Defense

“FIVE THINGS WE MUST CHANGE”

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 8 Comments

 

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OVERHAUL. This team needs one badly. You may not want to hear that since overhaul sounds a lot like rebuild, but that’s what is needed here. Not a re-tooling, but a full-on rebuild. That is, unless you think of 2015 as being good enough for you. Assuming that Head Coach Chip Kelly comes back next year (and I am assuming that), I’m telling you, there are five things we must change between now and February 16th.

I use the date of February 16th because that’s when teams start to designate franchise players, which has a ripple effect on Free Agency and the rest of the roster. Consider how much money the Eagles have tied up in players like RB DeMarco Murray, and CB Byron Maxwell. Now consider that players with expiring contracts (QB Sam Bradford, FS Walter Thurmond, DE Vinny Curry and CB Nolan Carroll) will all want considerable raises to stay here. The Eagles need to have a solid idea of where they want to go, and how they want to get there, well before they begin shuffling and re-shuffling the roster.

The first thing we need to change is the place where this team’s General Manager powers reside. The current holder of those powers (if not the title) has demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt and/or reasonable dispute, that he has no clue what he’s doing. He was hired to be an X’s and O’s genius. So, okay fine. Let’s allow him to spend his time doing that. If we’re going to hold onto him for another year, we should at least make sure we’ve given him every chance to succeed, before we deposit him on the curb.

The second thing that needs changing are some of the coaches. Defensive Coordinator, Offensive Line, and Wide Receivers are the one’s that need changing ASAP.

A) Our Defense isn’t conceptually OR technically sound, That’s largely why over the course of three years we haven’t been able to beat playoff caliber teams.

B) While certain outfits may use funny metrics to give grades to units, the bottom line is this Offensive Line crumbles against good teams because Jeff Stoutland clearly emphasizes scheme technique over fundamental technique. That’s largely why we aren’t developing any of our young linemen into decent pro players.

C) Speaking of not developing talent, Wide Receiver started off bad and has only gotten worse. With all the recent high picks we’ve spent on WR’s, I don’t buy that all of our WR’s lack talent. I think what they lack is refinement of their game, as none of them display any knack for craftwork. That is clearly the failing of position coach Bob Bicknell. It can be laid at the feet of no one else on the planet Earth.

Also I’m not sure what this team is paying our Offensive and Defensive Quality Control coaches for. Maybe those guys have never actually shown up to work. Either way, we either need new ones, or to eliminate the position altogether, because to this point they do absolutely bupkis for this team.

The third thing that needs an overhaul is the Offensive philosophy. The Offense needs to be slowed down so that the Defense doesn’t end up being fatigued by game 9 or 10. We’ve seen this thing run the same way for three years now and we can empirically say it doesn’t work. It has to change.

The fourth thing that needs changing is the Defense. The only thing wrong with our Defense is everything. While we do have a handful of players that we can build around like DE Fletcher Cox, DE Curry, SS Malcolm Jenkins, ILB Jordan Hicks and LB Mychal Kendricks, (and possibly NT Bennie Logan if he shows he can play 4-3 DT), almost every one of them would be far more effective in a 4-3.

The fifth thing that needs to change are the practices. They simply are too fast-paced. Players are lining up week in and week out, and showing the same weaknesses week in and week out. That says that either they aren’t being shown what they keep doing wrong, or they don’t get enough time to digest the coaching they receive. For example: If you’ve ever bought a new tool, you already know what it’s for, but you play around with it for bit, just to get the feel of it. Especially if it’s replacing something you’re really used to. While the tool may belong to you, it takes more than just buying it to make it yours. Same thing when you hand a man a new skill, or teach him to do something like cleaning up his back pedal, or how to use penalties to gain separation. A man needs reps to truly own new coaching.

So there you have it. The five things that need to change before we start signing players to god knows what system, for god knows how much money. Set a clear direction and clear the path to make the journey easier. Because all this stumbling around bullshit, simply has to change.

EAGLES/REDSKINS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/25
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 7 Comments

WAS (H)

SATURDAY   8:25   Lincoln Financial Field   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PLAYOFF football starts tomorrow night in Philadelphia. If we don’t win this game, the next one is mere formality. A win doesn’t automatically put us in the playoffs, since we’d still need to win the last game; but a loss means the team can head back to the locker room, shower, and then start throwing their shit in Hefty bags.

EAGLES

Defense

We have a bunch of fatigued players, some of whom are overpaid, all of which are playing in a bad scheme. You can only expect so much at this point in the year. If Defensive Coordinator Billy Davis had any ideas for shoring up this unit, you’d have seen those ideas three years ago. At this point, we are what we are until he’s fired.

Offense

QB Sam Bradford had his best statistical game as an Eagle vs the Redskins, and that was before he was said to be “getting comfortable” or “turning a corner” within this Offense. Only attempting 18 rushes is how the Head Coach Chip Kelly handed a win to the ‘skins in our first match-up this year. If he repeats such a formula and we lose, it will be time to run him out of town on a rail.

There is no reason this team should perform worse in this game than we did the last time we faced this defense.

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Redskins

Defense

The good news is that the ‘skins can be run against. They aren’t soft, but they are overly aggressive and allow teams to find room to run against their 3-4 front. OLB Ryan Kerrigan is of course leading the team in sacks with 8.5, but his counterweight OLB Trent Murphy isn’t producing at the rate the team was hoping for when they decided they could release Brian Orakpo this offseason. The ‘skins are active and aggressive, but they aren’t as tough or tough-minded as they purport themselves to be.

They can be had.

Offense

The last time we faced QB Kirk Cousins, he pretty much did anything he wanted to do, and that was with WR DeSean Jackson inactive with a hamstring issue. Jackson is back and he’s playing on a tear. While the ‘skins have struggled to run the ball all year, they did a pretty handy job running against us in our first meeting this year.

There is a potential bright spot as in recent weeks it’s been easier to get to Cousins than it was earlier this year. The only knock on that bright spot is that even when you get in his face he’s still completing passes over the 70% mark.

BOTTOM LINE

It would be smarter in the long run to lose this game and put ourselves in position for the team to get better pieces to build a stronger future. Instead, what’s going to happen is this team will come one step closer to winning the division which will sandbag ourselves in the arms race vs. our rivals.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 26 – Redskins 20

EAGLES/CARDINALS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/19
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 9 Comments

Wk15- 12.20.15

SUNDAY       8:30       Lincoln Financial Field       Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ODDSMAKERS across the spectrum expect the Cardinal to come into the Linc and leave holding up a “W”. They almost make it seem like it’s an automatic. However, with having to face Green Bay next week, and then  division rival Seattle the following week, Arizona may be looking past our 6 – 7 team just enough to let down their guard.

EAGLES

Defense

Did you know that even after these last two games, our Defense is still ranked 28th in rushing yards allowed, 21st in points allowed and 24th in passing yards allowed. Due to three huge (two of which were scoring) plays made by our Special Teams in the last two games, we are 6 – 7 instead of 4 – 9. It’s great to get to get great Special Teams play, but you can’t bank on splash plays by that unit to bail you out every week.

Teams are still moving the ball and scoring against our Defense. There will be no “fixes”enacted this deep into the season. We are what we are. That said, I have no idea how this unit is supposed to stop or even slow down this weeks opponent.

Offense

Depending on who you talk to, this Offense is either about to seriously rev up, or continue to do what it’s done all year, which means being a lower mid-level offense (15th rushing, 21st passing) coached by what was supposed to be a genius.

Optimists will tell you that QB Sam Bradford has only thrown 2 interceptions in his last 5 starts. They tell you that over that span he’s gone 3 – 2. They leave out the fact that in those 5 starts he’s only thrown 5 touchdowns. Conversely, this weeks opponent in his last 5 games, has 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. (He also has 2 lost fumbles). Over that span he’s 5 – 0. One of those guys has numbers which all but lock up a division. The other is a 13 million dollar mistake.

So this week we’ll play “Guess The Starter” at RB, cross our fingers that LT Jason Peters can string together a whole game, pray that C Jason Kelce doesn’t snap the ball past the QB, hope for a meaningful contribution from either Josh Huff or Nelson Agholor, and cringe when WR Jordan Matthews gets hit in the back after running yet another 4 yard crossing route.

Ahhhh, good times.

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Cardinals

Defense

#7 vs scoring, #5 vs the run. They can reach your passer and they have a shark tank of a secondary that can take the ball from you. There is no standout pass-rusher unless you count DE Dwight Freeney. (Yes, that Dwight Freeny) Then again not many people would call 4 sacks by Week 15 a standout number.

At first glance they look water-tight, but there’s a chink in their armor. They play a 3-3-5 concept that they mask as a 3-4. They do that by playing a 211 pound SS at ILB. (It’s not dissimilar to what we used to do last year when trying to take advantage of Nate Allen‘s Safety speed when they played him in the box.)

As a result of using a SS at ILB it means they can be out powered in the middle of their defense. Put bluntly: This is a game that is right in the wheelhouse of RB DeMarco Murray. Now let’s see if he gets the ball.

Offense

I read years ago that QB Carson Palmer sees passing lanes like he has ESP. That statement has echoed in my head ever since. Every time I see him throw a WR open, I feel a sense of bitter envy for something most Eagles fans don’t even realize they’ve been missing out on for a quarter century. If you’re one of those “I only watch the Eagles” type of fans, you have no clue what we’re even missing.

This offense spreads you out, and has a run game component that takes advantage of spacing. It’s the grown-up version of what we run, without all the gimmicks thrown in to try and deceive. As it was designed to engage in weekly shoot-outs, they average 31 points per game and have actually rung that bell 7 times in 13 games. So that 31 point average isn’t the result of a fluke game here and there. These guys can actually get the pig to the pen.

BOTTOM LINE

Winning a shootout with this team is highly unlikely. If the Eagles are going to win this game, we have to find our offensive consistency and run the ball up the gut. I don’t like the match-up of our QB vs their secondary, but their LB’s can be exploited in coverage. I like the idea of TE Brent Celek on intermediate routes to loosen up the box and give the run room to get push inside.

Is that the way to go? Certainly. Will Kelly draw up such a game plan? Not likely. We could beat the Cardinals by out-toughing them, but that’s not how this team is built to think.

PREDICTION

Cardinals 29 – Eagles 19

EAGLES/BILLS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 7 Comments

Wk14- 12.13.15

SUNDAY         1:00         Lincoln Financial Field         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

BOTH the Bills and the Eagles need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The 6-6 Bills are hoping to win out and for some other teams to give them some help to secure a wild-card berth in the AFC. The Eagles have to win the division to see the postseason. This one should be a lot of fun to watch if both teams show up with empty bellies.

EAGLES

Defense

Yes, last week DID happen, but if you’re still excited about it then you really haven’t taken a GOOD look at it. In a game that featured a very beat-up Patriots team, their QB still managed to throw for over 300 yards and score 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing). We even let him have a 36 yard reception, just for shits and giggles. Oh and they averaged 4.1 yards per rush.

So while last week was a great win to have, it was more the result of a handful of splash plays. It was by no means a sustained effort by a Defense ranked near the bottom of the NFL in points allowed (25th), yards allowed (26th), passing yards allowed (24th), and rushing yards allowed (27th).

After watching this unit allow 90 points over a two week span, it’s hard to go out on a limb and play the optimist over a few plays in one game.

Offense

I have no idea what our Offense is like now. Apparently RB DeMarco Murray is no longer a factor here. My guess (and at this point a guess is all it is), is that returning RB Ryan Mathews will be the lead dog that he was expected to be when he was originally signed ahead of Murray this Spring. For too many reasons Kelly couldn’t be serious about a backfield headed up by RB Darren Sproles.

WR Miles Austin was cut 7 months too late for it to make a difference in 2015. I said this move should have been made back in May. Had it happened back then maybe you’d be happily wearing a Nelson Agholor jersey right now. (BTW: If you happen to be wearing an Agholor jersey right now, you have my condolences for the money you parted with.)

I’m seeing fans now are back on the bandwagon for QB “Super” Sam Bradford again, after his 14/24 – 58% – 120 – 2TD game against the Patriots. There are some numbers out there that suggest that he’s getting better suited to the Offense, and if you’d like to buy into those, be my guest. They however overlook a far more important metric that once seen, cannot be unseen and will give you the most accurate picture of Bradford.

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Bills

Defense

There’s really nothing great about this unit. In fact they make me think of the “Bend but don’t break” style that Buffalo played in the 90’s when they were thwarted in an unprecedented four straight Super Bowls. That 1990’s team had better players than this 2015 edition and even they had up and down results with that style of defense.

Basically I think the Bills 6 losses this year have more to do with their defense than anything else. They get interceptions, but they don’t get to the QB much. The little pass rush they do generate will likely be compromised if (lead interceptor) CB Stephon Gilmore misses Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.

Offense

This unit is one of the best kept secrets in the NFL. They’re 4th in rushing and 10th in scoring. They have QB Tyrod Taylor who sports a 17:4 touchdown to interception ratio, and is averaging 5.0 yards per rush. To top it all off, they have enough depth to squeeze by rough patches that would derail an entire season for most teams. Not that they need it since they’re also a pretty healthy bunch to say they’re heading into their 13th game.

Though they have some strong points, this unit is not without it’s weaknesses. They will allow defenses to touch their QB, and their 3rd down conversion rate is only 36%. The biggest weakness though is WR Sammy Watkins.

Yes. I said Sammy Watkins. Read on.

For all his talent, there are too many games where he just seems like he’s going through the motions. By all rights this guy should be killing defenses on a weekly basis, but he spends too many Sundays just running his routes. He’s been on a tear these last couple weeks, but that’s no guarantee that he shows up looking to really play this Sunday. I for one, hope that he doesn’t.

BOTTOM LINE

I think this one comes down to coaching and styles. Bills coach Rex Ryan will come in looking to impose his will on our Head Coach. When teams commit to pounding the ball at us the losses tend to be humiliating. (New Orleans 2013, Minnesota 2014, Tampa Bay 2015 for examples.) I have no idea what Kelly will be looking to do, but the real question here is whether or not he’s willing to adapt and adjust in-game. And in three years I have seen no reason to believe that he will.

PREDICTION

Bills 26 – Eagles 21

EAGLES/PATRIOTS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 9 Comments

Wk13- 12-6.15

SUNDAY         4:25         Gillette Stadium         Foxboro, MA

THE Eagles enter this game with a record of 4 – 7, and still mathematically in the hunt for the NFC East crown. A road win over a 10 – 1 Patriot team, would get a lot of fans believing in this team’s ability to win the division. Not every fan. Maybe not even most of them, but a lot of them. There is no team in sports that I hate they way I hate the Patriots, and a win in their house would be awesome, but to win there you need to find some weakness to exploit.

EAGLES

Defense

I feel like even the Phillies could suit up and score touchdowns on our Defense. Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis basically told every team in the NFL to put their #1 WR on our Defense’s right, because CB Byron Maxwell can’t be moved from the left side. Last week against the Lions, Davis sacrificed rookie CB Eric Rowe to save Maxwell from having to leave his comfort zone.

There are so many things so fundamentally wrong with this Defense that it would take far less time to mention what they do right. For instance in the last two seasons we ranked 32nd and 31st vs the pass. This year we’re only ranked 20th. Then again in those other season we were tough to run against. This year we’re the 5th worst team in the NFL vs the run. It’s why only four teams see more rushes against them. Why throw it when you can just run it?

Offense

This team is 20th in the NFL in scoring. (That statement has me itching to start laying blame, but that’s not a what Preview is for.) Our Offensive Line has allowed 13 sacks over the last 4 games, including the the one that injured QB Sam Bradford.

We’re 12th in rushing but it’s up and down. We not very good at throwing the ball, running the ball or blocking for the guys doing the throwing and the running. There really isn’t anything this team can hang it’s hat on as a rally point, and no player is stepping up and saying “It’s on me”.

Patriots

Defense

Their 4-3 front is stable and sets the tone for the rest of the unit. The unit gets after the QB, as 20 of their 35 sacks are owned by the starting defensive line. They’re also ranked 11th in the NFL against the run, allowing only 97 yards per game. The Secondary has 10 pick to this point. While that’s not as many as we have, the Patriots more stable form of defense means they don’t need turnovers to perform well enough to help their offense.

Offense

QB Tom Brady has thrown 28 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. RB LeGarrette Blount has almost 600 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. That said, Brady enters this week missing his top 4 receivers due to injury. A few cleverly disguised coverages could cause communication problems between Brady and the targets he now is forced to rely on.

Right now not having his usual weapons means Brady has to take chances that he normally wouldn’t. A smart team should be able to exploit that weakness. Let me repeat that louder. A SMART TEAM SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLOIT THAT WEAKNESS!!!!

BOTTOM LINE

If the Eagles can find some weakness to exploit and win this one, great. But I’m not delusional. I have absolutely no reason to expect that they can beat a more talented team, with a better coach, on the road, after quietly laying down at our opponents feet for three straight weeks. I just hope the Patriots don’t break the scoreboard.

PREDICTION

Patriots 54 – Eagles 13

REPLACING BILL DAVIS

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

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WHILE Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis hasn’t been fired yet, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he gets to return for the 2016 season. For that reason I’m as giddy as a kid on Christmas Eve. I’m generally the last person to advocate for anybody getting fired, but we can’t get any better as long as he’s hanging around here. Every year we’re a joke versus the pass, and many fans (as is common with sports) blame the players.

Last year I made it a point to say that our Cornerbacks weren’t the problem and that the real problem was our defensive scheme, which I mentioned last November, and even Brian Dawkins took issue with it a month later. I specifically pointed out our flawed cover coverage concept. I said our pass defense problems would persist until the defensive scheme was changed. Many disagreed and clamored for a new Secondary.

Lo and behold fans got what they wanted. If you were one of the fans screaming for a new Secondary, congratulations. How did that work out for you? What did I tell you would happen? The Eagles even went so far as to overspend on the top Free Agent on the market in CB Byron Maxwell. They were aggressive and didn’t cheap out. There were about a million and five things wrong with that signing. I even went so far as to point out some of what they were.

Side question: Who leases a shiny, new, 12 mil a year CB, and then uses a rookie back-up to cover WR Calvin Johnson with no Safety help? Answer: Someone who should be fired.

If Davis is fired we’ll need a replacement. QUICK! Of all of the assistants on this staff who would you like to see take over for him? (Cue the sound of crickets). And other ideas? Please don’t say Brian Dawkins. I love the guy but he hasn’t even been a position coach yet. Asking him to come off the street and put together a defensive scheme and game plans that worked, is to set him up for failure.

And please, no one say Rob Ryan. I’m so sick of hearing his name. He’s been awful everywhere he’s gone. If he wasn’t Buddy’s son and Rex’s brother, he’d be one more fat guy buying two buckets of KFC while saying “It’s not as good as it used to be when it was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Hey, you remember Gino’s?” So please don’t mention him.

If Chip Kelly were to be fired, I don’t really know who I’d want to replace him yet, but I already have a short list of people who I’d like to see replace Davis. You’ve likely never heard of any of them before and that’s part of the point. These are guys hungry to prove that they’re ready for the job. There’s also no book on their tendencies that would help opponents early on.

If say…Rob Ryan, came here, you already know it’s a 3-4 with a blindside rush LB, a NT that plays over the Center, and multiple ineffective coverage looks. The NFL would have to learn a new guy just as he’d have to learn the NFL. If you get a position coach already in the league, he has several legs up on any collegiate coach that we could bring in, and so the NFL is where I focused my search. Here’s my short list:

Kris Kocurek: Currently the Defensive Line coach for the Detroit Lions. He has a knack for getting production from young players, which hints at him being able to motivate people on their lown evels. It would be nice to have a coordinator who could also develop players we draft instead of wasting pick after pick like we’ve been doing.

Bryan Cox: Currently coaches the Defensive Line for the Atlanta Falcons. He also coached the front seven for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s a former player, who brought his lunch pail and intensity on Sundays. That doesn’t always make for a good coach, but Cox seems to have made the transition. The positions he coaches tend to be solid but not flashy. It would be interesting to see what a whole defense coached with that solid, intense, hard-nosed attitude would look like.

Adam Zimmer: Currently the Linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings, over his 9 year career he’s had success both working with and without his father (famed DC now Vikings HC Mike Zimmer). While he’s never held the reigns as a DC, he may be itching to be more than a position coach, and has a GREAT brain to pick for advice.

Andre Patterson: Currently the Defensive Line coach for the Minnesota Vikings, he has plenty of NFL coaching experience but none as a coordinator. He’s been collegiate DC, and twice he was a collegiate Assistant Head Coach. Having coached at the high school, college and NFL level, he’s yet another candidate that has shown that he knows how to get young players to produce early.

These guys also have one very important thing in common (as far as I’m concerned). They all come out of 4-3 systems. While the 3-4 is faster and more flexible, it’s also less stable and easier to exploit. There is no point in shipping out Davis for a less good version of the same thing. I’m no Kelly fan, but I think with a 4-3 defense this is a team that has a shot at winning playoff games. A 3-4 serves as a poor counterbalance for the offensive system we run.

Time to make a change.

EAGLES/LIONS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/25
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Wk12-11-26-15

THURSDAY         1:00         Ford Field         Detroit, MI

IF we don’t move to 5 – 6 tomorrow it’s time to pack the season in and start doing some house-cleaning. Detroit is a 3 – 7 team on a 2 game win streak (both 18 – 16 outcomes). They’re pretty bad at pretty much everything; and a loss to them would pretty much be the ultimate humiliation.

EAGLES

Defense

Our unit is fatigued. If you doubted me when I told you that last week, you should be fully on-board with my assessment now. Our pass rush is almost non-existent and as a result the turnovers this team needs to survive are not forthcoming. We’re at a point now where we’re going to start needing some Special Teams guys to get a shot playing more than a few downs here and there. Guys like NT Beau Allen, LB Marcus Smith, LB Bryan Braman, and CB Eric Rowe (remember him?) need to start spelling the starters for longer stretches. LB Kiko Alonso can be given more minutes inside so that LB Mychal Kendricks can be moved around the formation to maximize his effectiveness on the downs he does play.

We have too many problems with readily available solutions to them that we just aren’t instituting.

Offense

Mark Sanchez is the QB, because starting Thad Lewis is the equivalent to waving the white flag. Behind Sanchez the team can move the ball. That much can’t be disputed. What we don’t do well (regardless of QB) is move it consistently and finish drives. We need to find something to hang out hat on. We need to take the weight off of Sanchez’s shoulders. We need to lean on our run game. Specifically in the form of RB DeMarco Murray.

Fortunately we get to go against a team that’s just awful at stopping the run. If we come out (like I said last week) running the ball with an up the gut, power concept, this game should be a cake walk. If we come out trying to force 5 yard crossing routes, it’ll be a loooong day again.

Also for the last two weeks there’s been way too much of our interior Offensive Linemen (Guards and Center) being driven back into the QB/RB. This far into the year that’s not liable to stop, but I’ll have my eye on it.

Lions

Defense

They have a good pass rusher in DE Ezekiel Ansah, but they’re not much to look at besides him. They don’t top the run (24th), the pass (19th), or scoring (29th) worth a damn; so there’s really nothing here that they’re going to come in to this game hanging their hats on.

They have 4 interceptions (between 3 players) to this point in the season, but that number will likely be 6 by the end of this game.

Offense

QB Matt Stafford is the offense. Most people thing Lions and immediately think about WR Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, but injuries in recent years have added some slack to what used to be his tight game. However he’s still big and can run and can make catches,so putting a CB on him one-on-one in a Single-High coverage concept could be fatal for some poor defense out there one day.

If you’re worried about the Lions running on us like Tampa Bay did, DON’T. We may still be fairly easy to push around, but Detroit has problems already with running the ball, as they are ranked DEAD LAST (32nd) in the category. Part of it is bad scheme, part of it is injuries and part of it is that they simply lack the talent to be really good at it. Put the “Snow Bowl” out of your minds. This is indoors, in a dome.

BOTTOM LINE

The bottom line is that I hope my team doesn’t spoil my dinner. If we lose tomorrow the season is effectively over.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 18 – 16

WHY WE GOT FUCKED UP

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/25
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Offense, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , . 4 Comments

Chris_Tucker.jpg

BEFORE moving on to Thanksgiving’s meet-up with the Detroit Lions, I wanted to revisit the game against the Buccaneers again. We got fucked up. Let’s not sugarcoat it. Let’s man-up, admit it, and start fixing what’s broken. There are a number of issues which contributed to that loss, but most people either don’t notice or don’t want to face the real issues that led to that loss and that will lead to the next few. As always, I’m here to bring you fire from the gods, and have you dismiss me as a loon, only to be proven right in the next couple months or so.

While it was the Defense that missed the tackles and dropped a couple of easy interceptions, I still don’t lay most of the blame for this game at their feet. This loss is clearly the bastard child of the Head Coach and the Defensive Coordinator Bill Davis.

Davis’s share of the blame comes from failing to make adjustments to stop TB from running straight through the heart of the Defense. Right up the gut. Like our team was a collection of punk bitches for pimp trainees to practice their slapping skills. They did to us what we should have done to them, by just running the ball down the throat of our team, Yet how often did you see us switch to a 4-3 front? How often did we get some bigger bodies in the “A” gaps to force some of those runs outside? How often did our CB’s get in the faces of their receivers to re-route them and throw off the timing of the clock in their QB’s head? It was just like Dallas Two last year, when their one receiver beat us the same way THREE TIMES, because we refused to adjust.

After that game Davis gave his reasons for not adjusting, and he did the same thing after this debacle; saying that they couldn’t blitz or press much due to the size and athleticism of TB two WR’s. He said “If you’re going to blitz, your coverage had better be solid on the back-end.” I guess he doesn’t think our coverage is very good then. Dear Billy: I AGREE!

Kelly’s share of the blame has to do with Mark Sanchez. Sanchez’s most successful stint of his career came as a Jet, with him riding shotgun on a team driven by a strong run game and a strong defense. He was at no point asked to win games, just manage them. Early in this game Kelly dialed up a lot of passes, and we saw all too much of RB Darren Sproles. Particularly on runs up the gut and in pass protection when the game was still well in contention. Why have a 42 million dollar RB if you’re going to keep him on the sideline, instead of playing him like the workhorse that he should be and wants to be? Instead what Kelly did was put this game on the shoulders of a top-shelf back-up (but still a back-up) who hadn’t started a game since a garbage game to end last year. Sanchez may be the Eagles best option at QB, but that doesn’t mean you can treat him like he’s Phillip Rivers.

Where Kelly really shoulders the blame however, is in his unwillingness to adjust the Offense so that his defense can get more rest during games. For the third straight year, our Defense is wearing down noticeably as we enter the home stretch and it’s getting easier to push our players around as the fatigue grows deeper.

There are things he can do to help those guys out, but he does none of them. He could let the Offense use more of the clock between plays. He could run on first AND second down more frequently to set up more 3rd and manageables. He could call 2 to 4 designed QB runs per game to pick up a cheap 4 or so yards. That would help move the chains and make opponents honor the back door, which in turn opens up room for RB DeMarco Murray to run inside. There are solutions we could institute as soons NOW, without signing/benching/cutting a single player. All he has to do, is do it. It doesn’t have to be like this Eagles fans.

This isn’t the most talented team. Our GM has made sure of that. However, in a year with the division being this bad, we either need to make a sincere effort to win it, or send a clear signal that we’re tanking for better Draft position. If our coach is as all in as he like to SAY he is, then his ass needs to stop focusing on proving how good his football philosophy is, and start showing the NFL how good his football coaching is.

EAGLES/BUCCANEERS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster. Tagged: , , . 7 Comments

Wk11-11.22.15

SUNDAY        1:00           Lincoln Financial Field         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

SINCE the giants are off this week, a win by us and a Redskin loss puts us in 1st place in the NFC East. So we’re still talking playoffs around here; and as long as QB Sam Bradford isn’t around to hold us back anymore, we may actually have a shot at qualifying for them.

EAGLES

Defense

The pass rush is back and we don’t allow a lot of points, but the fatigue factor is clearly catching up to us. Last week we had no business allowing the Dolphins to come back from a 16 – 3 deficit, but that’s what happens when fatigue sets in. When you dig down to find a little more to keep going, you find that the well has run dry. The Defense is playing way too many minutes- (sorry Chip) too many snaps out there, and it’s starting to show up (for the third year in a row) on the opponents score boards.

Offense

Same system, new sheriff. QB Mark Sanchez doesn’t have as talented an arm as Bradford, but he has more mobility, more of a “push the ball” mentality, and is more of a vocal leader. Sanchez isn’t likely to give you a 4 TD performance, (more like 2 TD’s and 2 Ints), but with him you’ll move the ball and 3rd down will likely stop being a point of ruin. That will allow the Defense to get more rest than they’ve managed so far in games this year. Especially early in games.

As long as the Eagles are willing to stay in RB DeMarco Murray‘s wheelhouse and run mostly between the Tackles or tosses, he’ll be productive. If they keep running him on sweeps and stretches, we’re gonna miss RB Ryan Mathews. Be nice to see Darren Sproles get a couple of those actually.

What would really be nice is to see a WR not named Jordan Matthews catch 4 or 5 balls this week. Not 4 or 5 catches by the WR’s, but one guy (I’m looking at YOU Nelson Agholor!) catching 4 or 5. That would be sweet.

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Buccaneers

Defense

This group can get after the QB with different players and even scarier, their two best pass rushers are defensive lineman led by DE Jacquies Smith and DT Gerald McCoy. That means those aren’t scheme sacks, they’re “defeated the blocker” sacks. Those sacks contribute to a league leading 14 FF (Forced Fumbles). They allow a ton of points (26th in the NFL allowing 26.3 per game) but they’re a stingy bunch when it comes to giving up yards (7th place, at only 334.2 per game).

If they have a weakness to exploit it’s that they’re a very “quick” front seven. Quick in this case is code for small. S-M-all. Seriously, their MLB is 227 pounds, and they have a 238 pound back-up DE (Howard Jones, 3.0 sacks so far). If a team committed to a power run concept, they’d have the Bucs gassed by the half, open mouth huffing for air by the end of the 3rd, and by the mid 4th quarter, they’d be trying not to flinch (pre-snap) from the coughing fits that result from gagging on spit when you gulp air too fast.

This is a game for “Big people beat up little people.”

Offense

This is a uhhhhhh…..Let’s call the Bucs a work in progress. This team can run the ball, but they still have a rookie at QB in Jameis Winston. His performances are still all over the map, but that’s not all on him. From what I see it has a lot to do with the one-dimensionality of the passing game. His top two WR’s are big physical guys who’s game is largely devoid of fine-point craftwork. As a result they’re an easy read for defenses and it makes the QB look worse than he is.

Stopping them won’t be hard since most of their problems are built into their own concepts.

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BOTTOM LINE

I will always have a sore spot in my heart for Tampa for the way they bragged “We tore down the Vet” (I couldn’t find the video anymore, just that reference). It was the NFC Championship game where Joe Jurevicius scarred Levon Kirkland for life on a crossing route that Kirkland shouldn’t have been covering in the first place.

Needless to say I harbor an ocean of personal animosity for this team because of that, and so a loss to that logo is unthinkable for me. This is only intensified by the fact that they suck right now. We can’t lose to these hapless bastards. And now that we have a QB, we won’t have to.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 28 – 13

 

EAGLES/DOLPHINS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/15
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Fans, Offense, Preview. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

1eb

SUNDAY             1:00                              Lincoln Financial Field                     Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

THIS is a dangerous game. The Eagles need this game. Don’t lie to yourself and tell yourself that this game is anything less than must-win. Right now we sit solidly outside of wild card contention so our best shot is to win the East outright. The problem is at 4-4 we’re a win behind the 5-4 giants. Before you get your hopes up about the Patriots helping us by beating the giants this week, keep in mind we still have to face New England ourselves. So the favor they do us this week they could hand back to the giants in few weeks.

EAGLES

Defense

You may not recognize the Defense this week. Our top four active tacklers are all players in the Secondary. I say “active” because our #2 tackler was rookie ILB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks, before he was lost of the year with a pectoral injury that even he didn’t think was so bad at first.

The upshot of this is that our ILBs will be DeMeco Ryans and Kiko Alonso. After weeks of not really playing together in live-fire since Week Two, the communication and depth in the heart of our Defense will be seriously tested.

Offense

The rankings say that we’re in the top third of the NFL, but when you watch all those quick three-and-outs, and our 30.8% 3rd down conversion rate, you know our ranking is owed less to our own excellence, and more to a creeping mediocrity throughout the NFL.

We can run the ball pretty well as long as we rely more on a straight ahead power concept and less on the zone-read stuff that worked better when LeSean McCoy was here. Our top WR Jordan Matthews has 48 catches. The next most catches by a WR? …15 by Josh Huff. There is no balance here.

Our Offense needs our QB like a kayak needs a 65 pound anchor. He’s just as likely to throw a pick as he is a touchdown, and his target selection is a huge part of our awful 3rd down performance. But as long as this team treads water around the .500 mark, fans will hem and haw that “maybe he’s beginning to come around”.

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Opponent

Defense

They suck vs the run, and were middle of the pack vs the pass. I said “was” because 7 of their teams 13 sacks just tore his Achilles tendon and is out for the season. So like last week against the Cowboys, we just got a big, fat softball, slow-pitched to us.

There really isn’t much to say on this one. There’s a small handful of household names (Ndamukong Suh, Koa Misi, Brent Grimes, Kelvin Sheppard) making tackles, but not really making plays. When your SS is your leading tackler by 20+ tackles, and you still have the leagues 31st ranked run defense, your unit is not pulling it’s weight.

Offense

What they aren’t is prolific, but this unit is conceptually well balanced and has the appearance of being in a learning phase with their offensive system which is pretty much the same Spread concept that we run. Despite canning their head coach a few weeks ago, the Fish stuck with former Eagles assistant Bill Lazor as their Offensive Coordinator. They’re onto something and they know it.

This is not a particularly explosive group, but they can create big plays, can surprise you, and can put up points. Eagles fans who don’t also play fantasy football may find themselves surprised by RB Lamar Miller, he’s not as physical as his body type would suggest, but the trade-off is that he’s much faster than his build would suggest. And he can catch. QB Ryan Tannehill (now with an OC who gets developing passers) looks to be putting it all together finally.

It’ll be interesting to see how Coach Kelly coaches against a version of his own system run by a guy who helped us be so dangerous two years ago.

BOTTOM LINE

A win says that maybe our team has enough in the tank to beat the teams they should beat. A loss says that our coach can be schooled by his own former assistant, who’s being led by a substitute teacher. But the truth is that Miami is already out of the AFC playoff picture so they may play their youth more to teach them, help with their 2016 Draft positioning, and limit playing time for vets with incentive laden contracts.

Since we need this game more than the Starkist Bunch, the Eagles should come out swinging. We can’t afford a loss here. We just can’t afford it.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 24 – Dolphins 21