Mychal Kendricks

All posts tagged Mychal Kendricks

EAGLES LINEBACKER SITUATION

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/05/23
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

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LINEBACKER Mychal Kendricks was released yesterday. Not long after that, Free Agent acquistion, LB Paul Worrilow, tore his ACL on the first day of OTA’s, effectively ending his 2018 before it started. Given our LB woes from last season after MLB Jordan Hicks went down, Eagles fans are already nervous about where we go from here.

I’m here to say: RELAX. We got this.

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The NFL is loaded to the gills with options for us to cherry-pick a starting caliber LB by July.

Examples would be:

1) Cincinnati’s Vontaze Burfict. Rumors about him being traded to Oakland already were out in March, and that was before the Bengals drafted LB Malik Jefferson in the 3rd round of the 2018 Draft.

2) Speaking of the Draft, Chicago grabbed a LB with their first pick, and they have an absolute glut of 13 bodies at that postion. Most teams roll with 6 to 9, depending on their system. If we can get our grubby mitts on Nick Kwiatkoski, he’s a better option than Worrilow would have been.

3) The Redskins have 14 LB’s, most of which are either well-proven or have intriguing upsides. (Especially in Jim Schwartz’s system). There is no way they get through final cuts without leaving some talent on the cutting room floor. If I know that, they know that, and would rather get something over nothing for that talent. “Paging Howie Roseman!”

This isn’t even taking into account the number of veterans who’ll be June 1st cap casualties. (Looking at my watch) June 1st is how many minutes away? Yeah. We’ll be fine.

Take a deep breath, and remember what I said. RELAX.

FOUR THINGS: WK 14: EAGLES-RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/12/07
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

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ONE win and we’re in the playoffs, because we’d clinch the division. Getting the win this week will help set-up a first round bye, and help us chase home-field advantage throughout. So unlike last week, there is sharp-edged motivation for winning this game.

This game is between the number one and number two scoring teams in the league. Both are average 30.1 points per game. So it should be a shootout, right? Pump the brakes. The devil is in the details. And it’s details we need to concern ourselves with.

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

1) RUN. THE. BALL: The Rams are 27th in the NFL against the run. Like the Redskins, they play an attacking 3-4 defense (meaning that the OLB’s are primary pass rushers). Neither of their starters at OLB will play this week. They also feature two ILB’s who are undersized and so beat up, that neither has practiced so far this week. The Rams have sucked versus the run with their starters in. They can’t much better with back-ups playing.

2) Man Coverage underneath: OLB’s Nigel Bradham and Mychal Kendricks need to be RB Todd Gurley’s shadow, on routes out of the backfield. He’s already integral to the Rams passing attack, and they’ll likely be missing their leader in receiving yards, which only increases Gurley’s importance this week. Taking him away, makes life harder on the Rams passing attack overall.

3) Get some help: The presence of LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai has all but removed the deep ball from our arsenal. Watching him get beat repeatedly on outside-in moves, has gotten old as fuck. Flanking him with a TE who repeatedly chip-blocks, would give him a chance to see an outside-in move unfolding, and help him hold the corner. Then we can get back to calling an aggressive game again.

4) Use brute force: Attacking the “A” gaps (on either side of the Center), will ruin any pocket before it starts, and cause traffic jams for the run. Rams QB Jared Goff isn’t the most mobile fella, so let’s see if we can get him throwing on the run and off his back foot. We could use a few turnovers this week.

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If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

While we’ve been dealing with a snowballing injury bug, the Rams have been dealing with a sudden rush of them. The result is a sudden bunch of fill-ins, mostly on defense, hoping they don’t make a mistake. That being said, we have to force them, and bait them into making mistakes. Shouldn’t be too hard. Especially considering how raw their depth is. Advantage Eagles.

The Rams haven’t scored more than 20 points in a loss this year. That’s because they’re heavily dependent on Todd Gurley for production. Problem is, if a team has to play catch-up, they can’t really run their offense through a RB. Falling behind would effectively force them to surrender their best weapon. As it did in 2 of their 3 losses this year.

We’re going to take Gurley away from the Rams because that’s what we do. We make teams one-dimensional, and then we close in on their QB. Unlike last week, the QB being served up to us this week, has the mobility of a ceiling fan. Advantage Eagles.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Rams 17

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DOLPHINS (PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/25
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE expectation was that this game would largely be boring, since both teams spent a week facing each other in scrimmages. Logic says that each team would know what to protect against, and how. Instead, due to some sloppiness on our part, the Dolphins were able to hang around in the game. Still, it was a pretty ho-hum event to say that 69 total points were scored in it.

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Eagles 38 – Dolphins 31

The good news is that the passing game seems like it could be a force this year. That however, is largely dependent on whether or not QB Carson Wentz (10 – 6 – 60% – 129 – 2 – 1) takes as much punishment every week, as he took in just one quarter (that’s all the starters played) tonight. RB Corey Clement (9 – 42 – 4.6 – 1 – 0) looked very good leading the ground attack. OLB Mychal Kendricks (0 – 0 – 1 – 0) grabbed his third interception in as many games, bringing it back 31 yards to pay dirt.

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? (Keep in mind, I talk about the starters in the Four Things section. I’ll address the back-ups, later. If at all.)

1) Impact from WR Alshon Jeffery: While I did notice one play with a Safety in the box, most of the time the Safety played deep. Jeffery did his part by catching 2 passes, one of which was a TD off of an inside release into the Safety’s area. That preseason play will have teams not wanting to get beat like that and, so open up room to run inside. This part, I loved. (DONE)

2) Man up: While I came into this game worrying about the Offensive Line’s ability to move men in the run game, I saw a line that also couldn’t keep players from hitting Wentz. (The batted ball that became an interception, had no business being caught. I could do an entire article on that play alone.) (NOT DONE)

3) Establish the Danger Zone: If you had told me that QB Jay Cutler would pick on CB Ronald Darby, I’d have laughed until I ruptured something. But he did, and it worked. Because the Dolphins decided to pick on Darby, there wasn’t nearly as much throwing over the middle as I anticipated. So while this wasn’t done, there really wasn’t much of a chance to do it. Sometimes I have to mark things “done” on a technicality. This time it goes the other way. (NOT DONE)

4) Back to basics: Our O-line didn’t drive men off the line, but they did block well enough for our RB’s to find holes. Tackling was effective enough, but we really weren’t great at getting off of blocks vs the run this week. (DONE)

The weekly score is 2 of 4, bringing our preseason total to 5 of 12. Next week we travel to the giants house, to take on their mentally challenged roommates, the New York Jets.

On The Whole:

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The Eagles had 16 penalties for 147 yards. That’s a football field and a half worth of penalties. They had trouble with their run block synchronization early on. They also failed to keep pass rushers from touching Wentz, even at times when they saw and picked up the blitz. The starters looked undisciplined and rusty. It’s the sort of thing that happens when you don’t get enough “live” action during the preseason. With all the starters sitting next week, we run the risk of going into a VERY winnable Week One game against the Redskins and being too raggedy to beat a bad team.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: BILLS (PS)

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/18
Posted in: Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

YAY we won! Then again there was never any doubt in my mind that we would. Aside from RB LeSean McCoy, the Bills don’t exactly have a ton of offensive weapons with which to scare anyone. For god’s sake, they were forced to start slow-footed WR Anquan Boldin on the outside tonight. That said, at least we didn’t lose to a lesser opponent. That’s an important building block in a successful season.

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The 20 – 16 win gave us a chance to look at some new starters. Given that the passing game didn’t click with the same rhythm it did a week ago, you have to wonder if it was adversely affected by the trade that brought us a key player in the Secondary.

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? (Keep in mind, I talk about the starters in the Four Things section. I’ll address the back-ups, later. If at all.)

1) Being in sync: QB Carson Wentz and WR Alshon Jeffery didn’t seem to be on the same page mentally tonight. That however was exactly what I expected would be the case. Live action is different from practice, and with Jeffery already taking it easy do to a shoulder strain, even working in practice was going to be turned down in intensity. It’s going to be a process. That said, BOTH of these guys need to play at least a half next week. (NOT DONE)

2) Push must come to shove: At no point did the Eagles attempt to establish an inside attack with RB LeGarrette Blount. They just kept running him outside. He did have a nice 8 yard gain on one carry, but other than that, the Eagles punked out at fighting in between the Tackles. (NOT DONE)

3) Slow the inside release: Many will tell you their favorite play was the pick by CB Ronald Darby. For me it was the interception he didn’t get, that I liked most. He closed a shallow cushion, forced his man outside, then closed on the ball like he was shot out of a cannon.  It was perfect technique. Totally without flaw. 9 times out of 10 that would be six points. On the pick however, Darby’s technique initially took him out of position. But when QB Tyrod Taylor underthrew Boldin, it gave Darby time to adjust. Not to take anything away from Darby, but he won’t see an assignment that easy in the NFC East. True, he’s a work in progress, but he truly has done really well for just getting here. (DONE)

4) Control the middle: The defensive interior was sort of up and down vs the run tonight. That was kind of to be expected by a team that runs the ball as well as the Bills do. (They were the number one rushing team in the NFL last year.) While we didn’t control the middle in an overall sense, we did manage the situations well. Situational ball, wins games. Winning games, wins divisions. Admittedly we didn’t control the middle, but with the big picture in mind, I’ll take it. (NOT DONE)

That puts this weeks score at 1 out of 4 things done. Our cumulative score after two weeks, is a less than stellar 3 out of 8.

On The Whole:

It was a penalty laden mess rehearsal, but there were some good things to take away from it. OLB Mychal Kendricks continued to prove his doubters wrong with his second interception in as many games, adding a sack to boot. QB Dane Evans has me wanting to see him get a look with the second unit next week. The guy plays his heart out and we should get a look at him against stiffer competition, to see if we have something in him. (Even if it just means we have a QB we can trade.)

ICYMI: RB Corey Clement got some early reps this week. Meanwhile RB Wendell Smallwood watched in street clothes.

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DAMMIT, QUIT CRYING!

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/07/29
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 MYCHAL Kendricks requested a trade in the offseason, and many Eagles fans reacted by throwing bitch-fits, while saying dumb shit like “Trade his ass” and, “If he wants to leave, fine, trade him”. I called it ‘dumb shit’, because it’s purely an emotional reaction, and it doesn’t take into account a single fact with bearing on the team’s upcoming season.

Odds are that the Offense will still have to iron out some chemistry issues, early in the year. So we’ll have to lean on the Defense to carry the team, when the season starts. However, if we sabotage the Defense, we could wreck the entire season beginning Week One. Let me paint you a picture.

First of all, Kendricks asked for that trade during the offseason. That was prior to Training Camp, prior to mandatory OTA’s, or even prior (according to ESPN) to the Draft in April. Due to how much Nickel we played, Kendricks didn’t play much in 2016 (just 27% of the year’s defensive snaps).

Despite not playing him much, the Eagles told Kendricks flat out, that he’s talented and that they want to hold onto him. For his part, he wants to play, and be able to play himself into a bigger contract in the future. Imagine that. A guy who wants to earn his money. And fans take issue with that? Really?

At first it seems like maybe it’s a lost cause. I mean, the system we run, is the system we run, right? Wrong. In July (this would be AFTER Kendricks made his feelings known), Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, told the world about a philosophical shift in our scheme that would better take advantage of Kendricks’ strengths. So Kendricks doesn’t have to leave here to play, and earn a bigger pay day down the line.

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That means the situation today, isn’t what it was when Kendricks asked for that trade. This is why Kendricks had no qualms about mentioning it. While the issue could always come up again, (for now at least) it’s a quashed matter.

As for derailing the season, we’re already thin at LB. We’re not thin at OLB, or ILB, or MLB. We’re thin at LB, period. That’s even with Kendricks. Now factor in OLB Nigel Bradham facing a possible six game suspension, over an assault charge that earned him probation instead of jail time.

Trading Kendricks and losing Bradham for six games would practically rip the guts out of 2017 before it even started. The closest thing we have to an experienced hand at the position is Najee Goode. Goode has one career start in five seasons, and 21 of his career 42 tackles happened in 2013.

Of course one of the young guys could make a splash. Maybe all one of these guys needs is a chance. That could be true, but without much experience in game-time situations, it’s far more likely that they’d make costly errors, learning on the job. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt this team to add a guy like Josh Bynes or Donald Butler to the roster.

So with no depth and a possible suspension looming, we are in no position, no position, to be giving away talent. Especially not over some fans having a knee-jerk, over-emotional reaction to a feeling of rejection, over an issue that was dead before they ever heard of it.

Eagles fans are known for being a tough bunch. Quit making us look like bitches.

EAGLES INTIMIDATING THE NFL

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/07/05
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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THOSE who said they’d like OLB Mychal Kendricks either traded or released, may want to pump the brakes. He could be instrumental in helping us punk the NFL. Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz recently said, if the Defense can’t cover a pass-catching RB, that we’ll just blitz more to “keep his ass” in pass protection.

To do something like that takes two things.

First, Schwartz needs a horse he can ride. That means he needs a LB who can pass rush. One who can beat the blocks of TE’s and RB’s, and the occasional O-lineman. News flash! Kendricks has already proven himself adept at all of that. Every piece of it. Better still, he’s done it both on the inside and on the edge. This means he can be moved around, which makes him harder to game plan for. Better still, he’s already under contract. Schwartz’s new philosophy turns Kendricks from a liability into an asset.

Having the right player is great, but it isn’t the most important part needed to make this work. Second and more importantly, the DC needs the will to force teams to commit their RB to pass protection.

This part takes nerves, balls, and a thick skin. This philosophy requires the DC to play the part of the villain. He has to be willing to make enemies that will cost him future job opportunities. He must be willing to be eternally reviled as a devil by some, and worshiped as a god by others. He must become Buddy Ryan 2.0.

Look, every snap of a football player’s career comes with risk. Every single one. However, there is a difference between a possible catastrophe, and a countdown to one. The human body will only absorb so much punishment before it cannot perform well. Every blitz that results in a full speed hit on a QB, scares an opposing coaching staff, regardless of whether or not the QB completes that pass.

Allowing too many high speed hits on a QB, has a way of jeopardizing entire seasons. So trying to minimize the amount of abuse their QB takes, will be why teams keep that RB in to block. Schwartz is putting this out there now, to make sure that opponents know the risk they run, if they try to involve RB’s in the passing game.

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I love that, because it’s a clear attempt at intimidation. As I said in THE 12 this year, we have to “Make Fear Our Ally”. In the article, I go into the reasons why we need to do this, and it seems like the Eagles coaching staff is somehow, eerily on the same page as me. Imagine that. (Yet again it seems like an Eagles staff member may have come across an article or two of mine. If that’s the case, I was at Broad and South for the Phillies parade. Wonder where I’ll stand during the one for the Eagles.)

Of course (and I say this part with the assumption that an Eagles staffer is reading it), the benefits I spoke of in THE 12, will not happen if the Eagles do not have the will to follow through on what Schwartz has now put out there. 31 NFL teams have been put on notice now, and whether or not we follow through will determine if they laugh at us or are intimidated by us.

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LET’S MAKE SOME DEALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/06/28
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TRADING or outright releasing. That’s what most of us thought would happen with OLB Mychal Kendricks, RB Ryan Mathews, and C Jason Kelce, prior to the 2017 Draft. As of today (6.28.17) all three are still Eagles. The thinking was that the Front Office would want to free up cap space, to continue this rebuild with players who better fit what we’ll be doing.

The hope was for us to offer a couple trade packages (consisting of one of these players and a pick), to help us move up a few spots in the same round of the 2017 Draft. Well, nothing of that sort happened. Hence not one, not two, but all three of those guys are still here. Six points to you if you saw that coming. (Bonus two points to anyone who thought we’d take a DE in the first round.)

I got to wondering what fans think we should do with those guys now, but I didn’t want to ask too broad of a question. I decided to break it into three pieces and then review the parts next week. So I posed a question in EAGLES MANIACS (my Eagles Facebook group), and a few other Eagles groups to which I belong. This is that question:

TRADE MATHEWS

My initial plan was to ask two more questions, but what I saw disturbed me, and I thought it needed addressing immediately. The percentage of fans who thought we should just cut both Mathews and Kendricks, was distressing to say the least.

Eagles fans may be frustrated with them, but Mathews and Kendricks are solid NFL veterans. They wouldn’t spend long in an unemployment line. They’d be fine and we’d be fine, but that’s not the point. That’s not the problem. What bugged me is how many people were willing to accept low-ball, or no-ball offers for these players. Fans were literally ASKING for this team to get hosed on a trade, or worse, get nothing at all for arming another team. For example:

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Releasing them for nothing would just be stupid. Just plain stupid. Giving away talent was something we hated about TIK , remember? First, because we’d be giving away solid players for no compensation. Secondly, if the Eagles cut any of them, we’re still on the hook for paying them this season. It would take a trade (with specific language included) to remove the Eagles financial obligation to these players.

What makes more sense is to find away to move these players prior to camp. Waiting for a camp injury leaves too much to chance, and puts us in the position of almost wishing for some hardworking players to get hurt. That’s classless and wrong, so we won’t do that. (It’s Eagles, not vultures.) The smart thing would be to move these players before a team needs them. (By the way: This would help us out with future trades. ASK ME HOW!)

Ryan Mathews for example. We could partner with a team that has no depth at RB (Detroit, Green Bay); or a team who’s RB is 150 years old (New York (J), Indianapolis); or a team still trying to determine if they have a legitimate RB in their stable (Denver).

There are options on the table. We just need to take one sooner than later.

 

I’M LOOKING BEYOND TODAY

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/24
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ORGANIZED Team Activities (OTA’s) started for the Eagles yesterday, and I could hardly care less. For me, the season starts at Training Camp. Everything before that is glorified gym class. Scour this website back to it’s beginning in 2014, and you will never see me hyped about the Eagles during OTA’s. It pretty much a given that when football players are running around in shorts and no pads, I can hardly be bothered to watch. (This also goes for the Combine.)

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Since there’s no football to monitor, I’m still in offseason mode, and focusing on the business end of things. Basically, I’m wandering around in my robe and slippers, drinking coffee right from the pot until the June 1st cuts. Those cuts will trigger a few domino effects across the NFL, of players being signed and still other players being released afterwards.

I’m waiting to see whether or not some other team’s cap issues can net us an upgrade in a couple of places like OLB (one who can cover), RB, reserve OT or reserve DT. Also, there will be teams out there looking to score waived players from this process. When some of them miss out, then you may see a trade or two, as teams want to add needed pieces before Training Camps start on July 22nd.

The generally accepted rumor, is that we are going release RB Ryan Mathews, but there is no rule stating that we have to. Players like Mathews, C Jason Kelce, and OLB Mychal Kendricks could all be held onto, in an attempt to trade them to a team who missed on a Round Two Free Agent. Teams who suffering key injuries at these positions during OTA’s could also be part of that market.

So no, you won’t hear much from me about Phys Ed. for football players. On the other hand, I will make quite a bit of noise if our team can pull off a slick move or two in the next month or so.

WK10: FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/12
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

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Atlanta Falcons

SUNDAY        1:00        Lincoln Financial Field,        PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania

NEEDS TO STEP UP:

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OLB Mychal Kendricks: This is the second time Kendricks has appeared here. He didn’t step up the last time (at Detroit), and we lost that game as a result. He’s here for the same reason this time. Atlanta throws to their RB’s a lot, so Kendricks has to not be a liability in coverage. Our Defense should get good pressure on QB Matt Ryan. Kendricks can not give Ryan somewhere cheap and easy to go with the ball.

WE MUST CONTAIN:

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LG Andy Levitre: This is less a player to contain, and more one to attack. Levitre is a mid-level lineman, playing between an over-paid/under-performing Free Agent C in Alex Mack, and a sorely disappointing LT in Jake Matthews. (Yes, he’s from THE Matthews Family.) If the Eagles can control the LG spot, that would destabilize Atlanta’s entire offensive attack. Matt Ryan, WR Julio Jones, RB Devonta Freeman…dominating Levitre would shut that all down. Getting back DT Bennie Logan this week, should help a great deal with this part.

EAGLES STORY LINE:

The Eagles can win this game if the coaching staff handles 1st and 2nd down with care. Don’t get cute and just focus on picking up yards is the order for this game. The Falcons already bleed points and yards. All we have to do is not hand back everything they’re going to give us.

The Falcons are 6-3 the way the Vikings were 5-0. It’s a weak and circumstantial winning record. They don’t do anything we can’t handle if we come to the game ready to handle business.

BOTTOM LINE:

This is a VERY winnable game if the Eagles go out there and actually take the win.

PREDICTION:

Eagles 30 – Falcons 21

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/GIANTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THEIR QB is washed-up; their head coach (Ben McAdoo) has yet to do more than look like a pedophile

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;and their GM (Jerry Reese) has spent a lot of money on basically a large bowl of air. The giants are above .500 today, but there’s a seething sense that they’re 2 or 3 losses away from the franchise going into an absolute tailspin. I for one, would love for the Eagles to contribute to a division rival essentially having a nervous breakdown in the middle of a season:

From the blame game in the locker room…

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to players, coaches, and the owner sacrificing a body (Jerry Reese) to the fans…

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I can’t wait for ALL OF IT.

The giants are the ultimate .500 ball club. Even when their record isn’t .500, they’re never scary or reliably inept. They just exist in this never-ending state of “Meh”. This is good for us, because it means they can be used as a measuring stick. Sort of a, “You Are Here” sign, made out of living people. Win or lose this week, the results will be good for telling us specifically what needs work and how.

That being said, there still is the matter of playing the game, and trying to actually win a game on the road. Every opponent is different and so every opponent requires different methods to beat them.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 9 versus the giants :

1) Rush five regularly. QB Eli Manning is a statue, and the giants are the worst rushing team in the NFL. OLB Mychal Kendricks has proven to be a liability in coverage this year, but he still has an ability to take on blockers and create hurries. Manning will throw picks if he gets pressured, but he can pick you apart if he gets time. So don’t give him time.

2) Avoid throwing Screen passes. Half the time, even when they work, they don’t work. When they really don’t work, it essentially becomes a sack. Worse still, on downs when we commit a penalty, it gives the opponent the option of declining it, so we end up screwed out of the yards AND a down. Let’s not be the 46th giant.

3) Some 3-TE formation would be nice. The giants DT’s are 320 and 350. At 93 yards allowed per game, their run defense is ranked 10th in the NFL. Seems like this is one of those cases where on third and short, we have to be able to meet force with force. (OR, we could get cute, line up in the Shotgun, and throw more Screens on 3rd and 2.)

4) Do the unexpected. For example, throw a deep ball to a WR NOT named Nelson Agholor. Another idea would be using TE Zach Ertz like a TE and not a WR. By that I mean, run him on shorter routes. Also, please run the play away from the fake. Last week I nearly had an aneurysm watching QB Carson Wentz fake a hand-off to RB Darren Sproles, who ran to the the right. Instead of bootlegging left, Wentz ALSO headed right. Behind Sproles! I could hear Benny Hill music playing in my head as watched that play unfold. Let’s be a little more strategic with our strategy.

Basically the call for this week is: Do not to help the giants beat us. The giants suck too much to win if we don’t help them do so. However, given our penchant for penalties, passes that travel in the wrong direction, and WR’s who bat down as many balls as they catch, New York may very well have a friend in Pennsylvania.

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