Wendell Smallwood

All posts tagged Wendell Smallwood

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED – WK PS4 – JETS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/08/30
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Fans, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, Special Teams, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

flooded

TOLD you not to watch that game, didn’t I? While watching two episodes of American Dad and channel surfing during commercials, I saw probably 45 to 55 seconds combined, of the entire game, before leaving for work. Meanwhile, many of you ignored my warning, and suffered through that debacle.

EAGLES 0 – Jets 6

I bought a Daily News, an iced mocha, and I took the train from the airport this morning. It gave me time to digest what was reported about the game. When I got home, I looked up the box score for the player stats.

HOLY SHIT! I knew it was going to be a boring shit-show, but c’mon! They just Deebo’d you, for three hours of your life!

Deebo what.gif

They didn’t even try to be worth your time. How do you lose 0 – 6 in a game where the winner the team that didn’t lose, misses 3 field goals?

The big thing in this game was supposed to be that it would help decide who made the 53 man roster. That’s garbage. I told you in Four Things that the roster was already set.

1) DE: Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz like to have five DE’s. The Starters are Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett. Vinny Curry is the third end who can slide inside to DT in the NASCAR package. That means we need two more. Joe Ostman was lost with an injury, leaving Josh Sweat, Daeshon Hall and rookie Shareef Miller.

Hall has outplayed every pass rusher in the NFL this preseason. He made this team weeks ago. That’s four. Miller has out-competed, out-produced, and out-played Sweat, in every single regard this preseason. Unless we make a trade, if we keep five (like we did last year), Miller has to be fifth, with Hall being an automatic fourth.

2) RB: Wendell Smallwood or Josh Adams? Smallwood isn’t explosive and brings nothing to the table that our other backs don’t. Adams at least has the advantages of size, youth, and the possibility of a hidden upside. We’ve already seen Smallwood’s ceiling. If Smallwood makes the team, he has pictures of someone doing something with a dead girl, or a live boy. We don’t keep Adams if the staff decides to go with six receivers.

3) WR: Everyone wants to say we’re keeping five here. I like six. If Smallwood is cut then Special Teams needs a guy. Mack Hollins was injured last year, but he’s back now. Greg Ward is a slot guy we need to keep around, if Nelson Agholor is going to be trade bait. It’s easier to keep Ward and then elevate him, rather than cut him, hope no one grabs him, and then have a hole if Aggie is traded.

4) QB: Are we keeping three or four? Who is the back-up? Has the depth chart changed? Nobody cares. Carson Wentz will play until our season ends, and render his back-ups irrelevant.

On The Whole:

I’m just glad this travesty of a preseason is over.

its a celebration bitches.jpg

Better still, with the 8 – 4:30 hours at my new job, I’ll be able to catch ALL the games, without watching on a shitty tablet, with a shitty wifi signal that keeps dropping. And no more cramming these articles between the end of work, and desperately needed sleep. (Like I’m doing right now!)

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: DIVISIONAL ROUND : SAINTS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/01/14
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, stats, Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

IF nothing else, the ballooning debate over which QB we should ride with, has had most of the air let out of it. That’s the only silver lining here. The rest is muck and drivel.
I spent the latter half of the fourth quarter saying that I lay last nights loss at the feet of Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz. This is due to his repeated unwillingness to make adjustments, even when it’s clear that our opponents have. Former Eagles OLB Seth Joyner later echoed my assessment, and also fingered Schwartz for calling too passive of a game.

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Eagles 14 – Saints 20

QB Nick Foles (18/31 – 58.0% – 201 – 1 – 2) didn’t have his “A” game yesterday, an with the Eagles having no kind of run game, it was all on him to conjure up a win. It might have been possible had the Offense had more opportunities with the ball. Instead, DC Jim Schwartz seemed determined to make sure that the Saints had all the time and space that they needed, to operate their offense.

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

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

1) Spread the Ball: Three receivers with 50 yards or better was what we ordered. Two receivers with 50 or better is what we got. NOT DONE

2) Sack Attack: We got a couples of sacks, but we did not keep hands up in the QB’s face. As a result he had clear lines of sight to convert key third down after key third down. NOT DONE

3) Win Rushing yards: We started Wendell Smallwood. You can’t win rushing yards without a RB. NOT POSSIBLE

4) Take away the short pass: With all the off-coverage, and vanilla zones, we didn’t take away the short pass, the long pass, the hall pass…. NOT DONE

That makes this week’s Four Things score 0 out of 4. That also brings the 2018 – 2019 to a close.

While it would have been great to have this year end like last year, we all know that no team can win it all, every year. So we are are going to see more playoff runs that end like this, than like last year. Which will still make for exciting seasons.

That being said, this season was a fun ride while it lasted.

On The Whole:

After jumping out to a 14 – 0 lead, we had no business losing this game the way that we did. Personally I see this as worse than the 48 – 7 regular season loss, because it feels like it was almost an inside job. The only thing that keeps me from thinking Schwartz got an envelope, is the fact that he’s been doing this shit since he got here. Here’s what I said in Four Things Reviewed after the Super Bowl:
“ 4) South Paw Switch: To be fair, I didn’t really expect this to get done, since it isn’t actually DC Jim Schwartz’s M.O. to make wholesale changes at the half. It would have however, kept the Patriot from outscoring us 21 -19 in the second half. (NOT DONE) ”

This is who Schwartz is, and this is what we have to live with. For as long as he’s here. Given that this was the last year of his contract though….

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: WK 4: CHARGERS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/10/02
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews, Special Teams, stats. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

APPARENTLY the Eagles have two NFL stadiums. With the way the crowd acted out there in Los Angeles, you’d never know that the Eagles weren’t playing at home. (Jeff Lurie, don’t you go getting any bright ideas about moving my team!) We started the week with a tie-breaker lead in the NFC East, but we’re at a point now, where we need to start pulling away from the rest. This week was a major step in that direction.

jeffery TD

WR Alshon Jeffery catches 8 yard touchdown. Image courtesy of Philly.com

EAGLES 26 – Chargers 24

This game wasn’t as close as the score. At no point did the Chargers ever have a lead. At no point did the Eagles deviate from the script. From the outset, we grabbed the Chargers by the throat, pinned them to a wall, and began to bludgeon them into unconsciousness. Not punching like with knuckles, but pounding, like with the side of the fist. 

I told you there’d be a 100 yard rusher, and that was RB LeGarrette Blount (16 – 136 – 8.5 – 0 – 0). RB Wendell Smallwood (10 – 34 – 3.4 – 1 – 0/ 4rec – 45 – 11.2 – 0) also got in on the act,  chipping in a TD on a goal line, dive behind LG Stefen Wisniewski. Our Defense held the Chargers to just 58 yards on the ground, despite giving up a 35 yard TD run. K Jake Elliott (4/4 – 2/2x) nailed every one of his field goal attempts, each of which was from 40 yards or better. K Caleb Sturgis may want to break out the resume polish.

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

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

1) Don’t go changin…: Shutting down the Chargers run game is a key to stopping them, but it doesn’t require a team going overboard and putting fifty-leven men in the box. We played it straight, took away the run and made them one-dimensional. (DONE)

2) Start the presses! : The Chargers “only” completed 57.8% of their passes which is down dramatically from the prior two weeks (75 and 74.4%). That however, wasn’t due to receivers being challenged at the line. STILL this week free releases were everywhere. It’s why this was a 2 point win instead of a 20 point win. The Chargers had no business posting a touchdown in this game. None whatsoever. (NOT DONE)

3) Run the damned ball: 42 rushes. 31 passes. (DONE)

4) Air it out: QB Carson Wentz (17/31 – 54.8% – 242 – 1 – 0) threw that monkey deep, a few times. Having to respect that, meant there was no way for Charger Safeties to help their front seven stop Blount, as he romped and frolicked in their wilderness. (DONE)

This weeks score is a rock solid 3 out of 4. By rock solid, I mean that everything that that was DONE, was really done, not just “technically”done. That brings the season’s mark to 10 out of 16. (I gotta say, 10 out of 16 sort of has a nice ring to it.) Next week, the 2-2 Arizona Cardinals will be stopping by the Linc, to pick up a shiny new “L” to hang around their necks. Should be fun!

On The Whole:

This was an excellent win. It was a cold-hearted, physical, methodical bludgeoning, and we did it on the road.

We did it despite injury. We did it without panicking when the lead was twice cut to two points. We did it because we could, and because they couldn’t stop us, and because we KNEW they couldn’t stop us.

We ran them over. Not like a truck, but like a steamroller. It was slow and it was agonizing. You could see the day, as it played out across the countenance of the Chargers QB. How he yelled and screamed. Cussed and howled. All for nothing. Even when granted the touchdown he pleaded for, his team was damned all the same. All the same.

Of course…there are things we can improve upon. But now, after THIS win, THIS way, is not the time to get into discussing flaws. Now is for enjoying and relishing. Because this, was an excellent win.

SPROLES INJURY MAY SPUR DEEP PLAYOFF RUN

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/09/27
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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BLOWING an ACL while breaking your arm on the same play, is the body’s way of saying “Hey dude, why don’t you read the retirement pamphlet that I got ya”. While I feel bad for RB Darren Sproles, this turn of events has me sort of excited for the Eagles future.

Have you ever wanted to pull your hair out on 3rd and 6, when the QB (Sam Bradford or Carson Wentz), saw nothing downfield, then checked it to Sproles on the right, near the line of scrimmage, for not a first down? You can see that play in your head can’t you. We’ve seen it a lot, right? Too much in fact.

That play used to happen so often, because Sproles is one of the rare RB’s in the NFL who can make something out of it. Frequently he didn’t, but he did often enough for the coaching staff to leave it in as a staple. As a result it became a wobbly crutch, and I for one hated it.

Well good news! That play isn’t really an option anymore. While all of our RB’s can catch, none of them specialize in it. That means the play-calling on first and second down, has to reflect that now. That means the coaching staff has to grow. They must now add a new wrinkle that the NFL has no tape on. Sound good? Well it’s not even the best part.

Every season (going back to Andy Reid’s third year) has involved bringing players who fit the scheme. Coming into this camp, players like Sproles, RB Donnel Pumphrey, and WR Jordan Matthews, were our short passing game. However, with those players now gone, the coaching staff must work scheme towards the strength of the roster, instead working the roster to fit the scheme. They don’t have to scrap the scheme, but they do have to seriously tweak it now.

So what are we working with? Take a look.

blunt force trauma

RB LeGarrette Blount – 6’0” / 250lbs. RB Wendell Smallwood – 5’10” / 208lbs. RB Corey Clement – 5’10” / 220lbs. RB Kenjon Barner – 5’9” /195

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Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement

This is the first Eagles RB group since 2003 (Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, and Correll Buckhalter) to feature more than one big back and a downhill blocking O-line. Our run game back then wasn’t perimeter based, it was between the Tackles. This is also before B-West had ever caught 50 balls in a season.

Eagles RBs

Duuuuuuce!, B-West, and Buck

People forget how good we were back then. All three of those RB’s averaged between 4.3 and 5.2 yards per carry, and had at least 675 yards from scrimmage. EACH. Good thing too, because we had to lean on them. In fact, their play put a spotlight on how weak the WR’s were, and so the Front Office stopped fighting us fans, traded for Terrell Owens.

Reminiscent of that Offense, are the players we now have at RB. We also have Wentz, who seems to have found his inner Randall Cunningham. Add that to a much better WR group than any from the Reid-era, along with TE Zach Ertz, who is head and shoulders over Chad Lewis. The Offensive Line just got a quick re-tool, and responded with their best game of the young season. Now just wait until it gels.

What we’re talking about here, is an Offense that works in any temperature, any weather, dome or open air, day or night. The talent is playoff caliber. In fact, the talent is deep-run playoff caliber. We just need to see the play-calling to match.

Sproles injury seems like a dark cloud, but only on the surface. The silver lining is, it will force the coaching staff to take a hard look at some things. The removal of our crutch will force growth, that will pull Doug Pederson further from his Reid upbringing, and more into the guy who brings this city it’s first Super Bowl parade.

Remember where you read that first.

REBUILDING OUR SPECIAL TEAMS

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/09/26
Posted in: Conversations, NFL, Players, Roster, Special Teams. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SO far I have yet to see a headline asking the question, so I decided to ask it myself. With K Caleb Sturgis being near automatic from 39 yards and in, but shaky from anything 40 yards and greater, should the Eagles decide to stick with and develop a rookie who has already set a franchise record, in just his second pro game?

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Rookie K Jake Elliott was drafted by Cincinnati in the fifth round, but released due to missing “too many easy kicks” (and not for inadequate leg strength, as this website erroneously reported yesterday). Once Sturgis injured his hip, we needed a guy. So we grabbed Elliott off of Cincy’s Practice Squad. Given that Sturgis (on a one year deal) was never the long-term answer at K, this might all be falling neatly into place.

In fact, when you take an objective look at our Special Teams unit, you see age and lack of depth throughout. P Donnie Jones is in year 14, at age 37. RB/PR Darren Sproles just sustained two season- (and likely career) -ending injuries, but when he went down, WR Torrey Smith took over PR duty and returned the first punt of his career. We also allowed ace Special Teamer OLB Bryan Braman to walk this off-season, and kick coverage has certainly been affected.

This raises some interesting questions about the Eagles long-term Special Teams situation. Right now our most dangerous KR, is RB Wendell Smallwood. That could be an issue if he’s to play serious minutes on Offense. And do we really want our #2 WR returning punts, with almost zero experience?

My suggestion would be to develop Elliott. I’d also limit Smallwood’s Offensive snaps to keep him fresh for kick returns. I’d essentially swap him on the depth chart with RB Corey Clement.

Then I’d add an experienced PR, since we don’t have one on the roster. My thought? Bring back “preseason legend” WR Paul Turner. Hell, he’s even returned a punt for a touchdown, remember?  I’d also add a young P with a history of playing QB (even high school), to the Practice Squad and develop him into a sort of Tom Tupa QB/P . (Showing my age on that one.)

That would roll a third string QB and a P, into one guy. That would also discourage opponents from aggressively trying to block any punts or field goals, that he was the holder for. Just a few things to think about, since Sunday was such a pivotal day for Special Teams here.

GOODBYE WENDELL SMALLWOOD?

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/22
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Crazy Talk, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

card.wendell.smallwood

EVERYONE seems to be talking about what RB LeGarrette Blount means for the Eagles Offense. Conversely, no one seems to be talking about what signing Blount means for 2nd year RB Wendell Smallwood. Sure they discuss how Smallwood may be used. How many touches per game he would, should or could see, but not what the Blount signing really means for him. Long term means for him. Well friends, allow me to enlighten you.

Howie to players

The Eagles went into the 2017 Draft wanting to draft a RB with second round pick. Let me repeat that. They went into the Draft with that desire. For Smallwood, the Eagles initial desire to draft a RB with a second round pick, says they didn’t feel that they have a star or even a starter in Smallwood.

The Eagles FO (Front Office) reportedly wasn’t able to move up in the 2nd round in order to get RB Dalvin Cook, so they took CB Sidney Jones instead. Since they didn’t sign a RB in Free Agency’s first round, and didn’t get their man in the Draft, the FO was left scrambling.

Realizing that they’d screwed the pooch, the FO took a hard look at the options already available on our roster. Those options were A) pay RB Ryan Mathews for 16 starts while only getting 6 to 8 out him; or B) they could release him, and go with a roster full of runts at the position. What happened next was no less than a repudiation of Wendell Smallwood himself.

Once they whiffed on Cook in the Draft, the FO didn’t trade for a promising young RB, nor did they get behind any back currently on the roster. They essentially decided that they would eat a year at the position. Yet even with that decision, Smallwood would still not be “the guy”. Not even in a throwaway year.

Instead, the FO spent as much as 2.8M on a 30-year old, one-dimensional player, just to act as a stop-gap for 16 games or so. He’s a one year role player, here to play (what even he called) “situational football”. Next year, either through the Draft or Free Agency, you can bet your sweet ass that the Eagles will prioritize getting QB Carson Wentz a RB he can grow with. 

The Eagles blatant disregard for Smallwood in particular has to be jarring for his confidence, considering that the team didn’t even invest much in the guy they gave his spot to. Blount is here long enough for the team to have a full spate of options to pick from in 2018. At which point they’ll be looking past Smallwood again. I hope his agent is preparing him.

Maybe I’m wrong and Smallwood will have a huge year, be a top 5 rushing leader, and become a breakout star. Maybe the Eagles will decide they don’t need to spend an early draft pick on a RB in 2018. Maybe Donald Trump will be the best thing that ever happened to America, and maybe the Eagles and Browns will play in the Super Bowl this year. Oh wait, I don’t take hallucinogenics. Never mind.

This signing basically tweets to the world what the Eagles think of Wendell Smallwood. If he can still be an effective Kick Returner this year, then I can see him getting a deal to stay beyond his rookie contract. If not… This Philly (guy) is 75% sure that Smallwood will be packing his bags with Blount at the end of this year.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM BLOUNT

Posted by The BEAST on 2017/05/18
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Blount Instrument.jpg

SIGNING RB LeGarrette Blount to replace RB Ryan Mathews, will save the Eagles about 4M dollars in cap space this year. It also fills gives us a short yardage and goalline runner who can indeed move a pile. I look forward to using phrases like “Blount Force Trauma”, “beaten with a Blount instrument”, and “Don’t Punt It. Blount It!” I also look forward to the backfield nickname of “Blount and Runt”.

But before we get carried away, fingering each other in celebration, it’s important that we pump the brakes and look at what we really have. There’s been a tendency to look at this signing through one lens, and that only sets us up for disappointment. We know we have a guy with long history of being a pile mover, but we also need to discuss his drawbacks.

One of his chief drawbacks is that he has a long history of being a pile mover. Pile movers (aka powerbacks) have a tendency to go over a cliff suddenly in the NFL. Christian Okoye, Barry Word, Rod Bernstine, Leonard Russell, Bam Morris, Barry Foster, Natrone Means, Mike Alstott, Brandon Jacobs. All of these guys made noise as NFL powerbacks. Not one of them was still nearly as effective at the age of 30. In fact, most were out of football by 30. Did I mention that Blount is 30? Oh, I didn’t? Let me correct that.

LeGarrette Blount is 30.

Blount is not an every down RB. I know people want to point to 2016 like it’s the standard for what he delivers, but the rest of his career strongly indicates that 2016 was a fluke. He hasn’t started more than 8 games in any season since 2011. He also has a career total of 46 receptions over 7 seasons. Basically, every time we trot him out there, we’re telling our opponent that the play is a run. Since he’s 250 pounds, he’s probably not running many Stretch plays, so we’re also saying “He’s coming at you between the tackles!”

He’s also not exactly a home-run hitter. Yes he had 18 rushing TD’s last year, but 13 were from inside the five, and NINE of those were from the one yard line or shorter.

What we have here is a role-player. Odds are, Wendell Smallwood is the “starter” in what will likely be a RB-by-committee approach, that doesn’t allow anyone to get into a rhythm and telegraphs our intentions (Blount = run, Darren Sproles = Screen, etc. etc.).

Blount should have enough juice to contribute if we use him at a pace of about 6 or 7 carries per game (96 to 112 over 16 games). However to expect more than a role player who nets 400 or so rushing yards, is unrealistic. Sorry, but I just felt someone had to speak Blountly about this.

FOUR THINGS REVIEWED: BENGALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/12/08
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players, Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LAST week’s game was a gimmie, and we not only found a way to lose that game, we found a way to embarrass ourselves in the process. You know what? No. That was inaccurate. Some of the players found a way to embarrass us. Insult to injury: Those same players didn’t seem to be the least bit embarrassed themselves.

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We put up 14 cosmetic points in the 14 – 32 hosing that we got from a team that came in 3-7-1. We didn’t even bother to attack their weaknesses. It was weird to watch. I’m not sure what the coaching staff was trying to do last week, but winning that game was the farthest thing from their minds.

On the up-side, we held the Bengals to 2.4 yards per rush on 33 attempts, which is nothing to sneeze at. Sadly, that only highlights what I’ve been saying about the Secondary not pulling their weight. We choked over 332 yards, 2TD’s and allowed a completion percentage of 74.1.

But what about the stuff that the stats don’t reveal? That’s the reason for these “Four Things” articles. To have an idea of what needs addressing BEFORE the game, so that we’re forced to honestly answer questions AFTER the game.

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

1) Get off the bus running the ball. This flat out didn’t happen. Instead of feeding the 28th ranked rushing defense a steady diet of RB Wendell Smallwood, we ran the ball a team-wide 19 times and threw it 60. No Eagles player ran for more than 19 yards or had more than 8 rushes. To Head Coach Doug Pederson, all I can say is: “Way to go, Ace!” The only way you could have outdone yourself here, would be to try and get RB Darren Sproles killed, by running him despite a broken rib. Which would be insane, right?!  (Sigh) This was so simple, yet… NOT DONE

2) Start the Presses. The CB’s weren’t giving up huge cushions, but they continued to give up free releases at the line, doing nothing to disrupt QB Andy Dalton‘s rhythm. NOT DONE

3) Treggs, Treggs and more Treggs. WR Bryce Treggs sat this one out. The only Eagles WR who can threaten a defense deep, was inactive for this game. Nice one Eagles. NOT DONE

4) More wrap artists and fewer hits. Our tackling in this game was the best I’ve seen it in weeks. DONE

We close out this week with a score of 1 out of 4, proving once again, that if you ignore fundamentals, it’s hard to win football games. While I don’t maintain great hopes for the postseason now, a win against the ‘skins this week would be a nice change of pace from this 3 game skid we’re on.

WK13: BENGALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/12/05
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Reviews, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

w13-cin

EAGLES 14 – Bengals 32

WHILE watching this game, at times I felt like I had more at stake than some of our players. There were a few players out there clearly dogging it, but with a little luck we won’t be seeing some of those faces in 2017. Speaking of luck, we seemed to have had as much bad luck as we did poor execution. A couple of the turnovers we surrendered were more bad luck, than real skill by the Bengals. It was just not going to be our day. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it’s Pittsburgh, sometimes it’s Cincinnati. Gotta take the good and the bad equally. 

On a day when the Offensive Line couldn’t protect QB Carson Wentz (36/60 – 60.0% – 308 – 1 – 3), the play-calling dialed up 60 passes compared to a team-wide 19 rushes. In the second half, starting RB Wendell Smallwood (8 – 19 – 2.3 – 0 – 0) didn’t see the field as we instead opted to lean on an undersized, 33 year old, with a broken rib. Our leading WR was Paul Turner (6 – 80 – 13.3 – 0), proving once again that many fans here have a better feel for our receiver situation than the Head Coach. (Remember the days of fans holding up“I’m a moron, I want a WR!” signs? We went and got a real WR (Terrell Owens) and went immediately to the Super Bowl, didn’t we? Maybe us fans shouldn’t be ignored so much.) Turner was targeted 7 times and snagged 6 passes for real yardage. And he’ll probably be benched/inactive again next week.

ugh

 

Defensively, I couldn’t help but notice the utter lack of pride that some of our players have. Later in the game there was an incident that threw a spotlight on it. When the Bengals allowed the TD to our TE, a couple of their defensive players jawed at each other over the blown coverage. It’s been weeks since our Secondary has shown that much pride. Our CB’s (Carroll/McKelvin) seem resigned to being sub-par to average players, who are happy enough to draw a check. For that reason, I hope that neither returns next year. We don’t need that attitude to contaminate our young, in-coming players.

 

Due to large cushions, free releases, and (let’s be honest) just downright shitty fucking coverage, yet another opposing QB was able to constantly get rid of the ball quickly. Our Secondary has effectively neutered our pass rush. Defensive Co-ordinator Jim Schwartz has to be ultimately held responsible for the decline of this unit, due to him not having any answers for how to fix the Secondary.

Did you notice?

How you and I seem to care more than certain players at this point.

FOUR THINGS: EAGLES/BENGALS

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/12/02
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Defense, Four Things, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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WE enter this week at 5-6, showing less and less competitive competence, in each of the last three successive weeks. However, if we have the capacity to max out at 10 wins in a season, we have to keep plugging away. Even if our division leader has already 11 wins, there still exists the chance for a wild card playoff spot. In fact, even we finish 9-7, we might still (with some help) make it in. Say we make the playoffs, and get hot (like the 9-7, 2011 giants)… Hey, you never know. So as long as there’s a real chance, we have to keep plugging.

Your team needs you, fellow Eagles fans. Don’t bail on them now.

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We’re going somewhere that has not been kind to us this year. I don’t mean Paul Brown Stadium, (since we haven’t been there yet). What I mean is anywhere on the road. I mentioned the word “playoffs” and I was serious. If the Eagles win 4 of these last 5 games, or (clutch the pearls) run the table, the math says that only something truly bizarre could keep us out of the postseason.

Let’s be clear, the point of the postseason is to win games. If we go, then we’re going as a wild card team. Period. That means no home games. To go to the playoffs and not win a single game, would blow a high Draft position for nothing. If we’re going to make this push, THIS WEEK has to be the beginning of us getting our shit together.

So let’s talk about the Four Things we need to look for, Week 13 versus the Bengals:

1) Get off the bus running the ball. We’re a better team when we make a hardcore commitment to the run. On top of that, Cincinnati sucks (28th) at defending the run. RB Ryan Matthews is out, and RB Darren Sproles is undersized and nursing sore ribs. This means that RB Wendell Smallwood will see 18 or more carries if we’re serious about winning.

2) Start the Presses. The 5 to 8 yard cushions that our CB’s give up routinely, have reduced our pass rush to nothing. We have to start disrupting the timing on throws, to make QB’s have to make reads during the play and not just pre-snap.

3) Treggs, Treggs and more Treggs. WR Bryce Treggs has been extremely effective in the limited number of downs he’s played so far. While he doesn’t have great stats, his biggest contribution is the clear-out routes he runs, which create space for others to get open. It would be smart not to waste him on Jet Sweeps. Instead line him up in the slot and have him run Safeties out of position, and maybe even free him up one-on-one.

4) More wrap artists and fewer hits. Eagles DB’s (right Nolan Carroll?) need to bring their arms to the tackle and not just expect a player to fall from a pop. Too often opposing players are bouncing off of, spinning off of, and running through these shoulder lunges. Even when a player is made to fall from one of these hits, they routinely are falling forward for an extra yard or two. Players in our Secondary are simply not man enough to lay guys out. If they aren’t going to cover their man, they should at least get him down after he makes the open, usually uncontested catch.

This game (like Detroit) should be a gimme. Whether we’ve learned anything since Week 5 will be on display here. The only question is: Are we willing to step up and commit to closing this team out?

yeah-bitch