Identity
Posted: November 14th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 87 Comments »The Eagles are 5-5. But what is this team beyond the numbers? Trying to figure out what this team really is…well that’s a lot tougher than it sounds.
There is a 3-game losing streak and a 2-game losing streak. There are a pair of 2-game winning streaks.
4 of the 5 wins are by 11 points or more. The other win came when the Eagles blew a big lead.
4 of the 5 losses are by 10 points or more.
In games with less than 3 turnovers, the Eagles are 5-2.
That last item may be the real key here. Sheil Kapadia once wrote that he hates when analysts say the key to a game is turnovers. That’s just lazy analysis. He’s completely right, but there are times when what is obvious is the key. The Eagles had 5 turnovers and lost to the Chiefs by 10. The Eagles had 3 turnovers and lost to the Giants by 8 points.
The turnovers in these games weren’t all forced. There was a muffed punt by Damaris Johnson. There was a bad snap by Jason Kelce. There were INTs thrown by Vick when he had a clean pocket. There was a terrible fumble by Matt Barkley when he could have thrown the ball away easily. These were Eagles mistakes, not plays made by the defense.
When the Eagles don’t make those kind of game-changing mistakes, they have mostly won this year.
The game won’t be solely decided on turnovers, but it sure does look like that makes a huge difference. Kelly doesn’t need to say anything different. His players know what to do and what not to do. It is just up to them to play a cleaner game.
(I left out the Dallas game since the Eagles already trailed 17-3 before Barkley started throwing his picks. They killed any chance of a comeback, but didn’t help build the deficit. )
* * * * *
I am curious to see what the Eagles do on Sunday. This game is a big opportunity for them. They can improve to 6-5 and take sole possession of 1st place in the division. They can end the annoying losing streak at The Linc.
The Eagles can also show that they are becoming a good team. The Skins are a division rival, but a bad team. This is the kind of game you need to win.
The thing that Chip Kelly wants more than anything is consistent play. He wants the Eagles to start to play well every week and not just based on situations or matchups. If the Eagles avoid the mistakes mentioned above and execute plays as they’ve shown they can, they should play well and win this game. Doing that is tougher than it sounds. There is a reason that some teams struggle to find consistency.
This will be Nick Foles 3rd straight start, his most since last year. His presence in the lineup should help consistency. Mike Vick is a bit more of a hot and cold player. Foles had the crazy game against Dallas, but has played well other than that.
* * * * *
While there is starting to be some buzz on the Eagles and more than a few in the media are starting to see them as the favorites to win the NFC East, there are no guarantees. The Eagles could easily lose on Sunday. That would drop the team to 5-6 and really get people talking about the home losses.
Depending on what went wrong in the game, there could be more talk about whether Foles is good enough, whether the defense is good enough or which particular spot needs to be upgraded in the offseason.
The 2013 Eagles feel like a team that could go 9-7 and steal the NFC East crown in a weak year, but this team could easily prove themselves to be just as mediocre as many thought back in the summer.
Sunday will be another hint as we try to find out the identity of this Eagles team.
_
This is Washington’s Super Bowl.
Not true. Their Super Bowl occurs every year in March.
Too true – as a transplanted Philadelphian living in the DC area, let me tell you the Redskins win the Superbowl every year in April and then again in July/August. Then the reality of the actual season sets in!
No 1st round pick and I don’t think their cap is that friendly either.
Good one.
Basically the Skins need to get hot and start winning nearly all of their games, like they did last year, or they’re dead. Every game to them has to feel like playoffs.
This team could be 10-6 or 7-9 by season’s end and I wouldn’t be surprised either way.
could be 11-5.
As it stands, if the Eagles made the playoffs, they’d play the 49ers in the WC game and then (if they won it) the Saints or Seahawks in the following game. Maybe it’s just my green-tinted glasses, but I kinda feel like the Eagles have enough talent to beat any of those teams so long as they can limit the mistakes.
Curious what other people think – if the Eagles win the division, are they one and done in the playoffs or do they surprise people and make a bit more of a run?
there really isn’t any team in the NFC that is scary good
Remember what the Chiefs and the Broncos did to us. They are very good teams and we are not (yet) able to compete with them.
The 49ers or the Seahawks, whichever has to go to the wildcard round, would beat us. The Saints would beat us. There is no question in my mind about that.
Against the Panthers we could have a chance, but their Defense is scary. Look at what they did to the 49ers strong running game.
Reaching the playoffs would be great, being one and done not a problem.
I disagree completely. The 49ers and Seahawks have both lost to the Colts and the Saints have been beaten by the Jets; neither of those teams is considerably better than the Eagles and they showed that the big boys can be beaten.
The Chiefs beat the Eagles, but they didn’t do anything to convince me a rematch would end the same way, especially when you consider how much the Eagles seem to have improved since then. They’ve scraped wins against some mediocre teams (17-16 against both the Cowboys and Texans) and I think they’ll look a lot more beatable by the end of the season.
I’m not saying that we’d definitely get wins against any of those teams or even that it’d be the most likely outcome, but, outside of the Broncos, there’s no team in the NFL right now that I think is so much better than the Eagles that I’d be expecting a loss heading into the game.
Maybe I’m too optimistic about the Eagles chances against good teams, but I think it’s a little strong to have ‘no question in [your] mind’ that they’d beat us.
I think you are too optimistic, the Eagles are improving but there is a lot of room to go. But take it as a good sign that hopefully the direction we are going is the right one. Look at Seattle as an example, couple years to get their right pieces and now the are a top tier team.
I think there is ample evidence that a playoff/Super Bowl run has 2 main ingredients. First – getting into the playoffs. Second – getting high-level play from the QB position. I think Tom Coughlin made this point a few years ago – you just have to get into the tournament. When was the last time the team with the best regular season record won the SB? GB won as a wild-card in 2010 and then didn’t win when they went 15-1.
This is not to say I think they *will* win the SB this year – I just think it is not impossible.
I think of 5 years ago when the Phillies won their most recent championship, and more than halfway into that year they did not look to me like a team about to go on a championship run. So I would never say never.
We can play with the chiefs, if for no other reason than their pathetic offense. The Broncos, no, but Peyton will fold so he’s a non worry in this hypothetical scenario.
I agree.
I still wants to see this offense against Cardinals. If we can put up 24+ points on them, I think we put points on everybody.
Eh the Jets have a WAY better front 7/ run D/ D coord than us.
I think if we played them again we could beat the chiefs (even with Vick). I feel like that was a fluky game for us and i have no doubt that our D could get us off the field.
We can’t beat the Broncos, we do’nt have the pass rush or the secndary. The pass rush/run game is the key to beating the broncos.
I wanna see Manning on freezing day actually complete a 20 yard pass down the sideline. Not sure he can do that.
Probably not, so Pats will go to the SB. Again.
Is he throwing at Sconces? Completion but no YAC.
yea but for 5 yards, not 20.
I’m a big believer in runs that can lead to a Superbowl champion no one anticipated in early December. That being said, the talent level on Defense just isn’t good enough to make a run. Yes, there is improvement, and I’m very happy about that, but that isn’t enough. Same thing with Cooper – he’s playing good at the moment and I’m happy about that, too. But you don’t get to the Superbowl with him as your #2 WR.
I’m no pessimist, I think we can make a serious run at the playoffs next year if we add the right pieces in the next offseason. But you have to be realistic. Beating the Saints, 49ers or Seahawks just isn’t realistic for this Eagles team. They are were we’ll gonna be next year, if everything works out perfect. They are the powerhouses of the NFL (with the Broncos, of course).
But you don’t get to the Superbowl with [Cooper] as your #2 WR.
Okay, now that’s just silly. Blanket statements like that are a real pet peeve of mine. Who the hell knows who you can or can’t get to the Superbowl with? People said the same thing about Flacco. They said the same thing about undrafted QB’s before Kurt Warner.
If the Cooper-Foles connection were to work in the playoffs like it’s working now, the team would be just fine with him at #2. And even if Cooper cools off, perhaps Ertz or Celek steps up as a big receiving threat. Boldin had a down year last year before his amazing playoff run. So many bounces have to go your way during the postseason that to suggest the #2 receiver who is having a great year is going to be a reason you don’t make it just strikes me as being a little precious.
I’m happy Cooper plays the way he plays at the moment, but I’m not sold from a talent perspective (for a #2, not from a roster perspective).
And, I hate to say this, but you have to look at the opponenents in the last weeks. You can only play who the schedule gives you, but we won’t see the Raiders or the Packers (without Rodgers) in the Playoffs.
The Defenses from San Francisco, Seattle and Carolina are freakingly good and even the Saints D is having a good season.
Enjoy the ride we’re on, it maybe ends as soon as sunday, but don’t get greedy. This year isn’t the time for a Superbowl run. Hopefully that time will come in the near future.
We will play the Cardinals and we have played the Chiefs.
We put up over 400 yards of offense on the Chiefs and most agree we would beat the if we had Foles instead of Vick (and Johnson and Kelce wont fumble).
If we then can move the ball on the Cards and score 24+ points, I do not see how we shouldnt be able to do it against the Hawks, Panthers or Niners (I think Cards D is better than those 3)
Dont know if Foles does much better. Remember how he responded to pass rush in preseason?
I think with our current D we win that game, we just couldn’t get off the field in the fourth.
Foles has been good against the rush. Also doubt he throws 2 ints like Vick (both are throws Foles wouldnt do/take)
One thing you can say about Foles: even in his awful game, he didn’t turn the ball over.
I agree with you for the most part about an extended playoff run.
I just bristle whenever someone uses the “we can’t win a Superbowl with [Insert Player Name Here] on the team” line. It’s just not something anyone can know. That’s a statement that mostly comes down to “I just don’t like this player, therefore…”
It’s not me having something against Cooper and more of a “this team doesn’t have the talent level to win a Superbowl”. And yeah, Cooper hasn’t the talent level to be your #2 WR on a Superbowl team. At least not a Superbowl team who is in the Superbowl because of their Offense.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t win games with Cooper on your team, it just means that I don’t think you can win 4 Playoff games (against the best of the best in the NFL) with a team that relies on the offense with a guy like Coop as your starter (like I said, #3 or #4 would be a totally different story).
Like I said, people have said the same thing about Superbowl-winning players for years.
I think we can’t get to the SB b/c we have no pass rush.
Fair enough – I think the front-7 of this D has improved to the extent that they can really slow down the opponents run game and, if that happens, can Kaepernick or Wilson beat us in a shootout? I’m not convinced, even against this weak secondary.
If Foles is able to have one of his good games (rather than forgetting how to be a QB like against Dallas) then I don’t see any reason the Eagles couldn’t win those games. Like I said, I don’t necessarily think an Eagles win would be likely, but I think they’d at least run it close.
I agree. But i also wonder if i always think this team is way better than it is.
Kaep or Wilson don’t have to beat us in a shootout – the Defense is the star of their teams. And besides the Chiefs, and we didn’t look good against them, we haven’t faced an elite defensive unit.
You can’t say we put up points against the Raiders and the Packers, so we’ll put up points against the 49ers. That’s a whole different degree of difficulty.
Anders has a good point: the Cardinals Defense will be a very interesting test for this offense. But: the Cards don’t have the offense to support their Defense like the 49ers and the Seahawks have. That’s the reason they are no contender.
Seattle.
Those must be some kind of super-sized green-tinted glasses you have there.
My regular-sized ones says best case is that we win the division by beating Dallas by 1 point in the last game when Romo f’s it up again, then get rolled in the WC game when our “bend-but-not-break” D gets broken by either Kapernick, Wilson, Brees, Rodgers, etc – even Culter, Newton and Stafford, for that matter.
I actually think the 49ers would be the best matchup, but we could also grind out out against the seahawks. Both of those teams rely on the run, which is the strength of our D and don’t have “great” passing attacks (seattle occasionally finds pay dirt over top but that’s also something we are good at preventing). Conversely i think we could run on Seattle (they’ve been giving up tons of yds on the ground) and the 49ers. A kelly harbaugh matchup would be good (it’d probably be a lot like oregon stanford actually).
I don’t think the NFC north teams can stop our offense.
Not sure our D can stop a couple of the NFC north offenses. Those teams mostly seem to beat themselves.
Maybe we can win the first round if we get this home losing streak addressed. However Game two is on the road in the Superdome or Quest field. Those are the two hardest venues in the entire league to play in. Combined with the fact both teams are more talented than we are and I just dont see us stealing a W.
“As it stands, if the Eagles made the playoffs, they’d play the 49ers in the WC game and then (if they won it) the Saints or Seahawks in the following game.”
After you wrote that, I thought you were going to say something like, “obviously we aren’t probably going to be able to get through that, but it will be a great learning experience and hopefully we can add talent and get to those teams’ level next year or two.”
yeeesh. Can we win the division first?
I think that as long as we keep improving, nothing can be ruled out. What we see even this week in Week 11 might be a few steps down from where we are in Week 17.
I’m a big believer that you can’t just practice behaviors (ie a football team practicing plays) but situations (ie running plays when the crowd is so loud you can’t hear the play call). This is why I thought Chip Kelly blaring music at practice was so awesome, as it prepares the team to play when distracted. My hunch is this really helps the team win on the road.
However, having been to a few games this year, I can verify that the stadium is just quiet and apathetic (understandably). If I’m a player, my biggest challenge with this crowd would be getting amped up in front of thousands of quiet people. So if I’m Chip, I mix in silent practices and see how the team responds. Could the team be feeding off the crowd’s energy and being part of a feedback loop (crowd to team, team to crowd) of disinterest?
Interesting point. Altough I would prefer the Eagles play well and the fans react to it so that the players are pushed by that. 🙂
I totally agree with them playing well, which would bring up the noise in the stadium. So I’d mix silent practices in, not do it all the time. Think about it though. If you go to a live TV show taping, they hype the crowd up first. This isn’t just for the crowd ‘s sake, but for the performers as well. Or imagine being at a party. The music and noise and whatnot gets you juiced. I think the players have a challenge of getting juiced up without the crowd’s help, since that’s an apathetic, silent crowd that hasn’t seen a win in 10 games. So I’d practice getting pumped up and playing well in complete and utter silence… I seriously think it could help the team.
I meant to post this in the game-review thread, but I was wondering if there has ever been a longer drive by the Eagles to close out a game. Drives longer than 9 minutes are pretty rare..
I don’t remember one. In 2011 there was a long drive by Vince Young which went over 8 minutes and I think ended with a TD pass to Riley Cooper. And I vaguely remember some long clock-killing drives by Duce and by Keith Byars, but I don’t remember how long exactly.
The Giants actually got the ball back in that game. I think Babin had a strip sack of Eli to clinch it.
That was my favorite drive of a disappointing 2011.
http://en.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/1l294c/what_is_the_longest_drive_in_nfl_history_in_terms/
None of the ones listed are final drives, from what I can tell… So maybe? Some clever person could no doubt mine a stats site for data, but I doubt you’d get very far back and still have time logged (NFL gamecenter is only available back to 2001).
It’s amazing how quickly Chip has changed the mentality of the team. The last drive of the game really imposed our will against a tired GB defense. We probably could have easily pushed the ball down the field and scored another TD or two.
I think the fanbase really looks forward to the 4th quarter now. The last few years, I think we all just expected the team to quit in crunch time.
Yeah our D could never hold a lead. No we just make sure they don’t get on the field. Like Indy yesterday as soon as they got the lead they just bled the clock with the run game.
I think it’s pretty obvious what this team is, a team in the first year of a rebuilding program, which is still assimilating new systems on both sides of the ball. A number of players who started slow have improved as they’ve gotten comfortable, especially younger players who will be keys going forward, Foles, Cooper, Lane, Cox, Logan, Curry, Wolff.
The two things that stand out – this team has more talent than supposed (and the last two drafts are looking really good), and some serious holes that will have to be addressed before it becomes a perennial contender.
QB – If Foles is the real thing, and if he is, there’s a good possibility that Barkely, if he continues to improve his arm strength, can fit in a similar fashion, giving them great strength at this key position, but right now IF is the operative word.
WR – If Cooper can continue to develop, and can be resigned, this becomes a position of strength. But they need depth, can Maehl replace a declining Avant? Where are some young, athletic WRs to develop?
OL – What is Peters’ future going forward? Can he stay healthy enough to justify his $10M in 2014, can they work out an extension and does he move to OG in a couple years? When does Mathis slow down? Can Kelly start at RT allowing Lane to eventually move to LT? Or do you commit to a bigger role for Barbre, who turns 30 next year but looks like he’s pulling a Mathis type mid-career revival. They’re playing well right now, but age means that players like Kelly, Tobin, Vandervelde must show they can fill in as starters or more talent must be added.
DL – Four solid young players, the only question is depth, I have doubts that Geather or Square are the answer in the long-run (like next year).
LB – Ryans is playing great but his coverage limitations will get worse as he ages, Kendricks has had a roller coaster career, do you stick with him? Barwin is solid as a SOLB, but they desperately need an elite pass rusher at WOLB. And OLB depth.
CB – Williams is a patch, Fletcher can’t stay healthy (his problem his whole career), Carmichael and Boykin are a start, but need more talent.
S – Do they extend Allen? Wolff is a solid young prospect, but they need to upgrade over Chung, Coleman and Anderson.
You don’t have to address every weak spot in 2014, but you do have to address enough to raise the team from they can win key games to they should win key games, and continue the process in 2015 to where they are expected to beat top opponents on a regular basis.
Nice breakdown. I mentioned in the other thread that Alterraun Verner may potentially be a good, long-term solution at CB. I still like Fletcher.
My dream offseason is sign Verner and trade for Dion Jordan. I really think there’s a chance this happens. Miami will probably fire Ireland, so the new GM won’t feel obligated to keep DJ to save face. Graham + a 2nd rounder might get it done.
Draft targets if that happens: S, ILB, OG, slot WR, developmental CB, developmental T. I know philosophy is BPA, but working around those positions would be nice.
No way Fins trade #3 pick. They aren’t rebuilding and they won’t get anything for him considering he hasn’t produced & the need to replace 2 lineman.
Too early to tell what we have on D — young players and a new scheme. Unfortunately i think we need inside and outside linebackers — though i don’t know if they go get anyone or they try to develop goode / acho. Kendricks has been a disappointment.
We need a cover safety, it’d be nice if we could find a vet. It’d be nice to get a CB, but it’s unclear if they pay for one; frankly i think they are happy with the 3 starters they have — we’ll see what we have in Roc. On safeties we need depth i’d like to get a FA, but I’d take another Earl Wolff 5th rounder.
WRs — i think that’s a position of need. Hopefully we get Maclin on a prove it deal and take a big body possession receiver. I’d cut Avant (though he makes great catches) if we can get something better. Hopefully as cooper and djax emerge it’d open more over the middle for him but he’s got no YAC.
RBs — Be interesting to see if we try to move Brown. He’s frankly one of my favorite players but he’s kind of wasted here and i bet we could get a 3rd round pick for him. I also think the coaches like Polk.
TE — No change. Maybe we take a flyer later round or UFA. Gotta love how happy Casey was to get on the field, he has a multi-year deal so hopefully they can develop him into Celek. Ertz has gotta get better.
OL — gotta cut Peters some slack he’s coming off of 2 ACLs back to back. They’ve gotta think about replacing Herremans either FA. I think you gotta go FA instead of taking a developmental player.
QB — Foles, Vick, Barkley. Some want Vick gone, but I think this year especially you see the need for having a veteran backup. I’d pay him $5m. Barkely can develop another year and then maybe get rid of Vick. I
The Niners traded AJ Jenkins after 1 year for another first round bust.
How has Kendricks been a bust/disappointment? He had just played 2 of his best games of the season before he got injured.
If the Eagles think Verner is elite, they will pay for him. Eagles have always paid for top tier FA talent.
I can’t see why we might not be interested in Verner. Seeing how Howie got Nnamdi somehow in FA means anything is possible.
he’s been wildly inconsistent for a 2nd round draft pick. Almost wonder if he’d be better on the outside.
yea because every 2nd round pick is an instant starter and pro bowler?
I also ignore 2012 because he got terrible coaching and the new coaching staff had to unlearn crappy coaching (like actually learning how to tackle)
It’s kind of hard to not be bitter about Kendricks. Bobby Wagner and Lavonte David are already studs. Out of those three, Kendricks was the most athletic but like you said he was put in a bad situation. Better hope Kendricks is a late bloomer or the streak of 2nd round busts continue.
Im not sold on Wagner, he plays for the Seahawks, Im pretty sure I could look good on defense for them.
David is just playing out of his mind, but he was the 6th none rushing LB picked.
I also think everybody loved Kendricks when we drafted him (never heard any complain), he was a special player at Cal and I think only his height dropped him.
I had to look up the Seahawk’s defense when Wagner and Kendricks got drafted. Seattle went through a complete overhaul the year before though. Wagner has a little more stability throughout his career. I don’t watch enough Seahawks game to comment any further. I just blame Juan.
Given that he’s a physical beast i’d expect more, but again, i’m willing to see how he fills out the season.
You can add Zack Brown to that list as well. Playing really well for Tenn. Kendricks has been the 5th best LB in that class despite being the second off the board.
Look at Nate Allen’s progression — look at Kendricks. Look at Curry’s progression, Wolff’s progression. I’m willing to hold judgement until the end of the year on the D, but those guys have learned to play reliably in the scheme and have showed continual progress. Can’t say same for Kendricks. I don’t think we should fire him, but i wouldn’t be mad if someone played in front of him or challenged his spot.
You havnt seen progression with Kendricks? Then you aint looking imo.
No on pace with those other guys — who arguable had further to go.
Kendricks has come along way since last year. You cant really quantify it, but his tackling is no longer a problem like it was at the start of the year and he looks more comfortable in zone coverage, something he was terrible at to start the season.
there are only so many limited ways to acquire talent. Picking his replacement means we pass on upgrading another position. Given that, I believe we let him try to continue to improve. I don’t see how we can allocate any valuable resource to do otherwise.
Just saying we could use a better player at position a, b, or c may be true but doesn’t mean we should allocate the resources to do that. I wouldn’t be mad if we could upgrade Avant, Cooper, Herremans, the safeties, the CB’s (maybe keep Fletcher), the rushing OLB opposite Barwin.
I think Cooper can be a borderline #2 receiver. I wouldn’t be mad if we drafted or signed WRs. The Toddfather isn’t playing as bad as before but we still need to look for his replacement.
Problem with Cooper is simply price on the FA market.
He’s not going to get more than 6 million a year. If so let him walk.
Luckily, there’s a lot of OL,CB, and WR depth in the next draft.
Folks, on a more important topic, did anyone catch results from the great american beer festival (greatamericanbeerfestival.com)… winners included Pabst (Old Style and Rainier- must have been a typo as Blue Ribbon was mistakenly not listed), Miller High Life, and AB Natural Ice (Natty Ice a GABF winner!).
Be sure to stop by your local store and stock up for Sunday!
The Eagles are who we thought they are
I’m wondering how Chip will affect the way we draft. Will he overvalue effort + blocking or does he go for potential and fit for the scheme? Seeing how he made some questionable roster moves, I don’t know what to think as of now.
hopefully it’s Tom Gamble making decisions. I think Chip wants measurables and gym rats. What roster moves are questionable?
Some Oregon bias on the practice squad don’t you think? I still think we should have kept Shepard. As for Gamble, I don’t think Howie gave up his power to Gamble. I might be wrong though.
Yeah i think that’s because of the scheme, wants people that can work at the tempo / gym rats. They also had limited chances to get people. But hopefully that will change with another off season.
Howie Roseman’s report card is pretty good lately. the hate for him is way out of proportion. Go back and look at their draft from 2012, round by round, pick by pick. How’s that draft working out? Then throw in Ced Thornton as a UFA, wow.
Can you point me to a questionable roster move? What player that we have cut, should we have kept and over who?
Acho, Shepard and McCoy? Some guys produced and flashed potential yet they were cut. You have guys that haven’t even played well like Damaris and Knott making the team for depth.
Knott and Johnson flashed in TC or PS as well. Shepard did nothing on offense, Acho was cut for Goode, not really calling that a lose consider the amazing Acho made the terrible Giants PS (sad when you cant make the Giants roster as LB).
What has McCoy done again? He was just cut by the fucking Jaguars.
Not buying the pundits spin on the Linc being plenty loud when the team is winning. The Fans job is not to cheer only when things are good but to help turn the tide when the chips are down. I’ve got no problem letting the players hear our discontent when they play lousy, but there needs to be a sincere hatred for the Visitor’s and they should feel pressure as a result of chaos. That no longer exists. When the Linc first opened, it was loud, but there has been a steady decline of Eagles faithful. Yeah I still see some great fans out there, but I see way more spectators
For the Eagles to win:
Defense:
1. Stop the WASH rush attack. Contain RGIII. Force him to throw into tight windows. Get timely turnovers.
Offense:
2. Continue to ride Shady on offense. Take vertical shots when the D is in man coverage.
ST:
3. Game changing return. Brad Smith?