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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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