FOUR THINGS: WK 13: EAGLES – PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/05
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE Seattle loss was a hard pill to swallow, but our Defense kept us in that game, and kept a very mobile QB, under a fair amount of duress. DT Fletcher Cox and DE Brandon Graham, should make it difficult for Green Bay’s QB to consistently step up into his throws.

Depending on how the week shakes out, a win could put us back at the top of the division. That is, when this weeks spate of games (the Cowboys play on TUESDAY), is over. A loss combined with a giants win (over Seattle), would be a serious blow to the Eagles chances to see the post-season, from anything other than a couch.

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.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus Green Bay :

1) Run to pass: The Eagles Offense works better when using the run to set up the pass. Running on first down helps open up passing lanes for QB Carson Wentz, and legitimizes play-action.

2) Force their QB left, and hit him: While QB Aaron Rodgers can throw moving to his left, he’s deadly moving to his right. Get him doing things he doesn’t want to do. Take the control and the confidence from him. While getting hit and sacked are part and parcel of the position, he doesn’t shake it off emotionally. So beat him to shit. Take him away from his team mentally. We’ve seen what he looks like when he checks out emotionally. That’s the guy we want to face.

3) Start fast: Beating Green Bay likely means having to win a shootout. Since the Packers are not a team that lets opponents climb back into games, the Eagles need to throw points on the board ASAP.

4) Avoid starting drives inside of our 20: Part of our problem is that we keep losing the hidden yardage/field position battle. Frequently when RB Boston Scott returns a kickoff, he fails to reach the 20. Since we don’t have a dangerous KR man, down kickoffs in the endzone. WR Greg Ward shouldn’t let any puts roll inside the 10. A fair-catch at the 11 sucks ass, but it beats a rolling ball, downed at the 2.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

EAGLES 24 – Packers 21

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

THE RIVALS 2020 (PT 2 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/02
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, playoffs, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

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

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans actually are the NFL’s best informed, and most knowledgeable fans. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during this season: After Weeks 6, 11, and 15.

This is where we left off.

This is where things are today:

Dallas: 3 – 8, 4th place in the NFC East

When last we left off, Dallas was 2 – 4, and leading the division. Wow right?

You know, just twelve weeks ago, this team was talked about as being a Super Bowl contender. They were simply gonna walk away with the NFC East. Just walk away with it! Today the talk is about whether or not they’re ditching injured QB Dak Prescott, to select a QB in the top five.

So that’s how that’s going.

Replacing Prescott is QB Andy Dalton. And then QB Ben “Bring It On!” DiNucci. And then QB Garrett Gilbert. And then Uncle Rico. And then QB Andy Dalton. And then…

They are a team ravaged by injuries. Aw.

Being beat to shit by injuries, just means playing in the 2020 NFL. Nobody cares. Work harder.

On defense, they aren’t playing any. No, that’s not fair. At the time of our last installment, they weren’t. Since then they’ve stopped allowing 36 points per game and now have it down to 32.6 per game. IMPROVEMENT! Did I mention the 23 – 9 loss where they got FOUR turnovers? I didn’t? Well they suffered a 9 – 23 loss where they got FOUR turnovers. And were still nearly blown out!

 

Washington: 4 – 7, 2nd place in the NFC East

QB Kyle Allen was lost for the season with a dislocated ankle, vs the same giants team that dislocated QB Dak Prescott’s ankle. Have no fear! QB Alex Smith will be the starter for the final leg of this journey. Thus far, he’s 2 – 1 as a starter over these last three games, despite being far from spectacular at either moving or protecting the ball.

Defensively, their last two opponents were Cincy and Dallas, both playing with back-up QB’s. Washington’s dance card is a bout to stiffen a little, so we’ll get to see just how many of these improvements were improvements, and how many were just games against stumbling opponents. To their credit, for a hot five or six minutes, this Football Team (ick) actually recaptured the top spot in the division.

Now they’re back to playing for Draft position.

 

New York: 4 – 7, 1st place in the NFC East

New York is out here breaking so many ankles, that maybe we should call them the New York Iversons. Frankly I’m glad that we’ve already seen them twice, and escaped with our QB. QB Daniel Jones is playing acceptable football, in the sense that he is no longer a turnover fountain.

The real story for these last few weeks, is RB Wayne Gallman. He isn’t flashy, but unlike injured starter RB Saquon Barkley, Gallman’s more consistent from one carry to the next. Barkley is one big play, and a lot of loss, no gain, short gain. Gallman’s 4.0 per carry is more like 4 yards on this carry, 3 on that one, five on this one, and so forth. That sort of production keeps 3rd downs more manageable, and doesn’t put the QB in tight spots. Gallman’s style stabilizes the offense, and makes Jones viable . The giants have a real conundrum on their hands once Barkley is healthy again.

Flying under the radar is a defense that has held opponents to 25 points or fewer for the last 6 games (20.0 ppg). I made this team my dark horse to win the East in 2020, and so far it seems like I had it read pretty well.

So that’s the state of our division rivals as our Eagles head into game 12. 

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 12: Seahawks

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’M starting to believe this is being done deliberately.

EAGLES 17 – Seahawks 23 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (25/45 – 55.5% – 215 – 2 – 1)

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (5 – 42 – 8.4 – 0 – 0)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (10 – 7 – 75 – 10.7 – 1)

(S) DT Fletcher Cox: (4 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: Seahawks did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Attack, attack, attack!: Yardage-wise, the Seahawks are the worst defense in the league, on their way to being the worst pass defense in NFL history. Unfortunately, it seems like the Eagles have forgotten how to do simple things. Something as simple as getting open and catching a ball. Something as simple as spotting a wide open man. Something as simple as both players knowing the play. (NOT DONE)

2) Run the damned ball: This game featured 51 passing plays (45 attempts, 6 sacks), and just 9 TOTAL handoffs, all game long. This game at no point, had gotten out of hand. There was no reason to abandon the run. (NOT DONE)

3) Go For Two: Get two turnovers was the mission. We didn’t sniff even one. (NOT DONE)

4) Do Better with Hidden Yardage: HA! We were penalized 9 times for -79 yards, and returned 2 of 3 punts for a total of 19 yards. So we weren’t exactly helping our struggling Offense with advantageous starting field position. (NOT DONE)

WR Jalen Reagor being interfered with.

This week we hit 0 of 4 marks. It’s hard to believe the Eagles can be this bad, without making a concerted effort at it. Honestly, I’m starting to believe this is being done deliberately. Next week we get just what every reeling team needs: A trip to Lambeau Field, in December! We beat the Packers at home last year, but that was in September. I sense a prison shower scene, in our near future.

On The Whole:

Let me start by saying, I told you so. Those rumors about QB Jalen Hurts getting extended playing time this week, were just that. Rumors. This was evinced by the standard THREE snaps (officially two), that Hurts logged in this game. I’ve been telling Eagles fans all season, that Wentz is your starter. Monday Night Football went as far to put up a graphic depicting why the Eagles are financially tied to Wentz until 2022. (Unless a trade is made.) That graphic, by the way, repeated what I said to you last week in ‘DOUG CAN’T BENCH CARSON‘. 

Now to the game.

Aside from not being able to play football, our Offense is in great shape. We have blockers who can’t, receivers who don’t, and a coaching staff that seems hell-bent on getting the QB murdered.

For all this talk of Wentz not having to play “hero ball” and “not having to wear the cape, all the time” it damned sure looks like he does. Please point out to me the other player attempting to carry the Offense during the game, or shoulder the blame after a loss.

FOUR THINGS: WK 12: EAGLES – SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/28
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

SILVER lining to last week was, despite how shitty we looked, we still only lost by 5. My point is, that we aren’t “in over our heads” talent-wise. What we are is, in our own way. This week features a shuffling of the Offensive Line, and a head coach who said he was looking at 2017 and 2018 film. This week is the wisest the Eagles have looked from top to bottom, since they figured out several ways to mask Halapoulivaati Vaitai at LT in 2017.

A win puts us back in first place in the NFC East. A loss would have us still within striking distance, but with no shot at any sort of Wild Card seeding.

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.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on, this week versus Seattle:

Remember WR Travis Fulgham? I hope the Witness Protection Program is treating him well.

1) Attack, attack, attack: I saw our passing attack on a milk carton yesterday. Seattle is giving up 28 points per game, and can’t defend the pass. Win, lose, or tie, the Eagles need a game where we TOTALLY cut loose, and try to work on some things. With all the people calling for QB Carson Wentz’s benching, using this game as a lab is basically playing with house money. What’s to lose? It’s not like most Eagles fans could pretend to be disappointed. Many have already thrown in the towel! We need to be aggressive and either get the knockout, or go down swinging.

2) Run the damned ball: Usually I say “hand it off 20+ times”. We did that last week with 9 carries on the first drive, and just 12 carries for the REMAINDER OF THE GAME! That was 20+. Get it? That was Doug playing with my emotions.

So I’m going to breadcrumb this, this week: “Doug, hand that motherfucker off 12 to 16 times per half. Commit to running the ball to set up play-action. Make life easier for the O-Line and the QB. Save yourself some frustrating questions after the game.”

3) Go For Two: While it’s true that our Offense (cough cough, Carson) is giving the ball away entirely too often (20 in 10 games, Carson has 18 of them), it’s equally true that our Defense doesn’t generate many takeaways (just 11 in 10 games). All three of our wins are in games where we snagged two or more turnovers. All the games with 1 or less, have been losses or a tie. In every game this year where Seattle committed more than 1 turnover, they lost that game. This is an easy one to figure out.

4) Do better with hidden yardage: That means being penalized less for fewer yards. It also means returning more punts than we let roll dead. After allowing a punt to be downed at the 2, (which led to a safety last week), Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp needs to be on notice. His unit has gotten beyond sloppy, and worse than that, there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to make a serious, or sustained effort. He needs to find a return man who wants the job, instead of using WR Greg Ward and RB Boston Scott who are merely going through the motions.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should look a lot like:

EAGLES 32 – Seahawks 24

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

DOUG CAN’T BENCH CARSON

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/25
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, The 12, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments
Carson, yet again trying to give a ball away. Dammit Wentz! LMAO!

SHOULD the Eagles bench QB Carson Wentz? If you answered “Yes” to that question, you may be suffering from a severe case of Stupidity. Wait, no. That’s never how it actually works. Everyone else around you, may be suffering from your severe case of Stupidity.

Remember hating WR Nelson Agholor for years? Remember calling him a bum? Remember who didn’t? That would be me. Remember hating MLB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks for being injured all the time? Remember who didn’t? That would also be me. Remember hating CB Sidney Jones and CB Rasul Douglas? And again, guess who didn’t?

How are those players looking these days? Hey, to all of you who wanted us to keep QB Nick Foles over Wentz, how is Foles working out as a starter? What is he now, 2 – 8? 2 – 9? Just to rub salt in a wound, this February, I also said in THE 12 that we should have paid SS Malcolm Jenkins? Here’s the link.

Clearly, I don’t suffer from Stupidity. Instead, I have a condition known as “Guru”. It causes me to look “down the line”, and assess before I speak. Which means, you should listen to me.

Now some of you are saying that Wentz should ride pine, because he’s having a shitty season. And it’s true, on most levels, it truly is a spectacular shit-storm of a season. It is however, only one bad season. Feel free to take a minute and look back at his career to confirm that.

Now for some math. Because I know you LOVES the Maths!

In June of 2019, Wentz signed a 4 year extension worth 128M$, with 107M$ guaranteed, and 66M$ being fully guaranteed through 2021. The Eagles can get out of the deal after 2021, if they’re willing to eat 24M$ in dead money, in 2022. That’s because Wentz has no guaranteed salary after 2021. His remaining guaranteed money is all bonus money. He has another 63M$ in pre-arranged base salaries through 2024, but not a dime of those salaries are guaranteed.

My point is, Eagles team owner Jeff Lurie is on the hook to Wentz for another 60M$ even after this 2020 season ends. Lost revenue from the COVID affected 2020 season, is threatening to shrink the NFL salary cap from 198M in 2020, to (an estimated) 186M in 2021. So for at least the next two years, Wentz will represent 12 – 18% of the Eagles salary cap. Whether he’s on the roster or not.

To relate this to you: If you had a $1,000 budget, what service would you agree to spend $120 – $180 on, if you were no longer getting that service? Oh, and keep in mind, you’d also have to pay for a replacement service at the same time. This is what fans think Lurie should do.

So here’s the 60M$ question: Would Lurie pay Wentz 34M to sit and watch football in 2021, and then 24M while on someone else’s roster in 2022? No. Not on your life. So Wentz is your 2020 AND your 2021 starter. As well as your likely starter in 2022.

Take notice of how nervous Head Coach Doug Pederson appears. Also take notice of how agitated, but otherwise calm, Wentz appears. In this business, franchise QB’s are far harder to find than a decent head coach. Especially with a guy like Assistant Head Coach Duce Staley waiting in the wings. (Oh, you hadn’t considered that, had you?)

Duce would NOT be a pass-happy coach.

QB Jalen Hurts was brought here to keep asses in the seats, if Wentz gets seriously injured. That’s it. If Wentz gives the Eagles a medical reason to opt out, there’s a very talented insurance policy already on the roster.

Aside from that, Wentz is your starter. Definitely through 2021, but possibly until his deal runs out in 2024, when he’ll only be 32, and still carry a very friendly cap-hit of 32M$.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 11: BROWNS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/23
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WE gave this one away.

EAGLES 17 – Browns 22 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (21/35 – 60.0% – 235 – 2 – 2)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (16 – 66 – 4.1 – 1 – 1)

(S) TE Dallas Goedert: (6 – 5 – 77 – 15.4 – 1)

(S) OLB Alex Singleton: (8 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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: BROWNS did the Eagles get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) The limit is 150: We held the Browns to 137 yards rushing. So technically we hit the mark. However, our Defense wore down, and began to wilt under an attack that saw 34 handoffs in inclement conditions. Compared to just 22 pass attempts. The Browns coach did a masterful job of calling this game. Didn’t he Doug? (DONE)

2) Hand it off 20+ times: The Eagles handed the ball off 21 times this week. So technically we hit this mark too. Of course NINE of those attempts came on one drive. Specifically on the first possession. So, for the remainder of the game, we only handed it off 12 times. Or roughly 4 times per quarter. The rest of the game was put on an unprotected Carson Wentz’s shoulders. This is probably why Miles Sanders attempted to rip a handoff away from Wentz on a critical 3rd and 7. (DONE)

3) Return punts: The Browns punted 5 times. WR Greg Ward returned 2 punts for 8 yards, with his longest return being 10 yards. Do the math. The Offense is getting no support at all this season from Special Teams. Hidden Yardage used to be this team’s middle name. Now we can’t be bothered to try to earn any. (NOT DONE)

4) Go zero to sixty: For the first time in 6 weeks, Wentz completed 60 percent of his passes. Exactly 60 percent. I won’t knock it. He spent the day being beat to shit, the only people catching balls were TE’s, and his coach stopped dialing up runs, on a day that was a rainy mess. (DONE)

The underdogs put together 3 of the 4 things, and made a game of it. Makes you wonder what ONE fewer turnover would have meant. (Or if the Brown’s QB fumbling wasn’t ruled as stopped forward progress.) In any case, next week we get a Seattle team that beat us 17 – 9, TWICE last year. We’ll be heavy underdogs in that one as well.

On The Whole:

Three takeaways from this game. (Get it?! Too soon?)

1) LB Alex Singleton wants a starting job next year. The guy was all over the place today, and did a much better job of getting off blocks than he did a week ago. It’s good to see evolution in at least one guy out there.

2) CB Avonte Maddox is trash. He doesn’t cover, can’t catch tipped balls, and won’t tackle. I don’t understand why the coaches keep starting him. CB has to be THE priority in this next Draft. One in the first, and a tall Nickel in the fourth, if we can swing it.

3) It’s time to move LT Jason Peters to RG. The truth is, Peters will be excellent in the role, and will have people (who have short memories) wondering why we didn’t stick to this move earlier. Sadly, if a move to LG had come a couple years ago, moving him inside wouldn’t feel like a demotion. 

EAGLES ARE BETTER ALREADY

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/22
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DO you see? Just like that, the Eagles are already getting better.

NOTE: I wanted to get this one in before we play the Browns today.

I wrote last week in EASILY FIXING THE EAGLES that the team’s issues stemmed from a culture without enough competition built into it. I also wrote a week prior to that, in HOW TO HELP CARSON WENTZ that he is at his best, with a hard-nosed running game, not a finesse one.

So what moves did the Eagles make?

Move The First: We signed RB Jordan Howard to the Practice Squad. For casual Eagles fans there’s a lot in that move that’s easy to miss. For someone like me, it’s all the subtle things that jump out at me. It’s all the “down the line” implications that I’m excited by. It likely won’t impact THIS game, but that’s beside the point.

Howard should have never been cut in the first place. Despite RB Miles Sanders’s obvious talent, he still could benefit from the presence of a veteran RB, to bounce things off of. RB Corey Clement fits the bill, but the Eagles spotty commitment to him, gives his voice less weight when talking to younger players.

With their treatment of Clement and cutting of Howard, the Eagles created a situation where there was no player to mentor Sanders. Thus, he’s still making small mental mistakes, that have huge impacts. Like on his blitz pick-ups, and pass route landmarks. Signing Howard, and letting Sanders see a vet do it, will help with that.

Move El Dos: Elevating RB Elijah Holyfield from the Practice Squad to the Active Roster. The advertisement on Holyfield is that he will be a tough, between the Tackles runner. The film on him says different. It says that once he gets past the line of scrimmage, there’s been too much East-West running in his very short football history. At least for my taste.

That being said, he was young and playing in Carolina. The Panthers had a playbook developed for a WR small RB trying to prove a point. So coming here, may help fix some bad habits that Holyfield may have picked up there.

*****

Those two moves by themselves are solid personnel moves. Add a veteran mentor, who has a skill that you clearly lack. Then elevate a guy from the Practice Squad, so you can get enough tape to evaluate him at season’s end, to determine pressing Draft needs. Solid GM-ing.

Now for the parts that are easy to miss.

Last week the giants made forcing-feeding us the run, look like Bluto force-feeding spinach to Popeye.

Popeye (1980) starring Robin Williams. My Uncle Michael took my brother and I to see this. Then we went to the Zoo. Huge lollipop and punch balloon on a rubber band. Great day.

But how was the Eagles Defense supposed to practice stopping that kind of downhill run game, without selling out to stop it? Practicing against which RB? Sanders? Clement? RB Boston Scott? Holyfield was on the PS, but he isn’t the downhill runner that Howard has proven to be.

There is a role for a short yardage/back-up RB on this team. The elevation of Holyfield and signing of Howard (who mostly still knows the playbook), is a competitive situation. Two players making Practice Squad money, who want real contracts. Real careers. Suddenly the Eagles are going to be practicing better. Do you see?

For a RB to impress in practice, he has to embarrass defensive players. If a defensive player is embarrassed too often, he may lose starts. That means our LB’s and Safeties are officially on notice. If they don’t get it now, they will the first time one of them gets run over by a teammate. Do you see?

I wrote just four days ago that THIS was the way to fix the team, and it is already underway! I doubted that the Eagles could/would do it during the season. Yet here are two subtle moves, that will spur culture change in the team’s practice habits. On both sides of the ball! Practice habits are work habits. They become game habits.

Do you see?

FOUR THINGS: WK 11: EAGLES – BROWNS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/19
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SEVEN games left. Last week’s loss to the giants didn’t end our season. Regardless of the state of the NFC East, the Eagles are STILL it’s first place team. That demands our best effort, in what is a very winnable game for us.

Winning this game would do two things. The first is, any team trying to move up to the first place spot, would be held off for at least two games. The second is, it would be confidence to boost to a locker room that really needs it. Again, make no mistake, this IS a winnable game for Philadelphia.

A loss this week would be meaningless. The world already expects it, so we’re playing with house money. A loss, plus wins by Washington and Dallas, (New York is on bye), still has us in first place by half a game. Nothing that happens this week can change where we sit, come Monday morning.

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.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Browns:

1) The limit is 150: Cleveland is undefeated in games where they run for 150 yards. They are the NFL’s 4th best rushing team. So seeing us get pushed around by New York last week, will only embolden them. They will come out investing so heavily in the run, that they will likely hit a few here and there. That’s okay. Splash plays here and there are survivable. What we want to do, is make their top weapon unreliable. Our Linebackers need to fill better than they did last week. They have to get off of blocks and arrive at the ball-carrier explosively.

2) Hand it off 20+ times: Cleveland is going to run the ball a lot, which will wear down our Defense. That’s a fact of football. To help our guys out, we need to extend our own drives and time of possession, to give our Defense time to recharge between Cleveland’s possessions. Running the ball more will also help us win early downs, and set up 3rd and manageable.

3) Return punts: Part of what hurts us in games, is our Punt Returners letting balls go over their heads, just to bounce, roll, and be downed inside the 5 by opposing coverage teams. Help the Offense out, and return more of these balls.

4) Go zero to sixty: While much of the criticism of QB Carson Wentz is exaggerated, what’s dead ass, is that his completion percentage hasn’t seen 60, in five weeks. It has become impossible to defend his accuracy, or lack thereof. He has to do a better job of placement, and (like Donovan McNabb) putting the ball where either his guy, or no one gets it.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

PREDICTION: EAGLES 22 – Browns 17

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

EASILY FIXING THE EAGLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/18
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, Super Bowl, The 12, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

WE’RE not a good team right now. To not even be .500 this deep into the season, is a solid indicator that we probably aren’t getting home-field throughout. Understand, the Eagles are a bad team in 2020, but they are not a bad organization. So fixing this will be a lot easier than you might think. In fact, I wrote about that, this February in THE 12. 

Before I launch into it, let me hit the qualifiers, just to get them out of the way:

YES, we are still at the head of the division.

YES, it’s likely that with an infusion of talented veterans, this team will improve at least a little.

YES, if this team hits the postseason, it’s possible that we could get hot.

So, by no means am I throwing in the towel. I plan to be here, loud and obnoxious, every damned week with a smile. Truth is, I’ll take a bad Eagles season over no season at all. It sure beats having to endure yet another loss of something we all enjoy. Even in a bad season, I’m glad I get to root for my Eagles.

So how can I say that this will be easy to fix? First let’s identify the problem. Remember going into this season, we saw a silver lining to our constant injury situation. That silver lining was how much experience our deep bench, and Practice Squad were getting. Lots of experience up and own the roster. In small doses, that IS a great thing.

The issue is how often those players get extended snaps, and even starts. That’s what been necessary for the Eagles. On no other team would CB Avonte Maddox be a starter. Or LB’s Alex Singleton or Duke Riley. Or G’s Sua Opeta and Nate Herbig. Or T’s Jack Driscoll and Matt Pryor. That’s not to say that all of those players are trash, but none of them was penciled in start here, prior to an injury.

You wouldn’t permanently hold a metal bolt with a plastic nut. You wouldn’t long-term drive your car on a doughnut.

Yet this is what the Eagles have had to do for years now. While mixing high quality with lesser quality may buy you a little time, done over a long period, things break down much faster than if you’d mixed good with good.

People don’t compare this 2020 Eagles team against 2019’s or 2018’s. People keep comparing this Eagles team against the 2017 edition. Especially QB Carson Wentz. Given the amount of erosion that has occurred all over this team, the O-Line, RB’s, coaching staff, that’s hardly fair. It also explains what you’re seeing out there.

Now let’s start talking how to fix this. You’ve heard that iron sharpens iron. Imagine if you’re WR Jalen Reagor trying to nail down a starting spot in Training Camp, and your competition is J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Remember how Ron Jaworski said that Reagor isn’t a disciplined route runner? Didn’t TE Dallas Clark seem to play better, when he was trying to get snaps from TE Zach Ertz?

The solution is simple. Establish a primary back-up, and play favorites. Don’t split snaps evenly behind the starters. Nix heavy rotation at CB, LB, WR. Starve them for snaps. Make the back-ups fight for snaps.

Again, I said all this back in February, in the article ‘STARVE THE KIDS’ . Understand, there is little chance that this can be successfully implemented during the 2020 season. And that’s fine. A bad year fits the Eagles salary cap plans better, anyway.

For example, if WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery utterly ball-out during the playoffs; or LT Jason Peters makes a few blocks that get him on Sports Center, fans will revolt when they get cut. Especially if we get hot and win the Super Bowl. So this year being a train-wreck is right on schedule.

If Head Coach Doug Pederson wants to see more passion from this team. If he wants to see more of a sense of urgency. If he wants a greater sense of focus. Then he needs to breed a sense of competition, and foster an atmosphere of hunger that drives his roster. That said, Starving The Kids is an easy fix to improve the quality of the 2021 roster. Not just that, but it can be done for free.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK10 : GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/16
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THIS loss was indefensible.

EAGLES 17 – giants 27 

EAGLES LEADERS:

(S) QB Carson Wentz: (21/37 – 56.7 – 208 – 0 – 0)

(S) RB Miles Sanders: (15 – 85 – 5.6 – 0 – 0)

(B) TE Richard Rogers: (5 – 4 – 60 – 15.0 – 0)

(S) DE Derek Barnett: (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for the 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 get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Hand the ball off 20+ times: Despite our RB’s combining for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns, with an 8.0 per carry average, we only handed it off 19 times as compared to 37 pass attempts. I can’t put this any plainer than these numbers do. (NOT DONE)

2) Play gap control defense: The defensive line though frequently out-muscled at the point of attack, did a decent job of staying in the their lanes. The problem was when anybody besides LB T.J. Edwards came down to fill. Our LB play today was atrocious. The giants first goal line TD was an absolute microcosm of what is wrong here. The giants RB jumped over the pile, while NO Eagles LB ever left the ground to meet him. That lack of anticipation is why our LB’s are generally just Special Teams refugees who get more defensive snaps than their talent or dedication could ever warrant. (NOT DONE)

3) Spread them out: We did this intermittently, and it allowed all sorts of running room for. What we didn’t do, was push the ball down the field. It seemed more like the coaching staff was trying to work next year’s receiving corp in, as opposed to winning today (DONE)

4) Mix up our coverages: What? No. The Eagles don’t know what that is. Incidentally in my 2020 Season Review: Second Quarter, I mentioned CB Nickell Robey-Coleman being trash, and how I was on the razor’s edge regarding CB Avonte Maddox. He is also trash. While I think both are hampered by this FUCKED UP defensive system, when either man goes to make a play, he’s consistently a day late and dollar short. (NOT DONE)

This week we notched 1 of 4 Four Things, getting us to 12 of 36 on the season. We are missing too many fundamentals to be an effective team.

Next week we get a 6 – 3 Cleveland team that just squeaked by the Texans today. Hey, remember back when could look at the schedule, see the Browns name, and write a “W” next to it, in ink? Ah the days of yore. When we had a President, not a low-rent dictator. Before a third of the nation was on fire, and eating in a restaurant was less risky than sky-diving. I fucking hate this year.

On The Whole:

Unlike Nell here, no one saved the Eagles from having a train run on them. I’m very aware of what that actually means, but based on what we saw today, it would be hard to convince me that that’s not what happened to our Defense vs the giants.

The giants ran for 151 yards on 36 totes today (4.1) for 3 scores, while only attempting 28 passes. They didn’t have to risk a turnover, because we couldn’t make them throw it enough.

Offensively, we looked bland. There was no aggression in the passing game to match the great job we were doing on the ground. That said, it felt largely like the coaching staff was trying to work in the youth, and jump-start the TE position.

There were three bad snaps from C Jason Kelce, and a bit where he and Wentz got their feet tangled during a snap. These things happen to all pivots, but 4 instances in one game?! Sometimes it’s not meant to be your day, and this more than anything else, seems like it was the case for the Birds.