Nelson Agholor

All posts tagged Nelson Agholor

WHY IS TRAVIS FULGHAM SO GOOD?

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/10/17
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

OVER the last two games, most Eagles fans have fallen heels-over-head for WR Travis Fulgham. Some love that he’s scored in each of the last two games. Some love that he makes big splash catches.

I love that he’s nothing special.

Seriously, there is nothing about his game that is remotely remarkable. He’s not super-fast. He doesn’t jump super-high. He doesn’t kill defenders with his first step off the line. So if he doesn’t have any amazing traits, why is he so much better than all the other young receivers we’ve drafted since Jeremy Maclin?

The thing that separates Fulgham from Eagles draft picks, is that he has a solid set of fundamentals. He comes back to the ball. He boxes out. He high-points and catches with his hands. Again, nothing special. Just the fundamentals that any receiver should have. I said should.

During Week One, QB Carson Wentz threw two interceptions. One was while trying to connect with rookie WR Jalen Reagor, and the other was an attempt to rookie WR John Hightower. Both were jumping and fading away from the ball, allowing the defender to uncut them. Remember the one to WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside vs the Rams? Look up those three picks. I’ll wait…

(Whistling. Filing nails. Painting a still-life.)

Oh, you’re back! Did you notice what I was talking about? It jumps right out at you, doesn’t it? From now on, you will NEVER fail to notice it, and wonder how others miss it.

Although WR Alshon Jeffery has crazy leaping skills, his speed isn’t lethal, he’s not the biggest receiver, and he doesn’t have legendary hands. In fact, how would you describe Alshon’s game? Comes back to the ball. Boxes out. High-points. Makes yards after the catch. None of those things are talent based. Those are all skills. They are fundamentals which only come from teaching.

The obvious thing that fans keep missing, is that young Eagles receivers aren’t taught those basics. Fulgham learned it before he got here. Alshon, same thing. Terrell Owens? Kevin Curtis? These guys looked great next to receivers drafted, but untaught by our coaching staffs.

Speaking of which, how DOES former Eagles WR Nelson Agholor, look in Las Vegas this year? He’s only caught 10 balls, but he’s only been thrown 11 passes. That’s a 90% catch rate. Through 5 years with the Eagles, Agholor NEVER had a 90% catch rate through 5 weeks. Not in 2015 (47%), not 2016 (66%), not 2017 (69%), not 2018 (70%), nor 2019 (59%). NEVER.

Crazy what a little coaching can fix.

Some readers may say that I’ve failed to mention Fulgham’s ability to create separation with stems, speed variations in his routes, head fakes, stacking the defender, etc. Those are all skills. Those are all taught things. Every blessed one of them. Just basic fundamentals.

I love that Fulgham’s game is based on fundamentals. It means that if the Eagles decide to sign him long-term, his ability to play won’t disappear with injury, or suddenly with age. When Alshon gets back I look forward to seeing packages that feature them both on the field.

Now if only we can utilize some of that speed we added this year…

FOUR THINGS – WK 12 – EAGLES – SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/11/21
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Note: Normally I like to get these out on Wednesday, but I held out an extra day to see if there was any news on Jordan Howard or Alshon Jeffery, only to now find that Nelson Agholor is also up in the air.
As they say: When it rains…it shits all over the bride’s dress.)

WK12-SEA

USUALLY in Four Things, I go the Chuck Woolery route of “Two and two”, with two Offensive keys, and two Defensive keys. This week I’m going Offense heavy because that’s the part that needs the help. I know, I know. “We lack speed!” “DeSean’s hurt! Scrap 2019, and trade Carson for Foles!!”

UGH!!! Quit panicking. There IS a solve for our problems with the players we have on the roster TODAY. I’m about to make so much sense, that it’ll make you think that our coaching staff is full-on retarded. Not “mentally challenged”. Retarded.

no in chill.jpg

Beating New England last week wasn’t really expected by anyone besides me. Then again my analysis, my writing last week’s FT, and releasing it were all prior to finding out that WR Alshon Jeffrey and RB Jordan Howard were both shelved for the game. It was so close that it’s hard for me to buy us losing, if even one of them had played.

My point is, that I expected a narrative change on Monday morning. We lost so it didn’t happen. Now I doubt we’d get that with a victory over Seattle. This is one of those games where a win is just a win. A loss will have Eagles fans jumping out of windows, but a win… There isn’t the sense that it’d shift our narrative.

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

1) Hit QB Russell Wilson: This is the only defensive key needed. Wilson is the beating heart (meal ticket) of the entire Seattle franchise. He’s why any of it works. (He’s also what holds it back.) So we need to wreck their game plan by menacing their QB.

Vinny Curry sack wilson.jpg

I’m NOT saying to deliberately hurt him or play dirty. I am saying that early in the game, we need to send Seattle’s coaching staff the message that, they might want to let QB Geno Smith finish this one. They won’t pull Wilson of course, but with playoff aspirations, they may drastically alter what they call for him. Just to limit his risk exposure.

2) Stay in-line: With RT Lane Johnson is concussion protocol, it looks like OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai will start in his place. Vaitai is decent with blocker head-up, but he struggles mightily with fast and/or agile pass rushers.

The solution is hella easy. Help Vaitai with an in-line TE, or a TE lined up close to Vaitai’s hip, to create an “alley”. A chip from the TE on his release will be enough to slow the rusher and give Vaitai a chance to get his hands on the guy. This only gets easier to do if used in conjunction with #3. Scroll down.

3) Use play-action to create space: We can run the ball. It’s already credible threat. We hardly have to sell it. Why not feed off of that?

So use play-action to get the receivers open on quick hitters. By quick hitter, I don’t mean lame 1 and 4 yard routes. None of that! Unless we’re running a Screen, this week there shouldn’t be a pass in the air for less than six yards.

matthews wentz 1st TD

Carson Wentz’s first NFL touchdown pass. 

The routes need to be 7, 8, and 9 yards, with a designated man to graduate to a “GO” in case a favorable Safety look presents itself. Those shorter planned routes, are to get the receiver mentally set to catch early into the route. Shorter routes are also to get Carson to get rid of the ball sooner, and act as natural “hot” routes in case of a blitz. Just identify the possible blitzer and put the ball in his vacated zone.

4) Don’t clutch Agholor: For the remainder of the year, unless the game is a runaway,WR Nelson Agholor  needs to be an almost exclusively 1st and 2nd down receiver, who sits on later downs. 

He’s absolutely a difference maker with the ball in his hands. The problem however, is his hands. He’s a talented athlete, his hands just aren’t clutch.

At the outset of this year Agholor was cast as a third receiver. Due to injuries, he’s now forced to act as our #1 WR. News flash, players don’t get more talented, just because guys above them got hurt. In fact, as you can see, we’ve gotten worse. He’s still a #3 option.

If Agholor plays this week, let him do what he’s good at. Create space around him, and get him the ball on early downs. Take away the mental pressure, and maybe get his confidence back. Help him get out of his head. You know? Like a coach. This receiving corp needs a confidence boost, and a decent showing here could jump-start that.

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:

The Eagles won’t do nearly as much play-action as they should, because hey, who wants to win, right? RB Jay Ajayi will see some work and provide some badly needed emotional spark to this Offense. Expect 150 yards from the TE’s, because who else does Wentz have?

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We’re going to spend a good deal of Sunday watching Russell Wilson re-enact the first chicken chasing scene in Rocky. Especially if DE Derek Barnett doesn’t do a better job of setting the edge.

The return of LB Nigel Bradham will make for an interesting dynamic up front, with LB Nate Gerry having called plays for the last few games. If they read the same thing, both may intuit what the other guy needs him to do.

In any case, the Eagles have less and less to work with, as the season goes on. Worse yet, Seattle is a team (one guy) that has had our number for a bit. With Howard and Jeffery, I’d call this a tight game. As we are now?

PREDICTION: EAGLES 16 – Seahawks 24

yeah-bitch

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)

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.

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

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK2 – FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/16
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

OTHER fans get to be emotional about this loss. I get to be emotional during the game. Afterward, I have to put my anger aside, to objectively dissect it. That being said, this game was lost for us by the fucking rat-faced coaching staff. I won’t be able to fully address it in the FTR format, but rest assured that this week, there will come a reckoning, and it will not be pretty.

Losing WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery early in this game, certainly had a massive impact on the game, but there were too many other inexcusable errors out there.

Wentz sacked falcons.jpg

Eagles 20 – Falcons 24

Yet again the Eagles held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing (15 – 64 – 4.2 – 0 – 0), but that was offset by allowing QB Matt Ryan (27/43 – 320 – 62.7% – 3 – 3) to hit wide open receiver, after wide open receiver, after wide open receiver. Honestly, why would opponents run, when they can take yardage in much larger chunks?

Shrugging off one lost weapon after another, QB Carson Wentz (25/43 – 231 – 58.1% – 1 – 2) showed true grit, and seemed to be the only Eagle out there on Offense, who was hungry to win. WR Nelson Agholor (8 – 107 – 13.3 – 1) had a busy night, but dropped the go-ahead touchdown.

It took a blitz by reserve S Andrew Sendejo (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) to get our only sack 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?

Miles Sanders trouble with the handoff.jpg

Gotta love a juggled handoff!

1) Run Howard: We did not. RB Jordan Howard (8 – 18 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) did not start and was given a sporadic 8 carries. Instead, rookie RB Miles Sanders (10 – 28 – 2.8 – 0 – 0) spent another week being an ineffective feature back. The Eagles are trying to make a star out of Sanders, despite him showing repeatedly that he isn’t ready. The result is that Wentz has to carry the Offense by himself. (NOT DONE)

2) Dissolve the pocket: The D-Line pretty much played it straight up, except for when they blitzed. There were a couple of points where we got Ryan to throw from a dead run (he had a TD on a rollout to his right), but we didn’t do nearly enough to force him consistently out of the pocket. (NOT DONE)

3) Finish Him!: Just make the tackle. The Eagles were pretty good at this, this week. There was of course the TD to WR Julio Jones (5 – 106 – 21.2 – 2), but that also included a nice block, a bad tackle angle and no deep help. But all in all, our tackling was much better than a week ago. (DONE)

4) Deliver Liver Punches: We didn’t run enough, nor did we run effectively enough to make play-action something to be respected. While Agholor and TE Zach Ertz (8 – 72 – 9.0 – 0) were our leading 2 receivers, this game was devoid of the schematic impact of play-action. (NOT DONE)

lemongrab

That brings our weekly tally to 1 of 4 Four Things completed. That brings our two week total to 3 of 8 so far. That’s a sub .500 mark. We have plenty of stuff to get together before our appointment with the undefeated (1 – 0 – 1) Detroit Lions next week.

On The Whole:

This was a weird game. Our Defensive Line couldn’t touch the QB. We seemed to spend most of the night in Cover Zero, and kept being spanked in it. There seemed to be a concerted effort to play the youth, even though they clearly aren’t up to the task at this point. And despite all the injuries, no one seemed to be leaving the sidelines or removing their pads.

This is an odd loss. After Ertz was shown to be short of the sticks, I was of course as emotional as a fan should be. However, looking back at the game now, it all had a surreal feel to it.

In fact, looking back, it still has that “Wait. Did that happen or did I dream that” feel it. Parts of it just don’t add up. It’s why I put this loss on the coaching staff and not the players, per se.

 

FOUR THINGS – WK 2 – EAGLES-FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/12
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK2-ATL

LAST week’s win was great for two reasons. First, it was a tone setter for the season, both because we won the game, and for how we won it. Second, it was a win against a division foe. Now the Eagles look to build momentum by stacking a conference win, behind a division win.

The Falcons were humiliated last week by the Vikings, who left cleat marks in the Falcons chests, running for 172 yards and 4.5 ypc. The Vikings only had to throw the ball TEN TIMES all game long. The Falcons will want to prove to the world that they are nobody’s bitches, as they defend their home field against an Eagles team that throat punches them, every time we see each other.

The Eagles comeback victory last week was great to watch, but let’s be honest, it was just the Redskins. We pummeled a kindergartner, but somehow managed to let it be a contest first. Not really a point of bragging. So this week we need to prove that we can beat a team that’s capable of playing past Week 17. Otherwise, next week’s victory over Detroit will mean a lot less.

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

1) Run Howard: Ron Howard.jpg

Noooo, not Ron Howard, run Howard! As in RB Jordan Howard. Atlanta has several undersized players on their front seven, which is how they got victimized so badly by Minnesota last week. That lack of size isn’t something they can resolve this season, particularly in time for this game. So it’s a weakness we should exploit. After last week’s aerial assault, the Falcons will be looking to “Prevent” that from happening to them. A physical run game, vs a smallish front seven, playing a loose box to start… We need to do this.

2) Dissolve the Pocket: Shifting our DT’s right, (QB’s left) on 3rd and long, would let us torch half the pocket and get Matty Ice, running. Not jogging, running. We need to get QB Matt Ryan moving. Not just re-setting his feet in the pocket, because he’s a good enough athlete for that. We need to make him throw while on the run. If we can get him running, the up and down motion will help vary the heights on his launch points. If we can bother his release, we’ve already bothered his delivery. That gives our defenders a better chance of intercepting him.

3) Finish Him!: Stop hunting the strip early in games. Just make the tackle. Back in 2017 I said the same thing in THE 12 . More often it’s situations not players, that really create turnovers. Early in games, offensive players don’t have tired arms and hands. They aren’t yet desperate to make something happen. Overthinking usually makes you miss your goal. Same thing with our Defense. They need to make the tackle, not allow the mistakes of the past (Vernon Davis 48 yard TD) to repeat themselves. Focus on the mission and accomplish what we set out to do. That’s what we winners do.

THE W

4) Deliver Liver Punches: Play-action passes to TE Zach Ertz, and WR Nelson Agholor, will gut this defense specifically. It’s small because it’s built around speed and trust in the initial read, to magnify the effects of it’s speed. Conversely, when this defense makes a small read error, it’s a BIG execution error. Running the ball tough then using play-action on short passes, would have us taking yardage in chunks in the second half.

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:

This is a no nonsense, no fooling around type of game here. Both teams need this game for different reasons. It’s not a “must win” scenario. It’s way too early for that talk. But winning early decreases the odds of having to play “must win” games, during the regular season.

Seasons Eve.jpg

The Falcons run game was almost non-existent last week. 24 of their 73 yards came off of Matt Ryan’s legs. So look for them to try to establish that early. After a combined 10 catches for 95 yards (and 2 TD’s), expect WR’s Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley to keep the Falcons in the game late into the 3rd quarter at least, and possibly up until the last play.

In advance I’d like to thank our 20 yard cushions, for making this game more stressful than it needs to be.

On Offense, I think Head Coach Doug Pederson will see the light and lean less on smaller RB’s this week. The fireworks from last week served to put teams on notice, but it can’t be the bread and butter of this team. Unless Atlanta serves up numerous breakdowns in their secondary, this week will be about establishing who the 2019 Eagles are truly trying to be.

In the end, the Eagles have more weapons, are deeper, and have a better idea of who were are, and of who we are not. The Falcons still seem to be finding their identity, and because of that, will commit more acts of over-reach. At least one of which will prove fatal.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 27 – Falcons 22

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 4: TITANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/10/01
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

AGHOLOR

RELAX, everybody! Relax! Yes. This should have been a win, but there’s a lot of good to be mined out of this loss. I stated in the opening paragraph of Four Things that “This is the “look in the mirror” game that you need in Week 3 or 4.” Prior to the game, our QB said that the team is still trying to find it’s identity.

We needed this game. Not in terms of the win, but in terms of being knocked on our ass. Easy wins feed the win column, but gritty losses can build a champion. Just think back to how we lost to the Chiefs in Week 3, last year. You can’t respond to adversity until you face some. I

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On a positive note (and there were some positives), the Eagles WR situation is now a building block instead of a stumbling block, or a weakness to hide. WR Alshon Jeffrey (8 – 105 – 13.1 – 1) played in his first game of the season and looked every bit the #1 option we need him to be. Returning Eagle WR Jordan Matthews (1 – 56 – 56.0 – 1) chipped in by hanging six, on Bill Belichik’s favorite CB. The problem was the 2015 version of WR Nelson Agholor (5 – 22 – 4.4 – 0 ). He seemed to drop as many passes as he caught. QB Carson Wentz (33/50 – 66.0% – 348 – 2 – 0) was sacked four times, and it felt like he got hit every time he dropped back, despite heavy use of play-action. Then again, if you want to sell play-action, you need to run the ball more than 22 times (22 – 109 – 4.9 – 0 – 0). Play selection that looks like 50 passes to 22 rushes (69.4% pass) will get your play-action ignored and make your QB a sitting duck.

Our Defensive Line was amazing. As usual. Our LB’s were solid as well. We amassed 3 sacks and held the Titans to 70 yards on 22 carries (3.1ypc). What blew chunks out the ass, was the Secondary. Again. Especially CB Jalen Mills (3 – 0 – 0 – 0):

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FS Corey Graham (9 – 0 – 0 – 0) starting his first game in place of the injured Rod McLeod, seemed out of position on a few plays. Too many pass attempts seemed to be deeper than he was. (Not a good look!)

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) Rattle the cage: We needed to hit QB Marcus Mariota (30/43 – 69.7% – 344 – 2 – 1/ 10 – 46 – 4.6 – 1 – 0), early, often and hard. We didn’t. Instead, we allowed him to get comfy and complete just about 70% of his passes. Then again, that’s what happens when our Secondary is committed to playing a bad scheme. NOT DONE

2) More power running: I wanted ten to twelve runs up the gut and we had eleven, out of twenty-two rushes, got up the middle. This might have produced the desired effect, had our own play selection (50 passes, 22 rushes) not undercut the credibility of our play-action. Still, we did get it done. DONE

3) Start fast: We allowed the Titans to score on us on their opening drive, and didn’t score a single point until the second quarter. NOT DONE

 

4) Play our game: Wentz said that this team is still looking to find it’s identity, and that he was looking to see who’d step up. Well it would seem that we’ll be waiting yet another week for that answer. NOT DONE

This week we limped away with a 1 of 4 score, and even that was more of a technicality. For the year we sit at 6 of 16. Hopefully we get some of this cleaned up before our match-up against a Vikings team that will be using us as a measuring stick, next week.

flooded

On The Whole:

The knee jerk reaction is to be pissed over this loss. Every mistake in it gets magnified, and every great moment, grows an instant layer of dust. This would be an over-reaction. The idea of a measuring stick game, is that it tells a team what they need to sharpen, and what they can build on. There can be no excusing or getting around problems that so obviously presented themselves. Now the coaching staff can get down to the business of making the necessary improvements. (Pass defense, defensive scheme adjustment, securing catches…)

agholor drop

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 13: SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/12/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

ONE win and we’re in. Despite this loss, that is still our situation. One win clinches the division and gets us a seat at the playoff table. Then we’ll be among teams who are REALLY playing for something in 2017. We have 5 remaining games to get that one win. That is Step One. Step One has been and is still the focus since OTA’s. Eyes on the prize.

doug pederson at aloss

Eagles 10 – Seahawks 24

For anyone trying to find a silver lining in this game, you could point to the continued resurgence of WR Nelson Agholor (7 – 141 – 20.1 – 1). The 2017 season indicates that he may be the Eagles best wide receiver. (At least if you go by what happens on the field, not off of it.) QB Carson Wentz (29/45 – 64.4% – 348 – 1 – 1) felt he could rely on Agholor, so he looked his way early and often.

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) Intimidate: The idea was to nail Seattle’s QB when he scrambled/ran, so that we could… encourage him to stay in the pocket. Instead, our defenders did a poor job of lane restricting, which allowed him to run around like that chicken Rocky was chasing. Worse yet, when we did hit him, it was rarely delivered with any nastiness. (NOT DONE)

2) Snag the line: The idea was to alternate between confusing and overloading their offensive line. Neither happened. We frequently gave the Seahawks both coverage and blitz looks that even Dak Prescott could read. (NOT DONE)

3) Light ‘em up: With the vaunted Legion of Boom down to ¼ of it’s members, going after Seattle’s secondary should have been job one. Instead, our QB spent the night throwing to his #3 WR instead of his #1 and #2 starters. It was a night were even before his concussion, TE Zach Ertz (2 – 24 -12.0 – 0) saw fewer targets than back-up TE Trey Burton (4 – 42 – 10.5 – 0). The play-calling almost looked like Head Coach Doug Pederson was afraid of Seattle. (NOT DONE)

4) Run ‘em down: The idea was that we needed to run the ball against Seattle’s undersized defensive line. In general when we ran against them, we moved the ball. Then for some reason we just stopped doing it. The first half had us run it 14 times (with players not named Wentz), and the score was 3 – 10. The second half saw 5 (non-Wentz) runs in the 3rd quarter. The score moved to 3 – 17. Still not “out of hand”. On FOUR 4th quarter possessions, we would run the ball only once. (NOT DONE)

This week we went 0 for 4 on Four Things, which got us this nice shiny “L”. We got handled out there. Not quite manhandled, but handled nonetheless. We got away from being who we are, and that NEVER makes a problem better. The Rams present an opportunity for us to be the team we know that we are. Let the damage go and stay in the hunt for our dreams. “Push out the jive. Bring in the love.”

push out the jive.gif

On The Whole:

The knee-jerk reaction to a loss is for fans to blame the players. However, I’m thinking this loss goes to the coaching staff. No not because of the forward lateral that we didn’t challenge, but because of the entire approach to this game, from the get-go.

Passes down the field early in the game, were absent this week. There was also no attempt to get TE Zach Ertz going early. For some reason were suddenly obsessed with throwing passes to RB Jay Ajayi (9 – 35 – 3.9 – 0 – 0 /3 – 11 – 3.7 – 0). We also seemed timid about going for it on 4th down, until later in the game. Not to mention the aforementioned discontinuation of the run game, even when the score was still manageable. So much of this game felt alien.

I won’t give Doug Pederson crap for not challenging the forward lateral. However, given that we did lose the one challenge on the first down catch by WR Torrey Smith (5 – 29 – 5.8 (seriously?!) – 0), it does bring into question how reliable the Eagles booth crew is at determining when Doug should and shouldn’t toss that red flag. This is something that needs addressing before the playoffs. Maybe some refresher exercises for those guys need to take place over the next couple weeks? Couldn’t hurt, right.

I don’t see that there was much for players to take away from this loss, but for the coaching staff, a couple lessons were crystal clear:

A) Be ourselves. There are things we do that are who we are. Getting away from those things undercuts the support of other aspects of who and what we are. Just be who we are.

B) Don’t allow an opponents reputation to dictate our gameplan. We looked like we were trying to play around the Seattle defense. That never works. Gotta go straight through an obstacle in football.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 6: PANTHERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/13
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SIX weeks in and we’ve gone from the bottom of the NFC East, to the top of the entire NFC. There are still 10 more games to play before the division is officially awarded to anyone, and no one has forgotten that. However, since the Eagles don’t play for another 11 days, it’s cool if we take two or three days to celebrate our milestone.

Zach Ertz,Daryl Worley

EAGLES 28 – Panthers 23

QB Carson Wentz (16/30 – 53.3% – 222 – 3 – 0) did his thing again. Despite being under constant pressure last night, Carson went sprinkling touchdowns like flakes in a goldfish bowl. TE Zach Ertz (2 – 18 – 9.0 – 2) didn’t catch a lot of balls, but each one he caught drew blood. The much maligned Eagles Secondary picked off Carolina’s QB three times and allowed him zero touchdown passes. (The Panthers one TD pass was against a back-up LB.) We also limited them to 80 yards rushing, 71 by their QB, and the other NINE yards were on 14 carries.

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) Dictate the action: My exact words were: “keep the Panthers offense in front of us, and tackle well.” Well, “RB” Christian McCaffrey (10rec – 56 – 5.6 – 1) and WR Kelvin Benjamin (9 – 99 – 11.0 – 0) were allowed routes in front of defenders and then tackled or pushed out of bounds quickly. We took away any chance for the Panthers to be explosive. (DONE)

2) Get pressure early: We did this not just early, but all game long. Fletcher Cox (0 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) with pressure up the middle, got a hand on a pass in the second quarter that resulted in an interception by rookie CB Rasul Douglas (2 – 0 – 1 – 0). It was one of three on the night. (A fourth was called back due to a penalty away from the ball.) (DONE)

3) Rip up the seams: Instead of Carolina going into their Nickel whenever WR Nelson Agholor (4 – 55 – 13.7 – 1) came on the field, they stayed in their base and were torched along the seams for all three of our touchdowns. Even Rookie WR Mack Hollins (2 – 38 – 19.0 – 0) had the biggest game of his young career so far. (DONE)

4) Send a message: It had to be proven that we could run against a top ranked run defense and we did. We use a balanced attack featuring 30 passes to 21 called rushes. RB LeGarrette Blount (14 – 67 – 4.7 – 0 – 0) getting the bulk of that work and doing it between the Tackles. Future opponents will see the way we did that against a stout Carolina defense, and think “Oh shit.” Overall we ran for 101 yards (3.7 per tote) against a team that had only given up 100 yards this year once before (against the Saints, who blew them out). Speaking of sending a message, did you see LB Nigel Bradham (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) out there? He was playing like someone owed him money. If we see the Panthers again in the playoffs, we now know how to tranq that kitty. (DONE)

Sweet bubbly Studebaker! That’s back-to-back weeks of 4 out of 4 scores. That brings the seasons running total to 21 of 24. Either I’m psychic or I really know my shit. Either way, when they do what I write, they win. So let’s hope they keep reading these articles. Especially next week, as we prepare to sweep the Redskins.

cam jammed

On The Whole:

As you can see, this was more or less the game I was expecting. I was momentarily thrown by the announcement that RT Lane Johnson would be out. However, after taking another look, I was sure of my pick, and reassured my friends and readers thusly.

On that note, something has to be done about protecting Wentz. I kept waiting to see Ertz moved in-line beside RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. If only to help by chip blocking. There were some instances of it, but not nearly enough of them, especially early on, when RB’s were being asked to pick up blitzes. And can we PLEASE never ask RB Kenjon Barner (5 – 7 – 1.4 – 0 – 0/ 1rec – 9 – 9.0 – 0), to pick up anymore blitzes? Getting Wentz murdered because we trusted an undersized fill-in, to protect his blindside, will seem silly in hindsight. How about we just not go there?

Speaking of Barner, I have no idea why has to get so many touches on Offense. Last week it was 5 touches, this week it was 6. If he was really that great with the ball in his hands, he wouldn’t have been at home to answer his phone, after Darren Sproles was injured. Stop letting him steal touches from RB Corey Clement (2 – 2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)!

Shit. Almost forgot to talk about the Panthers. People make a big deal out of their QB running, but when he does, he stops thinking about his team. As I said, “Old intel says that you don’t want Newton running, but that is very old intel, indeed.” You saw where he ran for a score and celebrated by showboating on a victory lap? Aside from that, when asked to be a leader, it was all slumped shoulders and interceptions.

The sad part is that now people will say that we’ve finally played someone respectable, even though we just faced the worst QB we’ve seen so far (in regards to leadership and intangibles). Whatever dude! Turn up the music and pass me an Angry Orchard. I’m celebrating my team’s climb from the bottom to the top. And will be doing so until at least Sunday.

NUMBER ONE SEED

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WEEK 5: CARDINALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/09
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THIS game was a case of a good team dominating a bad one. We went out and handled the business we needed to. Good teams beat the teams they should beat, battle teams on their level, and struggle while learning from teams above them. The Eagles are doing just that, in 2017.

torreyTD

EAGLES 34 – Cardinals 7

The Eagles led from whistle to gun in this one. QB Carson Wentz (21/30 – 70.0% – 304 – 4 – 1) gifted 4 different receivers with a scoring pass, including 72 and 59 yard strikes respectively to WR Nelson Agholor (4 – 93 – 23.2 – 1) and WR Torrey Smith (3 – 70 – 23.3 – 1). The play-calling was pretty even with 30 passes to 27 called runs. (Wentz would add 11 yards on 6 more carries.) The Defense again played admirably given the players we’re missing due to injury. It only makes a fan more excited to think of what may happen when we get a guy or two back. Especially a CB who can catch.

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.nelson.agholor

1) Jailbreak!: We needed to get to QB Carson Palmer (28/44 – 63.6% – 291 – 1 – 0) and we did. We added 2 sacks and 7 hits to the mountain of abuse Palmer is already absorbing this season. What his completion percentage won’t tell you, is how many of his passes were from his heel, not his toe, and how little room he had to step up. This is an area where we were MUCH better than the numbers indicate. (DONE)

2) Keep things straight: We took WR Larry Fitzgerald (6 – 51 – 8.5 – 0) away from the Cardinals. We blanked him in the first quarter, and didn’t allow him a catch until 26 seconds before the half. You can thank CB Jalen Mills (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) for that. (DONE)

3) Hit it hard: We gave Arizona’s 10th ranked, but undersized run defense a solid punch in the mouth. We split 21 carries between RB LeGarrette Blount (14 – 74 – 3.3 – 0 – 0), and RB Corey Clement (7 – 17 – 2.4 – 0 – 0), mostly running between the Tackles. That helped to keep the pass rush at bay, resulting in Wentz being hit 3 times and sacked just once. Both are season lows. RB Kenjon Barner (5 – 23 – 4.6 – 0 – 0) pitched in with some runs to the outside. (DONE)

4) Full throat: Philadelphia, you were loud and beautiful! Then again, with the warm, wet weather and what the players were doing, it’s not like it was hard to stay dialed into the game. (DONE)

This week the Eagles ran the table, and rung up a perfect 4 out of 4! That brings the season tally to 14 of 20. (That’s 70% if your tracking it.) That said, things get harder next week.The Chiefs were a big test for Week Two, and we went in with little to no expectations. Most of us wrote that off as a loss and just wanted to be competitive.

This next one is different. We WANT this one. The winner of this next one will be alone atop the NFC, at least for a few days. I don’t  know about you, but I want to be able to say that our team is the best. If only for a week or so. So lets meet back here on Wednesday, and discuss how we get that “W”.

On The Whole:

This was a brutally efficient game. Think about it. Despite two touchdown passes over 50 yards, this game never felt like the Eagles were looking for quick strikes. Just like in the Chargers game, it had a cold-hearted, tick-tock-tick-tock, feel to it. We converted 64% of our 3rd downs. Seriously, 64%! For perspective, we came into this game converting at 50%.

Despite injury and a shuffling of the Offensive Line, this team only gets better and better with each passing week. It learns and adapts. It exploits weaknesses and finds ways to undermine strengths. It loses players and then reloads with another, while in full stride, and it never stops working. It never stops hunting. It is methodical. Clinical. Brutally efficient.

And as of today, it locked it’s eyes, on Carolina.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/BILLS (PS)

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

Bufps2.jpg

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

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

Again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PREDICTION: EAGLES 17 – Bills 10

yeah-bitch