Corey Clement

All posts tagged Corey Clement

HOW TO HELP CARSON WENTZ.

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/11/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

JUST THROW IT AWAY! Why does he keep holding the ball so long?! He’s trying to do too much!

These are the things we keep hearing this season, about QB Carson Wentz. Many people are saying that he’s regressing. If that’s the case then the entire Offense has regressed as well. And not because of Wentz.

When Wentz doesn’t throw the ball away after 4 seconds, that’s a decision. It is a decision when he sees a receiver not uncover, and then continue to hold the ball, and wait for a window. He is making decisions that lead to sacks and turnovers. Let’s acknowledge that right at the top. So we don’t need to debate about it later.

Let me ask a couple questions here. Who repeatedly draws up a bunch of long-ass routes with no check-downs? Was that Wentz? How about those plays where our receiver routes end up in bunches, which attracts defenders, creating no windows? Does Wentz design those? When you see him hold the ball forever, notice how you never yell, “There’s a guy right there!” Why is that?

Carson Wentz, ladies and gents, is largely being fucked over by play design. That’s coaching. Head Coach Doug Pederson is falling victim to the same trap that Andy Reid and TIK, fell victim to. The need to prove how clever they are. Thus, all these offensive coaches that Doug keeps adding to the staff, for “new ideas” and “new perspectives”.

Look, the Eagles won a Super Bowl behind a bruising run game, which opened up a mind-numbingly efficient intermediate passing game, lightly accented by a multifaceted deep game, which involved raw speed on one side, and receiver who’s open even when well covered, on the other. There was nothing “clever” about it.

Not at all.

We just took you to the woodshed.

Since then, we’ve lost Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich, with whom Doug had an almost psychic bond. Then we got away from simple and brutal. Seriously. Three years ago 220 pound RB Corey Clement was our small RB (after RB Darren Sproles was injured.) This year Clement is our big back. Over the last couple of seasons we’ve devolved into a finesse running team, with underachieving TE’s, and a spotty deep passing game.

Literally everything around Wentz has taken a step back. The Offensive Line isn’t as good. The TE position is in serious transition. The run game is soft. At WR we have Travis Fulgham and our fingers crossed. Even the coaching has slid. Yet people have somehow expected Wentz to return to the MVP form of 2017. That only makes sense if you’re incapable of discerning context.

During that 2017 season, he had a high functioning team around him. This year (in case you hadn’t noticed), he’s carrying this team on his back.

I keep waiting for Doug to help him out schematically. The Eagles (and everyone else) use WR motion to get teams to declare man or zone before the snap. But what about getting to dictate where a defender goes, even after the snap? Imagine if every time the opposing defense read it right, you could make them wrong anyway?

It wouldn’t require a new playbook, or totally new philosophy. Just the incorporation of basic concepts like this:

That’s not even a whole play. However, what it does, is show a simple way to manipulate the Safety (X), while quickly getting the ball out of Wentz’s hand. No turnovers plus easy yardage. And again, that’s just a fragment of a play which could be worked in, in numerous places. There are many similar concepts out there.

It’d be nice to see Wentz get a look at a few of them.

FOUR THINGS: WK 4: EAGLES – 49ers

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/10/01
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

LOST in all of last week’s pouting over a tie, was the fact that the Eagles ran for 175 yards. More impressively, a career-high 65 came from QB Carson Wentz on 9 carries. His most since 2017. Better still, he looked comfortable when he was out of the pocket. Seems like the sort of thing that Head Coach Doug Pederson may want to work into his game-plan this week.

Three games, no wins, and we’re still just half a game out of first place in our division. The NFC East is   W     I     D      E   open. Now is not the time to pussy out, and start talking about Draft picks. That’s quitter talk. Once a team has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, then and only then can ‘Tank Talk’ take place. Until then, it’s “Win, or go down swinging.”

Here in Philadelphia we can, and we have forgiven much. But quitting? Giving up? Punking out? True Philadelphians never forgive a lack of effort. NEVER. No matter how great, you can never live down “For who? For what?” and “We talkin’ ‘bout practice.” And its as true for turncoat fans, as it is for athletes. Full effort is demanded.

So if you truly bleed green, then get your ass behind your goddamned team, and behave like the best damned fans in all of sports!

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money.

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

1) Be the Aggressors: The 49ers come into this game rocking a 2 – 1 record. It’s smoke. Don’t buy into it. Their two wins are against the Jets and the giants. Their loss is against an Arizona team that LOST the turnover battle in that game. We need to ignore the records, and come out done with ties and losses. Go for the kill early. Be the aggressors.

2) Support the D-Line: The 49ers interior offensive line is injured, small, and not very good. If we can get consistent, tight coverage early in routes, it will be a very long, very frustrating day for whomever starts at QB for San Fran.

3) Run the damned ball, Doug!: The Eagles won a Super Bowl behind being a bruising rushing team. We’ve struggled since we got away from it. RB Miles Sanders has run for 95 yards in each of the last two games, and averages 5.0 per tote. Makes no sense that we aren’t pounding the rock with him and RB Corey Clement, to wear down defenses.

4) Screen the defense: What’s with all these lame passes at or behind the line of scrimmage? What happened to our RB Screen game? (Show of hands from everyone who’d like to see Clement get some of those again.) Let’s get that back, and loosen up the coverage for our outside receivers.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – 49ers 17

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

SIGN McCOY ALREADY!

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/06/09
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WHAT the fuck is the hold-up!? While the Eagles are solid with RB Miles Sanders as our starter, we still could use a veteran insurance policy, just in case (knock wood) Sanders gets hurt. The Eagles brass apparently thinks the same way, which is why it’s no secret that they’ve kicked the tires on RB’s Carlos Hyde, Devonta Freeman, and former Eagle LeSean McCoy. That being said, we still haven’t signed anybody.

Hyde signed with the Seahawks, so he’s off the board. Freeman has has had trouble staying healthy in recent years, yet still expects to make north of the 4 million dollar offer (from the Seahawks) that he turned down. Last season for the Chiefs, McCoy had a salary of 3 million, so he could VERY likely be brought in for that figure or less.

Super Bowl LIV: LeSean McCoy says, 'We want to do this for Andy ...

In addition to being affordable, his familiarity with the Offense that Head Coach Doug Pederson runs, allows him to hit the ground running. Add to that, the fact that he’s a complete three down RB. Add to that, the idea that he knows he’s coming in as a role player/mentor. Now add to THAT, the fact that respected veterans WR DeSean Jackson and RT Lane Johnson are actively stumping for McCoy’s return.

When you add all of those factors up, it damn near breaks your abacus. McCoy not being signed already, makes as much sense as double D’s on a fish.

That’s not to say that I don’t trust RB’s Corey Clement, and Boston Scott. What I’m saying is, as an insurance policy, I trust the Eagles all-time leader in rushing yards, just a little bit more. Perhaps not as a workhorse, but definitely the top half of a RB tandem, until he was outplayed by the other half.

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We need to quit dicking around and sign McCoy. We know that we’ve made magic with him. Hell, since 2014 he’s become the standard by which we’ve judged all who’ve followed him. Overthinking this is only outsmarting ourselves, and benefiting our rivals We want him. We need him. So let’s just sign McCoy already.

EAGLES BACKFIELD IN MOTION

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/05/01
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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THE news that we’d re-signed RB Corey Clement was a breath of fresh air. Many fans may have felt that the Eagles were already fine with RB’s Miles Sanders, and Boston Scott. I on the other hand, wrote in my Pre-Draft Preview, that real depth was a big concern.

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Sanders is the lead dog here. There’s no question about that. While the Eagles may include some RB-by-committee aspects, you can expect 66 to 70% of the RB carries to go to Sanders. Other RB’s will get a nibble here and two nibbles there. Which is fine. The issue before Clement signed was, what happens if Sanders goes down with an injury?

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Everyone remembers Scott’s crazy three touchdown game vs the giants last year. More specifically, they seem to only remember the touchdowns. That day he had 19 carries for just 54 yards, averaged 2.8 per tote. We saw during extensive work, that while he works well in space, his body type (5’6, 203) isn’t suited to a major workload, over multiple games.

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Clement (5’10, 220) has the body type, the skill set, scheme familiarity, and the explosiveness to step into that role, and be an every down RB, if needed. Honestly, if not for his injury history, the Eagles might have a hard time holding onto him. At this point he’s still 25, and a couple of healthy years could earn him at least one big contract in his career. We just have to see if he can earn the money. But Sanders, Clement and Scott sound nice, right? Not so fast.

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For what it’s worth: Nobody on the team has been assigned the #25.

While I still am, and have always been, a huge Clement booster, the Eagles would be remiss not to bring in a veteran. We need a veteran presence in this young group. The veteran names I keep reading about, are RB’s LeSean McCoy, Carlos Hyde, and Devonta Freeman. I’m good with McCoy and Hyde, but I’m a lot less bullish on Freeman. A lot less.

This isn’t to count out RB’s Elijah Holyfield, and free agent rookie Mike Warren. Both are “angry” runners and we need a guy who can bang inside. In fact, my ideal depth chart has us keeping 4 RB’s: Sanders, Clement, (speculatively) McCoy, and Warren (in a coin flip). That’s four credible load carriers, all of whom are a problem when they catch a Screen pass. Yes, even the rookie. (Did you not see him on my Wish List this year?)

I’d squirrel away undrafted rookie Adrian Killins (5’8, 164), on the Practice Squad. Killins travels faster than gossip, so the idea would be to develop him more as a returner, and see if he could transition to WR. That said, he has no business picking up blitzing LB’s, or running between the Tackles. Holyfield would also find a spot here as the true RB in reserve.

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But what about Boston Scott? How do we cut a guy who performed the way he did at the end of 2019? The simple answer is to keep five RB’s, which the Eagles won’t do. The other answer is to not have a real veteran presence. How key was a veteran presence at RB in 2017? Nobody can get you there, like somebody who’s been there. And of course we need someone who can bang.

In any case, the signing of Clement puts the Eagles in the driver’s seat in terms of what kind of options they wish to pursue. With the signing of one guy we just turned an area of worry into an area of strength. And you remember what happened the last time he stayed healthy, right?

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#11 MAKE SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/20
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE 12 2020.11

FOR the last few years the Eagles Special Teams hasn’t scared anyone. It’s true that Punting and Punt Coverage has helped us win the hidden yardage battle in many games. The Kicking has also been reliable, but reliable and special are two different things.

What we haven’t been in some time, is dangerous. RB Miles Sanders had a 67 yard Kickoff return last year, but it was 67 yards and still not a score. Rookie legs broke free, on a dash to the end zone. Yet still we couldn’t seal the deal. Again.

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Eagles 2019 Kick Return TD

Over the last few years we’ve had RB Darren Sproles lend us a little cred as a Punt Returner. However, given the number of games he’d missed over the past few years, we were trading on an old reputation. Meanwhile players who couldn’t really fill Sproles shoes, were given their shot at his job.

Which now sits vacant.

Part of our problem is that the staff likes to shoehorn a back-up into the role. Instead of getting a specialist, the staff picks a guy to act almost as a fill-in. Instead of a RB who can return kicks, we need a KR who can give us a few offensive downs per game. Understand the difference?

Maybe RB Boston Scott is that player. He’s done both KR and PR duty. Why not make that the primary reason he’s on the roster? Gives us a reason to keep 4 RB’s.

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Eagles 2018 Kick Return TD.

The Eagles currently don’t have a Bobby Mitchell, Devin Hester, Mel Gray, Tamarick Vanover type player. Instead we have Miles Sanders playing KR, like RB isn’t enough wear and tear.

This season the staff needs to pick a young guy, and tell him that the only reason he’s making 40K a week, is because he can return kicks. Then stand aside and let that man earn a larger contract.

DON’T RUSH FOR MILES SANDERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/05/15
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, free agents, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 Miles Sanders Duce Staley

EAGLES fans have already fallen for rookie RB Miles Sanders. He has yet to log a single Training Camp carry, and already I’m seeing talk of how he’ll be the starting RB next season. Not during the 2019 season, but the 2020 season. There are some people who are already looking past offseason trade acquisition, RB Jordan Howard.

This is a mistake, and proof that some members of our fan base, keep failing to grasp a fundamental NFL truth. That truth being: You can never have too much talent in a position.

2002: The Eagles had CB’s Al Harris, Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, Troy Vincent, and Bobby Taylor, all on one roster. By 2004 all but Sheppard and Brown would be gone.

Eagles 2002 Secondary

2002 Secondary Top row Left to right: Brian Dawkins, Al Harris, Bobby Taylor, Rashard Cook, Troy Vincent. Bottom row: Michael Lewis, Blaine Bishop, Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown

2008: The Eagles added CB Asante Samuel to a roster that already included CB’s Sheppard and Brown. Immediately the chatter began about who to bench or not re-sign (Lito) because we had Samuel and Brown. Instead of learning from 2003’s mistake and embracing depth, we made depth a detriment. Again.

2018: A QB room that looked like Carson Wentz, Nick Foles and Nate Sudfeld. Foles was allowed to walk for nothing, ostensibly because the Eagles couldn’t afford him. Foles subsequently signed a 4 year contract with the Jaguars. Since then, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has found a way to gin up/create/conjure roughly 21M$ in cap space. That’s 21M counting the rookies. Oh yeah, Foles 2019 salary cap figure: 12M$. The Eagles didn’t let Foles walk over money. Don’t let anyone fool you about that. Not now.

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In 2017 the Eagles had RB’s LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles. Until Sproles got hurt. However, even with Sproles being hurt, we were still ridiculously stocked at the position. In fact, we leaned heavily on those RB’s in our Super Bowl win. After which, Blount was allowed to leave.

That left us Ajayi, Clement and Sproles in 2018. The idea was to make Ajayi “the guy”, and let him be spelled by Clement. Sproles was never supposed to figure in heavily. Then Ajayi got hurt, and Clement got nicked up, then injured. Suddenly a position that was embarrassingly deep in 2017, was a bare cupboard in 2018. Raise your hand if you missed Blount in 2018.

Learn the lesson Eagles fans.

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Right now RB looks like Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Corey Clement and Josh Adams. (Scuttlebutt has it that Wendell Smallwood is on the outside looking in.) However, as I said, many fans are already looking forward to the days (2020) when Howard has moved on, and the onus gets thrust upon Sanders. That’s a short-sighted thing to wish for.

First of all, depth is NEVER bad. NEVER. Second, playing these guys as a platoon, keeps them fresh during the season, and could prolong their overall careers. Third, if we find a guy who works for us, we should by any and every means at our disposal, lock him down. Even if it’s just so that our rivals can’t find their salvation in him. If this group works, it’s only smart to keep it intact.

It’s time to learn the lesson Eagles fans. It’s time to stop making the great, the enemy of the great. Sanders is great to have. I’m excited about him too. However, even greater than Sanders, is Sanders when surrounded by big-time help.

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DEAR HOWIE ROSEMAN,

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/20
Posted in: free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DEAR Howie Roseman, could you please pass on WR Antonio Brown. We don’t need the headaches or drama he drags with him. Brown is talented, but in a figurative sense, adding him would be the equivalent of deliberately giving our team cancer.

He has a great contract that he’s unhappy with. He is anything but a team leader. He has been a malcontent that argues with coaches, and throws tantrums during games. His concept of accountability to his teammates does not gel with the current culture of the Eagles locker room. He embodies all the faults that people point out in star players.

And the BEST part? We can’t get him without trading for him. We would have to give away something that the Pittsburgh Steelers want from our roster or list of draft picks. So we have to help them, in order to start hurting us.

Similarly, could you pass on Le’Veon Bell, too? QB Carson Wentz needs a top-flight RB, and Bell would be nice to have, but not at the expense of not being able to land a LT, or DE. Bell is talented, but he wants too much money. Too much guaranteed money. Especially with Wentz’s contract coming up. This offseason we’re already hoping that you have a miracle or two up your sleeve, but this is simply too much to reasonably ask for.

In fact, at RB, adding either Free Agent Tevin Coleman

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or Latavius Murray

before the 2019 Draft, would save a lot of money, solve a lot of problems, and set a clear tone. It would also make signing other players cheaper, when they saw us as legitimately re-arming for another Super Bowl run. Then we could smuggle RB LeGarrette Blount back onto the roster during OTA’s. (If we add him before the Draft, we’ll spook the better FA RB’s and won’t land one.)

A backfield of Murray, Blount and Corey Clement sounds REALLY good actually! If we don’t break the bank on Murray, we might even be able to squeeze RB Darren Sproles back in under the cap.

Sometimes you get addition by subtraction, but other times you get subtraction by addition. Let’s not let the latter happen to us, as Pittsburgh attempts the former.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK12 :GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/11/26
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FOR all those who say “Pederson can’t coach!” or “Pederson’s lost the team!” or “We should tank!” The Eagles have a message for you:

cup of shut upThis was one of those wins which shows the character of a team. Most teams staring down the barrel of an early 3 – 19 deficit, would just mail in the rest of the game. Given the extent of our injuries, the Eagles had a “ready-made excuse” to wrap themselves in. But that’s not what they did. They instead elected to fight. They gave themselves a punchers chance, and in the end, our guys stood victorious.

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EAGLES 25 – giants 22

Rookie RB Josh Adams (22 – 84 – 3.8 – 1 – 0 ) and RB Corey Clement (5 – 45 – 9.0 – 0 – 0) gave the Eagles the running game that we’ve all been craving, since RB Wendell Smallwood (no carries) took over as the starter. Adding 3 sacks to the 28 attempts by QB Carson Wentz (20/28 – 236 – 71.4% – 1 – 0), there were 31 passing plays to 27 called runs. Our play selection was 53% pass and 47% run. You know what that is? It’s BALANCE! We achieved actual offensive balance.

Watching SS Malcolm Jenkins (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) wrap his mitts around a pass intended for giants WR Odell Beckham (5 – 85 – 17.0 – 0) got me onto my feet, and doing the world’s most uncoordinated Floss. Even worse than these people.  (I hit me in my pee-pee. But I didn’t care! INTERCEPTION!!). The return of our pass rush, and our OLB’s ability to make tackles for losses, spoke volumes about how much we’d been missing the presence of DT Timmy Jernigan (no stats).

For the first time this year, Special Teams makes an appearance in one of these articles. The punting was phenomenal. P Cam Johnston (4 – 201 – 50.2 – 2 – 59L) averaged 50 per boot, while pinning the giants inside the 20, twice. He nearly managed to get a third punt downed inside the 5, but slightly out-kicked his coverage. K Jake Elliott (3/3 – 100% – 43L) for a second year in a row used his big toe to doom the giants, prompting Eagles announcer Merrill Reese to dub him the “Giants Killer”.

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?

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1) Feed the pig! Feed the pig!: Let’s get RB Josh Adams 18 handoffs, is what I said. He got 22. Running is important. Even when a run ends up for a loss. Actual handoffs lead to opponents showing a lot more respect to play-action. This helps the Offensive Linemen block, which helps the QB keep the offense running on schedule. DONE.

2) Box that boy: In two games this year, giants WR Odell Beckham has a total stat line of 11 – 129 – 11.7 – 0 vs. Philly. Keep in mind that we’ve been struggling with our Secondary all year. WOW, right? Here’s some more WOW. This last game showed the world that the Eagles can contain Beckham with guys off the street. DONE.

3) Charge the ‘A’ gaps: We did none of that in the first half. I guess Head Coach Doug Pederson must have read Four Things to the locker room, during half-time. We came out, got on it, erased a deficit, took a lead, and won the game. DONE.

4) Fuck the crumbs: We didn’t make a big deal of going deep. (Maybe next week?) Instead we focused on a ball-control form of passing. The result was leading in time of possession 32 minute to the giants 27. That gave our Defense enough of a breather to play fast, while limiting the exposure of our inexperienced Secondary. NOT DONE.

This weeks score is 3 of 4 things done. The season score of 17 of 44 is still atrocious, but this week’s 3 of 4, beats the hell out of 0 of 8 for the prior two weeks. Baby steps. Next week we get a Redskins which currently sits at #2 in the division.

On The Whole:

Yes, it was sloppy. Yes, we had some self-inflicted wounds. That said, this was a great character win. It was a comeback, defending home turf, against a hated rival. We won with poise, balance and a little bit of grit for a change.

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Injuries are a circumstance, not an excuse. So if we’re going to be relying on these inexperienced players, then our defensive coaches may want to drill players on things like run-fits, and route re-directs. We made some things harder than they needed to be out there, and it will kill us if we don’t get them fixed.

It’s so nice to add a new killer to our roster. Jake “giant Killer” Elliott, to go along with Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks. Now we need to find a guy who habitually murders Redksins. Do we have any players named Andrew Jackson?

FOUR THINGS: WK 7: EAGLES-PANTHERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/10/18
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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THE Eagles need to string two wins together. Period. Last week we did what we should have, and thoroughly handled a bad giants team. This week offers a somewhat tougher opponent, whom we need to find a way to beat. This isn’t a “must win” game. It’s not a “test our mettle” game. We don’t need to “make a statement” this week. This is about hosting a team, beating their asses, and sending them home. This is TCB. Plain and simple.

QB Carson Wentz is looking better with every game. Right now we’re RB by committee, but RB Corey Clement is clearly the most effective RB on the roster. If I had any say, he would start. As of today, Fletcher Cox and Treyvon Hester (pffft, beats me) are our only fully healthy DT’s heading into Sunday, but the coaching staff claims to have a plan. (Uhhhh…yay?)

This week the Eagles get to decide if last week’s win was us getting our mojo back, or just the giants being worse than we were that night. Aside from this being a conference match-up, there isn’t much to hype about it. This is largely the Panthers team we beat last year. It’s us who’s undergone more significant change since then. For that reason, don’t try to match or compare last year’s game with this one. Don’t think that last year’s formula will yield last year’s results. Don’t expect the Panthers to fold quite as easily as they did last time we played. (Emphasis on the word ‘quite’.)

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

1) Make their RB beat us: Take away the deep ball, to take away the big play. Panther QB Cam Newton is a guy who plays well only when things go well. He turns into a petulant CHILD when they don’t.

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Seriously. What kind of woman fucks a guy like this?

Take him emotionally out of the game, put the offense squarely on the shoulders of their RB, and turn it into a boring, grind out style ballgame.

2) Get a second WR involved: WR Alshon Jeffery has been a beast. His being doubled and bracketed is getting TE Zach Ertz all kinds of open. That said, the Eagles need a second WR (Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Clifford Franklin…)

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to step up, and stretch opposing defenses horizontally, to open up big plays for runs up the middle.

3) Surprise me!: We’re heading into this game with just three DT’s, one of which (Haloti Ngata) should probably be on a pitch count. We have a few DE’s who log snaps at DT, but no one who should play on running downs. Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz had better have one hell of a wrinkle up his sleeve, because right now, this sort of looks terrifying.

4) Maintain balance: It would be disingenuous of me to tell the Eagles to “run the damned ball”, again. Disingenuous and beating a dead horse. It seems like they may have gotten my message. They also seem to like it when Wentz doesn’t get beat to shit, during a game. That said, we DO need to maintain a run-play selection of at least 40 percent. Not 35, 37, or 38.9999999. We need at least 40 percent.

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 split carries between RB’S Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement, in order for GM Howie Roseman to determine if he needs to make a move by the October 30th trade deadline. Out of 32 teams, the Panthers are 15th against the run. Sso while they aren’t a huge challenge, they are a legitimate proving ground on which Roseman can base his assessment.

While the Eagles rank in the lower echelon of the NFL in offensive rankings, it needs to be stated that we’ve worked past many of the difficulties and injuries that hampered us earlier this season. We also seem to be understanding who we need to be, in order to win.

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The same cannot be said of a Carolina team that is still missing both offensive tackles, who started every game for them in 2017 (Ouch!). Despite a good QB passer rating, they are a 26th ranked passing team, whose run game is mostly smoke and mirrors. Their RB had 184 of his 349 rushing yards, come in one game. He otherwise averages 41 per game. Newton chipping in (45 – 208 – 4.6 – 3) on the ground this year, inflates the appearance of the Panthers rushing attack, on paper.

The Panthers live on their defense getting pressure and forcing turnovers. If an opponent doesn’t feed these paper tigers, they usually fold by about a touchdown. We don’t commit a ton of turnovers, so as long as we stick to that, we should win a close one that comes down to the last possession or so.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Panthers 21

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 6 :GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/10/12
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

DIDN’T I tell you to relax? Last night, the Eagles did enough to let everyone know that WE, PHILADELPHIA, are still the class of the NFC East. To be the man, you have to beat the man. The giants issued a challenge and we said, “Fuck it. You can pick where.” The fight went down in their house, and we used their asses to break every stick of furniture in the joint. Then we lit a cigarette, dropped it on the carpet, and strolled out.

And their fans paid to sit in the rain, and watch that shit! BAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, I’m clownin’. What of it?

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EAGLES 34 – giants 13

Where do I start? Oh I know! How about 31 rushing attempts to 36 passes? You know what that’s called? Balance! You know what it means? It means that the giants bought our play-action, because they actually had to respect our run game. It means that QB Carson Wentz (26/36 – 72.2% – 278 – 3 – 0), was sacked just once all night. There were times when he had time to stand upright, with his feet FLAT in the pocket, and read the defense. Three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s what balance means.

RB Wendell Smallwood (18 – 51 – 2.8 – 0 – 1) got the nod and the bulk of the carries, but he was clearly outperformed by RB Corey Clement (11 – 43 – 3.9 – 1 – 0). Not only that but Clement told GM Howie Roseman before the game that the Eagles don’t need to trade for a RB, to which Howie responded with “Make me believe.” We need this guy starting next week. As fans we need to pound the table (tweets, call-in shows, website comments) for him.

WR Alshon Jeffrey (8 – 74 – 9.2 – 2) and TE Zach Ertz (7 – 43 – 6.1 – 1) gave Wentz that inside/outside, pick your poison,scoring combo that made us the best team in the league last regular season. WR Nelson Agholor (3 – 91 – 30.3 – 0) made a heads up play when he practically intercepted a tipped ball, and turned it into a 58 yard catch that set up Ertz’s 10 yard TD.

Today WR Odell Beckham (6 – 44 – 7.3 – 0) is on milk cartons all across the country. So that’s what a 90 million dollar WR looks like? Pffft! Thank goodness we only pay Alshon 52! Hats off to our Secondary for playing solid team concept coverage. They gave the Defensive Front time, to get to QB Eli Manning (24/43 – 55.8% – 281 – 0 – 1). I told you that the D-Line would visit him at least three times, and three linemen (Vaeao, Bennett, and Cox) got to eat last night. OLB L Nigel Bradham (6 – 1 – 0 – 0) also managed to snag himself a sack as well.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well Billy, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

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

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1) Dammit, run the fucking ball: We ran the ball 31 times, which established balance and allowed the Offense to flow, instead of fighting against itself. Hopefully this becomes a trend, Doug! DONE

2) Box that boy: The Eagles Secondary did a great job of not allowing Beckham room to roam, and having someone in the area whenever he did get the ball. It forced the giants into a small-ball format, which put handcuffs on their offensive potential, and slowly suffocated them. DONE

3) Play some press: While the Secondary did things to affect the timing and location of receivers, it can’t really be said that we played any true man-press. NOT DONE

4) Air Jordan: In Weeks 4 and 5, WR Jordan Matthews (2 – 26 – 13. 0 – 0) was targeted once. In this game (Week 6) against the giants, he saw 3 targets, for a season-high 2 catches. So he did in fact, see more passes come his way. DONE

This week’s score is a hearty 3 out of 4, bringing the year’s tally to 10 of 24. Next week we get the Panthers. Last year we headed into Carolina with a 4-1 record, yet everyone was looking past us, at the Rams. This year Carolina comes here. We’re 3 – 3 and everyone is looking past us at the Rams. We’re taking on a lot of key injuries again as well.

On The Whole:

Now do you see it? This game was needed less for positioning in the division, and more for our guys to reset and get back to what made them great last year.

No one forgot how to block, or tackle, or cover, or catch or throw. What the team seemed to forget was the ability to enjoy playing. Last night when they got that feeling going, they in no way resembled the team they’ve been for the last three weeks. (They get a pass for the two weeks under QB Nick Foles.)

In this giants game, they looked like Carson’s team. The team that did the Electric Slide last year. eaglectric slide.gif

The team that beat the Panthers and the Rams. That dismantled the 49ers, Broncos and Bears. That swept the giants and Redskins, going 5 – 1 in the division by a score of 162 – 109. This is still that team. And we are still the class of the NFC East.

COOLSPIN