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THE RIVALS 2022 (PT 1 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/10/20
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Fans, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Rants, report, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Never a mystery. I come at you in straight lines.

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about my Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise, I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview, which drops each April. (Look for it!)

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans actually are the NFL’s best informed, and most knowledgeable fans. (Provided that you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 6, 12, and 17.

*****

This is where things are today:

Washington Commanders: 2 – 4, 4th place

The Commanders score 17 points per game and give up 22. That’s the whole story with this team. That’s it. Per game, they are one stop and one score away from being a winning team. However, their big problem, is poor team culture.

The initial tone for team culture, is always set by the head coach. In this case it’s one of easy answers and finger-pointing. Where you have finger-pointing, you will also find low accountability, and a lack of unity. This was demonstrated by head Ron Rivera, when he was asked about why his team was behind other teams in the division, and he responded with “Quarterback.”

He could have said “Injuries.” His team’s best RB, Brian Robinson was shot prior to this season, but he fought to come back; and has just made his first start in one of this team’s two wins. Their best defensive player, DE Chase Young has been out since last season. They’re missing two-fifths of their offensive line.

Yet Rivera went with “Quarterback.”, seemingly dumping the whole mess on QB Carson Wentz. This is despite the fact that Wentz was traded for, because the team was already a mess, and they were hoping he could help clean it up.

With this noise going on, you’d never know that even without Chase Young, this team has five players with at least three sacks. You’d never know that this team is 57% in the red zone. You’d never know that Carson Wentz leads the division with 10 touchdown passes, despite being sacked 23 times already.

QB Taylor Heinicke won’t have anyone to pitch woo to him in 2022

Oh! Speaking of sacks, Wentz has a broken finger on his throwing hand, and QB Taylor Heinicke will be the starter for at least the next three weeks. Also, there is no firm date for Young’s return, and the NFL is preparing to remove the owner, from the team with the stadium that literally shits on it’s fans.


President of the Cooper Rush fan club.

Dallas Cowboys: 4 – 2, 3rd place

While losing to Tampa Bay, in the season opener, QB Dak Prescott broke his thumb. A disaster for some teams, but not for the Cowboys. Stepping in for Prescott, was the man, the myth, the legend, the inevitable Hall of Famer, QB Cooper Rush. Like a velvet Mona Lisa hanging in an Applebee’s restroom, he was truly magnificent!

Rush scorched NFL scoreboards from New York to Los Angeles (both were road games!), with four touchdowns in only four weeks, whilst leading the Cowboys to four straight victories. Ever the perfect professional pocket passer, he ran only when he needed to, racking up 9 yards on 9 carries. You could not stop him, you could only hope to contain him!

Coming along for that four game ride, was the Cowboys 3rd ranked defense, which allowed 13.5 points per game, over that stretch. It was nice to see them making their small contribution to Cooper’s cause. OLB Micah Parsons racked up 6 sacks, and was being compared to Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. It was four weeks of utter bliss!

Then there were some troubles in Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, in Rush’s last start, the clock failed his comeback effort, by not providing him with enough time. Also, there may or may not have been, three interceptions thrown by Rush. But this isn’t about assigning blame. Besides, it was Parsons fault for letting down Cooper and therefore the whole team. He isn’t nearly as good at getting sacks, when he’s made to cover receivers. There is simply no accountability with him.

So the Cowboys fell from 4 – 1 to 4 – 2. Sadly enough, Dak Prescott gets the start this week vs. Detroit. Even if the Cowboys win, it won’t be the same. There won’t be that Rush that fans get when Coopity-Coop is out there.


New York giants: 5 – 1, 2nd place

Even though the prior two teams are absolute circuses, the giants are the team that makes me laugh the hardest. The funniest part is that nobody else seems to see it yet. Not the team, the media, most fans… It’s an absolute riot! After this article you will totally have a different take on their season. I guarantee it. (In my head, I can hear Bill Burr reading this article, and it’s fuckin’ awesome.)

When a team falls short in the playoffs, they go out and get more offensive or defensive firepower. They add a WR, or a TE. Maybe beef up the o-line. They add a pass rusher or strengthen their secondary. Maybe replace a shaky Kicker. The part that double-digit win teams don’t monkey with, is the QB.

A team’s entire offense runs through the QB. Everything from his pre-snap read, his cadence, his way of processing checks, the way he wants the ball snapped, the way he reads a defense, who he relies on in certain situations. And then there’s the idea that the new QB has to learn an entire play-book, and new players, while playing what would be a tougher schedule.

So winning teams don’t mess with their QB situation.

Hey, did I mention that the giants opted to not pick up the fifth year on QB Daniel Jones’s rookie deal? I didn’t? Well, the giants opted to not pick up the fifth year on QB Daniel Jones’s rookie deal. That makes him a free agent after this year. So now if they want him to come back in 2023, they have to pay the guy more than they would have, if they’d just picked up his 22M$ option.

Sometimes winning is worse…

So the giants are on the verge of either giving Daniel Jones a multi-year contract, for more than 27M$. Or, if they don’t, they have to start all over, and hope that the next guy isn’t worse. What do I mean by worse? Do you see what’s happening with QB Russell Wilson in Denver? Or they could draft the next Ryan Leaf while hoping for a Peyton Manning.

If you’re a fan of the giants, your team is either teasing you with ONE good season, or damning you to four more years of Jones. He’s either your starter next year, or he isn’t. There isn’t a third option! Oh yeah, right now RB Saquon Barkley leads the entire NFL with 771 yards from scrimmage. (Had I led with that, giants fans would have been on the ceiling. Mentioned now, it hardly matters to them. Which goes to show, you can troll a fan base with good news.)

Now if you’re a giants fan, every win will seem like a month added to a prison sentence. If you’re a rival fan, every win makes you giggle a little. Even if they beat your team, there’s sort of a silver lining there, because you know you’ll get ‘em next time. A ten win season is the worst possible scenario for their front office. Imagine having to justify dismantling a ten win team, to 8.8 million people. That’s what they’re facing if they keep winning!

Oh yeah, and their defense is playing extremely well. Ranked 7th in the league! (To giants fans, that just felt like a stab wound.)

*****

So that’s the state of our division rivals as our Eagles head into the Week 7 Bye. See ya in six weeks everybody!

2022 Washington Commanders

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/04/13
Posted in: breakdown, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Raw sewage anyone?

LAST year the Washington (insert name here), went 7 – 10 and finished third in the NFC East. The only thing more disgusting than the sewage that the stadium spewed on it’s fans, was the football that the team played on the field. Turns out that owner Dan Snyder was apparently not only cheating the fans, but the NFL shared revenue pool as well. Surely the Redsk- sorry, the newly named Commanders, have a lot to shake off.

In any case, this is what their roster looks like just 14 days before the Draft:

QB: The same Colts front office that thought they could do better than Peyton Manning (HOF), and then ran Andrew Luck out of football, has traded Carson Wentz (9 – 8, 62.4%, 27/7) to this team, after just one year with their team. Pundits are siding with the Colts (for now), but we’ll see how long that holds up.

Many question Wentz’s decision making (aka playing “hero ball”) at times, but no one questions his talent. Posting the numbers that he did last year, given his weapons in Indy, (see above link) speaks to that. Oh, remember Wentz’s “injury prone” label? He hasn’t missed a game due to injury in 3 years now. For those keeping score, that’s 85 games played, with 8 missed to injury. Now he gets a shot to shake his “broken QB” label. Stay tuned.

Taylor Heinicke (7 – 9, 64.9%, 20/15) is an average athlete, with above average moxie. Despite having an average arm, he’s more of a gunslinger than a game manager. Translation: He’ll gamble with the football. That, more than any other reason, is why Washington felt the need to trade for Wentz. Still, there’s a ton of fight at this position. Both players have a “never say die” attitude, which could become contagious. That’s impossible to overlook. (+)

RB: Antonio Gibson (1037/4.0/7) led all NFC East RB’s in rushing yards. Unlike is rookie year, he didn’t miss a single game, and even saw incremental improvement as a receiver. He also led all NFC East RB’s in fumbles (6).

His hands and explosiveness are nowhere close to what you’d expect from a guy who played WR in college. In 16 games, he’s produced no runs longer than 27 yards. His game also seems to lack much physicality. Which might be why he continues to struggle with pass protection, and ball security.

Jaret Patterson (266/3.9/5) and J.D. MiKissic (212/4.4/2) give Washington two more backs who can catch. However, physicality, explosiveness, and creativity as runners, seem to be lacking thoughout this position. (-)

WR: Terry McLaurin (77/1053/13.7/5) is alone out there. Even with all the attention that he attracts from defenses, the next most productive players at this position, were Adam Humphries (41/383/9.3/0) gone. DeAndre Carter (24/296/12.3/3) gone. And then Cam Sims (15/211/14.1/2). You are looking at this team’s 2021 TOP four players at this position. (This is very similar to what Wentz just had in Indy.)

The Curtis Samuel (6/27/4.5/0) experiment from last season, was derailed by a groin injury. Washington has to hope that Samuel will bounce back, and 2022’s 3rd round pick Dyami Brown (12/165/13.8/0), can become a difference maker in 2022. Oh they also brought back Kelvin Harmon who spent 2019 with them, then was out of football until now. Ugh. (-)

TE: Logan Thomas (18/196/10.9/3) and John Bates (20/249/12.5/1) aren’t glamorous, but they’re stable building blocks. Thomas had his 2021 shortened by an ACL tear, but is expected back by the start of training camp. He’s not a scary receiver, but he’s reliable. He’s also a vicious blocker.

Bates saw a lot of action later in his rookie year, partly due to injuries to other players. Still, it’s valuable experience, and it gives Washington a solid knowledge base to improve the position from. Sammis Reyes is the team’s two year, lackluster experiment at TE. (+)

OT: In 2021 Washington added free agent LT Charles Leno, and he started all 17 games. On the one hand, their 2021 offensive production improved both in the run game (1,611 yards, 4.0ypc to 2,061, 4.3) and in pass protection (50 sacks to 43), from the prior season. On the other hand, letting stuff like this keep happening

shows that LT may still need some work.

Rookie Samuel Cosmi, outright won the RT job, during training camp. He however, was in and out of the line-up, due to hip and ankle injuries. Rookie Saahdiq Charles filled in during Week 8, and is all of their depth here. (-)

G: RG Brandon Scherff escaped via free agency. LG Ereck Flowers had the best year of his career, and he was still released. Jacksonville’s Andrew Norwell will fill his place, which is a laugh riot. Washington has fucked up here.

Wes Schweitzer filled in for Brandon Scherff during Weeks 3, 4, and 5. Saahdiq Charles got two starts in Scherff’s place during weeks 15 and 16. There are also a handful of young guys, but no one that the team is pushing to play. (-)

C: With Chase Roullier in the line-up, Washington averaged 230.5 passing yards per game. When he went down for the season, they averaged 177.4 passing yards per game, never once throwing for 230 during his absence.

Once Roullier was lost for the season, Tyler Larsen took over for a couple of games before being injured for two weeks during Week 11. At this point Wes Schweitzer took over. Aaand was hurt and put on I.R. in Week 12. Keith Ismael took over in Week 13. Then BEHOLD! Larsen is back to start Week 14, before being injured during that game, and lost for the year. Ismael would go on to finish the last four games as a starter. At least there’s depth. (+)

In a Nutshell: There is a ‘no quit’ vibe coming from the entire QB position. Washington had that last year, but they seriously upgraded their talent there. The interior of their line has been utterly decimated, and the edges aren’t very good. Making matters worse, most of their weapons don’t scare anyone. (-)

Montez Sweat and Chase Young

DE: Chase Young played just nine games before going on I.R. with a torn ACL. Up to that point however, he really wasn’t all that effective. With just 1.5 sacks, and 4 QB hits, he was on pace to achieve half of his rookie numbers. Worse still, with him in the line-up, Washington allowed 29 or more points, five times. With him on I.R. that only happened just once. Washington went 3 – 6 with him, 4 – 4 without him. Montez Sweat started off on a tear, but he ended up missing seven games, during which the team went 5 – 2. With him in the line up they were 2 – 8.

Behind Young and Sweat, Washington has Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams. Laugh if you want, but when they both started in 2021, Washington was 4 – 0 and never allowed more than 21 points in a game. Might have something to do with Toohill and Smith-Williams playing the End position fully, and not just “pass rusher”.

In any case, Young and Sweat will be the starters for 2022. So the pass rushers will replace the Ends, and this defense will be less than it should be, leaving their fans scratching their heads over why it’s happening. Again. (-)

DT: While Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne “only” accumulated 13.5 sacks as interior linemen, they are responsible for 45 QB hits in 2021. Forty-five. As interior linemen! This is a two man wrecking crew. Provided they don’t wreck each other first.

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

That said, with the losses of Tim Settle and Matt Iaonnidis, Washington has gone from having top shelf starters and rock solid depth, to great starters and no depth. Seriously, the jersey numbers for the other two players are 64R and 68R. Camp bodies. The starters are All-Pro, but with no depth, they’ll wear down early in the year. (-)

OLB: Cole Holcomb played 1,021 snaps and had 142 tackles, with 2 picks last year. He’s not spectacular, but he’s a very solid player, who never comes off the field. Due to playing Landon Collins in a hybrid role, no other player saw much many snaps at this position. With Collins now gone, there is zero depth here. They are one Holcomb injury away from a complete disaster. (-)

ILB: Due to injury in 2021, Jamin Davis started 8 games, eventually fell out of favor and ended up behind David Mayo, who contributed 28 tackles. This position is doesn’t have players, it has staff members. (-)

S: Landon Collins was released because he wouldn’t take a pay cut, so that the team could afford Carson Wentz. In 2021, Kamren Curl saw 14 starts at SS, and allowed 59% of passes thrown his way to be completed, vs 73% in his rookie year.

The FS spot was manned by free agent addition Bobby McCain. McCain picked off 4 passes, defensing 9, and notched 63 tackles. All of which were career-highs. If Washington liked him enough to sign him in 2021, they will likely re-sign him for 2022. The starters (Curl and McCain) are decent and may even get better with time. (+)

CB: Kendall Fuller is the top player at this position, and he was essentially a scratching post for the first half of last season. He surrendered 60 yards or more in four of the first eight games, and allowed over 100 yards, in two of them. Things got better down the stretch, as he only allowed 60+ yards in two of the last nine.

On the other side, William Jackson gave up a touchdown pass in five straight games. He only played in 12 games. In reserve, Washington has a guy named Corn Elder, which is an absolutely terrifying name. It sounds like rape in an outhouse. (-)

In A Nutshell: Last year (during the preseason), everyone expected the defense to carry this team to the top of the NFC East. What happened instead, was that it completely collapsed. Like this.

The line has talent, but everywhere else is just loaded with depth issues, or starters who shouldn’t be. This however, is what Washington has to work with. At least for now. (-)

K: This should be Joey Slye’s job. He went 12/12 on field goals with a long of 55, and was 9/10 on extra points. Brian Johnson is also on the roster, but c’mon. Even Washington can’t cock this up. (+)

P: Tress Way averaged 48.5 yards, with no blocks in 60 boots, surrendering 9.0 yards per punt return. Not stellar, but far from bad. (+)

In A Nutshell: It’s not glamorous, but it should do. Slye gives them what looks like accuracy and range. The only question is can he do it over a longer sample period. (+)

BOTTOM LINE:

As things stand right now, this offense is in trouble. As their QB gets to know his team, six times a year they get to go against teams that already know him. Two of those times, he goes against the team that built him. So there’s rough sledding ahead.

Defensively the coaching staff is basically the same, and we’ve already seen every trick that Washington knows. We saw it in 2020 to the tune of a 7 – 9 record. We saw it again it in 2021, to the tune of 7 – 10. In 2022, expect opposing receivers to be 7 – 11, and Washington to be 8 – 9.

One more for the road.

2022 NEW YORK giants

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/04/12
Posted in: breakdown, Defense, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
I run this as the giants featured image EVERY year. Should I switch it up next year, or is it tradition for us now?

LAST year the giants finished an ugly 4 – 13, and dead last in the NFC East. As a result, EVERYBODY was fired. The General Manager, the Head Coach, Gus the shoe shine guy… Everybody. The giants owner needed to find the right men to lead his organization. So he journeyed from New York, alllll the way to Buffalo and signed, it doesn’t matter. If the players are trash, the team won’t win. But are they still trash, or has there been improvement?

In any case, this is where the giants roster stands just 16 days before the 2022 NFL Draft:

QB: Let’s start with Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones (4 – 7, 64.3%, 10/7). First the good news. Last season he threw just 7 interceptions, and his interceptions have gone from 11, to 10, to just 7 during his three year career. His fumbles have also gone down. From 19, to 10, to 7. He was third on the team in rushing yards (298), and tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns (2).

Now the bad news. His passing touchdowns have gone from 24, to 12, to 10. The team was 4 – 7 with him as the starter, marking a third straight year of being nowhere near .500 with him. He’s 12 – 25 as a starter. You know. On account of him being trash.

So the giants had to bring in somebody. Enter Tyrod Taylor (2 – 4, 60.7%, 5/5). Great move! Right away he’s the giants best player at this position. Yet he’s going to be their back-up, because starting him Week One, would be too much like making sense. If this team had a starter, they’d have excellent depth. (-)

RB: Coming back from his ACL injury, Saquon Barkley (593/3.7/2) led the team in rushing. Well he tired for the lead. Sorry, did I say tired instead of tied? I must have been thinking about the way Barkley looked in that game. Which game? Pick one. While I wouldn’t say that he’s washed up, he clearly doesn’t care about being a giant anymore.

Devontae Booker (593/4.1/2) had just as many rushing yards, and they released him. Which is hilarious. Both Booker and Barkley ran for 593 and 2 scores, but only only one them kept a job. They did add Matt Breida (125/4.8/1), who has demonstrated explosive speed in the past, but not really in the last two years. Their next most experienced player here is Gary Brightwell. He has 1 rush for 4 yards, and 8 career tackles. (-)

WR: Kenny Golladay (37/521/14.1/0) escaped Detroit, only to sign with a worse team.

He started 14 games, had a team-high 521 yards, and for the first time in his career, scored 0 touchdowns. Rookie Kadarius Toney (39/420/10.8/0) also scored zee-ro touchdowns. He also was in and out of the line-up, being inactive or just not playing for seven games.

Sterling Shepard (36/366/10.2/1) played just 7 games, intermittently throughout last season. He also took a pay cut in March to stay with the giants. Darius Slayton (26/339/13.0/2) spent two years looking like a solid #2, then absolutely cratered in 2021. Part of it can be attributed to the giants new look at the position, but part of it was Slayton just not converting opportunities (44.8% catch rate).

Robert Foster had a great 2018 season. Since then he’s been on five practice squads, including Washington (cut), and Dallas (cut). Now he’s in New York, and Philadelphia is waiting for it’s turn to cut him. Is there talent here? Yes. Is there enough talent to offset the deeper issues with this offense? No. Not remotely. (-)

TE: Ricky Seals-Jones totaled 90 catches, 1044 yards, and 10 scores. That wasn’t his 2021 season. That was his entire six year career. He’s on his fifth team in five years. He has all of fifteen career starts, and he’s a guy that the giants prioritized early in free agency? Either their front office is high, or I am. They have back-ups, but I’m not even wasting the keystrokes. (-)

OT: Andrew Thomas has been up and down during his two years in the league, but he’s more recently been up. Unfortunately, for a second consecutive year he’s needed surgery on his left ankle. Matt Peart is returning from an ACL tear that put him on I.R. He will be the starting RT, despite having never been a regular starter before.

Depth looks like well-traveled, career bench-warmer Korey Cunningham, as well as Matt Gono who warmed a bench for two years, then was out of football since 2020. This is the depth here and that’s it. No, I’m serious. This is all there is. This is everything they have here. (-)

Mark Glowinski really maxing out that center pole.

G: New addition Mark Glowinski helped pave the way for the Colts run game for the last three years. Indy’s loss is the giants… gain? Shane Lemieux was the 2021 starter at LG, but he was lost for the year in Week One. He’ll likely reprise that role. Jamil Douglas and Ben Bredeson will keep the bench nice and toasty. (-)

C: Nick Gates was lost for year in Week Two. Gates himself said earlier this year, that he has no idea when he’ll be back. That, is likely why free agent John Feliciano was added. Though he’s been a G for seven seasons, there is talk of him moving to the pivot for New Yawk. It’s a plan that already reeks of desperation, and we haven’t even hit OTA’s yet. (-)

In A Nutshell: The new GM entered the building hitting walls with a sledghammer. Folks, this is what a rebuild looks like! Better yet, this is what a total teardown looks like. All of it. Just ripping it out. Quarterback, receivers, line, the hotdog vendor. Just all of it. So yeah, giants gon’ suck for a while. (-)

Leonard Williams sacks Washington QB Bud Weiser.

DE: Leonard Williams had 11.5 sacks in 2020, but came back down to Earth with 6.5 in 2021. In fairness he also plays the run pretty damned well. Sacks aren’t everything, but for an “Edge” player, it’s almost everything. It’s the reason Oshane Ximines was a third round pick in 2019. He had 4.5 sacks that year and not one since. He’s spent most of the last two years either on I.R. or being inactive.

Trent Harris has played fewer downs for the giants with every passing year. Enter Raymond Johnson, stage left. Maybe he steps into the vacated by free agent Lorenzo Carter. Playing a false 3 – 4 front, with nebulous designations is hurting the giants on the field, and likely keeping away defensive line free agents who could help them. (-)

(CORRECTION: The Washington QB is not named Bud Weiser. It’s Taylor Heiniken. Heinicke! Taylor Heinicke. Taylor?? Who names a boy “Taylor”?)

DT: Losing Austin Johnson was seismic. However, adding Justin Ellis was literally massive. Dexter Lawrence has been 3 sacks, 50 tackles, and 10 QB hits per year. Paired with a space eater like Ellis, that interior is going to make like hard on average run games. David Moa rounds out the depth at this position. (+)

OLB: Azeez Ojulari had 13 starts and led the team with 8 sacks, but produced just 49 tackles. Quincy Roche offers a pass rush option, to give Ojulari a breather here and there. Oshane Ximines (Edge) I suppose also fits here.

The problem here is, that the pass rushers are pass rushers only. They also have a handful of tweener players who really don’t excel in space. So they’re less like linebacker depth, and more like extra ends who can’t shed blocks. (-)

ILB: Blake Martinez is the genuine article. That said, he’s coming off of an ACL tear that cost him practically all of last year. Rookie Tae Crowder started every game, and racked up 130 stops, but he doesn’t seem like much of play-maker. Especially given that he played every defensive snap from Week Four until he cleaned out his locker. There is no depth. (-)

S: Xavier McKinney had 5 picks in his first year as a full-time starter. Julian Love is a part-timer here. This is it. The giants roster list only two players at this position and no one with a “DB” designation. That means any help/depth will be either rookie(s) or free agents found after the Draft. This team will probably lead the NFL in big plays surrendered. (-)

Being a giant DB in 2022

CB: James Bradberry gave up almost 300 more passing yards than in 2020. He was also targeted more, indicating that teams have found something on tape that they can exploit. Adoree Jackson recorded just the third interception of his 5 year career last year. To his credit, he only allowed 52% of passes thrown his way to be completed, and surrendered 50+ yards just once in his twelve starts.

While the giants would like Darnay Holmes to be a factor, he’s ended both of his seasons being injured. Which led to Aaron Robinson and Jarren Williams each getting two starts in the absence of Jackson. Both players ended up back on the bench, without being a serious part of a rotation. The starters are shaky, and the depth is a problem. (-)

In A Nutshell: Last year saw pass rushers hampered by the scheme, and a soft secondary victimized because of it. So they hired a new defensive coordinator in Don Martindale, formerly of Baltimore. Great. Problem is, he doesn’t have any tools to build with. Even worse, the new GM seems to be building with the old one’s blueprint. (-)

K: Graham Gano saw his field goal accuracy dip (29/33/87.9%), but this year he didn’t miss any extra points. Of course he only attempted 17 in 17 games. From 50+ he was 7/10, which is nothing to sneeze at. (+)

P: Ladies and gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure! Coming to the Big Apple by way of Cleveland, Ohio. Put your hands together for Jamie “The Scottish Hammer” Gillan! He enters this phase of his career with a 44.9 yard average per boot. That said, his average has dropped for two straight years (46.2, to 44.0, to 43.9). (-)

In A Nutshell: Given the slapdash approach this front office is so far showing the defense, it’s not a wonder that special teams also seems to be getting a shrug. (-)

Meme from 2021

BOTTOM LINE: The giants cleaned house at GM and head coach. They brought in Joe Schoen (from Buffalo) to be the GM, and he turned around and hired Brian Daboll (form Buffalo), who has been failing upward for almost two decades in the NFL.

Then they brought in a few former Buffalo players, but none of the good ones. And who cares?! None of this matters if Danny “March of Dimes” is still going to start eight or more games. Call it 6 – 11, with Tyrod Taylor winning four of those.

PHILLY NEVER QUITS.

Posted by The BEAST on 2022/01/05
Posted in: breakdown, Coaching, Conversations, NFC East, playoffs, Preview, Rants, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

BACK in April, in my NFC East Pre-Draft Preview, I picked the Redskins to win the East, with the Eagles as my dark horse favorite. Given our strong nucleus of veteran leadership, our win in the trenches philosophy, and youth at skill positions, we have a lot of “win now” already built-in. However, a rookie coaching staff, and a second year QB, who himself was basically a rookie, left serious questions about our upward mobility.

Still, I took proper assessment of the pieces, and predicted the Eagles to push for the NFC East crown, and they did exactly that.

We’ve so far won 9 games. None of those were against teams with a winning record. Then again, it’s been half a season since we even FACED a team with a winning record. Hell, we didn’t make the schedule. We just beat who was put on it.

Also, in all fairness, three of the first six teams that our rookie head coach faced, have played in the last two Super Bowls (KC vs SF and KC vs TB). Of those three games, two were decided by just 6 points each. So maybe a little fucking slack would be appropriate here? I dunno. Seeing things in their proper context is sort of a fetish of mine.

My favorite was the NFL website itself. You know the one. The place that sometimes allows their journalists to post a headline, which is linked to a tweet. Yeah. That place. Before the season, this was their prediction for us:

I’m petty, so I screenshot that shit. I couldn’t guarantee us winning the East, but I knew that 5 win prediction was going to age like an Olsen twin, and I wanted to be able to say:

Which I’m doing now.

We destroyed their prediction, and even exceeded their ceiling for us. Right now, you could park a car in the shadow of my smugness.

THE NFC EAST ARMS RACE

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/19
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Fans, Four Things, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Hey giants fans! This TANK, is called the Eagle 7.

LAST year the NFC East was the laughingstock of the NFL. Aggressive moves have been made to ensure that history will not be repeating itself anytime soon. While every team in the division ranks #21 or lower in the NFL power rankings, the rosters in this division are telling a different story.

Alright. So yeah, Washington is Washington. Their power moves were to sign a pair of slot receivers (Curtis Samuels and Adam Humphries), and Dr. Jekyll (Ryan Fitzpatrick) to play QB. Adding G Ereck Flowers was a sneaky good move, but hardly a transcendent one. Adding an OT and then subtracting another, was definitely not a step forward. While Washington is the early favorite to win the East, they seem to be back in self-sabotage mode.

As for the other three teams:

Dallas fans made it clear to the owner, that they were done quietly waiting for their team’s defense to improve.

In response, the Cowboys cleaned house in terms of both coaches and players. They then leaned heavy on defense in the Draft. While they may not have added free agents who are household names, they’ve sent a message from the top-down, that they are serious about getting results.

The giants took a risk adding CB Adoree Jackson, but if he can stay healthy, they have probably the best CB duo in the division. Signing Kelvin Benjamin to play TE, was a magnificent piece of outside the box thinking. Benjamin had trouble getting reliable separation from DB’s. However, if he can (very likely) gain separation on LB’s, then a Safety will have to be cheated away from a WR to help cover him. Benjamin may all at once, make the giants more explosive and help them challenge for the best TE duo in the division.

The Eagles made no fewer than FOUR non-Draft related moves. All of which look low-key at a glance. However, upon further inspection… For new DC Jonathan Gannon, signing former Vikings OLB Eric Wilson and S Anthony Harris, gives him two guys who can help quickly install his system, because they’ve played together while under Gannon. Slick move. Signing RB Kerryon Johnson was a stroke of pure genius, which I discussed in my last article (The Eagles RB’s). Then of course, there’s the addition of OLB Ryan Kerrigan.

One of my brothers speculated that Kerrigan could be Chris Long 2.0 for the Eagles. Maybe, but I doubt it. I think his real value, will be in getting young players to realize, they will have to out-produce Kerrigan, to take his spot in the rotation. He either forces them to step up, or it tells the Eagles that next year’s Draft, will be heavily spent re-arming the Defensive Line.

Getting QB Jalen Hurts a WR (Devonta Smith) that he already has chemistry with, was also a boss level move.

Nobody in the NFC East was okay with how 2020 ended. Well… I guess Washington seems to be. Honestly, watching their fans practically give each other handjobs over a 7 – 9 season, just to be bounced in the first round of the playoffs… Their “bragging” has been really hard to watch.

As for the rest of the division, none of us is looking for a repeat of 2020. The NFL had better not get caught sleeping.

THE RIVALS 2020 (PT 3 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/30
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Draft, NFC East, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about my Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise, I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview, which drops each April. (Look for it).

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans actually are the NFL’s best informed, and most knowledgeable fans. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 3, 9, and 15. (So it’s a week late!)

This is where we left off.  

This is where things are today:

New York: 5 – 10, 3rd place

Over the last three week the giants have fallen into the abyss. Yet, with a Washington loss and a Dallas loss, the giants could vault BOTH teams and take the NFC East!

Dallas: 6 – 9, 2nd place

Following the re-emergence of their back-up QB, Dallas is on a three game win streak and poised (with a Week 17 Redskins loss) to win the NFC East. Provided that they beat the giants next.

Washington: 6 – 9, 1st place

Washington was on a four game tear, winning 4 of the 5 games started by QB Alex Smith. His missing the last two weeks with a leg injury, put them on a two week losing streak. They conclude the season next week, with a Dollar Store QB vs Philadelphia. They’ ll win the NFC East with a victory. The question is: Are the Eagles okay with letting them do that?

Get this. Next week, any team in the division EXCEPT us, could run off with the division. And while the Eagles don’t get to win the division, we basically get to decide it!

Do we want to tank to improve our 2021 Draft position?

OR

Do we want to prevent a division rival from celebrating in our house?

This shit is absolutely HILARIOUS! Dear 2020, while dancing the ‘Batusi’ naked in front of my open refrigerator, I full-on, fucking salute you! When asked “What does 2020 do for an encore?” Setting this up, has to be the answer.

My hope as an Eagles fan, is that we take the “L”, improve our draft position, and hand deliver a team without a QB, directly into the thick of the 2020 playoffs. This is the ultimate “Fuck You”. Sort of our version of Major Kong riding that bomb at the end of ‘Dr. Strangelove.’

Seriously, if we’re going to miss the playoffs, Eagles fans, THIS is the way to do it.

THE RIVALS 2020 (PT 2 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/12/02
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFC East, NFL, Offense, playoffs, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about my Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise, I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview, which drops each April. (Look for it).

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans actually are the NFL’s best informed, and most knowledgeable fans. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during this season: After Weeks 6, 11, and 15.

This is where we left off.

This is where things are today:

Dallas: 3 – 8, 4th place in the NFC East

When last we left off, Dallas was 2 – 4, and leading the division. Wow right?

You know, just twelve weeks ago, this team was talked about as being a Super Bowl contender. They were simply gonna walk away with the NFC East. Just walk away with it! Today the talk is about whether or not they’re ditching injured QB Dak Prescott, to select a QB in the top five.

So that’s how that’s going.

Replacing Prescott is QB Andy Dalton. And then QB Ben “Bring It On!” DiNucci. And then QB Garrett Gilbert. And then Uncle Rico. And then QB Andy Dalton. And then…

They are a team ravaged by injuries. Aw.

Being beat to shit by injuries, just means playing in the 2020 NFL. Nobody cares. Work harder.

On defense, they aren’t playing any. No, that’s not fair. At the time of our last installment, they weren’t. Since then they’ve stopped allowing 36 points per game and now have it down to 32.6 per game. IMPROVEMENT! Did I mention the 23 – 9 loss where they got FOUR turnovers? I didn’t? Well they suffered a 9 – 23 loss where they got FOUR turnovers. And were still nearly blown out!

 

Washington: 4 – 7, 2nd place in the NFC East

QB Kyle Allen was lost for the season with a dislocated ankle, vs the same giants team that dislocated QB Dak Prescott’s ankle. Have no fear! QB Alex Smith will be the starter for the final leg of this journey. Thus far, he’s 2 – 1 as a starter over these last three games, despite being far from spectacular at either moving or protecting the ball.

Defensively, their last two opponents were Cincy and Dallas, both playing with back-up QB’s. Washington’s dance card is a bout to stiffen a little, so we’ll get to see just how many of these improvements were improvements, and how many were just games against stumbling opponents. To their credit, for a hot five or six minutes, this Football Team (ick) actually recaptured the top spot in the division.

Now they’re back to playing for Draft position.

 

New York: 4 – 7, 1st place in the NFC East

New York is out here breaking so many ankles, that maybe we should call them the New York Iversons. Frankly I’m glad that we’ve already seen them twice, and escaped with our QB. QB Daniel Jones is playing acceptable football, in the sense that he is no longer a turnover fountain.

The real story for these last few weeks, is RB Wayne Gallman. He isn’t flashy, but unlike injured starter RB Saquon Barkley, Gallman’s more consistent from one carry to the next. Barkley is one big play, and a lot of loss, no gain, short gain. Gallman’s 4.0 per carry is more like 4 yards on this carry, 3 on that one, five on this one, and so forth. That sort of production keeps 3rd downs more manageable, and doesn’t put the QB in tight spots. Gallman’s style stabilizes the offense, and makes Jones viable . The giants have a real conundrum on their hands once Barkley is healthy again.

Flying under the radar is a defense that has held opponents to 25 points or fewer for the last 6 games (20.0 ppg). I made this team my dark horse to win the East in 2020, and so far it seems like I had it read pretty well.

So that’s the state of our division rivals as our Eagles head into game 12. 

THE RIVALS 2020 (PT 1 of 3)

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/10/21
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Rivals, Roster, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment
What winning the NFC East in 2020 is like.

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN KIDDIES!!!

GENERALLY when I talk football, it’s about my Eagles. I tend to keep mum about our rivals, unless we have a game coming up against one of them. Otherwise, I’ve reserved most talk about them for my Pre-Draft Preview, which drops each April. (Look for it).

In 2017 however, I decided to try something new, and give our fan base a running commentary of what the division is doing around us. This ensures that Eagles fans actually are the NFL’s best informed, and most knowledgeable fans. (Provided you visit this site often.) These updates will come out three times during the season: After Weeks 6, 11, and 17.

This is where things are today:

Football Team: 1 – 5, 4th place in the NFC East

Their opening week victory looks like the only one they’ll get this year. Since that game they’ve allowed 29.0 points per game on defense. On offense they decided to not only bench their starting QB Dwayne Haskins, but to demote him to their Practice Squad. The new starter, QB Kyle Allen, has so far done a pretty good impersonation of Haskins during games.

Part of their offensive woes stem from insisting that they can turn college WR Antonio Gibson, into a RB. He’s a big slot WR who was born to catch middle Screens, and hot reads off of blitzes. Any other coaching staff would have seen that. The Redsk- Oops! The Football Team, wastes possessions trying to force a square peg, into a cement covered sphincter.

On defense they made a big splash getting 8 sacks, against an injury decimated Eagles Offensive Line in Week 1. Since then, they have all of 8 sacks in 5 games. They do have 7 interceptions, half of which (4) belong to CB Kendall Fuller.

 

giants: 1 – 5 , 3rd place in the NFC East

The giants spent 4 weeks getting worse, then had an offensive explosion vs the Cowboys last Sunday. They continued to ride that wave of confidence to their first win of the season over the Football Team. That win officially enters them into the “Win The NFC East” raffle.

To add injury to insult, the team lost RB Saquon Barkley for the year, with a torn ACL in his right knee. That placed all the weight for carrying the offense on QB Daniel Jones. Jones has so far responded by leading the team in rushing, with 204 yards through 6 games (34.0 ypg). Throwing the ball he has 3 TD’s and 6 picks. So there’s that.

On defense they’re allowing a 70% completion rate, and 8 TD’s to 3 picks. They’re also good for 110 yards on the ground per game. On the up-side, Green Bay refugee LB’s Blake Martinez and Kyler Fackrell are leading the team with 2 and 3 sacks, as well as 5 and 6 tackles for losses, respectively. Martinez leads the team in tackles.

 

Dallas Cowboys: 2 – 4, 1st place in the NFC East

This team was 1 – 3 before losing QB Dak Prescott for the year, during a Week 5 win over the giants. The road ahead doesn’t appear any easier. Six games in and RB Ezekiel Elliott has yet to see 100 yards rushing in game. What’s more, he has 5 fumbles already this year. The offensive line is an injury ravaged mess.

Defensively they give up 36.3 points per game. Allowing at least 34 points in each of their last 5 games. They’ve surrendered 14 passing TD’s and have just 1 interception this season, with just 2 total takeaways. Their best defensive player (DE Aldon Smith) is a guy who spent the last 4 years out of football.

Worse than all of the statistical woes, this team doesn’t appear to be weathering the adversity well. The sideline body language, and lack of eye contact between players, is indicative of a powder keg.

Oh yeah, and there’s also the little matter of players throwing the coaching staff under the bus, after just 6 weeks. This is where Dallas needs their men of high character to step up and lead.

 

So that’s the state of our division rivals as our Eagles head into Week 7.

THE OTHER TWO TEAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/05/16
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, NFC East, Offense, Players, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

giants redskins

GETTING caught up in the Dallas Cowboys contract saga, we’ve all but stopped talking about the Redskins and the giants. While both of those teams were bottom feeders in 2019, one of them could see themselves buoyed by the sinking of the Cowboys in 2020. The question is: Which team will rise?

Early indicators say that the giants are going to be the bottom team, but that only looks that way on the surface. A deeper look says, the giants and Redskins may be more closely matched than people may realize. People are quick to knock the giants, but step back and don’t let the trees block your view of the forest. Let’s get to breaking this down.

vince lombardi

Knock: The giants have a first year head coach.

Rebuttal: This is true, but who is Joe Judge? What is he likely to do on 3rd and 3? Either on offense or defense! How does he intend to deploy RB Saquon Barkley? How much rope will his assistant coaches get? This gives Judge not “the” but “an” element of surprise, if he can assemble even a half-decent team.

On the other hand, Redskins coach Ron Rivera has a 9 year track record. People know him already. They know his tendencies, his preferences. With a bad team in need of rebuild, what do you think he’s going to lean on? He’s going to lean on what he knows. He’s going to revert to familiar patterns. Out of sheer necessity, he will be more predictable than Judge will be.

Knock: The giants will run Jason Garrett’s system, The word is that the Cowboys will already know what’s coming and how to decode it, twice a year.

Rebuttal: Question. Which Jason Garrett system? The one where he was an up-and-coming OC and new HC? Or the one that featured Cowboys owner Jerry Jones coming down to the sideline to meddle? Because something tells me that those things will be quite different.

Also, when have the Cowboys ever had a player like Saquon Barkley, play in Garrett’s system? TE Evan Engram offers athleticism that Raider’s TE Jason Witten never could. The giants will not be pounding ball inside like the Cowboys did with RB’s Ezekiel Elliott, DeMarco Murray or Marion Barber.

Knock: The giants don’t have a decent offensive line.

Rebuttal:

monkey puppet side eye borderless

Moving on…

What concerns me most is that when the Eagles, Cowboys or Redskins get discussed, people talk about both sides of the ball. When the giants get discussed, people only discuss the offense. Clearly everyone is sleeping on their defense, and the rate for being surprised by what you didn’t see coming, is 100%.

The giants front seven is going to be better than anyone realizes, even though their secondary will still be trash. (Especially after losing CB Deandre Baker.) That being said, this article isn’t about who will win the East. It’s about who’s gonna be the bitch that the other three teams keep chained up in the basement. The default, knee jerk answer is New York, but again, you may want to take a closer look at that assumption. Right Redskins?

kia-participant

EAGLES 2020 RECORD: 11-5, 12-4?

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/05/05
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Rivals, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

PHILADELPHIA is about to repeat as NFC East champions. Fans of other divisions would shrug and say that’s no big deal. It’s just a division title. Fans in THIS division know that’s far from true. In most years, the NFC East doesn’t produce a winner. It produces a survivor. Which is why since the  2004 – 2005 season, no team in the division has won it back-to-back years.

This year however, the Eagles are looking like they’re going to change that.

2.7 New boss

Signing RB Corey Clement was a subtle move, but by no means was it small. Social distancing policies have prevented all teams from having Organized Team Activities, and mini-camps. Teams use those periods for things like:

*Offseason workouts to help the team bond and develop chemistry.

*Introductory physicals, and on-site physical therapy by renowned experts.

*Retired veterans who come in to talk to rookies about money, agents, balancing life, etc.

*NFLPA sending reps to discuss insurance, union dues, obligations, legal protections.

*Meetings to discuss core concepts of the system, and Q and A about the playbook.

article regular-coaching gametape

Teams are trying to do some of this OTA and mini-camp stuff, digitally. However, it’s efficacy has no standard by which to reliably measure it, only to compare it. Also, many teams never got an in-person look at most (or in some cases any) of the athletes that they drafted. Yet they have to go right into Training Camp mode, and immediately begin evaluating players to see who stays and who goes.

This process will be harder on the Cowboys, giants, and Redskins, because all of them have new coaches who have to get to know their teams, and install brand new systems on offense and defense. The odds that they could overlook a gem, and leave talent on the cutting-floor is now more likely than not.

The Eagles have the same coach and (mostly) the same systems from last year, so they don’t have to worry about that steep team-wide learning curve. Which is where a simple move like signing Clement (who already has mastery of the system), will pay huge dividends.

corey clement

Moreover, there have been rumblings in the last week or so, about the Eagles bringing back LT Jason Peters and LB Nigel Bradham. These would be genius level moves. Bradham would immediately erase our hole at LB, and give the young guys a real LB (not a tweener) to learn the trade from. Peters would immediately ease any doubts people have about LT Andre Dillard, by giving him a little more shakedown time, as well as being on-hand to mentor him.

So last year’s champs have a massive head start. Oh yeah, and this can’t be repeated enough: The Eagles went 5 – 1 in the division while running on fumes, and still won the East. This season the team gets back firepower they hardly got to use last year, and then added to it.

2019 QB Carson Wentz TD .jpg