FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 9: BRONCOS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/06
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HOLY wow, Batman!The Broncos came into the game allowing only 71 rushing yards per game, and we hung 197 on them. They came in allowing 18 points per game and we hung 51 around their necks.

The Eagles could have phoned this one in, and just ducked their heads into the Bye Week. If we went in at 8-2, no fan would be terribly disappointed. Instead, the Eagles went out and dismantled a team with one of the best defenses in the NFL. In the words of Adam Sandler: Not too shabby!

Vinny Curry

EAGLES 55 – Broncos 23

Carson Wentz (15/27 – 55.5% – 199 – 4 – 0) beat up on Denver’s “No Fly Zone” secondary and hardly broke a sweat doing it. He even picked on All-Pro CB Aqib Talib (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) for two of those touchdowns. In fact, the only way to stop Wentz from piling more points on that ass, was to take him out of the game. Maybe QB Nick Foles (1/1 – 100% – 35 – 0 – 0) lobbied to protect his record? (That was a joke. Don’t go around spreading that.) WR Alshon Jeffrey (6 – 84 – 14.0 – 2) had his best game as an Eagle so far, and rookie RB Corey Clement (12 – 51 – 4.2 – 2 – 0/ 1rec – 15 – 15.0 – 1) outscored the Denver offense. “New to us” RB Jay Ajayi (8 – 77 – 9.6 – 1 – 0) led the team in rushing and was one of three Eagles to gain more rushing yards than the entire Broncos team, as RB LeGarrette Blount (9 – 37 – 4.1 – 0 – 0) also did some damage.

Defensively, we allowed Denver all of 35 yard rushing, partly because DE Vinny Curry (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) was a monster on the right side. FS Rodney McLeod (1 – 0 – 1 – 0) grabbed his second interception in two weeks.

I hear you asking, “Well golly mister, what about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well Billy, 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) Gelding the pass rush: Early in the game we got the ball out to TE Brent Celek (3 – 39 – 13.0 – 0) and to TE Trey Burton (2 – 41 – 20.5 – 1) in the absence of TE Zach Ertz who was out with a hamstring injury. Wentz also used a hard count to draw the Broncos offside a few times. And of course there was also our run game. The result of those things cut the nuts clean off of the Broncos pass rush, and made sure that Wentz was only sacked once during the game. (They also got to Foles for one.) (DONE)

2) Set up play-action: There was no way to expect that we’d hang 200 rushing yards on the Broncos, but the prescription was to stick with it anyway. Well brother, did we EVER! The play selection was 34 called runs to 27 passes. The play-action was there, and Wentz’s jersey stayed pretty clean. (DONE)

corey clement

3) Pick our poison: The deal was to take away the run and force the Bronco’s QB to beat us. Worked like a charm. (DONE)

4) Run the Walker: Sending MLB Joe Walker (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) on a few blitzes was the idea, but instead he spent more time in coverage or scraping. (NOT DONE)

That makes this weeks score 3 of 4, bringing the season tally to 30 of 36. The players get a much needed week off now to heal and nurse injuries. (As much as a single week will allow.) For you and I of course, a week with no good football will be sheer Hell. However, keep in mind that the playoff push begins directly on the other side of the Bye, with a match-up against the Dallas Cowboys. I’m sure you won’t mind giving our players time to rest, and our coaching staff time to prepare.

On The Whole:

With this win we are officially a better team than we were last year. We have 8 wins now, and are guaranteed .500 at worst. Now we are working on that one victory that will guarantee us a winning record for 2017.

This game against the Broncos. All we did was whatever we wanted, however we wanted to do it. Running, passing…I think we could have scored sending smoke signals, if we had decided to try it.

I do have one gripe though.

It’s Alshon Jeffery. He never seems like his head is all the way in the game. For example, he had a holding penalty on a Corey Clement run that cost us some yardage, and was laughing and joking after having been flagged.

For a guy on a “prove it” contract, he simply doesn’t produce at the rate that you would expect, for a guy who’s going to ask for a ton of money in March. I’d like to either see him start looking like THAT guy, or for the Eagles to let our young receivers get more looks on the outside.

IS IT KARMA?

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/03
Posted in: Conversations, NFL, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

bunny_ears_karma.jpg

2017 won’t be a banner year for the NFL. Ratings were low to start with, but now with a rash of injuries to marquee players in recent weeks, it’s unlikely to pick up. There is a noticeable cave-in on multiple fronts for the NFL. Whether it’s ratings, discipline, unity, or sponsorship, things seem to be tough all over for anything NFL related. Even for sponsors who make pizza.

Last week, John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s Pizza, blamed the NFL for his sluggish pizza sales. His reasoning is that the NFL upset people, by not denying American athletes their First Amendment right to free speech. That’s funny because Dominos also advertises heavily during NFL broadcasts. Yet their Quarterly Earnings Report for Q3 2017, reported gains across the board. 

While Papa John’s is better (as chain pizzas go) than Domino’s, it’s likely a case of people not wanting to support a Fascist pizza maker. (Personal note: I stopped supporting PJ in 2013 when I learned that he’d reduced employees hours, in order to protect his shareholders, as a corporate reaction to ObamaCare not being repealed. The link to his own words is right HERE 

So people aren’t eating less pizza. We’re just not eating his pizza. He didn’t give a shit about us, so we stopped giving a shit about him. That’s the Golden Rule in effect. It’s Karma stopping by to say howdy. So it makes me wonder, maybe this season is the result of Karma also paying the NFL a long overdue visit.

By long overdue, I don’t just mean for the league’s poor handling of Colin Kaepernic’s ‘National Anthem’ protest. I don’t just mean for it’s inability to discipline Ezekiel Elliott for violation of league decorum. I don’t just mean for it’s spotty track record on domestic violence, which allowed Greg Hardy to keep playing, while simultaneously black-balling Ray Rice. I don’t just mean from it’s inability to learn from the Chris Henry and Fred Lane tragedies. I don’t just mean from it’s unwieldy response to players protesting a social issue, that has been blatantly misrepresented by some as either a protest of Old Glory (our nation’s flag), or of our troops.

I’m saying it’s not just one of those things. It is ALL of those things which has earned a visit from Karma, which the NFL (and it’s sponsors), were too arrogant to see coming. The NFL has for too long forgotten that people not commodities, play football. People not demographics, watch football. The NFL has forgotten to take care of the Human element, and now the Human element is to some extent, abandoning the league, like we have with Papa John’s.

Fans watch football as a form of entertainment. It’s escapism. It’s a place to shove reality aside for a bit, and enjoy a chance to cheer. To believe. Whether at home with a loved one, in a bar with forty “new friends”, or with fifty thousand total strangers in a stadium.

Fans don’t want the reality of social injustice or inequality intruding on their escapism. Fans don’t want to be reminded that not everyone sees the world the same way, or has the same experiences. Fans don’t want to hear that this nation is not as great for some, as it is for others.

As sports fans, we want to see ourselves this way:

fans 3.jpg

However, the real world that we’ve all ignored (even when we aren’t at games), has intruded in on our game now. We are left faced with the same old divisions. Left avoiding the same old discussions, with the fractures of society now invading our escapism. This is nothing more than Karma. This is us reaping what we (you and I), as a society have sown.

As fans, it has left us believing less, and cheering less. That has lead to some people to watching less. Or not being able to “get into it” like they have in the past. It is our own lives, our own ended friendships and fragmented society which has come back to roost.

Papa John. The NFL. Everyone who isn’t an Eagles fan. What you are experiencing, is called Karma.

Sacrifice

FOUR THINGS: WK 9: EAGLES-BRONCOS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W9-DENjpg

OKAY, this could be a trap game. It shouldn’t be, but the Broncos have a defense that could give us problems. It will be an excellent challenge for QB Carson Wentz. While our own defense is headache and half for opponents, we do allow 19.5 points per game. So we have to be on our toes with this one.

For the Eagles, getting this win would guarantee us .500, and be one more win than we’ve had in either of the previous years. This win would be a benchmark. On the other hand, it’s right before our Bye week. Players can get sloppy right before a Bye.

Denver comes into this game 3-4, and starting (oh my god) Brock Osweiler.

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

1) Gelding the pass rush: Like the Redskins, most of the Broncos sack production is manufactured by their OLB’s Von Miller and Shaquil Barrett. Also like the Redskins, the OLB’s do little else. Playing WR Nelson Agholor more in the slot would take them right out of their base defense. Additionally, short passes to the flat will either cause the OLB to drop into zones, or force the CB’s into zone coverage and open up Quick Slant routes.

2) Set up play-action: Denver is almost as good at stopping the run as we are. We likely won’t run for a ton of yardage, but that’s okay. We just need to feed them enough run to be able to dupe them with play-action, to consume the field in large chunks.

3) Pick our poison: Take away the run game and force Brock Osweiler to beat us. (That makes me giggle just typing it.)

brock starts

4) Run the Walker: Send Joe Walker on a few blitzes. Osweiler can extend plays with his feet, but hasn’t shown the feel for it in the NFL, that he was said to have in college. So don’t let him stand in the pocket and that will basically dismantle Denver’s offense.

 

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:

Offensively, we’re probably going to have some trouble running the ball. We simply haven’t fared well this year, rushing against this brand of 3-4 defense (with 48, 46, and 29 yards in three games for our leading RB).

That said, we’ll still run it to keep Denver honest, and to set-up the play-action pass. Speaking of which, over the last 3 weeks WR Alshon Jeffery has averaged 17.8, 18.5, and 31.0 yards per catch. Seems like he and Wentz may have found their groove. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Wentz leads the team in rushing yards. Again.

On Defense, it’s almost like Denver is soft-balling this one in. With a rookie you try to shake him up by sending a blitz to make him worry about his safety and get him to look at the rush. Rattling Osweiler, will likely be the defensive game plan this week.

Osweiler has experienced a failure to live up to Draft hype, a failure to live up to a big contract, and a failure to even win a job as the Browns starter. Now as the Broncos groom Paxton Lynch to lead the team, Osweiler knows he may be playing his last relevant football.

That’s a ton of internal pressure for a man to handle, while dealing with the external pressure we will bring, amid the cascade of boos that our fans will rain down upon him. He will be out there without a single friend in the world, and no calm port inside of himself to help him. We may get to see a grown man cry on Sunday. So set your DVR.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Broncos 10

yeah bitch

SEASON REVIEW: SECOND QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh.) A few are done at the halfway mark, and 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 in relation to where it started, and where it needs to go.

STATUS:

7 – 1 overall, 3 – 0 division, 6 – 0 conference, best record in the NFL

NUMBER ONE SEED PERIOD

OPPONENTS:

Arizona (3 – 4)

Carolina (5 – 3)

Washington (3 – 4)

San Francisco (0 – 8)

 

OVERVIEW:

Here at the midway point, we’ve already won as many games as we did all last year. We swept a division rival that we hadn’t even split with in years. We have the best record in the sport, and people are no longer questioning “if the Eagles are for real.”

I could go on, but that might seem too much like being satisfied with not being guaranteed .500 yet. There is so much more to be done. 

 

GRADES:

QB: (A) QB Carson Wentz leads the NFL’s 11th ranked passing offense, and 4th ranked scoring offense. He is taking care of the ball, and making gutsy plays to keep his team on the field. His name has also come up in a few early MVP discussions. Not a single complaint here.

RB: (A) The NFL’s 5th ranked rushing offense, features a three-headed backfield where no one is griping about how little they get the ball. Quietly, RB LeGarrette Blount is 10th in the league in rushing yards (467), and 3rd in yards per carry (4.7), among players with 80 or more carries. The addition of Jay Ajayi adds depth, or maybe he’s the future after 2017.

TE: (A) Zach Ertz leads all NFL TE’s in receptions, yards, touchdowns and first downs. Trey Burton has only 9 catches so far, but 5 have been first downs and 1 was a score.

WR: (C ) This is VERBATIM what I said last quarter, and every word still fits to a “T”: They block downfield and clear out space for the run game, but more is to be expected of a #1 and #2 receiver, than to be respectively #2 and #4 on the team in receptions. Alshon Jeffrey is on a 1-year prove it contract, and isn’t making much of a case for a big payday, in league flush with WR talent. Torrey Smith is failing to pull in too many deep throws. If he doesn’t actually start snagging some of those, he may find himself replaced in the line-up with someone like Marcus Johnson, or Mack Hollins.

card.alshon.jeffery.jpg

OT: (C ) A severe fall-off has taken place here. A season-ending injury robbed us of LT Jason Peters, during Week 7. In his place is second year OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Vaitai has been awful as a pro football player, but right now he’s the only reserve OT we have, who is at least mentally current with our playbook and protection calls. We still have Lane Johnson, but this position CANNOT withstand another blow.

OG: (C ) This position has slipped a notch. It was a “B” last quarter, but LG Stefen Wisniewski seems to be wearing down a little. He’s a feisty beast, but really he’s MUCH better suited to Center than Guard. Chance Warmack (inactive Week 7) has been used in a sort of rotation with Wisniewski. RG Brandon Brooks is handling his business. As usual.

C: (B) Jason Kelce has been solid since the coaching staff benched LG Issac Seumalo.

DE: (A) 11.5 of our teams 22 sacks are split between 4 guys at this position: Brandon Graham (5.0), Derek Barnett (2.5), Vinny Curry (2.0), and Chris Long (2.0). Did I mention that the Eagles own the NFL’s #1 run defense? Oh I didn’t? Well the Eagles own the NFL’s #1 run defense, and these guys (particularly Curry) are a huge part of that.

card.brandon.graham.jpg

DT: (A) This position had to go a stretch without Fletcher Cox, and it still operated at a very high level. Once Cox came back, it was almost unfair. The pressure this position generates is the primary reason that the Eagles don’t need to rely on blitzing for pressure, and can reach QB’s with a four man rush. Oh, and did I mention that the Eagles own the #1 run defense in the NFL?

OLB: (B) We are horribly thin at this position, but our starters are owning the field from sideline to sideline. If they can play every game, then we’re good. If either man has to miss extended time, it could get ugly out there real fast for us.

MLB: (D) The season-ending loss of Jordan Hicks in Week 7 was a heavy blow. So now Joe Walker is the guy we’re relying on, to erase any mistakes from DE to DE.

S: (D) It took 8 games, an 0-7 team, rain and a tipped ball, for a starting Safety to register a takeaway. Look, I get it. We allow opponents to throw the ball in the middle of the field, so there are a lot of players around him to make the tackle. It keeps the offense in front of us, and doesn’t allow momentum swinging plays. I get it. Still, we don’t have to make it so easy, do we?

CB: (B) In the first quarter this position snagged 3 picks. In the second quarter they tacked on 4 more. That’s 7 takeaways in 8 games, and keep in mind, this is all being done with our best two CB’s rehabbing injuries. This is what our depth looks like. Many teams would kill for this.

LS: (A) All the snaps have looked good to me.

P: (A) Donnie Jones is flirting with his career best in net average punt with 41.5 yards. (His career best so far, is 41.7 yards per punt.) That is how you win the hidden yardage game.

K: (A) Jake Elliott is more than you could reasonably ask for from a rookie Kicker. He missed a couple of extra points in the San Fran game, but it was windy and wet. They’re kicks he should have made, but let’s not be an asshole over two TOTAL points.

PR/KR: (D) Kenjon Barner has come in and done a decent job of filling in for injured Darren Sproles. However, sometimes he carries the ball a little loose, and doesn’t clear away from rolling balls fast enough. No one fears the Eagles on a kick returns. We aren’t great at it and we’ve only returned 7 through 8 games, opting instead to settle for touchbacks.

KC: (B) Jake Elliott is continuing to improve his kickoffs. In the last four weeks, he’s kicked off 21 times and had 8 of those returned in diminishing fashion. Returns have gone from 4, to 3, to 1, to 0 last week. Hard to allow a kickoff score if the kickoff goes through the endzone.

 

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The mission for this quarter was establishing swagger. To show that we could impose our will on teams. Guess what? We did just that. Arizona 34 – 7. Carolina 28 – 23. Washington 34 – 24. San Fran 33 – 10. Not one of those games was a nail-biter. Once we had a lead in ANY of those games, we never relinquished it.

Our young team is learning how kill it’s prey, and not let it off the hook.

Jalen Mills being more aggressive towards the ball, has netted him two picks in the last four games. Snagging passes will go a long towards making opposing QB’s hold the ball as they look for better options to throw against. This should help our pass rush immensely as the season goes on.

 

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

This quarter we have one game, then our Bye, then it’s a run of two out of three games in prime time. Those games are Dallas and Seattle. Those are conference games and could affect home field advantage.

The mission for this quarter, is to let the NFC know that the road to Minneapolis runs through Philadelphia. We need 3 of these 4 games. And one of those games MUST be Seattle.

home

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 8: 49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/30
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

THIS was supposed to be a trap game. You know it and I know it. However, the injuries we suffered last week, left a couple of our guys with something to prove in this one. That, combined with some suck-ass weather, and just flat-out more talent, was more than enough to send San Francisco to 0-8.

NUMBER ONE SEED PERIOD

EAGLES 33 – 49ers 10

Alshon Jeffery (2 – 62 – 31.0 – 1) had more yards on his 53 yard touchdown catch-and-run, than any 49ers player had rushing or receiving all day. The Defense collected 4 sacks, 13 hits, and two interceptions, one of which returned for a touchdown by CB Jalen Mills (2 – 0 – 1 – 0). QB Carson Wentz (18/32 – 56.2% – 211 – 2 – 1) didn’t have a great day but, he was still effective at keeping the Offense at full-size. At no point did it feel like, or look like the Eagles were dialing the playbook down, in order to make life easier on our back-up LT.

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) Win the blitz: The 9ers didn’t really blitz Wentz very much, and they didn’t really need to. They got decent pressure for most of the game, with just their line. While RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai wasn’t the disaster most of us were expecting, the lines of communication between he and LG Stefen Wisniewski, must improve ASAP. That said, once the Eagles went to a no-huddle approach, Wentz himself was much sharper and quicker at getting the ball out. (DONE)

2) Air it out: It would be nice if more of our long attempts became long completions, but the aim of this week wasn’t necessarily the completions. As I said the point was to show faith in the O-line, clear space for the run game, and show other teams that the loss of LT Jason Peters, will not shrink the playbook or stop us from attacking. If this goal were a bell, we’d have rung it hard enough to put a crack in it. (DONE)

3) Put the top on: Containing WR Marquis Goodwin was going to be key for clogging up the rest of San Fran’s offense. While he was questionable to play due to his back, he was active for the game. That was of no help to the 9ers, as the only thing Goodwin caught on Sunday, was possibly a cold. (DONE)

4) Turn up the heat: 13 hits and 4 sacks sounds like we dialed up a lot of blitzes, but really we didn’t. Didn’t need to, since we can generally get pressure with 4 rushers. That and the 49ers offensive linemen were dropping like teenage girls at Beatles performance. We didn’t really get this one done, but who cares? We got the result without doing the work. (NOT DONE)

This weeks score is 3 out of 4, bringing us to 26 of 32 on the season. Next week’s dance with the Denver Broncos may prove to be a little tougher, but at least we don’t have to play at Mile High next week. (And yeah, I’m aware that their stadium is called Sports Authority Field at Mile High. I just hate the shitty names that arenas have these days. And to me it’s still PATTISON station, not AT&T station.)

On The Whole:

We beat an opponent that we were supposed to beat. Even if we hadn’t dominated, it wouldn’t have mattered, because we won a trap game. That’s the important part. When a team becomes elite, most of their games are trap games, because few opponents will be elite. So instead of fearing trap games, get used to them.

We took two major injuries last week, and still rolled over an NFL team. LT Vaitai didn’t give up a billion sacks, and MLB Joe Walker (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) wasn’t a target that the 49ers could pick on all day. Detractors will tell you that San Fran wasn’t exactly the stiffest test, and that would be true. However, the 49ers were the only team on the schedule this week.

While no one was looking, the Eagles pulled off a balanced Offensive attack with 32 pass to 27 called runs. Speaking of running the ball, I told you to expect RB LeGarrette Blount (16 – 48 – 3 – 1 – 0) to carry the ball a season-high 18 times, and I was wrong. He only matched his season-high of 16 carries. RB Corey Clement (10 – 54 – 5.4 – 0 – 0) can now say there was a week when he led the team he rooted for as a child, in rushing yards. And he can say he did it as an undrafted rookie.

Defense was the story of the day. Once again we took away an opponent’s run game and left their QB to do everything all by himself. This game marked the third time in eight games that our opponent’s leading rusher was their QB. All this defense does is take, even though it’s by no means at full strength right now.

Be afraid NFL. This 7-1 team still has room to get MUCH better.

FOUR THINGS: WK 8: EAGLES-49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

W8-SF

THIS week we’re coming off of a win, in which we suffered two devastating, season-ending losses to LT Jason Peters and MLB Jordan Hicks. It’s been a season fraught with injuries that we’ve managed to mask, mitigate or otherwise overcome completely. However, there is a growing concern among some Eagles fans and media, that this team has run out of miracles.

This is going to be a very interesting game. A 6-1 Eagles team, playing in Philly against an 0-7 San Fran team. In most years this would be a trap game. This would be the game where the Eagles took an opponent lightly, came out flat, and were left saying…

da fuck

Instead, we got yet another visit from (that bitch) the Injury Bug last week, and it’s left us with questions. Questions like, Will the season fall apart now? Can the coaching staff make enough adjustments to offset the losses? Is there enough talent on the roster to give coaches any decent options? This game will be about answering those questions.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the 49ers :

1) Win the blitz: After LT Jason Peters was injured, the logical assumption was that RT Lane Johnson would take over the left spot, and back-up OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai would play the right, where he could be helped by a TE. NOPE! Head Coach Doug Pederson is leaving Johnson at RT, and starting (yes starting) Vaitai at LT. That means our RB’s will spend a lot of time lined up on the left to help Vaitai. If the RB’s are blocking left, expect blitzes from the middle and the right. QB Carson Wentz has to identify blitzers quickly and get that ball out of his hands. Otherwise this game will become a nightmare.

2) Air it out: While Wentz can’t spend all day holding the ball, at times we really do need to throw the ball deep this week. We need to show teams that losing Peters didn’t shrink our playbook, so not respecting our WR’s will be costly. In the long-run this helps out our run game. More than that, we need to demonstrate to our own O-line, that the staff still trusts them.

3) Put the top on: The most dangerous player on the 49ers offense is WR Marquise Goodwin. The guy is faster than a rumor, and if San Fran really knew what they had, they might be 5-2 instead of 0-7. We have to contain Goodwin, thereby keeping the rest of their offense in front of us, instead behind us. Goodwin is on the injury list with a “back injury”, but until he’s ruled “out”, he’s still as dangerous as honesty in a PC world.

4) Turn up the heat: Show blitz on practically every 2nd and 3rd down, but only bring it when the distance is 8 yards, or more. Getting to the 49ers QB isn’t hard at all. No need to overextend and expose ourselves and give up one or more big, catch-and-run plays underneath. The idea is to get MLB Joe Walker mentally involved and then keep him dialed in, emotionally. He’s a back-up, but he can’t look like a back-up out there. Otherwise, the 49ers will key on him and give themselves a chance.

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:

Offensively, the Eagles are going to give Vaitai help, by having RB’s watch that LT/LG gap for blitzers or rips inside. That, calls for a heavy dose of the big RB LeGarrette Blount this week. He may be allowed to develop a rhythm running the ball, since he should be out there in pass protection so much. (Having him out there and not really giving him the ball eventually tips our play-call to the 9ers. Why help them out?) So expect Blount to run the ball a season-high 18 times. Not using Blount in pass-pro, is an invitation for disaster.

So much is up in the air on Defense. It’s likely that Walker will be asked to make scaled down zone drops, and just attack his run fits. There would be no sense in the coaches telling him to go out there and make plays. He first has to get familiar with not just what he should be doing, but others around him as well.

It has to be expected that our MLB will be targeted in the passing game. While it would be nonsense for coaches to tell him to make plays, let me say AS A FAN, he has to make one or two plays, when they come at him. Otherwise, he will be seen as our weak link.

On the whole, we’ll win because even with as injured as we are, we still have more flat-out talent than San Francisco.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – 49ers 10

yeah bitch

SURVIVING OUR INJURIES

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/25
Posted in: Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

wounded eagle

THIS fucking sucks. It’s bad enough that we lost LT Jason Peters and MLB Jordan Hicks for the season. Having to rely on OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and MLB Joe Walker, only makes matters worse, because there currently is no safety net behind those guys. Oh wait! It gets better! To add a dash of salt to the cut on our eyeball, there is the distinct possibility that we’ve seen the last of Peters.

Hicks on the other hand will be back here next year. Whether or not he comes back as a starter, has a lot to do with how Walker handles these last 9 games. Depth at LB has been an issue for this team for over a decade now. Like Guard, it is not a position we do a good job of drafting or stocking up on.

The word on the street, in every news paper, and on every website, is that RT Lane Johnson will move to LT to protect QB Carson Wentz’s blindside. This will relegate Vaitai, to RT. Given that Vaitai has problems against speed, or quickness, or strength, or persistence, I’m hoping that the coaching staff will get him more TE help.

Not giving Vaitai TE help would just be an act of arrogance. It could also lead to a career-ending moment for our franchise QB. Few things could be as embarrassing as starting the year as the 6 – 1, number one team in the NFL, only to implode completely and mortgage the future; over nothing more than an unwillingness to adjust the Offensive scheme a little.

I like Walker as a Special Teamer, and he’s fine for giving your starter a breather here and there. He just never seems eager to mix it up or control the area from DE to DE. You want a MLB to piss all over that area, and mark it as HIS. In all truth, during the preseason, I liked LB Don Cherry much more than I liked Walker. Maybe we’ll see Cherry back in here soon. (Gotta work on his tendency to shuffle his feet before hitting the gas, though.)

I’m not sure what can be done to help Walker. Hicks has a reputation for being a ballhawk, so QB’s weren’t too interested in challenging him when he was in coverage. Given that Walker is only 236 and isn’t a thumper, I’m hoping that coverage will be where he excels, and that we can get some tipped passes and a cheap interception (or four) from QB’s testing him.

Three days ago, I wrote another article about how I’m not worried about any of the other teams in the NFC, stopping us in the playoffs. I wanted to wait until after the Redskins game to release it, so that I wouldn’t jinx the win by writing 6 – 1, before it actually happened. Then these injuries happened. I may still release the article after we demolish San Francisco, but right now, I hardly feel like talking shit.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 7: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HOW SWEEP IT IS! For the first time since 2013, the Eagles have swept the Washington Redskins. We now find ourselves alone atop the entire NFL, at 6-1. As far as the NFC East is concerned, we have a 3 game lead over both the Redskins and the Cowboys. We’ve been in or won every game we’ve played so far, regardless of our opponent. Even if they happen to be wearing stripes and baseball caps.

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EAGLES 34 – Redskins 24

QB Carson Wentz (17/25 – 68.0% – 268 – 4 – 1) was the story of this game. Not only did he have a stellar game passing, but he led the team in rushing (8 – 63 – 7.8 – 0 – 0). This included a near sack, that had him emerge from the middle of a clusterfuck, only to run for a 21 yard game. While it wasn’t Steve Young’s 49 yard touchdown run vs the Vikings, that highlight will follow Wentz for as long as there is an NFL. By the end of that game I almost expected Wentz to spike the football and ascend into Heaven. Defensively, rookie DE Derek Barnett (3 – 2 – 0 – 0) broke his sack cherry and recorded two whole sacks, to add to the half-sack he earned last week. We also managed to hold the Redskins RB’s to 54 yards rushing on 14 carries.

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) Ertz so good: Once again it was the TE Zach Ertz Show (5 – 89 – 17.8 – 1) as he led the team in catches and receiving yards. Washington simply has no answer for Ertz. This was demonstrated when ‘skins ILB Mason Foster (4 – 0.5 – 0 – 0), was torched for a 46 yard catch. It was further demonstrated when Ertz caught short pass from Wentz, juked a ‘skins Safety clean out of his jockstrap, and then calmly strolled into the end zone. (DONE)

2) Cover 2 Robber: MLB Jordan Hicks (no stats) left the game early, and OLB Mychal Kendricks was already out with an injury. So there was no reasonable way to expect 2nd string MLB Joe Walker (no stats), to be able to direct a mixed bag of other substitute players, in any coverage that wasn’t basic in nature. It allowed for some easy completions over the middle, but really it was the best we could muster under the circumstances. (NOT DONE)

3) Tick-tock, Tick-tock: We didn’t run many overload blitzes on the right side of the Defense, but we did have a rookie DE beat ‘skins LT Trent Williams for two sacks. While we did establish Williams as a liability, the idea was to get the ‘skins QB to rush his passes. Instead he completed 30 out of 40 (75%). (NOT DONE)

4) Run the rock: Aside from Wentz’s 8 runs, the Eagles run to pass ratio was 25 : 25. Dead-even in play selection. You cannot ask for better. (DONE)

This week’s Four Things score is 2 out of 4, which is exactly what we did in Week One. That brings our season total to 23 of 28, or 82%. next week’”contest” against the 49ers should be cake.

On The Whole:

We took care of business. We beat a team that we should be able to beat. We got to see our young QB add more stories to his local legend. Our coaching staff stayed with the run all game long, despite only garnering 2.5 yards per run (minus Wentz’s numbers). So there were a bunch of positives in this game

On the other hand, losing LT Jason Peters to a leg injury during the game, was blow.

FOUR THINGS: WK 7: EAGLES-REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/21
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Roster, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

W7-WAS

THERE’S a lot riding on this game. Right now the Eagles have the best record in the sport. We’re running away with not only the division, but the entire conference. The cherry on top? This could be our first sweep of the Redskins, since 2013. The great thing about being an underdog is that, all the pressure to perform is on the favorite. Fellow Eagles fans, that pressure is ours now, and we want that pressure.

There may be talk that the ‘skins are more desperate. They are not. There may be talk that they need this game more. They do not. If we were to lose, then all of our rivals would breathe a sigh of relief, and wake up Tuesday feeling as if they still had a shot at our division. And that, we cannot take. This game will be hard-fought. Too much is at stake for either team to stand quietly aside.

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

1) Ertz so good: In our last meeting, TE Zach Ertz torched the ‘skins for 93 yards on 8 catches. They do an absolutely horrible job of covering TE’s because their 3-4 defense, sacrifices coverage for pass rush. With that sort of built-in deficiency, Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich, should have a great platform on which to base our passing attack.

2) Cover Two Robber: Alternate base Cover Two with some Cover Two Robber.

Cover Two Robber

Prior to the snap, Robber coverage looks just like base coverage. On long downs, QB Kirk Cousins would need to hold the ball longer, to make sure the middle was truly safe to throw into. The longer we can make him hold the ball, the more likely our pass rush can sack him, or tip his passes.

3) Tick-tock, Tick-tock: LT Trent Williams isn’t at full strength due to a knee injury a couple weeks back. However, like a true pro, he’s playing through it. Totally respectable. Completely commendable. Humiliate him. Make his teammates see him as a liability, by running some overload blitzes on his side, since he can’t adjust as quickly now. Force Cousins to rush his passes, when he hears phantom footsteps.

4) Run the rock: This is less to challenge Washington’s 8th ranked run defense, and more to set up play-action for later in the game. Last time against them, we came out firing deep. This time we should save that for after the half, either to seize momentum or strangle any remaining hope that they managed to muster in the locker room.

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

The ‘skins are the NFL’s #10 rushing team, but that has more to do with volume of carries, than any real success running the ball. Rookie RB Samaje Perine runs with all the elusiveness of Winston Churchill, and RB Rob Kelley is always injured. So they scare no one.

To compensate, the Redskins will try to use RB Chris Thompson to cause misalignments and mismatches. Every game in which Thompson has amassed 100 yards from scrimmage, the ‘skins have won. In every game where he didn’t, they’ve lost.

Our defensive scheme kept Thompson corralled well enough before, even without having to make special preparations. It’s safe to assume that it would do so again. No need to even make it one of the Four Things.

Though Washington comes into Philly with both of their top CB’s on the injury report, I get the impression that they aren’t nearly so wounded as we’ve been led to believe. They may want to bait us into throwing deep against them early. Deep passes give them time to get to QB Carson Wentz, and keep higher percentage passes out of Ertz’s hands.

The last time we faced the skins we averaged 2.4 yards per run, because we hadn’t shuffled the line yet. Much has changed in six weeks, so expect Head Coach Doug Pederson to lean on RB LeGarrette Blount, especially early. When the ‘skins start to load the box, look for play-action to seal the deal. Watch this one while holding your brooms.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Redskins 19

yeah bitch

THE RIVALS (Pt 1 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/18
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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DOUG Pederson and the Eagles won’t grace the field until Monday, which means the Four Things article I’d normally release Thursday, won’t hit until Friday. Needing something to write about until then, I decided to do a quick review of our division rivals. I’ll do one this week, during the Bye, and right after the regular season.

So lets dive in.

New York Giants: 1 – 5, 4th in the NFC East

Carl Brutananadilewski

(Reading this in my Carl of ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’ voice.)

Big Blue’s offense is ranked 29th in the league, averaging 17 and a half, (we’ll call it 18) points per game. That however, is a misleading stat, since they put up at least 22 points in each of the last 4 games. The defense has yet to allow any opponent 30 points.

Offensively, this is half a team. They can’t really run the football and as a result, it makes QB Eli Manning a sitting duck in the pocket. In the last two games they’ve gotten good yardage out of RB Orleans Darkwa, but he has a 4 year history of being…let’s say “delicate”. (FYI: Last week’s 21 carries was the first time in 4 years that he rushed the ball more than 12 times in a game.) Like I said, delicate. While most people wouldn’t see season-ending injuries to WR’s Brandon Marshall and Odell Beckham as good things, it may actually turn out to be just that. While talented, both of those guys are headcases, and headcases are rarely ever good for a locker room. Further proof of that is the Giants got their first win of the year, after losing both nutjobs and having neither on the sideline during the game.

Defensively, I said in April that they’d miss DT Johnathan Hankins, and no truer words have ever been spoken. Last year they finished up as the 3rd ranked rushing defense. Today they are 25th. The fact is, the LB’s are just ordinary guys. Or bums. It’s okay to call them bums. With a better line in front of them, they do okay. However, without a great line, they’re being exposed on a weekly basis. There’s talent in the secondary, but there are also some behind the scenes personality clashes, that has led to benching CB Eli Apple, and suspending yet another headcase in CB Dominique Rodger-Cromartie. With all three of the team’s nutjobs left off the team plane, the team managed to T.C.B. in the Bronco’s high altitude hell-hole, bringing back a “W” for the New York faithful, (who didn’t already jump ship to the Jets.)

(No longer doing my Carl voice.)

Mathematically, the giants could run the table and finish 11-5. Realistically, the giants will have to find a consistent run game to entertain any hope of sniffing 7-9. The upcoming game against the Seahawks will tell a lot about this team going forward. Especially now that the locker room will be less chaotic.

Dallas Cowboys: 2 – 3, 3rd in NFC East

sadburn!

While the team is 9th in points per game (25.0), they are 29th in points allowed (26.4). Offensively, the losses suffered during the offseason to their line (Doug Free (retired), Ron Leary (Broncos)) have taken a visible toll on their run game. 2016 rushing leader RB Ezekiel Elliott has seen his average yards per carry drop from 5.0 (through 5 games last year) to 3.7 so far in 2017. He’s also seen his rushing yards drop from 546 (through 5 games in 2016) to 393, on exactly FOUR fewer carries. As the Cowboys are a run first team, it’s easy to see why they seem to be stalling out.

Defensively, it’s just DE Demarcus Lawrence (8.5 sacks) and some guys. While some may want to blame Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli, the truth is that Dallas’s Front Office has no talent for spotting defensive talent. For example, DT Cedric Thornton was cut in favor of DT Stephen Paea who just up and retired last week, due to a knee injury that wasn’t even chronic. For another example, they threw a bunch of cash at CB Nolan Carroll and then just released him after Week 5, despite the fact that the team has been hemorrhaging points since they sat him (during) after Week 2. Project players like LB’s Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee, as well as DE’s Taco Charlton and DT David Irving, are why there is never any stability to build from on the Cowboys defense. They are the reverse of how the Offensive Line was built.

Offensively this team can still be an effective unit, even if Elliott were to miss time for any reason. The answer to their problem is that they have to be less of a run first team, and put more of the weight on QB Dak Prescott. Defensively, there is nothing to be done about this mess during the season. There simply isn’t enough talent on that side of the roster. If Dallas can find a way to put up 35 points per game, they can make a run for the division. Otherwise, they should start developing their 2018 Draft plan.

Washington Redskins: 3 – 2, 2nd in the NFC East

!Exitment! I mean excitement

All things considered, the Redskins aren’t in bad shape at this point. They’re finding ways to win against teams like the 49ers and the slumping Raiders. They’ve also managed to keep all but one opponent (Philadelphia), under 30 points. They’ve even gotten their pesky Bye week out of the way early. Surely that has to be a good thing, right?

Offensively, last week they finally got around to starting their best skill player in RB Chris Thompson. QB Kirk Cousins sports a passer rating of 106.4, despite not having a true #1 or #2 WR anywhere on (or even near) the roster. Cousins has also only been sacked 8 times this year, and only four times since Week One vs Philadelphia. (4 sacks that game). (And two fumbles.) (Both lost.) (One for a touchdown.)

Defensively, Washington is 8th in the NFL vs the run, and they’ve picked off 5 passes for an average of 1 per game. (Only 12 teams have more than 5 interceptions. Philadelphia is one.) The Redskins allow 22.6 points per game, which is 19th in the NFL. If they were about to go against a top 10 Offense (one that was 6th in scoring, 3rd in yards, 9th in passing, 5th in rushing) it might seem like they were over-matched, but for the average week, it’s not a bad defense to have. Just not, you know, going against a top 10 Offense.

Overall, the Redskins aren’t in a bad spot. At least record-wise. As far as the schedule… There’s still plenty of football to be played, and “any given Sunday”, right? On offense since they can rely on their QB, maybe they’ll go nuts and help him out next week, by starting their best player for just the second time this season. On defense they seem to play better against teams already having offensive problems. Kind of a weird coincidence right? If they can continue to play opponents like that, this team will hoist a Lombardi at the end of this season. 

So that’s the state of our division rivals as your Eagles head into Week 7 vs the Washington Redskins. The next time I do one of these, we’ll be heading into Week 11 vs the Dallas Cowboys.

rampage