Monday Evening Update
Posted: October 3rd, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 47 Comments »So, I’m assuming everyone has put yesterday’s almost-win behind us and we’re ready to talk about some positive stuff?
No? Okay, you can’t blame me for trying. First up, the new news. Andy Reid announced in his PC earlier today that Antonio Dixon has a torn tricep and is out for the year. Reid said that Jason Peters has a hamstring strain and Trent Cole a calf strain. Both injures are significant. Jay Glazer reported on Twitter that he heard Cole had a grade 2 strain and would miss 3 weeks. Andy wouldn’t give up any time line.
Reid did say indicate that King Dunlap would fill in at LT for Peters. That’s far from ideal, but Dunlap has started at LT in some victories for us so we know we can deal with that. Losing Cole really hurts. Darryl Tapp isn’t a lock to play this week. Andy said he’s “almost there”. I’m hoping Tapp does play. We’ll need him. Juqua Parker still has the high ankle sprain. They are hoping he’ll practice some this week, but he’s likely out at least for the BUF game.
There are reports that the team signed DT Derek Landri to replace Dixon, but the Eagles haven’t confirmed that yet. The move makes sense. He knows the scheme from his time here this summer. He’s a highly motivated veteran that will hit the ground running. The Eagles are still high on Practice Squad member Cedric Thornton, but he’s raw. That’s not a guy you want to mix into the current situation. We need help right now. We’ve got enough young players. You guys may remember I was upset when we cut Landri. I’m curious to see if he can play up to the level he did this summer.
Back to Andy’s PC…SalPal tried everything he could to get Reid to say he might make a coaching change. Reid wouldn’t bit. Sal asked about scheme change and/or player changes. Reid gave a generic answer.
There is no need to scrap the Wide-9. The scheme is fine. Right now the back seven aren’t doing their jobs. I know people don’t want to hear that. It’s easier to blame a scheme and imagine some great coaching change could solve things. That’s not the case.
We knew there would be growing pains with so many new players and a new system, but I don’t think the coaches expected so many simple mistakes. Kurt Coleman’s missed tackle last week turns into a long TD. Jarrad Page missed a tackle on a run yesterday that turned that into a long gain. Jamar Chaney got out of his gap earlier on that play, making it necessary for Page to make the stop. Chaney was really dumb on Smith’s scramble/pass in the 2nd half that went for a big gain. Chaney just flew up the field after Smith and left his area wide open. There were other defenders chasing Smith and he was already by the sideline. There was no reason for Chaney to attack. Dumb, dumb, and dumb.
The Eagles have struggled vs the run off and on in the Reid era. The one time the team was good vs the run was 2007-2010 when Patt and Bunk controlled the middle as bigger 2-gap DTs. Problem then became that we got no push from them and QBs never had inside pressure to deal with. Jim Johnson took a lot of flak for not focusing more on the run at times. He preferred to build the defense to stop the pass. The Wide-9 can be a good run defense, but it has to be executed properly.
The Wide-9 is fine. The players are the issue. Now, coverages can be changed. Obviously there are serious issues in the pass defense. We can change how we play the CBs. We can change what we do with the Safeties. I’m sure Reid and Castillo will look to see what they can do to tighten things up.
I am not done re-watching the game. I was too depressed to watch it last night. I watched the Clint Eastwood movie Hereafter instead. I hoped a movie about death and how people deal with it might cheer me up. Didn’t work. I had trouble falling asleep while thinking about the Eagles. First thing on my mind this morning when the alarm clock went off was “Crap. We’re 1-3”.
I did watch some of the game this morning. I’ll get to more of it today. I want to see what the specific breakdowns were on offense and defense. We’re all furious with Juan Castillo and the defense right now for that abysmal 2nd half performance, but let’s not forget that Alex Henery missed 2 FGs and the offense failed to score in the 4th quarter. Jeremy Maclin fumbled at the SF 31-yard line. There was 2:07 left. Hold onto the ball and that game just might be ours.
Even with a win we’d have a lot of tough questions to answer. This team cannot finish. If games ended after 3 quarters we’d be undefeated. Unfortunately the NFL still demands that we play the 4th quarter and count all the points scored. I can’t recall an Eagles team blowing leads like this. Normally the problem is falling behind and not being able to catch up. Coming from ahead to lose is new to us.
Enough for now. Back to the game review.
I thought Hereafter was mostly crap. Not really what I was expecting.
Interesting, but disappointing. Kinda like the Eagles.
I enjoyed it, though didn’t know what I was going to watch. Some of that maybe that adult cinema trips are quite rare these days.
I thought the Tsunami scenes were graphically excellent and cinema bringing the horror and helplessness perfectly to light.
Like I said. Aaron Curry for a 4th and put him at SAM
How about some non-coaching changes that could help. Jarrett was supposed to be a great tackler and hard hitter. How about putting him in for Page. He can’t be any slower and Page has been one of the ones missing tackles. DeVan had a terrible game and the Giants game he was pretty bad too. Can Watkins be any worse? Maybe it is time to see what the price is for Aaron Curry. Even if he is a bust for the 4th pick of the draft there is a decent shot he is better than what we have here. At least he’d have the size to contend with the OTs that have been blocking our other LBs.
I’m on board with replacing below-average vets with rookies with upside. At least those guys’s mistakes come with the additional promise of upside.
Goes to show you how much we missed the offseason this year. Jarrett and Watkins will play eventually. Would be nice if they were up to speed now and not overwhelmed/still learning.
One of the biggest problems I have with Andy is his so called philosophy with a big lead. I feel like he thinks the goal is to win by 50 points, just win the damn game. The problem with his philosophy is it keeps the other teams in the ball game. With a 20 point lead in the 2nd half, run the damn ball. In the 2nd half 25 of our 30 plays were drop backs. I don’t care if we get 1ypc, the clock continues to run and it shortens the game. I’m not saying run it every play. but 5 out of 30 with a 2td+ lead is a flat out joke. I just dont get how an NFL caoch doesn’t know that. It’s so frustrating at time! Tommy, your thoughts?
The problem with your criticism here is that Andy’s philosophy has oft been repeated as “Pass to get the lead, run to win the game.” It’s been said that he likes to run in the 2nd half to seal games.
Last week he tried to do that and they got burned. So he said in the press conference, I believe, he felt like he had to pass pass pass to keep growing that 23-3 lead. That it ultimately failed is cruel irony, since the exact thing he says he was trying to do ended up costing them.
But I find it hard to find fault with Reid’s overall philosophy; he tried to play it conservative and the D let him down. He tried to play it aggressive and the D let him down.
If we’re finding fault with Reid, shouldn’t it be with individual play calls or hiring Castillo or what have you?
Tommy, I’m right there with you brother. We as fans have to stop wishing for the magical fix. Doesn’t matter who we fire, sign (although I like Landri) or give a new role to.
(channels inner Rick Pitino) Ray Lewis is not walking through that door!
Regardless of whether you blame the coaches (everyone) or the players (still lonely ol’ me), there’s enough talent on the team to win. The fourth quarter leads prove it. Shoot, we were in the red zone SEVEN times yesterday. We gained 516 yards (I say we because I rotated in; you didn’t notice?) … There’s no reason the 49ers should shred a defense for three long second-half drives.
Cullen Jenkins hit the nail on the head. This team is gutless. Nobody has the magic fix, but I bet if they manned up and focused on doing the simple things well, they’d no longer be the laughingstock of the league.
You never want to go into the bye on a deflating loss, so I’m glad we get the Bills next week. But this team could sure use a bye right now so it can remember how to block and tackle and hold on to the football and kick it through the uprights.
Everything that can go wrong so far has. Every potential weakness has become a major one. And still you look at the schedule and say, outside of the Patriots game, there’s not a team on there we can’t beat.
The problem is, as we learned yesterday, there isn’t a team on there we can’t find a way to lose to.
I’d like to join you in blaming the players. Yesterday was the first time I could watch the full game, at home, and not just listen or watch in a bar. I always have the Eagles roster in front of me so I can cross check numbers for guys I don’t know yet (I’m kind of embarrassed I don’t know their numbers by heart).
Normally, I’ll learn a guy’s number by saying “Wow, #57 made a huge play, who is that?” a few times (damn right that’s a Keith Adams call back!). I was shocked how many times I’d check because a guy missed an easy tackle (Page), or watching a linebacker fail to run someone down (Rolle & Chaney). The only non-DE to make me take notice in a good way was Nate Allen on a couple of plays. That’s all.
Likewise, I hate to say it because he sounds like he might be the greatest person to ever play for the Eagles but… Nnamdi? I have not been impressed at all. I’m not sure if the scheme is just making him look bad, or maybe after years of coasting on his rep he’s being exposed and he isn’t as good as promised. But frankly, I think he’s been a disappointment.
Offensively, other than Vick (who has been a little more inconsistent than last year) and Shady, I haven’t been impressed by anyone. Maclin has cost us two games, DJax has definitively made the case that he is NOT a #1 WR, and I’m not sure if Brent Celek is still on the team. Oh, Clay Harbour has looked good.
Either this team is not as talented as people think, or these coaches are awful. I’m leaning towards blaming the players.
… there’s not a team on there we can’t beat.
The real problem is that at the moment that team is ourselves
I could not agree more.
Not to get into a whole long thing, but except for some of the Giants’ niftily crafted plays and Tony Gonzalez being awesome, all three of the losses turned on the Eagles failing to do simple things like tackle guys they hit, break up passes they get their hands on, not fumble or literally throw the ball away when they are about to score, not miss field goals, etc. etc.
Tommy, I’m really curious about something. What do you think the single biggest problem on this team is after 4 weeks? and is it a fixable problem? I don’t spend the time you do watching tape or the experience. I know there are multiple problems right now and it may not be a glaring issue but the team can only focus on one thing at a time so what needs to be addressed first.
I know I’m not Tommy, and most people would say the defense. But being a realist and accepting that the defense is meh (meh-plus if they tackle well), I think the biggest issue is the offense leaving so many points on the field. In all the losses we’ve had red-zone turnovers, short-yardage failures or missed field goals.
It’s probably unlikely Tommy will agree, but that seems to me to be the fix most likely to turn things around quickly. The D needs a lot of work; it’s time to accept that mediocre might be the best we can hope for.
I would agree with you that RZ on both sides is just killing us but I was seeing if there is anything specifically, like, are guys in the right place and just not executing? Are we getting beat schematically? Outsmarted on either side of the ball? Is it just a mental thing where we think we deserve to win? Something that, theoretically, the coaches can tangibly work on whether through X’s and O’s or through shaming them into gut-check time. Since we know Tommy takes the time to sift to tape for hours, I was hoping he might have a little deeper insight into the why instead of just pointing out that we suck at this and that. (Hell, even Tommy might not have an answer and be just like most of us football junkies)
“First thing on my mind this morning when the alarm clock went off was “Crap. We’re 1-3″.”
The result of the Eagles game makes or breaks my Monday. And often Tuesday and Wednesday. Needless to say I’ve had some bad starts to the week lately.
Strangely though, the losses are getting more disappointing. The Falcons one stunk but you could make sense of it. The Giants one was baffling but you figured it was just a bad game and that happens sometimes.
This one though, I had to actually not think about the Eagles for 24 hours. I don’t have time to be consumed with those negative emotions. I have to set it aside.
Can you really go all the way to Wednesday still steaming?
Ha, rarely. It would have to be a devastating loss for that to happen.
I’m with you about these losses getting more disappointing though. I thought Atlanta was such a fluke loss and we would roll through the Giants. Then after that game I tried to convince myself it was the Giants’ super bowl and we were bound to lose to them eventually, even though I knew we were flawed. Now, I just get sad when I think about the Eagles. It’s distracting.
I live in Buffalo so if we lose this week, I just don’t know.
Stay away from Niagra Falls if we lose… DONT DO IT GARY!
I think the Wide 9 as a scheme in itself is sound. It certainly has its share of weakness, but that is true of any scheme. On the other hand, it is hard to argue that we have ever generated more of a pass rush with our dline alone. That being said, I do question the Wide 9 scheme in OUR defense. One of the obvious weaknesses in the wide 9 is the running lanes it can open up when the dlineman run past the running back. This is not something that you are likely to improve on with better dlineman, even the best dlineman would likely open up bigger running lanes in the wide 9 as compared to a standard 4-3. That issue is schematic. Now, schematically, those running lanes are supposed to be plugged up by LBers and potentially safeties.
That may work for many teams, but the problem for the Eagles is that we have neglected the LB corp for years. In fact, we arguably have the worst LB core in the league, and it’s because we simply do not invest all that much into the position. Here is a list of our starters and backups:
Starters:
7th round pick 2010 – Chaney
7th round pick 2009 – Fokou
6th round pick 2011 – Rolle
Backups:
4th round pick 2011 – Matthews (benched this year)
4th round pick 2010 – Clayton (only shown limited ability so far)
Undrafted FA 2007 – Jordan (benched for Fokou last year)
You could argue the round a player is picked doesn’t define how good he is, which is a fair point, but I would counter with the fact that other than Stewart Bradley, who only really had one solid year, this team has not drafted a single impact LB and has had their fair share of busts at the position, so we are not talking about a team that drafts LBs well either.
To make matters worse, not only are our LBs below average, but our safeties, a position we don’t really have a history of neglecting, are awful this year as well. Ultimately, this all translates to putting a ton of pressure on 5 guys who are clearly the the weakest points on our defense.
Now all that being said, I do think you are right in the assessment that switching out of the wide 9 would not likely be some kind of magic switch that turns our poor defense into a solid one, but I do think the decision to go to the wide 9 without properly preparing for it with the right personnel is a very questionable decision by this FO. I also wonder what would have happened if we had not switched to the wide 9 to begin with and had designed a scheme that better utilized the talent we do have and minimized the importance of at least our LBers. Our safeties have taken a step back from last year, but both our Dline and our CBs have taken a major step forward, so the argument could be made that we are a more talented team on d this year compared to last. That being said, through 4 games (which is not a huge sample size obviously), this defense is arguably worse than last years.
Couldn’t agree more. The baffling thing to me is why we’ve expended so little on our LB corps. For years we complained that the Eagles LBs were good, or solid or at worst mediocre. This group is AWFUL. But they’d always piece together solid veterans who could get the job down. Even in 04 it took Brady to pick them apart, and that was a LB corps made up of a lot of middling FAs.
So in a year where there were tons of veteran FAs, every single one of them was worse than the UFL All Stars we’re putting on the field?
It’s not about spending, it’s about the right players. You don’t need athletic LBs in a Wide9. You need big thumpers who can read/react based on the guard play and clean up the trash. If you want a small DL who penetrates, you need a big LB core to compensate. Vice-versa applies too. You want small LBs who pursue? You better have big hogs who keep them clean.
What I don’t understand is why not use the basic 4-3 alignment in running situations until we get the personnel to run it effectively?
A friend and I have always considered the Will Witherspoon situation one of the most mind-boggling in recent Eagles history. A guy comes in for an injured MLB, first game gets 2 ints and 2 forced fumbles. What do we do? Panic and move him to a different position, where he doesn’t perform like an allstar, then cut him at the end of the year.
It’s as if not only do we not want to pay/draft linebackers, but our organization actually resents and punishes success at the position.
Maybe there’s something the two of us completely missed and the guy was a huge douchebag who got lucky in one game- would appreciate some enlightenment if so.
While admitting you know far more about football than I do, I don’t think it is fair to say “the back seven aren’t doing their jobs.” I’d say the LBs and S are the culprits.
I took a look at all the TDs scored on the Eagles D, and only 4 of the 13 were by WRs, and only one of those 4 came when a CB was near the catch. As far as yards, only 1 WR has over 100 and only 3 over 50. It could be the CBs are blowing coverage/assignments and I’m just not noticing the breakdowns. It could be a lot of things. But the defensive philosophy I thought they had seems to essentially be working.
I started posting about this on Igglesblog, and got interested enough to develop it into a BGN fanpost. If anybody wants to read it:
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2011/10/3/2467686/defense-who-to-blame
Oh who thought I would miss “Q” so bad… at least Rolle had half a game that was tolerable (until everyone lost there mind in the third). Where is the D leader? How about a draft pick to Broncos for Dawk?
I am most disappointed with the offense. Say what you will but I don’t remember an AR team turning the ball over this much. Vick and Co. need to stop turning the ball over. And the drops! I thought it was Thrash and Pinkston out there.
Seriously this offense should have hung 50 on SF so shame on them.
Wonder if Fisher would be interested in a consulting job?
I wonder if Fisher would be interested in a head coaching job.
Our consolation prize? Tony “Gomer” Romo’s epic meltdown.
There is no reason at all that Clayton should not get a chance to start, he was a 4th round pick, he has the speed and coverage skills, enough about his getting off the blocks and tackling, play the man and see what you have
I wouldn’t mind seeing Clayton at LB or Safety.
Is there a reason we can’t leave our CBs out on “islands” and keep a Safety down in the box 99% of the time?
Tommy
do you see any chance to upgrade the LB and/or Safety corps during this season? Maybe we could trade Asante for a starting LB or Safety. But which team would be interested and able to offer something in return, respectively???
any decent free agent kickers available? You know Henery would have missed that third FG if Maclin didn’t fumble. Henery is a choke artist. He didn’t even appear upset in the post game interview. he was saying things like “nothing I can do about it now” Henery was a wasted draft pick.
You guys say the funniest stuff. We can’t get Akers back … and although Henery sucked on Sunday, you might want to familiarize yourself with his history before you call him a choke artist:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=1064873
He’s a choking pro so far I guess lol … son was money in college. Doesn’t do us a whole lot of good now, but I’m a sucker for facts I guess.
There’s a reason why Aaron Curry was benched in Sea. There are plenty of people who want to see him out of there. He’s most likely better than Fokou, but he can’t cover a soul to save his life either. He’ d be an upgrade against the run, but we’d still have coverage issues down the middle of the field and covering RBs in the flat. I guess I’d be ok with it if they made that move, but wouldn’t expect a huge turnaround.
Clayton won’t be given a chance unless Rolle fails. He’s a WILL. He’s a bigger liability against the run than Fokou, imo. May be it would be nice to see he and Rolle on the field in passing situations, but I’d venture teams would take the chance running the ball at them even on 3rd and long. No one has shown the ability to consistently stop teams for gaining big yards on running plays.
Tommy,
How does Andy , the team – prepare for this week? I know we’d like to think the season isn’t over, but I just don’t see how they can beat the Bills.
This team seems like they need to go back to square one, and 6 days is a lot to fix all of our problems.
Where does Andy start?
Red Zone offense? Red Zone Defense? Turnovers? Special Teams? 3rd Down Defense? Tackling? The Oline? All three LB’s? the Safeties?
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How do you re-teach all that in a week? I know we all want to keep looking at this loss, and then get past it, but I don’t know how the team gets past it.
I guess the good news for the whole coaching staff in general – is they can blame injuries, like they’ve done at least one time in the past.
Eagles -3 at Buffalo. The bookies at least remain confident about the Eagles.
The Eagles are 1-6 in their last 7 games.
They’re playing up to that record.
This is a lousy team. From last year to this year.
Think back to the Vikings game. They lost because the offense couldn’t keep up with Joe Webb.
The Birds lost the last three games this year because the offense couldn’t score in the 4th quarter at all. (I know about the missed FGs. The problem is not getting TDs from the 1, though.)
The common denominators are the Reid and Mohrnenwig.
I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Glad Derek Landri was still available.
What are we going to do at DE? Our guys look completely gassed by the start of the 4th Qtr. Its safe to assume that there aren’t DEs wondering the streets waiting to be signed… I don’t want to see Cullen Jenkins have to play out wide because he is so effective at DT. Are we gonna tape the crap out of JP’s ankle, give him some shots and put him in?
Tommy, is there a reason we don’t just start taking penalties when we get into the red zone so that we can get back out of the red zone? I mean, I realize that makes longer field goals, but at this point I cringe anytime we cross the 20 yrd line and don’t score on the play that takes us inside the 20 yrd line. I mean it’s pretty clear that they can’t score inside the 20 so… you gotta do something right?
Best suggestion I’ve read so far.
This reminds me of the Soviet Union shortly before World War 2. Stalin instituted a massive “purge” that lasted for several years. He targeted anyone he feared, mistrusted, or just didn’t like, tried them for treason, and they were either killed, imprisoned or exiled. He targeted almost all of the senior military leaders, essentially wiping out the veteran leadership of the nation’s armed forces.
When Germany launched a surprise assault, the Soviet Union suffered horrendous losses due largely to the fact that their military leadership was composed almost entirely of new and inexperienced officers. They were inexperienced and made simple mistakes that cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The only thing that saved the USSR was (once again) the brutal Russian winter that decimated the invading forces.
It seems to me like Andy Reid and Co. began their own “purge” a few years ago. They eliminated every single senior member of the Eagles and replaced them with a flood of inexperienced young players. They even canned David Akers because the guy had the temerity to miss two field goals the day after he found out his 8 year old daughter probably had cancer. Ruthless.
I think if some of those veterans, such as Stewart Bradley and Brian Dawkins, had been resigned this team would be playing ALOT better. You can’t have a horde of new, young personnel with no leadership…that’s like an army full of privates with no officers. That’s the approach Reid has taken, and now the team and the fans are paying the price.
Let’s just hope the Birds can stave off season-ending defeat long enough for a handful of players to rise through the ranks and lead a strong counteroffensive.
The WWII analogy may be a little over the top but I can’t resist continuing. Hitler’s General’s all knew the invasion of Russia was a huge mistake but they were afraid to argue with him. A leader who surrounds himself with handpicked, obedient assistants does himself, and everyone else, a dis-service.
I wonder if the Eagles will continue to design the red zone offense around getting Owen Schmitt the ball.
A buddy who is a giants fan sent me this.
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/tlg/2629514337.html
Overlooking that you have a buddy who is a Giants fan, this is great stuff.
Wow, that is good stuff and quite comical. Paybacks are a bish. I am sure they felt worse than we do now after their meltdown last year.
“A plus would be if you could tackle and get in there for a few plays to help out” … nice