FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK14 :COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/11
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WARNING! If you want to whine about calls, and call our own players garbage, stop reading this now! I’m an actual Philadelphian, so I don’t believe in pity-parties. And you can take that how you need to take it.

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Eagles 23 – Cowboys 29 OT

We got knocked out. We didn’t lay down. We got knocked out. That game came down to the last play of overtime. It was a lucky mid-air grab, of a well-played and deflected ball. I can’t be ashamed of that effort. I can’t be mad at that outcome. Disappointed? Hell yeah. Fuck yeah. But it’s football. Ties are rare, so in almost every case there is a team that wins and a team that loses. We lost. Well, we lost the game.

Despite the score, I saw somethings I really liked out there. A couple of our guys looked like they have bright futures here. CB Rasul Douglas (9 – 0 – 1 – 0) caught my eye for the second week in a row. Run support, open field stops on screens, peeling off his assignment to intercept a ball…He looked like a starter, and not a 3rd string CB/FS. OLB Kamu Grugier-Hill (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) is making the mental transition from Special Teamer to LB. While we gave up 10 catches, 217, yards and 3 TD’s to one receiver, nearly all of that damage was restricted to CB’s not named Douglas.

Commentator and HOF QB Troy Aikman, mentioned that the Eagles have started an unheard of, 13 different DB’s over the 13 games we’ve played. The term he used, was “unheard of”. And still that game came down to a lucky grab of a well diagnosed, then tipped ball.

If you’re mad about losing under those circumstances, you clearly are incapable of understanding the big picture.

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) Control the clock: We lost time of possession 45:33 to 22:32. Our play selection was 34 pass plays (32 attempts, 2 sacks) to 10 handoffs, in a game that was never out of reach. NOT DONE.

2) Tackle: On paper it looks like we did a good job. However, given the number of extra effort first down we gave up, while going for strips…Clearly the spirit of what we needed to do was lost. NOT DONE.

3) Jeffrey, Jeffery, Jeffrey: WR Alshon Jeffrey (6 – 50 – 8.3 – 1) was the Eagles leading receiver in that game, but he was, and is being so poorly utilized. While he lacks blazing speed, his ability to win 50/50 balls should inspire us to use him that way. But we didn’t really try to. NOT DONE.

4) Sit on it: Once Dallas discovered our weaknesses at CB (Sidney Jones, DeVante Bausby) they commenced to picking on them with deep balls. That means there wasn’t much to jump short. FS Corey Graham however, did come up with a pick by sitting down in his area, and having a tipped ball (which he nearly dropped) float towards him. DONE

This weeks Four Things score is 1 of 4, but it’s really more like 1 plus .5 plus .5 out of 4. Not 2 out of 4, but 1 plus .5 plus .5 out of 4. That brings our yearly tally to 22 of 52 (.423).

Next week we get the Rams, fresh off a loss to the Bears. So they’ll be looking to prove a point, whereas we don’t really seem to have a direction in 2018. Next week you may find yourself watching the game through your fingers.

On The Whole:

We had a slugfest and we lost it. There is no shame in that. Despite all the adversity, this team has not laid down. It has not quit. While I am not impressed with our record, I am impressed with our strong nucleus.

While my team may have lost that game, my team has not lost it’s heart. And because of this, it has not lost me.

2018 SEASON REVIEW: QUARTER THREE

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/08
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. 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.

STATUS: 6 – 6 overall, 3 – 1 division, 4 – 5 conference, 2nd in the NFC East

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OPPONENTS:

L: Dallas (7 – 5)

L: New Orleans (10 – 2)

W: New York Giants (4 – 8)

W: Washington Redskins (6 – 6)

OVERVIEW:

Find a run game! Three of our next 4 games are division rivals, and we can’t beat them if we can’t run.

That was the stated mission for this quarter, and we’ve done that over the last couple of weeks. The result was two straight wins for the first time this season. Offensively the Eagles seem to have found a balance, and therefore a rhythm, which has eluded our team for most of the season.

Injuries have been a huge problem for the second year in a row, but the team looks as if it’s coping now. Players (particularly on Defense), asked the coaches to simplify things within the schemes, and it’s been paying off. Especially in the Secondary. It remains to be seen if we can apply these lessons to teams who are above .500. for example, though Washington was 6 – 5 when we encountered them, they were a team in free-fall, that had lost 3 of it’s previous 4 games. We need to beat a team in good standing. Lucky for us, we get 3 in a row starting Sunday.

GRADES:

QB: (C) Aside from an abysmal game at New Orleans, Carson Wentz has been solid this quarter. Not great, but solid. That being said, forcing the ball to a new WR, leaning on the TE, rarely throwing the deep ball, and not using his legs to pick up cheap yardage, has marred this quarter for him. He’s been competent, but if we’re going to get to and win playoff games, then we need to see him be spectacular.

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RB: (B) Elevating rookie Josh Adams and ending the Wendell Smallwood experiment, may have saved the season. The Eagles now have a legitimate rushing attack, and are now balanced because of it. Darren Sproles has just made his way off the injured list, and into the end zone, and Corey Clement looks to be fully healed from his quad injury. (Tidbit: We are 5 – 0 in games where Clement has double digit carries.) This unit isn’t as dangerous as it was a year ago, but it’s a damned sight better than it was a month ago.

TE: (A) We have Zach Ertz. Like legs in a brothel, he’s always open. With 93 grabs already, he’s the second leading receiver in the NFL. As if that wasn’t enough, we have rookie Dallas Goedert, who is already better than some starters in this league.

WR: (D) Alshon Jeffrey hasn’t reached 49 yards in any of the last 5 games. The deep ball has disappeared from our arsenal. Attempts to force-feed the ball to Golden Tate have (until this last game) been a dismal failure. Nelson Agholor needs to be switched out for Jordan Matthews in the slot.

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OT: (C) Jason Peters is giving everything he has. It seems unfair that he should have to go through this, but I don’t want to be the guy who attempts to drag him off the field. He’ll play until he can’t. Lane Johnson has had better seasons. Still waiting to see him assert his will on that right side. Halapoulivaati Vaitai is better suited to the right.

OG: (D) Not a great year in terms of communication of assignments, and free-runners into the backfield. Running the ball should help at least slow rushers, as they’ll actually have to read the play, depending on down and distance. Given Brandon Brooks history of being quietly solid, the knee-jerk reaction is to blame the less than stalwart, Isaac Seumalo. However, it really does seems to be an issue of communication.

C: (D) Communication on the interior isn’t sharp, and there have been too many false start/simulating the snap type penalties this year on Jason Kelce.

DE: (C) During this quarter, this position is playing extremely sound, team-concept football. They are where they need to be to allow the rest of the front to flow around them. Delivering big plays in key moments however, is a weakness for this unit. Michael Bennett and Brandon Graham have combined for 5.5 sacks in the last four games, but neither man has had back to back games with a sack, nor are they scaring QB’s into throwing interceptions.

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DT: (D) If Fletcher Cox was the only player at this position, the grade would be an “A”. Since he isn’t, the grade is much lower. Timmy Jernigan is just two weeks in, working his way back from back surgery, so judgment on him will be held in abeyance. Haloti Ngata and Treyvon Hester on the other hand… neither is an every down player. However, injury has forced them to be. This allows teams to focus more on Cox than they otherwise would be able to.

OLB: (C) One pass deflection. That is the only non-tackle stat that Nigel Bradham or Kamu Grugier-Hill has produced in four weeks. One pass deflection. KGH has all of 29 tackles to this point in the year. We simply don’t attack with them enough.

MLB: (C) Soooo, Jordan Hicks is hurt. Again. Are you surprised? Prior to that, he’d been steady (not spectacular) this quarter. Filling in for him these last two games, is OLB/S tweener Nate Gerry. Gerry has had some issues with his run fits, and needs to play more downhill, to get in an O-lineman’s face before that lineman gets any momentum going. His diving interception against the Redskins was nice though.

S: (B) Malcolm Jenkins played lights out this quarter, making visible, tangible impacts on the outcomes of the Eagles last two victories. Getting back Corey Graham from injury has been big for the communication in the Secondary, and now deep balls down the middle are no longer a gimme. Injured CB/S Avonte Maddox filled in gamely until Graham got back, but being a rook, there were things he just hadn’t seen and could be exposed by.

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CB: (F) Rasul Douglas, Sidney Jones, Cre’Von LeBlanc, DeVante Bausby, Chandon Sullivan. All five have started at least one game in the last four weeks and in that ENTIRE group, there isn’t so much as a single pass break-up. Not one. No sacks. No picks. Nothing. Some guys flash traits here or there, but by and large, the Eagles either have to re-evaluate the defensive system, or the way that Cornerback talent is scouted.

LS: (B) Reliable.

P: (B) Cam Johnston was good this quarter, but not quite a weapon. Of his 10 punts, 6 were returned for 39 yards (6.5ypr). He is also still struggling not to out-kick his coverage, as only 5 of his 47 punts this season, have been downed near the goal line. No NFL Punter has fewer.

K: (A) Jake Elliott is 7 for 7 over the last four games, with no extra point misses. Only 3 of his 17 kickoffs in that span have been returned.

Jake Elliott 9.24.2017

PR/KR: (D) The picture here changes too often for it to be anything but a liability.

KC: (B) No scores allowed yet. However, teams have threatened on a few occasions.
SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The mission for this quarter was “Find a run game”, and we did that. That has set the table for less abuse on our QB, and it has given our Defense chances to catch a breather, as they review what the opposing offense is trying to do.

Since finding this formula, we haven’t had to play anybody of consequence, but that has given us a real opportunity to test out what we’ve learned, and lean on it. Aside from an utter shit-canning from the Saints, every game in this quarter was either a win or contested to the very end.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

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. Seeing more mobility from Wentz would go a long way towards getting that done.

FOUR THINGS: WK 14: EAGLES-COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/06
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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THIS game is for first place. Period. That said, a win doesn’t automatically get us into the playoffs, and a loss doesn’t automatically keep us out.

Beyond this game, we have the Los Angeles Rams. The team that QB Carson Wentz was injured against. Next week is the hugest game of the regular season. It is our biggest test, both in terms of how far we’ve come since Week One, and if there is any psychological block for Carson to work past. However, before we get to that game, we have some mongrels to put down.

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Last time we met this team, we were 4 – 4, they were 3 -5 and pundits were talking about how both teams needed to win that game, or the losing team’s season would be over. We lost. Yet our season is NOT over. In fact, this very game is for first place in the division. Just goes to show you what the pundits know.

Since that win over us, those same pundits are talking like the 7 – 5 Cowboys are invincible. Unbeatable! Destined to hold aloft the Lombardi when alllllll the smoke clears! Their defense IS after all, the same unit that held the Saints to 10 points, right? It is?

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Well then allow me to retort! If we’re dragging history out, let’s mention that this is the same Dallas defense that the Eagles hung 20 on. And the same Dallas defense that Washington hung 23 on. Just two games ago! Make no mistake, that defense can be, and will be, scored upon. Trust and believe.

Oh yeah, and that 20 points we scored last time? That, was when we were one-dimensional and unbalanced. Now we have a run game, and our play-action that has to be respected. We also have RB Darren Sproles back.

That was also before our own Defense simplified things, and when the Secondary was bleeding non-stop. We’ve tightened up a few things since then. Hell, this unit gave Adrian Peterson a 90 yard run and STILL held his ass under 100 yards rushing for the game. And then there’s SS Malcolm Jenkins...

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These are all facts that the pundits choose to ignore. That team is one game above .500, facing a team they barely escaped. No one is gonna say that though, because the Cowboys are big economy for the Niffle. But we ain’t layin’ down for nobody. Who want some, come get some!

So get your popcorn. Because this time around, it’s going to be a very, VERY different game.

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

1) Control the clock: It’s hard to have many points scored on you, or to allow many yards, if the other team doesn’t have the ball. So grind out the game. The Cowboys don’t have the QB for scoring points in a hurry. Even if they did, they lack enough firepower to stress a defense, once their run game can’t be a factor.

2) Tackle: We were in position to make plays vs the run last time, and we just didn’t. Dallas doesn’t run a clever system. They don’t out-think anybody. They let opponents out-think themselves. Hit the run fits, and wrap up RB Ezekiel Elliott. That’s it.

3) Jeffrey, Jeffery, Jeffrey: Go deep to WR Alshon Jeffrey, not to WR Nelson Agholor. Not sure why the deep ball has vanished from this Offense, but Carson has to let his big man know that he still trusts him to win those 50/50 balls.

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4) Sit on it: To complement the run, Dallas likes to throw short, quick passes. Jump some of those routes. At best it’s a a pick six. At worst, we’ve t least got QB Dak Prescott not trusting his eyes and therefore holding the ball a little longer.

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:

(NOTE: The return of MLB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks has not been ruled out.)

Expect to start slow. It’s a road game, against a rested team, and they are still riding an emotional high. They will not fold quickly. Don’t get bummed over an early three and out. This game will be a war of attrition.

Dropfoot and Lederhosen Van Exxon (or whatever his name is) will look awfully funny trying to chase around Sproles in space. Good luck practically doubling over (at full speed) to make tackles on #43. As always, TE Zach Ertz will get his. RB Josh Adams seems brittle, so the Eagles may want to cede some work elsewhere so that another RB is in rhythm if Adams checks out early. So RB Corey Clement may see 8 or so carries this week.

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We notched 4 sacks against this team the last time we saw them and there’s no reason that number should fall with DT Tim Jernigan “in the mix” (as HC Doug Pederson said). Our last meeting also saw CB Rasul Douglas hold WR Amari Cooper to 75 yards. No reason to think it can’t happen again.

This time around the emphasis will be on finishing plays, not just diagnosing them. We played poorly last time and were STILL in position to win it late in the game. This time the Cowboys won’t be so lucky.

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(And yes, I know this clip is Reservoir Dogs.) 

PREDICTION: EAGLES 22 – Cowboys 20

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK13 :REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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TWO in a row! Shouldn’t be a big accomplishment, and shouldn’t be happening for the first time for this season, this late in the season. That said, we dug ourselves a hole and now we’re pulling ourselves out. We’re fighting. We’re either going to beat whomever is in front of us, or they’re going to have to beat us. ‘cuz we ain’t layin’ down for nobody.

EAGLES 28 – Redskins 13

Much will be made of how the Redskins were missing their starting QB, lost their back-up QB, were missing both starting Guards, and have lost a host of skill positions players. Boo-hoo. None of those guys play defense.

Going into last nights game, I had heard that Washington was tough to run against. We hung 130 rushing yards on them. That includes RB Josh Adams (20 – 85 – 4.2 – 0 – 0) on a less than healthy hip. RB Darren Sproles (4 – 22 – 5.5 – 1 – 0) made a triumphant return to the field, bullying his way past two ‘skins defenders on a tasty tasty touchdown run. RB Corey Clement (5 – 27 – 5.4 – 0 – 0/ 3 – 47 – 15.6 – 0) looked as good as he has in a while.

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I’d also heard the Redskins were hard to score on. We hung 28 around their necks, while allowing zero sacks, and converting 53% of our third downs. WR Golden Tate (7 – 85 – 12.1 – 1) led the team in receiving yards, catching all seven balls thrown his way, and a two point conversion.

I don’t know if anybody noticed, but CB Rasul Douglas (6 – 0 – 0 – 0) is playing like there should be a conversation about whether or not to keep starting him. His stat line doesn’t show how aggressive he was in run support, wrecking screens and understanding his role in the defense last night.

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Just because I couldn’t think of any place to fit it naturally in this article, I’m going to place a mention here, of LB Nate Gerry (2 – 0 – 1 – 0) with the diving interception last night. Gerry hasn’t always looked great filling in at MLB, but he’s had a couple of moments. I’ve gone from giving Gerry’s drafting an F grade, to saying that he (and other young LB’s) need to get some defensive snaps this season, to NOW saying that the guy is doing better than any fill-in MLB we had last year. He’s still a tweener OLB/S though.

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) Neuter their defense: The idea was to have TE Zach Ertz (9 – 83 – 9.2 – 0) work the edges and pull an OLB with him, to diffuse the Redskins pass rush. While Ertz did work the middle and saw quite a bit of Safety attention, he also caught a few balls on the perimeter and at times had OLB Ryan Kerrigan (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) on him. That softened the defense and allowed us to run the ball effectively. DONE

2) Jump on their offense: The play where QB Colt McCoy (4/4 – 100% – 50 – 0 – 0) was injured, saw him scramble out of a near sack, only to look up and see SS Malcolm Jenkins (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) bringing the harm at 80mph. McCoy did what everyone tells QB’s to do, and he quickly went to the ground. However, when you play to not get hurt, is usually when you get hurt the worst. So yeah, that guy broke his ankle, and now his season is over. Enter the San-chize! When you scare a teams QB into hurting himself, and force them to bring in Mark Sanchez (13/21 – 61.9% – 100 – 0 – 1), I’m sure that counts as “jumping on an offense”. In fact, aside from that 90 yard touchdown run by Adrian Peterson (9 – 98 – 10.9 – 1 – 0), we more or less put the entire Redskins offense in a shoe box, then stabbed some air holes in that box with a pencil. Hopefully we only stabbed the box. I don’t really wanna lift the lid to look. DONE

3) Keep our balance: The idea was a formula like 31 passes to 27 runs (53% pass). Like last week. This week it was 43 called passes (4 scrambles) to 29 handoffs . That means 59% pass to 41% run. All season long, I’ve been calling for a 60/40 split at least. This hits that benchmark and, yet again, produces the “W”. DONE

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4) KISS on Defense: With the exception of that one touchdown run, our guys stayed at home, trusted their eyes, trusted their teammates, and executed solid assignment football. In particular I can think of two plays, one by Rasul Douglas and one by CB Cre’Von LeBlanc (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) that involved both players staying in their zones and making the open-field tackle. Football is blocking, tackling, and doing your job. It’s very simple if you keep it simple. Stupid. DONE

This week we smashed ass with a 4 of 4 Four Things score. I’m telling you, when they read these articles, we don’t lose! Just sayin… That brings this years tally to 21 of 48, so far. Next week vs Dallas, we get the Clubber Lang vs Rocky re-match. Watch Rocky III and you’ll see that it fits this very situation to a (Mr.) T.

On The Whole:

The swagger isn’t back yet, and that’s fine. Second place is no place for swagger. The work ethic never left. The love never left. Because of that, the resilience is back. That resilience showed when we got punched in the mouth in front of the nation.

That 90 yard run was a punch in the mouth. We took it, and we shook it off. Then we proceeded to bury our opponent. Nothing about that 28 – 13 score indicates that we we ever trailed 7 – 10.

Last year we took this division outright. This year we have to scrap, and scrape, and claw if we’re to get it back. Step one was maneuvering into position. Step two is actually getting to the top.

Once we’re there. We’ll start talking about how to defend our throne from teams like the Rams. This isn’t about any one game. It’s about taking the long view. It’s about not losing focus on the REAL mission.

But one step at a time.

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FOUR THINGS: WK 13: EAGLES-REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/30
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Fans, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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WHO’S ready to finally win two games in a row?! I know the fans are. I just hope the Eagles are too. Ready as in, prepared. Ready as in, motivated. Ready as in, not looking past this week’s opponent, just because their injury situation is suddenly as bad as (and arguably worse than), ours is.

Having dropped 3 of their last 4, then losing half an offensive line, plus their starting QB, by all indications the Redskins playoff hopes are dead in the water at 6 – 5. History, on the other hand, teaches that a wounded animal is often a very dangerous one.

The Eagles come into this game with a 5 – 6 record. Without having strung two wins together all season long, thus far. Our playoff hopes also look thin.

That is, until you do the math, and realize that a win this week and next, would put us at the head of the NFC East. Yes. That is a fact. Look it up. In fact, here’s a link to the standings: BOOM! 

However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there is this matter of the Redskins to attend to.

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

1) Neuter their defense: Get the ball downfield to TE Zach Ertz. Nothing of the quick 5 yard variety. The ball needs to be in the air for 8 to 10, and towards the sideline. Make the Redskins have to cover him with an OLB and nullify their own edge rush. That will also soften those edges for RB Josh Adams on pitches and stretch runs.

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2) Jump on their offense: QB Colt McCoy is a gutsy player. I actually like him. He plays the game the way fans can appreciate. Murder him. Take away the short quick passes and dial up the blitz. Kill this team quick. Do what we should have last week.

3) Keep our balance: Last week, offensive balance helped the Eagles erase a 16 point deficit. We looked like we were getting the hang of being balanced again. At no point did we have a swagger about us, but to me it kept looking like that was just over the next hill, or around the next corner. 31 passes to 27 runs. Those sort of numbers are what we need to shoot for this week as well.

4) KISS on Defense: Keep It Simple Stupid. We don’t need to do anything fancy to stop the run. Our players just need to trust what they see, and trust the man next to them. Set hard edges to keep the runner in front of a tackler, and then just hit our run fits. That’s it. Same as we did last year, and early this year.

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:

Eagles fans from Philadelphia are gonna hate me for saying this but: Trust the Process. Clawing back to the top is just that for us. It’s a process. A new Offensive Coordinator, a ton of injuries, a touch of complacency. We got knocked on our asses. Deservedly so.

Yet look at how we responded to it. Down 16 to a mange ridden cur last week. Perfect excuse to fold up, eat that 4 – 7 record and point to injuries as our easy out. All we had to do was lay down quietly. Sleep until September.

NOPE! We fought. And we aren’t done fighting. Some of these Secondary players from off the street got a taste of that. You think that hurt their confidence? Or maybe bolstered it?

Your Eagles will be prepared and motivated. Not because there are stakes. The stakes have always been there. They’ll be prepped and hyped, because they’re starting to feel it. The team isn’t there yet. Not yet. We need this second one in a row.

When we get it though…

PREDICTION: EAGLES 30 – Redskins 17

yeah-bitch

A POOR INTEGRATION

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/27
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WHEN the Eagles traded for Golden Tate, many fans were happy about it. Not me. I was the guy on social media asking, “Why did we trade for a 30 year old WR?” Now, 3 games, 11 catches, and just 97 yards later, many of the happy crowd are souring on Tate himself. And that’s not fair. He never had a chance at doing what the Eagles need.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh, said recently that he’s having trouble integrating Tate into the Offense. Which makes total sense. When last year’s OC Frank Reich left to be the head man in Indianapolis, the Eagles had a no-brainer decision to make in promoting RB’s coach Duce Staley, to the OC spot. They goofed and instead gave the job to Groh, who isn’t nearly as seasoned as Staley. What we’re seeing from the Eagles Offense, is a poor integration of a position coach to a strategy coach.

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Golden Tate is a WR. You throw him the ball past the line of scrimmage. That is how you integrate him into an Offense. This attempt to cast him the role of injured RB Darren Sproles is why his integration has gone so poorly. On the surface it seems like he’s a natural fill-in for a guy like Sproles, but that’s where Groh not being as seasoned as Staley, hurts us the most. It’s what happens when an Offensive Coordinator (who’s trying to prove how clever he is), fucks up by putting the cart before the horse. Repeatedly.

With experience you gain not just knowledge (knowing how to do something), but wisdom (knowing why you do, or don’t do, something). Tate is similar to Sproles only on the surface. A WR thinks differently than a RB does. They have different intrinsic purposes, and so they are used differently. If a player like Darren Sproles could be manufactured by putting a WR in the backfield, then every team would have one or two. But it doesn’t work that way. Staley knows that. Groh obviously does not.

Tate isn’t a deep threat. He’s not a jump ball winner. He’s not a red zone dominator. He’s a guy who gets the ball in space and makes extra yardage. Basically he’s a Slot receiver. The easiest and most traditional way to work a Slot in, is to line him up on the weakside of the formation, and throw him passes that stretch the defense horizontally, or quick dumps over a blitz. There. Done. Integrated.

This would be apparent to an OC who himself wasn’t being integrated. Then again, given Staley’s background coaching RB’s who catch the ball (Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement), the Tate trade likely wouldn’t have even happened if he’d gotten the OC post. He’d have probably asked to get RB LeGarrette Blount back, so we could run over some people.Duce Staley.jpg

At least that’s what I’d have asked for. 

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK12 :GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/26
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FOR all those who say “Pederson can’t coach!” or “Pederson’s lost the team!” or “We should tank!” The Eagles have a message for you:

cup of shut upThis was one of those wins which shows the character of a team. Most teams staring down the barrel of an early 3 – 19 deficit, would just mail in the rest of the game. Given the extent of our injuries, the Eagles had a “ready-made excuse” to wrap themselves in. But that’s not what they did. They instead elected to fight. They gave themselves a punchers chance, and in the end, our guys stood victorious.

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EAGLES 25 – giants 22

Rookie RB Josh Adams (22 – 84 – 3.8 – 1 – 0 ) and RB Corey Clement (5 – 45 – 9.0 – 0 – 0) gave the Eagles the running game that we’ve all been craving, since RB Wendell Smallwood (no carries) took over as the starter. Adding 3 sacks to the 28 attempts by QB Carson Wentz (20/28 – 236 – 71.4% – 1 – 0), there were 31 passing plays to 27 called runs. Our play selection was 53% pass and 47% run. You know what that is? It’s BALANCE! We achieved actual offensive balance.

Watching SS Malcolm Jenkins (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) wrap his mitts around a pass intended for giants WR Odell Beckham (5 – 85 – 17.0 – 0) got me onto my feet, and doing the world’s most uncoordinated Floss. Even worse than these people.  (I hit me in my pee-pee. But I didn’t care! INTERCEPTION!!). The return of our pass rush, and our OLB’s ability to make tackles for losses, spoke volumes about how much we’d been missing the presence of DT Timmy Jernigan (no stats).

For the first time this year, Special Teams makes an appearance in one of these articles. The punting was phenomenal. P Cam Johnston (4 – 201 – 50.2 – 2 – 59L) averaged 50 per boot, while pinning the giants inside the 20, twice. He nearly managed to get a third punt downed inside the 5, but slightly out-kicked his coverage. K Jake Elliott (3/3 – 100% – 43L) for a second year in a row used his big toe to doom the giants, prompting Eagles announcer Merrill Reese to dub him the “Giants Killer”.

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) Feed the pig! Feed the pig!: Let’s get RB Josh Adams 18 handoffs, is what I said. He got 22. Running is important. Even when a run ends up for a loss. Actual handoffs lead to opponents showing a lot more respect to play-action. This helps the Offensive Linemen block, which helps the QB keep the offense running on schedule. DONE.

2) Box that boy: In two games this year, giants WR Odell Beckham has a total stat line of 11 – 129 – 11.7 – 0 vs. Philly. Keep in mind that we’ve been struggling with our Secondary all year. WOW, right? Here’s some more WOW. This last game showed the world that the Eagles can contain Beckham with guys off the street. DONE.

3) Charge the ‘A’ gaps: We did none of that in the first half. I guess Head Coach Doug Pederson must have read Four Things to the locker room, during half-time. We came out, got on it, erased a deficit, took a lead, and won the game. DONE.

4) Fuck the crumbs: We didn’t make a big deal of going deep. (Maybe next week?) Instead we focused on a ball-control form of passing. The result was leading in time of possession 32 minute to the giants 27. That gave our Defense enough of a breather to play fast, while limiting the exposure of our inexperienced Secondary. NOT DONE.

This weeks score is 3 of 4 things done. The season score of 17 of 44 is still atrocious, but this week’s 3 of 4, beats the hell out of 0 of 8 for the prior two weeks. Baby steps. Next week we get a Redskins which currently sits at #2 in the division.

On The Whole:

Yes, it was sloppy. Yes, we had some self-inflicted wounds. That said, this was a great character win. It was a comeback, defending home turf, against a hated rival. We won with poise, balance and a little bit of grit for a change.

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Injuries are a circumstance, not an excuse. So if we’re going to be relying on these inexperienced players, then our defensive coaches may want to drill players on things like run-fits, and route re-directs. We made some things harder than they needed to be out there, and it will kill us if we don’t get them fixed.

It’s so nice to add a new killer to our roster. Jake “giant Killer” Elliott, to go along with Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks. Now we need to find a guy who habitually murders Redksins. Do we have any players named Andrew Jackson?

FOUR THINGS: WK12: EAGLES-GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/23
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

 

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GET UP YOU SON OF A BITCH!

We still control our own destiny. That’s a fact. From here out if we run the table vs our division, and finish even 9 – 7, we can make a comeback, and still win the East. This game is part of that comeback. This game, is that first step.

This game isn’t about what our opponent does. It’s about what we do. This season has been all about what we have, and what we haven’t done. We need our team to spend less time calling folks out, and spend more time making big plays.

We need G Isaac Seumalo to lock-out his assignments. We need LB Nigel Braham to make de-cleating tackles in the flat. We need RB Josh Adams to run angry. We need CB Sidney Jones to take the ball away. We need coaches like Jim Schwartz to show a new wrinkle here and there. Those are all internal things. Look in the mirror things.

Last time we faced the giants, their rookie RB piled up something like 1,000,005 yards. And they still got blown out, didn’t they? Damned straight they did. Because it wasn’t about them. It was about US doing the things that winners do. The Eagles need to focus on the Eagles jobs. Not fans, nor the locker room, just the job. Doing that will get us the sweep, and bring us one step closer to our division crown.

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

1) Feed the pig! Feed the pig!: RB Josh Adams is a more physical runner than we had the last time we faced this team. We need to establish to the NFL that we can pound the body again, and the giants are the perfect bitch to put on the poster for what we can do again. Feed that young’un the pig. Let’s get at least 18 handoffs into his belly, like we did with Wendell Smallwood in Week 6.

2) Box that boy: Don’t let WR Odell Beckham have the sideline. Don’t double him outright, but keep him bracketed where the FS can reach him with a hit. Beckham will see a fair amount of targets, even if he’s well covered. Forcing QB Eli Manning to throw the ball into a tighter window, could result in one (or more) of those delicious turnovers he likes to feed defenses. (This worked so well last time, I didn’t want to jinx it by changing a single space, syllable, or comma. So I just copy and pasted this onto the end.)

3) Charge the ‘A’ gaps: With DT Timmy Jernigan back, we now have a level of “up the gut” pass rush, that we’ve lacked since Week 8 last year. (After MLB Jordan Hicks got hurt, the Eagles DT’s were asked to do different things to compensate.) How big was that? Here is DT Fletcher Cox’s 2017 season. Notice the fall-off after Week 8? Well we’re full-go now. So, crash the gaps, invert the opponents offensive line and force them into a ton of screen passes.

4) Fuck the crumbs: Once the run game is going, play-action and the deep ball will pop open. Why throw short if we can cut deep and savagely? Again, this game is to serve notice to the NFL. We have the Rams coming up. Our offensive players need to know that they still have “It”. Treat the giants like a speed-bump, and make the NFL pissed at the Saints for waking us up. THROW. IT. DEEP.

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:

Pride. We may be chasing the division now, but right now pride is what we need to be playing for. The desire to punch another group of men in the mouth is what we need to show out there. The reality is, some people in this organization have it and some don’t.

QB Carson Wentz has it. HC Doug Pederson has it. SS Malcolm Jenkins has it. DT Fletcher Cox has it. RB Corey Clement has it. RT Lane Johnson, and LT Jason Peters have it. DB Tre Sullivan has it. G Stefen Wisniewski has it. DE Brandon Graham has it. DB Avonte Maddox has it.

G Isaac Seumalo doesn’t. CB Sidney Jones doesn’t. DC Jim Schwartz doesn’t. RB Wendell Smallwood doesn’t. WR Nelson Agholor doesn’t.

A lot of other players are either sort of in that middle, or like rookies RB Josh Adams, DE Josh Sweat, and TE Dallas Goedert, we haven’t seen them enough to know yet.

This game is going to come down to how bad the Eagles want to win it. On paper (even with injuries), we’re still the better team. We have the talent, and the depth to do this. It’s just going to come down to how much we want it.

All foreplay aside, despite the giants recent renaissance, they should still lose on Sunday. They can’t stop our run game, they can’t stop our passing game, they still can’t protect their QB, and most importantly, we aren’t San Francisco or Tampa Bay. Oh yeah. Those are the two wins that the NFL has been blowing them over. This one should be cake.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – giants 17

yeah-bitch

THE DOOMSDAY SCENARIO

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/21
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, playoffs, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DESPITE an awful season so far, we’re still just 2 games out of first place with 6 games to play, 4 of which are against division opponents. We still control our own destiny as far as winning the NFC East goes. However, let me indulge those who say the season is already over. Let’s talk about the worst case scenario for 2018.

Lets say the Eagles fall off a cliff, lose all of the next 6 games, and end up 4 – 12. What does that mean for us?

1) It means the Eagles would likely pick in the top five in every round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

We have a good nucleus to build around, and an ass ton of Draft picks to work with. We already have a franchise QB, a solid RT, 2 blue chip TE’s, a solid WR group, youth at CB, a blue chip DT, a young star at DE, 2 solid starters at LB, a K that we can grow old with, a utility RB who may still have some up side, and a third string QB who would be fine as a second stringer.

We need a bell-cow RB, some youth on the interior Offensive Line, youth at Safety, a third LB, and a second DE.

2) It means we (should) get a 2019 schedule with fewer playoff teams on it.

In 2017 we came off of a 7-9 season, and had a schedule that included the Seahawks, Raiders, Chiefs, all 2016 playoff teams. add to that four games against division rivals (Cowboys and giants) who were playoff teams. Coming off of a losing record, we played half a season against playoff contender class teams. If 2019 is easy, so what? We’re owed an easy schedule year.

3) What are the odds that the injury bug bite this hard THREE years in a row?

It’s already weird that it’s biting this hard for a second straight year. So next year we’ll likely be healthier. (Then again, I thought the same thing for this season.) Aging, oft injured vets like RB Darren Sproles and LT Jason Peters will likely not be back. So those annual nagging injuries won’t be part of the 2019 landscape.

4) It means that this next offseason will not be spent writing books and such.

I don’t begrudge the players for basking in what could be once in a lifetime limelight. However, the fact is, those hungry dogs became so well fed, that they had trouble rolling over onto their legs. A 4 – 12 finish would mean that, Summer with Carson up in Fargo this year would have a different feel than it did last year.

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This is all provided that the Eagles year gets worse. In the event of a worst case 2018, the foreseeable future still looks pretty good. In fact, it could be argued that a bad 2018 could be used to our long-term advantage.

This isn’t justifying losing. It’s not spin, rose-tinted glasses, or tireless optimism. It’s about getting up when we fall down. It’s not about glass half-full, or glass half-empty. Its about seeing in either case, that the glass needs to be completely filled. 

 

As long as we’re still mathematically alive for any sort of playoff run, this team has no right to tank. Players like Peters, Sproles and Carson Wentz deserve better effort than that. That said, even if the season does go full-blown Hindenburg, there’s no reason to hang your heads Eagles fans. One way or another we’ll come out ahead of this.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK11 : Saints

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/19
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

YEAH we got shit-canned. The only bright spot of the game, was not having a 50-burger dropped on us. To make things worse, plenty of injuries were added to the insult. Time to abandon the season, disband the team, and burn down the Linc, right? Sheesh. Don’t be a dope.

Despite the low-point that was yesterday, we’re still just 2 games out, with 6 games left, 4 of which are divisional. At 4 – 6 we literally STILL control our own destiny.

princess bride - vizzini + fezzik

Eagles 7 – Saints 48

Deebo

Part of me feels like the Saints are still out there scoring touchdowns on us, despite the game being over for most of a day. But I’m going to sit here and try to pick gnat shit out of pepper, in an attempt to not be as negative as most fans have been, for the last few weeks. (My tweezers, please!)

On Offense, RB Josh Adams (7 – 53 – 7.5 – 1 – 0) got the start, and he made the most of his 7 carries, including a nice 28 yard burst up the gut, for our only score of the game.

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On Defense, weeee… got to see a lot of the Eagles bench? We held the Saints to as many points as they wanted? We didn’t get a single roughing the passer penalty, and no one dropped his full weight on the opposing QB? Are these positives? I can’t tell. Ever since I started this scream yesterday, I haven’t been able to stop. So I’m somewhat disoriented right now.

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 the ball: 25 carries, remember that? Even in a losing effort, we could have taken the time to run a few more handoffs. If only to get Adams’s feet a little more wet. Instead we (as a team) ran the ball a whopping 12 times. Yeah. NOT DONE.

2) Hit the QB: The opposing QB may not even have to launder his jersey this week. I think when he left the game, his jersey was cleaner than when he started it. NOT DONE.

3) Dictate the passes: Huh? What? NOT DONE.

4) Go deep early: That intercepted bomb to a double covered WR Nelson Agholor (zero – none – nada.0 – goose egg) was a thing of beauty wasn’t it? NOT DONE.

This weeks Four Things score is brought to you by the producers of Groundhog Day. For a second consecutive week, we went 0 – 4, bringing the season tally to 14 of 40 (.350). Next week we get a hot giants team riding a 1 game win streak. Look out!

On The Whole:

I honestly didn’t expect a win. I predicted a loss. I did however, expect that even if we allowed a bunch of touchdowns, we’d score enough to keep the game interesting. Instead, the Eagles straddled the Thanksgiving table, and dideth layeth a big ass turd upon the bird. And we have to live with this shit for a week. I have to eat Thanksgiving dinner with this taste in my mouth.

If there were any justice in the world, Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz would get egged on the street. Daily. His inability to make adjustments, is worse than the damned injuries! Just ONCE I’d like to see something like a Fire Zone Blitz from this team. Just to show some creativity. There is too much talent on our Defensive Line to not be able to get within a 50$ cab ride of the QB. Yet it’s happening more and more.

sad fans

We’re not HERE, but yesterday WAS awful.