I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Thingsarticles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: JETS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Kill Their Run Game: Our Defense held the Jets to 89 yards rushing, and with the exception of an 18 yard reverse, kept them to 3.5 yards per carry. (DONE)
2) No Quick Throws: We did a decent job of this early and their QB clearly was uncomfortable and frequently off target downfield. As the game wore on however, law of averages took over; and while their QB never got into a “rhythm”, he was able to do enough to provide his team with helps, not HURTS. (NOT DONE)
3) Run the Ball Downhill: The Eagles handed the ball off just 14 times in this game. Four of those were on the final drive. Despite leading nearly all game long, our dipstick Offensive Coordinator chose to be cute by calling 45 passes, and a handful of empty backfield QB runs, against just 10 functional handoffs.
QB Jalen Hurts runs for a touchdown, because handoffs are apparently taboo or something.
Incidentally, 14 handoffs and four turnovers was exactly how we lost to Washington last year. So I don’t put this loss on our idiot OC, who can’t call plays in the redzone. I put this right at the feet of Head Coach Nick Sirianni.
It’s on Sirianni to learn lessons, and lead his staff by them. Instead, he keeps needing to be re-eductated on the same shit, repeatedly. He had to learn to buckle in and lean on the run in 2021, followed by a 6 -1 win streak. He had to re-learn it in 2022 after that Washington game. Now in 2023, here he is again. It’s like he’s too simple, to keep it simple. (NOT FUCKING DONE. AGAIN)
4) Motion Slot to Brown: I saw this happen just once all game long. It worked out as the A.J. Brown catch that was challenged. That said, with the lack of running, it might not have meant much even if the Eagles had done it. (NOT DONE)
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This week we did 1 of the Four Things and it showed. Next week, the circus known as the Dolphins comes to Philly, and our players don KELLY GREEN for the first time in decades.
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OLB Haason Reddick celebrating one of his 2.5 sacks.
Game Hero: OLB Haason Reddick – The man has been on an absolute tear since he got his cast off. His 5 tackle, 2.5 sack performance today, clearly make the case that his slow start had to do with that thumb injury. Now that he’s got it going and will command attention on the edge, it might open things up inside (like it did today) for our DT’s.
Game goat: QB Jalen Hurts – Three turnovers. I get that a couple of them were a little fluky, but with his number being called at least 47 times in this game, you would think that a GOOD leader, would ask for help from his team.
What things could he have asked for? Maybe he calls a few audibles to a run play? Maybe doing more than pouting in his seat, on the sideline? Maybe bootlegging left, away from the two back-ups that now comprise the entire right side of his Offensive Line?! These are just off the top of my head.
After the game, I heard a term used that I haven’t heard here in couple of years: Hero Ball. That’s sounds like the hounds are about to be released. Hurts has at times been a prickly with a local media that has largely treated him with kid gloves. I’m not sure how he holds up, if the media’s tone shifts on him.
On The Whole: You know that part in movies when the the bad guy has a gun and the hero doesn’t; then (because of the script) the bad guy decides he doesn’t need a gun and wants to fight the hero hand to hand? That’s Nick Sirianni and our run game.
Sirianni has the Eagles run game, but in the heat of battle, doesn’t tell his staff to dial up the runs. Makes no sense to me! (Then again, I’m the kind of villain that shoots you in the knee, puts the hot gun muzzle in your crotch, and THEN says “Give me the codes.”) If you have an unfair, induplicable advantage, why not go to it often?
As a result, everything about the Offense is devolving into a shitshow. Weapons (players) that go under-utilized for weeks. Red zone execution regression. Now we’re looking at dropped passes, and our QB has become Dak Prescott??! At what point do these things become concerning to people inside the Eagles organization?
For weeks, the Eagles attitude has been “Shut up. Yeah we stunk, but we won! How can you complain about being undefeated?” There’s a sports axiom that states “Winning is great deodorant.” Okay, but losing to the Jets is like bathing in a landfill. Maybe now that we’ve seen a loss, we can stop glossing over our problems.
SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.
In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)
Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.
STATUS: 5 – 0, 1st place in the NFC East
DT Jordan Davis meeting QB Kirk Cousins
OPPONENTS:
W – New England
W – Minnesota
W – Tampa Bay
W – Washington*
W – Los Angeles Rams
OVERVIEW: So it’s 5 – 0, but with some issues. Chief among them being our inability to convert red zone trips into touchdowns (19 trips, 8 TD, 42.1%). We are not converting those into touchdowns at enough of a clip to expect to be a championship team. Moreover, we have surrendered to opponents 12 touchdowns, in 16 red zone trips (75%).
Injuries have robbed our Secondary of the kind of stability that a new Defensive Coordinator needs, to steady himself and find his method. All in all, it is a 5 – 0 team, but with many not so small cracks in the foundation.
GRADES:
QB:Jalen Hurts (113/168 – 67.3% – 1262 – 6 – 4) Had sort of a rough start, but that was to be expected. I bitched and moaned about him (and the other starters) not taking a single snap in the preseason, so Hurts (and everyone else) was predictably rusty. Couple that with working in a new Offensive Coordinator, in Brian Johnson, and you have the makings of six touchdowns and (already) 4 interceptions. As for his running (55 – 206 – 3.7 – 4), he’s averaging 11 rushes per game, which is too many. His low yards per carry is largely due to short, successful conversions while running the Brotherly Shove. (Grade: C)
RB D’Andre Swift scores at home.
RB:D’Andre Swift(76 – 434 – 5.7 – 2 – 0) Had one touch in Week One, then in Weeks Two and Three, exploded for 305 rushing yards on 44 carries (6.9 ypc). He’s so far caught 88% (17 – 15 – 75 – 5.0 – 0) of the passes thrown to him, but they’ve just been checkdowns thus far. Still, a couple more scores would look better with 76 carries.
Kenneth Gainwell (39 – 128 – 3.2 – 0 – 0) has been running the same plays, behind the same offensive line, but isn’t nearly as effective or threatening as Swift has been, and seems to have lost his starting gig because of it. Boston Scott (6 – 43 – 7.2 – 0 – 0) missed a week while in concussion protocol. (Grade: B)
TE:Dallas Goedert(28 – 21 – 205 – 9.8 – 1) The Eagles suddenly remembered that he starts, and so he had a big game (9 – 8 – 117 – 14.6 – 1) in Week Five. Until then, to call him underutilized would be a massive understatement. He still contributed as a blocker in the run game, but the Eagles coaching staff has to run more plays for him. Jack Stoll is a great blocker. (Grade: C)
WR A.J. Brown’s 59 yard TD catch and run. OZ gave him a block.
WR:A.J. Brown (51 – 3 5 – 541 – 15.5 – 2) had a to a slow first two games. Then he put the word in his QB’s ear, and has posted 433 yards over the last three games. Maybe we should all chip in and get him a chef’s hat, because he’s been out there just cooking secondaries. Devonta Smith(34 – 23 – 290 – 12.6 – 2) has three games this season of just 5 targets. That can’t keep happening. He’s too reliable and he needs to be more involved.
Quez Watkins (5 – 4 – 21 – 5.3 – 0) isn’t wowing anybody, but then again, he’s not being put in a position to be successful. He’s making his catches (80%), but as his 5.3 average is testament to the shallow routes they have him running. He’s a downfield threat, not a guy who catches short and makes defenders miss in space. Olamide “OZ” Zaccheaus(5 – 3 – 69 – 23.0 – 1) is the guy that catches short and makes defenders miss in space. However it was his 34 yard TD catch that probably has put Watkins on the hot seat. (Grade: B)
OT: RT Lane Johnson continues to be arguably the best OT in the NFL. (San Francisco’s LT Trent Williams is the other side of that argument.) During the Eagles overtime victory over Washington, it was Johnson’s fourth quarter recovery of a Gainwell fumble, that saved an Eagles drive, resulting in a field goal. Without that field goal, there is no overtime. LT Jordan Mialata has absolutely no right to be as good as he is. He’s reliable as a pass protector, but an outright mauler in the run game. (Grade: A)
OG: LG Landon Dickerson is a bear in the run game, but he has to get the penalties under control. He’s been flagged 5 times (4 accepted for 24 yards). One of those however, was that bullshit offsides he was hit with against Washington, as the officials have joined in the hunt for finding a way to stop the Brotherly Shove. RG Cam Jurgenwas great for three weeks, then suffered a foot injury and is currently on Injured Reserve. Filling in for Jurgens is Sua Opeta. He has not drawn any flags, but more importantly, this year he just looks more comfortable, and seems like a more physical presence. (Grade: B)
The Brotherly Shove formation. See how the Washington player’s hand is UNDER the ball. Yeah well, Dickerson was called for being offsides here, and the hand beside the ball, belongs to Kelce.
C:Jason Kelcebrings the passion, the vocal leadership, and the ability to get to the second level in the run game, that makes the Eagles Offense almost impossible to duplicate. He is also the tip of the spear on the Brotherly Shove. (Grade: A)
DE: At the beginnings of games Brandon Graham (3 tackles) is listed as a starter, but he’s not who lines up at the LDE spot. (More on that later.) Over the last five games, Graham has only played 72 of the defense’s 318 snaps (22.6%). So his low production makes sense. Josh Sweat(15 – 2.5 – 0 – 0) has also contributed 2 Forced Fumbles, but we need to see more out of him as a pass rusher. Derek Barnett (2 tackles) has also played just 72 snaps. My gut tells me that the Eagles are going to try to move him by the trade deadline, and they don’t want him hurt, or to put out more tape of him getting flagged for stupid shit. In his career, of his 26 penalties, 11 are for some form of roughing. We just can’t have that. (Grade: D)
DT:Fletcher Cox (10 – 0.5 – 0 – 1) missed the last game with back problems. Still, his numbers do not suggest just how much of a game wrecker he’s been out there. Jordan Davis (14 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) is clearly coming into his own as a controlling force on the inside. Jalen Carter(12 – 3.5 – 0 – 0) has also chipped in 2 FF, and seems to be the odds on favorite to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. (I still can’t believe that he fell to us!)
MLB Nick Morrow and DT Jalen Carter force a fumble.
Milton Williams (12 – 0 – 0 – 0) is off to a stronger start than at this point, last season. Marlon Tuipuluto (5 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) looks far better than he did last year, when he seemed to be an outright liability vs the run. Rookie Moro Ojomo (no stats) got to play 4 snaps in the last game, due to Cox being out with the back injury. (Grade: A)
OLB:Haason Reddick (5 – 3.0 – 0 – 0) is the player who actually lines up at LDE. He started out slowed by his hand in a cast. He didn’t make excuses, he just produced when the cast came off, racking up all of his sacks in the last two weeks. I’m not a fan of using his 240 pound frame against OT’s without the benefit of speed inside, but we’ll see how it shakes out over 17 games.
Zach Cunningham(33 – 0 – 0 – 1) doesn’t have the flashy stats, but he’s been solid vs the run. Rookie Nolan Smith (2 tackles) has played in all five games, and needs to step up his production unless he wants to keep watching from the bench. (Grade: B)
MLB: During Week One, Nakobe Dean (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) was lost for four weeks with a foot injury. Since then Nicholas Morrow (21 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) has been lights out. Adding a FF and a safety, to 7 tackles for losses, he has shown up EVERY SINGLE WEEK, in all four games that he’s played, since he was activated from the Practice Squad, as a fill-in for Dean.Christian Ellis(5 tackles) looks more than just solid when he’s out there. Especially against the pass. His numbers don’t signal that, but he’s also only played 46 snaps. (Grade: A)
MLB Nick Morrow collecting one of his THREE sacks in this game.
S: With injuries changing the make-up of this group weekly, it’s unfair to give them a low grade. Reed Blankenship (34 – 0 – 1 – 0) already has as many tackles and interceptions, as he had in 2022 when he came out of nowhere and made us take notice of him. Terrell Edmunds(15 – 0 – 0 – 0) played every defensive snap in Week Four, and not a single one in Week Five. Justin Evans (15 – 0 – 0 – 1) still seemed to be ironing out his role, when a knee injury put him on I.R. for at least four weeks. Rookie Sydney Brown(3 tackles) has caught the imagination of fans, but he’s also missed then last two weeks with a hamstring injury, and those have a way of lingering when a player rushes back. (Grade: C)
CB:Darius Slay (25 – 0 – 1 – 0) has already had a pick six and knocked down 4 passes. He’ll miss Week Six with a knee injury. James Bradberry(14 – 0 – 0 – 1) had to sit out Week Two, and when he returned, he spent time filling in at NCB. Avonte Maddox(6 tackles) was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. When Bradberry filled in for Maddox, Josh Jobe (13 – 0 – 0 – 0) started in Bradberry’s place, and didn’t fare to well with the extended snaps. Mario Goodrich(5 tackles) has allowed QB’s to go 10/10 for 118 yards and TD. He started Week Five, but only saw 18 snaps in that game. Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks have 2 tackles each, in limited action. Bradley Roby(1 tackle) was just signed last week. (Grade: C)
LS:Rick Lovato has been solid, steady, and uneventful. (Grade: A)
P: Braden Mann (5 – 208 – 41.6) so far there have only been 14 return yards against him, with zero touchbacks. That means in the three games he’s punted for us, opponents generally stay where he puts them. (Grade: B)
K:Jake Elliott (16/17 FG – 94.1% – 11/12 XP – 91.6%) Those numbers include four makes from over 50 yards (4/5). His foot is a big part of the team’s 5 – 0 record. (Grade: A)
PR/KR: WR Britain Covey punt returning (11 – 186 – 16.9 – 0) has been a plus. He leads the NFL in yards, returns of 20 yards or more (4), and average (16.9) for those with 10 or more returns. No Eagles player has more than 1 kickoff return. (Grade: C)
KC: On the season, opponents have returned 6 punts for 54 yards (9ypr), and 3 kickoffs for 91 yards (30.3ypr). Neither average is good, but the low number of attempts is a testament to player hustle. (Grade: C)
SINCE LAST QUARTER: N/A
MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER: Go at least 2 – 2, and beat either the Dolphins or the Cowboys, if not both. We need a win over a team that isn’t seen as a bottom feeder. If only for our players own psyches. No one will be impressed by wins over the Jets and Commanders.
I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Thingsarticles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned inFour Things: RAMSdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Ground and Pound:I called for 15 – 20 carries for RB D’Andre Swift (17 – 70 – 4.1 – 0 – 0). Boom Shaakalaaka! Ask and ye shall receive! I called for 9 to 12 passes to TE Dallas Goedert (9 – 8 – 117 – 14.6 – 1). Boom Shaaklaaka! It is done!
TE Dallas Goedert scores a TD
We controlled the ball, the clock, the pace of the game, the prices at the concession stands. No one got caught over-thinking this week. No one got cute. The Rams focused on taking away our explosive plays. So we countered by gashing them on early downs, repeatedly setting up 3rd and manageable, while milking the clock. (DONE)
2) Pave the Lane: Were it up to me, most of our running would have been behind RT Lane Johnson in this one. However, what I specified was ten or more runs to the right. We ran it to the right 16 times for 64 yards (4ypc). That looks better on paper than it did in reality, as 4 of our 6 negative runs were on this side.
As for exposing OLB Michael Hoecht (5 tackles) as a liability, he was caught in coverage on Dallas Goedert, and Jalen Hurts ripped a pass and excised 49 yards of flesh from the Rams for their foolishness. (DONE)
3) Man Coverage on Nacua: Rams rookie WR Puka Nacua (11 – 7 – 71 – 10.1 – 1) faced man coverage at least 8 times (by my count) in key situations this week. Despite catching a touchdown, this was his worst outing so far as a pro, in terms of yardage, and catch percentage. So he was challenged.
The idea here wasn’t to “stop” the Rams, but to slow them down. Every NFL pundit and and even the game announcers, expected a shootout. The gambling line was over 50 points between the two teams. That’s precisely the game we didn’t want to find ourselves in. So the Eagles played to slow. To smother. And it worked. (DONE)
DT Jalen Carter collects a sack
4) Blitz off their LT: We actually did this more in the first half and git away from it in the second half. Doesn’t matter. The second half is where the sacks happened. So to Hell with what I wrote. YAY SACKS! Also, did I mention that DT Jalen Carter(4 – 2.0 – 0 – 0), also had two sacks? I didn’t? Well, DT Jalen Carter also had two sacks. So there. (NOT DONE)
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So this week we nailed down 3 of The Four Things, in a game that was never actually as close as the score. Next week we travel to New York, to face a Jets team that may have found it franchise quartb- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Couldn’t type it with a straight face. That kid couldn’t even look good against Denver’s defense today. What’s the expression? Couldn’t get laid in a whorehouse. Yeah, we’ll be fine.
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Game Hero:Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai – I’ve been roasting this guy’s balls over a blowtorch for about a month now. So it feels good to be able to switch gears, and give him credit. After all, as a fan, I want him to be successful. If he’s fired because he’s a bum, we have to gamble on someone else, and hope they don’t turn out to be worse.
So this is nice.
While many will tell you that Jalen Hurts is the hero of this one, they’d be wrong. Desai made some killer adjustments during half-time. The result was the Rams being shutout in the second half. They had 5 drives, for 70 yards, 3 punts, 1 turnover on downs, and 1 time expired, with a total Time Of Possession of 9:44. Way to go Sean!
Game goat:WR Quez Watkins (3 – 2 – 4 – 2.0 – 0) – Blazing 4.3 speed, everyone! (Round of applause.) Catches a pass, and makes a bee-line not between these two blockers,
Which line did WR Quez Watkins (not pictured) follow? The blue one. Motherf-
but behind them, heading straight out of bounds. There could only be two explanations for this. A) His fantasy football opponent has him starting this week; or B) He was trying to avoid contact. In football. Not a good look.
That said, I don’t want to jump the gun, and say that WROlamide Zaccheaus(no stats) should be our WR3. I’m frustrated with Quez, but he also ran a route where he was jumping around at the back of the end zone, and Hurts didn’t see him. That was another of the touchdowns that we left on the field, in this one.
To be honest, we spend a lot of time using Quez wrong. He’s a speedster. His job should be less about catching the ball, and more about blowing up coverages. Aim him at the Safeties, run him down middle, see if A.J. or Devonta Smith(5 – 1 – 6 – 6.0 – 0) gets one-on-one, then exploit that match-up. We’re making this harder than it should be.
On The Whole:
As I said, the Rams are a scrappy team. They’re a well coached team, but they just don’t have the talent to stay with an Eagles team playing at even 80% capacity.
Speaking of coaching, why are we always running the play clock down so far? I get that it also eats into the actual clock, but it’s leading to complications that we don’t need, such as wasted time outs. Just thought I’d mention it.
Now, go enjoy this 5 – 0 record, and our perch atop the division!
OLB Haason Reddick gets a second sack forcing a turnover on downs
They called a penalty on US on this play, despite all the neutral zone violations, and a Washington player actually touching the ball. Trying everything they can to stop the Brotherly Shove.
Sack Leader: LB Nicholas Morrow (Sacks:3.0/ FF: 1/ Tackles: 11)
Special Teams Ace: K Jake Elliott 4/4 FG including OT game winner
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: COMMANDERS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Unleash Reddick:Didn’t happen. OLBHaason Reddick (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0), all 230 pounds of him, spent the day playing DE in a 4 – 3 alignment. Although DE Brandon Graham (no stats), was listed as a starter at the beginning of the game, it was Reddick who spent most of the day there.
To his credit, Reddick did record his first sack of the season, but the new defensive scheme is keeping him from being the player he was last year, when the Eagles frequently rushed five players with Reddick mostly at OLB, not DE. Is there a difference? You saw those games, and you watch these. So you tell me. (NOT DONE)
WR A.J. Brown waved hello to the red zone, on his way through it, on this 59 yard catch and run TD.
2) Finish in the Red Zone: On the day we had ten possessions, three were touchdowns, four were field goals, three were punts. Only two of our drives saw the red zone. One produced the 5 yard touchdown run from Swift, the other a 36 yard field goal by Elliott. That puts us at exactly at 50% in terms of touchdown production.
I said that touchdowns are the mission, and right behind that, I said that coming away with a field goal, beats coming away empty handed. Again, we only saw the red zone twice, but we scored a TD 50% of the time, and points 100% of the time. It’s good to have high standards, but folks, we also have to remember to be reasonable. (DONE)
3) Get ‘Em Down: Last year, the Commanders beat us by running 44 times for 142 yards (3.2 ypc). They didn’t do a great job of it, just a committed one, and our inability to tackle on 3rd and 4th and short, resulted in 1st down after 1st down. So of course they started out trying that approach again.
Getting the Commanders RB’s on the ground was done resoundingly. Their RB’s combined rushing numbers (20 – 64 – 3.2 – 1 – 0), produced the same overall average, but moment to moment they weren’t able to duplicate last year’s game flow, and had to lean on the pass in this one. (DONE)
4) Make Penny Make Sense: This one was contingent on RB Rashaad Penny being on the active roster for this game, but he was left inactive instead. So this one almost shouldn’t count for this week. But…
Real talk? With the Eagles piss-poor commitment to running the ball in this game, I doubt that Penny would have seen a single touch. (NOT DONE)
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So this weeks Four Things was a dissatisfying 2 of 4. This is how you end up having to win it in overtime. Next week we head out to Los Angeles, to take on the 2 – 2 Rams, who also needed OT to win this week.
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Game Hero: Lots of people will tell you it was Jake Elliott, or A.J. Brown, but for my money it was Nick Morrow. I was high on his signing to replace Kyzir White, and felt a little salty when he was cut this year.
LB Nicholas Morrow, FEASTING!
The Eagles brought Morrow back due to the LB Nakobe Dean (foot) injury, and he’s been an unsung impact player every week. He had a fumble recovery vs Minnesota; he recorded the safety vs Tampa Bay; he notched 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and 11 tackles in this game. He has done nothing but ball-out since he got here, and it’s high time he got his flowers.
Game goat: Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai– For the third straight week, I’m naming the same person. I’ve been complaining about the cushions that we give WR’s for weeks now. Cut to this game. On 3rd and 6, with 9:21 left in the 4th quarter, our CB’s lined up with 5 yard cushions. Commentator Daryl “Moose” Johnston even mentioned how weird that was. We would give up an quick, uncontested 7 yard pass on the outside, for a 1st down.
Desai is not only misusing Haason Reddick, but his coverage concept is resulting in easy completions like we were giving up under Jim Schwartz, and Bill Davis. I was no fan of Jonathon Gannon, but his man concepts at least forced QB’s to read, meaning hold the ball. That helped result in sacks. Remember those?
Speaking of Gannon, we lamented his inability or unwillingness to make in-game adjustments. Desai seems to have caught that same disease, because not only is he not making adjustments in-game, but he also seems to not make them game-to-game. We are discussing the same problems every week!
As of now, the giants and the Seahawks have yet to play, but at the moment, we rank as the 5thworst pass defense in the NFL. With CB’s Darius Slay and James Bradberrymaking 80M$ over the next three years. With a deep and talented defensive line, featuring DT’s Fletcher Cox and Jalen Carter, we rank 27th out of 32.
Player talent is not the issue. We’ve seen these players perfom better under other leadership. It feels as if at DC, we’ve gone from Jimmy Johnson, to Barry Switzer.
On The Whole: I can’t be too angry at a 4 – 0 team. It just feels ungrateful. There’s much to clean up, but between rust from not playing guys in the preseason, rookie coordinators, a rash of injuries in the Secondary, at RB, and our signal calling MLB; look, this team being 4 – 0… I will take it. And I will show gratitude for it.
RB D’Andre Swift evens up the game with this 5 yard TD run.
That said, we need to see improvement soon. The winning will stop if we don’t flat out fix a few glaring issues. An evolution on Defense, and more commitment to the run, being the primary two. This game featured 37 passes, 9 Jalen Hurts runs, and just 18 hand-offs.
You know, because of the Eagles coaching staff’s resistance to learning, I have QB Marcus Mariotaon my bench in fantasy football. At this pace, the question isn’t if. It’s not even when. It’s “How long this time?”
Special Teams Ace: LB Nicholas Morrow: 3 Tackles, 1 FR
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: VIKINGS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Run Swiftly: Boy, did we ever! I suggested 12 – 15 carries. Instead, the Eagles gave him 28, and he went off for 175 yards. Collectively, the Eagles ran 48 times, for 259 yards (5.3ypc). Take that, cherry necks! (Matt, that was for you.)
Most of our run game’s success tonight, was set up by the Vikings inability or unwillingness to adjust. If you get a chance to watch the replay of this game, look at how often the Vikings went with a three Safety look in the middle. With two cornerbacks on the outsides, that’s five in the secondary, leaving just six up around the line scrimmage.
Our five Linemen, plus the Running Back, plus a Quarterback who has to be accounted for in the ground game, means either we should have been calling run plays, or audibling into them. And we DID! (DONE)
2) Rush Five: The Vikings offensive line was down two starters and they lost a third during the game. They couldn’t run the ball, and their QB isn’t very mobile. Yet all we got, were two sacks in this game. Our Secondary just isn’t covering long enough, for a four man pass rush to get home. (NOT DONE)
3) Slay Jefferson: Going by the stats, Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (11 – 159 – 14.4 – 0) looks to have gotten the better of CB Darius Slay in this one. What actually watching the game will show, is that it took Jefferson about 400 yards of running, to earn the 159 that he posted.
For most of the night, the Vikings coaching staff had Jefferson in pre-snap motion to change his match-up; or they had him running crossing routes running away from Slay’s side of the field. Slay less took Jefferson away, and more escorted him to his own little play-area, where he couldn’t damage us, and others had to step up.
SS Terrell Edmunds was JUSTIN time to help WR Jefferson turn the ball over to us.
The result was 159 of the emptiest calories ever consumed on prime time television. You probably can’t recall the last time you saw a player with nearly 160 yards, have so little impact on a game. That is, aside from his fumble, which prevented mini-sota from a touchdown and instead resulted in a field goal for us. (DONE)
4) Oh My Goedert: The idea was to get TE Dallas Geodert(7 – 6 – 22 – 3.6 – 0) involved to open up the run game, by loosening the box. However, instead of running him down the field, the coaching staff had him horizontally stretch the box. While it was gross to watch Goedert catching balls in the backfield, it helped allow us to run for 259 yards. So we can’t bitch about it, too loud. (DONE)
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Not bad! We did 3 of the Four Things, and improved to 2 – 0. Now we get ten days off, before we travel down to Tampa Bay, to lock horns with Ryan Lea- Johnny Manz- Sorry, Baker Mayfield, in our quest for 3 – 0.
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Game Hero: RB D’Andre Swift (Stats above) – Hometown boy makes good! I can walk out my front door over to the 15 bus stop, and take it to Saint Joe’s Prep, where Swift played. He’s not a “local product” likeJoe Flacco, or Matt Ryan, or Corey Clement. Swift is Philly. Honest to god, Philly.
A great deal of the credit goes to our Offensive Line, for being smart enough to exploit the weakness (6 man box) that the Vikings wouldn’t stop presenting. However, all of Swift’s traits which I extolled in Four Things, were on display in this game. I’m telling you, if they try to start RB Kenneth Gainwell in Week Three, there will be a fan uprising.
Me looking at Sean Desai continue to not reach with four
Game goat: Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai – It was another toothlessly called game, and the result was QB Kirk Cousins (31/44 – 70.4 – 364 – 4 – 0) being sacked only twice. The turnovers that we generated weren’t coming from our scheme forcing mistakes, but from our player’s hustle. At this point Desai is passenger, not a driver.
On The Whole:
We are 2 – 0, having played two games where the game was in question, in the last five minutes of the game. Both wins were what we’re calling ugly.
Not so fast.
Do you realize that in two weeks we’ve scored 59 points? While 7 were the result of a defensive return (and extra point), the other 52 have resulted from driving the ball. That’s an average of 27 points per game, with an offense that we would describe as “sputtering”, “inconsistent”, and “rusty”. Can you imagine what this team is going to look like when they start to put it together?
Mama, there goes that man again! WR Devonta Smith on a blazing 63 yard catch and run touchdown
Defensively, we’re dealing with more injury issues than it seemed we had all last year. We had guys out there in this game, who had been elevated from the Practice Squad, who had previously been cut altogether. Nick Morrow was one of them, and he got us a turnover. WRBritain Covey is another, who… Let’s not talk about him.
I don’t want to sweep our troubles under the rug, but I think it’s important to point out, that the Kings of the NFC may be wounded, but we are far from dead.
Drive Killer: CB Darius Slay (TD: 1/Int: 1/ FR: 0/ 4th down stops: 0 / FF: 0)
Sack Leader: DT Jalen Carter (Sacks:1.0/ FF: 0/ Tackles: 1)
Special Teams Ace: K Jake Elliott(4/4 FG’s)
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: PATRIOTS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Establish the Run: We looked like we were going to with our first drive of the game, with 8 designed runs (7 handoffs) for 39 yards (4.8ypc). Then we bailed on it, with just 9 total handoffs for the remainder of the game.
The misdirection and RPO aspect of our run game from last year, was nowhere to be seen. The Eagles did employ some play-action, and it was somewhat effective at buying Hurts time to throw, but it didn’t help him when he tried to run. He looked to be pressing into the hole before it opened, doing half the job for Patriot defenders.
As a result, we never forced the Patriots to load the box. That took away simple answers for Hurts when passing. Instead, the Patriots forced him to read and think. At times his rookie crutch (bootleg wide right, stare down a receiver, force a ball down the sideline) was on glaring display. (NOT DONE)
2) Load the Box: The idea was to take away the Patriots run game (22 – 76 – 3.4 – 0 – 0); and put the game in the hands of Patriots QB Mac Jones (35/54 – 64.8% – 316 – 3 – 1). Those parts got done. We just didn’t have to load the box to do it. (NOT DONE)
3) Set the Dogs on Them:On third downs, use a five man rush. Go to Cover Two or a Tampa Two. Get those hands up, and challenge every ball in the air. NOPE!
Rookie DT Jalen Carter gets his first career sack.
We hardly saw a five man rush out of the Defense in this one. Sadly many of Jones passes were completed to receivers that were too wide open to be believed. From a defensive standpoint, it looked like Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai was still calling a vanilla preseason game, and trying not to show too much.
Their offensive line was missing three starters, and playing two rookies, and still we didn’t get a sack until the 4th quarter. Desai is on his way to making me miss former DCJonathan Gannon. (NOT DONE)
4) Pull the Trigger:Once the run game took over, deep shots down the field would be there for the taking. Except the run game never took over, and TEDallas Goedert (no stats) is apparently invisible to Hurts. We took two legit deep shots all game long, both to A.J. Brown. One was overthrown, the other catch was overturned by replay.
Otherwise, our passing game consisted mostly of Screens and checkdowns to RB’s. New Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson, called a terrible game today. (NOT DONE)
This week’s Four Things score, is an ignominious 0 of 4 to start the season. We’d better get things in order quickly though, because we play again THIS THURSDAY. The 0 – 1 Vikings are coming to Philadelphia for a heaping helping of knuckle sandwich, with a side order of “Now stay the fuck down!” But we won’t be serving that, if we play like we did this Sunday.
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Game Hero: DTJordan Davis(0.5 – 1 – 5)
DT Jordan Davis force a fumble from RB Ezekiel Elliott, with LB Zach Cunningham recovering.
Some will say it was Jake Elliott, but to me it was Davis. He forced an early fumble that led to a touchdown, helped stop the Patriot run game all day, and got half a sack, on a late drive, that became a turnover on downs.
Game goat: The coaching staff. I’m irritated with Sean Desai for rarely rushing five linemen. I’m irritated with Brian Johnson for bailing on the run game, and calling an ass-ton of Screens. I’m irritated with Head Coach Nick Siriannifor not playing the starters in the preseason, and contributing to all the rust we saw in this one.
On The Whole:
This was an ugly win, but it was a win. It was also a win against a team that has an all-time great coach, in terms of scheming and adjusting; yet we won both halves of the game. Scoring 16 – 14 in the first; and 9 – 6 in the second. If we weren’t so rusty, we’d have beaten the brakes off that team.
When the game ended, I was going to pen a spittle-flecked diatribe, over putting the team in this position due to rust. However, in his post-game press conference, Sirianni said that if he had it to do over, he’d have played the starters some in the preseason. Hey, if he’s learned, there’s no reason for me to harp on it. So let’s move on.
The broad strokes are usually covered by lots of other publications and podcasts. You can go a hundred places and read the same four or five bullet points, mentioned in ninety-seven of those places. Stats aside, what about the Four Things you came here to review, right? Let’s see if we scored aHITor a MISS on the areas I discussed.
1) Do The Starters Play?:Nope. Not a single solitary down. In fact, a number of Eagles didn’t even dress for this one. AGAIN! Third string RB Rashaan Penny, WR Olamide Zaccheaus (I actually spelled that right, on my first attempt), are examples of new players who didn’t dress.
And hey, for those who are still out there debating about who starts alongside FSReed Blankenship: It’s SS Terrelle Edmunds. He didn’t even dress, but rookie Sydney Brownplayed; and K’Von Wallace was still out there in the fourth quarter. Glad I could settle that for you. MISS
2) Tanner vs Their Twos:The Colts went one better for us, and left their starters out there for the entire first half. While McKee’s accuracy stayed right around 50% again, the game didn’t look too big for him. So mentally there’s something to work with there.
As far as his actual play, he had trouble connecting on intermediate and long throws. The ball often seems to leave the palm and heel of his hand, instead of his fingertips. The result is, instead of a spiral, it seems to travel more like a shot put. Better secondaries will feast on that, if we don’t fix that. HIT
3) Play Ian Book: QBIan Bookwent 11/15 – 73.3% – 80 – 0 – 0, with the ball coming out quickly and sharply. He looked nothing like the gun-shy player from the Browns game. Like McKee, Book wasn’t successful throwing the ball downfield. Still, the player we saw tonight, looked like he’d be worth a Practice Squad/developmental spot. HIT
4) Something Special:On the opening kick of the game, WR Devon Allenbobbled the ball, then recovered it and tore off a 73 yard return to set-up the game’s opening touchdown. He also had a big tackle for no gain on a punt. HIT
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Who Looked Good:
LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams – (See above) We just signed this guy yesterday, but like VISA, the Philadelphia native, was everywhere you wanted to be. Once he got in the game in the second half, he seemed to constantly be flashing. We need to find spot for him. LB Ben VanSumeren (17 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) had many more tackles than TMW, but he didn’t flash as much potential, or generate a takeaway.
QB Ian Book– He seemed to find his poise and his pocket presence. Whether diving for the needed yardage on a scramble, or spiking the ball on first down to stop the clock, his command of the moment was beyond reproach.
TE Tyree Jackson – Showed a MUCH better awareness of presenting as a target for his QB. His stats (3 – 31 – 10.3 – 0) were modest, but they also indicate that he could be a very QB friendly target this season.
Who Looked Bad:
RB Kennedy Brooks– His day (2 – 16 – 8.0 – 0 – 0) was punctuated by being wide open, and dropping what would have been a walk-in touchdown. At no point this preseason, did he demonstrate a reason for another team to want him.
The Offensive Line – They allowed 3 sacks in this game, three tackles for a loss, and showed no ability open holes consistently.
WR Joseph Ngata– While he did do some good things out there (2 – 32 – 16.0 – 0), his fumble killed a promising drive.
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On The Whole:
Given that we had a bunch of twos and threes, going against the Colts starters for a half, it’s hard not to give the Eagles a ton of credit. That’s not an attempt at finding a moral victory. It’s a preseason game. Nobody cares about the “W” or the “L”. What counts here is how hard our guys competed. It contributes to the ongoing culture.
TWO weeks a go we lost 19 – 20. Last week was an 18 – 18 tie. So if the pattern holds up, we should be due for a 17 – 16 win. Who wants to get The Wave going?… Me either.
I’m hearing that rookie S Sydney Brown may start this game, so that may be something to get excited over. But is this a week where the only focus is to escape without any key injuries? Or are the Eagles interested in getting a better look at the players, before sending them away to become stars on another team. We’ve had a few of those.
My favorite story is LB Lee Woodall, who played at West Chester, and was a driver for Eagles players in Training Camp for a year or two, back when TC was held there. He was never on our roster, but he was right under our noses, before he was on anyone else’s radar.
Then in 1994 we drafted LB Ryan McCoy(a 237 pound LB, with 5.09 40-speed), in the 6th round. The 9ers grabbed Woodall eight spots later, and he went to a couple of Pro Bowls while playing for them. Finished 6th in defensive rookie of the year votes. Did I mention the two Pro Bowls? Back when those still meant something. McCoy played one year. In the World League. With London.
So yeah, let’s make sure we get a good, long look at our roster this week.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. Except in the preseason. At which point the wins are usually less valuable than the losses.
1) Do the Starters Play?: Even if it’s just a series. The notion of them not logging a single down in the preseason, seriously has me thinking of organizing a boycott of next year’s preseason games. Fans have been paying real money, for tickets and parking, to go watch players who have no shot of making even the Practice Squad. But the NFL doesn’t care, because television revenue is where the action is.
I figure if we drive the television rating into the tank for a year, the NFL would get the message that fans actually have standards. As it is, they’re feeding us a preseason with no players; a flag football Pro Bowl; a Thursday night slate that features unrested teams, resulting in some shitty shitty games; and Super Bowl half-time shows aimed at a demographic that they KNOW they don’t attract. I’m sick of it.
2) Tanner vs Their Twos: If the Starters don’t play, then QB Marcus Mariota shouldn’t either. If the idea is to protect everyone with a carved out role, then he should make the list of those who don’t even dress. Who should start is QB Tanner McKee.
Lots of fans are clamoring for McKee to be the back-up over Mariota, and it’s a dumb idea. There is too much he doesn’t know about the NFL, (in terms of defenses, how to prepare, the pressures of dealing with money, etc.) for him to be one hit away from having to lead a franchise that EXPECTS to return to the Super Bowl, AND win it this year.
That’s not to say that he hasn’t intrigued, but he’s looked good (not great) against third stringers and lower, so far. So give him the pressure of a start, and let him play against second stringers, to see if he can elevate his game. He likely can’t just yet, but it’ll give the coaches a much more focused light on where he needs development. Focus on maybe making him the 2024 back-up, but develop him first.
3) Play Ian Book: This pun MUST be made! (Ahem) Before we close the book on Ian, we have to see more than FOUR pass attempts from him. That’s all he had in the first preseason game, and he didn’t play in the second one. Bailing on a guy after just FOUR preseason pass attempts, is the polar opposite of doing due diligence. Play Ian Book. It costs us nothing if he sucks again.
4) Something Special: It would be great to see someone do something special, on Special Teams. It used to be the x-factor of our team, but in recent years it seems as if the team can’t spot coaching talent for a full third of the team.
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During the offseason, my articles don’t really have hard deadlines. However, once the season starts, I need to have my rhythm and routine re-established. So preseason for the teams, is also preseason for me. True story, if it weren’t for that fact, I wouldn’t even watch this next game. I wouldn’t have finished the last one.
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WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
ONLY one thing can protect a season against the injury bug: A deep roster. So we need to be about the business of making sure that our roster is well stocked. That has me wanting more from players like WR’s Britain Covey and Olamide Zaccheaus, and LB’s Shaun Bradley and Kyron Johnson. Not just these four, but (assuming they make the final cut) these four are at the top of the list.
The thing about a deep roster is, no team gets significantly more players than another team. In fact, as of August 2022, teams can carry 47 players on game day. (48, if they carry 8 offensive linemen.) So a deep team won’t be represented by more players. Instead, they’ll be represented by players that give the coaching staff more options.
For example, if Covey is just here as a PR, then he’s a waste of a roster spot. He isn’t good enough at that job, to warrant only doing that job. Same with Bradley. He’s been core on kick coverage teams, but he’s played a career total of 1,009 snaps, with just 45 tackles to show for it. We need more.
Part of the problem however, is that these players see little opportunity on normal downs. Of Bradley’s 1,009 snaps just 131 are on defense. The other 878 are on kick coverage teams. In 17 games Covey logged just 19 offensive snaps, with zero balls thrown his way.
We can’t develop depth, if our deeper roster rarely sees opportunities. We need to make use of and develop our WHOLE roster. No one is saying that these guys may be All-Pro types, but if injury forces us to rely on them, it would be nice if they were actually ready to go.
DESEAN Jacksonwants to retire as an Eagle; and WR DeAndre Hopkins listed Philadelphia as one of the places that he wouldn’t mind playing. So should we be interested? If so, which should we be interested in?
I won’t try to keep you in suspense. The answer is: Both. Depending on the money.
First, let’s deal with DJax. He absolutely should retire as an Eagle. If he wants to sign for a day and retire, sure, why not. He’s earned it. However, if he wants one last ride to chase a ring, as a limited contributor, he’d instantly become our best option at Punt Returner. We could give him WR Britain Covey’s roster spot. He’d certainly give us more as receiving option.
Now, let’s talk D-Hop. Let me use a word that nobody wants to hear: Injury. In the event of a long-term injury to either WR A.J. Brown or Devonta Smith, then WRQuez Watkins becomes our #2 receiver. Are you okay with that? I know I’m not! Last year we were disappointed in how Watkins handled being #3. Picture him having to fill-in for A.J. Brown!
Hopkins represents depth. While he hasn’t posted elite numbers in the last two years, no one doubts his ability to perform at a high level. While Hopkins may not have Watkins’s elite speed, he’s a better route runner, and his hands are near infinitely better. In the event of an injury to Brown or Smith, Hopkins can fill-in as a #2, easily.
Right now our WR depth is Brown, Smith, and Watkins. After that, we have Covey, Greg Ward, (Olympic sprinter) Devon Allen, Olamide Zaccheaus, Tyrie Cleveland, Charleston Rambo, and a couple of undrafted rookies. After Watkins, only Ward has ever caught a ball from QB Jalen Hurts. That was back in 2021.
Restructure that as Brown, Smith, Hopkins, Watkins and DJax. This covers depth, insurance, Special Teams, and legacy. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to see Watkins and DJax absolutely blowing the lid off of a defense? Putting them on the field together would have opponents lining their Safeties up in the parking lot. Imagine all the room to run on first and ten!
Keeping Ward, Allen, and one more on the Practice Squad, keeps us ready for DJax’s hamstrings to act up again. It’s an annual event, which is why I said limited contributor. However, for every down he can give us (especially in the postseason), he still has the ability to affect and aggravate a defense, just by lining up. As he reminded folks as recently as November 27th…
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 