HELPING THE EAGLES WIN

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/25
Posted in: Crazy Talk, playoffs, Super Bowl, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

AFTER vanquishing the Vikings on Sunday night, DE Chris Long was interviewed by Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw mentioned that Chris’s father, Hall of Famer Howie Long was nearby. At that point Chris said that the Eagles always seem to play well when Howie is present.

At that moment I began hatching a plan.

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As a fan I want to give the Eagles every advantage I can, and if Howie Long’s presence is good for the Eagles, then we fans need to make sure that he gets to the Super Bowl. Somehow, someway, we need to raise money to send a rich man, to an event that none of us are well connected enough to get tickets to, even if we could afford them.

(Now pressing play on Sarah McLachlan’s “In the Arms of an Angel”)

So won’t you give? Give, so that Howie can travel in first class, to an event that he probably was already comp’d for and paid to attend. Give, so that he can watch his son play, from seats that we bought, that he won’t use, because his seats will be so much better.

For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you probably can’t help us much, so give like 50 bucks instead. Come on! Don’t be cheap! We’re trying to win a Super Bowl over here! I know, I know. You just came off of Christmas, so buying things for other people so soon, fills you with a creeping rage. Let alone buying things for a millionaire. I understand. But this is a Super Bowl!

I’m sure that Chris would do it if he could, but as you know, he gave away all of his money and all of his socks and all of his undies are now loaners. So he can’t do it. This is where we get to SHOW our loyalty, and go that extra mile. Speaking of extra miles if you have them, donate them. Make that sacrifice. I won’t be donating MY miles because I want to keep them. I haven’t booked a flight yet, but no, you can’t have my miles.

Keep in mind, what is at stake here, people. We You all have to make sacrifices. My sacrifice?? Jeez, you’re nosey! But if you must know, I’ll send some of the money that you send to me, to fund this whole thing. What will I do with the rest of it?? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll meet up with WR Nelson Agholor and he can give me some advice.

Aaaaand I’m out of rum.

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: EAGLES-VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/22
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC Championship, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Special Teams, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

SUPER BOWL!!!!! What did I tell you? I said, Minnesota doesn’t belong in the playoffs. I said, this game will be about which Eagles team shows up. I said, during the Bye Week that the only playoff team I fear is Philadelphia. Now look at us. ONE WIN away from winning our first Championship since 1960. One win away from hoisting one of those annual replicas that our rivals are so fond of.

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Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery scores on a 53 yard bomb from QB Nick Foles. Image courtesy of Philadelphia Daily News

EAGLES 38 – Vikings 7

The Vikings went down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, running the ball as well as they would all night. Then the nightmare began.

Your beloved Eagles responded with 38 unanswered points, as we dominated, harassed and humiliated Minnesota’s defense that (I’d heard) was the best in the NFL. Didn’t look like much to me. Or apparently to our Quarterback.

QB Nick Foles (26/33 – 78.7% – 352 – 3 – 0) put on an absolute clinic, dissecting (what we’d all been told was) the NFL’s second-rated pass defense. Well no, that’s not fair. The Vikings did seem very second rate out there.

RB Jay Ajayi (18 – 73 – 4.0 – 0 – 0) found creases to run in, which helped us move the chains and set up manageable 3rd downs. That led to a 3rd down conversion of 71% (10/14). For the second game in a row, RB LeGarrette Blount (6 – 21 – 3.5 – 1 – 0) found paydirt early.

WR’s Alshon Jeffery (5 – 85 – 17.0 – 2) and Torrey Smith (5 – 69 – 13.8 – 1) gave the Eagles the sort of outside deep threats, I’d been looking for since Week 1. Foles heaved touchdown bombs to each man, (53 and 41 yards, respectively). It was almost enough to overshadow TE Zach Ertz (8 – 93 – 11.6 – 0) who had a beautiful 36 yard catch and run, that set up a 38 yard Field Goal by K Jake Elliott (5/5x, 1/1f, 38) to end the first half.

Those are great numbers, but it was the Defense that won this game. They put a lid on the Viking’s offense after that opening touchdown. On the very next possession, CB Patrick Robinson (2 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a pass and took that tasty treat back 50 yards to cancel out Minnesota’s only lead of the night.

 

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Rookie DE Derek Barnett (2 – 1 – 0 – 1) got our only sack of the game and forced a fumble (pictured), which was recovered by DE Chris Long (2 – 0 – 0 – 0). Safety Corey Graham (5 – 0 – 1 – 0) intercepted a dropped interception attempt by CB Ronald Darby (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) who had a serious impact on the game with that interception, and the block which sprang Robinson on his interception return.

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) Stop the run: We held the Vikings to 70 yards on 18 carries. (DONE)

2) Challenge their defense: At no point did Nick Foles shy away from attacking and turn into Captain Checkdown. Even better, the playcalling wasn’t trying to protect him. That 41 yard flea-flicker to Smith was outright ballsy; as was that double-faked handoff to set up a Middle Screen. The Eagles didn’t show a single ounce of fear and decided to make the Vikings earn everything. (DONE)

3) Collapse the pocket: The Eagles got good pressure throughout the day, but we didn’t get nearly as much up the gut as I was anticipating. This is likely why the sack production was so low this week. (NOT DONE)

4) Speed Kills:

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There were a few deep throws by Foles in this game. Better still, there were a few completions for scores. The idea was to challenge Minny’s corners and make them earn their reps. They weren’t up to the job. At least not against the Eagles. (DONE)

This week we went 3 out of 4 in Four Things, which brings our playoff total to 7 of 8. There are a couple of things we need to clean up in the next two weeks, before our SUPER BOWL re-match with New England.

On The Whole:

This was a great “get your confidence” game. I think Nick Foles NEEDED a game like this. It’s one thing to have your teammates say they believe in you, it’s a completely different thing to give them a reason to believe in you. No one is going to make Nick Foles the favorite over New England’s QB, but at this point people understand that Foles is not to be taken lightly.

We need more explosiveness from our run game. Ajayi gets the starting nod due to Draft pedigree, but he seems less explosive, and isn’t as good at catching the ball, as RB Corey Clement (2 – 20 – 10.0 – 0 – 0). Ajayi also doesn’t have a great nose for the endzone.

Our interior pass rush

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has to show up next week or our odds of winning drop significantly. If we can stop New England’s QB from stepping up to deliver the ball, and make him come off of his first read, our odds or winning almost crack the ceiling.

doug-pederson ABOUT IT

FOUR THINGS: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: EAGLES-VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

CONF-MIN

LET’S take this one step at a time. People here are consumed with the term “underdog” but then they look right past Minnesota. I’m not sure if that’s irony or outright hypocrisy. In any case, Minnesota should get our full attention this week. We need to focus our positive energy on our team, and our negative energy on our opponent.

Win and we’re in. There’s no assist from Mother Nature this week, so it seems Philly fans will be the only X-factor that the Eagles can rely on. We’re going to need it, because dumb luck has seems to be on Minnesota’s side this season. Whether it’s last second fluke plays, or having the fewest number of key players on I.R., they’ve had a cushy road up until now. So we need sauce for the goose.

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

1) Stop the run: We need to put this game squarely on Minnesota’s QB’s shoulders. To this point he’s been lucky even when he’s makes mistakes. His coach even said so in November, telling a reporter “…he’s got a horseshoe right now.” Look at last week… 40 attempts and his only TD is on that goofy last play? C’mon! Enough! Let’s see him put that offense on his back, and go toe-to-toe with our Defense for 30 minutes.

2) Challenge their defense: Might sound nuts, but watch Minnesota’s defense, and you’ll notice that they generally rush 4 linemen, and keep 2 LB’s in the box. (Like most teams their 3rd LB may split time 50/50 with a DB.) Those 2 LB’s don’t immediately drop into coverage. They “float” for a second looking for the run and to discourage any underneath “Cross” or “In” routes. That floating also allows them to react quickly to “Hitch” routes and even lets them help on “Slants” and “Screens”. In short, they don’t give you anything quick and easy. It’s not “clever”, it’s plain genius. But it has an Achilles Heel. If either of those LB’s are forced to cover a RB “Wheel” or a TE “Out” route, the defense loses integrity and allows the QB time to find an open man down-field, or even scramble for a quick 4 – 5 yards. QB Nick Foles averaged 8.2 yards per pass against Atlanta’s vaunted Cover Three last week, and this scheme is a lot simpler to read. Oh yeah, Minnesota is also small on their left side, so a 2 TE formation gives their opponent an easier time running inside.

3) Collapse the pocket: DT’s Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan

should have a field day on Sunday. (Bit of trivia: Of Minnesota’s starting offensive linemen, the only one they spent a draft pick on, was their C, in this year’s 3rd round.) Minnesota’s interior o-line was already kind of ho-hum, but with the loss of G Nick Easton, they’ll have to rely on a back-up with almost no upside. He’s also 6’6 with a tendency to play tall. At Guard. If we take away the middle, it shuts down the run, and puts their QB within arm’s reach of a forced fumble by our DE’s.

4) Speed Kills: Given how few balls Minnesota’s CB’s have intercepted this year, I can’t understand why anyone fears them so much. In fact, given CB Xavier Rhodes 3 pass interference to 2 interception season, I think forcing him to get grabby against WR Torrey Smith is a recipe for free yards and easy points. Make these son-of-a-bitches work for it. Enough of these guys being allowed to cash in on a rep that they haven’t really earned.

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:

This game will be decided by which Eagles team shows up. The Vikings don’t matter in this equation. They can’t win this game unless we hand it to them. Period.

When the head coach is telling the media that the QB has been getting lucky, something’s wrong. When that same head coach is telling the media that the QB that he just activated from I.R. stands a chance of replacing the starter, something’s wrong. When the offensive line has less depth than a kiddie pool, something’s wrong. When you telegraph your play selection by which RB you have on the field, something’s wrong. There is plenty wrong with Minnesota. However, half a year of playing Mitch Trubisky (twice), Brett Hundley (twice), Deshon Kizer, Jameis Winston and the 2017 version of Joe Flacco, has a way of masking any deficiencies.

Minnesota doesn’t belong here, but we have to take them seriously, otherwise we beat ourselves FOR them. They’re scarcely a playoff team, so they damned sure aren’t a Championship team. Our Eagles need to be about the business of setting that record straight. If this team comes out like the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles, then the Minnesota Vikings 2017 season is a wrap.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Vikings 17

yeah bitch

SUPER BOWL RHODIE, YO!

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/17
Posted in: Conversations, NFL, Players, playoffs, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

WHILE I wanted to talk football, I wasn’t looking for an X’s and O’s discussion. I needed to get some outside perspective on the Eagles. I needed to make sure that my vision was still clear, and that my judgment hadn’t become corrupted. I know plenty, but I can always stand to learn more. I also had an important question that I needed to ask. So, I went to the bar, to see my guru, P.W. Rhodes. Or Rhodie, as he’s affectionately known.

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He was sitting at a table facing away from the bar, so he saw me come in from Sunday’s cold. The second he did, the codgers eyes lit up. He leaned back, got the bartender’s attention and gestured towards me. Just like that, I had a drink being made.

I got my coat off, grabbed my whiskey, and of course we made a toast to the Eagles. I got my tape recorder out, sat down, and I asked Rhodie my burning question “So, is this the year?” He smiles and says “I don’t know, kid. You gotta ask the players that.”

Normally when I talk to Rhodie, it’s just him and me, gabbing at each other. This time, like 9 people had moved in closer, sort of sit along the bar on one side of us, and at tables on the other side of us. One guy sat on a table with his feet in a chair. Who even does that? I didn’t recognize him, so I can’t vouch for where or how he was raised.

With a crowd gathered, I realized that how I responded to questions, and how I phrased a question (not just the question itself), would be subject to dissection. So I needed to measure my words. Getting a Philadelphian to measure our words is like telling a cat to hold it’s breath. It can be done, but it’s a rare occurrence.

I tried another tack and asked him “What do you think of us being underdogs? You think it helps?” Rhodie snorted derisively and said “Are you serious? What good does that do? The Browns is underdogs every week, and what it get them? Besides, underdogs and favorites…that’s just Vegas talk. It’s got nothin’ to do with actual football. Speaking of which, we beat the Falcons for the same reasons you said we would. We’re deeper, and we got better players. Don’t get sucked in on that underdog shit. It’s horse shit is what it is. People runnin’ around buying dog masks. What the hell for?!”

I explained why I think the Eagles will beat the Vikings, and there some murmurs of disagreement from the crowd, but not from Rhodie. He nodded slowly, then he began “The Ritual”. He wiped his tongue on his napkin, raised his glass in a silent toast, and took a drink. I settled in and waited for him to once again, hand me a pearl of wisdom.

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“You made some good football points kid, but you overlooked fear. Minnesota is the most scared team in the playoffs, and you wanna know why? I’ll tell ya. You saw how they came apart after the Saints came back? You saw how amazed they were when they won? That team knows in their gut, that they don’t belong. They ain’t built for a playoff fight. All season long they been in just one game where they come back in the second half. One game! You know who they beat? They beat the Browns. The Browns!! The Vikings ain’t no team to fear. They’re paper tigers is what they are.”

(For the record, the Eagles have only had two second half comebacks this season (NYG, DAL), and one in the playoffs.)

He continued. “That’s not a team that can scrape and claw. They don’t have a fighter’s heart. We need to push ‘em into a corner and let their fear come out. Let it consume that team! That’s how we beat them. We gotta make them afraid.”

Then something weird happened. Rhodie asked me a question. Not like a probing, set-up question. This was a real question. He asked “So what do you think? You think that this is our year, finally?” My answer came back so fast, that you’d think I’d been waiting for him to ask me that.

I’ve re-played the tape over 20 times already, just to hear the lack of space between his question, and my response. My answer was “Let’s make sure we beat the Vikings first. Then we can plot on how we beat the Patriots.” It was out of my mouth without a second’s thought, but somehow, it just felt right.

Holy crap. I think this could be our year.

THE SUPER BOWL NEEDS THE EAGLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/15
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, NFL, Players, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

standing...together.jpg

WEEK 10, I said that we should invite the Playoffs to Philly. I spoke of hosting the NFC Championship game here. It’s clear that my readers shared that article, and helped to put those good vibes out there, because that is exactly where we are today. To those of you who helped spread the word, Eagles Nation owes you one.

We were fortunate enough to have our invitation honored. Now with a little luck, we’ll get an invitation to put on a display for the world. Because make no mistake, the world will be watching, and it needs to see us.

Our display will be a tribute to passion and respect for the game, to teamwork, to perseverance in the face of adversity, and to our players keeping our noses clean, off the field, as private citizens. Given the state of the world today, these are all aspects that our world needs to see.

We’ve seen some teams having parties on boats, instead practicing for playoff games. We’ve seen some players stealing cologne and underwear. We’ve seen some organizations treating players like Rent-A-Center furniture.

Meanwhile, the Eagles players are requesting to practice for playoff games in pads. The organization is investing long-term in players who have performed well. The team is holding baptisms conducted by in-team minister TE Trey Burton, with many being led to faith by QB Carson Wentz.

I myself am not a religious man. However, given all the things our players could be up to, it’s good to see them supporting each other in doing something meant to improve their lives, while also creating a positive culture amongst themselves.

The world needs to see these Eagles. Kids could use heroes worthy of looking up to. Parents could use examples to point to. People need a beacon of positivity and unity, to guide them in from an ocean of negativity and division. The visibility of a Super Bowl win will do that.

Don’t wish for a Super Bowl win. Don’t merely hope for one. Don’t assume a victory in one. Instead, put out the vibe that the world needs the Eagles, THESE Eagles, to win it for ALL OF US.

Pass it along.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND: FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/14
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

UNDERDOGS. That’s what we were. Despite being 13 – 3, the #1 seed in the NFC, and having home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, we came into the game as an underdog. In fact, no #1 seed, playing at home had ever been an underdog in NFL history until someone decided that, we were over-matched and could not defend our home turf. Well. We saw how that shit ended, didn’t we?

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Matt Ryan sacked by Rod McLeod.  Courtesy Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

QB Nick Foles (23/30 – 76.6% – 246 – 0 – 0) didn’t have a stellar game. All he did was distribute the ball in a saavy, veteran manner, to eight different receivers. He did not push the ball downfield much. Then again he was playing against Cover Three, so why would he. That’s why I said what I said in Four Things. (More on that, down the page.)

While no Eagles Offensive player seemed to do much damage statistically, there were enough collective moments, to sustain a couple of long drives and put points on the board. RB Jay Ajayi (15 – 54 – 3.6 – 0 – 1/ 3 – 44 – 14.6 – 0) was the workhorse and looked much better than his yard per carry average indicates. Same with RB LeGarrette Blount (9 – 19 – 2.1 – 1 – 0). WR Alshon Jeffery (4 – 61 – 15.2 – 0) led the Eagles in receiving yards, catching three of his passes on one drive. That proved that he can find a rhythm with Foles, so should put those questions to sleep now.

DT Fletcher Cox (7 – 1 – 0 – 0) was a terrorist out there.

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Cox spent the game blowing up the interior of Atlanta’s offensive line, recking their inside run game and not giving QB Matt Ryan (22/36 – 61.1% – 210 – 1 – 0) a pocket to step up into, most of the time.

The biggest killer in the game however, was K Jake Elliott (0/1x, 3/3fg, 53L).

card.jake.elliott

His five wittle piggies put up the last 9 points of the game, which helped the Eagles capture the lead and then surge ahead.

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 need to run it at least 25 times. There were 27 called (i.e. non-QB) runs to 30 passes. We won time of possession 32:06 to 27:54, gave our Defense time to breathe, and limited Atlanta’s opportunities to score points. (DONE)

2) A thousand cuts: High percentage passes to the TE’s outside of the numbers. Foles said, okay, and I might do you one better! Not only did he get TE’s Zach Ertz (3 – 32 – 10.6 – 0), and Brent Celek (1 – 6 – 6.0 – 0), but he also hit Alshon Jeffery 4 times and snuck in 5 passes to RB Corey Clement (5rec – 31 – 6.2 – 0). Why not? With Atlanta playing Cover Three, it left things like Slant routes, Screens and Crosses open. Foles isn’t flashy, but he is saavy. Teams thinking he’s harmless is probably his deadliest asset. (DONE)

3) Alter the launch: The idea was to get Matt Ryan to throw while moving or resetting his feet. We did that quite a bit (thank you Fletcher Cox). The hope was to get a turnover or two out of him. Well, we didn’t get a turnover, but what we DID do was hold him to 5.8 yard per attempt. That matched his lowest mark of the year, during a Week 4 loss to Buffalo. (DONE)

4) Stay grounded: It’s points like THIS ONE HERE, that separates me from other would-be experts. Nine days ago, the NFL and it’s media bag were praising, lauding, exalting Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, for being such a young genius. Such a prodigy! Wait no, it was “coaching supernova”. That’s what they called him. And then there’s this-

sean-mcvay-main

His career mark is 11-6! It was amazing that they could speak with that much of his shaft in their collective windpipe.

Then what happened last week? He got locked into a close game against the Falcons, panicked because he’s as green as peas, and stopped running the ball, even though his team was doing it better. Experience counts! Our coaching staff is battle-tested, so even when we were down, even though our average run (on paper) was 3.0 yards per carry, we stuck with it. We stayed grounded. We stayed balanced. (DONE)

At half-time I wasn’t sure about some of these, but Nick Foles has a nice second half and in doing so, helped the Eagles deliver a 4 out of 4 Four Things score. This will be out well before we know who our next victim is, so I can’t really offer a tempting tidbit for next week yet.

On The Whole:

It was more grit than glitter. More spit than polish. War of attrition, is what I called this game after the half. This game was about will. It was about who wanted it more, and who had the players who could seize the moment.

In the end (as I said), we were deeper and more talented. The Falcons were no match for us. They were never going to be. While some will point out that we only scored 15 points, we also only allowed 10. Meaning we only needed 11.

I told you not to worry about Foles, didn’t I?

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Foles isn’t a Lincoln Continental, he’s more like a Buick LaCrosse. As an Eagles QB, he’s been solid and efficient. Trouble is, solid and efficient are not sexy adjectives, and people like their QB’s to be attached to sexy adjectives. The actual problem isn’t the QB. It’s people perception of him, despite the fact that in Eagles green, he’s 18 -11 (.620) as an Eagles QB. (That’s about 9.9 wins per 16 games.)

No single Eagle won this game. There was no outlandish performance by any one player. This was a team effort. That’s how this team has won 14 games this year. It’s how they’ll keep winning. This year.

How Eagles haters look today:

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FOUR THINGS: DIVISIONAL ROUND: EAGLES-FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

DR-ATL

PHILADELPHIA returns to the postseason with a home game against last year’s Super Bowl loser. After a 13 – 3 regular season run, the Eagles have secured home-field advantage, in the pursuit of becoming NFL Champions.

For the Falcons this is unfinished business. Last year they were up 28 – 3 over New England in the Super Bowl, before they ran out of energy, fell apart, then imploded, self-destructed, and shit the bed. The slack-jawed Falcons would go on to lose  28 – 34, after surrendering 31 un-fucking-answered points. (Man, I hate the Patriots.)

Their 2017 season has at times included bits of that same falling apart, imploding and self-destructing. While they can be a dangerous team, they are frequently their own worst enemy.

For the Eagles this is about Next Man Up. Despite over half a ton (1,383 pounds) of injuries this year, the Eagles kept winning games, and overcoming adversity. Having lost QB Carson Wentz to a torn ACL, veteran Nick Foles will step in to do his best Jeff Hostetler impression.

Just to drive that point home, here’s a look at Hostetler’s 1990 playoff run:

hostetler

Stop worrying about Foles. The Eagles are a complete team, and can only be done-in by poor execution. As long as the Eagles bring our “B” game or better, we’ll walk out of this thing with the “W”.

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

1) Run. The. Ball: Nick Foles isn’t a once-in-a-generation type of QB. He’s a complementary piece. This isn’t a bad thing to realize, it’s a bad thing to ignore, once you’ve realized it. The load for beating playoff caliber defenses cannot be shifted entirely onto Foles shoulders. 

Let’s get north of 25 carries. We were the NFL’s #3 rushing team this season. However, in the last 4 games we’ve run the ball 28, 25, 23, and 17 times respectively. In each game we’ve run less, and each game has been harder to win as well. I sense a connection there.

message-keenan-ivory-wayans

2) A thousand cuts: MLB Deion Jones is Atlanta’s leading tackler and best cover LB. He’s also undersized (222 lbs.), and they only carry 3 DT’s. Because of that, I’d hammer Atlanta with the run and keep Jones in the box and out of coverage. Since their OLBs are poor in coverage, I rip them up outside the numbers with high percentage passes to TE’s Zach Ertz and Trey Burton (not WR Nelson Agholor), to freeze Atlanta in their base defense. The idea being to deplete their edge pass rush, catch their CB’s peeking back at the flat, and physically exhaust their front seven. (Like in the Super Bowl.)

3) Alter the launch: Most of the time hitting a QB is effective for getting in his head. That trick doesn’t always work so well with (local product) Matt Ryan. What’s needed is to change his launch point and delivery. Atlanta’s (overrated) receivers don’t do a great job of adjusting for balls, and they are prone to mental lapses. For example:

Ryan cares about the small details more than his teammates do. Over the years that’s been abundantly clear. Lucky for us that makes him easy to frustrate. (Lord knows what resentments he harbors from his team’s practices.) While sacks are nice, beating the hell out of him won’t net us as much tactical advantage, as simply forcing him to move his feet, change his delivery, and make him feel like he’s all alone out there. Thus allowing us to corrupt their passing offense at the source.

4) Stay grounded: The Rams lost to the Falcons last week because they couldn’t keep a cool head under the pressure of the moment. At no point was that game out of hand, nor were the Rams hopelessly behind. But while Atlanta kept their (non-QB) run/pass ratio at 33 to 30, the Rams had a ratio of 16 to 45. What’s funny is that the Rams were having a much easier time running than the Falcons (7.2 ypc vs 3.2 ypc), but still it was the Falcons who stuck with it. Once more and with feeling: They stuck with it! They didn’t panic. They stayed balanced and grounded. 

message-keenan-ivory-wayans

That’s what we need to do this week.

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:

Saturday’s forecast calls for a breezy 50 degrees, with showers. Rain is something that dome teams seldom handle well, and “breezy” takes on a different meaning when it whips through a stadium. Add on top of that, 66,000 (mostly Eagles fans), in full throat on whenever Atlanta’s offense is on the field. The cherry on top of that, will be DT Fletcher Cox, already pissed over the media’s perception of his team:fc.jpg

The Eagles will come out of the gate full of nervous energy, but the weather will help us offset any initial jitters. However, after the jitters wear off, the weather will still be there, the ground will still be wet, and with the Eagles being the better team, Atlanta will feel the game start to slide away from them.

The Falcons defense is athletic, just not athletic enough nor deep enough, to defend against a bevy of Eagles offensive weapons. On the flip-side, the Falcons only have a couple of weapons worth fearing on offense, and the Eagles have more than enough depth and skill-sets to compete, Even if wholesale adjustments need to be made. Few teams can boast that. Especially after so many injuries.

THE QUESTION that most Eagles fans have is: How will Nick Foles look out there? The answer is that Foles has been a very solid QB, when he plays for the Eagles. Especially when he plays at home. 

Since 2013, Foles is 9 – 2 when starting at the Linc. His one regular season “loss” (note the sarcasm), was two weeks ago vs Dallas. His other loss, was in our 2013 playoff game vs the Saints. He completed 69.7% of his passes for 2 TD’s, with nary a pick or a fumble, in what ended up as a 24 – 26 loss.

I’m hardly worried about Foles. If you’re smart, you’ll stop worrying about him too. As back-ups go, we could scarcely be in better hands. If things around him operate efficiently, then he has the potential to be downright dangerous. 

PREDICTION: EAGLES 25 – Falcons 18

yeah bitch

THE RIVALS 2017 (PT 3 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/09
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

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IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about our Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview which drops each April. (Look for it.)

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This (along with other local sources) helps ensure that Eagles fans ARE the best informed and most knowledgeable fans in the NFL, and not just laying a bullshit claim to it. These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 3, 9, and 15.

*This wasn’t the announced 2017 format, but I was inventing this as I went. Here in 2017, this last one is coming out after the season ends.

This is where we left off: PART 2 of 3

This is where things are today:

New York Giants:  3 – 13, 4th in the NFC East

Things got so out of hand on this team, that they fired their coach Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese, during the season. The giants hadn’t made a move like that since the 1970’s. That’s how bad the ownership thought this mess was. Before McAdoo left the building however, he managed to leave a lasting scar on the giants history by benching QB Eli Manning and breaking his streak of 210 consecutive starts. Seemingly just because he could.

The giants leave 2017 in a state of total disarray. Offensively, they’re 31st in scoring (15.4ppg), 21st in yards (314.2ypg), 19th in passing (217.4), and 26th in rushing (96.8). Defensively, they’ll close the year hurting across the board, as they’re 28th in points allowed (24.2), 31st in yards allowed (373.2), 31st in passing yards allowed (252.4), and 28th in rushing yards allowed (120.8). There is nothing in New York that isn’t broken at this point.

Luckily for the giants, they’ll have the #2 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. While there are a number of areas to address on the team, they have to do something about the LT spot on their line. Ereck Flowers is over-matched pretty much week in and week out. Until they can stabilize their offensive line woes, there will be a repeat of 2017 just waiting to happen.

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

In April of 2017, I said this was a 6 win team. As you can see, I was clearly way off the mark. The Redskins are a team that is rotting from the inside because of their front office’s approach the concept of team-building. I mean that in every possible facet, that it can possibly be meant in. From how to spot a player who can help, to how to build depth, to how to get guys to rally together, the ‘skins suck at all of it. Just ALL of it.

Thanks to QB Kirk Cousins, for whom they have no appreciation, the ‘skins offense was 16th in scoring (21.4ppg), 16th in yards (324.9ypg), and 12th in passing (234.4ypg), despite him dragging around a 28th ranked rushing attack (90.5ypg). Their poorly conceived defense, did exactly what poorly conceived things tend to do. It fell apart. That left them ranking 27th in points allowed (24.2), 21st in yards allowed (347.9), 9th in passing yards allowed (213.8), and DEAD LAST at 32nd in rush yards allowed (134.1).

While the option to stick a third consecutive franchise tag on Cousins does exist, it would be the same sort of poor team-building that this team had been guilty of for the last (how long has Dan Snyder owned the team?) many years. The pass defense improving from 25th in 2016, to 9th in 2017 may fool the Redskins into thinking they can apply their 13th overall Draft pick elsewhere, but the truth is they need a Strong Safety.

SWEPT

Dallas Cowboys:  9 – 7, 2nd in the NFC East

In April of 2017 I picked the Cowboys to be the second best team in the division. How ‘bout them predictions?! Cowboys fans will want to blame the team’s record on the 6 game suspension of RB Ezekiel Elliott, but that’s just ignoring some pretty damning facts:

First: Over the six games without Elliott, Dallas averaged 121.3 rushing yards per game. Dallas ran the ball 152 times for 728 yards and a 4.7 yard per carry average. Elliott himself only averaged 98.3 yards per game this year and 4.1 per carry.

Second: Elliott averaged 26.8 touches per game this year. Projected over 16 games, that works out to a whopping 428 touches. This would have been after a 354 touch rookie year. He’s young, but dammit, the kid is still human! This suspension may have very well helped saved him from Dallas overusing him, and burning him out young. Ask Larry Johnson, Natrone Means and Barry Foster what 400 touches can do to a RB’s relevant longevity.

Third: Dallas’s ground game was anything but unreliable during those six weeks. Dallas ran the ball effectively in every game. What they couldn’t do well (even after Elliott returned), was pass effectively.

The numbers on offense? They were 14th in scoring (22.1), 14th in yards (331.9), 26th in passing (196.3) and 2nd in rushing (135.6) Defensively, they finished 13th in points allowed (20.8), 8th in yards allowed (318.1), 11th in passing yards allowed (214.1) and 8th in rushing yards allowed (104.0). All respectable, middle of the pack numbers.

You can point to pretty much any area of this team and say that the 19th overall Draft pick would be well-spent there. Others may say that TE Jason Witten needs an heir, or that Dallas could use a shutdown Cornerback. I’m going to say the The defense is Jekyll and Hyde based on the presence of LB Sean Lee and he has a tendency to miss games. If he were to be lost during 2018’s preseason, you could basically write the season off. That’s why they need to draft an OLB whose eyes are faster than his feet.

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So, that’s the state of our division rivals as your Eagles gear up for our Divisional playoff game. Just a quick run-down of who does what well, and why they’re at home watching us play this weekend. Cheers!

THE PLAYOFF TEAM THAT SCARES ME

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

WHICH team do I fear in the playoffs this season? Who will be the toughest test, for Head Coach Doug Pederson? Everyone has a team that they fear for some reason or another, and I’m no different.

Most fear the Minnesota Vikings, minnesota vikingsbut I’m not entirely sure why. Yes, they have a good defense. Other than that, we’re talking about a team that’s been held to fewer than 17 points, 4 times. They’ve also played 2 games against the Bears (rookie QB), 2 games vs the Packers (no Aaron Rodgers), and had games against the Browns, Redskins, Buccaneers, and Bengals. Seriously, that’s half a season worth of gimmies! That’s 8 – 0 because the sun came up. The rest of the way they were 5 – 3, but just 1 – 2 on the road vs this season’s playoff teams. Minny is a dome team, and has played 11 of their 16 games either in a dome or in warm weather. Readers who don’t live in or around Philadelphia may not know this, but Philly’s winter weather isn’t likely to do the Vikings any favors.And if you do live in Philly, just look outside your window right now.fans 1 Dome team. ‘Nuff said.

new orleans saintsMany fear the New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and RB Alvin Kamara. Thrown in a defense that has improved steadily for two years, and the Saints are actually respectable opponent. That said, they suffered 3 of their 4 losses, on the road, and played 14 of 16 games either in a dome or in warm weather. Our last playoff game was a home loss to the Saints in cold weather, but keep in mind, we were being coached by an idiot (TIK) who proudly ignored basic pro football wisdom, and then was out-coached by a guy deliberately employing Football 098 tactics, just to show him up in front of the nation. Well, we’re no longer being coached by an idiot.

los angeles rams.jpgSome fear the Los Angeles Rams. We beat them in a shootout that QB Carson Wentz played most of, before tearing his ACL. This time around we have Nick Foles in the pilot seat. While Foles is no Wentz, he is still more than capable of leading this Offense. Also, perhaps our Defense might show up for this game, unlike the last time we played the Rams. Oddly enough, the Rams on the road were 7 – 1, and so were better than the 4 – 4 they were at home. However, given that they won’t receive a Bye week, I’ll wait to see if (and more importantly how) they survive the first round, before deciding if I’m concerned about them. They concerned me during the regular season, but I’ll need another look at them before deciding if they warrant that again. However, if you put a gun to my head and asked me if I’m concerned about them today, I’d have to say that I’m not. This time we have a real MLB, and won’t be starting and playing most of this game in the Nickel.

Atlanta. Yeah, no one fears Atlanta. It might be wise not to stand to close to them, since they have a tendency to self-destruct, and we don’t want to get any of their stank, on us.

Which brings me to my point. The only team I fear in these playoffs.

It’s the Eagles. That’s it.

We’re a team that can pump on all cylinders. Offense? We put up 30 per game. (23.5 under Foles, even if you subtract the defensive TD vs Oakland). Defensively we hold teams to 18 points per game. Our Special Teams has repeatedly proven themselves as clutch and/or pivotal this year. So we can do it all.

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Instead of being a team that is offensive or defensive, we’re complete on all THREE sides. As long as the Eagles bring even our “C” game, at the very least we’re going to be in the game until the very end (See: Chiefs and Seahawks). If we bring our “B” game or better, we’ll be sending teams on long, quiet plane rides to clean out their lockers.

No. I don’t fear any of the poor suckers who have the misfortune to come visit the NFL’s best football team. The only thing I fear is the Eagles executing poorly. As long as that doesn’t happen, no one is coming into OUR HOUSE and leaving it with a win.

SEASON REVIEW: FOURTH QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/01/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh.) A few are done at the halfway mark, and/or at the end. This year, Eaglemaniacal.com will treat the season like a game, and break 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 from here.

STATUS: 13 – 3 overall, 5 – 1 division, 2017 NFC East Champion, #1 seed in the NFC, Holder of home-field advantage

NUMBER ONE SEED

OPPONENTS:

Los Angeles Rams (11 – 5)

New York giants (3 – 13)

Oakland (6 – 10)

Dallas (9 – 7)

OVERVIEW:

The big story this quarter was the season-ending injury to QB Carson Wentz (ACL) vs the Rams. Our back-up QB stepped in, finished that game, then helmed tough wins over the giants and Raiders, to give the Eagles home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

GRADES:

QB: (D) Nick Foles took over for Carson Wentz after Wentz was lost for the year to a torn ACL. I’d like to grade Foles on a curve due to clearly mitigating circumstances, but I won’t. Part of his job is overcoming adversity, and so far he hasn’t shown the ability to do that. He doesn’t need things around him to be perfect for him to be effective, but he does need things around him to run efficiently. When things run well, Foles can be downright dangerous, but if something goes off the rails, he’s decidedly ordinary.

RB: (D) In the last 4 weeks, our top 3 RB’s have 1 touchdown on 94 combined touches (rushing and receiving). Part of the problem has been a deliberate decline in usage. Week 14 saw them rush the ball 28 times. Week 15 saw them rush 25 times. Week 16 shrank to 21 rushes, and Week 17 was just 16. This lack of production makes it easy to focus on taking away the passing game, and it helps to tank the entire Offense, Doug.

TE: (B) This position continues to help move the chains. Even when Zach Ertz had to miss Week 14, Trey Burton card.trey.burton

stepped up and had the biggest game of his career. One thing that does seem to have disappeared from this position, is it’s willingness to attack down the field. Some of that is due to buying time while chip-blocking to assist the LT, but we have to find a way to get that missing aspect back.

WR: (F) In the last 4 games, Nelson Agholor has caught 22 passes for 169 yards, for an average of 7.6 yards. In none of those games did he average even 9 yards per catch. And it gets worse. This morning I saw Alshon Jeffery on a milk carton. He was smiling and holding up two fistfuls of cash. Torrey Smith told us he was just going to get cigarettes. That was two weeks ago! Meanwhile Foles is sitting in the rain, waiting for a ride…

OT: (B) Foles has been sacked 5 times in 3+ games. Wentz was sacked 28 times in 14. Either the line is getting better, or Foles is just not getting caught with the ball in his hand. Credit also the TE chipping, and RB Corey Clement being in there to help LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai on 3rd downs.

OG: (C ) This is a mixed bag since Stefen Wisniewski got hurt. Chance Warmack is clearly the better Guard between he and Isaac Seumalo, but his rust was on display with all the pressure he allowed vs the giants in Week 15.

C: (D) In recent weeks Jason Kelce has been erratic with his shotgun snaps. This is an easy way to give the ball away for a cheap score.

DE: (C ) Chris Long has turned in 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in the last four games. Aside from him, sack production is still down from where it was before the Bye. This position has been decent at setting the edges, but there’s been some fall-off during this last quarter.

DT: (C ) This position has not produced a sack since Week 12, nor a fumble since Week 1. It has been stalwart vs the run and covering for a deficiency at MLB since we lost Jordan Hicks Week 7. Perhaps the new player at MLB, will allow the DT’s to become more impactful again.

OLB: (B) Nigel Bradham card.nigel.bradham

has been great this quarter as a mistake eraser and tempo setter. Mychal Kendricks has been somewhat up and down, but his role did seem to change slightly after the Hicks injury.

MLB: (D) This grade is only this high because we now have Dannell Ellerbe to rely on in this spot. Between Week 8 and Week 16, this position looked like a missile had hit it. Joe Walker just can’t play. Najee Goode lacks the physicality for the spot, and for three weeks we started no MLB and opted for the Nickel instead. (Two of those games were against the Rams and Seahawks.) It seems like we’ve hit upon a player now, so maybe everyone else on the Defense can stop covering for a deficiency, and get back to being fully effective themselves.

S: (D) This position has not recorded a pass break-up or interception since Week 12. A lot of that had to do with bringing Malcolm Jenkins down into the box due our MLB deficiency. A lot of attention has been paid to our CB’s biting on double-moves, but more frequently we are giving up high percentage slant routes that carry no physical consequences for working our middle.

CB: (C ) Ronald Darby has made it clear that throwing the ball near him could be hazardous to your offense. Jalen Mills on the other hand, has recently looked every bit like a 7th round draft pick. Patrick Robinson has made a solid case for the Eagles to offer him another one year deal to be the Nickel next year. That is of course, if Rasul Douglas doesn’t get a shot at the spot.

LS: (A) Rick Lovato got himself a tackle Week 16. Yay. Other than that his snaps have been reliable.

P: (A) Donnie Jones has punted the ball 22 times in the last 4 weeks, but we’ve surrendered just 36 return yards. This has helped set the Defense up and helped us gradually win the hidden yardage game.

K: (B) Jake Elliott card.jake.elliott

has been great over these last 4 games. He’s 8 of 9 on field goals and 9 of 9 on extra points. The one area of concern is, since the weather in Philly’s winter weather rolled in, his kickoffs have gone down from 63.2 to 52.8 yards. Much of that has to do with the ball itself being harder to kick, but still it’s something to keep an eye on.

PR/KR: (C ) Our return game is competent, but it won’t scare anybody.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

We’ve lost a player who many would consider the NFL’s MVP, and still we managed to go 2-1 without him. That one loss was a 0 – 6 “defeat”, in which our rival played their starters the entire game, while we pulled ours in the first quarter. Along the way we secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs up until the Superbowl.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

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The regular season is over. We are now in the post-season. There is no quarter given here. Not by the calendar, nor the fans, nor the opposition to come. There is however, a mission, and it is this:

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