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.

super nope 52

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

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:

Alshon scores 2.jpg

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

fletcher.jpg

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.

me and rhodie (JFK).png

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.

mickey cufflink.jpg

“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.