Nelson Agholor

All posts tagged Nelson Agholor

SHAME ON ME.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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LET’S TALK WIDE RECEIVERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND NOW FOR SEVERAL BEEFS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/01/10
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Rants, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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FACTS give you something that you can build a future on. Perceptions gives you something to build rumors on. Let me give you some facts:

WR Nelson Agholor‘s 40 Time – 4.42

WR Jordan Matthews 40 Time – 4.46

WR Dorial Green-Beckham – 4.49

The perception is that our WR’s are too slow and that we need to draft a fast one. The fact is, our WR’s are faster than most of the prospects out there. See for yourself HERE. You have to be careful with perception. It can get you to make stupid mistakes even with the “best of intentions”.

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And since a well-intentioned fuck-up will still be a fuck-up, you can see why I have several beefs with these perceptions.

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My first of several beefs is of course the speed thing. The problem with our WR’s isn’t speed. On too many plays (just too damned many), QB Carson Wentz was forced to throw the ball into crowds because often the routes would intersect downfield. That’s not an issue of receiver speed, that’s an issue of poor play design. It didn’t help that at times when receivers did get open, balls bounced off of hands, they didn’t get their feet down in bounds, they were frequently overthrown, and/or they often failed to drive back to the ball. We saw a ton of these things through all 16 games, and not one of these things is speed related. So let’s bin that ill perception, and perhaps run the risk of getting it right for change.

My next issue is the shortsightedness of this franchise.

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“What do you see beyond your fists?” It’s a question with an obvious answer, but this team has an amazing history of looking past and around obvious solutions. For example, there was no real reason why WR Paul Turner should have been inactive for as long as he was, and there was even less reason to use him sparingly once he was active. Wentz’s development could have started Week One if the Front Office didn’t prize Agholor’s draft position over Turner’s actual ability to play. But of course, that was too obvious.

Another issue is that WR Byrce Treggs actually did stretch defenses on the rare occasions they let him run deep routes. It boggled my mind to see him used on Jet Sweeps. The idea that our coaching staff didn’t want to keep a guy with 4.39 speed (DeSean Jackson runs a 4.35), on the field as often as possible, hurts my head. Even just as a decoy to keep a Safety back and clear the box for the run. The last time we had that sort of threat, RB LeSean McCoy ran for 1,600 yards. But we didn’t want that sort of thing ’round here, now did we?

My final issue is with the poor investment strategy. We’ve spent the picks. What we haven’t done is spend the time. In 2015 Agholor was a 1st round pick. In 2014 Matthews was a 2nd round pick and Josh Huff was a 3rd round pick. None of those players was coached up by the former head coach of this team. They learned to run plays instead of learning to become NFL receivers. Fact is, 2016 was their first year under a real coaching staff, and their position coach is Greg Lewis. Nothing against Lewis, but he wasn’t really a Hall of Fame sort of player, now was he?

NOTE: Since the original writing of this article, Lewis has since been given a guided tour of the exit, and an unlimited supply of unpaid vacation days, which he has already begun to use. 

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While I agree that we need to draft a WR, the fact is, it isn’t speed that we lack out there. What we lack is a guy who commands the ball and takes every snap as a personal challenge. We need a competitive guy in the mold of Jerry Rice, Anquan Boldin or Antonio Brown. A guy who’ll be a leader, and work in his spare time to perfect more than his Whip and his Nae-Nae. A guy who doesn’t take boat trips with a playoff game coming up.

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The fact is, we have guys who can run. We need guys who can make the guys around them better. That’s fact, not perception, and facts give you something that you can build a future on.

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WK13: BENGALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/12/03
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

 

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Cincinnati Bengals

Sunday 1:00        Paul Brown Stadium        Cincinnati, OH

NEEDS TO STEP UP:

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WR Nelson Agholor. Over the long run, poor WR play will only stunt the growth of QB Carson Wentz. So this game will be a direct indicator of whether or not Agholor has the resiliency to be relied upon in the future. With WR Jordan Matthews (if he plays), still at less than 100%, Agholor will not only be given the opportunity to step up, but he’ll be relied upon to do so. If he comes back playing the way he did before he was benched, it will almost certainly mean we are drafting a WR early in the next Draft. This game will either be the straw that break Agholor’s career, or the defibrillator that brings him back.

WE MUST CONTAIN:

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DE Carlos Dunlap. If I were building a defense and I could pick any NFL players to be on it, the second DE I’d take would be Dunlap. (The first would of course be J.J. Watt.) While it doesn’t hurt to have DT Geno Atkins and LB Vontaze Burfict as teammates, Dunlap is still a complete DE who does everything well, plays under control and actually sees what’s happening around him. By no means will he be an easy assignment for RT Allen Barbre to draw.

EAGLES STORY LINE:

We’re in a rut. Plain and simple. No need to sugar-coat it, we’re in a rut. That’s not the worst place to be though. A rut by definition says that there is an upside ALL AROUND us. We have potential. We’ve seen it. There isn’t a lack of talent, merely a poor coordination of it. There isn’t a lack of ability, just a stretch of poor execution. The good news is, every issue we have is correctable if we apply ourselves to actually correcting what’s wrong.

The first thing that needs fixing is attitude. Speaking frankly, I get the feeling that there are some players on this team who are fine with how things are going right now. I also get the feeling that a lot of those players will be let go and allowed to not shine for another team next year.

Something special is being built here. It’s taking time and real growing pains. In the process of fixing what’s broken, we’re learning why things break, why they work, and how to improve them. In the midst of disappointment, we are only disappointed because we see the potential.

BOTTOM LINE:

Time to see if we can bounce back in 2016, or if we have to wait until September.

PREDICTION:

EAGLES 20 – Bengals 17

WK11: SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/21
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , . 3 Comments

 

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EAGLES 15 – Seahawks 26

SAFETY Malcolm Jenkins (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) was expecting it to be a “knockdown, drag out” game, and it seemed that we did get knocked down and dragged quite a bit in that game.

You could tell it was going to be a long day at the office, when Seattle’s previously shrug-worthy run game, reeled off a 72 yard TD run to start the day. Which (YAY!) by the way, set a record as the longest run ever in that stadium. We also (ALRIIIGHT!) allowed their QB to catch a 15 yard touchdown from a WR.

It was remarkable to see that their WR’s can even throw passes, as we struggle to teach ours how to get separation on routes and catch balls. All game long we had to hear douchebag Phil Simms drone on and on, about how “overlooked” and “underrated” he thinks Seattle’s WR’s are. Meanwhile, we have a first round draft pick who cost us a touchdown, because he doesn’t pay attention to where he’s lined up.

Having just had my wisdom tooth extracted Tuesday, my blood pressure was up high enough during the game, to cancel the pain killers I’m on. Thank you Eagles. It wouldn’t be a real NFL season without at least one game causing me actual physical pain or a nose bleed from the sheer frustration of watching you. Good times.

Our (lack of) passing game helped kill us yesterday. Not just in terms of drops, but in terms of where we went with the ball. To put it in sharp perspective, we averaged 4.3 yards per run yesterday. However, for the game we only averaged 4.2 yards per play. That’s because we only averaged 4.1 yards per pass attempt.

Once RB’s Ryan Mathews (7 – 31 – 4.4 – 0 – 0) and Darren Sproles (2 – 15 – 7.5 – 0 – 0) were knocked out of the game with injuries, QB Carson Wentz (23/45 – 51.1% – 218 – 2 – 2) got very little help from his supporting cast. Specifically WR Nelson Agholor (errors are only stats in Baseball), who is apparently paid to drop balls and line up wrong. (Dear Eagles, if that’s all you want, I’ll work for half of what he’s getting. Just sayin’.)

On the other side of the ball, don’t be surprised if you see our Secondary on a milk carton. Did you see the way they covered Seattle’s receivers? Of course you didn’t see it, because they didn’t do it! The 5 and 6 yard cushions that our CB’s kept giving Seattle were a goddamned joke. They have guys on that roster who couldn’t run the 40 in 40, and we were respecting their speed?! All it did was lead to a number of cheap and easy passes from a QB who we kept in the pocket pretty well, by rushers who generally stayed in their lanes. Missing from the game was the sort of man-press that helps pass rushers, and causes QB’s to make mistakes.

Did you notice?

Wentz forcing a deep ball to WR Bryce Treggs who was double covered by CB Richard Sherman and FS Earl Thomas. Sherman of course intercepted the pass. Why on EARTH would any QB throw that ball? Also, what could Wentz have seen on that play, that was somehow a less attractive option?

I CAN’T THIS WEEK

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/08
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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MANY fans will want to dump on Head Coach Doug Pederson for going for it on 4th and short, instead taking those two field goals. To hell with that. That’s all window dressing. Look a little deeper and you’ll see something much more important and far more pervasive. It’s something that would only rear it’s head in a game like the giants game, and in moments like those we just faced.

What you’d see is a team with no real sense of it’s own limitations. History shows that there is no more important ingredient in a hand-spun, homemade, old world ass whipping. We avoided it by playing the giants last week, but Atlanta may not be so kind this week.

This was the game where we learned some of the things we simply can’t get away with. We’ve all heard the expression “athletes who play within themselves”. Players who don’t over-reach and focus on what they’re good at. That’s a nice way of saying for example, that Steve Kerr wasn’t as talented as Michael Jordan, but he still found a way to be great in his own right. Well, the Eagles have a bunch of Kerrs (see what I did there?), and are damned short on Jordans.

It’s important to work within your limits once you’ve learned what they are. That way you can avoid future beatdowns of the abjectly humiliating and spiritually traumatic variety. So class, what did we learn specifically on Sunday?

We learned that RB Darren Sproles card-darren-sproleshas never been a bell-cow RB for a damned good reason. On 59 carries this year, he’s yet to see the end zone or break a run for 20 yards. His 36 touches over the last two weeks have taken a visible toll on his quickness and explosiveness. Which explains why he ran out of gas on the punt return that he almost brought back Sunday. Bet you hadn’t put those two together.

 

 

We learned that QB Carson Wentz might have good straight ahead speed, card-carson-wentzbut he can’t evade NFL level speed on bootlegs. If he’s going to bootleg, it has to be into a throw. That option running stuff is out of the question for him. He’s just too slow at this level. If he drops back and the pocket splits, by all means young man, RUN! These QB option plays though? They have to go. Unless we’re drafting another QB.

 

 

We learned that DT Beau Allen is at best a stop-gap player. card-beau-allenHe gave us all a reason to sit up and take notice in the preseason, but since the games began to count, he’s been only useful as a plugger vs the run. Even when going against an O-line decimated by injury. Despite frequent double teams on DT Fletcher Cox, Allen also can’t take advantage of one on one blocks and is a likely candidate for being replaced after this year.

 

We learned that WR Nelson Agholor card-nelson-agholoris holding the team back. While Agholor had more catches than rookie WR Bryce Treggs, Treggs managed to both, beat his man deep AND catch the ball. Those are two traits we have yet to see much from Agholor. He’s had a season and a half to make the sort of impression that Treggs did within mere minutes of his NFL debut. While I wouldn’t go so far as to start Treggs over Agholor, it’s clear that Agholor needs to sit.

So there you go. Four things (see what I did there?) that the team entered the giants game thinking they could get away with, but learned they need to stop. Making the adjustments to these things won’t cost a dime. They don’t need to bring in anybody. This is just a matter of playing within themselves and doing what they’re actually good at. And no, Screen passes are not on that list.

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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CAN’T CATCH A BREAK.

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/10/26
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

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CARSON Wentz will be a wasted pick if we can’t get him a Wide Receiver to rely on. Most of the great Quarterbacks you can think of, had a go-to WR that also comes quickly to mind. Wentz doesn’t have anything remotely like that, and it’s starting to stunt his growth.

I’m seeing ball after ball forced in the direction of Nelson Agholor.

I’m seeing Jordan Matthews (still being employed poorly in the slot, and taken off the field in too many sub-packages) become all but invisible during most of the game.

I’m seeing Dorian Green-Beckham make short catches in traffic, and then get all but ignored in the red zone. (Though he did just catch a 6 yard touchdown on Sunday.)

I’m seeing back-up WR Josh Huff lead the team with 39 yards receiving in a whole game.

I’m seeing the Eagles trying to trade for a second WR in just over 3 months.

The easy answer is to say that the WR’s aren’t good enough. That was fine to say before the DGB trade. However, the whole idea of trading for him was though he had off the field/maturity issues, he has plenty of talent. That means we can’t say it’s a talent issue anymore.

Fact is, our 4 guys top WR’s all have very different styles from each other. Yet we’re to buy that none of them can play at all. One or two guys? Sure, I can buy a bum or two on a roster. But FOUR at one position? One that you traded for! I can’t be made to buy that. My I.Q. is just too damned high, my eyesight is too good, and I know too much football to quietly swallow that B.S.

The real problem is that Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich and Head Coach Doug Pederson don’t really know where they want to hang the team’s hat. We were billed as running a hybrid West Coast Offense, that included elements of the Spread, and utilized the TE more. The thing can’t be smooth, because they built-in too many wrinkles.

Week to week, the focal point of our Offense seems to be making sure that everybody plays, and gets a chance to hold the ball. On most teams, the staff will draw up specific plays designed to get the ball into a specific players hands? Do you EVER feel like we do that here? I sure as fuckall, don’t.

Our coaching staff seems incapable of putting ANY of our WR’s in “a better position to succeed”. Our receivers are used as interchangeable parts, instead of maxing out their built-in advantages and individual talents. We have three WR’s (Matthews, DGB, and Huff) who could each be a match-up headache, but instead are looked upon as mediocre at best.

Like I said, one or two guys sucking, I can buy. One or two guys with no talent? Sure, okay. One or two guys with bad work ethic. I could even spot you that. But FOUR guys? Four guys? Meanwhile Paul Turner (remember him?) just sits at home inactive?

Look, we drafted talent high, traded for talent, and have talent sitting at home. The issue isn’t player talent, it’s coaching. The coaching staff needs to decide who we are on Offense, and figure out how to get the most from each player to help define that identity.

WK3: EAGLES/STEELERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/09/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Pittsburgh Steelers

SUNDAY 4:25        Lincoln Financial Field       PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania

NEEDS TO STEP UP:

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HC Doug Pederson: Since we’re winning and dominating time of possession, no one will want to question the play-calling over these last games. No one except me. RB Ryan Mathews is not getting enough work. As a result the Offensive Line isn’t getting into a rhythm, and it has us averaging 3.5 yards per carry as a team. Also, aside from TE Brent Celek‘s 1 catch for 11 yards, there are only two Eagles players who average 10 or more yards per catch, WR’s Jordan Matthews (14.2) and Nelson Agholor (12.4). Even Dorial Green-Beckham is only averaging 8.0 per catch. More aggressive play-calling will be needed to beat the Steelers.

WE MUST CONTAIN:

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RB DeAngelo Williams: I hate saying this because he’s KILLING IT on both of my fantasy teams, but this is the guy we need to shutdown this week. He’s his teams leading scorer, rusher, and second leader in receptions. While Pittsburgh’s QB is capable of carrying a team to a win, it would be harder for him to do it alone than if he has help.

EAGLES STORY LINE:

This is a great game, coming at a great time. Winning it would be a huge boost for the locker room. Losing it however, just means more time to dissect what went wrong over the following week, which for us is the Bye. Unless we get blown out and embarrassed at home, there is no downside to how this week turns out. So enjoy the game Eagles fans.

BOTTOM LINE:

2-1 or 3-0 heading into the Bye. Since stopping what the Steelers do is right in our wheelhouse, I like our chances at home.

PREDICTION:

EAGLES 23 – Steelers 21

EAGLES 33 – COLTS 23

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/08/28
Posted in: Defense, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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ALL the crying about the Eagles Offense will now be put on hold for at least two more weeks. Last night the Eagles tossed 33 points on the scoreboard. Only 6 of which came from FG’s, and 6 more from the Reserves. That means 21 points (1 rushing TD and 2 receiving) came from the starting Offensive unit, in 3 quarters of football.

Offensively the Eagles looked in control and composed despite some early miscues, including an interception caused by WR Nelson Agholor (0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0) bobbling a pass (that hit him in his hands). QB Sam Bradford (17 – 20 – 167 – 2 – 1) looked extremely comfortable out there.

Bradford drew blood in the second quarter with an uncontested, 4 yard, jump-ball to new Eagle WR Dorian Green-Beckham (2 – 15 – 7.5 – 1). Bradford wounded the Colts again, on a 3 yard, walk-in pass, to TE Trey Burton (5 – 35 – 7.0 – 1) in the third quarter. RB Ryan Mathews (3 – 31 – 10.3 – 0 – 0) looked ready for the season to start, but again only had three touches.

WR Josh Huff (2 – 60 – 30.0 – 0 / 2 – 10 – 5.0 – 1 – 0) once again flashed the play-making ability that frustrates so many fans. huff colts2He scored the first TD of the game on a 9 yard run (jet-sweep), and helped set up another score with a 38 yard catch and run over the middle of the Colts defense. Already a dangerous KR, the Eagles are still trying to identify a role for Huff, who is more like a RB than WR, but not quite a RB either.

Defensively, there was never a doubt about who was in control of this game. The stats don’t accurately tell the story of how much duress QB Andrew Luck (13 – 18 – 134 – 0 – 0) spent the night under, and just how dominant we were yet again.

Once again the Eagles shut down the run, allowing the Colts all of 39 yards on 18 attempts (2.2 yards per crack). The Defensive Line collected 3 sacks (all on Luck), and CB Nolan Carroll (1 – 0 – 1 – 0) killed a drive by picking off an intended touchdown pass, in the end zone.

Last week I said one of the big stories of that game were the 12 penalties for 96 yards. This week the Eagles committed 8 for 64 yards. This is still a high number, but it shows improvement. Next week will be bubble players trying hard to impress. Expect a messy game.