Living in the Moment

Posted: October 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 96 Comments »

Chip Kelly lives in the moment.

Chip is hit with questions at every press conference about the status of someone or some part of the team.

“Is the defense turning it around?” gets met with a generic answer. Maybe…”They played well last week.” The reporter is looking for something a bit juicier. They’d like to hear that the defense has turned the corner. They’d love to know a specific reason why, especially if it didn’t involve Bill Davis favorite word – technique.

Kelly isn’t giving answers like that. He doesn’t think like that. What you did last week is great, but what about this week? That’s the most important thing now.

This mentality worked wonders at Oregon. Young players are often prone to basking in the glory of a win or feeling the weight of the world after a loss. Kelly got them to focus on the task at hand. This helped Oregon to avoid losing bad games. Kelly had the team focused each week.

Is this the right mentality for the NFL? For the most part, I think it is. You want to get players to play consistently well, not ride an emotional roller coaster.

I do wonder how the team will respond when they face a big game. If Kelly is living in the moment, every game is theoretically the biggest game of the year. That’s great as a generic philosophy, but the NFL playoffs are a different level of football. Bowl games aren’t significantly different than regular season college football. Since every game in college football is big, getting to a bowl game doesn’t have the same feel as a team going to the playoffs.

The Ravens last year lost 4 of 5 games down the stretch. They were ice cold when January arrived. Those guys were able to step their game up in the postseason and won 4 games in a row, the last being the Super Bowl. Was Ray Lewis giving the same speech before those playoff games that he was in September or October?

I’m not one that believes you need fiery speeches to win, regular or postseason. I do think you sometimes need to be able to push buttons with a team. I’m curious how good Kelly is at this. The closest thing to a big game the 2013 Eagles have faced is coming up Sunday, with 1st place on the line. Since this is mid-October that doesn’t mean a whole lot, but it does mean something.

Kelly will have the Eagles focused on the moment. But he won’t have them thinking about Dallas or 1st place. The focus will be on “the moment”. I do think that can work in the regular season. I do wonder about the big games that pop up down the line. It will be interesting to see how Kelly deals with those situations and how the team responds.

* * * * *

Les Bowen wrote about Michael Vick and how he’s saying different things this week, in terms of his injury status.

“If I had to go in the game [now], I could just sit in the pocket,” Vick said yesterday, as an “emergency guy.”

Vick acknowledged yesterday that his injury is “a bad pull” and “can be reaggravated quickly. Because mine is up so high, and the way I run, I gotta take precautions. I can’t overdo it, and if I [aggravate the injury], it’ll be another 2 or 3 weeks.”

This is very different from what he said prior to the Bucs game. Why? Les has a theory.

One thought on the Vick shift toward frankness is that if you talk like you’re on the verge of being OK long enough, and you still aren’t able to play, people start wondering why. Though it’s obviously an advantage to make an opponent prepare for two very different QBs, pretending a player is less seriously injured than he really is ultimately does the player a disservice. Vick, whose athletic courage has never been questioned, doesn’t need that.

I completely agree. No one will ever question Vick’s toughness, but the longer he and the team ran with the notion that he could possibly start, the more awkward the questions would get. Pre-game secrecy is a good thing, but there are times to set that aside and be honest.

* * * * *

Derek (Iggles Blog) did a great film breakdown for the Daily News.

Make sure you follow Derek on Twitter. Great source of Eagles info. And even the occasional thought about Rice football.

_


96 Comments on “Living in the Moment”

  1. 1 Enslaved Meth Cook said at 8:51 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Win the day! – chip kelly

  2. 2 mksp said at 8:56 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Why is Derek so hard on Foles? I understand playing the contrarian, but his twitter account over the last 4 days is essentially a repository of snarky, condescending tweets directed at a fan base excited about a young QB excelling in Chip’s working-as-advertised offense.

    Most intelligent fans, which are theoretically Derek’s market, are aware that Foles’ works to date constitute a small sample size. We know, intuitively, that he’s not going to connect on every long throw. But he’s also shown a tremendous amount of poise, above average decision making, and *enough* arm to succeed. Derek seems loathe to give Foles any amount of credit for what he’s been able to accomplish.

  3. 3 Insomniac said at 9:04 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    No it’s just the super pro-Foles are up in arms about the job is already his and Vick is on his way out after this season is done. It’s just annoying when Foles still has an amazingly small sample size of good games.

  4. 4 Jerry Goldstein said at 11:17 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    …and Vick has a large sample-size of mediocre games, two playoff victories, and a penchant for never playing a full season. You do know Vick is on a one-year deal and is 33, right? You do know he is now injured simply from running fast, without being contacted by anyone, right?

  5. 5 Insomniac said at 12:30 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I ain’t saying Vick is the answer. I’m just saying Foles has yet to prove he’s the answer. Just saying you pro-Foles people are overreacting and need to chill the hell out.

  6. 6 Mac said at 10:20 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I’m not sure Jerry is as pro-Foles as he is anti-Vick, and I do think that’s an important distinction. Personally, I am o.k. with either guy as the QB. But I can understand why some folks are tired of Vick with his inconsistent performances and injury history.

  7. 7 Jerry Goldstein said at 11:24 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I don’t think many people are straight-up Foles fans. They just see a young QB who is playing well and want to see more. For better or worse.

    And yes I am anti-Vick for the reasons you stated. I just feel enough is enough with Vick, especially now that he was playing pretty badly the last 3 games he played in the offense that was supposed to be designed for him to excel in.

  8. 8 BlindChow said at 4:39 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Either way, I wouldn’t mind never again seeing the phrase “Vick gives the team a better chance to win.” That’s definitely debatable at this point, even with the small sample sizes…

  9. 9 Jerry Goldstein said at 11:22 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    So basically you are a wet blanket? Shitting on the parade of people excited that we may have actually drafted a good QB? Sounds like sour grapes from a Vick fan to me.

  10. 10 Michael Jorden said at 6:37 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Yeah, he has yet to prove he’s the answer. So? Most people I know are just happy to see him playing well – because he’s young, he’s big, and we got him with a 2012 3rd. Any Eagles fan should be praying this kid turns our to be great – it would save us from using another high pick on a rookie QB later that could be used on Def. If he can be the answer that’s really the most optimal outcome for this team.
    And some folks frankly are just tired of having mobile QB’s that take hits and get continually banged up. I enjoy watching Foles in the pocket getting the ball out efficiently and quickly. I hope that continues. The only benefit I see with Mike Vick is the veteran leadership he brings. If people want to be excited about the kid, there’s no harm in it. Nobody likes the fun police…

  11. 11 Insomniac said at 7:10 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    All I’m saying is that people need to put their expectations for Foles in check. I already know what backup QBs can do for this team and it ain’t always pretty after awhile. If you’re offended by that then I somewhat apologize.

  12. 12 Michael Jorden said at 8:40 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    No offense taken here =) We have definitely seen some awful QB play prior to having 5. Finding a good consistent QB is not always easy – we’ll be beyond fortunate if Foles pans out as a quality starter. But I don’t see Foles as just a back-up in this league based on what I’ve seen so far. Maybe he’ll regress to that point, but I sure hope not.

  13. 13 GEAGLE said at 10:03 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    But assuming FOles isn’t the answer and that we are drafting a QB in round 1 like you read everywhere is ok? It’s all a joke. FOles is the future..get used to it. I’m not one of the millions who just jumping on the bandwagon…I always said this would happen, because of what I saw in the kid…so no, I don’t need to wait for a bigger sample size, and after the months of constant people writing him off, kiss my over excited ass!!! Fly Folesy fly!!!

  14. 14 BlindChow said at 9:17 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    I think it’s like when you see a movie, and you think, “It’s okay, nothing special,” then the reviews come back and critics are hailing it as a “Masterpiece!” and the “Best movie of the year!” and it becomes a box office smash, there’s a tendency to overstate your case against it, as a way of counterbalancing the praise. Even if you didn’t necessarily hate it, the overwhelmingly positive response irks you in a way that makes you exaggerate your opposition.

    I don’t know if that’s ever happened to you personally, but I’ve seen it a lot on the internet when something becomes “too popular.”

  15. 15 mksp said at 9:21 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    If he wasn’t so snarky & condescending, or occasionally praised Foles I guess I would find it less annoying.

    Just sounds like Derek has an agenda, and on top of that comes off as a guy trying too hard to prove that he’s smarter than you.

  16. 16 BlindChow said at 9:23 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    There is a certain “hipster” vibe to some of his tweets.

  17. 17 Derek / IgglesBlog said at 10:33 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    “There was some concern among Eagles fans about the running game grinding to a halt following Mike Vick’s departure. There’s no question the quarterback run is something Vick offers than Foles doesn’t, but the problems with the running backs running didn’t seem to have much to do with Foles.”

    http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/Film-Breakdown-Scheming-to-get-DeSean-free.html

    ———–

    “In terms of Foles, obviously he had a great day. As noted elsewhere, there were a handful of plays early where he seemed a little slow to make his decisions. He was definitely late on a couple of those “pop” pass packaged plays. He also didn’t get the ball out against some free blitzers he should have known were coming …”

    “On this play, Foles knows his line is turning the protection to the right, so he’s going to get pressure from his left and he has to get the ball out quickly. The problem is that one defender immediately jumps LeSean McCoy in the flat (out of frame) and Celek takes forever to set up his route and look back for the ball. The blitzer is on Foles before he has any chance to throw it here. It’s hard to see how that’s his fault.”

    http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/Film-review-Why-Nick-Foles-feasted-on-the-Bucs.html

    ———–

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog10h
    Not to take anything away from how well Foles has played in six quarters, but his deep passing succes is statistically unsustainable

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog10h
    @xtiandc Comes back to same reason I think they should keep going with Foles. They don’t know what they have in him. Have to find out.

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog10h
    @snapkatz The latter. And that because he’s been “lucky” his numbers look extraordinary rather than good.

  18. 18 BlindChow said at 10:45 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Well, when you put it THAT way…

  19. 19 mksp said at 11:19 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Yeah, to be honest, you kind of proved my point.

    Your first two quotes are proof that you don’t blame Foles for *everything*. So I guess thats positive.

    Then,

    You want to go with Foles to see what they have…not because he’s been successful or he’s already shown specific traits or an ability to be successful. Its a rational, logical argument, and its a good one, but it has nothing to do with Nick Foles the player.

    And…he’s been lucky.

    Look man, its all your opinion and you’re entitled to it, but you can’t tell me this isn’t some snarky, condescending, know-it-all, contrarian BS. If thats your “thing” then cool. Don’t let a random commentator on the internet get you fired up about it.

    —————–

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog11h
    Two-thirds of Foles’ attempts have been within 10 yards of LoS. The number for Vick was 46.7%.

    *You’re going to claim this is an unbiased, objective, statistic. But we all know your angle. Anyway, check out this: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/10/16/4837708/nick-foles-michael-vick-eagles-starting-qb

    – specifically the “successful plays” stats -> small sample size, but interesting.*

    —————–

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog13 Oct
    Cooper’s obvious push off did a great job obscuring how under thrown that ball was.

    *It was inbounds, with plenty of room. Riley had a step and Nick let his WR make a play. If he threw it in stride, Riley is making a toe-dragging catch in the back of the end zone. Did you watch the NE/NO game? How many of those TD throws would you give Nick credit for making a good throw? The game winner should have been broken up. Brees’ long TD was into double coverage and definitely under thrown.*
    —————-

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog13 Oct
    Bet the replay will shown numbers weren’t there on that DeSean WR screen.

    *I think they were? What did it show? Still gained 4 yards. Positive play, right?*

    —————–

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog13 Oct
    Huh. In a non-snarky way, I expected Foles to see that kind of pressure better than Vick does.

    *Uh huh. At least you’re self-aware.*

    ——————-

    Derek / IgglesBlog ‏@igglesblog13 Oct
    Gets his passes tipped just like Mike too 🙂

    *See what I’m talking about?*

    ——————-

  20. 20 holeplug said at 1:51 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    man that sbnation link was really bad

  21. 21 deg0ey said at 8:44 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    It seems that he’s using the term ‘lucky’ to mean ‘experiencing positive deviation from the mean due to a small sample size’.
    Take a look at this link for an example: http://www.auburn.edu/~klaffnr/coinswriteup.html

    Most people will agree that the probability of any coin-flip being 50:50. When a coin is flipped 100 times, however, we don’t see 50 heads and 50 tails. What we actually see is a different number for each set of 100 attempts. This is because 100 attempts is a small sample size.
    If were to imagine a quarterback with a true 50% accuracy (meaning that the probability of him connecting on any pass is 50:50) then for every 100 attempts we could expect completion percentages to vary between 29% and 48% (just using the results in the above link, counting heads as completions) and that could equally work the other way with percentages varying between 71% and 52% (if we were to take tails as completions). Over the quarterback’s career, however, we would expect that player’s completion percentage to regress to the mean (50%)
    Likewise, this season, Nick Foles has 61 pass attempts (a small sample) for a 67.2% completion rate. That number would rank 5th in the NFL this season, just ahead of Drew Brees. Conversely, his completion percentage last season (60.8% over 265 attempts – still a small sample) would have him tied with Cam Newton for 17th place this season.
    The question we have to ask is this: Is it more likely that Nick has suddenly become a more accurate quarterback than Drew Brees or that he has had an unsustainably good game-and-a-half that will eventually regress to a number closer to his 62% career average?
    Ultimately, nobody knows the answer to that question, but Derek’s comments are likely prompted by large sections of the Eagles fanbase assuming it’s the former whereas it’s a helluva lot more likely to be the latter.
    FWIW, I think Foles has looked good the last couple of games. That said, Vick looked good for the first 5 games of the season too, so it’s tough to call it between them. If Foles can sustain the level of play he’s shown so far this season then the job should be his, but if I were a betting man I’d put my money on a regression coming soon.

  22. 22 deg0ey said at 8:46 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Wow, Internet Explorer sucks at letting me put paragraphs – maybe my work will upgrade someday (but I wouldn’t bet on that either).

  23. 23 BlindChow said at 10:02 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Disqus should let you go in and re-edit the paragraph breaks into your comment, even with Internet Explorer.

    You can also put a “space” on an empty line, and Disqus/Internet Explorer shouldn’t delete it.

  24. 24 Anders said at 8:55 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Great job explain this.

    Also Aaron Rodgers is the current leader in career completion percentage with 65.6%.

    I doubt Foles true comp % would be any higher than that, if it turns out it is. He is well on his way to becoming a great QB.

  25. 25 mksp said at 9:44 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    The thing is, lets pretend that Riley dropped that pass. Now Foles has one less completion and 47 less yards on his stat line. But its not that simple. Because the possession would have continued, for all we know, Foles would end up completing 4 of 5 passes for 40 yards and a TD. Or he could go 0-2 and the Eagles would have to punt. Hard to deal with hypotheticals, as Chip would say.

    Just because his % completion regresses on long balls doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be a worse QB.

    As far as his % completion overall, YES, we should expect it to improve from his rookie year for a variety of reasons (better weapons, improved OL, and most important, more EXPERIENCE, plus Chip).

  26. 26 deg0ey said at 1:18 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    That Riley catch is actually a good example of another idiosyncrasy among football fans.

    If he hadn’t caught it, the narrative would’ve been ‘Foles could’ve had a 40+ yard pass to Cooper but he underthrew it. Another example of his poor arm strength’. Instead, Cooper adjusts his route to catch an underthrown ball and now the narrative is ‘Foles had a 47 yard completion to Cooper! He must have a strong arm after all!’

    The truth of the matter is that his arm is probably strong enough to be an NFL QB, but that pass was definitely underthrown and Riley made a great play to bring it in. Essentially, it’s not proof of Foles’s arm strength, but it wouldn’t be proof of his lack-of-it if it were dropped either.

  27. 27 Iskar36 said at 12:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Good post, but I think one thing should be added. The question isn’t whether he will regress to the mean and therefore then be bad, the question is what exactly is Nick Foles’ mean. You touched on this point, but I think it is the point that needs to be emphasized. Based on history, it is extremely unlikely he continues to play at such a high level in terms of completion percentage on deep balls, however, even if he “regresses to the mean” that doesn’t necessarily mean he will have a low completion percentage. The mean may still prove to be higher than Vick’s, or it could be the exact same, or it could be worse. Still, betting on a regression coming soon doesn’t necessarily mean beating against Foles being the better QB.

  28. 28 deg0ey said at 1:09 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Agreed, and I think that’s exactly the point that Derek and Tommy (who has also been criticised for being ‘anti-Foles’) are trying to make – it’s inevitable that Nick’s production will drop-off from the level that it has been, but until we see more of him we won’t know how much.

    With that in mind, when you’ve got another QB on the roster who has been playing pretty damn well this year, is it worth taking the risk that Foles’s drop-off is only minimal?

    I would argue yes, because we’ll only know what Foles’s mean actually is by giving him game time, but it’s by no means as obvious a decision as some people are trying to make it sound.

  29. 29 germs33 said at 11:30 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Welcome to the internet. Where someone disagreeing with you = snark

  30. 30 GEAGLE said at 10:05 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Good post mksp

  31. 31 anon said at 12:50 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    interesting sounds exactly how people talk about vick’s performances.

  32. 32 A_T_G said at 7:45 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    How so?

  33. 33 eagleyankfan said at 8:08 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I’m with you on this… I don’t see the comparison at all…

  34. 34 A_T_G said at 10:22 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Well, I am not sure you are with me. I wasn’t asking in a loaded, “…because you are wrong!” kind of way. I was asking because the only part I could find that sounded to me like something you could swap names was the part:

    “…there were a handful of plays early where he seemed a little slow to make his decisions. He was definitely late on a couple of those “pop” pass packaged plays. He also didn’t get the ball out against some free blitzers he should have known were coming …”

    and I couldn’t imagine that was what anon wanted to highlight from the text.

  35. 35 Vick or Nick said at 9:52 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    His first comparison pt didn’t even take into account that the Giants were bringing an extra defender to plug in the gap that was being attacked by the NT. That is the reason it worked. Otherwise theres a wide open gap for RB to run through.

    Man or Zone. Eagles O will get it done. Find out this Sunday.

  36. 36 Buge Halls said at 9:17 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I would say the two long TD passes – one going for 47+ yards (it was actually in the air for closer to 55 yards as Foles was 5 – 7 yards behind the LOS when he threw) proves he has more than *enough* of an arm! Does he have a rocket? No. But as we’ve seen with the last two rocket launchers (McNabb and Vick), they have the long bomb, but the short pass is often very inaccurate (throwing “burners” to a guy 5 yards away!). The Chip Kelly offense is (allegedly) predicated upon the short pass with big YAC – more of a West Coast-style.

  37. 37 Anders said at 9:30 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    McNabb actually has the record for most consecutive completions with 24. McNabb’s problem was his foot work became sloppy and AR never got him to fix it.

    I agree Foles has plenty arm strength on the difficult throws like the 10 yard out route (the toughest throw in to make in the NFL because it requires a lot of velocity or the CB has a chance to make a play on the ball) and then the go route down the sideline.

    His TD throw to Cooper actually traveled around 60 yards in the air. That is more than enough arm strength in the NFL.

  38. 38 shah8 said at 12:26 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    **stifled laughter**

  39. 39 bluto said at 7:06 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Huh?

  40. 40 shah8 said at 11:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Look at the thread to my point. That whole thing with Derek saying something obvious and not at all uncomplimentary of Foles. Him being attacked like he was a Jacobite by the supporters of Edward (imagining packs of teenage girls). After everything eases down, ruffled feathers shake down with exclamations of hipster and snarky!

    Then I just lost it with Ander’s comment about Foles’ arm strength, hence where I commented.

  41. 41 Mac said at 10:15 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    My impression of Derek is that he is snarky and prideful in general. He has good insight, but I find him annoying.

  42. 42 GEAGLE said at 10:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    I just ignore his writing generally

  43. 43 Daniel Norman Richwine said at 9:02 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Do not neglect the idea that if Vick is ok, play possum so the opposing D won’t game plan for him…

  44. 44 eagleyankfan said at 7:41 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I doubt that. You can’t play possum and not take the snaps with the first team – then start that week. That would hurt the Eagles more than distract the other team.

  45. 45 BlindChow said at 9:28 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    They had a big game when they faced Denver.

    Maybe since it didn’t immediately impact whether or not they made the playoffs it doesn’t count, but…seems like when they were about to face what many believe is the best team in the NFL…they didn’t step up.

  46. 46 Neil said at 10:40 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Denver was just playing out of their mind then. Not that it isn’t bad to ever be blown out, but that was a team on a historic tear against a new defense.

  47. 47 BlindChow said at 10:49 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    It wasn’t just defense. Special Teams were terrible, the offense couldn’t get into the end zone… It just wasn’t a good day overall.

  48. 48 OregonDucker said at 11:18 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    I suspect the thin air was affecting performance. Shady complained about it. I think this was part of the problem. The other part was that the team was finding its identity. Players were tentative and ineffective.

  49. 49 BlindChow said at 11:22 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    I definitely think it was early enough in the year to not draw any conclusions.

  50. 50 jackpotsdad said at 10:31 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Apart from the preseason where Vick wondered out loud to the Media that Chip should just pick a starter, Vick has been a consummate professional in his dealings with the media. I think he’s genuinely trying to make sure he doesn’t become a distraction. Maturity? Absolutely, in my opinion. The Atlanta Vick where it was all about him was left behind in a Kansas jail cell.

    I’m not asking anyone to forgive his past, but simply acknowledge this season’s professionalism.

  51. 51 disqus_jB7dl5fzvO said at 10:49 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Over the past couple years, I feel like we turn backups for the other teams into stars when they play us (Cruz). Against Dallas, they are basically playing their second string defensive line, and I hope Chip will be able to eliminate that tendency. I really don’t want George Selvie or whatever his name is to get 5 sacks and screw us over.

  52. 52 A_T_G said at 2:17 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    To balance things it, though, the backups we cut go on to be capable starters on other teams, so… er… Beat Dallas!

  53. 53 eagleyankfan said at 7:39 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Cruz has been a star…not just against the Eagles.

  54. 54 disqus_jB7dl5fzvO said at 2:36 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    But his career really took off against us. Even last week, we made Tim Wright look good with a rookie quarterback throwing him the ball. Going back to 2010, the infamous Tuesday game, Joe Webb absolutely killed us in Favre’s absence.

  55. 55 BlindChow said at 4:34 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Another crushing blow to the Tampa Bay fanbase in a couple games, when they realize that Tim Wright is actually just ordinary.

  56. 56 fran35 said at 9:00 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Do not take the name of Joe Webb in vain. He is *awesome*

  57. 57 disqus_jB7dl5fzvO said at 9:40 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    As a wide receiver or quarterback?

  58. 58 HipDaDip said at 11:08 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Who’s in the mood for a conspiracy theory? What are the chances Vick changed his tune because the coaches said they wanted to get a look at Foles this week? I know the likely explanation is that he is being honest, but… it would be in the team’s and Vick’s best interest to play up an injury and let Foles play. I don’t really think Chip works like this, but if the team wanted to see what they have with Foles after the good showing vs. the Bucs, they’d want to play him this weekend. If Vick were borderline healthy, it makes sense for him to play up the injury and make it seem like there is no controversy. The better Foles plays, the better Vick looks if he loses the job. If Foles ends up taking the job with amazing play, Vick has a decent shot at a starting job elsewhere next year (“Hey, he was having a good year and only lost the job to that amazing Nick Foles kid”) and seems like the consummate team player.

  59. 59 ICDogg said at 11:14 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Nah. Vick knows the lay of the land. He knows the way things work. He knows for now his status is out of his hands. And he is dealing with it as well as someone could ever be expected to.

  60. 60 OregonDucker said at 11:16 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Truth ICDogg!

  61. 61 P_P_K said at 4:32 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Considering a couple years ago the guy was broke and living behind bars, every day should be easy to take.

  62. 62 ICDogg said at 8:49 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Yeah, I’m sure it gave him a new perspective.

  63. 63 OregonDucker said at 11:28 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Tommy – “In Chip I trust”! He is demanding and cajoling players to practice at their very best. He wants them “high” at every game. And he leave’s the rah rah to team leaders on game day. This way players are not looking to the next game with a ranked opponent and “forgetting” that they have to win today’s game against the low life.

    I know that Chip is looking to team leaders to demand excellence and get players excited about the Dallas contest. The Eagles will be ready, well maybe not Demarius but that’s another discussion.

  64. 64 Neil said at 11:37 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    So you’re saying Chip delegates raising the intensity of the team for BIG games to playerleaders?

  65. 65 GvilleEagleFan said at 11:46 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    I don’t know if you meant that as a bad thing, but that’s kind of what I think would be best. You want the players to have both influences – the HC to be the steady hand that gives them the confidence that the “big game” is no different than the other games they’ve already won and the veteran leaders who have ‘been there before’ to tell the rest of the team how much more it means to “win the big one” and can do so with credibility. I know that you see the Jim Harbaugh type coaches that are very fiery and have had success, but I think it’s just as easy for that to backfire by making the players afraid to screw up in a big situation. If the HC is more fired up about some games than others, doesn’t that send the message that the players don’t have to play as hard in the supposedly less important games?

  66. 66 OregonDucker said at 11:54 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    You nailed it Gville. That’s the thinking: Chip does not want players playing in fear, they should strive for excellence. Veterans should lead and inspire.

  67. 67 Neil said at 1:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Eh, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, but I bet you could do it in such a way that happens. I’m not worried, just wanted clarification what Ducker meant.

  68. 68 BobSmith77 said at 11:29 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Even though I am an Eagles’ fan, I am actually most interested to see what version of Romo shows up this week. The guy who has been really well until the INT to seal the Broncos-Cowboys game or the guy on Sunday night who missed several throws & had a poor night vs Skins.

    ‘Boys defense has been nearly as porous as the Eagles and it looks like Ware will be a look to be out now too which is a huge break for the Eagles. I’ll be disappointed if the Eagles don’t put up at least 24 pts this week.

  69. 69 eagleyankfan said at 7:47 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Romo didn’t need to throw vs. the Skins. ST took over. I expect the steady Romo to show up, like’s he being doing all year. Throw in at least 2 Nate Allen “burns” and another 2 Nate Allen wrong angles — Romo should just be fine.

  70. 70 BobSmith77 said at 11:34 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Probably the most important Eagles-Boys regular season matchup since the season finale back in ’09. Been a while since both teams had a regular season matchup that really impacted NFC East title.

  71. 71 GvilleEagleFan said at 11:53 PM on October 16th, 2013:

    Let us never speak of that terrible day where we lost Jamaal Jackson ever again. The record books say we lost to Dallas twice in a row in McNabb’s last two starts in Philly, I say the entire team was suckered by that hack Kempski into some sort of deviant anti-fast food Friday cleanse that sidelined them for two weeks and the NFL had to send the Skins’ backups out on the field in Eagles’ uniforms to cover it up.

  72. 72 A_T_G said at 2:11 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    This would certainly support the argument of those that claim that Andy lost the locker room. An anti-fast food cleanse constitutes insubordination at the high treason level.

  73. 73 Anders said at 8:37 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    The 2009 Eagles was a better team through 5 weeks than the current 2013 Broncos according to FO

    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2013/week-5-dvoa-ratings

    and yea those 92 team (FU Smith) and 01 team (FU crappy Eagles WRs) wasnt bad either

  74. 74 Nah__Roots said at 8:39 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    We didn’t lose to Dallas then b/c we abruptly lost our starting center and the D began its post-Dawk/JJ plunge. It was b/c McNabb was playing air guitar pregame. C’mon, you gotta get it right.

  75. 75 Michael Jorden said at 6:54 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Well, I’m excited about this game for the Kelly OFF vs Kiffin D and will Foles show consistency aspects. And because it’s two high power OFF’s with both porous DEF’s it should be something else. And I always just hate Dallas and want to see them lose.
    But honestly, my expectations for this season are low, standings in the NFCE or not. Just can’t seem to place a large degree of importance on it, as I don’t see us making any noise in the playoffs even if we did get there. Just getting there this season would be a lot for me.
    Things I’d like to see in this game: Dallas losing in embarrassing fashion, big game from Shady, good OL play, Foles looking decent with continued RZ efficiency, improved ST’s and TO’s from our D.

  76. 76 D3FB said at 2:14 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Tommy,

    George Selvie had that one amazing year in college as a sophomore. He proceeded to fall off the map. Why did he go from 15 or so sacks to only a few and proceed to never really be heard of in the league until now?

  77. 77 eagleyankfan said at 8:22 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    I love those game breakdowns. Great stuff. I wonder how the coaches feel week after week of going over the same stuff with the safeties. They are probably bald from pulling their hair out. Game 1 of this season — there was a huge unknown about this team. I would have thought there would be no way the Eagles could be the cowboys. Now, this far into the season — my thoughts have changed. Still no expectations – but the thought that they CAN beat the Cowboys is exciting.

  78. 78 Michael Jorden said at 6:56 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    That’s where I’m at on it too.

  79. 79 CrackSammich said at 10:03 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Has anyone been checking out http://chipwagon.typepad.com/ ? Brent Cohen posted it on his twitter the other day, and it has TONS of great film break downs if that’s your thing.

    (Sorry for the shameless plug, but it is not my site)

  80. 80 Buge Halls said at 10:58 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Thanks for that link!

  81. 81 eagleyankfan said at 11:47 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    You have to wonder — that 3rd down run to run out the clock if Reid would have called a pass play there. Usually incomplete and stopped the clock. I like that Chip has not fear of running on 3rd down.

  82. 82 BlindChow said at 4:32 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    They did a terrific job with that against the Giants as well (with Bryce Brown!). Brown got upfield fast and got at least one first down on that last drive.

  83. 83 Anders said at 3:02 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    Its a great side. The Eagles are lucky to have so many great fan sites that breaks down plays

  84. 84 Mac said at 10:13 AM on October 17th, 2013:

    Who thought it wasn’t a serious injury? Last week I read that Vick said he had a “long road.”

    This is the NFL folks, anyone who thinks a hamstring injury is no big deal is a fool. The hamstring is one of the most important muscles for every player on the field, and can be one of the most temperamental. At WR you can be activated on game day and play 2 snaps with a hamstring pull, but they probably won’t be quality snaps. These injuries take weeks of rest unless they are extremely mild (more like a cramp than a pull). I guess this is more of that “insight” and “dramatic story” type of journalism from Les, which frankly I could use Less of in my Eagles world.

  85. 85 livingonapear said at 4:50 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    It’s not catastrophic, which I think is what’s throwing people off. It’s serious, but not in the same way an ACL tear is.

  86. 86 Mac said at 5:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    True

  87. 87 BobSmith77 said at 2:06 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/10/16/media-journal-nfl-considers-tv-deal-for-more-thursday-night-games/

    Whenever I hear Roger Goddell talk about doing something to improve ‘fan experience’ like this, I largely consider him to be lying with the same thing about putting a franchise in London in the next 3 years.

  88. 88 Anders said at 3:58 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    For people who hate Bill Davis and Kelly for not just playing a 4-3 defense. Take a look at this

    http://chipwagon.typepad.com/eagles/2013/10/from-the-wide-9-to-the-2-gap-3-4.html

    It really explain the small details that is needed of the new scheme and why it is best we change this year.

  89. 89 livingonapear said at 7:25 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    I’m still trying to figure out the Bill Davis hate. Things aren’t working at full tilt yet, but I see improvement every week. Cox, Thorton, Boykin, and Fletcher have all stepped up and are improving. Looking at the TB drives, the ones that ended in points (with the exception of the field goal strive that started on the 8) were either in Eagles territory, or good starting field position.

    That’s improvement.

  90. 90 the guy said at 9:17 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    It’s hard to say if it’s actual improvement or just getting the opportunity to face the Giants and Bucs offenses.

  91. 91 livingonapear said at 10:54 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    And we’ll find out this week how much of that is real.

  92. 92 Anders said at 4:11 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    to all the people who wants Kuechly over Cox:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BWze8bFCEAAgLwa.png:large

    That is right, Ryans is just as good at making impact tackles as Kuechly

  93. 93 BlindChow said at 4:20 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    That’s good to see, but Kuechly will still be on that list in 2 years…

  94. 94 Anders said at 4:41 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    True, but he isnt omgwtfpwn awesome game changing LB as some make him out to be.

    I much rather have an above average ILB and then a game changing DE/DT and Cox is slowly showing that game changing type of play again.

  95. 95 GermanEagle said at 5:07 PM on October 17th, 2013:

    seems like Mike’s and Nick’s bromance is real:

    http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2013/10/17/vick-sunday-maybe-longer/

  96. 96 腕時計 おすすめ said at 11:34 PM on October 23rd, 2013:

    腕時計 おすすめ

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