I’M EXPECTING FIREWORKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/18
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , . 5 Comments
desean-and-chip1.section215

Courtesy of Section215.com

DeSEAN Jackson even while nursing an injured shoulder, has no intention of missing this game. This will be his first time setting foot on Lincoln Financial Field in a jersey without an EAGLE on it. There’ll be the desire to make the EAGLES pay for casting him aside. There’ll be the need to show the organization just what they gave up.

Gave away.

For nothing.

That’s the part that has to burn him the most. So make no mistake he’ll want revenge. He’ll be angry. But mark my words, there’ll be some sadness too. Nothing, NOTHING about his demeanor on the subject indicates he’s at peace with this yet.

 

On the other side we have Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, and Chip Kelly, each with something to prove.

Maclin is on a one-year deal to prove he can be a #1 WR. Cooper has to prove that he’s legit WR who doesn’t need Jackson on the other side for him to be a factor in a game. But those are smaller personal goals.

The real challenge is reserved for Chip Kelly. Kelly has to prove that releasing Jackson wasn’t a mistake. That we can not only get along fine without him, but that he can’t be used to hurt us.

Kelly cannot afford to let Jackson come here and give us fits; and he cannot allow his starters to be outplayed. What I’m saying here, is that Sunday the EAGLES have to put on a show.

I quite frankly, am looking forward to it.

WERE HIS CRITICS RIGHT?

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/17
Posted in: Fans, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , . 10 Comments
Nick Foles demonstrating poor ball security and pocket awareness.

Nick Foles demonstrating poor ball security and pocket awareness.

ONE -EIGHTH of the season is in the books and we’re 2-0. However what’s funny is that many fans aren’t praising Nick Foles; they’re actually sort of blaming him for our 2-0 team’s offensive woes.

This last offseason a war raged between the Foles cheering section, and those who were skeptical of him. In the middle were people like me, who didn’t think we knew enough or had seen enough, and that we’d take all 16 games to make up our minds about him.

That’s where I still am. These first 2 games are not 16 games. I wouldn’t be crowning him king if he’d thrown for 800 yards, 10 TD’s and no picks; and I won’t condemn him for how he’s played thus far.

BUT…..

To tell the truth, Foles’ play has so far justified EVERY ounce of skepticism that he’s gotten in 2014. At times he’s looked downright awful, but for the most part he’s been rather pedestrian, and has looked very much like the 3rd round project that Andy Reid drafted him as.

When I say that, I don’t just mean his 58.5% completion rate (which personally I don’t think is a problem, but fans on both sides of the debate made 60% their minimum for acceptability, so I’ll use their benchmark). I also don’t mean his 3:2 touchdown to interception ratio.

You can look at his numbers and not see anything alarming in them. What those numbers don’t tell you, is that he’s holding the ball too long. They don’t tell you, that when flustered his ball security becomes suspect. They don’t tell you, that out of 48 completions only 14 belong to his starting WR’s. They don’t tell you, just how badly his ball placement has deteriorated. They don’t tell you, that he’s stunk bad enough to peel paint in the first half of games so far; or that while he’s been better in 2nd halves, he’s hardly been stellar.

Over these last 2 weeks I’ve seen many of people say they had supported him, but then call for him to be benched. Foles was told “Just be ready for the boos” by former EAGLES QB Donovan McNabb.  While lots of fans dismissed what McNabb said as sour grapes, many of those same people did boo Foles or call for his back-up in Week One. WEEK ONE.

If his supporters will bail on him that fast, you have to wonder how soon a verdict of “Fluke”, “One Year Wonder”, or “Flash In the Pan” will be entered against Foles.

Me? I still need to see 14 more games.

IS THERE A WAR ON RUNNING BACKS?

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/13
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , . 1 Comment
Image courtesy of profootballzone.com

Image courtesy of profootballzone.com

THEY put too much balsamic vinaigrette on my turkey hoagie, and I practically had to drain the damned thing before it overpowered the sandwich. Del Rossi’s uses a Sarcone’s roll, so you know I didn’t want the taste from that pushed down too far.

I was shaking my head and saying, “They’re against me and NFL RB’s this week”. Then a question hit me that made me put my hoagie down.

WHY ARE RB’S GETTING PUNISHED HARDER FOR THAN OTHER POSITIONS FOR SIMILAR INFRACTIONS?

For example:

San Francisco DE Ray McDonald is accused of hitting a pregnant woman. Criminal proceedings may follow. He’s still playing.

Carolina DE Greg Hardy was convicted of assaulting a woman. He continues to play as he appeals the conviction.

Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger settled with a woman who accused him of rape. He continues to play.

 

Now on the flip side:

Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson is deactivated due to an indictment of negligent injury.

Former Baltimore RB Ray Rice knocked his fiancé out in an elevator and she felt bad enough about it to marry him. No conviction or likely trial. Despite that, Rice has effectively been kicked out of the NFL.

There are more examples, but when you couple it with the NFL’s sudden and systematic devaluation of the position in general over these last few years, these examples make you wonder why the playing field is being stacked so steeply against RB’s. Especially after decades of it being the sports longest tenured high honor position. (Seriously. Before the forward pass, HB’s and FB’s were the key offensive positions.)

Former Steelers RB and certain HOFer Jerome Bettis links the devaluation to the new rules in the concussion savvy NFL. Whatever the case, the fact that RB’s seem to be the NFL’s punching bag right now is getting harder and harder to ignore or dismiss as circumstantial.

Eyes peeled.

THE NFC EAST LEADER IN DEFENSE.

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/11
Posted in: Defense, NFL. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

eagles-defense-600

YOUR Philadelphia EAGLES have the best Defense in the division right now. No, I’m not going by rushing yards allowed, or passing yards allowed, nor am I using how many sacks we got, turnovers we forced, or points our Defensive unit scored on their own.

I’m going by points allowed.

You might find this confusing, because 17 points were scored against both us and the Washington Redskins. So you might think we’re tied with them for fewest points allowed. That however would be incorrect.

See when you “allow” something, it means you can end it if you choose to. If someone can just take something from you and leave you wondering how that happened, that’s not “allowing”.

What that is, is getting Deebo’d.

Deebo

The Redskins got Deebo’d for 17 points.

They went to Houston with the highest of hopes, only to end up with their chain snatched and crying in the car (on the bus) on their way to the Houston airport.

We ALLOWED 17 points, and then we said to the Jags “Alright. Enough of that shit!” We took their offense, tossed it in a Tupperware container, burped the lid, and put that bitch on a shelf. 

See the difference? 

Share this and make sure your fellow fans KNOW how good their Defense is. 

WINTER IS COMING.

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/06
Posted in: Fans, NFL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 9 Comments

the big bird

TOMORROW we begin to find out who we are.

A day from now the title of 2013 NFC East Champions will be behind us. It’ll buy us nothing. Grant us access nowhere. It will reduced to little more than an answer to a trivia question.

Because Life is about NOW, not then. It’s about who we are, not who we were. 

And so we put aside the dead weight of that accolade, to begin our climb back into first place. We start a new 16 game, 17 week long mission to earn the Privilege to compete among the best in this sport, for the title of Super Bowl Champion. 

It’s a trial to earn a tougher trial. A test to see if we’re good enough to be truly tested. A gauntlet that takes skill and toughness, and yes even a little luck to survive.

If we’re good enough this season, there will be the reward of a playoff game or three, where we get to line up against an opponent just as desperate as ourselves, with the goal of dispatching the bastards to the hell of an incomplete mission. A place we know all too well. But that is for later. That must first be earned.

Because Life is about NOW, not then. It’s about who we are, not who we wish to be.

And tomorrow we begin finding out who we are.

 

MARK MY WORDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/04
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Rants. Tagged: , , , , , . 4 Comments

mark

 

SOME fool almost made me spit out my coffee this morning. You see that picture up there? It was put up in a Facebook group I’m a member of. Now as you know (if you’re one of my regulars), I don’t generally post stupid shit on my site, but there was so much wrong with this, that I HAD to put this up. 

First, see how it’s a post made by a Redskins fan? They have no right to talk about someone else’s football team. Their squad has been so bad, for so long that I’m not sure those people even know what football is anymore. If RGKnee faked the handoff, and jump-shot the football, their fans would be mad that Garcon didn’t grab the rebound.

Second, when Dan Snyder is your team’s owner, where do you get off talking about another team’s? Jeff Lurie had to borrow money to buy a franchise that was beginning to tank, and turned it into a profitable, and consistent winner. Our former GM Joe Banner set the standard for cap management used by teams across the NFL. Synder on the other hand has had his tenure marked by bad coaching hires, legendary Free Agent disasters, and fan attendance that despite what sales numbers indicate, keep showing up on television as rows upon rows of empty seats. And the seats that are filled are often left empty well before games end.

Third, this dude is only running his mouth because we made it possible for them to have one besides Pierre Garcon. Seriously. Last year they SPLIT starts mostly between Leonard Hankerson and Josh Morgan with 7 apiece. They didn’t feel either man was good enough for a full half-season. This is what their 2013 Receiving Stats looked like. And you want to talk WR quality????

Fourth, for as much as ‘skins fans SAY they don’t care about any other team this dude certainly seems to be up on out deets. Knows our cap space, and our depth chart. But naw! That ain’t stalking. 

Lastly, this guy sound DISAPPOINTED at the effort being made by our teams owner. Read those last two sentences. Wow right?!

‘Skins fans…. Got me shaking my head.

THERE ARE NO COWBOYS OR REDSKINS FANS.

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/03
Posted in: Fans, Rants. Tagged: , , , , , , . 6 Comments

cowards

 

COWBOYS and Redskins fans have turned their backs on their teams. It’s clear why they did that. It’s because they’re ashamed of them. Notice the way they do anything they can to avoid discussing the current versions of their rosters.

When was the last time you heard one their “fans” talk about how good their teams are now? All they want to talk about is how good their teams used to be. The embarrassment of what they’ve become has driven them to this.

What you’re seeing is pain, fear and shame brought about by decades of abject humiliation.

ASK any Cowboys fan who their favorite defensive player is. Their immediate answer will be “5 rings!” They hide behind that statement like a child behind a mother’s skirt. What’s sad is that Cowboys are supposed to be symbols of rugged American forthrightness, but these fans exemplify only soft cowardice. And to bring out this cowardice you need only ask a single direct question about the current state of their team.

WHEN our EAGLES went 8-8 then 4-12, we fans didn’t hide. No one could been more vocal than us. When Andy Reid moved Juan Castillo from Offensive Line Coach to Defensive Coordinator, we were the first to say it was a bone-headed move. I still happen to love Reid as a coach, but that was a dumbass move and we sucked in part because of it. But we’ll come right out and say that. We didn’t look at 2011 and 2012 and say “Yeah but what about 2001-2004?” We didn’t bail. Because bailing would have been a bitch move.

SPEAKING of bitches, Redskins fans (by law) should be forbidden to talk about football. Two decades and change of irrelevance does not equal valid shit talking. In fact, ‘skins fans should have less to say than JFK.

Instead what you hear is “3 rings!” as they try desperately to pretend that the last quarter century hasn’t existed. That they haven’t been reduced to a struggling, flailing, laughingstock of a franchise. That they haven’t been run into the ground by their owner. They tried to return to glory by bringing back the coach who led them to that last Lombardi trophy, and all they did was drag him down with them and stain his legacy.

It’s no wonder they avoid talking of themselves today. What would they say? What do they have to be positive about? They have nothing. Nothing.

IT’S true. Since the NFL Championship was re-branded, our EAGLES have never won it. In fact, we’re 0-2 when it comes to playing in Super Bowls. But the difference is you and I can face it when our team sucks. We aren’t afraid of the bad times because we’ve been bad before, and we got better. We didn’t bail on our team when things got hard for them. We didn’t forsake those we watched during the low times, for the comfort of our memories.

We didn’t because we’re tougher than that. Because we’re better than that. And that makes us better than Redskins and Cowboys fans who dishonor their teams every DAY! And who fail daily in teaching their children (the next generation of fans), what fan loyalty REALLY is.

MY fellow EAGLES fans, I submit to you that if you haven’t met a Cowboys or Redskins fan who can discuss NOW, that you have never met any Cowboys or Redskins fans at all.