Joe Walker

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FOUR THINGS: WK 9: EAGLES-BRONCOS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W9-DENjpg

OKAY, this could be a trap game. It shouldn’t be, but the Broncos have a defense that could give us problems. It will be an excellent challenge for QB Carson Wentz. While our own defense is headache and half for opponents, we do allow 19.5 points per game. So we have to be on our toes with this one.

For the Eagles, getting this win would guarantee us .500, and be one more win than we’ve had in either of the previous years. This win would be a benchmark. On the other hand, it’s right before our Bye week. Players can get sloppy right before a Bye.

Denver comes into this game 3-4, and starting (oh my god) Brock Osweiler.

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

1) Gelding the pass rush: Like the Redskins, most of the Broncos sack production is manufactured by their OLB’s Von Miller and Shaquil Barrett. Also like the Redskins, the OLB’s do little else. Playing WR Nelson Agholor more in the slot would take them right out of their base defense. Additionally, short passes to the flat will either cause the OLB to drop into zones, or force the CB’s into zone coverage and open up Quick Slant routes.

2) Set up play-action: Denver is almost as good at stopping the run as we are. We likely won’t run for a ton of yardage, but that’s okay. We just need to feed them enough run to be able to dupe them with play-action, to consume the field in large chunks.

3) Pick our poison: Take away the run game and force Brock Osweiler to beat us. (That makes me giggle just typing it.)

brock starts

4) Run the Walker: Send Joe Walker on a few blitzes. Osweiler can extend plays with his feet, but hasn’t shown the feel for it in the NFL, that he was said to have in college. So don’t let him stand in the pocket and that will basically dismantle Denver’s offense.

 

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:

Offensively, we’re probably going to have some trouble running the ball. We simply haven’t fared well this year, rushing against this brand of 3-4 defense (with 48, 46, and 29 yards in three games for our leading RB).

That said, we’ll still run it to keep Denver honest, and to set-up the play-action pass. Speaking of which, over the last 3 weeks WR Alshon Jeffery has averaged 17.8, 18.5, and 31.0 yards per catch. Seems like he and Wentz may have found their groove. Oh, and don’t be surprised if Wentz leads the team in rushing yards. Again.

On Defense, it’s almost like Denver is soft-balling this one in. With a rookie you try to shake him up by sending a blitz to make him worry about his safety and get him to look at the rush. Rattling Osweiler, will likely be the defensive game plan this week.

Osweiler has experienced a failure to live up to Draft hype, a failure to live up to a big contract, and a failure to even win a job as the Browns starter. Now as the Broncos groom Paxton Lynch to lead the team, Osweiler knows he may be playing his last relevant football.

That’s a ton of internal pressure for a man to handle, while dealing with the external pressure we will bring, amid the cascade of boos that our fans will rain down upon him. He will be out there without a single friend in the world, and no calm port inside of himself to help him. We may get to see a grown man cry on Sunday. So set your DVR.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Broncos 10

yeah bitch

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 8: 49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/30
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

THIS was supposed to be a trap game. You know it and I know it. However, the injuries we suffered last week, left a couple of our guys with something to prove in this one. That, combined with some suck-ass weather, and just flat-out more talent, was more than enough to send San Francisco to 0-8.

NUMBER ONE SEED PERIOD

EAGLES 33 – 49ers 10

Alshon Jeffery (2 – 62 – 31.0 – 1) had more yards on his 53 yard touchdown catch-and-run, than any 49ers player had rushing or receiving all day. The Defense collected 4 sacks, 13 hits, and two interceptions, one of which returned for a touchdown by CB Jalen Mills (2 – 0 – 1 – 0). QB Carson Wentz (18/32 – 56.2% – 211 – 2 – 1) didn’t have a great day but, he was still effective at keeping the Offense at full-size. At no point did it feel like, or look like the Eagles were dialing the playbook down, in order to make life easier on our back-up LT.

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) Win the blitz: The 9ers didn’t really blitz Wentz very much, and they didn’t really need to. They got decent pressure for most of the game, with just their line. While RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai wasn’t the disaster most of us were expecting, the lines of communication between he and LG Stefen Wisniewski, must improve ASAP. That said, once the Eagles went to a no-huddle approach, Wentz himself was much sharper and quicker at getting the ball out. (DONE)

2) Air it out: It would be nice if more of our long attempts became long completions, but the aim of this week wasn’t necessarily the completions. As I said the point was to show faith in the O-line, clear space for the run game, and show other teams that the loss of LT Jason Peters, will not shrink the playbook or stop us from attacking. If this goal were a bell, we’d have rung it hard enough to put a crack in it. (DONE)

3) Put the top on: Containing WR Marquis Goodwin was going to be key for clogging up the rest of San Fran’s offense. While he was questionable to play due to his back, he was active for the game. That was of no help to the 9ers, as the only thing Goodwin caught on Sunday, was possibly a cold. (DONE)

4) Turn up the heat: 13 hits and 4 sacks sounds like we dialed up a lot of blitzes, but really we didn’t. Didn’t need to, since we can generally get pressure with 4 rushers. That and the 49ers offensive linemen were dropping like teenage girls at Beatles performance. We didn’t really get this one done, but who cares? We got the result without doing the work. (NOT DONE)

This weeks score is 3 out of 4, bringing us to 26 of 32 on the season. Next week’s dance with the Denver Broncos may prove to be a little tougher, but at least we don’t have to play at Mile High next week. (And yeah, I’m aware that their stadium is called Sports Authority Field at Mile High. I just hate the shitty names that arenas have these days. And to me it’s still PATTISON station, not AT&T station.)

On The Whole:

We beat an opponent that we were supposed to beat. Even if we hadn’t dominated, it wouldn’t have mattered, because we won a trap game. That’s the important part. When a team becomes elite, most of their games are trap games, because few opponents will be elite. So instead of fearing trap games, get used to them.

We took two major injuries last week, and still rolled over an NFL team. LT Vaitai didn’t give up a billion sacks, and MLB Joe Walker (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) wasn’t a target that the 49ers could pick on all day. Detractors will tell you that San Fran wasn’t exactly the stiffest test, and that would be true. However, the 49ers were the only team on the schedule this week.

While no one was looking, the Eagles pulled off a balanced Offensive attack with 32 pass to 27 called runs. Speaking of running the ball, I told you to expect RB LeGarrette Blount (16 – 48 – 3 – 1 – 0) to carry the ball a season-high 18 times, and I was wrong. He only matched his season-high of 16 carries. RB Corey Clement (10 – 54 – 5.4 – 0 – 0) can now say there was a week when he led the team he rooted for as a child, in rushing yards. And he can say he did it as an undrafted rookie.

Defense was the story of the day. Once again we took away an opponent’s run game and left their QB to do everything all by himself. This game marked the third time in eight games that our opponent’s leading rusher was their QB. All this defense does is take, even though it’s by no means at full strength right now.

Be afraid NFL. This 7-1 team still has room to get MUCH better.

FOUR THINGS: WK 8: EAGLES-49ERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

W8-SF

THIS week we’re coming off of a win, in which we suffered two devastating, season-ending losses to LT Jason Peters and MLB Jordan Hicks. It’s been a season fraught with injuries that we’ve managed to mask, mitigate or otherwise overcome completely. However, there is a growing concern among some Eagles fans and media, that this team has run out of miracles.

This is going to be a very interesting game. A 6-1 Eagles team, playing in Philly against an 0-7 San Fran team. In most years this would be a trap game. This would be the game where the Eagles took an opponent lightly, came out flat, and were left saying…

da fuck

Instead, we got yet another visit from (that bitch) the Injury Bug last week, and it’s left us with questions. Questions like, Will the season fall apart now? Can the coaching staff make enough adjustments to offset the losses? Is there enough talent on the roster to give coaches any decent options? This game will be about answering those questions.

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

1) Win the blitz: After LT Jason Peters was injured, the logical assumption was that RT Lane Johnson would take over the left spot, and back-up OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai would play the right, where he could be helped by a TE. NOPE! Head Coach Doug Pederson is leaving Johnson at RT, and starting (yes starting) Vaitai at LT. That means our RB’s will spend a lot of time lined up on the left to help Vaitai. If the RB’s are blocking left, expect blitzes from the middle and the right. QB Carson Wentz has to identify blitzers quickly and get that ball out of his hands. Otherwise this game will become a nightmare.

2) Air it out: While Wentz can’t spend all day holding the ball, at times we really do need to throw the ball deep this week. We need to show teams that losing Peters didn’t shrink our playbook, so not respecting our WR’s will be costly. In the long-run this helps out our run game. More than that, we need to demonstrate to our own O-line, that the staff still trusts them.

3) Put the top on: The most dangerous player on the 49ers offense is WR Marquise Goodwin. The guy is faster than a rumor, and if San Fran really knew what they had, they might be 5-2 instead of 0-7. We have to contain Goodwin, thereby keeping the rest of their offense in front of us, instead behind us. Goodwin is on the injury list with a “back injury”, but until he’s ruled “out”, he’s still as dangerous as honesty in a PC world.

4) Turn up the heat: Show blitz on practically every 2nd and 3rd down, but only bring it when the distance is 8 yards, or more. Getting to the 49ers QB isn’t hard at all. No need to overextend and expose ourselves and give up one or more big, catch-and-run plays underneath. The idea is to get MLB Joe Walker mentally involved and then keep him dialed in, emotionally. He’s a back-up, but he can’t look like a back-up out there. Otherwise, the 49ers will key on him and give themselves a chance.

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:

Offensively, the Eagles are going to give Vaitai help, by having RB’s watch that LT/LG gap for blitzers or rips inside. That, calls for a heavy dose of the big RB LeGarrette Blount this week. He may be allowed to develop a rhythm running the ball, since he should be out there in pass protection so much. (Having him out there and not really giving him the ball eventually tips our play-call to the 9ers. Why help them out?) So expect Blount to run the ball a season-high 18 times. Not using Blount in pass-pro, is an invitation for disaster.

So much is up in the air on Defense. It’s likely that Walker will be asked to make scaled down zone drops, and just attack his run fits. There would be no sense in the coaches telling him to go out there and make plays. He first has to get familiar with not just what he should be doing, but others around him as well.

It has to be expected that our MLB will be targeted in the passing game. While it would be nonsense for coaches to tell him to make plays, let me say AS A FAN, he has to make one or two plays, when they come at him. Otherwise, he will be seen as our weak link.

On the whole, we’ll win because even with as injured as we are, we still have more flat-out talent than San Francisco.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – 49ers 10

yeah bitch

SURVIVING OUR INJURIES

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/25
Posted in: Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

wounded eagle

THIS fucking sucks. It’s bad enough that we lost LT Jason Peters and MLB Jordan Hicks for the season. Having to rely on OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and MLB Joe Walker, only makes matters worse, because there currently is no safety net behind those guys. Oh wait! It gets better! To add a dash of salt to the cut on our eyeball, there is the distinct possibility that we’ve seen the last of Peters.

Hicks on the other hand will be back here next year. Whether or not he comes back as a starter, has a lot to do with how Walker handles these last 9 games. Depth at LB has been an issue for this team for over a decade now. Like Guard, it is not a position we do a good job of drafting or stocking up on.

The word on the street, in every news paper, and on every website, is that RT Lane Johnson will move to LT to protect QB Carson Wentz’s blindside. This will relegate Vaitai, to RT. Given that Vaitai has problems against speed, or quickness, or strength, or persistence, I’m hoping that the coaching staff will get him more TE help.

Not giving Vaitai TE help would just be an act of arrogance. It could also lead to a career-ending moment for our franchise QB. Few things could be as embarrassing as starting the year as the 6 – 1, number one team in the NFL, only to implode completely and mortgage the future; over nothing more than an unwillingness to adjust the Offensive scheme a little.

I like Walker as a Special Teamer, and he’s fine for giving your starter a breather here and there. He just never seems eager to mix it up or control the area from DE to DE. You want a MLB to piss all over that area, and mark it as HIS. In all truth, during the preseason, I liked LB Don Cherry much more than I liked Walker. Maybe we’ll see Cherry back in here soon. (Gotta work on his tendency to shuffle his feet before hitting the gas, though.)

I’m not sure what can be done to help Walker. Hicks has a reputation for being a ballhawk, so QB’s weren’t too interested in challenging him when he was in coverage. Given that Walker is only 236 and isn’t a thumper, I’m hoping that coverage will be where he excels, and that we can get some tipped passes and a cheap interception (or four) from QB’s testing him.

Three days ago, I wrote another article about how I’m not worried about any of the other teams in the NFC, stopping us in the playoffs. I wanted to wait until after the Redskins game to release it, so that I wouldn’t jinx the win by writing 6 – 1, before it actually happened. Then these injuries happened. I may still release the article after we demolish San Francisco, but right now, I hardly feel like talking shit.

DOUG PEDERSON’S DEBUT

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/08/14
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Offense, Players, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

steven.means

THERE were four things I told you that I was looking for in Doug Pederson‘s debut as Eagles Head Coach. The two things I wanted to see on Defense were encouraging. It looks like we are well on our way to being not just respectable, but downright dominant. Offensively, we still have some major concerns. Then again I said that we would, so there’s no reason to act shocked about that.

There were two things I liked. First, until the 4th quarter, we were absolute tyrants by not allowing rushing yards up the middle. Second, was how much Cover Two we played. We got a coverage sack, an interception, and a couple of key pass break-ups in that coverage. There were still plenty of downs where we played some Single-high Safety, but it wasn’t exclusive, and it wasn’t our base.

I said I wanted to see nine carries up the gut by the half. However, even though we looked good doing it, I counted only FIVE runs up the gut by half-time. I dunno, maybe I missed one when I went back to the kitchen to get some milk, but the point is that we were well shy of nine carries.

I also wanted to see teammates picking up a guy who was down. However, despite the goof-ups that led to our Offense being unable to move the ball the length of my coffee table, no one seemed to be too put out by their contribution to our struggle. There was no need to pick a guy up, because even though plenty of players were sucking ass wholesale out there, no one seemed upset about dropping passes or throwing passes that required a ladder to catch them. Or allowing pass rushers to race by them off the edge.

The players that stood out to me were ILB Joe Walker, DE Steven Means, DT Taylor Hart and S Ed Reynolds. DT Beau Allen was a pleasant surprise. I predicted that he’d be an early cut due to his lack of lateral quickness. However, the improved ability to push the pocket and his sheer girth could help him hold down his roster spot.

The players that looked like shit out there were, RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, G Josh Andrews (played at C), and of course QB Chase Daniel. Decidedly unimpressive was WR/RB Byron Marshall, who didn’t seem to be able to make a single yard that wasn’t presented to him on a silver platter.

The temptation to grade or judge this team’s offseason progress, is almost overwhelming, but I’m going to hold off on doing that until after this next game. I’m going to chalk this last game (good, bad and indifferent) up to an airing out. But in the next game I expect to see growth in the following areas…