Nigel Bradham

All posts tagged Nigel Bradham

THE THIN GET THINNER

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/08/16
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Salt Bae Context

REALLY? So this is what we’re rolling with? I gave it a few days to see what move the Eagles would make, and the result is bupkis. Look, LB Jatavis Brown’s retirement shouldn’t come as a shock. Though he’s only 26, reports were that he’d fallen out of love with football. Given the handwriting on the wall, it’s not hard to see why.

Brown was a marginal player (at best) for the bulk of his four year career. The entirety of his playing days were for the Los Angeles (nee San Diego) Chargers. At one point in 2018, injuries forced the Chargers to start him for the majority of the season. He didn’t impress them.

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Once the Chargers let him walk, Brown signed with Philadelphia. Keep in mind, this was before the 2020 NFL Draft. (Where we picked up rookie LB’s Davion Taylor in the 3rd round, and Shaun Bradley in the 6th.) So when Brown signed, he probably did so with hopes of being a starter, for a contender.

Recent talk of LB’s Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley, being the team’s primary three LB’s likely dimmed Brown’s hopes. Especially in light of the fact that the Eagles play a lot of Nickel, and therefore usually only have two LB’s on the field most of the time. Looking at being buried deep on a bench, beside two rookies who were drafted (i.e. invested in), may have gone a long way to souring Brown.

So now we’re down an experienced, albeit marginal player. Our LB corps now consists of rookies and back-ups, spearheaded by Gerry. There is talk of possibly kicking the tires on OLB Clay Matthews III, but he’s far more of a pass rusher than a “chase and cover” LB. For that matter we may as well stick with LB/DE Genard Avery.

2019 Genard Avery half sack

While Brown’s presence didn’t add much, his absence makes a large hole even larger. The Front Office created a hole in the floor when they allowed LB Nigel Bradham (Saints) to walk. They then attempted to patch it with a sheet of aluminum foil (Brown). However, before the foil could fail, it simply blew away. Now we’re left with the hole again.

Last month I wrote an article attempting to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt regarding the moves made at this position, but I have to step back from that now. While Brown’s presence didn’t add much, his absence changes the metrics. Without a trade for an impact LB, I feel like this position is going to be an absolute liability for us in 2020.

This is nearly half of a century of disrespect for a position, which has coalesced into a culture of neglect for how this team treats it. The result is a self-inflicted wound which will show up every Sunday for this team. Dear Football Fan, imagine a defense where LB’s are an afterthought.

Adding DE Vinny Curry was a stroke of genius. The rich certainly got richer there. But the LB position? The thin have gotten thinner, and indeed, the poor have just gotten poorer.

Internal scream

CUTTING BRADHAM WAS STUPID

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/19
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Rants, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

nigel bradham

ASIDE from letting him test Free Agency, then trying to bring him back for less than 9 million, cutting OLB Nigel Bradham was a stupid thing to do. The move is billed as a cost cutting move, that will save the Eagles 4.4 million in 2020. That number is gravely inaccurate on a few levels, but it’s reporting was meant to get fans buzzing about what we’d do with the “extra” 4.4 million.

For the most part the trick worked. Many fans are speculating that the money will be applied to a free agent CB. The very notion is hilarious, and further proof that most Eagles fans don’t get the money side of this. Let me explain.

First. Money aside, Bradham was our best LB. He was our only complete LB, in that he could play the run or the pass. He has the size and speed to play inside or outside. He called defensive assignments. He has a nose for the ball, and has been on the scoring end of a few big plays for us. Nate Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, T. J. Edwards, Alex Singleton and Duke Reilly, are what we have left now that he’s gone.

Second. Let’s talk savings. The Eagles didn’t save 4.4 million. Bradham made that last year. In 2020 had the Eagles picked up his option, he’d have made 9.75. Among current OLB salaries, here’s where he’d have sat:

olb pay

If you want to argue that we saved 9.75 million, I’ll spot you that. Now let me ask you: What do we spend to replace him with similar or better production? Quality free agents don’t work cheap. And the list up there tells you what the market looks like.

Third. Let’s talk about where to apply that fictional 4.4 million in savings, or that temporary 9.75 million in savings. All the buzz is about either CB’s Chris Harris, Byron Jones, and Darius Slay. None of whom will touch Earth in Philly, without a sniff at 15 million per year. And that’s just to open the bidding. Last time I checked 15 was still more than 9.75. Again, no savings.

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But WOO-HOOO! We still would have that hole at OLB! Isn’t this neat? Wait, what am I talking about about “would have”? They already cut him! We have that hole right now! Such a massive hole. Isn’t it GLORIOUS? You can see straight through to the Chinese lock-down, due to Coronavirus. Oh what an age we live in!

And for those who think we’re going to spend it on a 20 million dollar WR, after we cut/trade/murder WR Alshon Jeffery, you all are my absolute favorite. Why confine yourself to reality, when you can put your head under a pillow, and scream until you pass out and dream of a world that suits you? I agree, Trump is the smartest President we’ve ever had!

So yeah. Cutting Bradham? Hey Howie. Way to go, Ace!

#2 PAY THE MAN!

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/11
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Rants, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE 12 2020.2

RENEGOTIATING SS Malcolm Jenkins is a bigger priority than picking up LB Nigel Bradham’s option. I put Bradham first, because picking up an option is a decision. Both players are still under contract, but Jenkins is a negotiation. I wanted to lead with something the Front Office could 100% do, and do quickly, if they wish.

I have no idea how much money Jenkins wants. What I do know, is that we don’t have anyone else like him on the field, in the locker room, or in the community. Jenkins not coming back in 2020, would rip the beating heart out of this team.

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More than what he means to the psyche of this team, is his actual on-field value. While once upon a time he was a CB/S tweener, he’s no longer very good against deep passes. It’s why so much of the scheme is designed to not (ahem) expose him, to certain situations. (We love you Malcolm, but it’s the world’s worst kept secret, that you can be had deep.)

On the other hand, underneath, intermediate, and in the box, he’s AMAZING. And even better than his play, he sees things early, and often helps teammates erase mental mistakes before the ball is even snapped. There is no stat for that. If you think this Defense can be a sieve with him out there, taking him away would be like cutting the bottom out of a bucket.

Oh yeah, and just who is his successor….

I hear crickets. Do you hear crickets? Because I hear crickets.

A couple of years ago it seemed like Tre Sullivan would be that guy, but NOPE! The Eagles never bothered to get a guy to stand behind Jenkins and learn So now if Jenkins walk, our defense is…

Soap drop

Seriously, behind Jenkins we have (drum roll)…Rudy Ford and Marcus Epps. Pardon if I can’t find my whelm. It’s under something. Between them there are 5 NFL seasons, 48 career games, 1 start, 20 total tackles, and not a single pass break-up. Ever. Not one. Between two players.

So Malcolm has the Eagles by the balls on this one. It’s just a matter of how soon the Front Office realizes that, and acts accordingly. Or they could do what they did with Brian Dawkins. Remember that one? That worked out splendidly for us, didn’t it?

Pay the man!

2019 Malcolm Jenkins pre-game

#1: PICK UP BRADHAM’S OPTION

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/10
Posted in: Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THE 12 2020.1

LINEBACKER has long been a sore spot for this team. Our 20 year history of identifying and developing talent at this position “hasn’t been great” to put it kindly. It’s specifically for that reason that we need to pick up the option on LB Nigel Bradham’s contract.

2019 nigel bradham

How much are we talking? In 2019 Bradham had a cap hit figure of 4.4M. In 2020 that would jump to 9.7M. That’s an additional 5.3M, or a raise of 120%. And yes, it sounds steep when you say it that way.

However, given the current LB market, our projected cap space (42M according to Spotrac), and that his cap hit freezes at 9.7 for two years, it means if he’s basically affordable until his deal expires in 2023.

Has Bradham been amazing? No, he hasn’t, but he has been pretty good, he’s been consistent, he does call our defensive plays, and he’s still the best LB we have. Replacing him through free agency would likely cost more, with no guarantee that they’d be as good as what we already have.

2019 Dwayne_Haskins_fumble_Nigel_Bradham_TD

OLB Nate Gerry is more like a S/LB tweener, both in build and play style. All indications are that OLB/DE Genard Avery will be used more like a stand-up DE, and less like a real OLB. So Counting Bradham, we have effectively 1.5 LB’s, and then a bunch of kick coverage guys.

The position undoubtedly needs a rebuild, and the Eagles will undoubtedly draft a LB, be it inside or outside. (Hopefully inside.) For now, Bradham and Gerry give us a decent base to build on. So why not start there, instead of scrapping everything, and hoping things work out for the best?

Re-sign Bradham, and build around him as a point of stability. This one is easy. Let’s hope the Front Office gets it right.

2019 SEASON REVIEW: FOURTH QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/01/04
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 Wentz sees Perkins.jpeg

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh, right?) A few are done at the halfway mark, and/or at the end. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters. Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team stands at the moment (in relation to where it started), and where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 9 – 7, WINNER of the NFC EAST, 4th Seed in the NFC, Sole Playoff Representative of the Division.

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OPPONENTS:

W New York giants (4 – 12)
W Washington Redskins (3 – 13)
W Dallas Cowboys (8 – 8)
W New York giants (4 – 12)

Combined: (19 – 45)

OVERVIEW:

We needed to win all four games. We won all four games.

People can talk about how “unpretty” the wins were. They can talk about how bad our opponent’s records were. Doesn’t matter. We’re here, and no argument made against that, can change that. We fought. We clawed. We earned this, because we kept believing and we stuck together.

Losers fall apart (giants). Losers tap out (Like Zeke did). Losers change horses midstream (See: Dan Snyder). Winners win because they don’t quit. They give an all out effort. Winners get to feel elation. Winners get to know that they were vindicated. Losers? They can only wish to stand where we do today.

GRADES:

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QB: (A) Carson Wentz put this team on his back, and made those around him better. Amazingly enough, he also made himself better as over these last four games he’s been more cognizant not holding the ball forever as he waits to make a big play. The game winning touchdown he threw at Washington, was an example of him trusting his receiver to make a play, not just his own arm. As a result, he’s now doing a better job of throwing guys open. There are still overthrows of his deep ball, but I suspect that will iron out when he gets some higher grade firepower back on the roster.

RB: (B) Some fans would give this position a higher grade, but that would mean only seeing the good and not the bad. Jordan Howard hasn’t touched the ball in this quarter. So Miles Sanders and Boston Scott have taken up the load. They both have at times, been dynamic with the ball and reliable as blockers. What neither has been, is an inside runner who consistently finishes runs hard. Both are great to keep on the field, especially as compensatory pieces, but neither is a true Alpha. Teams don’t get worn down and tired, tackling those guys. Howards absence has highlighted the need for him. (Or at least someone (Holyfield) like him.)

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TE: (B) This position is usually the Zach Ertz Show. However, injuries have given Dallas Goedert and Josh Perkins a chance to strut their stuff, showing not just talent, but reliability. Goedert in fact, despite being a back-up, developed into a Top Ten player at his position (10th in yards, 9th in catches, and only 6 players at his position have more touchdowns).

Perkins leaves something to be desired as a blocker, but for a 3rd string target, he’s an absolute luxury. He’s the Range Rover that you only drive when your Tesla Model X, and Mercedes G-Class are being detailed. Good thing we had these guys too! The broken rib that Ertz suffered in Week 16 would have been a death knell for teams like Kansas City, or San Francisco. However, since our reserves are so silky smooth, Philadelphia hardly felt a bump in the road.

2019 Greg Wards first TD.jpg

WR: (D) Greg Ward by himself would get a “B” grade. Over the last quarter he’s put up 21 catches for 210 yards (10.0 yards per catch), and one game winning TD. The other 3 players active at this position, over that same span, posted 8 catches for 113 yards (16.6ypc) and no scores. To be fair to Deontay Burnett, he only played in the last game and still caught 2 for 48. That means the other two players produced just 6 catches for 85 yards over 4 games. Amazingly, our Eagles won 4 straight games despite this.

OT: (C) We’ve played the last three games without Lane Johnson. We instead relied on Halapoulivaati Vaitai to man the right side. Vaitai hasn’t been great, but he’s been servicable. In fact, many of his mistakes seem more attributable to coaches not compensating for his athletic limitations. Jason Peters has been Jason Peters as a blocker, but his name is being called far too often for penalties recently.

OG: (C) Isaac Suemalo remains an up and down player. While he moves well in space, he’s not particularly stout at the point of attack. Brandon Brooks was playing at a Pro Bowl level, until he was hurt during the last game of the season. Matt Pryor stepped in and handled himself well, but he hasn’t played a single full game in his two year career.

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C: (B) Despite less than stellar Shotgun snapping, Jason Kelce is doing a good better of the blocking calls, so there were fewer “A” gap rushers running free this quarter.

DE: (B) Brandon Graham isn’t getting sacks like he did around midseason, but he is doing a much better job of playing the run first and keeping contain. So I find myself not missing Chris Long quite as much, as I did around midseason.

Derek Barnett would do well to study containment. He flattens out too soon to chase down the line, and usually gets neither the pressure nor the tackle. Instead of doing his job first, he’s trying to make the play first. He’s playing inside-out and it frequently leaves us vulnerable on his side whereas Graham is locking down the other side.

2019 Vinny Curry on the a Dak

Vinny Curry! We won a Super Bowl starting that guy on the blindside. In the two games he played for the injured Barnett this quarter, Vinny was making a case that maybe we have the wrong guy starting. Hey, I’m just being honest! Josh Sweat has cooled off somewhat since midseason, which is probably part of the reason that Philly’s own Shareef Miller was added to the active roster as the season came to a close.

DT: (A) Statistics don’t tell the story of the job that this position is doing. They are playing excellent team concept football, dictating that RB’s can’t run up the middle and that QB’s can’t step up or hang I the pocket. They aren’t recording many stats, but they’re causing opposing offenses to run off-schedule. Amazing.

2019 Fletcher Cox Daniel Jones

Adding man-mountain Anthony Rush to the rotation with Fletcher Cox, has helped limit teams desire to run the ball inside. In fact, we went from a 3 – 4 team before Rush, to 6 – 3 since. I assure you that’s not a coincidence. If you think it is, check out both Dallas games, both before and after Rush was added.

OLB: (C) T.J. Edwards is an upgrade over Kamu Grugier-Hill. He’s more physical and instinctive, and so far there’s nothing to indicate that we’ve lost anything in underneath coverage. Nate Gerry hasn’t made a splash play in a while, but he’s making a lot of clean, unassisted tackles. Nothing is being schemed for him, but that feels like it may change in the postseason.

2019 Dwayne_Haskins_fumble_Nigel_Bradham_TD

MLB: (B) The feel of the Defense has changed since Nigel Bradham took over for Nate Gerry in the middle. Opponents haven’t been able to rely on their run games in weeks, so we’ve made offenses one dimensional against us. And not just against bad offenses. We held the NFL’s #1 offense to 9 points (3 field goals). Bradham isn’t making splash plays, but he’s everywhere we need him to be, when the moment arises. We didn’t have that with Gerry, and we didn’t always have that last year, with Jordan Hicks. We may be making plans for Nigel to play on the inside if the Eagles pick up his option.

S: (C) Malcolm Jenkins is even playing Special Teams. That is leadership by example. It says no job is too small or unimportant. It sends a message that every play, every down, is all hands on deck. Rod McLeod is frequently in tough positions when the ball is thrown long, some of which he can’t recover from. The scheme does him no favors.

CB: (B) Since Miami the DC seems to be letting these guys play a little more Press Coverage at the line. It’s still not enough, but some Press, beats no Press at all. The results speak for themselves. Players at this position have 18 passes defensed in the last 4 weeks. An unit that showed improvement last quarter, continued that trend.

Sidney Jones (whom I all but left for dead in my last report), has made clutch plays in three of the last four games including an interception while covering a receiver, who in a previous game had skinned us alive. Rasul Douglas lacks the long speed to be routinely put in man situations, but if the ball isn’t thrown over his head, he will try to get his mitts on it. There is also no denying that Jalen Mills and CreVon LeBlanc add a fiery competitiveness, that has rubbed off on their fellow corners.

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Talent-wise, we have no A+ or even A type players, at this position. We have a number of B level guys, who all have some sort of obvious limitation. So what we have here, are no stars, but a stable of solid to very solid players. That being said, due to the system we play, these guys will give up big plays here and there. However, recognizing all this doesn’t mean I graded them on a curve. This position got what they earned.

LS: (A) Rick Lovato is consistent.

P: (B) Cam Johnston stepped his game up in these last four games. Last quarter saw 20 punts for 12 returns (60% return rate), for 79 yards (6.5ypr). This quarter had 22 punts for 9 returns (40%) for 51 yards (5.6ypr). That’s across the board improvement, but those aren’t the most baller stats.

Of those 22 punts only 3 were fair caught and only 1 was a touchback. Of our 28 punts down inside the 20 this year, 11 were in these last four games. Of the 9 punts that we downed this year, 6 were in this quarter. That says that Cam took a real hard look in the mirror and opted to work within the system. That’s some real big boy stuff, right there

K: (C ) Jake Elliott was 5 for 8 kicking field goals this year, but two of those misses were from 55 and 53 yards, outside, with intermittent gusts of wind. Spend a day attempting 30 yarders, before you judge this guy too harshly for those. Kickoffs remain a concern though. 21 kickoffs, 10 returns (47% return rate), for 245 yards (24.5ypr).

That return rate is up from 36%. The returns ar up from 23.7. We are trending wrong people!

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PR/KR: (F) I won’t even post the numbers. Our return game is a wide-open wound.

KC: (C) Teams are taking more chances trying to make a big play, by attempting returns, that means it’s only a matter of time before someone gets lucky against us. Worse yet, when teams do return it we don’t stop them well short of the 25. So for opponents, taking a chance on a return is a risk-free proposition.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

We won the division and made it into the tournament that will determine the league champion. We got our shit together when we needed to, and we had our selves a successful season. Yes, I said it was a successful season. As in Regular Season.

Now we’re trying to have a successful Post-season. THAT success will be determined by hoisting the SB trophy in February. Make no mistake though, we accomplished the first part of that quest already.

Bask in that. Until Kickoff Sunday at 4:40, vs the Seahawks.

2019 malcolm jenkins and nate gerry

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

The regular season is over. We are now in the post-season. There is no quarter given here. Not by the calendar, nor the fans, nor the opposition to come. There is however, a mission, and it is this:

Win one game. Win a second. Win a third. Then win that fourth game.

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 16 – COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/12/23
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Reviews, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ONCE again the Eagles are back at the head of the division, and please don’t start with how “unsexy” the division is. Your car isn’t a Rolls Royce, but you still love it and fuss over it, right? Well in that same spirit, this division may not be the NFC West, but we’re gonna drive this motherfucker ’til the wheels fall off.

2019 opponent-rival mock

Yes, yes, I know! That’s not to say that the East is ours free and clear. We still have one more payment to make on it. And it’s due next week.

EAGLES 17 – Cowboys 9

Despite all the missing weapons, QB Carson Wentz (31/40 – 77.5% – 319 – 1 – 0) led his team to (what right now is) the signature game of his career. That’s not to say that he was without help. For the second week in a row, rookie RB Miles Sanders (20 – 79 – 3.9 – 1 – 0 / 5 – 77 – 15.4 – 0) put up 150+ yards from scrimmage.

NFL: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Goedert scores the go ahead touchdown in the first quarter.

Stepping up for TE Zach Ertz (4 – 28 – 7.0 – 0) who injured his ribs early on, was TE Dallas Goedert (9 – 91 – 10.1 – 1). Geodert hit pay dirt with a 6 yard dart from Wentz. Don’t look now, but WR Greg Ward (4 – 71 – 17.7 – 0) may be trying to coax Wentz into throwing the ball down the stripe a little more, after breaking off a 38 yard gain for his QB. Even rookie WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside (2 – 39 – 19.5 – 0) made a declaration of sorts, by opening the game with a 27 yard grab, and catching both balls thrown to him.

Defensively, the stat line for MLB Nigel Bradham (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) doesn’t tell how instrumental he was in rendering Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott (13 – 47 – 3.6 – 0 – 0 / 7 – 37 – 5.2 – 0) ineffectual for the day. The same can be said for DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 0 – 0 – 1). It’s a shame that the fumble he forced, didn’t turn into points.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until it happens. DE Vinny Curry (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) needs to be brought back in 2020.

2019 Vinny Curry on the a Dak.jpg

DE Josh Sweat (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) is justifying the coaches patience with him, and is starting to look like the steal he was drafted to be. (Though he has a tendency to flirt with neutral zone infractions. Crown of your helmet Josh!) DT Anthony Rush (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) gives us a physical presence inside that makes it hard for a run game to get traction. I thought I saw him make a Tackle For Loss, but the (generous) spotting of the ball made it a run for no gain. In fact, Bradham (1), Curry (1) and Sweat (2) all had TFL’s. Just what we needed against this team.

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Much maligned CB Sidney Jones (1 – 0 – 0 – 0), made yet another excellent play on the ball, in a critical fourth down situation. In fact, the play he made was potentially what saved the game, and possibly the season. He still tackles like a young Deion Sanders, but if he can get his confidence back up, we may have a guy that we can trade out of the conference. (Tackling is too important to risk keeping him.)

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. To introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

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1) Keep Bradham clean: Our D-Line not only kept Bradham from having to fight off offensive linemen, they made plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage! This was the deluxe version of what we needed here. (DONE)

2) Force them into their base defense: Apparently the Eagles coaches and I see things very similarly. According to a Next Gen stat that was put up on the television screen, deep into the 4th quarter, the Eagles had run 2TE formations, 56% of the game. That forced the Cowboys to play newcomer OLB Malcolm Smith (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) clearly more than they wanted to. So much so that at one point you could see that he was visibly winded. This allowed us to victimize him several times. Good show! (DONE)

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3) Gut the middle: The idea was to keep them in their base, and make their LB’s play chase all day long. If they’re chasing, they aren’t dictating the action or making big plays. So we made them chase TE’s, and we forced them to follow Sanders all around the formation. We also threw 6 passes to RB Boston Scott (3 – 12 – 4.0 – 0 – 0 / 6 – 7 – 1.1) and he caught all of them. Almost all of them were routes towards the sideline to force LB’s into lateral coverage, or pull a Nickel out of position. We even ran Wentz a couple times on designed runs. Worked like a charm, and the Cowboys stayed off-balance all game. (DONE)

4) Don’t over-commit vs the run: Since the front seven played well enough on it’s own, there wasn’t much call for that. We showed some heavy fronts, but they never really brought the house aside from short yardage moments. We did a lot of “threaten and bail”, which forced Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (25/44 – 56.8% – 265 – 0 – 0) to read our coverages more often than film study would have suggested was necessary. We didn’t over-commit to the run, and made it harder for him to throw the ball against us. (DONE)

For the third time this year, we nailed a perfect 4 of 4 for the week, boosting our season tally to 34 of 60 (.566). Next week we can clinch the NFC East and a home playoff game with a win vs the giants. That game by the way, has been FLEXED from 1:00 pm to 4:25 pm.

On The Whole:

Cowboys Season Kevin Hart1

We’ve been a team in need of consistency for weeks now. Recently our QB play has gotten more stable and creative. Carson was moved around a lot today. Bootlegs, called QB runs, split out wide… Everything except QB Sneaks. (Weird, right?)

Play at RB has become more dynamic recently. I said after the Miami game that Sanders reminded me of Brian Westbrook. Weeks later, I stand by that. He is effective both with, and without the ball in his hands.

Lots of people want to draw a comparison between he and LeSean McCoy, probably due to body type. However, young McCoy was a more dangerous natural runner, but needed the football to make plays. Sanders is a much scarier draw out-wide, than McCoy ever was.

And then there’s situational football. As you could see on Sanders “Take a Knee 2.0” today, for him making the play isn’t always about what you do as a runner. He gave up a TD in exchange for sealing a win.

Defensively we need to decide on who we are. If we’re going to be a team that doesn’t rush 5, we need to scheme more rushes or packages that actually get hands the QB more. For two years I’ve been saying that we don’t cover long enough for the rush to get home. That wasn’t true today.

If we’re going to affect games, dictate action and cause turnovers, we need our Defense to be more sudden. Our plodding pass rush of the last month has to improve if we intend to make any noise in January.

FOUR THINGS – WK 16 – EAGLES – COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/12/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WK16-DAL

THIS is still not a playoff game. Following an Eagles win, we still need to win next week. This game alone decides nothing for us. Nothing. Dallas can clinch this week if they beat us. However, we still have another regular season game to win after this week.

Many fans will disagree with me, and call this a playoff game. Oh really? Alright amateur Kotite, which round do we advance to with a win this week? Week 17, you say? You mean not the playoffs? But how could that be, if this game is a playoff game? Yeah. That’s what I thought.

Last time we faced Dallas, they beat our asses, and made it look easy. Some of it was on us, coming out emotionally flat. Some of it was that they executed, and took advantage of the opportunities we wouldn’t stop providing. They weren’t a great team that day, but we were a very bad one.

Whether we are playing for a playoff berth, or redemption, or to avoid being swept, our team has plenty of reasons to be emotionally jacked for this one. It also doesn’t hurt to have 69,000 screaming fans as back-up. There will be no emotional flatness this time.

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

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44 – 6

1) Keep Bradham clean: The last time we faced the Cowboys, we’d just cut MLB Zach Brown, and OLB Nigel Bradham was out with an injury. So we played OLB Nate Gerry at MLB in that game, and we found out (again) that he’s not suited to that role.

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This time Bradham is playing MLB. Even though he is a lot more mentally suited to the role, he’s still physically smallish for the position (due to how this division plays offense). That means he could use a hand from the DT’s to keep blockers out of his lap, so that he can roam, make tackles, and keep us from over-committing to stopping the run.

If DT’s Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan aren’t going to make tackles for losses, they have to win at the point of attack, and keep the offensive linemen from advancing the line of scrimmage. This also what we need out of 350 pound NT Anthony Rush. Don’t get me wrong! Tackles for losses would be awesome, but it’s more important that we play fundamentally sound, and take away the inside run.

2) Force them into their base defense: The key to beating the Cowboys will be 12, 21, and 22 personnel groupings. With them missing OLB Leighton Vander Esch, they had to lean on their reserves at that position. As if the fall-off in talent weren’t already a killer, their back-ups have pulled up lame as well.

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In fact, it got so bad that on Monday, the Cowboys signed former Seahawks OLB Malcolm Smith. Smith is 30 and hasn’t played any meaningful football since 2017 when he tore his pectoral muscle playing for Oakland. (His 2018 season was throw-away.)

That Rams game last week? It was a total outlier. The Rams like to play more 11 personnel on offense. It allowed the Cowboys to lean on a third DB, not play back-up LB’s, and kept speed on the field. Instead of leaning on the Cowboys weakness, the Rams leaned away from it. The Eagles lack enough WR’s to even play much 11 personnel. Soooooo… You see where this is headed, right?

3) Gut the middle: The backbone of the Cowboys defense is their LB play. We have to snap that spine. Nooo, I’m not saying that we should injure a player. I’m saying that we need to go full-on Bane against their very defensive identity.

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We need to see if MLB Jaylon Smith can consistently cover RB Boston Scott in the Flat on one down, and then play against the interior run on the next. The match-up between OLB Sean Lee and TE Zach Ertz sounds fun, right? Or TE Dallas Goedert vs the fill-in for Vander Esch? How about splitting RB Miles Sanders in the Slot vs any LB, with Boston Scott in the backfield.

And if they go small vs 12, 21, or 22, then audible to an off-Guard running play, between LG Isaac Seumalo and LT Jason Peters.

4) Don’t over-commit vs the run: We have to be fundamentally sound vs the run. By playing fundamentally sound, I mean that the DE’s have to set the edges, before they chase a RB or QB.

GRAHAM AND CURRY

Getting greedy has cost us too often recently.

I’m no longer calling for the Eagles to play much Cover Two. DC Jim Schwartz isn’t smart enough to make that adjustment. However, if we play fundamentally sound up front, then Schwartz can be creative on the back end.

QB Dak Prescott has had good days vs our Cover One look, but at times, he’s also been just average against it. The smaller we can make his throwing windows, the more likely we can get an average performance out of him.

If we don’t over-commit, and can add more players in coverage, it gives our Secondary a chance to follow and trust their eyes more. Too often our coverage concept takes players out of real chances to be disruptive while the ball is in the air. Mixing up some coverages will get Prescott to share the football with us, and let us hug him a lot.

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

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Styles dictate fights. The Rams game last week has the media buzzing that the Cowboys are back. The problem is, the Rams play a style of offense that the Eagles can’t, due to a lack of personnel. The Eagles on the other hand, use a style that makes it hard for the Cowboys to match-up with, due to current injuries. Defensively the Cowboys come into this game at a severe tactical disadvantage.

The Eagles come in at a disadvantage on Defense as well, but it’s a slight disadvantage, not a severe one. We’re healthier than we’ve been in three years facing the Cowboys, but we play a style that allows the Cowboys to score reliably. Again that goes back three years.

This will be a slugfest. This will be a war. This might be the best game you watch all season long.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 30 – Dallas 22

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FOUR THINGS – WK 12 – EAGLES – SEAHAWKS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Carson Wentz’s first NFL touchdown pass. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PREDICTION: EAGLES 16 – Seahawks 24

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ARE YOU IN OR OUT?

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/10/22
Posted in: Defense, Fans, NFC East, NFL, Offense, playoffs, Rants, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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FELLOW Eagles fans! We’re 7 games into a 16 game season. That’s not even halfway through. We’re a game out of 1st place, with a rematch IN OUR HOUSE coming up at the end of the season. So the question is, are you gearing up for the Sixers season opener, or are you locked in for Sunday in Buffalo?

Don’t answer me. Answer your mirror. As for me…

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I’m always locked in. They’ll NEVER clean my cage!

I want to make two things plain right now.

First, I’m picking the Eagles over Buffalo. Not for homerism, or for bullshit “fan support”. The numbers clearly indicate that if the Eagles don’t beat the Eagles, then Buffalo won’t be able to. A couple of bad losses, will never get me to ignore raw data. That would be a sign of panic, and I cannot in 44 years of life, point to a single instance where I have panicked. Football won’t be where I start.

Second, the Cowboys didn’t beat us. We beat us. Nothing about the box score says that they dominated us. QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott, and WR Amari Cooper all were productive, but none of them had a career day or some shit.

For those of us who watched, it was clear that no one hurt us as badly as we did. So don’t get it into your head that the final score indicates a gulf between how good they are, vs how good we are. It does not. It’s just a lil’ choppy water.

And I’ll say again,

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The Eagles made a move on Monday that I really really liked. We added DT Anthony Rush to our active roster. Back in June I was still rooting for us to find a way to keep the guy. We’ve long been a team that favored smaller DT’s, and Rush is a horse of a different color.

When we signed the 6’5, 350 pound Rush, after the 2019 Draft, I was all about that move. A big body to bull rush the “A” gap, and not let the Center get out on combo-blocks? All while having the length to possibly bat down passes, and affect field goal attempts?! I was excited about the idea of having someone who exceeds the prototypical 6’4, 320 mold, which the Eagles frequently fall short of.

When DT Malik Jackson went down, I actually thought of Rush, but I was lazy, and didn’t do the the leg-work to find out that he was unavailable anyway. When we later added DT Akeem Spence it seemed like a very mid-season Eagles (aka meh) sort of signing.

Rush however, seems like just the sort of move we need, now that we’re going with smaller LB’s who can’t get off of blocks. At least until OLB Nigel Bradham gets back. Once Bradham gets back, we should get some physicality back in the LB corps. And with Rush eating up space and blockers, those two things alone should go a long way, to changing what we’ve seen over these last two weeks.

It’s been a rough two weeks, but this is nothing we can’t handle. We’re making moves to right the ship. First place in Week 8 was never Step One. It never was. First place in Week 17 was Step One.

The storm be damned! Even at 3 – 4, we’re still on course. 

Popeye EM MAX

I’m all about the “get down”. Let’s chop it up!

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK 4 – PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/28
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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THIS time we won. Yet again the defense allowed 27 points for the third time in just four games. Yet again the Secondary allowed the opposing QB to get passes off quickly, before our pass rush could apply consistent pressure. What? You thought this would be all rosy and complimentary?

This year we’ve won two shootouts in comeback fashion, and we’ve lost two shootouts in comeback fashion. The slow starts aren’t great, but at least our Offense gets started at some point. Our Defense still seems to be in New Orleans.

In any case, we won.

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EAGLES 34 – Packers 27

The story of the night was RB Jordan Howard (15 – 87 – 5.8 – 2 – 0 / 3 – 28 – 9.3 – 1). He finally got the workload fans and media types have been clamoring for, and he produced like gang-busters. Not only that, but RB Miles Sanders (11 – 72 – 6.5 – 0 – 0) used in a supporting role, not as the lead, had his best game so far as a pro. (FYI: his yards per carry has improved in every game so far.)

The running game being so effective, allowed QB Carson Wentz (16/27 – 59.2% – 160 – 3 – 0 / 6 – 13 – 2.1 – 0 – 0) to go unsacked. Not only that, but the even balance of pass attempts (27) and handoffs (27), saved some wear and tear on our triggerman’s arm.

One of the most pivotal points of the game was DE Derek Barnett (3 – 1 – 0 – 1) forcing a fumble on the games only sack. To this point he has not produced like a first round pick, and so it was nice to see him show up and make such an impact play in this game. OLB Nigel Bradham (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) has two passes hit him in the hands, but he made sure he caught the second one, which salted the game away.

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. We introduce an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that fans have to honestly answer questions about those things, AFTER the game. This helps to get us, and keep us, all on the same page.

So, of the Four Things we were looking for in this last game, what exactly did we see?

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1) Work the body to bring down the head: Boy did we ever! There were some outside running plays, but for the most part we ran mostly from Guard to Guard. When you do that, it takes the starch out of any interior pass rush. It also pulls that extra Safety within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Showing we can run inside now, sets the table for explosive plays later when WR DeSean Jackson comes back from injury. Hell, it helped WR Alshon Jeffery (3 – 38 – 12.6 – 1) almost make a few plays, despite still being a little gimpy. (DONE)

2) Don’t let Rodgers relax: Get QB Aaron Rodgers (34/53 – 64.1% – 422 – 2 – 1) moving to his left, to force him into his least deadly pass. That was the idea. We got right to that, on his first pass attempt, and we did a few more times in the game. A couple of times he just pulled it down for a 4 yard scramble. (DONE)

3) Generate two turnovers: Derek Barnett’s forced fumble, recovered by DE Brandon Graham (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) was the first. And of course, Nigel Bradham’s touchdown robbing, victory sealing, show-stopping interception in the end zone, was the second. (DONE)

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4) More 2nd down play-action: The Eagles seemed to run play-action on any down that wasn’t second down. We got away with that in this game, but really second down is the ideal time for that ploy. (NOT DONE)

That brings this weeks Four Things tally to 3 out of 4, and the season’s numbers to 6 of 16. Now we get 10 days to use as a sort of Bye week. Guys can get some treatment and maybe take a couple of days to get away, go see family, spend a couple days in pajamas… After which, we come back and get ready to build some momentum vs the Jets. Regardless of whether or not their diseased QB is back.

On The Whole:

Outside of me, not many people thought the Eagles could beat the “undefeated” Packers team. After looking at how the Packers came by their wins, it was clear that their record was less about them being good, and more about their opponents (Chicago, Minnesota, and Denver) owning the 29th, 31st, and 24th ranked passing offenses.

Details MATTER. Ignoring details is a recipe for having disasters, and repeating disasters. This is why I always say that context is important.

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As far as this win goes, the bad news is, our Secondary was exposed on national television. The good news is, most of the victimizing of the CB’s was with no Safety help in the Single-high look. The great news is, unless DC Jim Schwartz is retarded, this has to mean an uptick in Cover Two, Tampa Two coverages.

Help for our pass rush, might be on the way.

Side note: When the fans at the game were chanting “Troy sucks Buck!” why was there no mention of how classless those fans were? Had it been Philly or Buffalo, the announcers wouldn’t have hesitated to shit-talk the fans.