review

All posts tagged review

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK2 – FALCONS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/16
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

OTHER fans get to be emotional about this loss. I get to be emotional during the game. Afterward, I have to put my anger aside, to objectively dissect it. That being said, this game was lost for us by the fucking rat-faced coaching staff. I won’t be able to fully address it in the FTR format, but rest assured that this week, there will come a reckoning, and it will not be pretty.

Losing WR’s DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery early in this game, certainly had a massive impact on the game, but there were too many other inexcusable errors out there.

Wentz sacked falcons.jpg

Eagles 20 – Falcons 24

Yet again the Eagles held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing (15 – 64 – 4.2 – 0 – 0), but that was offset by allowing QB Matt Ryan (27/43 – 320 – 62.7% – 3 – 3) to hit wide open receiver, after wide open receiver, after wide open receiver. Honestly, why would opponents run, when they can take yardage in much larger chunks?

Shrugging off one lost weapon after another, QB Carson Wentz (25/43 – 231 – 58.1% – 1 – 2) showed true grit, and seemed to be the only Eagle out there on Offense, who was hungry to win. WR Nelson Agholor (8 – 107 – 13.3 – 1) had a busy night, but dropped the go-ahead touchdown.

It took a blitz by reserve S Andrew Sendejo (2 – 1 – 0 – 0) to get our only sack of the game.

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

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

Miles Sanders trouble with the handoff.jpg

Gotta love a juggled handoff!

1) Run Howard: We did not. RB Jordan Howard (8 – 18 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) did not start and was given a sporadic 8 carries. Instead, rookie RB Miles Sanders (10 – 28 – 2.8 – 0 – 0) spent another week being an ineffective feature back. The Eagles are trying to make a star out of Sanders, despite him showing repeatedly that he isn’t ready. The result is that Wentz has to carry the Offense by himself. (NOT DONE)

2) Dissolve the pocket: The D-Line pretty much played it straight up, except for when they blitzed. There were a couple of points where we got Ryan to throw from a dead run (he had a TD on a rollout to his right), but we didn’t do nearly enough to force him consistently out of the pocket. (NOT DONE)

3) Finish Him!: Just make the tackle. The Eagles were pretty good at this, this week. There was of course the TD to WR Julio Jones (5 – 106 – 21.2 – 2), but that also included a nice block, a bad tackle angle and no deep help. But all in all, our tackling was much better than a week ago. (DONE)

4) Deliver Liver Punches: We didn’t run enough, nor did we run effectively enough to make play-action something to be respected. While Agholor and TE Zach Ertz (8 – 72 – 9.0 – 0) were our leading 2 receivers, this game was devoid of the schematic impact of play-action. (NOT DONE)

lemongrab

That brings our weekly tally to 1 of 4 Four Things completed. That brings our two week total to 3 of 8 so far. That’s a sub .500 mark. We have plenty of stuff to get together before our appointment with the undefeated (1 – 0 – 1) Detroit Lions next week.

On The Whole:

This was a weird game. Our Defensive Line couldn’t touch the QB. We seemed to spend most of the night in Cover Zero, and kept being spanked in it. There seemed to be a concerted effort to play the youth, even though they clearly aren’t up to the task at this point. And despite all the injuries, no one seemed to be leaving the sidelines or removing their pads.

This is an odd loss. After Ertz was shown to be short of the sticks, I was of course as emotional as a fan should be. However, looking back at the game now, it all had a surreal feel to it.

In fact, looking back, it still has that “Wait. Did that happen or did I dream that” feel it. Parts of it just don’t add up. It’s why I put this loss on the coaching staff and not the players, per se.

 

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK1 – REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/09/09
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Four Things, NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 Carson's Weapons.jpg

TOLD you that we’d start slow. Honestly, if not for a couple of fluke scores by Washington, the final score wouldn’t be as close as it looks on paper. We went into halftime down 7 – 20, and still I was in good spirits. Because I already knew.

Some people will want to tell you that QB Carson Wentz (28/39 – 71.7% – 313 – 3 – 0) isn’t clutch, because he doesn’t have many 4th quarter comebacks. I on the other hand, think it’s nice when the comeback effort is complete before the 4th quarter.

EAGLES 32 – Redskins 27

There is no way to talk about this game without mentioning the whuppin’ that WR DeSean Jackson (8 – 154 – 19.2 – 2) put on the Redskins secondary. He teamed up with Wentz for two scoring strikes of 50 plus yards. One of which caused ‘skins CB Josh Norman (4 – 0 – 0 – 0) to spontaneously burst into flames.

2019 Josh Norman mock

For some reason, the Eagles chose to use RB Jordan Howard (6 – 44 – 7.3 – 0 – 0) sparingly, despite him being most effective ball carrier on the team. Rookie RB Miles Sanders (11 – 25 – 2.2 – 0 – 0) got the start, but spent too many of his first steps trying to pick a spot, instead of running with authority to dictate a spot.

Getting in on the run game was WR Alshon Jeffery (5 – 49 – 9 – 1 / 1 – 2 – 2.0 – 1 – 0), who ran for a 2 yard score, as well as catching a 5 yard score on a Crossing route in the back of the endzone.

Defensively the Eagles surrendered 380 passing yards on 30 of 44 passing (68.1%), and 28 rushing yards on 13 carries (2.1ypc). Some sloppy tackling allowed an ancient TE to score on a 48 yard catch and run. Later on, a poorly called defense allowed CB Rasul Douglas (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) to get matched up on a guy with 4.35 speed, with no Safety help over the top. Douglas isn’t a burner, so naturally he was easily beaten for a 69 yard catch and run, on a Skinny Post route.

These were of course, fluke type touchdowns. Even before halftime, the Eagles were showing that they could get a handle on the Redskin offense. So the second half was a completely different story, with the Eagles outscoring the ‘skins 25 – 7. Because well…

2019 DJax Wentz

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

So, of the Four Things we were looking for (link to parent article) in this last game, what exactly did we see?

1) Be aggressive early: We really didn’t come out very aggressively at all. Short screens, running the ball with RB Darren Sproles (9 – 47 – 5.2 – 0 – 0) on the opening drive. It had the feel of this week’s Bears/Packers game, where Bears coach Matt Nagy kept getting cute with his playcalling. Our aggression showed up late, which is better than not at all. However, not showing it early, is also why we fell behind. (NOT DONE)

card.timmy.jernigan

This is Jernigan sacking Kirk Cousins. He also wore the target 8.

2) Shred their o-line: Early on it looked like this wouldn’t get done. Then the defensive interior began to assert itself. DT Timmy Jernigan (1 – 1 – 0 – 0) grabbed a sack, and DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) managed a tackle for a loss. The stat-lines aren’t sexy, but the line generated pressure and made it hard for their QB to settle his feet. (DONE)

3) Work the edges: While TE Zach Ertz (5 – 54 – 10.8 – 0) only saw 7 targets in this game, most of them were Outs and passes to the Flat. That worked to pull the LB’s and S’s towards the sides, and opened up the run inside. (DONE)

4) Play press coverage: The Eagles played tighter cushions when the Redskins went into Bunch formations. However, when the ‘skins spread out, our CB’s allowed those 6, 7, and 8 yard cushions to creep back onto the field. The result was allowing the Redskins to complete 68% of their passes. Unacceptable. (NOT DONE)

lemongrab.gif

So we open the season with 2 out of 4 things done. To be fair, even the things we didn’t do, we kinda did, but standards are strict here. Next week we head down to the A-T-L, to raise some major hell. After watching tape of the Wentz/Jackson show, I’m sure their coaches won’t sleep all week. Should make next Sunday night’s game more interesting than tonight’s Steelers and Patriots re-enactment of the Rodney King beating.

On The Whole:

This game was far more competitive than it should have been. I predicted a slow start, but c’mon guy! Our Offensive playcalling looked downright timid to start.

While Sproles is a nifty change of pace runner, he has no business running between the Tackles in the first quarter. Sanders showed some speed to the outside, but he was out-classed by Howard’s decisiveness, power, and patience. The Eagles indicated in this game that they’re trying to make the same mistake with Howard, that Chicago did, last year. Namely, putting someone before him, who isn’t as good as him.

CHANGE MY MIND

Wentz looked like the butcher that sliced up defenses in 2017. He wasn’t just a guy with a lot of weapons. He was a guy who knew how to use them. Two ballistic missiles to Jackson. Waving Ertz into position on a scramble. Throwing Jeffery open in the endzone. Wentz was conducting a symphony while extracting teeth, out there.

I have a nagging gripe about this game. DE Derek Barnett (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) did not do a consistent job of setting the edge today. Too often he lined up like was going to cross the DT’s gap, and then crashed down inside, leaving room for boots and Screens. This is the same thing that used to happen when DE Trent Cole played that same spot in Jim Washburn’s version of the Wide 9.

The team showed resiliency this week, but they need to show some grit as well. Overall, it’s just small things here and there. There’s nothing that can’t be ironed out in the next couple of weeks.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK PS2 – JAGUARS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/08/16
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2019 Clayton Thorson.jpg

THE night belonged to fourth string, rookie QB Clayton Thorson (16/26 – 61.5% – 175 – 1 – 1). That wasn’t the plan, but after third string, journeyman QB Cody Kessler (1 /4 – 25.0 – 11 – 0 – 0) was knocked from the game, Thorson was all we had left. That’s because back-up QB Nate Sudfeld was out with the broken left wrist he suffered last week, and Starting QB Carson Wentz is still not being allowed to wipe his own ass, for fear of injury. (I wasn’t big on the Colin Kaepernick idea, but now I uh… mmm, uhhh… Maybe?)

DE’s Daeshon Hall (2 – 2 – 0 – 0) forced a fumble on one of his two sacks and practically sewed up the #4 DE spot. If we keep 5 of those, then DE Shareef Miller (3 – 1 – 0 – 0) has to have a wide lead on DE Josh Sweat (bupkiss – nope – zero – BONK!). DT/DE Aziz Shittu (1 – 1 – 0 – 0) got his hand on two passes, and did what he’s always done here since 2016: Flash in the preseason before getting caught in a numbers game.

2019 Daeshon Hall.jpg

HEY! Here’s a thought. It’s probably good that QB Nick Foles didn’t play last night. His 6th round, rookie, back-up, QB Gardner Minshew (19/29 – 65.5% – 202 – 0 – 0) left the game with a rating of 85.7. Last week Minshew was (7/14 – 50.0 – 46 – 0 – 0) with a rating of 57.4. We’d have made Foles look like goddamned Joe Montana out there.

For Thorson’s part, I already saw some growth in him. In my Ideal 53 article, I called him a poor man’s Wentz. In my 2019 Draft Report, I said he reminded me of Carson. I said he didn’t seem to have Carson’s willingness to stick the ball into tight spaces, I made the allowance for that to be a lack of trust in his college weapons. WELP! I nailed the hell out of that one.

2019ps greg ward.jpeg

EAGLES 24 – Jaguars 10

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

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

1) Starters need to play a quarter: Players who wanted to play, played. S Malcolm Jenkins (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) and DE Brandon Graham (no stats, great pressure though), are two examples of that. Players who didn’t want to play, sat. If I start talking about that, this section will become an article. Let’s put a pin in that. (NOT DONE)

2) Go deep to Djax: Can’t if he doesn’t play! (NOT DONE)

3) Look good running the ball: Impossible to gauge with so many different players touching the ball, who won’t be touching it much when the games count. (NOT DONE)

4) Generate some pass rush up the gut: The line did a much better job of collapsing the pocket and clogging up the lanes, which allowed us to record 4 sacks on the night. (DONE)

Yet again we end with a score of 1 out of 4, which brings our preseason tally to 2 of 8. Next week the Baltimore Ravens run into the Linc, and we get to watch their QB move his lips as he tries to read our Defense. Should be fun!

On The Whole:

2019joshadams.jpg

What is there to say? Three weeks from now, most of the sacrificial lambs who played that game, will be working in a call center, or learning how to operate a forklift. That’s not knocking honest, decent work. (I’ve done both of those myself.) However, we came out of that game with no additional information about the players who will impact the season. Particularly those new to the team.

It was a sloppy, entertaining exhibition, but on the whole it left me as a fan, more worried about this team, than I’ve been since Chip Kelly went 10 – 6 in his first year. That 10 – 6 record was built on an unsustainable model. While many fans were seduced by the immediate gratification of a playoff berth, I saw the cracks in the dam. I warned you about the flood. Well, now I see cracks again.

In a year where the Dallas Cowboys are undermining themselves and trying to hand us the NFC East, we seem intent on undermining ourselves and making sure they keep it.

2018 SEASON REVIEW: QUARTER FOUR

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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

STATUS: 9 – 7 overall, 4 – 2 division, 6 – 6 conference, 2nd in the NFC East

eagles.jpg

OPPONENTS:

L: Dallas (10 – 6)

W: Los Angeles Rams (13 – 3)

W: Houston (11 – 5)

W: Washington (7 – 9)

 

OVERVIEW:

Put it all together and finish strong. We’re 6 – 6 today. We don’t see the playoffs with a record of less than 9 – 7. Running the table would be awesome, but (barring a miracle of mathematics) we have to have three of these four.

Nailed it!! That was the mission for this last quarter and the Eagles responded in excellent fashion, despite losing(?) QB Carson Wentz for the final three games of the regular season and perhaps the entire playoffs.

Not only did the Eagles manage to string consecutive wins together, the team did it against playoff caliber teams, while playing (in essence) weekly win-or-go-home games, since our last loss of the season, against Dallas.

Though injuries ravaged the regular season, a few players are beginning go find their way off the trainers table, and onto the playing field again. Coupling those guys with young players who were forced to grow up fast, will give the Eagles playoff push, the shot in the arm needed to give us a real chance.

GRADES:

Lane Johnson protects Nick Foles.jpg

QB: (B) Nick Foles has played so well, that I doubt many fans realize that he’s thrown 6 touchdowns and 3 picks over that span. Add in a lost fumble, and you have 4 turnovers in three weeks. That weighs even heavier upon realizing that he didn’t throw a single scoring pass against the Rams. The fact is, he’s played excellent situational football. Though his production may not be consistent, he’s been big in big moments.

RB: (C ) This position has been good in spots. Josh Adams has been pure trash. He’s gotten plenty of carries, but he hasn’t been able to convert them into yards, because he doesn’t run through contact, doesn’t even employ a forward lean. He’s soft. Darren Sproles on the other hand, since coming back from injury, has been playing out of his mind whenever they let him touch the ball. Even Wendell Smallwood has become a more efficient runner. 

sproles scores

TE: (B) NFL Record Holder Zach Ertz and rookie Dallas Goedert have combined for 35 catches and 3 scores over the last four games. Goedert has made three catches of 24 yards or longer as he’s become a consistent weekly contributor, averaging 3 catches per game over the span.

WR: (B) Alshon Jeffrey and Nelson Agholor have become dangerous again. Combining for 5 scores in these last four games as opposed to 5 in the first twelve, they’ve also been employed more as deep targets. Golden Tate however, still seems to be figuring things out, and the playoffs is no place for that. Last quarter I suggested that Agholor be switched out of the Slot for Jordan Matthews. I still think this is the way to go, but Agholor needs to move outside, while Tate is moved to the bench.

Jeffery rises above.jpg

OT: (C ) In the last couple weeks, LT Jason Peters has been showing flashes of why he is still considered one of the best in the game. RT Lane Johnson allowed a shot on QB Nick Foles last week that forced Foles from the game. As a lineman, you just can’t allow shots like that.

OG: (B) We are 5 – 2 When Stefen Wisniewski starts at LG. That includes 3 – 0 since he regained the spot. Under Isaac Seumalo we were 4 – 5. RG Brandon Brooks has been as quiet, consistent and solid as your banister.

C: (C ) Jason Kelce continues to have issues with shotgun snaps, repeatedly hitting QB Nick Foles in the crotch area or lower.

DE: (B) Brandon Graham, Michael Bennett and Chris Long have to be the best three man DE trio in the NFL. They’ve been excellent against the run, and have supplied very consistent pressure vs the pass. My big knock on this position, is that no one player seems to be able to get two games in a row with a sack. It would be nice to have a threat like that.

DT: (B) Over the last four games Fletcher Cox has 5.5 sacks, a forced fumble and has generally been a problem for anyone lining up across from him. Haloti Ngata is finally able to give us the boost he was brought her to give us. In the absence of Tim Jernigan, Ngata was asked to play more snaps per game, than anyone had anticipated. It ran him down and he suffered a leg injury. With Jernigan being back now, and Ngata now healthy, he can focus on giving us a few dominating snaps per game. Treyvon Hester seems to be finding a niche in that rotation.

OLB: (C ) We simply don’t get enough impact plays from this position. Kamu Grugier-Hill did notch a forced fumble and his first career sack, and Nigel Bradham broke up two passes, but that’s all the splash plays that we’ve gotten from them in this quarter.

backups.jpg

MLB: (C ) Nate Gerry filled in for Jordan Hicks for the first two games of this quarter. Gerry didn’t start, but played quite a bit as the de facto MIKE. Neither player has been a standout, but they’ve been doing their part to make the system work.

S: (B) Malcolm Jenkins and Corey Graham haven’t really produced many impact plays this quarter, but they’ve been better at communicating with the Corners, which has allowed that position to pick up it’s play recently.

jenkins and maddox.jpeg

CB: (B) From an “F” last quarter to a “B” in this one, despite the fact that so far Sidney Jones is still a disappointment. Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox have been playing out of their minds. Between them in four games they have 3 picks, 5 passes defensed and half a sack. Douglas has not only played well in coverage, he’s been a beast in run support and at blowing up screens. Former Bear Cre’Van LeBlanc has also contributed a couple big stops in the last few weeks.

LS: (B) Reliable

P: (C ) There may be some leg fatigue setting in for Cam Johnston. Of his 14 punts, 7 were returned for a 5.7 yard average, but over the last two games his net yards per punt is down to about 34 yards.

K: (C ) Jake Elliott has stumbled a bit recently. He’s 7 of 8 on field goal attempts, and 10 of 12 on extra point kicks. What’s more, 12 of his 24 kickoffs have been returned this quarter, as opposed to 3 of 17 last quarter.

PR/KR: (C ) RB Darren Sproles has averaged 9.0 yards per punt return over this quarter. The only issue is, he’s only returned one punt in each game. Recent signee RB Boston Scott is a fringe player playing like he knows that he’s a fringe player. On his 4 kick returns, it’s been clear that he’s thinking home-run, every time.

KC: (A) Last quarter we gave up 5.7 yards per punt return, and 19.5 per kickoff return. At no point did we allow a Special Teams score.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

The playoffs came early for the Eagles. It has been win or pack in the season, since Week 15. Despite losing QB Carson Wentz for a second year in a row, just weeks before the playoffs, the team did what they needed to, in order to claim their spot in the post-season. All the while putting the NFL on notice, that we are BACK, and NO ONE is safe.

Sean-McVay-Shocked-Face-Rams-Memes.jpg

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

The regular season is over. We are now in the post-season. There is one more quarter-season to go. Four more games to reach the highest pinnacle in all of sports:

That of NFL Champion.

Though it will not be easy, there is a very simple mission that lies ahead for this team:

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

defense

GO GET ‘EM CHAMPS!

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 17: REDSKINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/31
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Roster, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

wc01 - NFL PLAYOFFS.jpg

IT was a must-win game and we won it. We needed help to punch our ticket to the tournament, but that help would have been meaningless, if we didn’t do our part, and take care of business.

To that end: We came. We saw. We conquered.

Put into modern parlance: Our fans and team rolled up to the stadium. We told them that they have a “nice place”,

Nice place chappelle rick james.gif

Then we proceeded to ruin that shit.

chappelle rick james couch.gif

EAGLES 24 – Redskins 0    (Motherfucking ZEE-RO!)

We pitched a shutout! Yes, yes, yes. The media narrative is all about the Quarterbacks, but the story, the REAL story here, is our Defense holding the Redskins to 89 total yards, 68 passing yards, 0 for 9 on 3rd down, and 16 minutes 41 seconds in time of possession. The only thing we didn’t do was put a leash on their players and make them beg for treats.

CB Rasul Douglas (4 – 0 – 1 – 0) came out and snagged a pick on the first play from scrimmage. At that point you KNEW what time it was. DT Fletcher Cox (3 – 3.0 – 0 – 1) grabbed 3 sacks, en route to his first 10 sack (10.5 actually), season of his career. DE Micheal Bennett (3 – 1.0 – 0 – 0) continued to make the case for being re-signed, by delivering his 9th sack of the season.

Eagle DLine.png

QB Nick Foles (28/33 – 84.8% – 221 – 2 – 1) put on a clinic on how to dissect a defense, before leaving the game with “bruised ribs”. There were 30 handoffs and two QB sneaks, to bring our rushes total to 32, vs a pass total (34 attempts, 3 sacks) of 37. That’s 54% pass to 46% run, on our play-calling.

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

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

1) Run the ball: Our play selection was 32 runs to 37 passes. That’s not only meets the 25 handoff threshold, but it provides possibly the best balanced attack we’ve used all season long. DONE.

2) Make him run: Our front four did a great job of forcing their QB to move around and not allowing him to set his feet. Pressure right up the gut, forced their QB out of the pocket and into erratic throws. That was the idea here. DONE. 

3) Work the edge: We did a lot of work on the perimeter this game, but not the way I suggested here. The job the Eagles did was actually much better, since it incorporated many players, instead of focusing on just one. NOT DONE.

4) Tackle, tackle, tackle: RB Adrian Peterson (4 – 0 – 0.0 – 0 – 0) was bottled up all day. The game was placed in the QB’s hands, and the ‘skins collapsed. DONE.

This week’s Four Things sees a score of 3 of 4, bringing the total for the regular season to 29 of 64. While the regular season is over, we have a playoff game next week, vs the Chicago Bears, who ironically helped us get in.

On The Whole:
This game was domination from start to finish. It was almost cruel. I loved it. Seriously, CB/FS Rasul Douglas and CB/FS Avonte Maddox (3 – 0 – 0 – 0) have been catching my eye for weeks now. I honestly can say, they have me not missing Jalen Mills in the least.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK16 : TEXANS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/24
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ANY team (or fan base) that says they aren’t scared of the Eagles right now, is lying. Right now the Eagles are playing scrappy, ballsy, no holds barred, football. We’re playing with the swagger of a radioactive man, walking among his enemies, with nothing to lose. At this point in the year, when teams see the Eagles on their schedule, they swallow hard and just hope that we make it quick.

player-nickfoles.philly.jpg

EAGLES 32 – Texans 30

QB Nick Foles (35/49 – 71.4% – 471 – 4 – 1) set the team record for having the most 400 yard passing games of any QB in an Eagles jersey. TE Zach Ertz (12 – 110 – 9.1 – 2) set the ALL-TIME RECORD for passes caught by a TE in a season. On the way to those records, we took a minute to hand Houston a shiny new “L” for their Christmas tree.

The stats do no justice to the day that was had by RB Darren Sproles (9 – 32 – 3.5 – 0 – 0/ 3 – 76 – 25.3 – 1). Since returning from injury four weeks ago, Sproles has been playing like a man possessed. On just 35 touches, he has 3 scores, often fighting off multiple defenders, while he refuses to stop until he hits paydirt.

DE Chris Long (2 – 2.0 – 0 – 0) brought his sack total up to 6.5, which is his best year since 2013, when he had 8.5. The difference is, in 2013 he had 16 starts. This year he has zero. DT Treyvon Hester  (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)  25 games into his career, finally broke his NFL cherry and git himself a sack. CB/FS Rasul Douglas (8 – 0 – 0 – 0) despite being beaten by an amazing throw for a score, played a hell of a game, yet again. The pairing of he and CB Avonte Maddox (2 – 0.5 – 0 – 0) is giving the Eagles a real presence both against the run and the pass.

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

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

1) Run the ball: I said we needed 25 handoffs and we got 21. The run/pass play selection was 21 to 51. We can’t live that way. We got away with it this week though. NOT DONE

2) Take away the catalyst: The Eagles spent a lot of time in Cover Two, and kept the catalyst out of the endzone. We allowed completions, then we closed, made the tackle and didn’t let him become a problem. DONE

3) DE’s set the edges: The Defense was AMAZING at this! The Texans run game was served right up to our tacklers, who wrapped up and finished the down. DONE

4) Screen Time!: We didn’t do much in the way of Screens. NOT DONE

This brings this week’s Four Things score to 2 of 4 and the seasons total to 26 out of 58. Next week we get a shot at sweeping the Redskins in a game we need (along with outside help) to make the playoffs.

On The Whole:

Nick Foles picked up another cool quarter million, plus a record, plus a win, plus more validation for the shrine to him, created by Chris Long. On February 6th I said:  “If Foles wants to stay, we need to find a way to let him. If he doesn’t, we need to find a way to convince him.”

This game was a great win to watch, but there may be a very serious decision to be made at the QB spot for this team. This game ruined any chance of there being a cut and dried decision on it.

Have fun celebrating, but recognize that there is a headache and some extreme discomfort coming up. And the further we go, the worse it will get.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK15 : RAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2018/12/17
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

UNDERDOGS. This is what being an underdog looks like. This is what being an underdog feels like. Winning in spite of conventional wisdom and expectation. Clawing and fighting your way out of a hole.

Three straight wins, and we’ll have done all we can to get ourselves back to the postseason. We’re gonna need some help, but this was one hell of a start on our part. We showed the world that the Rams are mortal.

Sean-McVay-Shocked-Face-Rams-Memes.jpg

These are the faces of men who were just mushroom stamped.

EAGLES 30 – Rams 23

Last night WR Alshon Jeffery ( 8 – 160 – 20.0 – 0) caught every pass that QB Nick Foles (24/34 – 77.4% – 270 – 0 – 1) threw in his direction.

Jeffery rises above.jpg

Impressively, Foles wasn’t sacked once in the entire game. Most impressive however, was how Head Coach Doug Pederson stuck with the run game, despite it not yielding a bunch of huge plays.

Looking at the one sack we got all night (from DT Fletcher Cox (2 – 1.0 – 0 – 0)), doesn’t tell the story of the kind of pressure the Rams QB was under all night long. A better indication might be the 2 interceptions he threw us.

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

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

Nick Foles like a BOSS.jpg

1) Roof It: Throw that monkey DEEP! Did we? Did you see that Alshon Jeffrey stat line? We used play-action the way God intended, and it helped us get that coveted “W”. It also helped us put the world on notice, that the Eagles ain’t laying down for nobody. DONE.

2) 25 Handoffs: Play-action is meaningless without actually running the ball. So we had 28 handoffs, and 2 QB runs. The result was clean and healthy Nick Foles at the end of the game. DONE.

3) Tween Scheme: Due to the Nickel package being used as much as it was, LB Nate Gerry (2 – 0 – 0 – 0) wasn’t on the field as much as anticipated. That said, the Eagles did shutdown the Rams run game, and despite 55 pass attempts, kept the passing offense from scoring. NOT DONE.

4) Something Special: Our Special Teams didn’t try anything tricky or gimmicky. We didn’t need it. NOT DONE.

So, this weeks Four Things score is a solid 2 out of 4. This is fine given that we’d didn’t need one, and only technically didn’t do the other. That brings the season tally to 24 of 56. Next week we host the 10 – 4 Houston Texans, who are currently leading the AFC South.

On The Whole:

Any game that leaves a division leader asking:

jizz

is a great game. I’m thrilled with the outcome of the game. Still, there were a couple of things that bugged me about it.

First, we need a more physical RB. Our current RB’s tackle way too easily. We left entirely too many extra yards on that field last night. Second, reserve FS Corey Graham (1 – 0 – 1 – 0) makes too many business decisions in run support. I’m thankful for the 2 turnovers he’s collected recently, but this diving at ankles without bringing his arms, has got to stop.