Reviews

THE 2019 DRAFT REPORT

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/26
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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LEFT Tackle Andre Dillard! Let me just say that love the pick. Now that you’re no longer in suspense, let me do a little housekeeping. I’m doing something a little different this year. Instead of issuing multiple article covering each day, I’m just going to update this article daily. For those who see links to this through social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.), you will see this same article re-posted, but there will be new content on it.

NOW BACK TO THE DRAFT!

I didn’t do much homework on him initially because from all early indications, both Dillard and OT Jawan Taylor would be off the board by 17, 18 at the latest. There was no way we’d have a shot a top LT at 25. Just no way. So I didn’t do much leg work on them. (As it was, I barely got my Wish List out on time, this year.)

Then we got to 22 and both players were still on the board. By the time the Draft started I no longer wanted a DT, since we re-signed DT Timmy Jernigan earlier in the day. So it didn’t sting in the least when DT Christian Wilkins went to Miami (which is where I thought he’d go, and so I hoped we’d trade with.) I had no idea what we’d do at 25.

What we did was trade up to 22, trading our 1st (25), one of two picks in the 4th (127), and our 6th (198). At which we took forever before pulling the trigger on a guy who looks to be a better option than OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, already.

Round 1 (22 overall): LT Andre Dillard.

At about 16 seconds into this video, Dillard steps forward into pass protection, instead of kick sliding backward. Then he does it again at 1:15. Then again at 3:03. And at 3:20. And 4:36. Then once more at 5:29. Keep in mind, these are on pure passing plays. By pure, I mean passing plays which employ no element of play-action.

He won’t be able to do that in the NFL, but when I saw it, I was IMMEDIATELY in love with the pick. (More on that in a sec.) He can get back quickly and deep. In fact (best example) at 3:47, but most of this video shows that his base technique is a shallow step back. So he’ll need a little time to make that slide feel second nature. But that could come as soon as mid-season, so don’t expect this to become a project.

The knock on him is that he isn’t a big-time run blocker, and it’s true. He really he isn’t. At least right now. He comes out high, which exposes too much of his chest. Against a smart defender, that can cause him to be used to trap his RB behind the line, stringing out a run, and giving time for the cavalry to get there. That will get fixed just by the way that O-Line coach Jeff Stoutland runs the drills segment of camp.

That’s not to say that Dillard has poor instincts for the run. Quite the opposite. He understands where he has to be relative to the runner’s emergence point. In fact, (best example) at 5:06, you see him make two blocks, and create an alley for a rushing touchdown. He has the eyes and the instincts. He just needs to play in a grown-up offensive system.

A bit ago I said I fell in love, at about 16 second into this video. Really it was more like I started falling after 54 seconds, when I saw that the first step-up block wasn’t a fluke, (but this play included play-action.) However, by 1:15 (pure pass), he had me. He reminded me a little of another kick-ass LT that NEVER allowed a single sack in three years. He reminded me, of me. And that’s not a compliment that I just hand out.

With the cues I see in his game from this video and other videos (those were based on his QB), I think he’ll do great things, not just good things, at the LT position.

Round 2 (53 overall): RB Miles Sanders

Not a bad pick, but not a great one either. My guess is that he’s here to be an upgrade over RB Wendell Smallwood. Similar in body type, but with more speed and better feel for creating in traffic. There’s also no history of him being a reliable receiver.

Generally I like to get video of a player going against a tough opponent. I figure, a tough college opponent will show who a player is, when faced with a challenge. Initially, I went with Penn vs Michigan, but Sanders came up small, and seemed like he didn’t know some of his blocking assignments. So I went with a video vs a lesser opponent, to get an idea of his NFL upside.

If he gets a crack, he can hurt a defense.

Round 2 (57 overall): WR Jose Joaquin “J.J.” Arcega-Whiteside

Jump ball winner. Sort of an Alshon Jeffery-lite, in that even if he’s covered, he’s still open because he’ll win a contested ball. There’s a lot of “arm waving business” early in his routes that cuts into how fast he REALLY get into the route. That’s a shame, because at times he does a nice job with his feet to stem his routes. Fortunately that’s something that coaching may be able to clean up by the end of Training Camp.

Between recent draft picks Mack Hollins and Arcega-Whiteside, and the rumors of moving WR Nelson Agholor, it seems like the Eagles are winding up for a big WR corps, when the contracts of Jeffery and DeSean Jackson expire.

Speaking of Arcega-Whiteside, he needs a nickname. From us! JAW comes to mind, but Ron Jaworski is already Jaws for us, and Jaws II seems weak. A&W is cute and could have a root beer tie at the stadium, if the fans drive it hard enough. Just some thoughts.

4th round (138 overall): DE Shareef Miller

Miller went few picks earlier that I had pegged him on my Wish List, but he’s not a bad pick in this spot. Not only is it nice to see a Wish Lister in here, but I have to love the fact that he’s a Philadelphia native. Here’s what I said about him in the Wish List:

Miller (6’4″ 254) does a solid job of playing “the run first” on every down. He sets and wins the edge, but doesn’t do a good job of exploiting it when he wins it. Too often he runs himself out of plays, or doesn’t bend inside when he has the Tackle on his heels. These are things that can be fixed quickly with coaching, and should have been already. (Then again PSU’s coaching staff is now infamous for letting some things go on too long.) Given that Chris Long‘s game is also “set the edge–play the run–rush the passer” Miller could be just the rotational player to fill Long’s (on-field) role.

5th Round (167 overall): QB Clayton Thorson

He is CLAYTON! Son of Thor ! Just kidding.

I’ll be damned, but watching this kid move around in the pocket, pick up short yardage and scramble, all reminded me of Carson Wentz. (Go back and check the tape.) He doesn’t have Wentz’s willingness to stick the ball in tight spaces, but that might have more to do with not having the faith, that his skill guys have the skill to make the plays.

That won’t be a problem in Philadelphia. We have all kinds of firepower here. In fact, the question is whether he’ll be able to sit in the saddle and ride such a powerful beast (our Offense). There’s a chance that it could overwhelm the young lad, as he’s never sat so tall, upon such an impressive monster as this.

If he does impress in camp, the fact are Nate Sudfeld was a 6th round pick, not the Eagles draft pick, and only has 25 NFL attempts, with no starts, and no wins on his resume. If Thorson shows some hunger, he might be able to challenge for best view of the name on Wentz’s jersey. At which point having a guy who plays like Wentz will be a heck of an insurance policy against injury.

Shit just got real.

All in all, it was a really good Draft. We had a LT, RB, and WR all fall to us. Grabbed a DE to replenish a loss that may or may not happen, and grabbed a QB who will either sharpen our current, competent back-up, or supplant him. All of those are good things. 

Now to grab some Free Agents! 

 

2019- REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/15
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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LAST year… the Redskins finished 2 – 4 in the division and 7 – 9 overall. They got out to pretty good 6 – 3 start, but then were decimated by major injuries to their…seemingly everything. They ended the season ranked near dead last in scoring (29th), yards (28th), passing (28th). Defensively, they at least held their own in points allowed (15th). The 7 – 9 finish left many feeling that the team’s nucleus was solid, and that they have almost all of the pieces needed, for a run at the NFC East throne.

That was last year. Keeping in mind that though the Draft will change some of this, the following is a report on how the team looks today, prior to the NFL Draft….

OFFENSE

QB:

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With the devastating leg injury to Alex Smith still being re-habbed, the team needed a starter. So signing Case Keenum would be easy to understand/forgive. But giving up something, anything (a player, a pick, half of a ham sandwich, whatever), to acquire a passer with a 26 – 28 career mark as a starter, is practically a cry for help. Listen…. “Someone stop us, PLEASE!” Did you hear that? Keenum’s only two playoff games include a loss that dumb luck turned into a win, and then getting absolutely shelled and exposed as a fraud a week later. And they traded for this guy! Which basically tells Colt McCoy how little faith the team has in him. (-)

RB:

With the devastating leg injury to Derrius Guice being rehabbed, the team needed a starter. Enter Samaje Perrine who spent a good deal of 2018 as a healthy scratch.

At the age of 33, Adrian Peterson ran for over 1,000 yards, even breaking a 90 yard touchdown run vs the Eagles. (In a game where he still failed to rush for 100 yards). As a reward, the team gave the now 34 year old, a new 2 year deal. (Cry for help?) Chris Thompson spent lat year being dinged up by injuries, and as a result couldn’t offer an effective change of pace option. Between Peterson, Guice, and Thompson, this team should be a competent enough backfield. Provided they don’t have to face too many loaded boxes. (+)


WR:

With the devastating leg injury to Cam Sims last year, this team was being given a glimpse of what was to come. Sims (based on a great 2018 camp), had the staff eager to deploy the weapon that everyone else had overlooked. Then got hurt Week One. Then halfway through the year, Paul Richardson had a shoulder injury which derailed the team’s plans to add some explosiveness. But to be fair, it already wasn’t going well before he got hurt. For the third year in a row, Josh Doctson failed to crack 600 yards in a season. Not bad for a guy selected 22nd overall, three years ago. And Brian Quick is also on the roster! Sims, Richardson, and Doctson are all back this year, but that line-up isn’t even scary on paper. (-)


TE:

With the dev- Sorry. Got into a rhythm. Remember when Jordan Reed was scary? He probably doesn’t either. Calm down! That wasn’t a concussion joke! That was just pointing out that it’s been a few seasons since he was problem for anyone trying to cover him. Weird stat: He’s never had a 40 yard reception. That said, still he was a weekly headache. He used to be that good. He’s still above average as receiving option, but no one to fear anymore. For the last three years, Vernon Davis has done such a good job of picking up the slack for Reed, that it makes no sense for him to still be #2 on the depth chart. Both are more receivers than blockers, and that is where Jeremy Sprinkle comes in. It’s a solid group, but there’s no need to game plan for them. (+)

OL:

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With o-line devastated by injuries last year, it was just one more reason why the offense became trash last year. During the first 7 games the team was 5 – 2 having already lost G Shawn Lauvao for the year. Then they lost Brandon Scherff (one of football’s top Guards) for the year. Then they lost Trent Williams for few games. Then they lost some back-ups. To pronounce their line as “bad” and leave it at that, is to ignore context. Ignoring context is how you miss obvious things, like what the line will do in 2019.

Four of last year’s Week One starters (LT Trent Williams, C Chase Roullier, RG Brandon Scherff, RT Morgan Moses) will be back in those same spots. The upgrade, and YES, it’s an upgrade, is Ereck Flowers at LG. Flowers has spent the last four years being trash as an OT. He can’t handle movement on the edge, but he’s a brute of a man if he can get his mitts on a guy. Playing inside puts him in a phone-booth, and his 2019 season will make his prior two NFL teams look like idiots for not spotting the obvious. (+)

In a nutshell:

If this was rugby, then Washington would have a team. However, this game revolves heavily around the forward pass. This team lacks the players to be highly effective at throwing the ball. Unless the Draft brings a miracle, this offense will keep this team out of the postseason and drafting in the top 15, in 2020. (-)

DEFENSE

DE:

600 pounds of problem. Johnathan Allen, and Matt Ioannidis, put together 15.5 sacks and 92 tackles between them. For players at this position in a 3-4 system, those are impressive numbers. That says that the interior of this defense is getting off of blocks. This groups Achilles Heel is that there is no quality depth behind the starters. There are players listed as defensive linemen, but that usually means “roster body”. (+)

DT/NT:

In his rookie year what did Daron Payne do? He posted 56 tackles, 5 sacks, and 3 passes defensed. His effectiveness was contagious along the entire d-line. Now he has a year’s experience under his belt. The only Achilles Heel here, is the complete lack of quality depth behind him. (+)

OLB:

Ryan Kerrigan churned out double digit sacks (13) again. With the departure of Preston Smith, it looks today as if the guy inheriting the other stating nod will be Shaun Dion Hamilton. Or possibly Marcus Smith. Outside of Kerrigan, this position is ALL question marks. Given the one dimensional way that it’s utilized, even if the picture were settled it might just be borderline. (-)


M/ILB:

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Mason Foster is the clean-up guy in the middle. They released Zach Brown, but don’t appear to have an answer as to who will replace him. Reuben Foster is the guy they’ll count on to fill those shoes. He’s yet to prove that he’s a game-changer at this level. (-)

S:

Landing SS Landon Collins might be a bigger deal on a team with a real FS. However, with Montae Nicholson, and Deshazor Everett, being the the top options, it looks like this team overpaid for yet another player at this position, who doesn’t specialize in coverage. It’s a little bit goofy, and it almost ensures that this team will end up on the receiving end of a few nasty blowouts this season. (-)

CB:

They need Josh Norman to be a superstar. That’s what the head coach said about 2019. The truth is that Norman has been fine. The rest? Fabian Moreau? When a guy can play 15 games but only gets 10 starts, you know the coaches are still looking for someone they can trust. Quinton Dunbar, Danny Johnson and Greg Stroman? They all spent 2018 being moved around, in and out of the line-up, and by year’s end the coaching staff still didn’t (and still don’t) have an answer for 2019. (-)

In a nutshell:

In case you didn’t notice: DE Johnathan Allen, DT Daron Payne, LB Reuben Foster, LB Shaun Dion Hamilton, LB Ryan Anderson, and SS Landon Collins ALL played for Alabama within the last 5 years. Maybe the GM is trying to reassemble the college unit?

In any case, there are holes everywhere along this unit. There is zero depth anywhere, and in some areas, the starters themselves are suspect. No Draft day miracle can save this unit this year. (-)

SPECIAL TEAMS

P:

Tress Way recorded the best net average (41.5) of his career, so far. Only 31 of his 79 (39%) of his punts were returned, 41 of which were downed inside the 20. Unfortunately, he didn’t do many favors for his coverage team, and thus they allowed 9.8 yard per punt return and brought one back for a score. He isn’t amazing, but he’s consistent and seems to be making small improvements. (+)

K:

Dustin Hopkins established a career bests with his longest field goal (56 yards) and accuracy (89.7%). Just 13 of his 70 kickoffs (18.5%) were returned for a total of 295 yards and no scores. (+)

RS:

Nine players had a crack at returning kicks and or punts, yet not one player cracked a 50 yard play, a score, or even 300 yards for the season. This is a hole. (-)

In a nutshell:

The kicking game is solid. The toes are reliable, and the coverage teams know what to expect, year to year. That means coaches can get an idea of what the hidden yardage battle will look like for them, from week to week. The return game has to get fixed though. That’s keeping a pretty average unit, from being a really good one. (+)

Bottom Line:

This is shaping up to be a team that can’t score, or stop anybody. They also lack a Special Teams unit that can give them a chance to steal momentum in a game here and there. At the end of 2018, the problems were clear. They needed a 2019 QB, some receivers, some defensive stability, and a secondary that could cover. So far they’ve addressed none of these things. This is a team that can easily lose 14 games this year. But they’re an NFC East team, dammit! Surely they can find their way to at least 5 -11.

2018 WAS WEIRD AS FU–

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/30
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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FROM Fitzmagic; to the Chiefs cutting the NFL’s 2017 rushing leader; to the Minnesota implosion that only surprised people wearing purple; to the state of Louisiana being home to the world’s biggest collection of punk-ass, crybabies, 2018 was a weird season for many teams.

Weirdest thing of all, was the NFC East’s down-to-the-wire, dogfight for a playoff spot.

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Last year’s champs, started 2 – 1 then spent the next 12 weeks being .500 or worse. The team that would eventually win the division, took 12 weeks just to break .500. The team that got out to a 6 -3 start, then contracted Nancy Kerrigan’s Disease, and fell short of .500. And then there was that team that peaked at 1 – 2.

It was a weird year. Let’s take a look back at it, shall we?

NEW YORK: We learned a lot about New York this year. We learned that QB Eli Manning’s contract contains language that allows him to take the offense hostage. At least until the end of 2019. We learned that RB Saquon Barkley can personally generate 1,000,000 yards of offense in a game, and still manage to see his team get blown out by 21 points. Quick question: When was the last time you saw a GM have fire sale at midseason, with a Head Coach in his first year?

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We also learned that in the NFL you need two feet in bounds, to make a touchdown catch, unless one of your knees belongs to WR Cole Beasley.

WASHINGTON: Their 2018 season included more sad chapters than The Bible. Imagine riding high at 6 – 3, then suddenly: “Hey! Anybody wanna see a grotesque injury?” At which point QB Alex Smith’s leg was broken/blew up vs the Texans. At home in his living room, an unemployed Mark Sanchez said “Damn. That’s a shame” and looked over at his phone. Seemingly minutes later, the Eagles broke QB Colt McCoy’s leg. On the sideline QB Mark Sanchez said “Damn. That’s a shame” and put his helmet on. Sanchez was allowed 1 start, after which Owner Dan Snyder said “Damn. That’s a shame” and began burning his Redskins jerseys.

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Adding insult to injury, were even more injuries! I almost forgot to mention that their starting G’s were on IR for half the year. And then they lost back-up G’s and a starting OT, and then a back-up OT, and then… You know what? It would be faster to list the Redskins who didn’t end up on IR in 2018. Hey, have you ever seen a man break a 90 yard touchdown run, and still not rush for a 100 yards in that game? Yo, Adrian! Magically, RB Adrian Peterson managed to rush for 1,000 yards, despite being 33, with no supporting cast. Perhaps he’s the player the Redskins can finally build around. Damn. That’s a shame.

PHILADELPHIA: City of Champions! “Oh no! Our Starting QB might be healthy enough to play!” Nothing says “Get well soon, Carson!” like a shrine to back-up QB Nick Foles, built in a teammate’s locker.

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You wanna know what weird is? Weird is watching your team get jungle raped, 48 – 7 on national television, and then watching our players say (WITH STRAIGHT FACES), they still believed the Eagles could make the playoffs. Weirder still was believing it as a fan. Weirder than that, was realizing that we as fans, might be delusional this time.

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This fan base can be infuriating, but nobody, absolutely NOBODY, makes a point and drives it home, like this bunch.

Then, when the shit actually happened, even us believers were like “Wait! What? Yaaaaayyyyyy!” How about all the injuries to our Secondary? So many guys played back there, that they started putting letters on jerseys instead of numbers. (“Who the hell is ‘M’?”) There comes a point after you watch a field goal double-doink off a goal post, when you wonder if you too should have built a shrine. Then the team blew a 14 – 0 lead the following week, and we broke out the old “We’ll get ‘em next year!” 

DALLAS: They had a great year. Started slow, but won 7 of their last 8. Traded for a player that opened up their offense, and helps hide how much of a liability QB Dak Prescott is. Found a LB who lets them move on from LB Sean Lee. Saw a couple of draft gambles pay dividends. Even won a playoff game. Everything looked great in Big D. Yup, they’d almost pulled it off, buuuuut… You realize that the 2018 season isn’t technically over, until the Super Bowl ends, right? So everything that’s happened in the last couple weeks, is still part of the 2018 season. Meaning that 2018 will end with, Dallas’s brain trust, intentionally trying to murder 2019 already. Dallas decided to fire a lackluster offensive coordinator, and hire…Kellen Moore? He was the Cowboys QB coach in 2018, and that’s it. That’s the extent of his coaching career, and now he runs the offense. What’s weird is, the hire comes from over Head Coach Jason Garrett’s head, so he’s just getting stuck with the arrangement. Which is fine with him because, well, you know how he and Jerry Jones are.django1.jpg

Then again, one questionable hire isn’t so ba- Wait! It wasn’t just one questionable hire. They also hired Jon Kitna to be Prescott’s QB coach. You realize that Kitna was an absolute turnover MACHINE when he played. Now he’s coming off 7 years of coaching high school football, with ZERO pro coaching experience, to make a ‘meh’ QB,better? So no stars were suspended. No convicts were signed. Nobody stole any underwear and were run down from behind, by a mall cop. Just a strong finish, culminating in a division win, plus a playoff win and… DAMMIT! They couldn’t wait to squander all that momentum. Couldn’t even let it wait until Monday of next week. Talk about reserving your spot on the basement couch! 

So there it is. The NFC East season that was. It made you want to pull your hair out at times, but it was never boring. Odds are pretty slim that 2019 will treat us to as crazy a rollercoaster ride as this year was, but just in case, I’m going to ask for a prescription for heart pills today.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND : SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IF nothing else, the ballooning debate over which QB we should ride with, has had most of the air let out of it. That’s the only silver lining here. The rest is muck and drivel.
I spent the latter half of the fourth quarter saying that I lay last nights loss at the feet of Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz. This is due to his repeated unwillingness to make adjustments, even when it’s clear that our opponents have. Former Eagles OLB Seth Joyner later echoed my assessment, and also fingered Schwartz for calling too passive of a game.

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Eagles 14 – Saints 20

QB Nick Foles (18/31 – 58.0% – 201 – 1 – 2) didn’t have his “A” game yesterday, an with the Eagles having no kind of run game, it was all on him to conjure up a win. It might have been possible had the Offense had more opportunities with the ball. Instead, DC Jim Schwartz seemed determined to make sure that the Saints had all the time and space that they needed, to operate their offense.

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) Spread the Ball: Three receivers with 50 yards or better was what we ordered. Two receivers with 50 or better is what we got. NOT DONE

2) Sack Attack: We got a couples of sacks, but we did not keep hands up in the QB’s face. As a result he had clear lines of sight to convert key third down after key third down. NOT DONE

3) Win Rushing yards: We started Wendell Smallwood. You can’t win rushing yards without a RB. NOT POSSIBLE

4) Take away the short pass: With all the off-coverage, and vanilla zones, we didn’t take away the short pass, the long pass, the hall pass…. NOT DONE

That makes this week’s Four Things score 0 out of 4. That also brings the 2018 – 2019 to a close.

While it would have been great to have this year end like last year, we all know that no team can win it all, every year. So we are are going to see more playoff runs that end like this, than like last year. Which will still make for exciting seasons.

That being said, this season was a fun ride while it lasted.

On The Whole:

After jumping out to a 14 – 0 lead, we had no business losing this game the way that we did. Personally I see this as worse than the 48 – 7 regular season loss, because it feels like it was almost an inside job. The only thing that keeps me from thinking Schwartz got an envelope, is the fact that he’s been doing this shit since he got here. Here’s what I said in Four Things Reviewed after the Super Bowl:
“ 4) South Paw Switch: To be fair, I didn’t really expect this to get done, since it isn’t actually DC Jim Schwartz’s M.O. to make wholesale changes at the half. It would have however, kept the Patriot from outscoring us 21 -19 in the second half. (NOT DONE) ”

This is who Schwartz is, and this is what we have to live with. For as long as he’s here. Given that this was the last year of his contract though….

2018 SEASON REVIEW: QUARTER FOUR

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh, right?) A few are done at the halfway mark, and/or at the end. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters. Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team stands at the moment (in relation to where it started), and where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 9 – 7 overall, 4 – 2 division, 6 – 6 conference, 2nd in the NFC East

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OPPONENTS:

L: Dallas (10 – 6)

W: Los Angeles Rams (13 – 3)

W: Houston (11 – 5)

W: Washington (7 – 9)

 

OVERVIEW:

Put it all together and finish strong. We’re 6 – 6 today. We don’t see the playoffs with a record of less than 9 – 7. Running the table would be awesome, but (barring a miracle of mathematics) we have to have three of these four.

Nailed it!! That was the mission for this last quarter and the Eagles responded in excellent fashion, despite losing(?) QB Carson Wentz for the final three games of the regular season and perhaps the entire playoffs.

Not only did the Eagles manage to string consecutive wins together, the team did it against playoff caliber teams, while playing (in essence) weekly win-or-go-home games, since our last loss of the season, against Dallas.

Though injuries ravaged the regular season, a few players are beginning go find their way off the trainers table, and onto the playing field again. Coupling those guys with young players who were forced to grow up fast, will give the Eagles playoff push, the shot in the arm needed to give us a real chance.

GRADES:

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QB: (B) Nick Foles has played so well, that I doubt many fans realize that he’s thrown 6 touchdowns and 3 picks over that span. Add in a lost fumble, and you have 4 turnovers in three weeks. That weighs even heavier upon realizing that he didn’t throw a single scoring pass against the Rams. The fact is, he’s played excellent situational football. Though his production may not be consistent, he’s been big in big moments.

RB: (C ) This position has been good in spots. Josh Adams has been pure trash. He’s gotten plenty of carries, but he hasn’t been able to convert them into yards, because he doesn’t run through contact, doesn’t even employ a forward lean. He’s soft. Darren Sproles on the other hand, since coming back from injury, has been playing out of his mind whenever they let him touch the ball. Even Wendell Smallwood has become a more efficient runner. 

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TE: (B) NFL Record Holder Zach Ertz and rookie Dallas Goedert have combined for 35 catches and 3 scores over the last four games. Goedert has made three catches of 24 yards or longer as he’s become a consistent weekly contributor, averaging 3 catches per game over the span.

WR: (B) Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agholor have become dangerous again. Combining for 5 scores in these last four games as opposed to 5 in the first twelve, they’ve also been employed more as deep targets. Golden Tate however, still seems to be figuring things out, and the playoffs is no place for that. Last quarter I suggested that Agholor be switched out of the Slot for Jordan Matthews. I still think this is the way to go, but Agholor needs to move outside, while Tate is moved to the bench.

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OT: (C ) In the last couple weeks, LT Jason Peters has been showing flashes of why he is still considered one of the best in the game. RT Lane Johnson allowed a shot on QB Nick Foles last week that forced Foles from the game. As a lineman, you just can’t allow shots like that.

OG: (B) We are 5 – 2 When Stefen Wisniewski starts at LG. That includes 3 – 0 since he regained the spot. Under Isaac Seumalo we were 4 – 5. RG Brandon Brooks has been as quiet, consistent and solid as your banister.

C: (C ) Jason Kelce continues to have issues with shotgun snaps, repeatedly hitting QB Nick Foles in the crotch area or lower.

DE: (B) Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett and Chris Long have to be the best three man DE trio in the NFL. They’ve been excellent against the run, and have supplied very consistent pressure vs the pass. My big knock on this position, is that no one player seems to be able to get two games in a row with a sack. It would be nice to have a threat like that.

DT: (B) Over the last four games Fletcher Cox has 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and has generally been a problem for anyone lining up across from him. Haloti Ngata is finally able to give us the boost he was brought her to give us. In the absence of Tim Jernigan, Ngata was asked to play more snaps per game, than anyone had anticipated. It ran him down and he suffered a leg injury. With Jernigan being back now, and Ngata now healthy, he can focus on giving us a few dominating snaps per game. Treyvon Hester seems to be finding a niche in that rotation.

OLB: (C ) We simply don’t get enough impact plays from this position. Kamu Grugier-Hill did notch a forced fumble and his first career sack, and Nigel Bradham broke up two passes, but that’s all the splash plays that we’ve gotten from them in this quarter.

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MLB: (C ) Nate Gerry filled in for Jordan Hicks for the first two games of this quarter. Gerry didn’t start, but played quite a bit as the de facto MIKE. Neither player has been a standout, but they’ve been doing their part to make the system work.

S: (B) Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham haven’t really produced many impact plays this quarter, but they’ve been better at communicating with the Corners, which has allowed that position to pick up it’s play recently.

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CB: (B) From an “F” last quarter to a “B” in this one, despite the fact that so far Sidney Jones is still a disappointment. Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox have been playing out of their minds. Between them in four games they have 3 picks, 5 passes defensed and half a sack. Douglas has not only played well in coverage, he’s been a beast in run support and at blowing up screens. Former Bear Cre’Van LeBlanc has also contributed a couple big stops in the last few weeks.

LS: (B) Reliable

P: (C ) There may be some leg fatigue setting in for Cam Johnston. Of his 14 punts, 7 were returned for a 5.7 yard average, but over the last two games his net yards per punt is down to about 34 yards.

K: (C ) Jake Elliott has stumbled a bit recently. He’s 7 of 8 on field goal attempts, and 10 of 12 on extra point kicks. What’s more, 12 of his 24 kickoffs have been returned this quarter, as opposed to 3 of 17 last quarter.

PR/KR: (C ) RB Darren Sproles has averaged 9.0 yards per punt return over this quarter. The only issue is, he’s only returned one punt in each game. Recent signee RB Boston Scott is a fringe player playing like he knows that he’s a fringe player. On his 4 kick returns, it’s been clear that he’s thinking home-run, every time.

KC: (A) Last quarter we gave up 5.7 yards per punt return, and 19.5 per kickoff return. At no point did we allow a Special Teams score.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The playoffs came early for the Eagles. It has been win or pack in the season, since Week 15. Despite losing QB Carson Wentz for a second year in a row, just weeks before the playoffs, the team did what they needed to, in order to claim their spot in the post-season. All the while putting the NFL on notice, that we are BACK, and NO ONE is safe.

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MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

The regular season is over. We are now in the post-season. There is one more quarter-season to go. Four more games to reach the highest pinnacle in all of sports:

That of NFL Champion.

Though it will not be easy, there is a very simple mission that lies ahead for this team:

Win one game. Then win a second. Then win a third. Then win a fourth.

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GO GET ‘EM CHAMPS!

THE RIVALS 2018 (PT 3 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/01
Posted in: Conversations, NFC East, NFL, Reviews, Rivals, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about my Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise, I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview, which drops each April. (Look for it).

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans ARE actually the best informed, and most knowledgeable fans, in the NFL. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 3, 9, and 15.

NOTE: Given that there were playoff seeding implications for 3 of the 4 teams, I delayed this article until everything shook out. From now on, I’ll think I’ll stick with this format (Weeks 3, 9 and 17), instead of the 3, 9, 15. It’s just smarter.

This is where we left off PART 2

This is where things are today:

New York giants: 5 – 10, 4th in the NFC East

Last season they finished 3 – 13 and fourth in the division. On defense they allowed 24.2 points per game in 2017. In 2018 that number swelled to 25.8. Yet, all the talk is about either replacing QB Eli Manning, or shoring up his god-awful offensive line.

With a RB (Saquon Barkley) who amassed 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season (1,307 rushing, 721 receiving), a WR (Odell Beckham) who caught for 1,052 yards in just 12 games, and a QB who threw for 4,299 yards, this should be a scary team. The problem is their inability to stop opponents.

DE Olivier Vernon led the team with 7 sacks, which is what he averages as a giant. He also missed 5 games this year. In fact, his games played and production has dropped each year since he joined the team. What’s worse, is that their GM seems bent on not getting the man any legitimate help. Put in perspective, Eagles DE Chris Long started no games, yet had 6.5 sacks.

Given pressure from fans, and a voracious New York media, odds are strong that the giants will either be goaded into drafting yet another shiny offensive toy, or over-drafting a RT to pair with the LT they over-paid for, from Free Agency this last offseason.

Washington Redskins: 7 – 9, 3rd in the NFC East

Same exact finish as 2017. Well sort of. In 2017 the ‘skins finished 16th in scoring (21.4ppg). In 2018 they finished 29th (17.6 ppg). They improved on defense, but not enough to carry their flaccid offense.

It might be legitimate for the ‘skins to point to injuries (24 players on Injured Reserve), as the reason that their team stalled out. They were leading the NFC East at 6 – 4, when their starting QB Alex Smith, had his leg broken grotesquely by the Texans.

Over the course of their final six games, they were forced to start 3 QB’s for a combined record of 1 – 5. The scoring dropped from 19.7 points per game over the first 10 games, to just 14.0 points per game over the final 6 games. So even before they lost their starter, they were already worse off than they were a year ago.

Given the fact that their starting QB won’t be ready for next season (if he doesn’t retire), they may have to turn to their back-up QB, (who had his leg broken by the Eagles). That’s if they don’t draft a QB, or chase Eagles back-up QB Nick Foles, in hopes that he can be their savior.

Dallas Cowboys: 10 – 6, 1st place in the NFC East

Having won the division it’s easy to say that Dallas is better now than they were a year ago. The defense took a major step forward for most of the season. On the year they’re only allowing 20.2 points per game. However, over the last 4 weeks, they’ve been surrendering an average of 25.2. Despite going 3 – 1 over those weeks, it indicates that perhaps teams have found a chink in the armor.

No matter. A football team has both a defense AND an offense. Lucky for this team that their offense can now take off, since QB Dak Prescott has found a #1 WR in Amari Cooper, who- Wait. Did they find a true #1?

After being traded from Oakland after Week 6, Cooper found an amazing run during Weeks 12, 13 and 14. Putting up 26 catches, 473 yards, and 5 TD’s, while averaging 18.1 per grab during that span. However, his Week 14 performance (10 catches, 217 yards, 3 TD’s and 21.7 per grab) was against a Philadelphia Secondary which included 3 starters who began the year as back-ups (some third stringers), or not even on the active roster. Cooper followed up that performance (closing out the season) with three games where he totaled 13 catches for 83 yards, no scores and a 6.3 yard per catch average. In none of those games did he exceed 32 yards or catch a pass longer than 11 yards.

Prescott threw his customary 22 touchdowns again, despite starting and finishing all 16 games. (Unlike QB Carson Wentz who threw 21, yet only played in 11 games. With no real run game.) Based on this season, the Cowboys are about to sink a huge amount of money into a handful of players, (two of whom I just mentioned). It led to a playoff berth this year, but it does raise the question of whether or not this season’s success is at the expense of their future.

So that’s the state of our division rivals as your Eagles head into the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 17: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/31
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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IT was a must-win game and we won it. We needed help to punch our ticket to the tournament, but that help would have been meaningless, if we didn’t do our part, and take care of business.

To that end: We came. We saw. We conquered.

Put into modern parlance: Our fans and team rolled up to the stadium. We told them that they have a “nice place”,

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Then we proceeded to ruin that shit.

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EAGLES 24 – Redskins 0    (Motherfucking ZEE-RO!)

We pitched a shutout! Yes, yes, yes. The media narrative is all about the Quarterbacks, but the story, the REAL story here, is our Defense holding the Redskins to 89 total yards, 68 passing yards, 0 for 9 on 3rd down, and 16 minutes 41 seconds in time of possession. The only thing we didn’t do was put a leash on their players and make them beg for treats.

CB Rasul Douglas (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) came out and snagged a pick on the first play from scrimmage. At that point you KNEW what time it was. DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) grabbed 3 sacks, en route to his first 10 sack (10.5 actually), season of his career. DE Micheal Bennett (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) continued to make the case for being re-signed, by delivering his 9th sack of the season.

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QB Nick Foles (28/33 – 84.8% – 221 – 2 – 1) put on a clinic on how to dissect a defense, before leaving the game with “bruised ribs”. There were 30 handoffs and two QB sneaks, to bring our rushes total to 32, vs a pass total (34 attempts, 3 sacks) of 37. That’s 54% pass to 46% run, on our play-calling.

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) Run the ball: Our play selection was 32 runs to 37 passes. That’s not only meets the 25 handoff threshold, but it provides possibly the best balanced attack we’ve used all season long. DONE.

2) Make him run: Our front four did a great job of forcing their QB to move around and not allowing him to set his feet. Pressure right up the gut, forced their QB out of the pocket and into erratic throws. That was the idea here. DONE. 

3) Work the edge: We did a lot of work on the perimeter this game, but not the way I suggested here. The job the Eagles did was actually much better, since it incorporated many players, instead of focusing on just one. NOT DONE.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson (4 – 0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) was bottled up all day. The game was placed in the QB’s hands, and the ‘skins collapsed. DONE.

This week’s Four Things sees a score of 3 of 4, bringing the total for the regular season to 29 of 64. While the regular season is over, we have a playoff game next week, vs the Chicago Bears, who ironically helped us get in.

On The Whole:
This game was domination from start to finish. It was almost cruel. I loved it. Seriously, CB/FS Rasul Douglas and CB/FS Avonte Maddox (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) have been catching my eye for weeks now. I honestly can say, they have me not missing Jalen Mills in the least.