OH no! We’re 2 – 1 and tied for the division lead! Quick, hit the panic button!
Or, we could take the loss like men, and just get to fixing what’s broken. Speaking of broken, the 1 – 2 Rams are limping into Philly on Sunday. You remember, they’re the team that every pundit had going undefeated on their way to the Super Bowl. Did I mention that they’re 1 – 2?
After a couple weeks on the road, this home game would be a great place for our Defense to get its first turnover of the year. Or for RB Saquon Barkley to have his first 100 yard rushing game. Hell, it’ll be nice to see TE Zach Ertz making his return home, after a five year separation.
With a win, we’d advance to 3 – 1, maintaining our current spot atop the division.
A loss would drop us to 2 – 2, and no worse than tied for second.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. Often I list fundamentals, as some of the four things. BUT NO MORE! Unless something specific is needed, fundamentals like Running the ball; playing lots of Man Press; and Tackling instead of going for the strip, will be automatically included. (Like the five consonants and a vowel that Wheel Of Fortune automatically spots you.) So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: THE RAMS
C Drew Kendall and RG Willie Lampkin block for a rushing touchdown this preseason.
1) Figure Out the LG: Whether we started G Landon Dickerson or C/G Cam Jurgens, this spot has been the weakest point of the Offense, since the season began. Dickerson was trying to hide a lingering injury, and has since been moved to Injured Reserve. Jurgens however, is being outright overpowered. Seemingly on every snap.
Having C Drew Kendall help him with double-teams might help alleviate some strain, but that makes the Eagles predictable in their protection schemes. We can’t have that.
The real best answer would be to bench Jurgens.
Problem is, neither of our back-up Guards (Willie Lampkin and Micah Morris) has ever played a down in the regular season. So, either would be a gamble, and we’d essentially be putting QB Jalen Hurts up as our stake. So it’s either one of the kids, or more Jurgens. If I had a say… I’d go with Lampkin.
2) Sack Stafford: The Rams QB is practically a statue. If we come out of this game without a sack, it’s time to bench someone. I’m looking at you DE Jalyx Hunt! We need our DT’s to win the ‘A’ gap, and our DE’s to keep contain. Fewer stunts, and more straight-up whipping their man. No excuses. Just get there.
3) Man Or Boom: The amount of loose Zone that we played against the Bears, will have the Rams setting records on us. We either need our Man Coverage to be in the receivers hip pocket at all time; or we need our players in Zone, to arrive at receivers with near homicidal intent. Running around in our Secondary with impunity MUST end this week.
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. recovers a fumble, in a 2024 playoff game.
With LB Zack Baun out with a concussion this week, we should be about to get an extended look at LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Fucking FINALLY!) He’s not the hitter that his old man was, but something tells me that he’d understand the assignment, if the Rams decide to risk the health of their receiving corps.
4) Get Some Passes Slotted In: We aren’t using the Slot WR enough, downfield. The Bunch Receiver formations are bad enough. As the receivers crowd closer to the Offensive Line, so do the defenders covering them. That just means nine guys in the area (more traffic), on running plays.
Because we historically never prioritize the Slot WR, at the snap whoever is assigned to him, can take an extra beat to look at our RB. Well, we can re-write that narrative with a couple of quick-hitters to the Slot. Even better, it can be presented as a blitz beater, to discourage attempts. WR Hollywood Brown is nursing an ankle injury, but this would be a great spot to get WR Makai Lemon going.
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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…
(In my George Thorogood voice) “I said look maaan, got the Browns 3 – 1. Raiders 3 – 0. Rams 1 – 2. This loss to a substitute Bear? Hmph. That don’t confront me. Long as we get this win on this Sunday.”
With WR DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert not playing this week, we’re already going to be leaning on WR Dontayvion Wicks. So we really could use either a breakout game from Lemon; or for WR Darius Cooper, to show that he’s ready for more opportunities.
WR Darius Cooper catches game winner two weeks ago against the Titans
The Rams come into this one, also missing a couple of key players. So it’s not like they have a massive health advantage over us. Just maybe, if we can get our shit together for a bit, we might be able to claw our way to a win. But it won’t be easy! Unless we do all Four Things, in which case, it should be a piece of cake.
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WARNING: 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 Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
