I’M not going to keep you in suspense. It’s QB Jalen Hurts. All the beat reporters in Philadelphia don’t have the balls to do what I’m going to do here. Let me put it plain language, so that no one can be confused by it, and so I can’t back away from it in January.
QUALIFIER: If Hurts isn’t mentally sharper in 2022, the Eagles won’t win 9 games. However, if he is better at seeing passing lanes and getting the ball out on time, the entire NFC, not just the East, is on notice. This 2022 Eagles team will be competing for a first round bye, in the playoffs.
Am I getting ahead of myself? Nope. Not at all. You saw my qualifier. I didn’t say it was an automatic. I clearly stated the one thing, and ONLY one thing, that has to happen to trigger this team’s ascension.
I hear you ask “But BEAST, what about injuries?” We will have some, and some of them will be more damaging than others. Of course if the team is decimated by injury, even with a better Hurts, we’re probably screwed. That however, won’t need to be said to smart people. (So anyone who ignores parts of article, to focus on other parts, will be removing themselves form the ‘Smart’ category.)
As for a normal amount of injuries, what sets the Eagles apart, is that everywhere that we’re strong, we’re also deep. Let’s go position by position.
Stay close. The season is bound to get weird on us, at some point.
QB – Hurts and Gardner Minshew. No back-ups here, just two starters.
WR – Devonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal. Our top four WR’s have all been starters, who have posted at least one 600 yard season. There are no untested kids here.
OT – Lane Johnson, Jordan Mialata, Andre Dillard. Dillard doesn’t start because of how good the guys in front of him are, and teams have inquired about trading for him.
C – Jason Kelceis a Hall of Famer in-waiting, backed up by an heir (Cam “Beef” Jurgens) that Kelce hand-picked, as well as a couple of guys (Jack Driscoll and Isaac Seumalo) who have been plug and play at this position.
DT – Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Milton Williamsand Jordan Davis. There are teams that don’t have one guy of this caliber at DT, and we have FOUR. (FYI: If they can get Renell Wren going, they’ll have to change the scheme to get any three of these guys out there at once.)
LB – Kyzir White, Hassan Reddick, T.J. Edwards, Nakobe Dean. Anyone who expects Dean to walk away with the starting job in camp, wasn’t paying attention to Edwards, once the team gave him over 50% of the snaps in a game. Go and look at Weeks 8 – 16. Go look.
CB – Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, and Zech McPhearson. Maddox is strictly a slot guy, but he’s Top 10 (#9) at it. McPhearson is a pup, but he’s got dawg in him.
Those are positions of outright strength for the team. Next we have some positions that aren’t deep with game-changers, but have plenty of options if the starters go down.
RB – Miles Sanders is our guy. Behind him are Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott. Neither is spectacular, but in Sander’s absence, they’ve already shown that as a duo, they can keep the Offense running.
G – Landon Dickerson is a star. Isaac Suemalo (the other starter), isn’t a star. Young Jack Driscoll has made a strong case for Suemalo’s spot, and if Driscoll wasn’t coming back from his own injury, the job might already be his. So there’s one star, and two starters battling for a job. So we’re solid.
DE – Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat. Graham is not a sack artist, but he generates hurries, and contains the run extremely well. Conversely, Josh Sweat is pass rusher more than a solid End. Derek Barnett never became the sack artist he was drafted to be, but he’s low-key pretty good vs the run. There are no stars here, but no weak links either.
Right now S has too many question marks to say that it’s an asset yet. There is also almost no depth at TE. This is why I wrote earlier that the Eagles need the experiment of moving J.J. Arcega-Whitesidefrom WR to TE, to be a success story.
*****
Since this article was written (originally on July 16th), Training Camp has begun, and USA Today has picked us to go 11 – 6, and win the NFC East. So far so good, everything looks like it should, right about now.
I do have some concerns about Hurts though. And I’m not alone. Some guy named Brian Westbrookalso used “concerned” to describe his feelings about the team “When I’m hearing our quarterback is struggling early on in the preseason, early on in the camp, I’m absolutely concerned because I absolutely know that our quarterback has to carry us for a certain part of the season. We have to find a way to make sure Jalen Hurts is the guy and right now, based on some of the reports that are coming out of camp, he hasn’t done too well.“
It’s not just me. It’s not just BWest. As he said, reports coming out of camp. This is internal stuff, folks. Even Head Coach Nick Sirianniused the ‘C’ word. “Would you want to eliminate a couple of the turnovers? Absolutely. There’s a couple too many turnovers in there. That’s where my biggest concern is.”
So this is not me picking on Hurts. Fan, former player, and Head Coach are all concerned. So this can just be dismissed. I want to believe the kid can do it, but he’s running out of time and wasting opportunities. Game One is closer than it appears.
Do you want to know what my nightmare is? Watching Hurts be outplayed twice this year, by QB Carson Wentz. Are you up for that? Hurts has started two games against the Cowboys, and been blown out both times. Are you up for that again? Last year, Hurts (QB rating 17.5) was massively outplayed by QB Daniel Jones (QB rating 94.0), in a 7 – 13 Eagles loss. Are you up for that again? If you aren’t up for this stuff, then you need to be concerned.
No way we split with either of these failure factories, this year.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
Receiving: (S) TE Dallas Goedert (12 – 6 – 92 – 15.3 – 0)
Offensive Line Report: (1 + 0:1 – 2)
Drive Killer: (S ) OLB Alex Singleton (0 – 0 – 1 – 0 – 0)
Sack Leader: (S ) DE Ryan Kerrigan(3 – 1.5 – 0 – 0)
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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Thingsarticles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Buccaneersdid the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Run the ball to our left:Nope. Hardly even tried. Note: RB Boston Scott(1 – 34 – 34.0 – 1 – 0) had a touchdown run, and RB Miles Sanders (7 – 16 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) had his longest run of the day (14 yards) going to the left. Maybe we should have tried to run more in the first half? I say that because we had 4 just handoffs in the first half. Four.
In fact, we only handed the ball off just NINE times in this game. Which EXACTLY matches what we did in our Week 6 loss to this team. (NOT DONE)
2) See Tom Run:We collected 4 sacks in this game, but in general our coverage was so loose, the ball was quickly out of QB Tom Brady’s (29/37 – 78.3% – 271 – 2 – 0) hand. There was never any chance of making him run to buy time. (NOT DONE)
3) Man Press Coverage:Instead of dictating to the QB by using Man Press coverage, we played soft on the corners, and tried to “confuse” Brady with slight shifts and bails. It was a sign of our stupidity, to be so blatantly disrespectful of a QB who’s career is old enough to drink legally.
We didn’t show him a single thing he hasn’t beaten a hundred times already. It was goofy on our part to suggest it in a meeting. It was full-blown Are-tarded to try to work it into a game. (NOT DONE)
4) Speed Kills: We tried 3 times (not 6) to get the ball deep to a WR. Two were overthrows to WRQuez Watkins(7 – 2 – 35 – 17.5 – 0) and one was an interception while trying to get to WR Devonta Smith (11 – 4 – 60 – 15.0 – 0). Too many passes were being thrown to a double covered Goedert. (NOT DONE)
****
So we did 0of the FT’s, and we got shit-canned as a result. While some would tell you that 15 – 31 isn’t being shit-canned, you and I would know that those people didn’t actually watch the game.
****
On The Whole:
This one has me in a weird place. While many didn’t give us a chance to win, I almost EXPECTED us to. Yes expected. Given Tampa’s overall injuries, we were clearly the more physically talented team on the field. Given that they suffered injuries during the game, that edge should have been magnified.
The problem with us is mental. Once again, our coaching staff approached this game like they were more afraid of being embarrassed, than they were hungry to win. The play calling on Offense childishly simply, and our Defense had the feel of a preseason game, where a team doesn’t want to reveal too much.
Being that I practically expected a win here, you’d think I’d be angry, or disappointed. Weirdly enough, I’m neither. Instead what I feel, is that this game is THE GAME that truly begins the Nick Sirianni era. All of that first year coach, virtual rookie QB, team in transition bullshit, died today. There are going to be expectations next year, of getting past this point. This game has set the tone for how we view the rest of Sirianni’s reign.
I’m not going to harp on players too much here. I’m not going to talk about the future of Hurts. I’m not going to talk about any first round busts, being absolute fucking trash. I’m not going to talk about the Draft. Not here. Not today. There were many lessons in this game. We need to take the time to unpack them, as we turn our eyes to winning the NFC East in 2022.
SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.
In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 18. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)
Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.
We’re in the playoffs! Stop and appreciate that for a moment. From a 2 – 5 start with a rookie Head Coach in Nick Sirianni, to 9 – 8 and representing our division in the playoffs. By the way, I want to say that calling us the NFC Least…THAT’S GOTTA GO! The NFC West sent three playoff teams. The NFC North? Just one. The NFC South? Just one. The NFC East sent two. Apparently even our 7th seed Eagles, are better than at Least 9 other teams in the conference. (Mic drop)
GRADES:
QB: (C )During this quarter,Jalen Hurtswent 54/81 (66.6%), with 3 touchdowns vs 1 interception (for 5 total scores and 2 turnovers) He also had three consecutive slow starts vs bad teams. With the high ankle sprain that he’s nursing, he now has to lean on his skills as a passer. Like Dak Prescott, Hurts may possess a lot of locker room intangibles, but as a passer, he cannot be mistaken for a top 10 player at his position.
The question all year long has been: IS HURTS A FRANCHISE QB?
I sent my answer in early, and my answer was “No.” However, for those who wanted to take the whole regular season to assess… Well, here we are, and my answer remains unchanged. If you want to look at the season in its entirety, fine. Let’s wait until after the playoffs.
In fact, the playoffs are the very measuring stick that GM Howie Rosemanused to measure QB Carson Wentz: “We loved Carson, but we played four playoff games” (actually six Howie) “and we’ve needed our backup quarterback for all of them. It’s too important of a position not to have that. I think that just thinking about where we were at the moment, and I think it was the right thing to do. It’s a hard decision, but it was the right thing to do.”
Hurts will go into his first playoff game next week, and so far he doesn’t seem to have mastered the position’s subtleties. Scoring a nod as a Pro Bowl alternate was cute, but no one really cares about that. The Pro Bowl lost the credibility of being real football years ago.
RB: (C ) The best ability is availability, and Miles Sanders (25 – 176 – 7.0 – 0 – 0) has come up short in that, for the second time this season. Concluding this season in street clothes, he will post career lows in rushing attempts, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards. Despite 166 touches, he will not post a single touchdown in 2021.
Jordan Howard(35 – 132 – 3.7 – 0 – 0) hasn’t been quite as effective with Sanders out. In fairness, his use has also become more sporadic, in a position that relies on rhythm. With Sanders out, Boston Scott (26 – 88 – 3.3 – 3 – 0) somehow leap-frogged Howard to become the starter. In the season finale Kenneth Gainwell (13 – 82 – 6.3 – 1 – 0) got the start, andJason Huntley (13 – 51 – 3.9 – 0 – 0) was activated.
With Sanders being out and Jalen Hurts nursing a sore ankle, the personality of the run game has shifted severely. It went from battering teams inside, to trying to use a little guys (Scott, Gainwell, Huntley) to exploit creases. Without the physical edge to the run game, the passing game has been negatively impacted, as pass rushers are now staying fresh, longer.
WR: (D ) Devonta Smith(22 – 14 – 215 – 15.3 – 1) failed to reach 100 yards in any game, this (or last) quarter. While his statistical contribution would be great for a #2, his role on this team is that of a #1. More is expected of him! He is either being hindered by his own talent/work ethic, the coaching, or who is throwing to him. Those are the only three choices. Fix the problem.
Quez Watkins (16 – 12 – 156 – 13.0 – 1) is being utilized completely wrong. As a deep threat, he neither sees two long balls per game, nor are many post routes run out of the Slot to keep Safeties from bracketing him deep, to get him one-on-one.
When Greg Ward (7 – 5 – 65 – 13.0 – 1) gets opportunities, he produces. He isn’t as physically gifted as the other receivers, so the coaches aren’t intrigued enough to try to manufacture opportunities for him, like they do with Jalen Reagor(11 – 7 – 91 – 13.0 – 0), who is trash, or J.J. Arcega-Whiteside(3 – 0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0) who is also trash.
TE: (C ) Dallas Goedert (20 – 15 – 234 – 15.6 – 0), and Jack Stoll(1 – 1 – 7 – 7.0 – 0) have been the Eagles 1-2 punch, since the trade of Zach Ertz. As you can see, the 2TE attack has been severely de-emphasized. When Ertz left, no one picked up the slack with regard to the production vacuum. Both Tyree Jackson and Richard Rodgers combined for 5 catches, 33 yards, and touchdown in the season finale. Otherwise neither had a catch all season.
OT: (A ) LT Jordan Mailataand RT Lane Johnsoncontinue to be one of the best duos in the sport. Just to drive that nail further into our opponents coffin, Lane caught a 5 yard TD during our Week 16 runaway victory over the giants. Andre Dillard continues to be high quality depth. Le’Raven Clark on the other hand, is a career back-up, who will never push for a starting gig.
G: (A ) LG Landon Dickerson and RG Nate Herbighave been consistent, and despite being young players with the mounting pressures of a playoff chase on the line, there’s been just one penalty between them since November. That is discipline and poise.
C: (A ) Jason Kelce is a future Hall of Famer.
DE: (D ) Josh Sweatmust have heard me badmouthing him all year, because he’s really turned it up this quarter. In his last three games, he’s added 2.5 sacks, 3 batted passes, and a FF. If badmouthing him makes him play this much better, then let me just say (clears throat) “Josh Sweat ain’t shit! The only way he’ll ever see a QB, is with a telescope. He sets edges worse than Naomi Campbell.”
Violence towards QB’s is apparently against Derek Barnett’s religion. Tarron Jackson hasn’t played a ton, but when he does, he just looks like a guy. Ryan Kerrigan started the last two games and didn’t have much impact at all. A draft pick will be spent here in April.
DT: (B ) Fletcher Cox in his last three games has racked up 2.5 sacks, 10 tackles (3 for losses), 1 forced fumble and 5 QB hits. THAT, is how to roll into the playoffs! Javon Hargrave’s 12 tackles and 5 QB hits, are not to be overlooked.
Hassan Ridgeway is a high motor, rotational guy. He hasn’t produced many stats, but he’s played quite a bit during the last quarter. That likely has been to keep the starters as fresh as possible for the playoffs. The story of the quarter however, has been Milton Williams. The rookie has stepped up, with a sack, 9 tackles (4 for losses), 3 QB hits, and 2 passes knocked down, during these last 4 games.
OLB: (C ) Alex Singleton grabbed 28 tackles, forced a fumble, and returned an interception for a score. All this as he set the Eagles all-time mark, for tackles (137) in a season. He had his 6th double-digit tackle game of the season, with 12 against the giants.
Though Genard Averyhas been used less as a blitzer this quarter, the blitzes have been smarter. As a result he’s added 3 hurries and his only sack of the regular season. To compare, he’d had 1 hurry in game one, and none again until this quarter. Patrick Johnsongot the Week 18 start and turned it into 5 tackles. Still, I think he’d be better as an edge rusher, with his fingers in the dirt.
MLB: (A ) T.J. Edwards had 36 tackles and 2 passes defensed in his last three game. That includes 16 and then 14 tackles, in his last two games. He also has 6 double-digit tackle games this season. In a rare instance where Edwards wasn’t on the field, Shaun Bradley got the Week 18 start and posted 5 tackles.
S: (C ) “Rodney McLeod is no longer an impact player on the back end. He always seems a step (or two) slow, and his tackles lack any authority.” That’s what I said during the last one of these reports. Let me just say now, I’ll have my crow with a side of mashed potatoes, please. McLeod came out of nowhere to grab two picks, in his last two games. Nothing in his play this season indicated that he had anything left in the tank. Then suddenly… Crazy. Just crazy.
Anthony Harris has shown a little more aggression towards the ball with a pass deflection in each of the last two weeks. Marcus Eppsis a solid Nickel player, who is learning to let the game come to him more.K’Von Wallacedoesn’t miss tackles, but unfortunately, tackling seems like all he does.
CB: (B ) Darius Slay and Steve Nelson haven’t been flashy this quarter, but the showing off is there, if you know how to look. In the last 5 games this duo has played, no opponent has reached 20 points in a game. Neither has surrendered 100 yards or a touchdown this quarter.
Avonte Maddox has been making tackles to “cauterize the wound” when receivers make short grabs. However, he could be doing more to influence fewer passes to his zone. Rookie Zech MacPhearson has played 83 snaps, been targeted just 10 times, and allowed 6 completions for 71 yards and no scores. In fact, on the year, he’s played 179 snaps, but been targeted just 17 times, allowing 9 completions for 96 yards and no scores. QB’s avoid throwing at him. Let that sink in too.
Andre Chachere(pronounced sash – sherry), andJosiah Scott are Nickel/Dime types. They will allow a high percentage of completed passes, but they will also stick their whole face in on a tackle as well.
LS: (A ) Rick Lovato. Has done a consistent and reliable job of getting the ball to the leg men.
P: (D ) Arryn Siposs saw his per boot average drop from 45 to 36.9, yards. Of course, of his 11 punts, only 3 were returned, and for just 27 yards. (The longest being 13 yards.) Big picture: It’s 9 yard per return vs 36 yards per punt. That’s a net gain of only 27 yards in field position. We can’t live that way.
K: (A )Jake Elliott was 11/11 on extra points, making him perfect on the year. He nailed 8/9 field goals this quarter. Scoring is not Elliott’s issue. Kickoffs are. On 24 KO this quarter, team’s felt confident enough to return 9 of them (37.5%), for 225 yards (25.0). That’s down from last quarter’s 31.5, but it’s still too much.
PR/KR: (C) Jalen Reagor’s punt returning (8 – 79 – 9.8 – 0) improved last quarter’s. He was however, practically striped of his kick return duties. Kenneth Gainwell took a shot at that. His numbers (7 – 122 – 17.4 – 0) would suggest that the Eagles keep looking.
KC: (D ) Giving up 25 yards per kick return, and 9 yard per punt return, means that our opponents are chipping away at winning the hidden yardage battle.
SINCE LAST QUARTER:
We were in the process of running the table, when an outbreak of Covid-19 forced half of our key players into quarantine. No matter. We won enough games to get to the tournament.
MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:
We ended with him in 2018. Now we’ll start with him in 2022
The mission for this next quarter is simple. Win one game. Then win a second. Then win a third. Then, win the fourth. We’ve been here before. The stage is just the right size for us. We didn’t come this far, just to get this far. To my dawgs: Keep. On. Running.
LAST week, our back-ups and Practice Squaders lost 26 – 51 in the season finale. Our craven opponent, played their starters for most of that game. Their starters! Still, we racked up 26 points, and 315 yards, with of 149 of those yards on the ground (4.5 ypc). Again, we did that with a bunch of guys who won’t even be on the roster this week.
This week we travel to Tampa Bay, to play a Buccaneers team that found a way to lose to Washington, and was swept by New Orleans this season. Having been shutout (0 – 9) in one of those games. Fellow Eagles fans, if “the goat” can lose to teams that don’t even have a QB, then expect us to surprise a lot of people on Sunday.
Let me let you in on a secret: The Bucs are ranked #3 against the run this year. However, they’ve played a number of teams that already don’t run the ball much. So that #3 is an inflated ranking. When they did play teams that run a lot (Washington, New Orleans, Indianapolis, New England), those games became either losses or went down to the wire.
Understand Eagles fans, we have a chance, and it’s not just a slim one. Our chance has three chins and tops doughnuts with insulin. Don’t let the naysayers sway you. They’re just still trying to be right. (They should have listened to me all along.)
Defeating the Buccaneers, will earn us a trip to Green Bay. Losing to them, will mean a quiet plane ride home. It’s as simple as that. GO BIRDS!!!!
****
The point of Four Thingsisn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus the Buccaneers:
1) Run the ball to our left:That may sound like a no-brainer, but there’s more to it. LTJordan Mailata (24 years old) and LG Landon Dickerson (23 years old) are on their way up. They are massive, powerful, and physical even in their mental approach to the game.
Across from them are what’s left of DT Ndamokung Suh (34) and DE/OLB Jason Pierre Paul (32). Both are coming off of their worst seasons as a pro. They have posted 27 and 31 tackles, respectively this season. They don’t want the heat that our left side brings.
Pound the ball on these guys. DT Vita Vea is just 26 and at the top of his game. However, at 347 pounds, just get him chasing Screens and Stretch runs early in the game. That will get him sucking wind, and take the explosiveness out of his hips. By the third quarter, we should be able to work Tampa’s right side relentlessly.
2) See Tom Run: Ideally we need to get either DT Fletcher Cox, or DT Javon Hargrave to hit QB Tom Brady early in this game. Not pressure him. Actually knock him on his ass. Take away his trust in climbing the pocket. He cannot be allowed to get comfortable in the pocket.
Once Brady can’t step into his throws, periodically blitz MLB T.J. Edwards to flush him out. Force Brady to make throws on the run, to receivers who are filling in, and aren’t used to catching off-platform passes from him. All we need a couple of mistakes.
Brady has never had the strongest arm, but over the years he’s found ways to compensate for what he’s lost physically, with anticipation, timing, and altering his mechanics to suit what he can still do. If we can get him running frequently, we’ll severely alter those mechanics, wreck his timing, and subvert any other trick that he routinely relies on. All in one fell swoop.
3) Man Press Coverage:Don’t attempt to disguise our coverages too much. Brady won’t be fooled by pre-snap hysterics. What will shake him, is knowing that he’s going to have to hold the ball longer than he’s accustomed to, because his receivers aren’t open early. That will allow our pass rush to close in.
We’re not trying to be subtle here. The Buccaneers offense will be without key pieces (WR’s Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown), and some of their returning pieces (RB’s Leonard Fournette and possibly Ronald Jones) are playing through injuries that sidelined them in Week 18.
The Buccaneers are limping and leaking blood. This game is about us pummeling a weakened opponent, and bullying an old man out of the delusion that there is room for the elderly in this sport. His end is very fucking nigh, and on a national stage, WE, US, THE EAGLES, need to show that to the world.
4) Speed Kills:Use our speed and go deep 6 to 8 times in this game. Tampa’s secondary is LOADED with bums. Even at their best! So when they walk a Safety up to help slow our run game, that will leave them in Cover 1 or Cover 3. Meaning that either WR Quez Watkinsor WR Devonta Smith has a one-on-one match-up. That’s when we launch it!
This game should be QBJalen Hurts’s coming out party. Get him on bootlegs and let him launch a few, leading the receiver into the end zone. And when Tampa goes to a Cover 2 or Cover 4, go back to running it down their geriatric throats.
****
If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…
The last time we faced this team, we lost by 6 points, in what was the 6th NFL game that Head Coach Nick Sirianni ever coached. In that game, RB Miles Sanders carried the ball 9 times for 56 yards (6.2ypc). Jalen Hurts ran 10 times and threw 26 attempts. It was one of the worst called games in Eagles history, and still we only lost by 6.
There is no need to be subtle here. This is a beating. This is revenge. This is truth being put on display. Brady is 44 and says he wants to play until he’s 50. OH REALLY?! So we need to put his body to the test. For everyone who says we can’t win because we’re facing the goat, they need to be reminded that we’ve feasted on this goat before.
****
All Four Things Prediction: EAGLES 27 – Buccaneers 23
WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Cowboys did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Understand the Moment: I wanted the starters to sit as much as possible. However, I figured our “rookie head coach” would want to rock-paper-scissors for the win, and so play his starters. I just hoped he saw the big picture and didn’t play the starts too much.
Lo and behold! Head Coach Nick Siriannigave CJason Kelce one snap, and WR Devonta Smithplayed just enough downs to set a new franchise record, for receiving yards by a rookie. After that it was all back-ups. Sirianni, understood what was important, and demonstrated it clearly. I’m proud of him. (DONE)
EWOK SLAM!
2) Dig DEEP: “Players you don’t know, making 2 to 4 nice plays after half-time. That’s the ideal situation.” That’s what I said. Well, RB Jason Huntley (13 – 51 – 3.9 – 0 – 0) had a couple of nice runs; and DT Milton Williams’s run stuff in the 3rd quarter, actually got me off my couch. This is exactly what I was talking about, and we did it. (DONE)
3) Going Out In Style:Our starters didn’t play, so this is non-applicable.
4) Do some reckless shit: While WR Greg Ward (1 – 1 – 100% – 2 – 0 – 0) didn’t get a whole series at QB, he did get to throw a redzone pass as a Wildcat QB, on the opening drive. That qualifies! (DONE)
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That brings this weeks FT score to 3 of 4. Next week we travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Earlier this season they beat us 22 – 28, and were the catalyst for us deciding to run the ball more. Next week we get to thank them, in person.
****
On The Whole:
Who gives a shit? A third of the starters in this game, will be deactivated next week. We owed the NFL one more game, and so we phoned one in. We didn’t tip our hand as to what we might want to run in the playoffs. Hell, from what I could see, it seemed like the Offense ran maybe 8 or 9 different plays, from slightly different alignments. All of which were basic in nature.
How about “rest vs rust”? TE Tyree Jackson (5 – 3 – 22 – 7.3 – 1) tore his ACL. Had that been Dallas Goedert, the fan base would be crucifying Sirianni, and the national media would be calling him an idiot for even playing Goedert in a meaningless game. We went in as the 7th seed, and we came out as the 7th seed. Yet some folks wanted us to battle for 6th? For who? For what?
Instead, our guys got to rest and heal. Because of this week, we’ll go into next week better armed, and with a better chance as we take on last year’s Super Bowl champion. Emphasis on the words last year’s.
LAST week we went to Washington and chalked the Redskins in their home.
SEASON OVER!
That win clinched a playoff berth for us, but also renders this game against the Cowboys sort of anti-climactic. Add to that, the 12 players we put on the Covid list this week, and the volume really gets turned down on this one.
We currently occupy the 7th seed which means our likely first round opponent would be the Rams. If the 49ers lose, it could catapult us from the 7th seed, alllllllll the way up the 6th seed. In which case we’d likely draw Tampa Bay. Who cares? You? Me neither.
This week a win can’t help us and a loss can’t hurt us. Which has people of three minds:
1) Rest the starters, so that we don’t lose anyone before the playoffs.
2) Play to win, because it’s Dallas.
3) Play the starters just for a half, to practice some of our weaknesses.
I’m in camp number THREE. The stakes are no longer based on the climb to the playoffs. We’re there already. The next set of stakes are IN the playoffs. There are no stakes this week. None. So just use this week as an assessment tool/study hall.
There will be stakes again, soon enough.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Cowboys:
1) Understand the moment: QB Jalen Hurtsis 0 – 2 vs the Cowboys, having been blown-out both times. Getting him his first win against them, while at home? That would be big for him. Huge in fact. Because calling a QB who can’t beat Dallas, “our franchise”? Nope. Can’t do it. Hurts could use the win. That said, it shouldn’t be our focus.
Seeing the big picture, should be our focus. Use this week to practice things we suck at, and get some game experience for our deep bench. Playing the starters for the full game, or until one of them is injured, would show that Head Coach Nick Sirianni doesn’t understand the moment.
2) Dig DEEP: While a win would be nice, don’t get hung-up watching the scoreboard. Instead, here’s what you should look for: QB Reid Sinnettgetting some action; WRJ.J. Arcega-Whitesidecatching passes; CB Zech McPhearson covering WR Amari Cooper; OT Andre Dillard trying to show that he can run block; LB Patrick Johnsonand LB Shaun Bradley getting 10+ defensive snaps. And maybe a few runs from RB Kerryon Johnson!
Players you don’t know, making 2 to 4 nice plays after half-time. That’s the ideal situation.
3) Going Out In Style:If our starters beat-up on their back-ups, that’s a cheap win. It’s a chicken-shit way to win a game.
Ideally, when our starters leave this game, two things should be true: 1) Dallas’s starters are still out there, and 2) We have the lead. Regardless of how small it is.
That way it can (and WILL), be said that our starters could have won this game, had they played the whole thing.
Besides, Dallas has spent so much money on overpaying starters, that the depth on that team looks like high school JV squad. To stand any chance of winning, they’d have to leave their starters in. Their starters vs our back-ups? What a chicken-shit way to win.
4) Do some reckless shit: This is a game without consequences! Do some stuff that normally would get the coaching staff crucified for trying it. Stuff like:
Not punting all game long.
Giving LS Rick Lovatoa couple of defensive snaps at LB.
Letting WR Greg Ward play QB for a series. (He played it in college.)
Giving LT Jordan Mailata a carry in the redzone
Just something wild and crazy. Look, this is the last home game of the year for Birds fans. It’s a night game, and it’s going to be windy and about 25 degrees. Give those fans something to remember, before our team goes on the road for possibly the next 4 games.
….
If we do these Four Things,
It should build confidence and loosen the entire roster up. It could act to bring more joy to the hard work, of preparing to beat playoff teams. Winning this week would be great. However, this week isn’t about that. It’s about getting everyone focused on a much bigger prize.
That having been said, the last time we faced Dallas, our coaching staff called 39 passes and just 3 handoffs. THREE run plays, all day long. As a team we ran for 64 yards. Jalen Hurts ran 9 times for 35. We had 29 yards on 3 handoffs, and still we didn’t hand the ball off more. RB Jordan Howard wasn’t even on the active roster.
That is NOT the Eagles team that the Cowboys will face this Saturday Night.
This time around, vs a defensive line built to rush the passer, our O-Line needs to practice putting foot to ass. The tone of this game will be 180 degrees from the last one. Those fuckers won’t have any idea of what hit them.
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PREDICTION: EAGLES 20 – Cowboys 9
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
JALEN Hurtswon’t be a franchise quarterback. Let me say that up top, in plain and unbroken English. I told you that in June after 4 starts, in October after 10 starts, and in November after 13 starts. Now, 16 starts into his NFL career, I’m saying it again: Jalen Hurts will not, because he cannot, be a franchise QB.
The timing of this article couldn’t have been better. I told some friends (Andrea and Arlette), last week that I would write about this subject. Thanksgiving got in the way, and so I had to delay it. Turns out, that was for the best. Events during this last game have sharpened the points I’m about to make.
Over the last four weeks as the Eagles were piling up rushing yardage, most fans were satisfied. So long as Hurts was running for touchdowns, and leading the team in rushing, no one but me seemed to care that his game as a passer, kept being extremely pedestrian.
Detroit: 9/14 – 64.2% – 103 – 0 – 0. Los Angeles: 11/17 – 64.7% – 162 – 1 – 0. Denver: 16/23 – 69.5% – 178 – 2 – 1.(I won’t pick on the day Hurts had vs the giants. We know how that went.)
But let’s look at the Saints game, which we won in a blowout. Specifically, the stat line put up by Saints QB Trevor Siemian (22/40 – 55.0% – 214 – 3 – 2), vs the stat line by Hurts (13/24 – 54.1% – 147 – 0 – 0).
Siemian was slightly more accurate, got his supporting cast involved, and so, he nearly led a rally. This is despite being a third stringer, without his team’s starting RB, #1 WR, and BOTH Offensive Tackles. Hurts had none of these disadvantages, yet it can be argued that Siemian had a better day as a QB. Especially in regards to getting his teammates involved.
Teammates is another bone I have to pick with Hurts. I keep hearing about how he’s a field general. I keep hearing how he’s focused and competitive. However, during games, especially when we’re down, when I see him on the sideline…he’s just sitting there.
He’s not looking at the tablet. He’s not rallying the crowd. He’s not on one knee, talking to the O-line about protection slides. He’s not in the Offensive Coordinator’s ear, or standing next to his Head Coach. He’s not having an animated discussion about what he sees, to get on the same page with the receivers. He’s just sitting there, looking like he’s sucking on a lemon.
I say this as a man who’s worn pads and has played with multiple QB’s. Jalen’s body language sucks ass. Nothing about him says “Follow ME!” or “I got you.” His swagger is limited to him running for a touchdown. It doesn’t extend to his teammates.
For example, when LT Jordan Mailata pancaked Saints DE Marcus Davenport (because of his treatment of Hurts), was there an acknowledging fist bump or high-five from the QB? Nope. Hurts texted his thanks to Mailata, later that night. A text message! In exchange for sticking up for him! But when Hurts needed consoling after the giants game:
1,000 words, right?
BUT WAIT!!! THERE’S MORE!!!
Hurts may miss the Jets game with a sore ankle. I’ll say that one more time: Hurts may miss the Jets game with a sore ankle. Remember the three touchdowns QB Donovan McNabb threw against the Cardinals in November of 2002, on a broken ankle? Remember QB Carson Wentz tearing his ACL, and staying in one more play, to throw a touchdown vs the Rams, in our 2017 Super Bowl season?
Sore ankle. Those are the words of Head Coach Nick Sirianni.
I guess benching Hurts is the Eagles way of admitting that he’s a liability if he has to play from the pocket. Seriously. Would a sore ankle shelve Tom Brady? Ben Roethlisberger? Patrick Mahomes? Matt Stafford and Derek Carrhave both played through back injuries. How about Brett Favre? Dan Marino played with TWO knee braces. Hell, “sore” never stopped Wentz from suiting up. Is Hurts more delicate than Wentz?
I’m not going to get into Hurts being inaccurate. I won’t mention how he’s slow to read defenses. I won’t mention that he’s ineffective running anything other than a one read system. I won’t mention that when the going got tough in college, he got going to another college, instead of overcoming the challenger.
Did I mention that so far he’s 0 – 4 vs the NFC East? That includes two blowouts vs the Cowboys. They humiliate us every time he starts against them. And of course all he could manage vs the giants, was 7 points. And we tanked against the Redskins, in a game that we were already losing. Like I said, 0 – 4.
I’ll simply ask: Is THIS your leader? Is this the face that you want to represent YOU? My answer is on his shirt, and even Rosa agrees with me.
That’s not to say that Hurts has no place in the NFL. I told you in June that the NFL was moving towards QB being a platoon type position. I told you in September, a week before the season started, that QB Gardner Minshewwould play this year, somewhere around Week 8. He played in Week 8.
I’m going to say Hurts has a place in the NFL as a QB. Just not as a franchise. Not even as the Ace QB of a platoon. Think of him as a relief QB. Start thinking of him, as a back-up.
New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted of 2 yards or less:3rd and 4th downs missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).
I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.
So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Giants did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:
1) Make the Passer Rush: We did some really questionable blitzing in this game. First of all we didn’t bring LB Alex Singleton off the strong-side. When Singleton was turned loose, it was from the weak-side. If the QB doesn’t see the rusher, he’s not going to hurry his pass, or launch it from a weird angle. If he sees a clear passing lane, he’s going to throw with confidence. Which is what QB Danny Jones (19/30 – 63.3% – 202 – 1 – 0) did against us today.
Look at that statline! Does that look like Danny Jones to you? We helped him do that. We didn’t rush him today. The only sack we got, Jones GAVE to us. Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon gets the assist on this one. With this game-plan, he threw an absolute dime to Danny. (NOT DONE)
2) Go Deep Off of Play-action: Ever watch someone do a tap dance routine, during a dance competition, while on fire? That’s what our Offense looked like today. Despite running for 1,005 yards in the previous 5 games, we came out passing the ball, and trying to use play-action. From the Shotgun.
I’m not going to say much about Jalen Hurts here, to save you time reading. Besides, last week I promised some folks in a Facebook group that I belong to, that I would write an article about whether Hurts is or can be, a franchise QB. That’s dropping on Wednesday. BE READY.
Our deep passing consisted of throwing interceptions and incompletions in the vicinity of Wide Deceiver Jalen “Hindenburg” Reagor(7 – 2 – 31 – 15.5 – 0)
who is by the way, a total fucking fiasco. Someone should do time for drafting him. (NOT DONE)
3) Play Man Press: We came out playing it, but then we started drifting into off-coverage, or playing Press on just one side… Seriously. There was no cohesion, or plan, or aggression. It was like the Defense was being called by a drunken toddler. (NOT DONE)
4) Running Miles from Boston:Feature RB Miles Sanders (7 – 64 – 7.1 – 0 – 0) instead of splitting the carries evenly with RB Boston Scott (15 – 64 – 4.2 – 1 – 1). The Eagles decided to stick with the hot hand. This was even before Sanders tweaked his ankle in the second half. The hot hand. Look up at the statlines again. (NOT DONE)
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So that’s 0 of the Four Things, and somehow (gasp) we were held to just 7 points, after putting up 40 a week ago. Serves us right! We helped the giants beat our asses, and we deserve this ‘L’ because of that. Next week we go right back to that same stadium, to do battle with the Jets. Let’s not shit the bed again please.
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On The Whole:
Here’s the game in a nutshell. Nearing the end of the first half, Eagles ball, in the red zone, down 0 – 3. Head Coach Nick Sirianni sends in a package that includes WR Jalen Reagor, WR Greg Ward(1 – 0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0), and RB Boston Scott. No Miles Sanders. No WRDevonta Smith (4 – 2 – 22 – 11.0 – 0). Meanwhile C Jason Kelce is on the sidelines
On 3rd and goal from the one, Hurts throws an interception intended for third string RB Scott. Why? At that point Sanders hadn’t tweaked his ankle, so why wasn’t he out there? Why wasn’t our top draft pick and leading receiver Smith, out there? It almost seems like the coaches had an agenda besides winning the game.
Decisions like this were the norm in this game. Why, on all 3 red zone trips, was Sanders taken out? Why the sudden laser focus on Reagor? Coming into this game he’d caught 23 of 38 passes for 170 yards (7.4 per catch), and for some reason, despite not being reliable, this week he leads all players in targets?!
If you ask me, that’s just Jeff and Howie, muscling Sirianni to make a player out Reagor, and that dog don’t even hunt.
Still, Sirianni tried. We watched him working harder than a cat, trying to bury a turd on a marble floor, but Reagor… As a player Reagor belongs in a litter box. You can spend the day painting him gold if you like, but in the end, the smell is the smell.
JUST a few weeks ago, I predicted that the Saints head coach, would out-coach Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni, and win this game. Today, I don’t feel like the Saints have a legitimate shot at winning this game. I could be wrong, but you and I know that I’m not.
The Eagles have found an internal source of power to tap into. Meanwhile, the Saints are starting to fall apart due to the aforementioned injuries, and a lack of offensive leadership. For the Saints, this is a bad time to have this fight.
A win would move us to 5 – 6, and one game away from being .500. This team hasn’t seen .500 or above since the end of the 2019 season. There’s possible playoff implications to be discussed, but let’s get to .500, before we start talking too much about playoffs.
A loss would drop us to 4 – 7 and shine more light on the three first round picks we have in the 2022 NFL Draft. As long as there’s a mathematical chance for us to make the playoffs, we should try everything to do so. That said, the second we’re out of possible consideration, we should tank, because it improves our draft position in EVERY round, not just the first.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on, this week versus the Saints:
1) Play Man Press:First and most importantly, we’re 4 – 0 when we do. Secondly, The Saints are starting back-up QB Trevor Siemian, and he likes to share the football with his opponents. So we should be there for him. In fairness, he hasn’t thrown a single pick this season. WHICH MEANS HE’S DUE!
Take away the quick and easy stuff. If the “back-up’s body forced to be a starter” Steve Trevor
can beat us with deep passing, then we deserve to lose. Man Press will take away the quick stuff, help our pass rush, and help to keep the run contained.
2) Force Malcolm Out Of the Middle:One of the reasons that the Saints rank so high in run defense is former Eagles SS Malcolm Jenkins. He plays in the box like an extra LB. So we need to get him out of the box. The primary reason we moved on from Malcolm, was his apparent trouble with deep speed. Even when lined up deep, Malcolm has trouble versus true speed. So that’s the bone we should hack at.
The fact that he likes to walk into the box, makes that weakness all the more glaring. We should start in 11 Personnel (1RB, 1 TE). The TE doesn’t always have to be an actual TE. Using RB Miles Sanders, or RB Kenny Gainwell would do just fine on some downs. Split the TE wide, to pull Malcolm laterally out of the box. After a couple of deep routes, he’ll also start lining up deeper.
That’s when you pound the rock with RB Jordan Howard, vs a vacated middle.
3) Just Make the Tackle: Saints RB Mark Ingram is a leg churner and tackle breaker. He’s not a hard RB to box-in or catch, but teams clawing at the ball instead of getting him on the ground, literally give him extra yardage.
Once we get to him, drop him. Plain and simple. Clawing for the ball may help us if we’re down two scores in the 4th quarter, but doing it in the 1st quarter is a great way to end up down two scores. Just get these guys on the ground.
4) Use Play-Action:With the way the Eagles have run these last few weeks, selling a fake hand-off will be as easy as selling toilet paper.
QB Jalen Hurts would have clean pocket after clean pocket, as long as he doesn’t hold the ball too long.
Not only that, but if play-action is used well enough, both real and fake hand-offs will freeze their defense, as they take a beat to make sure of their read, instead of just reacting.
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If we do these Four Things,
If we hit all four of these, this game would break wide open, and put the NFL on notice. Sirianni would go from “the guy the media mocked over flowers” to “rookie head coach has turned his team around”.
While I would LOVE all four, I expect that #1 and #3 are the ones that will likely get done. If so that should be enough for a 28 – 17 win.
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PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Saints 17
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
LAST week we lost, but we saw that Head Coach Nick Sirianni, is going to be committed to running the ball, thus balancing the Offense, going forward. Now that defenses have to defend against receivers who can stretch the field and a run game that requires a loaded box, QB Jalen Hurts has a real opportunity to be the x-factor in games. Games like this one.
(BTW: “receivers who can stretch the field, and a run game that requires a loaded box“. We won a Super Bowl with that set-up. IJS)
So far the Broncos have gone 3 – 0 vs NFC East teams this year. The Eagles are 0 – 3 vs AFC West teams this year. A win here, keeps the Eagles from being swept by a division, and more importantly, keeps the Broncos, the Broncos, from sweeping our entire division.
A win gives us a record of 4 – 6, and means that we’d hold onto second place in the NFC East for another week. It would also keep those 6th and 7th playoff seeds within our reach. We’d still be in the thick of it.
Falling to 3 – 7 with a loss, wouldn’t mathematically end our playoff hopes, but we’d be Apollo, out on his feet, waiting for the kill-shot from Drago. That can’t be how this one ends. They’re just the Broncos. It’s all flesh and bone. We just have to want it more.
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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics will practically guarantee our Eagles this win. CAUTION: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use FT as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Broncos:
1)Press Coverage: If we don’t do this, it’ll be another game where we allow a completion rate of 80% or higher. We have the CB’s who can do the job, they just have to be turned loose, where they’re allowed to. Both of the Broncos starting WR’s are 6’4”, so we can’t play around with those guys, and let them into jump-ball situations.
2)Play-action Inside:Now that we’re actually running the ball, play-action is a weapon that we can use convincingly. The ball can now, SHOULD NOW, come out quickly to the Slot and the TE positions. That will help us get WR Jalen Reagorand TE Dallas Goedert more involved, loosening up the opposing interior, and keeping our run game going.
3)Taylor-made Headache: Get OLB Davion Taylor in on a couple of blitzes. Walk him up between DT Fletcher Cox and DE Josh Sweat (if he plays), and actually send Taylor on a blitz a few times. He has the speed to drop in coverage, but also to get up on the QB quickly. We need to put him in positions to make plays.
More than sacks, what we want is to get QB Teddy Bridgewater moving his feet a lot in the pocket. We want to alter his usual throwing platform, and throw his mechanics off slightly. If possible, we want to make him beat us with his athleticism. See how I made a little joke there?
4)Get Howard In Space: Throwing the ball to RB’s was supposed to be a hallmark of this Offense, but we haven’t really seen it since RB Miles Sanderswent down. RB Jordan Howard has been a bull running through defensive fronts, but to see him get a Screen pass with blockers in front of him… Hey, why not do something easy?
If we do these Four Things,
Denver’s banged up offensive line shouldn’t be able to put rabbits out of their hat for four straight quarters. We’re have more talent in the trenches than they do. So long as we address these peripheral aspects, we should be able to capitalize on our advantage up front.
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PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Broncos 22
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 