Detailed Game Review – KC 26, PHI 16
Posted: September 24th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 141 Comments »Ugly, sloppy game. Thursday night games can bring out the best and worst in teams. Remember Thanksgiving night 2008? The Cardinals played at the Eagles. The final score was 48-20. And it wasn’t that close. The Eagles looked great. The Cardinals were a mess. About 8 weeks later the teams met in the NFC title game and the Cards won. Some teams are well-prepared and thrive on the short week. Others look discombobulated and play sloppy football. That certainly would describe the Eagles from last Thursday’s game.
The fact it was a Thursday game is no excuse for the poor play. It is just a possible reason to explain why they looked so different on offense and STs compared to the first couple of games. Obviously KC had a lot to do with that as well. That is a talented football team, especially on defense.
I don’t think the McNabb-Reid angle had anything to do with the Eagles struggles.
5 turnovers just killed the Eagles. The turnovers led directly to 13 points.
I was encouraged by the fact the Eagles never gave up. KC got up 10-0 and the Eagles responded with a TD. KC got up 16-6 and the Eagles responded with a FG. KC got up 23-9 and the Eagles responded with a TD. This game reminded me of the Cardinals loss from last year. Except in that game, the Eagles didn’t respond. The Cards won 27-6. The similarity was in some of the mistakes (Johnson’s fumble on a PR, turnovers by Vick, unblockable LBs, blown coverages on the same guy over and over, etc).
Every team is going to play an ugly game. The one thing that can make you happy is to have the team keep competing. That’s how you steal a game you should have lost. The Eagles didn’t do that this week, but just might in the future.
COACHING
Chip Kelly took a lot of flak for his decision to run the swinging gate and go for 2. I like the decision, for the simple fact Chip did that at Oregon and it is part of his philosophy. If you hired Chip Kelly to do his thing, he’s got to do his thing. That means taking some chances. Some will work, some will fail. You have to live with both results.
There was some risk in Chip’s decision to take a 3rd down penalty. The Eagles had stopped the Chiefs. Kelly wanted to push them back and force a longer FG attempt. Luckily the defense did a good job on the extra 3rd down and KC did in fact miss the FG. That risk worked.
There were no critical challenges or 4th down decisions.
OFFENSE
It is hard to say exactly what the strategy was. KC did an excellent job of locking down receivers and pressuring the QB. That made the passing game highly erratic. The Eagles were able to run the ball, but not by marching up and down the field and doing whatever they wanted. The run game was a bit erratic as well.
The Eagles ended up with 431 yards, mainly due to chunk plays. The top 10 plays accounted for 303 yards. The other 53 plays accounted for 128 yards. That’s kinda crazy.
In the past there were some games where the offense would struggle and you’d find out there were open receivers that the QB just wasn’t getting the ball to. That wasn’t the case in this game. The all-22 looks were depressing. KC was all over the receivers. They matched up well on an individual basis and didn’t have many coverage breakdowns. It also helped that they pressured Vick so well. With a clean pocket, he might have been able to force some passes into coverage and create more big plays. Instead, he was on the move quite a bit and unable to make throws into tight windows.
It was hard to see too much in the way of adjustments since KC continued to cover/rush so well. The Chiefs took away the WR screens by playing press coverage. The simple response to that most of the time is to throw deep, but you need time to do that.
Obviously turning the ball over 4 times on offense (5 overall) is no way to win.
MISC
* Blocking in space still needs to be better. On Vick’s long run, Celek could have blocked the man who raced downfield and tackled him. Players must learn that if no one is in front of them, block the guy beside or behind you. Watching Vick/Shady and running downfield accomplishes nothing. Go find someone to block.
* Cooper missed a chance to block DB on long Vick scramble in the 1st Qtr. Might not have changed play much, but you never know.
* The Eagles gained 431 yards, but only made it into the Red Zone once. The 2 TDs both came on longer plays.
Players
QB
VICK – Bad game. Vick was really hurt by poor OL play, but he still made too many mistakes. Went 13-30-201. 1 TD, 2 INTs. Ran well, going 5-95.
First INT came on short pass to Celek. Stared him down. ILB jumped the route and tipped the ball. S Eric Berry picked it off and ran it back for a score. Vick shouldn’t have stared Celek down. Also should have gotten the ball out a bit earlier. I wonder if the early pass play was designed for Vick to drift to his left, as he did. The pocket was clean. There was no reason to go left. Vick did and a rusher got away from Peters, who didn’t seem to expect Vick out wide. The rusher forced a quick throw. Great run to open the 3rd series. Made a good read, kept the ball and then took off upfield. Used his vision/moves to get going and then his speed to get 61 yards. Had to fight off tacklers so he never truly was off to the races. TD to Avant was excellent play. Stood in the pocket and took a big hit, but still managed to make a good throw to Avant on a corner route. Threw ball behind Cooper on pass play in early 2nd Qtr. Had a clean pocket. Didn’t see a wide open Bryce Brown down the left sideline in the mid-2nd. Could have been a huge gainer. Vick forced the ball downfield to Cooper and the pass fell incomplete. Ball was too wide. Brown had no defender near him and room to run. Easy pitch and catch. Vick’s 2nd INT was a terrible play. Made a poor decision and a poor throw. Forced the ball to Cooper, who was covered. The ball went to the CB, who was behind Cooper. Had 3rd Qtr pass called an INT, but replay overturned that call. Ball was batted at the LOS and Berry almost picked it off. Best throw of the night came on mid-3rd Qtr pass to Cooper. Rolled left and hit Riley with a laser on 3rd/long play. Forced a RZ throw to Celek. Ball was easily broken up. Hit DJax with deep ball down right sideline. Could have been a TD if the pass was more to the numbers than the sideline, but Vick had a rusher in his face so that was a good pass under the circumstances. Tried to hit Shady with a screen pass, but the ball went off a defender’s helmet. OL allowed too much penetration and threw off the play. Had a 4th Qtr pass deflected at the LOS.
RB
SHADY – Terrific game. 20-158-1. There was an odd moment on the 2nd drive. Went up the middle and had room to the left, but for some reason stayed right and was tackled. Got 6 yards, but made a poor read. Could have been more. I don’t know what he saw / didn’t see. Shady got hurt late in the half. Tackler fell on his lower leg and Shady left the game until the 2nd half. His 41-yd TD run in the 4th Qtr was simple, but beautiful. Kelce/Herremans opened a big hole and Shady flew up the field. Didn’t hesitate at all. Ran toward the pylon to stay away from the FS and just managed to get in for the score.
B BROWN – Only 3-7 in the game.
POLK – DNP
TE
CELEK – Quiet. 2-18. Drew a penalty on RZ pass play in the 3rd Qtr. First catch came in the 4th Qtr. Caught pass over the middle for a gain of 16. Struggled to get open. KC used a Safety on him quite a bit. Vick tried to get him the ball several times, but Brent wasn’t open. Did a solid job as a blocker.
ERTZ – Had pretty good block of Houston for part of 3rd/10 pass play in the early 2nd. Caught 1 pass for 5 yds. Had a 19-yd gain wiped out by a penalty.
CASEY – I didn’t see him on offense.
IGWENAGU – DNP
WR
D JACKSON – Quiet game. 3-62. Used creatively on the first 2 snaps. Went in motion on one and came underneath other receivers on the next. Caught short pass on that play and looked like he might be in for another big day. Didn’t happen. KC put the clamps on him, both on deep routes and crossing routes. Used double move vs CB on Red Zone pass. Got a bit behind the guy, but wasn’t really open. Vick put the ball too far out wide on the play. Did catch a downfield ball in the 3rd Qtr. Momentum carried him out of bounds.
AVANT – Good game. 5-87-1. Caught pass in the mid-2nd Qtr and used good move to get upfield and move the chains. Gain of 8 on that play. Caught pass for big gain on opening drive of the 3rd Qtr. Moved the ball out near midfield. Made a really impressive grab in the 4th Qtr. Was running laterally when Vick threw a pass out in front of him. Jason got a hand on the ball by stretching out and knocked the ball back to himself. He then made the catch as he fell to the ground. Great concentration on the play. Gained 20 yds.
COOPER – Disappointing game. Wasn’t able to haul in pass from Vick on early 3rd down. Ran corner route. Was semi-covered, but the pass was there to be caught. Riley couldn’t get control of the ball. Wouldn’t have been an easy catch, but starting WRs need to make plays like that. Struggled to get open. Caught 2 passes for 29 yds. One of the catches came on the final drive when KC was in a prevent. Blocked fairly well, but needed to be more of a factor in the passing game.
D JOHNSON – Didn’t see him.
MAEHL – Didn’t see him.
OL
* Not their best game, but tight coverage did affect pass protection. On the first sack of the game, Vick held the ball for approx 5 seconds before a defender touched him. None of the downfield receivers were open, only Shady in the flat. Vick didn’t see him in time.
PETERS – Worst game as an Eagle? Sure looked like it. Gave up sack in the early 2nd Qtr. Hali just beat him to the edge. Struggled with Hali’s speed throughout the game. Also had a hard time getting his hands cleanly on Hali. Got help from Ertz on a 2nd Qtr pass play and Hali still pressured Vick. Had a false start penalty that negated what would have been a huge run by Shady. Maybe a TD. Struggled throughout the 4th Qtr. Hali was firing off the ball on every snap. Even when Peters would initially block him and ride him deep, Hali would get free behind Vick and then chase him. Obviously Vick was holding the ball a lot on those plays so coverage was a factor. This was a bad game for Peters. Wasn’t able to shut his rusher down initially or keep him out of the play with any consistency.
MATHIS – Had a terrific block of ILB on Vick’s long run. Got on the guy, sustained the block. Let Vick have room to run. Good block on long McCoy run in the early 3rd Qtr. Able to control ILB and open a massive lane. Looked like another strong game for Mathis.
KELCE – Up and down game. Let’s start with the down. There were 2 bad snaps. The first came in the 1st Qtr. Kelce said he thought Vick was under C. The Eagles do very little of this so it is odd Kelce would think that was the case. The ball was recovered by the Chiefs. The opening snap of the 2nd half went over Vick’s head. Vick did recover, but it put the offense way behind the chains. The strangest moment of the game came in the 4th Qtr when Kelce didn’t snap the ball, but the other 10 players moved. The ref said “False start…on everyone but the Center.” Crazy. Had some terrific blocks of Poe on run game. Able to seal him multiple times. Had an excellent reach block of NT on run to the right in the mid-1st Qtr. Good vs ILBs on run plays. Gave Akeem Jordan fits. Got beaten by Poe on 3rd Qtr run to the left. Shady was supposed to reach block (since Poe was already shaded to that side). Very hard to do. Great block of Poe on Shady’s long TD run. Got him turned and moved, which opened the frontside of the play for Shady.
HERREMANS – Not good. Got driven back to Vick on the second play. Devito just bull rushed him. Tyson Jackson did it later in the 1st Qtr. Got driven back to Vick on the opening drive of the 3rd Qtr. Failed to get block on Jordan on Brown run play in the early 3rd Qtr. Play had a chance for good yds if Todd makes that block. Wasn’t going to be easy since Jordan was flowing to the ball, but Todd should be able to pull it off. Poe drove Todd straight back in the early 3rd. Was beaten by blitzer on 3rd down pass play in the RZ in the mid-3rd. Had an excellent combo block on Shady’s long TD run. Started by doubling Jackson up front, then peeled off and sealed the ILB. Sealed the backside of Shady’s running lane, which was huge. Had a holding penalty late in the 4th Qtr that wiped out a 19-yd pass to Ertz. Was just slow to get his hands on Jackson in pass pro.
JOHNSON – Mostly played well in the 1st half. Got beat for sack late in the half. Houston used good inside move. A couple of plays later he was driven back to Vick. The play resulted in a sack, but pressure from Hali and Poe drove Vick to Houston. The 2nd half didn’t go so well. Got pushed back, then beaten to the inside by Houston in the mid-3rd. Might have cost the Eagles a TD. Vick hit Jackson on the play with a deep ball. Due to pressure, the pass was too wide and DJax went out of bounds as he made the grab. Had good block of OLB on outside run where Shady got to the edge and upfield for a 1st down. Got beaten by Houston for strip sack to end the game. Lane had his hands too low and Houston was able to get his hands on top of them and then blow by the RT. Houston’s combination of speed and power gave Lane fits.
BARBRE – DNP
TOBIN – DNP
VANDERVELDE – DNP
KELLY – DNP
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Vastly improved showing by the defense. Why?
Getting back CB Bradley Fletcher helped. Adding Vinny Curry to the lineup helped. I think the guys also got tired of being ripped on and played better. They flew to the ball and had a spring in their step. The effort was outstanding. There were still some costly mistakes and there is a lot of room left for improvement, but it felt like the defense woke back up.
Let’s be honest, though. Facing Alex Smith also helped. He threw almost all short passes and that made it less challenging to defend him. He also wasn’t willing to throw to covered receivers. Smith wanted open guys. Philip Rivers threw several passes to covered receivers and some went for completions. That frustrates the heck out of the DBs. Nothing is worse than doing your job well and having that be not good enough.
There weren’t any major schematic changes that I noticed. The Eagles blitzed less and used more 3-man rushes, but I think that was for a very specific reason…Smith. For those who didn’t watch the Dallas game, Smith ran for more than 50 yards. He converted a 3rd/15 by scrambling. If you blitz, you leave yourself vulnerable to running. If you play a lot of man coverage, you leave yourself vulnerable to scrambling. By dropping 7 and 8 defenders in zone coverage, those players keep their eyes on the offense. Smith ran 10 times, but only for 33 yards. His long run was 9 yards. I don’t think he ran for any key 1st downs.
Obviously the strategy backfired due to the inability to handle the WR screens that the Chiefs ran to Donnie Avery. Kudos to them for coming up with that play. I’ve not seen it run quite like that in the NFL. Simple, safe, smart. Should have been stopped every time, but the Eagles had breakdowns. Players took bad angles. Players didn’t tackle well. Simple mistakes that proved very costly. I do have one gripe with Bill Davis. Why not press Avery on those 3rd/longs? I understand the first couple of plays caught you off guard. After that, there should have been a more dramatic adjustment. It was clear that Smith wasn’t going to beat you throwing the ball elsewhere. By jamming Avery, you’d have thrown off the timing of the blocks and ruined the play. You would lose one cover guy since he’d have to be there doing the jamming and not back in coverage, but that was worth the risk.
It sure felt like KC did well on 3rd downs, but they were only 6 for 18. They were 0-2 on 4th downs.
The Chiefs were just 1 for 6 in the Red Zone. When is the last time the Eagles pulled that off with RZ defense?
No takeaways.
PLAYS
* Chiefs sent RB J Charles to the flat a lot as a receiver and we had trouble covering that.
* 3rd/19. Mid-2nd Qtr. The Eagles had already been burned by Donnie Avery a couple of times. This time Davis used a 4-man rush. The ILBs stayed closer to the LOS. And yet, the delay screen still worked. Boykin got blocked by McCluster too easily. That can’t happen. Bradley Fletcher came inside and let Avery get to the sideline untouched. Barf. Fletcher had to keep contain and force him to the middle. That’s where the help was. Play went for 25 yards.
* There was a pass play in the early 3rd Qtr where the Eagles ran a zone blitz and Ced Thornton was chasing Jamaal Charles to the outside. He never came close, as you would expect. Mayock pointed this out during the game. Before the play, Charles was lined up to the other side. Smith switched him at the last minute. I’m curious if the Eagles failed to adjust to that switch or it was just an awful design. Thornton chasing Charles to the short side of the field would make a lot more sense than to the wide side, where he had no chance. Odd play. Also could have been a blown coverage. Just wasn’t anyone close to that area.
* There was a run play in the 4th Qtr where Jamaal Charles lowered his head and hit Kendricks helmet-to-helmet. This happened 4 yds upfield. Wondered if we might see a penalty on Charles there due to new rule.
* 3rd/2. Long drive in the 4th Qtr. The coaches wisely put Curry in the game. They stupidly blitzed Nate Allen. That left a receiver open. Curry has shown he can get pressure. If you play him, you don’t have to blitz. Especially on 3rd/2. Bad job by the coaches in this situation.
PLAYERS
DL
COX – Good game. Lined up at LDE in 3-man line late in the 1st Qtr on 3rd/15. Beat the RT with a good inside move and pressured Smith. Showed excellent speed to open the 2nd Qtr when he chased Smith way out wide on broken pass play and forced him out after only a short gain. Beat the RT with an inside move for a sack in the mid-2nd Qtr. Smith tried to run, but Cox caught him and made the tackle. Almost got a sack on the final play of the half. Chased Smith and got his hands on him, but Alex somehow was able to break the tackle and get clear to throw the ball. Fought off block of the LG on stretch play and forced Charles out of bounds for a short gain to open the 3rd Qtr. Threw off a running play by driving Fisher into the backfield. The RB had to re-route and stay wide. Enabled pursuit to catch him. Drew holding call on that. Made critical mistake on 4th Qtr run play. Engaged the RG. Then moved to inside. Charles ran through gap where Cox had been. That run set up 1st/GL. Split double-team and tackled RB for short gain on run play on critical 4th Qtr drive. Showed strength, athleticism on that play. Finished with 4 tackles, TFL and a sack.
SOPOAGA – Did a good job of pursuing plays, both run and pass. Pushed the pocket on a 2nd Qtr pass and forced Smith to scramble. Got held on 4th Qtr stretch play, but there was no call. Got a shot on Smith after Graham had already hit him and started Smith to the ground. Got walled off by the C on run play in the 4th Qtr. The C then got him off balance and put Sope on the ground. Not good. Coaches had him moving down the LOS at the snap on some run plays. Worked well on one 4th Qtr play. Sope tackled Charles for about 3-yd gain.
THORNTON – Lined up at NT in some looks. Fought off block of LG and moved down the LOS to tackle RB on inside run. Not flashy, but that was excellent interior defense. Got some push on 3rd down pass play by driving the C backward. Blew up 3rd/1 run with spin move. Totally lucky, but it worked. Spun to get off block and Charles was right there to be tackled. Had another spin move later in the 1st Qtr where he stuffed Charles for no gain/short loss. Odd. Flowed out wide on roll-out pass play. Fought off a couple of blockers and fell on Smith as he tried to dive for the 1st down. Kept him short. Credited with 6 solo tackles. Also got some push on pass plays throughout the game.
CURRY – Great game. Literally. Didn’t play all that much, but made a true impact when he was on the field. Got on the field in the late 1st Qtr. Played LDE. Fought off block of RT and pressured Smith into throwing the ball away. Vinny was tough to block and showed good closing speed on the play. Lined up at LDE on 3rd/5 in the 2nd Qtr and got some put on Fisher. Very quick off the ball from DT. Exploded into the backfield on 3rd/3 late in the half and rushed a pass by Smith that was almost picked off. They had no idea how quick Curry would be. Got his first NFL sack in the 3rd Qtr. Chiefs tried to block him with a TE on what was going to be a play-action pass. Curry was so fast off the ball that the blocker had no chance. Nor did Smith. Curry got a handful of jersey and dragged him down. Great play for the young man. Got some penetration on the next play by beating the LG and Smith was sacked by Cole. Next play was 3rd/25. Curry exploded up the field and drew a holding call on the LG. He flushed Smith and forced him to get rid of the ball quickly. Pass was incomplete. Great series. You could see how much the coaches confidence in Curry had grown when they had him at LOLB on critical 3rd/10 in the 4th Qtr. Got double-teamed on the play. Came back a few plays later on 3rd/2. Lined up on outside shoulder of RG. Used quick burst and rip move to shoot to the inside and immediately pressure Smith.
GEATHERS – Blew up a run play in the early 2nd Qtr. Shoved the RG backward, then grabbed the RB. Held play to minimal gain. Showed great hustle in the 4th Qtr when he chased down Charles and tackled him 18 yards downfield.
LOGAN – Played NT, DE and DT. Did poor job on run by Davis in the early 2nd. OL was able to seal him and give Davis big running lane. Bennie can’t get sealed like that. Held his ground vs a double team on the next play and helped to bottle up a run. Got some pressure on a pass play late in the 2nd Qtr, although Smith helped him by holding the ball for a long time. Somewhat quiet.
SQUARE – DNP.
OLB
COLE – Felt like a quiet game when I watched it live, but was better than I realized. KC tried to block him with 2 RBs on 2nd Qtr pass play. Trent got by both and forced an errant throw by Smith. Blew up a 3rd Qtr run play to Charles. Tried to block Trent with TE, but he got into the backfield and tripped up Charles. Poor play design to run against 3-4. Got a sack in the mid-3rd Qtr. Came upfield and was blocked so he spun to the inside. Rushers had flushed Smith and Cole had the perfect route to get him. Trent was able to trip him up for the sack. Came off the edge unblocked in the late 3rd and got a good hit on Smith. Flew down the LOS on run play away from him and helped tackle Charles. Great hustle. Used very quick burst on 3rd/5 to get some pressure on Smith. That came on the super-long drive in the 4th Qtr.
BARWIN – Another solid game. Had 6 total tackles (5 solo). Used inside move to beat Fisher on opening play and got good shot on Alex Smith. Hustled out wide to get hit on McCluster on early 3rd down. Tackled Avery on the 3rd down play where he got 15 yards late in the 1st Qtr. Was off balance, but missed tackle of Avery on 3rd/5 play in the early 2nd. Turned into big play. Tackled Smith on pass play when he started to scramble up the middle. Gave up just a yard. Had a chance to make a monster play late in the half. Curry exploded upfield on a pass play. Smith hurried a pass on WR screen. Ball went right to Barwin, who had gotten into the passing lane. Hit him in the hands (although above his head) and he wasn’t able to hold on. Might have been a pick-6. Mis-read play in the early 4th. Tried to cover TE, but it was an outside run. Edge was wide open for Charles.
GRAHAM – Played DE and OLB. Helped blow up early 3rd/1 run. LG tried to block him, but Brandon pushed the guy into the backfield. That forced Charles to stay inside, where Thornton stuffed him. Beat the LG on 3rd/long in the early 2nd Qtr. Flushed Smith, which stopped the drive. Got a sack in the 4th Qtr. Lined up at ROLB and used a good bull rush to drive back the LT. Smith started to move up in the pocket. Graham moved to the inside and got him. Dropped back a couple of times in the game. Still looks awkward. Felt good to see him get a sack and impact some plays. Needs more snaps.
ILB
KENDRICKS – Sloppy game. Wasn’t as bad as I expected, but still missed too many tackles and made too many mistakes. Started off well, though. Made terrific play on early 2nd/GL. Chiefs tried option pitch to their right. Kendricks looked like he was shot out of a cannon. Exploded upfield and tackled McCluster for a loss of 4. Great play. Chased Smith out of bounds on broken pass play that turned into a scramble. Wisely didn’t make contact as Smith stepped out. Missed tackle of Charles on short pass that led to 1st down. Had blocker to deal with, but that was a makeable tackle. Attacked the FB on iso run and clogged the running lane in the early 2nd Qtr. That blew up the play. Looked like Kendricks had good underneath coverage of Chad Hall on RZ play where Smith tried to hit him in the endzone. Pass was incomplete. Whiffed on Charles after short pass into the flat late in the 2nd Qtr. Gave up an additional 14 yds on that play and put them in FG range. Came up quickly to force Smith to slide on scramble late in the half. That kept him from getting a 1st down and ended the drive. Chased ball to outside on run and helped tackle Charles for short gain. Got caught flat-footed on 4th Qtr run by Charles. Kendricks was then slow to get wide and unable to catch Charles. That run set up 1st/GL. Kendricks has to read that play quickly and get wide. Looked like MK might have been slow to come up and cover the TE on pass play in the 4th Qtr. Did make the tackle. Got hit in the head by Charles in the 4th. Left game for a snap. Came back on next play and made a sloppy tackle of FB after catch. Gave up 1st down, but should have stopped the guy short. Did poor job on inside run that netted 8 yds. Kendricks waited for the ball and didn’t see the runner until he was right on him. Needed to make that play in the hole instead of down the field. Had a chance to make key tackle on 4th Qtr run by Charles. Did a good job of moving to his left and getting in position, but then missed the tackle. Ugh. Got driven way downfield on Charles long run on final drive. Led the team with 8 solo tackles.
RYANS – Had a worse game than I thought upon re-watching it. Had 7 solo tackles, but erred on too many plays. Overran inside run by Davis in the early 2nd Qtr and was taken completely out of the play. Made clean tackle of Charles after short catch in the early 3rd Qtr. Chased Smith out of bounds on scramble at the end of the 3rd Qtr. Tried to cover the TE McGrath on 3rd/4 in the early 4th, but McGrath got open and made the grab. Got caught in trash and was unable to get out wide enough on Charles TD run in the 4th Qtr. Ryans has to see the field better than that. Stuffed a run play near the LOS on drive in the 4th Qtr. Whiffed on Charles on run that moved KC into FG range in 4th Qtr. Terrible. Made good tackle of Davis at the LOS in 4th Qtr. Got blocked out of run play by TE on final drive.
MATTHEWS – Came into the game at LOLB in the mid-2nd. Got some pressure on Smith when he was flushed toward Casey. Forced Smith to throw the ball away.
KNOTT – Came into the game in the 4th Qtr. Kendricks got hit in the head on the previous play. Jake helped stuff a run to his side.
GOODE – Only a STer.
S
ALLEN – Best game of the year. That doesn’t mean he was anything special, but he did have some highlights. Broke to the ball quickly and helped break up pass to Bowe on opening play. Tackled Charles on inside run near the GL. TE blocked him initially, but Nate got off the block and made the stop. Encouraging. Made a great play on 3rd/GL. Started by covering on the GL area. Saw Smith start to scramble. Nate didn’t have a specific man to cover so he flew upfield and sacked Smith. Love the result, but how he did it is just as important. Nate was decisive. No hesitation. Made a smart decision. Wasn’t risky since he didn’t leave a player open. And he made a sure tackle. Came up quickly to tackle the TE on a short pass to open the 3rd drive. Decisive tackle. Knocked down the Hail Mary pass at the end of the half. Came up quickly to help tackle Charles on run in the early 3rd Qtr. Made open field tackle of McCluster late in the 3rd Qtr. Wasn’t a clean, wrap-up tackle, but got him down. Made one huge mistake. Nate was the end man on 1st/GL. His sole job was to keep contain. That means staying wider than the widest. No one gets outside of you. FB came at him and Nate engaged the guy. Was strong, physical initially. But Nate then pushed him backward. On most plays that would be good. Not so on a GL run where Nate was the edge man. By getting too involved with the FB, he let Charles get wide of him for the TD. Nate gave up a TD because he was too physical. Mark that down on your calendars. Great effort by Nate, but poor technique. Has to stay wide. Mike Mayock got on Allen for being slow to come up in coverage on 3rd/10 pass play to Avery in the 4th Qtr. Nate stumbled coming forward, but almost got a hand on the pass. Mayock knows DB play worlds better than me. I’m frustrated that the coaches didn’t have Fletcher jam Avery at the release. Had 5 solo tackles, sack and PD. Good numbers.
CHUNG – Bad game. Took a poor angle on 3rd/15 pass to Avery late in the 1st Qtr. Needed to stay in his lane. Got too aggressive and left big void for Avery to run in. Was blocked in the back on that play, but still took a poor angle. Helped stuff a run play late in the 1st Qtr. Got held by the RT when blitzing off the edge on 3rd down in the early 2nd Qtr. Missed tackle of Avery after catch over middle in the mid-2nd. Turned into 51-yd gain. Critical mistake for Chung. He was unblocked and the play was in front of him. Just missed it. Tackled Avery after short catch over the middle late in the 1st half. If only he’d done that more. Made solid tackle of FB in the flat after a short catch late in the 3rd Qtr. Whiffed on Avery in the late 3rd on crossing route. Play should have gotten 5 yds. Instead, it got close to 20.
WOLFF – Continued to get mixed in. Got blown up by RB on blitz in the early 2nd Qtr. Charles put Wolff on his butt. No shame in that. 2 guys going all out. Hustled in pursuit on Avery’s long catch and run. Able to make the tackle downfield. Tackled Charles for only 3-yd gain on screen pass in the early 4th Qtr. That was an impressive read and tackle. Missed tackle on key run by Charles in the 4th Qtr. Tried, but couldn’t get him down. Had a couple of tackles late. Finished with 5 total tackles.
COLEMAN – Only a STer.
CB
FLETCHER – Helped to break up a pass to his side in the 1st Qtr. Missed tackle of Charles after short pass to his side in the late 1st Qtr. Tackled Davis on an inside run, but only after a gain of about 12. Blitzed off the edge in the mid-3rd and that forced Smith to move up in the pocket, right to Cole for the sack. Solid game.
WILLIAMS – Pass came to Bowe on first play. Cary got in there quickly and helped break it up. Probably more drop than anything, but Cary did hustle to Bowe to do what he could. Gave up a short completion to Avery in the early 2nd Qtr. Had a chance to get Charles down on key run, but tried to hit him instead of wrapping up. Charles ran right through that. Dumb. Gave up 4-yd catch to Jenkins late in the 1st half. Had tight coverage on WR on 3rd down play late in the game. Pass was incomplete.
PRATER – DNP
BOYKIN – Quiet game. Didn’t have many passes come his way. Used as a blitzer quite a few times. Still funny to see him battling an OT to get to the QB. Missed a tackle of Avery.
POYER – DNP.
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ST’s
Bad game by the STs unit. Dave Fipp has done an amazing job with his group, but they all seemed to pick the wrong night to struggle. Mistakes were made by both of the kickers, various cover guys, blockers and a returner. This was a unit meltdown. Very odd. And costly.
JONES – Only averaged 37 yds per punt. 2 were inside the 20. Had an early shank that went just 37 yards and gave the Chiefs good field position.
HENERY – 1 of 2 on FGs. Missed from 48. Only had 1 touchback. Quintin Demps was determined to bring KOs back and had a couple of good returns. Henery had to make the tackle on one. Got called for horse collar tackle.
– MISC –
KOR – Damaris Johnson averaged 26 yards per KOR.
PR – Johnson muffed the first punt of the game and gave the ball to KC inside the RZ. Huge blunder. Returned 3 other punts and averaged just 4.7 per return. Johnson’s mistake on the muff came when he failed to get under the ball. It seemed to go wider than he expected and his body wasn’t totally under it. Needed to take another step to the right. Dave Fipp will work with him on that.
* The Eagles tried the swinging gate play after a TD. They hoped for 2 points, but the play failed due to faulty blocking. Go read this piece by Jimmy Kempski for more details and some visual aids to understand what happened.
* Quintin Demps had 58-yd KOR to open the game. Looked like Colt Anderson got out of his lane. Good hustle by Cary Williams to make the tackle.
* James Casey made a good tackle on punt coverage.
* Chung made terrible tackle attempt on 3rd Qtr KO and Demps got by him easily. Henery then ran over and made the stop, but drew a horse collar penalty in the process.
_
i’m starting to worry about herremans. his subpar play is starting to become a trend instead of an anomaly… hope he can put it together
It’s been a trend for over a year now in my opinion. I was hopeful that going back to G would help, but it seems as though he is just on the decline.
Definitely doesn’t look good seeing him Bullrushed into a QBs lap every week. If this keeps up they will be forced to give Kelly and Barbre a look…
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I like that we brought in tall WR Gettis in for a visit. Kid is 6’3 and made some beautiful catches for Carolina against us in the PS
yea, i too hoped that moving back to G would help him. maybe he needs to be on the other side of the line? i’m not about to move Mathis, though.
Makes it even crazier to think he beat out Watkins.
I think this will be Harremans’ last year for us. He seems to be our weakest link on the O-line and he’s an aging vet. We need an upgrade. He’s had a decent career here, but this is part of the rebuilding process. I’m sure he will be replaced this upcoming off season.
What’s the dead money/cap hit on his is contract?
That is a tackle contract, thats all I know.
UGH!! Forgot about that
I don’t think cap hit will matter much. We’ve got plenty of room under it. I’m sure we’d be able to move him to a team that needs/wants a back up or spot starter. Or maybe a team trying to start rebuilding and needs stop gap before they can get their people in place.
Yeah we got plenty of cap room, but i would much rather be spending it on guys like Orakpo and Byrd instead of payng our own guys to go away
We will save 600k by cutting Herremans after this year in 2014 and in away save 5.2 mill in 2015 and 2016 for not having him on there
Nice…could be much worse. thanks
3.6 next year, goes down by 1.2 each year after.
Kelly might be a solid option next year, but might not be athletic enough to be an ideal choice. Seems like we got rid of the rest of our promising prospects. Vandervelde seems to have passed the point that he will ever develop to be more than a back up.
Kelly is not a guard.
we had him play some Guard last year didn’t we? Was under the impression he did both.
T-Law:
Thanks for the great, hard work.
I really applaud Tom for the chargers game…I usually watch each game 4-5 times til I get an idea of how most of our key players really looked, but for a defensive diehard like myself, seeing my beloved defense abused and Molested by what was supposed to be a bad Oline and erratic QB, was just too painful for me. I tried to re-watch that game twice, and neither time was I able to get past the 1st quarter. It was just unbearable to watch, so it really makes you stop and appreciate the work Tom puts in, to be able to produce such great DGRs even when our birds play so bad and break our hearts. I can’t even imagine having to watch last years games, thoroughly enough to do a DGR
..
Re Tom: “Dear mamma, You are appreciated”-2pac
Worried about Kendricks. I was hoping to see vast improvement in year 2 but it isn’t there. I know it’s a new scheme but still…too many errors.
I’m down on him too, but I don’t think we can discount the new scheme factor too easily. I will say that it is concerning that he flashes the same strengths and weaknesses he showed last year.
That’s what’s so frustrating. He seems to have the capacity to be, if not a pro-bowl type player, at least a consistent dependable player.
This team needs more just rock solid pros that are dependable and consistent.
Great work again Tommy. Your point about 300+ yards of offense coming on 10 “chunk” plays was telling. This is where numbers don’t tell the whole story. Yes, we put up 400+ yards but it was an “erratic” 400+ yards, to use your term.
I’m really looking forward to this next game, even though it’s against the Broncos (I almost typed Colts!). I think it will be a good test for this team.
You mentioned the team not giving up, and I see that too. We know this team is limited in talent, and will be for the rest of this year, but giving maximum effort can sometimes pay off even when you’re not as talented as the other team.
My mantra to myself is: “Two new schemes, Chip’s first team.” We should not be surprised by the deficiencies this team has. Yes, there are some pieces in place in both sides of the ball, but we know there are significant holes too.
I’m not sure there are any pieces on the defensive side of the ball outside of Cox.
C’mon, you like Boykin, Kendricks (I saw your comment below) if he can come around, Curry (if they let him on the field)…yup, you’re right cupboard is pretty bare on that side of the ball.
If you think Boykin can play outside then I’d agree. I’m not so sure he can and that really limits his value.
You may be right on Curry, but I would have to see more to feel confident about him.
As if teams only line up with two WRs and nicklebackers don’t matter
Trent Cole. Chung was looking so good before, wonder what happened. Maybe he just needs to stay in the box b/c he can’t cover. Problem is that Wolff is starting to look more like a run stopper than a cover corner. Woodson looked great last night. I really wish we’d picked up a Veteran leader at one of the DB positions. Feels like the team needs a lockerroom leader + someone that can coach up the young guys in game, make sure they are playing in the right spots and step up and make plays. I think only getting players under 30 is BS sometimes you need people with experience. Point of guys like Ray and Urlacher late in their careers is that they are great on-the-field coaches.
Charles Tillman baby!!!
No elite pieces, and even Cox isn’t as big a difference maker as he could be, because of the role change.
Barwin was a nice find for us, he should stick around.
Thornton is ok but I’d like him to be replaced by Curry by next year (my thought on Curry is he JUST added the weight over the summer, rapidly, not all of it is fully football functional yet imo, hoping another year of training and work on technique will help him anchor better).
I could go through the list but I’ll just sum it up by saying: if you look at some of the most impressive defenses in the league right now, they aren’t that loaded with star power, but everyone is good enough to do their role, with maybe 1 or 2 play makers. When everyone just execute’s their assignment, defenses can be pretty impressive.
When I look at us, we need consistency, basically we need to stick with Davis for at least 1 more year,ideally 2. To get used to the system. Then we basically need a true OLB, 2 CB’s, at least 1 safety, and a NT. The rest I’m confident can do their jobs for years to come, given some consistent coaching, surrounded by people that can also do their jobs.
You don’t think the corners have shown enough to where they could be ok if they were playing with a serious safety?
the CB’s are worth discussing. I like both of them fine for 2013 and I’m satisfied with their performances for this year thus far. My concern with Williams is his age. He’s not elite, so he doesn’t have much wiggle room for the aging process. I don’t think we can or should look to upgrade both next season, likely draft one pretty high, 2nd or 3rd and not have him start right away. Perhaps we could draft a slot corner in a lower round, and play Fletcher or Williams opposite Boykin for a season? Drafting a play maker at safety (MUCH easier said than done) could alleviate the urgency on the position a bit, like you said.
Either way, we need an upgrade somewhere in the secondary next season hopefully 2 places.
I say draft a guy like Clinton Dix or Ed Reynolds next year (yea BPA bla bla, but both have a good chance to be BPA when we pick in next years draft).
Try and draft a CB to develop behind Williams. Keep Boykin in the slot (we already have Poyer and Prater to develop behind Boykin).
Also try and see if we can get one of the 3 good safeties in FA unless you really believe in Wolff.
So in an admittedly worthless exercise, Chris Burke posted a 2014 mock draft. He had the Eagles at 10 taking Manziel,
I don’t think I’d want that but it would be fascinating to see,
Or terrible. Vick / Tebow. Selling seats but not winning games.
Much much rather have the kid from UCLA instead of Manziel..taller, thicker, more mature, gym rat
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Yesterday Walterfootballs Mock had us taking A&M Big Bodied WR Evans
Hundley went 4th overall in that, with Mariota 3rd and Bridgewater 1st. Cant really argue against that
I’m assuming Clowney 2nd or are you just ranking QBs.
Clowney went 2nd.
That mock demonstrated just how unlikely it is that we end up with a starting-caliber QB in the draft. Unless we trade up.
There are some *really* bad teams in the NFL that *desperately* need a franchise quarterback. Assuming we’re drafting in the 11-20 range, there’s no chance that Bridgewater/Mariota/Hundley fall to us. Maybe Manziel/Boyd/Carr do.
Jags, Browns, Vikings, Bucs all need QBs. Maybe the Rams too.
Also, LOL at Walterfootball’s mock draft. Has Mariota and Hundley falling out the 1st Round, and then Morris/Fales going before either. I had to go through it 3 times to make sure I wasn’t missing them. Morris is terrible. Mariota and Hundley are probably top 10 picks, Carr is playing his way into the conversation. Just my opinion, mostly based on the poor QB play throughout the league.
Agree with all of it. Walterfootball is a joke. I only use it to get a quick fell for other teams needs.
Walterfootball is absolutely a joke, unfortunately it’s the only place we can count on to have updated mocks year round…they also happened to get Benny Logan in the 3rd rond to us right…for months through various updated versions they maintained that the eagles would take. Logan n the 3rd round…and they were right. I’ll give them that
plenty sites like CBS, draftmecca, draftbreakdown.com, SI.com have mocks year round.
Yeah but do they really update them as much as Walter? Thanks tho
MKSP . . .
You’ve just gamed out why Chip Kelly married himself and the Eagles to Vick for the next 3 years.
Could we trade curry for a second and then move up to grab Mariota?
If we can’t get Marriotta or Hundley, there is no one else that I want any parts of(assuming absolutely no shot at teddy)..In that case I would rather throw a 5th round dart inthe dark on a QB and hope we get lucky with him, FOles or Barkley…..
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I don’t believe you draft QBs if they are “the next guy on your Board”…You Identify the “right” guys, project where they will go off on the board, and then try to go get one without over paying drastically…next year! we should either be drafting a QB in rd 1 or two, or a QB in round 5…..If you are in Love with a QB that you think will last til round 3, then you better not draft anyone else in the second round. If you are sure a guy you like is getting drafted at some point in round 3, you don’t get cute and wait for him to fall to you…You take your round 2 pick, and you trade back as many times as you possibly can, aquire whatever extra picks you can…and when you can’t trade back any further without landing in round 3, you draft your QB…if you believe a kid can grow into a guy that is going to win some serious games for you! you over draft him. Its not worth missing out on QBs…
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I love Kendricks and Curry, but neither were worth missing out on Russel Wilson. So if the reports were true, then Curry should have never been drafted. Howie shoulda took Wilson in rd two, after trying to move as far back in round two as possible, taking any compensation offered…Not having my beloved Vinny curry is so much better then having to give up a boatload a year or two later moving up in the raft to get a QB that you believe in..
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And I don’t ever want to see a situation like Barkley again: “when we looked up in round 4 we couldn’t believe he was on the board”….screw that!! if you didn’t think enough about him to draft him before you took a RT,TE and DT…then I don’t want him in round 4…You either really really like and believe in a QB to where you can’t fathom not drafting him when you have a shot at him, or you don’t draft a QB at all before the 5th, preferably 6th round
On a slightly positive note: Denver didn’t look great against the read-option plays last night. On the other hand they got some good film of themselves to study. FML.
The Eagles looked good on zone read plays, but the last two games haven’t run much. Hopefully they give it a shot, and if it works, they stick with it.
I think we got 150 yards or so on zone reads against the Chiefs
The Eagles will have a chance if they can keep Peyton under 500 Yards Passing with no more than 4 TDs. Probably too much to ask for though…
Holding them to FG and us not being held to FGs is the key..
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Of I course you have to commit zero turnovers, and play a clean game in terms of penalties to even have a chance, which is far from a given with our offensive players….I don’t care so much if they lose this game, but if they can not commit any turnovers, I will be proud of this group and have some hope for them going forward….Cowboys lost Spencer for the season. Giants, Snee is getting his hip checked out
Score 40 and there is a chance.
I say go with the opposite…heavy dose of Shady. feed shady 30 carries..Bryce should get 15. Im talking pound the rock all day. We keep Peyton off the field, not the other way around. we tire out their defense, and keep ours fresh…I think scoring fast against Peyton is dumb…Chances are we will make a mistake before he does…Vick only throws the ball 20’times..a lot of play action that they have to honor….Kind of wish FOles were playing, because I feel safer with the conservative game plan he would implement for him:..
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a ride the running backs. I literally don’t believe we can be held to less then 10 yards if we run the ball 3 times in a row. I don’t believe it!!! Even if we have to sub in Bryce and let them sub, so what…I don’t think anyone can stop us when we really make an effort to pound the rock. FOles would be taking the check downs to shady all day which are a big play waiting to happen with minimal risk, we would be running all those quick slants I love seeing him throw and only take those big shots down field when play action really opens it up…you can’t commit a single Turnover against Denver…
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Get any notion of keeping an eye on Shadys number of carries out our minds right now..he needs to be a 30 touches work horse, And Bryce needs to spell him often to keep him fresh in the thin air
you’re a fan of the wrong team if you want to see clock milked. we’re not stopping manning, so the offense needs to come out fresh and get lead. last 2 games we’ve been behind by 10+ from 5 minutes into game. need a lead so defense can play fast easy aggressive ball. cant let team do those 12-15 play 10 minute drives.
Oh normally I agree. Score Score Score…but I think it’s a bad idea against A team that can match and surpass your fire power. This is that rare game that Chip should concede this. Turn the ball over and you have no shot. we have to limit the opportunities Vick has to hurt us. When we score there is a good shot Peyton will match us..everytime that happens it’s an extra opportunity for Vick to force something that costs us.
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we are averaging like 7 yards per Carry or somethig in crazy like that. when have you seen. Nyone stop our ground attack on consecutive plays? pound that rock so much that it makes Desean the deadliest play action threat eh as ever been….I don’t care how many players the put in the box. Unless Desean is 1-on-1 with no safety Help, Pound The Rock!!!
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Did you watch the Niners/Colts? sometimes you have to line up, and impose your will. I like that our coach plays the numbers game, and takes what defenses give you, but sometimes you have to line the F up, and dictate to a defense how it’s gonna be. Too many defenders in the box? GET over it!!! why we have 15 TIght End. put in 9 guys that can block the hell out of any opposing 9 guys and let Vick and Shadys ZR beat the other two guys….when you are out gunned from a talent standpoint! the only chance you have is to turn it into a Dog fight and try to out physical your opponent??we need to take the approach that fighters take withth is eagles team:
“Box against a Brawler, and Brawl against a Boxer”…We can out finesse, and out high power less talented offenses, but we have to roll your sleevs up, and get Grimey against a more talented team.
Tommy
would you trade Jason Peters if someone offered us a 1st round pick and thus increasing the chances of landing our franchise QB in 2014?
In other news: your “boy” London Fletcher will become a Free Agent next year. 😉
I would trade a 1st for Peters. He has maybe 2 elite years left after this one.
Who would you replace him with? To go from the best LT to a scrub, who’s going to protect the blindside.
That said of course i’d do it.
It would be Johnson and then play Babre or Kelly at RT
I would trade peters to the Bears for Kyle long and a 3rd round pic…The professor Trestman has them in compete now mode. If theory want to give up teir RG of the future to have a top LT to make a run with. I would def take that trade…Kyle next to lane is just crazy 3years from now
Rumor has it that Peyton likes having a good o-line… could we pinch Denver for a 1st and 3rd?
I am not overly impressed with the free agent class next year. Apart from a very deep WR class (Cruz!) there’s not really much out there. Peanut Tilman will be an UFA, however I doubt the Bears will let him walk.
It looks more like second tier players overall to me at first sight…
Orakpo, Byrd, Spencer (too expensive), TJ Ward, Chris Clemons, DRC (lol).
Yeah a couple of guys went out with season ending injuries there were tagged. I know Howie is licking his chops for next year. By draft board they probably mean they watch the IR list
Byrd will be pricey, but I would love our Safeties to be: Byrd, Chung, Wolff, Anderson and a Rookie.
Im not really high on Chung right now, but I think Wolff can be a good safety for us. Byrd+Wolff as the starters with Chung+rookie as a backups would be really improved safety position.
Chung is being asked to cover, he needs to stay in the box and hit people.
In todays NFL both safeties have to cover.
Don’t disagree just saying he’s not great at it, though maybe he can play slot.
If you invest in Orakpo and Byrd, then you added enough quality to make our current guys good complimentary pieces,and we would then just need to draft a NT, and we can focus the other draft pics on often….but if you want to get away with only adding 3 defenders, two have to be high quality game changers
No way we get Orakpo.
Doub the skins keep him…has the size that Kelly likes
I love defense, but the only NT worth a dam is Louis Nix and I think Logan can actually play NT for us in the long run.
I think if we add Orakpo and Byrd. The defense would be more than good enough next year. Add some develment pieces (safety, CB, OLB) later in the draft
Right now I have Logan penciled in at starting 5tec of the future…but if Thorton on Curry prove to be quality starter,then I’d be happy with Logan at NT
Thorton and Cox are the starting DE and are both doing a really good job.
I’d almost prefer 4/3 under or some other hybrid scheme since Curry is a dynamic pass rusher.
What is a hybrid system for you?
We only play the 3-4 2 gap on base downs, in nickle we are most likely in what people would call the 4-3 under anyway.
Yeah i mean using 4 down lineman occasionally so that Curry gets time. Though would be interesting to see him as a blitzing linebacker in a base package.
Thorton had a good showing in weeks 1 and 3…long season and we need to find out how he handles a starters work load consistenty? keep in mind he hits free agency this year and is currently making chump change. How much will he improve this year? Will giving him a significant raise and signing bonus be worth keeping him at starters money if a guy like Curry, who we have under contract will prove to be a capable starter? I do like Thorton, I just don’t know if he is part of our future or not…..If we had him under contract for 3 more years, I certainly wouldn’t be calling for us to be rid of him.
Thorton wont demand to much in FA. He is not compelling sacks, but is only doing the dirty work. Would also hate to lose a young building block on defense.
He won’t command any thing crazy, but he will command a significant raise from the peanuts we are currently paying him. he will command a signing bonus and it’s still going to require investing in a starter…by the end of this season we could see him play his worth up to a RGF type of contract…When you don’t extend a player, it costs you more in free agency. If Curry and Logan both also look like starters in this scheme by the end of the year, would we still want to pay Thorton meager starting money? or will there be someone on the market we like more for the price that it would cost to bring Ced back? The thing with UDFA, is that when they do make it to the market they rarely ever leave money on the table to stay with their current team. They played under the Cheapest contract possible for years, and when they get their shot at a first free agent payday, they usually go to the highest bidder…so the question becomes…
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If Curry and Logan look like starters in this scheme by the end of the season, are we still going to be willing to pay Thorton more than every other team will? I wouldn’t bet on it. Hopefully we don’t lose the kid because I like his game
I think peanut will walk because I think retaining the other CB and safety is a bigger priority for the bears because they are younger
Even if he does walk I don’t see the Eagles going after him. As much as I adore Peanut, but he’s too old for Howie I guess.
I really hate that people wont take players over 30. Maybe he’ll want a ton of money but there are things aside from on field production. In some senses it’s self fulfilling prophecy, not a lot of players over 30 b/c people says that players over 30 can’t play.
Don’t shoot the messenger. It’s just the Eagles FO’s philosophy.
Yeah not at all a general complaint. Plenty of great older FAs who actually end up taking less money and produce on the field. Old guys are mentors as much as playmakers. Can get people in the right position to make plays, make sure they play responsibly. I never liked Ray Lewis but he understand the game of football from the defensive point of view. We need a guy like that to keep the team in check on the field.
The reason is players over 30 in general decline very fast.
The only way i would sign a guy of his age would be if they decided to go all in with Vick the next two years, then I would take any of peanuts age coming off two recent probowl years on a 3yr deal, easy to void after the second,..but if We are going with a young QB, no I wouldn’t sign guys in their 30s
After studying the FA class a little more the Eagles priority list should be the following:
1. Byrd
2. Orakpo
3. Spencer
Give me 2 out of those three and the Eagles D should be vastly improved.
Spencer is over rated and he just hurt himself out for the season,..we can’t pay expensive players coming off of major surgery
Spencer will be on the team next year we love guys coming off injury. I can’t see letting Orakpo move in the division (I guess that applies to spencer too).
Orakpo is a free agent and I’m not sure Skins can pay him when they have a ton of holes to fill, and when their two best players are playing are going to require huge financial investments to keep long term…I don’t know what their ca number will look like next year! but they have a lot of issues and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them lose him and if they do lose him they have nos ya whether is to the AFC or a team in the division…
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Today the skins have NO cap space, and we are at the very to of the list in terms of cap space available…everything i write this someone is quick to remind me that we have players that need to be re signed..YES, that’s true. But we also have contracts coming off the books for guys like Nate who we won’t bring back. There are also guys that will be cut that don’t come with the gruesome cap hit that Cole does…
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Howie comes from a long line of penny pinching misers. Even when we tried to buy a championship with the dream team offseason, we still had money to play with. I will NEVER not assume that we don’t have the money I do whatever we want until I see it with my own two eyes…our GMs haven’t been great eyes for talent, but they have proven to be magicians with our salary cap making sure we always had flexibility and where never restricted to what we could and couldn’t do….if gamble and Chip can identify the right players, Howie “Splash” Roseman can find a way to make it happen!
The Redskins will have a lot more cap space next year since they won’t have the $18 million in penalties (or whatever) that they had the last couple years…
They’ll have room bc they won’t have the cap penalty. but agree w/ everything else you say.
Didn’t Cruz get an extension?
yup he got a deal.
On the topic of DRC, I’m still annoyed that we didn’t keep him on a deal similar to what he has in Denver, and let him duke it out with Cary and Fletcher. If we can do it at QB, we can do it at CB.
There’s lots of things to worry about, but there are a few good things too. I really like our OLBs now. We don’t have a Clay Matthews or Von Miller on the team, but Barwin, Cole, and Graham all look competent out there. I tip my hat to Bill McGovern. He had his hands full this offseason, and he’s done wonders so far with such an inexperienced group. Fletcher Cox looks like he’s ready to take the next step toward becoming a star. He was a little too quiet in the first two games, but still not horrible. Now, it looks like he’s gotten the new position down. He’s on pace for 10 sacks this season, which would be very impressive for a 3-4 DE. Vinny Curry looked awesome against the Chiefs. I want to see some more of him on the field. He looks better this year as a 3-4 DE than he did last year as a 4-3 DE.
As a sidenote, Dontari Poe looks really good. I never would’ve expected that after watching his college game tape where looked sluggish on the field. It goes to show you how important coaching is, even at the NFL level. It can really get a guy to maximize his potential. As much as I think highly of Fletcher Cox, I’m thinking Poe might turn out to be even better.
The 10 plays for 303 yards is interesting, but I think it says more about KC’s defensive strategy than our execution. They went high-risk, high-reward all night, playing a lot of single-safety man coverage. It generated sacks and turnovers when it succeeded, but gave up chunk plays when it failed.
It will be interesting to see if other teams can be successful with that strategy or if KC just had the horses to pull it off.
“Momentum carried him out of bounds.” 100% disagree with that. DJ went out of bounds on his own. It’s what he does. Any of WR tries to stay in bounds and get extra yards. DJ, as we know, doesn’t do that. Momentum did NOT bring him out of bounds.
Yeah that’s true, the safety ran him out of bounds.
That’s what I think. He saw him and headed out of bounds…
Ya, he got a couple yards downfield but sidestepped out because the safety was in front of him. Not momentum.
That’s not what I remember. I remember the ball leading him out and being worried that he wasn’t going to be able to get both feet in.
Anyone got a clip?
Our defense was like a wet blanket on 3rd downs in the first half. What happened in the second half? Did Andrew Reid actually adjust his gameplan?
Sheesh, just when you thought you knew a guy.
Before you give up hope concerning the Denver game consider this: The Texans schooled Manning last year (if my old memory serves).
Here is a defensive strategy that will work against Manning:
With Manning, you have to disguise coverage and blitzes. You have to take chances. And you have to hit him when legal.
Make Manning throw long by double covering the short routes. Turn Vinny loose on ’em and pray Manning does not have time.
Key is less blitzing, more zone coverage and getting pressure w/ from 3 or 4. Also texasn have slightly better personnel. But agree Broncos are unbeatable, especially since we can score points. I think we need to exploit their secondary.
We suck dropping 8 into coverage against average QBs…what makes you think we can do that against Peyton?
I agree. I don’t want to see Peyton sitting comfortably in the pocket, picking us apart while we are dropping 8 defender. Though he’s deadly against the Blitz the Eagles have to bring the pressure.
You know who’d have helped in this game?
DJordan
Anyone can give up 4.5 sacks.
So glad we didin’t get him. He’s (a) hurt and (b) not an every down LB. at least LJ has been able to be a say 1 starter.
I’m just razzing GEagle.
Injuries w/ DJ were a concern pre-draft
He’s not an every down LB for the Dolphins. He would be for the Eagles. They run a 4-3 and have no clue what to do with him…
I do think it is time for the 4.3 under. Don’t blitz too much but when you do, make it delayed and exotic.
I think we can stop some not all of the short passes. We really need to rotate when players fail on coverage. Something has to change, give everyone a chance to shine.
The Raiders played a lot of zone coverage. Didn’t help.
Wasn’t terrible though — there were obviously breakdowns but no big plays. Kept broncos in front of them, we have a better DL than oakland.
Yes . . . pull out the 2010 Eagles – Colts game, follow McDermott’s plan.
He did what Jim Johnson never could.
Hey, I think that’s on NFL Game Rewind… I may watch that!
Jason Peters is dealing with a dislocated finger. Good news is that he still has all of it…
When he suffers a Clyde Barrow-type injury, then we’ll have something to worry about.
Re: Roseman Re-Tooling
In his show/interview, Roseman told the media — in responding to trade questions — that the Eagles are “re-tooling,” and not “re-building” . . . and the “Eagles,” which means Laurie, Roseman and Kelly, want to be competitive this year.
All fine and good. But that must mean Vick is back next season — ’cause there’s no way the Eagles will be able to draft a top-shelf guy. And the odds of stumbling onto one after the 10th pick are not good.
Unless Vick tanks, or McCoy’s injured, or the defense gets worse — and the Eagles finish with 13 losses.
Don’t see that happening with the Giants and Redskins on the schedule for 3 games.
If we were re-tooling we would have added some legit people. I understand trying to grow from inside, but (a) I question whether we have coaching staff that can develop young talent (maybe more of a knock on the past regime.
) and (b) why didn’t we get better guys instead of patches for holes.
Here is the problem, we sucked so bad last year, our locker room needed a drastic make over that we had to shoot for quantity instead of Quality. Too many needs to be blowing 60mil on Mike Wallace or Paul Kruger…with that said we did a great job all things considered of patching up as many holes with good supporting cast. Once we add two stars to the defense we will be able to really see how good our “Robins” are….This offseason is about trying to find two batmans for the defense! especially if you are trying to take a run with Vick for two more years???Offense has enough veterans. we need to draft young athletes for offense..and sign two game ready stars for the defense….any other strategy makes keeping Vick for two more years a complete Joke. You can’t keep Vick and patiently wait to draft and develope your defensive stars….any by the time FOles gets to play. You Will have wasted his development time where he could play through mistakes and we are going to expect an Aaron Rogers type of learning curve
Yeah it’s tough — almost smarter to do a Clevaland. Assuming we don’t draft in the top 10 i think it’ll be tough to get a day 1 starting QB (though i could be wrong, this class could be pretty deep). That said on offense we need a big body WR, i think that’s probably what Kelly thought he was getting in Ertz. Otherwise i’d say defense FAs (i’m fine w/ previously injured guys but they’d have to be solid players). I could really do w/ just one nice DB and then a cover LB (or big body DB). I think we are fine on the DL, we just need a leader on D. I don’t think Cole / Meco are that.
Never underestimate the ability of the Eagles to find a way to lose a game. After all, no one saw the Butt Snap coming…
Vick back another season and I would have to be admitted to the hospital……..
One criticism of Vick that you missed: When he took off running, he didn’t tuck the ball. He kept it out in his hand long after he crossed the line of scrimmage. Luckily, the Chiefs didn’t capitalize on this, but it’s only a matter of time before he loses a fumble this way if doesn’t fix it.
Phew, knew there was something else we were missing.
let me tell you guys, I am looking forward to being the next speed bump on the Peyton Manning victory tour.
Chiefs just released Josh Martin, rookie LB who made the 53 but was inactive all year. Wonder if we’ll take a look for the PS.
Maybe our TEs aren’t as good as we once thought. If they can’t offer any better mismatches than Avant or Cooper than maybe Celek is on the decline, Ertz isn’t that special and who knows with Casey.
I cut Ertz a little slack b/c hes a rookie, but sadly you’re probably right.
A lot of fans like to over rate their players, in particular, their potential. We are supposed to be “TE heavy.”… I havent seen ANY production out of the TE (though that could have something to do with Vick too)…..
Ill cut Ertz some slck as well
I don’t know, Vick used to love him some TE…
Bills spot the fastest offense, averaging 21.4 secs per play. That’s very impressive for a rookie QB.
However playing fast might be overrated in the NFL, as both the Bills and Eagles are 1-2.
Playing fast does not matter if you are not efficient.
Sample size bias–It’s not as though the 2013 Eagles and Bills would be great teams if they were playing slow.
Whatever happened to trading for Player Z From Mars?
When we brought him in for a workout, we learned that he had a 2″ vertical due to the change in gravity.
He has a workout with Denver lined up, thinner air.
Conventional wisdom says that a 3-4 defense must have at least one absolute stud of an OLB, otherwise they won’t be able to generate pressure. That idea is a fallacy. Competent, but not flashy OLBs are good enough if other guys do their job. Pressure can come from a very good DE. JJ Watt is that guy for Houston. They lost Mario Williams and our own Connor Barwin are doing fine getting pressure because Watt is such a good pass rusher. I’m not saying Cox is in the same category as Watt, but he can still be a very dominant pass rusher. Curry is far more raw, but I see that ability in him too down the road. Sure, it’s important to not have awful OLBs. But I feel ok with the trio of Barwin, Cole, and Graham especially because Cox (and possibly Curry) can be an above average pass rusher on the DL. To me, it’s far more important to upgrade a truly weak position, unless we’re sure the OLB is the next Clay Matthews. CB is a definite weak spot. So is safety and I’d consider nose tackle a weak spot too. Nose tackle is probably less of a priority than the other two spots because he’d only be on the field less than half the time. The jury is still out on Kendricks. He needs more time to be evaluated because he’s been a mixed bag, not a total failure. Also, there are some clear weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. Herremans will need to be replaced (although Barbre might be capable of that). The depth at WR is not there. I’m a little worried about the drop off to Bryce Brown if Shady got hurt. De’Anthony Thomas might be a nice, versatile piece. And of course, it wouldn’t hurt to have a good QB.