2018 SEASON REVIEW: QUARTER FOUR

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh, right?) A few are done at the halfway mark, and/or at the end. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters. Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team stands at the moment (in relation to where it started), and where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 9 – 7 overall, 4 – 2 division, 6 – 6 conference, 2nd in the NFC East

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OPPONENTS:

L: Dallas (10 – 6)

W: Los Angeles Rams (13 – 3)

W: Houston (11 – 5)

W: Washington (7 – 9)

 

OVERVIEW:

Put it all together and finish strong. We’re 6 – 6 today. We don’t see the playoffs with a record of less than 9 – 7. Running the table would be awesome, but (barring a miracle of mathematics) we have to have three of these four.

Nailed it!! That was the mission for this last quarter and the Eagles responded in excellent fashion, despite losing(?) QB Carson Wentz for the final three games of the regular season and perhaps the entire playoffs.

Not only did the Eagles manage to string consecutive wins together, the team did it against playoff caliber teams, while playing (in essence) weekly win-or-go-home games, since our last loss of the season, against Dallas.

Though injuries ravaged the regular season, a few players are beginning go find their way off the trainers table, and onto the playing field again. Coupling those guys with young players who were forced to grow up fast, will give the Eagles playoff push, the shot in the arm needed to give us a real chance.

GRADES:

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QB: (B) Nick Foles has played so well, that I doubt many fans realize that he’s thrown 6 touchdowns and 3 picks over that span. Add in a lost fumble, and you have 4 turnovers in three weeks. That weighs even heavier upon realizing that he didn’t throw a single scoring pass against the Rams. The fact is, he’s played excellent situational football. Though his production may not be consistent, he’s been big in big moments.

RB: (C ) This position has been good in spots. Josh Adams has been pure trash. He’s gotten plenty of carries, but he hasn’t been able to convert them into yards, because he doesn’t run through contact, doesn’t even employ a forward lean. He’s soft. Darren Sproles on the other hand, since coming back from injury, has been playing out of his mind whenever they let him touch the ball. Even Wendell Smallwood has become a more efficient runner. 

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TE: (B) NFL Record Holder Zach Ertz and rookie Dallas Goedert have combined for 35 catches and 3 scores over the last four games. Goedert has made three catches of 24 yards or longer as he’s become a consistent weekly contributor, averaging 3 catches per game over the span.

WR: (B) Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agholor have become dangerous again. Combining for 5 scores in these last four games as opposed to 5 in the first twelve, they’ve also been employed more as deep targets. Golden Tate however, still seems to be figuring things out, and the playoffs is no place for that. Last quarter I suggested that Agholor be switched out of the Slot for Jordan Matthews. I still think this is the way to go, but Agholor needs to move outside, while Tate is moved to the bench.

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OT: (C ) In the last couple weeks, LT Jason Peters has been showing flashes of why he is still considered one of the best in the game. RT Lane Johnson allowed a shot on QB Nick Foles last week that forced Foles from the game. As a lineman, you just can’t allow shots like that.

OG: (B) We are 5 – 2 When Stefen Wisniewski starts at LG. That includes 3 – 0 since he regained the spot. Under Isaac Seumalo we were 4 – 5. RG Brandon Brooks has been as quiet, consistent and solid as your banister.

C: (C ) Jason Kelce continues to have issues with shotgun snaps, repeatedly hitting QB Nick Foles in the crotch area or lower.

DE: (B) Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett and Chris Long have to be the best three man DE trio in the NFL. They’ve been excellent against the run, and have supplied very consistent pressure vs the pass. My big knock on this position, is that no one player seems to be able to get two games in a row with a sack. It would be nice to have a threat like that.

DT: (B) Over the last four games Fletcher Cox has 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and has generally been a problem for anyone lining up across from him. Haloti Ngata is finally able to give us the boost he was brought her to give us. In the absence of Tim Jernigan, Ngata was asked to play more snaps per game, than anyone had anticipated. It ran him down and he suffered a leg injury. With Jernigan being back now, and Ngata now healthy, he can focus on giving us a few dominating snaps per game. Treyvon Hester seems to be finding a niche in that rotation.

OLB: (C ) We simply don’t get enough impact plays from this position. Kamu Grugier-Hill did notch a forced fumble and his first career sack, and Nigel Bradham broke up two passes, but that’s all the splash plays that we’ve gotten from them in this quarter.

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MLB: (C ) Nate Gerry filled in for Jordan Hicks for the first two games of this quarter. Gerry didn’t start, but played quite a bit as the de facto MIKE. Neither player has been a standout, but they’ve been doing their part to make the system work.

S: (B) Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham haven’t really produced many impact plays this quarter, but they’ve been better at communicating with the Corners, which has allowed that position to pick up it’s play recently.

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CB: (B) From an “F” last quarter to a “B” in this one, despite the fact that so far Sidney Jones is still a disappointment. Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox have been playing out of their minds. Between them in four games they have 3 picks, 5 passes defensed and half a sack. Douglas has not only played well in coverage, he’s been a beast in run support and at blowing up screens. Former Bear Cre’Van LeBlanc has also contributed a couple big stops in the last few weeks.

LS: (B) Reliable

P: (C ) There may be some leg fatigue setting in for Cam Johnston. Of his 14 punts, 7 were returned for a 5.7 yard average, but over the last two games his net yards per punt is down to about 34 yards.

K: (C ) Jake Elliott has stumbled a bit recently. He’s 7 of 8 on field goal attempts, and 10 of 12 on extra point kicks. What’s more, 12 of his 24 kickoffs have been returned this quarter, as opposed to 3 of 17 last quarter.

PR/KR: (C ) RB Darren Sproles has averaged 9.0 yards per punt return over this quarter. The only issue is, he’s only returned one punt in each game. Recent signee RB Boston Scott is a fringe player playing like he knows that he’s a fringe player. On his 4 kick returns, it’s been clear that he’s thinking home-run, every time.

KC: (A) Last quarter we gave up 5.7 yards per punt return, and 19.5 per kickoff return. At no point did we allow a Special Teams score.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The playoffs came early for the Eagles. It has been win or pack in the season, since Week 15. Despite losing QB Carson Wentz for a second year in a row, just weeks before the playoffs, the team did what they needed to, in order to claim their spot in the post-season. All the while putting the NFL on notice, that we are BACK, and NO ONE is safe.

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MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

The regular season is over. We are now in the post-season. There is one more quarter-season to go. Four more games to reach the highest pinnacle in all of sports:

That of NFL Champion.

Though it will not be easy, there is a very simple mission that lies ahead for this team:

Win one game. Then win a second. Then win a third. Then win a fourth.

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GO GET ‘EM CHAMPS!

FOUR THINGS: WILD CARD ROUND: EAGLES-BEARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/03
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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GUESS who’s back?

Back again.

Philly’s back.

We got in.

Guess who? It’s that team that nobody wants to see on their schedule! Say hello to 53 guys, pulling together, feeling disrespected, and trying to prove a point while playing with house money! Led by QB Nick Foles who’s trying to lay the groundwork for “Mucho Paper in March”. (You know they’ve been paying him to kill teams, right?) I feel sad for teams that just got an invite to the playoffs, because brother, we’ve been playing playoff ball for WEEKS now.

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Step One was qualifying for the playoffs. Now for Step Two.

Last year as the #1 seed, the Eagles only had to defend the summit. This year we start at the very bottom of the mountain, and have to slay monsters on our way up. The monsters this week, are the Monsters of the Midway. (And to be fair, the “vs” artwork on their website, is pretty cool.)

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At 12 – 4 and getting to play at home, national pundits are already convinced that the Bears will make short work of the Eagles. We are once again, dismissed as a non-factor in the NFL playoffs. No matter. We still have our trusty bottles of Spite.

SPITE bottle

Yep! Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to see us repeating as Super Bowl Champions.

But first we have to slay THIS monster.

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

1) Score more than 22 points: Score however we can, whenever we can. Don’t roll the dice early on 4th and 2, and such. Just take the field goals. The Bears are 0 – 4 this year when they allow more than just 22 points. They are 2 – 6 when they allow 20 or better. That’s because in “shootout situations” their QB has a tendency to share the football with his opponents. Scoring points puts the game on his shoulders, and he can’t carry that load. So let’s hand him a shovel, and let him bury his own team.

2) Run the damned ball!: It’s a good luck charm and SCREAMED REMINDER, Doug! We need 25 carries. Not only has it worked for us, but 3 out of the 4 Bears losses have come against teams that attempted 25 runs or more.

3) Set hard edges: Let’s keep all runners directly in front of our tacklers. Let’s make tackling easy and hits painful.

4) Work the edges: Like the Redskins, much of the Bears pass rush comes from their OLB’s. That’s a problem against teams like us, who have players like TE Zach Ertz and TE Dallas Goedert.

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 last time we played this team (November 26, 2017) we whipped them 31 – 3. They have pretty much every major piece that they had last year. Except for OLB Khalil Mack on defense, and TE Trey Burton of course.

Otherwise this is the same team that we beat the holy hell out of, a little over a year ago. That’s not saying that they haven’t gotten better. What 31 – 3 says, is that there’s a fundamental factor, an elemental vibe if you will, that the Care Bears just have no deep-seated answer for. (Trivia nugget: QB Nick Foles was 3/3 in that game. 21 yards passing.)

To be fair, we were at home and also leaned pretty heavy on RB’s LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement that day. Scared? Worried? Don’t be. The hatchet that we did them in with was really Zach Ertz.

If you’re worried about the Secondary, we got apretty good day from S’s Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham, as well as CB’s Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas. Hey, aren’t most of those guys playing Sunday? Yeahhhhhh, baby. Feeling a little better? Oh, I knew you would. I knew you would. I knew would.

To make a long story short but always worth the telling, I hear New Orleans is nice this time of year.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Bears 19

yeah-bitch

THE RIVALS 2018 (PT 3 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/01
Posted in: Conversations, NFC East, NFL, Reviews, Rivals, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

article regular-nfc east

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 ARE actually the best informed, and most knowledgeable fans, in the NFL. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 3, 9, and 15.

NOTE: Given that there were playoff seeding implications for 3 of the 4 teams, I delayed this article until everything shook out. From now on, I’ll think I’ll stick with this format (Weeks 3, 9 and 17), instead of the 3, 9, 15. It’s just smarter.

This is where we left off PART 2

This is where things are today:

New York giants: 5 – 10, 4th in the NFC East

Last season they finished 3 – 13 and fourth in the division. On defense they allowed 24.2 points per game in 2017. In 2018 that number swelled to 25.8. Yet, all the talk is about either replacing QB Eli Manning, or shoring up his god-awful offensive line.

With a RB (Saquon Barkley) who amassed 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season (1,307 rushing, 721 receiving), a WR (Odell Beckham) who caught for 1,052 yards in just 12 games, and a QB who threw for 4,299 yards, this should be a scary team. The problem is their inability to stop opponents.

DE Olivier Vernon led the team with 7 sacks, which is what he averages as a giant. He also missed 5 games this year. In fact, his games played and production has dropped each year since he joined the team. What’s worse, is that their GM seems bent on not getting the man any legitimate help. Put in perspective, Eagles DE Chris Long started no games, yet had 6.5 sacks.

Given pressure from fans, and a voracious New York media, odds are strong that the giants will either be goaded into drafting yet another shiny offensive toy, or over-drafting a RT to pair with the LT they over-paid for, from Free Agency this last offseason.

Washington Redskins: 7 – 9, 3rd in the NFC East

Same exact finish as 2017. Well sort of. In 2017 the ‘skins finished 16th in scoring (21.4ppg). In 2018 they finished 29th (17.6 ppg). They improved on defense, but not enough to carry their flaccid offense.

It might be legitimate for the ‘skins to point to injuries (24 players on Injured Reserve), as the reason that their team stalled out. They were leading the NFC East at 6 – 4, when their starting QB Alex Smith, had his leg broken grotesquely by the Texans.

Over the course of their final six games, they were forced to start 3 QB’s for a combined record of 1 – 5. The scoring dropped from 19.7 points per game over the first 10 games, to just 14.0 points per game over the final 6 games. So even before they lost their starter, they were already worse off than they were a year ago.

Given the fact that their starting QB won’t be ready for next season (if he doesn’t retire), they may have to turn to their back-up QB, (who had his leg broken by the Eagles). That’s if they don’t draft a QB, or chase Eagles back-up QB Nick Foles, in hopes that he can be their savior.

Dallas Cowboys: 10 – 6, 1st place in the NFC East

Having won the division it’s easy to say that Dallas is better now than they were a year ago. The defense took a major step forward for most of the season. On the year they’re only allowing 20.2 points per game. However, over the last 4 weeks, they’ve been surrendering an average of 25.2. Despite going 3 – 1 over those weeks, it indicates that perhaps teams have found a chink in the armor.

No matter. A football team has both a defense AND an offense. Lucky for this team that their offense can now take off, since QB Dak Prescott has found a #1 WR in Amari Cooper, who- Wait. Did they find a true #1?

After being traded from Oakland after Week 6, Cooper found an amazing run during Weeks 12, 13 and 14. Putting up 26 catches, 473 yards, and 5 TD’s, while averaging 18.1 per grab during that span. However, his Week 14 performance (10 catches, 217 yards, 3 TD’s and 21.7 per grab) was against a Philadelphia Secondary which included 3 starters who began the year as back-ups (some third stringers), or not even on the active roster. Cooper followed up that performance (closing out the season) with three games where he totaled 13 catches for 83 yards, no scores and a 6.3 yard per catch average. In none of those games did he exceed 32 yards or catch a pass longer than 11 yards.

Prescott threw his customary 22 touchdowns again, despite starting and finishing all 16 games. (Unlike QB Carson Wentz who threw 21, yet only played in 11 games. With no real run game.) Based on this season, the Cowboys are about to sink a huge amount of money into a handful of players, (two of whom I just mentioned). It led to a playoff berth this year, but it does raise the question of whether or not this season’s success is at the expense of their future.

So that’s the state of our division rivals as your Eagles head into the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 17: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/31
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

wc01 - NFL PLAYOFFS.jpg

IT was a must-win game and we won it. We needed help to punch our ticket to the tournament, but that help would have been meaningless, if we didn’t do our part, and take care of business.

To that end: We came. We saw. We conquered.

Put into modern parlance: Our fans and team rolled up to the stadium. We told them that they have a “nice place”,

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Then we proceeded to ruin that shit.

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EAGLES 24 – Redskins 0    (Motherfucking ZEE-RO!)

We pitched a shutout! Yes, yes, yes. The media narrative is all about the Quarterbacks, but the story, the REAL story here, is our Defense holding the Redskins to 89 total yards, 68 passing yards, 0 for 9 on 3rd down, and 16 minutes 41 seconds in time of possession. The only thing we didn’t do was put a leash on their players and make them beg for treats.

CB Rasul Douglas (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) came out and snagged a pick on the first play from scrimmage. At that point you KNEW what time it was. DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) grabbed 3 sacks, en route to his first 10 sack (10.5 actually), season of his career. DE Micheal Bennett (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) continued to make the case for being re-signed, by delivering his 9th sack of the season.

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QB Nick Foles (28/33 – 84.8% – 221 – 2 – 1) put on a clinic on how to dissect a defense, before leaving the game with “bruised ribs”. There were 30 handoffs and two QB sneaks, to bring our rushes total to 32, vs a pass total (34 attempts, 3 sacks) of 37. That’s 54% pass to 46% run, on our play-calling.

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?

1) Run the ball: Our play selection was 32 runs to 37 passes. That’s not only meets the 25 handoff threshold, but it provides possibly the best balanced attack we’ve used all season long. DONE.

2) Make him run: Our front four did a great job of forcing their QB to move around and not allowing him to set his feet. Pressure right up the gut, forced their QB out of the pocket and into erratic throws. That was the idea here. DONE. 

3) Work the edge: We did a lot of work on the perimeter this game, but not the way I suggested here. The job the Eagles did was actually much better, since it incorporated many players, instead of focusing on just one. NOT DONE.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson (4 – 0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) was bottled up all day. The game was placed in the QB’s hands, and the ‘skins collapsed. DONE.

This week’s Four Things sees a score of 3 of 4, bringing the total for the regular season to 29 of 64. While the regular season is over, we have a playoff game next week, vs the Chicago Bears, who ironically helped us get in.

On The Whole:
This game was domination from start to finish. It was almost cruel. I loved it. Seriously, CB/FS Rasul Douglas and CB/FS Avonte Maddox (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) have been catching my eye for weeks now. I honestly can say, they have me not missing Jalen Mills in the least.

FOUR THINGS: WK17 : EAGLES-REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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TODAY we stand at 8 – 7, at least guaranteed to not have a losing season. While fighting our way into the playoffs is the hope, not finishing at .500 should be the immediate goal.

Making the playoffs requires us to win, and another team to lose. We don’t control whether or not another team loses, but we DO control whether or not we take care of our business. No matter how our playoff hopes shake out, we need to leave the 2018 regular season showing that we have righted our ship.

To be the man, you have to beat the man. Even if we don’t make the postseason, we need to leave the world KNOWING that we were worthy of it, and that whatever team wins the championship this year, they did it without truly having been put to the test.

There is no “looking past” the Redskins this week. We are looking dead at them.

They are the obstacle.

They are what stands in our way.

They are in extreme peril.

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

1) Run the ball: Whether we make a ton of yards or not, is beside the point. The idea is to keep the ‘skins honest, when QB Nick Foles uses play-action. That’s it. If the ‘skins want to be water-tight vs the run, let ‘em. What they don’t give up up-front, they open up, deep.

2) Make him run: The Redskins QB has some mobility. Usually asking for an opposing QB to scramble is a recipe for disaster, but this week… It’s just what the doctor ordered. So far their QB has been playing better football than he really has a right to. I commend him for that. So bring heat up the gut, and get him running for his life. He doesn’t know the system well enough to ad-lib AND stay within it, at the same time. That leaves his teammates and coaching staff frustrated, and opens up opportunities for key moments in the game, to fail and break due to lack of trust. This is less about outright destroying the Redskins, and more about corroding them.

3) Work the edge: The main reason why the ‘skins can’t beat the Eagles anymore is because their pass rush comes from their OLB’s. When a defense takes an OLB from covering TE Zach Ertz, he’s open earlier than usual. Often on the boundaries.

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We can grab and rip the balls clean off the Redskin pass rush, if we force them to cover Ertz with a pass rusher. At which point Foles will have the time to launch missiles to WR Alshon Jeffery.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson has run for 1,000 yards. Not too shabby for a 33 year old, and it’s more than I thought he would do. That said, in 6 of 16 games this year, he’s averaged fewer than 3 yards per carry, and in 4 games he’s averaged fewer than 2. His game by game breakdown reveals a RB who is more of a detriment to his team than an asset. Make sure he gets on the ground when he runs, and put this game in their QB’s hands.

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:

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I expect to see more of THIS.

The Eagles will come out looking to put this team away. They will watch the scoreboard to see how the Bears/Vikings game is turning out. They will play with pride and passion. They will play for hope and the fulfillment of faith.

The Redskins will come out pumped to make a statement. Then we will punch them in the mouth. At that point they will sober the fuck up and realize that they are a bad team, that releases good players who speak up about being coached by idiots. They will deflate. Especially on defense.

As long at the Bears don’t get blown out by the Vikings, this game should be a cakewalk.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 30 – Redskins 10

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK16 : TEXANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ANY team (or fan base) that says they aren’t scared of the Eagles right now, is lying. Right now the Eagles are playing scrappy, ballsy, no holds barred, football. We’re playing with the swagger of a radioactive man, walking among his enemies, with nothing to lose. At this point in the year, when teams see the Eagles on their schedule, they swallow hard and just hope that we make it quick.

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EAGLES 32 – Texans 30

QB Nick Foles (35/49 – 71.4% – 471 – 4 – 1) set the team record for having the most 400 yard passing games of any QB in an Eagles jersey. TE Zach Ertz (12 – 110 – 9.1 – 2) set the ALL-TIME RECORD for passes caught by a TE in a season. On the way to those records, we took a minute to hand Houston a shiny new “L” for their Christmas tree.

The stats do no justice to the day that was had by RB Darren Sproles (9 – 32 – 3.5 – 0 – 0/ 3 – 76 – 25.3 – 1). Since returning from injury four weeks ago, Sproles has been playing like a man possessed. On just 35 touches, he has 3 scores, often fighting off multiple defenders, while he refuses to stop until he hits paydirt.

DE Chris Long (2 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) brought his sack total up to 6.5, which is his best year since 2013, when he had 8.5. The difference is, in 2013 he had 16 starts. This year he has zero. DT Treyvon Hester  (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)  25 games into his career, finally broke his NFL cherry and git himself a sack. CB/FS Rasul Douglas (8 – 0 – 0 – 0) despite being beaten by an amazing throw for a score, played a hell of a game, yet again. The pairing of he and CB Avonte Maddox (2 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) is giving the Eagles a real presence both against the run and the pass.

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?

1) Run the ball: I said we needed 25 handoffs and we got 21. The run/pass play selection was 21 to 51. We can’t live that way. We got away with it this week though. NOT DONE

2) Take away the catalyst: The Eagles spent a lot of time in Cover Two, and kept the catalyst out of the endzone. We allowed completions, then we closed, made the tackle and didn’t let him become a problem. DONE

3) DE’s set the edges: The Defense was AMAZING at this! The Texans run game was served right up to our tacklers, who wrapped up and finished the down. DONE

4) Screen Time!: We didn’t do much in the way of Screens. NOT DONE

This brings this week’s Four Things score to 2 of 4 and the seasons total to 26 out of 58. Next week we get a shot at sweeping the Redskins in a game we need (along with outside help) to make the playoffs.

On The Whole:

Nick Foles picked up another cool quarter million, plus a record, plus a win, plus more validation for the shrine to him, created by Chris Long. On February 6th I said:  “If Foles wants to stay, we need to find a way to let him. If he doesn’t, we need to find a way to convince him.”

This game was a great win to watch, but there may be a very serious decision to be made at the QB spot for this team. This game ruined any chance of there being a cut and dried decision on it.

Have fun celebrating, but recognize that there is a headache and some extreme discomfort coming up. And the further we go, the worse it will get.

FOUR THINGS: WK 16: EAGLES-TEXANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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MAN, if only we could trade that Rams win, for a win over the Cowboys! Instead, we sit here, as the 7th seed, needing help to climb into the 6th position. A Vikings loss to Detroit this week would be a huge boost, to that hope.

However, there is an even BETTER (though highly unlikely) scenario. If we win out, we’ll finish 9 – 7. If Dallas manages to lose out, they’ll finish 8 – 8. Given that Dallas gets 2 gimmies against Tampa this week, and the giants next week, that’s (as I said) HIGHLY unlikely. But if we sprinkle just a little more Spite,

SPITE bottle

we might be able to help that thing happen. (Though we still have to win out.)

Don’t let Houston’s record fool you. That 10 – 4 mark is about as hollow as 10 – 4 records get. They split with Indy and Tennessee, but aside from that, their only win against a +.500 team was a 19 – 16 win over Dallas. That’s 7 of 10 wins, over teams that are .500 or poorer. So I assure you, we aren’t taking on world beaters this week.

The Eagles have a bunch of key injuries, but what else is new? We’re playing without our first string QB, but our other starter just earned a cool quarter mill by winning a shootout with the #2 team in our conference. There’s another quarter mill bonus on the line of he wins this one, too. So think of this as Jeff Lurie putting a hit out on the Texans.

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Foles going deep to Jeffery.

Yippie-ki-yay motherfuckers.

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

1) Run the ball: Every time I say it, we do it, and we win. Every time I neglect to, we take a football up the ol’ poop chute. We need 25 carries at least! Houston owns the 4th best run defense in the NFL, but they’ve played a bunch of teams that can’t run the ball for shit. Let’s put them to the test.

2) Take away the catalyst: WR DeAndre Hopkins has 1,321 yards receiving. The next four Texans have 1,310 receiving yards. COMBINED. Hopkins’s 11 touchdowns, are 2 more than any other two Texans players combined. If we’re going to slow that offense, Hopkins seems like the right place to start.

Unlike many star WR’s, Hopkins doesn’t have a static side to line up on. He tends to travel, which greatly affects how a defense needs to react to him. Here (just to lay out the concept of how he needs to be played), I have him lined up on the LEFT.

v houston.jpg

In the diagram, Hopkins is lined up across from #32 CB Rasul Douglas. #29 FS/NCB Avonte Maddox is over the Slot (presumably WR Keke Coutee). #24 FS Corey Graham is playing deep in Cover Two. Hopkins has entirely too much speed to play Cover One against. Especially since the Eagles play cushion, not bump. (If you see Graham lined up as a “Center Fielder”, expect to get hosed on that down.)

Our Secondary needs to focus on taking away areas of the field. Allowing completions, but shrinking the size of the holes the QB has to throw into, as there’s less and less field to defend.

Again, Hopkins will travel, so this strategy needs to flip sides as he does. If he lines up in the Slot, the Nickel needs to switch out of Zone, and force him across the middle where the big hits lurk.

3) DE’s set the edges: The Texans use Hopkins to clear out room for their largely unheralded run game. This is why I called him a catalyst , despite him leading the team in scoring. Don’t sleep on this run game! They are 6th in the NFL at running the ball. Keep the Texans run game directly in front of our tacklers. Force their RB to run through creases and tire himself out. Our Defense has done too much East/West running over these last two games, and LB Nigel Bradham is playing with a cast on his thumb. If we’re going to win four straight playoff games, we need to get out of the regular season without running our defense into the ground.

4) Screen Time!: The Texans feature some pretty good pass rushers. Let’s turn that against them, with a few Screens to RB Darren Sproles, a couple to TE Dallas Goedert, and let’s see if we can get RB Josh Adams involved in that as well, off of play-action. No WR Screens please. The Texans are too good for something that lame. If we want to get the ball to WR Golden Tate, throw it down the field for a change. Hey, you know what would be awesome? A QB Screen on 3rd and short.

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:

Houston will try to run the ball. When they see that they can’t, they’ll try to threaten us with the quick pass, to create room underneath. This will be a grind it out game, with just enough of a lack of familiarity to allow each team chances to score.

Last week was a game of balanced offense, which let our defense rest. This week needs to be very much the same. 25 carries says we win, 24 carries says we lose. Period. Head Coach Doug Pederson will call up a formula of something like 24 handoffs, and 31 passes. This is an extremely winnable game for the Eagles, but a lack of commitment to the run will be fatal.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Texans 26

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK15 : RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/17
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

UNDERDOGS. This is what being an underdog looks like. This is what being an underdog feels like. Winning in spite of conventional wisdom and expectation. Clawing and fighting your way out of a hole.

Three straight wins, and we’ll have done all we can to get ourselves back to the postseason. We’re gonna need some help, but this was one hell of a start on our part. We showed the world that the Rams are mortal.

Sean-McVay-Shocked-Face-Rams-Memes.jpg

These are the faces of men who were just mushroom stamped.

EAGLES 30 – Rams 23

Last night WR Alshon Jeffery ( 8 – 160 – 20.0 – 0) caught every pass that QB Nick Foles (24/34 – 77.4% – 270 – 0 – 1) threw in his direction.

Jeffery rises above.jpg

Impressively, Foles wasn’t sacked once in the entire game. Most impressive however, was how Head Coach Doug Pederson stuck with the run game, despite it not yielding a bunch of huge plays.

Looking at the one sack we got all night (from DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)), doesn’t tell the story of the kind of pressure the Rams QB was under all night long. A better indication might be the 2 interceptions he threw us.

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?

Nick Foles like a BOSS.jpg

1) Roof It: Throw that monkey DEEP! Did we? Did you see that Alshon Jeffrey stat line? We used play-action the way God intended, and it helped us get that coveted “W”. It also helped us put the world on notice, that the Eagles ain’t laying down for nobody. DONE.

2) 25 Handoffs: Play-action is meaningless without actually running the ball. So we had 28 handoffs, and 2 QB runs. The result was clean and healthy Nick Foles at the end of the game. DONE.

3) Tween Scheme: Due to the Nickel package being used as much as it was, LB Nate Gerry (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) wasn’t on the field as much as anticipated. That said, the Eagles did shutdown the Rams run game, and despite 55 pass attempts, kept the passing offense from scoring. NOT DONE.

4) Something Special: Our Special Teams didn’t try anything tricky or gimmicky. We didn’t need it. NOT DONE.

So, this weeks Four Things score is a solid 2 out of 4. This is fine given that we’d didn’t need one, and only technically didn’t do the other. That brings the season tally to 24 of 56. Next week we host the 10 – 4 Houston Texans, who are currently leading the AFC South.

On The Whole:

Any game that leaves a division leader asking:

jizz

is a great game. I’m thrilled with the outcome of the game. Still, there were a couple of things that bugged me about it.

First, we need a more physical RB. Our current RB’s tackle way too easily. We left entirely too many extra yards on that field last night. Second, reserve FS Corey Graham (1 – 0 – 1 – 0) makes too many business decisions in run support. I’m thankful for the 2 turnovers he’s collected recently, but this diving at ankles without bringing his arms, has got to stop.

 

 

FOUR THINGS: WK 15: EAGLES-RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/14
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Draft, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK15-LAR

UNTIL you are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention you should fight to make the playoffs. It would be smart to deliberately lose games to drive up our Draft position. It would be even smarter to go with Tank 2.0 and improve the Eagles dramatically by June.

But if we stop fighting, what are we telling Jason Peters, and Darren Sproles? What message are we sending to future Eagles? Because of those questions, we have to try. We need to try and win this game. We need to try and make these playoffs. As long as there is a chance, we have to fight.

We come into this game on the outside. Everything to gain and nothing to lose. Although HIGHLY unlikely, there still exists a scenario where the 6 – 7 Eagles run the table, the 8 – 5 Cowboys drop their last three, and we win the division.

But that can’t happen if we quit now. So fuck the Rams. Who cares about the Rams? Didn’t we beat them last year, when everyone was worshiping their coaches balls, and calling them the Super Bowl favorite? Fuck them.

Let’s win this one for SPITE.

SPITE bottle.jpg

Just pure, good ol’ fashioned spite. With a little bit of Christmas spite, we can wish for a very possible Cowboys loss to the Colts, and then a somewhat less possible Rams win for ourselves. Wouldn’t that be a nice stocking stuffer?

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

1) Roof It: Throw the deep ball, off of play-action. If we go down in this game, we go down swinging for the knockout. Win or lose, when the smoke clears on this game, the world should know that the Rams are mortal, and CAN BE made to bleed.

2) 25 Handoffs: Throwing deep will work better off of play-action. Play-action won’t work if we don’t hand it off a lot.

3) Tween Scheme: LB’s Nate Gerry and Kamu Grugier-Hill are sort of LB/S tweeners. They lack the thump of a LB, but they aren’t quite as fast a true S. They do however, run pretty well for LB’s. Scheme to get them in position to take away angles that the Rams use to spring RB Todd Gurley. Gurely is the straw that stirs that drink, and when teams make life hard for him, the Rams offense has a tendency to stall out.

4) Something Special: Isn’t it time we saw a fake or something by our Special Teams?

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 Eagles will probably run about 17 – 20 times. The idea will be to take the weight off the QB, but Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh can’t help himself. Regardless of who starts at QB this week, you can expect something like 38 pass attempts when 29 would be best.

The Rams will find a way to manufacture yards from a Gurley who isn’t nearly as dangerous as he used to be. Like last week when the Eagles made it hard for the Cowboys RB to get off the ground later, expect the Rams RB to hit a similar wall.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 18 – Rams 28

[yeah bitch eagle pic]

JOHN DEFILIPPO’S RETURN TO PHILLY

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/12
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

(article)NEWS FLASH!!!

FOR all those who think the Eagles offensive woes are due to losing two offensive coaches, I have an important update: One of them has already been fired, and he didn’t even last 14 games into his new gig.

 

Minnesota just shit-canned Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo, and already Eagles fans are screaming that we should hire him back. This seems weird to me. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the man. All evidence points to him having been good at his job, when he was a QB coach here.

My issue comes with the staggering level of self-deluding, that’s required to think such a move solves anything for this team. I’m alternatingly disgusted, and then morbidly fascinated by it. Instead of taking a hard look in the mirror and fixing what’s wrong, some fans seem to think a spin in the “Way Back Machine” will fix everything.

no just no

It won’t. It won’t because it can’t. I realize this makes me the resident buzz-kill, but the band will not be getting back together. The sooner someone says it, the sooner we can let go of the damaged mess we are today, and do the small handful of things needed to be the awesome dynasty we are meant to be. Again, it is a SMALL handful. (Irony is using all caps to write the word “small”.)

Frank Reich will not be coming back. His Colts team looks to be about to make the playoffs, and even if they somehow miss them, the ownership has to be thrilled with how he’s resurrected their franchise and it’s QB. So Reich ain’t coming back.

Reich not coming back means that we will have a different OC than we did during our Super Bowl run. So who should be our OC? DeFilippo? All indications are that he was a good QB coach, but he bombed as an OC, both in Cleveland and Minny. Duce Staley? That would be  a great move, but the Eagles already passed on him. Mike Groh? Well that wouldn’t be a change at all, would it?

yeah.jpg

No. No it wouldn’t.

So do we bring in DeFilippo to be a position coach again, just so he can bail the next time a better job offer comes along? I mean he did walk away from a chance to repeat, right? And he did it quickly too!

You know what? Fine. Devil’s Advocate. Let’s say he gets brought back. Does that change the play-calling? Nope. Does it change the personnel groupings? Nope. How about the overall offensive concept? Well, to make the QB more comfortable, that could be tweaked in places, but by and large, nope.

Look, integrating a new OC meant there was going to be a drop-off. No one thought it would be quite this steep, but these things happen. They do. Also, keep in mind that the same awesome offensive staff from the Super Bowl, was 7 – 9 the season before. So relax. Show some patience. Let the new regime re-tool and grow.

If we add DeFilippo: “Hey, welcome back bro”. If not: “Hey, good luck fella”. Either way we can make it work. We’re going to make it work, because that’s who we are. We just have few small things we need to do, to get this ship righted. At that point, we can start working on our dynasty.