Quarterly Report Card

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2022 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: QUARTER FOUR

Posted by The BEAST on 2023/01/18
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, report, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
QB Jalen Hurts can only look on as we struggle past a rough patch vs the Saints

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after games 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 14 – 3, NFC East Winner, NFC #1 Seed

[pic]

OPPONENTS:

(W ) Chicago                    3 – 14

(L ) Dallas                        12 – 5 (5th seed)

(L ) New Orleans            7 – 10

(W ) New York giants     9 – 7 (6th seed)

OVERVIEW:

When do our guys ever make it easy? Our Eagles made us sweat for it. Securing the top seed came all the way down to the last game of the year, due to two losses down the stretch. This was triggered by losing a flurry of key players to injury. In any case, instead of producing excuses, the Eagles produced the wins they needed. Our team didn’t choke when crunch time came around. They instead did what winners do. They reached down, and found the will to be the last one standing. Great practice. We’ll be needing it shortly.

GRADES:

QB: C / Jalen Hurts injured his throwing shoulder vs Chicago. He finished the game, but missed the next two. When he returned in the finale, he clearly wasn’t himself yet . Over the last quarter season, he’s thrown zero touchdowns vs three interceptions. He will exit the regular season with a 14 – 1 record as a starter this season.

Gardner Minshew (42/72 – 58.3% – 629 – 3 – 3) has been unfairly lambasted these last couple of weeks. He’s credited with 3 interceptions, but it’s a very misleading stat. While one was a fatal pick six vs the Saints, the two against the Cowboys were both, literally pulled out of the same receivers hands. In neither game did the coaching staff do much to support him with the run, yet he still managed 34 points against the Cowboys.

RB Miles Sanders laments a fumble as LT Jordan Mailata comforts him.

RB: D / Miles Sanders (55 – 201 – 3.6 – 0 – 2) has been used sparingly over these last four games, not just in terms of volume, but situationally. His touches in the red zone have all but disappeared. Kenneth Gainwell (22 – 57 – 2.5 – 0 – 0) and Boston Scott (11 – 60 – 5.4 – 1 – 0) have been underwhelming, save for Scott’s (9 – 54 – 6.0 – 1 – 0) game against the giants.

In full disclosure, over these last four games this position has suffered as much from coaching as anything else. No early touches to set a tone, or tire out opponents. Running a system set up for movement and a mobile QB, through a pocket passer with no threat of stressing a defense horizontally. My hope is that these games were red herrings regarding our tendencies.

TE: F / Dallas Goedert (16 – 12 – 158 – 13.1 – 0) came back from injury and has been working his way back into his role as the catalyst. Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra combined for a 6 yard catch, over the last four games, on just three targets.

WR: C / Devonta Smith (41 – 29 – 421 – 14.5 – 2) on almost any other team would be the guy teams game-planned to stop; but have you met A.J. Brown (43 – 23 – 476 – 20.6 – 1)? While he’s in no media conversation as the best receiver in football, he doesn’t seem to mind it. He just plays like he is. Keep in mind, the numbers you see here, are for just the LAST FOUR GAMES.

Quez Watkins (16 – 7 – 49 – 7.0 – 0) on the other hand, may have played his way out of Philadelphia. Turnovers have been an issue for him, and this quarter saw two balls ripped from his hands for interceptions, in the same game. And it was against DALLAS! Behind Brown and Smith, he has one of the cushiest Slot gigs in the sport, and hasn’t been able to capitalize on it, despite possessing elite speed, and having two coverage draws

Zach Pascal caught a ball for six yards vs the Cowboys, but is mostly a blocker and a decoy. The A.J. and Devonta Show has kept people from noticing that the rest of the Offense is faltering. Notice, only half of this position is producing. And did you do the math? This quarter: 60 catches, but just 3 TD’s. No more smoke and mirrors. This MUST BE addressed.

OT: C / LT Jordan Mialata once again didn’t miss a single snap out of 272 in the quarter. He was flagged just once for a hold, which was declined, in the win over the giants. RT Lane Johnson was Lane Johnson until he suffered a groin injury (torn adductor) vs Dallas. Filling in for him has been Jack Driscoll. He’s held his own, but speed rushes suggest that he could use chipping help, if we have to rely on him long term. Truthfully he’s a much better interior battler than edge guardian.

OG: C / Landon Dickerson has been hit for three penalties for 20 yards this quarter, including a couple of crushers while trailing the Saints by 10 points. Isaac Seumalo hasn’t missed a snap this quarter. He was flagged just once, but it was during a disastrous drive while trailing the Saints by 10. Our recent interior play would be good for most teams, but for this team, it’s below what’s expected based on what’s been previously delivered.

RG Isaac Seumalo ad C Jason Kelce open a crack, just wide enough for RB Boston Scott to shimmy through.

C: B / Jason Kelce hasn’t missed a single one of the 272 snaps during this quarter. He’s had a couple of questionable snaps, but his movement skills are still top tier, and his understanding of angles is honestly second to none in the game.

DE: B / Josh Sweat (10 – 3.5 – 1 – 0) was injured early in the loss vs the Saints, and missed the season finale. Still he managed to return an interception for a touchdown, and add enough sacks to push his total to 11 on the year. Brandon Graham (7 – 2.5 – 0 – 0) also brought his total to 11, posting double digit sacks for the first time in his career. His only start of the year was the season finale, in place of Sweat.

DE Josh Sweat with the pick six.

DT: A/ Fletcher Cox (6 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) finished the season strong, reintroducing himself to opposing passers. Javon Hargrave (14 – 3.0 – 0 – 0) ran his sack total up to 11, becoming one of four Eagles to post double digit sacks in one year. No other team has ever done that. This position is the engine of the Defense.

Milton Williams (9 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) also has 3 tackles for losses over the last three weeks, and plays the edge as well as the inside. Jordan Davis (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) has played in two games this quarter where he didn’t reach 10 snaps. He hasn’t played 20 snaps in a game since Week 6. So you have to wonder what the coaching staff has in mind for the first rounder, who’s been back from his leg injury since Week 13. We’ll have to keep an eye on this.

Linval Joseph (10 – 0 – 0 – 0) is block eater who has seen his snap percentage drop over the last quarter. There may not be much to it, but keep an eye on how much Davis gets to play going forward. Ndamukong Suh (4 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) has been plugging away inside, offering more disruption than Joseph.

OLB Haason Reddick with one of his two sacks in this game.

OLB: C / Haason Reddick (14 – 6.0 – 0 – 2) and throw in 4 tackles for losses this quarter! The 16 sacks he racked up this year, is his career-high. Kyzir White (31 – 1.0 – 0 0 – 0) gets in on stops, but it would be nice if he didn’t let so much of the action be dictated to him. Too often he makes tackles and not plays.

Nakobe Dean (no stats) saw just three defensive snaps this quarter. Three. Patrick Johnson (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) plays on the line more than he stands up, but seems mostly like a place holder in either instance. Coaches may laud his understanding of his role, but those same coaches will take that role, if another player makes two plays in his stead.

MLB: B / T.J. Edwards (44 – 0 – 0 – 0) posted 159 tackles this year, shattering the Eagles all-time record of 137 set just last year, by current Bronco, Alex Singleton. Edwards role in the Defense has definitely become more passive.

S: D / Marcus Epps (24 – 0 – 0 – 0) has just two passes knocked down this quarter, and just 6 this season and no turnovers, despite playing 1,096 snaps. More is needed here. Reed Blankenship (20 – 0 – 0 – 0) started two games and missed one with an injury. K’von Wallace (11 – 0 – 0 – 0) started in the win at Chicago, and recorded 9 stops. Over the last three games he saw just 12 defensive snaps. Chauncey Gardner Johnson (7 – 0 – 0 – 0) came back from injury and started the finale.

CB: D /Darius “Did He Play?” Slay (12 – 0 – 0 – 0) hasn’t produced a big play, since his deflection in Green Bay last quarter. What’s worse, opposing teams no longer fear targeting him. He hasn’t gotten his hands on a pass since Week 6. It would help to see him assert himself soon. James Bradberry (15 – 0 – 0 – 0) is also seeing more challenges, having no picks since Week 9.

Avonte Maddox (9 – 1.0 – 0 – 2) missed the last two games with a toe injury, and it’s unclear whether he’ll play or practice again this season. Josiah Scott (7 – 0 – 1 – 0) has spent this quarter being plucked, roasted and sauced as the Nickle. The job is simply too big for him.

LS: A / Rick Lovato added a tackle to no bad snaps.

P: C / Brett Kern (10 – 408 – 40.8 – 36.6 – 0) was brought in because Arryn Siposs was put on IR. Not a lot of distance, or hang-time, or pin-pointing with his punts; but he’s an aging, late season addition. How much could he possibly have left? Over the last 4 games there have been 5 returns for 42 yards (8.4). Fine under the circumstances, but it suggests a slight out-kicking of the coverage.

K: A / Jake Elliott (9/10 FG, 8/8 XP) has been super reliable. Even from 50+.

PR/KR: D/ Boston Scott (6 – 161 – 26.8 – 0) on Kick-off duty and WR Britain Covey (4 – 44 – 11.0 – 0)

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

After Chicago, the Eagles hit some major injury snags. As a result, we had some trouble securing the win needed to salt away the division and the NFC’s #1 seed. It took until the last game of the season, but it DID get done. While many have questioned the play they see on the field, I’ve had more questions about some of the coaching decisions.

I question the lack of commitment to the run game, during a stretch where the back-up QB had to start. I question a steady diet of off-coverage. I question the sparse use of Miles Sanders, while not elevating RB Trey Sermon from the practice. I question fans who swallow non-answers about these questions.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

We posted a conference (and league), best record of 14 – 3, which earned us a first round bye in these 2022 – 2023 playoffs. We get to flash our VIP pass, and cruise right past the (peasants) Wild Card round, and hop in at the Divisional level. That puts us one win away from the National Conference Championship, and two wins away from the Super Bowl itself. Once there, everything is on the table. So the mission is simple: WIN. WIN. And then WIN.

2022 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: QUARTER THREE

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/12/18
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after games 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 12 – 1, 1st in NFC East, 1st in the NFC

OPPONENTS:

(W ) Indianapolis         4 – 8 – 1

(W ) Green Bay             5 – 8

(W ) Tennessee              7 – 6

(W ) New York giants   7 -5 – 1

OVERVIEW:

Offensively, the Eagles have shown an ability to beat opponents either with the run game (363 yards vs Green Bay), or with the passing game (386 yards vs Tennessee). Regardless of what opponents try to stop, the Eagles have an answer for that. Defensively, any talk that the Eagles can’t stop the run, has disappeared to the point where it’s not even gossip anymore.

Now, all the media talk has turned to whether or not QB Jalen Hurts is the NFL’s MVP. Honestly, I doubt most of us care. Local talk wants to discuss playoff scenarios. And possible parade plans.

*****

GRADES:

QB: A / Jalen Hurts is doing as much as can be asked of him this quarter. Run the ball in for the game winner? CHECK. Set a franchise rushing record? CHECK. Throw for nearly 400 yards and three scores vs no picks? CHECK. In fact, Hurts has been stellar both as a passer (84/123 – 68.2% – 940 – 8 – 0), and as a runner (47 – 332 – 7.0 – 3 – 1). That said his usage as a runner on called run plays, is far too high.

RB: A / Miles Sanders (61 – 358 – 5.8 – 5 – 0) had a career day vs Green Bay (143 rushing yards) and then had another vs the giants, en route to becoming the Eagles first 1,000 yard rusher since LeSean “Shady” McCoy in 2014. Sanders is a talented runner, a capable receiver, and has demonstrated solid command of pass protection reads as well as effective blocking. Someone is going to pay him this off-season, the only question is, who.

Kenneth Gainwell (12 – 54 – 4.5 – 1 – 0) has seen an uptick in passes (5 – 4 – 43 – 10.7 – 0). Specifically on checkdowns right in front of the vacated MLB area, resulting in some easy first downs. Boston Scott (18 – 81 – 4.5 – 1 – 0) seems to have gotten some of his juice back since becoming the primary KR. Still, we may want to get a look at Trey Sermon.

TE: C / Jack Stoll (6 – 6 – 68 – 11.3 – 0) needs to see more targets, if only to keep opposing defenses honest. He’s been dependable when we go to him. That’s not to suggest that he can fill the shoes left by Dallas Goedert (I.R.), but it seems like Stoll’s lack of production is strictly opportunity based. Grant Calcaterra (6 – 4 – 41 – 10.2 – 0) and Tyree Jackson, have been afterthoughts.

This position is graded low, but the problem seems more like a coaching issue, than a player issue. They can’t produce if they aren’t invited to the Offense, and Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen, is doing a terrible job of developing these three young players.

WR: B / A.J. Brown (29 – 21 – 295 – 14.0 – 1) has coughed up 2 fumbles this quarter. Otherwise, he’s been an absolute nightmare for defenses. (Especially his former team, the Titans.) Devonta Smith (34 – 20 – 294 – 14.7 – 2) doesn’t get the fanfare that Brown does. Instead he’s been quietly killing secondaries with precise routes that keep the chains moving.

Quez Watkins (18 – 14 – 122 – 8.7 – 2) has started the last three games, and been a key contributor in each one. His speed loosens the secondary and invites opponents settle for handing over intermediate completions, instead of long scoring strikes. Zach Pascal (4 – 4 – 30 – 7.5 – 0) only had 9 yards of YAC this quarter. That needs to rebound next quarter.

OT: B / LT Jordan Mailata has played every snap this quarter, drew three flags, added a fumble recovery, and dropped a FIRE Christmas album. RT Lane Johnson who’s been flagged three times this quarter, is also on that Christmas album. Solid play, but these two have been flagged and cost the team 25 yards this quarter. Gotta be better than that.

OG: C / More is needed from LG Landon Dickerson, in pass protection. Between he and G Issac Seumalo, there are still too many sacks given up by us week to week. The run blocking has been great. Andre Dillard has also logged some time at LG, when Dickerson left the Titans game with an injury.

C: B / Jason Kelce is also on the Christmas album. Three penalties for 21 yards this quarter plus a bad snap vs the Colts, is the bad news. The good news, is watching him get ahead of runners on touchdown runs. Cam Jurgens has had a few down on mop-up duty and he hasn’t stood out. Which is exactly what you want from a back-up lineman.

DE: A / Brandon Graham has never had a 10 sack season. Currently he has 8.5, but if he plays like he did this quarter (5.5 sacks, 1FF), he will eclipse that number in what could be his swan song as an Eagle. Josh Sweat has racked up 4 sacks in the last 4 games, giving Eagles the ability to reach from either edge.

Robert Quinn added no measurable production before being placed on I.R. after Week 12. Patrick Johnson is listed at LB. But plays almost exclusively at this position for depth.

DT: B / Fletcher Cox is no longer being overused, playing around just 30 snaps per game. He’s rejuvenated and has responded with 3 sacks in the last 3 games, plus 4 TFL (tackle for loss). Javon Hargrave had to cool off after the torrid pace he kept up last quarter. Jordan Davis returned from I.R. playing just 24 total snaps in two games.

Linval Joseph came over at the beginning of this quarter, to occupy blockers and others clean, but he’s even chipped in half a sack. Ndamukong Suh does more penetrating and blowing up blocking schemes. He also has half a sack. These two were brought in to help with run defense and boy have they! Playing here and on the End is Milton Williams, with 2 sacks and 4 TFL. Deep and disruptive group here.

OLB: C / Haason Reddick also lines up at DE, and has helped himself to 3.5 QB kills this quarter. Kyzir White hasn’t made any splash plays in months, opening the door for rookie Nakobe Dean who impressed during his 6 tackle performance in just 15 downs, during a Week 13 victory.

MLB: C / T.J. Edwards Hasn’t been the tackle machine that he was before we added DT’s Joseph and Suh, but he also hasn’t had to be that MLB. Now he’s back to showing up in coverage.

S: B / Marcus Epps helped win the Colts game with a timely FF. Seems to be lurking around the box a little more these days, but that’s likely him covering for injured players. Chauncey “CJGJ” Gardner-Johnson went on I.R. after Week 12.

Filling in admirably for CJGJ, was rookie Reed Blankenship. Until he got injured. Snagging an interception and a handful of key stops, Blankenship has just about guaranteed himself a 2023 roster spot. K’Von Wallace filled in for Blankenship, and got a few tackles.

CB: A / Teams just aren’t testing Darius “Big Play” Slay much. He got fingers on 3 passes, but he doesn’t see much traffic. The exact same things can be said for James Bradberry. Teams seemed to have learned their lesson.

Josiah Scott intercepted a ball deflected by Slay during Week 12. Avonte Maddox returned from I.R. on Week 14. Zech McPhearson and Josh Jobe haven’t really played much.

LS: A/ Rick Lovato hasn’t had any screw-ups snapping and even snagged himself another tackle.

P: D/ Not been a great quarter for Arryn Siposs. Two games with punt averages of 35 yards or lower, and being injured on block. Now he’s on I.R.

K: A/ Jake Elliott was 17/18 on extra points, 5/5 on Field Goals, and even threw in a 35 yard punt, after an injury to Siposs.

PR/KR: WR Britain Covey exclusively handles punt returns this quarter, and it’s working like crazy! His returns (11 – 147 – 13.3 – 0) are a far cry from where he was last quarter. Handling kick-offs, has been RB Boston Scott (9 – 245 – 27.2 – 0). He’s had a few nice returns, but he has no chance of scoring without some extraordinary blocking.

*****

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The mission last quarter was to secure a playoff berth. DONE! We’re taking things a step at a time, and it’s allowing players to have a sense of urgency, and timeliness. Players have been dialed into the here and now. Just a couple more weeks like that, and we should be in a great spot.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Win the division, then secure a first round Bye.

Those can’t be done against Chicago just yet. However, the following week in Dallas, we could lock up the division, and the conference with just that win. No other help would be needed after that. Starters could sit for the last two games. (They shouldn’t.) Winning these next two games, ices it for us.

2022 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: QUARTER TWO

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/11/27
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Y’all ain’t seen nothing yet!

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after games (not Weeks) 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

Note: This Report was supposed to come out BEFORE the Colts game, The records below reflect the records at that time.

STATUS: 8 – 1, 1st in NFC East, 1st in the NFC

Chips pushed to center of the table.

OPPONENTS: (After game nine)

(W ) Dallas             6 – 3

(W ) Pittsburgh       3 – 6

(W ) Houston         1 – 7 – 1

(L ) Washington     5 – 5

OVERVIEW: Bad news first. We just suffered our first loss. We are allowing an increasing number of rushing yards as this quarter wears on. Now the good news. We didn’t allows a team to reach 200 yards passing for any of these four games. We also haven’t allowed a team to reach 20 points in 3 number of those four games.

We’ve also started scoring points in both halves of ball games. It sounds like sarcasm, but it isn’t. Looking at the Raiders and Raven blow big leads repeatedly this season, makes a clear point. It’s not how many points, it’s how often points. Big, early leads that get chipped into, give the opponent confidence. However, constantly topping up our score, can make an opponent feel that they’ll always be just out of reach.

This is how to make opponents dread seeing us on their schedule.

NOTE: This Report was supposed to come out BEFORE the Colts game, but the Monday Night game threw everything off. That means no mention or consideration of the Colts game stats will figure into this report. This segment will be the only place that will mention DT Linval Joseph or DT Ndamukong Suh, and even then, only to say that they aren’t discussed in this Report.

*****

GRADES:

QB: B / Jalen Hurts rushing this quarter (26 – 88 – 3.3 – 1 – 1) is way too much risk for way too little reward. Also the number of times he’s been sacked 12 in the last three games is up 11 in the first five games. The boil-down is that our QB is taking too much punishment, for too few yards. Some of it is the line, but some of it is him holding the ball too long.

When he does get the ball off, he’s just gunning defenses down. In the first five games, he threw 4 TD/2 Ints. In these last 4, he’s thrown 10TD/1 Int.

RB Miles Sanders scores in our 26 – 17 victory over Dallas

RB: C / Miles Sanders (56 – 296 – 5.2 – 3 – 0) has been effective when used, and even enjoyed a three game scoring streak. Where he’s fallen off, is just 2 targets in the last four weeks, vs 11 in the first five. His snap count was also down. Kenneth Gainwell (11 – 57 – 5.1 – 1 – 0) has been effective as a runner, but his 5 catches for 29 yards (5.8) isn’t what the team was hoping for from him. Boston Scott (15 – 47 – 3.1 – 0 – 0) has seen mostly mop-up duty, and hasn’t been part of recent games while they’re still in contest. Trey Sermon hasn’t played since week five.

This group has been less involved and it has showed itself in the slow start against the Texans and the loss vs Washington. Running is this team’s bread and butter. This has to get fixed.

TE: C / Dallas Goedert (24 – 19 – 209 – 11.0 – 2) has been a consistent catalyst for the Offense. Key third down conversions are becoming his calling card. He should see more targets when the Offense is inside the 10, but the Offensive Coordinator is in love with bunch formations and trying to get our QB killed.

Stepping up his production is blocking TE Jack Stoll (5 – 3 – 45 – 15. 0 – 0). His numbers are meager, but his last quarter as a receiver has already been more impactful, than his entire 2021 season. No other Eagles TE has caught a pass since Week 1. We have no depth here. The pending injury report on Goedert (hurt vs Washington), will tell us if we’re lucky or screwed.

WR: B /A.J Brown (28 – 16 – 289 – 18.0 – 5) has been on a tear. Aside from the Washington game where he pulled up lame early in the contest, he’s scored in each game this quarter. Devonta Smith (23 – 18 – 128 – 7.1 – 2) has become just a possession receiver this quarter. Even his two scores were both in the red zone. This seems to work better for making the QB comfortable, than it does for sustaining scoring drives. Smith needs to be opened up more.

WR A.J. Brown scores easily on a pass rusher forced to cover.

Quez Watkins (8 – 7 -105 – 15.0 – 0) has been far from featured, but at least he’s been less of an afterthought this last quarter. Zach Pascal (5 – 4 – 75 – 18.7 – 1) is still a blocker/enforcer/H-Back, but the Eagles seem to want to weaponize him more. Which is good! He’s too small (214 pounds) to consider in a TE role, but he can gives us versatility if we motion-switch alignments vs a Nickel or Dime front.


OT: B / LT Jordan Mailata (6’8”) had one bad game vs DE Jerry Hughes (6’2”), but you’d swear that the media was going to rename him Winston Justice. It did however expose that in a playoff game, at his height, Mailata might require help vs shorter DE’s who can flatten and bend the corner. Good to know in advance!

RT Lane Johnson did what Lane Johnson does. Legitimately a Hall of Fame candidate, he opens holes and doesn’t allow defenders to touch his QB. He missed about half of the win vs Dallas leaving with a concussion. Swing T Jack Driscoll came in and batted clean-up. He allowed more hits and pressure than Johnson did, but look at who we’re comparing Driscoll to.

OG: B / LG Landon Dickerson is at his best teeing off on players and imposing his will, in the run game. He’s doing a great job and not allowing sacks, but his game still feels muzzled. RG Issac Seumalo does a good job getting to the second level in the run game, but he still seems to have trouble with bull rushers. Given that he plays the right side, it makes the QB have to feint back and not get as much on his passes.

C: A / Jason Kelce has been letting it all hang out this quarter. Even pulling teammates by their helmets for extra yards! He looks like a man who wants to prove that he can still play at high level; so that when he does walk away after this year, he leaves his legend intact.

DE: F / Josh Sweat hasn’t generated much heat in the last quarter. He produced a sack/fumble against Washington, but otherwise has been quiet. Brandon Graham was also practically invisible. Since coming over in a Week 8 trade, Robert Quinn has been active, but hasn’t put his stamp on the defense.

Schematically this position has been where it needs to be, on the field. What it hasn’t done, is make anyone take any notice of it. That’s led to a lot of finger-pointing (not internally), towards the wrong folks, and solutions that aren’t really.

DT: C / Much has been asked of Fletcher Cox. Statistically he isn’t posting numbers, as he’s been asked to play over 70% of the snaps in three of the games this quarter. Last week he played 70 snaps (85%). SEVENTY! For a d-lineman at age 31, that’s a ludicrous ask., But he’s been game to try. Honestly, at his age he should be playing more strong-side DE, if we’re using a lot of outside rush, but I don’t coach the Defense, so…

DT Javon Hargrave pitchin’ woo!

Nearly (but not quite) as much has been asked of Javon Hargrave, who’s racked up 6 sacks , 5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a partridge in a pear tree. (Note: He was in on 13 tackles with just 1 being for a loss this week vs Washington. This is telling.) Rookie Jordan Davis is on I.R. with a high ankle sprain. He wasn’t racking up stats, but he’s the rock that our run defense is built on. We haven’t been right since he went down.

Milton Williams also moonlights at End and probably needs to play out there more. He’s a not really an inside penetrator, or a pocket collapser, but as a Nickel body, he’s ideal. Marlon Tuipulotu has a sack and a fumble recovery this quarter. The thing is, he plays entirely too much football south of his finger divots. He’s just not very quick off the snap.

OLB: C / Hasaan Reddick has added 2 sacks and 5 QB hits this quarter. What he hasn’t done is force a turnover or be much of force against the run. One or the other needs to be part of his game. Opponents have been careful about throwing the ball around Kyzir White, but more and more runs are being tilted towards his 216 pound frame. (It may be time to start giving rookie Nakobe Dean some of White’s snaps early in games.)

Patrick Johnson moonlights at End, and is producing no impact plays at either spot. If you listen closely, you can almost hear his replacement being drafted.

MLB: B / T.J. Edwards has racked up 45 tackles in the last 4 games. He makes plays despite not being kept very clean up front. He’s at his best when he just drops ball-carriers, instead of holding them up as they fight for (and gain) more yards. (It’s an attempt to slap the ball out, and every team teaches it.)

SS Chauncey Gardner-Johnson with one of his TWO interceptions in our 26 – 17 victory over Dallas.

S: A / If you hear Jaws music while you’re Christmas shopping, it just means that Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is in the area. Grabbing 5 interceptions and 1 sack over these last four weeks, to QB’s this guy has been scarier than cancer. Marcus Epps continues to play every single down, of every game this season. He still doesn’t have any wow stats, but the way the Secondary is playing may be all the wow he needs. K’Von Wallace is has seen an uptick in downs this quarter.

CB: B / Darius Slay is not coming off of his best game, allowing (8 – 6 – 104 – 17.3 – 0) vs Washington. Otherwise (9 – 5 – 23 – 4.6 – 0), he’s had an extremely strong quarter (17 – 11 – 127 – 11.5 – 0) and owns his corner. James Bradberry (26 – 11 – 124 – 11.2 – 1) has seen more traffic, but owns his corner as well. Both have an interception each, in this quarter.

Avonte Maddox is currently on I.R., but he forced a fumble and recovered one (on two different plays) vs Pittsburgh this quarter. Josiah Scott filled in at Nickel for Maddox, and on 54 downs this week, only 1 ball was thrown his way. That said, he wasn’t a huge help vs the run, as Washington ran 49 times vs throwing it just 29.

LS: A / Rick Lovato hasn’t blown any snaps and even helped on a tackle this week. Finally! I was beginning to think the Rickshaw wouldn’t run over some poor sucker this season.

P: C / Arryn Siposs has only had to punt 14 times this quarter, and his average of 47.1 yards per boot, which is a two yard improvement over last quarter. Unfortunately this quarter there have been 6 returns for 56 yards (9.3), which isn’t great on two fronts. First, there seems to have been some out-kicking of the coverage. Second 6 of 14 punts is a high return rate. Also smacks of out-kicking.

K: B / Jake Elliott hasn’t made a Field Goal attempt since Week 6. In fairness, he’s only attempted one since Week 6. He’s been 13 of 13 on extra points this quarter.

PR/KR: F / Britain Covey during this quarter has returned 4 punts for 32 yards. He’s been better about attempting kick-off returns with 7 this quarter vs just three in th first five games. He’s only garnered 137 yards for an average of 19.5 yards. Meaning we’d be better off if he’d stayed shy about returning the ball.

*****

WR A.J. Brown tattooed FS Minka Fitzpatrick with THREE touchdown catches like this, in this game.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

Last Quarter having the Offense play a full game of football was listed as the mission. On a side note, Jalen Hurts throwing for more than 4 measly touchdowns over five games, didn’t seem like too much to ask. Well both prayers were answered.

So we’re on track, as far as maturing as a team. We aren’t peaking too fast, and we’re being thrown some adversity to overcome and learn from. This is all good for us. Even the Washington loss. Perhaps most especially the Washington loss. We had a couple of weaknesses exposed. It’ll be interesting to see how we respond to that.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Secure a playoff berth. Even a Wild Card. Sounds ridiculous as the #1 overall seed in the conference right now, but mathematically, we’ve secured nothing yet. There are seven seats at the table, so we officially need to be better than nine other teams.

This expanded playoff format will keep the playoff picture cloudy, longer than in past years. However, over the next few weeks, by virtue of how many losses they have, the math will eliminate some teams. Possibly as soon as Week 13. By the end of this Third Quarter, we need to lock a berth down

2022 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: QUARTER ONE

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/10/15
Posted in: breakdown, Defense, Offense, Players, Rants, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 5 – 0, 1st in NFC East, only undefeated team in the NFL, 27.0 apf / 17.6 apa

OPPONENTS:

W Detroit              1 – 4

W Minnesota        4 – 1

W Washington      1 – 4

W Jacksonville     2 – 3

W Arizona             2 – 3

OVERVIEW:

We’re 5 – 0 with no strong showings during the run. The win at Minnesota was the closest, but our Offense stalled out and didn’t produce any points after half-time. That’s not strong. Same with the game against Washington. The win over Arizona saw us put up a field goal in third, and the game winning kick at the end of the fourth, but we needed them to miss one to cement our win.

We’ve scored 24, 17, 24, and 20 points in the second quarter, in each of our first four games. However, when teams make their adjustments at the half, Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen is doing an abysmal job of adapting. As a result the weight of the game is shifted squarely onto the Defense, instead of being a team effort.

This is unsustainable.

GRADES:

QB: C / Everyone is taken with the 5 – 0 start, but the reality is, that Jalen Hurts hasn’t put together a whole game, so far this season. There hasn’t been one where he didn’t hit a wall in the second half of a game. Some of that I put at the feet of the coaching staff (as I mentioned above), but some of it is Hurts. Last year after five games he’d thrown 7 TD’s, right now it’s 4. No big deal though, because he’s running for TD’s, right? Perhaps, but those yards aren’t free.

That may be why he physically seems to wear down in games. He’s a ball of energy in the first half of games, but is MUCH more demure later. Part of that may be the beating he’s taking. Five games into last year, his rushing stats were 43 – 256 – 5.9 – 3TD. That was 8.6 carries per game. This year it’s 68 – 266 – 3.9 – 6TD, for 13.6 carries per game. He’s on pace for 231 carries this year! He had 139 last year, when he led the team in rushing attempts. And he got hurt.

Maybe we need to start a mailing campaign, to tell our coaches that Hurts isn’t Harry Newman. If we use Hurts like a QB instead of a 1930’s Tailback, he might be all around sharper in the second half of games.

RB: C / Miles Sanders is 4th in the NFL in rushing yardage (87 – 414 – 4.7 – 3 – 0). He’s running harder this year, but he still doesn’t drive through his pads. Also, his receptions mostly seem to be behind the line of scrimmage and along the sideline. That’s no way to make him an effective receiver. He has just 41 yards on 10 catches, for an average of 4.1 yards per catch. He averages more running!

Kenneth Gainwell (18 – 72 – 4.0 – 2 – 0) and Boston Scott (10 – 29 – 2.9 – 1 – 0) have also disappointed catching the ball. This is another thing that I put it down to this coaching staff. Sanders and Scott used to be threats as receivers, but no Eagles RB has been that since last year. We recently added Trey Sermon, but he has just 2 carries right now.

TE: B / Dallas Goedert (29 – 24 – 335 – 13.9 – 1) is catching 82.8% of balls thrown to him, he’s running HARD after the catch, and contributing to the run game. The only knock is that many of his catches are coming on Screens. Running so many Screens has exposed the team to more ‘illegal blocker downfield’ penalties. More variation is needed.

Jack Stoll has only caught 1 pass, and that needs to be addressed. We need to make teams cover him, so they can’t double someone else. That said, in the three games he’s started, we’ve run for 210, 216, and 139 yards. Rookie Grant Calcaterra had a 40 yard grab a few weeks ago, but has been quiet since. If he’s our insurance policy for Goedert, we should include him more.

WR: B / Devonta “Skinny Batman” Smith (38 – 28 – 353 – 12. 6 – 1) has been up and down this quarter. One game with 169 yards, two with 80, two with under 20, and only averaging 10+ yards per catch in two of them. His production needs to be less erratic. A.J. “Swole Batman” Brown (45 – 28 – 436 – 15.5 – 1) except for last week, has been good for at least 5 catches, 69 yards and 13 yards per catch, every week. A young QB can hang his hat on that.

Quez “Fast Batman” Watkins (8 – 5 – 88 – 17.6 – 1) ripped off a 53 yard touchdown bomb in Week Two, and has scarcely seen a ball thrown his way since. He’s played over half the snaps this season, but again, he’s been targeted just 8 times. I don’t get it! Zach Pascal (7 – 6 – 39 – 6.5 – 0) has been a great pick-up for this team. Often lining up as an H-Back, he does a lot of the dirty work (blocking, decoy routes to pull LB’s, short routes to move the sticks).

OT: B / Lane Johnson is a monument to quiet, yet consistent dominance.

At RT he’s as good a pass protector as just about any LT in the league. Speaking of LT, Jordan Mailata was also dominating until his shoulder injury vs Jacksonville. Stepping in since then has been Jack Driscoll, who wouldn’t be playing if back-up Andre Dillard wasn’t on Injured Reserve. Still, third stringer Driscoll has played better than some starters in this league. No exaggeration.

OG: C / They’ve been money on 1 yard Sneak plays, but on other runs, they aren’t blowing people off the line like last year. Isaac Seumalo and Landon Dickerson have both had to come out of games and have Sua Opeta fill in them, during this first quarter. It does not bode well that there are durability issues at this position, this early in the season.

C: A / Jason Kelce has been a the tip of the spear on this line. His game against Jacksonville was a thing of sheer beauty. His toughness at Arizona was an example to the youth. Especially for Cam “Beef” Jurgens, the guy tasked with replacing him.

DE: C / Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat have cooled off a little, in the last couple of games. The pair combined for 5.5 sacks and 14 QB hits in the first three weeks, but have been blanked in those categories over the last two games. (Which helps explain the sharp rise in opponent scoring.) Back-ups Patrick Johnson and Tarron Jackson provide rest for the starters but not much else so far. This position needs to pick it back up, or this season is going to get real long, real fast.

DT: A / Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave have combined for 4 sacks, 2TFL, 9 QB hits, 1 FF, 3 FR over these first five games. Statistically, this position hasn’t recorded a sack in two weeks, but they are generally collapsing the pocket, and giving QB’s nowhere to step up when they throw.

The increased presence of rookie Jordan Davis has turned the middle of the Eagles defense into the Bermuda Triangle. Offensive players go in, but yards don’t come out. The Eagles got gashed for 181 rushing yards Week One, but since then, are giving up an average of just 86 per game. Milton Williams provides depth and versatility.

OLB: A / Hassan Reddick has come on strong over the last three games. With 3.5 sacks, 2TFL, 4 QB hits, 3FF and 2FR, he suddenly has given the Eagles that edge pass rusher, who can speed up a QB’s internal clock. Kyzir White hasn’t started any of the last three games, but he plays over 60% of the game primarily challenging underneath passing options, and cleaning up on run plays. Patrick Johnson is listed here, but mostly plays on the line as a situational rusher.

MLB: A / After the Draft, all the chatter was about how rookie Nakobe Dean would take the starting job here and change the face of the Defense. I kept saying “Not so fast.” Well to this point Dean has seen just three defensive snaps, all of which were in Week One. The reason for that? Mr. T.J. Edwards.

Here in his fourth year, Edwards is putting the NFL on notice. His 41 tackles leads the team by a wide margin. His career high in tackles for losses is 5 in a season. Through these five games he already has 4. His career high in sacks is 2 in a season. So far he has 2 in five games. His career high in QB hits is 4, established during these five games. And he’s always on the field.

S: B / FS Marcus Epps has so far played every snap of every game this year. SS Chauncey Gardener-Johnson has played every snap but two this season. Opponents haven’t been challenging the Eagles deep, much at all, as a combination of scheme, communication and talent have made QB’s think better of it. The only knock I have, is Epps leading with a shoulder, instead of his arms on too many tackle attempts.

CB: A / Darius Slay and James Bradberry have to be the best duo in the NFL right now. With 4 interceptions (2 each), and 9 passes defensed between them, there isn’t one side for passers to favor, as they avoid the other. Nowhere is safe! In Week Two, Slay essentially put WR Justin Jefferson in street clothes all night long.

While Bradberry has played all but two downs this season, Slay has been dealing with nagging injuries. Zech MacPhearson had to step in for an injured Slay, vs Jacksonville. They targeted him twice, completed neither and decided caution was the better part of valor. Avonte Maddox is the Nickel, but has been out since Week Three. Josiah Scott has been filling in for Maddox and looking like he needs more practice.

LS: A / Rick Lovato hasn’t had any issues.

P: B / Arryn Siposs is averaging 45.8 yards on his 20 punts. More importantly, only 8 have been returned for 38 yards (4.7 per) . So he’s not out-kicking his coverage.

K: A / Jake Elliott is 4/5 on field goals, and 13/14 on extra points. He was injured on a kick, but gutted out the rest of the game. The following week, Cameron Dicker was 2/2 on XP, and 2/2 on FG’s including the game winner over Arizona. Gutty. Seamless. Clutch.

PR/KR: D / Britain Covey has been sort of trash as a return man. I have no idea why he keeps running AT crowds with open field on either side. He’s had a couple of muffs and is just averaging 6.1 per punt return. I rooted had for this guy in the preseason.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

Jalen Hurts has improved as a passer. His timing, recognition, placement… All better. He now needs to be his best version for four quarters, not just two. While all the talk has been about how good Hurts would be with WR A.J. Brown, the real story was how the Defense was revamped and re-armed. It shows when the Ofense stalls out and the Defense is out there preserving wins.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

The Offense needs to carry it’s weight for four quarters. There is no reason why this team should have to participate in a shootout, to see 30 points. Hurts also has to throw more than just 4 damned touchdowns. Yes, he’s running for them, but if he wants QB money on that next contract, he needs to produce like a real QB. Otherwise we’re going to witness an ugly break-up when he accuses the Eagles of low-balling him.

2021 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: FOURTH QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/01/15
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 18. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 9 – 8, NFC Wild Card 7th seed, (Points: +26.1/-22.6)

OPPONENTS:

( W ) Washington 7 – 10

( W ) New York giants 4 – 13

( W ) Washington 7 – 10

( L ) Dallas 12 – 5

OVERVIEW:

We’re in the playoffs! Stop and appreciate that for a moment. From a 2 – 5 start with a rookie Head Coach in Nick Sirianni, to 9 – 8 and representing our division in the playoffs. By the way, I want to say that calling us the NFC Least…THAT’S GOTTA GO! The NFC West sent three playoff teams. The NFC North? Just one. The NFC South? Just one. The NFC East sent two. Apparently even our 7th seed Eagles, are better than at Least 9 other teams in the conference. (Mic drop)

GRADES:

QB: (C )During this quarter, Jalen Hurts went 54/81 (66.6%), with 3 touchdowns vs 1 interception (for 5 total scores and 2 turnovers) He also had three consecutive slow starts vs bad teams. With the high ankle sprain that he’s nursing, he now has to lean on his skills as a passer. Like Dak Prescott, Hurts may possess a lot of locker room intangibles, but as a passer, he cannot be mistaken for a top 10 player at his position.

The question all year long has been: IS HURTS A FRANCHISE QB?

I sent my answer in early, and my answer was “No.” However, for those who wanted to take the whole regular season to assess… Well, here we are, and my answer remains unchanged. If you want to look at the season in its entirety, fine. Let’s wait until after the playoffs.

In fact, the playoffs are the very measuring stick that GM Howie Roseman used to measure QB Carson Wentz: “We loved Carson, but we played four playoff games” (actually six Howie) “and we’ve needed our backup quarterback for all of them. It’s too important of a position not to have that. I think that just thinking about where we were at the moment, and I think it was the right thing to do. It’s a hard decision, but it was the right thing to do.”

Hurts will go into his first playoff game next week, and so far he doesn’t seem to have mastered the position’s subtleties. Scoring a nod as a Pro Bowl alternate was cute, but no one really cares about that. The Pro Bowl lost the credibility of being real football years ago.

RB: (C ) The best ability is availability, and Miles Sanders (25 – 176 – 7.0 – 0 – 0) has come up short in that, for the second time this season. Concluding this season in street clothes, he will post career lows in rushing attempts, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards. Despite 166 touches, he will not post a single touchdown in 2021.

Jordan Howard (35 – 132 – 3.7 – 0 – 0) hasn’t been quite as effective with Sanders out. In fairness, his use has also become more sporadic, in a position that relies on rhythm. With Sanders out, Boston Scott (26 – 88 – 3.3 – 3 – 0) somehow leap-frogged Howard to become the starter. In the season finale Kenneth Gainwell (13 – 82 – 6.3 – 1 – 0) got the start, and Jason Huntley (13 – 51 – 3.9 – 0 – 0) was activated.

With Sanders being out and Jalen Hurts nursing a sore ankle, the personality of the run game has shifted severely. It went from battering teams inside, to trying to use a little guys (Scott, Gainwell, Huntley) to exploit creases. Without the physical edge to the run game, the passing game has been negatively impacted, as pass rushers are now staying fresh, longer.

WR: (D ) Devonta Smith (22 – 14 – 215 – 15.3 – 1) failed to reach 100 yards in any game, this (or last) quarter. While his statistical contribution would be great for a #2, his role on this team is that of a #1. More is expected of him! He is either being hindered by his own talent/work ethic, the coaching, or who is throwing to him. Those are the only three choices. Fix the problem.

Quez Watkins (16 – 12 – 156 – 13.0 – 1) is being utilized completely wrong. As a deep threat, he neither sees two long balls per game, nor are many post routes run out of the Slot to keep Safeties from bracketing him deep, to get him one-on-one.

When Greg Ward (7 – 5 – 65 – 13.0 – 1) gets opportunities, he produces. He isn’t as physically gifted as the other receivers, so the coaches aren’t intrigued enough to try to manufacture opportunities for him, like they do with Jalen Reagor (11 – 7 – 91 – 13.0 – 0), who is trash, or J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (3 – 0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0) who is also trash.

TE: (C ) Dallas Goedert (20 – 15 – 234 – 15.6 – 0), and Jack Stoll (1 – 1 – 7 – 7.0 – 0) have been the Eagles 1-2 punch, since the trade of Zach Ertz. As you can see, the 2TE attack has been severely de-emphasized. When Ertz left, no one picked up the slack with regard to the production vacuum. Both Tyree Jackson and Richard Rodgers combined for 5 catches, 33 yards, and touchdown in the season finale. Otherwise neither had a catch all season.

OT: (A ) LT Jordan Mailata and RT Lane Johnson continue to be one of the best duos in the sport. Just to drive that nail further into our opponents coffin, Lane caught a 5 yard TD during our Week 16 runaway victory over the giants. Andre Dillard continues to be high quality depth. Le’Raven Clark on the other hand, is a career back-up, who will never push for a starting gig.

G: (A ) LG Landon Dickerson and RG Nate Herbig have been consistent, and despite being young players with the mounting pressures of a playoff chase on the line, there’s been just one penalty between them since November. That is discipline and poise.

C: (A ) Jason Kelce is a future Hall of Famer.

DE: (D ) Josh Sweat must have heard me badmouthing him all year, because he’s really turned it up this quarter. In his last three games, he’s added 2.5 sacks, 3 batted passes, and a FF. If badmouthing him makes him play this much better, then let me just say (clears throat) “Josh Sweat ain’t shit! The only way he’ll ever see a QB, is with a telescope. He sets edges worse than Naomi Campbell.”

Violence towards QB’s is apparently against Derek Barnett’s religion. Tarron Jackson hasn’t played a ton, but when he does, he just looks like a guy. Ryan Kerrigan started the last two games and didn’t have much impact at all. A draft pick will be spent here in April.

DT: (B ) Fletcher Cox in his last three games has racked up 2.5 sacks, 10 tackles (3 for losses), 1 forced fumble and 5 QB hits. THAT, is how to roll into the playoffs! Javon Hargrave’s 12 tackles and 5 QB hits, are not to be overlooked.

Hassan Ridgeway is a high motor, rotational guy. He hasn’t produced many stats, but he’s played quite a bit during the last quarter. That likely has been to keep the starters as fresh as possible for the playoffs. The story of the quarter however, has been Milton Williams. The rookie has stepped up, with a sack, 9 tackles (4 for losses), 3 QB hits, and 2 passes knocked down, during these last 4 games.

OLB: (C ) Alex Singleton grabbed 28 tackles, forced a fumble, and returned an interception for a score. All this as he set the Eagles all-time mark, for tackles (137) in a season. He had his 6th double-digit tackle game of the season, with 12 against the giants.

Though Genard Avery has been used less as a blitzer this quarter, the blitzes have been smarter. As a result he’s added 3 hurries and his only sack of the regular season. To compare, he’d had 1 hurry in game one, and none again until this quarter. Patrick Johnson got the Week 18 start and turned it into 5 tackles. Still, I think he’d be better as an edge rusher, with his fingers in the dirt.

MLB: (A ) T.J. Edwards had 36 tackles and 2 passes defensed in his last three game. That includes 16 and then 14 tackles, in his last two games. He also has 6 double-digit tackle games this season. In a rare instance where Edwards wasn’t on the field, Shaun Bradley got the Week 18 start and posted 5 tackles.

S: (C ) “Rodney McLeod is no longer an impact player on the back end. He always seems a step (or two) slow, and his tackles lack any authority.” That’s what I said during the last one of these reports. Let me just say now, I’ll have my crow with a side of mashed potatoes, please. McLeod came out of nowhere to grab two picks, in his last two games. Nothing in his play this season indicated that he had anything left in the tank. Then suddenly… Crazy. Just crazy.

Anthony Harris has shown a little more aggression towards the ball with a pass deflection in each of the last two weeks. Marcus Epps is a solid Nickel player, who is learning to let the game come to him more. K’Von Wallace doesn’t miss tackles, but unfortunately, tackling seems like all he does.

CB: (B ) Darius Slay and Steve Nelson haven’t been flashy this quarter, but the showing off is there, if you know how to look. In the last 5 games this duo has played, no opponent has reached 20 points in a game. Neither has surrendered 100 yards or a touchdown this quarter.

Avonte Maddox has been making tackles to “cauterize the wound” when receivers make short grabs. However, he could be doing more to influence fewer passes to his zone. Rookie Zech MacPhearson has played 83 snaps, been targeted just 10 times, and allowed 6 completions for 71 yards and no scores. In fact, on the year, he’s played 179 snaps, but been targeted just 17 times, allowing 9 completions for 96 yards and no scores. QB’s avoid throwing at him. Let that sink in too.

Andre Chachere (pronounced sash – sherry), and Josiah Scott are Nickel/Dime types. They will allow a high percentage of completed passes, but they will also stick their whole face in on a tackle as well.

LS: (A ) Rick Lovato. Has done a consistent and reliable job of getting the ball to the leg men.

P: (D ) Arryn Siposs saw his per boot average drop from 45 to 36.9, yards. Of course, of his 11 punts, only 3 were returned, and for just 27 yards. (The longest being 13 yards.) Big picture: It’s 9 yard per return vs 36 yards per punt. That’s a net gain of only 27 yards in field position. We can’t live that way.

K: (A )Jake Elliott was 11/11 on extra points, making him perfect on the year. He nailed 8/9 field goals this quarter. Scoring is not Elliott’s issue. Kickoffs are. On 24 KO this quarter, team’s felt confident enough to return 9 of them (37.5%), for 225 yards (25.0). That’s down from last quarter’s 31.5, but it’s still too much.

PR/KR: (C) Jalen Reagor’s punt returning (8 – 79 – 9.8 – 0) improved last quarter’s. He was however, practically striped of his kick return duties. Kenneth Gainwell took a shot at that. His numbers (7 – 122 – 17.4 – 0) would suggest that the Eagles keep looking.

KC: (D ) Giving up 25 yards per kick return, and 9 yard per punt return, means that our opponents are chipping away at winning the hidden yardage battle.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

We were in the process of running the table, when an outbreak of Covid-19 forced half of our key players into quarantine. No matter. We won enough games to get to the tournament.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

We ended with him in 2018. Now we’ll start with him in 2022

The mission for this next quarter is simple. Win one game. Then win a second. Then win a third. Then, win the fourth. We’ve been here before. The stage is just the right size for us. We didn’t come this far, just to get this far. To my dawgs: Keep. On. Running.

2021 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: THIRD QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/12
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 6 – 7, 3rd place in the NFC East, (Points per game: +25.9/-22.4)

OPPONENTS:

( W ) Denver                 6 – 6

( W ) New Orleans        5 – 7

( L ) New York giants    4 – 8

( W ) New York Jets      3 – 9

OVERVIEW:

On the one hand Head Coach Nick Sirianni deserves credit for staying the course to get us back into the playoff conversation. On the other hand he deserves the blame for sticking with a Defensive Coordinator who has cost us at least three games (49ers, Bucs, and Chargers.) The giants loss is on Sirianni, for  trying to force-feed a draft bust. Picture us being 9 – 4 right now.

Having found a devastating ground game, the Eagles have managed to battle back to 6 – 7 after a 3 – 6 start, and have turned the season on it’s ear. The players have put themselves in a position to not only make the playoffs, but with some help, possibly even win the East.  

Even now, during the Bye Week, today’s game between Washington (6 – 6) and Dallas (8 – 4) stands to help us out. A Dallas loss keeps them from pulling away definitively with the division. A Washington loss doesn’t allow them to cement the number two spot. So either the top spot or the second spot, should become far less secure before 5:00pm.

Here’s how we look with 4 games left to decide.

GRADES:

QB (C ) – In this last quarter of the season, Jalen Hurts has clearly regressed. His last three games have seen his passing yardage slide from 178 to 147 to 129. His accuracy has gone from 69.5% to 54.1 to 45.1. Touchdown to interception ratio? That has gone from 2:1, to 0:0, to 0:3. Over that same span, his pass attempts have gone from 23 to 24 to 31. So literally, the more he throws, the worse he’s been. Those are facts, and they are beyond dispute.

Gardner Minshew stepping in for an injured Hurts, and throwing for 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, and completing 80% of his passes, only throws more light on the Hurts issue. Granted, it was against the Jets, but it was also a QB in a new system, throwing to guys he hasn’t really worked with. It was our back-up vs their starters, and we scored on 7 of 8 drives, with three touchdown drives to open the game.

Let me say this plainly: Jalen Hurts is NOT progressing in his ability to play NFL QB. This coaching staff (and half the fan base) has been giving him a pass, because of his ability to run.

Minshew just gave fans a taste of a what an Eagles passing game could look like. From here on out, Hurts either has to be better, or the coaches will have to get better at making excuses for why a player advertised as being highly coachable, has not improved in over a season’s worth of play.

RB (A ) – Miles Sanders coughed the ball up a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise has been extremely effective, posting 308 yards and 5.6 yards per tote over this quarter. That has been regardless of whether we were running a Read Option or Traditional run concept. Boston Scott has chipped in 161 yards at a clip of 4.8 per carry.

Until this week Kenneth Gainwell hadn’t been very effective as a runner this quarter. But I guess a game against the Jets will cure that. Jordan Howard was killing defenses with 146 yards on 22 carries (6.6 per tote!). Then he hurt his knee and has missed the last two games.

WR (D ) – A month ago, Devonta Smith had back to back big games, but since then he has been de-emphasized in the passing game, in favor of Jalen Reagor, and Smith has let his frustration be known to his coach. Reagor continues to be a flop in every aspect of the game of football, and the results of force-feeding him the ball (13 targets, 5 catches, 49 yards, 9.8 ypc) has only highlighted how foolish it was to spend a draft pick, or a dollar on him. Quez Watkins ( 14 – 9 – 116 – 12.8 – 0) has played a lot of snaps, but he doesn’t see nearly as many targets as he should.

In the last four games, none of the 5 players at this position has posted 70 yards. No player at this position has seen 10 targets in a game since Week 4. It is doubtless that this position is underperforming, however it is difficult to produce without the football even coming your way.

For all the fanfare that the run game has garnered, those rushing yards would be even easier to come by if opponents had any fear or respect for our outside passing game.

TE (C ) – Dallas Goedert was effective with Hurts (13 – 8 – 90 -11.2 – 0) throwing him the ball. However, with Minshew (6 – 6 – 105 – 17.5 – 2) Goedert could be terrifying over the long-haul. Jack Stoll has seen his snaps take a steep dive, as the coaching staff has been running more 11 than 12 Personnel. So his presence on the field literally is telegraphing R-U-N to defenses. We need to throw him some passes if only to legitimize him as an eligible receiver. Still waiting to glimpse Tyree Jackson’s potential.

OT (A ) – Neither RT Lane Johnson, nor LT Jordan Mailata has missed a single snap this quarter. Also during this stretch, Mailata has gone into the business of making sure his opponents eat some pancakes.

Such a nice young man.

Seriously though, these guys have been distributing Act Right to opponents, almost like a burning bush told them it was their only mission in Life. It’s one of the primary reasons that the Eagles are running for 212 yards per game over these last 4 games. In the last game we piled up 185. With no Jalen Hurts. This position has been amazing.

OG (C ) – Landon Dickerson is the future at LG. Even when Isaac Seumalo comes back from injury. Dickerson is a mauler in the run game. That allows us to run strong anywhere along the line, not just to the right. There are still nuances of pass pro that he has to get down, but that will come with time and facing different types of pass rushers.

Jack “Of All Trades” Driscoll was solid, until he was lost for the season. Replacing him is Nate “Too Big” Herbig. So we have one versatile guy filling in for another versatile guy, who was filling in for a Pro Bowl caliber player. The step down would be massive, if not for the men just to right and to the left of the RG spot. Herbig isn’t the most explosive player (which will hurt us on QB sneaks), but he’s a wide body who isn’t easy to push round.

C (B ) – Jason Kelce Is setting a great example with his attitude and mental toughness, through what has to be his last campaign. He has missed snaps in each of the last 4 games, and it’s becoming apparent that sheer grit and the possibility of a playoff spot, is what is getting him through.

The guy who’s filled in for him has been Nate Herbig. It’s long been rumored that Herbig is Kelce’s successor at the pivot. That would be awesome. While Herbig lacks true explosiveness when playing G, that deficiency is largely negated when snapping the ball.

DE (F ) – Through 4 games this position added 2.5 sacks and 5 hits on QB’s. Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett are playing both fewer snaps in number, and a lesser percentage of the total snaps. That says that the position is becoming more of a rotation. Maybe to light a fire under the starters, maybe to see if the bench was hiding a star. Still, it’s been a low production position. There are other factors at play here, but the bottom line is that through ¾ of a season, this position looks weak.

DT (C ) – Javon Hargrave added 1.5 sacks this quarter to bring him to a career-high 7.5. Fletcher Cox has 3 QB hits this quarter, but no sacks since Week 5. In fact, he has just 1 this season. Oddly enough, whenever he misses a few downs here or there, his absence is immediately felt. Milton Williams looks like a solid rotational pass rusher, but he cannot be confused with an every down difference maker. Hassan Ridgeway started this quarter with is snap share at just 22%, but has seen it tick up each week to 37%.

OLB (C ) – Davion Taylor was making progress as a starter, when he suffered what the Eagles called a knee sprain, which later required surgery, and now has him on IR.

(The Eagles have yet to confirm exactly what the surgery is for, but my experience and my gut says meniscus tear. That’s by no means official, but when they say it in 2022, remember where you heard it first in 2021.)

Due to the injury, Alex Singleton has reclaimed his starting role. He went right back to work as a tackling machine, and had been more impactful than he was before being benched in favor of Taylor. Genard Avery is seeing fewer snaps these days as the Eagles are using more Big Nickel.

MLB (A ) – T.J. Edwards hardly ever leaves the field anymore. This indicates that the Eagles have finally stopped worrying about the rumored “athletic limitations” that stemmed from the 2019 Combine. When given the opportunity, Edwards has shown that he can flat-out play football. It only took two seasons, but being geniuses, the Eagles have swiftly caught on! (Was that too much sarcasm?)

Edwards has not only made tackles, but he’s snagged a pass and recovered fumble, giving him a pair of takeaways this quarter.

S (D ) – Rodney McLeod is no longer an impact player on the back end. He always seems a step (or two) slow, and his tackles lack any authority. I get the feeling that he won’t be back in 2022 and he knows it, which is why he’s playing so passively.

Anthony Harris is like a smaller Landon Collins. He’s more than willing to lay a hit, but he’s not much of a factor vs the pass, as he’s only gotten his hand on a pass ONCE this season.

Marcus Epps just snagged his first pick, and leads players at this position with 4 passes defensed despite playing just 49% of the defensive snaps this season. This position would benefit from making him a starter over McLeod or Harris.

CB (C ) – Darius Slay has posted a sack, an interception, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns this quarter. He’s been targeted 17 times for 6 completions, and surrendered just 58 yards. Steve Nelson though! Teams seem to be picking on him these days, with 10 completions on 16 targets (62.5%), 109 yards, and two scores allowed. Avonte Maddox has allowed 17/22 (77.2%), for 181, and a score.

Two players giving up over 62% completion rates and over 10 yards per completion, is a recipe for not being able to get off the field. This has to be addressed! Rookie Zech McPhearson has played 70 snaps in the last 4 games, but is 5/2, for just 22 yards. Let me reiterate. In his last 70 snaps, our rookie has been thrown at just five times. FIVE! Keep an eye out for him.

LS (A ) – Last time I did one of these, I mentioned that Rick Lovato didn’t have an tackles yet. In the last 4 games he’s posted 2 solo. The man is a BEAST and an animal!

P (A ) – Arryn Sipos is still averaging 45 yards (45.2) per boot. Of the 12 punts he’s had this quarter, 7 were returned for 65 yards, which is 9.2 per return. Not great, but it’s down nearly 3 yards from the 12 yards per return last quarter. That suggests that his kicking is being timed better with his coverage unit. Improvement is always applauded.

K (A ) – Jake Elliott was 11/11 on extra points and 11/11 on field goals during the quarter. For points he’s been absolute money since Week 7. Absolute. As in no flaws. As in resplendent clarity. If he were a diamond, you could see next and last year in him. Flawless!

Kickoffs however, are increasingly a problem. Of his 26 kickoffs, 19 were touchbacks (70.3%). Could be better, but not alarming. The returns (7 – 221 – 31.5 – 0) are worse than the 22.2 we were giving up last quarter.

At this point, this can’t put on Elliott. At this point, Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay owns the blame for this. Elliott is what he is. There is enough tape to know this by now. Kickoff duty should have been reassigned by now. Either that or the kickoff strategy should have been altered, to place the ball inside the numbers, to let the coverage unit cup that side of the field, from hash mark to side line.

PR/KR (F ) – WR Jalen Reagor hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his punt returning (14 – 90 – 6.4 – 0). While he’s doing a ton more returning this quarter vs last report (just one return), he never is a threat to break one. His kick returning (7 – 116 – 16.5 – 0) is equally dreadful.

KC (F ) – This quarter’s 31.5 yard per kickoff return is again, alarming. It seems that we are not able to get this issue under control. On the plus side we’ve gone from allowing 9.5 yards per punt return to 9.4, so improvement must be celebrated.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

I said that 2 – 2 would probably keep our playoff hopes alive, but that 3 – 1 would almost certainly do the trick. Well we went 3 – 1, and right now, are mathematically on the outside of the playoff picture. However, due to upcoming match-ups for all of the Wild Card candidates, we are still VERY much in the thick of the hunt.

In fact, we could still pull off winning the division.

Here’s how the Eagles win the East: We run the table, and Dallas gets swept by Washington. That’s it. That’s everything that has to happen. That would set it in stone.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

RUN THE FUCKING TABLE! It’s as simple as 10 wins and we’re in. Right now, I want to see us crack the playoffs and potentially get hot, right when everyone really needs us not to. I want the Eagles to scare the boiled shit out of the NFL, and possibly bring Philly another parade.

So this quarter we have to find a second receiver, so we can keep our run game open. We need a WR besides Devonta to either average 50 yards per game, or score twice in the next two games. Either would work to spread defenses. Jalen Hurts running for touchdowns in the red zone (unless they’re on QB Sneaks) has to stop. We need to diversify our attack.

For those of you watching the Draft picks:

We already have three first round picks, and any team that makes the playoffs is going to be picking 18th and lower. Currently we’re 6 – 7, the Colts are 7 – 6, and the Dolphins are 6 – 7. All of us could make the playoffs this year, which would make those picks better as ammunition for a later Draft.

All of that however, is already in the bag! So while we’re winning, stop thinking about the picks. Picks are for next season. We’re still alive in this one. We need all your positive energy and focus, on a possible parade for this season.

That said, if we lose the next two and fall to 6 – 9, then we should tank, and try to get at least ONE pick in the top 10. But while we have a chance at the playoffs, tanking is OFF the table.

2021 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: SECOND QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/11/14
Posted in: breakdown, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Rants, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

NOTE: Due to the short week between games 5 and 6, this report was pushed back a week. The Second Quarter will pick up on time, after Week 9.

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 3 – 6 , 2nd place in the NFC East, (Points per game: +25.2/-24.2)

OPPONENTS:

( L ) Las Vegas

( W ) Detroit

( L ) Los Angeles Chargers

****

OVERVIEW:

Progress has been made on Offense. In all three of these games, Head Coach Nick Sirianni has made a solid commitment to running the ball. As a result, the Offense is more stable and sustains drives better. So the Defense actually gets time to rest now.

If only the Defense could get off the field without giving up touchdowns first.

****

GRADES:

QB: (D) Jalen Hurts hasn’t thrown an interception in three weeks, however he’s only been responsible for 3 scores (passing or running) during that same span. Part of that has been the establishment of our run game helping him out. He’s gone from attempting 34.6 passes per game in the first 6 games, to just 21.6 (65 total) over the last 3 games.

Unfortunately, his lower usage has only highlighted the flaws in his game. Being a one read QB, by default Hurts favors clear and easy passes. He takes as much as a route can pry from the defense. What he doesn’t do, is create with his eyes or his delivery. (If he ever learns to convincingly pump fake on a scramble, he’ll be a friggin Pro Bowler.)

Hurts is a very good triggerman, in terms of executing what’s laid out for him. If Chip Kelly were still the coach here, the Deshaun Watson trade rumors may not have gained any traction. However, most systems require a QB to think and decipher. Hurts is also easily punked and bullied out of attempting the sort of throws that separate franchise QB’s from Sam Bradford types.

Gardner Minshew came in and went 2/2 while playing hand-off machine, during mop-up time in Detroit.

RB: (B) Miles Sanders was hurt early in the game vs Vegas. Since then, the Eagles have been starting Boston Scott, and he has been productive as a runner. What he truly excels at however, is catching Screen passes and then getting lost in blockers. Unfortunately, he’s only been thrown 5 passes all season so far.

Promoted to the Active Roster is a guy who NEVER belonged on the Practice Squad in the first place, Mr. Jordan Howard. While it’s true that the Eagles have been good at running the ball in these last couple of weeks, the attitude of this run game is Howard. He’s not just running for yardage, he’s taking yardage when he’s out there. He enables the Eagles to impose their will.

While Kenneth Gainwell is playing about as much as he did when Sanders was healthy, but he’s not quite seeing the situations that he was. For example, he doesn’t get first quarter red zone action, and he hasn’t had a pass thrown his way in two games.

Overall though, the Eagles ground game has looked like a force to be reckoned with. Granted, these last three opponents weren’t the stiffest test, but for a team just finding the run, they can’t be ignored.

TE: ( C) Dallas Goedert put up 185 yards over these last 3 games (61.6), but it’s little more than window dressing. In those games, Goedert has played 161 downs, but drawn targets on just 18 of them (for 12 catches). Though his 18 targets represent nearly 1/3 of his QB’s 65 attempts over the same period, his 12 catches for no scores, indicates how little he’s been factoring into games.

Jack Stoll caught a 9 yard pass in the blowout over Detroit. He’s played quite a bit over these last two weeks, and with the resurgence of the run game, one has to wonder about how much of that success is due to his blocking. Converted QB Tyree Jackson finally got his feet wet vs the Chargers. He didn’t do much. Didn’t see a pass thrown his way. I think they just wanted him to get a look at game speed.

Despite giving the position credit for its contributions to the run game, More is expected from Goedert if he wants to show the world that he wasn’t just a well-protected back-up,

WR: (F) In these 3 games, Devonta Smith has seen 18 targets. The other four receivers have seen 14. Total.

OT: (B) The bookends of Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata played three straight games for the first time this season. The result is a QB who doesn’t have to look at his line to know where people are, as he starts to pick his way through pressure. That has resulted in us surrendering an average of 1 sack per game, instead of 2. Which we did last quarter.

OG: (B) Lie and say that you miss Isaac Seumalo! Landon Dickerson despite being a rookie, seems like an improvement already. He doesn’t get ridden back into the QB on passing downs and, you don’t catch him standing around on run plays, since he’s always looking to hit someone.

Jack Driscoll has been plug-and-play all along the line, and has been decent to good (not great), when he plays. He doesn’t look like a long-term starter. What he looks like, is a guy who’ll hang with one team for 6 years, learn what’s needed in all of the roles, and deliver a reasonable facsimile of it, when called upon. Then he’ll sign a big free agent deal, full of guaranteed money to go elsewhere, where he’ll immediately look like a career back-up. Always amazes me when these guys leave their first team.

Nate “Too Big” Herbig filled in for Driscoll vs Detroit and got to maul some Lions. Again, Nate is a solid (not great) interior force when called upon. He seems to have a little more upside than Driscoll, but it’s hard to feel they’re being judged accurately, when they’ve both been moved around so much, across two coaching staffs.

Given the losses taken at this position, it should be one of weakness, but it’s not. The best part, is, that it doesn’t have to be judged on a sliding scale, or a curve.

C: (B) Jason Kelce has been holding the young guys together, and the errant snaps have been cut down due to the QB lining up under C more. It’s really a good look for the elder statesman, as he trots out what has to be his last race.

DE: (F) This position grabbed 4 sacks vs Detroit, and 0 in the other two games. There were 7 hits on the QB vs Detroit, and 0 in the other two games. Outside of the (then) 0 – 7 Lions, there have been no forced fumbles. There have been no fumble recoveries. This position practically doesn’t exist.

While a lot of the problem with our pass rush is tied to generously loose coverage, it’s impossible not to notice the lack of tackles for losses against the run, in any game NOT played vs the Lions. This means that these guys are just not being effective PERIOD.

Josh Sweat played better in past seasons on the right. So far this year, he’s been asked to play the left spot in the absence of Brandon Graham. I don’t think he has the strength for it. He doesn’t set the edge vs the run, and is too easy to re-route on his way to the passer.

DT: ( C) Opposing QB’s are getting rid of the ball too fast for this position to be effective pass rushers now. They are however, a big reason that over these three games, that we’ve allowed an average of 88.3 rushing yards per game. Particularly Fletcher Cox. They’ve also done a great job of keeping the MLB clean. It’s not worthy of a party, but it’s a building block.

OLB: (F) Genard Avery and Davion Taylor have been the starters during the last three games. Four really. Still, neither of them is making a noticeable impact out there. The coaching staff seems to want a long look at what Taylor has to offer, so he’s going to keep starting, regardless. Alex Singleton was benched after the win at Carolina, but with Taylor out there, Singleton would upgrade our tackle range and ball-skills.

MLB: (B) The Eagles outright cut Eric Wilson and elevated T.J. Edwards to the starting role. Edwards has been a key reason that rushing yards for our opponents have gone off a cliff, recently. He benefits from having two DT’s who command as much attention as they do, but to his credit, he does get off of blocks very well. As a result, he been a tackling machine.

S: (F) This position has produced 2 pass break-ups and some tackles in the last three games.

CB: (D) We are 3 – 0 this season when Darius Slay gets so much as a finger on the football. We are 0 – 5 when he doesn’t. Seems like the Defensive Coordinator should scheme him into positions where he can compete for the ball more.

Avonte Maddox was the only player at this position to show up in games without Detroit in them. Maddox snagged a pick vs Las Vegas, early in the game. Otherwise, over this span, we’re giving up a completion rate of 83 (88/106). Not factoring games named Detroit, the number is 87.5% (63/72).

LS: (B) Rick Lovato hasn’t blown any snaps, but he also has yet to make tackle on a coverage unit.

P: ( A) Arryn Siposs only had to punt 7 times in the last three games, with 2 fair caught and 3 returned for 36 yards. That’s 12 yards per return on punts averaging 45.7 yards in this period.

K: ( C) Jake Elliott has been 10/10 on extra points and 4/4 on field goals. The kickoff are alarming however. IN these three games, he’s kicked off 18 times, 8 were touchbacks, but 8 were returned for 222 yards (27.7). This has gotten worse since last quarter.

PR/KR: (F) WR Jalen Reagor has also disappeared on Special Teams. WR Quez Watkins averages 21 yards per kickoff return. Which again means, he should just take the touchbacks!

KC: (D) The kickoff coverage unit does a good job, but shouldn’t be put in a position to be tested so much. The 9.3 yard punt return average from last quarter needed to come down. And so it’s now up to 9.5 yards per return.

****

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The Offensive coaching staff seems to be getting it! We’re running the ball, so drives are more stable, the Defense now gets to rest, and we only punt half as much anymore. The mission was to get the coaching staff to stop being our biggest obstacle and that’s halfway what happened.

Defensively, the timid woodland creature who coaches our Defense, still gets skittish when he sees his shadow. He’s going to have to be replaced. Don’t tell me how smart and hardworking he is, when he keeps repeating the same stupid, lazy patterns.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Get to playing man-press. These weak zones have the Eagles allowing a completion percentage north of 75. If it continues, we will set the record for worst completion rate in NFL HISTORY.

Here’s a crazy truth: At 3 – 6, we’re still in the thick of the playoff race. While going 2 – 2 over the next 4 games would probably be good enough to keep those hopes alive, 3 – 1 would almost certainly do the trick

2021 QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: 1st QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/10/20
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, report, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. A few are also done at the halfway mark. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters.

In 2021, the NFL expanded the season to 17 games, which makes for an uneven split. So this year (at least), these Quarterly Reports will come after Weeks 5, 9, 13, and 17. (Ugh. I hate even looking at that format.)

NOTE: Due to the short week between games 5 and 6, this report was pushed back a week. The Second Quarter will pick up on time, after Week 9.

Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team currently stands, in relation to where it started. Then we can discuss where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 2 – 4, 3rd place in the NFC East, (Points per game: +22.8 /-25.3)

OPPONENTS:

(W ) Atlanta (2 – 3)

(L) San Francisco (2 – 3)

(L) Dallas (4 – 1)

(L) Kansas City (2 – 3)

(W ) Carolina (3 – 2)

(L) Tampa Bay (5 – 1)

OVERVIEW:

The Eagles have a losing record because they have a coaching staff loaded with smug children, who are too arrogant to ask for help, or take guidance from conventional wisdom. The result is a 2 – 4 team that likely would have been 4 – 2 under the previous coach.

GRADES:

QB: ( C ) Head Coach Nick Sirianni nixed the idea that Jalen Hurts can be a Franchise QB, during his post-game presser, after the Buccaneers loss. Sirianni’s exact words?

This is video is 9:07 long. Listen to what he says from 4:18 to 5:01. 

NOTE: They won’t let me post it here, but you can watch it on YouTube.

So expect the Eagles to Draft a QB in April. 

Despite playing in a simple scheme designed to get the ball out of his hand, Hurts is repeatedly late on Screens; which keeps leading to ineligible man penalties. He relies on a receiver to BE open, as opposed to throwing them open. His Swing passes float and never lead the RB. His flaws are obvious.

Anyone who’s worn a helmet can tell you how little peripheral vision you have in one. Anyone who knows that (which includes every head coach and position coach in the NFL), knows that Hurts doesn’t turn his head enough to be routinely going through progressions. When that first read isn’t open (as Sirianni said in the video), he looks to run. In short: Hurts is a one-read QB.

Still, Hurts has been as effective as any one-read QB that I’ve ever seen, or heard about. He doesn’t put the ball in dangerous places, and even when his scheme is failing him, he continues to trust it. From a coaching standpoint, he makes it very easy to review film, and spot where the flaws in the game-plan were. It makes Hurts an ideal coach’s QB, but the polar opposite of a franchise QB, from whom transcendent play is expected.

RB: ( C ) Miles Sanders averages 4.7 yards per carry, and has caught 18 of 23 passes thrown to him (78.3%) for 6.7 yards per catch. Kenneth Gainwell averages 4.8 yards per carry, and has caught 15 of 23 passes thrown to him (65.2%) for 8.2 yards per catch.

That’s a nice 1 – 2 punch! Or it should be. Problem is, through 6 games they have a combined 78 rushing attempts. Sanders leads the Eagles with 57 carries. Right behind him with 53, is QB Jalen Hurts. Put into perspective, division rival Ezekiel Elliott has 102 carries through 6 games. Elliott’s back-up has 61 carries. That team is 5 – 1. This team is 2 – 4. Any questions?

Our backs have done as much as they can with occasional rushes here and there, and playing out the Shotgun almost exclusively. They aren’t being put in a position to succeed. In fact, it seems like the run game is deliberately being scapegoated. Unfortunately for Sirianni, Philly sports fans are more knowledgeable than San Diego and Indy fans, and see through that shit.

TE: ( D ) Due to the trade of Zach Ertz, there is no point in discussing his play, as we can no longer build on it. I hate this.

“Camera on the action, Jimmy.”

Dallas Goedert has caught 15 of his 19 targets (78.9%), for 216 yards, 14.4 per catch and 2 scores. Both in the red zone. He needs to see more volume, once he gets back from Covid quarantine. The only knock on him this season is the fumble vs KC. It wasn’t lost, but still.

Jack Stoll is the only active TE on the roster right now. In 6 games he’s played 47 snaps on Offense with not one pass thrown his way. He’s played 77 downs on Special Teams. So that’s where we are for depth. Hopefully when Goedert gets back, he’ll be well enough to contribute. Otherwise we’ll need a Tyree Jackson sized miracle here.

WR: ( C ) Devonta Smith leads the team with 44 targets, 27 of which he’s hauled in (61.4%). His 12.8 yards per catch, and 1 touchdown are decent for a rookie, but more is needed next quarter. Jalen Reagor has caught 17 of 28 targets (60.7%), for 8.2 per catch and 1 score. He’s also coming off a game where he dropped all three balls that hit his hands. Quez Watkins needs to see more passes. Last year’s 5th string receiver, has started 5 games and caught 16 of 22 passes (72.7%), for 311 yards and 19.4 yards per strike. The leading scorer at this position is Greg Ward catching 2 balls for 30 yards and 2 scores. Until at least a few passes get thrown to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, officials are going to keep calling offensive pass interference, on the pick plays that he keeps running. Through 6 games he stands at zero targets.

This is not the most talented group in the NFL, but there is enough firepower to be dangerous on any given Sunday. The issue is that they lack a coach who knows how to maximize them as a combination.

OT: ( B ) LT Andre Dillard whom many Eagles fans had left for dead, has filled in admirably at starting LT, over these last 4 games. In 253 snaps, he’s allowed 0 sacks, and has had just 2 enforced penalties (out of 6). LT Jordan Mailata slid over to RT, when RT Lane Johnson (who started the first three games), missed the last three games due to anxiety and depression. OL Jack Driscoll started at RT during Week 4.

Fans need to understand that Johnson wasn’t “treated” for anxiety and depression. He is at the beginning of treatment. This will be an on-going process for him. Show him some love. Despite all the shuffling of faces, the Eagles are getting solid play from young bookends Dillard and Mailata. Could we be getting a glimpse of the future? If so, I think we’re in good hands.

OG: ( C ) Losing RG Brandon Brooks to I.R., and LG Isaac Seumalo being lost for the year, were huge blows. Fortunately, the Eagles had already drafted highly touted, rookie RG Landon Dickerson. Though he still needs some polish regarding the nuances of pass protection, in 272 snaps, he’s only allowed 1 sack. Over the last two games, Jack Driscoll has started at LG with no sacks, and no penalties. Nate “Too Big” Herbig started at LG vs KC and played well. 

Being that the Eagles rarely run the ball, it’s hard to assess just what impact the young guys are having on the run game. What can be said, is RB’s in the last two games have run for 117 yards, on 22 carries (5.3ypc). So we are still getting some movement up there.

C: ( B ) Veteran Jason Kelce had a bad snap go over Hurts’s head vs KC. He’s been penalized twice, and allowed 1 sack. Still, he’s holding the young guys together, and helping them become true pros. Can’t badmouth that.

DE: ( F ) In 6 games Josh Sweat has 1.5 sacks. Those are all the sacks at this position. Derek Barnett has three penalties and just two tackles for losses. Ryan Kerrigan has played 153 snaps so far and has just ONE tackle to show for it. It was for a loss. He also plays fewer snaps each week. He had 35 vs Atlanta, and was down to just 16 vs Tampa. Rookie Tarron Jackson is hardly worth the mention of his name here.

These guys aren’t setting the edges to trap the run game between the Tackles, and they aren’t getting to the QB. Part of that is the loose coverage which allows quick throws. The other part is how they stick to blockers like they’re covered in Stickum.

Oh the shenanigans of yesteryear!

I don’t know who’s teaching them their technique, but either he’s not teaching, or they’re not learning.

DT: ( A ) Javon Hargrave is putting up terrorist numbers with 6 sacks and 9 QB hits, so far. Fletcher Cox doesn’t have the numbers, but him eating double-teams is helping to get Hargrave the one-on-ones that he keeps shredding. Rookie Milton Williams has 9 tackles, with none for losses in 162 snaps. Hassan Ridgeway has 1 sack, 3 QB hits, and a tackle for a loss, in 132 snaps.

I have no idea why Williams plays more than Ridgeway. It’s teaching him that he can get snaps in exchange for being unproductive. That’s a horrible culture to seed, from a coaching staff that came in Rock-Paper-Scissoring about how competitive they are. (LOL. I said ‘scissoring’.) Still, this position is the engine of our Defense and it’s a great place to build from.

OLB: ( D ) Genard Avery has started 4 of 6 games. In the 4 games he started we were 2 – 2, and allowed an average of 17.5 points. In the 2 games he didn’t start, we allowed an average of 41.5 points, and you know how both of those turned out. His impact doesn’t show up on a stat sheet, just a scoreboard.

Alex Singleton has 67 tackles, and most of them seem to be made 8, 9 and 12 yards downfield. Of his 67 tackles, not one is for a loss. He has no sacks. He has one pass deflection. He’s mostly deployed in zone coverage, which allows completions in front of him. It also has him moving backwards at the snap, which hurts our run defense. He needs to be turned loose to read and chase, like he was able to do last year.

Davion Taylor is seeing a big ramp up in snaps over the last 2 games. Sadly, it hasn’t changed the level of impact he’s had on a game. This position has been a mess in terms of lack of vision. The timid zones they keep being asked to drop into, keeps allowing offenses to dictate both the action and the flow. As a result, our Defense is getting trapped on the field for longer and longer.

MLB: ( D ) Eric Wilson is listed on the Eagles website as the starter here. This is despite not starting since Week 4 vs KC. He picked off a pass intended for TE Travis Kelce, and has been riding pine ever since. Don’t ask. I have no answers.

T.J. Edwards has started 4 of the 6 games including the last one, but he hasn’t played 50% of the defensive snaps in any game this year. In fact, vs Dallas, Edwards saw a season-high 31 snaps, and sacked QB Dak Prescott. His reward? Not even playing one-third of any game since then. Despite not starting, Edwards keyed our Week 5 victory with a punt block.

The message seems to be, if you make a big defensive play, you sit the next day. The worst part is, that both Wilson and Edwards played all 6 games. They were swapped out while healthy! This seems to be hurting the unit’s communication and grasp of the scheme. I don’t hold usage against the players, but I’m grading the position’s impact on games, so I have to tell it like it is.

S: ( F ) Anthony Harris’s Week 6 interception was just the second play on a ball by this position all season long. Harris has 6 starts 39 tackles and that pick. Not one of his tackles is for a loss. Back from injury, Rodney McLeod has started the last 3 games. The two may not be related, but since he’s been back, we’ve gotten 5 interceptions. We had none while he was out.

K’Von Wallace we keep being told, is the future beyond McLeod, but I don’t see it. He’s on I.R. now, and Marcus Epps is getting another opportunity, but not doing much with it. The Cover Two that they’re played in, would be more opportunistic and predatory, if they weren’t so often saddled with loose coverages in front of them.

CB: ( C ) We are 2 – 0 this season when Darius Slay gets a finger on a football. His two interception game against Carolina, essentially kept the Eagles in the game. Not only does he have 2 picks, he has 2 tackles for a loss. Steven Nelson has 3 deflections and a pick. Avonte Maddox hasn’t picked one off yet, but from the Nickel he’s got 3 pass break-ups, half a sack, and 3 tackles for a loss. He’s already on his way to the best year of his career.

Our starters have played 426 (Slay) and 428 (Nelson) snaps, out of a possible 431. They have missed a combined 8 snaps between them all season so far. When allowed to play aggressive man, these two can take over a game. However, they are mostly asked to play loose man or zone, because Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon is a moron.

LS: ( B ) Rick Lovato hasn’t blown any snaps, but he also has yet to make tackle on a coverage unit.

P: ( B ) Arryn Siposs! I had my doubts about him, but this guy is killer. On 25 boots, he’s averaging 45.8 yards, with just 10 returned for 93 yards (with 22 on 1 return). The numbers don’t sing out, but if you watch the games, Siposs does an very good job of using the sidelines to give the opponent shitty starting field position. I look forward to seeing him get better.

K: ( C ) Jake Elliott exits the first part of the year 12/12 (100%) on extra points, but just 7/9 (77%) on Field Goal attempts. Both misses were from 40-49 yards, and at home, where he should have a better handle on predicting wind swirl in the stadium.

His kickoffs are also an area of concern. Of his 28 KOs, 9 have been returned for 206 yards (22.8). While the return average isn’t a problem, returners feeling confident in returning a third of his KO’s, opens the door to momentum swinging plays. He needs to bury his kicks.

PR/KR: ( F ) Jalen Reagor averages a paltry 4.7 yards on 11 punt returns, and has 90 yards on 3 kickoff returns. Quez Watkins leads the team in Kickoff returns with 5, but his 14.8 return average suggests that he should down it in the end zone.

KC: ( B ) The kickoff coverage unit does a good job, but shouldn’t be put in a position to be tested so much. The 9.3 yard punt return average needs to come down somewhat. We have to take the edges away from returners and make them run through more traffic.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

There’s a new coaching staff, and quite honestly it sucks. There’s a show called ‘BoJack Horseman’ where the lead character’s agent (Princess Caroline), is dating two kids in a trenchcoat, calling themselves “Vincent Adultman”. PC is so preoccupied with herself, that she doesn’t even notice that she’s carrying on an entire relationship with two kids in a trenchcoat.

This is what it feels like to watch this coaching staff, while hearing NOTHING from Owner Jeff Lurie. Is he too preoccupied to notice what’s happening to his team? His coaching staff is two kids in a trenchcoat! And the rest of us are going nuts trying to point it out!

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Usually, in this section I talk about what needs to be tightened up on the field. However, most of our problem is on the sideline. Before we can tackle player deficiencies, the coaching staff has to stop being the team’s biggest obstacle. I want to be wrong about this staff. I NEED to be! But right now it feels like Lurie really Jeffed this one up.

Nick Sirianni needs to take note that the NFL works a certain way for a reason. Teams run the ball for a reason. Linebackers attack, for a reason. Coming in as a rookie, and deciding to dismiss decades of hard learned lessons, is foolish. Especially when it keeps being demonstrated in humiliating fashion, that his way is wrong. Dead wrong. Oh so wrong.

This is going to be a short quarter (just 3 games), so the goal here will be modest. The Detroit Lions are the Detroit Lions. The Chargers could be a problem. The Raiders are in a state of upheaval after the raw deal that Head Coach Jon Gruden got. (C’mon. Just imagine what Buddy Ryan, Bill Parcells, and Mike Ditka’s e-mail accounts would have looked like. What would coach Jimmy Johnson have thought about drafting Michael Sam? Exactly!) But I digress.

These next three games are winnable, but let’s be honest here, any two of them would feel nice to get our mitts on. Today were 2 – 4 . While 5 – 4 would be great, let’s set our sights on 4 – 5 for the next time we meet up here. Nick Sirianni, TAKE NOTE!