A “SPECIAL” TALK WITH RHODIE

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/04
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WHEN I get to the bar Wednesday night, it was just staring to spit outside, but since it had rained earlier, I know the weather wasn’t serious about doing so again. I go over to the bartender and before I can get my order out, I hear Rhodie’s voice ring out like a gunshot.

“Special! Get ‘im a Special”.

For those who don’t know (like I didn’t until 2009), “The Special” is a shot of whiskey and a bottle of PBR. I was going to order some whiskey, but not the Wild Turkey. I’m also not a big fan of PBR, and the old bastard knows this. (But you keep ordering it for me anyway, don’t you? Just to break my balls.) So he’s looking at me kind of strange, then he gets up and comes over to me. He takes hold of my upper arms and pulls me in for a hug. (Thing is, I’m a lot bigger than he is, so really he sort of pulled himself in for the hug.)

It wasn’t the first time Rhodie has hugged me and I’m hoping it won’t be the last, but it’s not a frequent occurrence. So of course I asked him, what brought it on. We sit down and he tells me that it’s because of my last article.

“That article you wrote…thing of beauty. You went right at the Eagles brass like you didn’t care if they came after you, or if fans did either. With all these Four Things things and the gambling tips you been givin’, it’s been forever since you wrote like that. I was glad to see you hadn’t lost it.”

For the record, the NEXT articles aren’t gambling tips. I cannot stress that enough. They’re just how I see the Eagles games. Still I wanted to know what he meant by “lost it”.

“It just seemed like you got comfortable with your routine. You used to take chances and go out on limbs. You used to write something everyday. Some days you wrote two things! It just seemed like you’d lost your edge. Chip Kelly made you angry and it brought out your passion. It seemed like Kelly took part of your passion with him when he left.”

I was stunned. Rhodie was essentially giving me the speech that Micky gave Rocky, in ‘Rocky 3’, when he told Rocky that the worst thing that could happen to a fighter had happened to him: “You got civilized.” Rhodie was telling me that he thought I’d gotten civilized. That I’d gone soft to a least a small degree. I can argue that I still have my edge, but better than telling is showing. Which means I have some work ahead of me.

But in that moment, in that bar, at that table, Rhodie was proud of me. I’d shown there was some fight still left in me. Shown that the fire still burns in my belly. I’d shown once again, that I’m ready to take on the world, armed with nothing but truth and the courage to stand behind it.

This is who I always was. It’s who I am. It’s who I will always be. I have not gone soft. I have not become civilized. My edge remains as sharp as ever. Wind in my face. Truth as my weapon. Me versus the world. Any time. Any place.

I order a whiskey. It is NOT Wild Turkey.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THEIR QB is washed-up; their head coach (Ben McAdoo) has yet to do more than look like a pedophile

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;and their GM (Jerry Reese) has spent a lot of money on basically a large bowl of air. The giants are above .500 today, but there’s a seething sense that they’re 2 or 3 losses away from the franchise going into an absolute tailspin. I for one, would love for the Eagles to contribute to a division rival essentially having a nervous breakdown in the middle of a season:

From the blame game in the locker room…

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to players, coaches, and the owner sacrificing a body (Jerry Reese) to the fans…

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I can’t wait for ALL OF IT.

The giants are the ultimate .500 ball club. Even when their record isn’t .500, they’re never scary or reliably inept. They just exist in this never-ending state of “Meh”. This is good for us, because it means they can be used as a measuring stick. Sort of a, “You Are Here” sign, made out of living people. Win or lose this week, the results will be good for telling us specifically what needs work and how.

That being said, there still is the matter of playing the game, and trying to actually win a game on the road. Every opponent is different and so every opponent requires different methods to beat them.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 9 versus the giants :

1) Rush five regularly. QB Eli Manning is a statue, and the giants are the worst rushing team in the NFL. OLB Mychal Kendricks has proven to be a liability in coverage this year, but he still has an ability to take on blockers and create hurries. Manning will throw picks if he gets pressured, but he can pick you apart if he gets time. So don’t give him time.

2) Avoid throwing Screen passes. Half the time, even when they work, they don’t work. When they really don’t work, it essentially becomes a sack. Worse still, on downs when we commit a penalty, it gives the opponent the option of declining it, so we end up screwed out of the yards AND a down. Let’s not be the 46th giant.

3) Some 3-TE formation would be nice. The giants DT’s are 320 and 350. At 93 yards allowed per game, their run defense is ranked 10th in the NFL. Seems like this is one of those cases where on third and short, we have to be able to meet force with force. (OR, we could get cute, line up in the Shotgun, and throw more Screens on 3rd and 2.)

4) Do the unexpected. For example, throw a deep ball to a WR NOT named Nelson Agholor. Another idea would be using TE Zach Ertz like a TE and not a WR. By that I mean, run him on shorter routes. Also, please run the play away from the fake. Last week I nearly had an aneurysm watching QB Carson Wentz fake a hand-off to RB Darren Sproles, who ran to the the right. Instead of bootlegging left, Wentz ALSO headed right. Behind Sproles! I could hear Benny Hill music playing in my head as watched that play unfold. Let’s be a little more strategic with our strategy.

Basically the call for this week is: Do not to help the giants beat us. The giants suck too much to win if we don’t help them do so. However, given our penchant for penalties, passes that travel in the wrong direction, and WR’s who bat down as many balls as they catch, New York may very well have a friend in Pennsylvania.

yeah-bitch

LOOKING PAST THIS SEASON

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Draft, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 8 Comments

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TRADING OT Dennis Kelly for Titan WR Dorial Green-Beckham, was no big deal by itself. Trading QB Sam Bradford to the Vikings for a 1st round pick and conditional pick (likely a 4th, possibly a 3rd), seemed like an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. It was a big deal; but it was also seen as just getting getting maximum value for a player. No one was talking “conspiracy”. Even I couldn’t see the big picture yet.

Then came the moment when I couldn’t be fooled anymore. It was the moment when the Eagles expressed interest in either 49er WR Torrey Smith or Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey.

Their interest was no big deal. There were a few teams kicking the tires on those WR’s and the general perception is that we need help at that position. Being interested only made sense, right? Due diligence and whatnot, right? But then we-

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Let me slow down for moment. This is that moment where it felt like you were doing only 35 mph, but then you glanced down, and saw that you were actually pushing 60. So I’m gonna slow down and do this in pieces.

Normally someone would walk you through all the “How” first and finish with the “Why”. Not me. I’m starting at “Why” so that by the time I get to “How” you’ll already be on board, and you’ll see those moves as natural parts of that process.

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First the broad strokes: The Front Office is trying to sabotage this season without you (The Fan), realizing that it’s happening.

WHY:

Last night during the Eagles/Cowboys game the commentators said something in passing that stuck in my ear like an ice pick. One of them mentioned that these two fan bases do not tolerate the term “rebuilding”. With both teams being on the Top 10 most expensive ticket list, I think it’s more that the ownerships, or in this case our ownership, is afraid of what the “R” word would do to ticket sales. So any smart owner has to operate on the Q.T. and make a good looking effort, all the while sandbagging the team to slow their progress, to later be in a better position to rebuild.

What do I mean by better position? What I mean is, picking earlier in any round is better than picking later in any round. If we don’t do well, our pick position improves. In every round. Instead of monster trades to move up, or tanking on purpose (like the Sixers did), which the fans hate, it’s much easier to merely sandbag the team to make it difficult to do well.

HOW:

Examples of sandbagging would be

1) Adding a WR during training camp that you can’t place at #4 on your depth chart. The primary reason you can’t bench him is because you yourself (coaching staff, F.O.) talked up his talent, while fans were already unhappy with the guys we had. This is while knowing that his less than stellar work ethic would make learning the Offense take him longer than most.

2) Trade away the starting QB who by all accounts, was looking better than anyone expected him to, during preseason.

3) Instead of starting the experienced back-up QB, you start the rookie who only played in part of one preseason game, and didn’t look very good doing so.

4) That same rookie QB, who grew up idolizing Brett Favre, and who you lauded for his deep ball when you drafted him #2 overall, you put handcuffs on him and have him throwing Screens, Crosses, and Wheels.

5) Then you threaten to bring in another WR who would have to learn the Offense from the ground up at mid-season. This part hasn’t happened. (So far)

6) Now there’s talk of making a 33 year old change-of-pace RB, our primary RB, when he has NEVER been a primary back in his 12 year career. His all-time high number of carries in a season was 93. Back in 2009. He has never started more than 6 games in any season, and he only did that once. In 2012.

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Not ONE of these changes points to helping the Offense to be more productive. In fact, EACH of these changes point to slowing down it’s development.

The whole idea is to make it look good to YOU, while we slowly lose ground. It’s a more ethical version of what the Sixers did, as long as you don’t realize it’s going on. And so far it seems to be working.

I’ve only noticed a handful of fans who seem confused by what’s happening. Most are still happy we started 3-0.

It’s been the rare fan that voices a concern for why we placed the season on Carson Wentz‘s shoulders, without running the ball a lot more to alleviate the pressure on him.

Not many fans have asked “If we were going to trade for a WR, why didn’t we trade for one that was already a good one?”

I don’t hear a lot of “What happens when 33 year old  RB Darren Sproles wears down sharply in the next three or so weeks? How do we replace the team’s second leading receiver if he gets hurt or wears down due to overuse? Won’t that leave our rookie QB without his security blanket?”

None of this can be spun as a positive, but none of needs to be spun if YOU don’t notice it in the first place. Then again why would you notice it? What reputable journalist would write about something like this, and risk his behind the scenes access?

That’s where I come in. I’m not a journalist, I’m a fan. Like you. My job is to stick up for you, and represent you. My job is to speak the truth to you, that others lack the courage or motivation to bring you. Unlike journalists, I don’t work for the Eagles. I work you. I work for me. I work for US. I work for the Fans.

Earlier this year, even I couldn’t see the big picture yet. Then came the moment when I couldn’t be fooled anymore. And as of this moment, now YOU can’t be fooled anymore either.

NOTE: Lots of people won’t agree with, and some will even hotly argue with what was said here. I have no problem with that, and in fact (as always) I even welcome it. I am however, a ruthlessly patient man, and I also have no problem waiting to (yet again), be proven right.

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/31
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

THIS game could have been a turning point for this franchise. By itself it would have been just a win for a fluid first place spot. However, paired with beating a formerly undefeated team, a road win to take over first place would be impossible to ignore by either the national media or the Eagles Front Office. (More on that in an upcoming article.)

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Last night’s 23 – 29 overtime loss to Dallas was a back and forth struggle, complete with lead changes, and a sudden end on a touchdown in overtime. If this shocked you or surprised you in any way, welcome to rivalry games in the NFC East.

Aside from our Defense holding Dallas to 4/14 on third down, there wasn’t a whole lot to write home about in this game. With the way plays were called on Offense, it felt like we had more of a hand in our loss, than the Cowboys could have hoped to have.

You’d think on a night when the Defense was getting the opponent off the field, that 74.4% passing accuracy and averaging 4.0 yards per run would be enough to win a ball game. You’d think that until you noticed the 4.6 yards per pass attempt/6.3 yards per completion that we floated out there.

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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) Hit the QB. We sacked QB Dak Prescott twice and hit him six times. Not the brutal beating I was hoping for, but the pressure was enough to unsettle him and make him not resemble the phenom that everyone wants to make him out to be. DONE

2) Lock down the run. The Cowboys went into last nights game averaging 161 rushing yards per game. Because of the 187 we allowed that average is now higher. Our DE’s DID NOT keep contain, and too often our DT’s allowed themselves to be washed down the line, which allowed Dallas’s straight line runners to pick up easy yards up the gut. NOT DONE

3) Settle the hash. TE Zach Ertz caught 4 balls for 19 yards but at no point was he really working the middle. I was glad to see a few Slant routes, but more has to be done to clear out space over the top, so our receivers can get the actual YAC (yards after catch) that the West Coast Offense thrives on. As for this game…NOT DONE

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4) Run the ball. A LOT. 24 rushes to 43 pass attempts. Our leading rusher was RB Darren Sproles with 15 carries. Not exactly a “wear you down and work the clock” approach. RB Ryan Mathews was allowed to play for about 25 footsteps, during which time he scored on a 1 yard touchdown run. After that, he was placed back in Witness Protection. NOT DONE

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This week’s score is a pathetic 1 out of 4. I say ‘pathetic’ because everything here is fundamental football. Our coaching staff is so in love with trying to show how smart they are, that they don’t prioritize the things that make teams successful over the long run. The good news? Next week we get a New York giants team that operates pretty much the same way.

WK8: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/31
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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EAGLES 23 – Cowboys 29 OT

IT was your typical Eagles/Cowboys game. It went back and forth of course. We were down (3 -10), then they were down (23 – 13), then we wouldn’t knock off the fucking Screen passes, fumbled the ball… Just generally played without an edge on Offense. So basically, the Eagles gave away this game.

QB Carson Wentz (32/43 – 74.4% – 202 – 1 – 0) was his usual poised self out there, as he directed a bland Offense. Statistically his game looks fine, but if you watched him in action, you had to be left wanting more. RB Darren Sproles (15 – 86 – 5.7 – 0 – 0) for some reason got about 2/3 of the Eagles carries. The most telling stat of the night belonged to WR Jordan Matthews (11 – 65 – 5.9 – 1), as his receiving stats looked more like rushing stats. The ball simply did not get downfield enough in this game. (As in others)

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Except for Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) picking off a pass in the end zone to kill a drive, there weren’t many standout moments in this game for this unit. The 187 rushing yards we surrendered were a sure sign that we were missing DT Bennie Logan this week. Also it seemed the only way for us to get pressure, was to blitz.

Did you notice?

A rare moment of aggression from Doug Pederson, when he called the same WR pass that Dallas tried to run against us. Doug seems to be a good tactician, but ballsy he is not. It was good to see him “man up” for a change.

WK8: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

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Dallas Cowboys

Sunday 8:30        AT&T Stadium, Arlington TX

NEEDS TO STEP UP:

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DT Beau Allen: DT Fletcher Cox already draws a great deal of attention from interior offensive linemen. With DT Bennie Logan being out again this week, we’ll need the Beau Allen we saw flashes of in the preseason. Getting off one-on-one blocks, taking away the cutback lane, and keeping bodies off of MLB Jordan Hicks is what we need from him this week. Stats are nice, but better than him getting stats ,would be him helping limit the opponent from getting them. If we can keep Dallas to 80 yards on the ground, he d have had a great game. Even if he doesn’t record a single tackle.

WE MUST CONTAIN:

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RB Ezekiel Elliott: All the rage is about their rookie QB, but he’s only able to do what he does because he has the run game propping him up with 161 yards per game. Shutting down the run would force Dallas into being carried by their QB, and historically they don’t do well in that mode. Any time that team is worth a damn, the RB position is the engine that drives them. So let’s remove their engine.

EAGLES STORY LINE:

I doubt that we’ll get a kick return touchdown for a third week in a row. So that means after weeks of offensively fumbling about (sometimes literally), the Eagles have to get back on track offensively, in order to have a chance this week. Specifically with regard to our passing attack.

BOTTOM LINE:

The cold hard truth is, since the Bye we’ve been cold on the road. Until we prove otherwise, it’s BS to call us a favorite in any road game.

PREDICTION:

Eagles 21 – Cowboys 25

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/27
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Defense, Fans, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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THIS is a mid-season battle for first place, on the road, against the team currently holding that top spot in the NFC East. The Eagles (and if they’re wise, the Cowboys) have to approach this game with a playoff mindset, because this game could be as close as the loser will get to postseason play this year.

Some of us fans have been discussing a growing gut feeling shared among fans about this game. That feeling is that if the Eagles win, the Front Office will let it ride and we’ll chase the division crown this year. However, if we lose the F.O. will focus on the re-tooling of the team. There’s no smoking gun in terms of evidence, but we fans have been talking.

Our Defense and Special Teams have kept us in the last two games, but that won’t be enough this week. Our Offense must show up again this week. We don’t need the Offense from Weeks 1 and 2. We need the Offense that has learned the lessons from Weeks 5, 6 and 7.

In those last 3 games, the Eagles have a Four Things score of 4 out of 12. We were 2/4 vs the Vikings; 2/4 vs the Redskins; and 0/4 vs the Lions. That sort of effort (Is that okay? Can we call that “effort”?), won’t be good enough this week.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 8 versus the Cowboys :

1) Hit the QB. Dak Prescott has only been sacked 9 times and hit 22. Only the Oakland Raiders boast better numbers those categories. At first it seems like Dallas’ offensive line is doing a great job. The reality is they haven’t faced many real pass rushing threats so far. It’s very easy to make good decisions as a QB with no one in your face. So we need to change that this week.

2) Lock down the run and crossing routes. We need our Front Seven to step it up this week. That means that our DE’s have to keep contain, and our DT’s have to keep MLB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks free to flow to the ball carrier vs the run, and drop into coverage to make plays like this:

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3) Settle the hash. Get the ball to TE Zach Ertz in the middle of the field. I’ve been saying this since The 12. This would open up the entire Offense and make life easier on QB Carson Wentz.

4) Run the ball. A LOT. RB Ryan Mathews has been effective when he gets the chance to carry the ball. But more than that, Dallas’ reliance on the run, means they need to win the time of possession. If we run the ball a lot and take time of possession from them, it forces them to have to rush things on offense.

We can win this game, but we have to take it, to do so. Dallas plays a style that is no nonsense at it’s core, despite the pansy-ish way they execute it. We won’t win this game by trying to be cute. We have to take it to them old school.

yeah-bitch

CAN’T CATCH A BREAK.

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/26
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

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CARSON Wentz will be a wasted pick if we can’t get him a Wide Receiver to rely on. Most of the great Quarterbacks you can think of, had a go-to WR that also comes quickly to mind. Wentz doesn’t have anything remotely like that, and it’s starting to stunt his growth.

I’m seeing ball after ball forced in the direction of Nelson Agholor.

I’m seeing Jordan Matthews (still being employed poorly in the slot, and taken off the field in too many sub-packages) become all but invisible during most of the game.

I’m seeing Dorian Green-Beckham make short catches in traffic, and then get all but ignored in the red zone. (Though he did just catch a 6 yard touchdown on Sunday.)

I’m seeing back-up WR Josh Huff lead the team with 39 yards receiving in a whole game.

I’m seeing the Eagles trying to trade for a second WR in just over 3 months.

The easy answer is to say that the WR’s aren’t good enough. That was fine to say before the DGB trade. However, the whole idea of trading for him was though he had off the field/maturity issues, he has plenty of talent. That means we can’t say it’s a talent issue anymore.

Fact is, our 4 guys top WR’s all have very different styles from each other. Yet we’re to buy that none of them can play at all. One or two guys? Sure, I can buy a bum or two on a roster. But FOUR at one position? One that you traded for! I can’t be made to buy that. My I.Q. is just too damned high, my eyesight is too good, and I know too much football to quietly swallow that B.S.

The real problem is that Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich and Head Coach Doug Pederson don’t really know where they want to hang the team’s hat. We were billed as running a hybrid West Coast Offense, that included elements of the Spread, and utilized the TE more. The thing can’t be smooth, because they built-in too many wrinkles.

Week to week, the focal point of our Offense seems to be making sure that everybody plays, and gets a chance to hold the ball. On most teams, the staff will draw up specific plays designed to get the ball into a specific players hands? Do you EVER feel like we do that here? I sure as fuckall, don’t.

Our coaching staff seems incapable of putting ANY of our WR’s in “a better position to succeed”. Our receivers are used as interchangeable parts, instead of maxing out their built-in advantages and individual talents. We have three WR’s (Matthews, DGB, and Huff) who could each be a match-up headache, but instead are looked upon as mediocre at best.

Like I said, one or two guys sucking, I can buy. One or two guys with no talent? Sure, okay. One or two guys with bad work ethic. I could even spot you that. But FOUR guys? Four guys? Meanwhile Paul Turner (remember him?) just sits at home inactive?

Look, we drafted talent high, traded for talent, and have talent sitting at home. The issue isn’t player talent, it’s coaching. The coaching staff needs to decide who we are on Offense, and figure out how to get the most from each player to help define that identity.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/25
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

DIDN’T I tell you that the Vikings were beatable? So many people saw our two game slide, looked at the Vikings 5-0 record, and then just wrote us off. I told you in April that this team has 9 wins in it. Most fans only saw 6 at the most. Still only see 6 wins?

Don’t get me wrong, this game was loaded with turnovers and miscues, and we hardly looked like a deep playoff contender. We did look like a team that you can never count out. Even in the two losses prior to this win, we never let the other team get to a point where they felt they could go on cruise control.

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We took this game 21 – 10, and though it was by no means a pretty win, it still counts as a win. It also moved us from 3rd place in the NFC East, to 2nd place, with the possibility of taking over 1st place in just 5 days. I say “possibility” because if we we play next week, like we have over these last two, we will likely get blown out.

This week however, we collected 6 sacks from six different players, which in a sense, is far scarier than getting half of them from one guy. We also only gave up a touchdown in garbage time, when the game was hella out of reach.

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) Use less 12 personnel and more 21. This didn’t happen really. The Eagles got all cute about it and put a guy in motion quite a bit, snapping the ball when he was crossing from Tackle to Tackle, but as far as committing two RB’s, nah, it didn’t happen. Funny thing though, a RB was often lined up behind the RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai‘s inside arm, as compensation for Vaitai’s inability to recover. Though the spirit was there, this was still technically NOT DONE

2) Shorten the strong-side read time. I have no idea what the Eagles were trying to do with the passing game this week. There didn’t seem to be a theme or any rhyme or reason to it. As a teen I’ve played in “sandlot” games that were better coordinated. (Then again I also coached those games. We went 7-0 and YES I’m bragging.) Simply establishing the TE would have done wonders for QB Carson Wentz in this game. Instead it was like the coaching staff hung him out to dry. NOT DONE

3) Get QB Sam Bradford running.We did a good job of flushing Bradford from the pocket a few times, and the few times when he should have ran, he was rewarded for staying in the pocket with sacks and forced fumbles. DONE

4) Don’t fall into the trap, and run the damned ball! 26 rushes to 28 pass attempts. Unlike most of the Vikings opponents, we stuck with running the ball and it didn’t allow their pass rush to get any traction. The result was ZERO sacks of Wentz, and ZERO torn jerseys. DONE

So that’s 2 of 4 things done in a week in which we struggled. Seems like we struggle less in weeks where 3 or more things get done, but “I ain’t one to gossip. So you ain’t heard that from me.” Next on the schedule we travel to Dall-ass to beat on “dat ass” while beating Dak-ass. Should be fun.

WK7: VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

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EAGLES 21 – Vikings 10

YET again the Eagles defended the nest and took down another so-called top tier team. The two teams combined for 8 turnovers in the game (Eagles 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles lost/Vikings 1 interception, 3 fumbles lost), and neither offense was exactly “en fuego”.

QB Carson Wentz (16/28 – 57.1% – 138 – 1 – 2) struggled mightily as no aspect of the passing game seemed designed to help him. Some questionable Shotgun snapping from C Jason Kelce didn’t help the matter. RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai received enough help to keep him from getting Wentz killed, but still needed more assistance than any legitimate starter should. RB Ryan Matthews (14 – 56 – 4.0 – 0 – 1) was the games leading rusher, but put the ball on the ground for the second time in three weeks. WR Josh Huff (4 – 39 – 9.7 – 0) led the Eagles in receiving yardage. Huff also scored what turned out to be the go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter with a 98 yard kickoff return.

We got six sacks from six different players, but the guy who managed to fill the stat sheet was FS Rod McLeod (7 – 1 – 1 – 1) While little will jump off the page statistically, the Birds played a very solid team concept yesterday. Our DE’s kept contain, and elected to force the Vikings into bad situations and poor decisions instead of freelancing to make the play. The result wasn’t flashy, but it was on the whole a suffocation performance.

Did you notice?

Wentz yelling at Kelce after the second bad snap, and the camaraderie blooming between MLB Jordan Hicks and OLB Nigel Bradham.