Jason Kelce

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FOUR THINGS: WK 11: EAGLES – COLTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/11/19
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

STILL atop the NFL! Despite last week’s loss to Washington. We did some things last week that are uncharacteristic for us. We barely ran the ball. We turned the ball over four times (two real, one bullshit, one on the game’s final desperation play). Even still, up until that last play, we were only down five points.

Now because Washington ran the ball a lot and controlled the clock, rumor is, this is the blueprint for how to beat us. So expect the Colts to try to copycat. Of course, the operative word in that sentence, is “try”.

Last time I checked, we still had LT Jordan Mailata. We still had LG Landon Dickerson. We still had Hall of Fame C Jason Kelce. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t RT Lane Johnson still play here? I get the feeling, that they’re going to want to impose their will on an undersized Colts defensive line. Like I said… Just a feeling.

A win here, and the Eagles are guaranteed to finish above .500, and will still have a strangle hold on the NFC East. Also, we’ll still sit at the head of the table in the conference. Especially if Minnesota loses to the Cowboys. (That game works for us regardless of how it goes.)

A loss here, and the Eagles still are at the top of the division. Even when the giants beat Detroit. Coupled with a Minnesota win, we’d lose the NFC’s top spot, but if we lost, then we’d sort of need a Cowboys loss more, to keep a tighter grip on the East.

Both us and Minny losing keeps us in the NFC’s top spot, but the Cowboys would inch closer to us and the giants.

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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. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: Colts

1) Run the ball: If only for the sake of letting our Defense get a breather. We brought in reinforcements for DT Fletcher Cox, but DT’s Linval Joseph and Ndamokung Suh are coming off their couches. (Maybe off-the-couch players, is how you beat an off-the-couch coach? Perhaps there’s some wisdom couched in that there somewhere? I’ll stop. I’ll stop. C-OUCH! Banged my knee.)

Seriously though, the Colts also have an undersized front seven. They have LB’s who can fly around and make stops, but they don’t generate many big plays. We hardly touched our run game last week, so our big fellas must be hungry for some contact. It’s time we let them impose their will, and show the NFL that the KING, still lives.

2) Drop ‘em!: Enough with this holding the ball-carrier up, to swipe at the ball, bullshit. Just make the gall-dang tackle! Just get the guy on the ground!! There is no reason to let a RB churn a 2 yard gain, into a 5 yard gain. There even less reason to let it happen consistently. It makes 3rd down almost impossible to win.

3) Open Up the Passing Game: In nine starts this season, WR Devonta Smith has averaged double digits per reception in just three of them. In nine games (three starts), WR Quez Watkins has seen all of 17 attempts in his direction. His shock at getting his hands on a ball, and his over-eagerness to make a play was evident in him trying to do too much, and fumbling.

With TE Dallas Goedert on I.R., this Offense will need another home run hitter, who can threaten a defense, and open things up inside for the run game. We can’t keep making WR A.J. Brown the only deep threat in town.

4) Get Heat On Matty Ice: Before he was benched in favor of a rookie, QB Matt Ryan was already out there seeing ghosts. So we need to hit him early, even if it’s late. By which I mean, be willing to draw a couple of flags, just to rattle him. We need to get him off his game early.

Ryan has never been the most athletic QB, and his arm isn’t what it used to be. He is still in this game at his age, because of all the mental parts of his game. Take that away from him, early. The rookie they had replace him, looked bad with a week of practice. If for any reason Ryan has to come out of the game, that rookie will have less prep time. Or maybe we’ll get to see third string QB Nick Foles.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

We go eight games with no losses and the NFL barely notices us. We lose one game (and make no mistake, Washington didn’t win it, we lost it), and suddenly people are picking the Colts to beat us.

The disrespect is real!

No matter. The Eagles have a point to prove this week. They didn’t last week and came out flat. Actually if we’re keeping it Wilt,

the Eagles have started flat for a couple of games now. Last week’s loss was just the kick in the pride, that this group of grown men needed. Hell, it got General Manager Howie Roseman to flex his phone call muscle, and Owner Jeff Lurie to flex his check writing muscle.

Don’t expect flatness to follow moves like that.

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Prediction: EAGLES 25 – Colts 16

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, you are 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.

FOUR THINGS: WK 17: EAGLES vs BLANKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/01/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

NOTE: If a team doesn’t have a name, I reserve the right to assign them one.

WITH our season about to come to a close, it’s time to take stock of what we already have. We need to do that, so we don’t overspend on a free agent, or part with a draft pick, on a player that we don’t really need. If we can win win with a bunch of young guys, so be it. If we can’t, then we need to know where we fall short.

Beating the Question Marks helps the Cowboys make the playoffs, and hurts our draft position. On the other hand, while losing this game would give the Question Marks a chance to celebrate winning the division, (on our field), it also means that we improve our draft position.

So it’s either, waking up to being molested, or giving consent and at least getting ice cream afterward. That being said, I’m having trouble deciding between strawberry or butter pecan. Don’t look at me like that! I’ve made my peace. 

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner. Especially not this week! Nope, it’s to discuss which tactics will help the Eagles in the long run. 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.

So if you use FT as a gambling tool, someone else has hired your stupidity to get access to your wallet. And it serves you right!

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

1) Lose the damned game!: Going 5 – 10 – 1, is not better than going 4 – 11 – 1. Stop trying to convince yourself that it is. The season is over regardless, and there is no short term benefit from winning this game. In fact, there could be long term damage resulting from a win. If the 5 – 10 giants lose, they’d be 5 – 11 and draft ahead of us. Remember when we sniped TE Dallas Goedert right before the Cowboys could draft him? Remember how Green Bay taking S HaHa Clinton-Dix, resulted in us drafting DE Marcus Smith? So yeah, draft seeding matters. Let’s lose the damned game.

2) Evaluate Kelce’s heir: Start C Jason Kelce. Play him for a series and then sit him. Head Coach Doug Pederson has said he wants to use this game to evaluate. Fine. Kelce has hinted at retiring in each of the last three years. We need to know if we have an heir, or have to bring on in. Especially vs a young defensive line that we’re going to be seeing twice a year.

3) No Razzle-Dazzle: Trick plays often gain big yards because they catch the other team off-guard. In that case the big play may be more about scheme than athlete. To truly evaluate the roster, put the onus on the athlete and play basic football. We have problems with the basics. So lets start working on them now. Use a REAL GAME to let players know what to expect once OTA’s and mini-camp swing around.

4) The Pocket Hurts: QB Jalen Hurts is a different animal from inside and outside of the pocket. Nobody cared in college, but in the NFL it’s becoming alarming how easily he flusters, when he can’t scramble to his right. His pocket presence “leaves a lot of money on the table”. Let’s see if he can clean that up some.

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

PREDICTION: EAGLES 14 – Fuck Muppets 17

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went. Or we won’t. Or we will. I dunno. 

BUSTING A CAP IN 2018

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/02/13
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Almighty Dollar.jpg

HEAD Coach Doug Pederson warned you when he said “as you know, the nature of the business is you can’t keep everybody. It’s just the way it goes.” So when certain players start hitting the cutting room floor, don’t act like you didn’t see it coming. Let’s look at WHY we have to lose some people, and who we may lose.

And don’t get mad at me. This is just math. You’d have to be pretty stupid to argue with addition and subtraction. Let’s get to it!

The 2018 season has a salary cap of $178M. The Eagles have $3.7M in roll-over money from 2017. Those two numbers combined, gets our adjusted cap up to $181.7M. That’s the good news. The bad news is, our top 51 contracts (plus dead money), total $186.6M. That leaves the Eagles with negative $4.87M. 

In order to get under the salary cap, we have to either convince a number of players to play for less money (restructuring), trade away some heavy contracts, or cut our way to savings. Those are the three options.

Restructuring off of a Super Bowl win is highly unlikely. In fact, some players will want raises. So then who do we have to cut or trade? How do we make $4.87M (4.9M) in cap space?

Well first let’s look at who’s got a large base salary, but won’t hurt us in dead money, if we cut them. I didn’t say we wouldn’t miss their talent if we cut them, I said it won’t hurt us as far as the dead money penalty.

Those players are WR Torrey Smith ($5M base/zero penalty), DE Brandon Graham ($6.7M base/$1M penalty), C Jason Kelce ($6M base/ $1.2M penalty) and TE Brent Celek ($4M base/$1M penalty). Those four players represent $21.7M in salary and only $3.2M in penalty money. That’s $18.5M in cap savings, right there.

Smith and Celek are natural cuts, since Smith carries no penalty, and word is that Celek may retire anyway. Combined, they free up $8M in cap space. That would get us out of the hole, and even put a little spending money ($3.1M) in our pocket.

Graham represents $5.7M in savings, but he’s also our best DE. So moving him likely does far more harm than good. So that move is out.

JASON KELCE RANT.jpg

Kelce represents $4.8M in savings if he’s cut, but if he’s traded for a pick, to a team like sayyyyyy, the Buffalo Bills (HINT HINT), we’d save the entire $6M. (Remember when moving Kelce was a hot topic in early 2017?) Kelce, plus Smith, plus Celek would get us to $9.1M in cap space.

Given the way he ingratiated himself with the fan base at the Super Bowl parade, moving Kelce wouldn’t be popular right now. However, given the Eagles extending C/G Stefen Wisniewski last year, and the futures signing of C John Toth just last week, it’s clear that the Eagles are actively looking at the C position. (And if you think Wiz’s extention was so the Eagles could lock up a Guard, consider the presence of Isaac Seumalo, Chance Warmack and Darrell Greene. Wiz isn’t here to stay at Guard.)

nigel

Having $9.1M in cap space (Kelce/Smith/Celek) would help us re-sign some of our own Free Agents like TE Trey Burton or OLB Nigel Bradham. However, adding another $7.6M to the pot would allow us to be aggressive. That’s the amount we’d re-coup if the Eagles trade QB Nick Foles for picks instead of a player, getting us to $16.7M.

Having $16.7M brings back Bradham, rescuing an already thin LB corps from becoming a blood-spurting wound. It also opens the door to keeping Burton or DT Beau Allen, and maybe even RB LeGarrette Blount.

Or instead of Foles, we could trade FS Rod McLeod for a day two pick, and save $6M. Then our cap space would look like $15.1M, with McLeod replaced by say CB/S Jalen Mills. That scenario also would enable us to keep Bradham and so forth. So there are options.

In any case, the Eagles will probably piss off a lot of fans in the next month or so. That’s not for being stupid, but just to get the books out of the red. So be ready for it, and remember where you heard it first.

divine money.jpg

FIXING OUR RUN GAME

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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HEAD Coach Doug Pederson said “We’ve got to get the run game fixed.” That statement came as a shock to me, because I thought the run game had already been neutered. Seriously though, there are a number of things wrong with the run game, but most of it is stuff we can repair in-season. There is no need to start suggesting trades. We can win the division with the roster we already have.

Be warned, this is not a short article. I tried to make it short, but that kept leaving out too many important details. Skimping on details won’t paint an accurate picture. To really understand what’s happening, the coaches need details. If that’s the case, then you can imagine that if we’re really going to understand, us fans also need details. So no shortcuts. Nothing wrong with taking your time, and making sure you do it right.

The first thing we need to do is to drop the cute attitude. Running the ball requires pushing large, aggressive men out of the way, so that another man can produce yardage. It requires brute force. All these wide pitches, Jet Sweeps, all these cute east/west runs…they need to be replaced with more north/south running between the Tackles.

Some of the offensive linemen on this team are mentally soft. Not all of them are eager to impose their will on an opponent, and that’s a problem. An offensive lineman should be a hammer who sees anyone in lined up front of them, as a nail. Any offensive lineman who isn’t eager to mix it up, won’t help much with creating holes up front.

We also need to commit to running the ball early. Early is important, because it wears defenders down as the game goes on. It can be exhausting if the run game gets established early, which is why teams focus on taking it away ASAP. Pass rushing can leave players winded, but it doesn’t physically beat them up like run defense does.

With a pass block, the offensive lineman starts out by shuffling backwards. When he makes contact with a defender, it’s because the defender (with momentum) has run into them. Often while the offensive lineman is still drifting backwards.

With a run block, the offensive lineman surges forward. When he makes contact with a defender, it’s because the (generally bigger and stronger) offensive lineman is dictating where the defender is allowed to be. The defender has to fight through that block, find the RB, and then hopefully participate in the tackle. It’s exhausting.

So we need to adjust our attitude about running, put some hammers out there, and commit to running early. Those are all things we can correct in the next day or so. Those are all internal fixes, and most of them are mental. However there is a physical question that requires an answer: Who are our hammers and who needs to sit down?

Lets start with who needs to sit.

The guy getting most of the blame for this mess is LG Isaac Seumalo. Everywhere you look sportswriters are throwing him under the bus. Even I got in on the act Monday, and that was unfair of me. That was wrong of me. While Seumalo had a horrendous game, he wasn’t alone out there. C Jason Kelce also looked pretty bad. Look at the two of them engaging defenders and sustaining their blocks in these clips. (BTW: I didn’t compile these clips. I saw them a few places on-line and just decided to share them.):

 

I noticed RG Brandon Brooks is generally doing a very good job out there. So it’s not the system, and we don’t need a whole new interior. Take a look a few more clips.

I soured on Kelce early in his career. I’m on record saying that he benefited from playing next to wily veterans like Evan Mathis and then Allen Barbre/Stefen Wisniewski. I’ve said that for years now. Playing next to Seumalo who lacks the experience to compensate for Kelce, we’re now clearly seeing what I’ve been saying. Kelce may be a decent C for systems that require linemen to play in space, but in a more traditional system, his game has too many drawbacks for him to be anything but a liability.

Both Seumalo and Kelce need to sit, if this team is to get the run game on track. That however, means we need two players to step into their places. Those players are Chance Warmack who should get the nod at LG, and Wisniewski who we absolutely need at C. Instantly we’d get more physical up front, and would stop being a lop-sided offense.

We can worry about rebuilding our depth in the off-season. However, to get the run game on track, we already have all the tools that we need. We simply need the will and desire to use our tools. Head Coach Doug Pederson said “We’ve got to get the run game fixed.” This is how we can do it right, and with no shortcuts.

LET’S MAKE SOME DEALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/28
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TRADING or outright releasing. That’s what most of us thought would happen with OLB Mychal Kendricks, RB Ryan Mathews, and C Jason Kelce, prior to the 2017 Draft. As of today (6.28.17) all three are still Eagles. The thinking was that the Front Office would want to free up cap space, to continue this rebuild with players who better fit what we’ll be doing.

The hope was for us to offer a couple trade packages (consisting of one of these players and a pick), to help us move up a few spots in the same round of the 2017 Draft. Well, nothing of that sort happened. Hence not one, not two, but all three of those guys are still here. Six points to you if you saw that coming. (Bonus two points to anyone who thought we’d take a DE in the first round.)

I got to wondering what fans think we should do with those guys now, but I didn’t want to ask too broad of a question. I decided to break it into three pieces and then review the parts next week. So I posed a question in EAGLES MANIACS (my Eagles Facebook group), and a few other Eagles groups to which I belong. This is that question:

TRADE MATHEWS

My initial plan was to ask two more questions, but what I saw disturbed me, and I thought it needed addressing immediately. The percentage of fans who thought we should just cut both Mathews and Kendricks, was distressing to say the least.

Eagles fans may be frustrated with them, but Mathews and Kendricks are solid NFL veterans. They wouldn’t spend long in an unemployment line. They’d be fine and we’d be fine, but that’s not the point. That’s not the problem. What bugged me is how many people were willing to accept low-ball, or no-ball offers for these players. Fans were literally ASKING for this team to get hosed on a trade, or worse, get nothing at all for arming another team. For example:

bad gm

Releasing them for nothing would just be stupid. Just plain stupid. Giving away talent was something we hated about TIK , remember? First, because we’d be giving away solid players for no compensation. Secondly, if the Eagles cut any of them, we’re still on the hook for paying them this season. It would take a trade (with specific language included) to remove the Eagles financial obligation to these players.

What makes more sense is to find away to move these players prior to camp. Waiting for a camp injury leaves too much to chance, and puts us in the position of almost wishing for some hardworking players to get hurt. That’s classless and wrong, so we won’t do that. (It’s Eagles, not vultures.) The smart thing would be to move these players before a team needs them. (By the way: This would help us out with future trades. ASK ME HOW!)

Ryan Mathews for example. We could partner with a team that has no depth at RB (Detroit, Green Bay); or a team who’s RB is 150 years old (New York (J), Indianapolis); or a team still trying to determine if they have a legitimate RB in their stable (Denver).

There are options on the table. We just need to take one sooner than later.

 

I’M LOOKING BEYOND TODAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/24
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ORGANIZED Team Activities (OTA’s) started for the Eagles yesterday, and I could hardly care less. For me, the season starts at Training Camp. Everything before that is glorified gym class. Scour this website back to it’s beginning in 2014, and you will never see me hyped about the Eagles during OTA’s. It pretty much a given that when football players are running around in shorts and no pads, I can hardly be bothered to watch. (This also goes for the Combine.)

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Since there’s no football to monitor, I’m still in offseason mode, and focusing on the business end of things. Basically, I’m wandering around in my robe and slippers, drinking coffee right from the pot until the June 1st cuts. Those cuts will trigger a few domino effects across the NFL, of players being signed and still other players being released afterwards.

I’m waiting to see whether or not some other team’s cap issues can net us an upgrade in a couple of places like OLB (one who can cover), RB, reserve OT or reserve DT. Also, there will be teams out there looking to score waived players from this process. When some of them miss out, then you may see a trade or two, as teams want to add needed pieces before Training Camps start on July 22nd.

The generally accepted rumor, is that we are going release RB Ryan Mathews, but there is no rule stating that we have to. Players like Mathews, C Jason Kelce, and OLB Mychal Kendricks could all be held onto, in an attempt to trade them to a team who missed on a Round Two Free Agent. Teams who suffering key injuries at these positions during OTA’s could also be part of that market.

So no, you won’t hear much from me about Phys Ed. for football players. On the other hand, I will make quite a bit of noise if our team can pull off a slick move or two in the next month or so.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/BEARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/09/16
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

team

LAST week we had our 5th preseason game, and the team took care of business. There were some apparent bugs to work out, but nothing we saw last week should takes weeks to fix. Then again, everything we saw is being judged against the backdrop of a team long known for it’s dysfunction.

This week’s opponent isn’t very good either, but they also aren’t lightly thought of. The Bears can be good at times. Their organization knows how to build a winning team. They have a couple of players that you wouldn’t mind having on this roster. Beating them would legitimize us as credibly being on our way.

Let me say right now though, if we lose a competitive fight this week, it’s nothing to get pissed over. The best way to learn how to take a punch, is to take a punch. Considering how soft this team has grown over the years, an early punch in the mouth could help shape the street brawler mentality that this team has lacked for some time now. (If you were a fan during Buddy Ryan, you know what I mean.)

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 2 versus the Bears :

1) Hit Jay Cutler early and often. cutlerlossbills

We don’t need to sack him early, we just need to make him concerned for his well-being. He’s a turnover machine. Coming into this season, Cutler averaged 17.5 turnovers per year over the course of his career, and 18.5 per year since becoming a Bear. Better still, he doesn’t respond well at all to pressure.

2) DE’s need to keep contain. Last week the DE’s ignored the old adage of play the run first, as they instead focused on pass rushing, from the start of many downs. This led to them being too far upfield on the edges, leaving space inside for the Browns RB to find room to run. This week they need to play more disciplined ball.

3) Get some Guard help for C Jason Kelce. Bears NT Eddie Goldman is the sort of big (6’4, 320) bullrusher that has always given Kelce fits. If Kelce can’t hold his ground, then QB Carson Wentz won’t have a pocket to step up into.

4) Play aggressive man coverage with WR Alshon Jeffrey. Disrupting his timing and force him inside. He breaks tackles. A CB will find no tackling assist from the sideline. However, Jeffrey has a history of missing time. Forcing him inside, sets him up for big hits which would be very much on his mind as he tried to locate and secure balls.

Most of what we need to watch for this week, is on the defensive side of the ball. Barring Carson Wentz walking on water or turning it into wine this week, our Defense will need to play well for a whole game if we’re to win this one. This week they won’t get away with showing up late, like they did last week.

yeah-bitch

THE EAGLES NEXT MOVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/09/24
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Fans, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , . 8 Comments

 

 

1eb

WHO told you DJax was leaving before anyone else? I did. (I actually thought he’d be traded). People said I was crazy, that we would never trade him. A couple months later the Eagles simply released him.

I told you the Offense was changing. People dismissed me. Four months later, Jaws said the Offense was changing and it came as a surprise to everyone except my regular readers.

I told you that we’d trade McCoy after 2014. People said I was nuts. Six months later the Eagles traded him.

I told you not to expect 2013 Nick Foles in 2014. People called me a hater. The season started and Foles regressed badly. Lots of fans lost their minds. My regulars merely waited for Mark Sanchez to play.

I said we should trade Foles while we still have him under contract. People said there was no way the Eagles would do that. Tell me again how we got Sam Bradford.

I said Maclin may go to Kansas City. People said that there was no way Chip would let that happen. The coach then proceeded to shove Maclin out the door. His landing spot? Kansas City.

I said Byron Maxwell wasn’t a good signing. People shouted me down. I wonder what those people think of him so far?

I said our Guards would be a problem in 2015. People said Guards weren’t that important, that Offensive Tackles were what mattered. Well we’ve run for 70 yards in two games.

I said the Offensive Line would suffer due to the decline in talent at the Guard position. People said I was over-reacting since we still have Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson. Today some of those same fans are throwing those same players under the bus. Oh, and the line HAS suffered. Eagles fans are in shock over this. Well… only the ones who aren’t regulars here.

I said signing Jared Wheeler and John Moffitt were total wastes of time. People said give them a chance they could turn out to be real steals this season. Wheeler didn’t make it to the second round of cuts and Moffitt didn’t even make it as a back-up.

Today I’m saying that Sam Bradford is not a viable NFL QB anymore. He won’t be benched yet, but he’s no longer a piece to build around. He’s just a guy now.

Despite my track record for telling you what’s coming, people are still trying to convince themselves that I’m just a lone crackpot. Well…some people NEVER learn. For my regulars and new followers (there’s a FOLLOW button if you scroll up), you’re gonna want to pay close attention this season.