Quez Watkins

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FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 16: COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/12/26
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Draft, Four Things, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
LT Jordan Mailata comforts RB Miles Sanders after his fumble.

WE fumbled the game away

EAGLES 34 – Cowboys 40

EAGLES STATS:

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

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

Passing : (S) QB Gardner Minshew (24/40 – 60% – 355 – 2 – 2)

Rushing : (S) RB Miles Sanders (21 – 65 – 3.0 – 0 – 1)

Receiving :(S) WR Devonta Smith (12 – 8 – 113 – 14.1 – 2)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (1 (6) + 0 – 0 = 6) RG Isaac Seumalo

Drive Killer : (S) DE Josh Sweat (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 1)

Sack Leader (S) OLB Haason Reddick : (4 – 2.0 – 0 – 0)

Ace : N/A

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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Cowboys did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

One of TWO interception taken from WR Quez Watkins

1) Make their OLB’s Cover: They came out in a 4-2-5 alignment, moving OLB Micah Parsons (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) all around the formation to try and create a mismatch. While Minshew was under a fair amount of pressure during the game, Dallas collected no sacks all game long. We failed in this aspect, but we may gain a new tactic after this film study. (NOT DONE)

2) Punish the Blitz: Aside from a 21 yard pass to RB Kenny Gainwell (4 – 1 7 – 4.2 – 0 – 0 / 4 – 4 – 41 – 10.2 – 0), at no point did we catch them over-exposed during a blitz. Also, more could have been done with play-action. (NOT DONE)

3) Take Away the Quick Stuff: Slot WR Ceedee Lamb (11 – 10 – 120 – 12.0 – 2) was immediately into his routes. The timing routes were so good, that their QB could have almost played with his eyes closed. (NOT DONE)

Sacks. Pick Sixes. DE Josh Sweat did it all.

4) Squeeze and Occupy the Gaps: Well executed. Cowboys RB’s ran for 74 yards on 25 carries (2.96ypc). This also opened up pass rush opportunities, leading to six sacks. (DONE)

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Sadly, we rung up just 1 of the Four Things this week, but we’ll see this team again, soon. Having not taken care of business this week, we need to play another meaningful game next week vs the Saints. Which in all truth, may be the best thing for our playoff run.

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On The Whole:

FIRST! That interception by Josh Sweat was a amazing. The last time I saw a play like that, I was making it at age 15. It was just street ball. No pads. I’ve never seen that play made in pads, and couldn’t believe it when I saw it. The degree of difficulty to make that play in pads… I need to give Sweat props, before going into the postmortem.

Two fumbles. One by RB Miles Sanders where he simply lost the handle; and an inexplicable one by RB Boston Scott (0 – 0 – 0.0 – 0 – 1) where he took a handoff and for whatever reason never closed his arms over the ball. Worse was WR Quez Watkins (5 – 1 – 19 – 19.0 – 0) giving up two interceptions by letting the defender take the ball out of his hands.

Don’t tell me how competitive each man on the team is, when I see a lack of hunger this pronounced. Next season it might be wise to distill Watkins, RB Boston Scott, and KR Britain Covey’s roster spots into a back-up WR or RB, who has college KR experience. Our third round pick should be a GREAT place to find that player.

Aside from the four turnovers, there was the 3rd and 30 that we allowed the Cowboys to convert. While everyone else is harping on the coverage, the real problem was the lack of pressure that allowed the clean look, on a pin-point pass, delivered with follow through. Just a four man rush on 3rd and 30? It was clear that was the plan pre-snap, so I was in my living room screaming for five. Screaming! So the catch wasn’t surprising.

Overall, I didn’t see anything that worries me for the rubber match in a few weeks. Do I see us forcing just one punt, and giving the ball away four times, again? Not at all. I also don’t see us holding their RB’s to 74 yards, but the tactic for playing them will jump off any game tape. A six point loss, with four turnovers, playing with our back-up QB? Plenty of confidence for when we see them next.

FOUR THINGS: WK 12: EAGLES – PACKERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/11/25
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

BEATING the Colts last week was the sort of gritty, character building exercise, which will serve the Eagles well down the stretch. We took a jab to the chin, but shook off the cobwebs, then fought off both the Colts and the referees. (I’ve been refraining from making an issue of the officiating, but it’s getting ridiculous.)

Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen needs to get his head out of his ass, and start involving RB Miles Sanders from start to finish. Running is this Offense’s identity. When we get away from that, it makes life easier to opponents. The Packers have given up 25+ points in five games this season. We need to help them allow a sixth.

A win gives us 10! That of course would make us 10 – 1, keeping us at the head of the NFC East, and entire NFC itself. We are currently in 100% control of our own outcome.

A loss would stall us out at 9 – 2, but we’d still be at the head of the division, and the conference. Even though we’d be tied at 9 – 2 with Minnesota, our head to head victory over them, gives us the outright tie-breaker.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: Packers.

1) Hit Their Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers is playing with a broken thumb on his passing hand. It has already led to some of his routine passes getting away from him, or coming out without their typical spins. We need to get hits, not just heat on him. We need to repeatedly introduce his body to the Earth.

This isn’t about hurting his thumb. It’s for getting inside his head. He can be made to emotionally check out of games; and I can’t think of faster way to make that happen, than to beat him up when he’s injured. Also, when trying to protect himself, if his feet aren’t set, it just magnifies the ball delivery issue he’s having.

2) Miles of Screens: The Packers are another 3 – 4 team, that’s actually more of a 5 – 2. Also their best pass rusher is on I.R., with a rookie replacing him. Normally I would say “Run the Kerrigan Plan” and run up the score. However, with TE Dallas Goedert on I.R., we have yet to see a back-up TE emerge, who can be the tip of the spear.

Instead of trying to force back-ups to be heroes, we should throw a few Screens to RB Miles Sanders. I said to RB Miles Sanders. Not WR A.J. Brown. Not RB Boston Scott. Let our WR’s keep the defense spread, then throw the ball to a player who can break a tackle. Make the Packers take a pass rusher off the field, to be able to cover us.

3) Wrap It Up, B!: We only have one loss. So teams are still trying to figure out the formula, or the blueprint…, incantation(?) for beating us. The best guess they have now, is still “Run the ball a ton, and control the clock”. The thinking now is that the Washington made it work, but Indianapolis couldn’t keep making it work.

We’re going to see that approach until we’ve made it abundantly clear that Washington was a fluke. Our Defense has shown that they know where their run fits are. The entire issue is tackling. Once we started doing a better job of that last week, Indianapolis’s run game dried up. We’ll need a second week of that.

4) Deep Down the Middle: Over the last three weeks WR Quez Watkins has seen more attempts to get him involved in the Offense. That could pay dividends this week. The Packers have a pair of good Corners, so the middle is probably the easiest place to attack going deep. (Though CB Rasul Douglas has trouble with real speed.)

Playing a virtual 5 – 2, the Packers hurt their pass rush every time they take away an “OLB” to play a Nickel or a Dime. This what they’d have to do to cover Watkins (or Sanders in the Screen game). Covering Watkins with a starting S leaves either WR A.J. Brown, or WR Devonta Smith with a one on one match-up.

So it’s pick your poison. They can hurt their pass rush to play Nickel/Dime. OR they can consistently create a one on one. OR they can try to cover Watkins with a 270 pound LB, which would be the same as not covering him at all. Wait. It doesn’t have to be Watkins. Just get the ball deep to WHOMEVER lines up in the Slot. Hows that?

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

I can’t tell you the last time I saw a 9 – 1 team get less buzz.

While I have never put stock in Power Rankings, it does feel nice when I see the Eagles atop the list. Wednesday night the NFL had us at #2. Behind the 8 – 2 Chiefs.

Right now, the blueprint for beating us, mentions running the ball and keeping our Offense off the field. It does NOT mention how that formula also required THREE turnovers (one of which was bullshit), to produce a five point lead, which was in jeopardy until the final play of the game. Glazed right on over that. 

The consensus is that we haven’t played anybody. Until somebody else beats a team that we beat. Then suddenly, that team that we beat is good, and we get a sort of grudging acknowledgement (not respect), for having beaten them first.

If the NFL treated us and promoted us like they do a few other teams, we’d have grown less hungry, and we’d be 7 – 3 or 6 – 4 today. Keep it up, dumbasses! I might just have to buy stock in dog masks.

And lo’ ! Down in the valley slept the Packers (and the remainder of our schedule), unaware that the disrespect that has been snowballing, is about to trigger an avalanche.

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Prediction: EAGLES 27 – Packers 18

WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

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

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 11: COLTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/11/21
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Defense, Four Things, free agents, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

SO much for your fucking “blueprint”.

EAGLES 17 – Colts 16

EAGLES STATS:

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

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

Passing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (18/25 – 72.0% – 190 – 1 – 0)

Rushing : (S) QB Jalen Hurts (15 – 86 – 5.3 – 1 – 1)

Receiving : (S) WR Devonta Smith (9 – 6 – 78 – 13.0 – 0)

Offensive Line Report/Enforcer : (6+ 0 – 6 = 0) C Jason Kelce

Drive Killer : (S) MLB T.J. Edwards (0 – 1 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader : (S) DE Brandon Graham (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)

Ace : N/A

****

I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Colts did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

QB Jalen Hurts with THE DAGGER!

1) Run the Ball: I established at the beginning of the season that “Run the ball” means “hand it off”. That has to be clarified with a QB like Hurts. His running isn’t always a called run by the coaching staff. In fact, it rarely is. So our commitment to running can’t be determined by his carries, regardless of how many he has in a game.

That said, Hurts carried the ball 16 times today. The three RB’s on the roster combined for just 17. Starting RB Miles Sanders (13 – 47 – 3.6 – 0 – 0) had all of 5 carries in the first half, and was frequently subbed out for lesser players, who keep proving that. We made our bones running the ball. It’s our identity. Getting away from it is the primary reason why it keeps looking like the Eagles have forgotten how to play offense. (NOT DONE)

2) Drop’em!: Little bit of irony on this one, but we’ll take it. Our Defense had a bad opening drive, where the Colts rushed for 50 yards, on a 75 yard drive for their touchdown. Singular. They ran for 99 yards on the day, again with 50 of it on that first drive.

We got punched in the face, tightened our chinstraps, and went back in. Face first. You see the final score, right? We put players down and weren’t having all that pile pushing nonsense. At one point the Colts thought they had a pile moving, but we held the ball carrier up and FS Marcus Epps (5 – 0 – 0 – 0) clawed the ball out of his hand, and Edwards recovered. But we didn’t spend the game doing that! (DONE)

WR Quez Watkins goes in for six!

3) Open up the Passing Game: Without TE Dallas Goedert here to catch half a dozen TE Screens, the ball had to be distributed differently this week. That 22 yard TD to WR Quez Watkins (2 – 2 – 31 – 15.5 – 1), across the deep middle was exactly the sort of attempt that we need to see on a weekly.

Better still Smith, wasn’t running a bunch of six yard routes, which helped create room for Hurts to take off. Shallow routes stymie the run game by keeping defenders close to the line of scrimmage. Run those turkeys off! We did a great job of that this week with the route running alone. The completions were icing on the cake. (DONE)

4) Get Heat On Matty Ice: We got 4 sacks on him, but we really didn’t seem to rattle him much. The ball was where it needed to be, when it needed to be there. Honestly, to look at him, to look at his eyes (check it out if you catch a re-broadcast), I don’t think there was much we could have done to rattle him.

I think his benching a couple weeks ago, shook him harder than any sack ever could. As a former player, I should have taken that into consideration. Calling for us to rattle him, was a lost cause in the first place. Like frequent reader Andrea, he’s an Exton product. We were never going to shake him. (NOT DONE)

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This week we got 2 of the Four Things, and walked out of Indy with a GUARANTEED WINNING RECORD for the 2022 season. Now we get to “welcome” Green Bay to the Linc, in prime-time, to see if they want to contribute to our pile of W’s.

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On The Whole:

DE Brandon Graham checks for bullshit flags.

ONCE AGAIN, THE NFL’S NUMBER ONE TEAM, AT 9 – 1!

How ‘bout them Cowboys! Doing something useful for a change, and dropping Minnesota to 8 – 2, for us. That gives us not only the head-to-head tie-breaker over Minny, but a one game margin of error at the head of the Conference.

New York being literally run over for an ‘L’ of their own, makes them and Dallas both 7 – 3, and gives us a TWO game margin of error in the Division. This means rooting for the giants to beat the Cowboys on Turkey Day, to ruin a Dallas sweep and dampen any tie-breaker advantage. Big picture, folks!

Now back to THIS game itself!

DT’s Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph combine for a sack in their first game as Eagles.

First of all, hats off to Defensive Line Coach Tracy Rocker for integrating DT’s Ndamukong Suh (2 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) and Linval Joseph (4 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) in less than a week. Hell, Joseph even started this game. We gave up 152 rushing yards on Monday. We gave up just 99 six days later.

But enough handjobs and high-fives. I have few serious gripes. There was entirely too much of the Eagles trying to be cute, and giving carries to a couple of RB’s who don’t break tackles. Hurts picked up a game deciding first down on 4th and 2, late in the 4th quarter, but the handoff to RB Boston Scott (2 – 4 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) on the prior 3rd and 4, was a bad call. That’s a down for a franchise QB, not a back-up RB.

Also on Hurts fumble, why was Sanders blocking DE Yannick Ngakoue (3 – 1.5 – 0 – 0) one-on one? On a down like that either a better protecting need to be called or Hurts has to get that ball out of his hand immediately.

#11: SPLIT ‘EM DEEP

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/06/09
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, NFC East, Offense, Players, Roster, Super Bowl, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WE’VE been told that WR Quez Watkins is going to be working in the Slot, a lot more this year. In an earlier article, I said that we should use Watkins and RB Kenneth Gainwell as a one-two punch in the Slot. Picture it: We pound teams with 12 Personnel, then we make them chase either raw speed, or short area shiftiness. Nasty! Just plain nasty!

When the Eagles won the Super Bowl following the 2017 season, they did it behind WR Torrey Smith taking the top off of defenses, and allowing room for TE Zach Ertz to work underneath. Having to keep a Safety over Ertz, made it easier to get balls downfield, into WR Alshon Jeffrey’s insane catch radius. Having to cover all of that, is what opened up the room for the run game to pile up 2115 yards (132 ypg).

For the next couple of years, the Eagles tried to replicate that formula, first replacing Smith with WR Mike Wallace (2018), who was hurt two games into the season; and then re-uniting with WR DeSean Jackson (2019), who was hurt three games into the season. (Note: It’s not that the formula didn’t work, it’s that we didn’t have the horses to run it.)

Well, now we have a new formula, and I personally LOVE it! I’ve been saying since DJax was here, that we should put our burner in the Slot, not on the Outside. This one move does more than the old formula does, and it does it much more simply.

Watkins in the Slot running “Go” and clear-out routes right down the middle, means that a defense in Single-high coverage, can offer no help to their CB’s. That frequently puts WR Devonta Smith and WR A.J. Brown in one-on-one coverage, on opposite sides of the field. Imagine a CB alone in space with Brown, after the catch. Damned near animal cruelty, right?

Watkins in the Slot running “Go” and clear-out routes right down the middle, means that a defense in Cover Two, has to squeeze the Safeties together, instead of letting them drift out to help the CB’s. (See above result.) This means committing extra resources to coverage. So now instead of four back deep, they have five back deep.

Five back deep, means a six man front. It means they’re in Nickel. Ladies and gentlemen, have you met our run game? Give a hand to RB Miles Sanders! And playing the part of Charlie Mack, I give you LT Jordan Mailata, and LG Landon Dickerson!

First out da limo.

Oh wait! We haven’t even started on TE Dallas Goedert on 15 yard Outs, after play-action. Watkins in the Slot will also force teams to declare more coverages, making pre-snap reads easier for QB Jalen Hurts. (This is where spreading the Offense really gets it’s mojo workin’.) All of which is done easily with Watkins being a speed merchant.

I hear you ask: How dangerous can a speed merchant really be? I mentioned Torrey Smith earlier. In 2017 he played in all 16 games, catching just 36 balls for 430 yards (11.9) and just 2 TD’s. Small numbers, right? However, it was his presence that made him the catalyst for the entire Offense. The loss of that, was 75% of why the Eagles looked so disjointed in 2018 and 2019.

Folks, people are predicting us to win the East, but I… I might already be looking past that. I’m telling you, if Hurts can read defenses better in 2022, the entire NFC (not just the East), is on notice. Rams, Bucs, Green Bay AT Lambeau. All of that. We want ALL the smoke.

#4: GAINWELL IN THE SLOT

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/06/02
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Offense, Players, Roster, The 12, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

VERSATILITY is the cornerstone of RB Kenneth Gainwell’s game, and we need to find a way to make that a regular problem for our opponents. While Gainewell isn’t the most physical RB, he is an actual RB. He’s not a trumped up WR playing the spot, like Antonio Gibson in Washington. Gainwell can take hits, hold onto the ball, and participate in blitz pick-ups. So there was also no need to trade for a WR (Deebo Samuels), who does RB impersonations.

The thing about Gainwell, is that in college he played RB and WR. Then in his first pro season, he proved to be a natural route runner, and a reliable pass catcher. So why not let him line up as a Slot WR this year? Not every down! I’m not even suggesting to start him there. In fact, it’s best if he lines up all over the formation (RB, WR, proctologist, etc.) and is frequently motioned.

This way we can use our personnel groupings to create, then exploit mismatches. With the addition of WR A.J. Brown on the perimeter, the talk is that WR Quez Watkins will see much more time in the Slot. Imagine being the NCB who just had to cover Watkins, and now sees a fresh Gainwell jog out across from them. It’s unfair isn’t it?! It’s just plain mean! We need to do that!

Hack the bone. Twist the knife! Find an unfair advantage, then use it early and often. Abuse our power! Think of it. This year, Watkins and Gainwell in the Slot. Last year it was WR Jalen Reagor. Christ on crutches, can you say “major fucking upgrade”? I knew you could.

This is a one-two punch that needs to happen.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 13: Jets

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/12/06
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

EAGLES Aces shoot down Jets.

EAGLES 33 – Jets 18

EAGLES STATS:

New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

Passing: (S) QB Gardner Minshew (20/25 – 80.0% – 242 – 2 – 0)

Rushing: (S) RB Miles Sanders (24 – 120 – 5.0 – 0 – 0)

Receiving: (S) TE Dallas Goedert (6 – 6 – 105 – 17.5 – 2)

Offensive Line Report: (1 + 2:1 – 1)

Drive Killer: (R ) S Marcus Epps (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader: (S) DE Josh Sweat (3 – 1.5 – 0 – 0)

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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Jets did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Play Our Aces: Second and third stringers were sprinkled in here and there, in this game. However, it was mostly just sprinkling in. There was none of the Emotional Fuckwitage of last week’s debacle, with bench players frequently in for key possessions.

Our lead RB had more carries and rushing yards than all Eagles, combined. The weekly mismatch that is our starting TE, led the team in targets and even scored twice. It’s a simple formula folks, and it worked with an unnerving amount of ease. (DONE)

2) Interior Pass Rush: While DT Javon Hargrave (2 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) did get a piece of the QB, the interior pass rush wasn’t nearly as sharp as it needed to be. The knee-jerk response will be to blame the loose coverage, which allowed the Jets to complete passes at will, early in the game. However, the DT’s weren’t rushing into those ‘A’ gaps at the snap, either. The hole in that strategy was never adjusted, and was a game-long unforced error. (NOT DONE)

3) Talent Has To Win: This was not the week to get cute. We simply needed to maul a motherfucker and run the ball. We did.

There were 37 hand-offs and 25 pass attempts, with just 4 QB runs (ratio 37:29). Hand-offs were called 56% of the time. We just butchered and BBQed whichever Human sacrifices the Jets laid on our altar. (DONE)

4) Make secure tackles: Did a great job out there today. OLB Alex Singleton (8 – 0 – 0 – 0) came to play today. Can we talk for a minute, about that killshot that SS Anthony Harris (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) put on RB Tevin Coleman (11 – 58 – 5.2 – 0 – 0)? Coleman got up with a lil’ bit o’the wavy leg. We need more hitting like that. (DONE)

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That’s 3 of Four Things completed this week and look! It results in an easy win. Go figure that! Our next opponent is the Bye Week.

Hopefully everyone gets the hell away from football for a week. Don’t even watch it. Sleep-in a couple days. Visit family. Catch-up/binge watch a favorite show. Anonymously volunteer as Santa somewhere. Just defrag and come back loose.

The four weeks that follow our Bye, will not be easy. So celebrate this week lads! Have a Bud Light with C Jason Kelce and our other friends.

For when you return, Hell and all of it’s hounds will be waiting for you at the gates off your own home.

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On The Whole:

I could rant about Defensive Coordinator Johnathan Gannon calling a passive game again, but I won’t. We just need to replace him. See? No muss. No fuss. No rant. I want to talk about something important today.

A mostly healthy group of starters, led by a back-up QB, who (wink) really isn’t a back-up QB. Sounds downright Folseian™ doesn’t it? To some extent that’s probably why Eagles fans have this glow about them right now. It feels familiar. It feels warm. We played a game where even when we were down, you were never really worried.

That 3rd and 19 play, late in the first half. That’s a pivotal moment that begs discussion. If you blink, you can easily miss it’s significance.

WR Quez Watkins (3 – 3 – 60 – 20 – 0) starts out on the right side of the formation, and crosses field to the left-side numbers. The first read apparently isn’t open, but Minshew stays alive in the pocket, and throws the ball between the numbers and the sideline. It’s not a super-accurate pass. Minshew relies on Watkins to meet the ball, and he does for a splendid 22 yard completion.

If QB Jalen Hurts is in there, and his first read isn’t open, what happens? He runs right. He gets out of the pocket, looking down the right sideline. Maybe he runs. Maybe he throws a laser down the right stripe. However, the right isn’t where the open play was. If Hurts is in there, because of his well-known lack of vision, that play to Watkins never happens. This is of supreme importance for several reasons.

Coming into this game, this season Watkins played 12 games with 10 starts. That’s 12 games with 578 snaps played (74%). He came into Week 13 averaging 35.9 yards per game AS A STARTER. The only games where he had 60 yards? This one, and the one where he caught 2 passes for 117 yards, one of which was 91 yards. This is the definition of underutilized.

Establishing a real #2 WR would help loosen things up for the TE, and the #1 WR. And oh yeah, the run too. Better QB play could make other players more dangerous.

The Eagles aren’t about to make a change at QB over the Bye. That’s not what this is about. THIS, is a heads up. This is a snapshot. It’s a jigsaw piece.

Most of the fan base can’t see the puzzle, because right now, we’re standing on it. But have patience Dear Reader. Eventually all will reveal itself. All we have to do, is play a series of games.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 6: Buccaneers

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/10/15
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

HEYYYY, it was closer than I predicted!

EAGLES 22 – Buccaneers 28

EAGLES STATS:

New categories include an EXCLUSIVE weekly Offensive Line Report (Rushing TD’s + 3rd and 4th downs converted:missed of 2 yards or less – sacks allowed); as well as Drive Killer (Int – FR – 4th down Tackles – FF – TD).

Passing: (S) QB Jalen Hurts (12/26 – 46.1% – 115 – 0 – 1)

Rushing: (S) RB Miles Sanders (9 – 56 – 6.0 – 0 – 0)

Receiving: (S) WR Quez Watkins (5 – 3 – 44 – 14.6 – 0)

Offensive Line Report: (2 + 0:0 – 2)

Drive Killer: (S) SS Anthony Harris (1 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0)

Sack Leader: NO QUALIFIER

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I hear you asking, “What about all the stuff that stats don’t reveal?” Well, that’s the reason for these Four Things articles. It’s to point out what we need to address BEFORE the game. Then AFTER the game, there’s a no-bullshit assessment of whether or not the Eagles did any of what they needed to do, to ensure the win.

So how much of what I mentioned in Four Things: Buccaneers did the Eagles actually get around to doing? Well let’s see:

1) Run the damned ball: One hand-off in the first half. A total of 9 in the whole game. Hurts carried the ball 10 times. For the first time this season, Sanders led the team in rushing and we didn’t win. That said, the Offense didn’t truly come alive until the touchdown drive where Sanders had 4 of his 9 carries.

For the second week in a row, nobody bought Hurts play-action. And why should they?

Head Coach Nick Sirianni has made it clear that he will go down with the ship, doing it this way. At this point, I’m just sitting back waiting for him to be fired. (NOT DONE)

2) Shut down Brady: On the down where Brady threw an interception, DT Fletcher Cox (1 – 0 – 0 – 0) had bull-rushed the RG almost into Brady’s lap. Aside from that, the only pressure on Brady, was barometric. (NOT DONE)

3) Bombs Away: Our two biggest plays of the day, were pass interference calls on 45 and 50 yard attempts to WR Jalen Reagor (3 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0). There was also the 24 yard pass to Watkins. Aside from that, the rest was dink and dunk bullshit. Didn’t we chew Sam “Sleeves” Bradford a new asshole over that? Why is this now acceptable to some fans? (NOT DONE)

4) Stick with Man Coverage: Utterly bailed on this. Last week he let his CB’s play more aggressively and tanked that “keep everything in front of you” nonsense. This week we were back to soft zones and cushions. The result was Brady field dressing our squad. On national television.

I hope Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon, gets an ulcer from watching this game tape. He called a timid and cowardly game, and got fucked in the ass like prison ponks do, as a result. Good! Learn a goddamned lesson. (NOT DONE)

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So this week we did 0 of the Four Things needed to win, and as result, the game was never as close as the 22 – 28 score would indicate. Not this Sunday, but next Sunday we travel to Las Vegas to try and beat my second favorite team. So no matter how that one works out, I won’t be completely bummed at least.

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On The Whole:

Defensively, it seems like teams are targeting LB Alex Singleton (15 – 0 – 0 – 0). I noticed this a few weeks ago, but I didn’t say anything about it, because I wanted to see him vs a few offensive styles. On the boundary and in the flat, he’s fine. Unfortunately, he’s played in the middle, and has no feel for re-directing or denying traffic. Also, at just 230 pounds, RB’s keep overpowering him for extra yardage.

These issues reared their heads again vs the Buccaneers. You can’t just move an OLB to MLB and consider it equal. MLB is a mindset. You don’t manufacture a MLB, they have to be born. I know this first-hand.

As a player, I could be a maniac, but I was always a maniac with a plan, and was extremely self-aware. A couple of my coaches wanted to harvest the “maniac” and thought they could transplant me from LT to MLB. I gave it a shot in my first offseason.

Physically I was THERE! Nothing I couldn’t do. But mentally? As a lineman, collisions have a point. As a MLB, they don’t need one. A lineman filters chaos, to make clear paths for those behind him. A MLB is a guy who puts on a suit, kisses his wife goodbye, gets in his car, and causes a 22 car pile-up. And hopes to do it again and again!

Let me give you an example: Jon Runyan telling BWest to take a knee. Lineman. Dick Butkus playing on essentially one knee since high school, and living to hit people? Middle Linebacker. Mentally, I am not a MLB. And neither is Alex Singleton. He needs to be moved back to the edge.

Offensively, I’m not going to focus on Jalen Hurts. You’ve probably already seen enough of that on headlines today. I’m also not going to get into Sirianni telling the world at his press conference, that Hurts isn’t a franchise QB. I’ll get into that HEAVILY, later. For now, let’s talk WR’s.

Jalen Reagor was thrown three passes, and dropped every one of them. Quez Watkins didn’t showcase his speed in this one. Instead he showed off his concentration catching a deflected pass for 23 yards, and his body control on a 24 yard completion along the sideline. Despite Watkins being the better player week in and week out, Reagor keeps getting the juicy routes. Why is that?

Funny, we cut WR Travis Fulgham from our Practice Squad, but we keep trying to feature Reagor, and apparently kept WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to draw offensive pass interference penalties. Game-planning more touches and snaps for lesser players is just dumb, and it needs to stop.