So This Is What They Had In Mind
Posted: October 31st, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 61 Comments »Wow. PHI 34, DAL 7.
I became more and more confident over the weekend, but I didn’t expect total domination.
The offense was terrific, but let’s talk about the defense right now.
In the last 10 quarters the defense has put up these numbers:
Points – 30 (12.5 per game)
Total Yards – 707 (283 per game)
Rushing – 42-200 … 2 TD runs (John Beck, Brad Smith)
3rd downs – 5 for 27
Red Zone – 2 for 6
The defense is absolutely headed in the right direction. Shutting down Rex Grossman/John Beck was nice, but dominating the Dallas offense and all their weapons is a whole other accomplishment.
The DL got regular pressure on Romo tonight. He was sacked 4 times and pressured plenty of other times. The back seven had a strong night in coverage. There was one big mistake that led to Dallas 70 yard TD pass. Kurt Coleman got over-aggressive and we paid the price. Luckily, that mistake didn’t hurt us.
Now about that offense…
Shady McCoy was brilliant. He was 30-185-2 on the ground and also caught 2 passes for 15 yards. How many people saw him with 30 plus touches or 200 total yards? Dallas had the #1 run defense coming in, but they hadn’t faced our rushing attack. We’re unconventional and they had no answer for Shady. Vick also ran for 50 yards. We finished with 239 yards on the ground.
The OL had a fantastic night. They created some sizable holes for McCoy to run through. The WRs blocked also well. And the TEs…they had a terrific night as blockers and receivers.
I have to give Andy/Marty a ton of credit for the gameplan. They were a step ahead of Dallas at every turn. When Dallas did have something work, the Eagles had a good counter-measure ready for them. The Cowboys gameplan was to take away our WRs. That was fine with us. We attacked the middle of the field with great success.
Rob Ryan loves to confuse offenses with his multiple looks and pre-snap movement. The Eagles knew this and did some shifting of their own. There were several plays where a slot receiver was uncovered or covered by an OLB. Vick saw this and got the ball to that receiver a few times. The Boys were the ones who looked confused.
Great game by Mike Vick. This might be his best game as an Eagle. The numbers weren’t as flashy as other games, but his decision-making was outstanding. He made good adjustments at the line. He made good pre-snap reads. He didn’t take unnecessary hits. He found the open receiver and got him the ball all night long. Vick was 21-28-279 with 2 TDs and no picks.
For the second week in a row the Eagles were in a critical situation and the team responded with a strong showing and a W. We’re only 3-4 so there is still a ton of work to be done, but this team is showing just how good they can be when they eliminate mistakes and play efficient football.
Eagles climb to 3-4. Dallas falls to 3-4. Life is good.
Not to be dour an a demonstrative Dallas dismantling, but we have to remember that we’re still 3-4. I know we’re trending upward and just beat a pretty darn talented team, but they’re 3-4 as well. Now if we can get to 6-4? Then I’ll start being amped for playoff football and hopefully beyond but until then I, personally, need to be realistic with the situation. Oh and btw:
DALLAS SUCKS!!!
and I love seeing Jerry in his box looking confused/angry, it’s like icing on an already delicious, delicious cake.
I enjoyed the constant shots of Rob Ryan looking confused.
An animated GIF to remember the game by:
http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/863948/romowned.gif
I was wondering after there was no flag if he’ll be fined for that.
i assume you’re talking about cole who hit romo in the head.
if so….that sucks…
i could understand it if it does get fined, but…come on. he’s being forced down, putting his head into harms way. that rule makes sense when the qb is upright or to protect him from intentionally malicious hits, not incidental things like this.
I’m with you that I believe it was incidental, but the league never seems to see it that way.
I love the fact that Vick finally found his slot receiver and TE. This make this offense whole, as in who do you stop now? The RB? The fast outside star receivers? The move chain guys in the middle?
If our offense can limit the turnovers, we can be just as dangerous as the Patriots or the Packers. Early in the season, we struggled with the turnovers, and I’m not sure one clean game means we have gotten past them, but we are certainly heading in the right direction.
It seems that a few teams we have faced have designed game plans to take away our WRs, basically daring AR and the Eagles to beat them with short yardage stuff and the run game. Do you think after the last two weeks, teams will start trying to game plan more against McCoy instead? Right now, McCoy is arguably the best player on the team, but teams are scared of having DeSean run right by them for long TD plays so they are keeping safeties back. I’m curious to see if defenses start to cheat up a bit to attack McCoy and if that opens up some deep balls to DeSean and/or Maclin after play action.
I think defenses will keep trying to defend the ball. There is nothing worse for a defense then a long TD pass.
After the first TE screen i thought, Tommy will be happy. After the second TE screen i thought, Tommy really knows his shit. After the third TE screen, I gave up and realized that Tommy has spies in NovaCare
I have spies everywhere. I won’t share my secrets on you….yet.
I was one of the people who thought there’d be no chance of a turnaround on this season. I may end up being wrong about that. There was a lot of good tonight, but maybe the most encouraging was Mike Vick. Great game, he was finding Celek even, no turnovers… just very encouraging. Let’s hope it becomes a common thing.
It’s funny, sometime in the afternoon I started to think this could be a blowout. Games like this are why I can’t imagine getting off the Reid bandwagon any time soon.
One thing I was very, very glad to see was the total absence of blitzes (confirmed in a postgame interview with Brian Rolle). Of course that would have been bad if it weren’t for the fact that the pressure on Romo was intense. The best of all worlds . . . maximum pressure coupled with maximum coverage resources. Gotta love it.
Although I would still rank Vick’s game of the century las year a little bit higher, yesterday’s performance was just brilliant, sharp and super efficient. If MV7 keeps turnovers to a minimum and operates this great offense like he did last night, the sky is really the limit.
What makes his performance so great is that there wasn’t much great about it. Vick can do everything he did last night week in and week out. The highlight plays are fun, but you can’t count on them. The good reads, accurate throws, and efficient QB play from last night are the kind of things that win in the postseason.
It helps when receivers are running free wide open.
As I said in comments last night though; I thought his throw to Celek was his best I’ve ever witnessed since he’s been an Eagle. Celek wasn’t open when he threw it and was barely open when it got there, but it was put in the right place and he anticipated and trusted his receiver to be where he needed to be.
When Michael Vick plays like this, we’re unbeatable.
BTW, I was floored watching Kelce handle Ratliff. Yes he had one holding call, but by in large he took him out. We now know he can handle smaller fast DTs. His next big test is Vince Wilfork.
Also that holding call was 100% pure weak sauce. Kelce stayed on his block by just finding a piece of Ratliff and then ol Jay fell down. That play happens all the time without flags. That was really a cheap flag. BTW, if you couldn’t tell, I am really happy about the win!
Few things:
1) Tommy – I see u were able to get those dishes finished and finally watch the game. It’s important to be cleanly.
2) Should we try to start a movement for next year to have a 32 week season with a bye after every week? We’ll do it under the premise it’s for “player safety”.
3) Shady w/ 30 carries???!!! That’s what the fudge I’m talking about! I know 30 is high but this stud should never ever ever have less than 20 carries in a game. Not “touches” but carries! Then throw him the fall a few more times and my little pink thing will be coming out for Andy.
4) Any Walking Dead fans on here? Just got into the show and I must say it’s quite good.
Ronnie Brown should have gotten the last 10 of those carries. Game was over, and keeping Shady healthy was then the highest priority.
Actually, I agree with you about the touches. I’ve always felt that Andy keeps our starters (i.e. Donnie back in the day, Vick, Shady, etc) in too long when the game is out of reach. Always felt like he subjected Donnie to excessive hits when we were up big and still throwing when he was in there.
Ronnie should’ve gotten a good chunk of carries. My point was more general that when you have a premier player like Shady his a$$ needs to get more than 15 carries a game. Sorry I didn’t mean for this to sound like I’m complaining in the face of a great win.
Needless to say I’m pretty sure I called the Kelce advantage over Ratliff, but I didn’t expect Kelce to play as well as he did.
That was a good Defense and good offense we did that too. I’d be lying if i didn’t say i slept better after that game than i have on a sunday in a long time.
My Nnamdi jersey is on the way lol
The Walking Dead is fantastic. Last nights episode is on the DVR for later, so no talking specifics.
A couple of things I definitely want to see focused on for the DGR.
Watkins, the linebackers and the two safeties.
Those are the areas we wanted and needed improvement. The score and play tells me they are all improving, but I need to know if that’s really true.
Seconded.
Thirded.
This was the game that the Eagles defense was built to play.
I didn’t like the Coleman getting burned play, but I don’t fault him for trying to make a play. That is a mistake that can easily be corrected in my opinion.
Things I liked: 1. We got a win, an ass whooping win over dallas, 2. We ran the ball well in a variety of situations. 3. On 3rd and 1’s I was not nervous about our run plays working and being relegated to a pass play call on 3rd and 1 never crossed my mind. 4. MV having a very efficient game at the QB position 5. The overall play of the OL (Kelce and Watkins are getting better, Dunlap, Justice and Jackson on the bench with significant playing time to step in if needed 6. Andy going 2 and 0 on his challenges. 7. Andy going to 13 and 0 on games after the bye week.
What I din’t like: 1. Shady still in near the end of the game, 2. Why the media pays any heed to what Rob Ryan says, he needs to get a top 10 defense one time and stop living off his Daddy’s name, 3. Djax drops and the fact that I would love for him to be a factor in games even when teams game plan to take him away, 4. At times the botched calls by the referees, 5. Celek with his drops (minor), 6. Can we get a ball to Cooper and Smith (minor)? 7. Several missed tackles by our better players which luckily were cleaned up.
Pitmanite! Huge fan of the walking dead. Go out to the store and get the first two trade paperbacks and read them to see if it is your thing. It will be a couple hours of your time that is well worth it and won’t spoil the show. Robert Kirkman, the creator of this series is one of the best in the comic book business. He is not afraid to kill of a character and start over with a new one. Probably not what will happen on the TV show.
As I watched the game last night I was imagining Morton dropping a load of crap in his pants every time Sean Lee whiffed on a tackle. lol… I feel bad for Lee hurting his wrist, but I loved the heck out of every missed tackle.
And Anthony Spencer didn’t provide much.
Great win and nothing feels better than waking up in the morning in Texas after we absolutely destroyed the Cowgirls – Observations…(and I know I am nitpicking)..
1. Great game by Shady…but he still swings that ball wildly…and to top it off he knows it…I read an article “The Education of Lesean McCoy” – and BWest says he needs to secure that ball and when Shady is told about that – he sheepishly agrees with BWest…with Peanut Tillman and the opportunistic Bears defense who rip balls out coming to town… better care needs to be taken
2. Vick had a really good game…but once again the strip sack by Ware….Vick needs to take better care of the ball. Also I felt that couple of his passes could have been picked off when he threw it into coverage
3. I am still not sold on the Defense – especially the run D…Murray had a few good runs….and tackling is still an issue…
4. Nnamdi definitely got off with a blatant hold of Dez Bryant (Dez Bryant is a PUNK…detest him totally)
And lastly – Rob Ryan – how does it feel to get kicked in the mouth? Super job by Vick not rising to the bait in his presser after the game…GO EAGLESSSS!!!
2. you are nitpicking with that one. Ware is an All Pro, its not like it was aaron maybin or something. Don’t get me wrong, Ball Security is always paramount, but its Demarcus Ware. Great players make plays, can’t stop them all the time.
3. D is giving up 12 ppg last 2.5 games. You don’t have to be sold but you have to admit they have improved immensely.
4. Yea, well the refs couldn’t conclude that a pass that went 4 yds forward was a forward pass so this group obviously wasn’t on their game.
I don’t think it’s nitpicking. It’s important to recognize what needs worked on even when you have a win.
The run defense was still troubling but we got away with one because the cowboys were out of it so early.
Ware might be an all-pro but this ball security problem is hardly an anomaly. Vick is almost as careless as McCoy how he holds the ball, and also seems to lack awareness of the rush coming from his weak side.
That was cathartic.
hey tommy, i noticed something on D that i didnt see before this season. we had nnamdi and asante on the same side of the field, but with asante playing the slot receiver. interesting change, i’m not sure he’s best there, but it depends on who he is covering.
i’m very grateful that juan has the guts to move his CBs around to cover the best WRs. whats the point of having a great CB if the offense can just move their star WR to the other side of the field and avoid him?
I’m really impressed that Andy and Marty could stay with McCoy’s hot hand instead of gameplanning around Dallas’ purported “No. 1 Rush Defense.” I’m pretty sure Rob Ryan was expecting the Eagles to come out throwing the ball rather than running right at them. I also liked seeing all of those screens against the blitz.
I can even live with the latest attempt to make Owen Schmitt a red zone weapon. At least the gimmick plays were kept to a minimum this time. Progress. The air seems a little fresher and the sun is shining a bit brighter today. I’ll leave the nitpicking for later.
Anybody else notice Al Michaels (in so many words) calling Rob Ryan a fat slob? Priceless.
Tommy could you comment on Kelce vs Ratliff in the DGR? From the few times I watches them it looked like a fun battle betwen the two.
Is there a more gifted OT in football than Peters? Going from seeing him push half the Cowboys D away from the play to him running out on a screen and blocking the CB.
You would have a hard time convincing me Shady is not the best RB in football. I love that guy.
Asante is not letting his feeling off the field effect his play (so far) I have to give him credit for that.
there was a play on special teams where we got their returner down very well, right in front of asante on the sideline. he was jumping around like a monkey it was hilarious.
Loved every second of it — except Coleman letting a WR get behind him when up by 34 points. We don’t need a turnover at that point. We need to make the opponent burn the clock.
Loved that Reid and Marty decided to attack the opponent’s defensive strength . . . instead of being “smarter” than everyone else in the room.
Maybe Howard Mudd’s changing the mindset. (Or maybe the Eagles’ O-line wasn’t very good at run blocking the past 10 years.)
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Note for commenter P_P_K:
Does the Gale Sayers comparison work with your buddies for McCoy or what?
McCoy may be Reid’s best draft choice after D-Mac (you can’t argue w/ 5 NFC title games) . . . and D-Mac was the product of Tom Modrak and Reid.
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Looking back at the 2009 NFL draft, which was WR rich, it looks like the Eagles may have nailed the best of the bunch with Jeremy Maclin . . . although the Steelers absolutely stole Mike Wallace in Rd 3 — who’s able to just outrun coverages the way Warren Wells and Cliff Branch used to do for the vintage Raiders.
Maybe, if Reid continues to impersonate Vince Lombardi, the deep ball will be there more and more.
Re: Gale Sayers and McCoy. My Eagles buds are a bunch of pirates, mangy dogs the lot of them (present company being the exception). They hate to admit they are wrong. They are still debating Shady and Westy. Comparing career numbers they have an argument, but those of us with a high f.q. (football quotient) can see the writing on the wall. By the end of this season I expect we might all be saying that Westbrook was the 2nd best rb of the recent era, and I look forward to the wily varmints that I hang with bowing to my knowledge and foresight. At that point I can revisit the Gale Sayers, and maybe Barry Sanders, comparison without getting soaked with cheap beer.
“Loved that Reid and Marty decided to attack the opponent’s defensive strength . . . instead of being “smarter” than everyone else in the room.”
But isn’t this exactly an example of trying to outsmart everyone? It just happened to work this time.
I think it would be way more “normal” to attack the opponent’s weaknesses.
I have asserted on your blog for a long time that the Eagles should employ the short pass more frequently. Yesterday’s win over Dallas was a big point in favor of that argument. Gone were too many incomplete passes on first down and present were manageable third down situations. Although Vick’s third down efficiency was so great that he converted the third and long situations as well. Also present yesterday was evidence that Vick has mastered his pre snap reads. Tommy, you deserve a lot of credit for pointing out that is was not the Blitz, per se that Vick had trouble with, but the larger issue of pre snap reads.
I dare say that yesterday’s victory will change the way teams have to defense the Eagles. Yes, it is a copycat league. And what defenses were copying was to blitz the Eagles to confuse Vick and use a cover two to keep DeSean and Maclin from the big play. Well I do not think that yesterday’s play by Vick was an aberration. What he showed was complete mastery breaking through to a new level where if we look back at games this year we can see the beginnings. Yes, Vicks numbers against the blitz were not stunning. But at the same time he had ceased making big mistakes but was just not getting the big plays. So a bit of randomness made his improvement difficult to spot. And even when he was making mistakes it was clear that he was aspiring to a new level of competence.
I think any team that thinks that this Dallas performance was a one game wonder does so at their own peril. Simply playing cover two, doubling Jackson and blitzing will most likely yield a big loss. Now I believe Chicago will be committed to the cover two next week. (I do not really know other teams that well bit I think that is their major defensive commitment.) So after that the NFL is going to have to discover a new way to defeat the Eagles.
Vick is a very unusual quarterback and is full of contradictions. He is a veteran quarterback who has an accurate and strong arm with an easy release that is perhaps unique in the history of the NFL. He has the most running yards for a QB in the history of the NFL because he is a special runner. Yet until yesterday he had not mastered what is essential study for any QB is his first and second years – reading the defense before the snap. His goal now is to stabilize at that high level so we can expect a bit of up and down over the next few weeks but after that I expect him to emerge as a complete QB playing at the highest level and perhaps taking over the mantle as best QB in the NFL.
So my question, Tommy, is what do defenses do next given that the Eagles have the short pass in their arsenal and with the advent of the never less than stunning LeSean McCoy?
Each team must make a gameplan built on their personnel. The Giants blitzed Vick like mad last year and had some success.
The Vikings blitzed Antoine Winfield like mad and he gave us fits.
This year the Giants played conservatively and only gave up 16 points.
There is no single plan that works.
I think a 4-3 team with good CBs and smart LBs might be the best bet for shutting us down. Teams must be disciplined on the backside vs Shady. They need CBs they can trust in man coverage from time to time.
If we don’t turn the ball over, I’m not sure anyone can really stop us for a whole game.
Loved seeing us effective over the middle – especially nice to see some chemistry between Vick and Celek. Definitely agree with Tommy that this was a really impressive performance by Vick. Having such a dominant run game had to make his job way easier though.
Now if they could only get him to stop being so careless with the football.
How about Howard Mudd as greatest offseason acquisition? I just love watching these guys play. This line is perfectly suited for Reid’s offense.
Hope this team doesn’t get too confident/slow down after this.
Just so you all know, no noe should be happy about this.
Tony Romo is not an NFL- caliber QB and Rob Ryan gift wrapped this game as a present to his father.
This win was a terrible blow to our future. Now we are going to have to wait even longer to see done what is needed: fire all the players, coaches, staff, sponsors, recall a merchandise, and exterminate all eagles. Only then can we outlaw mention of the former team while replacing them with the Enlisteds – a team built exclusively through the draft, no free agents. Hell, we won’t even sign any Tennessee Volunteers. The Enlisteds sign their coaches to three game contracts. If they don’t perform, we replace them.
We are only delaying what needs to be done here people. I wouldn’t be surprised if every team from here on out lost to us on purpose to delay it further.
You are an evil genius. And that plan is crazy enough that it just might work!!!
When’s the last time Reid’s offense was: (1) run the ball and run some more, and (2) take what the defense gives us.
It was almost like Reid pulled out a game plan from back in 2002 when McNabb and Detmar were hurt and AJ “I own the Saints” Feeley played QB.
Looking at the Bears, that team — and its Tampa 2 (designed to stop the WCO) — has given the Eagles fits.
Let’s stick to power football and taking what the Bears give.
Sean Lee was injured last night and missed the second half.
Therefore, Sean Lee is a bust.
Now, Navarro Bowman . . . that’s another story.
Well done.
Prior to the injury, he was lookin like a chump trying to catch Shady McCoy. I’m not sure Lee could have got McCoy down if it was a flag football game…
As I mentioned last night, we played a spectacular game against a hated team. If this is the product we can begin to expect, we will be an incredibly difficult team to beat. Of course, time will tell how consistently we can play at this level, but everything was working well last night, and honestly, nothing was so unbelievable that it was something you would not expect to see again.
After a great win, there were still a couple blemishes that I would be curious to hear your thoughts on, Tommy. First, we had the two FGs in the redzone on back to back drives. They didn’t really have a significant effect on the game, and I didn’t have much of an issue with the play calling on those two drives, but in nitpicking at the game, you would still like to see those converted into TDs rather than FGs. It was great to see them be successful on the following redzone trip though, so overall, I think it’s an area that seems very much improved. Second, one thing that seems to have gone largely unmentioned is Ware’s four sacks. While they were fairly insignificant in terms of the outcome of the game, four sacks is still four sacks, especially when it comes from a guy the coaches have certainly put a lot of focus on. In a closer game, those types of things can make a difference. What are the adjustments we should be making to prevent that from happening again? Were those sacks on Herremans, Vick, playcalling/protection, or was it just Ware being Ware?
Again, I am nitpicking because I think a game like this gives you an opportunity to do that. Obviously, I don’t think those blemishes take much away from the overall way we played and how great of a win we had.
This must have been the most unnoticed and unimpressive 4 sacks performance in a long long time. As far as I recall Ware got credited with 2 sacks when Mike Vick was actually running with the football, unfortunately being stopped behind the line of scrimmage. Only the last sack and stripped fumble was a typical Ware sack. Apart from that I think our O-line played pretty awesome football and gave Vick plent of time.
i would say the last sack was a coverage sack. vick had too much time and probably should have thrown it away. i can’t fault him for trying to make something happen since he has proven he is quite good at that. i just think that given these circumstances, its better to not give the other team any glimmer of hope or momentum. just throw it away and try it again next down or punt.
John Madden always said the time to be hardest on your team was when they were winning. Everyone else in the world will kiss their butts. That’s when a coach must be tough. The time to be hard is when the team is struggling, because everyone around them would be critical and down on them.
I think you absolutely need to identify bad parts of the game and address them.
You know what I loved the most about this game?
I can’t recall seeing Reid/Mornhinweg finding something that works and then just killing the other team with it. In my inexperienced mind, they are always trying to get cute and playing around with different ideas… Last night, the Eagles gashed Dallas with Screens, Short passes, and running plays, and I loved every minute of it. They found things that worked and said… O.K. stop it. And Dallas couldn’t do it. It reminded me of watching Tom Brady do the same pass over and over and over basically saying you can’t stop this, and picking on a weak link.
Let’s go crush the Bears next week. I have been waiting for this since the end of that abomination last year in Chicago. I hope the players want this as bad as I do.
Tommy, I know it’s early but I’m sort of thinking the Eagles have to win the division to make the playoffs. With a loss to Atlanta, and Detroit at 6-2, we’re already uphill. We always struggle with the Bears, and facing them next Monday (Don’t we usually struggle on Monday nights, too?) Who knows how Tampa Bay will end up finishing the season, but just those teams alone make it look tough for us to get in without getting the division.
I ain’t Tommy, but I am basking in the glow of kicking Cowboy butt, so here’s some optimism for you. The Eagles can realistically go 5-1 over the next 6 games and then we’re definitely in the race for the NFC East . Chi and Arizona (hi Kevin) at home are both wins. Then we get the G-men and revenge in a crucial game. Maybe we lose to the Pats, but then pick up 2 more wins against Seattle and Miami. That puts us at 8-5. Our main competition, the Giants, have a killer run coming up. They play NE, 49ers, us, Saints, Packers, then the Cowboys. Since I don’t believe Eli can sustain a high level of play for any period of time, it’s possible they lose all those games and stand at 5-8, but probably they beat someone who doesn’t have green in their uniform and are 6-7. The Cowboys and Skins are both fading, but should they compete we play them the last 2 weeks of the season. Like I say, this is an optimistic scenery but I think it is realistic that we take the NFC East.
We need to focus on winning the division. Best way to do that is focus on one game at a time. Too early to really be peaking ahead.
I know that’s coachspeak, but it is very true. Remember a couple of years back when we had NYG, DAL, and WAS on the road all in a row late in the season? Everyone figured we’d need a near miracle to go 2-1. Well, we won all 3.
Remember last year when we “knew” we’d beat the Vikings? Well, we didn’t.
I’ll start seriously looking at the playoffs when we’re 10 to 12 games into the season.
THAT WAS AWESOME! That could not have played out any more differently than I expected.
Oh no, a sack or penalty! No problem, Shady will just pick up the first down and more.