Detailed Game Review – PHI 37 , WAS 34
Posted: September 26th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 80 Comments »Football is a very situational game and that was certainly evident last Sunday when the Eagles came back to beat the Skins 37-34. The 1st half was awkward. Washington marched down the field and scored a TD. The Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD, which was good news/bad news. You love getting an impact play like that from STs, but it also meant the defense was right back on the field.
Staying on the field for most of the 1st quarter was physically taxing for the Eagles defense, but it also deprived them of a chance to sit on the sideline and make adjustments. It is still early in the NFL season. Defense are figuring out what offenses want to do. The more time coaches and players have to talk, the better off they will be.
The Eagles had one drive late in the 1st quarter and that spilled over to the early 2nd, but a fumble gave the ball right back to the Skins and their hot offense. That led to a FG and a 17-7 lead. When Kirk Cousins and the Skins offense were put in a favorable position, they played well. The Eagles then took over and went on a 30-10 run where they took control of the game. The Skins added a late score to make the final 37-34.
I told people that Cousins had not been tested by the Jags and that the Eagles game would tell more about him. Cousins was red hot in the 1st half, going 19-25. In the 2nd half, things were different. The Skins played from behind. There was suddenly pressure on their offense to go score.
The Skins converted 7 of 9 3rd down chances in the 1st half. They kept manageable distances (mostly 3rd/short) and that put the offense in a favorable situation. In the 2nd half, the Skins were only 1 of 6. They dealt with more 3rd and longs. The Eagles could mix in more Nickel and Dime looks. They could be aggressive and creative. That gave the Eagles the favorable situation and the Skins offense was erratic.
They still scored a pair of TDs due to a pair of long pass plays. Take those away and their offense was handled. Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. While the Eagles defense got better after halftime, they still made critical mistakes which kept the Skins right in the game until the end.
This was an emotional, intense rivalry game. It brought out the best and worst in each team. The Eagles were better in crunch time, the Skins were not. The Eagles had to overcome some tough circumstances. Losing Jason Kelce and Jason Peters from an already banged up O-line could have been devastating, but the coaches and players managed to make the best of it.
And they did just enough to win.
COACHING
The Eagles never gave up on the run, despite the fact the Skins shut it down all game long. I think it was important for Kelly to keep mixing in Shady and making the Skins honor the run. That opened up the passing game in a big way.
I wasn’t as keen on the defense. My biggest gripe is failing to attack RT Tyler Polumbus, who is a terrible blocker. The Eagles focused on the A-gaps. That got some pressure, but I would rather have seen defenders given space and turned loose against Polumbus. I love Connor Barwin to death, but I’d rather have seen Brandon Graham attacking Polumbus, especially when the Eagles got the lead.
OFFENSE
MISC
* 4 of 11 on 3rd downs
* Only 2 of 4 in the Red Zone. Needs work.
* 5 more plays of 20 or more yards.
Players
QB
FOLES – Good game. 27-42-325. 3 TDs. no picks. Took a licking and kept on ticking. Wasn’t sacked once, but he got hit over and over and over. There were a couple of times when I thought Foles might be seriously hurt. He toughed it out and didn’t miss a single play.
Made a really good throw in the mid-2nd. Rolled to his left and saw Ertz over the middle. Threw a strike to him. Hit Matthews for a TD in the mid-2nd. Jordan was wide open and Nick made a good throw. Easy TD. Had a nice play late in the half. Got some pressure and moved to his left. Hit Matthews on a crossing route. Made a good throw on the move. On the next play he sat in the pocket and waited until he found Maclin downfield. Hit him with a good throw for a gain of 26. Made a poor decision late in the half. Threw a short pass to Sproles, who was tackled quickly. That forced the Eagles to burn their final timeout and make the decision of whether to kick a FG or risk running one more play. Kelly let Foles and the offense have that play, which turned out great. Hit Matthews for a TD. Matthews was in the left slot. He was between 2 defenders in the end zone. Foles put the ball above/behind the LB in front of Matthews and gave his guy a chance to make the play. Matthews did just that can plucked the ball for the TD. Aggressive throw, but not dumb. That was a smart risk.
One of his best throws was to Matthews down the seam in the early 3rd. Ball was incomplete due to PI, but Foles put the ball right there. Threw an odd pass to Cooper a couple of plays later. Was either way off target or they weren’t on the same page. Made a dreadful decision in the late 3rd. Was trying to avoid a sack and saw Shady. Somehow failed to notice the NT right there between them. Threw the ball to him, but the NT thankfully dropped it. Had Mac wide open for a long TD in the early 4th. Saw him and threw the ball that way. Terrible pass that was way off target. Was a vertical route and Foles put it too wide. Very odd. Made a clutch throw to Mac on 3rd/8 on go-ahead drive. WAS ran stunt and DL looped around wide and came free at Foles. Hit him just as Nick let go of the pass. Didn’t make a perfect throw, but gave his guy a chance to make a play and Mac did just that. Real impressive play by Mac and Foles. TD to Mac was a good throw. Put the ball out in front of him. Good touch on it. Made a poor throw on the next-to-last drive. Had Celek open on a corner route inside the 10. Put the ball too far downfield and Brent couldn’t catch up to it. Should have been a big play, and an easy one. Great design. Pressure from Kerrigan kept Nick from setting his feet.
Had one final highlight play in him on the final drive. The Eagles weren’t running the ball at all so Kelly called a bootleg pass play and had Foles out of the pocket. He could dump the ball short, throw to a TE or run. Casey was open and Nick made a terrific throw, putting the ball where only Casey could get it. He did and that was the game.
RB
SHADY – Terrible numbers, but not a bad game. Went 19-22 on the ground. That is not a typo. Give WAS a lot of credit. They schemed to stop the run and did a great job of it. Their guys got off blocks and made tackles. They pursued well, but stayed under control. The Eagles OL also had a hand in this. They did not block well or get much push. Shady rarely had room to run. There was only one play where I blamed him. Late in the game there was a hole right up the middle, but Shady tried to go outside and got little. Had room for 5 yds up the middle.
Beyond running, the Skins nullified the screen game. Shady didn’t catch a pass.
SPROLES – Had a couple of good runs up the middle at the beginning of the 2nd Qtr. Gained 18on one, but then fumbled when the defender came over and knocked the ball out. That was it for the game. No more carries. Did catch passes. Got isolated on ILB on 3rd Qtr pass play. Caught short pass on circle route (H Post according in the Norv Turner playbook) and took that up the middle for easy 22 yds. Finished 3-30 as a receiver.
TE
CELEK – Another quiet game. No catches. Had the ball thrown his way 4 times. The Skins were all over a screen pass that came his way. Had chance for a big play late, but Foles overthrew him. Blocking was mediocre again. Isn’t as good a run blocker as he was last year. Got knocked to the ground by Kerrigan while trying to run block. Kerrigan then stuffed Shady.
ERTZ – Tried to block Kerrigan on a 1st Qtr pass play and got driven back to Foles. That’s a mismatch. Only 2-14 as a receiver. Did have some impact. Drew a big PI flag in the 4th Qtr when lined up out wide and going downfield vs ILB. Tried the same play again moments later. No catch or flag. Ertz got behind the LB both times. He and Foles just couldn’t quite connect on that.
CASEY – Caught a pass early that was wiped out by penalty. Then caught key pass late in the game to seal the win.
WR
MACLIN – The WRs finally game alive. Good game for Mac. 8-154-1. Should have had an 80-yd TD in the early 2nd Qtr. Caught WR screen on the left side. Headed inside, then moved back outside and had tons of room. Kelce was flagged for a block that limited the play to 40 yds. Made the tackle of defender as WAS was returning Sproles fumble. Caught a pass late in the half that moved the ball down to the 13. Got the pass at the 20 and then went to the inside for the final 7 yds. Made a critical catch on 3rd/8 on go-ahead drive. Ran a deep comeback. The ball was outside and Mac made a diving grab. Ruled incomplete at first, review showed that he got a knee down and it was a catch. Great job on go-ahead TD. Lined up in slot vs Meriweather. Ran downfield. Made one step to the outside, then came back to the inside and that allowed him to get the right separation and angle to be wide open. Foles put the ball right on him. TD. Beyond the numbers, Mac got style points. Made tough catches and did some of the dirty work. Very encouraging game.
MATTHEWS – Best game of his young career. 8-59-2. Hauled in an 11-yd TD pass in the 2nd Qtr. Easy play. Lined up in the slot and wasn’t really covered. Pitch and catch. Did slip when he started to celebrate so we need to work on that. Caught a short pass by the sideline on the final drive of the half. Did a good job to get his feet down. Caught a crossing pass late in the half. Moved the chains and got out of bounds. Caught his 2nd TD on another RZ play, this time at the end of the 1st half. Got between defenders and was ready when Foles threw the ball his way. Wasn’t really open, but was open enough. Kudos to him for being aware and making the catch. Some guys could feel they were covered and not anticipate the throw. Drew big PI flag in the early 3rd. DB held his hand and Matthews couldn’t make the grab. Was open for a big play down the seam so can’t blame the DB for trying something. Made an impressive diving catch at the end of the 3rd Qtr. Unfortunately ran his route a yard short and the Eagles still had to punt.
COOPER – Made a nice catch in the mid-2nd Qtr. Went up to get the ball as he was headed to the sideline. Caught quick pass in the early 3rd and turned that into a gain of 7 by making Meriweather miss his tackle attempt. Finished the game 4-34. Still waiting to break out.
MAEHL – Caught a 15-yd pass in the 4th Qtr and that jump-started a FG drive. Good catch by the sideline.
OL
PETERS – Good game, but the headline was his ejection. Didn’t like a cheap shot that Foles took after an INT (which turned out not to be an INT) and Peters let NT Chris Baker know he wasn’t happy with him. Grabbed him by the facemask and jabbed at him. Got ejected for the final 10 minutes. Prior to that, had played a good game. There was at least one hiccup. Failed to block Hatcher on 3rd Qtr run and Shady was stuffed. Play had some potential.
KELLY – Got another start at LG. Good block when he pulled and cut the ILB on outside run to the left. Good reach block on run play. Looked good at times vs Hatcher. Able to engage and sustain. After the ejection and line shuffle, Kelly moved to RG. Had a solid overall showing. Looks good at times, but must get better.
KELCE – Up and down showing. Made one big mistake when he blocked a defender in the side and it was called as a block in the back. Maclin was out in front of everyone. Jason would have been wise to let the guy just chase Mac. Jason did show great hustle and athleticism in getting to that spot where he could even try to block the guy. Kelce is a special talent. Called for holding on run play by Sproles in the early 2nd. Overall was good, but those were big mistakes for a guy like Kelce. Got hurt and missed most of the 2nd half.
HERREMANS – Started at RG then moved to RT for the final 10 minutes. Almost got away with holding on go-ahead TD, but Foles got rid of the ball quickly. DE used inside move and that caught him off guard. Lined up on the left side in unbalanced line in 4th Qtr. Missed block of ILB on run play, which had chance to be a long run. Middle was pretty open, but Shady saw Todd miss and went wide instead.
GARDNER – RT for most of the game. Got beaten by inside move in the late 3rd and Orakpo hit Foles as he tried to throw. Lucky it was just an incompletion. Up and down showing. Kerrigan gave him problems, but Gardner was functional at the least. Played LT for the final 10 minutes. Had some issues there was well. Does not use his hands well. Lets defenders get to his body too much. When he’s able to engage, does a good job of holding his ground.
MOLK – Took over at C in the 2nd half. Had some rough moments. Whiffed on block of NT on inside run. That led to Shady needing great fake for even a minimal gain. Did a terrible job of blocking the NT on the next play, a screen. That pressure threw off the play. WAS ran a couple of stunts on the next 2 plays and Molk did a solid job of blocking his DL. Whiffed on NT in pass pro and that forced Foles to scramble and throw the ball away. Just couldn’t quite make the reach block on 4th Qtr run. If Molk gets another step to the left and can pin or at least neutralize the NT, Shady had some room to run. Instead, no gain.
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DEFENSE
MISC
* Used a Bear Front to open the game. Mixed it in after that. Some games (stunts, loops) off of it.
* Gave up 511 yards and 34 points so this was not a…”good”…showing.
* WAS 8 of 15 on 3rd downs, but only 1 of 6 after halftime.
* Skins were 3 of 4 in the RZ. Not good.
* No sacks, but they did get some pressure on Cousins in the 2nd half.
* Seemed like there was more press coverage in the 2nd half.
PLAYERS
DL
COX – Pretty good game. Called for big penalty early in the game. Hands to face took WAS out of 3rd/long. Blew up a couple of early runs that came his way. Was able to shed the block and stuff the RB. Fired into the backfield on early 4th Qtr pass play. I don’t know how he didn’t sack Cousins. Did make him throw the ball right away. Just overwhelmed his blocker and blew up a run play to open the final drive. No gain.
LOGAN – Active game. Was in on 7 tackles, including a TFL. Good vs run. Got some penetration on an early run play. Looked like he got held/tripped and wasn’t able to make the play. No call. Tackled TE after a short catch on a delayed release. Blew up a RZ run in the late 1st. Overwhelmed the C, then shed him and tackled the RB. Got off the block of the LG and stuffed a run play that came to his side. Hustled to his left and got in on tackle of RB in the early 2nd Qtr. Had some real good moments vs the C.
THORNTON – Got some pressure on early pass play. Used good rip move to almost get by the RT. Split a double team and disrupted a run play in the late 1st Qtr. Had some other good moments vs the run. Finished with 4 solo tackles.
CURRY – Played a fair amount, but didn’t do much.
BAIR – Got pressure on 1st Qtr pass play, but unfortunately the QB had just gotten rid of the ball prior to that.
B. ALLEN – Backup NT. Didn’t stand out good or bad.
OLB
COLE – Sorta quiet game. Credited with 4 solo tackles. Didn’t get much pressure at all. Had tight coverage of TE in the mid-3rd. Paul caught the ball, but Trent tackled him immediately for minimal gain. Had very good coverage on the FB on 4th Qtr pass play and forced him to throw the ball away. Got moved around as a rusher, but didn’t get the job done.
BARWIN – Also somewhat quiet. Blitzed up the middle in the early 3rd. Got Cousins to throw off balance on 3rd down play and ball was way off target. Got some pressure on 3rd down pass in 3rd Qtr. Lined up inside, then looped wide and Cousins made an off-target throw as Barwin got near him. Used a spin move to get by the RT and pressure Cousins on the INT he threw to Jenkins.
GRAHAM – Didn’t stand out watching live, but looked good in reviewing the game. Had a terrific play in the late 1st Qtr. Fought off the block of the FB, then came inside and hit the RB, knocking the ball loose. Eagles weren’t able to recover it. Had a good play vs the run in the early 2nd. Took on TE who pulled to block him. Got off that block and tackled the RB for short gain. Had Morris for a TFL at the end of the 3rd, but failed to make the tackle. Didn’t give up and eventually did get him down, but gave up 7 yds on the play. Ugh. I’m encouraged by Graham’s overall play.
SMITH – Played mostly ILB, but did rush from OLB at least once. Came off the edge. Cox got so much pressure up the middle that all Smith could do was jump and try to hit the pass. Lined up in A-gap on 4th Qtr pass play. Got into the backfield and flushed Cousins. Couldn’t get there before he got the pass off. Looked good on the field. Wasn’t jittery or awkward.
ILB
KENDRICKS – DNP.
RYANS – Was only in on 3 tackles. WAS didn’t seem to rush all that much. DeMeco had his usual solid game, but failed to make any highlight plays. Closest was when he flew upfield to disrupt 3rd Qtr run play. No gain.
MATTHEWS – Failed to tackle TE after short catch in the flat. Let him get additional RAC yds. Not big play, but should have been routine tackle. Didn’t show much on the field.
ACHO – Got the start and had some good moments. Had 3 solo tackles. I thought he did a good job of using his arms to keep blockers off his body. Good job vs early WR screen. Read the play quickly. Got off block of OL and was in on the tackle. Failed to make a clean tackle on run play that came at him. Showed promise.
GOODE –
S
N. ALLEN – Not a great showing. Was slow to read a run play in the late 1st. Made the tackle, but gave up unnecessary yards. Made a critical mistake in the late 3rd when he bit up on a route and let DeSean get behind him. Should have remembered the old maxim “Deeper than the deepest”. Flew into the backfield on a 4th Qtr run and chased down the run away from him. Made a good stop with some help from Graham. Played centerfield on 4th Qtr pass play. Read the QB and got wide on a vertical throw. Hit Garcon by the sideline and put him down, but could not break up the play. Took a poor angle on the screen pass late in the game that turned into a huge play. Got into traffic and didn’t affect the play. Made a good hit to keep WR just short of the end zone late in the game. Was in on 7 tackles.
JENKINS – Good game. Had 3 tackles, INT and a PD. Got a bit of a late shot on DJax and that led to a shoving match early in the game. Generally did a solid job in run support. Played deep and in the box. Helped to break up a quick throw to TE N. Paul in the early 3rd. Came up with a huge INT in the mid-4th. Played centerfield. Read Cousins and moved over to his left. Saw the ball was overthrown and dove for it. Impressive INT that led to a FG. Showed great effort on the long screen play. Chased it down from behind and made TD-saving tackle. Skins scored a few plays later, but you want your FS to keep them from getting the long TDs. Make them earn every yard and every TD.
WOLFF – DNP.
CB
FLETCHER – Really struggled early on. Gave up 3 completions on the opening drive, one of which was the TD. Played way too soft vs the FB and gave up a short TD. Needed to be more aggressive there. Had good coverage on deep ball to DeSean on the 2nd drive and forced an incompletion. Might have gotten away with some contact on that. Burned by the TE on a double move for a downfield completion in the mid-1st Qtr. Did a solid job against the run in the 1st Qtr. Played off Garcon in the late 1st and gave up an easy TD. Broke up short pass on 3rd/2, but was called for holding on the play. Broke up a 3rd down pass on the final drive of the half. Finished the game with 9 solo stops and 2 PDs. Did a good job vs the run.
WILLIAMS – Up and down game. Had 5 solo tackles and a PD. Broke up 3rd Qtr pass to Garcon. Gave up long TD to DeSean, but was hardly all his fault. Had to play off due to alignment. Brandon Graham was the underneath defender and he needed to get a shot on DeSean to disrupt his release. Graham tried, but looked like he missed. DeSean ran a very good route and got Cary to widen and then he cut back to the inside. That would have been fine if Nate was there to handle the inside, but he bit up on another route. Cary’s big fault was missing the tackle at the 25. Should have been a big play, but not a TD. Gave up a long completion to Garcon in the early 4th. Had pretty good coverage, but Cousins made a terrific throw. Semi-oblivious at first on screen pass. Just stood there for a second. Thought the play was over. Then WR blocked him and Cary could only watch the guy run by him.
BOYKIN – Terrific role player. Gave up 2nd Qtr completion when Roberts beat him to the inside and got the ball. Got a TFL in the early 4th on quick screen. Read the play and made a good tackle. Had tight coverage of DeSean on 2nd down on final drive. Pass was wide and incomplete. Broke up pass to Roberts on 3rd down. Play went almost to the same spot. Diving PBU. Finished with 3 solo tackles and a PD. Played his best on the Skins final drive.
CARROLL – Used in some Dime sets. Had tight coverage of TE in 3rd Qtr, but still gave up catch. Had 1 tackle on defense.
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ST’s
JONES – Not his best game. Averaged 37 yards per punt. 2 of them were downed inside the 20, but not down inside the 5. Tough situation late in the game. Nailed a 59-yarder to back up the Skins. Penalty on the Eagles, though, so re-kick. That punt goes only 31 yards and WAS is almost starting their drive in FG range. Huge turn of events.
PARKEY – The Man. Simple as that. 3 of 3 on FGs. Nailed one from 51. Had 5 touchbacks and kept the ball deep.
KOR – TD by Polk. Key blocks were by Brad Smith, Try Burton and Zach Ertz. Then Smith and Casey Matthews ran interference the rest of the way. Polk just had to make the PK miss. Polk had a 35-yd KOR late in the half. Followed his blocks and ran hard. Sproles got the spot late in the game. I wonder if the coaches feared Polk might try to do too much. Sproles was safer bet.
PR – Sproles got facemasked like a motherscratcher in the early 3rd, but there was no call initially, but the refs got together and threw the flag. Had a chance for a huge PR in the late 3rd, but backside defender flew over and got him by the foot. Sproles still got 18 yds on the play. Made one guy miss right after fielding the punt.
– MISC –
* Burton made a good tackle on the 2nd KOR. Pinned the Skins deep.
* Burton, Smith, Maragos and Braman are the 4 key guys on KOs. They should made a lot of coverage stops.
* Eagles finished with 180 return yards. Skins had 52. Advantage…Philly.
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Matthews 2nd td was a terrific display of athlete prowess. Foles put the ball precisely where it needed to be at the exact time it needed to be there. Jordan was focused and used his hands well. It’s those kinds of plays that make me such a fan of football.
Does anyone know what time the game is? I’m pumped to see FOles and my boy Meco lay the wood on Kap!!!!
4 oclock game I believe.
4:25, its the “Game of the week” meaning its nationally tevelvised WOOOOO
wait, now there’s a guy named “BEAGLE” in allcaps? this is going to get confusing.
Impostor Daaaaaarrrllling
Tommy, seems like Cox is starting to emerge… would you say he still has pro bowl upside in this 3-4 scheme?
definite probowl upside. he’s too good to have a scheme change derail that.
Pro bowl play? Yes. Ever voted to the pro bowl? No because he won’t rack up sacks
I think he will see a pro bowl… Most likely as an alternate tho, when a probowler gets injured or has to skip it to play in a Super Bowl…
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Thinking we will see both Kendrick and cox get their first probowl nods this year,but as injury replacements. Doubt they get voted in this year
Injuries might hurt Kendricks, he was off to a hot start but if he doesn’t get back on the field it’s going to be hard to gain the reputation he needs. Pro bowl is mostly about reputation especially at positions that aren’t purely statistical like OL, CB, LB, etc. So in my mind there’s a difference between pro bowl talent and actual pro bowls.
Kendricks will be back for next weeks game…he will have missed two games..
The hype machine waits for no man. Unless broadcasters are buttering him up the average PB voter won’t know who he is. Hopefully 2 games is all he misses.
Good to hear Burton is a good special teams contributor.
Big day for Burton.
Had a big-time tackle in addition to key block on KOR4TD
Yeah maragos was speaking highly of his special team ability the other day. Seemed very impressed with Burton and talked about how far ahead he is than maragos was as a rookie..
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My favorite aspect of this team is how every player is so selfless to the point where we see important defenders like Malcolm Jenkins starting the game on kickoff coverage, or like last year when we would see our starting corners volunteer for ST duty….starters are selflessly playing ST to try and do everything they can to help this team win…. That’s a really great sign…
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Our special teams is no joke…
james Casey
Braman
Maragos
Brad Smith
Polk
Burton
Mathews
Maehl
Nolan
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Really impressive special teams improvements.. We haven’t seen this type of special teams play in a while.
Really good point.
Best quality special teams (on paper?) since Vermeil era.
Kelly’s not afraid to put starters out there . . . like Jenkins and Boykin.
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In terms of emphasis, Kelly’s a throw-back to former Rams and Washington HC George Allen.
He’s the first coach in NFL history to hire a ST coach. Did it in 1970.
And that young assistant?
One Dick Vermeil.
Dropping knowledge bombs as always…
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Feel like Chip is fearless: “our motivation comes from desire to succeed, not fear of failure”-Chip Kelly.
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We had a few years of decent special teams under Andy….but I don’t know that we were ever so strong at all 4 phases of ST and now that we have such solid ST personel in place, I think it’s only going to grow…
Kelly’s determined to be strong in ALL phases . . . . O, D, ST.
O’s a done deal. It’ll only get better.
D? Lots of work to be done. Just need one dynamic pass rusher and this defense will take off.
ST? big-time UP arrow.
The challenge is with this defense, though. Pass-rush, more specifically.
But isn’t that true all over the NFL? (Except the Rams, if the team didn’t fold up their tent already?)
Yes sir….. Defensively we are going to grow as the season unfolds and we should see some major growth from a last year come November and December, but it will still need a few more additions before it can really be a good defense…but it’s not as far away as people think…just a few key additions away…
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When you look at the pieces we have on defense, two or three quality additions can make all the difference in the world… For example.. Take our defense:
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1)’Swap Trent Cole for Justin Houston… That would make all the difference in the world. Take so much pressure on Billy and the rest of the defense having to alway generate pressure with blitzing and by scheme. A guy you can count on for 11 plus sacks on his own, who offenses have to always account for would open things up for our other players to shine…
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just that 1 move could have such a positive impact on our existing players…..
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2) Swap Nate Allen for another second round safety like Cyprien or DJ Swearinger…. Doesn’t have to be an elite probowler, just a hungry young starter to play next to Jenkins..
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Those two moves and I’d be comfortable facing anyone with our defense….but in reality, we still have another offseason or two worth of defensive building to do:
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1) reconfigure OLB position, possibly losing both BG and Cole
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2) unless Wolff grabs a hold of the starting safety spot we will still have to find Jenkins running mate
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3) Can’t keep Curry Longterm, we will soon have to replace him with a real 3-4 talented DE to bring off our bench. Like a Margus hunt type..
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4) Meco will be here for another year or two, but we need to add another starting caliber, young athletic ILB like Mykals brother Eric to rotate in certain subpackages and be groomed to succeed Meco.
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5) In the next year or two we will have to get younger at the outside CB position. Howie doesn’t care how much Boykin needs to be paid, he cares about how much he is spending on the CB position as a whole..so to be able to pay Boykin to stay on Longterm as a nickel, we will have to make sure our outside CBs are working on cheap rookie contracts…
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Not all those moves have to be adressed this offseason, but they will all have to be adressed the next two years..tho I suspect what we have now will grow to be good enough to win with come December/January
Really agree with this. A stud edge-rusher and a few pieces in the secondary(like a first-round CB) and our defense could actually be great.
A successor to Meco is tricky. Can we really expect him to stay next year, and after that his contract’s up. Of all the points above I’m most concerned about how this works out as I don’t see a plan and our system requires great LB’s. Heck, maybe Smith’s ILB experiment works out…
I want to draft Mykal Kendricks brother Eric..linebacker out of UCLA.. Hopefully we can trade up from round two to have Kendricks and Kendrick flying around behind a wall of two gapping DL for the next 5 years,..
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I expect Meco to restructure, stay another year or two to take a run at a Super Bowl, mentor the LB we draft and Meco playing less and less snaps as the young LB is ready to take over for him…he is our highly respected captain.l.ripping the bandaid off could screw with our locker room going into a year we are Super Bowl contenders…better to phase Meco out, over the course of the next two years..he is a high character guy who will want to compete for a Super Bowl..I think we work it out…
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Next year a rotation of Meco, the Kendrick brothers and Naje Goode would be good depth and athleticism for different subpackages..
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Chip Kelly loves Mykal Kemdricks…..and he is a really high caliber kid, I strongly assume we will try to draft his brother
I don’t have any intel on Eric at the moment, but based on his brother I wouldn’t mindt at all.
Does Goode have any upside to talk about? I know he is legacy, but I haven’t exactly gotten the impression he could develop into a solid starter.
Did slip when he started to celebrate so we need to work on that.
Just. Don’t. Ask. Tullock. 4. Advice.
Jordan’s only flaw, alas…
In fact I don’t think he was celebrating but rather running to give ref the ball.
Defense has been below average to pitiful at times this season. They haven’t had a lot of injuries to starters yet either.
This offense keeps rolling along but they can’t be expected to keep coming back from deficits and having to score 27-28+ pts a week to have a strong chance to win either.
Sure hope so. I think very highly of Polk,,. Hopefully our Offensive line gets it together or it’s not going to matter who we hand the ball off…
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I will say that if our OL struggles to run the ball against the Niners front, we can’t allow them to take shady and Sproles out of the game, we have to be ready to switch to a Westcoast type attack where short passes to shady and Sproles replaces our run game…..one way or another. We will need to get our backs involved to win this game. If we can’t hand them the ball, throw it to them…
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Tramaine Brock is a very under rated loss for them. Think he is the best out of an average group of corners, Our WRs HAVE to make big plays against the likes of Chris Culliver, parish Cox, and take advantage of 5’9’slot CB Jimmie Ward..
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Eric Reid is a good safety, but Ertz should still be able to make big plays over Reid and Antone bathea or Craig Dahl.
I suspect most other teams are going to learn a big lead gainst the Eagles doesn’t mean as much as against other teams. More plays per game are run, more possessions, more chances to come back, more big plays. Just a very different team to have to play.
Thanks, as always, for the great work you put in these DGRs, Tommy!
I want to contribute two Off Topic things, though:
(1) According to this article: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/24/6732335/chip-kelly-on-exchanging-ideas.html
LaMichael James is on the street at the moment. Does anyone have an idea if he’s PS eligible? I don’t think you can sign him to the PS now anyway, he probably wants to see if a injury or two could land him a roster spot. But if he’s still on the street in week 8 or so, maybe he would like to join his old coach who made him a second round pick. Would be great if he could get used to the new Eagles scheme (remember, Huff had problems and the scheme he played in was probably closer to our scheme than the scheme LMJ played in) in this season and battle for a roster spot in the next TC. Of course, there would be a lot of crying about the Oregon bias, but with LMJ, I don’t see it. I think there is at least a possibility he shines in this scheme. He’s no RB for the 49ers power scheme, but he could be a Sproles like RB for us.
(2) If you want to prepare for the 49ers, here’s a great read: http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Eagle-Eye-How-To-Attack-The-49ers/d792f644-614a-4ebe-a7ef-a3de665b0890
Never read anything from Duffy so far, but that’s a great analysis. Almost Kapadia/T-Law level.
on LMJ i don’t think it’s happening especially not now given the roster. It’s been clear that LMJ was getting dropped for a long time — but we got sproles instead and took huff. The RB spot is maxxed out with people we like.
Duffy is the man with the all 22
I don’t know. I’m not saying give him a roster spot, this year or next year. But I think it could benefit both sides if he gets a shot at a roster spot next year. We could easily go with 4 RBs next year. Polk is a good STer (not just returner), which helps, but he’s also injury prone. Sproles will be 32 next year. Smith doesn’t have to be on the roster next year. Maehl too. There would be room if LMJ shows enough promise in camp. If not, no biggie.
I would definitely invest a PS spot for him this year, if that is possible.
We would have jumped on him right away if we were interested, At this point I think one of our RBs would have to get injured to see us sign him…
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I like the kid, I don’t like him more than I like Polk
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Recently I have been thinking about running backs and how as an eagles fan it’s a position we have been spoiled with. For as long as I can remember we had quality RBs in philly:
1) Ricky Watters
2) Duce
3) Buckhalter (shame he was always injured)
4) Charlie garnet
5) Westbrook
6) Shady, and now Sproles and young Polk..
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We have always had quality RBs, but lately I can’t help but think how I would LOVE to see Chip Kelly draft a RB. Past coaches and personel people drafted good RBs for this organization, now we have a coach who loves to run the ball, Im so curious to see who will eventually be the running back Chip drafts, and what type of runningback will he be?
Really interested in seeing who Chip will eventually draft at RB…
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Then again, Chip is such an offensive maniac, that I can’t even put it past Chip to do something crazy like draft a RB Gurley in round 1 when we already have shady, Sproles and Polk lol…
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Sooner or later Chip will draft a RB…. Will he be able to identify and bring this organization a high quality RB that can compete with the top RB of out recent history?
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Problem is I adore Chris Polk, so it may be a while before we get to see Chip draft a running back
we get such good ones in late rounds / udfa almost don’t need to.
I don’t know, mate. My suggestion would be PS, it’s a very real possibility he wouldn’t sign to our PS three weeks ago but would do it in five weeks. I’m not saying roster spot, with all the injuries we simply can’t afford a 4th RB on the 53 at the moment. But if he’s PS eligible (I don’t know that, that’s why I asked), please do it. Could be another weapon (or tool in the toolbox for Chip) we aquired cheap.
I wouldn’t be against it at all… No idea about his PS eligibility tho…
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I wouldn’t want both Tucker and LMJ on the PS, but if Chip thought LMJ is more valuable than Tucker, I’d be fine with it…..but if that’s the case I don’t know what we are waiting for to sign him
Kick the scrub Murphy out of there if you need to. Don’t have to cut Tucker to sign LMJ to the PS, imho.
Re: why are we waiting to sign him. It’s of course possible we’re not interested (wouldn’t like it, but it’s possible), but it could also be the case of LMJ wanting a roster spot and waiting if a team that suffers one or two injuries at RB would sign him. Wouldn’t rule that out. I think if there are only offers for PS, he would chose us if we want him. Chip, scheme, Sproles age, Polk injuries – makes a lot of sense for him, if PS is his only chance of sticking around.
Surprised no RB needy teams picked him up yet
GE:
(If you see this . . . )
Is it possible that LMJ just isn’t that good at the pro level?
I’m not GEagle, but imho, of course that’s possible. I would celebrate if we can sign him to the PS, but even I wouldn’t have given up a 5th rounder or something close to that for him.
I would say: with Chip around him, it’s his best chance to make it in this league. With Chip, I think there is a chance he becomes a solid contributor.
Starting to seem that way..
I really think he isn’t a scheme fit everywhere. I like him, but I’m not surprised to see him cut by the 49ers. Yeah, change of pace back and all of that, but he simply is not ideal for a power run system.
Spread is something completely different for a small back like him.
I think Shel is good and getting better, but not in the same class as Tommy and Kempski.
I love Jimmy, but for other reasons. When it comes to X and Os type of analysis, Sheil and T-Law are the best (I know). By far, imho. But again, I follow Jimmy also, he has a different take that I always like to read.
#FREEBOYKING for the love of god let boykin play. I mean how is Cary better defending d-jax than boyking? Makes no sense its not like d-jax has a height advantage….Atleast let boyking play against shorter faster receiver where cary is obviously mismatched or fletcher. God I hate that they don’t let him play. Hes the best corner on the TEAM!!!
With Zack Ertz returning to Cali for the first time since the Raiders massacre, could there be a two TD game in Ertz immediate future?
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Sucks that Kendrick won’t be able to play in his return to Cali (his little brother had a nice game the other night)..
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Some eagles players are getting thrown into the deep end this week, hopefully they swim instead of sinking:
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1) Molk. The knock on the kid is he lacks size. Sucks for the kid to make his first start against a Big and powerful defensive line…Niners are also going to try to disguise the heck out of their defense and force Molk into making protection mistakes since he has to make the calls.. Hopefully he is mentally and physically ready for this match up.
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2) Tobin and Kelly having to start against a DL with veterans like Justin Smith. And woman beater McDonald….this is a dangerous DL to be playing inexperienced young players against… True baptism by Fire, fingers crossed they don’t burn to a crisp..
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3) Rookie on Rookie crime. Jordan Mathews Vs. Jimmie Ward…. I like Jordan winning more of these battles than he loses.
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4) Marcus Smith is going to be forced into this game since we don’t really have a choice with our two fastest most athletic LBs out this week. If Kapernick takes off from the pocket! Casey Mathews has no chance of catching him and making the tackle,
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Very interesting game…, on paper, this should be a very close game with both teams having plenty of matchups to exploit…but games aren’t played on paper, hopefully we see some youngbucks step up and try to make a name for themselves against a highly touted opponent…
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Niners are bullies… Best way to fight a bully is to take it to him and punch him in the mouth….can’t get off to a slow start this week… Hopefully this is the week we put it all together and we play a complete game.. If we play up to our potential for all 4 quarters, we won’t lose this game
I’m psyched to see Marcus on the field. He’s bound to make rookie mistakes but I want to see what the kid is made of. Seems like he’s got a good attitude and some game.
Last week, he wasn’t a liability. But you can tell that he had to think way too much to play fast…. Hopefully he is more sure of his assignments this week and can cut loose and put all that athleticism to use…
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Forcing him into action like this could help jump start his growth..
Thanks, Tommy!
Tommy, I didn’t go back and re-watch the game, but it seemed to me other than the two big passes in 2nd half, Cousins made most of his yardage targeting Fletcher, esp. in the 1st half (they struggled in the 2nd for the most part). The Giants said after their game that Cousins was staring down receivers. Maybe his read was… throw to Fletcher? Maybe that quick decision-making wasn’t so sophisticated?
To everyone who thinks Chip is full of BS when he talks about Casey Matthews’ value on special teams, watch this week’s Kellystrator:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Crunch_Time_Brandon_Boykin/2f947694-88a5-4e1a-a9a5-aec34750e48f
This is my favorite thing PE.com does. Listening to Chip break down a kickoff return is football porn at its finest.
OK, that video is really great. Casey Matthews can’t play Defense, but that was a good play from him (and many others, like Chip points out) on ST.
Interesting that Chip calls out Casey M. AND Acho in the same sentence as “key ST contributors”. Since Acho can play at least a little bit Defense, why not… oh, forget it. We’ll discuss this some other time. 😉
I haven’t really gone to the official website except for live draft results since I discovered this site along with Birds 24/7 but I might have to go back every week just to watch that segment. Thanks for the heads up.
Bo Wulf’s interviews with players are great. Like how he derides Beau Allen for spelling his first name wrong or gloats to another player (Earl Wolff ?) about going on safari.
PE.com is generally a pretty good site.
The segments with Fran Duffy are pretty good as well.
I wonder if other team’s fans realize how lucky we are as a fan base to not only get Chip Kelly, but also have so many phenomenal media resources dedicated to the team.
League full of guys who can play special teams at a high level but suck less than Matthews on D.
Re: Polk as KORr
T-Law noted:
“Sproles got the spot late in the game. I wonder if the coaches feared Polk might try to do too much. Sproles was safer bet.”
I really didn’t like that decision.
__________
KO returning is not a learned art form.
You either can do it, or you can’t.
Polk can do it. He’s the most promising *home-grown* KORr since Wally Henry.
If memory serves, Polk’s had only 1 fumble in 2-plus preseasons and regular seasons. (I know he’s not seeing many touches.)
And last Sunday, he dominated as a returner.
While Sproles — experience and all — is a guy who does put the ball on the carpet.
No . . . I did not like that decision at all.
“He’s the most promising *home-grown* KORr since Wally Henry”
JR Reed was on track to become a tremendous kick returner. Fearless. Really tragic story.
I had forgotten about that crazy injury. Yea, that was a shame.
Hoping huff can KOR too.
mksp . . .
You’re spot on w/ JR Reed.
The injury did cut short what looked like a great future.
So I’ve edited my comment. GREAT JOB.
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/189afv/the-redskins–name—catching-racism
Hahaha, just watched that. Can’t attack this organisation enough, on and off the football field.
Redskins should now be called.
“Furry balls plopped menacingly on the table”
Loved how calm Parkey was after the game last week when he was interviewed by D. Gunn. Doesn’t seem like a rookie at all with how he has responded so far on and off the field.
I do want to see though how he does when he misses a key FG especially if he leads to a loss. Almost inevitable at some point this season.
Eagles completely screwed up the K in the offseason and have had the good providence of stupid luck to pick up Parkey so far.
BS77:
Yes. Yes.
And absolutely Yes.
Kids coming from big-time college programs aren’t anything like they were even 7-10 years ago, let alone 20-30 years ago.
In fact, Parkey’s demeanor bespeaks why big-time college football is actually big-time pro-football. Just not the NFL.
It certainly can’t hurt although I’m curious to see how Henery does now in Detroit the rest of the year too especially with a new holder.
Kind of got the impression Henery wasn’t fond of Jones as his holder and he did have to work with a bunch of different holders over the past few years.
Doubt Henery suddenly is nailing 50+ yard FGs but can he be nearly automatic between at less than ~45 yards and still be a viable option to have the confidence to make a 47-48 yard FG late.
Fipp actually scouted Parkey.. When we were offering Undrafted free agents a contract it was between Parkey and Murderleg.. Inexplicably, we decided to chose Spear over Parkey…fortunately Parkey signed with a colts team that had a quality kicker, and front office member. Grigson, who has a relationship with Howie and the eagles! and Fipp was able to get a mulligan and make the correct decision..
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I don’t know that I would have admitted to chosing Murderleg over Parkey if I was Fipp, but I guess I gotta respect his honestly
Even an honest man could be tempted into omitting that misstep.
The Parkey is the Man.
Even if he winds up with the same FG percentage as Henery, the touchbacks are gold.
Think about the Saints playoff game versus the Colts game. In both cases, end of the game, Eagles holding a narrow lead. In the former Henery hits a short KO brought way out. Saints kill clock and get FG to win. Colts have to drive starting from the 20 and we get the ball. Clearly, the touchback wasn’t the entire difference, but it makes a big difference.
But your point about how he responds to a miss that leads to a loss is a good one. We’ll just have to wait and see or hope he never misses ever.
“MATTHEWS – Failed to tackle TE after short catch in the flat. Let him get additional RAC yds. Not big play, but should have been routine tackle. Didn’t show much on the field.”
It is beyond depressing that the Eagles allowed themselves to be put in a position with this bum still on the roster.
I keep wondering what the coaches are seeing that we might be missing.
Three thoughts in response.
First, there’s an across-the-league dearth of NFL-level inside linebackers.
T-law’s spoken to that issue.
Second, the “Matthews Question” would, by all accounts, have been mooted if Travis Long’s not injured in a meaningless 4th Q series of the last exhibition game.
Finally, you have to wonder if Jake Knott avoids an injury in TC, does he displace Matthews once JK’s 4-game suspension is served.
As an aside, Knott may make his way back to the Birds’ roster given the team’s lack of depth at ILB. But for Knott to return here, it would seem that the staff has to see him as close to Matthews in terms of STs production.
That said, the staff cut loose Knott on the first preseason roster reduction. The injury he was battling really hurt him this year.
I could be wrong across the board here. But that’s my story; and I’m stickin’ to it.
RE: Justin Houston
What an addition he’d be . . . .
I’ve thought about that since before last season.
H/T GEagle — you’re spot on with that guy
Unfortunately we won’t be dropping 50million on another teams players when we have so many young players to extend…but OLBs are so expensive that you either have to break open the piggy bank, or trade up in the draft…either way it’s expensive….which is why potentially being able to get Dion would be so huge
I don’t see why we won’t try to sign him next year. Thornton is the only one we have to worry about resigning this year. Kelce, Cox, and Foles will get extended in the next 2 years. Kendricks hasn’t really earned a big contract. We have Meco, Cole, and Casey that we can cut to clear cap for Houston.
What have you seem in the last two free agency periods that would leave you to believe we would give a player from another team 50 million, when we have to get our young players signed?
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We have to extend
Thornton
Maclin
Cox
Kemdrick
Boykin
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We have to decide if we want to re sign BG, Nate Allen! Bradley Fletcher who’s contracts expire..
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Renegotiate with Meco and possibly Cary Williams…
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Eagles are going to acquire Dion Jordan….rare chance to get a player at that premier position with that type of probowl ceiling without spending a top 10 pick or 50 million..,
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We are talking about a position, where Everson Griffen has never been an NFL starter and it took 20millipj in guaranteed dollars to get him signed…
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I adore Justin Houston….would LOVE to be wrong, and I’d take Houston of Dion Jordan all day ever day and twice on Sundays, I just don’t see us being interested…I assume we will secure Dion Jordan….low risk! high reward, our coaches know if they can make him a successful NFL edge rusher or not
What makes you think we won’t try to sign someone that’s one of the best in the position that we sorely need?
Maclin and Cox are the only ones that have the potential to get paid. I would much rather just throw money at Demaryius Thomas than overpay for Maclin. Cox is TBD this year. Kendricks can barely stay healthy/consistent and isn’t Patrick Willis. He’s not getting mega-bucks.
Thorton is a RFA. We can second round protect him for like 1.3 million next year.
Rather have Cox, Kendricks and Boykin.
For the same price.
You think you can sign them for under 5 million each? Good luck with that.
For those that live in the Philly area, tomorrow is going to be one of the best week of games..not only do we get a bunch of good games this week, we get to scout teams on our upcoming schedule and many of the NFC playoff teams,,
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1:00 CBS Panthers @ Ravens.. Steve smith is going to play in a homicidal rage
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1:00 Fox Green Bay @ Bears. Very curious to see how The GB offense rebounds from getting owned by the Lions defense.
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4:00 FLY EAGLES FLY
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8:00 Saints @ Cowboys
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Monday patriots @ KC
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That’s an awesome lineup… Probably going to be one of the best overall weeks of the season