Malcolm Jenkins

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FOUR THINGS: WK 11: EAGLES – SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/11/20
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

JUST a few weeks ago, I predicted that the Saints head coach, would out-coach Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni, and win this game. Today, I don’t feel like the Saints have a legitimate shot at winning this game. I could be wrong, but you and I know that I’m not.

The Eagles have found an internal source of power to tap into. Meanwhile, the Saints are starting to fall apart due to the aforementioned injuries, and a lack of offensive leadership. For the Saints, this is a bad time to have this fight.

A win would move us to 5 – 6, and one game away from being .500. This team hasn’t seen .500 or above since the end of the 2019 season. There’s possible playoff implications to be discussed, but let’s get to .500, before we start talking too much about playoffs.

A loss would drop us to 4 – 7 and shine more light on the three first round picks we have in the 2022 NFL Draft. As long as there’s a mathematical chance for us to make the playoffs, we should try everything to do so. That said, the second we’re out of possible consideration, we should tank, because it improves our draft position in EVERY round, not just the first.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

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

1) Play Man Press: First and most importantly, we’re 4 – 0 when we do. Secondly, The Saints are starting back-up QB Trevor Siemian, and he likes to share the football with his opponents. So we should be there for him. In fairness, he hasn’t thrown a single pick this season. WHICH MEANS HE’S DUE!

Take away the quick and easy stuff. If the “back-up’s body forced to be a starter” Steve Trevor

can beat us with deep passing, then we deserve to lose. Man Press will take away the quick stuff, help our pass rush, and help to keep the run contained.

2) Force Malcolm Out Of the Middle: One of the reasons that the Saints rank so high in run defense is former Eagles SS Malcolm Jenkins. He plays in the box like an extra LB. So we need to get him out of the box. The primary reason we moved on from Malcolm, was his apparent trouble with deep speed. Even when lined up deep, Malcolm has trouble versus true speed. So that’s the bone we should hack at.

The fact that he likes to walk into the box, makes that weakness all the more glaring. We should start in 11 Personnel (1RB, 1 TE). The TE doesn’t always have to be an actual TE. Using RB Miles Sanders, or RB Kenny Gainwell would do just fine on some downs. Split the TE wide, to pull Malcolm laterally out of the box. After a couple of deep routes, he’ll also start lining up deeper.

That’s when you pound the rock with RB Jordan Howard, vs a vacated middle.

3) Just Make the Tackle: Saints RB Mark Ingram is a leg churner and tackle breaker. He’s not a hard RB to box-in or catch, but teams clawing at the ball instead of getting him on the ground, literally give him extra yardage.

Once we get to him, drop him. Plain and simple. Clawing for the ball may help us if we’re down two scores in the 4th quarter, but doing it in the 1st quarter is a great way to end up down two scores. Just get these guys on the ground.

4) Use Play-Action: With the way the Eagles have run these last few weeks, selling a fake hand-off will be as easy as selling toilet paper.

QB Jalen Hurts would have clean pocket after clean pocket, as long as he doesn’t hold the ball too long.

Not only that, but if play-action is used well enough, both real and fake hand-offs will freeze their defense, as they take a beat to make sure of their read, instead of just reacting.

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If we do these Four Things,

If we hit all four of these, this game would break wide open, and put the NFL on notice. Sirianni would go from “the guy the media mocked over flowers” to “rookie head coach has turned his team around”.

While I would LOVE all four, I expect that #1 and #3 are the ones that will likely get done. If so that should be enough for a 28 – 17 win.

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PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Saints 17

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

#7 DISRUPT TIMING ROUTES

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/03/08
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, NFC East, NFL, The 12, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

EARLIER in the THE 12, I covered taking away a TE’s clean release. Here we’re going to get into disrupting a QB’s rhythm with his WR’s. The idea is to get one of two things to happen:

1) The QB either holds the ball a little longer, as he goes to his next read, giving the pass rush time to get to him.

or

2) The QB forces an ill-advised pass, in an attempt to “make something happen”.

Again, disrupting the TE was covered earlier. That said, trying to treat a WR like a TE can set an entire secondary on fire. So the approach has to be different. It has to be more cerebral. Generally a defender cannot rely on one approach all game long, but here are just a few that they can mix and match for 30 minutes or so.

Man Press gets a CB in the WR’s face, and makes the QB sort out whether the WR can win that down and get open. As long as the CB can keep the WR in front of him, this approach is golden. Problem is, when the WR gets past the CB, the defender is left in the trail position. Given the speed, and leaping ability of many WR’s, man press played wrong, could be a death sentence. (High risk/High reward)

Darrelle Revis demonstrates top-shelf, Man Press vs Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.

Hand-fighting is for WR’s who like to stem their routes to get the defender off balance. Hand-fighting at the line of scrimmage, gets the defenders hands into the chest/shoulder area of the WR. It doesn’t allow the receiver to lean quite the way he wants. This erases the time the receiver would use to stem, and forces him to go directly into the route.

Hand-fighting is not quite the same as press, because hand-fighting “feels” the route and bails sooner than press. All a defender is doing, is taking away what the early part of what the receiver wants to do. The idea isn’t to stop, it’s to delay, and maybe get the QB to look elsewhere. (Moderate risk/Low reward)

The next two are a one-two combo, that not only affects the receiver, but it can make offensive coordinators question how they utilize their players, and call the game.

The 100 Yard Defender. The sideline is a defensive player. Stepping on it end plays, and a receiver who steps on it prior to catching the ball, can’t catch a forward pass on that down. If the WR lines up close enough to the sideline, shoving him out of bounds (within the first 5 yards), is totally legal, and basically takes him out of the play. (Low risk/High reward)

Lowering The Boom comes with a great deal of risk, since refs are very aggressive about throwing flags for the same hits that used to comprise the entire opening sequence of a Madden game. Still, a CB taking away the sideline, basically “opens up” the middle of the field for the receiver. Which is where beasts like LB’s and S’s roam.

While a ref may throw a flag and award 15 yards as a result of that play, coaching staffs may think better of running that player into harm’s way again. Question: Is a potential 15 yard penalty during the first possession, worth limiting how the opposing team calls the rest of the game? Answer: You bet your ass! (Just don’t do this in the second half.)

Not to mention how rattled the QB would be for getting his buddy fucked up, to start the game.(Sky high risk/Sky high reward)

So there are tools. We just have to be willing to use them.

NICK SIRIANNI VS. HOWIE ROSEMAN

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/02/01
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Remember this war?

HEAD Coach Nick Sirianni had his introductory press conference on Thursday, and the fan base has been talking about it since then. I have been listening. However, before I weighed in, I wanted to step back, and fully digest exactly what it was that we saw.

Here it is, Monday, and my chief takeaway from Sirianni’s press conference, was that the Eagles Front Office wants the coach to be the hired help, and not the true leader of the football team. Sirianni’s job is to manage just what happens in relation to X’s and O’s. Unfortunately, that’s going to become a problem sooner, rather than later.

Stripping him of the ability to even decide his 53 man roster on Sundays, gives him no leverage when a star player gets out of line, or doesn’t buy into what Sirianni sells, this coming Spring. Not even being able to tell a player that he’s suspended, and will not travel with the team, cuts Sirianni’s balls off, putting blood in the water, right at the outset.

Younger players will be brought in to help lower the salary cap, and replenish the talent pool. Coming in knowing that they can test and challenge a head coach who has to ask permission to even sit them… Former Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins, said to Rich Eisen “you just hope that the competitiveness and the culture and the egos of what that team stands for at least stays in place.” In the current climate, that can’t happen. You can expect the Eagles locker room culture to slide. And in very short order.

The silver lining is that if it doesn’t work, if the team doesn’t win, and the players don’t pan out, General Manager Howie Roseman will be the one left holding the bag. Sirianni would be collateral damage of course, but the weight will be on Roseman. Owner Jeffery Lurie will actually be more responsible, but he can’t fire himself.

We didn’t even know how bad this war had gotten.

Understand, the Eagles could have given Doug Pederson more rope. They didn’t. They could have brought in an experienced ex-head coach. They didn’t. They could have gone with a hot-shot Offensive Coordinator. Didn’t take that road either.

What they did, was pick a guy who has never even called plays before. Who has also never made in-game adjustments. Who has never had to be the front-man for a billion dollar franchise. And now… now he’s doing it in the nations 4th or 5th largest television market. How is this possible? Why is this happening?

Sirianni was allowed to skip a couple of rungs on his way to being a head coach. The reason he beat out more qualified candidates is (according to Lurie), “because he cares”. Yeah. Right. Before Eagles fans eat that horse shit, you’ll have to win us another Lombardi, first.

Sirianni is here because he’s too naive to realize the predicament he’s in. Remember how Robert Saleh recently opted for the Jets job over this one? The Jets. Owned by Woody Johnson, who’s only a slightly better businessman than Donald Trump. Fact is, due to Roseman’s presence, the Eagles aren’t a gig that many candidates were lining up for. Most credible options said

Former Eagles Assistant Head Coach Duce Staley was the logical replacement for Pederson. But anyone who knows anything about the man, understands that he wouldn’t stand for being a figurehead, and so he wasn’t offered the job.

From an X’s and O’s standpoint, it’s very easy to be excited about this team. From a leadership standpoint, it’s impossible to be anything besides deeply, severely, gravely concerned. At least until Lurie finds someone better at giving him head, than Howie.

FOUR THINGS: WK 3: EAGLES – BENGALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/09/24
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WE shit the bed Week 1, and rolled over in it Week 2. On the upside, finding our run game led to our QB not being sacked once, behind what is STILL a makeshift Offensive Line. That sort of stepping up is why injuries can never be used as an excuse here.

This is a battle of two 0 – 2 teams. Some say that something’s gotta give, and so an Eagles win won’t be much of a big deal. Those people are dead wrong. This team is currently just a single game behind. We have two losses, and are still just ONE game behind. We aren’t exactly chasing the ‘72 Dolphins here. A win mean means a lot.

A win gets us to 1 – 2, and back in the national conversation with regard to who wins our division. A loss puts us at 0 – 3 and in the basement with a jackhammer.

The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money.

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

1) Give the rush time to get home: Everyone is talking about how disappointing the Defensive Line is, and it drives me nuts. Are we being shredded by numerous deep, accurate throws? Nope. Opposing QB’s are getting the ball out of their hands quickly. Which means that opposing receivers are uncovering quickly. Which means the coverage is shitty. (This is the same coverage that had GM Howie Roseman boasting about WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside during Training Camp. So keep in mind that our Secondary may be trash.)

If Not Malcolm Jenkins wants people to stop bringing up Malcolm Jenkins, he needs to give us a reason to stop missing Malcolm Jenkins. Otherwise, we’ll keep saying Malcolm Jenkins, when we say we miss Malcolm Jenkins.

2) Trust the Offensive Line: After taking an 8 sack beating during Week 1, QB Carson Wentz’s Week 2 accuracy came into question (despite receivers getting two hands on some of those “errant” passes). He was clearly rushing passes, forcing passes, and (in my opinion) seeing ghosts.

After a week of being able to run the ball and not getting beat to shit, he’ll have some reason to trust his Line again. If he does, he should look more like himself, in terms of his processing and delivery mechanics.

3) More balanced play-calling:

Week One (42 passes, 17 called runs) 71.1% passing.

Week Two (43 passes, 24 called runs) 64.1% passing.

So far this season, we’ve thrown the ball 67.4% of the time. No one will buy play-action from a team that never hands the ball off. We’re telegraphing to opponents that they can unload the box, and pin their ears back. That makes it harder to utilize all the speed we added this offseason. Even a 34 pass to 26 run ratio, would change that.

4) Do the hardest thing: Dear Eagles, Right now the hardest thing for this team (or any losing team, trust me, I’ve been there), is remembering to have fun. Remember why you compete. Remember that you love to show off. Are you better than the man across from you? Then PROVE IT TO HIM. Prove it to his woman watching at home. Prove it to his mother, who’s hoping you don’t kill her boy. Prove it to his father, who this week can’t say “I taught him that!”

This is just Week Three. This is no time for the ‘Dig Down Deep!!!’ speech. It’s too early for the ‘Who Wants It More?!’ speech. This week’s speech is the ‘Trust Your Brother, and Have Fun’ speech. Don’t go to work this week. Don’t “practice your craft” this week. Just go out there and play football. Let’s see some joy out there. Let it be infectious. Just don’t get Covid.

If we do all these things we should win, with a score looking like:

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Bengals 23.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

BRINGING BACK MALCOLM JENKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/06/11
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rants, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Chris Long and Malcolm Jenkins

Jesus. How lucky were we in 2017?

SAFETY Malcolm Jenkins has stayed in the news during the 2020 offseason. He returned to the first team that he won a Super Bowl with (New Orleans). He worked out with new Eagles SS Will Parks, mentoring his replacement, despite not being teammates. He’s recently demonstrated peacefully, for the social cause that he has spent years advocating for.

He has said repeatedly and pointedly, that he considers Philadelphia his home.

I was sick and salty, moody, and disgusted when the Eagles let him get away. I knew we’d regret it. I knew we’d see it come back to rub our collective noses in it. I just didn’t think it would happen so fast, and so nationally. My current level of butthurt looks like this:

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Real talk. Can we just trade and get him back please? The sheer amount of egg on our faces, is already outweighed by whatever the Saints would ask for in return for him. Every time he pops up on the local news, or NFL Network, or CNN, I want to cram GM Howie Roseman’s head in a pencil sharpener.

Have you noticed how we Eagles fans are very excited about the Offense this year? But when the subject of our Defense comes up, suddenly it’s “Excuse me. I have something in the oven”, followed by us sprinting from the room. Which in hindsight, was a bad way to end the prostate exam. (I never went back for my clothes, because I was too scared to discuss our LB situation.)

The leadership vacuum created by Jenkins’s absence is massive, and anyone who tells you different, has no idea what they’re talking about. Most of football is mental. If football were all about measurables, JaMarcus Russell would be a Hall Of Famer and you wouldn’t even know who Joe Montana was. Taylor Mays would be a perennial All-Pro, and Brian Dawkins would have had a two year career.

Brian Dawkins HALL OF FAMER

The ability to lead and to inspire is a rare gift. On any roster of 53 men, you may have 39 solid alpha types, and still only 2 or 3 true leaders. During seasons of adversity and injury (including our 2017 Super Bowl win), Jenkins was the linchpin of the team. Mentally keeping players in the fight. Being accountable and holding people accountable. (Fuck Orlando Scandrick! Sorry, I had to stop that right there, before that even got started.)

The odds of the Eagles bringing back Jenkins are virtually non-existent. It’s just me throwing a coin in a fountain, with my eyes closed and my fingers crossed. It’s also me, trying to have a conversation that inspires people to participate in a discussion about football again. To welcome opinions on a subject that brings us joy, and healthy debate.

card.malcolm.jenkins2

While I’m not the leader that Malcolm Jenkins is, I can aspire to inspire. Like Jenkins, I choose to use the sport of football as a rally point. To utilize my small stage as a scribe, to bring people to a common table. One where we can laugh, debate, and bond over a love that is bigger than all of us, and even bigger than our rivalries

True leaders find ways to maximize their tools and bring their people together. I have no doubt that the Eagles will find new voices, and that new leadership will emerge. It’s a solid locker room with a solid culture, which promotes the building of leaders.  I just wish we had this particular leader back. 

2019 Malcolm Jenkins pre-game

WEAKENING THE EAGLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/03/24
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rants, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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QUARTERBACK Carson Wentz’s leadership skills are not on trial here. I’m not questioning his ability to lead. So come on down off of that soap box. Don’t even get started. Deep breaths.

NBC’S John Clark wrote a story that I’m going to lift heavily from, because, well you’ll understand when you read it. In it he discusses why the Eagles really cut S Malcolm Jenkins. Check it out:

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But I think the biggest factor is changing the dynamic — turning this team over to their franchise quarterback Carson Wentz.

Jenkins was the leader. He was the voice of the team. He broke down the huddles. He was a very powerful voice in the locker room and a commanding and inspirational leader…

2019 Malcolm Jenkins pre-game

But you saw what Wentz was able to do this past season when the offense was ravaged by injuries at receiver down the stretch. “Carson and the kids.” He led them to the playoffs. He was free to be the leader with the younger receivers. They say he inspired them.

I believe the decision to let Jenkins walk is about changing the overall dynamic of this team so this is Wentz’s locker room.

I think it is similar to what the Seahawks did when they allowed Russell Wilson to take over the team and let go of powerful voices like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Michael Bennett.

This is undoubtedly Wentz’s team now.

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We won’t get into how that worked out for the Seahawks. (Didn’t.) What we will discuss, is that at no point did it ever seem like Carson and Malcolm had the team chasing different goals. Both men were active in the community. Both promoted accountability, and didn’t throw teammates under the bus. So it’s seems more like the locker room lost a standard bearer, and a player who led by example.

2020BADTHING

What I’m questioning is, whether or not the Eagles are invalidating Carson’s leadership, with their artificial attempt to prop it up. Removing other leaders from the locker room, in order to magnify Carson’s voice, could very easily have the opposite effect, and make him look less like a leader, and more like the team’s mouthpiece.

Remember when other Eagles players called QB Donovan McNabb a “Company Man”? It wasn’t a compliment, was it? Being Managment’s guy, didn’t help him lead did it? In fact, it was sort of a barrier between he and his teammates, wasn’t it?

Now let’s take the situation with Carson and WR Alshon Jeffery. If the Eagles brass attempts to solve a rumored interpersonal rift between Carson and Alshon, by removing Alshon, it makes it seem as if Carson couldn’t “handle his own huddle”, and had to tell the teacher. Which makes Carson look like a weak leader. On top of costing Carson his most productive WR.

carsonwentz_camo

The locker room damned sure doesn’t need a bunch of suits meddling in their chemistry. The Eagles need to leave Carson’s leadership to Carson. Let the man do his thing.

You know what!? I’ll do you one better! If it’s truly going to be Carson’s team, then let him pick his new WR this year at the NFL Draft! Let the locker room see him wield that kind of juice. (Let Alshon see that.)

In the meantime, we should be about the business of adding strong players, and voices to the team, not subtracting them. Not all players (especially defensive ones) will relate to a QB, and having him as the only voice, risks losing resonance with part(s) of the locker room.

Removing Jenkins like this was bad for Karma. Owner Jeffery Lurie refuses to learn this lesson. This is is Reggie White all over again (11-5 in 1992 to 8-8 in 1993). This is Brian Dawkins all over again (NFC Championship game in 2008 to Wild Card in 2009). This is Terrell Owens all over again (Super Bowl in 2004 to 6-10 in 2005). We always pay for this immediately.

Do you see how we did Jenkins and LT Jason Peters (also a powerful locker room voice)?

We will pay for this in 2020.

#2 PAY THE MAN!

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/11
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rants, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE 12 2020.2

RENEGOTIATING SS Malcolm Jenkins is a bigger priority than picking up LB Nigel Bradham’s option. I put Bradham first, because picking up an option is a decision. Both players are still under contract, but Jenkins is a negotiation. I wanted to lead with something the Front Office could 100% do, and do quickly, if they wish.

I have no idea how much money Jenkins wants. What I do know, is that we don’t have anyone else like him on the field, in the locker room, or in the community. Jenkins not coming back in 2020, would rip the beating heart out of this team.

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More than what he means to the psyche of this team, is his actual on-field value. While once upon a time he was a CB/S tweener, he’s no longer very good against deep passes. It’s why so much of the scheme is designed to not (ahem) expose him, to certain situations. (We love you Malcolm, but it’s the world’s worst kept secret, that you can be had deep.)

On the other hand, underneath, intermediate, and in the box, he’s AMAZING. And even better than his play, he sees things early, and often helps teammates erase mental mistakes before the ball is even snapped. There is no stat for that. If you think this Defense can be a sieve with him out there, taking him away would be like cutting the bottom out of a bucket.

Oh yeah, and just who is his successor….

I hear crickets. Do you hear crickets? Because I hear crickets.

A couple of years ago it seemed like Tre Sullivan would be that guy, but NOPE! The Eagles never bothered to get a guy to stand behind Jenkins and learn So now if Jenkins walk, our defense is…

Soap drop

Seriously, behind Jenkins we have (drum roll)…Rudy Ford and Marcus Epps. Pardon if I can’t find my whelm. It’s under something. Between them there are 5 NFL seasons, 48 career games, 1 start, 20 total tackles, and not a single pass break-up. Ever. Not one. Between two players.

So Malcolm has the Eagles by the balls on this one. It’s just a matter of how soon the Front Office realizes that, and acts accordingly. Or they could do what they did with Brian Dawkins. Remember that one? That worked out splendidly for us, didn’t it?

Pay the man!

2019 Malcolm Jenkins pre-game

EAGLES FANS! DON’T PANIC

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/15
Posted in: Coaching, Crazy Talk, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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WILL DC Jim Schwartz be fired this week? Did we really cut LB Zach Brown over trash talk? Why can’t we get sacks? Why can’t we cover? Are the Eagles only marginally better than the rest of a crappy division?

I was going to release an article about what 12 Personnel is, and why it’s so effective. (It’s already written and waiting for me to publish it). However, given recent events that have some of our fan base in quasi-panic mode, I decided to delay that article, and go point by point to give NON-SPIN answers to these questions.

1) Will Schwartz be fired this week?

No. In fact, unless someone in the Front Office contracts mental retardation, Schwartz won’t be fired this season. Does he need to go? Hell yeah. Fuck yeah. We shouldn’t need to score 30 points to win a game. Giving up 25 points per game is not the mark for defensive competence.

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That being said, teams with legit playoff hopes, don’t invite upheaval in the middle of the season. Fact is, this is just one loss, following two wins. An Eagles win this coming Sunday, puts us firmly in command of the NFC East, and the Jim Schwartz problem gets the volume turned down on it.

2) Did they really cut Zach Brown over some trash talk?

On the surface it certainly looks like it. When I take a deeper look, it suggests that the trash talk may have just been a patsy for a move the team already wanted to make. Not just that, but it can also be used to give the appearance of a disciplinarian’s backhand.

It’s more likely because Brown was merely okay in underneath zone coverage, and didn’t make any splash plays. On the other hand, LB Nate Gerry who (ahem!) started the last two games, has flat-out, out-played Brown, over that span.

card.nate.gerry

That’s significant, because even last year, the Eagles used Gerry at the MLB spot when Jordan Hicks went down. Brown was here on a one year deal, and was never in the long-term plans. The Eagles just moved sooner, rather than later. This now clears the way for LB T.J. Edwards (whom coaches love) to get playing time.

The other part of this is, it sends the message that any shit talking, must be backed up. You don’t get to paint a target on the team, and then be invisible all afternoon. Also, we don’t know just how much Redskins cultural baggage may have followed Brown up here. There could very well (quite likely), be issues regarding his fit into the locker room.

3) Why can’t we get sacks?

QB’s are generally releasing the ball in fewer than three seconds vs the Eagles. The coverage is so loose that it allows for this. If we can get QB’s to hold the ball longer, then not only will sacks go up, but completion percentages will come down.

4) Why can’t any of our CB’s cover?

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This notion that ALL of our CB’s are trash is nonsense. The problem with our Corners isn’t a talent problem, it’s a system problem. Regardless of the CB, they are almost never allowed to play press coverage. Almost all of our man-to-man coverage involves giving up huge cushions that the WR settles into, to make quick, drive sustaining catches.

Making matters worse is the Single-high Safety coverage that this team has favored since the late Jim Johnson, used to keep S Quintin Mikell in since 2007. Yes! We’ve been rocking the same look for 12 years now. Sean McDermott? Single-high. Jim Washburn? Single-high. Juan Castillo? Single-high. Todd Bowles? Single-high. Bill Davis? Single-high.

There were times when we’d deviated here and there, but that was few and far in between. Complain all you like about FS Rod McLeod and SS Malcolm Jenkins, but answer this question, honestly. Prior to them, who was the best Safety duo for this team?

So yeah. The issue is systemic.

5) Are we a bad team that’s only slightly better than the rest of our division?

Hard to say that we’re the best, since we haven’t beaten Dallas yet. YET.

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As far as being a bad division. The Eagles are a couple of plays away from being 5 -1. We saw the giants make a game of it vs. the Patriots, without RB Saquon Barkley and a rookie making his 4th career start. The Redskins… Okay the ‘skins are legitimately awful. The Cowboys were 3 – 0, then ran out of zero win teams to crush, lost two games, took a deep breath, and then found a way to lose to a zero win team. So it’s hard to know how bad they might be.

That all being said, even if the NFC East is a bad division, that in no way means we have to be a bad team. Look at the aforementioned Patriots. Their division has been ass tar-tar, for two decades and yet we never hold it against New England. So who cares how bad our rivals are, if WE are truly good enough to win every week? Don’t sweat that shit.

So there you have it. Win or lose this week, understand: The sky is not falling. The Eagles need work, but as always the season is “work-in-progress” sort of thing every year. In five months, the Phillies will be reporting to Clearwater, and you’ll be pining for these days. So sit back and enjoy this ride while we have it.

And don’t panic.

FOUR THINGS – WK 5 – EAGLES-JETS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/04
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK5-NYJ

THIS game has to be a win. After this game, we go on a three week road trip vs Minnesota, Dallas and Buffalo. All of those games are winnable, but stacking them as a triple-decker away game sandwich, makes a four week split seem acceptable, so long as we don’t lose the division game. Or to the Jets. Not the Jets. So yeah. This game has to be a win.

At stake this week is momentum. To come off of a thrilling win IN Green Bay, and then laying a turd vs the Jets…? That would kill not only our current momentum, but also make it harder to re-establish it later. This can’t be a trap game. We need it too badly for it to be a trap game.

We need defenders like SS Malcolm Jenkins and DE Brandon Graham to set the tone, by making big plays this week. We need TE Zach Ertz to make plays downfield to pull a LB out of the box and into coverage; and for RB Jordan Howard to churn out repeated 8 and 9 yard runs to pull a S into the box.

Like last week, this game can’t be all on QB Carson Wentz. We need a team effort here.

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

1) Show up: By ‘show up’ I don’t mean give an all-out effort. I’m literally saying, don’t get lost crossing the street from the NovaCare complex, to the Linc. The only thing that keeps the Jets from being the worst team in football, is the Dolphins. If the Eagles team can make it safely across Broad Street, and into the stadium walls, they will be 40% of the way through beating the Jets.

2) No liberty for Bell: The Jets already have enough trouble running the ball, and now they face the NFL’s 4th best run defense. So naturally they’ll want to throw the ball against THE WORST PASS DEFENSE IN PRO FOOTBALL. Problem is, they only one weapon and it’s RB Le’Veon Bell. As their second best receiver, the Jets will want to pass, and stow the game in their best player’s hands. We need to sit on, and then jump a couple of passes to him. Maybe we can get a defensive touchdown or two out if it.

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3) Run ‘em down: A heavy dose of RB Jordan Howard, with our other RB’s sprinkled in as complementary pieces should keep Carson Wentz’s jersey VERY clean.

4) Paint by numbers: This game should be about getting our fundamentals down, and working on our discipline. Run hard on 1st down. Use play-action on 2nd down. Spread out the defense on 3rd down. Just basic stuff. Nothing fancy.

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:

Look, we’re going to make the Jets QB look like an all-pro. That’s what we do. They’re going to score more than their standard 11 points per game. However, we’re going to run the ball and tire out their defense.

Controlling the clock will keep our defense fresher, and create sort of quicksand effect, where the harder the Jets struggle, the worse they perform. Don’t be surprised if their coach yells “Y’all killin’ me!!” at his players during this game.

Even those who probably hate Jets

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would say after this game, that if at first they don’t succeed, they should dust it off and try again. This however, is not their week.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Jets 18

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 3 – LIONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/23
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 kermit madness

AT one point the announcers described the Lions QB’s play today as “pedestrian”. The Lions by no means won this game. The Eagles lost it. Or more to the point, our coaching staff gave it away.

How does a rookie fumble twice on one drive, and still get multiple touches of the ball later? How do we not get a single sack vs a team with a banged up LT? How do we not run high efficiency routes with our back-up receivers, late in the game, so that our QB doesn’t have to hold the ball all day long?

The answer to all of these is, coaching decisions. It’s a decision, to keep playing a RB who right now seems like a change of pace guy, like he’s a starter. It’s a decision, to play defensive backs in soft coverage, which gives our pass rush no time to get to the passer. It’s a decision, to eschew teaching situational football, in favor of appearing to be aggressive. All of these decisions were made not by players, but by coaches.

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Eagles 24 – Lions 27

QB Carson Wentz (19/36 – 52.7% – 259 – 2 – 0) is absolved of any blame in this game. Let’s clear that up immediately. He had seven dropped passes in this game. SEVEN. For a second week in a row, he seemed like he was singlehandedly, trying to will the team past its shortcomings. He even ran for 33 yards on 4 carries (8.25ypc). RB Miles Sanders (13 – 53 – 4.0 – 0 – 2 / 2 – 73 – 36.5 – 0) led the team in both rushing and receiving yards, but put the ball on the ground twice in one drive, losing it the second time.

WR Nelson Agholor (8 – 50 – 6.2 – 2) also lost a fumble, on the drive immediately after Sanders’s. Both led to field goals. TE Zach Ertz (4 – 64 – 16.0 – 0) hasn’t been the same guy since WR Alshon Jeffery was hurt in Week 2. WR Mack Hollins (4 – 62 – 15.5 – 0) was flagged for offensive pass interference twice and nearly a third time on one of Agholor’s scores.

SS Malcolm Jenkins (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) blocked a 4th quarter 46 yard FG try. CB’s Sidney Jones (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) and Rasul Douglas (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) each had a nice pass break-up, but otherwise this defense did nothing to write home about.

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?

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1) Run with power: RB Jordan Howard (11 – 37 – 3.3 – 1 – 0) cracked double digit carries for his first time as an Eagle. Despite not fumbling and even scoring, the coaches elected to stick with Sanders today. Sanders didn’t look as bad as he did in the first two weeks, but if you ask any fan who watched the game, they’ll tell you that Howard needed more touches. (NOT DONE)

2) No Cover Zero: We actually managed to stay out of it in the first half, but on a critical 3rd and long in the second half we got beat for 27 yarder, while in Zero. It was amusing to see Jenkins at one point audibling the Secondary into Cover Two. It makes me wonder if there’s any friction in the meetings, between players and coaches. In any case I did say ‘no’ CZ, I didn’t say ‘very little’. (NOT DONE)

3) Hit Stafford from the blindside: We didn’t get much real pressure on QB Matt Stafford (18/32 – 56.2% – 201 – 1 – 0). Not one single sack all day. Even when we blitzed. DE Derek Barnett (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) continues to crash down hard inside the LT, instead of first setting an edge. This would be one thing if he were a one-dimensional sack machine, but he clearly isn’t one. (NOT DONE)

4) Unleash the deep ball: We did throw the ball deep to Sanders early, and an early deep throw to Agholor netted us a pass interference call. It was the only early deep ball to a WR. The ball was thrown long a few times later in the game, but they were more prayers than passes. (NOT DONE)

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That gives us a Four Things score of 0 for 4 this week and 3 for 12 on the season. Clearly the Eagles have gotten too far away from fundamental football, and it has us as a losing team right now. We have a short week to prepare for our Thursday game at Lambeau Field vs the 3 – 0 Green Bay Packers.

On The Whole:

There is clearly an agenda to push the young players like Sanders, WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (1 – 10 – 10.0 – 0), and TE Dallas Goedert (1 dropped touchdown). This would be fine if they were ready for bigger loads. With the exception of Goedert, they are clearly deer in headlights.

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I’m tired of complaining about this Defense, so I won’t.