FOUR THINGS: WK : PS2 EAGLES – BROWNS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/08/16
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST week the Defensive Line and the Safeties looks pretty good. Long Snapper Rick Lovato (no relation to Poot Lovato) was an animal, recovering a fumble on a punt return. There were some positives. Everything else had the appeal of a four story walk-up. Not a deal-breaker, but you’ll never stop thinking about improving your situation.

Being a preseason game, the “W” or the “L” is practically meaningless. What the Eagles need is the momentum of improvement. There have been a lot of fundamental changes, so a season like the one we just had, is anything but guaranteed. In fact, until we see that the Eagles have adapted well to the changes, there is no reason to believe that they will recapture the division.

There is a lot to show in this game. That vibe however, is a very low-key one. For most, this is the least exciting week of the preseason stretch.

*****

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.

There are more than four things to watch for this week, but I’ll try to narrow the focus so that you don’t get burned out, trying to watch too much football, all at one time.

1) Play the Starters: Everyone needs to see a little action in this one. Don’t hand me any bullshit about how the joint practices that the Eagles had with the Browns, will probably be more physical than the game. If that’s the case, then play them in the game, and hold them out of practice! People pay for those tickets. Don’t jerk the fan base around

Besides, there are no nerves, no stakes, and no butterflies for these guys on a practice field. There’s no “L” to talk about for a week, in the event of a loss. Can MLB Nakobe Dean deliver under the lights and the pressure? Can new RG Cam Jurgens? Does RB Kenneth Gainwell really make a case for #1 RB? Is WR Olamide Zaccheaus a good fit for this team? Let’s see.

2) Be the Aggressors: Again, I don’t want to hear about how much rougher the joint practices are. If I could pen them a letter, it would read: Dear Eagles, this team has been hitting you all week, and now they want to hit you some more in your own home. In front of your fans. In a televised game. Don’t get bullied in your own home by the F Troop of football. Take it to ‘em!

I want to hitting and blocking that makes highlight reels. And not from just a couple of Safeties. A message needs to be sent to every team that has circled us on their calendar: Grab your eraser, and call in sick that week.

3) Better QB Play: While many fans want to throw QB Ian Book under a school bus, the truth is, all three QB’s didn’t look very good last week. Book was almost afraid to throw the ball, and QB Marcus Mariota looked somewhat hesitant at times himself. Both looked more comfortable tucking the ball and running with it.

Oddly, there’s been a fair amount of praise for QB Tanner McKee. He seemed to get the ball out faster, but quickly incompleting half his attempts, is no recipe for success. Granted, our Offensive Line wasn’t doing any of the QB’s any favors, but holding onto the ball too long, or not moving in the pocket, doesn’t offer the Line much support either.

4) More Defense: Closer coverage and more contested balls would be nice to see this week. It doesn’t matter how good the Defensive Line is, if the opposing QB immediately has somewhere to go with the ball. Last week we gave up a completion percentage of 61. It was 76% for their first two QB’s. We will find fourth place in the NFC East, real fast with play like that.

*****

We fans get riled for the first preseason game, because we’ve spent the entire offseason starving for football. Then the NFL hands us a preseason game, and we treat that saltine like it’s Premium. We salivate over it. “Is this a Ritz?!” (Right Eddie?) By the fourth quarter, we realize that the game is just some regular old crackers.

For most, the second preseason game is like being a kid, and getting a sweater for Christmas. It’s not socks, but you can’t wait to put that shit down and open the next one. Next week the starters should play at least a quarter, so we’ll care more about that one. But for now we’re showing up because it’s football. Show some improvement and don’t get hurt. That’s all we ask.

*****

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 few days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: PS1: Ravens

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/08/14
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
DT Jalen Carter nearly nabs the QB

RELAX. It’s just a tune-up.

EAGLES 19 – Ravens 20

Who looked good:

DT Jalen Carter – (No stats) Easily discarded a Guard and nearly ran down a sack on his first NFL snap. How is the 9th overall pick still a steal? Thank you Atlanta!!!!

DT Moro Ojomo – (3 tackles) Baltimore couldn’t keep him out of their backfield. It was against their third unit, but he’s a 7th round rookie, so he warrants more study.

S Sydney Brown – (9 tackles) Made stops and brought a physical presence as well.

CB Eli Ricks – (1tack – 1 int TD) Got his hands on two passes, knocking one down and taking the other to the house.

WR Greg Ward – (5 – 53 – 10.6 – 0) Still does an excellent job of giving his QB an easy, early target.

Who looked bad:

QB Ian Book – (1/4 – 25% – 11 – 0 – 0) Was reluctant to throw the ball too often.

OL Tyler Steen – Got the start at LT and struggled, giving up an early sack. Moved to RG and still failed to impress.

DE Tarron Jackson – (1 tackle) did not make his presence felt despite great interior play.

DE Kyron Johnson – (No stats) Was practically invisible.

****

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 a HIT or a MISS on the areas I discussed.

1) Throwing to the RB’s: Aside from a lone checkdown to RB Trey Sermon in the second half, there were no other completions to a RB, all game long. So far there doesn’t seem to be much difference between this and the last few year’s offense, in that regard. I understand not wanting to divulge pertinent information to opponents, but we have to practice what we do, if we’re going to be any good at it. MISS

2) Getting Defensive: Hits that draw flags. I was looking for two or three of those, and we didn’t have one. Yes, there were a few hits that laid the wood, but nothing that will “impact” opponents mentally, as Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai says he wants. While S Justin Evans and rookie S Sydney Brown provided some physicality, no one is going to see those guys in their sleep. MISS

3) Who’s On First?: Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland told everyone last week that RG Cam Jurgens hadn’t locked up the starting job. I told you on Thursday that that was bullshit. Result? Jurgens spent Saturday night wearing a white Eagles t-shirt. So, you know, keep coming here to find out what’s what.

While I didn’t expect Jurgens to play much, I was surprised that he didn’t play at all. That’s an unforced error by the coaching staff. Jurgens isn’t a seasoned NFL starter who can just step back into where he left off last season, because last season he saw exactly 35 snaps. A guy as green as he is could use the work. If only to work on his muscle memory moving from bench C to starting RG.

I was interested in seeing if he got any game snaps at C, just in the interest of letting him play the spot that we all know he’ll inherit. It wasn’t a serious point, but him not playing at all, doesn’t sit well with me. MISS

4) Listening for a POP!: Sadly, MLB Nakobe Dean didn’t start. In fact, he didn’t play. He wasn’t even wearing an unpadded jersey on the sideline. Call me crazy, but I think zero career starts is too early to grant a player sacred cow status. Same as Jurgens, he could have used the work. And for those who ask “What if he’d gotten injured?”, my answer is, preseason game one is the time to find out if a guy is fragile. Not Week One.

No one popped at second or third string DE, which was surprising considering how much of a runaway train DT Moro Ojomo was out there. He was in the Ravens backfield so much, that it wouldn’t have been weird to see him pick up a blitz, or take a hand-off. It’s hard to believe he was still available in the seventh round.

The Eagles didn’t move CB Kelee Ringo around at all. Surprising since he has seen time at S and NCB in camp. Instead, he got a long look at LCB, where he made a hustle play to corral a long run, but then was later beaten for a 7 yard TD pass. He was all at once more than I expected, and less. MISS

****

This week we had four misses, and no hits. (Don’t worry, during the season it will go back to Done/Not Done.) Understand, the misses aren’t really failures, any more than hits would necessarily be successes. Hits and misses are just a way of charting the outcomes of what was discussed, during the preseason. That’s it.

****

On The Whole:

Our second string Offense moved the ball well against their second string defense. QB Marcus Mariota didn’t look very comfortable out there, except for throwing to WR Greg Ward. Though I wonder if that wasn’t more Ward than Mariota. RB DeAndre Swift looked nifty, but the play-calling included too much east-west running.

Third string QB Tanner McKee took more shots downfield, but he has to, given the fact that he’s a statue. Any career he has, will be birthed by his arm, not his legs. He made a couple of nice back-shoulder completions (one was called back due to offensive pass interference).

RB Rashaad Penny looked like he was saving his body for the regular season, because we all know that he can run harder than he did in this game. At no point did he look like a man worried about being cut.

Defensively, I was surprised to see DT Jordan Davis slotted at 4-3 DE at the start of this game, but then it occurred to me that he was actually more of a DT in a 5-2. Seeing rookies DT Jalen Carter and OLB Nolan Smith nearly combine for a sack was nice. What was even better, was how quickly they created that pressure. If we stay healthy, we’re going to be a problem up front this year.

FOUR THINGS: WK P1: EAGLES – RAVENS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/08/10
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST time we took the field the result was a 35 – 38 loss, in the Super Bowl. Horseshoes and hand grenades, right? So this preseason game is the beginning of the tune-up, prior to the race to go back and finish the job this time.

As is the norm for preseason games, most starters will likely sit this one out. It’s primarily to prevent injury, though some think the lack of conditioning actually leads to more injuries. Still, the new players and rookies need to be folded in. So expect to see a half or so from them.

I also want to see how some new concepts are settling in.

If a win happens, great; but there is no merit in chasing a “W”. Getting a deep look at these guys, to make sure that we aren’t about to cut a potential star, is far more important. We need to know who our roster depth, and Practice Squad should be.

Also, before you put too much stock in watching WR Quez Watkins, let me just say Don’t. We already know that Quez can make the roster. Where he has to prove himself, is in games that count. That’s where he shit the bed last year, so that’s the mess he has to clean up in 2023.

****

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.

There are more than four things to watch for this week, but I’ll try to narrow the focus so that you don’t get burned out, trying to watch too much football, all at one time.

1) Throwing to the RB’s: We already know that Screens and Wheel routes will feature for us in 2023. I’m looking to see what else looks promising. I’m interested in seeing the QB hit the RB’s in stride. Dump-offs to stationary targets gives advantage to the opposing defense. I want to see as little of that as possible.

2) Getting Defensive: New Defensive Coordinator Sean Desai, wants to impact opposing offenses both physically and mentally. That means hitting to intimidate. Translation: We need to cause some flags to get thrown. We need to.

Two or three ‘unnecessary roughness’ calls on non-QB players, sounds like healthy number. Nothing dirty or with intent to injure, but a couple of borderline hits. A full launch, instead of a shove out of bounds. A ‘pick-up and plant’ tackle. Laying out receivers on crossing routes. That sort of thing.

3) Who’s On First: Most starters will likely sit this one out, but I think RG Cam “Beef” Jurgens absolutely has to play. At least a series. The real question is, will he see any reps at C?

Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland says that Jurgens hasn’t locked up the starting RG gig, (but he has). Stoutland has been downright effusive in praising Jurgens’ feet, his confidence, his understanding of concepts, and even says he asks great questions. As for rookie RG Tyler Steen, Stout says “I like what he’s doing.”

Personally, I think the Eagles added free agent G Josh Andrews, because Steen and Brett Toth haven’t really been setting the world on fire. The Birds getting back G Josh Sills, isn’t going to make life easier for Steen either.

4) Listening for a POP!: I’ll be disappointed if MLB Nakobe Dean doesn’t start. Doesn’t matter how he looks in camp. We need to see him run a pro defense, under the lights, with pros to be accountable to. I want to see him shine. I want to see him pop. I want to see him make at least one play for negative yards. Two would be amazing.

Who is going to pop at second string DE? I don’t want to see hurries. I want to see the QB on the ground. I want to see the ball come out. I don’t care about the recoveries. Yet.

I also want to see where CB Kelee Ringo lines up. And I don’t mean which spot. I mean which spots. Spot with and ‘S’ on both ends. Both of two of them. Where do they move Ringo to, and how often? How does the kid respond? He held out longer than any other rookie here, over his contract. Based on that, he must feel he’s special. So let’s see it!

****

We have two new coordinators, and new concepts that come with them. To hell with how physical joint practices can be. Saturday is the first time many of our players, will don a pro helmet. They will have stakes to play for. There will be nervous stomachs. It will important to see how these players respond to THAT pressure.

****

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 few days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.

EAGLES 2023 TRAINING CAMP

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/08/03
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

UNLESS a new head coach is coming in, I rarely care much about Training Camp. With a returning HC, we already know most of the starters, the system, the culture, yadda and so forth. Most fans get excited about who’s going to beat out whom, for one of just a few open starting gigs. But that’s mostly picking gnat shit out of pepper, so I don’t bother.

I do want to weigh in on a few things though, and I want to say them early.

1. For everyone wondering who the two Safeties will be, between Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds, and Sydney Brown, here’s the logic on what to expect. Early on, expect Blankenship at FS prioritizing deep coverage, and Edmunds at SS with emphasis on the box.

Edmunds will also be used like a third LB at times, stealing snaps from OLB Nick Morrow. In that situation, you may see all three Safeties on the field at once.

There’s a lot of “either/or” thinking being done around this roster. Don’t succumb to that. Think “AND!” Think in terms of possibilities, and what you can get out of those possibilities. Fences are for cows; borders are for places, and limits are for coupons. WE, are talking about people. So think “AND!” Because it certainly seems like this is how the coaching staff is leaning.

2. Anybody buying into WR Quez Watkins based on the camp he’s having so far, is buying fool’s gold. I’m not saying he won’t deliver and be a quality third WR. (I’m praying that he does.) However, Quez didn’t lose our faith in Camp. He lost it last year, during games. He lost it having balls PULLED FROM HIS HANDS. Versus both Washington and Dallas, no less!

Quez has already shown us that he can contribute to losses, and even be the reason we lose. He now has to show us that he’s part of why we win. Especially if, (knock wood) injuries should force him into a number two role.

3. Let’s be clear, OLB Haason Reddick is not underpaid. He signed his 3yr, 45M$ contract last year. Yes, there are a few pass rushers making more than him now; but that’s how the free agency carousel works. His turn at the feeding trough comes around again in 2025. Possibly sooner, if the Birds want to talk extension. But if he wants to fuck around, let him find out.

Reddick has always been a player who was great at producing sacks and pressure. Leadership and vision however, have been cultural aspects lacking in both his Arizona and Carolina teams. Given that he’s not really one of our leaders, it’s not hard to imagine that he could go to a place like Washington or New York, and again put up numbers, but not make playoff noise.

I’d like to see Reddick rotate with rookie OLB Nolan Smith, this year and next. However, if Reddick becomes a headache in ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, it would be smart to trade him (after 2023) out of the conference (maybe to Las Vegas), and elevate Smith to starter. The loss is Reddick’s to take.

4. Finally, we’re about to get to know Nick Sirianni. Yeah, hes already been here for two years. We’ve seen his kids. He’s cussed at a camera. He’s been really fun so far. That however, was with Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen, the respectively departed Defensive and Offensive Coordinators. Both had been with him from the beginning of his tenure here in Philadelphia.

Sirianni tapped those guys, because he’d worked with them before. They were of similar philosophies and understandings. They were his boys! Enter the replacements in OC Brian Johnson, and DC Sean Desai. These are not his boys. These are men who have to learn his vision and buy into it. Especially when things get tough.

Johnson has been the QB Coach here since 2021, when Sirianni first got here. So you think he’d already be on-board. And you’d be wrong. Under Steichen, the Eagles hardly threw the ball to our RB’s. Johnson has been telling anyone capable of hearing, that the Eagles will be pulling a 180 on that, this season.

Under Steichen the Eagles relied on QB Jalen Hurts to supplement our RB’s, with his 304 carries, 1544 rushing yards, and 23 touchdowns over the last two years. It’s a pace that I’ve been saying, will kill him. As a former QB, Johnson agrees, and wants to see the ball dumped off to RB’s in order to minimize Hurts running. He’s also been a close friend of Hurts’ family for 20 years and likely wants to protect Jalen from unnecessary risk.

Desai has come in preaching nastiness. He wants teams to fear his defense. This is a departure from the cold, snarky Gannon, who preferred no labels on his system. Desai has preached situational football, which was not really a strong suit of Gannon, who was much maligned for his either unwillingness or inability to make defensive adjustments during games.

Both of these men represent a break from what Sirianni came in preaching. It’s relatively easy during OTA’s and during meetings to agree, and to go along with something that maybe one of them doesn’t agree with. When the games count, and the losses mount, and the questions get stiffer in front of the media, and in the GM’s office; that pressure could lead to more pushback between coaches.

So now we’re going to see how Sirianni manages that. If the Eagles get out to winning like last year, there won’t be any headaches at all. If it’s in anyway tougher than last year, Sirianni is going to have to keep a steady hand on the rudder. And we’re about to see if he can.

THE FORTY WHINERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/07/12
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, playoffs, Rants, Rivals, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

MONDAY during a radio show, in an interview via telephone, 49ers WR Deebo Samuels, hung up on the show’s host. After the Eagles 31 – 7 pummeling of the 9ers in the NFC Championship game, Samuels said the 49ers would have beaten the Eagles by double digits, if QB Brock Purdy was healthy. The host asked about those comments, and Samuels talked some shit about our next match-up, then hung up.

Deebo after hanging up.

Samuels isn’t the only 9er to still be running his mouth after the curb-stomping that we delivered; but it’s his comments that I’m focusing on right now.

In the meantime, two things (not Four).

First, the 49ers DID have a healthy Brock Purdy. The Eagles MADE him unhealthy. Then we proceeded to “unhealthy” their back-up. That was less about us hurting their QB’s, and totally about our front seven absolutely shitting on their pass protection. We shit on their coach’s protection scheme. We shit on their communication. We shit on their individual players strengths and abilities.

So Deebo can miss us with that “healthy Purdy” nonsense. He had one.

Second, Deebolita saying “Just wait until Week 13” was the best compliment an obsessive fan could have ever given the Eagles, and I want to thank him for it.

Training camp hasn’t even started yet, and he’s already equating our Week 13 match-up, with the NFC Championship game that he lost. So for him, this is huge. He’s clearly been chewing on that loss, since January 29th. Meanwhile, we won’t see him again until December 3rd. That’ll be 305 days, of him obsessing. YUM!

Given how he’s talked about us all off-season (longer for him than for us), all indications are that he NEEDS that game psychologically. A loss, especially a close one, could send him spiraling out. And maybe not just him, but many of his teammates as well.

Kyle Schwarber barrels a Schwarbomb.

I’m already on record as predicting a close loss to them during the season, before we full-blown barrel them in the playoffs, and pack 53 men onto a plane, all practically on suicide watch, then yeetin’ that bitch to the far side of the nation. That being said, I want both games. I just don’t know if the Eagles will be as desperate for the regular season one, as the 9ers already are.

In a weird way, I kind of envy them. The rest of us have to hope that our team makes it to the Super Bowl on February 11th. The 49ers are already scheduled to play theirs on December 3rd.

The Eagles after the NFC Championship game.

#12: DRESS FOR SUCCESS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/25
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Rants, Super Bowl, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

ONE person caused us to lose the Super Bowl. It wasn’t the fumble by QB Jalen Hurts. It wasn’t RB Miles Sanders. It wasn’t even the Defense giving up 31 points. The reason we lost the Super Bowl, was Greg Delimitros, V.P. of Equipment Management.

If you recall, the field at State Farm Stadium was a soggy, slippery mess. As a result, our Defense with it’s voracious pass rush, couldn’t get any pressure on the QB. Eagles OLB Haason Reddick couldn’t run down QB Patrick Mahomes, despite Mahomes playing with a gimpy ankle. Yet no one discusses that! People just shrugged and moved on.

Folks! A Defense that had given up just 14 points in the playoffs, and just 50 combined in it’s last four games, suddenly coughed up 31. All because we couldn’t do proper CLEAT MANAGEMENT. Half of the Eagles team didn’t get to play it’s game that day, due to a simple equipment problem. You have no idea how much this eats at me.

The announcers talked about both teams slipping early in the game. You could see both teams discussing it at points. However, it was the Chiefs who did a superior job of managing the field conditions, and it was enough to give them a 3 point victory. THREE POINTS! 

They say it’s a poor workman who blames his tools. I agree with that. Understand, it’s not our cleats I’m blaming. I’m blaming Greg Delimitrios for not being able to manage the problem, and make the proper adjustment. I’m blaming the workman, not the tools.

He needs to get his shit together this year. You would have thought that rainy, sloppy Jacksonville game would have been a great lesson, well prior to the Super Bowl. However, you have to be paying attention to learn. You have to be dialed in. Seems like Greg wasn’t. Even if Greg doesn’t learn, I have. Prior to the playoffs, I WILL be on the call-in shows, putting this out there.

This year we’re going to be dressed for success.

#11: REPS FOR SPECIAL TEAMERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/25
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

#10: TAKE ‘EM DOWN!

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/23
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Players, Rants, Reviews, Super Bowl, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

LOSING that game to the Commanders last year, is kind of sticking in my craw now. It hardly bothered me when it happened. In fact, after the loss in Four Things Reviewed, I said that I was grateful for the loss. Many Eagles fans were, in fact. Turns out, that loss is probably why we made it to the Super Bowl.

But part of it still bugs me. Not our turnovers. Those were an aberration. Those were never really anything to worry about. What bugs me, was our tackling in that game (and others).

While Washington didn’t run the ball well, they stuck to grinding out yards. That was in part because our defenders were too often trying harder to cause turnovers, than to secure the tackle and get the man on the ground. Which is helped Washington convert so many 3rd downs (12 of 21).

With the exception of Charles “Peanut” Tillman and his freakishly reliable ‘Peanut Punch’, most fumbles don’t happen because a defender forces it. Most fumbles happen when offensive players are trying to make something happen. Especially later in the game when their team is down. They fixate on making a move, and forget ball security. Then something bad happens.

Just get the man on ground. Just make the tackle. Especially early in games. Not with shoulder lunges to generate hits. Players need to execute proper form, and bring their arms. Wrap up the guy with the ball!

DT Jordan Davis showing how it’s DONE.

With the interior defensive line that we have, I’m expecting to see MLB Nakobe Dean get a lot of clean shots on ball-carriers. His tackling will be critical. That’s not to let everyone else off the hook; but from Dean (though I’ll cut him plenty of slack in other areas) his tackling will be important in determining whether we win the East this year.

9: MOVE COX TO DE

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/22
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Players, Rants, Roster, Super Bowl, The 12, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

WE’RE all itching to see DT’s Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter on the field at the same time. That however, can only happen if either DT Fletcher Cox is sitting, or has been flexed outside to LDE. Actually, the move to End would help out not only Cox, but the entire Defense. It would make a second Super Bowl appearance much easier to pull off.

Let’s get into why.

The Eagles featured pass rusher is LOLB/LDE Haason Reddick. When he plays LOLB, he’s outside of the LDE, and when he rushes from LOLB, so does the DE on that side. That’s usually as either part of a five man rush; OR a four man, where the RDE drops into shallow zone, with the ROLB and MLB shifting to their left, to balance out the underneath coverage.

That’s all simple principle. You saw it here last year, and you’ll see it every year, on every team, which has a dominant pass rusher at OLB. Can’t be avoided. But scheme isn’t the issue. Every team sees this coming, and nobody is ever caught off-guard by it. Ever.

Fletcher Cox may not be the 2018 version of Fletcher Cox, but moving him (primarily)to DE (with Reddick at OLB), puts Cox in a position where he can’t really ever see a double-team. Instead he gets to engage just the outer edge of a RG, because the RT has to create a wider gap to engage Reddick.

So wait! Doesn’t that leave Jordan Davis one-on-one with a Center? Because opponents can’t use their LG to help out on Davis, since that LG has Carter, right? Which leaves RDE Josh Sweat dancing alone with the LT.

So opponents can’t double-team anyone on our line. The only way to do it, would be to keep a TE or a RB, as blocking help. That gives our LB’s and Secondary fewer people to cover. Of course the Achilles Heel of this, is when our Front Five gets tired, right?

At which point we roll in LOLB Nolan Smith, LDE Brandon Graham, LDT Kentavius Street, RDT Milton Williams, and RDE Derek Barnett. Folks, there is no breather for opposing offensive lines. Imagine, after a few downs fighting against Fletcher Cox, the guy who lines up across from you now, is a fresh Brandon Graham. Did you catch a break? No. You didn’t.

Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox. FEASTING.

Eagles fans, we don’t have to add anybody to do this. We already have these guys! It’s just a matter of how we (LOL, I said Howie) deploy them. Did I mention that we have guys like DE Janarius Robinson and (rookie) DT Moro Ojomo, waiting in the wings?

So yeah. Let’s move Cox mostly to DE, making the season easier on both him and the team, on our way to Paradise, Nevada on February 11th, where we will finish the job this time.

#8: THE NEW HUMP DAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/21
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

IMAGINE the monster we could create, if someone could teach DT Jordan Davis, Reggie White’s Hump Move.

Lot’s of players have used some version of the Hump, but not many have been able to use White’s version of it. Not many could have. For example, J.J. Watt flat out said he couldn’t replicate it. Neither could Aaron Donald who instead built his career on the “Bull Snatch”.

These two have been premier rushers over this last decade. They however lacked the tools to replicate White’s move, but Jordan Davis has those tools. Yes, I just said that Davis has tools that Watt and Donald lack. More to the point, those tools could elevate him to the level of dominance that Reggie White, and Jerome Brown produced.

In football, leverage is king, if you can get under your opponent, you’ll have an easier time of controlling him, and not being controlled by him.

The Hump takes advantage of this, by starting low and forklifting the opponent not just upward, but backward. It’s the Chinese finger trap of football moves. The further up you go, the further back you go, and the further back, the further up.

The crazy part is, there is no “figuring it out”, because it’s not a trick. It’s just how physics work on Earth. As long as the game is taking place on Earth, White’s Hump Move will work for a player who has the tools to pull it off. Period. Debate over. So what are these tools?

Reggie White played DE at 292 to 305 pounds. Keep in mind, this was at the dawn of the 300 pound offensive lineman. Back then Offensive Tackle John “Jumbo” Elliott was considered huge at 305 pounds. The Cardinals Luis Sharpe played OT at 267. The Steelers Tunch Ilkin at 265. The Rams Jackie Slater at 287. The Bengals Anthony Munoz at 287. All of these guys were Pro Bowlers. The last two are Hall of Famers.

White was country strong, but he was also flat-out bigger, than the men that lined up across from him. Think about how today OT’s are generally over 320 pounds, and DE’s are nearly always under 270. Watt played under 290, and Donald plays the interior at just 280. They were never physically set up for doing what Reggie did.

Jordan Davis on the other hand…

Jordan possesses the sort of natural strength that you can’t pick up in a weight room. He doesn’t have workout warrior strength, it’s just good ol’ fashioned see-that-there-bring-it-here type strength. That farmhand strength. Reggie had that. At 336 (listed) pounds, Jordan is also bigger than a number of the G’s he’s going to match-up with.

Now come the details. The context. These are easy to miss parts that you come here for, that other writers don’t have the insight to give you. Damn I’m humble!

On passes, the OT’s take two steps back, and the Guards take one. This forms the pocket that the QB is supposed to sit in. Reggie played on the end vs opponents taking two steps. Jordan will be playing in the middle, over guys taking one step, with a QB just behind them. Jordan will start out closer to the QB than Reggie usually did. (Though sometimes Reggie also lined-up inside).

Reggie also faced double and triple-team blocking most of the time. That’s easier to do on the edge, because coaches can help an OT with a TE and/or a RB. That’s harder to do in the middle of the offensive line without obstructing the QB’s view of the field.

Jordan would have to be be doubled with a G/C combo, which would leave DT Jalen Carter one-on-one. Keep in mind, Jordan plays beside someone who is expected to be better than him. Carter is the more natural pass rusher, and the one seen more as a generational talent. So blocking Jordan will not be the priority.

For those remember this Defense

imagine if back in 1991 our defensive interior consisted of Brown, and a version of White that was schematically nearly impossible to double-team. This is what I’m proposing here.

For those who have been fans for fifteen years or fewer, even if Davis doesn’t learn the Hump Move, the interior of the Eagles defense will likely be unlike anything you’ve ever rooted for. I don’t want to oversell it, but you should be very excited.

If Jordan does learn the Hump, it will essentially be the White version. If that happens, you will see something that for years has sounded like mythology to most of you, but I assure you it happened. NFL records will confirm it. That 1991 Eagles Defense gave up 150.8 passing yards per game. (That’s 37 fewer than the 2000 Ravens.)

Sunday should be the new Hump day.