THE 12: #5 TE SEAM ATTACK

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/05
Posted in: Coaching, Offense. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

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IF QB Carson Wentz is going to continue his running ways, then keeping him as safe as possible is a must. By safe, I don’t mean his knee. He’s a football player. Some risks just come with the job.

By safe, I mean from concussions, shots to his back, or anything that could have him landing on his throwing arm and breaking his shoulder.

By the way when QB Nick Foles had his shoulder broken in 2014,

he was in the pocket.

When Michael Vick got a concussion in 2011,

he was in the pocket.

The ugly fact is, QB’s suffer more serious injuries in the pocket, than anywhere else. Four words: Randall Cunningham’s broken leg. (Four more words: Fuck you Bryce Paup.) So being afraid of Wentz running,actually makes very little sense. (Besides, he’s going to anyway.)

The best way to keep the big hits off of Wentz when he runs, is to keep ILB’s, MLB’s and Safeties, back deep. That way he can scramble for a cheap and easy 4 yards here, 7 yards there, and so forth. The best way to do that, with is a TE going deep between the hash marks.

Giving a defense a choice between giving up a 17 yard completion, or a 4 to 7 yard scramble, is my idea of a high percentage play! Either a cheap and easy short gain, or a fairly easy big gain, if opponents don’t pay tribute? How do you not love that?! We need to do that.

THE 12: #4 PLEASE PLAY SOME PRESS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/04
Posted in: Defense, Rants, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

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WEEK 15 against the giants. Our Defense was beaten for one uncontested Slant route after another. It looked almost like Eli Manning was out there playing catch with his receivers. Oh yeah, it also looked that way Week 2 vs the Chiefs.

The rest of the season didn’t look nearly as bad as those two weeks, but during the season two things became clear. 1) That the Slant was 7-11, if an opponent wanted it, and 2) That they could use the Slant, to set up the inside-out double-move on Go routes.

Our inside-out/double-move weakness, became glaringly, unsettlingly apparent in Week 15. It got to the point where we kept seeing teams try to exploit it, (especially against CB Jalen Mills) in the playoffs. Expect teams (especially division rivals) to write plays designed to attack that very Achilles Heel, in 2018. If we can’t take away the Slant, we’ll be setting our Secondary up for failure this year.

The best way to stop the Slant is to (PLEASE, DEAR GOD!!!!!!) play some man-press at the line. Yes, after a couple moments of press, the receiver will get into his route. That’s true. The Slant however, is a timing route. If the receiver is late to the spot, the QB is already on the next read in his progression. Pass rushers are closing in. The pressed route is defended.

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Rookie CB Sidney Jones presses WR Dez Bryant, keeping him pinned outside, despite Bryant’s clear desire to run inside. This is near-perfect coverage.

The other way to defend the Slant is with a LB with no brakes, arriving just as the ball does. The message gets clearly sent, and receivers look for other ways to make money. Also opposing coaches would be less reckless with health of their QB’s favorite targets.

However, since the NFL likes handing out fines and suspensions, The smarter option is to focus on option one. Play some press. Disrupt opponent’s timing. Force opponents to learn the Eagles Defense all over again, then exploit their ignorance.

THE 12: #3 RUN CARSON, RUN!

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/03
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

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LAST year I said that QB Carson Wentz should stop trying to beat defenders around the edge, and run for cheap and easy 5 yard gains here and there. I guess he reads these articles, because that’s more or less exactly what he did.

Instead of being cute and trying to sprint out, he mostly took yards that were presented to him when players receded into coverage. For a guy without 4.4 speed, he certainly turned into a dangerous runner as QB and as a result, teams had to adjust how they played us, which made it easier for receivers to get open. It was clockwork.

Due to his ACL/LCL injury during the season, fans who really don’t understand his injury, think he should stop running, or slide more. Both of which are idiotic notions. His running helps get receivers open, and he wasn’t injured as result of not sliding. He was diving for a short yardage touchdown that he’d have had, if not for a penalty. Sliding applied nowhere in that scenario. 

Thankfully, Wentz has said that he’s not going to change how he plays (in regards to when he chooses to run). That statement right there will continue to force opponents to defend against him running, and make things easier on the entire Offense.

For his part he should do just what he did in 2017. Don’t get cute. Just run for cheap, easy yards right in front of him. Due to his injury, it’ll be a year or so before he gets full explosiveness back in his takeoff. That’s fine. No one needs him to win foot races to the sideline. Just get what’s in front of him and get down.

Like he’d been doing in 2017.

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THE 12: #2 GROOM A SUCCESSOR

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE122018#2

Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

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DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz’s has already been an NFL head coach. It wasn’t a good showing, but it was only Detroit, so folks will be willing to grant him a pass. With that in mind, you can expect that any time his unit finishes in the top 12 in points allowed, some team or another will to try and steal him at the end of the year. Get comfy with that reality.

So it would be nice to have a successor, right? That way we don’t end up in the situation we ended up in, when DC Jim Johnson* passed (from melanoma) in 2009. At that point we got stuck with his assistant, Sean McDermott, who tried to run a version of Johnson’s blitz-heavy system. Johnson’s real expertise lay in being able to make tiny adjustments to his scheme.

McDermott lacked that touch. He lasted one season and was fired. A mess ensued after that, Jim Washburn, Juan Castillo… (be nice if we could forget about that one, right?)

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SO! We need to be ready for the day that Schwartz goes all Frank Reich on us. I personally like LB’s Coach Ken Flajole. He was a DC under Steve Spagnulo for three years, and that unit performed solidly, given that they were saddled with (just about) the NFL’s worst offense.

This is provided we want to promote from within, and hit the ground running with a DC who already knows the players.

*Jim Johnson’s name appears in green, bold, italics like current Eagles, because he was an Eagle when he passed. This is also why Jerome Brown’s name is bolded, but Reggie White’s and Andre Waters names, usually are not.

THE 12: #1 MORE SMASH-MOUTH BALL

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/01
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

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WE need to play a slightly more smash-mouth style now.

In 2017, at RB we had LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. That was the pecking order we started with. Power up top, and dynamic changes of pace behind. 250 pounds, 190, and 208.

Then we lost Sproles in Week 3, and Smallwood fell out of favor after Week 7. Corey Clement ascended, and we traded for Jay Ajayi, both in Week 8. At that point our back-field looked like Ajayi, Blount and Clement. 223, 250, and 220. See the shift? It was a bigger, more physical group from top to bottom.

Whether or not Blount or Sproles is back in 2018,  the offensive playbook for this year, can’t be written for last year’s roster. Not if we’re going to use our players to the best of their ability. An offense should be tailored to the roster, not the roster to the playbook. We adapted on the fly last year, but this year we need to tailor to our strengths.

During the prior two seasons the Eagles Offense was coached by two former QB’s in Head Coach Doug Pederson and former Offensive Coordinator (now Colts head coach), Frank Reich. It was a fast-paced, wide-open, QB friendly style, underpinned with fundamentals that both coaches knew would work reliably at the NFL level.

That’s gone now. Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh has never been an NFL QB, so the viewpoint will be different in terms of play design. Experience isn’t something that can be faked. You either have it or you don’t. So, instead of trying to be something we aren’t quite any more, the smartest play would be to adjust to who we are in 2018.

Don’t try to be the 2017 Eagles. Be the 2018 Eagles, and rely on the strengths we have now. 

doug-pederson ABOUT IT

EAGLES ON THE OFFENSIVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/16
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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ANYONE who thinks the 2018 Eagles Offense will be similar to the 2017 edition, is woefully misreading the situation. While Head Coach Doug Pederson was the guy who called plays for the Offense, play design had a ton to do with whether or not a called play would succeed.

Any former NFL coach will tell you there’s as much art as science, in designing and maintaining a system. As no two artists paint, write, or draw exactly alike, so to are NFL coaches. For example, we all know about Jon Gruden’s version of the West Coast Offense, but who runs it like Jon does? Nobody. Who ran the 46 like Buddy Ryan? Nobody. Who runs Zone Blitz like Dick LeBeau? Nobody. Sean McDermott studied under Jim Johnson, and when Johnson passed, McDermott was overwhelmed by all of the on-the-fly adjustments, required to make Johnson’s system work.

Our Buddy Steve

Coaches are artists. Never loose sight of that fact.

That’s partly why our Head Coach is in no rush to replace Frank Reich, “I’m not going to rush into it, I’m going to make sure it’s the right person, the right fit for what we’re doing. I think that’s important too, that that person fits the culture and his way of thinking has to coincide with the way we’re thinking…”

The artist (Reich) that Doug spent the last two years crafting our offense with, has moved on. At some point either one guy (or two), will replace him. That means we’ll get a different personality (or two), a different source of experience (or two), and a different perspective (holding mic out to the crowd) helping design plays. From that mix we will get different art.

Understand, who we pick will affect who we draft, who we sign, and who we re-sign. At times during weekly prep, they may oversee or manage something that Doug cannot, because his attention has to be elsewhere. This will impact the win/loss column. It will affect playoff seeding. This isn’t some minor thing.

If you didn’t know how much this mattered before, you certainly do now. And you will likely never underestimate it’s importance ever again.

BUSTING A CAP IN 2018

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/13
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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HEAD Coach Doug Pederson warned you when he said “as you know, the nature of the business is you can’t keep everybody. It’s just the way it goes.” So when certain players start hitting the cutting room floor, don’t act like you didn’t see it coming. Let’s look at WHY we have to lose some people, and who we may lose.

And don’t get mad at me. This is just math. You’d have to be pretty stupid to argue with addition and subtraction. Let’s get to it!

The 2018 season has a salary cap of $178M. The Eagles have $3.7M in roll-over money from 2017. Those two numbers combined, gets our adjusted cap up to $181.7M. That’s the good news. The bad news is, our top 51 contracts (plus dead money), total $186.6M. That leaves the Eagles with negative $4.87M. 

In order to get under the salary cap, we have to either convince a number of players to play for less money (restructuring), trade away some heavy contracts, or cut our way to savings. Those are the three options.

Restructuring off of a Super Bowl win is highly unlikely. In fact, some players will want raises. So then who do we have to cut or trade? How do we make $4.87M (4.9M) in cap space?

Well first let’s look at who’s got a large base salary, but won’t hurt us in dead money, if we cut them. I didn’t say we wouldn’t miss their talent if we cut them, I said it won’t hurt us as far as the dead money penalty.

Those players are WR Torrey Smith ($5M base/zero penalty), DE Brandon Graham ($6.7M base/$1M penalty), C Jason Kelce ($6M base/ $1.2M penalty) and TE Brent Celek ($4M base/$1M penalty). Those four players represent $21.7M in salary and only $3.2M in penalty money. That’s $18.5M in cap savings, right there.

Smith and Celek are natural cuts, since Smith carries no penalty, and word is that Celek may retire anyway. Combined, they free up $8M in cap space. That would get us out of the hole, and even put a little spending money ($3.1M) in our pocket.

Graham represents $5.7M in savings, but he’s also our best DE. So moving him likely does far more harm than good. So that move is out.

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Kelce represents $4.8M in savings if he’s cut, but if he’s traded for a pick, to a team like sayyyyyy, the Buffalo Bills (HINT HINT), we’d save the entire $6M. (Remember when moving Kelce was a hot topic in early 2017?) Kelce, plus Smith, plus Celek would get us to $9.1M in cap space.

Given the way he ingratiated himself with the fan base at the Super Bowl parade, moving Kelce wouldn’t be popular right now. However, given the Eagles extending C/G Stefen Wisniewski last year, and the futures signing of C John Toth just last week, it’s clear that the Eagles are actively looking at the C position. (And if you think Wiz’s extention was so the Eagles could lock up a Guard, consider the presence of Isaac Seumalo, Chance Warmack and Darrell Greene. Wiz isn’t here to stay at Guard.)

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Having $9.1M in cap space (Kelce/Smith/Celek) would help us re-sign some of our own Free Agents like TE Trey Burton or OLB Nigel Bradham. However, adding another $7.6M to the pot would allow us to be aggressive. That’s the amount we’d re-coup if the Eagles trade QB Nick Foles for picks instead of a player, getting us to $16.7M.

Having $16.7M brings back Bradham, rescuing an already thin LB corps from becoming a blood-spurting wound. It also opens the door to keeping Burton or DT Beau Allen, and maybe even RB LeGarrette Blount.

Or instead of Foles, we could trade FS Rod McLeod for a day two pick, and save $6M. Then our cap space would look like $15.1M, with McLeod replaced by say CB/S Jalen Mills. That scenario also would enable us to keep Bradham and so forth. So there are options.

In any case, the Eagles will probably piss off a lot of fans in the next month or so. That’s not for being stupid, but just to get the books out of the red. So be ready for it, and remember where you heard it first.

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NICK FOLES FUTURE

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/06
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

NICK Foles probably doesn’t want to be a back-up quarterback until he retires. Problem is, despite being a Super Bowl MVP, the Eagles already (hopefully) have a long-term answer at QB, in Carson Wentz. If Foles wants to be a starter, he’ll have to Fly Eagle Fly the coop. But whence can he go from Wentz?

Let’s take a look at the map.

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Foles is from Texas. His extended family is still out there. Giving that some thought, he might like the idea of playing close to blood. Problem is the two Texas teams (Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans) already have the same situation as we do here in Philly.

Roll your eyes right, and we see Louisiana, home of the Saints. Their QB Drew Brees is long in the tooth, and the two guys they have behind him are more placeholders than actual QB’s. Problem with Foles going there, is that the Saints have a number of issues to shore up, that are higher priority than who backs-up a QB who has played at least 15 games, every year for the last 14 seasons. It would be pricey both in trade terms and salary cap, just for a guy to ride the bench.

Looking far right, there’s Flo-rida. Jacksonville has Blake Bortles, but with as up and down as he is, you have to realize that Foles is an instant upgrade in terms of savvy. They would however, lose Bortles running ability. Same deal with Miami and Ryan Tannehill, who was out this year with an injury and replaced almost seamlessly by Jay Cutler who came out retirement to win the job from (I think) Matt Moore. Or Kellen Clemens. No it was Matt Moore, right? Wait. Does it fucking matter? 

The only issue is whether or not Foles would be interested in going either place. If he doesn’t want to be in Florida, then he could walk after next season, leaving that team holding the bag. The only way a trade for Foles happens, is if he changes the language on his existing 5 year deal (voidable after 2). If that happens any time soon, expect to see Foles traded to a team in Florida.

Hold up! I’m not done!

Crane your head left from Texas, and you see Arizona, home of the Cardinals. With Carson Palmer having just retired, a Carson-free zone might sound great to Foles. Besides, with Denver having won the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, Arizona is currently ass-out at QB. Oh, and did I mention that Foles played his college ball in Arizona? I hadn’t? Well, Nick Foles played his college ball in Arizona. The Cardinals need a good QB to coax one more year out of WR Larry Fitzgerald, and Foles’s name just might do the trick. Out of all the teams we could outright fleece for Foles, Arizona is the most likely. This has Minnesota/Dallas written all over it.

Speaking of those sore losers, Minnesota is about to dump a dozen free agent QB’s into the market, any second now. However, none of them has the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl MVP swag, that Foles possesses. None of them has ever thrown 7 touches in a game, and none of them already has their uniform in Canton already.

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Jesus. The more I write about it, the dumber it seems we’d have to be, to lose him TWICE. I mean when you list it like this… Isn’t the idea that we want Carson Wentz to one day be a Super Bowl winning QB, possibly a Pro-Bowler, record setter, possible entrant to Canton… Don’t we already have all of those things, right now?

I swear, I wasn’t thinking about this until I started typing, but REAL TALK y’all, what the fuck are we doing here?

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. Maybe at the parade Thursday? When he’s up to speak on the Art Museum steps, we should show him crazy love, and make it clear to the Front Office that we won’t take kindly to losing him again.

Let’s try to help steer the future of Nick Foles.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: SUPER BOWL: PATRIOTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/05
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

E-A-G-L-E-S! CHAMPIONS!

Toldja we’d win.

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EAGLES 41 – Patriots 33

We spent two weeks hearing how the Patriots QB was going to single-handedly carry his team to victory. The media (showing an inability to learn), basically said that the “scrappy” Eagles would only be speed bump on the Patriots way to a 6th ring. Well, seems like Super Bowl MVP, QB Nick Foles (28/43 – 65.1% – 373 – 3 – 1) didn’t quite agree with that assessment. In the end, the Patriots bitch of a QB, ran off without even shaking Foles hand.

Speaking of hands, the Patriots attempted to throw a pass to their QB early in the game, but he proved to be… Let’s say “less than clutch” in that situation.

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OOPS!

Later on, Nick Foles would not only catch a pass, but catch a a touchdown, off a one yard pass from TE Trey Burton (1/1 – 100% – 1 – 1 – 0), on a honey of a trick play:

 

(I told you that Doug was gonna hunt these fuckers.)

Former Patriot RB LeGarrette Blount (14 – 90 – 6.4 – 1 – 0) won a second consecutive Lombardi, by splitting carries with RB Jay Ajayi (9 – 57 – 6.3 – 0 – 0). That helped balance the offense and kept New England’s defense honest. Not to be counted out however, was rookie RB Corey Clement (4rec – 100 – 25.0 – 1) who led all Eagles in yards from scrimmage with 108.

Defensively there weren’t a lot of “stats” to talk about. The one sack allowed all night proved to be fatal (for New England), as DE Brandon Graham (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 1) forced a fumble in the process. Rookie DE Derek Barnett (0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) didn’t get cute and simply recovered the fumble. After rookie K Jake Elliott (2/3x, 3/3, 46) added a 46 yard field goal to our 38 -33 lead. it pretty much snuffed out any realistic chance for any last minute heroics. That left the Patriots hoping for a miracle. Miracles however, require good karma to occur. And so naturally the Patriots lost.

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) Work the middle: Be it TE Zach Ertz (7 – 67 – 9.5 – 1) diving across the goal line (for a score); Corey Clement cornholing an over-matched LB (for a 22 yard score); WR Alshon Jeffery (3 – 73 – 24.3 – 1) going up and grabbing a 34 yard score; or WR Nelson Agholor (9 – 84 – 9.3 – 0) on a crossing route, the Eagles made sure to work inside. That kept the Patriots from loading the box, and allowed our top 2 RB’s to average 6.4 and 6.3 yards per tote. (DONE)

2) Destroy the pocket: Not nearly enough pressure was generated inside for most of the game, which would be forgivable if we also hadn’t allowed 113 yards on 22 carries (5.1 per tote), mostly up the middle. The fact is, that this area of the defense has fallen off since mid-season and we need to find a way to turn it back on by July. (NOT DONE)

3) Blount. Force. Trauma: LeGarrette Blount was the games leading rusher in terms of yards and carries. It was his best game since November, and in my view, his best in an Eagles uniform. The man has been a monster for these playoffs and it irritates me that he has likely played his last down as an Eagle. (DONE)

4) South Paw Switch: To be fair, I didn’t really expect this to get done, since it isn’t actually DC Jim Schwartz’s M.O. to make wholesale changes at the half. It would have however, kept the Patriot from outscoring us 21 -19 in the second half. (NOT DONE)

Well, 2 out of 4 Four Things was good enough to get the “W” this week, and bring our playoff tally to 9 of 12. Usually this is where I’d mention the next opponent, but this officially brings us to the end of this season’s road.

There’s nothing left to do now, but celebrate at the parade which will begin Thursday at 11, on Broad and Pattison, heading north up Broad before swinging up the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Art Museum steps. (Isn’t it funny how we say “The” Art Museum, even though Philly has a few of them?)

On The Whole:

I told you that HC Doug Pederson was going to be aggressive vs New England and boy was he ever. We had an internationally televised brawl, with the NFL’s last champion, and we TOOK from them what was rightfully ours.

We started with the Draft at the Art Museum in April, and we’ll end it with the Super Bowl parade ending at the Art Museum in February. The football gods have smiled upon Philadelphia for the 2017-2018 season. Despite adversity, despite injury, we were smiled upon. Recognize that and be grateful, fellow fans. Recognize that and be grateful.

Let this stand as a lesson to you. Just because someone doesn’t believe in you, or thinks they know your situation, don’t you ever, EVER stop believing and working for your dreams.

As a wise man named Harry once said:

Just what makes that little old ant

Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant…

FOUR THINGS: SUPER BOWL 52: EAGLES-PATRIOTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/01
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Roster, Special Teams, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

4 SB-PAT

YES. The Eagles can beat New England. I’m not saying that I think the Eagles can beat them. I’m saying that I know we can beat them.

In fact, we beat them the last time we faced them 35 -28. We went on the road as a 4 – 7 team, while they were 10 – 1. And we won. In their house. We started QB Sam Bradford, and they started the fella they’ll start Sunday We were playing in an ill-fitting 3-4 defensive scheme, vs the stifling 4-3 front that we play today. We were also being coached by an idiot.

Everything about us is better than it was when we faced them last time. So we can beat this team. That’s not a wishful opinion, that’s a matter of fact. Banish from your minds, ANY other notion. 

Just ask Dawk:

During the playoffs, our victories have been 15 – 10 and 38 – 7. Our margin of victory has grown, indicating that we are getting stronger as our opponents have gotten tougher. Conversely, New England’s victories have been 14 – 35 then 20 – 24. That trend indicates that things are getting tougher for them as they move forward.

The media wants to frame this as a battle of two QB’s, but it isn’t. This is a battle of two teams, and the Eagles are the better balanced, deeper, more talented, and hungrier team. Keep in mind, no amount of media sycophants, verbally polishing the knob of New England’s quarterback, will put a single point on the board on Sunday. New England will have to earn any point they score. And our Defense isn’t known for giving points away. (8.5 per game. IN the playoffs).

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

1) Work the middle: New England is solid at CB, but everything else about their pass defense isn’t very good at all. They’re going to want to take away anything quick and easy for QB Nick Foles, which has a way of opening up down-field passing, if we can protect long enough. If they want to put their Safeties against WR’s Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, let’s make them regret it.

2) Destroy the pocket: New England’s interior offensive line is on the small side. Technique and raw brute power should be used by DT’s Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan, to invert the pocket and ensure that we don’t have to pass rush with more than four players. Every ounce of effort must be left on the field at this position.

3) Blount. Force. Trauma: RB Jay Ajayi is the starter, but we need RB LeGarrette Blount running behind RG Brandon Brooks and RT Lane Johnson this week. New England likes to start 2 LB’s and 3 DB’s, because their LB’s can’t cover for shit. If they want to play small, then we should use 12 Personnel (2 TE’s) and run off-Guard at their smallish DE’s.

4) South Paw Switch: New England does a good job of making adjustments at the Half. So DC Jim Schwartz should throw out the first half gameplan and switch it up entirely in the second half. Fake a number of front-side blitzes in the first half; then bring them off the blind-side in the second. Single-high, with 8 man fronts in the first; Man-press Cover Two in the second. Start out Tyson, then switch to Ali. Let them out-think themselves. Turn their greatest strength into an insurmountable liability, before they can even realize what’s happening to them.

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

Head Coach Doug Pederson is gonna hunt these fuckers. If you don’t think he’s going to come out swinging, then you haven’t been paying attention this season. Expect aggression. This game is unlikely to be decided by the foot of rookie K Jake Elliott.

New England will attempt to take away anything quick and easy for Foles. When they do, they’ll have to drop guys into coverage instead of sending extra rushers. If they can make Foles hold the ball, they’ll expose LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and push Foles to his right all night.

If I know this, then our coaching staff knows this. So look for that to be built into the game plan. We’ll find ways for Foles to deliver the ball down the field, and eat up chunks of field inside with WR Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz, vs those LB’s that can’t cover. I’m also keeping my eye out for a backside Screen to RB Corey Clement, which could prove devastating to New England.

In order to tone down our pass rush, we’ll probably be tested with a couple of middle screens and delayed hand-offs early on. That’s fine. Even if we get gashed a couple times, it’s important to pick up on how they want to key those this week. If we see them early, we’ll know how to shut them down later.

Middle Screens be damned! We’ll need that penetration from our DT’s. I expect DE’s Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry to set hard edges, while playing the run first. That will keep the RB’s inside the box, where all the help is. While the opposing QB can scramble, he’s no match for the speed of OLB’s Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks.

Facing pressure, New England’s QB is as human as anyone, and so can be be forced into making mistakes with the ball. That’s bad news when you’re facing a Safety like Malcolm Jenkins. Or a CB like Ronald Darby (4 picks). Or a CB like Patrick Robinson (3 picks). Or a Safety like Rod McLeod (3). Or a CB like Jalen Mills (3).

Don’t be fooled by the media hyping up a QB and TE. Step back and look at their WHOLE team. Not two guys, but all of them. Overall, they’re an average team that plays great against inept teams, and not nearly as good against decent-to-good ones. Only two teams in the league gave up more yardage this year. That’s not the mark of a champion. That’s the mark of an average team. Hell, maybe even a bad one.

Look, who told you IN 2014 that we needed to fire Bill Davis for a Super Bowl? This guy. 

Who told you IN APRIL that we were going to win the East this year? This guy. 

Who told you IN DECEMBER that there may be a QB controversy next Fall? This guy. 

Who told you IN THE FIRST ROUND not to worry about Nick Foles? This guy. 

Who’s telling you NOW that the Eagles will win the Super Bowl? That’s right. THIS GUY. 

PREDICTION:

EAGLES 28 – Patriots 17

yeah bitch