Jay Ajayi

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RE-ARMING FOR WAR.

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

wentz or foles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

backups

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: Week 5: VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/10/08
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Rants, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

“WATCH the Vikings game!” they said. “It’ll be fun” they said. That game had all the subtle enjoyability of being hit by a car. If you didn’t spend part of Sunday saying “Wait. What?” then odds are, you aren’t an Eagles fan.

As for those of us who ARE Eagles fans, allow me replay some of yesterday’s soundtrack: Roughing my ass! Wait hold on, so he just fumbled it? Jalen, sit your silly ass the fuck down! Fuck him up Fletcher! We’re trying to draw them offsides on 4th and 20?? The onside kick bounced up! It bounced up! We might be able to…Arrrrrghhh Sonofawhore!

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Eagles 21 – Vikings 23

The tackling dummy known as Carson Wentz (24/35 – 68.5 – 311 – 2 – 0) had a really good game yesterday, for a guy who spent the day getting beat to shit. Wentz even added 26 yards while running for his li- (Let me whitewash that.) He added 26 yards while rushing. Watching LG Isaac Seumalo “protect”Wentz, made me think perhaps he has QB Nick Foles on his fantasy football team. Speaking of fantasies, a coach thinking that he can beat an NFL team, while running it only 16 times, and passing it 35 times, must love Mary Jane. RB Jay Ajayi (8 – 29 – 3.6 – 0 – 1) led the team in rushing yards with just 29. Yes! Those numbers were our best numbers. This game was some Reggie.

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?

1) Get chippy: The idea was to try and use the TE’s to help the OT’s. The Eagles employed no version of that and opted for TE’s releasing quickly into their routes. It worked for them getting catches, but on the whole Wentz took a beating that could have been severely lessened. NOT DONE

2) Do the obvious thing: Our Secondary didn’t give up as many big cushions this week, but instead of playing some press, the Corners bailed on virtually every play. That allowed the Viking to complete 30/37 (81.0%) of their passes. No team can survive that. NOT DONE

3) Get vertical inside: TE Zach Ertz (10 – 110 – 11.0 – 1) made a living today, while working straight-line routes right off the line. Adding a few chip blocks would have changed the outcome of this game, but you can’t have everything, right? DONE

4) Do your job: Part of a Secondary’s job is tackling. Part of an Offensive Lineman’s job is blocking. Did it look like those units did those things? Nope. NOT DONE

For a second week in a row, we limp away with a Four Things score of 1 of 4. That brings the season tally to 7 out of 20. In just a couple days we get our first division game of the year, and given the state of the NFC East, it’s not quite must-win, but it is damned critical.

On The Whole:

The second half comeback effort was ice to see. Largely, this years team has looked like a boxer, with his back against the ropes, covering his ribs to avoid more body shots. Well our head keeps being exposed, and teams are going up top to beat us. The fix for this is obvious, but it remains to be seen if Doug Pederson is willing to take those two steps.

FOUR THINGS: WK 4: EAGLES-TITANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W4-TEN

THIS week we get a perfect measuring stick game. We’re on the road, (likely) short-handed at WR, and still trying to tighten up our pass defense, despite an injury to FS Rodney McLeod. We have an external threat to handle, while coping with some internal weaknesses. This is the “look in the mirror” game that you need in Week 3 or 4.

Both teams come into this game tied atop their divisions with a 2-1 record. (Although the Titans holds a head-to-head tie-breaker, over the Jaguars.) A win would give either team a tiny cushion and clear control of their division for at least one more week.

Lady Luck may have given us a wink, since we are slated to get back RB’s Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles, and possibly WR Alshon Jeffery this week. That might offer Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh, a chance to show some creativity.

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

1) Rattle the cage:

bad day

The Titans head coach is on record saying that his QB still can’t make certain throws. (Due to an elbow injury.) That means we need to hit him early, and hit him hard. Yes, that means a couple of early flags, but it’ll be worth it when we stroll out with the “W”. If we put it into his head that we’re about to make his injury worse, he’ll be less accurate with his throws for the balance of the game.

2) More power running: I say it every week. This team needs to run the ball right up the gut. Nothing stops pass rush like a power run game. When a speed rusher has to look inside first, it means he’s not rocketing off the edge. Translation: He has already slowed himself down a step. So far this season, we’ve done a lot of outside running, and it plays to OLB’s already setting the edges. If we make the run a threat in the middle, then our WR’s have more room to get open around the numbers. I’ll say it again. We need to run up the gut. Ten to twelve carries would be amazing, but I’ll settle for seven.

3) Start fast: Let’s try for a couple of early knockout shots. Tennessee is not an explosive team. They make their living off of a plodding, but dogged run game. If we get up on them early, they basically have no chance of coming back. Especially with their QB’s injury situation. If we can lead 14 – 3 or 17 – 7 by halftime, that should be enough to put it on cruise control, and get QB Nate Sudfeld some mop-up snaps late in the 4th quarter.

4) Play our game: That’s not just an Offensive or Defensive key, that’s Special Teams too. This is an opponent that would be very easy to play down to, but that would be a mistake in two parts. First, it would open the door to possibly losing to them. Second, this team hasn’t had an opportunity to play the way we’d like it to. This is a chance to floor it, and learn things about ourselves that will help us against tougher opponents.

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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:

This is probably going to be a boring game to watch. (Unless the Eagles light it up.) Playing tight or nervous against a bad team, only opens the door to losing. Head Coach Doug Pederson knows this, and so the Eagles will likely come out playing with an almost reckless abandon. So expect QB Carson Wentz to throw the ball downfield more than he did last week.

The Titans situation at WR is far worse than ours. In fact, their entire passing game is a nightmare. They have 2 passing touchdowns and 3 interceptions. One of those 2 scores was thrown by their Punter on a fake. It’s a dismal team. As long as CB Jalen Mills doesn’t assist the Titans in moving the ball this week, or he doesn’t getting juiced for another pair of scores, we should be able to keep Tennessee in check. Last week I’d have picked the Colts if they were at home. This week I don’t think it matters where the game is played, Eagles win it in a walk.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 24 – Titans 13

yeah-bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 1: ATLANTA FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/07
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WE went into the game missing key players. We went against a playoff team, which many thought we probably should have lost to, in the playoffs last year. We went into the game with our back-up QB opening the season. And what did we do? Oh yeah.

We won.

It wasn’t pretty. Then again, I flat out told you that it wouldn’t be. “War of attrition” is the term I used three days ago. NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth, reiterated those words during the game. I told you that our QB would be solid, and he was. He wasn’t great, but he did a solid job of managing a shorthanded unit. And what did we do? I said, what did we do?! Oh yeah, we did this:

EAGLES 18 – Falcons 12

Last night, the team that scored the last touchdown of the 2017 season, scored the first touchdown of the 2018 season. For the third straight game against the Falcons, an Eagles QB didn’t throw a single touchdown pass. For the third straight game against the Falcons, it didn’t matter, and the Eagles won anyway.

Back-up QB Nick Foles (19/34 – 55.8 – 117 – 0 – 1) played caretaker of a unit which despite it’s struggles, still managed to go 8/16 (50%) on third down. Atlanta only managed 4/15 (26%), despite having an All-Pro WR for their All-Pro QB to throw to. We also converted 2/3 (66%) of our red zone trips into touchdowns, while our opponent only managed a meager 1/5 (20%).

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

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

1) Lean on the run:

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27 rushes, 114 yards, 4.2 per tote and two touchdowns. RB Darren Sproles (5 – 10 – 2.0 – 0 – 0 / 4 – 22 – 5.5 – 0) got a little too much early work for my taste. However, RB Jay Ajayi (15 – 62 – 4.1 – 2 – 0) ended up at the head of the table in touches, which should be the case for a starter. RB Corey Clement (5 – 26 – 5.2 – 0 – 0) got most of his yards on a 21 yard jaunt up the middle. It was good to see him get the work, but he needs to trust his line, lose the stutter step, and just hit the hole. On a night when offense was hard to come by, the Eagles didn’t abandon the run and just start chucking the pig. As a result Philadelphia was rewarded with the win. DONE

2) Chase that bird: We needed to pressure the Falcons QB Matt Ryan (21/43 – 48.8% – 251 – 0 – 1), and that’s just what we did, limiting the All-Pro QB to a QB rating of just 57.4. That pressure helped CB Rasul Douglas (0 – 0 – 1 – 0) snag an interception off of Ryan. He was sacked 4 times, including 1.5 by DE Chris Long (4 – 1.5 – 0 – 1) who also forced a fumble. While Ryan saw pressure from the edges, he also got it from up the gut. MLB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks (7 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) and DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) contributed pressure from the inside. As a result, the Falcons offense took off like a lead balloon. DONE

3) Go for the knockout: We really didn’t try to establish the deep ball. By that, I don’t mean we didn’t throw it deep, enough times. I mean that the play-calling didn’t seem at all geared towards stretching the defense vertically. NOT DONE

4) Win hidden yardage: Field position makes a difference. Especially on a night where points and offensive yardage are both at a premium. Last night, both teams earned over 100 penalty yards, apiece. The Falcons surrendered 135 to the Eagles 101. Also Special teams yards saw the Falcons generate 11 yards on 2 punt returns, and zero on kickoffs. Meanwhile, the Eagles racked up 29 on punt returns and 43 on kickoffs. The Falcons managed 20 yards on an interception return, while the Eagles produced zero yards on the teams only theft. Still, overall the Eagles still did better with hidden yardage than our opponent. DONE

So the Eagles begin the season with a Four Things score of 3 out of 4 (75%). Next week we travel to Tampa Bay for the battle of the second string QB’s.

On The Whole:

A gritty win over a playoff team is a great way to start a season, and let the world know that 2017 was no fluke. I didn’t watch this game with disgust, nor disappointment, nor boredom. I watched it with hope.

In this game I saw what we could be, when we get all of our pieces back. Consider that the last two times we faced Atlanta, we didn’t have many of our key guys. This game was a street fight, and we won it while sending Falcon after Falcon to the sideline for medical evaluation. Dear NFL: You are NOT ready for us.

FOUR THINGS: WK 1: EAGLES/FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W1-ATL

DON’T let the sports media over-hype this game. This is not a title defense, because this is football, not boxing. Even if we (somehow) lost this game, we wouldn’t have to hand over our Super Bowl trophy. This isn’t a title defense, or even a playoff game. It’s one of sixteen down payments on a playoff berth. That’s it. Now let’s get down to it.

NFL Network reporter Randy Moss, said that the Falcons are looking for revenge against the Eagles, for putting them out of the playoffs last year. He said that aside from Atlanta players and fans, no one really remembers that they almost beat us in that game. He’s wrong on both counts.

First, there is no avenging a playoff loss with a regular season win. For eliminating Atlanta, Philadelphia was rewarded with another playoff game. IF they beat us this week, they’d be rewarded with, (drum roll)…Week #2. Second, winning by five points sucked. We want to beat them by more this time. Like we did in 2016 (Eagles 24 – them 15). You know, when they had pretty much the same team that we just beat 15 – 10 in the playoffs. Which is pretty much the same team they have now. (Are you seeing the pattern, Eagles fans?)

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

1) Lean on the run: Even if it seems like it’s not working. Whenever QB Carson Wentz gets back, it would be unfair to saddle him with having to carry the Offense. That means we have to get our ground game established. Since we gave our starters the preseason off, we have to start getting things ironed out as early in the year as we can. Seeing RB Jay Ajayi carry the ball 17 times for 82 yards (and RB Corey Clement carry 6 times for 33) would be a solid opening.

2) Chase that bird:

rocky-chicken

We need to get some pressure up the gut from DT’s Fletcher Cox and Destiny Vaeao. The Falcons QB is (how do I say this gently?) not a very nimble creature. If we can get him off his spot, alter his launch point, and keep him from stepping into throws, it increases our chances of him serving up some warm turnovers.

3) Go for the knockout: WR Mike Wallace is a true deep threat and we should come out making that point. While Wallace’s proficiency with running Slant routes is nice, the fact that he can take the top off of defenses, should help loosen the box, and give our run game room to operate. That being said, we have to at least threaten opponents with him early, or they won’t respect his presence.

4) Win hidden yardage: Of the last 39 points we’ve scored against Atlanta, 19 came off of a Kicker’s toe. A quick KO would be great, but recent games against the Falcons have been wars of attrition. We need to go in expecting to have that kind of a fight.

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 crowd will pick up where it left off, and will be so loud, that the Falcons will have to burn early timeouts to prevent penalties and miscues. QB Nick Foles will be solid. The Eagles will push the Falcons undersized defensive front around, when running the ball. We’ll also use their speed against them, with misdirection plays that pull defenders out of position. WR Julio Jones will catch 9 or 10 balls for 110 or so yards. Atlanta is a play from ahead type team, that’s going to find themselves in a street fight. They’re a plucky bunch, but they simply lack the power to put away a brawler. They just aren’t built for winning that way, which is why we will keep beating them.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Falcons 16

yeah-bitch

THE 12: #7 RUN THE BALL HARDER

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/07
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, Roster, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

THE122018#7

Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

************

LAST season we ran a lot from the Shotgun, behind blocking schemes that focused more on movement and isolation, than on simply overpowering a man. This isn’t a complaint about that. I mean, it worked, right?

Foles holds the trophy aloft approaching LOVE Park

During the 2017 season, 8 of our 16 opponents were either leading us, or still withing striking distance in the 4th quarter. Physically wearing them out early, would take care of that in 2018. It also sends the message that tackling our hard-charging RB’s is the “easiest part” of stopping our run game. That’s the sort of thing that breaks an opponent’s spirit.

We all know the expression “Why work harder, when you can work smarter?” In most cases, I’m all about that. But not here. In this case there’s a huge pay-off for “giving an opponent chicken” as former Eagle RG Shawn Andrews used to call it. Put bluntly, there is no cute or clever way to rag-doll an opponent. There is also no substitute for it.

A more power-oriented rushing attack, (with the QB under Center more often), suites the current make-up of our roster (RB’s Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement). It also means teams would have to roll out 8 and 9 man fronts, as much to cope with the blockers as the backs.

Three Headed Monster

The Eagles 2017’s Three Headed RB Monster showed the NFL how to share the rock: (l to r) Corey Clement,  LeGarrette Blount, and Jay Ajayi 

That’s kind of the situation that Dallas would have, if they had a single wide receiver worth worrying about. The Eagles on the other hand have a few guys who’ve proven that they can find holes vs Cover One and Cover Two. Even Atlanta’s Cover Three, in the playoffs.

If our receivers can get more than a few looks per game against Cover Zero… It would be a string of massacres. We’d break scoreboards. Every record we set would be written in pencil, because we’d probably break it the following week. Defensive Coordinators wouldn’t sleep for days before they faced us. Head coaches already on the hot seat, would quit so they wouldn’t end up with that beating on their resumes. Opponents would talk about us like facing a firing squad.

That could all be set up, off of the run game.

We gotta run the ball harder this year. We gotta. We won it all last year, so we’re the hunted this year. We’re the team to beat now. We have to act like it.

THE 12: #1 MORE SMASH-MOUTH BALL

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/03/01
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE122018#1.jpg

Any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. The 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

************

WE need to play a slightly more smash-mouth style now.

In 2017, at RB we had LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. That was the pecking order we started with. Power up top, and dynamic changes of pace behind. 250 pounds, 190, and 208.

Then we lost Sproles in Week 3, and Smallwood fell out of favor after Week 7. Corey Clement ascended, and we traded for Jay Ajayi, both in Week 8. At that point our back-field looked like Ajayi, Blount and Clement. 223, 250, and 220. See the shift? It was a bigger, more physical group from top to bottom.

Whether or not Blount or Sproles is back in 2018,  the offensive playbook for this year, can’t be written for last year’s roster. Not if we’re going to use our players to the best of their ability. An offense should be tailored to the roster, not the roster to the playbook. We adapted on the fly last year, but this year we need to tailor to our strengths.

During the prior two seasons the Eagles Offense was coached by two former QB’s in Head Coach Doug Pederson and former Offensive Coordinator (now Colts head coach), Frank Reich. It was a fast-paced, wide-open, QB friendly style, underpinned with fundamentals that both coaches knew would work reliably at the NFL level.

That’s gone now. Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh has never been an NFL QB, so the viewpoint will be different in terms of play design. Experience isn’t something that can be faked. You either have it or you don’t. So, instead of trying to be something we aren’t quite any more, the smartest play would be to adjust to who we are in 2018.

Don’t try to be the 2017 Eagles. Be the 2018 Eagles, and rely on the strengths we have now. 

doug-pederson ABOUT IT

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 15: giants

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/12/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WELL how do you like that? Seems we went out, and locked up a first round bye in the playoffs. Bully for us! It was by no means the best showing from this team defensively, but we have time to fix that.

Nick Foles team

EAGLES 34 – giants 29

Let’s get to it! QB Nick Foles (24/38 – 63.1% – 237 – 4 – 0) came out and put a bullet in the notion that he’s not a force to be reckoned with. Let me frame this up. While the Eagles did give him plenty of support running the ball (26 called runs to 38 passes), Foles put on a clinic while hitting four different receivers for scores. It was a real team effort on Offense, as no Eagles rusher or receiver produced more than 59 yards on the day.

While newly re-added LB Bryan Braman added nothing to the stat sheet, his very presence seemed to energize the Special Teams. They recorded a punt block, a field goal block and an extra-point block, all in one afternoon’s work.

Before you start panicking about the 434 passing yards we gave up today, consider that it was on 57 pass attempts, balanced against just 23 rushes. The giants spent the entire day red-lining their offense’s engine, and still came up short vs an Eagles Defense that never seemed to feel a sense of urgency.

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

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

1) Throw it deep: While it would have been nice to see a deep completion, there were a few attempts, and it did open up room to run. So, while technically done, it would have been nice to see at least one of them completed. (DONE)

2) Run the ball: The Eagles ran the ball nearly 30 times, but not always effectively this week. Frankly, I don’t get the shift from RB LeGarrette Blount (7 – 21 – 3.0 – 0 – 0) to RB Jay Ajayi (12 – 49 – 4.0 – 0 – 0) as our bell-cow. We seemed better with Blount. (DONE)

3) Set the edges: We actually did very good job of containing the giants run game. We gave up just 75 yards for 3.3 per carry, with their leading rusher finishing the day with just 39 yards. That becomes hard to notice however, when your opponent throws damned near 60 passes in less than 30 minutes of possession. (DONE)

4) Go for it: While we did go for a 4th down conversion, we didn’t get it. It was great that we went for it, but we needed to convert that. Until we do, it’ll seem like we can’t. This will give opponents confidence facing us on 4th down and 3rd and short. (NOT DONE)

This weeks Four Things score is a close 3 of 4, with our overall numbers being 43 of 56 (76.7%). Next week features a prime-time, Christmas Night match-up with the Oakland Raiders. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we pulled our starters after the half. In fact, that might be wise.

On The Whole:

This was a game that featured a lot of character. While many people will only see the 5 point difference in the final score, they’ll be missing the larger and most important aspect of this win. At one point the Eagles were down 7 – 20. That’s a 13 point deficit erased and converted into a 5 point lead.

While many may lament the yardage we surrendered, it’s because they are literally missing the point. The point being, points. Points as in the 13 we allowed in the 1st; the 10 we allowed in the 2nd; the 6 we allowed in the 3rd; and the zero we allowed in the 4th. (Read that last sentence one more time.) Adjustments were made, and the resulting win speaks for itself.

While Nick Foles was the straw that stirred the Offense’s drink, this was a team effor effort, it’s a team concept. The Eagles are a team.

team effort

Like Police or Fire Fighters, there is no one man who stands above the others. Instead they rely on each other. That’s why we are who we are. That’s how we got here and it’s how we’ll get further.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 11: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THERE can no longer be any debate over which team is the class of the NFC East. We are now officially the first team in the NFL, to be guaranteed to finish over .500 for the season. That said, there is still the matter of qualifying for the playoffs to nail down. That’s Step One. Step One is still the mission. Next man up, No excuses.

card.kamu.grugier-hill

EAGLES 37 – Cowboys 9

PHILADELPHIA piled up 215 rushing yards on a Cowboys team that only allows 104 per game. Led by RB Jay Ajayi (7 – 91 – 13.0 – 0 – 0) in yardage, with rookie RB Corey Clement (6 – 50 – 8.3 – 1 – 0) chipping in a score, and RB LeGarrette Blount (13 – 57 – 4.3 – 0 – 0) acting as the closer. Down 7 – 9 at halftime, the Eagles came out and put up 30 unanswered points, with QB Carson Wentz (14/27 – 51.8% – 168 – 2 – 0) more or less on cruise-control.

The Defense snagged 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and OLB Nigel Bradham (6 – 0 – 0 – 0) returned a fumble for a touchdown. CB Ronald Darby (8 – 0 – 1 – 0) reclaiming his starting spot (after being out with an injury for 8 weeks), prevented two touchdowns in the end zone, by deflecting one pass, and picking off another. Rookie DE Derek Barnett (3 – 2 – 0 – 1) spent the night harassing Dallas’s 4th round QB, until the Cowboys coaching staff mercy’d him in the 4th quarter, allowing the back-up to be just as ineffective.

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

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

1) Take away the run: “We need take away the reliability of their rushing game and dare their QB to carry the game.” While we did give up a few good runs here and there, we absolutely took away the reliability of their run game. The onus of winning the game was placed directly on the shoulders of their 4th round QB, and he responded by turning the ball over FOUR times (3 interceptions and a fumble). He looked very much like a guy teams would pass on for three, maybe four rounds. (DONE)

2) Sak Prescott: QB Dak Prescott (18/31 – 58.0% – 145 – 0 – 3) was sacked four times, fumbling on one of them. Missing their All-Pro LT, Dallas compensated by having Prescott bootleg away from the substitute LT who allowed one guy to get 6 sacks last week. Didn’t help. Statistically, Prescott had a worse game this week (in every regard) than the disaster he endured last week. We indeed did play a DT over their LG and left the LT in isolation with our DE rotation. However, it was Barnett who really had his way with the over-matched fill-in. (DONE)

3) Slot their throats: This is one of those times when one of the things was technically done, but not done truly in the spirit of how it was meant. The Eagles made a deliberate effort towards involving receivers who lined up in the slot. Also, when the Cowboys went Nickel to compensate, we hit them with the run. Said all that and we did it. Technically. What would have been nice is if more of those passes were held onto. That said, Wentz did hit WR Alshon Jeffrey (4 – 67 – 16.7 – 1) who lined up in the slot, over the middle for a honey of a 17 yard touchdown pass. (DONE)

4) Run ‘em down: The first half of this game had too many incompletions and too many pass attempts. The team wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do and as a result we were down by 2 at the half. Coming back out, we turned on the run. We had 30 called runs for the night (3 by Wentz), which was the mark we needed to hit. (DONE)

This week our Four Things score is an uneasy 4 out of 4. That brings the year’s numbers to 34 out of 40. Next week we’ll see if we can keep this crazy train running when Chicago comes to Philly.

On The Whole:

The most impressive part of the game was what happened after K Jake Elliott went out with a head injury. Reserve LB Kamu Grugier-Hill stepped up to do our kicking, and handled 4 kickoffs without a single flub. The coaching staff adjusted, deciding to not even attempt Field Goals, since KGH couldn’t reasonably be expected to be accurate. It wasn’t “next man up”, it was “somebody has to step up”.

Offensively, the coaching staff did an excellent job of adjusting after the half. Early on, our passing game wasn’t firing on all cylinders, like we’ve come to expect. Instead of forcing the ball with a “keep firing” mentality, the staff shifted gear and opted for a more conservative and physical approach.

And it worked, like I said it would work.

Defensively, we took away the run and dared Prescott to beat us with his head and his arm. Yet again, that strategy paid off for a Cowboys opponent, as Prescott is just not capable of putting a team on his back. It also didn’t help that we kept him under nearly constant duress.

This team utterly refuses to be derailed by anything. The craziest part is that we aren’t just eeking out wins, we’re kicking ass wholesale and doing it with STYLE. I can honestly say that in nearly 3 decades as a football fan, player, and coach, that I have never seen anything like this. We look like a team of

card.destiny.vaeao

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 9: BRONCOS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/06
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HOLY wow, Batman!The Broncos came into the game allowing only 71 rushing yards per game, and we hung 197 on them. They came in allowing 18 points per game and we hung 51 around their necks.

The Eagles could have phoned this one in, and just ducked their heads into the Bye Week. If we went in at 8-2, no fan would be terribly disappointed. Instead, the Eagles went out and dismantled a team with one of the best defenses in the NFL. In the words of Adam Sandler: Not too shabby!

Vinny Curry

EAGLES 55 – Broncos 23

Carson Wentz (15/27 – 55.5% – 199 – 4 – 0) beat up on Denver’s “No Fly Zone” secondary and hardly broke a sweat doing it. He even picked on All-Pro CB Aqib Talib (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) for two of those touchdowns. In fact, the only way to stop Wentz from piling more points on that ass, was to take him out of the game. Maybe QB Nick Foles (1/1 – 100% – 35 – 0 – 0) lobbied to protect his record? (That was a joke. Don’t go around spreading that.) WR Alshon Jeffrey (6 – 84 – 14.0 – 2) had his best game as an Eagle so far, and rookie RB Corey Clement (12 – 51 – 4.2 – 2 – 0/ 1rec – 15 – 15.0 – 1) outscored the Denver offense. “New to us” RB Jay Ajayi (8 – 77 – 9.6 – 1 – 0) led the team in rushing and was one of three Eagles to gain more rushing yards than the entire Broncos team, as RB LeGarrette Blount (9 – 37 – 4.1 – 0 – 0) also did some damage.

Defensively, we allowed Denver all of 35 yard rushing, partly because DE Vinny Curry (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) was a monster on the right side. FS Rodney McLeod (1 – 0 – 1 – 0) grabbed his second interception in two weeks.

I hear you asking, “Well golly mister, 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?

1) Gelding the pass rush: Early in the game we got the ball out to TE Brent Celek (3 – 39 – 13.0 – 0) and to TE Trey Burton (2 – 41 – 20.5 – 1) in the absence of TE Zach Ertz who was out with a hamstring injury. Wentz also used a hard count to draw the Broncos offside a few times. And of course there was also our run game. The result of those things cut the nuts clean off of the Broncos pass rush, and made sure that Wentz was only sacked once during the game. (They also got to Foles for one.) (DONE)

2) Set up play-action: There was no way to expect that we’d hang 200 rushing yards on the Broncos, but the prescription was to stick with it anyway. Well brother, did we EVER! The play selection was 34 called runs to 27 passes. The play-action was there, and Wentz’s jersey stayed pretty clean. (DONE)

corey clement

3) Pick our poison: The deal was to take away the run and force the Bronco’s QB to beat us. Worked like a charm. (DONE)

4) Run the Walker: Sending MLB Joe Walker (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) on a few blitzes was the idea, but instead he spent more time in coverage or scraping. (NOT DONE)

That makes this weeks score 3 of 4, bringing the season tally to 30 of 36. The players get a much needed week off now to heal and nurse injuries. (As much as a single week will allow.) For you and I of course, a week with no good football will be sheer Hell. However, keep in mind that the playoff push begins directly on the other side of the Bye, with a match-up against the Dallas Cowboys. I’m sure you won’t mind giving our players time to rest, and our coaching staff time to prepare.

On The Whole:

With this win we are officially a better team than we were last year. We have 8 wins now, and are guaranteed .500 at worst. Now we are working on that one victory that will guarantee us a winning record for 2017.

This game against the Broncos. All we did was whatever we wanted, however we wanted to do it. Running, passing…I think we could have scored sending smoke signals, if we had decided to try it.

I do have one gripe though.

It’s Alshon Jeffery. He never seems like his head is all the way in the game. For example, he had a holding penalty on a Corey Clement run that cost us some yardage, and was laughing and joking after having been flagged.

For a guy on a “prove it” contract, he simply doesn’t produce at the rate that you would expect, for a guy who’s going to ask for a ton of money in March. I’d like to either see him start looking like THAT guy, or for the Eagles to let our young receivers get more looks on the outside.