FOUR THINGS: EAGLES-DOLPHINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/23
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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THERE are a number of things the Eagles need to tighten up in the next two weeks, but it won’t happen. Let’s just get that said, right now. The Eagles are a team that needs real games to get their edge as sharp as it needs to be. We’re close to turning the corner and these young players need real battle, (real victory and defeat), not more practice.

Since starters will play most or all of the first half, the temptation would be to “win” that half. That would be pointless. This is still a preseason game, so for this team, at this point in our development, the game’s best application is as a learning tool. Since the Dolphins will be playing their starters in the first half too, that’s a great time to sprinkle in guys like RB Corey Clement, S Tre Sullivan, TE Billy Brown and particularly LB’s Joe Walker and Don Cherry, (given LB Nigel Bradham’s possible suspension).

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

1) Impact from WR Alshon Jeffery: Less important than yards and catches, are how he causes the defense to treat his side of the field. I’ll be looking to see where the Safety lines up, and how often he even fakes walking into the box. If Jeffery can “keep his yard clear of trash”, running the ball to that side should be a lot easier.

2) Man up: Our interior Offensive Line needs to show that they can move men off of the line of scrimmage. This has gone beyond the issue of scheme or coaching. At this point you have to question the manhood and professional viability of the starting interior. Must they be the bitch of every man that lines up across from them? Can they win a down? The Eagles need to see if there is at least one real man in that group.

3) Establish the Danger Zone: The Safeties have been very quiet this preseason and that has to change in this game. Sadly, part of our coverage concept includes deep cushions and quick inside releases. If that’s going to be part of the package, something has to “encourage” receivers to take their eye of the ball. The best way to do that is with jarring hits that make men fear for their own well-being. I didn’t say we should injure anyone, but they should certainly be afraid that we may.

4) Back to basics: Football is blocking, tackling and doing your job. This would be a great week to preach fundamentals to the starters, in front of our young depth. This is also a great week to yank a guy for a series or two over a bonehead mistake, if one or more of those happens.

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 Eagles will put up a decent number of rushing yards against a so-so Dolphin’s run defense, which features a guy who used to be Ndamukong Suh. We will harass and demoralize Jay Cutler and make him question whether or not he really has 2017 in him. We will look like a better team than we actually are just yet. That said, we should handle Dolphins in what should be a fairly boring game.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Dolphins 9

yeah-bitch

 

REDSKINS PRESEASON AUTOPSY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/21
Posted in: NFL, poll, Reviews, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

no chill

SINCE 2013, our Eagles are 3-5 vs the Redskins, losing the last five games in a row. So we’ve been swept by them in each of the last two seasons. Like it or not, they’ve had our number lately. However, the tables are about to turn, sharply.

What proof do I have that things are about to change? We recently made some moves that forced me to another top-to-bottom comparison of the Eagles against our division rivals. We made improvements to the depth and talent of our Offensive Line. We also improved a Secondary that didn’t seem to be able to stick to their shadows last year.

While the Eagles improvements are all well and good, the more important side of this equation, is that the Redskins have gotten worse. Significantly worse. In fact, it usually takes a team a few years to decline this fast. In a sick sort of way, it’s almost an accomplishment that they were able to self-destruct so thoroughly in such a sort period of time. I’m… impressed(?)… sort of??

On defense, they let lineman Chris Baker just boogie on down to Tampa Bay. While they could have had a dominant 3-4 line, featuring rookie Jonathan Allen and led by Baker, they now are down to being anchored up front by that rookie, and “just some guys”.

Think the Eagles were bad against the pass last year? With as bad as we looked, we were still ranked 13th in the NFL. The Redskins were ranked 25th. That’s twelve spots worse than what we found unacceptable. Twelve. So how did they shore up their secondary? Aside from the CB they selected in the third round, they didn’t touch a thing. No really, go look. I’ll wait.

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CB Bashaud Breeland, playing with some kids.

On offense, the ‘skins haven’t been able to reliably run the ball in two years. So of course they ran out and added some help to their offensive line, to open holes for their star RB, right? Wrong. They left everything just as it was. They saw mediocrity, and planted a flag in that sumbitch like they were claiming Iwo Jima.

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Wait, did I say “star” RB? Two years ago that was Alfred Morris who gave way to Matt Jones. But then last year Matt Jones gave way to Rob Kelley. So far this preseason, it looks like Rob Kelley is giving way to 4th round pick Samaje Perine (PEE-ryn?). So yeah, it looks like they don’t really have a star RB. So I misspoke. My bad.

But that’s okay! It just means they have to lean on their passing game, right? So of course (for whatever reason), they tossed not one, but two, thousand yard receivers off the team. They then decided to base their passing attack on a Kick Returner, a TE who gets concussions from nodding ‘yes’, and WR who is most famous for being Cleveland’s best receiving option in 2016, despite having either having played QB, or being completely out of football every year since 2011.

To top it all off, they left their locker room an unsettled mess, by making it impossible to rally around their QB. They did that by leasing him for yet another season, instead of giving him a multi-year deal. The upshot is that now their QB (their leader), is disgruntled because he feels unappreciated as he literally depreciates with time and potential injury.

I didn’t make any of this up, and aside from the concussion joke, I didn’t even exaggerate any of it. I didn’t have to. This is Dan Snyder’s version of “the best he can do”. It’s crazy that this shit is actually happening to Redskins fans, and they have to pay good money for the privilege. It’s almost terrorism!

Last year the ‘skins went 8-7-1 and were a far better team than they are today. That’s taking into account talent, experience, and overall morale. Oh yeah, and losing these first two preseason games won’t help to keep down the internal finger-pointing.

So yeah. Barring something truly bizarre, the Eagles should have no problem with this team in 2017. The only good thing about the Redskins upcoming season, is that after 16 games, they get to go home and stay there. That team is a dumpster fire.

dumpster fire

 

skins fans

SHOW A SPECIAL PLAYER SOME LOVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/18
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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CLEARLY the Eagles Special Team Kick Coverage unit has lost something since last season. In my opinion what they lost was OLB Bryan Braman. In fact, it already looks similar to the falloff we experienced when we foolishly let LB Ike Reese go to Atlanta, after the 2004 Super Bowl.

For the last three years, Braman was a ST demon for this team under ST Coordinator Dave Fipp. Funny thing is, while we’re experiencing a slide in our kick coverage, Braman is sitting at home. Unsigned. Last I heard, he was visiting with the Saints earlier this month, but apparently that didn’t work out.

Typically football fans undervalue the importance of great Special Teams kick coverage. They don’t realize how it sets the table for a defense. Forcing poor field position, followed by a three and out (or a turnover), sets up an offense with a short field and an ability to score quickly.

Frequently the only yards fans and pundits discuss, are what an offense produces or what a defense allows. The “hidden yardage” of Special Teams generally gets ignored. Not investing in a kick coverage unit, can cost a team that hidden yardage battle, many times over the course of a season. Losing that battle can easily contribute to losing the game. With that in mind, it seems like someone in our Front Office needs to make a phone call, and get Fipp a guy he can work with.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: BILLS (PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/18
Posted in: Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

YAY we won! Then again there was never any doubt in my mind that we would. Aside from RB LeSean McCoy, the Bills don’t exactly have a ton of offensive weapons with which to scare anyone. For god’s sake, they were forced to start slow-footed WR Anquan Boldin on the outside tonight. That said, at least we didn’t lose to a lesser opponent. That’s an important building block in a successful season.

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The 20 – 16 win gave us a chance to look at some new starters. Given that the passing game didn’t click with the same rhythm it did a week ago, you have to wonder if it was adversely affected by the trade that brought us a key player in the Secondary.

But what about the stuff that the stats don’t reveal? That’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. To have an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that we’re forced to honestly answer questions AFTER the game.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see? (Keep in mind, I talk about the starters in the Four Things section. I’ll address the back-ups, later. If at all.)

1) Being in sync: QB Carson Wentz and WR Alshon Jeffery didn’t seem to be on the same page mentally tonight. That however was exactly what I expected would be the case. Live action is different from practice, and with Jeffery already taking it easy do to a shoulder strain, even working in practice was going to be turned down in intensity. It’s going to be a process. That said, BOTH of these guys need to play at least a half next week. (NOT DONE)

2) Push must come to shove: At no point did the Eagles attempt to establish an inside attack with RB LeGarrette Blount. They just kept running him outside. He did have a nice 8 yard gain on one carry, but other than that, the Eagles punked out at fighting in between the Tackles. (NOT DONE)

3) Slow the inside release: Many will tell you their favorite play was the pick by CB Ronald Darby. For me it was the interception he didn’t get, that I liked most. He closed a shallow cushion, forced his man outside, then closed on the ball like he was shot out of a cannon.  It was perfect technique. Totally without flaw. 9 times out of 10 that would be six points. On the pick however, Darby’s technique initially took him out of position. But when QB Tyrod Taylor underthrew Boldin, it gave Darby time to adjust. Not to take anything away from Darby, but he won’t see an assignment that easy in the NFC East. True, he’s a work in progress, but he truly has done really well for just getting here. (DONE)

4) Control the middle: The defensive interior was sort of up and down vs the run tonight. That was kind of to be expected by a team that runs the ball as well as the Bills do. (They were the number one rushing team in the NFL last year.) While we didn’t control the middle in an overall sense, we did manage the situations well. Situational ball, wins games. Winning games, wins divisions. Admittedly we didn’t control the middle, but with the big picture in mind, I’ll take it. (NOT DONE)

That puts this weeks score at 1 out of 4 things done. Our cumulative score after two weeks, is a less than stellar 3 out of 8.

On The Whole:

It was a penalty laden mess rehearsal, but there were some good things to take away from it. OLB Mychal Kendricks continued to prove his doubters wrong with his second interception in as many games, adding a sack to boot. QB Dane Evans has me wanting to see him get a look with the second unit next week. The guy plays his heart out and we should get a look at him against stiffer competition, to see if we have something in him. (Even if it just means we have a QB we can trade.)

ICYMI: RB Corey Clement got some early reps this week. Meanwhile RB Wendell Smallwood watched in street clothes.

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/BILLS (PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/16
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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SO much is new coming into this game. In all honesty, some of it probably shouldn’t be new, but that’s spilled milk at this point. Generally in preseason game 2, you want to build on your strong points from preseason game 1. That however is hard to do when new starters get added suddenly, or others got the first week off.

Barring a surprise, new Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery and CB Ronald Darby will make their Philly debuts in this game. We’ll also get to see how WR Nelson Agholor looks as a regular in the slot. So it’ll be almost like we’re playing in our first preseason game.

Again.

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

1) Being in sync: QB Carson Wentz has to demonstrate solid chemistry with WR Alshon Jeffery. The window for getting them on the same page is rapidly shrinking, and the trading of WR Jordan Matthews removes a security blanket for Wentz, that would have allowed for a certain margin of error. Nothing less than precision is acceptable here.

2) Push must come to shove: Last week, it looked as if the interior Offensive Line was incapable of generating a new line of scrimmage in the run game. That has to get fixed this week or a hard look has to be taken at whether starting LG Isaac Seumalo is really the right move.

3) Slow the inside release: It’ll be interesting to see how much success CB Ronald Darby has when he allows an unsupported inside release, vs when he plays an outside technique. Even if the receiver’s route is an inside route, Darby needs to at least make him fight to get inside. Five yard cushions and quick inside releases will make Darby the equivalent of every CB we already had on the roster before he got here. Keep your eyes peeled. Tape don’t lie.

4) Control the middle: Last week the Defensive Line did a great job of stymieing the Packers ground game, but the Bills are far better at running the rock than they are. This week if we see our line give RB LeSean McCoy a hard time between the Tackles, we’ll know our front is legit, and didn’t just beat up on a mediocre running team.

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:

Jeffery is no rookie. He knows his craft. He can read a defense, get open and make grabs. The issue here is timing. Practice speed and game speed are very different things. So hooking up with Wentz may not look as smooth as some people are expecting. Unlike last week, you can look for shots to be taken down the field. If the Eagles are going to open up the run game and work the bugs out of the passing game, they’re going to have to air the ball out on Thursday.

For years, I’ve called C Jason Kelce a soft player who benefited from the play of savvy, scrappy LG’s (Evan Mathis, Allen Barbre, Stefen Wisniewski) beside him. (This is why Kelce’s play can seem solid one week and soft the next.) Suemalo isn’t scrappy and he isn’t very experienced. The result is that now Kelce has to carry a guy, instead of being carried. In any case I wouldn’t expect a big night on runs inside vs the Bills interior of (DT’s) Marcell Darius, Kyle Williams and (MLB) Preston Brown.

The D-Line will get pressure but will get sold-out by spotty coverage. People will want to blame the athletes, but the real problem is the technique we play. But be patient. It’ll get addressed soon enough. Just not this week.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 17 – Bills 10

yeah-bitch

WHY ‘ZEKE REALLY GOT SIX GAMES.

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/12
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Fans, NFL, Players, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
getty

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

EZEKIEL Elliott’s six game suspension is bullshit. Let’s get that part out of the way first and foremost. There have been NFL players and coaches (Tom Brady, Bill Belichik) who’ve done worse to the sport itself, and gotten little to no time for their transgressions. There have been players (Greg Hardy) given stiff sentences (10 games), that were reduced to less time (4 games) for admitting far worse than Elliott is accused of. So then, why the stiff sentence for ‘zeke? Why would the NFL want to make an example of Elliott?

The answer dear friends, is marketing. Yes. Marketing.

While advertising is the act of trying to sell a product, marketing is the act of trying to sell an image, or an idea. It’s an attempt to influence, or control thoughts and/or perceptions. Right now the NFL is trying to sell the idea that they are putting their foot down. But to whom is the NFL marketing this idea?

In the last decade, the NFL has made pointed overtures at female customers in the form of products for women, Breast Cancer Awareness, Team Camps for female fans, trying out female referees, and dozens of other small gestures to boot. Given that the U.S. has a larger female population than male, it only makes economic sense to play to the larger crowd.

That said, over the decades the NFL has repeatedly dropped the ball on issues regarding violence against women, and it’s treatment of the perpetrators. Generally those issues were greeted with shrugs from many players, coaches and even owners. Realizing that they’ve been slighting such a large market segment, the NFL is now at least trying to look as if it gives a damn. It is because of that, that Elliott got shutdown for almost half the year.

Despite the Cowboys boast of being “America’s Team” the reality is, there are 31 other fan bases out there, and all of them have female fans. The NFL was willing to piss off female Cowboys fans, in order to score points with female fans of the other 31 teams. Makes perfect mathematical sense.

Also it mattered who the NFL hit with this. Greg Hardy was a mid-level NFL star, already years into his career, who embraced, even cultivated his “bad-boy” image. A suspension to him just added to his “cred”. Elliott however, is a young, top level star. He’s young enough to have this and any other suspension, affect his next contract, and so he’ll have to stay on the straight and narrow. So this suspension now, will in a few years, look like the NFL hit him with some “act right”.

Again, this is marketing the idea to female fans, that the NFL can and now will, force even a star player to behave himself. Due to wanting to not hurt his next deal, Elliott has to walk a careful line, and so is now a built-in success story for Commissioner Roger Goodell’s idea of discipline.

There is a nagging question in the back of my mind however. Would this sentence have been for as many games were it against a non-Cowboys player? Given the Cowboys past (let’s call it) reluctance, to discipline their players, perhaps the NFL was sending the message that if it gets to the Big Desk, it will generate a bigger penalty. This seems like Goodell’s way of telling owner Jerry Jones, to mind his shop better.

How the Cowboys handle the next infraction will determine whether Goodell has made his point to Elliott, the Cowboys, and female fans across the NFL.

THE EAGLES CORNERBACK PROBLEM

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Crazy Talk, Defense, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz brought with him a version of the Wide Nine defense, that was leveraged (smarter) differently, than the version that Eagles fans saw run under Jim Washburn/Juan Castillo, toward the end of Andy Reid’s tenure here. Schwartz’s system does a better job of getting pressure with our front four, than we have at any time since 1992. What Schwartz doesn’t seem to be able to do, is find a CB.

Oh, we’ve run the gamut in our search! We’ve kept veterans from the prior regime (Nolan Carroll). We’ve brought in guys who played in a Schwartz system before (Ron Brooks, and Leodis McKelvin, both former Bills). We brought in re-treads (Patrick Robinson). Drafted talent early (Sidney Jones). Reached on a project (Rasul Douglas). Promoted a gritty underdog (Jalen Mills). Now we even traded away Jordan Matthews, the WR with the best proven chemistry with our QB, in exchange for a third Bills CB (Ronald Darby).

We’ve swapped out physical guys like Dwayne Gratz, and cut then brought back finesse guys like Aaron Grymes. In the last two years, we’ve had a ton of CB’s and DB’s come and go in Philly. So many different kinds of athletes. So many varied gifts. So why can’t we find a decent starting pair of CB’s?

The answer is that we probably already found a pair of starting Corners. Fact is, the athletes aren’t the problem. The system isn’t the problem. The DC isn’t the problem. All of those are great. The problem is the coverage technique that Defensive Backs coach Cory Undlin is teaching the Corners (likely at the behest of Schwartz).

If Darby grabs 5 picks this year, most folks will say that I’m just a crank for talking about this. On the other hand, if he ends up on the pile like all the others have, we will have given up a valuable piece for something we already have plenty of.

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WHAT NEEDS FIXING?

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/11
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Reviews, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

BELIEVE it or not, there were a few positive things to take away from last nights game vs the Packers. QB Carson Wentz looked fully in command of what was happening around him, despite Green Bay being total assholes and blitzing so much (given that it was a preseason game). Our Defensive Line also handled business both as the starting unit and as the “back-up” unit.

There were some good things that happened last night, but this is the preseason. The preseason is for focusing on what we need to tighten up. Judging from what we saw at Lame Beau last night, our Eagles have quite a bit of tightening to do, in some key areas.

The first area to tighten, is coverage. We’re still using 5 yard cushions and allowing wideouts quick releases inside. That inside release puts the receiver between the ball and the defender. It creates a no-brainer, easy completion for even the worst QB. We played this same technique, and gave up these same releases last year, and we ended up 7-9 for our troubles.

On the other hand, if the CB forces the receiver outside, then the defender would be between the ball and the receiver. A QB thinks twice about throwing a ball to that receiver, so he holds the ball longer while looking for a different receiver. That gives the pass rush time to get home. We need to do more of that, and that cannot be done from a 5 yard cushion.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today

Another thing we need work on, is communication in our run game. Last night, no matter who carried the ball, running in between the Tackles wasn’t something we could do. I get that the assholes were bringing extra men all night long, but even high school Offensive Linemen have checks, calls and counters for that.

What you saw in that game, was a unit not communicating like they should be. Maybe it’s because one Guard is a new starter, and the other was filling in. In either case it’s still inexcusable. Learn the checks. Learn the calls. Be able to communicate. When the communication stops or gets messed up, everything gets messed up. The unit cannot and will not function as a team, if they don’t communicate. Communication is a must.

Blitz hot routes also need a looksee. The Cheesies came with the blitz on what seemed like every down, but the only time I recall them getting spanked for it, was on that 20 yard pass from QB Matt McGloin to RB Corey Clement, in the second half.

While it looked like our QB’s (even Wentz) weren’t great against the blitz, the truth is that the routes we ran, went outside. (In contrast to what the Packers did with inside releases.) It’s nearly impossible to hang the ball accurately when the receiver still has his back to you. This is a problem with the way a route drawn up. Better play design would go a long way to helping out the QB.

I could name a few more things, but today I’m just going to focus on the things which stem into other things. Focus on the fundamentals, first. Not being able to cover, run, or give your QB a quick option all are stem issues. We’ll see what takes place this week in practice.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: GREEN BAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FINALLY, after what seemed like a 12 month offseason, we got a look at our team. After a long wait, we had a chance to get a real idea of how they measure up against other NFL teams. Better still, this was against a team that made the playoffs last year. A real test! So of course the Packers rested key players.

Today's Discussion (Erostile 16 Bold)

It was just as well that we didn’t get the Packers best punch. We spent so much time hurting ourselves, that they hardly needed to show up at all. 73 plays run, 54 passes to 19 rushing attempts. That put the play selection here at 78% pass to 22% run. No NFL team can put together a successful season with that kind of imbalance. The Eagles uneven and frankly, hard to watch 9 – 24 loss, was proof of that.

But what about the stuff that the stats don’t reveal? That’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. To have an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that we’re forced to honestly answer questions AFTER the game.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Which WR has QB Carson Wentz’s eye: Turns out it seemed to be WR Jordan Matthews. Matthews caught two balls from Wentz that he turned into much better plays on the field than they could have been on paper. No ball was thrown to WR’s Nelson Agholor or Torrey Smith. However, at least Wentz was looking for WR’s not backs or TE’s. (DONE)

2) Covering our bets: The CB’s continued to play with huge cushions and surrendering inside releases, like the starters from last year did. A 61% completion percentage will kill any Defensive scheme, regardless of how great the front seven is. (NOT DONE)

3) Timmy, Timmy, Timmayyyyy:  DT Timmy Jernigan didn’t see much action last night, but on the handful of downs he played, the interior looked impenetrable. I’m sure it’ll seem more human next week and the week after. However, for now it was good to see dominance. (DONE)

4) Getting carried away: We didn’t get the (5 – 24 – 4.8) with a long run of 10, kind of night that I was hoping for from RB Corey Clement. What we got, was a (7 – 13 – 1.8) with a long run of 8 kind of night. He was however, the Eagles leader in rushes and yards, as no RB was able to find any help from the Offensive Line. (NOT DONE)

That starts the preseason off with a low-key 2 out of 4 benchmarks met. That being said, I want to see more from the running game and from our coverage next week vs Buffalo at the Linc.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/GREEN BAY(PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/09
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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THIS game officially closes the books on the 2016-2017 season and turns our collective eyes to the 2017-2018 season. In this first pre-season game, we get our first look at how the new additions will fit, and whether or not we’re better for now having them here. Winning or losing isn’t the point. This is an evaluation tool for the coaches and a tune-up for the players. Nothing more.

This is the football equivalent of your elementary school music teacher, expecting you to strike that flat bell sounding thing with the mallet, when they point to you. 

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It’s pretty basic shit, and so there’s no excuse for screwing it up out there.

Since winning serves no purpose at this point, it will serve us best to get a DEEP look at the roster. Since everyone will be doing basic stuff, it should serve as a solid measuring stick as to who is and who isn’t fundamentally sound as a player.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for versus the Packers:

1) Which WR has QB Carson Wentz’s eye: There’s a good chance that WR Alshon Jeffery will be held out of this game, while he nurses a minor shoulder issue. We know that Jeffery will be the primary target when the games count, but when he isn’t on the field, which WR does Wentz look for?

2) Covering our bets: Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz told the world that he’d be blitzing more in 2017. That means the CB’s will have to either play more man-press or force WR’s to the sideline. (That’s because inside releases will undercut any blitz attempt.) The cushions we played with last season… they have to disappear to make the blitzes work, and these young CB’s need to practice what they’ll actually be doing this year.

3) Timmy, Timmy, Timmayyyyy: It may be unfair to expect so much from a new player, but DT Timmy Jernigan is lining up next to DT Fletcher Cox, so I expect to see the Packers unable to get anything done between the Tackles. I don’t care about Screens and Shuffle-passes, or Jet Sweeps and QB scrambles. It’s all the bread and butter stuff, that I expect to see taken away.

4) Getting carried away: I want to see RB Corey Clement end the night with 5 carries for 24 (or more) yards, with at least one run of 10 yards. I’d like to see him before the fourth quarter. Preferably sprinkled in, off and on all night. Testing him against 3rd stringers won’t tell us if he can help us during real NFL season

Again, the point of this game isn’t a win. If we win this game 1000,000 to 0, it won’t mean a single thing towards our playoff push. It won’t add an inch to our ****s or a dollar to our bank accounts. We need to expose our youth to some “live fire” and test their mettle. The sooner we can separate the chafe from the wheat, the sooner we can focus on truly putting 7-9 (and 7-9) behind us.

yeah-bitch