Pats Talk & A Brilliant Idea

Posted: November 26th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 42 Comments »

For SB Nation Philly, I wrote a column on how the Eagles can beat the Pats.

Am I so confident I think this is likely?  No.  The flip side is that the Eagles don’t need some great performance to win.  Limit mistakes and we can beat ’em.  Some of the matchups work well for us.

* * * * *

We must learn from history.  One of the greatest Eagles of them all is Chuck Bednarik.  He was a C and MLB in an era where some players played on both sides of the ball.

The Eagles have not gotten good MLB play this year.  We need help.  But from where…

Brilliant idea alert!!!

Let’s use Jason Kelce like Chuck Bednarik.

Think about it.  Kelce went to Cincinnati as a LB and played that position initially.  He only weighs about 280 pounds.  That’s the same size as Levon Kirkland in 2002.  Kelce is a better athlete that Levon was that year.  Kelce is faster than Jeremiah Trotter was in 2006 or 2009.  Kelce is already coached by one OL coach.  Why not have him work for another OL coach?

Concrete Charlie meet Juggernaut Jason.

The Eagles find problems.  I find solutions.

Is this all a joke?  Yes…sort of.

* * * * *

The mothership has up an article on Derek Landri.  They fail to call him “future HOF’er Derek Landri”, but I’m sure that’s just a typo.

* * * * *

Anyone see Luke Kuechly play yesterday?  He might just go in the 20-30 range.  Great game.  Broke up a couple of passes and picked another one off.  Didn’t stop there.  Ran it back for a TD to seal the win for BC.  Love watching him play.  Great, great college player.

42 Comments on “Pats Talk & A Brilliant Idea”

  1. 1 Anonymous said at 3:39 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Did you see that literally no sports writer is picking the eagles to win. Not even the Philly press?! Oh boy do I love being an underdog.

    Thats why I think VY will throw for over 500 yards and 5 td’s.

    Eagles win 77-76.

  2. 2 Anonymous said at 3:41 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Well done, sir. I concur with that scenario.

  3. 3 Anonymous said at 4:05 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Actually looking at the “expert” picks on ESPN Merril Hoge. And Chris Mortenson are picking the Eagles, which was kind of suprising.

  4. 4 Kammich said at 5:17 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Chris Berman picked us, as well. 24-21. Said it was going to be retribution for the Super Bowl.

    I wish I shared his optimism. It was cool to see, nonetheless.

  5. 5 Anonymous said at 7:01 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    On top of which, if we beat them Sunday, I doubt I will feel that all is forgiven and we are even.

  6. 6 Anonymous said at 4:08 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    I think Kuechly could very well go in the 1st round, I know it means nothing but both McShay and Kiper have moved Kuechly to their top LB prospect.

  7. 7 Anonymous said at 4:24 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Pour me a glass of the Koolaid. I’m all in on the Kuechly train.

  8. 8 Anonymous said at 4:49 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Welcome aboard.

  9. 9 Anonymous said at 5:12 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    My major concern is with Burfict’s value dropping like a damn rock Keuchly may get snatched up before us.

  10. 10 Kammich said at 5:19 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Who is/was the better college player, in your eyes… James Laurinaitis or Kuechly?

  11. 11 Anonymous said at 5:49 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Luke. Really, really great college LB. Special college player.

  12. 12 Anonymous said at 1:52 PM on November 27th, 2011:

    Yes, I saw Lukie Kookie play too (easier to pronounce than his real name), and also Donta Hightower and V. Burfict also. I was shocked at Burfict lack of pursuit on plays to the outside – he was trotting! Guy played like he was hungover or something. Hightower did not factor in enough plays to stand out and apparently he had an injruy problem as well. Luke was impressive. As everyone says, he always in position to make a play. He had a number of tipped balls and on the interception, it looked like he intuitively went opposite of the direction the QB was initially looking! – but was in perfect position to make the grab. I wonder if his smarts and instincts will be enough to make up for not having top flight athleticism and I’m guessing it will. I also wonder if he could add 10 or 15 lbs. of muscle or would it slow him down? I’d be fine with taking him if we’re drafting in the middle of the 1st. If we draft someone in the 10 range, it won’t be a linebacker is my guess.

  13. 13 Anonymous said at 4:54 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    What do you think the offence, and more so Young, need to do for us to win? Of course the defense need a good game but no matter how well our D had played previous I would expect NE to score 20+ points.

    Also the Panthers waived Jerome Felton yesterday. Would we be interested in him… again? Not sure how well he played in Carolina

  14. 14 Anonymous said at 5:22 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Not sure about Felton.

    Do you make a change at FB at this point in the season? Maybe, but probably not likely.

  15. 15 Anonymous said at 5:00 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Can anyone confirm what national channel this game will be on? Fingers crossed that it is not Fox!

  16. 16 Anonymous said at 5:08 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    CBS. 415pm, EST.

  17. 17 Anonymous said at 5:13 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Hoorah, I can watch it. Never a poorer buy, than this season’s NFL Game Pass. I’ve been able to watch less than half of them live! Right, I better don my lucky underpants.

  18. 18 Cliff Hall said at 5:14 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    It’s CBS.

  19. 19 Cliff Hall said at 5:15 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Oops. Didn’t see Tommy’s reply.

  20. 20 Anonymous said at 7:08 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Don’t worry about it, no one reads that troll’s comments anyway.

  21. 21 Anonymous said at 7:42 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Your beeing meenz 2 me!

  22. 22 Cliff Hall said at 5:15 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    My gut tells me Kuechly will be a bust. How do I know? He is now the number 1 target for Eagles fans. That’s enough for me.

  23. 23 Anonymous said at 5:16 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Bednarik was not a MLB. He played on the strong side.

  24. 24 Anonymous said at 5:50 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone and ruin my insane idea.

  25. 25 Anonymous said at 10:03 AM on November 28th, 2011:

    By the way, when he was a young player, Bednarik sometimes played tight end!!!

  26. 26 Anonymous said at 5:53 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Great catch!

    In 1960, Bednarik played “Left Outside Linebacker.” LOLB may not have been the “Strong Side” LB all the time, though — especially with the wide hash marks back then (like colleges still use).

    Chuck Webber (#51 who recovered Gifford’s fumble on “The Hit”) played the middle in 1960.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138075/index.htm

    Interestingly, before Bednarik gave up being a full-time defender, he was *one* of the Eagles’ *two* MLBs. In 1957, his last year as a starter, the Eagles played a 5-2-4 alignment. By 1960, obviously, the Birds were in a 4-3-4.

    http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1957_roster.htm

  27. 27 Kammich said at 5:17 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    I am staying with my sister in Orlando, and all week they’ve had the game listed to be on CBS on Sunday. Until this morning, when I double-checked and was shocked to see that they switched the national broadcast to… Denver/San Diego? Whaaat? If this is a product of “Tebow-mania,” I’m going to take a picture of me “Tebowing” on the toilet.

    Ugh. I’m so pissed. Another Sunday of sitting in front of the laptop watching a stuttered, un-buffered version of the game.

  28. 28 Anonymous said at 5:50 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Make sure to share the pic!

  29. 29 Eric Weaver said at 6:54 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    That would be correct.

    http://the506.com/nflmaps/2011/wk12.html

  30. 30 Kammich said at 12:53 PM on November 27th, 2011:

    That is a really cool site, thanks for the link. I’m fairly infuriated that I’m missing the Eagles game due to one mildly entertaining lightning-in-a-bottle local product of a QB, but oh well. I’m over it.

  31. 31 Cliff Hall said at 7:37 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    That is REALLY weird. You look at the map and it’s basically on the top half of Florida getting Denver-San Diego. I guess it’s because Tebow was a Gator?

    Here in VA they do that with Vick, too, even when he was with Atlanta.

  32. 32 Kammich said at 12:55 PM on November 27th, 2011:

    Yep, I lived in Virginia Beach(right outside of Vick’s hometown, Newport News), and I always noticed this as well. Its better than getting the Redskins every single week… although that still happens waaay too often.

  33. 33 Anonymous said at 5:55 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Kuechly won’t be a First Round pick unless he has the measurables.

    TOMMY — will he run a 4.5 40, jump 37 inches, do 33 bench presses, and run a 6.9 shuttle?

  34. 34 Eric Weaver said at 6:53 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    I think if he runs a 4.6, jumps 35″ and benches 25 times; he’s still worth first round consideration.

    If you look at the LBs over the last couple of years the usual stats are 20 to 35 bench press, 35 to 40 vertical and 4.5 to 4.7 40.

    Clay Matthews only did 23 bps and 35 vertical with a 4.67 40.

  35. 35 Anonymous said at 6:51 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Tommy,
    I know you’re a fan of Landri so this question might put you in a difficult position, but if the Eagles have one spot open on DL next year and the competition is between Landri and Dixon, who would you take?

  36. 36 Anonymous said at 7:45 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    I surgically fuse them into 1 being…the greatest force the game of football has ever known.

    Or you could just see who earns it. Landri earned a spot this summer, but they went elsewhere anyway. Don’t think they’ll make that mistake again…if he plays really well in the summer.

    Flip side is that some other team could pursue Landri to be their #3 DT. The horror, the horror.

  37. 37 Anonymous said at 10:48 PM on November 26th, 2011:

    Bigger man crush….?

    Tommy ——-> Luke Kuechly

    Morton ——–>Navarro Bowman

  38. 38 Anonymous said at 2:41 AM on November 27th, 2011:

    Only way to settle it is for each to write a 3000 word essay with as much hyperbole as possible

  39. 39 Anonymous said at 9:47 AM on November 27th, 2011:

    Tommy better get typing, I think Morton already has 4 submissions. Although he is going to need to trim some words.

  40. 40 Kammich said at 12:59 PM on November 27th, 2011:

    I read an article recently, perhaps it was in Sports Illustrated, I can’t quite recall right now… pointing out how many otherwise-mediocre players that Patrick Willis has made to look elite when playing next to him(a geriatric Takeo Spikes, a since-pedestrian Aubrayo Franklin). Both of these guys were considered Pro Bowlers when lining up next to/in front of Willis.

    Now, I’m not discounting Bowman. I remember thinking he was a pretty dynamic athlete worthy of a 2nd round pick coming out of PSU. But lets not rush to judgement and write his name in ink on any HoF ballots. There’s a pretty good chance that simply playing right next to the game’s best linebacker might make things a little easier on him.

  41. 41 Anonymous said at 6:15 AM on November 27th, 2011:

    I know it’s only a small confidence booster for tonight but both Chung and Mccourty will not play. Also Ocho and Connolly have been downgraded to ‘out’.

    This could in fact turn out to be a high scoring affair…

  42. 42 Steve H said at 11:33 AM on November 27th, 2011:

    I’d rather Ocho did play, he’s been a liability for them all season.