Offense

2014 IS MAKE OR BREAK FOR NICK FOLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/07/09
Posted in: Offense, Players. Tagged: . 9 Comments

players-mccoyandfoles.500px

LESEAN McCoy thinks that 2014 will be the year that Nick Foles will shut all of his critics up and establish himself once and for all as “Yeah, I’m Nick Foles. I’m Philadelphia’s quarterback. I’m the guy”. The words “the guy” are McCoy’s, they aren’t mine. I think that’s the problem though. Almost everyone sees Foles as “the guy” not “The Franchise”.

I’ve been poking around different football markets since January, and aside from Eagles fans, the percentage of NFL fans who see Foles as a Top 10 QB is staggeringly, soberingly low. While some have fallen in love with his TD to Int ratio of 27:2, there are those out there who think his “numbers are more impressive than his game tape“.

Fans, the media, other GM’s, everybody has an opinion. However, only one opinion counts, and that opinion belongs to Chip Kelly. For his part, Kelly did say about Foles, “He’s the starting quarterback for the next 1,000 years here”.

That’s about as rock-solid an endorsement as a Head Coach can give a player, and that would have been that…but then Kelly immediately paints himself a backdoor by saying “Yeah, you hope [Nick Foles is the quarterback of the future], but− and I don’t mean to be coy, I always say this −is that, you can say that whomever it is, is your player of the future and then next week they get hurt.”

Through that backdoor, many fans (myself included), are half expecting to see Oregon QB (and you know Kelly loves his Ducks) Marcus Mariota make an entrance onto the roster and into the lives of Eagles fans. There is much debate on the subject anytime anyone brings it up; as some Eagles fans are sold on Foles being able to run this system, and others don’t think the system we run is the one Kelly really wants to run. I’m in camp #2.

There is some writing on the wall that indicates that what we’ll run , and how we run it next year will be different from this year. I know. I can hear you already “BEAST, how can you know about 2015 if you haven’t seen 2014 yet!?”

March 2nd ; who brought you this story 4 hours before NFL.com?

March 23rd; who brought you this story 2 days before CSN’s Rueben Frank?

March 18th; who brought you this story almost 4 months before Ron Jaworski would confirm it?

That’s three major scoops on a website less than 6 months old. So I’ve more than earned your trust on this one. But you know what? I go you one better and discuss the writing on the wall that I’m talking about (since I’m actually compiling research as I write this).

But not today. This article is already long enough.

FALLOUT FROM LANE JOHNSON’S SUSPENSION

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/07/06
Posted in: NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

card-lanejohnson

BOTH the NFL and the Eagles going stone silent for the last 4 days on Lane Johnson facing a 4 game suspension for use of PED’s is unsettling. It makes you wonder if the NFL isn’t looking a little harder at all of our players, and maybe stepping up the number of requested tests for this team.

You’d think for a first offender (like Johnson), with no reported history dating back to college, that a pat suspension would be a fairly easy call to make. But so far we’ve heard nothing, and that has me somewhat worried. How much fallout will there be from this? Doesn’t matter. We don’t need any distraction during Training Camp. Least of all the NFL rooting through our team, in what would be a second investigation in one off-season. Possible fallout is what worries me.

However, what I’m not worried about is the Offensive Line; specifically the RT position. The fact is, we have a pretty good back-up in Allen Barbre. During last year’s preseason he more than held his own as he switched off between LT and LG. During the actual season when he had to step in at LT for Jason Peters in the Green Bay game, he didn’t get Nick Foles killed (though Clay Matthews was sidelined for that game).

To be truthful with you, I don’t recall that GB game very well, so I can’t say whether or not a TE was rolled over to help him much. As a former LT, what I can say is that typically the LT does not receive TE help, hence the left is generally the weakside of the formation. If Barbre did play most of those snaps with no help (“uncovered”), then RT should be a breeze for him.

At RT Barbre will generally be on the strongside because he’ll have a TE to his right. On passing downs, that TE can help out with a chip block as he releases into his pattern. A chip block slows down passrushers and generally allows the RT a chance to get his hands on that passrusher. So again, if Barbre could manage that at LT with no help, then RT should be a day down the shore, for him. And if he looks really good out there, he could end up taking over for Todd Herremans when Johnson gets back. (We talked about that one earlier, remember?)

Like I said before, I’m not worried about the O-line, but until the NFL says clearly that it’s just a suspension, and that it goes no further than the individual player; I’m still going to be a bit nervous. After all, we have no idea what goes into those smoothies Chip Kelly recommends so highly. 

HOW WE’LL WIN THE EAST (pt 3 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/07/04
Posted in: Conversations, Offense. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

players- mccoyandescort.550px

NOW I’ve already said that the Eagles would win the NFC East, now it’s time I discussed how.

You have stuff to do, so I’m not going to try and cram it all in one article. Instead I’m going to break it up into 3 parts: Offense, Defense and of course, Special Teams. Yesterday we looked at Defense.

Today:

OFFENSE

 

With Special Teams winning the hidden yardage battle and helping to offset what will likely be a so-so Defense, winning the NFC East will come down to the Offense. Raise your hand if you’re surprised. (If your hand is up: “Welcome to Earth. We’re called Humans.”)

To start with, there’s no question of who the starters are. Barring injury and/or suspension, this is your Offense:

 2014 Offense

If during this preseason you think the Offense seems different than last year, relax. It’s not your imagination. This year Chip Kelly is going to employ a more genuine version of the Spread than what he rolled out in 2013.

Last year due to the presence of DJax, Kelly could get away with all sorts of things in the box because most teams didn’t walk their Safeties up with him out there. They also took a LB off the field and replaced him with a DB to compensate for us starting 3 WR’s. The result was some pretty smooth sailing for LeSean McCoy.

This year you can expect more 4WR formations, or more accurately, 3WR formations where Darren Sproles goes in motion and rarely ever sets before the snap. The idea being to spread the defense horizontally, and catch them in the middle of shifting to adjust to our motion. Spread them thin enough and it’s easier for the RB to find a hole to punch through with minimal traffic and nothing but daylight ahead.

Last year we spread defenses more vertically than horizontally, and it was hugely successful. Since we can’t do that this year, we hoping to do the opposite and get better results.

 

Last month I wrote an article discussing how teams could stop the version of the Spread we’re going to run this year. It was mostly just to give fans a heads up on what our opponents may attempt to do. Stopping us isn’t rocket science, but it would be far from an easy trick.

My guess is the only team in our division who could pull it off is the Redskins. However I doubt their coach is willing to absorb the penalties necessary to get it done. I hope I’m right about that. The Giants and Cowboys have coaching staffs with the stones to try it, but they lack the horses to get it done.

Our division rivals being weak in opposition to our biggest strength is why the NFC East title looks like it’s on a return trip to Philly. It’s not our system that’s our rival’s biggest hurdle, it’s that they aren’t yet built to stop it. 

FANTASY FOOTBALL: MY CHIP KELLY INTERVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/06/23
Posted in: Crazy Talk, Offense. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

DeSean-Jackson-Chip-Kelly

AFTER what seemed like forever, Chip Kelly opened his mouth and said “Yes. You can call me Chippah.” I asked him if he had read the article I wrote about him going on a murder spree. He chuckled that he hadn’t, but that he looked forward to doing so.

At that point Chippah reached over and selected a California Roll off of the naked woman who was paid to act as our serving tray. I was reaching for the tuna sashimi, when Tony Romo walked over and told me that I could punch him for $5. So I handed him a 50. It was all I had on me.

When the paramedics left, Chippah got down to talking Offense, and he showed me his playbook. There was one formation where Darren Sproles is on the right in the slot with Jordan Matthews, with Riley Cooper split wide. Trey Burton is taking snaps under Center, with LeSean McCoy offset left behind him. It was sort of a Spread/Wildcat hybrid, and it looked like a monster even on paper.

I clapped my hands together gleefully, not caring how childlike it made me look. I was thinking Super Bowl.

Suddenly Bobby Griffin ran into the room, grabbed the playbook, and bolted for the door. Then his knee gave way and he crumpled to the floor. Chippah took back his playbook, and used a push broom to sweep Bob into the hallway as he screamed “Shanahan! Why did you make me do this?!”

At that point I knew to expect the Va-giants to make an attempt. From seemingly nowhere, Eli Manning snatches the playbook, and outside the castle window (I did mention that we were in a castle, right? I didn’t?? Sorry. My bad). Anyway, Victor Cruz yells “Over here!” and Eli throws the playbook right to me. I have no idea how. Me and the window weren’t even on the same side of the room. Eli hung his head and commenced with his  “Struggle Face“.  The day was saved.

At that point I smelled coffee and heard my alarm clock going.

The season can’t get here fast enough.  

WHO CAN STOP US?

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/06/14
Posted in: Coaching, Offense. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment
Going No Ware in 2014

Going No Ware in 2014

COUPLE days ago I wrote how in two steps the Eagles Spread Offense could be shut down. Those twos steps were: Play Cover Two and consistently send six. While I didn’t say it would be easy to do, it’s a sound and proven strategy against this type offensive system.

Hundreds of fans saw the story and fewer than 10 people disagreed with the strategy. This indicates that either Philly has some pretty knowledgeable fans overall, or that only the knowledgeable ones come to my website. I’m good with either.

The strategy itself brings up a couple of  interesting questions. Who is equipped to execute such a scheme? What exactly do you need?

1)  You need a DC with the balls to play Cover Two and give up all those easy completions underneath. Despite all the yelling some coaches do, having the stones to go out on a limb and do something bold is rare. Which is why you so often hear that “The NFL is a copycat league”.

2) You need excellent play from Safeties who play Safety, not quasi-Cornerback. On the surface that means of course the Safeties have to make tackles on those short easy completions. But with Chip Kelly’s system being run-based, it means the Safeties have to fill their run fits and reliably cause a pile, especially if they can’t make the tackle. For example, note what happens here with no Safety to fill the gaps.

You can’t beat a running team by thinking pass first. (New Orleans and Minnesota understood that.)

3) Consistently send six is easy to say and not so easy to do, yet if you can master it, you can cause headaches for any system, coach, or QB. Late Eagles DC Jim Johnson understood that you simply need to mix who you send, how often and from where. During his time here we couldn’t reach the passer with 4, so he took to sending anywhere from 5 to 7 players on almost every given down. In case you need a frame of reference: 1 blitz every 5 downs (20%) is a high number. Now here’s a breakdown of just how often JJ dialed up blitzes.  (Seriously don’ skip it. Check it out.) We won the Division how many times behind that approach? That’s because if it’s well managed, it’s deadly. Again it also has a successful track record against this type of system.

So just who can pull this off? Provided that opponents can get quick penetration by an unblocked rusher, pretty much anybody. Free runners mean short passes, at which point you make the tackle underneath and deliver the big hit on the passer. Even if it’s late.

In today’s safety conscious NFL, late hits will mean 15 yard flags. Fine. As the expression goes it’s the “cost of doing business”. You follow it with another big hit. Even if it’s late. Look at it this way, if you were Chip Kelly would you sacrifice Nick Foles early in the season for a single TD drive? Of course not. We need him “next week”, so the smart thing is not to let him get beat to shit. So you keep either a RB or a TE in to block. This changes the Spread concept because now the defense is less spread, with fewer people to cover. This is known as a ‘win’ for the defense.

It’s throwback football. When your opponent is scheming you off the field, you shift into caveman and make it a war of attrition. You make ‘em too tired and sore to be clever. Done with some discipline, ANY team is capable of this.

STOPPING THE EAGLES OFFENSE IN JUST 2 STEPS

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/06/10
Posted in: Coaching, Offense. Tagged: , , , . 10 Comments
Image courtesy of sportige.com

Image courtesy of sportige.com

SOMEONE in an Eagles group I belong to, pointed out an article (written by another Eagles fan) that summarizes how one Redskins fan said he would stop Chip Kelly’s offense. The summary made the ‘skins fan sound like a moron, and I had a laugh; but then I thought “an Eagles fan did do the summary”. So I went to the source material to see it for myself.  

I’m glad I did. I have to say, there was a lot of sound research and football knowledge on display there. Nothing the guy said was technically wrong, and he made some of the points that I made when I did a breakdown of why we were so successful last year. The only problem with his “blueprint” was that he put in too many moving parts.

So how would I do it?

Step one to stopping someone, is understanding what they do. What do the Eagles do? We run the Spread. Okay so what is the Spread?  The Spread is a system that typically uses a 3 WR formation (sometimes 4), to spread a defense horizontally, so it can force man coverage concepts that open up the middle of the field for short passes and the run.

What Kelly added to this system was a frenetic pace, and the constant employing of “the mesh” which basically is a legal way of running a ‘pick play’. (If you want to know more about “the mesh”, Sheil Kapadia has an excellent article on it.) Kelly also tweaked the system a bit by frequently using TE’s in the place of slot WR’s, though they are mostly used as receivers and not much in pass protection. So the Eagles typically pass block with just the 5 O-linemen, with a touch of chipping or slow releases.

 

Now some historical perspective:

Back in the 1990’s there were already 2 teams heavily employing the Spread: the Houston Oilers and the Atlanta Falcons. Back then however, everybody called it the Run and Shoot (RAS).

Both the Falcons and Oilers scored a ton of points using this system. Neither team had a TE of note from their RAS days, primarily because they almost never used one. Even in the run game. The result was a lot of hits on the QB. The sack numbers for QB’s Warren Moon and Chris Miller really don’t tell the whole story. Miller had the misfortune to play in the same division as Pat Swilling and Rickey Jackson (Saints), Kevin Greene (Rams), and Charles Haley (49ers). (If you aren’t familiar with those names, look them up.) There were a lot of late hits and free runs to the QB. Miller missed quite a few games.

 

What I’m saying is the Spread is expensive. It requires you to gamble with the most precious resource on your team: Your starting QB. It’s why you don’t see a lot of it these days. For example: Bill Belichik has been recently borrowing concepts from Chip Kelly. Now take a look at Tom Brady’s recent sack numbers and completion percentage. However Brady’s recent TD/Int ratio indicates that Nick Foles (or another QB) may be able to produce similar numbers in this system.

 

Once more: The Spread is the Run and Shoot. Kelly’s version is run at a faster pace, while getting as close to cheating as possible without justifying the flag being thrown. That’s our Offense in a nutshell.

So then how do you stop it? Simple. Play some Cover-2 and consistently send 6, (since the Eagles typically block with 5). It’s Jim Johnson 101.

That’s it. Really. You don’t need 80 steps like what’s listed by our Redskins friend up there, just 2. Make sure the hit is delivered (even if it’s late), and make the tackle on the short completion.

That’s it. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. You make it a game of attrition. Because limping QB’s can’t run the hurry-up, and scared QB’s rush their passes, or get flagged for intentional grounding. (Remember those?)

It was this formula (and everyone running some version of the WCO) that ran the RAS out of the NFL. And as I said in another article: If I know this, you can bet NFL DC’s do too.

OUR RB’S ARE RANKED BEHIND GREEN BAY’S

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/05/31
Posted in: Offense, Rants. Tagged: . Leave a comment

card-leseanmccoy

 

IT’S not news that NFL.com/NFL Network makes a habit out of slighting our Eagles, but this time they went too far.

I was having French Toast, and putting finishing touches on an article about Malcolm Jenkins (now pushed back to tomorrow), while scanning NFL.com on a second screen. Then I saw an article about where the Top 5 backfields ranked, so I checked it out. Mostly I wanted to see how they stacked us up against the 49ers and Bills. I was shocked to see the ranking:

Seattle

Buffalo

San Fran

Green Bay

Philadelphia

Total bullshit.

Seattle is of course, getting the Super Bowl champ nod; (even though if Lynch went down for any length of time Turbin could hardly fill his shoes). Buffalo has the talent, but age and health are question marks. San Fran is legit. There’s no shame in being neck and neck with the 49ers backfield.

But Green Bay? GREEN BAY!? Take away Eddie Lacy and what’s left is why they felt they had to draft Eddie Lacy. And NFL.com put them ahead of us.

The ranking makes this big deal of Jonathan Franklin averaging 5.6 ypc even though he’s a 3rd stringer, but then makes no mention of Chris Polk posting 8.9 ypc or the fact that on only 11 rushes he found paydirt 3 times.

Frankly, I think ranking the Eagles 5th is a slap in the face of LeSean McCoy, and a hard poke in the chests of Darren Sproles and Chris Polk. I’m used to the national media slighting us, but this was just a flat out insult.

MARK SANCHEZ AS THE STARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/05/30
Posted in: Offense, Players. Tagged: , , . 5 Comments

players-marksanchez.550px.

WHAT’S this about Mark Sanchez “resurfacing as a starter under Chip Kelly”?! I’m glad that Sanchez feels rejuvenated and that the Eagles were the best place he could have landed (because no one likes flipping burgers); but I’m not at all prepared for any discussion that puts ButtFumble in the driver’s seat.

Don’t get me wrong! Sanchez is an Eagle now, so as an Eagle fan I want him to do well here; but by “do well” I mean hold a clipboard and wear a baseball cap, as Nick Foles goes on to challenge Brett Favre’s ‘consecutive starts by a QB’ record. I’m not being anti-Sanchez, just pro-Foles. (Besides with [Marcus Mariota] coming out of Oregon next year, Foles doesn’t need the aggravation.)

Right now we have a WR coming off of a devastating injury, and were folding in a rookie to replace one of the NFL’s premiere deep threats. Still with that, Kelly says that the Offense is light years ahead of where it was last year. So you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t want the boat rocked right now.

ONE OF THESE TE’s WON’T BE HERE IN 2015

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/05/23
Posted in: Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment
Image courtesy of profootballspot.com

Image courtesy of profootballspot.com

MANY fans are hoping for Zach Ertz to unseat Brent Celek as the starter at TE this year. Considering that the Eagles aren’t quite as reliant on their TE’S to block in the run game as most teams, I suppose it could happen, but could ain’t should.

For my money I think Celek is the more complete TE. Not just because he’s more experienced, but because he’s a more natural blocker. Plus with the ball in his hands Celek will run a bitch over. You have to consider whether, when and how to tackle that guy.

Ertz has more fluidity, and I don’t just think it’s because he’s younger. I think it’s because if he was two tenths faster and 20 pounds lighter he’d be a WR. He moves better, he just doesn’t strike me as a natural TE.

Then again this system doesn’t really call for one does it? So Ertz’s blocking isn’t really a liability, and Celek’s blocking is merely a plus. Basically they’ll just provide Chip Kelly with options. Sounds good right? Now for a shot of cold hard reality and math.

The guy who I think is fucked is James Casey. He’s due 4 million next year; and with Celek almost making 5, and Ertz making 1.5, you know the Eagles aren’t going to want to hold onto all three next year. So I’m guessing Ertz will get every chance to step-up, and since Celek is a fan favorite, I think 2014 is Casey’s farewell tour in Philly.

CONCERN ABOUT THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/05/19
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Offense. Tagged: , . Leave a comment
Image courtesy Philly.com

Image courtesy Philly.com

DESPITE outward appearances, the Eagles are extremely concerned with the lack of depth along the Offensive Line.

There are of course bodies behind the starters; but aside from (maybe) 29 year-old journeyman Allen Barbre, there isn’t a single player of note to take over when Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, and Todd Herremans either steps down or their skills erode to the point where they have to be replaced for Nick Foles’s safety.

Prior to the March edition of Free Agency, the Eagles added C David Molk, and OT Andrew Gardner. Despite a combined 5 years of NFL experience, there isn’t a single start between them. During FA we didn’t add or even seriously court an Offensive Lineman. We also didn’t spend a Draft pick on one.

Some fans have told me that they are expecting OT Michael Bamiro to take a big leap forward from the Practice Squad to the active roster. If this is the plan, the Eagles are pretty mum on it. Bamiro is mentioned in a Bo Wulf article currently on their website, but it’s only a passing mention. Wulf goes into far more detail with virtually every other O-lineman on the payroll. We used to call that a “diss” when I was younger.

After the Draft they added 3 guys who are supposed to battle it out at G, and even had 32 year-old Daryn Colledge in for a visit. He’s also a G by the way. Also to quote Wulf: “Whether Colledge joins the team or not, there is still a large group of veteran offensive linemen available on the street, if the team chooses to go down that road.”

That’s a lot of sudden consideration for a position that has been ignored as a priority for the last two years. I’m guessing with the June edition of FA, the Eagles will be checking the cutting room floor of every team in the NFL for help inside.