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FOUR THINGS – WK 11 – EAGLES – PATRIOTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/11/13
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK11-NE

WHILE many Eagles fans are talking like the season is already over, I will be here until it actually is. For good or ill. Anybody looking for doom and gloom from these articles, will always come away disappointed. Generally my articles are written to cover subjects that the Eagles website won’t touch. Four Things however, is about discussing ways that we can win the upcoming game.

This is Philadelphia. We are the reason the name “Patriot” even has it’s American definition. We don’t quit. We don’t run. So chin up Eagles fans! Shoulders back and eyes front. There is much more rough road ahead us, but there are none better at making it smooth, than we.

Word around the campfire has it that the Patriots were embarrassed at being mushroom stamped on national television last week. Awww. They think, (get this) they think they’re just gonna waltz into the Linc, sign some autographs, and stroll out with our “W”. Problem is, we need that “W” to reclaim our division lead. Which means, we can’t let them have it. Translation: They’re shit out of luck.

Though New England has played almost exclusively bottom-feeders, they still boast a Top Three defense that’s 11th vs the run, and has 32 sacks so far. That means their players will come out playing with pride. With energy! With urgency!! All of which sets them up as the perfect, tailor-made mark, for this week’s caper.

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Here are the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus New England:

1) Use play-action bootlegs: We can turn their pass rushing strength into a liability, by having QB Carson Wentz fake a few bootlegs after a handoff, and then sprinkling in some real play-action bootlegs. (Every real bootleg we run, should be drawn-up as an Option play.) What we want, is for an opposing player to cheap shot Carson once, get flagged, and cause the defense to no longer trust their eyes for that first split-second of a play.

If we can cause New England to slow down a tick, in effect it speeds the Eagles up a tick. After which point, we let the pace of the game drown them. No need to do anything fancy. Just fuck them in the brain with some old timey bootleggin’. Right Joe? (That’s a Kennedy joke for us old folk.)

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2) Get Brady to moonwalk: QB Tom Brady never had the strongest arm, and today you can clearly see he’s lost something on his fastball. We can make that worse by making it hard for him to step into his throws. That’s were DT Fletcher Cox comes in.

New England’s RG Shaq Mason is coming off of an ankle injury. I’d lay money on his ankle not being up to a full day, of bull-rushing by Cox. Driving Mason backwards, drives Brady backwards, and doesn’t let him get as much on his throws. That increases our chances of getting to one or more of Brady’s passes. Or forcing him to run with the ball.

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3) Pry that clam open: To do that, we need to show that the left side of our passing attack has re-opened for business. Nothing crazy. Just a couple of early completions near the numbers. A Slant to WR Jordan Matthews (hopefully lined-up outside), and an Out route to whoever plays the Slot. Perhaps WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside? Maybe? Please?!

Once we staple their CB’s to the outsides, we can attack the Cover One/ Cover Three that NE likes to run. On the surface FS Devin McCourty is a guy to avoid. He has 5 picks in 9 games, but all against weak competition. (Including 1 in each game vs the Jets.)

New England has yet to face a TE anywhere near the talent level of TE’s Zach Ertz or Dallas Goedert. That’s a match-up we need to exploit. Work the play-action, freeze the SS underneath, and get balls 8 and 12 yards in the air to our TE’s down the middle. Isolate our 6’5 250 pound TE’s, one-on-one with their 5’10 195 pound FS, and see if they can break a couple of his tackles during the game.

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4) Take care of the ball: This is common sense, but it’s also key to stopping this opponent. They come into Week 11 sporting a plus 17 turnover mark. Then again their dance card has included two games against the Jets, and games against the giants, Miami, Cleveland, Buffalo, Washington and Pittsburgh (when they were spiraling out of control during Week 1).

Given that their offense is neither explosive, nor powerful, we’ll be able to make them work for points. We just need to not give them any extra possessions with good field position.

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:

Jordan Matthews wasn’t brought here to be a decoy. How could he? He doesn’t have the resume for that. The reason he’s here, is to give Carson a comfort zone and let him feel confidence in using the the entire field again. That’s it. Nobody has ever doubted Matthews hands, nor his ability to get open, or find the end zone. The entire issue with Matthews has been his back. (Remember all the shots he took to his back, playing in the Slot for Chip Kelly?)

In order to create passes to the left, the Eagles have been moving WR Alshon Jeffery around more than ever. As a result, Carson’s attempts, AND EYES have been following Alshon. However, Carson’s comfort level with Matthews erases all of that immediately.

2019 Jordan Howard Khalil Mack

With the field stretching horizontally again, RB Jordan Howard will see more room inside. Howard has just one 20 yard run this year, but don’t be surprised to see one or two of those this week. While not having upgraded the “talent” around the QB, the QB has been vastly upgraded, because now he’ll be more relaxed.

Defensively is a harder read. Our Secondary hasn’t been good this year (or last year, or the year before that), but NE’s receivers are hardly worth losing sleep over. Given their QB’s diminished arm strength, and the constant harassment he should be under, we might be able to box this one up by the fourth quarter.

Be prepared for some tragic news though. An Eagles win will have people trampling each other, just to get on that bandwagon over there. Meanwhile we Eagles Phaithful will keep sipping our Wawa beverages, because we never stopped believing.

Seriously, when you get past all the “But they’re the Patriots” BS, it’s hard to imagine how they’d be able to win this game. The weapons just aren’t there, and this isn’t the AFC East, against whom they’ve already played 4 times for 4 of their 8 wins. Great QB or not, Tom Brady doesn’t cover receivers, and he damned sure doesn’t catch passes.

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PREDICTION: EAGLES 25 – Patriots 17

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK8 : JAGUARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/10/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TOLD you we were going to win. That anger. That prep that I said the Eagles were doing… While our opponents were out partying and getting arrested, after practice, we had a curfew. It was a business trip. And we took care of business.

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EAGLES 24 – Jaguars 18

QB Carson Wentz (21/30 – 70.0% – 286 – 3 – 1) was out there slinging it, running it (8 – 24 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) and catching it (1 – 4 – 4.0 – 0). He was making a tackle, making copies, making coffee, making it HAPPEN hallelujah! He said after the Panthers loss, that we needed to show what we were made of. This week he showed up, and showed two continents what Philly royalty looks like. Grace and ferocity on full display.

Rookie RB Josh Adams (9 – 61 – 6.7 – 0 – 0) got the most extensive play of his young career, and the Bucks County native led the team in both carries and rushing yards. WR Jordan Matthews (4 – 93 – 23.2 – 0) had his biggest game since his return, leading the team in receiving yards, and being in a three-way (tee-hee) tie for the lead in receptions.

MLB Jordan Hicks (8 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) led the team in tackles, but it would have been great to see him play more shallow underneath coverage, to take away those Crossing routes, and limit QB scrambles. DE Chris Long (2 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) grabbed a pair of sacks to bring his season total to 3 so far. If he finishes the year with an even 6.0, I’ll laugh myself stupid. (I won’t say why. You’ll just have to google his career, and look for yourself.) Rookie CB Avonte Maddox (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) filling in at FS, went full-blown kamikaze on a Jaguar WR, forcing a fumble and our only turnover of the game.

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.

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

1) Run the damned ball: This is about raw numbers. We ran the ball 28 times, but 6 of those were Wentz, so of course not all of those were planned. Aside from Wentz, there were 22 called runs in the game. Wentz attempted 30 passes and was sacked 4 times, so that’s 34 called pass plays. That ratio is 34:22 pass vs run. In those 56 plays, we only ran it 39.2% of the time. Again, that’s if you take out those 6 Wentz rushes. They may not count as pure, called plays, but opponents regard these sorts of plays as if they are. (Remember when the Jags QB was running? It was real wasn’t it? Same thing here.) Adding in those 6 rushes, you get a ratio of 34:28, on 62 plays. That has us running it on 45.1% of our plays. A 60/40 split, which is what I’ve been preaching for weeks now. DONE

2) Activate the Machine: We didn’t force a single turnover from QB Blake Bortles and Jaymes (24/41 – 58.5% – 286 – 1 – 0). That’s an alarming statement, and as an Eagles fan, it’s the first thing that has truly scared me all season long. I’ve been concerned about other things, but not being able to get the ball from Bortles indicates that upcoming games are going to brutal. NOT DONE

3) Pick your poison: We worked the edges with our running game. It resulted in Josh Adams breaking a 21 yard gallop, and getting our TE’s open for two touchdown grabs, and of course RB Wendell Smallwood (8 – 24 – 3.0 – 0 – 0/ 2 – 42 – 21.0 – 1) on a virtually untouched 36 yard Backside Screen. These were literally the very plays I mentioned in this section, this week. DONE (Like a motherfucker.)

4) Send FIVE sometimes: This didn’t happen often, but we got two of our four sacks on blitzes. I can’t say this any plainer. It speaks for itself. Do this more, Jim! DONE

This week our Eagles planted our flag in 3 out of 4 goals, bringing the season tally to 14 of 32. It’s not a great percentage, but it is us lifting ourselves up, out of the muck. It’ll be a slow climb, but at least our Week 8 Bye will be the sweeter for the victory we get to savor. After that, for Week 9 we get our first match-up with the Dallas Cowboys.

On The Whole:

A struggling Eagles team were without either of our starting Offensive Tackles a one point in this game. Head Coach Doug Pederson shifted and shuffled personnel along the O-line, to find some stability and productivity. RT Lane Johnson was lost for a month with an MCL sprain, but LT Jason Peters return to action gave us the needed boost to finish and close-out this victory.

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That being said, a solution needs to be found for depth at OT. While everyone seems to be hoping that the Eagles land Pittsburgh RB LeVeon Bell, trading for an OT might make more sense in the immediate and long-term. (Besides, if we’re going to trade for a RB, it should be LeGarrette Blount. Cheaper to trade for, cheaper to pay, and he knows the system already.)

Something has to be done about our Defense not being able to get off the field, at the end of games. Watching team after team convert 3rd and longs, and 4th and more than one, is getting embarrassing. Especially combined with how few turnovers we generate anymore. We gotta get to work fixing this Defense.

 

 

FOUR THINGS: WK 3: EAGLES-COLTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Roster, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W3-IND

NICK Foles! He of seven touchdowns, the Snow Bowl and Super Bowl LII. Three of the greatest moments in Eagles history.

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Thank you for the way you stepped up, and did what few of us (I was on-board, early), thought you could do. As I said before the Atlanta game in January, we could have scarcely been in better hands. More than that, thank you for the grace with which you are stepping out of the spotlight, as QB Carson Wentz makes his return.

Let’s get this out of the way right now. We’re glad that Wentz can come back, but we’re going to spend the game obsessing over his knee. Anytime any Colt brushes him, we’re going to be on our feet, ready to punch a guy in the helmet. Any Offensive Lineman who gets pushed back into Wentz, or who steps on his foot, might find that his car has been ticketed, towed, impounded and crushed. Carson has to make it out of this game no worse than he went in. Oh yeah, and a win would also be nice.

Like Week 3 against the giants last year, our season could very well pivot on the character we show here. And I’m pretty sure the coaching staff sees it exactly that way.

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

1) Protect the QB: That doesn’t mean keep him from getting hit, it means keep him from getting rattled. He’s had no preseason and hasn’t seen live-action in most of a year. He will be rusty, and the game will get away from him in moments. Wentz likes to air the ball out, so putting brakes on him might only make him feel that total confidence in him hasn’t returned. Let him play. Let him fall. Let him figure it out when he screws up. The best way to get a man’s best, is to treat a man, like a man.

2) Mix up coverages: The Secondary plays Single-high almost exclusively and that’s making it too easy for opposing QB’s to read and anticipate deep routes. Also, giving up 5 yard cushions on every play has got to stop. Same with TE’s getting clean releases. This shit has to stop! Sprinkle in some Cover Two. Play some bump-and-run, here and there. Redirect TE’s and slots further into traffic. Quit being stupid out there. It’s robbing us of sacks and easy turnovers, and last week it cost us an entire game.

3) Introduce a new wrinkle: Lost in all the talk about returning QB’s is the fact that Indy’s head coach was our Offensive Coordinator last year. That means he’ll be familiar with our core concepts, most of our playbook, play keys, players, and even the way some of our players and coaches think. He will spend this week prepping his team to beat us mentally. That means we have to add something to the mix that he hasn’t seen from us. RPO’s and our Screen game? They’ll be looking for those. A HB Option would be nice. Perhaps a couple of Power Sweeps?

 

4) Come out in Rally mode: With Wentz returning, and WR Jordan Matthews

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coming back, it seems like new life has been breathed into a sleeping gi- (noooo, I need another word here!) a sleeping Hulk (how’s that?). However, we can’t forget that the QB has to prove himself again, the WR’s are still banged up, the Secondary is leaky, and the O-Line has shown some wear already. Everyone needs to come out playing for each other this week. Everyone needs to be receptive to constructive criticism, and everyone needs to be honest and tactful about giving it.

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:

Remember the touchdown that we gave up to the Vikings in the playoffs last year, when LB Najee Goode didn’t know his assignment? Guess who’s starting for the Colts at OLB? So TE Zach Ertz should have a field day out there. The Colts front seven isn’t particularly stout against the run, nor do they boast a single dangerous pass rusher. This is as good a game for Wentz to return in, as any.

Allowing a QB to complete 70% of his passes is a great recipe for losing a game. Despite the Eagles defending their over-reliance on Single-high coverage, Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz is too smart to not switch it up this week. If this were on the road, I’d pick the Colts, but it’s in Philly. Between the rush, the crowd and mixing the coverage, this has the feel of a 2 or 3 turnover game. 

PREDICTION: EAGLES 21 – Colts 17

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FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/BILLS (PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/16
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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SO much is new coming into this game. In all honesty, some of it probably shouldn’t be new, but that’s spilled milk at this point. Generally in preseason game 2, you want to build on your strong points from preseason game 1. That however is hard to do when new starters get added suddenly, or others got the first week off.

Barring a surprise, new Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery and CB Ronald Darby will make their Philly debuts in this game. We’ll also get to see how WR Nelson Agholor looks as a regular in the slot. So it’ll be almost like we’re playing in our first preseason game.

Again.

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

1) Being in sync: QB Carson Wentz has to demonstrate solid chemistry with WR Alshon Jeffery. The window for getting them on the same page is rapidly shrinking, and the trading of WR Jordan Matthews removes a security blanket for Wentz, that would have allowed for a certain margin of error. Nothing less than precision is acceptable here.

2) Push must come to shove: Last week, it looked as if the interior Offensive Line was incapable of generating a new line of scrimmage in the run game. That has to get fixed this week or a hard look has to be taken at whether starting LG Isaac Seumalo is really the right move.

3) Slow the inside release: It’ll be interesting to see how much success CB Ronald Darby has when he allows an unsupported inside release, vs when he plays an outside technique. Even if the receiver’s route is an inside route, Darby needs to at least make him fight to get inside. Five yard cushions and quick inside releases will make Darby the equivalent of every CB we already had on the roster before he got here. Keep your eyes peeled. Tape don’t lie.

4) Control the middle: Last week the Defensive Line did a great job of stymieing the Packers ground game, but the Bills are far better at running the rock than they are. This week if we see our line give RB LeSean McCoy a hard time between the Tackles, we’ll know our front is legit, and didn’t just beat up on a mediocre running team.

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:

Jeffery is no rookie. He knows his craft. He can read a defense, get open and make grabs. The issue here is timing. Practice speed and game speed are very different things. So hooking up with Wentz may not look as smooth as some people are expecting. Unlike last week, you can look for shots to be taken down the field. If the Eagles are going to open up the run game and work the bugs out of the passing game, they’re going to have to air the ball out on Thursday.

For years, I’ve called C Jason Kelce a soft player who benefited from the play of savvy, scrappy LG’s (Evan Mathis, Allen Barbre, Stefen Wisniewski) beside him. (This is why Kelce’s play can seem solid one week and soft the next.) Suemalo isn’t scrappy and he isn’t very experienced. The result is that now Kelce has to carry a guy, instead of being carried. In any case I wouldn’t expect a big night on runs inside vs the Bills interior of (DT’s) Marcell Darius, Kyle Williams and (MLB) Preston Brown.

The D-Line will get pressure but will get sold-out by spotty coverage. People will want to blame the athletes, but the real problem is the technique we play. But be patient. It’ll get addressed soon enough. Just not this week.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 17 – Bills 10

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THE EAGLES CORNERBACK PROBLEM

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Crazy Talk, Defense, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz brought with him a version of the Wide Nine defense, that was leveraged (smarter) differently, than the version that Eagles fans saw run under Jim Washburn/Juan Castillo, toward the end of Andy Reid’s tenure here. Schwartz’s system does a better job of getting pressure with our front four, than we have at any time since 1992. What Schwartz doesn’t seem to be able to do, is find a CB.

Oh, we’ve run the gamut in our search! We’ve kept veterans from the prior regime (Nolan Carroll). We’ve brought in guys who played in a Schwartz system before (Ron Brooks, and Leodis McKelvin, both former Bills). We brought in re-treads (Patrick Robinson). Drafted talent early (Sidney Jones). Reached on a project (Rasul Douglas). Promoted a gritty underdog (Jalen Mills). Now we even traded away Jordan Matthews, the WR with the best proven chemistry with our QB, in exchange for a third Bills CB (Ronald Darby).

We’ve swapped out physical guys like Dwayne Gratz, and cut then brought back finesse guys like Aaron Grymes. In the last two years, we’ve had a ton of CB’s and DB’s come and go in Philly. So many different kinds of athletes. So many varied gifts. So why can’t we find a decent starting pair of CB’s?

The answer is that we probably already found a pair of starting Corners. Fact is, the athletes aren’t the problem. The system isn’t the problem. The DC isn’t the problem. All of those are great. The problem is the coverage technique that Defensive Backs coach Cory Undlin is teaching the Corners (likely at the behest of Schwartz).

If Darby grabs 5 picks this year, most folks will say that I’m just a crank for talking about this. On the other hand, if he ends up on the pile like all the others have, we will have given up a valuable piece for something we already have plenty of.

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: GREEN BAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FINALLY, after what seemed like a 12 month offseason, we got a look at our team. After a long wait, we had a chance to get a real idea of how they measure up against other NFL teams. Better still, this was against a team that made the playoffs last year. A real test! So of course the Packers rested key players.

Today's Discussion (Erostile 16 Bold)

It was just as well that we didn’t get the Packers best punch. We spent so much time hurting ourselves, that they hardly needed to show up at all. 73 plays run, 54 passes to 19 rushing attempts. That put the play selection here at 78% pass to 22% run. No NFL team can put together a successful season with that kind of imbalance. The Eagles uneven and frankly, hard to watch 9 – 24 loss, was proof of that.

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

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

1) Which WR has QB Carson Wentz’s eye: Turns out it seemed to be WR Jordan Matthews. Matthews caught two balls from Wentz that he turned into much better plays on the field than they could have been on paper. No ball was thrown to WR’s Nelson Agholor or Torrey Smith. However, at least Wentz was looking for WR’s not backs or TE’s. (DONE)

2) Covering our bets: The CB’s continued to play with huge cushions and surrendering inside releases, like the starters from last year did. A 61% completion percentage will kill any Defensive scheme, regardless of how great the front seven is. (NOT DONE)

3) Timmy, Timmy, Timmayyyyy:  DT Timmy Jernigan didn’t see much action last night, but on the handful of downs he played, the interior looked impenetrable. I’m sure it’ll seem more human next week and the week after. However, for now it was good to see dominance. (DONE)

4) Getting carried away: We didn’t get the (5 – 24 – 4.8) with a long run of 10, kind of night that I was hoping for from RB Corey Clement. What we got, was a (7 – 13 – 1.8) with a long run of 8 kind of night. He was however, the Eagles leader in rushes and yards, as no RB was able to find any help from the Offensive Line. (NOT DONE)

That starts the preseason off with a low-key 2 out of 4 benchmarks met. That being said, I want to see more from the running game and from our coverage next week vs Buffalo at the Linc.

SURPRISES AMONG EAGLES RECEIVERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/07/01
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FUCK YEAH

DORIAL Green-Beckham being cut is no surprise in itself. I mean at some level in part, it’s just a numbers game. Like last year, the Eagles are probably only keeping 5 or 6 active WR’s. Three of those will be Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith and Jordan Matthews. So beyond that, every name on the roster was and will be, up in the air until final cuts are made on September 2nd.

I was pleasantly surprised by part of the news surrounding Green-Beckham being waived. It’s to be expected that the Law Firm (Jeffrey, Smith and Matthews)* would be ahead of Green-Beckham on the depth chart. What I was surprised by, was that Bryce Treggs was also listed ahead of him.

Last year on Treggs’s first NFL catch, he hauled in a 58 yard pass (and nearly scored), right down the middle of the giants defense. It was the shot in the arm that our deep passing game had needed so badly. Suddenly it looked like we might have stumbled onto a deep threat. At which point Treggs basically disappeared. For whatever reason, he was used on more modest routes, and on Jet Sweeps.

It also didn’t help that in 12 targets last year, he only caught 3 of them. (No, the other 9 weren’t drops.)

This offseason when we signed Torrey Smith as our resident deep threat, it seemed the book had been closed on Treggs. There was no way that he would get into the top six, right? Not with the Law Firm, Nelson Agholor, Green-Beckham, and RB/WR Byron Marshall, all ahead of him.

However, the release of Green-Beckham now clears a seat at that table for Treggs. It also gives an outside shot to guys like rookie Mack Hollins, and to working class hero, Paul Turner. My favorite part, is what it could do for the team. You say that you hadn’t thought about that part? Well get ready to smile like an idiot.

Treggs possesses DeSean Jackson-type speed and acceleration (but without the change of direction skills). Still, the idea of having both him AND Smith… I’ve been an Eagles fan since 1989 (put away the calculator, that’s almost 28 years), and at no point during that span has this team EVER had two deep threats like this, on the roster at one time. Provided that Treggs can beat out Agholor or Marshall, the sky could be the limit for this Offense.

It’s funny. All this talk about our WR’s, yet QB Carson Wentz receiving so many new weapons, could end up being the NFL’s greatest catch of the year.

 

*Law Firm! I coined it! Now when people ask where that nickname got started, you can tell ’em that you were there at the beginning, and helped spread the name around. And yes, I’m aware that the nickname was used by BenJarvus Green-Ellis already. However, if the Jets can steal ‘Gang Green’, and the giants can steal ‘Thunder and Lightning’, then we can boost a nickname too.

SHAME ON ME.

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/27
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Players, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST August I preached patience for our WR’s, yet by seasons end even I’d bailed on Nelson Agholor. I didn’t practice what I’d preached to you all and that is blatant hypocrisy on my part.

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I’ve said on a few occasions that Eagles fans need to be better fans, and this time that also applies to me. I need to step-up my game, and be a better fan.

Agholor was drafted in the first round of the 2015 Draft, and had a dismal rookie season. Fans were already murmuring “bust” by the time Training Camp opened in 2016. So I stepped in and said that our WR’s (him included) weren’t beyond help.

I said that the Eagles receivers needed time. Time to learn good habits, and possibly UN-learn bad ones. I implied that this would take patience on the fan’s part. Yet a couple months later, I myself was throwing him under the bus, as much as anyone. It was a despicable thing for a fan to do. It was downright hypocritical. It was also damned unfair.

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When Agholor first got here, who were the WR’s he could look up to for help honing his craft? Second year men Jordan Matthews, and Josh Huff, that’s who. Matthews and Huff got a year under Jeremy Maclin and (starter for some reason) Riley Cooper. Matthews played the slot and Huff hardly played at all in 2014. So there were no mentors in 2015 for Agholor. Same goes for 2016 when we traded for Dorial Green-Beckham.

Now in 2017 we’ve added Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith. These are veterans that both Agholor and Matthews can learn from. They have on-field mentors to teach them good habits. (I also felt that former WR coach Greg Lewis was doing that, but the organization needed a fall guy for 2016, and Lewis drew the short straw.)

The result so far is that everywhere I turn, all I read is positive things about what competition is bringing out of Agholor. I watched Matthews on the news the other night, and the competition is already sharpening his demeanor. I’m not one to read much at all into OTA’s, but I’ll admit, I like what the competition is doing for the mental side of things.

I said all that, to say this: I had no business bailing on Agholor so early. Agholor (and even Matthews now) is getting the help I prescribed less than a year ago. The only fair thing to do is rally around them, and root for their success for as long as they wear midnight green. So I will do just that.

fat

LET’S TALK WIDE RECEIVERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/04/29
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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HELP me understand this. In 2016 we had trouble at WR, so we didn’t cut any of our primary WR’s in Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, or Dorial Green-Beckham. Instead we ADDED Free Agents Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith. Surely we weren’t going keep all five of these guys heading into September, so we’d need to shave at least Agholor. So why then are we drafting more WR’s? 

I could see drafting a WR if we were talking about Chris Godwin, whom QB Carson Wentz could mature with. I could see the logic if we were talking about JuJu Smith-Schuster or if we’d traded up to get a top-shelf guy. What I don’t get, is burning picks on WR’s who seem more like they were drafted with an eye towards them playing Special Teams here. You get those guys after the Draft.

We came into this Draft loaded with NFL quality veterans at the WR position. We had real depth in case of injury, for a team that generally keeps 5 active WR’s. So are we keeping 6 this year, or are we going to get rid of real depth to hold onto a Special Teamer or two? That’s not a question fans ask on Draft day, but come September ‘Cut Downs’, that very conversation will happen among Eagles coaches.

Remember how we kept Bryce Treggs over Paul Turner last year? Neither was drafted, but we deactivated a quality receiver for a fast guy who played Special Teams. Don’t look now, but I think we just set that same scenario up, when we drafted WR Mack Hollis in the 4th and Shelton Gibson in the 5th. In that scenario, who do you cut? Do you keep the quality vets, or do we cut one of our draft picks?

It’s easy to say if we keep five, “Cut Agholor since he’s a bust anyway”. That would mean cutting a vet and at least one of the WR’s we drafted. Given that the WR’s we drafted were 4th and 5th rounders, most fans won’t care if they get cut anyway. The odds are already stacked against 4th and 5th rounders to even make the team. Why bellyache over it, right?

Here is where I need you to explain this to me. If the odds are already long for a 4th and 5th rounder, why draft two guys at a spot where you already have plenty of help? You just stacked a stacked deck even more against either of these picks panning out. It’s basically giving away a draft pick. Or two! This is only made worse by the fact that we still need an OLB, or a RB to fill in for Ryan Mathews if, WHEN he gets hurt this year.

Maybe you can explain it to me. Please, when you do, use VERY small words. I don’t want to miss anything. Because the Eagles Draft already has me tilting my head like a dog.

THE 12: #6 FEWER SCREENS AND DRAGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/03/20
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE122017#6

CERTAIN passes reduce your receivers to sitting ducks, and the two main culprits are the “WR Screen” and the “Drag”. To make matters worse, they frequently don’t result in big plays unless the opposing defense really screws something up. Before people start to mention RB Darren Sproles, let me repeat, my issue with the “WR Screen” not the “RB Screen”. These are very different plays both in concept and execution. Now let’s get to it.

Your typical “Drag” route

Drag Route

is great at getting a WR away from the CB following him, since CB’s don’t usually cross the entire field to shadow a receiver. If the QB can lead the WR after he clears the MLB, this route can be money. (Note how I said after.) A few years ago San Diego absolutely gutted us with that route. If a team doesn’t make the correct adjustment (like we didn’t), the “Drag” can be almost indefensible.

The trouble is that a QB is usually trying to get rid of the ball quickly. So if the WR uncovers before (not after) the MLB, the QB will put the ball directly on him, instead of leading him with the ball. That can get the WR blown up by the MLB. More commonly however, what tends to happen is the WR gears down, faces the QB to make the catch, and then gets nailed in the back by Safeties or by a MLB in Tampa Two coverage. (You may recall a number of these type catches made by WR Jordan Matthews under our last head coach.)

To perfectly execute a “WR Screen”

Basic WR screen

you have to throw the ball to the WR, as a teammate or two gets out in front of the receiver, to set up blocks for him. However, that blocker can’t block before the receiver catches the ball, or it’s a penalty. The receiver also generally doesn’t get to “run” a route. What he does is turns and waits for the ball to get to him. In the meantime no one can block a defender from getting to the receiver…since he doesn’t have the ball yet. Because you know…penalty.

Did I mention that these plays tend to start out behind the line of scrimmage? I didn’t? Well they do. So if the receiver catches the ball and is tackled immediately, it’s usually for a loss of yardage. The best part? The entire time the receiver is waiting for the ball, he’s basically a sitting duck.

While you can YouTube any number of “WR Screens” that became touchdowns, it’s not as easy to find the many, many failed ones. This gives the artificial impression that they have a high success rate in pro football. This would be the opposite of true, and as football fans, you and I know that.

I’m not saying that we should never use “Drag” and “WR Screens”. I’m saying that these plays have too many drawbacks for us to rely on them the way we have been in recent years. We run entirely too many of these routes and they are nowhere as effective for us as they used to be 3-4 years ago. It’s time to let go of these and allow the Offense to progress to the next stage of its evolution.