NFL

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CARY WILLIAMS MIGHT BE RIGHT

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/11
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Defense, NFL, Players. Tagged: , , . 10 Comments

coach-chipkelly537px.nbcphiladelphia

THIS week Cary Williams said that Chip Kelly’s conditioning system “didn’t necessarily work”. Considering that this team has run out of steam down the stretch for two straight years, (especially the Offensive and Defensive Lines), I’m thinking Cary Williams might be right about that.

You can line up with Kelly if you want, but from where I sit, it looks like Williams knows more about winning in the NFL. Williams has won a Super Bowl as a starter. In his only playoff game, Kelly failed to make any decent adjustments at home, against a dome team that was running an insultingly vanilla gameplan against their strengths. To see the playoffs and advance through them, Williams had to beat good teams repeatedly. Kelly is outcoached by +.500 teams on a regular basis.

Only one of these men has proven himself worthy of the NFL’s best.

More than that, upon our release of Williams, a team that has made a habit out of Super Bowls didn’t hesitate to snatch him up and peg him as a starter. Sorry folks, but I’d say Pete Carroll knows a bit more about what it takes to win in the NFL than Kelly does. Argue that point at your peril.

Kelly came to the NFL looking to change how some things are done, or to show that he knows a better way of doing them. So far he really hasn’t. Fact is, until he produces enviable results, his methods are largely going to be seen as quirky instead of innovative. I have yet to hear any sports pundits dismiss Kelly’s methods, but I have yet to hear anyone embrace them either.  

Kelly’s conditioning system was built for players 17-21 years old, who only had to last 12 games, on a roster twice the size of an NFL roster. You can run those guys into the ground and if one or five guys can’t go, you’re drowning in depth anyway. The NFL includes guys in their mid 20’s through late 30’s, many of whom have injury histories, and depth is far more limited. Running your roster into the ground, instead of resting them… You can only push the human body so far before it stops building up and starts breaking down instead. You can get away with more of that when people are younger. (Remember being 17-21 years old?) Imagine if at your current age you had to do your work day TWICE a day, for the same money you’d make to do that same job ONCE if you worked anywhere else. Now imagine that despite all the extra work you put in, your rivals (working half as hard) reaped better results.

This is where the player’s questions come from. This is where their doubt comes from. This is where Kelly needs to step back, look at his results and at least consider, that Cary Williams might be right.

LINE RILEY COOPER UP ON THE OUTSIDE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/09
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

player-rileycooper.500

NELSON Agholor starting at WR on the outside is almost a given at this point. Many fans are split over whether or not Jordan Matthews should play the other outside spot, or remain in the slot. (Personally I like the idea of him on the outside, as I said in this past article. ) Other options that fans are discussing for the outside, are Miles Austin or Josh Huff due to their speed and ability to potentially stretch defenses.

What I find curious is the way fans seem to have just written off Riley Cooper. We all know that the contract extension he got last year, makes it stupid to cut him right now due to dead money (see the contract) . That all-but guarantees him a roster spot in Philly this year, unless some team is willing to trade us for him. Whether people like it or not, Cooper got that extension because the coach sees something that he likes in him. But what could that be? Let’s take a look.

Cooper has a few things in his favor actually. Standing 6’4 and 230 pounds, he is the most physically imposing WR on the roster right now. His run blocking is generally well regarded. Since being called upon as a starter two years ago, he has never missed a game. His first fumble as an NFL player came last year, during his fifth season. He’s used to catching wounded ducks from Tim Tebow. If DeSean Jackson can keep drawing double-coverage, Cooper could have another year like…Oh wait. Never mind.

To be honest even Cooper’s best year wasn’t that big of a deal considering the circumstances surrounding how it happened. Under those circumstances another WR would have made more of Jackson drawing so much attention. In fact, Jeremy Maclin frequently did just that. The boiled down truth is that the Eagles should have let Cooper walk last year, but instead they shot themselves in the foot, and gave themselves little flexibility with him.

Today it would be an extra two million and change to free up a roster spot by cutting Cooper. However, it could be looked at as an investment! Look, given the commitments to players like Agholor and Matthews, the blatant favoritism of Huff, the upside of rookie Devante Davis, and the speed and kick return experience of Quron Pratt, eating three million or so (only for this year), by cutting Cooper and Miles Austin now, frees up practice reps and time to develop all of these young receivers. It allows us to potentially field a stable of young studs.

People aren’t discussing Cooper because they have too many other reasons not to. We know what he is, and more importantly, after five years, we know what he isn’t. The smart play for the long-term, is to line Cooper up wide. I mean wide like way wide. Not just along the hash marks, the numbers, or even the sideline, wide. More like the parking lot, wide. Like playing bocce ball at 10th and Carpenter, wide. Or waiting for a cab at Chelten and Germantown, wide.

The wider out we can get Cooper (and Austin) the better for this team it’ll be in the long run.

EAGLES FANS: GUARD YOUR OPTIMISM

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/06
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

player-matttobin.andrewgardner

ALL the talk about Sam Bradford, and DeMarco Murray has Eagles fans giddy for the 2015 season. Because RB Murray is an undoubtedly talented player and QB Sam Bradford is a former #1 overall Draft pick, many fans look at these additions and feel like were gonna make some noise this year. At first glance it does looks like we upgraded at QB, and got a decent replacement for LeSean McCoy, but if you look a little deeper the are some big questions. The biggest question is how good can we really expect the Offense to be if the Offensive Line is only so-so?

Yes, I said Offensive Line. You remember them. Five guys who stand about yey high, and have some input on the success or failure of every single play the Eagles run all year long. Yeah those guys. Fact is, only a couple of them are really all that good right now.

We released long-time starter Todd Herremans this offseason, because it was time to. You can hardly fault the Eagles for that. We’re also (for some reason) in the process of trying to give away Pro Bowl G Evan Mathis. Considering that C Jason Kelce isn’t the most (ahem) “physical” blocker, it makes me wonder where Murray’s success running the ball inside will come from, as well as the protection for a delicate Bradford.

I have no issue with the idea of the Birds moving on from players. Just make sure you get a DECENT replacement at least! We made no such move this offseason and now we’re stuck with a handful of Guards who run the gamut from career back-up to undrafted project.

Offensive Line coach Jeff Stoutland is under the impression (read here)  that career back-up/journeyman Allen Barbre is underrated, but will be the LG for the foreseeable future, and that Matt Tobin is the answer at RG.

That concerns me a bit, since Tobin played well enough last  year to be demoted for Andrew Gardner. Gardner was so impressive that it took him 5 years to start a game. He started 2 then was put back on the bench until Tobin was demoted. After that Gardner would start 6 consecutive games, while finishing out the year at RG. He was so impressive that now he’s behind the guy he was promoted over. Exciting stuff.

Either that or there is no depth chart depending on which paragraph from the latest report out of Eagles camp you choose to believe. On the one hand Stoutland has all the confidence in the world about certain guys working with the Ones, then later he says things like this: “I feel good about the guard situation. We’ve got a lot of good players around here,” Stoutland said. “Right now it’s to find the right person, the right people, to play those positions. There’s no depth chart right now. Right now we’re trying to find the right mix, so every day it’s a different person in there, getting a look at him on film and just evaluating the critical factors as they are in there.”

Here’s the truth: Question marks at ANY position make that position a weakness and not a strength.

Here’s more truth: DeMarco Murray had the year he had last year behind what many say is the best O-Line in football.

Little more truth: This unit was ranked by at least one publication as the #2 in the NFL in 2014; but if you’re an Eagles fan you SAW how those games actually went, and how this unit performed in big moments or against good teams. And I’m gonna leave that right there.

So yeah, we added a few shiny new weapons, but if we can’t keep our pocket QB’s upright, what are the odds that Tim Tebow can make much use of those weapons? If you’re banking on the Eagles having a dominant line with 2/5 of it being less than true starting quality, then you’re probably thinking that Sam Bradford will play all 16 games too. Just some friendly advice if you do: You may want to put away your valuable or breakable possessions before the season starts.

THE 46 DEFENSE BACK IN PHILLY

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/02
Posted in: Coaching, Crazy Talk, Defense, Fans, NFL, Players. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

White-Ryan2

THERE’S talk of the Jets possibly running the 46 Defense this year, and as an Eagles fan (of a certain age) I can’t hear the words “46 Defense” and not smile and think back to a simpler time. A time when the NFL was afraid of our team, our fans, and even the turf in the stadium.

Teams dreaded having to play the Eagles. It wasn’t just “Oh man they’re so good, they’re gonna kick our butts” type dread. It was ‘BodyBag Game’ type dread. It was “Seth Joyner  twisting up Jeff Rutledge’s facemask” type dread. It was our career-ending, “Knee-eating turf” and “700 Level” type dread. Big, strong, alpha males from all over this country, outright FEARED coming here.

The words “46 Defense” has the ability to take some of us back to a time that almost seems like a fairytale when we reflect on it. If you became an Eagles fan after Buddy Ryan, then you have no frame of reference to compare it to. Nothing Jim Johnson (god bless him) ever did could compare to the unit we had from about 1989 to 92. And everyone to follow JJ so far has ranked somewhere between the Eagles either playing a joke on us fans or sucker punching us while we kneel in prayer at church.

It got me to thinking about how leaky our defense is now, and how it would be great if we could put our 1990 Defense on the field with our 2013 Offense. That would be awesome wouldn’t it? (For one it would mean that Reggie White and Andre Waters were still alive.) Also with as good as that defense was at causing three-and-outs, the Eagles would seemingly always have the ball. And with LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson still in Eagle green, a triple digit score wouldn’t be out of the question.

BUT, since we can’t pull out a defense from a quarter century ago, why not just think about who we’d like to replace Bill Davis with when he’s fired after this season. Now is also a nice time to think about what kind of system we’d like to see run here. Personally, I’d like a 4-3 Monster instead of a typical base 4-3. The only problem is I think we’re a 3-4 team as long as Kelly is the Head Coach.

That said, I can’t think of a 3-4 system that I really like. I can think of 3-4 defenses I like, but that has far more to do with the players (generally LB’s) than necessarily the system they ran. Fan’s here seem to think our 3-4 will be better this year with Kiko Alonso being added, Brandon Graham now starting and DeMeco Ryans returning. Maybe it will, but I seriously doubt it.

The problems with Bill Davis’s system are in base principles of how to apply pressure and what is sacrificed in order to do so. It works fine against bad teams, but in San Fran, Arizona and now here, it can’t run with the big dogs. When your biggest issues are your core principles, who you plug in really doesn’t mean much.

However when you play sound, solid football… Man, I’m telling you, I do miss those days.

REAL EAGLES PRIDE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/30
Posted in: Crazy Talk, Fans, Players, Rants. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

home

YESTERDAY I wrote an article about Eagles CB Byron Maxwell guaranteeing that the Eagles will play in Super Bowl 50. While I was not a big fan of the Maxwell signing originally, I was glad to see him put that pressure on himself and his teammates. Other fans were not so happy, and would have rather Maxwell not said anything at all.

While I made mention of the positive effect that publicly stating a goal can have, some fans were quick (too quick) to point out the Vince Young “Dream Team” comment from 2011-2012. Because the Eagles went 4-12 that year, some fans are now afraid of the notion that an Eagles player would make plain what should be the goal and the attitude of EVERY NFL player. Especially in the month of May, for fuck’s sake!

I see Eagles fans running their mouths about the team “gonna win the division” and “go 14-2, 15-1, 16-0” every year. But GOD FORBID a player does it! They’re just the people who’re actually supposed to produce the predictions that fans keep running their mouths about. Apparently people who watch the game get to publicly have expectations, but people who play aren’t to do the same. I call bullshit on that.

Personally I’m sick of feeling like I want to win more than the players do. I’m tired of all these humble, good-guy types who don’t have enough inner fire to win a playoff game. Meanwhile Seattle and San Francisco, Baltimore and New England make a habit of playoff runs. I’m actually glad an Eagles player is stepping up. And you know what, if you’re one of those loudmouths who like to tell rival fans that we’ll win the division, you should be too. Hell, all the player is doing, is backing up what you said. Unless you didn’t really mean it when you said it.

Some fans have been scarred for life by the words “Dream Team”. The media hopped on two words from a newly signed, back-up QB who was trying to rebuild his career and his life; and fans are hurt because they chose to run with those words, instead of dismissing them as the words of a newly signed back-up QB who was trying to rebuild his career and his life. Meanwhile today Vince Young’s words are treated like nuclear waste, when his only crime was publicly stating his belief in the team he played for. Shame on an Eagles player for doing such a thing. That’s the attitude of some fans. Not me. How about you?

BYRON MAXWELL GUARANTEES SUPERBOWL 50.

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/29
Posted in: Crazy Talk, Defense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , . 6 Comments
The actual Superbowl 50 trophy.

The actual Superbowl 50 trophy.

CORNERBACK Byron Maxwell said that when he said of this year’s Eagles “we’re gonna go that far this year, meaning the playoffs and the Super Bowl. We’re gonna go that far.” He went as far as to guarantee it when he said point blank “You can take that as a guarantee”. That’s right. He guaranteed that we’ll be in the Super Bowl. 

Personally I love the confidence. I think the Eagles overpaid for him and that in this system he won’t be as good as advertised (because he can’t be), but I like confidence. It smacks of when JRoll said the Phillies were the team to beat in 2006 and they started acting like it, ultimately winning it all in 2008.

I much prefer that swagger to Derrick Coleman’s response in 1992 when asked whether or not the Sixers could make new coach Doug Moe’s “Run n Gun” offense work. Coleman’s response was “We’ll see.” The Sixers greeted the year with a shrug instead of swagger. As a result they were an abysmal eye sore and Moe didn’t last the season.

I prefer it when a player puts pressure on himself and his teammates. The idea that a coach has to motivate players always bugs me when I hear it. Nobody had to motivate me when I played. I did it because I loved it, I wanted to win and I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be able to look another man in the eye and tell him he wasn’t on my level. And then I wanted to show him. But before that there must be work, and before that there have to be expectations. Expectations of your body, your effort, your will and your ability to push past today’s limits.

Byron Maxwell has expectations. Expectations of himself and of his team, and I’m here to tell you that I love that. And let me tell you something else; if his attitude can spread to the other men on this roster, and they can achieve that goal, then he will be worth every penny he’ll ever earns in an Eagles uniform. I guarantee it.

DEAR ZACK METTENBERGER,

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/18
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Draft, NFL, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

get a clue

WITH the #2 overall pick in the Draft this year, the Tennessee Titans selected QB Marcus Mariota out of Oregon. While the position he was picked at virtually guarantees that Mariota will start, Zach Mettenberger (last year’s starter) has said he won’t yield the starting QB job without a “fight to the death” . Like everything about Mettenberger so far, I find it courageously sad.

This won’t be a fight to the death, because Mettenberger was already dead well before the 2015 Draft. When you’re a 6th round pick and the team goes and grabs a guy #2 overall at your spot, they’re kinda sorta sending you a subtle message. Which is hilarious considering how much help the Titans need, and that Mettenberger flashed some promise there.

Last year I got to watch him play against us in a 43 – 24 win for the Eagles. The kid looked good out there all things considered. He was a rookie 6th round draft pick, forced to start for a shitty team, that everyone knew in July was going nowhere but home in January. Still the guy played his overmatched little heart out, showing not a solitary ounce of quit in that game.

A good team would have looked at Mettenberger’s 83.4 rating, his never-say-die attitude, and the fact that five of their three 20-point games were with him starting, (including three straight weeks during five straight starts). A good team would have focused on coaching up a diamond in the rough and using that #2 overall draft pick on some help for their utterly atrocious defense. The Tennessee Titans however, are not a good team.

So the Titans did what bad teams do. They blew the #2 overall pick on a QB who is physically talented, but may have a steep learning curve before he’s NFL ready, let alone a playoff level performer. Meanwhile Mettenberger gets to waste away on the bench as the back-up to a question mark.

Barring injury to Mariota, while I admire Mettenberger’s spirit, his days of being the Titans starting QB are laying on a slab, right next to Jake Locker’s career. Someone should put on some Bone Thugs N Harmony and walk his career towards the light.

THE RETURN OF MICHAEL VICK

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/15
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , . 9 Comments

mv2

SAM Bradford has a great arm, but his durability is an issue that most fans can’t seem to overlook. And while Mark Sanchez played well in relief of Nick Foles after he had his collarbone broken last year, Sanchez was far from dynamic and showed no real ability to be a game changer, even momentarily. Our 3rd string QB is either Tim Tebow or Matt Barkley. Considering all of that, and given his familiarity with our system, how would you feel about the return of Michael Vick?

Hold on! Understand, this is just us fans talking. Nowhere have I heard that the Eagles were one of the handful of teams kicking the tires on Vick. The NFL’s website however does mention (HERE) that some teams are. I just thought I’d bring it up, since it’s the offseason and we have time to chew the fat and say “Hey man, what if…”

I’m talking about this purely as a back-up. Vick was never a 16 game starter even when was supposed to be, so I don’t see the point of trying to project him out as such now. What he could be if he were forced to start a few games though, is a guy who forces teams to throw away what they learned about this system with less mobile QB’s running it.

While opponents caught up to this offense with Foles running it, they did so at the expense of almost always leaving the backdoor wide open so they could stop the run. When Foles went down they did the same with Sanchez, because neither man could exploit it and make them pay. That’s not the case with Vick.

Vick isn’t the guy that the Falcons selected number one overall, but three years after he retires he’ll still be more of a running threat than Foles, Sanchez, or Bradford are today. With Vick as the back-up everything teams assume that they know about successfully defending against the Eagles, goes right out the window the second Bradford goes down.

Look, Sam Bradford may surprise us all. Chip Kelly could put him on a steady diet of Orange/Peanut/Spinach smoothies and Bradford might start every game as a result. However if Bradford goes down again, somebody has to start in his place for however long he’s out. Considering what’s on the roster today, the return of Michael Vick might not be such a bad thing.

NEEDING THIS MEANINGLESS PUNISHMENT

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/12
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

deflatriots

EVERYBODY knew the week before the Super Bowl that the Patriots had cheated in the AFC Championship game against the Colts. The NFL was “investigating it”, but the world already knew that game balls which had been inspected by NFL officials, were tampered with after that inspection. That part was clear, so everyone KNEW there was tampering. Still the Patriots were allowed to play in the Super Bowl. Now, four months after the Super Bowl confetti has been swept up, we find out the price for cheating in a playoff game is one player suspended for four games, plus a first and fourth round draft pick (not even in the same Draft year). It’s a meaningless punishment.

It would have been better if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just looked into the camera, said “Fuck you” to the fans, then went back to loudly slurping Bob Kraft (the Patriots team owner). It would at least have been more honest. It’s what most of us felt was happening anyway, when the Patriots weren’t disqualified or ordered to play game over at least. So much for teaching kids about sportsmanship Roger! Good job!

The set-up to this joke of a penalty is that it’s being appealed. Not just the 4 game suspension, but the loss of draft picks too. Despite the sweetheart deal Goodell handed these chumps, Tom Brady and Kraft are whining that the punishment is too much. You could impregnate all of China with balls that big!

The punchline to this joke of a penalty is that the NFL needs it to be upheld. Some would argue that reducing meaningless punishments is no big deal, since they started out without merit anyway. Here’s why that’s the wrong way to look at it. Everyone (not wearing a Patriots jersey) can plainly see that these were high crimes in the world of sports, and that some high price had to be paid for it. So it was bad enough that such meaningless punishments were handed down to begin with. However if they get further reduced just because the perpetrators of the crime don’t like the sentence, then it brings into question everything regarding player discipline in the NFL.

Using Performance Enhancing Drugs (Lane Johnson) or blowing herb (Josh Gordon) can get you suspended for four games (or more). Beating your son (Adrian Peterson) can cost you a season. So can a bounty scandal (Sean Payton). Beating your wife (Ray Rice) can get you just about blackballed. Yet all of these things occurred off the field. If the NFL loses the ability to discipline NFL employees for on the field issues, they lose the leverage and moral high-ground for doing so with off the field issues. There are far reaching issues at stake here.

The meaningless punishment (bullshit as it is), has to be upheld now or the whole damned thing starts to come apart on the day those sentences get commuted.

AN EAGLES FAN’S FULL ATTENTION

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/05/10
Posted in: Defense, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

tony romo

I’M sick of Cowboys fans whining every time a rival fan mentions their team that we’re “closet fans” or, “talking more about their team than our own”. Since my website here overwhelmingly disproves those statements, I felt comfortable taking a day to indulge our rivals. So they can know what it REALLY MEANS to have an Eagles fan’s full attention focused on their team.

They can’t win the division again this season, because they simply don’t have the tools.

Last year they leaned heavily on Philadelphia Eagles RB DeMarco Murray to carry their team and keep their QB upright. They don’t have him this year. Delusional fans have convinced themselves that replacement Darren McFadden can pick up where Murray left off. I won’t even argue too hard against that one, since I’m going around collecting screenshots of Cowboys fans who are piking McFadden up as being able to do what Murray just did.

Last year Tony Romo had the best year of his career while our RB set their franchise rushing record, and STILL while maxing out like that, they only won the division by a SINGLE game. Just one.

True, the Cowboys were 12-4 to the Eagles 10-6. Had we won that second game, we’re both 11-5 and the Eagles hold the tie-breaker. Since we lost that game, it was a moot point. Fact is however, the entire season turned on that ONE GAME. Just one. We did 10-6 with a plethora of injuries, and they maxed out to get to 12-4 on the swing of one game. Hardly the cream of the crop.

Last year on defense they couldn’t get within a $50 cab ride of a QB, so they went out and added some firepower. Only question is, will it ever see the field? One guy has become synonymous with domestic abuse and likes making 9/11 jokes as he appeals his 10 game suspension; and another guy can’t handle the rigors of May heat in shorts and no pads. The killer DT they were depending on, has all but retired. That front seven is a mess, and anyone who disagrees is probably the sort of fan that Cowboys defensive coaches hate. (That tweet has been since taken down.)

They picked up some O-line help, but from what I keep reading, the Cowboys line was already perfect last year, so I guess this will make them…“perfecter”?

While Cowboys fans like to talk smack about Sam Bradford‘s injury history, at least our back-up is Mark Sanchez. Meanwhile the Cowboys are still just one good hit away from starting this guy at QB:

 brandon weeden

Speaking of which, just how good are the current RB’s at blitz pick-up?