Russell Wilson

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WENTZ’S CONTRACT HURTS COWBOYS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/06/07
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Rivals, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Wentz and Prescott.jpg

WITH the stroke of a pen, QB Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles Front Office, wrecked the future for QB Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Not that anyone will notice in 2019, but by this time next year, it will be impossible to ignore.

Yesterday Wentz inked a 128M$, 4 year extension (32 per year), on his current deal. He was already playing on the last year of his rookie deal, which pays him 720K$, then there’s the 5th year option of 22M$. This new deal doesn’t really kick in against the cap until 2021.

22M for a starting QB is bargain in 2019, and will seem a bigger bargain in 2020. By 2021, even 32 may not seem so high. Especially with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and a higher salary cap likely in place at that point.

There was no 5th year option to take for Prescott, so after the 2M he earns in 2019, he’d be an unrestricted Free Agent in 2020. Since Dallas will lock him up before then, his new deal will kick in….. somewhere around this time next year. That’s with just one routine, annual adjustment of the salary cap, and before any new CBA is in place.

therethere

More than that, what Wentz’s deal does, is it sets the bar for Prescott’s asking price. As Cowboy fans are fond of pointing out, since both QB’s came into the league in 2016, Prescott has started all 48 games (Wentz 40). He’s won more games (Prescott 32, Wentz 23), for a higher win percentage (.666 to .575) and has a started 3 playoff games (1 – 2), to Wentz’s zero.

So it only stands to reason that Prescott’s agent should ask for a bigger bag than the one that Wentz secured. With Seattle’s Russell Wilson setting the bar at 35M, Prescott is looking ask for the 34M that Ben Roethlisberger commands, or the 33M that Aaron Rodgers commands.

Prescott will want Super Bowl ring money, despite two bare hands. What’s sad for Dallas, is that had they offered him 27, 28, or 29 last year, he’d have likely snapped it up in a flash. Now with a floor of 33M, he’ll be AT LEAST 4M$ per year more expensive.

Had they gotten Prescott for 27 per year, they might have saved 6M$ per year. That money would have gone a long way to re-signing their own free agents, or helping to court additions.

Our Front Office signing Wentz now, the way that they did, forces the Cowboys into a phone booth. They have little room to maneuver and a number of key contracts (Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, La’el Collins, Byron Jones, Robert Quinn, Anthony Brown, Maliek Collins, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods) coming up in the next two seasons. (That isn’t all the key contracts, just most of them.)

Essentially the Eagles put the Cowboys in a “win now” mode despite the Cowboys not possessing the ability to achieve such a goal, nor the stability to build towards it quickly. The Cowboys won the NFC East crown in 2018. Don’t expect to see that happen again anytime soon.

Starscreams crown.gif

And all this, with the stroke of a pen.

 

#4 WENTZ RUNS FOR 300 YARDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/05
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, stats, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

4-WENTZ RUNS FOR 300 YARDS.jpg

GETTING 300 rushing yards out of QB Carson Wentz, should be a priority this season. While that might sound like a lot, it’s just 19 rushing yards per game. Still, there are people who will be skeptical of having the QB run. This is despite how much it helped us be the best team in football in 2017, and how we slipped several notches when he didn’t run much in 2018. 

It’s silly. He’s a football player, not a porcelain doll. Moreover, just a few rushing yards per game can turn even an average QB, into someone that teams need to be wary of. (See: BORTLES, Blake / MARIOTA, Marcus / TRUBISKY, Mitchell). Even when Seattle’s roster sucks, QB Russell Wilson makes them worthy of fear. Running QB’s can even help teams that should get blown out, steal a game here and there. We witnessed this firsthand vs the Titans, last season.

Running QB’s are lethal to defenses. Adopting and adapting the tactic of making the defense worry about ALL 11 offensive players on the field, will only make moving the ball easier for us. (As it did in 2017.) The notion that it’s more dangerous for the QB is a moot point given that Wentz himself said that, he’s still going to run here and there. We may as well strategize to make it more effective.

Look, a quick 5 yard scamper and slide, when the pocket opens up ahead of Wentz? That’s cheap and easy real estate. Go get that! Eat those up! Put pressure on opposing MLB’s and ILB’s. Get them looking at our QB, and losing track of who they have in coverage. Later on that opens up big plays behind them in the passing game.

All for just 19 yards per game.

While we’re on the subject of using our QB like an athlete (wild idea, right?), here’s a play I’d love to see the Eagles run for him.

QB screen

Yes. That’s a QB Screen. Yes, it’s  my design. (Notice how well it’s blocked up?) Imagine Wentz gaining 30 or more yards on that thing.

It’s for when we’re backed up inside our own 10. It’s for 3rd and 11 in a tied game. It’s for the first play of overtime. It’s a momentum stealing, 70-piece, Ultra Combo to the face. You know. One of these:

And for those reasons, we need to do this. Or something very like it.

If opponents now have to be aware of Wentz, they have to plan to contain him. At which point we already have them doing something they aren’t comfortable with. The idea here is to rattle them mentally.

Again, all for the low low price of just 19 yards per game. We’d be fools not to.

FOUR THINGS: WK 13: EAGLES-SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/11/30
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

W13-SEA

Note: This article will be out before the Dallas/Washington game. Since I can’t know what the outcome will be, I’m just going to write around it. (As if we all don’t know that the Redskins will win 24 – 13.)

rockytommy

THIS will be a street fight. Don’t fool yourselves, that’s what we’re in for. The Eagles are defending their dreams of being the home team in the playoffs. Seattle’s playoff future would be greatly aided by beating Philadelphia. This is a need to beat the best, versus the home-team dream.

Beating Seattle would move us to 11-1 and keep us a half game ahead of Minnesota in the bid for home-field advantage. That gives us something to focus on to keep us sharp. Problem is, the Seahawks are a scrappy team, with lots of big game experience. Oh, and they’re also fighting to keep their thin playoff dreams alive. Somehow I doubt that QB Carson Wentz will be pulled early in this one.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to focus on this week versus the Seahawks :

1) Intimidate: Seattle’s leading rusher is QB Russell Wilson (65 – 401 – 6.2 – 3 – NA) by 193 yards. We need to hit him. I didn’t say tackle him. I said HIT him. As in, nail him before he gets into a slide. Nothing dirty. No need or desire to injure him. Just let him know that QB Austin Davis might finish 2017 for him, if he doesn’t keep his ass in the pocket.

2) Snag the line: Only three offensive lines in the NFL allow more hits on their QB than Seattle does. When they block for any of the active RB’s on their roster, the numbers are 155 carries for 463 yards (2.9ypc). To take apart Seattle’s offense, we only need to alternate between confusing and overloading their offensive line. On 2nd and 6 (or longer), we need to hit them with a few exotic blitzes. Not blitz looks, but actual blitzes. On 3rd and long, play it straight-up.

3) Light ‘em up: Seattle picked a poor time to be battling injuries in their secondary. CB Richard Sherman and SS Kam Chancellor are both on IR. So now is the time to floor it, and go right after the vaunted Legion of Boom. People will say that we only beat them because of injuries. So? And? Now is not the time to let an average secondary, trade-off on a rep that they no longer deserve.

4) Run ‘em down: The Seahawks are 9th in the NFL against the run, despite having a small defensive line that averages 283 pounds per man. The last time someone fed our Offense a d-line this small (Cowboys) we ran for 215 yards on it. It’s time to impose our will on yet another team. This is that game where we need to go crazy, and kill a mouse with a sledgehammer. We need to turn RB LeGarrette Blount loose.

If we do all these things, we’re just about guaranteed to win. Now that we’ve covered what should happen, let’s get into what likely will happen:

This game is going to be a fight. At least at first. Russell Wilson is slippery, saavy, and doesn’t have any quit in him. Seattle is a team used to being “the big dawg”. Plus they’ll be playing at home, while attempting to be defiant in the face of overwhelming injury. They will be playing for pride, not just the win.

That having been said, the facts are: Their secondary can’t stop us. Their defensive line can’t stop us. Their offensive line can’t stop anyone. Their RB’s are garbage. Their WR’s are only a threat to their QB, and their crippling reliance on TE Jimmy Graham only makes their offensive “system” as predictable as gravity.

They’re 7-4, but look at against whom, and how those wins have come:

sea sched

The Seahawks have no answers for the Eagles. None whatsoever. This game will start out as a fight, but we will eventually end up with our knee on their windpipe. Their hands repeatedly sliding off our chest, as Week 13 slips into blackness for them.

PREDICTION: EAGLES 28 – Seahawks 17

yeah bitch

WK11: SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/19
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

w11-sea

Seattle Seahawks

SUNDAY 4:25       CenturyLink Field       Seattle, WA

NEEDS TO STEP UP:

halapoulivaati-vaitai

RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai: He can’t be a liability this week. Under normal circumstances he’d have to line up against DE Michael Bennett who’s one of the best in the game. However, since Bennett is out with a knee injury, Vaitai’s dance partner this week is back-up DE Frank Clark. Before you breathe that sigh of relief, you need to know that Clark is 2nd on the team in sacks (7.5). Seattle is also starting a back-up LOLB, so we need to be able to attack that. We can’t do that, if we have to cover for Vaitai.

WE MUST CONTAIN:

russ-wils

QB Russell Wilson: Got a really simple one here: Stay in your rush lanes, and limit Wilson’s sight-lines and scramble lanes. Seattle has no real run game, and their WR’s are just as yawn inducing as ours are. Their TE was a god in New Orleans, but since going to Seattle (even making allowance for injury), he’s been a shadow of his former self. If we hamper Wilson, we shut down their whole offense. Their defense is still good, but it’s getting by (in part) on a three year old reputation. Take away the QB and it’s not like that defense can score enough points to hang with us.

EAGLES STORY LINE:

One week after pummeling Atlanta into submission, we draw a team that likes to trade short-area punches. Seattle has been operating this way for years now, and we just started showing signs that we can do it again. So it can’t be expected that we can go toe-to-toe with them in their wheelhouse.

We however, pack a few nasty surprises that most brawler-type teams lack. We have probably the best Special Teams unit in the sport (that means all levels and all leagues). We also have a human spark plug (RB Darren Sproles), and an Offense evolving around a rapidly evolving QB in Carson Wentz. This team has never scored fewer than 20 points under this rookie QB, and our worst loss under him was by 7 points.

Seattle can punch teams in the mouth, but now so can we. This match-up will be different than the last one, where TIK was our coach. This is a message game. Once upon a time teams dreaded coming to Philly. They knew it meant an ass whooping. Even if we lost, you were going to leave here, bleeding from the face.

Tomorrow. 4:25. Be in character Eagles fans.

BOTTOM LINE:

If this were easy, it would be worthless. Time to take it. Tame it. EARN IT.

PREDICTION:

EAGLES 28 – Seahawks 18

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/SEAHAWKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/11/18
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

ABOVE .500 and still in the basement of the NFC East. You have to love the irony. Back in April I picked us to go 9-7 (at least) and win the division. Many told me I was nuts, and that we’d win no more than 5 games. Well, it would seem that were on pace for that 9-7 mark, but the division…eh, not so much.

Considering how well we’ve played vs teams we weren’t supposed to beat (Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Atlanta, all of which I told you we’d win), I have to say, I’m less worried than most fans are, about this week’s game.

Can we do it again? Last week we won by pushing Atlanta into a phone booth, shutting the door behind us, and pounding on them until the refs fired a starter pistol to get us to stop. Atlanta isn’t built for such rough treatment. They tried to respond, but it’s just not who they are. For Philly inhabitants and our teams, the ability to hang in fist fight is a birthright. It’s in our air and in our water. If you can’t hang, your ass is as good as grass.

doc-holiday

Seattle on the other hand, is our huckleberry. If we want to be tough guys, and trade short area blows, they don’t mind at all. Why, that’s just their game. If we’re going to beat these characters at their own…how do you say “forte” in French? Doesn’t matter. If we’re going to beat Seattle at the style that won them a Super Bowl, then there are certain things we have to do.

 

 

 

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 11 versus Seattle :

1) Attack the left with RB Darren Sproles. Due to injury LOLB Brock Coyle is starting for Seattle. While he might hold his own vs our TE’s , there is no way he can stay with Sproles on any route run beyond the line of scrimmage. That doesn’t mean make Sproles our bell-cow, just make sure he’s on the field a lot.

2) Spread ’em out. We can run inside much easier if we use formations that pull the LB’s to the outsides of “the box”. If Seattle chooses to walk a Safety down, instead of walking a LB outside, that leaves 1-on-1 on the outside for someone. 

3) Challenge their CB’s. The biggest knock on our WR’s is that they don’t get separation. Fine. To hell with separation. WR’s Jordan Matthews (if he plays) and Dorial Green-Beckham are king-sized wideouts. Why not use that as an advantage instead of ignoring it week in and week out. Who needs separation when you can box-out on a Hitch route, or out-jump a smaller man? Use those big bodies like they’re big bodies.

4) Set the edge. Seattle’s run game is garbage this year, so it won’t take much to shut that part of their offense down. What we need to focus on, is not giving them gifts, via unforced errors (so to speak). A form of “mush-rush” should be effective against QB Russell Wilson, as his vision would be obscured due to his height.

This game will be lost if we come out there being cute. Seattle is not as good as they were 2-3 years ago, but they still are not an outfit that suffers fools. If we bring them the same weak-ass game that we brought Detroit, we will get blown out by a team that’s only 21st in scoring. We have to come out there ready for this to be a street fight. Because that’s exactly what Seattle will be bringing us.

yeah-bitch