Preview

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.

.

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.

.

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.

.

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

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

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.

.

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.

.

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”.

.

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

WK9: EAGLES/COWBOYS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/06
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , . 6 Comments

DAL (A)

SUNDAY              8:30                 AT & T Stadium                      Arlington, TX

PICTURE a ragged man dragging a sledgehammer across concrete. Picture a bloody man on his back shimmying away as fast as he can; hand out-stretched, eyes wide, words that won’t form between gasps of breath. The raggedy man with the hammer, still suffers from a wound given to him weeks ago while fighting the bloody guy, but he will not be stopped by mere pain. His eyes, his face, conveys his singularity of purpose.

In that fight, the bloody guy was ripped open. Weeks later that wound still won’t stop spurting. The bandages (Weeden, Cassel) haven’t helped. He’s weak. He’s dying. He knows it. And now the man with the sledgehammer is looking to finish the job. The bloody guy’s head touches a wall behind him. There is is no where else to go. There is nowhere left to run.

Ask any Cowboys fan and they’ll tell you the loss of their starting QB is why they’re in the 5 game tailspin they’re currently in. The hit that sealed the Cowboys fate was delivered by Eagles rookie ILB Jordan Hicks. So in a very real sense, it was the Eagles that ruined, that ended, the Cowboys 2015 season back in Week Two.

And this weekend, with just one more swing of the hammer…we will make it official.

EAGLES

Defense

FS Walter Thurmond has as many interceptions (3) as this weeks opponent. In seven games this team has stolen 11 passes, which puts us on pace for 25 when the year ends. That’s not an earth-shattering number, but with our spotty pass rush, it’s at least something to hang our hats on while we tighten everything else up. By everything else, I mean the pass rush, the 4.0 yards per rush we allow, and the 64% completion rate allowed.

These are the type of numbers that sub .500 teams put up. Oh wait, we’re 3 – 4 now. So yeah, we need to get this fixed. The sack production (7) from our starting Defensive Line is better than it’s been in years, but there’s been a massive drop-off in production (8) from everyone else so far. In a passing league that also has to get fixed.

Luckily for us, this week the NFL has lobbed us a softball, underhand. This is perfect time to experiment and see what works for when we start seeing real teams again.

Offense

Even with last week’s Bye, the Eagles are in the middle of the pack as an Offense. That’s due in part to the actual use of RB DeMarco Murray and employing some basic power elements which not only benefit Murray but also RB Ryan Mathews. Now if only QB Sam Bradford would get around to getting rid of the ball sooner, we might be able to break out and scare some teams.

In the meantime we’ll put up points in our usual “off and on” manner. We score enough points to stay in games, but it would be nice to be able to put together four quarters of high octane ball for a change. It’s a good system our coach has brought here, we just don’t have the top-shelf talent to run it anymore, since our GM gave it all away.

.

Cowboys

Defense

Statistically this is one of the better teams in the league. Those stats also tell you that they suck at forcing turnovers. In fact, the only thing they do worth a damn, is rush the passer. Everything else, (4.1 ypc allowed, 65.8% completion rate allowed, 3 picks all year far) they suck at. All those statistical rankings…we’re talking about a paper tiger here.

Offense 

Matt Cassel‘s QB rating is over 40 points lower than the rating of starter Tony Romo and 33.6 points lower than Brandon Weeden whom Cassel replaced. QB is a downward spiral for this team. Well at least they can lean on their run game.

Did I mention that they just cut the guy who was their Week One starter and their current leader in rushing TD’s? Oh yeah and also their long run leader. And their yards per carry leader. He’s been replaced with a brittle and less explosive player as the Cowboys are now staking it all on former Raider RB Darren Mcfadden.

BOTTOM LINE

Under no circumstances should the Eagles lose this game. Both teams have issues, many of which are similar, but the bottom line here is that the Cowboys are just a bottom feeder team this year. They probably would find themselves being blown-out by some college teams. (Alabama springs to mind.) There’s nothing the Cowboys can do to save themselves. This week the hammer falls and the with it so does one fourth of the NFC East.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 28 – Cowboys 18

EAGLES/PANTHERS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/10/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Wk7-10.25.15

SUNDAY         8:30      Lincoln Financial Field        Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

OUR place atop the division is by no means secure, as it’s really only by the slightest of technicalities (head to head tie breaker), that we even have the spot. This week however we can show the world that we’re a team to be taken seriously, IF we beat the 5-0 Panthers and look good while doing so. Having beaten this team 45 – 21 last year in their own home means that us simply escaping with a win, will do nothing to help the perception of our team.

EAGLES

Defense

The climb to the top of the division was done without big splashes coming from our 2014 offseason Free Agent acquisitions, instead the boost has come from guys like DE Fletcher Cox, rookie ILB Jordan Hicks, and CB Nolan Carroll. No one could argue that this is a top 10 defense, but beating this unit is by no means an automatic. If they don’t have to carry the team, if they keep playing at their recent level, the Eagles could be better than a mere playoff qualifier.

And yes, I just dropped the “P” word. Division leader comes with certain perks.

Offense

Power running, power running, power running. None of that zone shit. Getting cute last year saw us run for fewer than 40 yards. Mostly what happened during last year’s blowout, was we capitalized on 3 interceptions (by Nate Allen, Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher) and some smart, TURNOVER FREE football played by QB Mark Sanchez. We likely won’t get the breaks we got last year, so why do what didn’t work last year?

Also the more we run the cleaner and more upright QB Sam Bradford stays. Considering how erratic he’s been with his play this year, it would be wise to not put this game on his shoulders. Feeding the rock to RB DeMarco Murray is not only good for my fantasy football team, but also the Eagles. We would be wise to make sure to do so this week.

Panthers

Defense

This unit has a few guys who I’ve lusted for in prior Drafts and so it’s hard not to look at it’s performance and feel pride in my ability to spot talent, but bitterness that it’s not here. They get pass rush and sack production from different players, from different positions in their defense. So there is no “one guy” to stop.

What’s freaky is them also finding a way to mine value out of S Kurt Coleman. I think that’s to be commended but if there’s away to attack this team, I’d say it’s by targeting him with the the long ball. (Isolating him against a second slot reciever will get him out of the box. At which point you switch over to power running, power running, power running.)

Offense

Cam Newton. This unit is joke if he goes down.

If we cut off the head, the body dies.

 

Bottom Line

Stop Newton and we stop Carolina. It’s one-stop shopping. Newton threw for over 300 yard and 3 TD’s against us last year. Then again, we sacked him 9 times and hit him a lot more; so he also threw 3 interceptions. (When I said he threw 3 TD’s I didn’t mention that one of them was to CB Bradley Fletcher.) So the Rx is simple. Beat on him. A lot. And then beat him some more. This is real simple stuff folks. You walk Jordan Hicks up to the line of scrimmage and have him holler “COLLARBONE!” and then send the house a couple times early. Make no mistake, he remembers the ass whipping we put on him last year. So this year you bring it all back. You harrass him. You intimidate him. And then you break him. This game is ours if we’re willing to push down the accelerator with both feet.

Prediction

Eagles 26 – Carolina 19

EAGLES/SAINTS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/10/09
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , . 7 Comments

Wk5-10.11.15

 

SUNDAY        1:00                 Lincoln Financial Field          Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

THIS team was the last one to beat us in a playoff game (AT HOME!), so you may have noticed that I’m still working through some bitterness. This game has the ability to be a shootout that keeps you on your feet, or it could be the equivalent of Phil Simms appearing on the inside of your television, greeting you by name, and then smearing handfuls of feces all over his side of your screen. I think it will be the latter. This game will be won by the first team to realize there’s a game going on.

 

EAGLES  

Defense

Having to play 95% of the minutes− Oops! Sorry, Chip. The “snaps” –in every game, is starting to show up in the number of injuries that are beginning to mount among our Defensive players. Right now we can’t stop the pass (ranked 25th) and are only okay at stopping the run (13th). However, stopping the run only gets harder as the year goes on. At this rate we won’t be able to stop anyone passing or running by December. But December is still weeks away. Unfortunately for the Saints, they face us in October.

Offense

Being unable to run makes us only half of an Offense. Teams know we’re going to pass because it’s the only way we really move the ball. We cripple ourselves with runs that start off going east-west instead of downhill. The one week we opened up with something different (vs the Jets) we were able to run our full Offense and we won the game.

Opponents are now just squatting in the “B” gaps to disrupt our blocking scheme. Look for how our opponents play the “B” gaps. You may be in danger of becoming a more knowledgeable fan.  

 

Opponent

Defense

Rookie OLB Hau’oli Kikaha has recorded a sack in 3 straight games and he leads the Saints in that category. Word on him is that he’s a one trick pony. Then again, getting sacks is an impressive trick. Especially when it leads to 2 of the teams 3 turnovers. Yes you read that right. Going into Week 5 the Saints have a paltry 3 turnovers, none of which are interceptions.

Offense

Like us, they throw the ball a ton because they can’t reliably run the thing. For that reason more than any other they’re 3rd in passing yardage, but they’re 19th in scoring.

QB Drew Brees is still trading on his rep from back when he had weapons like RB Darren Sproles, TE Jimmy Graham and a functioning version of WR Marques Colston. In reality his TD and yardage numbers have been dropping every year for the last four. He’s still good, but he’s not “that guy”anymore.

WR Brandin Cooks is shaping up to be a phenomenally pedestrian player; (and to think some fans wanted this guy to replace DJax.) The receiver to keep an eye on is Willie Snead.

What the Saints do different this year is they’ve knocked off that RB by committee nonsense and now they run everything through the team’s leading rusher (in both carries and yards), and leading receiver (in both receptions and yards) RB Mark Ingram. It’s not producing great numbers or wins yet, but it’s a sound building block to establish a go-to for big moments.

 

BOTTOM LINE

This is two bad 1-3 teams hanging on by a thread. Somebody’s season is coming to an end on Sunday. The giants are almost certain to beat the 49ers and go to 3-2. We can ill-afford to fall to 1-4. On the other hand most of our issues are technical and can be overcome. The Saints however are every bit as bad as their 1-3 record indicates.

 

PREDICTION

EAGLES 28 – Saints 16