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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 12: PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/11/28
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

THIS was a vulgar display of power.

EAGLES 40 – Packers 33

EAGLES STATS:

Categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s (6 points) + 3rd downs converted by handoffs (1 point) + sacks allowed (-2 points) = score); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

New Category Ace is for Kick return TD’s, Returners run-down, kicks blocked, etc.

Passing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (16/28 – 57.1% – 153 – 2 – 0)

Rushing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (17 – 157 – 9.2 – 0 – 1)

Receiving : (S) WR Devonta Smith (9 – 4 – 50 – 12.5 – 0)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (18 + 3 – 4 = 19 ) C Jason Kelce

Drive Killer : (B) SS Reed Blankenship (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

Ace : (S) K Jake Elliott ( Two 4th qtr FG’s, one from 54 to ice the game)

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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 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: PACKERS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Hit Their QB: We hurried him into an early interception, sacked him three times, and knocked his punk ass out of the game. Even before the Packers yanked him, you could see in his eyes that he was finished. (DONE)

2) Miles of Screens: We didn’t throw Screens to RB Miles Sanders (21 – 143 – 6.8 – 2 – 0). He did catch (3 – 3 – 17 – 5.6 – 0) everything thrown his way, while running for a career high 143 yards, but none of it was a Screen pass. This is one place where the technicality works against me, but I’ll own it, because the technicality does not diminish his involvement, nor the statement made by this win. (NOT DONE)

3) Wrap it up, B!: After their first drive we settled in and got this done. The issue this week wasn’t the wrapping up, it was getting guys in the right hole, to meet the ball-carrier. Too often our defenders weren’t getting a shot at the runner, until they were 3 or 4 yards downfield already. Still, on 20 attempts, we gave up just 106 rushing yards on the night.

SS Reed Blankenship lurk in the “Robber” position and breaks on the ball. Between this and his physical style of play, it made me think of Ronnie Lott, after he signed with the Raiders. Not comparing players, just stylistic similarities.

I like the “thump” that SS Reed Blankenship (3 – 0 – 1 – 0) added tonight. There were a couple of downs where I saw OLB Kyzir White (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) try a shoulder tackle instead of a wrap-up, leading to extra yardage for the runner. One of them looked like he was making a business decision near the right sideline. As I said in the Quarter Two Report Card, it may be time to get rookie LB Nakobe Dean some of White’s snaps. (DONE)

4) Deep Down the Middle: Nope. Most of the passing was of the short variety. I think Hurts threw more balls away, than he legitimately attempted as deep passes. (NOT DONE)

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Yet again we finish at 2 of the Four Things, even though it’s really ore like three of them. No matter. Next week we host Tennessee’s rugby team, and get a first-hand look at their attempt to integrate the forward pass into their offense, as well as we have.

WR A.J. Brown demonstrating genuine Toe Drag Swag

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On The Whole:

RB Boston Scott and his bodyguard, LT Jordan Mialata.

It was a vulgar display of power, and I LOVED it. We did it because we wanted to do it, and there was no way for them to stop us. And was I excited? I spent that whole game on the verge of reaching for the hand lotion. (Not really, but you get my point.)

QB Jalen Hurts on his way to running for 157 yards on the day. The most by a QB in Eagles history.

We piled up 363 rushing yards in this game. I’ve been saying that running the ball is our identity, and we shouldn’t get away from that, but DAMN. This game was just us being more physical and looking to impose our will. We’ll need more of that next week.

RB Miles Sanders goes off for a career high 143 rushing yards.

Now my concerns. And I have a few.

I worry about the cumulative damage that all this running puts on Hurts. Not the hits, but the wear and tear. The torsion in his hips, knees, and ankles. I’m remembering last year’s high ankle sprain, as being non-contact. Pocket passers almost never get that injury. If we have a lead, there should never be a designed run called for him.

Defensively, we were consistently out-schemed by the Packers Screen and Pitch game. They did a great job of keeping us off-balance, and we had to wait for penalties, to hand us third downs where we could dictate the action. A well disciplined team won’t give us that chance. A PLAYOFF team won’t give us that.

Special Teams is a joke. Not only are we abysmal at returning all kicks, but now we’re now shit at covering them too. I’d been blaming WR Britain Covey, but today he only fair caught a punt. The rest of the returning was done by RB Boston Scott (3 – 24 – 8.0 – 0 – 0) who’s returning (4 – 91 – 22.7 – 0) was also underwhelming. Yet, returners can’t be blamed for the Packers gashing us for 172 KO return yards.

FOUR THINGS: WK 8: EAGLES – STEELERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/10/28
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WATCHING SS Chauncey Gardner-Johnson literally snatch the last game away from the Cowboys, made it known to the world exactly why the 6 – 0 Eagles, are the king of the fucking mountain. This week the NFL feeds sheep to lion (yet again), as they serve Philadelphia a shaky rookie QB.

Even worse, the game is here in Philadelphia. Philly is a tough, frenetic place to play even under normal circumstances, but now? NOW?? This city is in the grip of Championship Mania, as the Phillies begin a best of seven World Series push, this very night. Everyone and everything in this city, is thrumming with energy. You can get an electric shock from touching asphalt here. Throwing this rookie out there on Sunday… That poor kid has no chance. None. None at all.

A win of course, keeps the Eagles at the head of the table, as the NFL’s only undefeated team. Coupled with a loss from the giants, a win would open up our lead in the division. A loss coupled with a giants win, would put them in first place, due to one extra win, because they didn’t have a bye yet.

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The point of Four Things isn’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: Steelers.

1) Divide and Conquer: This game needs to be the tale of two halves. The first half spent mostly rushing four, and giving the Steelers QB confusing coverage looks. Rush four to not over-commit our LB’s, so they can take away the run, and put the game on the QB’s shoulders. Give him different coverage looks, so that he doesn’t trust his eyes. Especially early in the down.

In the second half rush five, and play aggressive man coverage. Fake some looks that we gave him in the first half, so that he thinks he knows what he’s seeing, then make plays on the ball. Don’t just blitz his body. Blitzkrieg his mind. This week we chambered another round,

when we added DE Robert Quinn to the roster, via trade with Chicago. We’ll be looking to either pick off the QB himself, or his passes.

2) Suffocate the Run: Engage the Steelers at the line of scrimmage, and bottle up the run early. Their leading rusher averages just 3.3 yards per carry, and twenty percent of their offense runs through him. We don’t need to shut him down, just make him unreliable. Keep our LB’s clean, and their run game should taper off.

The Steelers haven’t invested much draft or development capital in their offensive line, and it shows up in their run game (3.3) and pass protection. Left to right, in terms of talent, they trot out a 4th rounder, 4th rounder, two free agents, and a 3rd rounder. Across from them: DE Brandon Graham 1st rounder, DT Fletcher Cox 1st rounder, DT Jordan Davis 1st rounder, DE Josh Sweat 3rd rounder.

3) Win the Phonebooth: The Steelers run a 3 – 4 that’s an actual 3 – 4. Their OLB’s are not DE’s playing a glorified 5 – 2. Their OLB’s can actually play in space, so there will be no gimme routes to TE’s or RB’s. It will probably not be easy for QB Jalen Hurts to bootleg into big plays. So we’ll have to come at this one a little bit differently.

Drop our 300 pound G’s, repeatedly in the laps of their 240 pound ILB’s. Make it a physical game. Make it a fistfight in a phonebooth. Run the ball straight ahead, and just beat the hell out of them. Maul them. Harass them. Wear them down. Wear them out. Put the dogs on them. Leave nothing left of them for the second half. Then once they’re tired and stiff from resting during half-time, do it again in the second half.

4) Give Minka Fits: Line up WR Quez Watkins in the Slot, and have him run directly wherever FS Minka Fitzpatrick is. Keep one of their most important players where he can’t influence the game. Blow the top off their defense, and create room to work underneath of it.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

This game shouldn’t be about big splashy plays. We’re facing a team with an old reputation of being hard-nosed, no nonsense, and blue-collar. Usually as a Pennsylvanian, I’m proud to share those traits with the former Steagles. However, this week is Cross-state Rivalry Week. Order must be maintained. 

Also, we need to send the NFL a wake-up call. We’re undefeated, and have won multiple ways. We aren’t part of the 2022 conversation. We ARE the 2022 conversation. The league needs to see us put on an execution. A slow, deliberate, methodical dismantling of an opponent. One where no one talks about a lucky bounce, or missed call, or some other fluke being the difference.

It’s high time we made it clear, that WE, are the king of this fucking mountain.

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Prediction: EAGLES 28 – Steelers 13

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.

FOUR THINGS: WK 6: EAGLES – COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/10/14
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, free agents, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

UNDEFEATED. Still! We overcame adversity in the desert, snatching 139 rushing yards from a team that was only giving up 87 per game. This week we get a division rival that has given up 117 rushing yards per game, while only facing bottom feeder offenses.

They lean on their defense, which features a voracious pass rush, which was fortunate enough to face FOUR struggling offensive lines (and lost to one of them). Our Offensive Line, led by RT Lane Johnson, C Jason Kelce, and LT Jordan Mailata, is not struggling. Our Line is physical and dominant.

We’re told that styles make fights? Well, ding…ding.

A win raises us to 6 – 0, and keeps us at the head of the NFL table. With our opponent being 4 – 1, they are currently one game behind our 5 – 0. A win here opens up our lead in the East, putting distance between the two teams. A loss pulls us even record-wise, but would give them the lead in the East, by head-to-head tie-breaker.

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The point of Four Things isn’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: Cowboys

1) Score points: There’s a stat that says the Cowboys defense hasn’t allowed any opponent three touchdowns in any game this season. That’s 100% true. However, a lot of context is left out of that. Every team they’ve faced, already has trouble scoring three touchdowns in ANY game.

I’m fond of saying that the Universe’s favorite flavor of justice, is irony. So since we’re talking about not being able to score three touchdowns, the Cowboys offense is also in that club this season. Our Eagles on the other hand, have done it EVERY WEEK, except last week. Three touchdowns should put this game out of the Cowboys reach.

2) Drop the Mic(ah): Getting TE Dallas Goedert some quick, short passes would make the day super easy for QB Jalen Hurts. The Cowboys almost exclusively use OLB Micah Parsons as a pass rusher off the edge. So when he rushes forward, there’s going to be a vacated area right behind where he was lined up. That vacated area is where Goedert needs to camp out. So either Goedert gets to feast, or Parsons has to cover.

Just some quick short passes, where Goedert can quickly turn upfield for an extra 4 yards or more. Eventually their secondary will load the box to stop the run, and those short passes. Whenever that happens, Goedert can chip Parsons, to give Hurts time to take advantage of one-on ones-on the outside, or WR Quez Watkins down the hash.

3) Stay At Home: Same as most weeks. Just get DE’s Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat to set hard edges against the run. With RB Ezekiel Elliott no longer being very explosive, and RB Tony Pollard needing a build-up to break tackles; the easiest way to contain the Cowboys run game, is to bottle it up behind their line. The idea is to take away the run early, and put the game on QB Cooper Rush’s shoulders.

4) Rush Rush: The left side of the Cowboys offensive line is a car wreck. C Tyler Biadasz is no Travis Frederick. G Connor McGovern is the guy they passed over, to sign and start what’s left of Jason Peters, who will apparently put on red pumps and work that corner, for anyone who offers league minimum. But with Peters injured (show of hands if you’re surprised), the Cowboys now have to start the guy they said “Naw” to. At LT is penalty king Tyler Smith.

The game here is simple. DT’s Jordan Davis and Javon Hargrave help collapse the left side of the line, and make Rush reset his feet. He’s smart, and knows where he’s going with the ball, due to his familiarity with the system. So don’t waste time trying to trick him or fool him. Instead, make it about the physical limitations that kept him from getting drafted. His lack of arm strength, foot speed, and needing plays to run on schedule.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

The Bengals scoring offense, ranked (17th) is the highest ranked scoring offense that the Cowboys have faced. The Eagles have faced Detroit (3rd), Minnesota (12th) and Jacksonville (15th). The Cowboys average 18.6 points per game. We average 27.0 and have yet to score fewer than 20. They’ve reached 24 points once this season. We put up 24 points in a quarter. Twice so far.

The Cowboys are an over-hyped defense, coupled with an over-hyped QB, that have both had tons of mediocrity somehow omitted from their stories. Let me contextualize this Cowboys defense, and their “amazing”pass rush. Four of the five teams they’ve faced, have deep offensive line problems:

* Tampa Bay lost two starters to I.R. during the preseason and one more during the first game vs the Cowboys.

*Washington’s C and one of their G’s (who is also their back-up C), are on I.R.

*The Bengals troubles go back to last season, and their offseason answers (one of which is former Cowboy La’el Collins) have blown up on the launch pad.

*The Rams have both of their G’s on I.R. and their C is gutting out a foot injury. It’s why they’ve given up 21 sacks and average just 62 rushing yards per game. (Perspective: We average 160.0)

The Cowboys offense has scored all of 7 touchdowns in five games. Sorry, that’s 7 touchdowns in four games. (Tampa Bay held them to a single field goal.) Despite those facts, everywhere you look, there’s more praise for their QB because he’s 4 – 0 this season.

We’ve seen adversity and they’ve been handed roll-over games. Yet the media wants to talk like this is a meeting of two evenly matched teams?! Naw. You gotta miss me with that trash.

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Prediction: EAGLES 28 – Cowboys 16

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.

FOUR THINGS: WK P3: EAGLES – DOLPHINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/08/26
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

OUR Offensive Line kept our QB’s upright, and kept our ground game churning out yards and scores. When the dust settled it was Eagles 21, Browns 20. We’ll look to improve on that dominance this week, against the Miami Dolphins.

A win would be cute, but it’s neither here nor there. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have seventeen, possibly twenty, very long weeks coming up, and injuries are part of the game. This week isn’t about the opponent. It’s about picking the best depth possible, from the men battling to keep their dreams alive.

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The point of Four Things isn’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: Dolphins

1) Pass Rush: Someone get a sack. Doesn’t matter who. Two games and not one sack so far. That’s not Eagles football. Wait, let me amend my statement! It does matter who gets it. The sack has to come from a player who isn’t a DB. Also, it has to be a tackle in the backfield. None of that QB run out of bounds for a loss, bullshit. A real sack.

2) Some TE involvement: The passing game is all WR right now, and that doesn’t work. WR’s help keep S’s out of the box, but it’s a TE who’s a receiving threat, which loosens the box for the RB. No one is asking for a 50 yard bomb to a TE, but TE Noah Togiai’s 6 catches for 35 yards (5.8 ypr) represents the team’s best, through two games. 

3) Kick Return Impact: If someone can break a couple of big returns, they will make this team. This team needs a return threat. Period!

4) Flash from a DE: Even if a DE doesn’t get a sack, something has to pop out there. For both of these games, we’ve been gashed for rushing yardage on the boundaries. If not dominant pass rush, we need to see a DE show real run contain. That means make, or cause a tackle for a loss, on his side of the line.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

This is just a preseason game. Winning doesn’t mean the final score, it means finding the right pieces to help us build our roster. If they’re smart, our guys will compete against each other, and not the Fish.

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Prediction: EAGLES 21 – Dolphins 18

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.

FOUR THINGS: WK 8: EAGLES – COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/10/29
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

AFTER beating the giants, we’re looking to keep the win streak alive! Getting to the Cowboys QB, will be key to that this week. Fortunately for us, they don’t exactly specialize in protecting passers. This week, DE Brandon Graham (already on pace for a career year) gets to take the lunch money of the Cowboys rookie RT.

Washington being on their bye week, can’t add a win to challenge for the lead. At least not this week. That means whichever team wins this game, will be the top team in the division come Monday morning.

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.

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

1) Bait the QB: The Cowboys are starting a third string QB, who was a 7th round draft pick, who transferred from a major university (Pitt), to a lesser one (James Madison) because he couldn’t beat out Nate Peterman for the starting spot. Getting pass rush to him will be a big deal, but showing him coverages that bait him into bad throws, would be even bigger.

2) Run the ball: The Cowboys defense is a bucket with no bottom. It’s incapable of containing anything. The Cowboys rank DEAD LAST vs the run. They even gave up 208 rushing yards last week, despite starting the game in a 5-2 alignment. No, you didn’t read that wrong. They ran a 5-2. In the NFL. In 2020. The Eagles need to hand this ball off 25+ times this week.

3) Shark Tank!: Early in the game, establish the middle of the field as dangerous for Cowboys receivers. Their QB is young, new to the scheme, and lacks a pedigree. The bottom line: There is no deep trust or rapport there yet. If he gets a couple of receivers blown up early, it’ll change how they run routes. It will also lower focus on balls, as receivers try to locate where those footsteps are coming from.

4) Put on a clinic: There is no need to finish this team quickly. They have typically died slow deaths at the hands of opposing run games, and an inability to get their defense off the field. There is no need to re-invent the wheel here. Dallas has laid out the blueprint on how to beat them. All we need to do, is actually follow it.

If we do these Four Things, the final score should be:

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Cowboys 17

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how it went.

GUARDED OPTIMISM

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/07/15
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

jason-peters-jordan-mailata.jpg

FINALLY! Not only have the Eagles signed eventual Hall of Famer Jason Peters, but they’ve FINALLY decided to move him from LT to G. I’ve been on about that potential move for YEARS now.​

To finally see it take place… I- I feel so much pride right now. I now know how Ms. America felt when she got the roses, and began to make her way past all that human wreckage, as they cried real tears of pain, while giving her fake congrats. That had to feel amazing!​

And yes! With this news, I feel mah-velous.

billy-crystal-you-look-marvelous-instrumental-am​

Though Peters is just signed to a one year deal, moving inside could add two, maybe three high level years to his career. Study habits, strength, technique, concept of scheme, he owns all of those as an Eagle. Where he was starting to show wear and tear, was versus speed off the edge. That and the nagging injuries resulting from overextending to compensate for it.​

That’s no longer an issue, as opponents don’t get to try running around him. Now they have to wrestle with him in a phonebooth. Early word has him playing RG, to sub for RG Brandon Brooks whom we lost for the season, with a tear of his Achilles tendon.

While a right side of C Jason Kelce, RG Jason Peters, and RT Lane Johnson would be sick, this configuration won’t be the one that benefits the Eagles the most in the long run. Flipping LG Isaac Seumalo to RG and playing Peters at LG would be the most helpful alignment.

Jason Peters catching Ryan Mathews

Hey, does anyone remember the day Peters CAUGHT RB Ryan Mathews, out of mid-air to give him a soft TD landing?

Playing Peters one spot over from his familiar LT post, would help him mentor new starting LT Andre Dillard. While Peters at RG would be good while he played, the wisdom that he could pass down to Dillard, could help make the young man a perennial All-Pro, for the next decade-plus.

So Peters could either be a replacement for Brooks, or an investment in Dillard’s future. Instant gratification vs the long-term, high yield payout. In the end we’ll see who gets the roses.

BRINGING BACK JASON PETERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/27
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ANDRE Dillard is the Eagles future at LT, and the future should start this season. Still, it would be a smart move to bring back Jason Peters as a starter as well. (Note: I started this article the day before Head Coach Doug Pederson said that he’d like to have Peters back. I nearly didn’t release this, but since Doug and I have different reasons for bringing him back, I decided to voice my side.)

jason-peters-1

I’ve been saying for years now that if Peters were to move to LG, it could add Pro Bowl caliber years to his career. I’ve said that for years, and even with him being 38, if he kicks inside, his rare issues with edge speed, completely disappear. Those instances where LG Isaac Seumalo finds himself forklifted into the QB’s passing lane, would also disappear.

Moving Peters inside means we get a powerful, mountain of a man, still quick, and still able to play in space. It means a Hall of Fame caliber mentor, playing beside Dillard. It means we get a Hall of Fame caliber back-up at LT, if we need it. Imagine: A HOF caliber, back-up.

Money? Peters played for 9 million dollars last year. Some people would say that he should be paid less if he plays G, but why dick him around? Is haggling over a 3 or 4 million dollar difference, really worth risking having to see him in a Redskins jersey? Certainly not. Just “overpay” him at G, which is easy for both the team and he to agree to.

card.jason.peters

This needn’t be an exercise. Three years, 18M, 9 guaranteed, with a signing bonus of 9M. That’s a 27M cap hit, spread over three years. Build the contract with the third year being a false floor, with a $0 salary, and of course amortize the whole shebang. That breaks down as:

2020: 9M base/3M bonus (Only year with a guaranteed base salary)

2021: 9M base/3M bonus

2022: $0 base/3M bonus

This means that if we don’t bring him back in 2021, or he retires, the team is just on the (dead money) hook for the 6M in bonus money. Everybody walks away happy.

If the move adds two years to his career, then he’s ours at a rate so affordable, it’s practically stealing. If he and the team decides to do a third year, then “restructure” his deal by moving the remaining 3M of his signing bonus to his base, and give him a final restructure bonus of 12M.

At that point the new CBA will be in place, and that 12M will be like a final high-five to an All-Time Great. But what do I know? I’m not a GM. LOL

Jason. Peters. Savage.Burn

FIXING OUR RUN GAME

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/09/20
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

headshot

HEAD Coach Doug Pederson said “We’ve got to get the run game fixed.” That statement came as a shock to me, because I thought the run game had already been neutered. Seriously though, there are a number of things wrong with the run game, but most of it is stuff we can repair in-season. There is no need to start suggesting trades. We can win the division with the roster we already have.

Be warned, this is not a short article. I tried to make it short, but that kept leaving out too many important details. Skimping on details won’t paint an accurate picture. To really understand what’s happening, the coaches need details. If that’s the case, then you can imagine that if we’re really going to understand, us fans also need details. So no shortcuts. Nothing wrong with taking your time, and making sure you do it right.

The first thing we need to do is to drop the cute attitude. Running the ball requires pushing large, aggressive men out of the way, so that another man can produce yardage. It requires brute force. All these wide pitches, Jet Sweeps, all these cute east/west runs…they need to be replaced with more north/south running between the Tackles.

Some of the offensive linemen on this team are mentally soft. Not all of them are eager to impose their will on an opponent, and that’s a problem. An offensive lineman should be a hammer who sees anyone in lined up front of them, as a nail. Any offensive lineman who isn’t eager to mix it up, won’t help much with creating holes up front.

We also need to commit to running the ball early. Early is important, because it wears defenders down as the game goes on. It can be exhausting if the run game gets established early, which is why teams focus on taking it away ASAP. Pass rushing can leave players winded, but it doesn’t physically beat them up like run defense does.

With a pass block, the offensive lineman starts out by shuffling backwards. When he makes contact with a defender, it’s because the defender (with momentum) has run into them. Often while the offensive lineman is still drifting backwards.

With a run block, the offensive lineman surges forward. When he makes contact with a defender, it’s because the (generally bigger and stronger) offensive lineman is dictating where the defender is allowed to be. The defender has to fight through that block, find the RB, and then hopefully participate in the tackle. It’s exhausting.

So we need to adjust our attitude about running, put some hammers out there, and commit to running early. Those are all things we can correct in the next day or so. Those are all internal fixes, and most of them are mental. However there is a physical question that requires an answer: Who are our hammers and who needs to sit down?

Lets start with who needs to sit.

The guy getting most of the blame for this mess is LG Isaac Seumalo. Everywhere you look sportswriters are throwing him under the bus. Even I got in on the act Monday, and that was unfair of me. That was wrong of me. While Seumalo had a horrendous game, he wasn’t alone out there. C Jason Kelce also looked pretty bad. Look at the two of them engaging defenders and sustaining their blocks in these clips. (BTW: I didn’t compile these clips. I saw them a few places on-line and just decided to share them.):

 

I noticed RG Brandon Brooks is generally doing a very good job out there. So it’s not the system, and we don’t need a whole new interior. Take a look a few more clips.

I soured on Kelce early in his career. I’m on record saying that he benefited from playing next to wily veterans like Evan Mathis and then Allen Barbre/Stefen Wisniewski. I’ve said that for years now. Playing next to Seumalo who lacks the experience to compensate for Kelce, we’re now clearly seeing what I’ve been saying. Kelce may be a decent C for systems that require linemen to play in space, but in a more traditional system, his game has too many drawbacks for him to be anything but a liability.

Both Seumalo and Kelce need to sit, if this team is to get the run game on track. That however, means we need two players to step into their places. Those players are Chance Warmack who should get the nod at LG, and Wisniewski who we absolutely need at C. Instantly we’d get more physical up front, and would stop being a lop-sided offense.

We can worry about rebuilding our depth in the off-season. However, to get the run game on track, we already have all the tools that we need. We simply need the will and desire to use our tools. Head Coach Doug Pederson said “We’ve got to get the run game fixed.” This is how we can do it right, and with no shortcuts.

REACTION TO THE 2017 ROSTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/09/03
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Draft, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

lack of surprise

WHEN Training Camp opened up, we more or less already knew who we’d be relying on this season. We also had a pretty good handle on who was more or less just a “camp body”. For the most part the Eagles roster has shaped up along those lines. For the most part the guys who earned spots have made the cut.

For the most part.

At QB we got a Wentz/Foles pairing, which surprises no one. Given that our 3rd string TE can fill in at emergency QB, there’s no need to stockpile three, while #1 and #2 are healthy. Speaking of TE, that position also shook out as predicted.

I wish I could say that I was surprised that RB Donnel Pumphrey made the roster. He did nothing to earn the spot, but the Eagles brass doesn’t care to discard a 4th round pick. That will unfortunately send a message to players about how this organization views and rewards performance.

Marcus Johnson was already a stretch, but somehow WR Shelton Gibson made the roster, while Bryce Treggs didn’t. This too will send a message to players about how this organization views and rewards performance. Then again we did spend a draft pick on him…(smh)

Offensive Line seems a little light at 8 players. Then again, even the 9 that I predicted seemed light. Ideally you want at least a back-up for every starter. (This also does wonders in practice.) It’s hard to “push” a young player who doesn’t have to look over his shoulder. Sacred cow status sends the wrong message.

It would have been nice to keep Alex McCalister, but there is just no sane way to keep 6 DE’s on this roster. We’re already pushing it with 5 (and that’s only because Curry can be kicked inside on pass rush downs). Still, if McCalister could cover even a little, he’d have been re-cast as an OLB and probably would challenged for a starting job.

Unfortunately the DT position played out as I thought it would. The Eagles kept 7th round pick Elijah Qualls, and cut the free agents. For the record I’m far less impressed with Qualls than some are. With no starts in the preseason, Qualls faced the bottom of an opponents roster in every game . That wasn’t so for Justin Hamliton, a free agent whom Qualls beat out. Then again at #5 on the depth chart, it will hardly matter.

At LB the Eagles went with 6 players not 7 (3 OLB , 3 MLB). I’m guessing that they aren’t done here. 6 LB’s is too few to go into a season with. You need LB’s on Special Teams to beat blocks faster, close out areas, and draw block in the back penalties. We can’t use starters to fill in there, because it tires them out for defensive downs. Right now we’re at 6, but I’d be appalled if it didn’t change by kick-off.

We kept 5 Safeties. I was sure of four of them. The 5th was something like a surprise, without actually being one. I don’t know what to say about this group. Until about midseason last year, this position had been the strength of our Secondary. Since midway through last season, the only place we’ve seen them is on the backs of milk cartons. I’m hoping this changes, because lord knows we have the talent.

The position causing our coaching staff the most headache is CB. I expected them to keep 6, if only to have options during the year. Instead the Eagles went with 5. Considering that 2 of these guys are defensive starters, and a third may play heavy minutes at Nickel, it seems weird to only keep 5 total.

+++++

On the whole, I want to be a lot more optimistic about this roster than I am. However, there are some serious deficiencies built into it now. Most glaringly, it looks like Special Teams and/or Offensive line depth, took a hit in order to accommodate 3 draft picks who failed to demonstrate that they can help this team, one iota. That said, adjustments still have to be made, so we’ll see how that shakes out.

peeweeskeet

INSIDE THE HELMET: OFFENSIVE LINE

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/08/28
Posted in: Coaching, Fans, Inside The Helmet, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

WHY can’t the Offensive Line generate push in the run game? Why is the Offensive Line allowing so much pressure on QB Carson Wentz? Everywhere you turn, you hear fans asking one of, or both of these questions. They can’t figure out why a unit with a new starter on it, isn’t performing at a high level. The answer is simple: They haven’t played together enough during “live” fire.

People who don’t know ass about football, will say that our O-line has been going against our D-line for months now. They’ll say that counts as experience. If these people were six years old, that assessment would be cute. However, coming from full grown humans, claiming to be Eagles fans, that shit is nothing short of embarrassing.

Look, let me take you Inside The Helmet:

InsideTheHelmet

The D-lineman who lines up across from you in practice, is a guy you rapidly get to know. Who’s quicker off the snap, you or him? Does he favor his right or his left, with his first step? Does he like to bull rush, rip, or swim? When you lock on, does he club your inner elbow, or does he forklift your wrists to generate a hands to face penalty?

These are just a few things you quickly learn about the man who practices across from you, five days a week. Once he knows what he can’t beat you with, he’ll lean on the things that give him a chance, or an advantage. After all, he also needs to look good, either to hold onto his starting spot, or to make the team period.

+++++

When it comes to practices, players see the same things day in and day out, from the guy across from them. O-linemen are blocking against the same guys, who are executing the same defensive concepts, day in and day out. That means the linemen aren’t exposed to new wrinkles. The only way to see new wrinkles, is to face other teams that run different systems, or the same system with an emphasis on a few different concepts.

This O-Line hasn’t seen enough live fire this preseason. That impacts their ability to act as one cohesive unit, because they don’t get to communicate adjustments to seeing something new, in real-time. Just in the film room. Imagine a chorus line not kicking in unison. This is where our O-line is.

Since the starters are almost guaranteed to sit out this last preseason game, this is where the O-line will still be on opening day. Hopefully that won’t end up with Wentz being carted off the field this year. Given how much abuse he was allowed to take in just one quarter of play vs the Dolphins, any sensible fan would have to be concerned.

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