Four Things

All posts tagged Four Things

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

ABOVE .500 and still in the basement of the NFC East. You have to love the irony. Back in April I picked us to go 9-7 (at least) and win the division. Many told me I was nuts, and that we’d win no more than 5 games. Well, it would seem that were on pace for that 9-7 mark, but the division…eh, not so much.

Considering how well we’ve played vs teams we weren’t supposed to beat (Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Atlanta, all of which I told you we’d win), I have to say, I’m less worried than most fans are, about this week’s game.

Can we do it again? Last week we won by pushing Atlanta into a phone booth, shutting the door behind us, and pounding on them until the refs fired a starter pistol to get us to stop. Atlanta isn’t built for such rough treatment. They tried to respond, but it’s just not who they are. For Philly inhabitants and our teams, the ability to hang in fist fight is a birthright. It’s in our air and in our water. If you can’t hang, your ass is as good as grass.

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Seattle on the other hand, is our huckleberry. If we want to be tough guys, and trade short area blows, they don’t mind at all. Why, that’s just their game. If we’re going to beat these characters at their own…how do you say “forte” in French? Doesn’t matter. If we’re going to beat Seattle at the style that won them a Super Bowl, then there are certain things we have to do.

 

 

 

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 11 versus Seattle :

1) Attack the left with RB Darren Sproles. Due to injury LOLB Brock Coyle is starting for Seattle. While he might hold his own vs our TE’s , there is no way he can stay with Sproles on any route run beyond the line of scrimmage. That doesn’t mean make Sproles our bell-cow, just make sure he’s on the field a lot.

2) Spread ’em out. We can run inside much easier if we use formations that pull the LB’s to the outsides of “the box”. If Seattle chooses to walk a Safety down, instead of walking a LB outside, that leaves 1-on-1 on the outside for someone. 

3) Challenge their CB’s. The biggest knock on our WR’s is that they don’t get separation. Fine. To hell with separation. WR’s Jordan Matthews (if he plays) and Dorial Green-Beckham are king-sized wideouts. Why not use that as an advantage instead of ignoring it week in and week out. Who needs separation when you can box-out on a Hitch route, or out-jump a smaller man? Use those big bodies like they’re big bodies.

4) Set the edge. Seattle’s run game is garbage this year, so it won’t take much to shut that part of their offense down. What we need to focus on, is not giving them gifts, via unforced errors (so to speak). A form of “mush-rush” should be effective against QB Russell Wilson, as his vision would be obscured due to his height.

This game will be lost if we come out there being cute. Seattle is not as good as they were 2-3 years ago, but they still are not an outfit that suffers fools. If we bring them the same weak-ass game that we brought Detroit, we will get blown out by a team that’s only 21st in scoring. We have to come out there ready for this to be a street fight. Because that’s exactly what Seattle will be bringing us.

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/15
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

THE score was closer than the game was. Even with a few self-inflicted wounds (LB Najee Goode, I’m looking at YOU!) we managed to hold the NFL’s top scoring team, to less than half of the 34 (33.9) points that they came into the game averaging. We punked, bullied, and pushed Atlanta around at will.

This is exactly the team I was predicting they’d be prior to this preseason. The stifling team concept Defense, our Offense being based on a power run game, Special Teams that set the table for the other two units. It was great to finally see it all come together.

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RB Ryan Mathews powers into the end zone, with a physicality that teammate Darren Sproles does not possess. 

That 24 – 15 victory was a thing of beauty. It was in no way a finished product, as you could still see we have some growing to do. However, when you hold a team that averages 315 passing yards, to just 303 total yards, it’s something to be proud of. We took a team averaging 114 rushing yards per game and capped them at 48. This was also the worst showing of the year by the Falcons QB, who escaped the game with a passer rating of just 78.7.

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

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

1) Get away from things we don’t do well. We didn’t lean on RB Darren Sproles as our bell-cow; only attempted a couple Screen passes; ran ZERO QB options; and didn’t try to force long balls to TE Zach Ertz or WR Nelson Agholor. Instead we leaned on RB Ryan Mathews, threw the ball down the field to WR Jordan Matthews, threw Ertz more underneath stuff, and QB Carson Wentz had the longest run of his career (so far), on a 13 yard scramble right up the middle. We handled business here. DONE

2) Put Matty on ice. We sacked him twice, but we only hit him six times. I expected more hits on him, but then again he was constantly unable to get comfy, and his lack of accuracy (54%, his second worst of this season), and his lowest QB rating (78.7) of the season showed as much. DONE

3) Be aggressive on Offense. You can’t get more aggressive on Offense than five straight runs with Mathews from the 28 yard line, all the way to the end zone. We ran the ball down Atlanta’s throat in that game, and dominated the point of attack. DONE

4) Run behind the rookie. This one has me on edge. Technically we did this, though we waited until the second half to run behind RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, 4 or 5 times total. TOTAL. As in the whole game. Out of 38 rushing attempts, only about 5 went his way. If Wentz was a left-handed QB I would understand it as strategy. This however, comes across as protecting Vaitai. Long-term that can’t have a happy ending. NOT DONE

This week’s score is 3 out of 4 things done. I could get technical and say we went 4 for 4 (and it would be nice to), but that last one wasn’t truly earned. It also raises questions about whether or not he’ll be the weak link in our next game vs the Seattle Seahawks. (Now see, THAT was a segue.)

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/11
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IT’S dark here in this basement. Can’t see a damned thing, and the floor is slippery with blood from all these self-inflicted wounds. Sitting here at 4-4 is damned embarrassing. Not because we’re awful, but precisely because we aren’t. If this team gets it’s act together and does a few simple things, there’s no reason we can’t run the table during this last 8 games. I’m not saying we will, I’m saying that we have everything we need in order to do the job. SO LET’S DO THE JOB!

These guys coming in? These Falcons… So they’re 6-3. They aren’t champs! We don’t have to lay down for them, just because the world expects us to lose. This is game is in OUR house. If those guys want to come to OUR house and pick a fight, they’d better bring their lunch pails, because they’ve got a full day’s work ahead of them.

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Last week we learned about our limitations. This week we should be all about the business of cutting what doesn’t work and hanging our hats on what does. Particularly on Offense.

This week we get to face the NFL’s #1 team in scoring (33.9 ppg) , but on the flip they allow more scoring (28.8 ppg), than all but 4 teams. So there’s room for us to do our thing. Provided we actually make the attempt.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 10 versus Atlanta :

1) Get away from things we don’t do well. Screens, QB option runs, and utilizing Darren Sproles as a bell-cow RB are on this list.

2) Put Matty on ice. The Falcons allow more hits on their QB (61) than all but three teams in the NFL. This works for us, because if QB Matt Ryan is on his back, he’s not throwing passes to WR Julio Jones.

3) Be aggressive on Offense. The Falcons hemorrhages points already, and they have the NFL’s second worst pass defense. There is no reason to be tentative against this team.

4) Run behind the rookie. Most of our runs seem to go away from RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. It seems that most of our Offense is designed to not expose him. The result is that we keep tipping our hand and teams know they can load up on us, to one side. So why not even the playing field? Coaches may not want to stand QB Carson Wentz behind Vaitai, but if he gets a chance to mash down on someone, it could do wonders for his confidence.

Last week’s game was a measuring stick for our progress. This week’s game is a measuring stick for individual player’s pride. I could say more, but it would only be a waste of words.

yeah-bitch

I CAN’T THIS WEEK

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/08
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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MANY fans will want to dump on Head Coach Doug Pederson for going for it on 4th and short, instead taking those two field goals. To hell with that. That’s all window dressing. Look a little deeper and you’ll see something much more important and far more pervasive. It’s something that would only rear it’s head in a game like the giants game, and in moments like those we just faced.

What you’d see is a team with no real sense of it’s own limitations. History shows that there is no more important ingredient in a hand-spun, homemade, old world ass whipping. We avoided it by playing the giants last week, but Atlanta may not be so kind this week.

This was the game where we learned some of the things we simply can’t get away with. We’ve all heard the expression “athletes who play within themselves”. Players who don’t over-reach and focus on what they’re good at. That’s a nice way of saying for example, that Steve Kerr wasn’t as talented as Michael Jordan, but he still found a way to be great in his own right. Well, the Eagles have a bunch of Kerrs (see what I did there?), and are damned short on Jordans.

It’s important to work within your limits once you’ve learned what they are. That way you can avoid future beatdowns of the abjectly humiliating and spiritually traumatic variety. So class, what did we learn specifically on Sunday?

We learned that RB Darren Sproles card-darren-sproleshas never been a bell-cow RB for a damned good reason. On 59 carries this year, he’s yet to see the end zone or break a run for 20 yards. His 36 touches over the last two weeks have taken a visible toll on his quickness and explosiveness. Which explains why he ran out of gas on the punt return that he almost brought back Sunday. Bet you hadn’t put those two together.

 

 

We learned that QB Carson Wentz might have good straight ahead speed, card-carson-wentzbut he can’t evade NFL level speed on bootlegs. If he’s going to bootleg, it has to be into a throw. That option running stuff is out of the question for him. He’s just too slow at this level. If he drops back and the pocket splits, by all means young man, RUN! These QB option plays though? They have to go. Unless we’re drafting another QB.

 

 

We learned that DT Beau Allen is at best a stop-gap player. card-beau-allenHe gave us all a reason to sit up and take notice in the preseason, but since the games began to count, he’s been only useful as a plugger vs the run. Even when going against an O-line decimated by injury. Despite frequent double teams on DT Fletcher Cox, Allen also can’t take advantage of one on one blocks and is a likely candidate for being replaced after this year.

 

We learned that WR Nelson Agholor card-nelson-agholoris holding the team back. While Agholor had more catches than rookie WR Bryce Treggs, Treggs managed to both, beat his man deep AND catch the ball. Those are two traits we have yet to see much from Agholor. He’s had a season and a half to make the sort of impression that Treggs did within mere minutes of his NFL debut. While I wouldn’t go so far as to start Treggs over Agholor, it’s clear that Agholor needs to sit.

So there you go. Four things (see what I did there?) that the team entered the giants game thinking they could get away with, but learned they need to stop. Making the adjustments to these things won’t cost a dime. They don’t need to bring in anybody. This is just a matter of playing within themselves and doing what they’re actually good at. And no, Screen passes are not on that list.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/07
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

MEASURING stick. That’s what I said this game would be, and that’s exactly what it turned out to be. We learned a number of things in this game and each lesson was important. (This isn’t the place to go over them, so I’ll hit you with that in my next article, coming out either later today or early tomorrow.)

The math says that even though today we’re 4 – 4 overall and 0 – 3 in the division, we could still run the table and finish 12 – 4 overall and 3 – 3 in the division . That however, is highly unlikely. It’ll be interesting to see what the coaching staff decides to do from this point forward. Do they press forward and try to win the NFC East, or do they start plugging in more and more young guys, to get them some experience for next year.

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(image courtesy Bleedinggreen.com)

We lost 23 – 28. That’s not a big margin, and if you didn’t watch the game that might even make you think is was a good game for us. The truth is that it was woefully uneven. QB Carson Wentz is looking more and more like “a guy” and not “The Guy”. Yesterday he was intercepted twice and failed to throw a touchdown for the second time in four games. In fact, he has just 2 in his last 4 games. Also for the third time in the last four games, his completion percentage failed to reach even 58%. Statistically his regression is clear.

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

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

1) Rush five regularly. Didn’t happen. Since DT Bennie Logan went out with a calf injury, our four man pass rush has dissolved into four guys who often, almost get there. Same with yesterday. It was like seeing four Mike Mamula‘s out there. (If they gave trophies for being within arms reach of the QB, Mamula would be in the Hall of Fame.) Yesterday we brought down stationary object Eli Manning all of ONE time. NOT DONE

2) Avoid throwing Screen passes. Considering how effective the Eagles were when we threw the ball down the field, I have no idea why we bothered with these. NOT DONE

3) Some 3-TE formation would be nice. When I wrote this, it was with the intention of using this not just inside the 5. NOT DONE

4) Do the unexpected. Some of the very suggestions I made here were addressed in this last game. TE Zach Ertz is still basically being used like a big slow WR, but the play-action was better, and the ball went deep to a few guys. It was good to see. DONE

This weeks score was 1 for 4. If the giants were a better team the loss would have been by more than four. As it stands, next week we get a home game again which is a good thing. The bad part of that is we have to figure out a way to handle Atlana WR Julio Jones. Should be fun.

A “SPECIAL” TALK WITH RHODIE

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

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

“Special! Get ‘im a Special”.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I order a whiskey. It is NOT Wild Turkey.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/GIANTS

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

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

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

From the blame game in the locker room…

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

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I can’t wait for ALL OF IT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: COWBOYS

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/COWBOYS

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

player-jordancowboykillerhicks111-10-15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: VIKINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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