Ryan Mathews

All posts tagged Ryan Mathews

BACK THAT UP!

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/05/29
Posted in: Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 5 Comments

Eagles RBs 2016

SO am I the only one here who’s concerned about our depth at Running Back? Honestly we could do worse than Ryan Mathews as a starter. However, only once in six NFL seasons has he been available for all sixteen games. He has also never started more than fourteen in any year so far. So common sense demands that we get a back-up who we can lean on in case he goes down.

Looking at who’s behind him, it’s hard not to get nervous.

Darren Sproles is a spark plug who can and has turned games around (that comeback against Jacksonville started with Sproles). The thing is, he’ll be 33 in less than a month, is 190 pounds soaking wet, and is coming off of one of the worst seasons in his career as a RB. If Mathews goes down, Sproles cannot be our bell cow. He just can’t handle the rigors of the job at this point. (FYI: His career high for carries in a year is 93. In 2009.)

Some people are excited about Kenjon Barner, but I don’t see why. He’s been in the NFL since 2013 and has yet to ever earn serious playing time. On two teams. In fact, in 2014 he was out of football altogether. Last year his college coach (TIK) pulled him off his couch to return kicks, and Barner excelled at it. However, he still offered little to no value as an NFL RB.

Then we have rookie Wendell Smallwood who is a little on the smallish side at only 201 pounds. I still take issue with him saying that 75% of the men in Philly are gay and that he doesn’t want to be here.

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Even when I put that to the side, when I watch his film what I see is an amazingly ordinary athlete. Average burst to and through the hole, not much in the way of second effort yardage, taking what is blocked for him because he doesn’t create… To be fair he is a fifth round pick, but where he was picked won’t be a good enough excuse if his number is called and he can’t respond.

Then we have rookie Free Agent Cedric O’Neal. He’s got decent size at 213, so that’s a plus. My big knock on him is he doesn’t have game tape that I can spot tendencies on. He just has a bunch of highlight reel stuff out there. While highlights are frequently unreliable, these do show that the guy’s style of play is Fizz E. Kal. I have to question the level of competition he played against, but seeing him run over and run away from guys made me think of (former Redskin) John Riggins, just in a smaller package.

There is also Byron Marshall but he’s more of a WR than a RB. He didn’t log a single carry in 2015 at Oregon.

So that’s it. That’s every RB on the roster. So you’ll have to excuse me if I’m slightly panicky over the idea of Mathews getting so much as a mosquito bite.

At this point we don’t even have the right parts for a RB by committee approach. (An approach that I detest by the way.) So I’m certain at some point that the Eagles will have to dive back into Free Agency in the next couple of weeks to get us some real depth. I just hope they get us something good.

NOTE: For my money, I’d like to get a long look at this O’Neal kid and maybe add someone like (former Eagles) Bryce Brown or Chris Polk. Both are unsigned as of today.

EAGLES/BILLS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/12/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 7 Comments

Wk14- 12.13.15

SUNDAY         1:00         Lincoln Financial Field         Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

BOTH the Bills and the Eagles need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. The 6-6 Bills are hoping to win out and for some other teams to give them some help to secure a wild-card berth in the AFC. The Eagles have to win the division to see the postseason. This one should be a lot of fun to watch if both teams show up with empty bellies.

EAGLES

Defense

Yes, last week DID happen, but if you’re still excited about it then you really haven’t taken a GOOD look at it. In a game that featured a very beat-up Patriots team, their QB still managed to throw for over 300 yards and score 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing). We even let him have a 36 yard reception, just for shits and giggles. Oh and they averaged 4.1 yards per rush.

So while last week was a great win to have, it was more the result of a handful of splash plays. It was by no means a sustained effort by a Defense ranked near the bottom of the NFL in points allowed (25th), yards allowed (26th), passing yards allowed (24th), and rushing yards allowed (27th).

After watching this unit allow 90 points over a two week span, it’s hard to go out on a limb and play the optimist over a few plays in one game.

Offense

I have no idea what our Offense is like now. Apparently RB DeMarco Murray is no longer a factor here. My guess (and at this point a guess is all it is), is that returning RB Ryan Mathews will be the lead dog that he was expected to be when he was originally signed ahead of Murray this Spring. For too many reasons Kelly couldn’t be serious about a backfield headed up by RB Darren Sproles.

WR Miles Austin was cut 7 months too late for it to make a difference in 2015. I said this move should have been made back in May. Had it happened back then maybe you’d be happily wearing a Nelson Agholor jersey right now. (BTW: If you happen to be wearing an Agholor jersey right now, you have my condolences for the money you parted with.)

I’m seeing fans now are back on the bandwagon for QB “Super” Sam Bradford again, after his 14/24 – 58% – 120 – 2TD game against the Patriots. There are some numbers out there that suggest that he’s getting better suited to the Offense, and if you’d like to buy into those, be my guest. They however overlook a far more important metric that once seen, cannot be unseen and will give you the most accurate picture of Bradford.

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Bills

Defense

There’s really nothing great about this unit. In fact they make me think of the “Bend but don’t break” style that Buffalo played in the 90’s when they were thwarted in an unprecedented four straight Super Bowls. That 1990’s team had better players than this 2015 edition and even they had up and down results with that style of defense.

Basically I think the Bills 6 losses this year have more to do with their defense than anything else. They get interceptions, but they don’t get to the QB much. The little pass rush they do generate will likely be compromised if (lead interceptor) CB Stephon Gilmore misses Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.

Offense

This unit is one of the best kept secrets in the NFL. They’re 4th in rushing and 10th in scoring. They have QB Tyrod Taylor who sports a 17:4 touchdown to interception ratio, and is averaging 5.0 yards per rush. To top it all off, they have enough depth to squeeze by rough patches that would derail an entire season for most teams. Not that they need it since they’re also a pretty healthy bunch to say they’re heading into their 13th game.

Though they have some strong points, this unit is not without it’s weaknesses. They will allow defenses to touch their QB, and their 3rd down conversion rate is only 36%. The biggest weakness though is WR Sammy Watkins.

Yes. I said Sammy Watkins. Read on.

For all his talent, there are too many games where he just seems like he’s going through the motions. By all rights this guy should be killing defenses on a weekly basis, but he spends too many Sundays just running his routes. He’s been on a tear these last couple weeks, but that’s no guarantee that he shows up looking to really play this Sunday. I for one, hope that he doesn’t.

BOTTOM LINE

I think this one comes down to coaching and styles. Bills coach Rex Ryan will come in looking to impose his will on our Head Coach. When teams commit to pounding the ball at us the losses tend to be humiliating. (New Orleans 2013, Minnesota 2014, Tampa Bay 2015 for examples.) I have no idea what Kelly will be looking to do, but the real question here is whether or not he’s willing to adapt and adjust in-game. And in three years I have seen no reason to believe that he will.

PREDICTION

Bills 26 – Eagles 21

EAGLES MIDSEASON REPORT: PART TWO

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/10
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

player.jordancowboykillerhicks(1)11.10.15

WITH 8 games played right now we’re sitting at 4 – 4. We’ve made it all the way to .500. (yay.) If we’re to win the NFC East (currently sitting behind the 5-4 giants), we’re going to have to get a lot better at some things. Since no one in the NFL is just standing around handing out wins, the notion that we have 4 of them in 8 tries indicates that while we aren’t a superpower, our wins aren’t flukes either. There are clearly things to work on, but as I said in yesterday’s half of the Midseason Report, there’s also good news.

We have a few things that we can build on and that sometimes has a way of getting looked past when high expectations aren’t met. So lets take a moment to put on the StewRat Bootleg of Mattison’s “Predictions” (which I added to the music playlist on the website, just click the play button), put our feet up on the ottoman, and blow bubbles with our pipe as we reflect upon things we can all collectively break out the Kool-Aid smiles over. Such as:

Our 1- 2 RB punch: There is a debate going on about whether or not Ryan Mathews is better than DeMarco Murray. Some fans think Mathews should be the starter. Some are asking if he’s better than LeSean McCoy was. Stop for a second. Isn’t this a great argument to have? Regardless of what side you’re on, no one is saying Murray sucks, just that Mathews is better. Better still, even though both have a little wear and tear on them this year, neither is nursing a laundry list of injuries. Both seemed primed to make a solid second half, and on pace to put up 1,400 yards between them without it killing either man in the process.

The Offensive Line: It’s far from what you would call “good” but it’s working better than most of us thought it would, and that part is a credit to the Coach Kelly. Relying on inside zone running wasn’t cutting it, so against the Jets he started folding in more power running concepts. Since the Jets game things have been a lot more stable as far as running the ball goes.

Duce Staley‘s rotation of the RB’s: People may lament the way it’s being done, but the truth is Murray’s inside running does a great job of gassing the opposing defense before bringing in Mathews to get them chasing him to the outside. Normally you’d use a smaller Darren Sproles kind of RB for that, but the idea that you can get that from a guy who runs through tackles is a bonus. If Mathews could catch worth a damn I’d also be saying that he should start,but since he doesn’t, I think this rotation is just peachy.

DE Fletcher Cox: A couple weeks ago I was going to say Defensive Line here, bu then I noticed something. NT Bennie Logan is different guy out there when Cox takes a breather. That’s not a shot at Logan, that’s saying that Cox is truly making guys around him better when he’s out there.

ILB Jordan “Cowboy Killer” Hicks: Right out of the box, this guy just about singlehandedly ended the Cowboys year when he took away their QB, and doomed them to a six game slide right out of playoff contention. Then the next time he sees them what does he do? He victimizes that day’s starter by taking one of his passes back for six points. When he was drafted I was confused by why the Eagles took him (read more here). I didn’t doubt him as a player, I just didn’t understand how he fit the mold of what Coach Kelly said he wanted. Regardless, this is one that GM Kelly got right.

So yeah. There’s good news to be had. There are things to build on and things we can let tear us apart. We’ll see which side we let win out.

WK9: EAGLES/COWBOYS PREVIEW

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/11/06
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Offense, Players, Preview. Tagged: , , , , . 6 Comments

DAL (A)

SUNDAY              8:30                 AT & T Stadium                      Arlington, TX

PICTURE a ragged man dragging a sledgehammer across concrete. Picture a bloody man on his back shimmying away as fast as he can; hand out-stretched, eyes wide, words that won’t form between gasps of breath. The raggedy man with the hammer, still suffers from a wound given to him weeks ago while fighting the bloody guy, but he will not be stopped by mere pain. His eyes, his face, conveys his singularity of purpose.

In that fight, the bloody guy was ripped open. Weeks later that wound still won’t stop spurting. The bandages (Weeden, Cassel) haven’t helped. He’s weak. He’s dying. He knows it. And now the man with the sledgehammer is looking to finish the job. The bloody guy’s head touches a wall behind him. There is is no where else to go. There is nowhere left to run.

Ask any Cowboys fan and they’ll tell you the loss of their starting QB is why they’re in the 5 game tailspin they’re currently in. The hit that sealed the Cowboys fate was delivered by Eagles rookie ILB Jordan Hicks. So in a very real sense, it was the Eagles that ruined, that ended, the Cowboys 2015 season back in Week Two.

And this weekend, with just one more swing of the hammer…we will make it official.

EAGLES

Defense

FS Walter Thurmond has as many interceptions (3) as this weeks opponent. In seven games this team has stolen 11 passes, which puts us on pace for 25 when the year ends. That’s not an earth-shattering number, but with our spotty pass rush, it’s at least something to hang our hats on while we tighten everything else up. By everything else, I mean the pass rush, the 4.0 yards per rush we allow, and the 64% completion rate allowed.

These are the type of numbers that sub .500 teams put up. Oh wait, we’re 3 – 4 now. So yeah, we need to get this fixed. The sack production (7) from our starting Defensive Line is better than it’s been in years, but there’s been a massive drop-off in production (8) from everyone else so far. In a passing league that also has to get fixed.

Luckily for us, this week the NFL has lobbed us a softball, underhand. This is perfect time to experiment and see what works for when we start seeing real teams again.

Offense

Even with last week’s Bye, the Eagles are in the middle of the pack as an Offense. That’s due in part to the actual use of RB DeMarco Murray and employing some basic power elements which not only benefit Murray but also RB Ryan Mathews. Now if only QB Sam Bradford would get around to getting rid of the ball sooner, we might be able to break out and scare some teams.

In the meantime we’ll put up points in our usual “off and on” manner. We score enough points to stay in games, but it would be nice to be able to put together four quarters of high octane ball for a change. It’s a good system our coach has brought here, we just don’t have the top-shelf talent to run it anymore, since our GM gave it all away.

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Cowboys

Defense

Statistically this is one of the better teams in the league. Those stats also tell you that they suck at forcing turnovers. In fact, the only thing they do worth a damn, is rush the passer. Everything else, (4.1 ypc allowed, 65.8% completion rate allowed, 3 picks all year far) they suck at. All those statistical rankings…we’re talking about a paper tiger here.

Offense 

Matt Cassel‘s QB rating is over 40 points lower than the rating of starter Tony Romo and 33.6 points lower than Brandon Weeden whom Cassel replaced. QB is a downward spiral for this team. Well at least they can lean on their run game.

Did I mention that they just cut the guy who was their Week One starter and their current leader in rushing TD’s? Oh yeah and also their long run leader. And their yards per carry leader. He’s been replaced with a brittle and less explosive player as the Cowboys are now staking it all on former Raider RB Darren Mcfadden.

BOTTOM LINE

Under no circumstances should the Eagles lose this game. Both teams have issues, many of which are similar, but the bottom line here is that the Cowboys are just a bottom feeder team this year. They probably would find themselves being blown-out by some college teams. (Alabama springs to mind.) There’s nothing the Cowboys can do to save themselves. This week the hammer falls and the with it so does one fourth of the NFC East.

PREDICTION

EAGLES 28 – Cowboys 18