aren’t even part of this conversation.

Weakest Defense: NEW YORK

New defensive coordinator, a soft secondary, and a bunch of edge players, but no real DE’s or OLB’s. This is the current state of the defensive side of the ball in New York. It’s a toolbox full of hammers and mallets, but no screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches or even a tape measure. And at some point in the next two weeks, a kid out of college will be expected to provide a spark of hope. Yikes.

Strongest Special Teams: PHILADELPHIA

Washington has the much better punting situation, but Philadelphia has a far superior kicking game. However, since punts never produce last minute wins, the edge goes to points.

Weakest Special Teams: DALLAS

New York’s punting situation isn’t “bad”, it’s more of a big question mark. The kicking situation in Dallas however, is pure comedy. This team does such an amazing job of fucking this up every year! They deserve a round of applause for the work they do. I mean c’mon, it has to be deliberate. No one is this bad, this long, without a supreme level of effort being put into it.

PROJECTED WINNER: DALLAS

You’re thinking “Philadelphia won two of these categories to Dallas’s one. So how can Dallas still be the favorite?!”

For the record I totally agree, except there’s two things nagging my mind:

The first thing is, 17 – 37, and 21 – 41. Those are the scores that Dallas has won by, in the two games Jalen Hurts started against them. Those aren’t just loses, they’re blowouts. While Dallas continues to dominate Hurts, picking the Eagles as the favorite is out of the question.

The second thing is, a two game sweep has an effective difference of four games. The make-up distance in a playoff race, between let’s say 4 – 6 vs 6 – 4, is four games. If the Cowboys sweep the Eagles again, that gap would be very hard to make up. Given that the last Eagles QB to beat Dallas was Carson Wentz, there is nothing in recent history to indicate that the Eagles will turn this around this season.

DARK HORSE WINNER: PHILADELPHIA

Overall, Philadelphia looks like the strongest team in the East. The issue is at their QB position. Which is huge. If Jalen Hurts were to take a a couple of steps forward in being able to read defenses, and utilizing his second WR, this Eagles team would sweep the division, and win it in a walk. However, until we see that for Philadelphia, QB is a huge question mark at best, and a liability at worst.

EAGLES FREE AGENT ADDITIONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/02/19
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WITH ten draft picks this year, the smart move is to use them to further the Eagles youth movement. There is no sense in signing bunch of, or trading early picks for, older and more expensive players this year. Judiciously signing a few however, can add immediate bounce throughout a roster. Here are the three that we should add.

DE: Emmanuel Ogbah from Miami would be the centerpiece of my free agency mission. Getting a bigger, and more physical LDE, will allow Josh Sweat to go back to using his speed at RDE, making our Defensive Line a lot more effective. Understand though, Miami comes into free agency with more cap space than anyone, and they’ll want to keep their proven pass rusher.

Of course, while Miami has tons of cash, they’re going to have a new head coach in 2022. Also, the NFL may be trying to take the team away from owner Stephen Ross, due to allegations that he attempted to pay his last head coach, to throw games.

Vegas (and I don’t mean the Raiders), won’t look too kindly on that, with legalized gambling being a cash cow. So if Ross “dies” in 2022, don’t be shocked. I mean the guy is 81, but if saaaay, he blows his own head off (wink), and afterwards cleans his fingerprints off the shotgun, we’ll all know what’s what.

The upcoming circus that’s about to surround a 9 – 8 Dolphins team which missed the playoffs, should be enough to encourage Ogbah to move to greener pastures. While many teams can offer him a boatload of cash, no other team can offer him a chance to play with two DT’s that demand as much double-team attention. That means a ton of one-on-one opportunities for Ogbah.

Imagine it: DE Emmanuel Ogbah , DT Fletcher Cox, DT Javon Hargrave, and DE Josh Sweat. A physically stronger left side, with Sweat bringing the explosiveness that Derek Barnett always lacked from the blindside. Improved play on the back-end would make this Defense monstrous.

TE: While Jack Stoll is a good blocker, he’s no threat as a receiver. That makes Richard Rogers our go-to, behind Dallas Goedert. Rodgers is credible, but we have to do better here. (Ironically, Zach Ertz is a free agent, but I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing him back here.)

As of today, the Cowboys, (according to Over The Cap) find themselves (-21M$) in salary cap hell, for 2022. That means 25 year old Dalton Schultz could be an easy steal, which would help us, while at the same time, harming a rival. If we can’t get him to come here, at least we should be able to bid, and drive up the price that Dallas re-signs him to.

WR: HEAR ME OUT! I know this is gonna sound crazy at first, but it makes all the sense in the world. We should bring back DeSean Jackson. (I’ll give you a minute to shake your head, and call me nuts.)

Are you done? Alright, Fine. Take another minute.

Now the explanation. Devonta Smith thinks that he would benefit from having a veteran in the locker room. That being the case, if we add a seasoned veteran, we don’t want them to hinder the Eagles youth development, by playing too many downs. Quez Watkins won’t get better from not playing. (Same with the rookie WR we should draft.)

DJax has a ton of wisdom to impart to a WR room. Especially to Smith. DJax has been a #1 threat. He’s seen double coverage, bracket coverage, shaded coverage meant to contain him, and he’s produced anyway. He’s seen ups and downs off the field. He’s taken care of his body, well enough to still be a deep threat at 87 years old. This is even more important when you realize how slender DJax is. A trait that Smith shares.

Though DJax still has an ability to be dangerous (2021: 20rec, 454yards, 22.7*ypc, 2TD), his hamstrings won’t let him play a ton of downs. Which is GREAT! He shouldn’t be a starter. He should be a role player. Which also means he shouldn’t be too expensive.

(*Led NFL)

Wise, cheap, still lethal, and he won’t try to overshadow the young men we’re trying to develop. Go ahead. Find someone else who ticks all of those boxes, in this year’s free agency. I’ll wait… In fact, I’ll spot you the list so you don’t have to look for it.

Emmanuel Sanders?! Last year he was a starter in Buffalo. No way he gives up chasing a ring with QB Josh Allen, to play for a QB who can’t read defenses. NEXT! AJ. Green? He’s going back to Arizona. Next! Mohamed Sanu? He was never Batman. He wasn’t even Robin! He was Batgirl for most of his career. I don’t want Devonta learning how to be Batman, from Batgirl. Do you?

So there it is. Those are the primary three players I would target in this year’s first round of free agency. We’ll take a look at the post-Draft cuts, with an eye towards KR’s, and big RB’s. Then we’ll look for veteran defenders after the June 1st cuts.

RETURNING 2022 EAGLES FREE AGENTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/02/16
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Fans, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

IMPROVE the roster. That’s the mission of this, and every offseason. The first step (as always), is not to do anything stupid, which either leaves a hole, or depletes depth. Teams sometimes do that when they have plans to add X-free agent, and/or Y-draft pick. Problem is, when they land neither player X nor Y, they get left with a hole. Often gaping. So let’s not do something stupid.

If we’re smart, here are six holes we’ll avoid creating, just by re-signing guys:

G – Nate Herbig: He’s been solid everywhere we’ve put him (LG – C – RG). He has inside versatility, is more reliable than Sua Opeta, and may be a better starter than Isaac Seumalo.

RB – Jordan Howard: His neck is a bit of a concern, but the Eagles need a bruiser, and unless the Front Office plans to trade for one, free agency is loaded with guys who either won’t come here (John Conner, Melvin Gordon, Leonard Fournette); guys who don’t run as big as their size (Peyton Barber, Kalen Ballage, Damien Williams); and the 30+ club (Latavius Murray, Brandon Bolden).

CB – Steven Nelson: Though he didn’t have the monster season that Darius Slay had, Nelson only surrendered an average of 33.9 yards per game. (Slay averaged 31.) Whether the plan is to develop Zech MacPhearson or draft another kid, keeping Nelson around is the smart play. If we let him walk, who starts in his place?….Exactly.

OLB – Alex Singleton: The Eagles need to upgrade our pool of LB talent. No argument there. However, if the Eagles don’t re-sign Singleton, that would leave us with promising, but still raw Davion Taylor and our fingers crossed. Singleton isn’t flashy, but he hustles, and doesn’t quit on plays. His attitude is exactly what incoming rookies needs to see.

FS – Rod McLeod: We aren’t even close to having an answer at this position if we let him walk. Eagles fans want FA Tyrann Mathieu, but he’s going to have plenty of suitors. So Mathieu coming here, is far from a slam dunk. McLeod is already here and wants to come back. Why be difficult? Just take ‘Yes’ for an answer.

WR – Greg Ward: He is the most veteran player at his position, in a room full of pups. He’s also one of just TWO decent Punt Returners under contract with this team. And that’s counting Active roster, Practice Squad, and even guys on Injured Reserve.

*****

Keep in mind, any of the players that we re-sign, we can still cut later. Re-signing these guys just means that moves made subsequently, can be done with far less risk. As for the remaining eight, I like some of them, but many of them don’t fit the Eagles big picture.

DE Derek Barnett will never produce more than 7 sacks, in a system which plays it’s CB’s off so much.

DT Hassan Ridgeway is a solid rotation guy, and I’ve been big on him for years. Unfortunately for him, he’s in Milton Williams’s way. Williams was a third round pick and unlike Ridgeway, he can be flexed out to DE.

RB Boston Scott is a gamer, but A) Someone is going to throw him more than 3 million a year, B) It shouldn’t be us, since we’ll soon have to pay RB Miles Sanders; C) Three small RB’s in Scott, Kenneth Gainwell and Jason Huntley is two too many.

CB Andre Chachere makes you notice him, but the numbers game at his position might run him out of town. Even more so, I think his style of play would be better suited to FS, but the Eagles FO is still hoping that K’Von Wallace pans out there, since they spent a draft pick on him.

The Eagles have already re-signed TE Richard Rodgers. As much as the Front Office raves about TE Tyree Jackson, his ACL tear in Week 18 means that he’ll miss OTA’s, mini-camp, and some, or all of Training Camp. Rodgers represents depth and starter insurance.

And now for some bad news. We can’t claim to be rebuilding. We did that last year, and we made the playoffs. Making the playoffs is now expected for this team. Playoffs is the floor, not the ceiling in 2022. We will not sneak up on anyone this year. Everything that this team does now, is not to build a winner, but to go further this year. This year.

We want to open Training Camp with the Eagles being more talented, and more dangerous, than when our season ended. That process begins with the start of Free Agency on March 16th. We’ll take care of our in-house business, then chase the outside. Remember, the first step (as always), is not to do anything stupid.

MORE ON giants COACH BRIAN DABOLL

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/01/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, NFC East, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

ALLOW me to offer my two cents, regarding the New York giants hiring of Brian Daboll to be their head coach:

Are these people SERIOUS?! Was this really the best that they could do? Did the janitor turn them down again? Did Ray Handley refuse to take their call? Seriously, anyone who’s heated over minority coaches not getting hired, just got some fresh kindling thrown on their fires.

Eagles fans however, we basically have nothing to do but smile over this move. Sorry giants fans, you may have been better off sticking with Joe Judge, because this move may prove embarrassing. Both in the long and the short term. Embarrassing how? Here’s a quick example:

They didn’t even bother to snap a new picture of their head coach. They just photoshopped the one below. This is the start that his era is getting off to.

Let’s get a look at who Daboll is. First, the spin. He’s been Buffalo’s OC for the last four years and in the last two, they’ve ranked 3rd in scoring (28.4 ppg) in 2021, and 2nd (31.3ppg) in 2020. In the two years prior to that, the Bills ranked 23rd (2019) and 30th (2018), as they began developing rookie QB Josh Allen in 2018.

What we have here, is an OC who got three years to develop a QB, in one system, that didn’t take off until 2020 when they added WR Stephon Diggs. Again, this was the spin. This last couple of years is the part that the mainstream media is going to push.

Now comes the part that you’ll only get from coming here. (You have no idea how much I still love to say that.) Let’s talk about who Daboll has been, aside from only these last two years in Buffalo.

Well, Cowboys fans (because I know you come here too), he has FIVE rings. All with the Patriots. He won the first (2001) as an assistant DB coach. (Whatever that means.) He won two more (2003, 2004) as their WR coach. You know, back when Patriots WR Dieon Branch was making us forget names like Rice and Moss. (That was sarcasm, by the way. Deep, deep sarcasm.)

Daboll left the Pats for a few years, then came back as the TE’s coach. Keep in mind, TE Rob Gronkowski had already caught 38 touchdowns, and been to two Pro Bowls in three years. So I’m not sure how much coaching he needed. But it got Daboll two more rings (2014, 2016)!

So what kind of wild success did he enjoy between 2007 and 2012, after leaving New England? Well in 2007 and 2008 he coached QB’s (Chad Pennington and Brett Favre) for the Jets. After which, he was hired as the OC for Cleveland in 2009 and 2010. They ranked 29th and 31st, respectively. In 2011 he was the OC for Miami, and led their offense to being 20th in scoring. So Miami stopped paying him.

Then came 2012 with the Chiefs. Daboll was their OC and the team went 2 – 14, behind a 32nd ranked offensive unit. Head Coach Romeo Crennel was canned and Andy Reid was hired. One of the first things Andy did, was put his arm around Daboll and walk him off a cliff.

So aside from these last two years in Buffalo, Daboll has spent the last 20 years both failing upward, and constantly being a guy in the room, when that thing that happened, happened. Didn’t do it. Might not have even witnessed it, but he was in the room. Now this guy is coaching one of my division rivals! I feel like the luckiest football fan in the WORLD!

In all likelihood this all stems from no one wanting the giants job. Start with the most media intensive market on the planet. Then add a roster with massive holes. Stir in less than 14 million in cap space, and a pinch of no quarterback. Now garnish with a rookie GM, and viola! No one wanted a bowl of New York’s Hot Mess.

So the giants owner brings in an untested guy to be GM, as an easy answer to fans. Then the GM brings in just a guy to be the coach, as an easy answer to himself. All of it based on the just the last two years in Buffalo. Which didn’t turn the corner until QB Tom Brady left New England. That folks, is a weak foundation.

A year from now, you giants fans may look back wistfully at the days of Joe Judge and 4 – 13.

PHILLY NEVER QUITS.

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/01/05
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, NFC East, playoffs, Preview, Rants, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

BACK in April, in my NFC East Pre-Draft Preview, I picked the Redskins to win the East, with the Eagles as my dark horse favorite. Given our strong nucleus of veteran leadership, our win in the trenches philosophy, and youth at skill positions, we have a lot of “win now” already built-in. However, a rookie coaching staff, and a second year QB, who himself was basically a rookie, left serious questions about our upward mobility.

Still, I took proper assessment of the pieces, and predicted the Eagles to push for the NFC East crown, and they did exactly that.

We’ve so far won 9 games. None of those were against teams with a winning record. Then again, it’s been half a season since we even FACED a team with a winning record. Hell, we didn’t make the schedule. We just beat who was put on it.

Also, in all fairness, three of the first six teams that our rookie head coach faced, have played in the last two Super Bowls (KC vs SF and KC vs TB). Of those three games, two were decided by just 6 points each. So maybe a little fucking slack would be appropriate here? I dunno. Seeing things in their proper context is sort of a fetish of mine.

My favorite was the NFL website itself. You know the one. The place that sometimes allows their journalists to post a headline, which is linked to a tweet. Yeah. That place. Before the season, this was their prediction for us:

I’m petty, so I screenshot that shit. I couldn’t guarantee us winning the East, but I knew that 5 win prediction was going to age like an Olsen twin, and I wanted to be able to say:

Which I’m doing now.

We destroyed their prediction, and even exceeded their ceiling for us. Right now, you could park a car in the shadow of my smugness.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 16: giants

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/27
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Fans, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THERE is no “quit” in this team.

EAGLES 34 – giants 10

EAGLES STATS:

New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

Passing: (S ) QB Jalen Hurts (17/29 – 58.6% – 199 – 2 – 0)

Rushing: (S ) RB Miles Sanders (7 – 45 – 6.4 – 0 – 0)

Receiving: (S ) WR Devonta Smith (7 – 5 – 80 – 16.0 – 1)

Offensive Line Report: (2 + 1:2 – 1)

Drive Killer: (S ) OLB Alex Singleton (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 1)

Sack Leader: (S ) DE Josh Sweat (4 – 1.0 – 0 – 1)

****

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

1) Run Jordan for Miles: Sadly, both RB Miles Sanders (7 – 45 – 6.4 – 0 – 0) and RB Jordan Howard (9 – 37 – 4.1 – 0 – 0) were injured during the game, but not before combining for 82 yard on 16 carries (5.1 ypc). When RB Boston Scott (12 – 41 – 3.4 – 1 – 0) was called on to fill-in, he added an early score.

Scott’s contribution to this team is not to be overlooked. However, the loss of pop in his legs as his usage piled up, was noticeable. Again. If Sanders and Howard are going to keep finding their way into street clothes during games, the Eagles are going to need to carry four active players at this position. (DONE)

2) Feature Devonta: Who lead the team in receiving yards? Devonta did! Who led the team in catches? Devonta did that too! Who led the team in targets? Oh my gaw- Was that Devonta? Why yes it was Devonta! Who led the team in touchdown catches? RT Lane Johnson ( 1 – 1 – 1.0 – 1) tied for the team lead with that.

This was a game where we needed our best, to be our best, and Devonta stepped up and was that. His touchdown catch had almost enough toe drag swag, to give me a foot fetish. Right Rex? (DONE)

3) Blow up the Center: We did this, but we did quite a few other things too. This factored in the most, on the interception that QB Jake Fromm (6/17 – 35.2% – 25 – 0 – 1) threw to FS Rod McLeod (1 – 0.0 – 1 – 0). Fromm couldn’t step into his throw, tried to muscle it in, and it sailed on him. Right into McLeod’s mitts.

We were getting away with doing so many different things to Fromm, that the giants pulled him in the third quarter, and sent out QB Mike Glennon (17/27 – 62.9% – 93 – 1 – 1). Glennon came out and threw two touchdowns. If you count the one to Eagles LB Alex Singleton. (DONE)

4) Be Active Pre-snap: We did some of this, but not enough of it. Fromm seemed more flustered by the speed of the game and the pass rush, than he was by the reads. While his percentage looks awful, Fromm didn’t throw the ball into dangerous places, and generally on his incompletions it was easy to understand his decision making. (NOT DONE)

****

So that gives us 3 of the Four Things, and an easy victory to boot. Next week we get to visit Washington! Their team (at 6 – 9) is still mathematically alive for playoff contention. So of course we have to do to them, what we just did to New York.

****

On The Whole:

The Offense can’t afford slow starts like this. Scoring 3 points in an entire half of a game is unacceptable. Of course, that’s what will happen when the head coach gets cute.

Look, the Eagles offensive strength is running the ball. So why were 6 of our first 7 plays, passes? Simple. It was Head Coach Nick Sirianni looking to prove how clever he is. That cost us the game last time. This time he wised up.

As a result, we ENDED THE giants SEASON.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 15: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/22
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WE’LL be .500 for Christmas!

EAGLES 27 – Redskins 17

EAGLES STATS:

New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

Passing: (S ) QB Jalen Hurts (20/26 – 76.9% – 296 – 1 – 1)

Rushing: (S ) RB Miles Sanders (18 – 131 – 7.2 – 0 – 0)

Receiving: (S ) TE Dallas Goedert (9 – 7 – 135 – 19.2 – 0)

Offensive Line Report: (2 + 4:2 – 3)

Drive Killer: (S ) DT Fletcher Cox (0 – 0 – 0 – 1 – 0)

Sack Leader: (S ) DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 1.5 – 0 – 1)

****

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these 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: Redskins (1) did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Use the 12th Man: Eagles fans were out IN FORCE for this one. The idea here was to have the players drive the crowd, but that hardly was necessary. Even when the Eagles were in a 0 – 10 hole to start the game, the crowd was never truly out of it. There were some boos, but really that crowd last night was one of the best I’ve ever seen.

The first 10 points we gave up were the result of weirdness, but no one was worried that level of weirdness was going to happen on every drive, for four straight quarters. It of course didn’t, and a wolf ate a sheep. Nature took it’s course. In part because the crowd never stopped making it hard on the opponent, during cold, dark, misty conditions. Well done Philadelphia. Well done. (DONE)

2) Run the Ball: There were 41 runs to 26 pass attempts (61.1% run). While 8 of those runs were by Hurts, he pulls the ball down so early that it’s not always easy to know what was a called run and what was a legitimate scramble. So from here on out, I’m just lumping his runs in with the handoffs. Otherwise it’s like picking gnat shit out of pepper.

We stuck to our identity, even when down 0 – 10. It allowed us to get a rhythm and settle our QB, who looked tight to start the game. Though he’d missed just one game, in real-time, he hadn’t seen action in nearly a month. We didn’t overplay our hand, or play down to the opponent. As a result we piled up 238 yards on the ground. (DONE)

3) Blitz from our right: Shout out to OLB Genard Avery (1 tackle) had a great run-stuff off the right (which came damned close to being offsides). Aside from that, there was never a concerted effort to get the ball out of the hand of QB Garrett Gilbert (20/31 – 64.5% – 194 – 0 – 0).

Our lack of aggressive defense allowed this kid to look better than he had any right to. Let me say right now, this approach won’t beat Washington twice this year. If we want a sweep in two weeks, we’ll have to dial up far more pressure. (NOT DONE)

4) Don’t force-feed Reagor: Turns out WR Quez Watkins (2 – 2 – 14 – 7.0 – 0) was able to play in this one, so there was no need to overuse WR Jalen Reagor (3 – 3 – 57 – 19.0 – 0). Reagor caught all three of his targets, and even threatened to score once. If calling him “trash” results in him contributing like this, I will call him “heated garbage soup” every week next season.

We forced nothing to him and he had 57 yards. I said in the Third Quarter Report that we need a non-Devonta WR to contribute 50 yards per game, over these last 4. We just got it from Reagor, without force-feeding him. (DONE)

****

That gives us 3 out of the Four Things for this week. In five days, we get to extend five knuckles worth of hospitality to the giants as we host them Sunday afternoon. A win in that game, will make us an above .500 team to bring in the New Year.

****

On The Whole:

As I said, if we put up 25 points, that should do the trick. Even at full strength the Redskins can’t manufacture points very well. Well we put up 27, and they only put up the points they did, because early in the game Jesus Klaus gifted them with a bizarre couple of turnovers.

Jalen Hurts just got his first win over an NFC East opponent. We’re technically still just outside of the picture, but now that we’re 7 – 7, we can legitimately bring up the playoffs as a subject.

When the game was scheduled for Sunday, the plan may have been for QB Gardner Minshew and Hurts to each get snaps. However, this delay allowed Hurts’s ankle to get to full strength. As a result, the only snaps Minshew saw, were the ones played by Hurts. So there is no QB controversy.

(FYI: The QB position is still VERY MUCH under evaluation. There’s just no question about the pecking order. Today.)

THE NFL VS EAGLES PLAYOFF HOPES

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/18
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Crazy Talk, Fans, NFC East, NFL, playoffs, Rants, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THIS is some bullshit!! Our game against the Washington Redskins (don’t bother complaining), was postponed for two days, from Sunday to Tuesday. My biggest gripe with this is pretty the same gripe that every Eagles fan has: It robs us of two days rest and prep on the back-end for the giants game next Sunday.

If we were tanking and just running down the season, it wouldn’t matter and none of us would care. However, we are trying to make a push to qualify for the playoffs. In fact, as of today it’s still mathematically possible (though highly unlikely) that we could win the division. So anything that rocks our boat, acts as a hindrance to that effort.

What makes this so heinous, is that this hindrance was a deliberate act, handed down from the league itself. Worse, is the felling that we are being punished for the Redskins irresponsibility, while they seem to be receiving a form of clemency for it.

And honestly, what is to be gained from giving Washington two more days? They didn’t start tagging players until Tuesday the 14th. The quarantine period is 10 days. Tuesday the 21st is just 7 days from the earliest diagnoses. Some players weren’t popping until Friday the 17th. That’s just FOUR days. The CDC itself says that these windows wouldn’t be wide enough.

Players need two negative tests in 48 hours to return. If they were being watched for exposure, that’s one thing, but for those INFECTED, they can’t come back on Tuesday. They still have to quarantine because they may still be shedding virus, regardless of what the tests say about their infection state. Virus can be shed over a period of 8 – 31 days.

So the Redskins get no additional benefit from the two days. At best, all it does is slow US down.

Back in the Summer, the NFL declared that teams who didn’t follow proper protocols, and had outbreaks of Covid among their players and coaches, faced possible forfeitures as a consequence. Well, the instant that was tested, that policy flew right out the window.

Understand, the NFL is currently discussing moving other games as well. So it’s entirely possible that the giants game could also be moved. However, that ripple of a short week WILL show up in the next four. Given that we’re at the low-end of a playoff push, and ALL FOUR of these games are against division opponents, this is some ultimate fuckery.

This is some bullshit!

2021 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: THIRD QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/12
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 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.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

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: 6 – 7, 3rd place in the NFC East, (Points per game: +25.9/-22.4)

OPPONENTS:

( W ) Denver                 6 – 6

( W ) New Orleans        5 – 7

( L ) New York giants    4 – 8

( W ) New York Jets      3 – 9

OVERVIEW:

On the one hand Head Coach Nick Sirianni deserves credit for staying the course to get us back into the playoff conversation. On the other hand he deserves the blame for sticking with a Defensive Coordinator who has cost us at least three games (49ers, Bucs, and Chargers.) The giants loss is on Sirianni, for  trying to force-feed a draft bust. Picture us being 9 – 4 right now.

Having found a devastating ground game, the Eagles have managed to battle back to 6 – 7 after a 3 – 6 start, and have turned the season on it’s ear. The players have put themselves in a position to not only make the playoffs, but with some help, possibly even win the East.  

Even now, during the Bye Week, today’s game between Washington (6 – 6) and Dallas (8 – 4) stands to help us out. A Dallas loss keeps them from pulling away definitively with the division. A Washington loss doesn’t allow them to cement the number two spot. So either the top spot or the second spot, should become far less secure before 5:00pm.

Here’s how we look with 4 games left to decide.

GRADES:

QB (C ) – In this last quarter of the season, Jalen Hurts has clearly regressed. His last three games have seen his passing yardage slide from 178 to 147 to 129. His accuracy has gone from 69.5% to 54.1 to 45.1. Touchdown to interception ratio? That has gone from 2:1, to 0:0, to 0:3. Over that same span, his pass attempts have gone from 23 to 24 to 31. So literally, the more he throws, the worse he’s been. Those are facts, and they are beyond dispute.

Gardner Minshew stepping in for an injured Hurts, and throwing for 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, and completing 80% of his passes, only throws more light on the Hurts issue. Granted, it was against the Jets, but it was also a QB in a new system, throwing to guys he hasn’t really worked with. It was our back-up vs their starters, and we scored on 7 of 8 drives, with three touchdown drives to open the game.

Let me say this plainly: Jalen Hurts is NOT progressing in his ability to play NFL QB. This coaching staff (and half the fan base) has been giving him a pass, because of his ability to run.

Minshew just gave fans a taste of a what an Eagles passing game could look like. From here on out, Hurts either has to be better, or the coaches will have to get better at making excuses for why a player advertised as being highly coachable, has not improved in over a season’s worth of play.

RB (A ) – Miles Sanders coughed the ball up a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise has been extremely effective, posting 308 yards and 5.6 yards per tote over this quarter. That has been regardless of whether we were running a Read Option or Traditional run concept. Boston Scott has chipped in 161 yards at a clip of 4.8 per carry.

Until this week Kenneth Gainwell hadn’t been very effective as a runner this quarter. But I guess a game against the Jets will cure that. Jordan Howard was killing defenses with 146 yards on 22 carries (6.6 per tote!). Then he hurt his knee and has missed the last two games.

WR (D ) – A month ago, Devonta Smith had back to back big games, but since then he has been de-emphasized in the passing game, in favor of Jalen Reagor, and Smith has let his frustration be known to his coach. Reagor continues to be a flop in every aspect of the game of football, and the results of force-feeding him the ball (13 targets, 5 catches, 49 yards, 9.8 ypc) has only highlighted how foolish it was to spend a draft pick, or a dollar on him. Quez Watkins ( 14 – 9 – 116 – 12.8 – 0) has played a lot of snaps, but he doesn’t see nearly as many targets as he should.

In the last four games, none of the 5 players at this position has posted 70 yards. No player at this position has seen 10 targets in a game since Week 4. It is doubtless that this position is underperforming, however it is difficult to produce without the football even coming your way.

For all the fanfare that the run game has garnered, those rushing yards would be even easier to come by if opponents had any fear or respect for our outside passing game.

TE (C ) – Dallas Goedert was effective with Hurts (13 – 8 – 90 -11.2 – 0) throwing him the ball. However, with Minshew (6 – 6 – 105 – 17.5 – 2) Goedert could be terrifying over the long-haul. Jack Stoll has seen his snaps take a steep dive, as the coaching staff has been running more 11 than 12 Personnel. So his presence on the field literally is telegraphing R-U-N to defenses. We need to throw him some passes if only to legitimize him as an eligible receiver. Still waiting to glimpse Tyree Jackson’s potential.

OT (A ) – Neither RT Lane Johnson, nor LT Jordan Mailata has missed a single snap this quarter. Also during this stretch, Mailata has gone into the business of making sure his opponents eat some pancakes.

Such a nice young man.

Seriously though, these guys have been distributing Act Right to opponents, almost like a burning bush told them it was their only mission in Life. It’s one of the primary reasons that the Eagles are running for 212 yards per game over these last 4 games. In the last game we piled up 185. With no Jalen Hurts. This position has been amazing.

OG (C ) – Landon Dickerson is the future at LG. Even when Isaac Seumalo comes back from injury. Dickerson is a mauler in the run game. That allows us to run strong anywhere along the line, not just to the right. There are still nuances of pass pro that he has to get down, but that will come with time and facing different types of pass rushers.

Jack “Of All Trades” Driscoll was solid, until he was lost for the season. Replacing him is Nate “Too Big” Herbig. So we have one versatile guy filling in for another versatile guy, who was filling in for a Pro Bowl caliber player. The step down would be massive, if not for the men just to right and to the left of the RG spot. Herbig isn’t the most explosive player (which will hurt us on QB sneaks), but he’s a wide body who isn’t easy to push round.

C (B ) – Jason Kelce Is setting a great example with his attitude and mental toughness, through what has to be his last campaign. He has missed snaps in each of the last 4 games, and it’s becoming apparent that sheer grit and the possibility of a playoff spot, is what is getting him through.

The guy who’s filled in for him has been Nate Herbig. It’s long been rumored that Herbig is Kelce’s successor at the pivot. That would be awesome. While Herbig lacks true explosiveness when playing G, that deficiency is largely negated when snapping the ball.

DE (F ) – Through 4 games this position added 2.5 sacks and 5 hits on QB’s. Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett are playing both fewer snaps in number, and a lesser percentage of the total snaps. That says that the position is becoming more of a rotation. Maybe to light a fire under the starters, maybe to see if the bench was hiding a star. Still, it’s been a low production position. There are other factors at play here, but the bottom line is that through ¾ of a season, this position looks weak.

DT (C ) – Javon Hargrave added 1.5 sacks this quarter to bring him to a career-high 7.5. Fletcher Cox has 3 QB hits this quarter, but no sacks since Week 5. In fact, he has just 1 this season. Oddly enough, whenever he misses a few downs here or there, his absence is immediately felt. Milton Williams looks like a solid rotational pass rusher, but he cannot be confused with an every down difference maker. Hassan Ridgeway started this quarter with is snap share at just 22%, but has seen it tick up each week to 37%.

OLB (C ) – Davion Taylor was making progress as a starter, when he suffered what the Eagles called a knee sprain, which later required surgery, and now has him on IR.

(The Eagles have yet to confirm exactly what the surgery is for, but my experience and my gut says meniscus tear. That’s by no means official, but when they say it in 2022, remember where you heard it first in 2021.)

Due to the injury, Alex Singleton has reclaimed his starting role. He went right back to work as a tackling machine, and had been more impactful than he was before being benched in favor of Taylor. Genard Avery is seeing fewer snaps these days as the Eagles are using more Big Nickel.

MLB (A ) – T.J. Edwards hardly ever leaves the field anymore. This indicates that the Eagles have finally stopped worrying about the rumored “athletic limitations” that stemmed from the 2019 Combine. When given the opportunity, Edwards has shown that he can flat-out play football. It only took two seasons, but being geniuses, the Eagles have swiftly caught on! (Was that too much sarcasm?)

Edwards has not only made tackles, but he’s snagged a pass and recovered fumble, giving him a pair of takeaways this quarter.

S (D ) – Rodney McLeod is no longer an impact player on the back end. He always seems a step (or two) slow, and his tackles lack any authority. I get the feeling that he won’t be back in 2022 and he knows it, which is why he’s playing so passively.

Anthony Harris is like a smaller Landon Collins. He’s more than willing to lay a hit, but he’s not much of a factor vs the pass, as he’s only gotten his hand on a pass ONCE this season.

Marcus Epps just snagged his first pick, and leads players at this position with 4 passes defensed despite playing just 49% of the defensive snaps this season. This position would benefit from making him a starter over McLeod or Harris.

CB (C ) – Darius Slay has posted a sack, an interception, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns this quarter. He’s been targeted 17 times for 6 completions, and surrendered just 58 yards. Steve Nelson though! Teams seem to be picking on him these days, with 10 completions on 16 targets (62.5%), 109 yards, and two scores allowed. Avonte Maddox has allowed 17/22 (77.2%), for 181, and a score.

Two players giving up over 62% completion rates and over 10 yards per completion, is a recipe for not being able to get off the field. This has to be addressed! Rookie Zech McPhearson has played 70 snaps in the last 4 games, but is 5/2, for just 22 yards. Let me reiterate. In his last 70 snaps, our rookie has been thrown at just five times. FIVE! Keep an eye out for him.

LS (A ) – Last time I did one of these, I mentioned that Rick Lovato didn’t have an tackles yet. In the last 4 games he’s posted 2 solo. The man is a BEAST and an animal!

P (A ) – Arryn Sipos is still averaging 45 yards (45.2) per boot. Of the 12 punts he’s had this quarter, 7 were returned for 65 yards, which is 9.2 per return. Not great, but it’s down nearly 3 yards from the 12 yards per return last quarter. That suggests that his kicking is being timed better with his coverage unit. Improvement is always applauded.

K (A ) – Jake Elliott was 11/11 on extra points and 11/11 on field goals during the quarter. For points he’s been absolute money since Week 7. Absolute. As in no flaws. As in resplendent clarity. If he were a diamond, you could see next and last year in him. Flawless!

Kickoffs however, are increasingly a problem. Of his 26 kickoffs, 19 were touchbacks (70.3%). Could be better, but not alarming. The returns (7 – 221 – 31.5 – 0) are worse than the 22.2 we were giving up last quarter.

At this point, this can’t put on Elliott. At this point, Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay owns the blame for this. Elliott is what he is. There is enough tape to know this by now. Kickoff duty should have been reassigned by now. Either that or the kickoff strategy should have been altered, to place the ball inside the numbers, to let the coverage unit cup that side of the field, from hash mark to side line.

PR/KR (F ) – WR Jalen Reagor hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his punt returning (14 – 90 – 6.4 – 0). While he’s doing a ton more returning this quarter vs last report (just one return), he never is a threat to break one. His kick returning (7 – 116 – 16.5 – 0) is equally dreadful.

KC (F ) – This quarter’s 31.5 yard per kickoff return is again, alarming. It seems that we are not able to get this issue under control. On the plus side we’ve gone from allowing 9.5 yards per punt return to 9.4, so improvement must be celebrated.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

I said that 2 – 2 would probably keep our playoff hopes alive, but that 3 – 1 would almost certainly do the trick. Well we went 3 – 1, and right now, are mathematically on the outside of the playoff picture. However, due to upcoming match-ups for all of the Wild Card candidates, we are still VERY much in the thick of the hunt.

In fact, we could still pull off winning the division.

Here’s how the Eagles win the East: We run the table, and Dallas gets swept by Washington. That’s it. That’s everything that has to happen. That would set it in stone.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

RUN THE FUCKING TABLE! It’s as simple as 10 wins and we’re in. Right now, I want to see us crack the playoffs and potentially get hot, right when everyone really needs us not to. I want the Eagles to scare the boiled shit out of the NFL, and possibly bring Philly another parade.

So this quarter we have to find a second receiver, so we can keep our run game open. We need a WR besides Devonta to either average 50 yards per game, or score twice in the next two games. Either would work to spread defenses. Jalen Hurts running for touchdowns in the red zone (unless they’re on QB Sneaks) has to stop. We need to diversify our attack.

For those of you watching the Draft picks:

We already have three first round picks, and any team that makes the playoffs is going to be picking 18th and lower. Currently we’re 6 – 7, the Colts are 7 – 6, and the Dolphins are 6 – 7. All of us could make the playoffs this year, which would make those picks better as ammunition for a later Draft.

All of that however, is already in the bag! So while we’re winning, stop thinking about the picks. Picks are for next season. We’re still alive in this one. We need all your positive energy and focus, on a possible parade for this season.

That said, if we lose the next two and fall to 6 – 9, then we should tank, and try to get at least ONE pick in the top 10. But while we have a chance at the playoffs, tanking is OFF the table.