Olamide Zacchaeus

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FOUR THINGS: WK 15: EAGLES – SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/12/15
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE loss we suffered last week, wasn’t surprising. Being blown out however, was. Since the way we lost was uncharacteristic, it’s nothing to panic over. Luckily a second blow-out in a row, on national television, nationally embarrassed the brand and Team Owner Jeff Lurie; who looked to be seething during last week’s game. And that lads, portends change. (Hence the ‘luckily’.)

There can’t be a million changes in eight days, but for a start, our practice schedule was altered. The normal walk-through, became a padded practice, to work on fundamentals. Things like tackling, run fit assignments, hand-off mesh, blitz recognition. This was an excellent place to start, and a well-measured response.

This week we visit a 6 – 7 Seahawks team, that is 4 – 2 at home. The run game both on offense and defense, has become a problem for them over the last month. Likely because teams have noticed that their smallish defensive front, is built for pass rushing. Their offensive line isn’t very good either.

A win moves us to 11 – 3, and guarantees us a spot in the playoffs. We’ve been chasing that mark for a couple weeks. Now is the time to punch our ticket, and not let it become a point of panic for the weaker minded.

A loss, puts us at 10 – 4. Still not a place for panic, but if we can’t beat a lesser opponent like this, there have to be some real questions asked about next season, regardless of how this one works out. Namely, how do we go about upgrading the coaching room, as we do all the obligatory annual roster upgrades.

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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 Seahawks

Something like the Brotherly Sweep would be great this week.

1) Run the Ball: Don’t be one-dimensional. Tire out the Seahawks smaller front. This is the easy stuff. Low hanging fruit. If this doesn’t happen, then you know that the Eagles have a FUNDAMENTAL problem with how they approach offensive football, and that an offensive coordinator must be part of our shopping list, next season.

Usually I write-in a carry mark of around 14. Not this week. This week RB D’Andre Swift needs 75 yards rushing. Give or take. (We’re not going to split hairs over 68 or so in a win.) My point is, another 39, or 43 yard day won’t cut it. The Seahawks won’t treat our run game as a threat, if it’s led by QB Jalen Hurts.

2) Deploy the Kerrigan Plan: Everyone knows to watch out for WR’s A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Word around the campfire is, they run predictable routes, and for this week, there is no need to change that. Opponents “knowing” where we want to be, tells us what their DB’s will try to protect. That leaves just the LB’s as obstacles.

This is where the Kerrigan Plan comes in. Press their Safeties back, with WR Quez Watkins or Julio Jones, to clear the underneath. Get passes out to the Flat for players like TE Dallas Goedert, and WR Olamide Zaccheaus. Throw a couple of RB Screens, not WR Screens!

Once we establish a presence in the Flat, it’ll dial back the Seahawks pass rush, and Hurts will have more time to go deep to Brown and Smith, vs one-on-one coverage.

3) Peter Out Their Line: At this point in his career, RT Jason Peters is essentially stealing money every time he puts on a football helmet. I’m sure that right now he’s still as strong as a bull. However, when he finished up here in 2020, his issue was matching outside speed. Folks, allow me to present OLB Haason Reddick!

Do you know how strong you have to be, to catch a grown man out of mid-air? I do. Firsthand. And you have to be pretty fucking strong.

Lining Reddick up over Peters is likely a mistake. Remember that day in 2016, when Peters caught RB Ryan Mathews out of midair, to make sure he landed safely? It’s not 2016, but I’d still lay a grand that Peters can ragdoll Reddick in a phonebooth. So play Reddick at OLB not DE, and force Peters to struggle with the counters.

4) Just Make the Tackle: Stop keeping runners upright, to claw at the ball. That just allows them to fight for extra yards, and gives their teammates a chance to push the pile. (Which the NFL is fine with, unless WE do it.) Just get the ball-carrier down. Immediately.

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

This doesn’t have to be a statement game. A win by one point, is the same as a win by forty. Meaning, it only counts for one win. So let every man take care of his responsibilities, cover his assignments, and trust his teammates to be doing the same.

This isn’t a big game. It just feels that way, because we’re hungry for a win, after two straight losses. This is a game we should win. And we’ll get absolutely no credit for it when we do.

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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, then you are a fool 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 REVIEWED: WK 3: Buccaneers

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/09/26
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, free agents, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
RB D’Andre Swift hurdles a defender for a few extra yards

STILL a work in progress.

EAGLES 25 – Buccaneers 11

EAGLES STATS:

Passing: QB Jalen Hurts (23/37 – 62.1 – 277 – 1 – 2)

Rushing: RB D’Andre Swift (16 – 130 – 8.1 – 0 – 0)

Receiving: WR A.J. Brown (14 – 9 – 131 – 14.5 – 0)

Offensive Line Report: (TFL: 1/ Sacks: 1/ Scrums Won: 5/ Scrums Lost: 1)

Drive Killer: FS Reed Blankenship (TD: 0/Int: 1/ FR: 0/ 4th down stops: 0/ FF: 0)

Sack Leader: DT Marlon Tuipulotu (Sacks: 1.0/ FF: 0/ Tackles: 2)

Special Teams Ace: WR Britain Covey 3PR – 81 – 27.0 – 0 / 1KR – 30 – 30.0 – 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 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: BUCCANEERS did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Run to Set-up the Pass: We were late to the party on this one. We got around to it, but not until the second half. As a result, Jalen Hurts looked shaky and threw two interceptions on the night.

Head Coach Nick Sirianni, said this would be a RB by committee team, and that the Eagles would “ride the hot hand” at RB. Well hands don’t get much hotter than D’Andre Swift starting of with 4 runs for 36 yards (9.0ypc). So why the sudden shift to a less effective RB Kenneth Gainwell (14 – 43 – 3.0 – 0 – 0)? We are over-thinking this. (NOT DONE)

2) Rush Five: Nope! This game was started with us in an honest to goodness 4-3 alignment, with OLB Hasson Reddick (No stats) used as part of 4 man rushes. The result was our third straight week of just two sacks.

LB Nick Morrow and DT Jalen Carter, combine to force a fumble

This isn’t to say that we never rushed five. It was just damned infrequent, and on some of those occasions, a late blitzer was the fifth rusher. While there was plenty of pressure provided, the QB who committed the most turnovers, was ours. I’m pretty sure there’s a lesson in here somewhere… (NOT DONE)

3) More Man Coverage: NOPE! Our Secondary play is eerily reminiscent, of the Jim Schwartz era. Big cushions, resulting in quick and easy completions, and a neutered pass-rush. Regardless of our record, you cannot look at this Defense and say that it doesn’t fell like we’ve regressed. (NOT DONE)

4) Unleash the Pass: The middle of the field was open for business, with A.J. Brown making a couple of big snags of over 20, going over the middle. New Eagles WR Olamide Zaccheaus (3 – 2 – 58 – 29.0 – 1) hauled in a beautiful 34 yard TD strike from Hurts, giving the Birds a lead that they would never relinquish. (I told you that OZ would see an opportunity.) (DONE)

This week’s Four Things score is 1 of 4. That being said, the stats, the box score, none of it tells the story of of this game, quite accurately. No time to whine about it though. Because next Sunday, we get a 1:00 game against division rival, Washington.

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Game Hero: RB D’Andre Swift – His running (specifically HIS running), forced the Buccaneers to load the box, Which opened up opportunities for the receivers over the middle.

Game goat: DC Sean Desai – Still has no idea of how to use OLB Hasson Reddick properly.

On The Whole: We are 3 – 0, but are still, a work in progress. While this one wasn’t a blowout, it is the first win of the season, that’s by a double digit margin. Imagine what we may look like, once we’re firing on all cylinders.

There are a lot of hidden details in this one. For instance, Tampa Bay came into this game, having trouble running the ball. However, instead of playing down to them, the Eagles Defense put shackles on the Tampa’s run game (17 – 41 – 2.4 – 0 – 1). It forced the Bucs to be one dimensional, and allowed the Eagles to walk away 3 – 0.

#3: THROW MORE UPPERCUTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/06/16
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, free agents, Offense, Players, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.

SPORTS is great source for mixed metaphors. Yelling that a team should “work the body” (run more); or that they should “go to the upstairs” (throw it deep down the sideline); are two examples of football borrowing expressions from boxing. Well I’m borrowing yet another: We need to throw more uppercuts.

By this I mean, deep throws down the middle of the field. I’m comparing this kind of pass to an uppercut, because while it’s going to the upstairs, it’s taking a different route. Like an uppercut, it’s thrown behind the defense. If the defense can recover, the fight just goes on. However, if the uppercut lands, (if that deep pass connects), it can be a devastating blow.

A deep pass down the sideline often involves a CB and/or a FS with an angle, helping to run down the WR. A deep pass in the middle is usually against a FS. Look, usually a FS is a S, because he can’t run like a CB. If he also has no angle on the completed pass, then it’s just a footrace to the goal post. This is utterly devastating.

WR Quez Watkins rips the Vikings hearts out, during Monday Night Football, with this 53 yard score.

The Eagles have a couple of players who can make this into a real problem. First is WR Quez Watkins. The Eagles have used him like this on occasion, but I have no idea why they don’t abuse this as an option. He has blazing speed and and good enough hands to make uncontested catches. Throwing him open on a deep route needs to happen few times per game.

Second is WR Devon Allen. He’s an Olympic sprinter with 4..5 speed, who had a strong preseason last year, and spent 2022 on our Practice Squad. While WR Olamide Zacchaeus isn’t the burner the other two are, he has a talent for finding soft spots in the coverage, and making yards after the catch. Though at 5’8 he could be a difficult target to hit deep.

So we have the firepower to throw more uppercuts. The only question there is, will we?