FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 2: BUCCANEERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/17
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST year (almost to the day), we lost 20 – 27 to the Chiefs, and I wrote something eerily prophetic about our championship run. If you were in any way disheartened by this loss, or you feel the Eagles are missing something, I urge you to re-read that review. It will help to put this game into perspective.

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Eagles 21 – Buccaneers 27

Due to a vicious rash of injuries (some of which started last year), we had to dig very deep into the roster this week. Receivers like TE Joshua Perkins (4 – 57 – 14.2 – 0) and WR Kamar Aiken (5 – 39 – 7.8 – 0) were making serious contributions, with the game still in contention.

Starting RB Jay Ajayi (7 – 23 – 3.2 – 1 – 0) spent much of the game on the sideline getting treatment on his back. Meanwhile RB Corey Clement (6 – 30 – 5.0 – 1 – 0 / 5 – 55 – 11.0 – 0), and RB Wendell Smallwood (7 – 28 – 4.0 – 0 – 0), picked up the slack in our ground game.

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The biggest head scratcher was QB Nick Foles (35/48 – 72.9% – 334 – 1 – 0). While many fans seem quick to bail on him, I’m going to talk about why I think he look the way he does. (But this article isn’t the place to do that. This drops Monday, that one drops Tuesday.)

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) Chasing Private Ryan: We managed to get two sacks and a few hurries on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (27/33 – 81.8% – 402 – 4 – 1), but most of that was in the first half. With temperatures on the field reaching 102 degrees, our Defense simply didn’t have the same snap in the second half of the game. As a result, instead of allowing Fitzpatrick to complete 75% of his passes like he did against the Saints, we allowed him to complete 82%. No defense can survive that. NOT DONE

2) Run the rock: Our play selection was 48 passes to 24 runs. Three of those runs were by Nick Foles, two of which were QB Sneaks on 4th down. One was a 2 yard, (direct snap) Jet Sweep to WR Nelson Agholor (8rec – 88 – 11.0 – 1). That’s 48 passes to 20 hand-offs, against an undersized front seven which surrendered 81 yards and 2 touchdowns to our RB’s (4.0 per tote). This was a horrendous missed opportunity. NOT DONE

3) Play Cover Two: I specifically said that CB Jalen Mills (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) shouldn’t be matched up with WR DeSean Jackson (4 – 129 – 32.2 – 1). Djax drew Mills on the first play of the game, and tore his asshole open for a 75 yard score. WR Mike Evans (10 – 83 – 8.3 – 1) also victimized Mills for a 4 yard score. And still we STAYED in Single-high coverage despite the fact that it hardly even slowed down a journeyman QB. NOT DONE

4) Heavy play-action: This is a tough one. We sorta did this one, but we really didn’t do it at all. You can’t really employ play-action if you aren’t really running the ball. Also, play-action requires a QB to move after faking the hand-off. Many times Foles would fake it and then stand tall in the pocket. So while he went through the motions, he never bothered to sell it. That wouldn’t be so frustrating if we didn’t all know that Foles can and has, sold snake oil to defenses. NOT DONE

That brings this week’s Four Things score to 0 for 4, which puts us at 3 for 8 on the year. Word has been handed down that QB Carson Wentz will be cleared for contact this week. This has people (not me), hoping he starts at home, next week against the Colts. Hopefully the Eagles will give Wentz a week of shakedown time, and we’ll see Foles again.

On The Whole:

This is what happens when the Eagles skip a week of reading these articles. Let this loss serve as a lesson, Doug! And now I can begin to bitch about this loss, in earnest.

I’m kidding, I have nothing to bitch about. While this was a dumb loss, which I lay it at the feet of the coaching staff, I think we needed this sort of fight. It’s the start of the season, and we’re already the Walking Wounded. Plus we didn’t look great in the preseason.

This game had guys fighting though injury to play, and guys practically off the street, playing significant roles. This was a game where guys got a chance to step up and show what they can do, and maybe change the coaching staff’s mind about their place on the depth chart. This was a chance for our starters to get a look at their back-ups and to be motivated by what they see.

This game was a chance for this team to measure whether or not the players have enough fight in them. This was a chance to see if there were any quitters on the team, so that they can be weeded out early on.

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I’m proud to say that I didn’t see that out there. Even the announcers remarked how there was no panic on our sideline. We looked and acted like champions out there. Even the new guys. Dumb loss, but not a bad one.

FOUR THINGS: WK 2: EAGLES-BUCCANEERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/13
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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WITH QB’s Carson Wentz and Jameis Winston out for this one, most writers will want to talk about how this game is a battle of the back-up QB’s. For my part, I want to talk about the teams, not the QB’s.

Last week our Eagles struggled against the Falcons, but this weeks opponent won a shootout with the Saints. It would seem that we have have our work cut out for us, when we visit their house this Sunday, right?

Relax. This game isn’t going to be nearly as tough as it looks on paper. In football (just like boxing), styles make fights. The Saints team that the Bucs beat last week is basically a finesse team. It’s not a team that’s really built for a fist-fight. Actually the entire NFC South shares that affliction. I mean, do you see what we keep doing to that division? It’s because we’re built to beat even tough opponents, and they are nowhere close to tough.

I won’t keep you in suspense with this one. We’re gonna haul off and punch Tampax Bay square in the mouth. If the game is still in contention in the fourth quarter, it’ll shock me to my core.

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

1) Chasing Private Ryan: Last week vs New Orleans, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 21/28 passes (75%), for 4 TD’s, no picks, and an average of 14.9 per attempt. Not per completion, per attempt. With no sacks. That’s how little heat the Saints got on the QB. The worst part of that, is that the Bucs O-line isn’t that good. Fitzie won’t see such an easy week against the Eagles defensive front. In fact, Tampa may have to put out their other back-up named Ryan. QB Ryan Griffin is in his 6th year and has never thrown a regular season pass. Don’t be surprised if you see him:

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2) Run the rock: You may have already heard that the Bucs have allowed the second fewest rushing yards in the NFL so far. It’s a mirage. Last week the Saints ran the ball a TOTAL of 13 times, despite leading for most of the first half, and never really being out of the game. Saints play selection was 45 passes to 13 runs. In fact, the Saints leading rusher had more catches (9) than carries (8). Being a finesse team, they didn’t even try to take advantage of Tampa’s smallish linebacking group. This week we need to not get cute and just feed the Bucs an early diet of trap runs, sweeps, and tosses. Then we should follow it up with a later diet of runs up the gut, once they’re tired.

3) Play Cover Two: We have to find a way to keep a lid on Tampa’s WR’s. DeSean Jackson had one the better games of his career last week. He torched the Saints secondary for 146 and two scores on just five catches, and Mike Williams had 147 and a score of his own. The Bucs like to play 2WR’s, and 2TE’s, so the need for a Nickel CB shouldn’t be as pronounced as usual. That means we should be able to play our base scheme, and can keep SS Malcolm Jenkins card.malcolm.jenkins3 out of the box and back in coverage. As far as the boundaries, CB Ronald Darby is probably our only DB who can stay with Djax, so we have to be careful not to let him get matched up with someone like CB Jalen Mills.

4) Heavy play-action: One of the benefits of running the ball a lot, is that it helps to set-up the fake. Whether it’s buying time for receivers to get deep, setting up a backside Screen, or just getting this guy,

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out on a bootleg, or designed run. (Or another pass.) Heavy play-action this week, could be deadly against a team that emphasizes speed to the ball. Getting them repeatedly out of position, or even better, making them hesitate later in the game, only makes it easier to put this game in our win column.

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:

Old school wisdom: When you go on the road, pack your Defense and your run game. Given how ineffective our 31st ranked passing attack was, and that we’re still without two key pieces, we’ll likely get off the bus running the ball. Since their LB’s can’t contain both RB Jay Ajayi (in the box) and TE Zach Ertz (on the seam), at the same time, you can expect one to have a big day.

Our Defensive Line should be too much for the Bucs offensive line, so expect us to give Ryan, fitz. (See what I did there?) Getting back OLB Nigel Bradham this week, should go along way towards keeping Tampa’s lackluster RB’s in check.

Despite being on the road, this is one that we should take pretty easily. Tampa is weak in all the places that we meet with a strength. We on the other hand, have weaknesses (injuries, LB depth) that Tampa is ill-equipped to exploit. This shouldn’t be a hard game to win.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Buccaneers 13

yeah-bitch

SLOW LEARNERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/08
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Rants, Reviews, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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REGARDLESS of how often we show it, so-called experts keep misunderstanding it. Even when we slow it down, it’s still too fast for them. Let me say this in small words, and plain English:

Dear NFL, You can’t fuck with the Eagles.

Time Machine. Last year. Week 6. Best team in the league, but they kept saying we hadn’t played anybody. Okay. So in front of a national audience, during prime time, we went to the Carolina Panthers house, kicked in their door, dropped their body in a box, put a bow on it, and strolled the fuck out. People gave us credit for the win, but still didn’t buy in.

We spent the next five weeks averaging 37 points per game. Hit a snag with a loss to Seattle and pundits were convinced that the tough part of our schedule had caught up to us. Finally they would be right about us.

With a game against the Rams next, “experts” were already writing us off. We responded by shooting it out with L.A. Then we lost our QB to a season-ending injury. The Rams then took a 35 – 31 lead. No problem. Our back-up QB led two scoring drives, and we were up 37 – 35. We salted the win away with a fumble return for a TD.

At that point we had secured a playoff berth, but since our starting QB was out, idiots counted us out and figured us for a first round exit. We responded by locking down the first round bye. Still it wasn’t enough to convince them.

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We entered the playoffs with the best record in the NFL, but were underdogs in the divisional playoff game. So we took out the Falcons in a war of attrition. Did we convince anyone? Nope.

We entered the NFC championship as underdogs. What happened? In front of the free world, we butchered the Vikings like pigs. Now come on, we’d get respect for sure, right? Nope!

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We entered the Super Bowl as the underdog. After all, we were playing “the goat”, right? We slaughtered him, skinned him, salted him, and hung him to cure. To this day I don’t know which is the bigger trophy, the Lombardi or Brady’s carcass. NOW! Now we’d get our due respect, right? Right? Wrong.

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Week one of the new season, we were underdogs versus the Falcons team that we’d ground down in the playoffs. The result? We ground them down. Again. Now are we taken seriously? LMAO! NOPE!

It’s hilarious that these so-called experts, can’t see what has now been branded into history’s flesh. We’re the best. Even when running on reserves, we’re the best. How much clearer can we make it? Let me say it one more time: Dear NFL, you can’t fuck with the Eagles.

i'm right

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 1: ATLANTA FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/07
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WE went into the game missing key players. We went against a playoff team, which many thought we probably should have lost to, in the playoffs last year. We went into the game with our back-up QB opening the season. And what did we do? Oh yeah.

We won.

It wasn’t pretty. Then again, I flat out told you that it wouldn’t be. “War of attrition” is the term I used three days ago. NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth, reiterated those words during the game. I told you that our QB would be solid, and he was. He wasn’t great, but he did a solid job of managing a shorthanded unit. And what did we do? I said, what did we do?! Oh yeah, we did this:

EAGLES 18 – Falcons 12

Last night, the team that scored the last touchdown of the 2017 season, scored the first touchdown of the 2018 season. For the third straight game against the Falcons, an Eagles QB didn’t throw a single touchdown pass. For the third straight game against the Falcons, it didn’t matter, and the Eagles won anyway.

Back-up QB Nick Foles (19/34 – 55.8 – 117 – 0 – 1) played caretaker of a unit which despite it’s struggles, still managed to go 8/16 (50%) on third down. Atlanta only managed 4/15 (26%), despite having an All-Pro WR for their All-Pro QB to throw to. We also converted 2/3 (66%) of our red zone trips into touchdowns, while our opponent only managed a meager 1/5 (20%).

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) Lean on the run:

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27 rushes, 114 yards, 4.2 per tote and two touchdowns. RB Darren Sproles (5 – 10 – 2.0 – 0 – 0 / 4 – 22 – 5.5 – 0) got a little too much early work for my taste. However, RB Jay Ajayi (15 – 62 – 4.1 – 2 – 0) ended up at the head of the table in touches, which should be the case for a starter. RB Corey Clement (5 – 26 – 5.2 – 0 – 0) got most of his yards on a 21 yard jaunt up the middle. It was good to see him get the work, but he needs to trust his line, lose the stutter step, and just hit the hole. On a night when offense was hard to come by, the Eagles didn’t abandon the run and just start chucking the pig. As a result Philadelphia was rewarded with the win. DONE

2) Chase that bird: We needed to pressure the Falcons QB Matt Ryan (21/43 – 48.8% – 251 – 0 – 1), and that’s just what we did, limiting the All-Pro QB to a QB rating of just 57.4. That pressure helped CB Rasul Douglas (0 – 0 – 1 – 0) snag an interception off of Ryan. He was sacked 4 times, including 1.5 by DE Chris Long (4 – 1.5 – 0 – 1) who also forced a fumble. While Ryan saw pressure from the edges, he also got it from up the gut. MLB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks (7 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) and DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) contributed pressure from the inside. As a result, the Falcons offense took off like a lead balloon. DONE

3) Go for the knockout: We really didn’t try to establish the deep ball. By that, I don’t mean we didn’t throw it deep, enough times. I mean that the play-calling didn’t seem at all geared towards stretching the defense vertically. NOT DONE

4) Win hidden yardage: Field position makes a difference. Especially on a night where points and offensive yardage are both at a premium. Last night, both teams earned over 100 penalty yards, apiece. The Falcons surrendered 135 to the Eagles 101. Also Special teams yards saw the Falcons generate 11 yards on 2 punt returns, and zero on kickoffs. Meanwhile, the Eagles racked up 29 on punt returns and 43 on kickoffs. The Falcons managed 20 yards on an interception return, while the Eagles produced zero yards on the teams only theft. Still, overall the Eagles still did better with hidden yardage than our opponent. DONE

So the Eagles begin the season with a Four Things score of 3 out of 4 (75%). Next week we travel to Tampa Bay for the battle of the second string QB’s.

On The Whole:

A gritty win over a playoff team is a great way to start a season, and let the world know that 2017 was no fluke. I didn’t watch this game with disgust, nor disappointment, nor boredom. I watched it with hope.

In this game I saw what we could be, when we get all of our pieces back. Consider that the last two times we faced Atlanta, we didn’t have many of our key guys. This game was a street fight, and we won it while sending Falcon after Falcon to the sideline for medical evaluation. Dear NFL: You are NOT ready for us.

OH THEM HIDDEN FEES!

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

 

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OAKLAND’S Raiders are my second favorite NFL team, so I feel a need to offer a few words regarding the “The Trade”. I just didn’t think it would be right to do it before I released this week’s Four Things article. Having done that more than 24 hours ago, I feel like it’s now appropriate to me to weigh in.

Don’t get me wrong, DE Khalil Mack is the sort of guy every NFL fan, teammate, coach, GM and owner, wants on their team. From a talent standpoint, losing him hurts the Raiders. No Silver and Black fan can just look at this trade and shrug over it.

However, it’s not nearly as bad for the Raiders as the media is making it sound. While many are quick to judge it by what Oakland lost, I’m not sure that anybody is really asking: “Well what did Chicago gain?” I mean, everybody is asking that question, but I doubt anybody is REALLY asking that question. Because we all know that Mack did well for himself. 

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Understand, while Mack was on the team, the Raiders had a record of 28 – 36. With him, the defense has never finished higher than 21st in yards or 20th in points. Despite his individual sack numbers over the years, the Raiders have never been able to parlay that into an effect which the entire unit could capitalize on. (The Eagles for example, got as much pass-rush as any team in 2017, despite not having a single double digit sack artist.)

The Raiders had 31 sacks in 2017, 25 in 2016, 38 in 2015 and 22 in 2014. They averaged 29 sacks a year with Mack. If they meet or exceed 29 sacks in 2018, it will mathematically be saying that they became more effective as a team, in his absence. And that’s without factoring in whether or not the two first round picks they got for him, turn into decent players.

While I have no idea what Mack and his agent initially asked Oakland for in negotiations, the 6 year, 141M$ extension, gives a hell of a hint. The idea of paying a single DE, 20M$ per year, had to have Oakland thinking “Why?” “Where are the results?” “Six years of paying for more 28 – 36?” From that was born “The Trade”.

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The burden for proving this trade wise isn’t on the Raiders. It never was. The price Oakland paid is all up front. It’s a done deal now. There are no hidden costs or fees on this transaction for them. In exchange for one player, this could become “The Great Trade Robbery 2.0”. The same can’t be said for the Bears. For them this trade is all about what comes next, and that can’t be accurately judged today.

The Bears haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010. That was the last time they won the division. In fact, the last FOUR times the Bears went to the playoffs, they had to win the division to do it. The last time they made the postseason without winning their division, was 1994. Back then it was the NFC Central and there were five teams in it (Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit and Tampa Bay).

When you ink a guy to 22M a year, you’re chasing playoff success. If the Bears win one Super Bowl during Mack’s contract, the trade is great one. If they see the Conference championship 3 of those years, it’s a good trade. If they win the division 4 of those years, (even if they make quick exits), it’s still a successful trade, because it changes the focal point of the division. However, anything short of that is utter failure.

 

FOUR THINGS: WK 1: EAGLES/FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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DON’T let the sports media over-hype this game. This is not a title defense, because this is football, not boxing. Even if we (somehow) lost this game, we wouldn’t have to hand over our Super Bowl trophy. This isn’t a title defense, or even a playoff game. It’s one of sixteen down payments on a playoff berth. That’s it. Now let’s get down to it.

NFL Network reporter Randy Moss, said that the Falcons are looking for revenge against the Eagles, for putting them out of the playoffs last year. He said that aside from Atlanta players and fans, no one really remembers that they almost beat us in that game. He’s wrong on both counts.

First, there is no avenging a playoff loss with a regular season win. For eliminating Atlanta, Philadelphia was rewarded with another playoff game. IF they beat us this week, they’d be rewarded with, (drum roll)…Week #2. Second, winning by five points sucked. We want to beat them by more this time. Like we did in 2016 (Eagles 24 – them 15). You know, when they had pretty much the same team that we just beat 15 – 10 in the playoffs. Which is pretty much the same team they have now. (Are you seeing the pattern, Eagles fans?)

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

1) Lean on the run: Even if it seems like it’s not working. Whenever QB Carson Wentz gets back, it would be unfair to saddle him with having to carry the Offense. That means we have to get our ground game established. Since we gave our starters the preseason off, we have to start getting things ironed out as early in the year as we can. Seeing RB Jay Ajayi carry the ball 17 times for 82 yards (and RB Corey Clement carry 6 times for 33) would be a solid opening.

2) Chase that bird:

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We need to get some pressure up the gut from DT’s Fletcher Cox and Destiny Vaeao. The Falcons QB is (how do I say this gently?) not a very nimble creature. If we can get him off his spot, alter his launch point, and keep him from stepping into throws, it increases our chances of him serving up some warm turnovers.

3) Go for the knockout: WR Mike Wallace is a true deep threat and we should come out making that point. While Wallace’s proficiency with running Slant routes is nice, the fact that he can take the top off of defenses, should help loosen the box, and give our run game room to operate. That being said, we have to at least threaten opponents with him early, or they won’t respect his presence.

4) Win hidden yardage: Of the last 39 points we’ve scored against Atlanta, 19 came off of a Kicker’s toe. A quick KO would be great, but recent games against the Falcons have been wars of attrition. We need to go in expecting to have that kind of a fight.

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 crowd will pick up where it left off, and will be so loud, that the Falcons will have to burn early timeouts to prevent penalties and miscues. QB Nick Foles will be solid. The Eagles will push the Falcons undersized defensive front around, when running the ball. We’ll also use their speed against them, with misdirection plays that pull defenders out of position. WR Julio Jones will catch 9 or 10 balls for 110 or so yards. Atlanta is a play from ahead type team, that’s going to find themselves in a street fight. They’re a plucky bunch, but they simply lack the power to put away a brawler. They just aren’t built for winning that way, which is why we will keep beating them.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Falcons 16

yeah-bitch

A NEW START

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/08/31
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TIME 2GRIND

WHEN all the dust had settled from every game of the 2017 season, the Eagles were the last team standing. We’d defeated “the goat” with “The Back-up”. The number one seed with the NFL’s best record, that was somehow an underdog, proved to be neither fluke nor mirage. We were the Champions.

Were.

The 2017 season is over with now. It’s done. Finished. History. Preseason has also (mercifully) come to an end. Now we stand on precipice of the 2018 season, and to be called Champions again, we have to do it all over again. Being good last year, means nothing this year. We’re starting 2018 from the bottom. Just like everybody else in the NFL.

May 23rd was the last time I wrote for you. After the death of my Mother in April, thinking about football became difficult. Scratch that. Focusing on the small details is what became difficult. A few personal difficulties thrown in after that, made that focus impossible.

Understand, I wanted to write. I needed to write. However, when I reached down to find my voice…there was nothing. Years of being able to simply summon knowledge and conjure articles, meant nothing this summer. So this is me starting 2018 from the bottom. Just like the Eagles.

Granted, the Eagles didn’t offer much inspiration. With them choosing not to playing key players, I couldn’t get a good look to do a real evaluation. So I didn’t even try to write a Four Things Preview for these preseason games. Why would I? Just imagine me writing:

Given that none of our starting skill players are dressing this week vs Cleveland, what we’re looking for, is RB Wendell Smallwood to rush for at least 50 yards in the first half. (That way he can avoid having to flip burgers three weeks from now.) Given the Eagles ultra-vanilla approach this preseason, you have to wonder how much time the announcers will spend verbally fellating Browns DE Myles Garrett, since he’ll be one-on-one with LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and Smallwood is gutter trash at blitz pick-up. (“Would you like fries with that?”)

They gave me no inspiration, so I had no words to offer.

A football season and Life. Neither is sprint. They are marathons. Like me, the Eagles still have things to iron out. Like the Eagles, I have the depth to make it all the way back. So for me and for our Eagles, the 2018 season is

ANUSTART

Tobias gets FUNKE! (LOL)

EAGLES LINEBACKER SITUATION

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/05/23
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

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LINEBACKER Mychal Kendricks was released yesterday. Not long after that, Free Agent acquistion, LB Paul Worrilow, tore his ACL on the first day of OTA’s, effectively ending his 2018 before it started. Given our LB woes from last season after MLB Jordan Hicks went down, Eagles fans are already nervous about where we go from here.

I’m here to say: RELAX. We got this.

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The NFL is loaded to the gills with options for us to cherry-pick a starting caliber LB by July.

Examples would be:

1) Cincinnati’s Vontaze Burfict. Rumors about him being traded to Oakland already were out in March, and that was before the Bengals drafted LB Malik Jefferson in the 3rd round of the 2018 Draft.

2) Speaking of the Draft, Chicago grabbed a LB with their first pick, and they have an absolute glut of 13 bodies at that postion. Most teams roll with 6 to 9, depending on their system. If we can get our grubby mitts on Nick Kwiatkoski, he’s a better option than Worrilow would have been.

3) The Redskins have 14 LB’s, most of which are either well-proven or have intriguing upsides. (Especially in Jim Schwartz’s system). There is no way they get through final cuts without leaving some talent on the cutting room floor. If I know that, they know that, and would rather get something over nothing for that talent. “Paging Howie Roseman!”

This isn’t even taking into account the number of veterans who’ll be June 1st cap casualties. (Looking at my watch) June 1st is how many minutes away? Yeah. We’ll be fine.

Take a deep breath, and remember what I said. RELAX.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/05/19
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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EAGLES fans have been so busy slapping each other on the back, congratulating ourselves, and singing the praises of GM Howie Roseman, that we almost missed something important. Almost.

Dallas might be teaching the NFL how to afford a QB in the 30 million per year, era. It’s not a lesson that Howie can follow, and you’ll understand why, as I explain why it’s going to work for Dallas (and other teams). It does however indicate, that the Cowboys front office is developing the ability to think ahead, and not just live one season at a time.

Cowboys QB, Dak Prescott, is about to be three quarters through his rookie deal, with Free Agency looming after the 2019 season. Given routine inflation, and any 2019 deals that could move the needle, Dallas clearly would be better served signing Prescott to a long-term extension after the 2018 season. That’s why there are conversations about this issue happening two seasons ahead.

Cowboys GM Stephen Jones said, just last Wednesday “You kind of, when the time comes, [expect to pay him]. I know Dak is going to have a good year this year. I hope it’s up there. It’s going to be as he deserves.”

He expects Prescott to have a good year? Really? How? By allowing his two primary weapons for 2017 to walk, and not replacing them? By shifting to a more run-oriented approach? By not improving the defense, which will force more shootouts which the Cowboys aren’t armed for? Seems like it will be hard for Prescott to even reach the 22.5 passing touchdown he’s averaged per season so far.

I find it interesting that the focus of the offseason has been to make the Cowboys offense more “Dak friendly”. Not more “Dak led” or “Dak keyed” or “Dak centered”. The term is “Dak friendly”. Look up each of those phrases, and tell me what you find. FYI: You’ll find more of THIS.

Whether most of their fan base accepts it or not, the Cowboys are in re-build mode. Understanding that they can’t compete for the division this year, their front office has decided to tank Prescott’s 2018, to help control their future costs. (Sort of like the Philadelphia 76ers tanked for years to contribute to “The Process”.)

The Cowboys went 13-3 in Prescott’s rookie year, then went 9-7 last year, with his play being reflective of both years. One more down year and he’ll look like a QB in regression, so he won’t “deserve” top dollar. From anyone. (Which helps keeps any bidding down.) At that point Dallas can sign him for multiple years, at a rate closer to 2016 top QB prices than to 2020’s top QB prices.

This is why Dallas isn’t getting him any real weapons. They’re capping his upside now, to be able to afford a team later. It’s a pretty cagey move on their part. Otherwise they’re stuck with creating holes all over their roster, to overpay their QB and RB in couple years.

The Eagles can’t follow that example, because now there is an air of extreme expectation among us fans. When the time comes, QB Carson Wentz will command a boatload of money, and many well-loved veterans are going to hit the cutting room floor, to make that affordable. Sorry Eagles fans, but it’s true. (Unless Howie has more tricks up his sleeve.)

That’s where these 11 draft picks fit in:

Rd    How acquired

1       Eagles’ own pick

2       Eagles’ own pick

3       Eagles’ own pick

4       Eagles’ own pick

4       Compensatory pick (Trey Burton)

5       Eagles’ own pick

6       Eagles’ own pick

6       Compensatory pick (Beau Allen)

6       Compensatory pick (Patrick Robinson)

7       Eagles’ own pick

7      (Conditional. Acquired from Broncos for Allen Barbre – Exact conditions not yet known)

Dallas has yet to learn how to leverage draft picks as well as Philadelphia does. That leaves them having to sacrifice the entire 2018 season, in order to control future costs.

Still, for anyone who’s scratching their heads over how and why Dallas is operating these days, now you get their plan. It’s pretty fool-proof too. I have to commend Dallas on this one. Which is why I’m hoping that Prescott has a great statistical year, despite the team being under .500 for the year.

Keep an eye on the Cowboys this year. This will be fun to watch. One way or the other.

Statler and Waldorf

MAJOR NFC EAST POWER SHIFT

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/05/10
Posted in: Conversations, NFC East, NFL, Preview, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

NFCBEAST2014.jpg

LESS than a month ago, on April 13th I predicted that the Eagles would win the NFC East, that Dallas would finish second, Washington third at 6-10, and New York would finish last at 5-11.

It’s a Pre-Draft prediction, and I deliberately go out on limb for it. My record is 1-2 on these so far, because in the first two years, I didn’t change my prediction after the Draft, even though my gut screamed at me to do so. I refuse to make that mistake again, this year.

I’m officially changing my NFC East prediction. 

First things first. The Eagles will still win the division. Last year we did what we did, while short-handed, after a crazy injury bug seemed to target ONLY our key players. Law of averages (and general NFL history) says that we won’t have it as bad, for a second year in a row.

As for our key players who had to watch our Super Bowl win, while in their street clothes…There’ll be no complacency or Super Bowl hangover for them to battle. So there’ll be a bunch of key players playing hungry, and looking to prove something. This means the Eagles should be an even harder team to contend with in 2018, than we were in 2017.

It’s a good thing for the Eagles that the team will be a better team in 2018, because a certain team in the NFC East has stepped it’s game up. That team would be the giants.

The giants looked like a 5-11 team with the potential for 0-16, but then they had a strong Draft, which made their Free Agent moves more than just the sum of their parts. Drafting G Will Hernandez, now ties the entire offense together. If the giants had a decent replacement for Jason Pierre-Paul, they might have a decent defense in 2018. As it is, they’re an offensive team who’ll finish second in the East. That being said, jumping from basement to second place, indicates that the giants are headed in the correct direction. No mockery or sarcasm here. New GM Dave Gettleman deserves a round of applause.

The Redskins will still finish third. Washington had a quietly solid Draft, which seems weird after they gave an ancient, underachieving QB (Alex Smith), a fuck-ton of guaranteed money. It’s hard to tell if they’re arming for the future, or deliberately trying to harm themselves. Until recently, they’d been having the worst offseason of any team in the NFC East. Then the door flew open, and a new challenger yelled “Hold my beer, and watch this.”….

The Cowboys are on a diving board, doing a belly-flop into an empty pool. Screwing over WR Dez Bryant was one thing. Replacing him with shrugworthy draft pick WR Michael Gallup, or free agent WR Allen Hurns was another. Losing TE Jason Witten’s leadership won’t help at all. Lastly, moving CB Byron Jones from the corner to FS, was an attempt to make room for Seahawk FS Earl Thomas, but that has yet to actually happen. (If ever.) The Cowboys offseason has fallen into a woodchipper, and so they’ve fallen from second to last in projections.

Prediction: Eagles 11-5. Giants 9-7. Redskins 7-9. Cowboys 6-10