Drive Killer: LB Patrick Johnson(TD: 0/Int: 0/ FR:1 / 4th down stops: 0 / FF: 1)
Sack Leader: LB Patrick Johnson (Sacks:1.0/ FF: 1/ Tackles: 4)
Special Teams Ace: KJake Elliott 1/ 2 XP, 1/2 FG, with 49yd game winner
****
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: RAVENSdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
RB Kendall Milton
1) Running the Ball Inside: None of what I was looking for mattered, because the starters didn’t play. RB Kendall Milton did get to play, and he led the team in rushing. Sadly it was later, against fellow third stringers. I wanted to see him vs players above his level. Meh, maybe next week. (NOT DONE)
2) Stopping the Run:We were better in the second half at stopping the run. Neither the D-Line, nor ILB’s Devin White(1 tackle) or Zach Baun (1 tackle), seemed to be out there imposing their will. In fact, the only ILB that seemed to remember how to slip a block, was ILB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (you have no idea how much my chest just swelled when I typed that) (6 tackles, 1 sack).
During the season I would make this a passing grade, because finishing strong matters more than starting fast. However, in preseason games, the stronger competition comes out early, and leaves before it’s late. So the model is upside down right now. Thus I have to say… (NOT DONE)
3) Dynamic Slot Play:There was no dynamic WR play of any kind. The routes were super-vanilla, and the passes were short and quick, rarely going 10 yards down the field. It was Dink-And-Dunk mania. Somewhere out there, Sam Bradford was watching, and wondering when he would get a statue.
On a more positive note, WR John Ross (one of the guys I’m rooting for), led the team in catches and receiving yards. He did it playing against type, and acting as a possession receiver, instead of a downfield threat. Not bad but, (NOT DONE)
4) Contested Routes: Initially, it seemed we were in for a long night of easily surrendered completions. Next thing you know, CB Quinyon Mitchell (dropped interception), and CBKelee Ringo (2 passes knocked down) were making it clear that throwing the ball in their direction, could prove costly.
In the end, the Ravens were held to 99 yards on 10/22 pass attempts (45.5%). The sticky coverage helped the Eagles notch 3 sacks on the night. That final sack by LB/DE Patrick Johnson, helped the Birds pull out a last second victory. Without good coverage, that’s a quick attempt instead of a turnover. (DONE)
++++
So going 1 of 4 in this one, was enough to eek out a 3 point win, on the road. I’ll take it! Next week, we travel up to New England, where maybe we see a starter next week.
****
Game Hero: LB Patrick Johnson – I know some people will give it to K Jake Elliott, because he had to actually make the field goal to break the 13 – 13 tie. However, he had already missed his chance to be the hero. It was only Johnson’s sack/forced fumble/fumble recovery that led to Elliott getting that second opportunity.
Game goat: K Jake Elliott – Don’t look so surprised! Had he not missed an early extra point, we wouldn’t have needed him to make the field goal that he missed. Luckily, thanks to LB Patrick Johnson, Elliott got another shot at a game winner, and he nailed it.
On The Whole: I still wanted to see the starters. There is too much new on this team (co-ordinators, players, systems, etc.), to assume that the starters will be ready to go Week One, without any preseason reps. Especially given how they were blown out and humiliated, in the last game we played that mattered.
PLEASE do not watch this preseason game trying to discern whether the Eagles “fixed” what was wrong last year. Nothing you see in this game, will indicate that. Especially since Head Coach Nick Siriannidoesn’t like to play starters much in the preseason.
What you should be looking for, is how different ‘Motion’ will make the Offense look. What you should be looking for, is how each of our MLB’s performs. What you should be looking for, is Big Dom.
A win or a loss is meaningless this week. What matters, is how hard guys play. What matters, is if they’re upset with mistakes. At this point in the year, passion should hang in the air so heavy, that you could scoop it by the handful. How bad do we want it, at the outset?
****
The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win the game. Except in preseason. These games are just tune-ups. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on tuning up, this week versus the Ravens:
From 2023, Jason Kelce imparting some wisdom to Cam Jurgens
1) Running the Ball Inside: Teams already disrespect QB Jalen Hurts, by throwing the sort of blitzes at him, that only rookies usually see. To relieve pressure on him, we have to be able to run. With the retirement of C Jason Kelce, we need to immediately establish that opponents must respect C Cam Jurgens.
What that means, is a few early runs between the C and one of the G’s. Real runs, not theBrotherly Shove. Hell, we shouldn’t even attempt one of those this week. It’d be nice to see rookie RB Kendall Milton get a couple of early totes, against better players.
2) Stopping the Run: As last season ended, it seemed like our Defensive Line had worn down, as they kept losing ground at the point of attack. They didn’t even occupy blocks to free up our LB’s, and allow them to flow to the play. It became hard to watch. With the retirement of DT Fletcher Cox, guys like DT Jordan Davis must show improvement.
DT’s Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter are the future.
In this regard, Baltimore is probably the stiffest test the NFL can throw at us. They are the absolute best test we hope for. Given that we see them again in Week 13, it would also be a huge confidence boost, if we can contain, or even stop their run game.
3) Dynamic Slot Play:Adding a good Slot WR to this Offense, would make it corrosive to even the best defenses. This is where another WR needs to step-up, as a complement to WRA.J. Brown and WR Devonta Smith. A good Slot will also loosen the box for our run game.
I think WR Britain Covey is already a lock at WR5 as a KR/PR. So between the DJax-like speed of WR John Ross, and the 6’6” frame of WR Johnny Wilson, those are the two candidates that I hope become our WR’s 3 and 4. In the event of an injury, WR Austin Watkins needs a long look here.
4) Contested Routes: It’s not enough for our Secondary to make tackles after completions. It’s not enough to contest a completion, late in the receiver’s route. We need for our Defensive Backs to be running with their receiver for most of, if not the entire route.
Playing off-coverage, and letting receivers quickly get to their spots, lets the opposing QB get the ball out of his hand, fast. This retards the pass rush, and then everyone blames the Defensive Line for not getting sacks. We need to make QB’s search for openings, and in the process, hold that ball longer.
****
If the Eagles do these Four Things, then they will be sowing seeds for massive success this season. We need to see indications on the field, that they have turned the page from whatever ailed them at the end of last season. These Four Things would make that case beyond the shadow of a doubt!
On a personal note, I’m sure well see some WR Screens, but I don’t want to see one on 4th and 12 again! I will absolutely lose my shit, if that happens. Regardless of if we convert or not. I’m looking forward to seeing this new look Offense; but with us moving to basically a 3-4 Defense, I’m a little less enthused about this side of the ball.
But we’ll see.
****
Prediction: EAGLES 13 – Ravens 27
Why: Road game and the Eagles will be playing to evaluate, not really to win.
WARNING: 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 Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
DRAFT Day is today. Well actually it’s three days, the 25th, 26th and 27th, but you get the idea. Over the coming days, I’m going to do a position-by-position breakdown, of each team in the division. Just to compare known players apples to apples, and get everyone on the same page, before we start talking about the rookies, who haven’t actually even been to OTA’s yet.
Today we breakdown (cities are in alphabetical order): The Hunters
NOTE: This article won’t be doing the OLB/ILB/MLB thing. Too many teams like to move their Linebackers around these days. What I will do, is throw players listed as “Edge” into this category. It’s a weak designation, and I personally hate it. However, since teams use it, it must be taken into account.
DALLAS: Micah Parsons posted a career-high 14 sacks last year. After early career struggles vs the pass, the Cowboys severely limited his exposure in coverage. From 36 targets as a rookie, 11 in his second year, to just 5 in 2023. If he isn’t listed at DE next year, I’ll be surprised. Damone Clark is a secure tackler, but he’s an outright liability vs the pass.
Damone Clark
With the looming (now confirmed) retirement of Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas signed Eric Kendricks, hoping to bolster their interior run defense. DeMarvion Overshown is an oversized Safety, who has the sort of speed Dallas loves, but who doesn’t have enough thump to be a true in-the-box player. Buddy Johnson is still on the roster.
NEW YORK: Kayvon Thibodeaux posted 11.5 sacks last year. He’s a dangerous passrusher, but brings little else consistently to his position. He’d probably make his unit more dangerous if he played with his hand in the dirt. The other passrusher on this defense is Brian Burns, who averages 9 sacks per year, but he doesn’t do much else.
Bobby Okereke joined the giants last season, and had his best year as a pro. He’ll be looking to build on that. Micah McFadden is coming along nicely as a 5th rounder who has become a starter. He will of course have to get his 18% missed tackle rate, down considerably.
Azeez Ojulari will likely get first crack as the top back-up, but he’s been largely inconsistent thus far. Allow me to mention Boogie Basham, mostly because his name tickles me. He’s 274, but still listed at this position. The giants coaching staff just doesn’t get it.
PHILADELPHIA: On the surface, losing Haason Reddick was bad. However, judging from his statistical decline, slowness to recover from injury, his age, and his size; I have more than once wondered publicly, if the Eagles know something about his health that they aren’t disclosing. It would explain why they dug their heels in so hard, and so early, over his contract talks.
Nolan Smith gets Tua the QB, for his first career sack.
Entering his third season,Nakobe Dean is flirting with going from Draft steal to bust. Second year player Nolan Smith will almost definitely be a starter. Free Agent Devin White was added, possibly to have a seasoned vet’s voice to the meetings. These three almost definitely comprise the guts of this position. After this, it’s a lot of spare parts and longshots.
Julian Okwara is a situational passrusher who may find more snaps here, than he did in Detroit.Terrell Lewis may be getting a look there as well. Veterans Oren Burks andZack Baun were also added, but aside from NFL experience, the reason why is unclear. Neither seems to offer more upside than second year man, Ben VanSumeren.
This position is in the dark, groping along the wall for a light switch. It’s got tons of youth going for it, but that can also be used against the Eagles as well. Coaching will be key to seeing how it turns out.
WASHINGTON: Talk about a makeover! Jamin Davis is the returning starter from last year, but with the players Washington has added, him starting in 2024, is no guarantee. While he hasn’t really been a playmaker, he’s a solid tackler, and stable player to build off of.
Free agent addition Bobby Wagner will be 34 by the time the season starts. People keep saying that he’s not what he used to be, but last year he started 16 o f 17 games and put up a career-high 183 tackles. Frankie Luvu didn’t miss a start last year and posted 125 stops. Mykal Walker has been a starter, but wasn’t last year. So there is some depth here.
SO WHO’S THE BEST? A solid group of Linebackers, playing behind (what seems right now), the best line in the division, with a defensive head coach. The nod here goes to Washington, and they have everyone else beat by a mile.
Bobby Wagner is a can’t miss addition.
Based on the players, Washington may be exploitable in underneath pass coverage, but they’ll be a problem vs the run and dialing up blitzes.
DRAFT Day is April 25th. Well actually it’s three days 25th, 26th and 27th, but you get the idea. Over the coming month, I’m going to do a position by position breakdown, of each team in the division. Just to compare known players apples to apples, and get everyone on the same page, before we start adding rookies, which can include anything from 1st round busts, to 6th round sure-fire Hall Of Famers.
Today we breakdown (cities are in alphabetical order): The War Machine
NOTE: To make this article, players must be either a DE, DT, or NT. Being listed at OLB, LB, or Edge, puts them in another article. This is done to keep down confusion and banish semantics like “Well he’s mostly a passrusher, so….” We’ll have none of that here.
DALLAS: The Cowboys lost some firepower with DE Dorance Armstrong defecting to rival Washington. While DE DeMarcus Lawrence is still a pro’s pro, he’s no longer anyone to fear. He’s collected just 24.5 sacks…over the last five seasons. On the other side, Sam Williams has shown flashes as a passrusher, but he’s not great vs the run. Chauncey Golston plays the end and also Nickle DT, but is more of a utility player than a threat.
DT Osa Odighizuwa is too small vs the run over 17 weeks
On the inside, DT Osa Odighizuwa is a 3-4 DE being used completely wrong. He starts the year almost foaming at the mouth, but wears down. Especially vs the run. DT Mazi Smith was a first round pick last year, and was statistically blanked in eight games, playing 20 or more snaps in just six games. With Jonathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore leaving, Smith will be asked to do more. Much more. Carl Davis is a NT that may not be with the team much longer.
NEW YORK: The heart of this 3 – 4 line is DE Dexter Lawrence. Strong and enormous, he presents obvious problems vs the run. He’s listed at DE, but the giants play essentially a 5 – 2 front with 3 DT’s. The other “End” could be Rakeem Nunez-Roches, or D.J. Davidson, or any other name picked out of a hat. They added DT Jordan Phillips during the offseason. While Phillips doesn’t put up numbers, he’s huge and he’s disruptive.
The giants will continue to rotate their linemen, in and out of those three spots along the line. It’s meant to keep their opponent guessing and create mismatches, but it seems to backfire at key times. Eye discipline is different for DE’s and DT’s, but this giants coaching staff doesn’t seem to get that. They should be stout inside vs the run though.
PHILADELPHIA: Losing a player like DT Fletcher Coxwould gut most teams. However, the Eagles have massive pocket-crusher DT Jordan Davis; DT Jalen Carter, who just finished 2nd for Defensive Rookie of the Year (despite starting just 1 game); and DE/DT Milton Williams. DT Marlon Tuipulotu also provided quality play in 2023. Last year DT Moro Ojomo, would have made most active rosters, but here he got caught in a numbers game. None of these players are older than 24.
DT Jordan Davis is hard to ignore or lose sight of.
The starters at DE will likely be Josh Sweat, and DE Bryce Huffadded from the Jets. Sweat is a mid-level passrusher, who’s killer first step creates consistent pressure. Huff is coming off of a 10 sack season, where he didn’t start a single game. The Eagles are hoping more snaps translates into more production.
Coming back for his 15th and final season, is DE Brandon Graham. Odds are, he’ll be a situational player who won’t play much, unless injury dictates. There are rumors that the Eagles will switch from a 4 – 3 to a 3 – 4. If that happens, then some of the DT’s will see time at DE. If they play more of a 5 – 2, like they did in 2022, this line will be formidable.
WASHINGTON: Once again, the Commanders raided the Cowboys cupboard, taking both DE Dante Fowler (4 sacks in 2023) and DE Dorance Armstrong (7.5 sacks), to bolster their passrush. Both played in every game, but only Armstrong got to start (just 1 game). As depth, Washington is relying on DE’s Clelin Ferrell and K.J. Henry.
DT Daron Payne closes in.
It’s the interior where this group shines. In the middle of this line are DT Jonathan Allen and DT Daron Payne. To call them headaches or disruptive, is to earn a PhD in Understatement. These two are an outright problem for offensive gameplans, as they both require a double team. In short, they wreck blocking schemes, which slows down offenses.
Back-ups include DT John Ridgeway, and DT Phidarian Mathis. Neither is a real threat, so the fall-off from starter to back-ups is absolutely massive.
SO WHO’S THE BEST?
On the interior, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington are all talented, but only Philadelphia has any depth. More to the point, they have loads of it. Again, on the outside, for THIS article, we are not discussing “passrushers” who play LB/Edge, but actual listed Linemen.
Of the listed DE’s in the division, Dallas is unremarkable, but at least know what to expect of their starters. New York’s DE’s are more like DT’s. Philadelphia may be the most explosive here, IF their new addition wasn’t a one year flash as a Jet. Washington has one defined starter, and everyone is in a new scheme.
DT’s Allen and Payne are a menace. An absolute MENACE!
Philly is tops inside, Dallas is top(ish) outside. However, Philly has question marks at DE, and Dallas’s interior is practically a liability. The giants line is built to occupy blocks, not make plays. Washington has two DE’s who, (while not stars) are both proven passrushers. So we’ll give this nod to the Commanders.
DRAFT Day is April 25th. Well actually it’s three days 25th, 26th and 27th, but you get the idea. Over the coming month, I’m going to do a position by position breakdown, of each team in the division. Just to compare known players apples to apples, and get everyone on the same page, before we start adding rookies, which can include anything from 1st round busts, to 6th round sure-fire Hall Of Famers.
Today we breakdown (cities are in alphabetical order): The Last Line of Defense
DALLAS: With Jayron Kearse still an unsigned Free Agent, the top of the ladder is Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker. Neither man made many plays on the ball last year. In fact, both combined for just 3 interceptions and 6 passes defensed. Up front they totaled just 3 TFL (tackles for losses).
Behind them is Markquese Bell who’s a more “in the box” type. Same for Juanyeh Thomas, who is more like a small Linebacker than a legit NFL Safety. Israel Mukuamu will likely have to battle to keep his spot in camp.
NEW YORK: After losing Xavier McKinney to FA, Jason Pinnock is the guy they are building this position around. He had a pretty solid 2023 campaign, posting 2 picks, 6 passes defensed, 2 sacks, and 4 TFL. So he can be moved throughout the scheme.
DB Jalen Mills celebrates Super Bowl win. As an Eagle.
Dane Belton and Gervarrius Owens are very inexperienced. Which was likely the reason that Jalen Mills was signed. Mills is listed as a Corner, but he lacks deep speed, so he’s played mostly NCB in the NFL. Here, he’ll likely be transitioned to the FS role and rotated to allow the young pups some hands-on training, with (ahem) a safety net.
PHILADELPHIA: Reed Blankenship led the Eagles in tackles (113) and interceptions (3) in 2023. He also had 11 passes defensed. Joining him in the Secondary, or rather re-joining him, is C.J. Gardner-Johnson (a.k.a CJGJ). Two years ago, as an Eagle, CJGJ had his best year as a pro, and went to a Super Bowl. Last year he went to Detroit as a FA, and had his worst year as a pro.
S Chauncey “CJGJ” Gardner-Johnson, steals a pass from the Washington whatever they were that week.
Returning from Injured Reserve (I.R.), is Sydney Brown. He was having an up and down rookie year, when he suffered a torn ACL in the season finale. Tristin McCollum plays fast, but he’s likely going to need a very strong camp to stay on the roster.
WASHINGTON: Losing Kamren Curl to FA, was a blow. While Percy Butler had 13 starts last year, he turned it into just 64 tackles, 8 passes defensed (led team), and zero interceptions. In fact, no Commander at this position, recorded an interception last year. Darrick Forrest played just 5 games in 2023, due to a season-ending shoulder injury
Jeremy Reaves returns as a reserve player. The story of this position is Jeremy Chinn. He’s been a bust so far, after 4 years in Carolina. The trouble is, his 6’3 220 pound frame, is too small for every down LB, but he’s a liability in coverage. So he can’t be trusted back deep.
SO WHO’S THE BEST?
FS Reed Blankenship steals a pass from Washington
This is a clear cut, indisputable determination. Philadelphia is the strongest team in the division at this position. Every team here except Philadelphia, lost it’s top play-maker at this position. Philadelphia not only added talent, they also gave their best player at this position last year, a contract extension. (Motivation for the rest of the roster!)
Safety was shaky for Philly in 2023. There were never very high expectations for the position last year. However, due to late signings, injuries, trades, more injuries, inept coordinating, the thing went off the rails, and it just stayed that way. Expect this position to look better in 2024 than it was ever expected to look in 2023.
NOW with contracts and everything being official, let’s have a REAL dialogue. I’ve refrained from participation in the fascination with, and the spreading of, rumors. As a result, I’ve been largely silent on all things football.
Just to maintain that consistency, I was even mum on Jason Kelce(see what I did there?), and Fletcher Coxretiring. I also remained silent when DE Brandon Graham resigned for a final year. Instead, I elected to address that stuff and the first week of Free Agency, all at once.
Signing Our Own:
This is always the most important part, but no one ever mentions why that is. Well, the reason is continuity. When you have a good thing going (close locker room, solid culture, etc.) the best guys to teach it to new guys, are the guys who are already there. Hemorrhaging players every year depletes that, and sends the message that you don’t reward your own.
In addition to Graham, we locked down a few of our key guys, including LG Landon Dickerson, P Braden Mann, LS Rick Lovato, and K Jake Elliott. Those moves may seem shrug-worthy, but they are indicative of a team with a strong nucleus. Letting TEJack Stoll walk, and re-signing TE Albert Okwuegbunam, signals that we may have gotten more dangerous at TE2.
Adding Firepower:
Our opening move of the FA period brought us DE Bryce Huff. Huff is a 6’3 255 pound pass rusher, who made his bones lining up in the Wide Nine. While he gets lots of pressure vs the pass, his ability to defend the run is compromised by him being lightweight, and lining up in a fashion that creates running lanes. Our scheme must compensate for that.
RB Saquon Barkley looks to finally defeat the Cowboys. He’s 0 – 10 lifetime against them.
Our splashiest move, was adding RB Saquon Barkley. He’s a 230 pound guy, but he doesn’t play up to that weight. Often his runs are angled directly to the sideline, and he makes lots of “business decisions”. To his credit, he’s a true three-down back, as he is an explosive runner, a gifted route runner, and is solid at blitz pick-up. Skill-wise, he’s the whole package.
Better still, in three of his six seasons, he’s posted 1,400+ all-purpose yards. This is despite never having a QB, or a quality offensive line, or receivers (besides OBJ) who scared anyone. Now he’s being added to a roster that has all of those things. We’re loaded with killers!
Our most significant move (so far), is probably bringing back NCB/S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. He wanted too much money last year, so we let him fuck off to Detroit. The move turned out to be… Let’s say, less than great for him, or us. So both sides kissed and made up. This move allows us to shore-up a Secondary that became a glaring weakness last year.
Less Obvious Moves:
ILB Devin White could be in for a career year.
Other defensive additions include ILB Devin White. Sadly, we’ll likely be moving back to a 3-4 base, meaning that the Eagles have to prioritize LB now. White spent last last year as an OLB and had his worst year as a pro. On a 1 year deal, he’ll be looking to ball out. (Incidentally, going to a 3-4 may have hastened Cox’s retirement. He didn’t enjoy being a 3-4 DE under Chip Kelly, and probably wasn’t interested in doing it again, at his age.)
We added LB Zach Baum, but I’m not sure what he’s supposed to be. LBJulian Okwara was technically added before the FA period, but I didn’t weigh in on him. He plays at 100mph, understands that his long arms can keep him free of blockers, and can even drop into space. The Lions played the IR stash game with him (off and on), but the Eagles might let him play.
On offense, C Matt Hennessy is likely here to be depth. While he’s listed often as a C/G, he played very little there, before going on IR with a knee injury in 2022 and missing all of 2023. Expecting him (307 pounds) to be ready to win the RG spot, might be asking too much.
The addition that I think could be sneaky good, is WR DeVante Parker. Long have I been caterwauling for the Eagles to get another big bodied Slot, with a big catch radius, in the mold ofJordan Matthews (not retired). Parker spent a couple years as the #1 in Miami, but he’s really more of a #2. So the Slot role should be cake for a guy like him.
Finally, we come to QB Kenny Pickett, whom the Steelers practically gave away. The early speculation is that either he has an attitude problem, or that he flat-out can’t play. Both are hilarious suppositions. During Pickett’s two seasons (26 starts, 14 – 12), he has shared a QB room with both Mason Rudolphand Mitch Trubisky. All were let go after 2023.
Sounds to me, like Pittsy has a QB coaching issue. Which is why they brought in a veteran QB (Russell Wilson), who doesn’t need developing. In the meantime, Pickett (if he wants), can develop here for a year or two, and maybe become trade bait. This lets me segue to my final point.
Coaching. It’s why we fell apart last year. No one has said that officially. However, we have all these pundits who want a stated reason, and Head Coach Nick Sirianni to dispense mea culpas like goldfish food, and then promise that it won’t happen again. Those pundits are idiots. That won’t happen. The reason we fell apart was coaching. We all watched it.
We didn’t fall apart because of bad coaching. We fell apart due to inexperienced coaching. The problem with a roomful of young guys, is no one has “Been There, Done That” on their resume. So the trust just cannot be there. So everyone tightens up, and the whole thing limbos into Shitsville. Even if you like and respect a guy, you need something to hang your faith on.
The team likes and respects Nick, but when the wheels fell off the Defense, he didn’t have any answers, and neither did young guys Sean Desai or Matt Patricia, so the team went into a spiral. This year, the Eagles have a BTDT guy in Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. He is (for my money), the single biggest acquisition of this offseason, and the clearest sign of us being all in.
Note:With all the speculation immediately following the game, I wanted to hang back a day or two, before putting my take out there. What’s the point of being one more voice yelling, right? Instead, I chose to step back a bit, then mosey up, once I didn’t have to raise my voice to be heard.
Drive Killer: NA (TD: /Int: / FR: / 4th down stops: / FF: )
Sack Leader: DE Brandon Graham (Sacks:1.0/ FF: 0/ Tackles: 3) *3TFL
Special Teams Ace: NA
****
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: BUCCANEERSdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Run To Set-up the Pass:Considering that Hurts dislocated a finger on his passing hand just a week ago, the smart money was on the team leaning on the run in this game. At the half, Swift had 4 carries for 16 yards.
Was our passing game helping us score points at a blistering pace? No. We had 9 points at the half. Then we of course, made no adjustments after the half. Which of course, resulted in us scoring 9 fewer points, in the second half. Maybe you are wondering why we didn’t run the ball, like we did when we beat this team a few months ago.
Well, Head Coach Nick Sirianni figured, if running the ball was the obvious thing to do, then of course he shouldn’t run the ball, thereby taking his opponents by surprise. But his opponents would expect him to deduce that, so of course he should run the ball. Ah ha! Laughable that they would think that he’d fall for such an amateurish ploy! So instead, Coach Nick poisoned all of our cups. And Tampa watched as we all died. Brilliant. (NOT DONE)
2) Get the Ball Out Quickly: The idea (again) was to help the QB with the injured finger. Here’s a copy and pasted excerpt from Four Things : Give him some short routes, especially over the middle, where he can take advantage of a blitzer. The Buccaneers like to blitz S Antoine Winfield Jr., and they need to be made to pay for that.
Instead, the plan was to hold the ball forever, in the face of the blitz, and try to force deep passes to a VERY covered Devonta Smith. And shit kiddies, sometimes it even worked!
This isn’t a real stat, but to Eagles fans, it sure as hell FEELS like it is.
Other times, the plan was to rely on a play that hasn’t worked all season: The WR Screen. Everyone look under your chair! WR Screens for everyone!!! You get a Screen! And you get a Screen! And you get a Screen! And Devonta already covered in the backfield? He gets a Screen too! See my forehead? Yeah, put the bullet right here. Right the fuck here! (NOT DONE)
3) Challenge the Throws:The idea was for the Secondary to contest throws, but you have to be somewhere in the zip code of the receiver, or not running into each other, to contest passes.
In this game (and for the last month), this Secondary has convinced me that a group of blind kindergarteners, couldn’t possibly be worse at covering NFL receivers. And it just kept getting worse and worse! Luckily, the season has ended. Because at this rate of decline, I am abjectly terrified to find out what they’d look like, in another two weeks. (NOT DONE)
4) Box the MLB: Keeping the MLB in the box, instead of dropping him into a shallow zone, would force the Bucs to assign a blocker to him, which wouldn’t allow them to double team a defensive lineman. Today instead of LB Nick Morrow (10 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) playing the middle, LB Zach Cunningham(9 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) took over those duties.
Early on, seeing Cunningham in the box made me feel great. Then an offensive lineman sauntered out to block him, and Cunningham stuck to that block like Velcro. (Aw, noice!) We were frequently gashed vs the run early, but the front seven seemed to settle things down somewhat later in the game.
Also, to his credit, Cunningham did get his hands on two passes over the middle, nearly intercepting one of them. (DONE)
++++
So this week we completed just 1 of the Four Things, as the score indicates. Next stop, the Hefty bags outside of our lockers.
****
WR Devonta Smith on a 56 yard catch and run
Game Hero: Devonta Smith – The young man balled out. Using his killer route running, he still put up nearly a buck fifty, despite the opposing secondary keying on him, as our only downfield threat. Anyone wondering if he could be #1 WR, just had that question resoundingly answered. If this team had a legit Slot who worked the middle of the field, this Offense would break scoreboards.
Game goat: The coaching staff – The shitty gameplan was bad enough, but not making adjustments after the half is unforgivable. Anyway you cut it, we’re getting new coordinators. The only question is, are we also getting a new coach? We’d be stupid to fire Sirianni, but then again, I said it was stupid to fire Doug Pederson.
On The Whole:
At no point did some of our players look fired up about playing in this game. For many of our players, this game was the first opportunity towards “unfinished business”. However, for guys who weren’t here last year, and who came from teams with cultures of failure, the stakes were not the same for them. That motivation simply didn’t exist.
There was also an air of tightness about the team. (Has been for weeks now.) The play, the play-calling… All of it seemed less geared towards succeeding, and more geared towards not failing. The trust was gone. The energy was gone. The joy was gone. Football is a hard sport to win when one of those is missing, but it’s impossible to win when all three are.
Picking on individual aspects of this loss, is a pointless endeavor. Especially since many of the failings will change with new personnel. I however, need to discuss the Eagles inability to handle the blitz, and the Secondary’s inability to play defense.
Jalen Hurts is in his fourth year as a professional, and his third as a starter. Despite that, the kind of blitzes that the Bucs threw at him, are the kind that teams throw at rookies. And Hurst responded like one, with rushed throw aways, and backing up extra steps, from the Shotgun.
QB Jalen Hurts under pressure.
His inability to punish a blitz, comes down to one of two possibilities. The first is, perhaps our coaches aren’t allowing him the freedom to change even a single route, upon recognition of a possible blitz. The second possibility is, Hurts simply isn’t smart enough to read, process, and adjust to increased pressure. Only one of those can be fixed with coaching. The other says the Eagles need to draft a 1st round QB.
As for the Secondary, coverage, tackle angles, tackle execution, all of it. These are the things they get paid to do. None of them are paid to run city government, or build spacecraft, or handle spin control for Kanye West. And yet, to a man, no one was doing what they get paid to do out there.
CB James Bradberry getting beaten like a drum. Again!
Easy knee-jerk response is “Cut ‘em!”. With guys on one year deals? Sure! See ya! Bye! However, not everyone’s contract will allow for that, without putting the Eagles on the hook for dead money, on par with that of a rebuilding team. So we have to tread lightly here. Weakening ourselves, is strengthening our division rivals.
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 games 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: 11 – 6, 2nd in the NFC East, 5th seed in the playoffs
OPPONENTS:
L – Seattle
W – New York giants
L – Arizona
L – New York giants
OVERVIEW:
Two fourth quarter collapses vs the Seahawks and the Cardinals, ended any talk of the Eagles stealing the 1st seed back from San Francisco, and left the Birds needing Washington to beat Dallas, for the 2nd seed to tumble to us. We hardly seemed interested vs the giants in the season finale.
GRADES:
QB:Jalen Hurts (66/108 – 61.1% – 666 – 4 – 5) has been inconsistent in terms of production and decision making, as of recent. You almost wonder if, (beyond all the press conference speak), he truly understands what’s at stake. We’ve spent years hearing about his leadership, yet neither his sideline demeanor, nor his production, are indicative of someone worth following during tough times.
Marcus Mariota (15/23 – 65.2% – 164 – 1 – 1) showed enough understanding of the system, to warrant consideration as next year’s back-up. Even better, he showed enough mobility for the coaching staff to know that, in the even that he has to start any games, they don’t have to revamp the Offense for him. (Grade:D)
RB D’Andre Swift scores TD
RB:D’Andre Swift (51 – 227 – 4.4 – 1 – 0/ 4 – 3 – 6 – 2.0 – 0) has been effective as a runner, but a joke as a pass catcher. In fact, overall he hasn’t done a thing that RB Miles Sanders didn’t do better last year. Swift was supposed to be an upgrade at RB receiver. Instead, his production proved that the issue is the system, and not the player that we replaced.
Kenneth Gainwell(21 – 129 – 6.1 – 0 – 0/ 8 – 7 – 53 – 7.5 – 0) has great looking numbers for a back-up, but watching him play tells a different story. Repeatedly getting 4 yards, when the team needs 5, or getting 5 when we need 6, is still coming up short, even though a 4.5 per carry average, looks nice on paper. Boston Scott(4 – 8 – 2.0 – 0 – 0/ 1 – 0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0) likely won’t be back next year. (Grade: C)
TE:Dallas Goedert (27 – 17 – 152 – 8.9 – 1) is being wasted out there. Instead of making him a downfield threat, he’s used on TE Screens and as a release valve. Not a checkdown, a release valve. Jack Stoll (1 – 1 – 11 – 11.0 – 0) is almost exclusively a undersized offensive linemen. Grant Calcaterra (4 – 4 – 39 – 9.7 – 0) saw his first targets of the season, during this quarter, and he caught all four of them. This position is woefully thin.(Grade: D)
WR:A.J. Brown(27 – 16 – 198 – 12.3 – 0). Fewer than 200 yards in four weeks. Add the knee sprain suffered in the finale, anyone want to guess at why he’s been so frustrated? Devonta Smith (15 – 12 – 159 – 13.2 – 1) didn’t play in the finale due to an ankle injury.
Quez Watkins (12 – 8 – 93 – 11.6 – 1) entire season’s production was pretty much just the last game of the year. That said, he didn’t look bad. Julio Jones (11 – 6 – 58 – 9.6 – 2) is still a hard read. The Eagles don’t seem to have a dedicated role for him, but he answers the bell when called. Olamide Zaccheaus (5 – 2 – 20 – 10.0 – 0) is still vastly underutilized.
All told, as a position the Slot/#3 (28 – 16 – 171 – 10.6 – 3) was productive this quarter, contributing 42 yards per game. Splitting it up among three players, who don’t strictly line-up in the Slot, makes it harder to notice, than if we used one as our version of Wes Welker, Hunter Renfrow, etc. (Grade: D)
OT: LT Jordan Mailata completed the season, having played every snap of every game. Penalty-wise it was his worst quarter of the season. On Christmas he gifted the giants with 2 penalties for 15 yards, and then gave up another 1 for 10 to the Cardinals.
RT Lane Johnson comes back into the game
RT Lane Johnsongave up 1 penalty for 10 yards, on Christmas day. He started the season finale, but was pulled early, with other key veterans, in prep for the playoffs. Swingman Jack Driscoll closed the game out for Johnson, and completed the season committing ZEE-RO penalties on the entire season. (Grade: B)
OG: LG Landon Dickerson missed the giants game on Christmas, which was his only miss of the season. His false start penalty vs the Seattle was his only penalty of the quarter. He logged some reps at C in the season finale.
RG Cam Jurgens missed the Seahawks game, and as pulled early with other key starters in the season finale. He wrapped up his second season without being called for a single penalty in his career.
Swingman Sua Opetastarted game 14 at RG and game 15 at LG, then was back in the line-up at LG for the season finale, when Dickerson slid over to C. Despite all the switching, he committed no penalties. Back-up G Fred Johnsonplayed half the season finale, also committing zero penalties. (Grade: B)
C:Jason Kelce was pulled in the season finale with other key veterans, but otherwise played every snap. He was hit twice this quarter for false starts, giving him a total of 6 on the season, which is the only category of penalty called on him. (Grade:B)
DE:Josh Sweat (8 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) (1 Tackle For Loss) only git two hits on QB’s this quarter. Technically he’s doing everything right as a pass rusher, but the ball is coming far too quickly for it to matter. As a run defender, his edge containment leaves much to be desired and is frustrating to see on a player with his experience.
Brandon Graham(5 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) (1TFL) is just a part-timer at this position, and had zero QB hits for the quarter. Having just two legit players at this position is foolish and stupid, but it is what it is, until the offseason. (Grade: F)
Gotta be honest here…
DT:Jordan Davis (8 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) has far too many skills and physical tools to be as under-productive as he is. Stats don’t tell the whole story, (like how much time he spends being doubled), but having no stats, tells the story of someone who will have no leverage at the contract table.
Fletcher Cox(9 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) had 2TFL’s and 2 QB hits this quarter, despite sitting out the season finale. Milton Williams (13 – 0.0 – 0 – 1FF) notched a TFL, and a QB hit. Jalen Carter(6 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) added 2 TFL and 2 QB hits this quarter. Marlon Tuipulotu (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) 2 TFL and 1 QB hit all happened in the season finale.
In addition to not getting much pressure, the middle of the Defense has been soft vs the run, as teams are winning the numbers game in the box against us. This is a coaching error that is showing up as a player problem. (Grade: C)
OLB: Haason Reddick(6 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) 2TFL, 4 QB hits this quarter. Despite this being his position, he’s too often deployed at End on a 4 man line, in a four mn rush with the second level dropping into Zone. The pass rush stands no chance as the coaching is sabotaging it.
Zach Cunningham(5 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) only played in the finale, after missing the previous three games with injury. Nolan Smith(9 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) still isn’t being used with any sort of a discernible plan for his development. Patrick Johnson (4 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) is Special Teamer who is also used situationally at End. (Grade: F)
MLB: Nicholas Morrow (33 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) at 216 pounds is far too undersized to play this spot and it shows up in the run game. He should be used outside as a cover and chase guy.
Shaquille Leonard (21 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) 2TFL and 1 QB hit, just played in his 5th game as an Eagle, and is still acclimating probably more to his teammates than the system itself.Ben VanSumeren (11 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) got to start in the Christmas day win over the giants, and made 6 stops that day. (Grade: D)
S:Kevin Byard(28 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) never seems close enough to the ball to make a play of any sort. Reed Blankenship (29 – 0.0 – 1 – 0) picked off a pass in the season finale, but often seems to be too far away from receivers in coverage.
Sydney Brown(12 – 0.0 – 1 – 0) snagged an interception,and returned it 99 yards for a score, then tore his ACL the following week. Tristin McCollum (6 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) brings both of his arms to a tackle. Maybe he should teach it to the rest of the Secondary. (Grade: D)
CB: Darius Slay (no stats) missed the last 4 weeks with a knee issue. James Bradberry (13 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) also had a tipped pass in the finale that led to Blankenship’s pick. Otherwise he’s been getting abused out there. Some of it is definitely scheme, but at some point a man just has to handle his business, and demonstrate that it’s dangerous to try him.
CB Kelee Ringo celebrates win
Kelee Ringo(16 – 0.0 – 1 – 0) started all four games that Slay missed and had a game sealing interception in the endzone, during the Christmas day win over the giants. He’s acquitted himself well for a rookie. Bradley Roby (10 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) missed the Arizona game. Avonte Maddox (4 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) played in the last two games. Eli Ricks (7 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) and Josh Jobe (2 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) are deep reserves. (Grade: F)
LS: Rick Lovato, the Man, the Myth, THE LEGEND! Forced a fumble in the Christmas day win over the giants and recorded a tackle in each of the final three games. Like a fucking BOSS! (Grade:A)
P:Braden Mann(13 – 674 – 51.8) is doing a great job of kicking the ball, but still outkicking his coverage leading to (9 – 75 – 8.3) the opponent feeling bold about attempting returns and carving into that 51.8 yard average and lowering it to just 46 of changed field position. (Grade: B)
K: Jake Elliott (7/7 FG, 10/10 XP) continues to be perfect. (Grade: A)
PR/KR: WR Britain Covey(6 – 113 – 18.8 – 0) has had himself a great quarter, ending the season as the league leader in return yardage (417). (Grade: A)
WR Britain Covey 54 yard punt return
SINCE LAST QUARTER:
The Mission was to win the East and we didn’t do it. Arizona was the must-win game, and we lost it. The team lost three of the four games in the quarter. Many are not confident that we will survive the first round of the playoffs.
PLAYOFFS!!!! We have arrived! We are the 5th seed, and barring something weird happening, we’ll have to win four games on the road, to become Super Bowl Champions. Excellent. Now that we know what needs to be done, we can set about doing it. And I for one, can’t wait.
This week we start with a Buccaneers team that we’ve already beaten, in their home, earlier this year. Every major contributor to that win, will be available for this one.
Keep in mind, for that game QB Jalen Hurts wasn’t great (1 TD, 2 Int), WR A.J. Brown didn’t score, WR Devonta Smith had 28 total yards, OLB Haason Reddickdidn’t log a single stat. Yet, we still won by double digits. So we can beat this team. Expect to beat this team.
A win will almost certainly make us the lowest surviving seed, which would mean facing the top seed, next week. The top seed of course, is the San Francisco 49ers. (Incidentally, it is that match-up, which I’ve been looking forward to. Since April.)
A loss would end our season.
****
The point of Four Thingsisn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: The Buccaneers.
Philly native, RB D’Andre Swift on his way to 130 yards rushing.
1) Run To Set-up the Pass:Last week Jalen hurts his passing hand by dislocating the middle finger. He tried to gut it out and play, but he was ultimately pulled. By all accounts he isn’t really throwing a ball this week, as he wisely is letting his hand heal as much as possible.
Earlier this year, we murdered the Bucs by running RB D’Andre Swift(18 – 130 – 8.1 – 0 – 0). They’ll be keen on not let that happen again. So expect them to load the box to take away our run game. We need to run the ball early, to convince them to get that box loaded ASAP. That should make life easier for Hurts to find passing windows.
2) Get the Ball Out Quickly:The ball needs a place to go quickly. Putting a ton of long passes on Hurts’ finger, is unwise. Letting him hold the ball until an opponent can hit his hand, to try and cause a fumble, is unwise. Setting him up for a sack fumble, is unwise.
Give him some short routes, especially over the middle, where he can take advantage of a blitzer. The Buccaneers like to blitz S Antoine Winfield Jr., and they need to be made to pay for that.
3) Challenge the Throws:If our Defense is going to keep letting receivers get into routes without even an attempt at a re-direct; then our Corners and Safeties have to mirror the routes and challenge the throws. Receivers cannot keep being allowed to catch balls, with five yards of space around them in every direction.
MLB Nick Morrow and DT Jalen Carter force and recover a fumble
4) Box the MLB: The Eagles like to drop our MLB (the role switches) into shallow zone, which opens up a gap for opposing RB’s, when our Defensive Line doesn’t make the tackle. It’s been getting us gouged vs the run for weeks, and it needs to stop, now. With our MLB dropping into coverage, it lets opponents double our DT’s much easier.
On any other team, the MLB is one of the key players in the box, and it forces teams to account for him in their blocking schemes. We’ve been letting team off the hook with this. It’s time to play our MLB in the box, to maximize our DT’s and get a handle on the run again.
****
If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…
Let me ask. You ever bury a loved one? Did you do it while they were alive? Probably not. As long as my Eagles are alive, I’m not going to bury them. I’m going to root for them. That doesn’t mean I won’t critique here and there, but as long as their season is alive, I’m not inviting doom and gloom. I’m one of the fans they can COUNT ON.
As a die-hard Eagles fan, I can’t wait for this game to be over. Mostly, because I’m expecting a win. However, no matter how the final score plays out, we’ll see the speculation about what’s wrong with this team, begin to fuck RIGHT OFF.
A win will cause the drama surrounding the team to be downplayed; and a loss will invite an autopsy, which will lead to answers, and then an excising of the issue. (Or issues.) Either way, come Tuesday morning, people will be talking much differently about this team. Come Tuesday morning the one question you won’t hear is: Can they be fixed?
And I for one, can’t wait.
****
WARNING: 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 Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
Special Teams Ace: LB Ben VanSumeren downed punt at the 3 yard line.
****
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) Contain the Run: Watching giants RB Saquon Barkley (18 – 46 – 2.6 – 2) run for two easy scores, made things look far worse than they were. However, on 21 hand-offs, the Eagles allowed just 65 yards (3.0 ypc). The only longs run that were difficult to pin inside, were scrambles by their QB. (DONE)
2) Get To the QB: The ask was for three or four sacks in this one; but all we came away with were 2 first half sacks. With our Secondary playing like every opposing receiver is dripping with Covid-19, the ball came out quickly, to wide open targets. It retarded our pass rush, and let their back-up QB nearly throw for 300 yards. (NOT DONE)
3) Spread and Run: The Eagles opted mostly for clumping the receivers on the ends of the Offensive Line. This had a way of pulling defenders into the box, and making it much easier to blitz our QB’s. There were a few nice runs by Gainwell (including a beautiful 32 yarder). Otherwise, nope. (NOT DONE)
4) Go Deep Aggressively:We didn’t connect on any passes of 20 yards or longer, but we did launch a few, which helped loosen the box up for Eagles runners (16 – 83 – 5.1 – 0 – 0). Sadly, we had just 16 hand-offs, compared with 36 pass attempts. When your back-up QB is shouldering most of that workload, that’s usually not going to be a winning combination.
WR Quez Watkins snags a 16 yard TD. (Possibly his last catch as an Eagle.)
Still, I said that 3 or 4 deep shots in a game is respectable; but 5 or more is putting your next opponent on notice. The NFL defines a “deep pass” in its official play-by-play as any pass that travels more than 15 yards downfield in the air. The Eagles attempted 9 such passes. (DONE)
++++
This week we managed 2 of the Four Things, in a loss. That ties up the season at 11 – 6, with us in the 5th seed, traveling to back to Tampa Bay, for a prime time Wild Card game. This team owns two five game win streaks this year. Starting Monday, we only need a four game streak.
****
Game Hero: QB Marcus Mariota – He came in and completed 65% of his passes, made actual use of Quez Watkins, and showed enough mobility to keep an air of dynamism in the Offense. He dived more than he slid, and the interception he threw, was on a play concept that we fans have been calling stupid, since last year.
QB Marcus Mariota and a bunch of guys off the bench, put up 10 points, and avoid a shut-out.
While the Eagles may want to go younger at back-up next year, Mariota made a decent case for why he should get another year of Head Coach Nick Sirianni’s system under his belt.
Game goat: The Circumstances – Even if the Eagles won this game, we weren’t going to get that 2nd seed. As I said in Four Things, “Barring an inspired act of God, Dallas isn’t going to lose to Washington, which makes the outcome of our game practically meaningless”.
And I was right.
Which is why I said that, this game is a “total freebie”, and we should use it as a tune-up. To his credit, Sirianni tried to straddle the line, and (kind of) took a swipe at winning. (You know. Just in case Washington stumbled over that miracle.)
Once it became clear that Washington was toast, and we got a second starter sent to the blue medical tent, Sirianni said “Neeeee-ope!” and yanked all his key players, for the playoff run that we’re about to make.
Can’t complain at all about the way he handled any of that.
On The Whole:
Getting the sweep on the giants would have been nice, but given how we started the game without three key starters (WR Devonta Smith, RB D’Andre Swift, and DT Fletcher Cox); it’s hard to judge the sputtering Offense, too harshly. (But feel free to mock our Defense!)
Once WR A.J. Brown (1 – 1 – 9 – 9.0 – 0) fumbled during an apparent knee injury, and after QBJalen Hurts (7/16 – 43.7% – 55 – 0 – 1) had his finger dislocated, and was less effective when he tried to play through it, ALL key players were pulled.
QB Jalen Hurts finger. (Just a dislocation, no fracturing.)
While we did look flat at the start, there was never any point, where we going to get emotionally interested in this game. While we saw little to imply that the Eagles were coming out of their funk, in fairness, we also didn’t see much from the starters at all.
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