Miles Sanders

All posts tagged Miles Sanders

FOUR THINGS – WK 15 – EAGLES – REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/12/13
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK15-WAS

THIS week has to be about the sweep. Whether it’s a 64 – 0 blowout, or a 9 – 8 squeaker on a last second Field Goal, the “W” still counts the same. It’s that “W” that we need. Pretty, ugly, or pretty ugly, whatever. We just need the win.

Our mission is to keep this train moving downhill towards the playoffs. We have some momentum, we need to build on that by sweeping this team.

Since our last meeting, it seems like everyone has started at QB for the Redskins. Me, you, the guy over there watching you read this. The ‘skins handed a helmet to anyone who’d buy a $4 ticket, but were eventually forced to start the guy they drafted. Over the last 5 weeks he’s been abysmal, but he still has a 2 – 3 record. So we can’t take this team lightly.

Everyone wants to talk about how Week 16 is The Big One for us. Really until we actually qualify, each one of these game is “The Big One”. One loss could finish us for 2019. So not looking past Washington is imperative. We need to see THIS foe, and see them clearly.

For the last three years we’ve walked the Redskins on a leash. We need at least one more week of that. So Washington, congratulations. You now  have our undivided attention.

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

2019 rookie Miles Sanders.jpg

1) Throw for Miles: As I always say, the Redskins using their OLB’s to generate pass rush leaves the Flats open. Normally I say we should exploit those areas with passes to TE Zach Ertz. That’s still a smart play, however, now we can also work in high percentage Swing passes to RB Miles Sanders. Better still. We can motion Sanders into the Slot, and create coverage mismatches vs their primary pass rushers. Let’s make it easy to score early.

2) Take the run away early: Rookie QB Dwayne Haskins is the sort of pick that gets GM’s fired. (Right, Bruce Allen?!) If we take away the run early, we put the game in their QB’s hands. At that point he’s likely to put the game in our hands. The idea is to jump out to a lead, and force an inaccurate rookie to play catch-up. At that point we need to switch out of our base concept, into a coverage concept that makes his life hard. But which coverage concept?

3) Play a lot of Cover Two: The Redskins shredded our Cover One concept the last time we saw them. We got ripped up like the new girl in an Amish whorehouse. You know what? Let’s pretend this week that we don’t have a learning disability. FS Rod McLeod has spent the last three years proving that since he’s just one guy, he can’t cover two sidelines at once. You can call me crazy, but it might be time to give him more help with that. Just a thought. No pressure. Not like it’s a must win game or anything.

4) Bombs away: If QB Carson Wentz has any chance of winning postseason games, he has to learn to use his weapons as weapons, and not as security blankets. He needs to be more aggressive with the football, and chuck that thing down the field more.

New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles

I’m a huge Wentz booster, but the fact is, there are holes in his game that come from not playing during this time of year. Playing this deep into the year with playoff implications, is brand spanking new to him. As a result, he still has to prove A) that he can last a season, B) that he can lead this team to the postseason, and C) that he can win in the postseason.

People often wonder why he never seems to have that “extra level”. It’s because he hasn’t been to the postseason yet. You know how they say that playoff ball is faster? Wentz is playing the fastest ball he’s ever seen so far. He hasn’t learned to process playoff ball yet. Once he’s had a taste, it’ll make the 2020 season seem slower and easier for him.

Playoff football is different than regular season football, and the coaching staff needs to start educating him about that, through how they game plan. They can’t prep him like it’s Week 8. The adage “Taking what the defense gives you”, is fine for Weeks 1 – 17, but now he needs to be shown how to impose his will. With the stakes being what they are, now is the best time to prime him.

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:

Washington uses an almost dead-even run/pass balance, to help protect their rookie QB. He’s not going to make the huge mistake, but he’s not going to make many plays either. However, versus a division rival who knows how, and where to hit, the Redskins should soon find themselves in quicksand that covers their bottom lip.

The mission is simple on this one Eagles: Don’t let people say…

2019 Redskined

Note: With the exception of this note, and the Prediction, I actually wrote all of this article BEFORE the giants game. I assumed we’d win, and the Eagles rewarded my fan swagger. Looking at the Four Things in this article however, you’d think I already knew that we’d lose WR Alshon Jeffery.

I was tempted to rework this one, and add a bunch of stuff about RB Boston Scott. However, I choose to let what I already wrote, stand for itself.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Redskins 17

yeah-bitch.jpg

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK13 – DOLPHINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/12/03
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

(Disclaimer: I did not see the 4th quarter. I was stuck on 676, and then the 30th Street Station exit, trying to get a loved one to their bus back to D.C. )

DISCLAIMER aside, I saw quite enough during the three quarters that I did see. I saw a Defense that still can’t cover legit deep threats. I saw a Defense that still doesn’t think it needs to make adjustments. I saw our Defense get SHELLED by two players essentially playing catch all day.

There was a point this year, where we won games if the Offense could score 30+ points. Now we’re at a point where even 31 points isn’t enough against a team like the Dolphins. The longer DC Jim Schwartz is in Philadelphia, the further we will get from ever seeing another deep playoff run.

beaten.jpg

This is what happens when you don’t re-route a WR early in the play.

Eagles 31 – Dolphins 37

I don’t want to hear people blaming QB Carson Wentz (28/46 – 60.8% – 310 – 3 – 1) for this mess. He was by no means awesome, but he was the main reason we scored 31 points. WR’s Alshon Jeffery (9 – 137 – 15.2 – 1) and Nelson Agholor (3 – 41 – 13.6 – 0) did what was expected of them and reminded us of what we’ve lacked, for the last two weeks.

We also got a solid effort from RB Miles Sanders (17 – 83 – 4.8 – 0 – 0 / 5 – 22 – 4.4 – 1) who had a very Brian Westbrook sort of day. He was productive both with and without the football. However, you could still feel the absence of RB Jordan Howard. We haven’t won since he left the line-up.

The Defense thinking that the game opening interception was enough, packed up and went to the beach after the opening drive. Jim Schwartz wasn’t so much out-coached, as he was more shown that his scheme is an obsolete, propped up gimmick, that even bad teams can beat, because it’s more philosophy than well thought out concept.

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?

2019 Alshon Jeffery scores miami.jpg

Alshon wills his way into the endzone. We need him back in 2020. 

1) Show up and show out: The Offense showed up. Alshon reminded people that when he’s not gimpy, he’s still very much a problem. Agholor showed us a little of what he can do with the ball in his hands. Sanders displayed a promising amount of poise and stability for this Offense today. My hat is off to those guys and those efforts.
By and large though, everyone else either did their job merely adequately, or didn’t show up at all. (NOT DONE)

2) Shut down the pass: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! (NOT DONE)

3) Show ‘em something new: Wentz threw a checkdown TD, and the staff got him out on more bootlegs this week. Aside from that, we more or less ran the same stuff we always run. (NOT DONE)

4) 1-2-3 THROW!: Wentz didn’t hold the ball too long for the most part. I was most impressed by an early throw to WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside (1 – 15 – 15.0 – 1) that fell incomplete because JJAW didn’t get open soon enough. Wentz put the ball on him anyway, and that sort of said to the kid “Get your ass open early.” (DONE)

That brings our Four Things score for the week to 1 of 4, and the yearly tally to 23 of 48. Next week the giants visit the Linc, and I can’t wait to see what sort of weird, trick play, touchdown we get beat for in that one! (My money is on a Sweep and lateral to the Center.)

2019 miami swining gate TD.jpg

World’s. Easiest. Touchdown.

On The Whole:

Let’s not insult our own intelligence on this. There is no way a team like the Dolphins should score 37 points. Anyone looking beyond that, is trying to ignore a fire in their lap.

The Eagles lost because our Defense can’t stop the pass. Not couldn’t, as in “just this game”. Can’t, as in “this has been an ongoing problem for three years now”.

I keep writing paragraphs and cutting them out, because they’re less about this game and more about the over-arching problem here. I’m left stunned that the problem was so simple, and yet no one could figure out a way to counter it.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK8 – BILLS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 Eagles Trunk

FOR anybody who thinks less of Head Coach Doug Pederson’s ability to call a game, since the departure of Frank Reich, I present for you, Doug’s hairy ass to kiss. It may take a couple of days before you see this said elsewhere, but Doug just put on one hell of a coaching exhibition.

Pederson-C.jpg

It’s one thing to be 3 – 4, and put together a game plan to beat a 5 – 1 home team. It’s quite another to have to totally adjust on the fly, due to weather conditions that favored that 5 – 1 home team, and still beat the hell out of them.

EAGLES 31 – Bills 13

Rookie RB Miles Sanders (3 – 74 – 24.6 – 1 – 0 / 3 – 44 – 14.6 – 0) ripped off a 65 yard touchdown run for his first ever rushing score. He also caught all three balls thrown to him. RB Jordan Howard (23 – 96 – 4.1 – 1 – 0) spent the game battering a stout defensive interior. This should leave little question around the NFL of how much damage we could do if we committed to the run, more often.

How you see the passing game will be determined by if you’re a “glass half-full” or “glass half-empty” type. While not posting awesome stats, QB Carson Wentz (12/24 – 70.8% – 172 – 1 – 0 / 8 – 35 – 4.3 – 0 – 0) was brutally effective this week. He was a stone-cold killer out there today.

2019 Wentz is a gunslinger.jpg

Defensively, DT Fletcher Cox (4 – 1.5 – 0 – 1) put the interior on his shoulders, and looked to terrorize early on. LB Nate Gerry (5 – 1 – 0 – 0) was moved outside where he was able to make an immediate impact on our defensive speed. The stat sheet won’t show the plays made by SS Malcolm Jenkins (5 – 0 – 0 – 0). Given how much heat he was under this week for comments (largely true) made by a former team mate, he needed a game like this.

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) Play sound Defense: With the exception of a couple of hits that should have been wrap ups by FS Rod McLeod (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) the Eagles played very solid football. Gone were the million swipes at a ball, instead of getting the man on the ground. Plays on the football in the air, were crisp. Edge containment in a four man rush remains an issue, but that would solve easily by bringing five more often.

We did give WR Cole Beasley (3 – 41 – 13.6 – 1) a 14 yard scoring catch, while in Single-high, but we seemed to get it together after that, playing what looked mostly like a loose Zone. We got burned on a blitz using that. It has definite red zone potential, but were weeks away from it being playoff game ready. All in all, we did what we needed to here. (DONE)

2019Eagles 31-13.jpg

2) Force a #2 WR: Once again WR Alshon Jeffery (4 – 64 – 16.0 – 0) led the position in catches. Our #2 WR was (drum roll please…) Nelson Agholor (4 – 7 – 1.7 – 0). Combined, our WR’s caught 8 passes for 71 yards (8.8ypc), on 10 targets. We will not make the playoff this way. Something has to change, and change soon. (NOT DONE)

3) Move Gerry outside: This happened. I was surprised when I saw the starting line-up had LB Nate Gerry at OLB instead of MLB. Rookie LB T.J. Edwards (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) instead got the start inside. This is exactly what I said we needed to do, and it yielded the results that I suspected that it would.

Edwards didn’t look very good, but he’s a rookie who is more familiar with being a traditional 4-3 MLB. The Wide Nine concept we play moves the MLB around much more, and pulls him out of the middle of the box. This is largely why the Bills QB was able to motor-motor putt-putt for 44 yards on 8 carries.

No matter. Gerry made play after play on the perimeter and that was the point. Move him from being a glaring liability to a decisive advantage. (DONE)

2016 Mack Truck

4) Let’s be assholes: The idea was to tire out their big guys in the middle, and then hit them with the power run game later. What did we do? Well, shit. You’d think I wrote the Eagles game plan this week.

We came out with a no-huddle. We ran Agholor on a jet-sweep. Hit Sanders with a neat little Screen pass. All in the first quarter! By the time we started hammering them with Howard, he was Optimus Prime mowing down defenders as the reflected off his grill. We not only did this, we did the hell out of this. (DONE)

This weeks Four Things score is 3 of 4. That brings our annual tally to 15 of 32. That’s still a sub .500 mark, which explains how we’re sitting at 4 – 4 halfway through the year. Next weeks game against the Bears gives us a chance to get over .500 in both regards. We’ll see how it goes.

On The Whole:

The 31 – 13 score looks way more dominant than it actually was. We nearly went into the half down 3 – 7, until a stupid mistake by Buffalo, led to our first touchdown of the game. We were up to our standard of play for the third quarter, and by the time the smoke cleared, Buffalo’s lack of offensive talent was looking at an insurmountable 13 – 24 deficit.

Looking at the game honestly, there were a number of things to be concerned about if you’re an Eagles fan.

For instance, how is Nelson Agholor the second best WR on this team? Doesn’t that have to mean that everyone beyond him is absolute trash? If we have better than, or equal to Agholor, then we need to start seeing that motherfucker get 4 or 5 targets in a game.

What about OLB Kamu Grugier-Hill (2 – 0 – 0 – 0)? What exactly is his ‘thing’? Is he a pass rusher, a ball-hawk? What is the thing we’re expecting out of him, besides two tackles per game? As a starter.

This isn’t to say that I’m unhappy with this win. It IS to say that with 8 games in the books, the playoff push is officially underway. It’s a subject now. Not so much seeding, not home-field advantage. But division leaders and wild cards, are definitely up for discussion now.

If we’re to get into that discussion, we need to tighten up some of these issues, tout suite.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 6 – VIKINGS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Jim schwartz vikings loss.jpg

WE were exposed in this game. There are certain flaws and deficiencies we can hide against a bottom-feeder, doormat team like the Jets. However, a team like Minnesota while riddled with their own flaws, required us to be more on top of hiding ours.

Instead, we put them on display like a buffet.

EAGLES 20 – Vikings 38

There were very few bright spots in this game. For the Eagles. While QB Carson Wentz (26/40 – 65.0% – 306 – 2 – 1) threw for over 300 and rushed for 23, the entire Offense was hampered all day by the lack of a second wideout. Our leader in receiving yardage was RB Miles Sanders (3 – 6 – 2.0 – 0 – 0 / 3 – 86 – 28.9 – 1) on a day when he’d score his first pro touchdown.

card.miles.sanders

It’s hard to tell if WR Alshon Jeffery (10 – 76 – 7.6 – 1) had a big day. He had 10 grabs on 12 targets, but his yardage was meager. He was not used as explosively as he can be. It’s not that he was dropping deep passes, it that he mostly wasn’t even running intermediate routes!

Defensively, our pass rush fell back to Earth, getting one sack all day. That was courtesy of DE Brandon Graham (3 – 1 – 0 – 0). Then again it’s hard to get pressure when there’s no Safety help deep and a second rate QB gets to play catch, instead of football for most of the game.

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) Stop the run: For most of the game, the Eagles did exactly that, and for there were even a few downs where they ended up in a 4-3 Under look. But alas! While DC Jim Schwartz could have stopped the run with that 43U, he’s addicted to bringing a Safety into the box. The result was no deep help, which resulted in us getting shelled early. (NOT DONE)

2) Protect the ball: One pick from Wentz late in the contest, after the Vikes had already tagged every wall. Can’t hate on that. (DONE)

3) Go BIG: Alshon Jeffery saw 12 targets and pulled in 10 of them. TE Zach Ertz (4 – 54 – 13.5 – 0) saw 9 targets, and TE Dallas Goedert (5 – 48 – 9.6 – 0) saw 8 targets. That’s 29 of Wentz’s 40 attempts going to big boys. It’s a shame there was no outside threat, to open up the inside and let those monsters roam a bit more, but all in due time. (DONE)

missing-milk-missing-person-milk-carton-template-group-with-54-51729343.png

This is the WR opposite Alshon Jeffery

4) Show fear: At one point we were down 3 – 17, and FOX showed a shot of our sideline. There were players smiling. This confused me, so I double checked the score. 3 – 17. Vikings. No fear. No urgency. By the time Wentz was slamming his helmet at the end of the 3rd, over two fuck-ups by C Jason Kelce, it was well past time for that. (Those fuck-ups by the way: The first, was not snapping the ball while Wentz was screaming for it, which led to a delay of game. The second, was on the down immediately after, when a guy came straight down the pipe and sacked Wentz.) (NOT DONE)

That makes this week’s score 2 of 4, and our season total to 12 of 24. A .500 mark, for a .500 team. Next week we journey to Jerry World, to face our division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. Both of us are 3 – 3, so the winner gets to sit alone atop the division at 4 – 3, and bragging rights about beating them in their own home. (See what I did there?)

On The Whole:

At least for a half. So mad that I had to laugh. Kirk went to work, on Steph’s gift of grab.

No deep Safety.

Funeral dirge played on a violin. Corner without help in the back. They runnin’ by him.

No adjustments.

Write me as traitor, or you can call me hater. But I’ve had it up to here, with defenseless coordinators. Either this staff, has to adjust the system. Or someone needs to take away their keys, then dismiss them.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 4 – PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/28
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 aaron rodgers.jpg

THIS time we won. Yet again the defense allowed 27 points for the third time in just four games. Yet again the Secondary allowed the opposing QB to get passes off quickly, before our pass rush could apply consistent pressure. What? You thought this would be all rosy and complimentary?

This year we’ve won two shootouts in comeback fashion, and we’ve lost two shootouts in comeback fashion. The slow starts aren’t great, but at least our Offense gets started at some point. Our Defense still seems to be in New Orleans.

In any case, we won.

2019 Miles Sanders KR.jpg

EAGLES 34 – Packers 27

The story of the night was RB Jordan Howard (15 – 87 – 5.8 – 2 – 0 / 3 – 28 – 9.3 – 1). He finally got the workload fans and media types have been clamoring for, and he produced like gang-busters. Not only that, but RB Miles Sanders (11 – 72 – 6.5 – 0 – 0) used in a supporting role, not as the lead, had his best game so far as a pro. (FYI: his yards per carry has improved in every game so far.)

The running game being so effective, allowed QB Carson Wentz (16/27 – 59.2% – 160 – 3 – 0 / 6 – 13 – 2.1 – 0 – 0) to go unsacked. Not only that, but the even balance of pass attempts (27) and handoffs (27), saved some wear and tear on our triggerman’s arm.

One of the most pivotal points of the game was DE Derek Barnett (3 – 1 – 0 – 1) forcing a fumble on the games only sack. To this point he has not produced like a first round pick, and so it was nice to see him show up and make such an impact play in this game. OLB Nigel Bradham (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) has two passes hit him in the hands, but he made sure he caught the second one, which salted the game away.

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?

2019 Jordan Howard scores.jpg

1) Work the body to bring down the head: Boy did we ever! There were some outside running plays, but for the most part we ran mostly from Guard to Guard. When you do that, it takes the starch out of any interior pass rush. It also pulls that extra Safety within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Showing we can run inside now, sets the table for explosive plays later when WR DeSean Jackson comes back from injury. Hell, it helped WR Alshon Jeffery (3 – 38 – 12.6 – 1) almost make a few plays, despite still being a little gimpy. (DONE)

2) Don’t let Rodgers relax: Get QB Aaron Rodgers (34/53 – 64.1% – 422 – 2 – 1) moving to his left, to force him into his least deadly pass. That was the idea. We got right to that, on his first pass attempt, and we did a few more times in the game. A couple of times he just pulled it down for a 4 yard scramble. (DONE)

3) Generate two turnovers: Derek Barnett’s forced fumble, recovered by DE Brandon Graham (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) was the first. And of course, Nigel Bradham’s touchdown robbing, victory sealing, show-stopping interception in the end zone, was the second. (DONE)

2019 nigel bradham.jpg

4) More 2nd down play-action: The Eagles seemed to run play-action on any down that wasn’t second down. We got away with that in this game, but really second down is the ideal time for that ploy. (NOT DONE)

That brings this weeks Four Things tally to 3 out of 4, and the season’s numbers to 6 of 16. Now we get 10 days to use as a sort of Bye week. Guys can get some treatment and maybe take a couple of days to get away, go see family, spend a couple days in pajamas… After which, we come back and get ready to build some momentum vs the Jets. Regardless of whether or not their diseased QB is back.

On The Whole:

Outside of me, not many people thought the Eagles could beat the “undefeated” Packers team. After looking at how the Packers came by their wins, it was clear that their record was less about them being good, and more about their opponents (Chicago, Minnesota, and Denver) owning the 29th, 31st, and 24th ranked passing offenses.

Details MATTER. Ignoring details is a recipe for having disasters, and repeating disasters. This is why I always say that context is important.

salt-bae-context

As far as this win goes, the bad news is, our Secondary was exposed on national television. The good news is, most of the victimizing of the CB’s was with no Safety help in the Single-high look. The great news is, unless DC Jim Schwartz is retarded, this has to mean an uptick in Cover Two, Tampa Two coverages.

Help for our pass rush, might be on the way.

Side note: When the fans at the game were chanting “Troy sucks Buck!” why was there no mention of how classless those fans were? Had it been Philly or Buffalo, the announcers wouldn’t have hesitated to shit-talk the fans. 

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.

pederson1.jpg

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?

card.jordan.howard.jpg

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)

Internal scream

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.

deer_in_the_headlights_by_intellectual panda.png

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

FOUR THINGS – WK 3 – EAGLES-LIONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK3-DET

THIS is the first of two games in a five day span, and we’re already teetering on the knife’s edge of being sub .500. We need this game. The Atlanta loss was a hard one. It was just such a weird game, that it’s hard to take a solid lesson from it. So it’s best to just accept our bright and shiny “L”, move on, and get to making sure we don’t get ourselves another one this weekend.

The Eagles need to establish themselves as a serious contender this year. We’re talented, and deep, but how much of our roster is really hungry? This game isn’t about a rudderless Lions team. It’s about who the Eagles want to be this season. It’s about whether or not we can regain, and keep our focus.

stolen lion

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

1) Run with power: The Lions are highly susceptible to the run. We need to feed it to them by the fistful. Not with RB Miles Sanders. He didn’t deserve to be jumped ahead of RB Jordan Howard and Karma is seeing fit to make us pay for that. Run the ball with the guy who knows what he’s doing.

2) No Cover Zero: If our CB’s really are the problem, then they need support deep. That’s just coaching. If they don’t need the support then show us something different.

3) Hit Stafford from the blindside: We need to speed up the clock in QB Matt Stafford’s head. We need a sack or two from DE Derek Barnett. DE Vinny Curry can also deliver, but it’s high time we saw some production from Barnett. Especially with Lions LT Taylor Decker either out or nursing a back injury.

2019 JJAW.jpeg

4) Unleash the deep ball: With WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey on the shelf, the thought will be that the Eagles don’t have the firepower that we did before. While there is an element of truth to that, the fact is we still have weapons. We should make that point known early, with a deep jump ball to J.J. Arcege-Whiteside, to open up room inside for the power run game.

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:

Sanders will get the start and evenly split carries with Howard. The Eagles are trying very hard to make stars out of their young guys, and we haven’t heard that there’ll be a change in the depth chart. With TE Alex Ellis added to the active roster, the plan is probably to run more 12 Personnel like the staff wanted to do last week. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out, since Ellis isn’t said to be special neither as a receiver nor a blocker.

With TE Dallas Goedert as our 2nd TE, teams might have been more reluctant to load the box, but Goedert is out. With Ellis being sort of a lucky camp body, until he teaches opponents otherwise, he won’t command that same respect.

HUNTING

Defense is a mixed bag. We got three picks last week, lost by just 4, and it still felt like we got gutted all night long. An evolutionary step needs to take place this week, but it’s unlikely to happen. Something has to happen to give the pass rush time to get home.

Keep an eye on the deep Safety in this game. Don’t expect much Cover Zero this week. In any case, even with the injuries, the Eagles depth is hard to ignore. Add in that they play here at home and the Eagles go from a team that could win a close one, to one that could win this handily. Especially if they have any kind of Offensive balance.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 26 – Lions 16

yeah-bitch