FOUR THINGS – WK 4 – EAGLES-PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/24
Posted in: Coaching, Crazy Talk, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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FOR the Eagles this is one of those ‘bad news/good news/great news’ things. The bad news is, this game will be the Packers third in a row at home, so they won’t have any travel fatigue. The good news is, the Packers also had a Sunday game, so they’ll also be coming off of a short week. (Sauce for the goose.) The great news is, rushing yardage, passing yardage, total yardage, or points per game, the Packers offensively rank no higher than 24th in any of those categories.

For the Packers the bad news is, unlike the first three weeks, they have to play against QB Carson Wentz, not a Draft bust, or an overpaid hack, or a has-been who’s winding his career down. The good news is, that they get to play at home again. The great news is, they seem to have found a defense. (Unless of course, their defense is just the result of playing poor offenses…)

Dear Eagles Faithful: A record of 1 – 2 can still become a record of 14 – 2. That’s not to say that the Eagles actually have 14 – 2 potential, but it is me saying, “Relax” (right Aaron?)

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We just came off of a couple close losses where injuries were a massive factor. We get a little healthier here, with TE Dallas Goedert being full go, and WR Alshon Jeffery not a 100%, but probably able to give us something.

So this season is far too young for panic. We’d need seven more losses to just to finish sub .500 and we’re clearly better than 7 more losses.

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

1) Work the body to bring down the head: Run the ball downhill, early. The Packers NT Kenny Clark is an active NT. His game is not one of anchoring, then eating space and absorbing blocks. That means we can get our G’s up to the second level on those 230 pound LB’s, gash out some big ol’ runs, and pull their SS into the box. Later in the game when their front seven is tired, Carson would be able to get plenty of time in the pocket to go deep off of play-action.

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2) Don’t let Rodgers relax: He’s a pretty good and fairly aggressive scrambler, so when I suggest getting him to run, it’s well considered. Bringing heat from his right, will force him to his left. He can make those throws, but they are among his least sharp passes. Also he tends to hold the ball longer in those instances, which gives us more time to lay tooth-rattling hits on him. (I said this same thing in 2016. In fact, I copy and pasted (then italicized) this from that edition. We didn’t do it in 2016, en route to a 13 – 27 loss. Let’s see if our HC has learned from that.)

3) Generate two turnovers: The Packers offense is sputtering and is hardly the model of efficiency. Now is the time to be opportunistic, and force errors on a team that is already uncomfortable with it’s performance so far. Besides, we can’t keep coughing up 26.0 per game and expect to win. Two or more turnovers should be enough to put down a team with a sputtering offense.

4) Lots of play-action on 2nd down: Let’s keep the pocket clean, keep Carson’s jersey clean, and buy an extra step for receivers to uncover early. Throw in a pump fake here and there, and deep shots will be there for the taking. (Just make sure we catch them.)

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

DC Jim Schwartz will keep calling blitzes, instead of allowing our CB’s to play some man-press. HC Doug Pederson will keep running the ball with RB Wayne Gallman, instead of RB Jordan Howard. (FYI: Gallman is the back-up to RB Saquon Barkley. See what I did there? ) When these things happen I will finally become a version of Michael Douglas in ‘Falling Down’.

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Regardless, I think this is a game that the Eagles coaching staff doesn’t lose. In fact, unfortunately I think they win this one their way, almost in spite of all common wisdom. After we win, the coaching staff will think they’re right about ignoring what they keep hearing from us fans. And the media. And former players. And fortune cookies. Whatever. Just get us the “W”. We can resume the argument when we’re 2 – 2.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Packers 20

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 3 – LIONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/23
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 kermit madness

AT one point the announcers described the Lions QB’s play today as “pedestrian”. The Lions by no means won this game. The Eagles lost it. Or more to the point, our coaching staff gave it away.

How does a rookie fumble twice on one drive, and still get multiple touches of the ball later? How do we not get a single sack vs a team with a banged up LT? How do we not run high efficiency routes with our back-up receivers, late in the game, so that our QB doesn’t have to hold the ball all day long?

The answer to all of these is, coaching decisions. It’s a decision, to keep playing a RB who right now seems like a change of pace guy, like he’s a starter. It’s a decision, to play defensive backs in soft coverage, which gives our pass rush no time to get to the passer. It’s a decision, to eschew teaching situational football, in favor of appearing to be aggressive. All of these decisions were made not by players, but by coaches.

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Eagles 24 – Lions 27

QB Carson Wentz (19/36 – 52.7% – 259 – 2 – 0) is absolved of any blame in this game. Let’s clear that up immediately. He had seven dropped passes in this game. SEVEN. For a second week in a row, he seemed like he was singlehandedly, trying to will the team past its shortcomings. He even ran for 33 yards on 4 carries (8.25ypc). RB Miles Sanders (13 – 53 – 4.0 – 0 – 2 / 2 – 73 – 36.5 – 0) led the team in both rushing and receiving yards, but put the ball on the ground twice in one drive, losing it the second time.

WR Nelson Agholor (8 – 50 – 6.2 – 2) also lost a fumble, on the drive immediately after Sanders’s. Both led to field goals. TE Zach Ertz (4 – 64 – 16.0 – 0) hasn’t been the same guy since WR Alshon Jeffery was hurt in Week 2. WR Mack Hollins (4 – 62 – 15.5 – 0) was flagged for offensive pass interference twice and nearly a third time on one of Agholor’s scores.

SS Malcolm Jenkins (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) blocked a 4th quarter 46 yard FG try. CB’s Sidney Jones (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) and Rasul Douglas (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) each had a nice pass break-up, but otherwise this defense did nothing to write home about.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

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1) Run with power: RB Jordan Howard (11 – 37 – 3.3 – 1 – 0) cracked double digit carries for his first time as an Eagle. Despite not fumbling and even scoring, the coaches elected to stick with Sanders today. Sanders didn’t look as bad as he did in the first two weeks, but if you ask any fan who watched the game, they’ll tell you that Howard needed more touches. (NOT DONE)

2) No Cover Zero: We actually managed to stay out of it in the first half, but on a critical 3rd and long in the second half we got beat for 27 yarder, while in Zero. It was amusing to see Jenkins at one point audibling the Secondary into Cover Two. It makes me wonder if there’s any friction in the meetings, between players and coaches. In any case I did say ‘no’ CZ, I didn’t say ‘very little’. (NOT DONE)

3) Hit Stafford from the blindside: We didn’t get much real pressure on QB Matt Stafford (18/32 – 56.2% – 201 – 1 – 0). Not one single sack all day. Even when we blitzed. DE Derek Barnett (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) continues to crash down hard inside the LT, instead of first setting an edge. This would be one thing if he were a one-dimensional sack machine, but he clearly isn’t one. (NOT DONE)

4) Unleash the deep ball: We did throw the ball deep to Sanders early, and an early deep throw to Agholor netted us a pass interference call. It was the only early deep ball to a WR. The ball was thrown long a few times later in the game, but they were more prayers than passes. (NOT DONE)

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That gives us a Four Things score of 0 for 4 this week and 3 for 12 on the season. Clearly the Eagles have gotten too far away from fundamental football, and it has us as a losing team right now. We have a short week to prepare for our Thursday game at Lambeau Field vs the 3 – 0 Green Bay Packers.

On The Whole:

There is clearly an agenda to push the young players like Sanders, WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (1 – 10 – 10.0 – 0), and TE Dallas Goedert (1 dropped touchdown). This would be fine if they were ready for bigger loads. With the exception of Goedert, they are clearly deer in headlights.

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I’m tired of complaining about this Defense, so I won’t.

A FRANK DISCUSSION

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/21
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Offense, Players, Rants, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WE got spanked last year. We keep talking about how talented this team is, and how deep it is, and yet it still under-performs. Every Eagles scribe (me included) has weighed in what’s wrong with parts (Defense, run game, Secondary, etc.), but no one has yet to address what ails the whole team.

So let me nutshell it for you.

Amid the high of being the defending champs, and RT Lane Johnson talking about how much fun things were here, and everybody writing a book, and blah-blah, our Eagles lost focus. The result was a team that did what most first-time champs do: They basked in the afterglow.

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There’s a great feeling to knowing that I’m in this shot. You’d need a microscope to see me, but I’m there.

The hungry dog, underdog mentality, gave way to a sort of well-meaning swagger. We didn’t have the cocky, “FUCK YOU.” variety of swagger. We had the well-meaning, self-confident sort. Which is kind of the root of the problem. I’ll get back to that when I finishing listing the symptoms that make up our condition.

Our loss of focus, and the wrong type of swagger, weren’t helped by the injuries that ravaged our Secondary last year. While those injuries did a lot to deepen us, many of the lessons we learned in 2018, were ignored or shelved (so far) in 2019. For instance, our starting CB’s should be Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox. They play with a chip on their shoulders and an aggression that Sidney Jones and Ronald Darby simply do not possess. Eagles CB Jalen Mills has that. (Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey also has that. IJS.)

When you add all these things together, they spelled 9-7 record, and a second round exit from the playoffs. In a very real sense, circumstance punched us in the mouth, hard enough to knock us unceremoniously on our ass. Being possessed of well-meaning swagger and not FUCK YOU swagger, we haven’t charged back, to give as good as we’ve got. So far we’ve just sat there. Like pussies.

Bleeding.

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From the Head Coach on down, almost nobody has it in their head that they’re going to MAKE things happen. Sure, we saw QB Carson Wentz in that Atlanta game, trying to will the team to a win on his own, but there weren’t enough guys thinking the same thing.

Mentally the Eagles seem to be in a defensive crouch. Nobody is hunting. We’re more focused on surviving, than on going out and making something happen. Magic only happens when you cast the spell. Silence, and inactivity yield nothing. Lacking the will to act, will only result in someone else getting what WE want.

We have plenty of talent. We have all sorts of depth and we’re putting it to the test now. What we need is for the team to decide if they want more than to just “get through it.” Circumstance kicked our ass in 2018, and we’ve yet to prove tough enough to come back at it.

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GO. GET. IT.

If we want to be Number One, we have to go get it. Period. There is no substitute. GO GET IT. We have to earn it. Otherwise we don’t deserve it.

I know on the eve of a game, this is hardly Pep Rally material, but it needs to be said, and you can’t count on anyone whom the Eagles pay, to be this honest. But again, it needed to be said.

FOUR THINGS – WK 3 – EAGLES-LIONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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THIS is the first of two games in a five day span, and we’re already teetering on the knife’s edge of being sub .500. We need this game. The Atlanta loss was a hard one. It was just such a weird game, that it’s hard to take a solid lesson from it. So it’s best to just accept our bright and shiny “L”, move on, and get to making sure we don’t get ourselves another one this weekend.

The Eagles need to establish themselves as a serious contender this year. We’re talented, and deep, but how much of our roster is really hungry? This game isn’t about a rudderless Lions team. It’s about who the Eagles want to be this season. It’s about whether or not we can regain, and keep our focus.

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

1) Run with power: The Lions are highly susceptible to the run. We need to feed it to them by the fistful. Not with RB Miles Sanders. He didn’t deserve to be jumped ahead of RB Jordan Howard and Karma is seeing fit to make us pay for that. Run the ball with the guy who knows what he’s doing.

2) No Cover Zero: If our CB’s really are the problem, then they need support deep. That’s just coaching. If they don’t need the support then show us something different.

3) Hit Stafford from the blindside: We need to speed up the clock in QB Matt Stafford’s head. We need a sack or two from DE Derek Barnett. DE Vinny Curry can also deliver, but it’s high time we saw some production from Barnett. Especially with Lions LT Taylor Decker either out or nursing a back injury.

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4) Unleash the deep ball: With WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey on the shelf, the thought will be that the Eagles don’t have the firepower that we did before. While there is an element of truth to that, the fact is we still have weapons. We should make that point known early, with a deep jump ball to J.J. Arcege-Whiteside, to open up room inside for the power run game.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

Sanders will get the start and evenly split carries with Howard. The Eagles are trying very hard to make stars out of their young guys, and we haven’t heard that there’ll be a change in the depth chart. With TE Alex Ellis added to the active roster, the plan is probably to run more 12 Personnel like the staff wanted to do last week. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out, since Ellis isn’t said to be special neither as a receiver nor a blocker.

With TE Dallas Goedert as our 2nd TE, teams might have been more reluctant to load the box, but Goedert is out. With Ellis being sort of a lucky camp body, until he teaches opponents otherwise, he won’t command that same respect.

HUNTING

Defense is a mixed bag. We got three picks last week, lost by just 4, and it still felt like we got gutted all night long. An evolutionary step needs to take place this week, but it’s unlikely to happen. Something has to happen to give the pass rush time to get home.

Keep an eye on the deep Safety in this game. Don’t expect much Cover Zero this week. In any case, even with the injuries, the Eagles depth is hard to ignore. Add in that they play here at home and the Eagles go from a team that could win a close one, to one that could win this handily. Especially if they have any kind of Offensive balance.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 26 – Lions 16

yeah-bitch

COACHING IS THE PROBLEM

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/18
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Rants, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DOUG Pederson is the Head Coach of this team, and so the buck stops with him. When a problem arises, it is his job to fix it or assign it to someone who can. So when a problem persists, it is only fair to question either his solution(s), or his faith in those he assigns to solve that problem.

In particular, this time I mean the Defense.

The Eagles Defensive Line is loaded both in terms of talent and depth. So why is it that through two weeks, facing 87 pass attempts, the Eagles D-Line has all of one sack. Last week we played a banged-up Falcons o-line, which lost another starter during the game, and still, it took a Safety blitz to get our lone sack of the game. If the Defensive Line is so dangerous, why aren’t we getting more heat on QB’s?

The answer is loose coverage. Playing off of receivers is allowing the QB to get the ball out quickly, to wide open receivers. Our linemen never have a chance to get close. Put bluntly, our shitty coverage is cutting the balls off of our pass rush. We are holding the barrel of the shotgun against our heads for our opponents.

Some people’s knee-jerk reaction is to blame the players. “This guy is bum!” “That guy is bum!” “Everyone is a bum!” You know what? Fuck it. Let’s explore that. Let’s split this issue to the white meat, and then put it in the ground forever.

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For the sake of argument, let’s play Devil’s Advocate and say that ALL of our Starters are bums. Who decides that week in and week out, that these same guys get to start? That would be the Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz. If a guy can’t play, you bench him. Right?

Let’s increase our advocacy of the Devil, and say that maybe these players are the best he has, and the guys behind them are even worse bums. Still then, if he knows these guys are deficient players, wouldn’t it make sense to put them in positions that maximize their talent, and doesn’t expose their flaws? Who’s job is that? Oh, yeah. Jim Schwartz.

Now we’re gonna go over to our Devil’s Advocate machine, crank it to 11, and yank off the knob: Maybe these guys are just the worst bums EVER, and there is no talent to maximize. Since no individual has the skill to erase a guy all day long, our default needs to be a team concept, which doesn’t put too much responsibility on any one player. You know, instead of playing Cover Zero and getting Cris Collinsworth fondling himself over our all-out blitzing, maybe a Cover Two shell would be a great call against the highest paid WR in the history of the sport of American Football? Maybe?

Who’s call is that to make?

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Look at you, getting it right on the first try!

Even playing Devil’s Advocate and blaming the players, it’s still a coach’s job to manage both success and degrees of failure. The reality however, is that all of these players are not bums. Actually none of them are. What’s happening here is the squandering of a metric fuck-ton of talent. And it’s Schwartz that’s doing the squandering.

Think of all the best CB’s that you’ve ever seen. The Eric Allen, Darrelle Revis, Jalen Ramsey, Josh Nor- sorry, Charles Woodson type, are all aggressive, man to man guys, who benefited from Safety help over the top. Playing five yard cushions in Cover Zero, or in ‘Rock n Roll’ coverage, is the antithesis of that kind of coverage. And the results are speaking for themselves. 

Our D-Line is great. Our LB’s are improperly utilized. Our Secondary is a dumpster fire. Schwartz is killing us by coaching only a third of our Defense with any degree of competence. Recent evidence shows that the other two units are robbing that one of it’s effectiveness. Make no mistake, fellow fans, this is on the coaching.

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It’s time for Doug to take Old Yeller out back. He’s the Head Coach, and it’s time to put ol’ boy, down.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK2 – FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/16
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

OTHER fans get to be emotional about this loss. I get to be emotional during the game. Afterward, I have to put my anger aside, to objectively dissect it. That being said, this game was lost for us by the fucking rat-faced coaching staff. I won’t be able to fully address it in the FTR format, but rest assured that this week, there will come a reckoning, and it will not be pretty.

Losing WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery early in this game, certainly had a massive impact on the game, but there were too many other inexcusable errors out there.

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Eagles 20 – Falcons 24

Yet again the Eagles held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing (15 – 64 – 4.2 – 0 – 0), but that was offset by allowing QB Matt Ryan (27/43 – 320 – 62.7% – 3 – 3) to hit wide open receiver, after wide open receiver, after wide open receiver. Honestly, why would opponents run, when they can take yardage in much larger chunks?

Shrugging off one lost weapon after another, QB Carson Wentz (25/43 – 231 – 58.1% – 1 – 2) showed true grit, and seemed to be the only Eagle out there on Offense, who was hungry to win. WR Nelson Agholor (8 – 107 – 13.3 – 1) had a busy night, but dropped the go-ahead touchdown.

It took a blitz by reserve S Andrew Sendejo (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) to get our only sack of the game.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

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Gotta love a juggled handoff!

1) Run Howard: We did not. RB Jordan Howard (8 – 18 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) did not start and was given a sporadic 8 carries. Instead, rookie RB Miles Sanders (10 – 28 – 2.8 – 0 – 0) spent another week being an ineffective feature back. The Eagles are trying to make a star out of Sanders, despite him showing repeatedly that he isn’t ready. The result is that Wentz has to carry the Offense by himself. (NOT DONE)

2) Dissolve the pocket: The D-Line pretty much played it straight up, except for when they blitzed. There were a couple of points where we got Ryan to throw from a dead run (he had a TD on a rollout to his right), but we didn’t do nearly enough to force him consistently out of the pocket. (NOT DONE)

3) Finish Him!: Just make the tackle. The Eagles were pretty good at this, this week. There was of course the TD to WR Julio Jones (5 – 106 – 21.2 – 2), but that also included a nice block, a bad tackle angle and no deep help. But all in all, our tackling was much better than a week ago. (DONE)

4) Deliver Liver Punches: We didn’t run enough, nor did we run effectively enough to make play-action something to be respected. While Agholor and TE Zach Ertz (8 – 72 – 9.0 – 0) were our leading 2 receivers, this game was devoid of the schematic impact of play-action. (NOT DONE)

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That brings our weekly tally to 1 of 4 Four Things completed. That brings our two week total to 3 of 8 so far. That’s a sub .500 mark. We have plenty of stuff to get together before our appointment with the undefeated (1 – 0 – 1) Detroit Lions next week.

On The Whole:

This was a weird game. Our Defensive Line couldn’t touch the QB. We seemed to spend most of the night in Cover Zero, and kept being spanked in it. There seemed to be a concerted effort to play the youth, even though they clearly aren’t up to the task at this point. And despite all the injuries, no one seemed to be leaving the sidelines or removing their pads.

This is an odd loss. After Ertz was shown to be short of the sticks, I was of course as emotional as a fan should be. However, looking back at the game now, it all had a surreal feel to it.

In fact, looking back, it still has that “Wait. Did that happen or did I dream that” feel it. Parts of it just don’t add up. It’s why I put this loss on the coaching staff and not the players, per se.

 

FOUR THINGS – WK 2 – EAGLES-FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/12
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK2-ATL

LAST week’s win was great for two reasons. First, it was a tone setter for the season, both because we won the game, and for how we won it. Second, it was a win against a division foe. Now the Eagles look to build momentum by stacking a conference win, behind a division win.

The Falcons were humiliated last week by the Vikings, who left cleat marks in the Falcons chests, running for 172 yards and 4.5 ypc. The Vikings only had to throw the ball TEN TIMES all game long. The Falcons will want to prove to the world that they are nobody’s bitches, as they defend their home field against an Eagles team that throat punches them, every time we see each other.

The Eagles comeback victory last week was great to watch, but let’s be honest, it was just the Redskins. We pummeled a kindergartner, but somehow managed to let it be a contest first. Not really a point of bragging. So this week we need to prove that we can beat a team that’s capable of playing past Week 17. Otherwise, next week’s victory over Detroit will mean a lot less.

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

1) Run Howard: Ron Howard.jpg

Noooo, not Ron Howard, run Howard! As in RB Jordan Howard. Atlanta has several undersized players on their front seven, which is how they got victimized so badly by Minnesota last week. That lack of size isn’t something they can resolve this season, particularly in time for this game. So it’s a weakness we should exploit. After last week’s aerial assault, the Falcons will be looking to “Prevent” that from happening to them. A physical run game, vs a smallish front seven, playing a loose box to start… We need to do this.

2) Dissolve the Pocket: Shifting our DT’s right, (QB’s left) on 3rd and long, would let us torch half the pocket and get Matty Ice, running. Not jogging, running. We need to get QB Matt Ryan moving. Not just re-setting his feet in the pocket, because he’s a good enough athlete for that. We need to make him throw while on the run. If we can get him running, the up and down motion will help vary the heights on his launch points. If we can bother his release, we’ve already bothered his delivery. That gives our defenders a better chance of intercepting him.

3) Finish Him!: Stop hunting the strip early in games. Just make the tackle. Back in 2017 I said the same thing in THE 12 . More often it’s situations not players, that really create turnovers. Early in games, offensive players don’t have tired arms and hands. They aren’t yet desperate to make something happen. Overthinking usually makes you miss your goal. Same thing with our Defense. They need to make the tackle, not allow the mistakes of the past (Vernon Davis 48 yard TD) to repeat themselves. Focus on the mission and accomplish what we set out to do. That’s what we winners do.

THE W

4) Deliver Liver Punches: Play-action passes to TE Zach Ertz, and WR Nelson Agholor, will gut this defense specifically. It’s small because it’s built around speed and trust in the initial read, to magnify the effects of it’s speed. Conversely, when this defense makes a small read error, it’s a BIG execution error. Running the ball tough then using play-action on short passes, would have us taking yardage in chunks in the second half.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

This is a no nonsense, no fooling around type of game here. Both teams need this game for different reasons. It’s not a “must win” scenario. It’s way too early for that talk. But winning early decreases the odds of having to play “must win” games, during the regular season.

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The Falcons run game was almost non-existent last week. 24 of their 73 yards came off of Matt Ryan’s legs. So look for them to try to establish that early. After a combined 10 catches for 95 yards (and 2 TD’s), expect WR’s Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley to keep the Falcons in the game late into the 3rd quarter at least, and possibly up until the last play.

In advance I’d like to thank our 20 yard cushions, for making this game more stressful than it needs to be.

On Offense, I think Head Coach Doug Pederson will see the light and lean less on smaller RB’s this week. The fireworks from last week served to put teams on notice, but it can’t be the bread and butter of this team. Unless Atlanta serves up numerous breakdowns in their secondary, this week will be about establishing who the 2019 Eagles are truly trying to be.

In the end, the Eagles have more weapons, are deeper, and have a better idea of who were are, and of who we are not. The Falcons still seem to be finding their identity, and because of that, will commit more acts of over-reach. At least one of which will prove fatal.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Falcons 22

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK1 – REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/09
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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TOLD you that we’d start slow. Honestly, if not for a couple of fluke scores by Washington, the final score wouldn’t be as close as it looks on paper. We went into halftime down 7 – 20, and still I was in good spirits. Because I already knew.

Some people will want to tell you that QB Carson Wentz (28/39 – 71.7% – 313 – 3 – 0) isn’t clutch, because he doesn’t have many 4th quarter comebacks. I on the other hand, think it’s nice when the comeback effort is complete before the 4th quarter.

EAGLES 32 – Redskins 27

There is no way to talk about this game without mentioning the whuppin’ that WR DeSean Jackson (8 – 154 – 19.2 – 2) put on the Redskins secondary. He teamed up with Wentz for two scoring strikes of 50 plus yards. One of which caused ‘skins CB Josh Norman (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) to spontaneously burst into flames.

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For some reason, the Eagles chose to use RB Jordan Howard (6 – 44 – 7.3 – 0 – 0) sparingly, despite him being most effective ball carrier on the team. Rookie RB Miles Sanders (11 – 25 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) got the start, but spent too many of his first steps trying to pick a spot, instead of running with authority to dictate a spot.

Getting in on the run game was WR Alshon Jeffery (5 – 49 – 9 – 1 / 1 – 2 – 2.0 – 1 – 0), who ran for a 2 yard score, as well as catching a 5 yard score on a Crossing route in the back of the endzone.

Defensively the Eagles surrendered 380 passing yards on 30 of 44 passing (68.1%), and 28 rushing yards on 13 carries (2.1ypc). Some sloppy tackling allowed an ancient TE to score on a 48 yard catch and run. Later on, a poorly called defense allowed CB Rasul Douglas (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) to get matched up on a guy with 4.35 speed, with no Safety help over the top. Douglas isn’t a burner, so naturally he was easily beaten for a 69 yard catch and run, on a Skinny Post route.

These were of course, fluke type touchdowns. Even before halftime, the Eagles were showing that they could get a handle on the Redskin offense. So the second half was a completely different story, with the Eagles outscoring the ‘skins 25 – 7. Because well…

2019 DJax Wentz

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for (link to parent article) in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Be aggressive early: We really didn’t come out very aggressively at all. Short screens, running the ball with RB Darren Sproles (9 – 47 – 5.2 – 0 – 0) on the opening drive. It had the feel of this week’s Bears/Packers game, where Bears coach Matt Nagy kept getting cute with his playcalling. Our aggression showed up late, which is better than not at all. However, not showing it early, is also why we fell behind. (NOT DONE)

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This is Jernigan sacking Kirk Cousins. He also wore the target 8.

2) Shred their o-line: Early on it looked like this wouldn’t get done. Then the defensive interior began to assert itself. DT Timmy Jernigan (1 – 1 – 0 – 0) grabbed a sack, and DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) managed a tackle for a loss. The stat-lines aren’t sexy, but the line generated pressure and made it hard for their QB to settle his feet. (DONE)

3) Work the edges: While TE Zach Ertz (5 – 54 – 10.8 – 0) only saw 7 targets in this game, most of them were Outs and passes to the Flat. That worked to pull the LB’s and S’s towards the sides, and opened up the run inside. (DONE)

4) Play press coverage: The Eagles played tighter cushions when the Redskins went into Bunch formations. However, when the ‘skins spread out, our CB’s allowed those 6, 7, and 8 yard cushions to creep back onto the field. The result was allowing the Redskins to complete 68% of their passes. Unacceptable. (NOT DONE)

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So we open the season with 2 out of 4 things done. To be fair, even the things we didn’t do, we kinda did, but standards are strict here. Next week we head down to the A-T-L, to raise some major hell. After watching tape of the Wentz/Jackson show, I’m sure their coaches won’t sleep all week. Should make next Sunday night’s game more interesting than tonight’s Steelers and Patriots re-enactment of the Rodney King beating.

On The Whole:

This game was far more competitive than it should have been. I predicted a slow start, but c’mon guy! Our Offensive playcalling looked downright timid to start.

While Sproles is a nifty change of pace runner, he has no business running between the Tackles in the first quarter. Sanders showed some speed to the outside, but he was out-classed by Howard’s decisiveness, power, and patience. The Eagles indicated in this game that they’re trying to make the same mistake with Howard, that Chicago did, last year. Namely, putting someone before him, who isn’t as good as him.

CHANGE MY MIND

Wentz looked like the butcher that sliced up defenses in 2017. He wasn’t just a guy with a lot of weapons. He was a guy who knew how to use them. Two ballistic missiles to Jackson. Waving Ertz into position on a scramble. Throwing Jeffery open in the endzone. Wentz was conducting a symphony while extracting teeth, out there.

I have a nagging gripe about this game. DE Derek Barnett (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) did not do a consistent job of setting the edge today. Too often he lined up like was going to cross the DT’s gap, and then crashed down inside, leaving room for boots and Screens. This is the same thing that used to happen when DE Trent Cole played that same spot in Jim Washburn’s version of the Wide 9.

The team showed resiliency this week, but they need to show some grit as well. Overall, it’s just small things here and there. There’s nothing that can’t be ironed out in the next couple of weeks.

FOUR THINGS – WK 1 – EAGLES-REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/05
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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JUST take it a step at a time. No one is winning the Super Bowl this week. Playoff home-field advantage won’t be decided this week. No one will win the NFC East this week. Though each of those things is an objective we have, to achieve them we must take things just one step at a time.

So let’s put aside the lofty talk for now, and make those Washington Redskins, the unfortunate recipients of our intense and undivided.

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This week, the least of our division rivals is stopping by, in hopes of leaving here with a win. While we rested our Starters during the preseason, they played their’s. This was probably to get in sync early, to compensate for the talent deficiencies that riddle their 53 man roster. Seriously. They have starters who wouldn’t make our Practice Squad.

This is a statement game for both teams. For the Redskins, they want to put an end to a culture of being dominated by the Eagles, after being swept in each of the last two years. For our Eagles, we need (not want…need) to start the year off, by pulling away from a division rival.

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

1) Be aggressive early: Do not play down to this opponent. They don’t have the deep speed to stay with WR DeSean Jackson. So light ‘em up early. Force them to unstack the box, to play deep, and then gut them with the run. We have an unfair advantage. Abuse it. Use it early and often. On 2nd and 1, throw a 50 yard bomb! You hear me? Put the NFL on blast, and let the Falcons know that what happened to Redskins this week, is happening to them, in their house, next week. Send that message. Shake the Earth.

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2) Shred their o-line: The Redskins have decided to feed sheep to lion, by starting what’s left of Donald Penn at LT and wait for it… Ereck Flowers at LG, opposite DE Derek Barnett and DT Malik Jackson. No, seriously. They’re doing that. Most of the NFL thought Penn was retired when he signed with the Redskins. Flowers is a 1st round bust on his third team, at a new position. So these are horrible mismatches. So should the Redskins slide their C left, to help out that side; or slide the C to the right, to help block DT Fletcher Cox? Either answer is the wrong one. Cox will spend a lot of time one-on-one with RG Brandon Scherff. Scherff is one of the NFL’s best. But all day, going one-on-one with The Homewrecker? Horrible odds. Did I mention DE Brandon Graham would also see almost exclusive one-on-one action? And when that o-line is gassed, we have a second starting caliber D-Line ready to throw at them. This is almost cruel. I love it. Shred the line.

3) Work the edges: As I always say, the Redskins most dynamic and reliable pass rush comes from LOLB Ryan Kerrigan. That also happens to be their Achilles Heel. TE Zach Ertz lines up on the edge, so he’s going out when Kerrigan is going in. Shifting an ILB to cover Ertz just opens up the run game inside. Pulling the SS to cover Ertz gives WR Alshon Jeffery a one-on-one opportunity. But to establish any of that, a few passes have to find their way to Ertz on the boundary.

4) Play press coverage: Okay the Eagles won’t play real press coverage, but there is no need to surrender a 67% completion rate to QB Case Keenum. So yeahhhh, if our CB’s could go ahead and keep those cushions to less than 5 yards, that would be great.

Bill Lumbergh

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

The Redskins know they aren’t ready. They don’t have their star LT, so they’re not trusting an off the street re-tread, to protect their future franchise QB’s blindside. That’s why Keenum is being thrown to the wol– getting the honor of starting. Their scariest receiver is concussion-prone TE Jordan Reed. The hope is that a spark will come from second year RB Derrius Guice, who spent all of last year on IR.

They have nothing to threaten us with.

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If we knock Keenum out of the game, it will be interesting to see which QB would replace him. At this point in the season, the Redskins are just playing out the string.

Defensively the Redskins added SS Landon Collins, whom we were already in the habit of victimizing twice a year, when he played with the giants. The last time we met this team we were an injury depleted mess, throwing haymakers in hopes of qualifying for a Wild Card berth. And we still decimated them 24 – 0. This time we’re at full strength.

If you have a weak stomach, you probably shouldn’t watch this game. Slow start and all, we gon’ slaughter some hogs come Sunday.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Redskins 10

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WHAT NOW, COWBOYS?

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/04
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, NFC East, Offense, Players, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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BACK in July I told everyone that Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott had all the leverage, during his holdout. The Cowboys talked tough, and said they would not re-set the RB market. The owner Jerry Jones joked “Zeke who?” They brought in a former back-up, and tried to talk up a rookie change of pace back.

They barked, postured and ultimately caved entirely, to Elliott’s demand to be the highest paid RB in the game’s history. They gave him a 6 year, 90 million dollar extension, with a whopping 50 million of it guaranteed. In the process, they totally re-set the RB market.

But Elliott is beside the point. He was always going to get everything he wanted. I made that point over a month ago, with people telling me I was wrong.

(sigh)

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Again, Elliott is beside the point. The real question is what about QB Dak Prescott? Remember his demand for 40 million per year? The QB sits at the head of the table right? If the Cowboys caved to one of Prescott’s supporting cast, surely they have to be about to cave into him as well, right?

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If Prescott doesn’t get an offer that he likes this season, he can fly the coop and test free agency in March. That would leave them with no QB and limited options. The Cowboys could franchise tag him, but if he doesn’t sign it, they are again without a QB.

Jerry Jones is in a position where he either has to grossly overpay Prescott, or tell him to his face that he’s not worth the money. Either way, Prescott’s contract talks will do visible harm to the team, starting in March of 2020.

So the question is: What now?

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