NFC Championship

OUR NEXT SUPER BOWL WIN

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/03/07
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFC Championship, playoffs, Rants, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SINCE the Super Bowl, I’ve been almost dead silent. I wrote Four Things Reviewed, and a reaction article to Jonathan Gannon leaving. I haven’t even weighed in on new Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, yet.

My silence wasn’t because I was upset over the loss. Understand, I wanted that win. I really did; but it would be a bald-faced lie, if I said the loss, or how it happened, wasn’t almost expected. The NFC Championship Game. The Super Bowl. Everyone else was so excited. Meanwhile, I’d been secretly dreading them both, since Week 18.

Standing outside for the 2018 parade, the cold turned my Wawa coffee into a slushie. I was hoping for a repeat of that, for this year. However, when Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon slid down inside the five yard line, I felt nothing but calm. I didn’t yell, curse, or jump up. I didn’t turn off my TV, or change the channel. I watched until it was time to go write my little article.

I took that loss so well, that you would think I’d bet against the Eagles and won. People were literally asking me if I was okay. My calm was apparently too calm. I turned the page just a little bit too fast for the comfort of others. The fact is, I was able to make immediate peace with it, because that game went almost exactly as I’d truly expected it to.

We had that loss coming. And I’d said as much, MONTHS prior.

You may remember this article from September of last year PUTTING A FOOT IN DOUG’S ASS. In it, I foretold a great fall. In fact, I called it “the biggest fall of them all”. Those were my exact words. Most importantly, in that article, I told you WHY it would happen.

The NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl. The knot in my stomach. Expecting the bill to finally come due, in one of those games, I was secretly dreading those games the entire time. The biggest fall of all, is what I predicted. I desperately hoped to be wrong. Desperately. Usually I love being right. But not always. Sometimes being able to see ahead, is a curse. And a lonely one.

How big was our fall? During the only NFL game seen around the world, we set a record for points scored (35) in a loss. Beating a record that we hung around an opponent’s neck, for our only Super Bowl win so far. Our QB played an almost flawless game, and yet the seven points from his turnover, would have been the difference. Changing that loss into a win. Our vaunted Defense, was suddenly unable to even hunt a lame QB.

Had the Eagles won with our youthful core, everyone would be using the term “beginning of a dynasty”. Instead they are saying that our “Super Bowl window” should be open for a few years. Given how close we came to winning, this was a massive faceplant. It was.

Again, we had it coming. We made that bed. As Eagles fans we see how it’s gone since Jerry Jones fired Jimmy Johnson, and we revel in it. So we should have learned: There will someday come a reckoning. ALWAYS. You never escape your own energy. And we got ourselves a taste last month.

Again, I was hoping, praying that we’d pay in some other way, or some other time, and win that game. I had hoped to freeze at another parade, outside of the Municipal Services Building. Well, not this year. That said, we’ve put the ugliness behind us. We’ve paid our Karmic debt. So now we can, and likely will, be holding up another Lombardi trophy, inside of the next few years. Afterwards, I hope we’re smarter this time.

Heck, maybe in 2024, instead of standing outside the MSB in the cold; I’ll watch the parade from my window. While seated comfortably, in the warmth of my office. Sipping on hot, gourmet coffee, brewed by my own expert hand.

Yes. That sounds about right. So how’s about I get back to writing about football. 

This is the view from my first office. I haven’t taken a picture from the new one yet, but it’s DIRECTLY next door, so the view looks pretty much identical.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME : 49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/30
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TOLD you it wasn’t close.

EAGLES 31 – 49ers 7

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing :(S) QB Jalen Hurts (15/25 – 60.0% – 121 – 0 – 0)

Rushing : (B) RB Kenneth Gainwell (14 – 48 – 3.4 – 0 – 0)

Receiving : (S) WR Devonta Smith (3 – 2 – 36 – 18.0 – 0)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (4 (24) + 3/6 (3) – 1 (-2) = 25) RT Lane Johnson

Drive Killer : (S) OLB Haason Reddick (0 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) OLB Haason Reddick (3 – 2.0 – 0 – 1)

Ace : N/A

****

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: 49ers did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Set Hard Edges: Set the edges and don’t fall for the misdirection stuff they like to do. The idea was not to shutdown the run, just make it unreliable. The idea was to make them one dimensional, and force them to pass. The result was that we held them to 71 rushing yards on 24 carries (2.9ypc). So the run game was unreliable. We also made them one dimensional. Forcing them to pass…not so much. Still, this one is easy to mark as accomplished. (DONE)

After Haason chopped, it wasn’t Purdy.

2) Pick Purdy: Once we took away the run game, we were supposed to force Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy (4/4 – 100.0% – 23 – 0 – 0) to beat us. But we knocked him out of the game pretty early, with an elbow injury that rendered him basically unable to throw. Then we knocked his back-up out of the game, forcing Purdy who was unable to throw, back into the game.

DT Ndaukong Suh knocks QB Josh Johnson out of the game

With them being unable to throw at all, all Purdy could do was hand it off, into the teeth of our predatory Defense. It was like feeding sheep to lions. I almost felt bad for them. Then I remembered them dressing the Rocky statue, and Jesus said “Fuck them dudes.” (DONE)

3) Run the Ball: We didn’t shatter any yardage records but we had an effective day on the ground (42 – 150 – 3.5 – 4 – 0) Gainwell once again led the team in yardage, but once again RB Miles Sanders (11 – 42 – 3.8 – 2 – 0) was were the load was really carried. Sanders was the early hammer, with Gainwell and Boston Scott (6 – 21 – 3.5 – 1 – 0) helping to salt the game away.

RB Miles Sanders hits paydirt. (Maybe literally.)

With drives of 13, 20,16, and 9 yards, our running gave our Defense time to catch their breath. As a result they were able to attack with reckless abandon. Much of this win has to be attributed to our ability to hold the ball for 37 minutes vs the 49ers 22. (DONE)

4) Throw It Deep: There were a few attempts over 20 yards, but the only one that went for yardage (the 29 yarder to Smith) wasn’t really a catch. Otherwise, Hurts was out of sync and very off target in this one. I suspected that the coaching staff had him on a pitch count last week. This week confirmed it.

The coaching staff was trying to protect Hurts still tender throwing shoulder. We were able to get away with it this week. (NOT DONE)

****

This week we did 3 of the Four Things, and the resulting blowout punched our ticket to Super Bowl LVII (57 for Millennials). There we’ll meet up with Head Coach Andy Reid (after a Bye) and QB Patrick Mahomes.

****

On The Whole:

All week long, people talked like this game was evenly matched. I said plainly that it wasn’t. If this game were a boxing match, they’d have thrown the towel after we bounced Mr. Irrelevant’s back-up from the game. All the talk was about how physical the game would be. How good the 49er defense was. How well that QB with respectable mobility, manages his offense.

Folks! We’d already played and won this game. Remember? Week 13, it ended 35 – 10 vs the Tennessee Titans. We played that one at home too. (And it also featured knocking a player out of the game.)

RT Lane Johnson held DE Nick Bosa to 4 tackles and nothing else.

Like the Titans, we found that the 49ers don’t take punches as well as they throw them. Once they became frustrated, they just mentally unraveled out there. They committed personal foul penalties like they were part of their game plan. As I said in Four Things, they got fat off of teams that harm themselves. We aren’t that team.

Result: 31 – 7

FOUR THINGS: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: EAGLES – 49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/27
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Roster, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

ABSOLUTE domination from start to finish last week. The national media spent last week hyping a hollow giants team, and we beat the numbers off their jerseys. This week’s opponent has grown fat off of teams that specialize in hurting themselves. This week they have the wrong opponent. In the wrong house. In front of the wrong crowd.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is going to show what it means to lead a team to victory, instead of just being along for the ride. Which is what’s happening on the 49ers sideline. I mean, could you imagine hyping a QB for playing like the best version of Daniel Jones?

The national media isn’t saying “Look at him make jaw-dropping play after play!” They’re saying “Oh look at how he doesn’t make huge mistakes!”Well, OLB Haason Reddick, DT Javon Hargrave, SS Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, CB Darius Slay, and others, are about to put that kid to the test. Context is on the way!

A win punches our ticket to Super Bowl LVII. While I cannot guarantee a win like I did last week, the odds of winning are HEAVILY in our favor. We are all but inevitable. 

A loss cannot be entirely ruled out here. The chance exists that we don’t pull this one. Having acknowledged it however, the chance is pretty damned small.

****

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 this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: 49ers

DT Fletcher Cox, is on the hunt

1) Set Hard Edges: The 9ers are a run-based offense that uses lots of misdirection to open holes. Stay disciplined, and don’t fall for the eye-candy. With the way they like to goof around in the backfield, if we don’t fall for the smoke and mirrors, their ball carrier is liable to run smack into a defender.

Have DE’s Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat establish hard boundaries on the ends of the offensive line, to either bottle runs up inside, or force them far outside where there’s no blocking. Understand, the idea isn’t to “shutdown” their run. (They’re too good for that.) The idea is to just make it unreliable, and destabilize their offense.

2) Pick Purdy: You’ve heard the expression “Pick your poison”. Here we should pick their rookie QB. Yep! Just force them to beat us with a seventh round, rookie QB, making his eighth start, on the road, in one of sport’s most hostile environments. Oh, I promised you context.

This kid’s wins? A bad Tampa Bay with no offensive line; Seattle’s 26th ranked defense; The Commanders; The Raiders 28th ranked defense; Arizona playing their 3rd string QB; Wild Card Seattle on the road; and Dallas last week. THIS is what all the hype has been about! So if I’m picking my poison, I’m picking that Purdy lil’ QB.

3) Run The Ball: Usually I mean hand-offs when I say this, but against this opponent, I mean anybody. While RB Miles Sanders should be our hammer early, RB’s Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott should each see at least 6 carries apiece, mostly in the second half.

Also, the 9ers defense is smallish upfront. The DE playing across from 365 pound LT Jordan Mailata, is only about 245. They don’t have a LB over 230. We need to physically wear them down, and then wear them out. It also bears mentioning that all four of their losses came against mobile QB’s. (Note: They didn’t face QB Kyler Murray at all this season.)

4) Throw It Deep: Do not allow their defense to dictate our attack. Two of their three CB’s are decidedly overrated. They all do a great job of taking away the quick stuff, but downfield, the Wards can be had.

They play a lot of Cover Three, but we should be able to short circuit that, with WR Quez Watkins working deep in the Slot. Even if they’re just dummy routes to hold the FS. With enough protection that’s a one-on-one down either sideline.

****

If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

There are a ton of surface indicators which make this game seem a lot more even, than it truly is. What people seem to be (deliberately) looking past, is context. As you know, I never look past context. Context is what makes facts come alive!

At times this season, when the kid has gotten into trouble, their coach has protected him by getting the ball out of his hands with either quick passes, or more running plays. If we take those away, he has to play big boy QB, which puts him right in DT Fletcher Cox’s cross-hairs.

****

Prediction: EAGLES 24 –  49ers 15

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.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND: GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/22
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
RB Kenneth Gainwell rips off 35 yard touchdown run on a day where he was also a giant killer

TOLD you we wouldn’t lose.

EAGLES 38 – giants 7

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing :(S) QB Jalen Hurts (16/24 – 66.6% – 154 – 2 – 0)

Rushing : (B) RB Kenneth Gainwell (12 – 112 – 9.3 –1 – 0)

Receiving :(S) WR Devonta Smith (10 – 6 – 61 – 10.1 – 1)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (3 (18) + 5 (5) – 1 (-2) = 21) RT Lane Johnson

Drive Killer : (S) CB James Bradberry (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) DE Josh Sweat (2 – 1.5 – 0 – 1)

Ace : N/A

****

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) Feed Miles Sanders: Early on the Eagles made a point of feeding RB Miles Sanders (17 – 90 – 5.2 – 0 – 0), who led the team in carries. It wasn’t until the 4th drive that Philadelphia began using Sanders to impose our will on New York, but once we did, a tone was set, and then the volume was cranked way up.

We ran for 268 yards on those scrubs. Kenneth Gainwell led the team with 112 yards, but RB Boston Scott (6 – 32 – 5.3 – 1 – 0) also chipped in. Our run game allowed us to control the clock for 35:43 of the 60 minute contest. As a result our defense was well rested, and able to play fast and relentless. We used one side of the ball to enhance another. Excellent! (DONE)

2) Time for the Kerrigan Plan: Getting the ball to TE Dallas Goedert (5 – 5 – 58 – 11.6 – 1) worked like a charm! We were able to get it to him at will. Though we surely left some money on the table, the run game was too efficient to turn away from.

In the meantime, covering Goedert popped the giants defense open like a steamed clam. Since the run game kept chewing up real estate, there was no need to overdo things. That said, next week’s opponent won’t be getting much sleep this week. (DONE)

3) Set those edges HARD: We were a lot better about this in the middle of the game. We started slow and finished slow with this, but we did enough to make their run game unreliable, which was the entire point. (DONE)

4) You Shall Not Pass: Show everyone EXACTLY who QB Daniel Jones (15/27 – 55.5% – 135 – 0 – 1) really is. For weeks now, we’ve been hearing how awesome this awful QB is. The idea was to take away the run (CHECK!), put the game on his shoulders (CHECK!), and see just how great this overblown bust really is.

OLB Haason Reddick chops down QB Daniel Jones

We spent the game harassing him, and sacking him 5 times. He was not up to the pressure of the moment, and in no way resembled the QB who tore into a fraudulent Vikings team last week. See his numbers? See that final score? (DONE)

****

This week we hit ALL FOUR THINGS, and how! Next week some other poor sucker has to make the trip to Philadelphia for the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, just to be put on a plane, and sent home to clean out their lockers. No clue who they’ll be, but with any luck it’ll be San Francisco.

****

On The Whole:

This game was worse than the 48 – 22 blowout from a few weeks ago. Not only was the point margin larger, but we dominated across the board. Anyone in the giants organization who doesn’t now see that the giants are years behind the Eagles, doesn’t have an opinion worth listening to.

FOUR THINGS: PLAYOFFS: DIVISIONAL ROUND: EAGLES – GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/19
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

DEFEATING the giants was enough to earn us the NFC East, the 1st seed in the NFC, and a bye week. Well apparently, sweeping them isn’t enough to convince their fans, nor the national sports media, that in this third match-up, they’re still thoroughly outclassed by us, this season.

We blew them out 48 – 22 in Week 14. They played their back-ups in Week 18, and the score was closer at 22 – 16. Because their second loss wasn’t as embarrassing, it has given their fans hope for a different result in these playoffs.

Understand, they have hope because no one is mentioning that we were up 19 – 0 in the third, realized that we had the NFC East in the bag, and started to pack it in.

No one mentions our injuries, or that we scarcely used some starters.

No one mentions how vanilla, how almost preseason level, our gameplan was.

Their fans ignore these things, so they can keep their playoff hopes on life support.

One of these teams won 14 games and swept the other. It’s high time we reminded these “giants”, of just who is who. As for their hopes, I can only say:

Winning sends us to the NFC Championship game.

There will be no losing.

****

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 this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: giants.

1) Feed Miles Sanders: The Biggest difference between our 48 – 22 win and our 22 – 16 win was that in the blowout, we fed RB Miles Sanders early and set a tone for the game. He had a career high 144 rushing yards that day. (Read that last sentence one more time.) In the second game we sprinkled him in here and there. He never got a rhythm, and the Offense was lopsided. (For a few reasons to be fair.)

No pitch counts. No worrying about tomorrow. Feed him. Set a physical tone and use the run game to give our Defense enough of a breather between drives. The giants are going to want to control the clock with ball control. However, if we burn time from our side too, they won’t be able to stick with it, once we’re holding the lead.

2) Time for the Kerrigan Plan: For those who want a deeper explanation, details of the Kerrigan Plan are  HERE. For other who just want me to nutshell it: The giants basically run a 5-2 scheme. So they can be exploited by certain routes. This is partly why RB Boston Scott has mangled that team during his career.

They giants make a point of occupying the TE with one ILB, so the RB has an easier time hitting holes and getting open. With Scott’s small stature, the remaining ILB has to be right when guessing where Scott will pop out of. (Like a high stress game of Whack-A-Mole.) The giants can be right on 8 carries, but it only takes being wrong once for this to happen:

3) Set those edges HARD: Funnel their RB’s back inside, toward waiting MLB T.J. Edwards. We’ve done it in both prior games, and it’s taken the teeth out of their run game both times. If it ain’t broke, LEAVE ‘LONE! LEAVE ‘LONE!

Also, QB Daniel Jones has become a very enthusiastic runner of the football over his last couple of games. Good for him! He really seems to have found his bliss. So yeah, we need to tone that down for him. Again, T.J. will be sitting back there. Being affectionate as always.

4) You Shall Not Pass: People have gotten carried away with the last couple of games by Daniel Jones. So the Eagles should remind everyone of exactly who he is. This is a man, who is in his best year as a pro, having thrown just 15 touchdowns in 16 games. (Folks, if I start talking about the double standard, my face will melt off.)

Meanwhile, the national media has the nerve to talk like the giants have a chance here. We managed to curb-stomp this guy in a game in which he didn’t even turn the ball over; and this is how they act?! Oh no, hell no! We are NOT running from this son-of-a-bitch! Take away the run game, and make this fraud play with his team draped across his shoulders.

****

If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

Nothing is an automatic. That’s why the games are played. Still, the Eagles are the far superior team, so this game should be feeding sheep to lions. The narrative that the giants have a chance, is entirely borne out of the final score from two weeks ago, and not how the game went.

Allow me to read from the Book of Eaglemaniacal and take you back:

Miles Sanders who played 45 snaps in the blowout, only played 29 in the second match-up. This was even though the Eagles coaches weren’t running QB Jalen Hurts. So our early ground game was practically nil. Despite that, our drives netted us a touchdown and four field goals, putting us up 19 – 0. That score again was 19 to crickets.

We needed to either win that game, or have the Dallas Cowboys lose, in order to clinch our division. A bit of scoreboard watching, revealed that Washington was already cooking Dallas. So of course, we mentally shrugged midway through the third quarter. We were up 19 – 0 and our actual competition, wasn’t even in the game we were playing. I seriously think if the lead hit 20, our starters would have been pulled.

Gambling with house money, with nothing to lose, the giants took chances with the ball, and let it all hang out. They finally got 3 points on the board with 50 seconds left in the third. Put bluntly: They didn’t check in, until we were already checking out. So their points were essentially scored in garbage time.

This, lads and lasses, is what has fools thinking the giants will leave Philadelphia with anything other than the scratches and bruises from our brooms.

****

Prediction: EAGLES 28 – giants 13

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.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 18: GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/09
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SHO’ NUFF!

EAGLES 22 – giants 16

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing :(S) QB Jalen Hurts (20/35 – 57.1% – 229 – 0 – 1)

Rushing :(B) RB Boston Scott (9 – 54 – 6.0 – 1 – 0)

Receiving :(S) A.J. Brown (10 – 4 – 95 – 23.7 – 0)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (1 (6) + 3 (3) – 3 (6) = 3) C Jason Kelce

Drive Killer : (B) CB Zech McPhearson (0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) OLB Kyzir White (12 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

Ace : K Jake Elliott 5/5 FG (54, 52) 1/1 XP

****

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) Give Sanders the Ball: When the game opened with 9 passes to just 1 hand-off, you sort of knew the game would go how it went. As for RB Miles Sanders (11 – 33 – 3 – 3.0 – 0 – 0) he was sprinkled into the game here and there, and at no point did it feel like the Eagles Offense ever achieved real balance or rhythm.

RG Isaac Seumalo and C Jason Kelce create a tiny crease for RB Boston Scott to run through for an 8 yard TD.

The only points scored by the Offense were on Boston Scott’s 8 yard touchdown run behind Jason Kelce and RG Isaac Seumalo. Our remaining 16 points came off the toe of K Jake Elliott, twice connecting from 50-plus. The giants never got on their heels vs the run and Hurts stayed under constant pressure, being sacked 3 times (NOT DONE)

2) Set the Edges: Aside from a couple of runs which broke containment, the giants RB’s spent the day being trapped like mice, in half a bucket of water. Funneling everything towards MLB T.J. Edwards was the idea, and he responded (as always) with 10 tackles.

I also said that LB Nakobe Dean (on-side kick recovery) should start over LB Kyzir White who responded by mailing me a gallon of cherry flavored Shut the Fuck Up. (He didn’t literally, but you get the idea.) However, if he’s going to play like THIS when I challenge him: How about remembering how to intercept a ball, Kyzir?! (I await his response in the next game.) (DONE)

3) Show Dallas Some Love: The idea was to have TE Dallas Goedert (7 – 6 – 46 – 7.6 – 0) catch short passes to the outside of the box, and just slightly down the field to loosen the opposing defense inside. While he did operate to the outside of the box, and was targeted quickly, and often on short passes, some of it was a little goofy.

Using him to stretch the box was done, but the route concepts could have been more straight forward. There were too many TE Screens/Bubble Screen type throws to him. I have no idea what the Birds coaching staff was doing there. They missed a chance to send a message. (DONE)

4) Get Get Ball: Sit down. You don’t want to be standing for this one.

The mission was two takeaways. The result was zero takeaways. We played against a six year, journeyman, third stringer, who’d never attempted an NFL pass; and we didn’t get a single turnover off of him. In fact, he threw a touchdown over CB Darius “No Nickname” Slay (1 tackle), and ran over S Reed Blankenship (4 – 0 – 0 – 0 / and the game sealing on-side recovery) for a touchdown.

The giants had more touchdown drives than me we did. Say that again. Really ROLL the words around in your mouth.

Now remember, they did that behind a six year, journeyman, third stringer, who’d never attempted an NFL pass. We have to figure how to take the ball away again, and not just wait for opponents to hand it to us. It’s not like we can face QB Dak Prescott every week. (NOT DONE)

****

So that brings us to 2 of the Four Things this week. We put out a .500 level effort and got a .500 level win. That said, WE GOT THE NUMBER ONE SEED IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE, BABY! We’ll take a week to heal, study, and work on our issues. Watch some football next weekend, study, and in two weeks, host one of the two losers of the NFC Divisional Playoff Round.

****

On The Whole:

I think we can stop blaming QB Gardner Minshew for last week’s offensive debacle vs the Saints. For the second week in a row, our offensive coaching staff looked lost out there. The Offense is at its best when we run the ball. When we stop, well… Let’s see if you can spot a trend:

DAL: Minshew 2TD/2 Int

NO: Minshew 1TD/1 Int

NYG: Hurts 0 TD/1 Int

Those margins are getting tighter, regardless of who plays QB. That’s an issue. Hurts was 4/10 on pass attempts to A.J. Brown, and the red zone pick he threw while trying to get to WR Devonta Smith (8 – 7 – 67 – 9.5 – 0) was as uncharacteristic a pass as you will see in this sport.

I was hoping to see (especially vs back-ups) offensive dominance out there. To have the starters end on a strong note before getting a week off. Now I have questions about if Hurts shoulder is damaging his delivery; and I’m wondering why Head Coach Nick Sirianni is turning his back on the run. Yeah yeah. I know who calls the plays, but who actually runs the games?

Here’s to a much needed Bye Week.

THE RETURN OF 2001

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/07/24
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFC Championship, NFC East, playoffs, Rivals, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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GREATNESS is out there. Can you see it?

Calling me optimistic about the upcoming season, would be to grossly understate the issue. In fact, when the subject of the Eagles comes up, I’m generally overtaken by feelings of extreme calm and pleasantness. Until yesterday, I couldn’t understand why that was. Then the Dallas Cowboys cut a relatively expendable WR, and it became as clear as day to me.

The days of Eagles football circa 2001, are back.

Eagles RBs

Think back to 2001. Franchise QB, key players inked to long term deals, no distractions in the locker room, comfortable coaching staff. The result was a four year, 48 – 16 run, that included four straight division wins, four appearances in the NFC Championship game, and one Super Bowl appearance. True, wins are better than appearances, but you have to get there to win OR lose.

It’s true, we were also 11 – 5 in 2000, but that was off of a last place schedule, following a 5 – 11 season. By 2001, each of those seasons was accomplished vs a 1st place schedule. We were legit MONSTERS.

By contrast, back then it seemed, if our division rivals counted their testicles five times, they’d never get the same number twice. They just couldn’t do anything right. Funny thing. If you look around the NFC East right now, you’ll see shades of that going on, all over again.

You have one team that can’t give away talent fast enough. Another team that can’t or won’t make adjustments to it’s approach to pretty much anything regarding offense, defense, or team culture. The third of our rivals, despite being the most valued sports franchise on Earth, doesn’t seem to understand how money works.

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It’s true! Meanwhile, this year’s Eagles roster is consistently regarded as in the top five, in terms of talent. Team culture is as highly regarded around here, as talent. Our financial house is so in order, that we were able to use it as a weapon, which has since, severely handicapped our most competitive rival, in terms of distraction. (Thank God, that Howie Roseman is on OUR side!)

The calm pleasantness that I feel, isn’t because I expect a great 2019. It’s because I’ve seen this before, and I know how this all plays out. We’re not just set up for a great season of Eagles football. We’re set up for a great era of Eagles football.

There will be losses. There will be injuries. There will be controversies. There will be things we cannot see coming. However, there will always be the team, the fans, and the dream. There will always be us.

Greatness is out there. Can you see it?

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: EAGLES-VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/22
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Special Teams, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

SUPER BOWL!!!!! What did I tell you? I said, Minnesota doesn’t belong in the playoffs. I said, this game will be about which Eagles team shows up. I said, during the Bye Week that the only playoff team I fear is Philadelphia. Now look at us. ONE WIN away from winning our first Championship since 1960. One win away from hoisting one of those annual replicas that our rivals are so fond of.

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Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery scores on a 53 yard bomb from QB Nick Foles. Image courtesy of Philadelphia Daily News

EAGLES 38 – Vikings 7

The Vikings went down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, running the ball as well as they would all night. Then the nightmare began.

Your beloved Eagles responded with 38 unanswered points, as we dominated, harassed and humiliated Minnesota’s defense that (I’d heard) was the best in the NFL. Didn’t look like much to me. Or apparently to our Quarterback.

QB Nick Foles (26/33 – 78.7% – 352 – 3 – 0) put on an absolute clinic, dissecting (what we’d all been told was) the NFL’s second-rated pass defense. Well no, that’s not fair. The Vikings did seem very second rate out there.

RB Jay Ajayi (18 – 73 – 4.0 – 0 – 0) found creases to run in, which helped us move the chains and set up manageable 3rd downs. That led to a 3rd down conversion of 71% (10/14). For the second game in a row, RB LeGarrette Blount (6 – 21 – 3.5 – 1 – 0) found paydirt early.

WR’s Alshon Jeffery (5 – 85 – 17.0 – 2) and Torrey Smith (5 – 69 – 13.8 – 1) gave the Eagles the sort of outside deep threats, I’d been looking for since Week 1. Foles heaved touchdown bombs to each man, (53 and 41 yards, respectively). It was almost enough to overshadow TE Zach Ertz (8 – 93 – 11.6 – 0) who had a beautiful 36 yard catch and run, that set up a 38 yard Field Goal by K Jake Elliott (5/5x, 1/1f, 38) to end the first half.

Those are great numbers, but it was the Defense that won this game. They put a lid on the Viking’s offense after that opening touchdown. On the very next possession, CB Patrick Robinson (2 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a pass and took that tasty treat back 50 yards to cancel out Minnesota’s only lead of the night.

 

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Rookie DE Derek Barnett (2 – 1 – 0 – 1) got our only sack of the game and forced a fumble (pictured), which was recovered by DE Chris Long (2 – 0 – 0 – 0). Safety Corey Graham (5 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a dropped interception attempt by CB Ronald Darby (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) who had a serious impact on the game with that interception, and the block which sprang Robinson on his interception return.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Stop the run: We held the Vikings to 70 yards on 18 carries. (DONE)

2) Challenge their defense: At no point did Nick Foles shy away from attacking and turn into Captain Checkdown. Even better, the playcalling wasn’t trying to protect him. That 41 yard flea-flicker to Smith was outright ballsy; as was that double-faked handoff to set up a Middle Screen. The Eagles didn’t show a single ounce of fear and decided to make the Vikings earn everything. (DONE)

3) Collapse the pocket: The Eagles got good pressure throughout the day, but we didn’t get nearly as much up the gut as I was anticipating. This is likely why the sack production was so low this week. (NOT DONE)

4) Speed Kills:

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There were a few deep throws by Foles in this game. Better still, there were a few completions for scores. The idea was to challenge Minny’s corners and make them earn their reps. They weren’t up to the job. At least not against the Eagles. (DONE)

This week we went 3 out of 4 in Four Things, which brings our playoff total to 7 of 8. There are a couple of things we need to clean up in the next two weeks, before our SUPER BOWL re-match with New England.

On The Whole:

This was a great “get your confidence” game. I think Nick Foles NEEDED a game like this. It’s one thing to have your teammates say they believe in you, it’s a completely different thing to give them a reason to believe in you. No one is going to make Nick Foles the favorite over New England’s QB, but at this point people understand that Foles is not to be taken lightly.

We need more explosiveness from our run game. Ajayi gets the starting nod due to Draft pedigree, but he seems less explosive, and isn’t as good at catching the ball, as RB Corey Clement (2 – 20 – 10.0 – 0 – 0). Ajayi also doesn’t have a great nose for the endzone.

Our interior pass rush

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has to show up next week or our odds of winning drop significantly. If we can stop New England’s QB from stepping up to deliver the ball, and make him come off of his first read, our odds or winning almost crack the ceiling.

doug-pederson ABOUT IT