PEDERSON’S FIRST PRESEASON GAME

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/08/01
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

 

eagledawkhawk

NEXT Thursday the Eagles will take the field for the first time under new Head Coach Doug Pederson. While many fans will be hoping for a win, I couldn’t care less if we win or lose. I just can never bring myself to give a shit about a “W” or an “L” for the first preseason game. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about the game itself. Because I will be on the lookout for certain things during Pederson’s first chance to sit in the big chair.

First, while I understand that working on timing is huge in the passing game, I want to see a real effort made at running the ball between the Tackles. By real effort, I mean 9 or more carries INSIDE, by halftime. Regardless of who is the RB.

Second, I want to see a player take accountability to his teammates when he screws up, and I want to see his teammates behaving like teammates. This will be a long, brutal season. Seeing how players treat each other NOW, will tell you volumes about what’s to come when things get tight.

Third, I want to see the triangle of the Defense (DT-MLB-DT), hold up well against the run in the first half. I’m less concerned with runs bounced outside, but early success inside vs the run, will tell you if the interior players understand their gap responsibilities now that they have more freedom in this new scheme.

Fourth, I want to see how much Cover Two and Cover Four we play. Our CB’s aren’t the greatest and they will need help deep. If new Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz doesn’t get that, then his fancy rush schemes are doomed, and we’re no better off than we were last year under Bill Davis.

While I don’t care if we win or lose this game, I want to see that the players understand the underpinnings of our schemes. Errors are fine. This is preseason. Interceptions, a missed block on a screen, confusion as to which DB was supposed to cover a receiver, the MLB taking extra steps before coming downhill… All this is what preseason is for. There is no shame in needing time to learn new things.

In the event that we win, I hope it’s not a blowout. I don’t want our guys riding any false confidence this early on. (Remember how I kept telling people to calm down last preseason?) In the event that we lose, I want it to be a close loss. No need to have guys second-guessing good coaching. A close game is good for keeping everyone hungry and focused.

And FYI, while I don’t generally care about preseason wins, I’m also no fan of going 0-4 during that period. Ideally we go 2-2 or 1-3, with a win in the third game, vs starters who play at least a half.

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Tell us what you’ll be looking for during the game. Leave a comment down below. 

DIDN’T I TELL YOU?

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/30
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DIDN’T I predict a week ago that our running game would be better than most think it will be? While many still think we’ll be relying heavily on that zone crap, I said “The team added beef so that we can mash down and beat up on the man lined up across from us. The VIOLENCE IS COMING BACK, Eagles brothers and sisters!”

So far it seems that the guy that you look to for telling you these things (me), as usual has an early line on what’s going down. Not only did we add a big (335 pound) RG in Brandon Brooks, but LT Jason Peters is up from 330 to 345 and he’s excited to get back to “ground-and-pound, the old Andy Reid offense”. That doesn’t sound at all like zone blocking to me. Which I’m glad for.

Just wanted to keep you updated on the state of my Training Camp predictions.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/23
Posted in: Crazy Talk, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Eagletransparent

 

BEEN a crazy couple a days, so I’m in the mood to go out on a limb, and do something crazy. I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a player that most fans love to hate. Again, I’m going out on a limb here, so calling me crazy only means that you stopped understanding what you were reading, before you got to the second sentence.

Sam Bradford in 2016. Can you see him throwing for 3,800 yards, 30 TD’s and 9 interceptions? If he plays 14 games or more, I’d say that it’s a lock for him. In fact, I’m looking at drafting him in fantasy football this year. You may want to know why I seem so sold on Bradford all of a sudden. There are two reasons, and unlike most things in Life, they are absurdly easy to explain.

Reason numero uno: Our ferocious Defense will cause teams to make dumb mistakes and create short fields for our Offense. That means cheap TD’s and field goals. As the game goes on, giving up cheap points only means teams press harder to make up ground they lost early. This means even more dumb mistakes by opponents, and quick TD’s scored over opponents who just want the blowout to be over.

Reason the second: The Eagles seem to have stopped dicking around with the QB situation. Last year the Eagles were saying that Bradford was the guy. However, with his injury history, whenever you looked at Bradford, there were the eyes of Mark Sanchez peeking over his shoulder. And it’s been that way here for years now. Every year “it’s a competition” at the QB position, as opposed to just letting everyone know who the big dog is. But this year they’re acting like an NFL franchise.

So there you go. My first Devil’s Advocate case for 2016. There may be more.

BEAT THAT BITCH

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/22
Posted in: Uncategorized. 2 Comments

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REMEMBER that shitty rumor that I destroyed about Greg Hardy becoming an Eagle? Well it seems like the only team interested in him is the Jacksonville Jaguars. While I realize that this is not strictly Eagles related, I’m using it to make the point that I was right.

Also, I just had one of the weirdest sports conversations I’ve ever had. I was out at 5th and Spring Garden talking Eagles with a guy, when he (for God only knows what reason), asked me what I thought about Hardy going to Jacksonville.

My response was something along the lines of “I don’t care.” “I don’t give a shit.” Something round about there.

Then the guy says “Aw come on. You don’t think that’s a perfect fit?”

(Perfect opening! Now I could be clever!) I said “Yeah, a loser goes to losers.”

Then he shakes his head and says “Naw. I mean he in the exact right place for him. Outside of West Virgina, Florida is the smack a bitch capitol of these here United States.” Those were his exact words, “the smack a bitch capitol of these here United States.” He finished up that combo with “If you can’t beat a bitch in Florida, then why do we even have it?”

I was stumped by the question. I never gave any thought to the need for having a “bitch beating state”. It made me wonder if we did have such states, would the term “bitch” also be applicable to men. For example, Odell Beckham comes to mind.

In any case I was snapped out of it by the need to get out that frigging SUN out there. It is too damned hot for that much heat today.

2016 TRAINING CAMP PREDICTIONS!!!

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/21
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Eagles RBs 2016

HERE are five training camp predictions: A back-up will emerge; a starter will show that he’s lost a step; someone will be injured for the season; fans will question the wisdom of a Free Agent signing; and a rookie will look good vs back-ups during preseason games.

Those of course are bullshit predictions that you can get from anywhere. Mere generalities. But you don’t want generalities. You come to THE BEAST to get specifics. You come to be able to see into the future. Well lets start with Training Camp and the Preseason.

1) In limited time with the starters, Stefen Wisniewski will remind Eagles fans of what we’ve been missing at C since Jamaal Jackson was injured in 2010. Though he looks better than Jason Kelce does out there, Pederson will give us some garbled nonsense about why Kelce will continue to start.

2) Despite tons of internal competition, CB will still be an average position for the Eagles, going by NFL standards. We simply don’t have a guy out there that we can call shutdown or a genuine ballhawk. Though our front seven will create opportunities, our CB’s will not capitalize on nearly as many as they would if they were more talented.

3) DT Beau Allen won’t make final cuts. He lacks the change of direction, suddenness, and ability to disengage from blockers to play DT effectively in any Wide-9 system. Also he’s had a tendency to end up on the ground far too much during his NFL career.

4) QB Sam Bradford will look smoother and more confident hooking up with WR Chris Givens, as both men had their best pro season while starting 12 games together in 2012. I have said repeatedly that there is nothing wrong with Bradford’s arm, and that it’s his heart that I question. Now that he has a receiver who can fly, in an Offense that features a few decent weapons, you may find yourself seeing a resurgence of Bradford jerseys around Philly.

5) Our run game will be better than most think it will be. Howie Roseman didn’t bring 335 pound OG Brandon Brooks here because Head Coach Doug Pederson wants to be cute and do a bunch of zone blocking. The team added beef so that we can mash down and beat up on the man lined up across from us. The VIOLENCE IS COMING BACK, Eagles brothers and sisters! The run game will be simple, but it will be effective. It will eat clock and wear down defenders. And for some of our players, those who for the last three years were held hostage, in a system that took away any sense of getting into a rhythm, it will reintroduce to them, the feel of playing real football again.

So there it is. Five Training Camp/Preseason predictions that you won’t find anywhere else.

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REAL TALKING: HILLARY CLINTON

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/20
Posted in: Conversations, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

billary

(About a month ago I wrote about Donald Trump. Today I’m going to give my two cents on Hillary Clinton. Like I said before, if you don’t want to read about this subject, skip this article.)

DURING the 2008 election cycle, I was a big Hillary Clinton supporter. With the economy in free-fall and with her being an ace policy wonk, for that moment in history she was clearly the right person for the job. However, Barack Obama was charming the pants off of everyone, even though things he said lacked as much substance as things Clinton said.

Back then I wrote for a sketch comedy group, and I took the opportunity to poke fun at Obama in a sketch I wrote, joking that he was so smooth he didn’t even need to use real words to win. That year, (though I knew she’d lose) I changed my registration from Independent to Democrat just so I could vote my conscience, and vote for Clinton. It was the only time I ever voted as a Democrat.

Fast forward through 8 years of Obama’s presidency and things have improved economically. Some other things however, seem to be in a tailspin. People are as agitated about race as I’ve seen since the O.J. Simpson verdict. On top of that, there is a lingering gun issue. On top of that, there are issues on immigration, civil rights, and health care.

Sadly, none of these issues has a forthcoming solution, because the people we send to Washington D.C. are too polarized to even try to work with each other. Our elected officials need someone with a gentle hand to help bring both sides back to the center, and get things moving again. I think it’s plain to see that Clinton is not that person. That being said, she’s lightyears closer to being that person than Donald Trump is, or wants to be.

Clinton is not the right candidate for this moment in history, but she’s the only sane choice now. Look, she actually knows how Washington works, knows how to twist arms, knows who’s arm to twist, and has an actual grasp of the issues.

She’s ready to deal with countries in the Middle East on Day One, and the leaders of those countries are familiar with working with her. She firmly believes in diplomacy, so is also far less likely to send tens of thousands of your children into a war.

She comes as part of a package that includes a former President who (with her help), dragged us out of a recession and left this nation with a budget surplus. While Hillary Clinton may not be the gentle hand that can move people back to the center, her husband Bill is an extremely gifted politician in that regard. The competing ticket can’t offer America anything remotely close.

On the other hand, Trump shows no ability to deal with people who don’t agree with him. Just look at how badly he’s faring with members of his own party. He can do as he pleases on the campaign trail, but in D.C. he’d be on the turf of career politicians who’d delight in publicly eating him alive, while showing him that he wasn’t their boss.

While he can discuss any issue, he shows little depth of understanding of the details that comprise those issues. This suggests that his grasp of these issues isn’t very solid. In a war that lack of command will cost thousands of American soldiers (meaning your children, your spouses, your blood) their lives.

This election has the potential to drastically change your life, and if that happens it won’t be for the better.

Clinton is a product of the system. In fact, in this election she’s the face of the system. She’s a Washington insider. That has it’s drawbacks, but it also means that the improvements we’ve seen in the last 8 years, (some of which she helped produce), she’d rather see built upon, not dismantled. With her you’ll get slow, steady progress; but it will still be progress and it will be steady. History has seen what a Clinton in the White House can mean for American incomes. History has seen what this Clinton in the White House can mean for American incomes. And that is even stepping up and taking into account the NAFTA fiasco.

Trump is an outsider. He is beholden to no one. Sounds good until you repeat it slowly. The guy has never served anyone in his life, and suddenly we’re to buy that he wants to live 24 – 7 – 365 for a country full of strangers? After a lifetime of satisfying his own greed, we’re to buy that he wants to be a civil servant, making 400K a year, and taking shit off of complete strangers? Dear fellow American, tell me that you aren’t that gullible! Even if you’re willing to overlook all of that (and it’s a lot), the four bankruptcies of business he operated (1991, 1992, 2004, 2009), have to make any thinking person question the soundness of his fiscal judgment and management style.

I’m voting for Clinton this November. Not because she’s the right person, at the right time for the Presidency; because she isn’t. But she’s a damned sight better and far more credible than her opponent can ever hope to be, without the benefit of reincarnation.

I’m voting for Clinton because 4 years of steady progress, beats 4 years of playing Craps with the future of our nation. As a Philadelphian, I’m aware of Trump’s impact on Atlantic City. How he cut and ran leaving hundreds of employees high and dry. I have seen how the great “job creator” cut and ran on the development of a waterfront project here in Philly,  just a few blocks walk from my own front door.

Donald Trump does nothing for anyone without thinking of Donald Trump FIRST, and that is not the attitude of an effective public servant. And so my fellow American, I leave you with the truth and with this:

I’m voting for Clinton in November, because I’m not an idiot.

hillary

I CAN HARDLY WAIT

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/18
Posted in: Coaching, Fans, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

helmetz

I’M looking forward to this season. I can hardly wait for it. I don’t have sky-high expectations, but I do expect it to be entertaining. Most of that entertainment will come in the form of watching our team be reborn. Learning who they wish to be, and ultimately, who they will be.

Go back with me to 1989, when the Eagles were coached by Buddy Ryan. We featured a man-eating Defense led by defenders like Reggie White and Jerome Brown. Our Offense, plagued by horrible Offensive Line play, still had the ability to be absolutely explosive behind the play of the NFL’s most dynamic QB, Randall Cunningham. It was clear however, that we were a defensive team.

Under Ryan’s replacement Rich Kotite, the Defense wasn’t as ferocious, but with guys like Andy Harmon and William Thomas,we still had a unit that could keep our team in games. That was a good thing, because on Offense the Eagles were an extremely snake-bitten team. Over a 4 year span, keeping QB’s healthy seemed to be a real challenge. With the addition of RB Hershel Walker, we became a more offensively stable team. Despite having an offensively minded coach, due to the up and down QB play, we were still a defensive ball club.

After Kotite we got Ray Rhodes. We hemorrhaged talent on Defense, and on Offense aside from replacing Walker with RB Ricky Watters, we did little to add any firepower to the NFL’s first “run-based” West Coast Offense. As a result the Eagles were a little bit worse each year under Rhodes. By the time Rhodes was fired, the way he talked was the only thing tough about the team. We had no identity and were floundering badly.

Then, in walks Andy Reid. Pegged as an offensive coach, what he actually was, was a QB coach and his development of QB Donovan McNabb helped lead to the greatest era in Eagles football. (So far.) Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson was tapped to produce a Defense that could keep the team in ball games. The Offense thrived on being smart with the football and not turning it over. Meanwhile the Defense seemed to blitz on every down and that forced opponents into making stupid mistakes. While the Eagles got the reputation for being an offensive team, the Eagles foundation began to immediately crumble after J.J.’s death in 2009. After the death of Andy’s son Garrett precipitated a 4-12 season n 2012, the Eagles let him go.

So then we replaced our all-time winningest coach with an idiot. He was an offensive minded coach who inherited an offensive roster, which came complete with not just talent, but also depth. So of course he spent three years whittling that down to a nub. Defensively we were awesome as long as it wasn’t November yet. By then the wear and tear of each season was apparent on that side of the ball. Mostly due to the coach not being willing to play ball-control on Offense and give the Defense a breather here and there.

Today we have a rookie Head Coach in Doug Pederson. No one, (even he) knows quite how the NFL will shape him, now that he gets to sit in the Big Chair. We will all go through his evolution together. Through him our team is about to be reborn, and we get to see and celebrate that. We get to ride shotgun and watch the history of our beloved team unfold. Expect an exciting ride in 2016, beloved fellow fans.

And I for one, can hardly wait.

THE MOST TO PROVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/15
Posted in: Conversations, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

SOMEONE posted an article in my Facebook group (Eagles Maniacs) talking about which five Eagles players have the most to prove. I won’t pick the list apart but I will say, that with the exception of one player, I disagreed with the players selected in article.

Of the five guys mentioned, not one of them is a starter. This irritated me because A) it ignores the players you’ll actually be watching, and B) it’s a safe place for a writer to plant a flag. It’s pretty hard for a player to prove or try to prove anything, while standing on the sideline as an apparent back-up.

So instead of bringing you weak shit, let me present to you the five Eagles STARTERS with the most prove in 2016.

1) WR Nelson Agholor: As a 1st rounder from last year with more deep speed than Jordan Matthews, Agholor is going into camp with first shot at a job on the outside. Considering that his rookie season reads like an autopsy, he has to catch 56 or so balls or he risks having the word “bust” begin to appear in sentences with his name.

2) LG Allen Barbre: The coach staff has made it clear that they expect rookie G Issac Seumalo to push Barbre for the starting spot. If you play Blackjack you know that the House wins a Push (tie). In this case the coaching staff is the House and the rookie is who they have their money on. Barbre needs to win this position battle outright, or he will be finished as an NFL first stringer.

3) FS Rodney McLeod: If you read local press about our new FS, you’d think he was a perennial All-Pro, who played on a unit with a nickname. In truth he’s played on a Rams defense that hemorrhaged points in each of the four years he was in St. Louis. I am by no means blaming him, I’m just saying that the expectations heaped on this guy are almost silly. YET, if he doesn’t live up to them this year, fans will crucify him.

4) QB Sam Bradford: The arc of his career will be decided this year, as 2016 is an audition for his next team. He is a playoff win away from going to Dallas, Chicago and/or Arizona next year. Oh, or the Jets. A 26 TD, 12 Int season combined with a newly minted playoff win, would be enough to get someone to offer us something for him. However, since we already tipped our hand about our plans with Carson Wentz, expect no more than cap relief and a 5th rounder for Bradford.

5) WR Josh Huff: While Huff hasn’t been a regular starter, if the Eagles go with a 3-WR base instead of a 2-TE base, then Huff has a chance to push for a starting spot on the outside vs speedy WR Chris Givens. He’s proven to be an asset as a return man, but if he gets a chance to play WR in a system predicated on yards after the catch, then Huff has a chance to make some serious noise.

These aren’t the only starters with something to prove. DE Connor Barwin, CB Eric Rowe, and C Jason Kelce also spring to mind. And lets be real, the pressure just isn’t there at the same level for these guys. Similarly, back-ups like LB/DE Marcus Smith, and RB Kenjon Barner, who enter Training Camp already knowing that they’re on the bubble.

Look, every player is under pressure to perform in a league that never stops asking:

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However, unlike back-ups, starters go into it with the pressure that if they don’t perform, they let not just themselves down, but also their entire team. So that’s my reason for picking these five players.

Which five players do YOU THINK have the most to prove?

COULD THIS BE THE YEAR?

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/13
Posted in: Conversations, Rants, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

eddie scissors

NO.

No it isn’t.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. “Any given Sunday.” “That’s why they play the games.” “Stranger things have happened.”

Blah, blah, blah.

The wait for Training Camp is KILLING ME. So I went staggering through a few Eagles fan groups last night, to see what other fans thought of how we look. That, and to maybe have a detailed discussion that could teach me something I didn’t know, or point out something that I didn’t notice.

The good news is, I’m pretty sure that a couple of the commenters on a particular rival site (I won’t mention that site’s name :P) have been to this website. There were a couple guys who made some REALLY good points. (If you’re reading this, you should comment here more often.) The bad news is, that I think a few of them may have misinterpreted my optimism.

For the record, I think we can do 9-7 and win the NFC East. I stand firmly behind that. No wavering here. I think we may even be able to steal a playoff win. I do not see us as being ready to make a deep playoff run. I do not see us as being able to win this year’s Super Bowl. While I did write in 2014 that every playoff capable team has a shot, I also pointed out that that shot is purely theoretical.

Unlike many Eagles fans I’m unwilling to set myself up to be angry in February, over something that was never promised, by people I never met, purely because I wanted it to be so. I expect a decent team in 2016, that sets the stage for 2017 and all the young guys. And just so you know, with all the young guys we’ll be folding in next year, I wouldn’t place bets on 2017 being the year either.

I’m a fan, but I am NOT delusional.

EAGLES DEVELOPMENTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/07/09
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment


HALAPOULIVAATI Vaitai, Issac Seumalo, Darrell Greene, and Bruce Johnson. These are the Eagles four rookie Offensive Linemen, and every one of them could one day become a starter for this team. Not just starters, but possibly long-term starters. How much the Eagles get out of these guys, comes down to how the Eagles coaching staff develops them. Because the expectations are there.

Issac Seumalo (G): Drafted high in the 3rd round (79th overall), Seumalo is expected to battle incumbent starter Allen Barbre for the LG spot. As a rookie, the Eagles want to see him take a job from a veteran. That expectation hasn’t waned even though Seumalo was forced to miss OTA’s.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai (T): Was selected in the 5th round, but isn’t expected to push either Jason Peters or Lane Johnson out of their spots. Barring injury, this lands Vaitai solidly on the bench for at least 2016.

Darrelle Greene (G): This is the most intriguing guy in this bunch as far as I’m concerned. When I watch tape of all of these guys, it’s Greene I like the most. The Eagles must have also seen something special in him, because they threw him more guaranteed money than any other Undrafted rookie in the NFL. At 105K, it was hardly a king’s ransom, but it still symbolizes that they expect him to be more than a “camp body”.

Bruce Johnson (C): This is a damned solid player to be found where the Eagles got him. He plays very good assignment football, and gives a full effort. He doesn’t appear to be very strong or explosive at the point of attack though. That means you can overpower him with a top-shelf NT (for example, guys like Vince Wilfork, Bennie Logan, or (former Steeler) Casey Hampton). Then again how many of those are even in the NFL?

There is potential here. My concern is, only one of these rookies is being looked at to push the starter ahead of him. What that means is, the other three rookie linemen will get fewer reps with the “Ones” on Offense, against the “Ones” on Defense. So then our future starters are honing their craft against second level guys, instead of the caliber of player they would normally face as a starter.

These rookies would benefit a great deal more from battling a guy like Fletcher Cox as opposed to battling a guy like Beau Allen. However, it will take someone on the Eagles coaching staff to give these guys the opportunity to have that experience.

We have the potential. The only question is, will we actually take the steps to develop it?