Brandon Graham

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#10 SEND FIVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/19
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Players, Rants, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE 12 2020.10

 

WANNA see something stupid?

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What is this happy horseshit where we usually rush four, rarely blitz, but when we do, we end up in crap like Cover Zero? We need to send five so that-  Hold on. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me roll this back a bit.

Last year in almost every game the commentators would mention that our pass rush isn’t as potent as it’s been in the past. At first that sounded weird, because our sacks have gone up two years in a row. If sacks were the only metric used, it would just seem like the typical media down-talk directed at the Eagles. Which we fans are used to.

Then you think about our opponent completion percentages. And their QB ratings! Seriously. We even made Haskins look good… The eyeball test makes it clear that we don’t bring the heat like we used to.

Part of that is because the only player on our D-Line who requires a double-team is DT Fletcher Cox. Us rushing four vs an opponent’s five man o-line, plays directly into our opponent’s plan. We have a pair of complete DE’s in Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry, but we don’t have a guy who alters blocking schemes. (DE Derek Barnett too often bails early on his contain responsibility.)

We need to send five rushers more often, to get Cox more 1-on-1 match-ups. That way he can do to blocking schemes what he does to marriages. We don’t have to do it all the time, but it has to stop being rare.

 

EAGLES FANS! QUIT WHINING!

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/12/04
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, NFC East, playoffs, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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TOUGH guys don’t whine. If you’re one of these jersey burning types, who declared the season over well before it is, then listen up: Stop talking about how tough you are, how bleed green you are, and how you love your team regardless. Honestly, some of you pussies are downright fucking embarrassing.

The media feeds on negativity and so they pump it. They promote it. Controversy sells papers and generates clicks, and some of you just feed right into it. Our team is struggling as it is. Do we REALLY need to kick them when they’re down? Is that how you learned how to be fan. Bail when it’s not rosy? Quit because the road isn’t smooth. 

Is that the sort of blood that you come from?

I’m going to slam some truth down, hard enough to break your fucking dining room table. If the Redskins fans can talk about still having a chance, YOU bailing now is a direct indicator of how yellow your spine is. The only quitter I see, is in your mirror. The Eagles aren’t done until they’re actually, MATHEMATICALLY, done.

As for now, we aren’t done. 

Whole season

The Eagles still need our cheers and positive reinforcement. Athletes lie and say that they don’t read articles, or listen to call-in shows, or things of that nature. And the second that the shit hits the fan, those same athletes say that they have to block all that out. How can they block out what they were already ignoring? Simple. They were never ignoring it.

My point is that they hear us. They hear us on WIP radio. They hear us on Twitter. They hear us when we catch babies at the scene of a fire. They overhear you when they’re out shopping, or eating. They see what gets said about them on shows like ‘Quick Slants’ (Right, Brandon Graham?) They hear me when they come to this blog. (And they do.)

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So if they hear us, then how about we say some shit to INSPIRE them? When you inspire people you get more out of them, than when you shit on their name. Why spend 7 months missing football, only to quit on the season early? Who does that?? Don’t reserve being a fan for game-time only. Quit whining and get to barking. Get to howling.

Remember those dog masks and how much I hated them, because we weren’t really underdogs in 2017? Well NOW we’re honest to god underdogs. Care to buy a mask? Do you have it in you to root for a REAL underdog? If you feel like I’m calling you out, it’s because I am.

Let’s see who the tough, bleed green fans REALLY are.

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 5 – JETS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/07
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

GREAT win today, but let’s not go nuts celebrating it. It was just the Jets, being piloted by an inflatable QB.

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Most of what we were able to do on Defense today (10 sacks, 2 touchdowns) came by virtue of their inexperienced QB, not getting many reps this week. As a result, the poor guy was a wounded lamb, fed to a full-grown lion. He repeatedly held the ball as if he had called “spots” and was counting to 10. It was almost too sad to watch. Almost.

Tee-hee.

Meanwhile his coach seemed indifferent to offer him any help. The play-calling was horrid, as literally (no typo or exaggeration here) EVERY play in the 1st quarter was run through RB LeVeon Bell (15 – 43 – 2.8 – 0 – 0 / 7 – 45 – 6.4 – 0). No other Jet player touched the ball until the second quarter. The Jets pay actual money for this level of coaching.

EAGLES 31 – Jets 6

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The Defensive line FEASTED, with 8 sacks in this one. DE Brandon Graham (4 – 3 – 0 – 0) grabbed 3 sacks. Also getting a piece of the action were DE Derek Barnett (2 – 1 – 0 – 0), DT Hassan “Chop” Ridgeway (1 – 1 – 0 – 0), DE Vinny Curry (1 – 1 – 0 – 0), DE Josh Sweat (1 – 1 – 0 – 0) broke his cherry, and Dasheon Hall (1 – 1 – 0 – 0) showed some of that preseason flash. It was like a drop of blood in a piranha tank.

Again, we also scored twice. The first was on an interception in the 1st quarter by LB Nate Gerry (0 – 0 – 1 – 0) on a pass intended for Bell. The second was the play of the day. CB Orlando Scandrick (4 – 2 – 0 – 2) ran up to the Jets QB, and just took the ball from him. Just took it. Not like a big hit, just a straight-up “YOINK!”. Then he returned it 44 yards for that tasty treat. It was almost too sad to watch. Almost.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Scandrick was a Cowboy for 9 years. We signed him in the offseason, but he didn’t make our final roster. Because of injuries at CB, we signed him off of his couch this week, and he gets two sacks, two forced fumbles, a recovery, and a score. 

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On Offense, QB Carson Wentz (17/29 – 58.6% – 189 – 1 – 0) had it in cruise control yet again, as the Eagles functioned as a full team. That’s not to say that Wentz didn’t do some of his typical magic, but there was no need for a lot of it. TE Zach Ertz (5 – 57 – 11.4 – 1) found the end zone for the first time in 2019.

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) Show up: I literally said that if we didn’t get lost crossing the street to the stadium, we were 40% of the way to a victory. Well, we showed up. We were sloppy at points (C Jason Kelce’s bad snap, the muffed punt that either hit a foot or didn’t), but we showed up. (DONE)

2) No liberty for Bell: In regards to covering LeVeon Bell I said “We need to sit on and jump a couple of passes to him. Maybe we can get a defensive touchdown or two out of it.” Well kiss my grits, we got our first defensive touchdown doing just that. We also kept him, and thus the Jets offense, under wraps all day. (DONE)

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3) Run ‘em down: Heavy dose of RB Jordan Howard (13 – 62 – 4.7 – 1 – 0) delivered? He led us in rushes and rushing yards. CHECK. Other backs sprinkled in? 12 carries for 19 yards (yikes!) CHECK. Wentz’s jersey staying mostly clean? CHECK. (DONE)

4) Paint by numbers: We did nothing fancy. Aside from a 3rd and 1 where we threw an incompletion, which set up a 4th and 1, that we didn’t convert, we almost looked like a preseason team that was trying not to give too much away. Toward the end we even sat Carson and put LT Andre Dillard in for a few snaps. It was glorious. (DONE)

This week we put up a perfect 4 for 4, even though admittedly one of them was really low hanging fruit. That brings the season tally to 10 of 20. Next week we travel to Minnesota for the start of a three game road trip, that will remind everyone of why we want to set up home field advantage.

On The Whole:

We could have looked better. Aside from Jordan Howard, our RB’s were pretty ineffective running the ball. If getting off to fast starts is important to this Offense, HC Doug Pederson is going to have to stop trying to make a starter out of rookie RB Miles Sanders (9 – 15 – 1.6 – 0 – 0 / 4 – 49 – 12.2 – 0) who was hitting holes in this game with as much heart as Bernie Sanders.

Again, it seemed we weren’t trying to show much, and we may be getting WR DeSean Jackson back next week. So I’m not very concerned about the Offense.

My concern is with the Defense. The way we played today still allowed a “deer in the headlights” QB, to complete 57% of his passes, to a less than stellar receiving corps. Next week we get QB Kirk Cousins throwing to WR Adam Thielen. It would be nice to get one or two CB’s back by then.

In the meantime, because of this2019 two Ls

the Eagles appear to be atop the NFC East. At least according to the NFL Standings page. They may change it later, but for now it looks good to be up there. 

 

FOUR THINGS – WK 5 – EAGLES-JETS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/04
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK5-NYJ

THIS game has to be a win. After this game, we go on a three week road trip vs Minnesota, Dallas and Buffalo. All of those games are winnable, but stacking them as a triple-decker away game sandwich, makes a four week split seem acceptable, so long as we don’t lose the division game. Or to the Jets. Not the Jets. So yeah. This game has to be a win.

At stake this week is momentum. To come off of a thrilling win IN Green Bay, and then laying a turd vs the Jets…? That would kill not only our current momentum, but also make it harder to re-establish it later. This can’t be a trap game. We need it too badly for it to be a trap game.

We need defenders like SS Malcolm Jenkins and DE Brandon Graham to set the tone, by making big plays this week. We need TE Zach Ertz to make plays downfield to pull a LB out of the box and into coverage; and for RB Jordan Howard to churn out repeated 8 and 9 yard runs to pull a S into the box.

Like last week, this game can’t be all on QB Carson Wentz. We need a team effort here.

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

1) Show up: By ‘show up’ I don’t mean give an all-out effort. I’m literally saying, don’t get lost crossing the street from the NovaCare complex, to the Linc. The only thing that keeps the Jets from being the worst team in football, is the Dolphins. If the Eagles team can make it safely across Broad Street, and into the stadium walls, they will be 40% of the way through beating the Jets.

2) No liberty for Bell: The Jets already have enough trouble running the ball, and now they face the NFL’s 4th best run defense. So naturally they’ll want to throw the ball against THE WORST PASS DEFENSE IN PRO FOOTBALL. Problem is, they only one weapon and it’s RB Le’Veon Bell. As their second best receiver, the Jets will want to pass, and stow the game in their best player’s hands. We need to sit on, and then jump a couple of passes to him. Maybe we can get a defensive touchdown or two out if it.

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3) Run ‘em down: A heavy dose of RB Jordan Howard, with our other RB’s sprinkled in as complementary pieces should keep Carson Wentz’s jersey VERY clean.

4) Paint by numbers: This game should be about getting our fundamentals down, and working on our discipline. Run hard on 1st down. Use play-action on 2nd down. Spread out the defense on 3rd down. Just basic stuff. Nothing fancy.

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:

Look, we’re going to make the Jets QB look like an all-pro. That’s what we do. They’re going to score more than their standard 11 points per game. However, we’re going to run the ball and tire out their defense.

Controlling the clock will keep our defense fresher, and create sort of quicksand effect, where the harder the Jets struggle, the worse they perform. Don’t be surprised if their coach yells “Y’all killin’ me!!” at his players during this game.

Even those who probably hate Jets

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would say after this game, that if at first they don’t succeed, they should dust it off and try again. This however, is not their week.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Jets 18

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CHRIS LONG IS A NO-BRAINER

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/27
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Players, Rivals, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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NEXT year DE Chris Long is due 3.5M$ in the final year of his contract. That’s a pittance for what we’re getting in exchange. Aside from being a reliable, productive player, Long is an extremely high-quality person off the field. On the field, he plays starter level minutes, but he never bitches that he doesn’t get to start, and doesn’t make starter level money. (Note: Over the last two seasons, Long has more sacks (11.5) than any giant besides starter Olivier Vernon (13.5).

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Every time the giants overpay a former Dolphin, an Eagle gets his wings.

Chris is rare. Our odds of finding another player like him, are staggeringly low. When he leaves, regardless of how he leaves, we will miss him. Even if we find another player like him, we’ll have a situation where we could have had two like him. There is no getting around the fact that we are better with him. And Jerome forbid, Long should go to a division rival, like the aforementioned giants! 

So keeping Long should be a no-brainer.

He said that he’s mulling retirement. However he also said “I’m literally just kind of sitting back and seeing what the Eagles do, and who they bring in, or don’t bring in, and how deep that room gets.” And he also said “Listen, I know I’m an older guy. But, you know, I don’t think I’ve missed a practice over the last two years. I feel like I’ve been durable and ready when called upon.” In addition to that, and most importantly, he said “I’d like to play football in 2019”.

Let me run that by you one mo’ ‘gin: “I’d like to play football in 2019”.

What you just read were multiple examples of a guy quietly making his case. He’s saying to the Front Office that he’s still viable. That he still has good football in him. He’s waiting for the Eagles to say “Chris, we’d like you back. Will you come back?” That’s it. That’s what the man is waiting for. He has a contract, he just wants to know if Executive Vice President of Football Operations (EVPF– Fuck it), GM Howie Roseman wants him to stay.

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Last year (March 2018) when he was mulling retirement, I said we’d be fine at DE, even with the loss of he and Vinny Curry. However at that time, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett and Steven Means were all under contract, and we’d even added Micheal Bennett.

As I said in RE-ARMING FOR WAR, the loss of Graham and Long, (Steven Means now plays in Atlanta), would leave us with Bennett, Barnett (returning from injury), and second year DE Josh Sweat. Sweat is also returning from injury, and he didn’t really flash before he got hurt.

So we need Long. We need him for character, depth, production and even tactically. Yeah, tactically. He understands the nuances of what his spot demands situationally, for this scheme. So if on a given down, he needs to freelance, he can do it without downgrading the integrity of the unit. You can’t get that from a new player. Even if that player is a ten year vet.

This is a phone call. This is that phone call that Reggie White and Brian Dawkins didn’t get from the Front Office. Not to put Long on that level, but the ease of resolving this situation is similar. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we don’t. This is easy. We need to get this done.

It’s a no-brainer.

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Don’t worry. Howie is smarter than this… Right?

 

 

RE-ARMING FOR WAR.

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/23
Posted in: Defense, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

wentz or foles

DALLAS won the NFC East this season by sweeping us. The giants added firepower in 2018 and figure to pad their defense in 2019. This division isn’t going to roll over and let us just walk away with it like we did in 2017. We need to be able to take it from them.

That however, will take some serious work, because with 20 players becoming Free Agents this March, we’re a hair trigger away from being as big a mess as the Redskins. This locker room is about to undergo a significant change, and it’s going to be of supreme importance that the right players are either brought back, or brought in.

So what are the priorities? Let’s start at the top.

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QB: Carson Wentz is and should be, the future here. It’d be great to keep Nick Foles too, but he’d be too expensive. We’re projected to be 13 million over the salary cap, and he’s due to make 20 million. (Cap Savings!). This is simple math. By trading him to say…Jacksonville, we get him out of the conference, and can move up from 25th to 7th in the Draft. (Plus whatever else we can get out of them.) Nate Sudfeld has looked capable. He’s a (FA) Free Agent, but if he’s smart, he comes back here in 2019.

RB: Jay Ajayi suffered an ACL tear to his left knee in 2012. He also has osteoarthritis and now this ACL tear, in his right knee. No need to re-up for all those future missed and partial games. Darren Sproles is mulling retirement, so plans should be made like he’s not in the picture. (But if he’ll stay for 2M$ or so, we should find the cash.)

Otherwise, this position needs a complete overhaul. Not just of players, but of our philosophical approach to the kind of players we have here. We need more guys on the roster who want to be “The Guy” and work towards that. No more players who are happy being one-trick, role-players, just glad to have a roster spot.

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Installing Corey Clement as our third down/change of pace back, would be very smart. Also drafting a 225 pounder who actually runs like a big back, would give us the balance we had when we were putting up 30 points per game in 2017. It also wouldn’t hurt to sign a FA like Latavius Murray, or Spencer Ware as an insurance policy.

Were we to forgo drafting a back, adding Kareem Hunt (not Le’Veon Bell) is the smart move. Adding Hunt to this system would immediately lessen the aggressiveness of opposing pass rushers, and give our QB more room to operate. Besides, he’s 23 and has no rookie deal, so he can be inked for 4 or 5 years, and not at the top end of today’s RB market, due to his recent baggage.

WR: Alshon Jeffery is the big dog here, so he needs to see 10 or more targets (not 7), per game from Wentz. Nelson Agholor is due 9M$ on a fifth year option, which he really isn’t worth. (Cap Savings!) If he can find a team (Redskins maybe) to give him 9 mil, good on him. But it shouldn’t be us. Jordan Matthews made his meager opportunities count, so he should be brought back based on that, and his prowess as a blocker. Jeffery, Matthews and the returning Mack Hollins would make life hell on opposing secondaries, especially if a young speedster is drafted. Golden Tate thank you, and good luck on your next team.

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TE: Zach Ertz is a receiver. He’s improved as a blocker, but he’s really a big WR. Dallas Goedert helps give us what might be the most formidable 1-2 punch at this position, in the league. Still, we could use a guy who’s calling card is blocking. Not a puppy, but a veteran presence. Someone like FA’s Tyler Kroft or Geoff Swaim.

OT: I’d like to see Jason Peters retire now. (Cap Savings!) He’s our best at the position, even when injured. However, these constantly occurring injuries make it clear that he should walk away, now. Before his body betrays him, and reduces him to just “some guy”. True, 10M is a lot to walk away from, but his body and his legacy should be worth more.

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Moving Lane Johnson from the right to the left beginning in OTA’s, seems like the smartest move. Halapoulivaati Vaitai simply can’t be trusted to man the blindside. During the 2017 playoffs, our coaching staff got away with giving him help on some downs, and rolling everything else to the right. However, during the moments he played the left in 2018, opponents showed that they were wise to us with that.

Jordan Mailata says that we can expect big things from him in 2019. If he plays a single down in 2019, it would be a vast improvement over how much he played in 2018. So the bar there is really low, right now. Matt Pryor is huge, but like Vaitai, his feet are way too slow, so he’s likely better suited to Guard.

A high draft pick, possibly our first rounder, needs to be spent here. No Free Agent patch. This guy should be homegrown, and allowed to get old with the QB.

G: Brandon Brooks should be back from Achilles tendon surgery, but there is no guarantee that he’ll be ready by Week 1. (Note: I initially had this written as an ACL tear, but alert reader Bobby, stepped up, and got me on the right path. If you talk I will listen!) Stefen Wisniewski and Issac Seumalo give the Eagles stability in terms knowing the scheme, but neither is the blocker that Brooks is. Chance Warmack is a FA, but he’s not liable to attract many suitors, and the Eagles could use an inexpensive insurance policy. That being said, there is also no reason why Pryor can’t be kicked inside, where he’s actually a better fit.

C: Jason Kelce has publicly acknowledged that he is mulling retirement, and that he doesn’t know if he’ll be back in 2019. That means we need to add a player. Not just a body. A player. There are no prizes to be had in scheduled Free Agency, so unless someone gets cut, it’s best to save that cap space. Wisniewski has extensive experience playing the pivot in the NFL. Seumalo has also logged downs at the spot, so we’re by no means in dire straits. However, it would be smart to draft kid. (Hopefully 320 pounder, with a nasty streak.) Until he’s gone however, Kelce has to be counted here.

 

DE: Brandon Graham is going to be a FA, and Chris Long  is mulling retirement. This leaves us with Derek Barnett (returning from injury), Michael Bennett who is a beast, and Josh Sweat. Sweat is more of an edge setter than a pass rusher, so he may not be a good fit in this scheme. If Graham is willing to come back for 5.5M, then we should ink him. Otherwise, see if (former Eagle) FA Steven Means wants to come back to Philly.

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DT: Fletcher Cox is the heart and soul of this defense, and one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL. The Eagles may attempt to free up 5M in (Cap Savings!), by cutting Timmy Jernigan and just eating 6M in dead money, instead of paying him 11M. Space-eating, run-stuffers like Free Agents Johnathon Hankins or Jordan Phillips would look really really good next to Cox, and wouldn’t break the bank to get here. Treyvon Hester should make the roster again in 2019, but everything about him says “role-player”.

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OLB: Nigel Bradham put up solid numbers, but most of what he does (plays through injury, adds an air of toughness, finishes his tackles, doesn’t blow assignments), doesn’t show up on a stat sheet. Still, it would be nice if he were turned loose more as a pass rusher. Kamu Grugier-Hill looked like a work in progress this year, but not getting to start until your third year will put a layer of rust on any player’s instincts. He has the speed and motor to be a diamond in the rough, the only question is whether or not he’ll get the opportunity in 2019. Depth here is a real issue, and has been for years now. Adding a Free Agent like Gerald Hodges should be easy and inexpensive. Aside from that, we should be able to grab a couple of Special Teamers after the Draft.

MLB: When Jordan Hicks is healthy, he’s a very good player. Problem is, his track record for being healthy is shabby and now he’s coming off his rookie deal, and will want big boy numbers on his checks. Given the thin FA market though, the Eagles would be wise to sign him to a 3 year deal, and get an actual back-up in here. That’s not a shot at Nate Gerry, who filled in for Hicks this season. Gerry is a Safety/Outside Linebacker tweener, so he isn’t really suited for the MIKE position. If we’re spending on Hicks, we won’t have the money to blow on a FA. That means we’ll need to draft a back-up/possible replacement.

SS: Malcolm Jenkins is the only player at this position and that’s a problem for a couple of reasons. First, he’s up there in years, and we’ve got no one behind him learning to do what he does. Second, we been really lucky that he’s been healthy enough to play every snap, seemingly since he got here. It’s tempting fate to act as if we can ignore these things. We need to draft a kid to groom. A leader type.

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FS: Rodney McLeod is coming back from injury, but he should be full-go in 2019. Corey Graham frequently forgets to bring his arms to a tackle. (That’s when he isn’t diving at ankles.) Graham is a FA and so no lock to return. Tre Sullivan didn’t see a lot of action during the season, but he was an unsung hero of the Wild Card win at Chicago.

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CB: Rasul Douglas is tall, competitive, sticky fingered, and a solid tackler. If we’re smart, he opens 2019 as a starter. Avonte Maddox can be baited because he’ll chase the big play. While he’s been beaten a few times because of that, he’s also made a few plays because of it. After all, nothing ventured is nothing gained. Cre’Von LeBlanc is credited with nothing less than saving the Secondary, so um, expect him to be here in 2019. Jalen Mills was having an up and down year ((cough cough) struggling) before he hurt his foot. It remains to be seen if he’ll get to start on the outside or in the Nickle spot. Sidney Jones excelled in college playing man-press. The Eagles (regrettably) don’t use such a scheme, and so there is a real chance that the Front Office may have wasted a second round pick, on first round talent, that our coaching staff simply can’t find a use for. There’s talk of the Eagles drafting a player early at this position, but that seems almost like a massive overreach here, and robbing another position of needed talent.

K: Jake Elliott is a FA, but he’s restricted. There is no chance the Eagles let him walk.

P: Cameron Johnston still needs to work on his directional kicking, but he’ll be here.

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THE BEST D-LINE IN THE NFL

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/04/02
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Reviews, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

 

Best line?

WHEN the Los Angeles Rams went out and signed free agent DT Ndamokung Suh, the cry heard ‘round the world was that the Rams now had the best defensive line in the NFL. Pairing Suh with DE Aaron Donald is talked about like it’s the end-all be-all in the NFL. People are talking like the Rams are now the favorite to win the Super Bowl in 2019.

Whoa now. Hold up. Pump the brakes.

The Rams will boast an extremely scary interior, that is just as disruptive against the run as the pass. But still it’s just two guys. One of which will be learning to switch from being a 4-3 DT to either a 3-4 DE or NT.

They play a 3-4, so you have to look at the front five, not four. Take a look up and down their ROSTER and you won’t see another player to fear. DE Michael Brockers? He has 19 sacks in 6 years, after being selected 14th overall in 2012. Everyone else is a career back-up who’ll now be counted on to make difference. (I guess.)

With the Minnesota Vikings (4-3) there are four legitimate headaches with Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Sheldon Richardson, and Danielle Hunter. Not two guys, four. The Jacksonville Jaguars have 3 game wreckers in Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson, and Yannick Ngakoue.

Then of course there’s the grand-daddy of them all, the Philadelphia Eagles.

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DE Brandon Graham

The Eagles boast Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan and Haloti Ngata at DT. At DE There’s Brandon Graham, Chris Long, and Derek Barnett. We lost DE Vinny Curry and all we could find to replace him with was some guy named Michael Bennett. That’s SEVEN players. The Eagles are literally, TWO defensive lines deep.

We don’t just have starters better than the Rams starters, we have better back-ups than the Rams starters. (DE Steven Means and DT Destiny Vaeao don’t qualify for this list because of who’s in front of them, but if Bennett misses any time, you’ll see those two make a serious contribution in his absence.)

Even if we were to throw out things like sacks and hurries as a measure of an individual player’s effectiveness, there’s the fact that the Eagles as a team, allowed just 79.2 rushing yards per game, to the Rams 122.3. That’s number one vs fifth worst. Also our key players aren’t in their first year of the scheme.

So all this big talk about the Rams D-line is ridiculous. The Rams don’t have the best D-line in the NFL. Hell, they don’t even have the best D-line in the conference. Those distinctions BOTH belong to the Eagles.

As things stand, the Rams D-line may not even be as good at the Vikings. IJS.