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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 2: RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HOW do we fix this?

Eagles 19 – Rams 37

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (26/43 – 60.4% – 242 – 0 – 2)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (20 – 95 – 4.7 – 1 – 1)

(S) WR DeSean Jackson: (9 – 6 – 64 – 10.6 – 0)

(S) DE Brandon Graham: (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: RAMS did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Run the football: I said 24 handoffs at least in this game, and 24 handoffs is exactly what was delivered. As a result, Wentz was sacked exactly none times this week. He also wasn’t holding the ball long, which sort of neutered all the speed we added in the offseason. (DONE)

2) Play more man coverage: We played loose man coverage, and took away the Screen game. However, we also let receivers to uncover far too quickly, allowing the Rams QB to hit on all of his first 13 pass attempts. In fact, the Rams had 21 points on the board before a single pass was contested, as the ball was delivered from clean pocket after clean pocket. We played “man”, but there was no “coverage”. (NOT DONE)

3) Get outside and play: In the 3rd quarter, Wentz hit TE Zach Ertz (7 – 5 – 42 – 8.4 – 0) on a play-action roll-out to his left, but it was the only one not born from pressure. It’s as if the coaching staff feels that they no longer have to be creative or unpredictable, now that we have more speed on the roster. FYI: We have yet to make that speed dangerous to anyone besides our own expectations. (NOT DONE)

4) Capitalize on their punting: What punting? On ten drives, the Rams scored 5 touchdowns, 1 field goal, had 2 punts, 1 drive ended by half-time, and 1 drive ended by the game expiring. We can’t stop anybody or generate turnovers. The one turnover we had today, was generated by our Special Teams. Our Defense is trash. And no I didn’t stutter. (NOT DONE)

This week we did 1 out of 4 things, (3 of 8 on the season), which is how you get keistered by almost 20 points. We were almost blown out. At home! In front of our cut-outs!

There is a metric fuck-ton to fix, in order to avoid going 0 – 3 vs Cincinnati next week.

On The Whole:

I know many fans are going to want to put this on Wentz, because he didn’t throw a touchdown, while throwing two interceptions. Fine. Go ahead. I won’t argue with that crowd.

FOR THE REST OF YOU: I’m far more concerned with our inability to stop anybody, or even seem to slow them down much. On those eight drives not ended by the Rams just LETTING time expire, they scored six times. Five of those six scores were touchdowns.

In two weeks, this Defense has also generated zero turnovers, and hasn’t even been close to doing so. Next week we face an 0 – 2 rookie QB, and run game that is sputtering. If we can’t stop that team from putting up 21, then it will be time to seriously evaluate the Defense from the top down.

This season is far from over. The two division leaders are both sloppy 1 – 1 teams. So the NFC East is by no means out of reach, or even starting to slip away. That said, we need to put up a “W”, quick, fast and in a hurry. The fastest way to do that, will be finding a way to stop opponents from scoring at will.

FOUR THINGS: WK 2: EAGLES – RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/17
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

LAST week we absolutely shat the bed! Instead of complaining about that, I’m focusing on the upcoming game. Please. Step into Week Two with me.

Lost in all of last week’s wreckage, was the fact that the Eagles showed an ability to start fast. Given that this week’s opponent still looks like their slow-starting 2019 edition, there’s a definite advantage to be had. If we jump on it.

The return of RB Miles Sanders with his knack for running routes and snagging passes, also gives us a decisive edge over the Rams Linebackers. In fact, the 3-4 scheme that they run, is similar to the system that Washington just abandoned. (After we swept it for three straight years.)

There are no rivals playing each other this week. That means (in the most extreme cases), we could all win, or we could all lose. A win over the Rams gets everyone realizing that our loss last week, was a fluke. A loss doesn’t bury us, but it could give teams the impression that we’re past our prime. That’s not a stink we want on us.

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 Rams:

1) Run the football: At least 22 handoffs to RBs, have to happen. This line cannot pass protect for intermediate and deep routes, without threat of a run. Last week’s play selection (71% passing plays), will not get the job done. If we get off to a fast start again, the run game will help us sustain what we’ve built. Even if all it does is slow down pass rush on early downs.

2) Play more man coverage: The Rams like to employ WR Screens. Those are hard plays to execute with a CB shadow. It doesn’t have to be press coverage, but when the ball is in the air, the CB has to be ready to make the tackle (not hit) for a loss. Send the message early, that they have to throw away a large section of their playbook.

3) Get outside and play: Sprinkle in some play-action bootlegs with QB Carson Wentz, to open up quick underneath routes.

Instead of complaining about him not giving up on a play, why not give him options to salvage that play? Seriously. Why waste downs? The object of a drive isn’t to avoid a mistake, it’s to make enough plays to score points. QB Nate Sudfeld didn’t throw a single interception last week. Did it help? Nope. Not at all. This week, the coaching staff needs to help Carson make plays.

4) Capitalize on their punting: We need punts to come out fast and flat, or short and high. Either the ball needs to reach our PR before the coverage can get there, or it basically needs to be shanked. In either case, Special Teams would be back to being a contributing factor, and not just a daycare for back-up players.

If we do all these things we should win, with a score looking like…

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Rams 17

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

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK1 : FOOTBALL TEAM

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

EIGHT sacks allowed.

Eagles 17 – Football Team 27 

EAGLES LEADERS:

QB (S) Carson Wentz: (24/42– 57.1% – 270 – 2 – 2)

RB (S) Boston Scott: (9 – 35 – 3.8 – 0 – 0)

TE (S) Dallas Goedert: (9 – 8 – 101 – 12.6 – 1)

DE (B) Josh Sweat: (3 – 1.0 – 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: Football Team did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Run the football: We handed the ball off just 16 times today. Compared with 42 passing attempts, and 1 QB sneak. Play-calling like that (71.1% pass) will get a defense not respecting the run, and teeing off on our QB to the tune of 8 sacks. Especially against a makeshift Offensive Line that took on more injuries during the game. No attempt at establishing a rhythm on the ground was ever attempted. (NOT DONE)

2) Blitz off our right: There were a couple of these after the half, but most of the game was spent with no pressure or contain on our right side. This is particularly damning given the absence of DE Derek Barnett, and the subsequent injury to DE Vinny Curry (1 – 0.5 – 0 – 0). No attempt to shore up that side was ever made. (NOT DONE)

2020DallasGoedert

TE Dallas Goedert hits paydirt on a 34 yard strike from QB Carson Wentz.

3) Throw aggressively: This was done to the point of foolishness. There were some very nice downfield throws and reads. However, when it became apparent that Wentz wouldn’t have the time to stand in the pocket, shorter routes for the WR’s were not called. (DONE)

4) Make tackles: There were some misses, but nothing egregious, or atypical of standard football. For the most part the Eagles defenders reliably wrapped up what was in front of them. Nobody got put on a poster today. (DONE)

That makes this weeks Four Things score, 2 of 4, and puts us at 2 of 4 on the year. These were easy marks to hit. The fact that we were on 50/50 on them, indicates that somebody (Head Coach Doug Pederson) was being cute today.
Here’s hoping we get some of this stuff ironed out by next week when we face the  1 – 0 Rams. The killers of Cowboys.

On The Whole:

I’m not going to harp on injuries, or use them as an excuse. We’ve been dealing with those for years. We’ve been saying “Next man up” for years. As fans, we’ve been crowing the words “Despite injuries…” for years. So we don’t get to hide behind them now. If a man is paid, he should be able to do his job.

I’m on record as saying that Boston Scott is more of a Screen guy and less of a legit RB. That showed today when he did get carries. When a defender meets him, the play is over. If RB Miles Sanders misses anymore time, we need a better response than Boston Scott.

Eagles WR’s barely showed up today. Part of it was a lack of protection. Part of it was just rookies being rookies (8 targets, 2 completions). Detail stuff like, not coming back to the ball on Curl routes. Nothing to panic over. It’s why you call a rookie a rookie. This was their first NFL experience vs. guys not on their team. Understanding how to leverage a teammate that you see everyday in camp, is different than leveraging guys you’ve never seen. This will get fixed.

The O-Line is a nightmare. On Tuesday I had no idea that RT Lane Johnson would miss this game. For some reason C Jason Kelce was a game-time decision. No one on the right side of our line had ever started an NFL game. You cannot dangle a Franchise QB, on 42 pass attempts, behind a duct taped O-Line IN WEEK ONE! Unless you’re trying to kill him, or get him injured.

Defensively we seemed to pick up where we left off:

Too much room with the cushions.

Too much Nickel.

An unwillingness to blitz.

An inability to generate turnovers.

Our Defensive Line can never reach it’s full potential, if the Secondary keeps allowing receivers to uncover quickly.

There is a great deal that needs addressing this week. Injuries be damned.

DEAR WASHINGTON FANS,

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/11
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Players, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

PERENNIAL laughingstock. That’s the best way to describe the team formerly known as the Redskins. Every year for the last quarter century, you fans get geeked up in September, only to end up moaning “We’ll get ‘em next year.” by mid-October.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, this year, owner Dan Snyder renamed your team “The Washington Football Team”. In one fell swoop, he literally turned your fan base into a fucking Abbott and Costello routine. It’s hilarious! I have to love it.

JOURNALIST: So sir, who is your favorite football team?

FAN: Football Team.

JOURNALIST: Yes. Who is your favorite?

FAN: The Football Team.

JOURNALIST: Yes, but which one?

FAN: That one!

JOURNALIST: Which one?!

FAN: The Football Team!

All across America, there are probably thousands of conversations just like that, going on every day. Fans who know your team is doing something stupid, yet trying desperately to defend it anyway. Which I suppose is habit by now for Washington fans.

JOURNALIST: Sir it’s a simple question. Which football team is your favorite?

FAN: I’m a fan of the Football Team!

JOURNALIST: From which city?

FAN: Technically they don’t represent a city.

JOURNALIST: Okay then. Which state?

FAN: It’s not really a state either.

That’s true by the way. The District of Columbia is a federal district. It technically neither a city, nor a state. Like the Redskins who technically do, but don’t have a name. They exist in a perpetual state of “Yeah, but not really. Absolutely, but not at all.”

I’m also enjoying how suddenly “woke” you all are, while still trying to justify what you’re now woke about. That irony is rich enough classify as a dessert.

JOURNALIST: Who owns your favorite team?

FAN: Dan Snyder.

JOURNALIST: Wait! You’re a Redskins fan?

FAN: Don’t call them the Redskins! That name is racist.

JOURNALIST: How long did you root for them?

FAN: All my life! Thirty-two years.

JOURNALIST: And the name just became racist?

FAN: Once they changed it, yeah. Fuck that name.

JOURNALIST: But it was okay before they changed it?

FAN: Oh yeah! Got it tattooed on my chest here. Over my heart.

JOURNALIST: And until then, you didn’t care how Native Americans felt?

FAN: Who?

JOURNALIST: Native Americans.

FAN: Which team is that? What city do they come from?

JOURNALIST: They’re indigenous people…

FAN: Indigestion?

JOURNALIST: You used to call them Redskins!

FAN: HAIL! I mean, fuck them! I mean, fuck that name! I mean, go Football Team! Hey-yah, hey-yah!

This is what you’ve been reduced to. This is what you’ve become. Remember being proud? Yeah, that’s in the past now. You’re the Geoffrey Owens of football fans. And do you know the BEST part? Still, in all of this, you all actually think your team has a shot at winning the division. That is SO cute!

You guys should start small. Focus on developing a QB who finishes games before he starts taking pictures with the crowd. Focus on not running off a Pro Bowl caliber LT. Focus on hiring a head coach who you don’t fire every other year.

Your team is just awful. How awful? Ron Rivera signed with your team, and then was diagnosed with cancer. Actual fucking cancer! I’m not blaming your team but yes I totally am. And then to make his life easier, your team let go of a Hall of Fame caliber RB in Adrian Peterson, so that they can start J.D. Mickissic. If you didn’t know that Mickissic was your starter this Sunday, YOU’RE WELCOME!

These are all REAL things. I would make some up, but I could never match the idiocy with which your team is being run into the ground. Honestly, I think if Dan Snyder counted his balls ten times in a row, he’d never get the same number twice. That level of incompetence deserves some sort of prize. So the Eagles will give it to you.

This Sunday. At 1:00.

FOUR THINGS: WK 1: EAGLES – FOOTBALL TEAM

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/10
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, free agents, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

EAGLES vs “Football Team”. My god. How does Washington not see how stupid that looks?

The 2020 season sees last year’s Division Champs, your Philadelphia Eagles, return with a bigger, beefier QB Carson Wentz. Back comes DT Malik Jackson. Added was NT Javon Hargrave. Now DT Fletcher Cox will see more one-on-one blocking. The same Fletcher Cox who beats double-teams! We added the power to control offenses.

Then we realized that we needed speed. Speed was our need. Greasy, fast speed!

So we added it. WR DeSean Jackson returns! Instead of making him our only source of speed, the Eagles also added WR Marquis Goodwin. Then WR John Hightower. Then WR Quez Watkins. Goodwin opted out of 2020, due to Covid-19 concerns. That leaves us with “only” three players who can blow the lid off of the defense, this Sunday.

A badly wounded Eagles team won the division in 2019. Then we lost in the first round of the playoffs. That made the team angry. And hungry. So they spent the offseason, sharpening, honing,  their edge so fine, that you can hear a breeze splitting against it. If the Eagles could defend in 2019, they can hunt in 2020.

Win the division and we’re in the playoffs. No nonsense about being the 7th team, or getting help to qualify. Win and we’re in. Beating 2020 means winning the division. So that’s the mission: Beat 2020.

The first Adam’s Apple that even now, trickles blood at the point of our sword? Washington.

Settle your affairs Washington! The Eagles are coming.

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 (ahem) “Football Team” :

1) Run the football: That means at least 24 handoffs this week. Washington’s defense is sporting a new scheme. That’s true. Still, their interior is the same guys that our Offensive Line has physically been pushing around for years now. This year however, they’re smaller at DE and OLB. That won’t fare well vs our 2-TE sets. Especially if we don’t give them a strong-side to read easily. I guess they could always walk the SS into the box. Right, DeSean?

2) Blitz off our right: The loss of LT Trent Williams was massive. So Washington is attempting to plug the hole with OT Geron Christian Sr. Yes, Senior. He’s just 24 years old, and he’s already listing himself as “Senior”. I suppose it’s so he isn’t mistaken for his 3 year old son. In any case, he’s basically Halapoulivaati Vaitai, in a Redsk- Football Tea- (Lord, give me strength), Washington jersey. Overload his side. Confuse him. Force their RB to give blitz help on the edge, and take away one more receiving option. Let’s get their QB holding that ball a little bit longer. 

3) Throw aggressively: SS Landon Collins is one hell of an ILB. Too bad that’s not what they signed him to play. That has led to one the most flammable secondaries you’ve ever seen.The funniest part was this offseason, when they gave CB Ronald Darby a boatload of money to pretend he’s hurt after blowing some more coverage assignments. This couldn’t be happening to a better team, and I mean that sincerely. A better team wouldn’t pay him. Get that ball down the field, Carson!

4) Make tackles: Seems like a silly thing to say, but winning has a great deal to do with confidence. Start out by doing things right, and the confidence will bloom. Not just that, but missed tackles might make Washington’s suck-ass players feel like they have a chance. Take a chainsaw to that shit while it’s still in the cradle. Make those tackles.

If we do all these things we should win, with a score looking like…

PREDICTION: EAGLES 34 – Red- (Ughhhh! Fuck it!) Redskins 17

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

THE 2020 ROSTER (FIRST EDITION)

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/06
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THERE were a few names among the cuts that I was not happy with: DT Anthony Rush, CB Rasul Douglas, and DE Shareef Miller specifically. That said, I wouldn’t rule out seeing one or two of those guys added to the Practice Squad in the next couple of days.

The key to this roster is not to over-react to it. With no preseason there may be a guy or two who made the team, simply because the coaching staff felt that they needed a look at him during live fire, before shipping him out. Cutting “just a guy” in order to make sure that you don’t pass on a diamond in the rough, is a hard thing to argue against.

Here’s my take on the Eagles roster as it stands now. We’ll keep it simple: GREEN (Ready to roll) / YELLOW (Serviceable, but needs bolstering) / RED (This can’t be the best we can do)

QB: Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Jalen Hurts – I have no worries here. Wentz is a top ten starter, Sudfeld has never been “WOW!”, but he’s never sucked either. Hurts is a rookie with a lot of talent, but he’s 100% untested at this level. GREEN

RB: Miles Sanders, Corey Clement, Boston Scott – This is a good group. Good. Not great. Everyone here can catch the ball and is dangerous as hell in the Screen game. What’s missing is a 3rd and 2 banger. A back to wear down the defense, eat clock, and quiet the crowd for road games like Week 10 (giants), Week 11 (Browns), and Week 13 (Packers). (YES! We drew away games at Lambeau TWO years in a row! Total bullshit.) GREEN

WR: Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Greg Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, Quez Watkins – Seven. I thought the team might keep six, but I guess with Jeffery not being back from injury yet, Watkins is getting an opportunity. Numbers aside, I’ve been an Eagles fan since 1989, and I have never seen our team assemble a receiver corps this dangerous. Jackson, Hightower and Watkins can all fly. Jeffery is open even when he’s covered. (And here’s a link for those who forgot that.) Greg Ward has a knack for uncovering early in his route, which gives the QB an almost instant place to go with the ball. Reagor and Whiteside have reportedly looked very promising in camp. This group is very fast, and diverse, so they can be schemed to exploit a new weakness every week. GREEN

TE: Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert – This is likely the best TE 1-2 punch in football. The problem is that there is no depth here. While on most teams, a second TE would be depth, our team plays them both so much, that an injury to one totally disrupts our base offensive concept. This is one of the positions that either requires and add, or for a lineman to switch position. (Now who might be athletic enough to handle such a switch…?) However, as long as these two are healthy, opposing defensive coordinators can kiss a week of sleep, goodbye. GREEN

C: Jason Kelce – Good solid player. GREEN

G: Isaac Seumalo, Jason Peters, Nate Herbig – This is a solid bunch, though I still think that if Peters is playing the position, he should be on the Left, not the Right. YELLOW

T: Lane Johnson, Matt Pryor, Jordan Mailata, Jack Driscoll – Johnson is a perennial Pro-Bowl type of player at RT. Everyone else is a a crapshoot. With the season ending injury to Andre Dillard, Jason Peters should be at LT. Instead, we’re out here holding tryouts a week before the season starts. RED

DE: Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Genard Avery, Casey Toohill – Both Graham and Curry play the run well and get plenty of heat on the QB. (Though neither is a sack machine.) Barnett has yet to put it all together, and has been average at best to this point in his career. Sweat showed flashes last year, and may be nipping at Barnett’s heels for his starting spot in 2021. Avery is an OLB/DE tweener who relies on explosive brute force to get to the passer. We saw a tiny sample of that in 2019, but there’s a lot of buzz about him from coaches this year. Toohill is still here because a 250 pound DE, who runs a 4.62 forty, is a nice thing to have on Special Teams. This isn’t a flashy position, but there are at least 4 players here who are NFL caliber starters. GREEN

DT: Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Hasaan Ridgeway, Javon Hargrave – Three of these four demand frequent double-teams. That alone will to open up many, many one-on-one opportunities for edge rushers this season. And what’s scarier: All the players at this position are all finishers. GREEN

OLB: Nate Gerry, Duke Riley, Alex Singleton, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley – Gerry is going to start. Beyond that, everything is a question or just speculation. As if to further fuel that very thing, the Eagles have taken down the depth chart section of their website. There’s a lot of speed here, but Gerry is the only one with significant experience playing NFL defense. Bradley and Taylor are both rookies. Singleton and Riley are career Special Teamers. Communication breakdowns are going to be a regular occurrence here. RED

MLB: T.J. Edwards – The Eagles don’t make a distinction between OLB and MLB. At least on paper they don’t. Fact is, with Edwards’s limited speed and range, he has to play the MIKE if he wants to play in this league. YELLOW

S: Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, Rudy Ford, Marcus Epps, Will Parks, K’Von Wallace – While I’m still peeved over letting Malcolm Jenkins walk, Mills will provide a little more speed. That means it won’t require McLeod to over-extend himself in deep coverage. Ford and Epps were here in 2019 and they combined for 17 games and 11 tackles. No passes defensed or nothing. Parks was brought in and moved into third on the depth chart, but he’s injured, and it remains to be seen how he bounces back. Wallace is a rookie. YELLOW

CB: Avonte Maddox, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Craig James, Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman – Slay isn’t quite “shutdown” level, but he’s the next best thing. Or at least he has been so far in his career. Maddox seems to be the second starter. He’s feisty and will gamble for the ball, but his stature (5’9”, 183) could become an issue. With Robey-Coleman being brought in to play the Nickle, it raises some serious questions about the role (and future) of LeBlanc. James just got a one year contract extension. YELLOW

 

K: Jake Elliott – Has been on a two year slide since 2017, and no one was brought in to challenge him. YELLOW

P: Cam Johnston – Needs to give his coverage time to get to the returner. YELLOW

LS: Rick Lovato – Must be awesome. You never hear his name. GREEN

 

Again, this is just the first edition of the roster. So there’s no need to freak out, and no reason to reserve Super Bowl tick- oh right. Covid.

PLEASE COWBOYS, SIGN EARL THOMAS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/08/23
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SAFETY Earl Thomas was thrown out of Baltimore today, after punching a teammate Friday. Conduct detrimental to the team they call it. He’s expressed on a few occasions his desire to play in Dallas, and I for one, hope like hell that they sign him.

Once upon a time while playing in Seattle’s Legion Of Boom secondary, Thomas was seen as possibly the premier FS in football. Heck, I wanted my Eagles to find a way to bring him here. He hit like a S, and covered as well as a CB. He even had a nose for the football with 21 interceptions, 45 passes defensed, and 10 forced fumbles in just his first 6 seasons.

But Earl Thomas hasn’t been “Earl Thomas” for a while now.

During his first 6 seasons he never missed a single game. However, in the last 4, he’s missed 27 in total (5 in 2016, 2 in 2017, 12 in 2018). So with him now being 30, his durability is clearly in question. He didn’t play Week 17 in 2019, but he was being rested for the playoffs. That can’t be held against him.

While all those missed games of course meant lower stats, it also became clear that he’d lost a step, as he was moved from FS to SS, once he signed with the Ravens last year. The added fact that Baltimore was willing to part ways with him so fast, also indicates that they feel he’s readily replaceable. All of which is telling.

The biggest thing however, is the lack of maturity. Seattle fostered a competitive, combative environment, which works very well for up-and-coming, young players. It however, ages poorly on stars who are supposed to transition into leaders and leaders of men. Instead they basically acted like teen bullies.

Thomas, CB Richard Sherman, CB Byron Maxwell, S Kam Chancellor… They never gave off the impression of being able to be The Man. There is nothing about them, that suggested being capable of being the grown-up in a room. Seattle’s low expectations (head coach, front office, fans) failed them in this regard.

To that end, Thomas has grown into a very old, very cranky child, who is essentially locker room cancer now, and does not know how to handle his business in public, apparently in private (OH BROTHER!), and from the looks of it, maybe even now on the field. 

That all being said, I would be THRILLED if he showed up on the roster of a division rival! Especially with a brand new head coach trying to establish a winning culture built on talent, intelligent choices, and individual accountability. That shit would make my day!

Gun to my head, if I had to pick where he goes, I’m hoping it happens to the only team in the division who could challenge the Eagles in 2020. Please, please, PLEASE Cowboys, go out and buy your locker room some gangrene. Here’s hoping that the Dallas Cowboys front office will be the Philadelphia Eagles 2020 MVP.

DOUG BACKED ME UP.

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/08/23
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, playoffs, poll, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

BACK in June, I said that Nate Sudfeld would be our back-up QB for 2020, and rookie Jalen Hurts wouldn’t challenge for that spot. Actually, to quote myself verbatim, what I said was:

“if Wentz goes down, Sudfeld is our only QB who is well versed in the Offense. If Wentz goes down for the year (knock wood), and we’re already out of the playoff picture, sure, start Hurts. If we’re still in the playoff hunt however, Sudfeld has to be the guy. He has to be.”

Again, I said that back in June. So of course, when Head Coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday that “Nate is our No. 2, and obviously Jalen is still learning”, it felt like Doug put an official stamp on my statement. Yet people still want to have the debate about whether or not Hurts should be our back-up. Fine. Let’s do it.

Let me be clear about this first. I’m counting on QB Carson Wentz starting 14 regular season games, and winning in the playoffs this year. So for me, this is a moot discussion. It’s just an exercise in debate for debate’s sake. BUT, since we are talking about the #2 spot, we have to start the discussion from a point of Wentz being out again. So folks…

The Eagles will be a projected 84 – 87M$ over the salary cap in 2021. That means names like DT Fletcher Cox, DE Brandon Graham, TE Zach Ertz, WR Alshon Jeffery, WR DeSean Jackson, and G Brandon Brooks, could all be potential trade candidates to help clear cap space. Not all, but any three or four of them, could be traded for chicken feed, just to get a team to take their contract.

Would you waste what may be their last season, as well as the possible swan songs of G Jason Peters, C Jason Kelce, and DE Vinny Curry, just to develop a kid that will still be Wentz’s back-up in 2021? Or would you rather we try to ride this roster to one more deep playoff run?

While it’s not impossible to win a SB with a rookie QB, it’s also never been done. So if you picked the deep playoff run, then you’re picking Sudfeld. And you’re bullshitting yourself, to tell yourself anything else.

This time next year, we’ll be having a stupid debate over whether Hurts should be the starter. (The local media will see to that.) So obviously I’m sure that Hurts is the #2 next season. Sudfeld’s deal is one year, his body of work is unimpressive, and Hurts has gifts that cannot be ignored. So the handwriting is clearly on the wall, regarding next year’s pecking order.

That being said, do not be surprised to see Sudfeld back in 2021. Most teams have a starter, we could use the depth, and he knows it here. And it’s not like he’ll get a better shake elsewhere. He lacks the resume for that. Especially if Wentz stays healthy and Sudfeld doesn’t play in 2020.

 

 

 

 

STUPID FOOTBALL TEAM AWARD

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/08/19
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ENVELOPE please. The award for the 2020 Stupid Football Team of the Year goes to…the Football Team! Hey Coach Ron Rivera, could we get a statement from you?

You know how other bad teams realize that they’re a shit-show, fire everyone, and start to rebuild? They get a new President of Football operations. Then that President and the Owner either hire a General Manager, or a Head Coach who doubles as the GM. In cases where a GM is separate, they help hire the new Head Coach. From there they assemble the roster. Often taking a swing at drafting a Franchise QB.

The 2020 Redskins said to their fan base: “Hold my beer and watch this.”

The Redskins exited 2018 with a 7 – 9 record, and knowing that head coach Jay Gruden was on the hot seat. So of course, in the 2019 Draft, they selected QB Dwayne Haskins seventh overall. Now that he had a rookie to groom and grow, Gruden found job securit- He was fired before the 2019 season came to a close. Haskins didn’t win Rookie of the Year.

Enter former Carolina Panther head coach, Ron Rivera. Rivera is a defensive coach, but he’ll get the young QB on the right track. All Haskins needed was a sense of stabili- Say whaaa? Rivera did what now? His first move was to bring in his back-up QB from the Panthers?

Damn. I mean, I get it. But damn. That was some cold-blooded shit, right there.

So, top ten drafted QB? CHECK! New head coach who doesn’t give a fuck about the prior regime’s draft pick? CHECK! So what else did the Football Team need? What else should they add just one month before this weird Covid-addled season kicks off?

How about a new team President? AWESOME!

And you know what? He needs to be Black. To prove that the Redskins, sorry, the “Football Team”, isn’t racist. And make him frightfully young for the position, at just 38! And woefully inexperienced, having never even been any sort of NFL executive! Now start him immediately, in a situation where he can’t put his stamp on the team, because kickoff is in 3, 2…

You realize that when President Jason Wright fails (and he will), no one will cut him any slack because he was the president when the season started. Besides, NFL fans don’t generally consider context. So when this minority hire bombs, folks will say “Well, they did give one a chance…” Even though nothing of the sort ever happened. He never had a chance.

The Redskins totally built this thing inside out, upside down, and backwards. It’s the most stupid thing ever done by a football team, or by a football team named Football Team. Pretty strong statement given that we all remember the Cleveland Browns.

THE THIN GET THINNER

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/08/16
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Salt Bae Context

REALLY? So this is what we’re rolling with? I gave it a few days to see what move the Eagles would make, and the result is bupkis. Look, LB Jatavis Brown’s retirement shouldn’t come as a shock. Though he’s only 26, reports were that he’d fallen out of love with football. Given the handwriting on the wall, it’s not hard to see why.

Brown was a marginal player (at best) for the bulk of his four year career. The entirety of his playing days were for the Los Angeles (nee San Diego) Chargers. At one point in 2018, injuries forced the Chargers to start him for the majority of the season. He didn’t impress them.

1043856616.jpg

Once the Chargers let him walk, Brown signed with Philadelphia. Keep in mind, this was before the 2020 NFL Draft. (Where we picked up rookie LB’s Davion Taylor in the 3rd round, and Shaun Bradley in the 6th.) So when Brown signed, he probably did so with hopes of being a starter, for a contender.

Recent talk of LB’s Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley, being the team’s primary three LB’s likely dimmed Brown’s hopes. Especially in light of the fact that the Eagles play a lot of Nickel, and therefore usually only have two LB’s on the field most of the time. Looking at being buried deep on a bench, beside two rookies who were drafted (i.e. invested in), may have gone a long way to souring Brown.

So now we’re down an experienced, albeit marginal player. Our LB corps now consists of rookies and back-ups, spearheaded by Gerry. There is talk of possibly kicking the tires on OLB Clay Matthews III, but he’s far more of a pass rusher than a “chase and cover” LB. For that matter we may as well stick with LB/DE Genard Avery.

2019 Genard Avery half sack

While Brown’s presence didn’t add much, his absence makes a large hole even larger. The Front Office created a hole in the floor when they allowed LB Nigel Bradham (Saints) to walk. They then attempted to patch it with a sheet of aluminum foil (Brown). However, before the foil could fail, it simply blew away. Now we’re left with the hole again.

Last month I wrote an article attempting to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt regarding the moves made at this position, but I have to step back from that now. While Brown’s presence didn’t add much, his absence changes the metrics. Without a trade for an impact LB, I feel like this position is going to be an absolute liability for us in 2020.

This is nearly half of a century of disrespect for a position, which has coalesced into a culture of neglect for how this team treats it. The result is a self-inflicted wound which will show up every Sunday for this team. Dear Football Fan, imagine a defense where LB’s are an afterthought.

Adding DE Vinny Curry was a stroke of genius. The rich certainly got richer there. But the LB position? The thin have gotten thinner, and indeed, the poor have just gotten poorer.

Internal scream