RETURNING to the scene of last week’s crime, and leaving with a different result. That’s the focus for this week. Running the ball with RB Miles Sanders and getting it downfield to WR Devonta Smith, will go a long way to meeting our goal.
Just don’t get cute.
A win gets us to 6 – 7, but Sunday night at 7:30 (unless something weird happens), we will likely still be on the outside looking in, with regards to one of the three Wild Card spots. That said, playoffs can’t be the focus right now. We need to find a way to string wins together first.
A loss drops us to 5 – 8. While it wouldn’t mathematically eliminate us, you have to wonder if it wouldn’t be smart, to go into Draft Assessment Mode.
****
The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Jets:
1) Play Our Aces: A big part of last week’s loss, was the coaching staff constantly rolling out back-up players, then trying to make them into something they aren’t, by forcing-feeding them the ball. The result was that we scored 7 points, and turned the ball over 4 times.
We need to lean on Sanders, Smith and TE Dallas Goedert. When teams get the ball to their best players, it tends to help them win games instead of lose them. We should try that! It’ll likely help a great deal, regardless of who starts at QB.
2) Interior Pass Rush:DT’s Fletcher CoxandJavon Hargrave need to collapse the ‘A’ gaps, and force the Jets young QB out of the pocket. We need to help our opponent make mistakes, not just hope for them.
3) Talent Has To Win: Offensively we will not out-scheme the Jets. Surely QB Joe Flacco has given up the tapes about the Eagles system and play-book. He likely understands it’s nuances better than any QB on our roster, and can communicate those nuances to his defensive coordinator.
So this is not the week to be cute or clever. This is in regards to the run game. This is a week where we have to be stronger at the point of attack, and faster with the ball in our hands. We just have to physically better this week. We just have to maul motherfuckers, and hit holes aggressively.
4) Make secure tackles: Don’t delude yourself into thinking this will be a cake-walk. Cincinnati did that on their way to losing a 31 – 34 shootout. The Jets leading RB has 205 rushing yards before contact, and 225 after contact. At 3 – 8 all they have left to play for is pride.
So don’t get cute. Don’t hold up the runner and claw at the ball. Just stop the ball-carrier’s progress. Wrap up and get him down.
If we do these Four Things,
We should win by 20. The Eagles are the better team. If we show up playing like it, then we could break this thing wide open in the 4th quarter. That however, is the issue. This team came out last week like we didn’t know who we were. We can’t come out playing that way, this week.
Don’t be surprised if QB Gardner Minshew plays at least a half on Sunday.
****
PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Jets 12
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
JALEN Hurtswon’t be a franchise quarterback. Let me say that up top, in plain and unbroken English. I told you that in June after 4 starts, in October after 10 starts, and in November after 13 starts. Now, 16 starts into his NFL career, I’m saying it again: Jalen Hurts will not, because he cannot, be a franchise QB.
The timing of this article couldn’t have been better. I told some friends (Andrea and Arlette), last week that I would write about this subject. Thanksgiving got in the way, and so I had to delay it. Turns out, that was for the best. Events during this last game have sharpened the points I’m about to make.
Over the last four weeks as the Eagles were piling up rushing yardage, most fans were satisfied. So long as Hurts was running for touchdowns, and leading the team in rushing, no one but me seemed to care that his game as a passer, kept being extremely pedestrian.
Detroit: 9/14 – 64.2% – 103 – 0 – 0. Los Angeles: 11/17 – 64.7% – 162 – 1 – 0. Denver: 16/23 – 69.5% – 178 – 2 – 1.(I won’t pick on the day Hurts had vs the giants. We know how that went.)
But let’s look at the Saints game, which we won in a blowout. Specifically, the stat line put up by Saints QB Trevor Siemian (22/40 – 55.0% – 214 – 3 – 2), vs the stat line by Hurts (13/24 – 54.1% – 147 – 0 – 0).
Siemian was slightly more accurate, got his supporting cast involved, and so, he nearly led a rally. This is despite being a third stringer, without his team’s starting RB, #1 WR, and BOTH Offensive Tackles. Hurts had none of these disadvantages, yet it can be argued that Siemian had a better day as a QB. Especially in regards to getting his teammates involved.
Teammates is another bone I have to pick with Hurts. I keep hearing about how he’s a field general. I keep hearing how he’s focused and competitive. However, during games, especially when we’re down, when I see him on the sideline…he’s just sitting there.
He’s not looking at the tablet. He’s not rallying the crowd. He’s not on one knee, talking to the O-line about protection slides. He’s not in the Offensive Coordinator’s ear, or standing next to his Head Coach. He’s not having an animated discussion about what he sees, to get on the same page with the receivers. He’s just sitting there, looking like he’s sucking on a lemon.
I say this as a man who’s worn pads and has played with multiple QB’s. Jalen’s body language sucks ass. Nothing about him says “Follow ME!” or “I got you.” His swagger is limited to him running for a touchdown. It doesn’t extend to his teammates.
For example, when LT Jordan Mailata pancaked Saints DE Marcus Davenport (because of his treatment of Hurts), was there an acknowledging fist bump or high-five from the QB? Nope. Hurts texted his thanks to Mailata, later that night. A text message! In exchange for sticking up for him! But when Hurts needed consoling after the giants game:
1,000 words, right?
BUT WAIT!!! THERE’S MORE!!!
Hurts may miss the Jets game with a sore ankle. I’ll say that one more time: Hurts may miss the Jets game with a sore ankle. Remember the three touchdowns QB Donovan McNabb threw against the Cardinals in November of 2002, on a broken ankle? Remember QB Carson Wentz tearing his ACL, and staying in one more play, to throw a touchdown vs the Rams, in our 2017 Super Bowl season?
Sore ankle. Those are the words of Head Coach Nick Sirianni.
I guess benching Hurts is the Eagles way of admitting that he’s a liability if he has to play from the pocket. Seriously. Would a sore ankle shelve Tom Brady? Ben Roethlisberger? Patrick Mahomes? Matt Stafford and Derek Carrhave both played through back injuries. How about Brett Favre? Dan Marino played with TWO knee braces. Hell, “sore” never stopped Wentz from suiting up. Is Hurts more delicate than Wentz?
I’m not going to get into Hurts being inaccurate. I won’t mention how he’s slow to read defenses. I won’t mention that he’s ineffective running anything other than a one read system. I won’t mention that when the going got tough in college, he got going to another college, instead of overcoming the challenger.
Did I mention that so far he’s 0 – 4 vs the NFC East? That includes two blowouts vs the Cowboys. They humiliate us every time he starts against them. And of course all he could manage vs the giants, was 7 points. And we tanked against the Redskins, in a game that we were already losing. Like I said, 0 – 4.
I’ll simply ask: Is THIS your leader? Is this the face that you want to represent YOU? My answer is on his shirt, and even Rosa agrees with me.
That’s not to say that Hurts has no place in the NFL. I told you in June that the NFL was moving towards QB being a platoon type position. I told you in September, a week before the season started, that QB Gardner Minshewwould play this year, somewhere around Week 8. He played in Week 8.
I’m going to say Hurts has a place in the NFL as a QB. Just not as a franchise. Not even as the Ace QB of a platoon. Think of him as a relief QB. Start thinking of him, as a back-up.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted of 2 yards or less:3rd and 4th downs missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Giants did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Make the Passer Rush: We did some really questionable blitzing in this game. First of all we didn’t bring LB Alex Singleton off the strong-side. When Singleton was turned loose, it was from the weak-side. If the QB doesn’t see the rusher, he’s not going to hurry his pass, or launch it from a weird angle. If he sees a clear passing lane, he’s going to throw with confidence. Which is what QB Danny Jones (19/30 – 63.3% – 202 – 1 – 0) did against us today.
Look at that statline! Does that look like Danny Jones to you? We helped him do that. We didn’t rush him today. The only sack we got, Jones GAVE to us. Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon gets the assist on this one. With this game-plan, he threw an absolute dime to Danny. (NOT DONE)
2) Go Deep Off of Play-action: Ever watch someone do a tap dance routine, during a dance competition, while on fire? That’s what our Offense looked like today. Despite running for 1,005 yards in the previous 5 games, we came out passing the ball, and trying to use play-action. From the Shotgun.
I’m not going to say much about Jalen Hurts here, to save you time reading. Besides, last week I promised some folks in a Facebook group that I belong to, that I would write an article about whether Hurts is or can be, a franchise QB. That’s dropping on Wednesday. BE READY.
Our deep passing consisted of throwing interceptions and incompletions in the vicinity of Wide Deceiver Jalen “Hindenburg” Reagor(7 – 2 – 31 – 15.5 – 0)
who is by the way, a total fucking fiasco. Someone should do time for drafting him. (NOT DONE)
3) Play Man Press: We came out playing it, but then we started drifting into off-coverage, or playing Press on just one side… Seriously. There was no cohesion, or plan, or aggression. It was like the Defense was being called by a drunken toddler. (NOT DONE)
4) Running Miles from Boston:Feature RB Miles Sanders (7 – 64 – 7.1 – 0 – 0) instead of splitting the carries evenly with RB Boston Scott (15 – 64 – 4.2 – 1 – 1). The Eagles decided to stick with the hot hand. This was even before Sanders tweaked his ankle in the second half. The hot hand. Look up at the statlines again. (NOT DONE)
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So that’s 0 of the Four Things, and somehow (gasp) we were held to just 7 points, after putting up 40 a week ago. Serves us right! We helped the giants beat our asses, and we deserve this ‘L’ because of that. Next week we go right back to that same stadium, to do battle with the Jets. Let’s not shit the bed again please.
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On The Whole:
Here’s the game in a nutshell. Nearing the end of the first half, Eagles ball, in the red zone, down 0 – 3. Head Coach Nick Sirianni sends in a package that includes WR Jalen Reagor, WR Greg Ward(1 – 0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0), and RB Boston Scott. No Miles Sanders. No WRDevonta Smith (4 – 2 – 22 – 11.0 – 0). Meanwhile C Jason Kelce is on the sidelines
On 3rd and goal from the one, Hurts throws an interception intended for third string RB Scott. Why? At that point Sanders hadn’t tweaked his ankle, so why wasn’t he out there? Why wasn’t our top draft pick and leading receiver Smith, out there? It almost seems like the coaches had an agenda besides winning the game.
Decisions like this were the norm in this game. Why, on all 3 red zone trips, was Sanders taken out? Why the sudden laser focus on Reagor? Coming into this game he’d caught 23 of 38 passes for 170 yards (7.4 per catch), and for some reason, despite not being reliable, this week he leads all players in targets?!
If you ask me, that’s just Jeff and Howie, muscling Sirianni to make a player out Reagor, and that dog don’t even hunt.
Still, Sirianni tried. We watched him working harder than a cat, trying to bury a turd on a marble floor, but Reagor… As a player Reagor belongs in a litter box. You can spend the day painting him gold if you like, but in the end, the smell is the smell.
LAST week we hung 40 points on a defense that was Top 5 in points allowed, and put 242 rushing yards on a unit that was Top 5 vs the run. This week’s opponent comes in ranked 23rd vs the run. So we all know what’s about to happen with that…
A win gets us to 6 – 6 (.500). Once that business is taken care of, only THEN we can start talking about qualifying for the playoffs and such. Right now our record doesn’t qualify us to start talking about the season as if it’s already a success. Wild Card seeding talk is premature.
A loss sees us fall to 5 – 7, but technically still alive for a playoff spot. So even with a loss, there will be no talk of tanking. Right now our record doesn’t qualify us to start talking about the season as if it’s already a failure. Draft position talk is premature.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the giants:
1) Make the Passer Rush: LB Davion Taylor is on IR. If he wasn’t, I’d say use him for this. Since we don’t have access to him, we should use LB Alex Singleton. Put him on strong-side blitzes of QB Daniel Jones, on 2nd and long, 3rd and long situations. Jones likes to run, but he shouldn’t be able to outrun Singleton.
Bring MLB T.J. Edwards on “A” gap blitzes, on 1st down, sometimes. The idea is to make Jones very uncomfortable, and encourage him to get the ball out of his hands as fast as he can. A rushed pass, coming out vs Press Coverage, looks like six to CB Darius Slay.
2) Go Deep Off of Play-action: QB Jalen Hurtshasn’t seen 200 yards passing in any of the last four games, since we’ve rediscovered the run. So the giants may have it in their heads, that they can play 8, even 9 man fronts, to take away the run. We need to kill that idea before it breeds throughout the league.
Hurts needs to use play-action, and rifle the ball at least 30 yards in the air, sometime in the first quarter. Preferably on the first drive. Complete, incomplete, intercepted. If any of them happen on the first drive, off of a long pass, any of those results do the job we need done.
The point of the pass, isn’t the pass itself. It’s to tell the giants DB’s “You’d better stay the fuck back, or we will murrr – derrr you!” A few deep shots will maintain room for our running game. At that point our Offense can operate from a point of stability, and we can be who we are. (Bonus Points for completing an early shot of 40 yards or more, to WR Quez Watkins.)
3) Play Man Press: Usually the point here, is to make the QB go to his second and third reads. With Jones it’s more about his accuracy. He’s going to throw a few questionable balls in this game. He does in every game. If our guys stay close to the receiver, they have a better chance of picking off a pass. Or three.
4) Running Miles from Boston: This week we’ll be without RB Jordan Howard and his tough inside running. That however, doesn’t mean we can’t run inside. While RB Miles Sanders isn’t the fall forward, bulldozer type that Howard is, Sanders does break arm tackles, and he runs through contact.
RB’s Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell, on the other hand, don’t run through much contact or break tackles reliably. For that reason, the run game shouldn’t be an even split this week. We should feature Sanders/Scott on a 20 to 10 carry basis. Gainwell can be sprinkled in, but it would be great to see him get some work in the Slot.
If we do these Four Things,
We just need to stick to the script. The giants just fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and replaced him with Freddie Kitchens. So naturally the knee-jerk reaction is to comb through old film of Kitchens, to see how he calls games vs how Garrett calls games. Right? Nope. Don’t do that.
Just like we only had a week to prepare for the giants, the giants also had just a week to prepare for us. We know who we are, and what we’re building on. The giants are trying not to be who they were a week ago. The guy now responsible for that, has had his daily routine totally torn up, and he has to reinvent his team. On the fly.
The thing is, his new job doesn’t make a single player a fiercer blocker, a faster runner, or a higher jumper. It’s too late to draw up a new play-book, so they’re going to run the same stuff. The pre-snap keys will look the same. The spacing will look the same. The core concepts are going to come from their head coach. So the giants offense is still the giants offense.
Stick to the script. Don’t get cute. Do what we do, how we do it. Don’t get to a point where we’re second guessing ourselves, over a guy trying to find out who he is now.
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PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – giants 17
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
Rushing: (S) RB Miles Sanders (16 – 94 – 5.8 – 0 – 1)
Receiving: (S) TE Dallas Goedert (8 – 5 – 62 – 12.4 – 0
Offensive Line Report: (3 + 5:1 – 3)
Drive Killer: (S) MLB T.J. Edwards(1 – 1 – 0 – 0 – 0)
Sack Leader: NO QUALIFIER
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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: Saints did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Play Man Press:We started out playing this, and played a fair amount of it. We also played a lot of off coverage which allowed the Saints back-up QB to throw for 200 yards and three scores.
It also contributed to why the Eagles didn’t have a single sack, against a team missing both of it’s starting OT’s. This was one of several things which probably went overlooked, due to the score. We did this, but not nearly as consistently as we should have. (DONE)
2) Force Malcolm Out Of the Middle:
We did a GREAT job of this! We kept S Malcolm Jenkins(4 – 0 – 0 – 0) out of the box, and so we kept him from impacting the game, in any meaningful way. Jenkins had all of FOUR tackles, in this game, despite us handing it off 32 times. He was kept safely away from the action, and our RB’s ran for 173 yards, on 32 totes (5.4 ypc), largely due to an uncongested middle of the field.(DONE)
3) Just Make the Tackle:Great job here as well. We didn’t see a bunch of piles moving, as our defenders clawed pointlessly at the ball. The one forced fumble we got from DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 0 – 1 – 1), was him reaching out to make a tackle, and grabbing the bicep of the opposing RB. BOOM. Ball popped out like Janet Jackson’s nipple.
Nothing extra needed. No holding the ball-carrier up. No clawing for the pig, and letting him churn out extra yards. Just went for the tackle and was rewarded by the football gods.(DONE)
4) Use Play-Action: There was some play-action, but not nearly enough to qualify it here. More to the point, it was deployed poorly. Understand, the game started with a designed QB run, which the Eagles kept repeating. On the day, Hurts threw the ball 24 times, and ran it 18.
There was never a point when the defense got to be more focused on some other player, than they were on Hurts. As a result, the defense keyed on him, never truly buying his fake hand-offs, pressuring him into some ugly scrambles, sacking him 3 times, and keeping the question of his accuracy a viable subject. None of those are the result of play-action used effectively. (NOT DONE)
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That brings this week’s tally to3 of Four Things. Next week we take a 90 minute drive to the cesspool that is Rutherford, New Jersey. Then we’ll do what we need to, and walk out of there as a .500 football team. At which point we’ll have seriously positioned ourselves to be in the playoff discussion.
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On The Whole:
There are several things about this victory that bug me. They were bugging me even during the game. However, this is the first time we’ve had consecutive wins since November 1st of last season. So I’m going to let the fans enjoy this Four Things Reviewed.
Enjoy your turkey. We’ll talk soon. (Unless you decide to reach out to me sooner.)
JUST a few weeks ago, I predicted that the Saints head coach, would out-coach Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni, and win this game. Today, I don’t feel like the Saints have a legitimate shot at winning this game. I could be wrong, but you and I know that I’m not.
The Eagles have found an internal source of power to tap into. Meanwhile, the Saints are starting to fall apart due to the aforementioned injuries, and a lack of offensive leadership. For the Saints, this is a bad time to have this fight.
A win would move us to 5 – 6, and one game away from being .500. This team hasn’t seen .500 or above since the end of the 2019 season. There’s possible playoff implications to be discussed, but let’s get to .500, before we start talking too much about playoffs.
A loss would drop us to 4 – 7 and shine more light on the three first round picks we have in the 2022 NFL Draft. As long as there’s a mathematical chance for us to make the playoffs, we should try everything to do so. That said, the second we’re out of possible consideration, we should tank, because it improves our draft position in EVERY round, not just the first.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on, this week versus the Saints:
1) Play Man Press:First and most importantly, we’re 4 – 0 when we do. Secondly, The Saints are starting back-up QB Trevor Siemian, and he likes to share the football with his opponents. So we should be there for him. In fairness, he hasn’t thrown a single pick this season. WHICH MEANS HE’S DUE!
Take away the quick and easy stuff. If the “back-up’s body forced to be a starter” Steve Trevor
can beat us with deep passing, then we deserve to lose. Man Press will take away the quick stuff, help our pass rush, and help to keep the run contained.
2) Force Malcolm Out Of the Middle:One of the reasons that the Saints rank so high in run defense is former Eagles SS Malcolm Jenkins. He plays in the box like an extra LB. So we need to get him out of the box. The primary reason we moved on from Malcolm, was his apparent trouble with deep speed. Even when lined up deep, Malcolm has trouble versus true speed. So that’s the bone we should hack at.
The fact that he likes to walk into the box, makes that weakness all the more glaring. We should start in 11 Personnel (1RB, 1 TE). The TE doesn’t always have to be an actual TE. Using RB Miles Sanders, or RB Kenny Gainwell would do just fine on some downs. Split the TE wide, to pull Malcolm laterally out of the box. After a couple of deep routes, he’ll also start lining up deeper.
That’s when you pound the rock with RB Jordan Howard, vs a vacated middle.
3) Just Make the Tackle: Saints RB Mark Ingram is a leg churner and tackle breaker. He’s not a hard RB to box-in or catch, but teams clawing at the ball instead of getting him on the ground, literally give him extra yardage.
Once we get to him, drop him. Plain and simple. Clawing for the ball may help us if we’re down two scores in the 4th quarter, but doing it in the 1st quarter is a great way to end up down two scores. Just get these guys on the ground.
4) Use Play-Action:With the way the Eagles have run these last few weeks, selling a fake hand-off will be as easy as selling toilet paper.
QB Jalen Hurts would have clean pocket after clean pocket, as long as he doesn’t hold the ball too long.
Not only that, but if play-action is used well enough, both real and fake hand-offs will freeze their defense, as they take a beat to make sure of their read, instead of just reacting.
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If we do these Four Things,
If we hit all four of these, this game would break wide open, and put the NFL on notice. Sirianni would go from “the guy the media mocked over flowers” to “rookie head coach has turned his team around”.
While I would LOVE all four, I expect that #1 and #3 are the ones that will likely get done. If so that should be enough for a 28 – 17 win.
****
PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Saints 17
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
Receiving: (S) WR Devonta Smith (6 – 4 – 66 – 16.5 – 2)
Offensive Line Report: (0 + 3:0 – 1)
Drive Killer: (S) OLB Davion Taylor (0 – 0 – 0 – 2 – 0)
Sack Leader: (S) DE Derek Barnett(1 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)
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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 inFour Things: Broncosdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Press Coverage: I won’t keep you in suspense. Out of all Four Things, this is the only one we did. And as always, it resulted in a “W”. Atlanta, Carolina, Detroit and now Denver. When we play Man Press, we control the game. And why shouldn’t we?! We have two of the NFL better man coverage CB’s.
(FYI: The 4th quarter pass interference call on CBSteve Nelson (1 – 0 – 0 – 0), started with him giving a large cushion. IJS)(DONE)
2)Play-action Inside: We used play-action today, but Hurts absolutely refuses to throw passes in the middle of the field. Nearly everything with him has to be from the numbers and out. (And YES, I’m aware that the second touchdown to Smith was over the middle.) (NOT DONE)
3)Taylor-made Headache: We didn’t send Davion Taylor on any blitzes that I noticed. Yet he still managed to be a headache. That however, isn’t something I can count towards what was written. (NOT DONE)
4)Get Howard In Space: Didn’t even try. The one time it seemed like Howard got loose on a route, Hurts took off running behind him. I have no idea why the coaching staff seems hellbent to under-utilize Howard. (NOT DONE)
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This week we only pulled off 1 of the Four Things, but man how ONE it was! Next week we host the New Orleans Saints, in an attempt to get our first home win of the season.
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On The Whole:
We kept the Broncos from sweeping our division, with this win. It also kept us from being swept by the AFC West. This was a game where Offense, Defense and Special Teams contributed. (That blocked field goal by S K’Von Wallacewas awesome!) It was our best win of the year so far.
Brace yourselves! We almost Surtainly have a star in Devonta Smith.
We got one sack today, but all day long we put QB Teddy Bridgewater (22/36 – 61.1% – 226 – 0 – 0) under pressure, and didn’t let him get comfortable, or use his big outside weapons much. Excellent work indeed, but there were a couple of issues in this one.
Issue One, was with defending the run. We gave up 96 yards on 18 carries, for 5.3 per tote and a score. DE Josh Sweat (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) does not set the edge vs the run. That’s probably because the strong-side, is too strong for him. He’s much better suited to being a speed rushing RDE, than an anchoring LDE.
Issue Two, was with us being in the Shotgun. It already doesn’t help sell play-action, but when we’re in the ‘gun, Hurts play-action mechanics absolutely fall apart. His half-hearted jabs of the football, does more to slow his read, than to slow defenders. Put him back under C.
SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.combegan 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.)
NOTE: Due to the short week between games 5 and 6, this report was pushed back a week. The Second Quarter will pick up on time, after Week 9.
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: 3 – 6 , 2nd place in the NFC East, (Points per game: +25.2/-24.2)
OPPONENTS:
( L ) Las Vegas
( W ) Detroit
( L ) Los Angeles Chargers
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OVERVIEW:
Progress has been made on Offense. In all three of these games, Head Coach Nick Sirianni has made a solid commitment to running the ball. As a result, the Offense is more stable and sustains drives better. So the Defense actually gets time to rest now.
If only the Defense could get off the field without giving up touchdowns first.
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GRADES:
QB: (D) Jalen Hurts hasn’t thrown an interception in three weeks, however he’s only been responsible for 3 scores (passing or running) during that same span. Part of that has been the establishment of our run game helping him out. He’s gone from attempting 34.6 passes per game in the first 6 games, to just 21.6 (65 total) over the last 3 games.
Unfortunately, his lower usage has only highlighted the flaws in his game. Being a one read QB, by default Hurts favors clear and easy passes. He takes as much as a route can pry from the defense. What he doesn’t do, is create with his eyes or his delivery. (If he ever learns to convincingly pump fake on a scramble, he’ll be a friggin Pro Bowler.)
Hurts is a very good triggerman, in terms of executing what’s laid out for him. If Chip Kelly were still the coach here, the Deshaun Watson trade rumors may not have gained any traction. However, most systems require a QB to think and decipher. Hurts is also easily punked and bullied out of attempting the sort of throws that separate franchise QB’s from Sam Bradford types.
Gardner Minshew came in and went 2/2 while playing hand-off machine, during mop-up time in Detroit.
RB: (B) Miles Sanders was hurt early in the game vs Vegas. Since then, the Eagles have been starting Boston Scott, and he has been productive as a runner. What he truly excels at however, is catching Screen passes and then getting lost in blockers. Unfortunately, he’s only been thrown 5 passes all season so far.
Promoted to the Active Roster is a guy who NEVER belonged on the Practice Squad in the first place, Mr. Jordan Howard. While it’s true that the Eagles have been good at running the ball in these last couple of weeks, the attitude of this run game is Howard. He’s not just running for yardage, he’s taking yardage when he’s out there. He enables the Eagles to impose their will.
While Kenneth Gainwell is playing about as much as he did when Sanders was healthy, but he’s not quite seeing the situations that he was. For example, he doesn’t get first quarter red zone action, and he hasn’t had a pass thrown his way in two games.
Overall though, the Eagles ground game has looked like a force to be reckoned with. Granted, these last three opponents weren’t the stiffest test, but for a team just finding the run, they can’t be ignored.
TE: ( C) Dallas Goedertput up 185 yards over these last 3 games (61.6), but it’s little more than window dressing. In those games, Goedert has played 161 downs, but drawn targets on just 18 of them (for 12 catches). Though his 18 targets represent nearly 1/3 of his QB’s 65 attempts over the same period, his 12 catches for no scores, indicates how little he’s been factoring into games.
Jack Stoll caught a 9 yard pass in the blowout over Detroit. He’s played quite a bit over these last two weeks, and with the resurgence of the run game, one has to wonder about how much of that success is due to his blocking. Converted QB Tyree Jacksonfinally got his feet wet vs the Chargers. He didn’t do much. Didn’t see a pass thrown his way. I think they just wanted him to get a look at game speed.
Despite giving the position credit for its contributions to the run game, More is expected from Goedert if he wants to show the world that he wasn’t just a well-protected back-up,
WR: (F) In these 3 games, Devonta Smith has seen 18 targets. The other four receivers have seen 14. Total.
OT: (B) The bookends of Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailataplayed three straight games for the first time this season. The result is a QB who doesn’t have to look at his line to know where people are, as he starts to pick his way through pressure. That has resulted in us surrendering an average of 1 sack per game, instead of 2. Which we did last quarter.
OG: (B) Lie and say that you miss Isaac Seumalo! Landon Dickerson despite being a rookie, seems like an improvement already. He doesn’t get ridden back into the QB on passing downs and, you don’t catch him standing around on run plays, since he’s always looking to hit someone.
Jack Driscoll has been plug-and-play all along the line, and has been decent to good (not great), when he plays. He doesn’t look like a long-term starter. What he looks like, is a guy who’ll hang with one team for 6 years, learn what’s needed in all of the roles, and deliver a reasonable facsimile of it, when called upon. Then he’ll sign a big free agent deal, full of guaranteed money to go elsewhere, where he’ll immediately look like a career back-up. Always amazes me when these guys leave their first team.
Nate “Too Big” Herbigfilled in for Driscoll vs Detroit and got to maul some Lions. Again, Nate is a solid (not great) interior force when called upon. He seems to have a little more upside than Driscoll, but it’s hard to feel they’re being judged accurately, when they’ve both been moved around so much, across two coaching staffs.
Given the losses taken at this position, it should be one of weakness, but it’s not. The best part, is, that it doesn’t have to be judged on a sliding scale, or a curve.
C: (B) Jason Kelcehas been holding the young guys together, and the errant snaps have been cut down due to the QB lining up under C more. It’s really a good look for the elder statesman, as he trots out what has to be his last race.
DE: (F) This position grabbed 4 sacks vs Detroit, and 0 in the other two games. There were 7 hits on the QB vs Detroit, and 0 in the other two games. Outside of the (then) 0 – 7 Lions, there have been no forced fumbles. There have been no fumble recoveries. This position practically doesn’t exist.
While a lot of the problem with our pass rush is tied to generously loose coverage, it’s impossible not to notice the lack of tackles for losses against the run, in any game NOT played vs the Lions. This means that these guys are just not being effective PERIOD.
Josh Sweatplayed better in past seasons on the right. So far this year, he’s been asked to play the left spot in the absence of Brandon Graham. I don’t think he has the strength for it. He doesn’t set the edge vs the run, and is too easy to re-route on his way to the passer.
DT: ( C) Opposing QB’s are getting rid of the ball too fast for this position to be effective pass rushers now. They are however, a big reason that over these three games, that we’ve allowed an average of 88.3 rushing yards per game. Particularly Fletcher Cox. They’ve also done a great job of keeping the MLB clean. It’s not worthy of a party, but it’s a building block.
OLB: (F) Genard Averyand Davion Taylor have been the starters during the last three games. Four really. Still, neither of them is making a noticeable impact out there. The coaching staff seems to want a long look at what Taylor has to offer, so he’s going to keep starting, regardless. Alex Singleton was benched after the win at Carolina, but with Taylor out there, Singleton would upgrade our tackle range and ball-skills.
MLB: (B) The Eagles outright cut Eric Wilson and elevated T.J. Edwards to the starting role. Edwards has been a key reason that rushing yards for our opponents have gone off a cliff, recently. He benefits from having two DT’s who command as much attention as they do, but to his credit, he does get off of blocks very well. As a result, he been a tackling machine.
S: (F) This position has produced 2 pass break-ups and some tackles in the last three games.
CB: (D) We are 3 – 0 this season when Darius Slay gets so much as a finger on the football. We are 0 – 5 when he doesn’t. Seems like the Defensive Coordinator should scheme him into positions where he can compete for the ball more.
Avonte Maddox was the only player at this position to show up in games without Detroit in them. Maddox snagged a pick vs Las Vegas, early in the game. Otherwise, over this span, we’re giving up a completion rate of 83 (88/106). Not factoring games named Detroit, the number is 87.5% (63/72).
LS: (B) Rick Lovato hasn’t blown any snaps, but he also has yet to make tackle on a coverage unit.
P: ( A) Arryn Siposs only had to punt 7 times in the last three games, with 2 fair caught and 3 returned for 36 yards. That’s 12 yards per return on punts averaging 45.7 yards in this period.
K: ( C) Jake Elliott has been 10/10 on extra points and 4/4 on field goals. The kickoff are alarming however. IN these three games, he’s kicked off 18 times, 8 were touchbacks, but 8 were returned for 222 yards (27.7). This has gotten worse since last quarter.
PR/KR: (F) WR Jalen Reagor has also disappeared on Special Teams. WR Quez Watkins averages 21 yards per kickoff return. Which again means, he should just take the touchbacks!
KC: (D) The kickoff coverage unit does a good job, but shouldn’t be put in a position to be tested so much. The 9.3 yard punt return average from last quarter needed to come down. And so it’s now up to 9.5 yards per return.
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SINCE LAST QUARTER:
The Offensive coaching staff seems to be getting it! We’re running the ball, so drives are more stable, the Defense now gets to rest, and we only punt half as much anymore. The mission was to get the coaching staff to stop being our biggest obstacle and that’s halfway what happened.
Defensively, the timid woodland creature who coaches our Defense, still gets skittish when he sees his shadow. He’s going to have to be replaced. Don’t tell me how smart and hardworking he is, when he keeps repeating the same stupid, lazy patterns.
MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:
Get to playing man-press. These weak zones have the Eagles allowing a completion percentage north of 75. If it continues, we will set the record for worst completion rate in NFL HISTORY.
Here’s a crazy truth: At 3 – 6, we’re still in the thick of the playoff race. While going 2 – 2 over the next 4 games would probably be good enough to keep those hopes alive, 3 – 1 would almost certainly do the trick
LAST week we lost, but we saw that Head Coach Nick Sirianni, is going to be committed to running the ball, thus balancing the Offense, going forward. Now that defenses have to defend against receivers who can stretch the field and a run game that requires a loaded box, QB Jalen Hurts has a real opportunity to be the x-factor in games. Games like this one.
(BTW: “receivers who can stretch the field, and a run game that requires a loaded box“. We won a Super Bowl with that set-up. IJS)
So far the Broncos have gone 3 – 0 vs NFC East teams this year. The Eagles are 0 – 3 vs AFC West teams this year. A win here, keeps the Eagles from being swept by a division, and more importantly, keeps the Broncos, the Broncos, from sweeping our entire division.
A win gives us a record of 4 – 6, and means that we’d hold onto second place in the NFC East for another week. It would also keep those 6th and 7th playoff seeds within our reach. We’d still be in the thick of it.
Falling to 3 – 7 with a loss, wouldn’t mathematically end our playoff hopes, but we’d be Apollo, out on his feet, waiting for the kill-shot from Drago. That can’t be how this one ends. They’re just the Broncos. It’s all flesh and bone. We just have to want it more.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: 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 FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Broncos:
1)Press Coverage: If we don’t do this, it’ll be another game where we allow a completion rate of 80% or higher. We have the CB’s who can do the job, they just have to be turned loose, where they’re allowed to. Both of the Broncos starting WR’s are 6’4”, so we can’t play around with those guys, and let them into jump-ball situations.
2)Play-action Inside:Now that we’re actually running the ball, play-action is a weapon that we can use convincingly. The ball can now, SHOULD NOW, come out quickly to the Slot and the TE positions. That will help us get WR Jalen Reagorand TE Dallas Goedert more involved, loosening up the opposing interior, and keeping our run game going.
3)Taylor-made Headache: Get OLB Davion Taylor in on a couple of blitzes. Walk him up between DT Fletcher Cox and DE Josh Sweat (if he plays), and actually send Taylor on a blitz a few times. He has the speed to drop in coverage, but also to get up on the QB quickly. We need to put him in positions to make plays.
More than sacks, what we want is to get QB Teddy Bridgewater moving his feet a lot in the pocket. We want to alter his usual throwing platform, and throw his mechanics off slightly. If possible, we want to make him beat us with his athleticism. See how I made a little joke there?
4)Get Howard In Space: Throwing the ball to RB’s was supposed to be a hallmark of this Offense, but we haven’t really seen it since RB Miles Sanderswent down. RB Jordan Howard has been a bull running through defensive fronts, but to see him get a Screen pass with blockers in front of him… Hey, why not do something easy?
If we do these Four Things,
Denver’s banged up offensive line shouldn’t be able to put rabbits out of their hat for four straight quarters. We’re have more talent in the trenches than they do. So long as we address these peripheral aspects, we should be able to capitalize on our advantage up front.
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PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Broncos 22
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
Rushing: ( R) RB Jordan Howard (17 – 71 – 4.1 – 1 – 0)
Receiving: (S) WR Devonta Smith (6 – 5 – 116 – 23.2 – 1)
Offensive Line Report: (2 + 2:0 – 1)
Drive Killer: (S) MLB T.J. Edwards (0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0)
Sack Leader: NO QUALIFIER
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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: Chargersdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Run the ball:I said 10 – 15 hand-offs in the first half is what we needed. Well, we handed it off 18 times, and went into the half with a 10 – 7 lead. Reserve Jordan Howard had 11 of his 17 carries in the first half. Starting RB Boston Scott(10 – 40 – 4.0 – 0 – 0) had 7 of his, in the first. The formula was working like a charm.
The problem was, that they only saw a combined 9 hand-off after the half. Since I put s much emphasis on the first half in FT, I have to consider this technically “done”. However, what I wrote was not the spirit of what I meant. This is a cheapy, but… (DONE)
2) Lean, not Press: We didn’t even try. Chargers receivers ran uncontested and unmolested all day long. It was a horrible display of coaching. I say that because, if the defensive coordinator wanted the Defense to behave otherwise, he would have called other coverages.
Instead what happened was we allowed a completion percentage of 84.2. Yet again, an opposing QB was out there, practically playing catch with his son. (NOT DONE)
3) Get them on the ground:Early drives did not begin promisingly, as the Eagles kept doing that crap where they hold up the ball carrier for strip attempt. However, after the Chargers bulled their way in for a score, the Eagles (for the most part) began just getting players down on the ground.
Unfortunately, tackling was the only aspect of our Defense that was working. Coverage, pass rush, disguising looks,, etc. All that was left in Carolina, I guess.
Can I just say, while we’re discussing tackling, we seem better when S Anthony Harris (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) is sitting games out. Maybe someone should pour boiling water on his lap, then hand him the kettle.(DONE)
4) Completions in the middle: Devonta Smith’s 28 yard touchdown started as a catch in the middle. It allowed him to find room to evade defenders, and make a enough extra yardage to score. It was a great play. Unfortunately, there weren’t many of it’s kind.
Many of Hurts pass attempts get pushed outside the numbers, and often to the sidelines. This works against the Offense on many levels: It increases time the receiver has to wait for the ball to reach. It gives defenders more time to break on the ball. It limits room to run for extra yardage. We have to do better. (NOT DONE)
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So we managed2 of Four Things this week. Maybe we’ll do better next week against a Bronco’s team that has 3 of their five wins against our division. That’s right! The only thing standing between the Broncos and a sweep of the NFC East, is us walking into their house and doing to them, what they did to Dallas this week.
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On The Whole:
We are seeing solid signs of growth in Head Coach Nick Siranni and therefore, in the team under him. Two examples would be Sirianni’s clock management right before the half, and the Defense not jumping off-sides, when Los Angeles tried to induce them, on 4th and 1. The first was an example of being present in the moment, the other of being accountable to discipline.
Our Defense on the other hand remains a joke. This is because DCJonathan Gannon is a pussy. There is no aggression in him. No passion. He’s timid and afraid. Even though what he’s doing will get him fired, he’s too cowardly to alter it for any length of time. Even after he sees that the alterations work.
If Sirianni is going to have a coaching future, he’s going to have to fire Gannon. Gannon is dead weight. An anchor. An albatross. He’s a rotted cucumber and two D batteries.
You can tell by his face, that he’s a guy who counts his strokes. Out loud. While checking his heart rate on his Apple Watch. Then when you don’t finish, he blames you because the metrics indicate that you should’ve by now. Don’t believe it? Listen to one of his press conferences. We gotta get rid of this guy!
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 