While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
LOSING that game to the Commanders last year, is kind of sticking in my craw now. It hardly bothered me when it happened. In fact, after the loss inFour Things Reviewed, I said that I was grateful for the loss. Many Eagles fans were, in fact. Turns out, that loss is probably why we made it to the Super Bowl.
But part of it still bugs me. Not our turnovers. Those were an aberration. Those were never really anything to worry about. What bugs me, was our tackling in that game (and others).
While Washington didn’t run the ball well, they stuck to grinding out yards. That was in part because our defenders were too often trying harder to cause turnovers, than to secure the tackle and get the man on the ground. Which is helped Washington convert so many 3rd downs (12 of 21).
With the exception ofCharles “Peanut” Tillmanand his freakishly reliable ‘Peanut Punch’, most fumbles don’t happen because a defender forces it. Most fumbles happen when offensive players are trying to make something happen. Especially later in the game when their team is down. They fixate on making a move, and forget ball security. Then something bad happens.
Just get the man on ground. Just make the tackle. Especially early in games. Not with shoulder lunges to generate hits. Players need to execute proper form, and bring their arms. Wrap up the guy with the ball!
DT Jordan Davis showing how it’s DONE.
With the interior defensive line that we have, I’m expecting to see MLB Nakobe Dean get a lot of clean shots on ball-carriers. His tackling will be critical. That’s not to let everyone else off the hook; but from Dean (though I’ll cut him plenty of slack in other areas) his tackling will be important in determining whether we win the East this year.
BEATING the Colts last week was the sort of gritty, character building exercise, which will serve the Eagles well down the stretch. We took a jab to the chin, but shook off the cobwebs, then fought off both the Colts and the referees. (I’ve been refraining from making an issue of the officiating, but it’s getting ridiculous.)
Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichenneeds to get his head out of his ass, and start involving RB Miles Sandersfrom start to finish. Running is this Offense’s identity. When we get away from that, it makes life easier to opponents. The Packers have given up 25+ points in five games this season. We need to help them allow a sixth.
A win gives us 10! That of course would make us 10 – 1, keeping us at the head of the NFC East, and entire NFC itself. We are currently in 100% control of our own outcome.
A loss would stall us out at 9 – 2, but we’d still be at the head of the division, and the conference. Even though we’d be tied at 9 – 2 with Minnesota, our head to head victory over them, gives us the outright tie-breaker.
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The point of Four Thingsisn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week, versus the: Packers.
1) Hit Their Quarterback:Aaron Rodgers is playing with a broken thumb on his passing hand. It has already led to some of his routine passes getting away from him, or coming out without their typical spins. We need to get hits, not just heat on him. We need to repeatedly introduce his body to the Earth.
This isn’t about hurting his thumb. It’s for getting inside his head. He can be made to emotionally check out of games; and I can’t think of faster way to make that happen, than to beat him up when he’s injured. Also, when trying to protect himself, if his feet aren’t set, it just magnifies the ball delivery issue he’s having.
2) Miles of Screens: The Packers are another 3 – 4 team, that’s actually more of a 5 – 2. Also their best pass rusher is on I.R., with a rookie replacing him. Normally I would say “Run the Kerrigan Plan” and run up the score. However, with TE Dallas Goederton I.R., we have yet to see a back-up TE emerge, who can be the tip of the spear.
Instead of trying to force back-ups to be heroes, we should throw a few Screens to RB Miles Sanders. I said to RB Miles Sanders. Not WR A.J. Brown. Not RB Boston Scott. Let our WR’s keep the defense spread, then throw the ball to a player who can break a tackle. Make the Packers take a pass rusher off the field, to be able to cover us.
3) Wrap It Up, B!:We only have one loss. So teams are still trying to figure out the formula, or the blueprint…, incantation(?) for beating us. The best guess they have now, is still “Run the ball a ton, and control the clock”. The thinking now is that the Washington made it work, but Indianapolis couldn’t keep making it work.
We’re going to see that approach until we’ve made it abundantly clear that Washington was a fluke. Our Defense has shown that they know where their run fits are. The entire issue is tackling. Once we started doing a better job of that last week, Indianapolis’s run game dried up. We’ll need a second week of that.
4) Deep Down the Middle: Over the last three weeks WR Quez Watkins has seen more attempts to get him involved in the Offense. That could pay dividends this week. The Packers have a pair of good Corners, so the middle is probably the easiest place to attack going deep. (Though CB Rasul Douglas has trouble with real speed.)
Playing a virtual 5 – 2, the Packers hurt their pass rush every time they take away an “OLB” to play a Nickel or a Dime. This what they’d have to do to cover Watkins (or Sanders in the Screen game). Covering Watkins with a starting S leaves either WR A.J. Brown, or WR Devonta Smithwith a one on one match-up.
So it’s pick your poison. They can hurt their pass rush to play Nickel/Dime. OR they can consistently create a one on one. OR they can try to cover Watkins with a 270 pound LB, which would be the same as not covering him at all. Wait. It doesn’t have to be Watkins. Just get the ball deep to WHOMEVER lines up in the Slot. Hows that?
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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…
I can’t tell you the last time I saw a 9 – 1 team get less buzz.
While I have never put stock in Power Rankings, it does feel nice when I see the Eagles atop the list. Wednesday night the NFL had us at #2. Behind the 8 – 2 Chiefs.
Right now, the blueprint for beating us, mentions running the ball and keeping our Offense off the field. It does NOT mention how that formula also required THREE turnovers (one of which was bullshit), to produce a five point lead, which was in jeopardy until the final play of the game. Glazed right on over that.
The consensus is that we haven’t played anybody. Until somebody else beats a team that we beat. Then suddenly, that team that we beat is good, and we get a sort of grudging acknowledgement (not respect), for having beaten them first.
If the NFL treated us and promoted us like they do a few other teams, we’d have grown less hungry, and we’d be 7 – 3 or 6 – 4 today. Keep it up, dumbasses! I might just have to buy stock in dog masks.
And lo’ ! Down in the valley slept the Packers (and the remainder of our schedule), unaware that the disrespect that has been snowballing, is about to trigger an avalanche.
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Prediction: EAGLES 27 – Packers 18
WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know football and that’s IT. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, you are trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.
Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.
TACKLING is becoming a lost art, in the one sport that actually rewards it. There have always been players who prefer shoulder hits to wrapping up, and so they miss tackles. All these recent rules designed to help prevent head injuries have not helped either, as they result in more and more defensive players grabbing to avoid penalties, or making “business decisions” trying to avoid getting hurt themselves. The biggest thing I think that has hurt tackling though, is this thing where defenders are holding up the ball-carrier, whilst trying to wrestle/rip/claw the ball away from him.
Look, I get it. Turnovers kill drives, pad stats, and make resumés look better for defensive players and defensive coaches come contract time. No one is suggesting that we should never chase turnovers, but there are moments when it’s more important to just put the man on the ground. Unfortunately, I get the idea that Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz would disagree with me on that.
We Eagles fans have witnessed far too many instances (usually early in games), where an opposing offensive player (not yet tired or beat up), fights for that last 1 to 3 yards and makes the first down, because we had one or two guys clawing at the ball instead of stopping the ball-carrier.
Early in games, you want to play sound football and end drives. Don’t help your opponent sustain drives. It only tires out your defense and keeps your own offense sitting down. Strip attempts work best against tired arms, against players suffering from dehydration, against players who are already taking extended breathers between downs, or against opponents who are fighting to make something happen when their team is down late in games. However, if you give the farm away early, you won’t really see many of these favorable opportunities set up for you.
Early in games just get ’em down. Stop looking for a knockout in the first quarter. Just play good solid football. Look for those strips later in games, when they become pivotal, harder to come back from, and most importantly, more likely to happen.
Note: Football is a physical sport, and injuries happen. I say that as a man who’s shaken off his share of them. So understand that none of what you will read here is said lightly, or said by a man who has not done these things himself.
WE need to make our opponents fear us, based on how ferociously we play the game.Let me say that I’m not advocating purposely injuring anybody (during a football game). I am not now, nor will I ever do that. What I will always advocate, is playing like you aren’t afraid to hurt somebody or hurt yourself. “Go full tilt” is what I’m saying. Don’t grasp at a tackle, run all the way through it. When you latch on during a block, throw your man on the ground as often as your body will let you.
The NFL has gotten to the point where they want to hand out fines and suspensions like candy. So the fuck what. Hit ’em anyway. There is no substitute for making a grown man genuinely afraid of what you’re about to do to him. WR’s will “alligator arm” balls. QB’s will slide 4 yards short of the first down. RB’s will curl away from contact instead of gearing into it. Defenders will sacrifice a shoulder instead of facing a blocker head-on. When you see these things understand that what you are seeing, is Fear.
So we hit. We unload. Sure that means eating flags, fines and suspensions. It means refs will start looking for “dirty” players, and finding fault with more or our stops. I hear you ask: “But won’t that cost us the benefit of the doubt?” Really? Boo fuckin’ hoo.
7-9 and then 7-9. Tons of penalties in each of those years, without any payoff for it. Right? Where was the benefit of the doubt then? So, fuck the benefit of the doubt. Losing it didn’t seem to hurt the Legion of Boom, did it? Did it? You’ll have to speak up. I can’t hear you over the sound of their recent playoff and Super Bowl glory.
Speaking as someone who’s played the villain, let me tell you how liberating it is to do your job without worrying what the zebras think of you. Let me tell you how effective it makes you, when your opponent realizes that he doesn’t have a flimsy, fake, and made-up layer of protection to hide behind. It becomes all too real, when they realize that that yellow flag is just fabric. Flags don’t heal fractured clavicles, and fifteen yards is poor consolation for 5 months of rehab. It’s one thing to know that you can be injured on any given play. It’s quite another to look across the line at me, and wonder “Oh God, is this the down?” I shit you not, there were times when cats didn’t even realize the ball was snapped. (And yes, that IS me bragging.)
Fear is an AMAZING ally. It’s powerful. It breaks opponents down from the inside, and is nearly impossible to overcome once it does. That being said, Fear as an ally doesn’t come cheaply. You have to earn Fear, and to do so you must play with flagrant disregard for both the safety of yourself and your opponent. It has to be equal. You have to be willing to get as good as you’re willing to give. Most men don’t generate genuine Fear, because they are unwilling to enter into this bargain.
Be honest Eagles fans, it’s been a while since we had an Eagles defender who could be referred to as scary. I didn’t say “scary”, I said scary. Did you catch that difference? There’s a million miles of distance between the two.
It would change the texture of this team and this entire division, if the Eagles could make Fear our ally. So tell defenders to hit with everything in them. Tell offensive players to block through the whistle. Tell our CB’s to drive opposing WR’s out of bounds early in their routes. Pop opposing TE’s as they come out of their stances. At the end of the year, the RB should buy a car for the Offensive Lineman with the most pancake blocks.
In the late 1980’s – early 1990’s, teams dreaded seeing us on their schedule, because back then Fear was our ally. We need to get back to that. We need to earn that again.
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