MASH Unit

Posted: September 22nd, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 287 Comments »

The O-line was a huge part of the Eagles success in 2013. The Eagles won games with 2 QBs. They won by throwing the ball and running. LeSean McCoy actually led the NFL in rushing. When it came to throwing the ball, it was spread to WRs, TEs and RBs. All of the points and yards piled up by the skill players were greatly helped by 5 guys up front.

The Eagles were able to start the same 5 O-linemen for the entire season, a rarity, and that group played well, very well at times. Not only did coach Jeff Stoutland have the same 5 guys, he had 5 talented players. Stoutland must have thought life in the NFL was pretty easy.

That was then, this is now.

The current Eagles OL needs name tags to keep up with everyone’s identity. For the final 10 minutes of Sunday’s game, the line was:

LT Andrew Gardner
LG Wade Smith
OC David Molk
RG Dennis Kelly
RT Todd Herremans

Smith has only been with the team for 2 weeks. Molk saw his first extensive action at C in the NFL. Kelly was playing his second game in 2 years. Gardner practiced at RT all week before having to slide to LT during the game. That is a drastic difference.

None of those 4 guys played one snap for the Eagles in 2013. That’s pretty crazy.

Todd Herremans must be the world’s loneliest man. All of his friends keep getting hurt and making him hang out with the new guys.

We found out today that Jason Kelce needs sports hernia surgery and will be out for a while. The question now is whether anything will happen to Jason Peters. Will he get suspended if the NFL feels like he threw a punch? Chip Kelly doesn’t think Peters will be suspended and I agree. It wasn’t a true punch. It wasn’t a cheap shot. And it wasn’t aimed at an innocent victim.

I’m interested to see what the Eagles do on the OL, assuming Peters is back. Let’s look at some options.

LT Peters
LG Kelly
C Molk
RG Herremans
RT Gardner

That would offer the most stability.

LT Peters
LG Smith
C Molk
RG Kelly
RT Herremans

This would give the Eagles the most experienced combination of players. Smith has a ton of experience at LG. Kelly has his most experience on the right side.

LT Peters
LG Tobin
C Molk
RG Kelly
RT Herremans

This would be an interesting group. Matt Tobin has been hurt since the preseason finale, but spent the summer playing LG and the Eagles really like him. You would keep Wade Smith on the bench and he could be the backup OG/OC. Kelly said Smith was the emergency C last week. Tobin has very limited experience so this lineup does have some risk.

One consideration is that Evan Mathis is going to miss another 6 or so weeks. It would be great to find someone to plug in at that spot and you could leave them there. That could be Tobin or Kelly or Smith.

The good news is that the Eagles will get back Lane Johnson next Monday. Hopefully he will be ready to play and that will help the Eagles establish some continuity up front.

I don’t think there is an obvious right move here. I really like the idea of Tobin getting on the field, but is he healthy and how much would his lack of experience be an issue?

Back to Kelce and his situation. Molk can be an effective replacement. He is a good athlete who has been part of the program since the offseason began. He is a natural Center. Back in 2012 you had Dallas Reynolds take over. He had played C, G and T in college and the NFL. Molk was a 4-year starting C at Michigan. He was a backup C for the Chargers in 2012. He’s been a C since joining the Eagles. Making line calls and setting the line will come naturally to him.

I don’t know if the Eagle will make a roster move or not. Kelce isn’t going on IR. If you want to add a C, you must cut someone. I just don’t know who you’re getting rid of. Jeff Maehl actually had an important catch on Sunday. You need LBs for STs.

The one thing I do know…Jeff Stoutland is going to earn his money this year. The Eagles scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes, which is when the makeshift OL was on the field. They weren’t good, but they were good enough. And that’s okay for now.

_


287 Comments on “MASH Unit”

  1. 1 Anders said at 10:58 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Why not go with Peters, Smith, Molk, Tobin, Herremans?

  2. 2 mksp said at 11:05 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Chip could have started Smith ahead of Kelly already if he wanted to.

  3. 3 Anders said at 11:09 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Smith had only been here less than 2 weeks, 1 more week might do it

  4. 4 bubqr said at 11:53 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Kelly is actually playing not that badly. Gardner is the one I’d like to see on the bench as soon as possible.

  5. 5 Sean Stott said at 11:22 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    I think Kelly is a good enough guard that you’d want him in there, no?

    Also, Herremans is a much more natural fit at RG. But shit, Gardner at RT again?

  6. 6 Anders said at 11:26 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    More because I didnt want Gardner starting

  7. 7 Media Mike said at 5:13 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Gardner seems to be the guy most likely to get Foles killed, but also the guy who isn’t going to be playing once Johnson gets back. It’s a real catch 22 for best 5 vs. continuity as we slowly get our three guys back.

  8. 8 Andy124 said at 10:58 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Peters
    Tobin
    Molk
    Herremans
    Gardner

  9. 9 Anders said at 11:09 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Seems the most logic now that I see it, that way Gardner is just replaced with Herremans in week 5

  10. 10 Anders said at 11:10 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Johnson in week 5 lol

  11. 11 DanJ3645 said at 3:24 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Also Todd and Molk can build continuity.

  12. 12 bdbd20 said at 7:40 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    This is most likely. It’s apparent that they really like Tobin, enough to risk losing Mathis via trade. I would think they want Todd next to Molk to help with the blitzes. Gardner has shown to be decent. He just has to be good for one week until Lane comes back.

  13. 13 GEAGLE said at 9:10 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Co-sign this

  14. 14 Flyin said at 11:10 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Does it seem like the injury bug across the league is higher than normal so far this year? Or was I just blinded by the health of the Eagles last year?

  15. 15 Media Mike said at 5:07 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Johnson (suspended)
    Barbre
    Mathis
    Tobin
    Kelce

    The injury bug has disproportionately hit our O-line this year.

    Time for some other teams to lose all of their guys.

  16. 16 Andy124 said at 9:47 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    And our ILB

  17. 17 GEAGLE said at 9:17 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Everyone is getting injured this year..
    ..
    Friggin steelers lost their last two first round picks in one game lol, Jarvis jones and Shazier. Hurtin so bad at LB that they had to sign James Harrison who just retired as a Steeler a week or so ago

    Deangelo hall done for the season..

    Heck, we are about to face the Niners with half of it’s front 7 injured
    ….

  18. 18 Sean said at 11:12 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    With this line, Chip is going to have to make some adjustments to the ground game. IZR is simply not working right now with the backups in

  19. 19 Anders said at 11:27 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Teams are overselling to stop it right now. Receivers are wide open between the LBs and the safeties. If Foles keep ripping it, teams will stop playing cover 3 and sell out to stop the run.

  20. 20 anon said at 11:35 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    not the first time we’ve had heavy boxes, they were heavy all last year. no way the best rb in the league is getting 2yds a carry if the starting line is in. think that’s what the point is.

  21. 21 Anders said at 11:35 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    yea 100% trough, but I think a week to practice will help

  22. 22 anon said at 11:50 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    yeah hopefully they can get communication / continuity. the starting 5 had it like clockwork.

  23. 23 Sean said at 12:55 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The other part of the problem is that teams (especially Washington) have started to disregard Foles on the keeper. The IZR doesn’t always have the keep as an option, but defenses at least having to account for it is an advantage for the offense. Right now, teams are more than happy to zero in on McCoy and take their chances with Foles

  24. 24 shah8 said at 12:50 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    We’d just lurrrrrve to hit that left shoulder agin. So go ahead, get that first down, but can you get down before getting smacked?

  25. 25 Henly125 said at 11:22 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Ive been impressed with the Job Stoutland has done. For some reason, I’m really interested in seeing Molk at center. He should be a nice bandaid/developing player until Kelce comes back.

  26. 26 anon said at 11:33 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    i hate we let greg salas go.

  27. 27 Anders said at 11:35 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    He was okay with us, nothing great. Got picked up from our PS

  28. 28 James said at 11:40 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Why not Tobin at RT? He was mostly at LG in camp however, that was because he was behind Babre and L. Johnson. I would guess he is the 6th best lineman we have. His athleticism should make up for Gardner and Herremans.

    I would go with :

    LT Peters
    LG Kelly
    C Molk
    RG Herremans
    RT Tobin

    This seems to be the best talent with mix of young and experience. Adter the SF game we push Tobin back to LG adn plug Johnson in at RT, where we would need to ride out this line til about week 8-10:

    LT Peters
    LG Tobin
    C Molk
    RG Herremans
    RT Johnson

  29. 29 D3FB said at 11:50 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Tobin has questionable foot speed. I would feel much better if his first start came on the inside, which would be a little easier for him. Plus I would rather have the wily vet Herremans face off against a decent OLB in Ahmad Brooks.

  30. 30 Anders said at 11:55 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Also Tobin’s future really seems to be guard, so rather play him there. Either put Herremans at RT or give Gardner help with Celek or Casey

  31. 31 D3FB said at 11:57 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Exactly. I’d rather put Kelly back at RG where he was all summer, bring Tobin in at LG, bump Todd to RT, and then when Lane comes back either next week or the week after (depending on rust and conditioning) move Todd back to RG and go with Tobin or Kelly at LG depending on how Tobin looks.

  32. 32 Anders said at 12:02 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Im really back and forth between moving Herremans to RT or not. He is much better at RG than RT, but might still be an upgrade overall (RT is more important that RG)

  33. 33 James said at 12:46 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yes, do not trust Herremans at RT, especially for only one game. If they dont put Tobin at RT for SF then go with Gardner for one more week because of continuity.

  34. 34 Anders said at 3:52 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Herremans is better RT than Gardner

  35. 35 bill said at 8:56 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Winston Justice might be a better RT than Gardner. I usually don’t go out of my way to hate on a player, but Gardner’s really pushing me to the limit. He was truly awful on Sunday.

  36. 36 James said at 12:43 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I dont see his foot speed being worse than Gardner’s at least the rumblings from what was coming from camp. I would prefer Herremans to stay at RG because you potentially downgrade 2 positions rather than 1

  37. 37 BobSmith77 said at 11:50 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    Everyone is focused on the offensive line’s injury issues but this defense is getting almost no pressure, routinely lite up, and has almost no injuries (2 injuries right now and only 1 starter).

    Back to being the case like it was early last year where this team has to score 28+ pts to have a good chance to win over the next few weeks?

  38. 38 TommyLawlor said at 11:51 PM on September 22nd, 2014:

    We’ll talk about the D plenty.

    OL is timely topic due to Kelce news.

  39. 39 BobSmith77 said at 12:21 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I have heard a few reports about the length of Kelce being out to 2 months to ‘unknown.’

    If he is having surgery right away, it must be pretty serious. Any ideas Tommy on how OL (especially ones who are noted for their movement/agility) have responded to surgery for sports hernia surgeries?

  40. 40 Media Mike said at 5:09 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Sports hernia should be 5 or 6 weeks. I’m demanding 5 or I’m calling into question the skill of the doctor or the rehab program for Kelce.

  41. 41 Michael Winter Cho said at 10:53 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah, because every injury and human being is the same. Actually, Kelce is being a whuss for getting surgery–didn’t Donnie play on a sports hernia a whole season?

  42. 42 Media Mike said at 5:54 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t care about every human being. I see six weeks, so the longest I find acceptable is 6 weeks. If my neighbor goes to the car dealership and gets a car for $25,000, I’m getting that car for the same price the next day or I’m not doing the sale.

    6 weeks!

  43. 43 Media Mike said at 5:10 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Why our pass rush sucks would be an excellent post by itself. This o-line shuffle one was too important to mix up with other stuff.

    I like the discussion of possible combos.

  44. 44 bubqr said at 12:01 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Agreed – The lack of pressure vs 2 of the worst OL in the league (JAX/IND) and WAS, coupled with the fact that our best pass rusher(Cole) is quite old and our recent first rounder is clearly at this point “a project” (to put it nicely), is more worrying that OL issues to me as well. Kelly’s system + the weapons we have on offense make me believe that we’ll find ways to score, but I don’t see any way we can make anything happen in the postseason facing top QBs without this improving big time.
    On a related note, despite the critics, I find that 1st half vs JAX apart, Cary Williams for example has played admirably well considering the lack of help from the pass rush.

  45. 45 anon said at 12:13 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    defense is poor at all 3 levels. but unclear to me whether team will care if we keep stacking up wins. Did billy D talk today or is that tomorrow? He always makes me feel good about the D no matter how bad it looks on TV.

  46. 46 BYRON_FRIGGIN_EVANS said at 12:01 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Is there any chance this could result in Mathis and Kelce being in BETTER shape for the stretch run because of this? Obviously they’ll both be limited in how much weight training they can do, but they’ll also be avoiding the physical pounding of 7 or 8 NFL games as well.

  47. 47 Anders said at 2:18 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    No, because the strengt loss will be huge depending on how long they can’t lift

  48. 48 CrackSammich said at 12:04 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Sportscenter is eating Geno alive, and while he made some bad plays, that game certainly reeked of the poor redzone calls and shitty time management that defined the Marty Morhinwig Eagles. What a waste of such a talented defense.

  49. 49 anon said at 12:16 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    agree. can have nick folk be the only one scoring points. funny watching a defense get stops on a consistent basis.

  50. 50 Anders said at 2:17 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That pass defense of the Jets makes the Eagles look great

  51. 51 GEAGLE said at 9:08 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    They drop the entire defense in coverage and still can’t cover anyone

  52. 52 anon said at 9:11 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    but they can scheme sacks

  53. 53 suthrneagle said at 8:37 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    bad officiating (2 plays) gave the win to Chicago

  54. 54 shah8 said at 1:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    It’s still the same issue. You can be talented all you want, but you have to control the crazy bad plays. Geno Smith isn’t as talented as Jay Cutler, who *can* do stupid stuff like jump when passing and throw a proper ball. If Geno can’t stop being a knucklehead, he won’t be able to start for very much longer.

    Although it really does have to be said: Smith is pressing very hard, and trying to make plus plays when they just aren’t there (and doesn’t have the talent to cash, anyways), and his pass catching unit can’t run routes well, at all. Outside of Kerley, nobody is really working themselves open. Nick Foles would have looked terrible too, I think. Fewer stupid decisions, and no catastrophic decisions, but he probably would have taken bigger sacks, and moved the ball not at all.

    Another issue is that Marty Morninweg likes these really complex plays, but the overall ability of the offense to execute them properly is much like the 2012 Eagles, with the pick-6 play exhibiting all of the failure, from line play to Smith not realizing it’s a busted play and throwing it away.

  55. 55 Mitchell said at 12:04 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I can see Kyle Fuller being a top 3 corner for the next 5-7 years….. Some of that has to do with Peanuts tutelage but still the kid is going off.

  56. 56 D3FB said at 12:09 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

  57. 57 Mitchell said at 12:12 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Thoughts?

  58. 58 Mitchell said at 12:15 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Of course Gilbert will be a top 5.

  59. 59 D3FB said at 12:32 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Come on now, you know all I have to say to you is

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNrc0VzzmKE

  60. 60 Insomniac said at 2:22 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Kelvin Benjamin > Jordan Matthews.

  61. 61 Mitchell said at 8:30 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Benjamin is the only “big play” Cam has to throw to. Matthews should up when we needed him most.

  62. 62 anon said at 8:42 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    yeah kb is like 6’7

  63. 63 Mitchell said at 12:41 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Meanwhile our pass rush….

  64. 64 Flyin said at 12:55 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    As most of you know by now, Chip Kelly gave the “next question” response when asked about Peter’s role in the fight during his PC, however, on the WIP morning show he had this response before giving the “next question” when further questioned…

    “I thought he was channeling his inner Craig Berube.” – another gem by the coach.

  65. 65 BrettConnolly said at 2:16 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t mind reuniting Herremans at Left Guard with JP like old times. Then I’d be fine with Molk, Kelly, Gardner. But I also kind of like the idea of Kelly at LG as well. He is a monster on the second level, but the key is getting him there.

  66. 66 BrettConnolly said at 2:18 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Also, side question, is that Burton at the 0:44 mark of the Philadelphiaeagles.com video, “We’re from Philadelphia and we Fight?” http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Were_From_Philadelphia_and_We_Fight/8b304eb2-4433-4b01-8891-38852f24240d

  67. 67 iceberg584 said at 2:59 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Molk, I believe.

  68. 68 D3FB said at 2:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    David Molk.

  69. 69 Guest said at 10:19 PM on September 24th, 2014:

    Based on the recent Eagles 360 video with Bo Wulf, it looks like it was Burton which was my original guess, but still think I could be wrong.

  70. 70 Richaud Jeaffreson said at 3:27 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Remembering back to the 2012 season, I think Kelly looked much better at RT than at G. Peters, Tobin, Molk Todd, Kelly or Peters, Smith, Molk, Todd, Kelly makes sense to me. Gardner is clearly the weak link on the line. I am way more worried by the RT spot than I am the C spot right now. Thank goodness we get Johnson back soon.

  71. 71 anon said at 8:42 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    c spot calls protection. way more responsibility.

  72. 72 bill said at 8:49 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    True, but dear [deity of your choice,] Gardner was atrocious in pass pro on Sunday. He’s going to get Foles killed if he can’t figure something out. He’s making that Winston Justice game look like an exemplar of professional pass protection.

  73. 73 anon said at 8:54 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    yeah how good is your backup’s backup? Sucks we’re in such a crappy position. I hope they are scouring b/c we’re losing like 2 guys a week.

  74. 74 Avery Greene said at 9:22 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    **knock on wood** we can’t keep getting injured on the o-line like this. We’ve lost 2 starters, 2 backups, and missing one starter for 4 games. It has to even out the other way at some point.

  75. 75 Andy124 said at 9:51 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    But would Kelly be an upgrade at RT to Gardner? Personally, I want to keep as much continuity as I can.

  76. 76 bill said at 10:26 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Not going to argue who goes where – I’m going to “trust in Chip” (& Stoutland); just noting that Gardner has been flat out awful and is really limiting what they can do on offense. I wasn’t even really arguing that C is more difficult to replace overall. Just that, after watching and re-watching that game, Gardner really stuck out like a sore thumb. If Foles hadn’t stepped up in a big way, Gardner would have replaced Winston Justice in the history of pathetic Eagle’s performances.

  77. 77 Andy124 said at 10:46 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Oh, context, I was just thinking of that as an alternative to my initial proposal. On phone, so haven’t really absorbed any larger conversation involving C or anything else.

  78. 78 Anders said at 4:15 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Just noticed, Foles leads the NFL in passing yards and is one his way towards 5200 passing yards.

  79. 79 anon said at 8:41 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    offense puts up stupid yards

  80. 80 GEAGLE said at 9:13 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Mcnabb is going to be such a FOles hater

  81. 81 Anders said at 11:21 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Why? Because what he said back then was true? Foles hadnt showed he was a franchise QB yet because he had only started 17 games.

  82. 82 gherbox said at 11:23 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    McNabb appears to be a very insecure man in general.

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 1:16 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t even think that’s in question

  84. 84 jpate said at 12:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    No, if he just said said he doesn’t know that’s fine but he went with “i don’t know but if i had to choose, I’d say no”. After going 27-2 and leading NFL in QBR rating should the meter be leaning towards yes or no? That’s why he comes off as a hater.

  85. 85 GEAGLE said at 1:15 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah that’s it… It’s not like Mcnabb hasn’t shown to be a hating petulant passive aggressive brat in the past. Silly me, my mistake lol he only chased TO away when he was too successful LOL

  86. 86 Avery Greene said at 9:19 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    And doing it behind a battered offensive line. Think what happens when we start to get healthy along the line.

  87. 87 Michael Winter Cho said at 10:55 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Probably we’ll start running and he won’t have to throw so much.

  88. 88 Anders said at 11:22 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Andy Reid would be proud of a 65/35 split

  89. 89 bsuperfi said at 11:35 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Hopefully Foles lasts that long. He was amazingly tough and effective on Sunday but I don’t know any qb that can stand that kind of beating for long. It adds up and one of those hits could knock out Foles by itself.

    I’m counting on Foles missing a few games while the line is in disarray. It’s a good thing Sanchez looks like he can hold down the fort. I’m hoping the team gets it’s best players back right in time for the playoff push.

  90. 90 Anders said at 11:37 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cULz2SdcxfE

    Foles can take a hit.

  91. 91 Nicodemus_09 said at 4:33 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Just read Chris Baker’s classy comments on his Foles cheap shot. “If I could, I’d do it again” I also enjoy long walks on the beach, stealing kids lunch money, kicking puppies, teasing the elderly & when time affords, burning ants with my magnifying glass….my name is Chris Baker. I’m a Washington Redskin & a P.O.S.

  92. 92 Avery Greene said at 8:44 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Steven A Smith said the same thing. But he’s a POS too.

  93. 93 GEAGLE said at 9:06 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Sign incognito just for the next redskin game 😉

  94. 94 Avery Greene said at 9:16 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I blame this all on Lane Johnson. I hope he’s ready to play against the Rams.

  95. 95 GEAGLE said at 9:19 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’m sure Bane Johnson will provide a big boost…
    ..
    We are going to need Lane and Todd’s chemistry to get our run game going to that side

  96. 96 Avery Greene said at 9:21 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That will help tremendously. Then we can limp along for 5 weeks before we get Kelce back (assuming everything goes well with the surgery and recovery).

  97. 97 GEAGLE said at 9:25 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Silver lining,.. Good chance we can count on having Kelce and Mathis back for the playoffs. Hopefully they get back in just enough time to have a few weeks to get in game shape, but not many opportunities to get injured so we can count on having them in the playoffs,,
    ,,.
    Right now, I’m circling their target return date for the Seahawks game first week of December… That would be huge to get one or both back for that gone game..

  98. 98 Media Mike said at 5:12 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’d like to have the line combo on Sunday that will be most likely to stay the same for the weeks as Johnson is back in a week, Kelce in 5, and Mathis in another 6 or 7.

  99. 99 Anders said at 7:32 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That would be peters, Tobin, molk, herremans, Gardner

  100. 100 GEAGLE said at 9:06 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yup…that’s what I prefer, and next week Lane steps in for Gardner

  101. 101 GermanEagle said at 7:47 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    In 2008, Curtis only played 9 games in the season due to injury. He had surgery on August 21, 2008 to repair a sports hernia and was inactive for the first six games of the season.

    In other words: 7 weeks.

    Which I find quite a lot to be honest. My dad used to be a professional soccer player and his sports hernia’s recovery time was a lot shorter.

  102. 102 bill said at 8:42 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I think they keep getting better at the surgery, too. Twenty years ago, they were considered career altering injuries. IIRC, Flyer Mikael Renberg had a sports hernia and never was close to the same player afterwards. More recently, it seems that they are quicker, fuller recoveries.
    At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Fingers crossed, because Kelce is a special talent who is really fun to watch.

  103. 103 GEAGLE said at 9:00 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’d try to leave Herremans at RG if at all possible. Dude finally starting to get used to playing OG on that side, Lane is a week away from holding down the RT spot, I would try to just leave Todd at RG, so Lane can join him for some continuity next week… The Left side used to be the best left side of an OL in all of Football, with Mathis down, we still have dominant JP on the left side, but we need Lane and Todd to really step up and open some holes running to that side…

    My understanding is the coaches see some Longterm possible starting potential in Tobin… Hopefully we get lucky and he can step in and surprise us with his play..playing next to peters should help him along.

  104. 104 Avery Greene said at 9:18 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Surprisingly missing as many o-linemen as we are – they are still playing pretty well. Not many teams would be able to score points with a battered oline like we have.

  105. 105 GEAGLE said at 9:23 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    We scored a game winning drive against the skins, with not a single starting OL in place (Herremans was at RT by the end of the game)… That’s INSANE!!

    We talk about how sometimes Chip knows when NOT to make adjustments at half time, when we just need to execute better….but this past game, No DOUBT Chip had to make adjustments to attack them with a mess of an OL

    For Chip and FOles to adjust and win with such a mess on the line was just amazing…

    Last time I saw something like that happen, Andy Reid was coach, Vick was QB…and we just imploded for a 4-12 season… For these coaches to keep sticking lineman in spots they barely even practiced at, and continue being the only team to score 30 in every game is amazing…

  106. 106 Avery Greene said at 9:26 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yup. If we pull this win on Sunday (very doable) then I really think the rest of this season will just fall into place a lot easier with LJ coming back and the line stabilizing over a few weeks. I worry about AZ a bit since we travel to them and the SB champs. Outside of that maybe a letdown game. If we win Sunday this team will have 13 wins.

  107. 107 GEAGLE said at 9:27 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah I expect to beat all the best teams and lose a few bullshit trap games… For example, I’m more worried about petdowns vs. Rams, titans, texans than I am about facing the Niners or Seahawks

    We are going to win sunday. I know it

  108. 108 Avery Greene said at 9:30 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t think they have more than 2 letdowns this year. This past week was the Redskins best chance to beat us. Short week, battered offensive line, coming off an emotional win against a playoff team – and we still came out on top. Under previous regimes they Eagles would have lost that game. When Kendricks gets back our D will improve dramatically and we start to roll again.

  109. 109 GEAGLE said at 9:37 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Doubt we lose more than 4 games this year..

    We find ways to win. This is a very tough team that sticks together. Going to take a lot to beat us

  110. 110 GEAGLE said at 9:04 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Whatever combo we decide to go with, I just hope we can stop getting injured and play with the line combination that we practice with this week, when we face San Fran..
    ..
    Let me be Blunt, we won’t be able to run the ball, unless the lineman who play get a week of continuity with the guy that’s going to be next to him in the Niners game..
    ..
    Our run game is based on team work which requires continuity on the line, initially we have to double team a defensive lineman, and then one lineman peels off to next level to get the linebacker..that’s how our run game operates…
    Guys aren’t going to be able to execute this run scheme unless they get to practice with the lineman that will be playing next to them in the game..

    So whatever combo we decide to play with. I hope it gets to practice together this week, and remains healthy during the game so we don’t have to switch the line around on game day and make it impossible to run the ball

  111. 111 OregonDucker said at 12:59 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Geagle – I think the 9ers play a 4-3. If so, they are vulnerable to a zone read run game. If memory serves, and its failing fast, the skins and colts played a 3-4 which by its nature is better against the zone read runs.

    Can you confirm this?

  112. 112 Anders said at 1:00 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Niners play 3-4 2 gap like us on base downs or like Stanford (their DC was Harbaughs DC at Stanford)

  113. 113 OregonDucker said at 1:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Thanks Anders. I guess my memory fails again.

  114. 114 Anders said at 1:05 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Tough to remember what scheme every team runs

  115. 115 bill said at 1:31 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    It’s an open question, but I’ve seen a lot more of the 4-3 under look since the Super Bowl:

    http://www.ninersnation.com/2013/5/2/4294242/football-university-49ers-defensive-fronts-vic-fangio-3-4-nickel-4-3-under

    “It should also be noted that I did see the 49ers in a traditional 3-4 alignment as recently as the Super Bowl.

    ” They were even playing some under in their SB season, apparently, as I don’t remember paying too much attention to that back then.
    From the comments to the article, they ran sub packages 60% of the time in 2012. I imagine that hasn’t changed that much. I think it’s fair to say that they are a multiple front defense. Most likely see a 2-gap base scheme against the Eagles, since they’ll want to force Foles to beat them, rather than let Shady have a big game.

  116. 116 GEAGLE said at 1:06 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    3-4… Think Aldon smith top OLB in the game

  117. 117 Anders said at 1:14 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I still think Von Miller is the best OLB in the game, but Smith is second.

  118. 118 GEAGLE said at 1:31 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Fair. I Throw Justin Houston up there too

  119. 119 GEAGLE said at 9:34 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    In 3 games the Niners have been out scored in second half 52-3
    ..
    Eagles out score opponents 74-24 in second half
    ….
    We score 30 points by rolling out of bed in the morning… The Niners simply can’t score enough to beat us.

    That front 7 is banged up, they only have 4 sacks in 3 games, Justin smith has 3 of 4… Jason Peters will take care of him..

    No tricks this week.. They will line up and try to run down the ball down our throat. My guess is we shut down their run like we did to Alfred Morris. If we are going to struggle to get pressure on kAp, we might as well just mush rush him, keep him in the pocket, get our hands up in his throwing lanes and for him to put up more points with his arm than Nick FOles puts up…
    .,,
    Doubt he can outduel the Rainmaker
    .

  120. 120 Mitchell said at 1:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    A.K.A. Nicky Flash

  121. 121 GEAGLE said at 2:06 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’m ready to replace the Rocky balboa statue

  122. 122 GEAGLE said at 9:35 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Kendricks played for Cal.. I’m sure it means a lot to him to play in San Fransisco, which means he should probably try everything to get back on the field this week…I don’t expect to have im on Sunday, but it would be a huge boost

  123. 123 RobNE said at 11:03 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    what’s his status? how about wolff?

  124. 124 RogerPodacter said at 11:11 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    last i heard, there was a report of a *chance* that Kendricks is out next week. so…. i guess for today that means questionable? lol

  125. 125 Sean Stott said at 12:19 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yea that report was from last week. There’s no solid update on his chances to play.

  126. 126 GEAGLE said at 1:05 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    No positive news pointing to him playing yet…
    ..
    Who knows with Wolff. Eagles said he was healthy enough to play against skins,Wolff said he wasn’t….don’t like the sound of that situation. I’m sure coaches want Wolff to take Nates job! but he hasn’t stepped up yet

  127. 127 GEAGLE said at 9:48 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Polk on the cheap shot to FOles: “smh, that’s the president. We’ll take bullet for the president”
    ..
    Molk called FOles performance/toughness “inspiring”

  128. 128 RobNE said at 9:59 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I haven’t seen them play, what is wrong with the Niners esp 2nd half? This game to me, with being 3-0 and our OL decimated, we are playing with house money. A win would be fantastic but I’m hoping not to be upset with a loss.

  129. 129 anon said at 10:03 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    penalties, inability to catch balls, inability to run the ball, inability to play good defense, penalties

  130. 130 Avery Greene said at 10:03 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    A win is important for the Eagles here. I’m figuring the Cowboys lose to the Saints and a win for either the Skins/Giants doesn’t make that much of a difference. 2 games up in the division while limping along sends a message to the rest of the division. Plus, a win on the road also sends a message to the league. They need this win.

  131. 131 RobNE said at 10:45 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    They do not need this win. Hard to say that about any team in the 4th game esp one that is 3-0.

  132. 132 A Roy said at 10:29 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    My daughter has been debating who’s jersey she wants ever since #20 left. Yesterday, she asked for a Peters jersey for her birthday. #71 did a lot to solidify his place in Philadelphia fans’ hearts on Sunday.

  133. 133 Mac said at 10:58 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    A wise choice.

  134. 134 ICDogg said at 10:58 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    #RaisingHerRight

  135. 135 Anders said at 11:04 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The most baffling thing is, you can get a Barkley jersey but not a Peters in the Eagles online shop

  136. 136 ICDogg said at 11:11 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah, but they’re at the NFL Shop http://www.nflshop.com/Jason_Peters_Philadelphia_Eagles_Jerseys

  137. 137 P_P_K said at 11:49 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    What Jason did was something that will live in Philly sports lore. I hope Foles gets the same recognition. The dude got massacred all afternoon and hung in there, carrying the team to the victory.

  138. 138 ICDogg said at 11:14 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Peters-Smith-Molk-Herremans-Tobin

  139. 139 George said at 11:14 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    that’d be great, with tobin sliding to lg once lane comes back

  140. 140 P_P_K said at 11:47 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t know if I missed the discussion somewhere about bringing Incognito onto the team. The guy was an All-Pro and an ahole, with the operative word being “was.” I’ve got to believe he can still play at an All-Pro level. Bring him in for a sit-down with Chip. Sometimes people change and grow. If he has changed as a person, put him on the field. If nothing else, I’ll bet Foles would appreciate the protection. Mike Vick was Reid’s redemption project, maybe Icognito can be Kelly’s.

  141. 141 Tom33 said at 11:49 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’m hoping Dion Jordan can be Kelly’s redemption project…

  142. 142 P_P_K said at 11:50 AM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That would be great. I doubt Miami will let him go anytime soon. Incognito is currently watching football on tv.

  143. 143 GEAGLE said at 1:03 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Eagles will aquire Dion next offseason..

  144. 144 RobNE said at 1:22 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    why not right now? give the benefit of BG and a pick for Dion who can’t even play now. If the Dolphins will trade him, why not trade him while suspended?

  145. 145 GEAGLE said at 1:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Think they will want to see if he can pay some dividends after all they invested. Last chance to see if he can be valuable.. Kid added a shit ton of muscle this offseason, I’m sure they want to see it in action first before they trade him away……

    Plus I think AQUIRING Dion now would hurt us.. Pass rush is a major problem. I’d be afraid to trade away BG and curry at this point… I mean, if they are hell beant on trading him now, you have to do the trade…but I wouldn’t go pressing to make the trade before the offseason

  146. 146 GEAGLE said at 1:29 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Be huge if we can trade him for Curry and not give up any draft picks…

    That way, we don’t have to draft another OLB, and we can use our first rounder to replace Curry with Oregons Arik Armstead…trade up from round two to secure Kendricks lil brother..

    That means we will have added elite 3-4 DE talent in Armstead, addressed ILB depth with another Kendrick brother, and have added Dion at OLB…

    That would give us a pretty sick front 7 in place, and we would still have our 3rd round pick, 4th, 5th and the pick from Bryce to add WR, RB, safety, CB

  147. 147 P_P_K said at 3:46 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Count me in favor. The kid has a load of skills and I think would benefit from a coach like Chip who creates a lockeroom of responsibility.

  148. 148 Sean Stott said at 12:17 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Who? That backup DE on a Dolphins defense… who’s suspended?

  149. 149 Anders said at 12:02 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Incognito was never any good at least the last few years

  150. 150 P_P_K said at 12:52 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I can’t believe I’ve gotten myself into a world where I am speaking on behalf of Incognito.
    Anyway, he played good ball in 2011 and 2012.

  151. 151 GEAGLE said at 1:53 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah I been joking about the dude, but he isn’t even close to athletic enough to play in this offense….imagine that fat turd being in shape enough to play at our tempo?

  152. 152 anon said at 12:07 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Djax was a perennial pro-bowler and an a-hole…

  153. 153 P_P_K said at 12:49 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    You could even argue the order of prominence.
    But, if all your wrs went down hurt, and Peanut told your coach, “I’m a different guy now,” would you put him on the field? I’m not saying there’s a right answer, just pondering the question as it relates to our O line.

  154. 154 anon said at 12:55 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Is Pnut djax? Yes. I don’t think he caused as much lockerroom or on the field damage as djax. Incognito — i find it hard to put that guy on the line with backups knowing CK and knowing Incognito.

  155. 155 D3FB said at 1:51 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    1. Incognito has never been an ALL-Pro, he went to the 2013 pro bowl as an alternate.
    2. Incognito has always been an asshole. He got kicked out of Nebraska, despite being an All-American, transferred to Oregon, and Belotti wouldn’t let him on the team because he hadn’t gotten his shit together.
    3. Once he got to the NFL, despite the fact he had been in a ton of trouble in college Incognito seemed to find a way to get in trouble on the field or off almost every season.
    4. This is the most important point, HE’S NOT A SCHEME FIT!!! Incognito is a classic “phone booth” player, he’s no where near athletic enough to fit into our zone blocking scheme.
    5. In conclusion, he isn’t a redemption case, this isn’t strike two or strike three, this is like strike 24. He’s not that talented, he doesn’t fit what we do, why in the hell would the Eagles bring him in?

  156. 156 GEAGLE said at 1:55 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Imagine that turd being in shape enough to play at our tempo? At the age of 22, he still wasn’t athletic enough to play in this offense

  157. 157 mksp said at 3:23 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    LOL, you wanted to bring him on the other thread. Alright guy.

  158. 158 GEAGLE said at 4:06 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    LOL what a poor excuse for a man groupie cocksucker you consistently are lol… I think saying I want to sign him on.y for division games to rip opponents testicles off in a scrum is an understood joke… Now wipe your mouth and brush your teeth before you breath on someone.. You and your inferiority complex. Not enough attention? Lol happy? Feeling better now?

    I don’t read your post and I damn sure don’t respond like a cunt underneath yours…so fuck off you pathetic flea..get attention on your own merits not swinging from my nuts. Thanks

  159. 159 mksp said at 4:34 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    🙂

  160. 160 GEAGLE said at 4:39 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Muah!! My bitch swallows!! ;$

  161. 161 mksp said at 5:07 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Just smiling at how close you are to finally getting banned. And picturing you crying in your bedroom in your parent’s house with a Vinny Curry jersey on surrounded by way too much Eagles regalia for a grown man.

    I know it’s mean. I’m not a mean person by nature. If you have a single talent, its annoying me enough in these comments to actually be mean.

  162. 162 RogerPodacter said at 3:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    i thought the idea was to bring him in strictly to be a ‘goon’ for the next Washington game.
    thats about the only way i’d be OK with it… even then… just no.

  163. 163 D3FB said at 3:37 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That wouldn’t make sense for any parties involved. I think we have seen paying players to intentionally intend to injure their opponents doesn’t end well. Plus if Richie would be willing to accept that role, and his agent let him, both should be permanently barred for life from the league.

  164. 164 mksp said at 3:22 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Exactly, can’t figure out why some keep bringing him up.

  165. 165 P_P_K said at 3:47 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Good stuff, especially #4.

  166. 166 Nailed it! said at 12:28 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    At practice, First team OL from left to right: Peters, Tobin, Molk, Kelly, Herremans.

    I like this group.

  167. 167 Henly125 said at 12:40 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    As do I. Tobin and Molk have practiced together in the same unit during the summer. There will be some chemistry on the interior of the offensive line.

  168. 168 CrackSammich said at 2:13 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Isn’t the Tobin-Molk-Kelly combo how they practiced it in preseason? If that’s the case, then it’s probably the best combo they’ve got.

  169. 169 GEAGLE said at 2:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yes because Lane and Gardner were the second team tackles

  170. 170 RobNE said at 12:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    when Kelce pushes the guy at the 30 on the Maclin play, is it a penalty from the spot of the foul or it comes all the way back? I know stupid question. If all the way back, why that doesn’t make sense?

  171. 171 ACViking said at 12:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Spot foul.

  172. 172 RobNE said at 1:57 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    thanks

  173. 173 ACViking said at 12:54 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Re: Foles the tough guy

    Historical aside . . . .

    Foles’s media reputation is somewhere between “The Ice Man Cometh” and “The Quiet Man.”

    Way back in the day, the Colts were led by John Unitas — who cut the mold
    for the West Pennsylvania Coal Country QBs who followed. The soft-spoken Joe Montana’s from the same neighborhood.

    Unitas led the NFL into the modern TV era by leading the Colts to their 1957 OT championship over the Giants.

    That’s a time in America when Westerns dominated on television.

    And Unitas carried himself like those classic taciturn TV good-guys in the stetson.

    He wasn’t a screamer on the field, in the huddle, at practice, or in the locker room. He led by example — putting in countless hours after practice working with his WRs, breaking down film, preparing for the opposition. Unitas — like so many from his era — played through terrific injuries.

    And Unitas not only invented the 2-minute drill. He’s still reputed by some (those old enough to have seen him, for sure) as the best 4th-quarter QB in NFL history.

    Unitas was great, and a great leader, because he was a winner.

    So back to Foles.

    Who’s more taciturn than this kid? Who works harder?

    Who’s shown himself to be, so far, a very darn good 4th quarter QB?

    Foles is a throwback. And that’s a good thing.

  174. 174 GEAGLE said at 1:21 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    FOles did some really cool stuff Sunday. Small stuff, but things that go a long way with leadership like:
    ..
    1) cool to see him run all the way to the ENDZONE to pick up Jordan Mathews TD ball and give it to the kid..
    ..
    2) runs onto the field to congratulate Dorenbos and the kicker after a FG

  175. 175 ACViking said at 1:34 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Exactly.

    Don’t have to yell, scream, and preen to be the team’s leader.

    Dragging your ass off the ground, demanding that your team kick some ass, and then delivering . . . that’s leadership.

    And what Foles did all looked so mild-mannered to the camera.

  176. 176 GEAGLE said at 1:38 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    What’s funny is the few times he doesn’t throw for 3TDs 300yards and no INTs, we kill the kid, and start with the is he really a franchise QB questions…
    .,.
    When all the other young ANNOINTED franchise QBs like cam, Kap, Luck, RG3… A BAD game for these dudes is like 190yarda 3 INTs and a fumble… Yet they are all accepted as ANNOINTED franchise QBs… FOles NEVER unravels and has the BAD games that other QBs have…. Even Brady, Brees can have some really unravelling moments…

    I seen FOles look indecisive, happy feet, miss open throws, but he NEVER has the BAD 3INT, 1 fumble stinkers that all the other young franchise QBs have at times…

  177. 177 ACViking said at 1:41 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Foles’s been exceptional in regard to TOs since 2012.

    In another season or so, it’s gonna be Foles and Wilson at the top of the heap.

    SIDE NOTE:

    GE:

    Watching McCoy on Sunday after the head-shot, he seemed a twitch off. Reminded me of Foloes in the first Cowboys game last year.

    Both were not concussed. But both were not playing in their heads at warp speed.

    Thoughts?

  178. 178 GEAGLE said at 1:49 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Absolutely!!! I was surprised Shady came back in the game…

    But even a healthy shady wouldn’t have done much playing behind OLineman that hadn’t even practiced next to each other…run scheme requires two OL to double team a DL, then one peels off and gets to the linebackers.. You need continuity practicing with the man next to you, to really execute this run scheme, so when you start moving Herremans to tackle and he is playing next to someone he hasn’t practiced much with, the run game is going to fail, ESpecially when the skins couldn’t possibly crowd the box any more than they did.

    FOles throwing down field to our WR doing a ton of damage should force the Niners to backup off the LOS when they play us…but if our OL doesn’t have enough continuity to execute the run scheme, we wil
    Have to switch to a west cost offense type of attack and have short throws to shady and Sproles replace the run game..
    ..
    I do think FOles made enough plays down field to backup the Niners and give shady some room to get off..and maybe a week of practice can get this line blocking the run well enough..but if we have another injury during the game, and a back up OL comes in the game, it’s going to kill our run blocking…

  179. 179 mtn_green said at 2:41 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The fumble out of bounds was after, miss communication on a screen (or Foles was surrounded and made bad throw).

    For McCoy under 100 yards is ‘off’.

    Love that Kelly was willing to pound the rock. He realizes the pass game depends on it.

  180. 180 BobSmith77 said at 2:08 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Very good point and I always thought Foles had a persona similar to Montana in terms of being low-key. There is a huge reason why Montana has flopped in a few TV gigs as a broadcaster and didn’t make it as a big public speaker. Just not his personality type.

  181. 181 xeynon said at 1:34 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    With apologies to ACViking for stealing his shtick, let’s take a look at a historical precedent for an Eagles team dealing with OL injuries.

    In 2003 the Eagles went to Miami for a Monday night game in December. At the time the Dolphins had one of the league’s best defenses, led by a truly dangerous pass rusher in an in-his-prime Jason Taylor, and due to injuries the Eagles were starting undrafted free agent backups Artis Hicks and Alonzo Ephraim on the left side of the offensive line in place of Pro Bowl-caliber starters Tra Thomas and Jermane Mayberry (with Hicks, listed on the roster as a guard, playing LT against Taylor). A sound game plan and sharp execution from Donovan McNabb helped the Eagles neutralize Taylor and put up 400+ yards and 34 points en route to a key late season victory. Eventually the line got healthy and the Eagles made it all the way to the NFC championship game before injuries to Brian Westbrook and McNabb sank them.

    The lesson? Smart coaching and high-level play from the rest of the offense can help cover offensive line problems, at least temporarily. Stoutland doesn’t need to replace Kelce and Mathis, he just needs Molk, Kelly, Smith, etc. to hold the fort until the starting unit can reassemble. Johnson, Mathis, and Kelce should all be back for the stretch run.

  182. 182 ACViking said at 1:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    no apologies necessary.

    great stuff.

  183. 183 GEAGLE said at 1:43 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    When the Niners watch the tape of the skins game they will see the skins playing their safeties in the box, committed to not let shady get off and force Nick to beat us…well when they watch the tape they will see Nick willing to throw down field all game and WRs that did a lot of damage….so I’m sure watching the skins tape they will respect our down field passing and not crowd the box as much as the skins did…
    Which should create room for shady to get off..

    But if we don’t have the continuity for the Emergency OL to execute this run scheme well enough, we will have to switch to a west coast offense type of attack, and instead of handing the ball off to shady and Sproles, we will have to throw them short passes to get them involved in the game…

  184. 184 BobSmith77 said at 1:52 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    49ers have scored just 3 points in 2nd half pts all year. Eagles have scored 74 pts in the 2nd half.

    East Coast teams average under their point total when going out to the West Coast.

    Going to be fascinated to see if the Eagles can likely overcome yet another deficit early and roar back in the 2nd half.

  185. 185 GEAGLE said at 1:54 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    4-0!!! It’s coming daddy

  186. 186 BobSmith77 said at 1:55 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Favorite stats this week:

    – Since becoming the Eagles’ starter under Chip Kelly, Nick Foles has thrown 32 touchdown passes and four interceptions.

    – In three games, the Eagles have fallen behind by combined 13-54, then outscored opponents by a combined 88-24.

    More and more after some of the reactions including McCoy’s weekly interview last night, I do think there is some merit to Williams’ comments this week about the team feeling fatigued early in games. Wouldn’t surprise if they were a bit tired after a late road game on Mon and an early start on Sun.

  187. 187 GEAGLE said at 1:56 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Lucky for our secondary, the Niners WRs are MEDIOCRE!!!! If Vernon Davis misses this game it be huge for us

  188. 188 Avery Greene said at 2:32 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    He was inactive for the game. Maybe after Allen’s bad showing on Sunday they will get Wolff more reps and more time on the field.

  189. 189 GEAGLE said at 2:35 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Wolff took himself out of the game.. Coaches/trainers said he was healthy enough to play, he said he wasn’t and didn’t dress…. This is starting to look like a big problem… What a waste of elite athleticism and safety potential . Coaches wanted him to be active..he is the one who said he couldn’t dress

  190. 190 RobNE said at 3:00 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    this is the same problem from last year

  191. 191 GEAGLE said at 3:35 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Sounds like it

  192. 192 RobNE said at 3:49 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    wasn’t his neighbor on here? where is that guy, he needs to go knock on Wolff’s door and have a heart to heart with the guy.

  193. 193 GEAGLE said at 4:12 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    True that…sucks not to remember the name of the poster…but wtf the kids family are diehard eagles fans. His uncle should sit his ass down and understand how it works in the BIRDGANG… I defended him for not taking the field last year but this discrepancy between trainers opinions and his opinions can’t continue

  194. 194 Henly125 said at 4:32 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Wolff will be active this week. He was probably just waiting on Nate to play bad lol

  195. 195 anon said at 2:40 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    V. Davis is the most important skill player on that team right now for the red zone.

  196. 196 GEAGLE said at 2:42 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Absolutely!!! Big difference facing that offense without him.

    And hey, every defense is weak at something. If we have to be weak at something on defense, hopefully Stevie Johnson is who we leave open 😉

  197. 197 RobNE said at 2:59 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    if we go up by a lot, we should leave him uncovered

  198. 198 jay said at 3:31 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    smith II is gonna have some work cut out for him

  199. 199 eagleyankfan said at 4:42 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    will we get the good or bad crabtree? Will Nate run towards or away from him?

  200. 200 GEAGLE said at 5:03 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Mediocre lol Cary apologized for what he said to the media, and be apologized to Nate for yelling at him lol.says he guesses he couldn’t get over it because it was Desean who scored?? Love how nutty Cary is. Watch him rebound well against mediocre Crabtree,
    .
    Word is Vernon’s limp is gone and he prob will play this week, which sucks, but whatever,l, this offense is average at best, defense isn’t great…I like our chances, thinking defense will step up this week.
    ..
    Our defense is capable of shutting down run games when they don’t fear a passing like against the Saints or Colts…we also are good at forcing turnovers, and are playing against a QB who is good at turning the ball over lol.. We can’t possibly catch the Niners defense at a better time then now..even if we struggle running the ball with our line, there will be plays to be made down field against that secondary
    .
    My guess, we step on their throat and send them to 1-3 shocking the world! That 4.5 line is absurd considering they average one second half point per game..

  201. 201 BobSmith77 said at 2:06 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Willing to bet the Eagles health last year on their OL and front 7 on defense was nearly unprecedented in modern NFL history. Big reason why I thought this team would struggle to take a step forward this year was due to the inevitable reversion to the mean of injuries especially to an older OL with 3 starters in their mid-30s.

    One of the dumbest thing that still keeps getting talked about is how Kelly’s physical science and regimen is somehow the elixir that prevents all injuries. There might be some merit to it help players recover faster & have more endurance but I have been pretty dubious on its ability to limit injuries in such a violent and chaotic sport especially from serious injuries over multiple years (4-5 years).

  202. 202 Avery Greene said at 2:38 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I have to agree, I think the sports science plays more into why they are a better 2nd half team – they are better conditioned. It should prevent injuries like groin/hamstring – but you can’t plan for dumb luck (or unluck?). If a 300 lbs guy rolls over your leg/foot/ankle, most likely you’re going to get hurt.

  203. 203 Michael Winter Cho said at 3:05 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Opposing D’s probably sag in the 2nd half because of the different kind and amount of plays they have been subject to, not to some dubious sports shake or coconut water that Chip invented.

  204. 204 Avery Greene said at 3:47 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That doesn’t explain why our D plays better and has energy at the end of the game as well. It has everything to do with conditioning -> which is what I said. Sports science (key word here science) focuses on peak performance and peak recovery rates, etc. It’s why opposing teams sag in the 2nd half, not just the defense.

  205. 205 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:40 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    One might think that with an investment of billions of dollars, a lot of smart people might be working on this problem and not just Chip. I sure doubt whatever marginal benefit the new program brings is actually going to be visible to the naked eye! As always, keep an eye on the stats for regression to the mean. If the Eagles continue to blow teams away in the second half (what the hell’s wrong in the first, though?), it might be true–and then will be rapidly copied. But isn’t interesting that Oregon, a team that runs a similar offense to the Eagles, tends to blow out teams in the 2nd half too? Do their kids also have massively superior diets and training regimes?

  206. 206 Avery Greene said at 6:53 AM on September 24th, 2014:

    Actually yes, that was part of the program he instituted there.

  207. 207 jay said at 3:29 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    i’m no athlete but i have some buddies that train MMA and they swear that even one or two junk-y meals will have a huge effect on their performance. so in a one on one with some guy who had taco tuesday our guy has a slight edge in performance (now multiply that by 53 and it’s a big edge). but you’re correct – flesh will tear no matter how many smoothies you drink.

  208. 208 GEAGLE said at 3:51 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Ike Reese said the other day that Andy’s thing was to always by the players a cheeseburger on Friday lol.. Two days before a game he is feeding them cheeseburgers

  209. 209 RobNE said at 4:26 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    right I thought they had Fast Food Fridays but I wasn’t sure.

  210. 210 GEAGLE said at 4:30 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Tacos on Tues, and Burgers on Fridays…that’s what we know of

  211. 211 RobNE said at 5:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    that’s horrible

  212. 212 GEAGLE said at 2:08 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    TODAY.. The media observed first team OL at practice was:
    ..
    Herremans, Kelly, Molk, Tobin. JP

  213. 213 GermanEagle said at 2:11 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Awesome! I always knew Herremans was the better left Tackle than Jason Peters. …

  214. 214 Avery Greene said at 2:31 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    What really works about this is Molk/Tobin staying at the same position for a few weeks until we get healthy. Next week Herremans moves back inside to G and LJ takes over T.

  215. 215 GEAGLE said at 2:33 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah and if they can all stay healthy and get some continuity, our OL will be fine.,.with Kelce and Mathis coming in to provide a HUGE boost for the playoff run..

  216. 216 anon said at 2:59 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Sucks for the run game.

  217. 217 GEAGLE said at 2:13 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    What was a disciplined Niners team now is the most penalized team in the NFL

  218. 218 BobSmith77 said at 2:15 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Eagles haven’t been very disciplined either so far in the early going. Seems like they have taken their share of foolish penalties (personal fouls, penalties before the snap – off sides, not set at the line, etc)

    One area you would like to see them improve a bit. Holding calls and others are going to happen especially with a make shift line. The other penalties though need to be tightened up a bit.

  219. 219 GEAGLE said at 2:22 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Agreed. I’d like to see an Andy Reid type of gameplan this week.
    ..
    Heavy passing!
    ..
    1) Replace a lot of handoffs to runningbacks with short Westcoast offense type passes to shady and Sproles to get them going, pick up yards and allow us to play with tempo.
    ..
    2) WRs should light these cornerbacks up. Cooper can muscle Culliver, and Maclin has been as a good as anyone so far… looking for Jordan Mathews to abuse Jimmie Ward in the slot

    3) Gotta give Ertz his chances.. I can live with a quiet game from Ertz like the skins, but we still gotta take our shots down field with him. ATleast 4 times a game we should give him an opportunity to come down with a jump ball

    Gerald McCoy missing is a huge loss for them. I like Herremans at tackle for this week! because that means one of the few front 7 players we really have to watch. Justin Smith, will either have to beat Jason peters or Herremans if we wants to make an impact. He has 3 of their only 4 sacks on the season… As of now, Ray McDonald is playing, be awesome if some horrible new detail about his case is revealed causing them to sit him lol

  220. 220 jay said at 3:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    when you said “andy reid type gameplan”:
    use all timeouts immediately
    only rush never
    stick with initial strategy at all costs

  221. 221 RobNE said at 3:31 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    save one timeout for immediately after a tv timeout or right after 1 qtr ends

    don’t run the ball but keep trying play action passes.

  222. 222 jay said at 3:39 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    “we need to get better there”

  223. 223 RogerPodacter said at 4:12 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    1st down: deep pass
    2nd down: run the ball, to make 3rd down a more manageable distance, pick up minimal yardage instead.
    3rd down: screen pass or a slant over the middle for a first down

  224. 224 Crus57 said at 6:53 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The pattern that eventually sounded the death knell for Reid’s tenure:
    1st down: Incomplete pass.
    2nd down: 2yd run.
    3rd down: Incomplete pass.

    From the last days of Westbrook’s reign onwards, that pattern haunted us.

  225. 225 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:37 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    It would be interesting if Reid ever got the keys to a good offense. I loved 5, but he was not an elite QB.

  226. 226 GEAGLE said at 3:49 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Lol no…short passes to RB replacing our run game..

    I’m not calling for the Andy Reid shovel pass

  227. 227 BobSmith77 said at 2:20 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Offense did nothing with Kelce out last week (27 plays, 72 yards). Good test for them this week even against a depleted 49ers defense which has struggled at times this season.

    Eagles still started out +4.5 underdogs this week and you still get the sense nationally that people/betters don’t believe this is an elite-caliber team.

    If they drop 30+ pts on the 49ers this week and beat them more convincingly without having to overcome yet another double-digit deficit, I bet they start to turn some heads nationally including it being reflected in their lines.

  228. 228 Avery Greene said at 2:26 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    They scored a TD and FG after Peters left the game. That was with 1 starter on the oline at a position that wasn’t regularly his. With a week of practice Molk will be better and we get Tobin back.

  229. 229 GEAGLE said at 2:37 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Cowboys are considering benching Claiborne…keep in mind, their backups are trash LOL
    ..
    THATS a BUST for all you crazy eagles fans already ripping kids we drafted 5 months ago

  230. 230 anon said at 2:40 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    didn’t he have a pick last game? I would love to get him for BG. Gotta think they’re just using him wrong. I guess after this year we’ll just get him for free isntead of having to give something up. Wolff for Claiborne?

  231. 231 jay said at 3:21 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    he got abused all game.

  232. 232 GEAGLE said at 5:23 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    50 yard TD he gAve up or something.
    ,,
    I don’t what cowboy trash. The only player from that crap franchise I wouldn’t mind having is the left tackle and the guard they just drafted… I want nothing to do with any other cowboy scumbag

  233. 233 jay said at 3:22 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    all the crazy fans are convinced that we only sign former ducks

  234. 234 holeplug said at 3:24 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Still kinda shocked how much he sucks in the NFL. Guy was a beast at LSU.

  235. 235 daveH said at 2:46 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    gee, anyone have any ideas WHOM SHUD BE CUT ??
    ..
    iom sure the answer is below .. multiple times ..

  236. 236 Maggie said at 4:16 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Maybe the question should be, who is available that would be any kind of upgrade at LB or Safety?

  237. 237 GEAGLE said at 2:53 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Cary stood up and apologized to team mates today… Issue squashed,.

  238. 238 Nailed it! said at 3:40 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Stat of the day, the Eagles have scored 74 2nd half points. Which is more than 21 teams have scored all season.

    Damn.

  239. 239 GEAGLE said at 3:48 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Do you know how many second half points Niners scored? 3… That’s an average of 1 point in the second half per game lol

  240. 240 Nailed it! said at 3:56 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah, I will be in San Fran this weekend to visit my brother who lives out there, his GF got us lower bowl tickets. May not survive but will be the loudest person there.

  241. 241 GEAGLE said at 4:01 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Wow!! What a treat! Enjoy mate

    Have a feeling our defense wins this game for us

  242. 242 Alistair Middlemiss said at 4:58 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I think we are a better team than San Fran at the moment but…. This is a MUST win for the 49ers and Harbaugh. They loose and their season is pretty much shot, the team which has been bubbling for years is going to get out of control and a lot of good coaches and players end up on the street.

    I think their coaching staff will know this and bring out everything and anything they have to get the job done.

    Because of that i think they win, but only just and we will have a shot in the 2nd half if they dont start scoring some points.

  243. 243 GEAGLE said at 5:15 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Exactly why no one will give us a chance to win.
    Everyone will say the Niners won’t fall to 1-3 and talk about how we are traveling cross country with a battered OL…. And that’s exactly why I think we shock the world and they fall to 1-3
    ..
    They lost last week, but they didn’t even attempt to run the ball and it pissed them all off. This week they will try to pound the ball down our throat..and I don’t think our defense has to worry enough about their passing game to give them the space to run against us… The ONLY teams who can run on us are teams who we really fear throwing the ball, who we feel like we have to allocate resources to stopping their passing game, like the saint and Colts…only other team to run on us at all was the Vikings, but that was a bullshit let down ANOMOLY game in the middle of a great two month run..

    I don’t think their passing game is dangerous enough for them to be able to run on us…I think they are going to be in for a big surpise when they commit to the run, try to bully us, and they get NO Where against our Front 7. BIG GAME by Cox, Demeco, the two OLBs, Logan, Thornton!.

    15 games in a row, our defense gets a takeaway…I don’t think Kapernick will be the player to break that streak. My guess is we score on them in the second half and that will pressure kAp into trying to keep up, which will result in that mistake that the defense capitalizes on…BOykins turn to make a monster turnover..they aren’t familiar with how good he is

  244. 244 bsuperfi said at 5:58 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Boykins will get a turnover if Davis finds a way to play his best corner at least half of the game.

    We have some talent issues on defense in key spots, but I think he scheme has been generally solid. Except for Boykin. It’s a serious problem.

  245. 245 bsuperfi said at 5:56 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Have fun dude. If you don’t get crap thrown at you, you’re not doing your job.

  246. 246 anon said at 4:02 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    We can score points. I’m not that impressed anymore. But it’s crazy to think about. Teams have to score on every possession.

  247. 247 GEAGLE said at 4:37 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Stat of the day part Deux:
    ..
    DEFENSE!! Last 15 games the defense has managed a takeaway. Longest active streak

  248. 248 eagleyankfan said at 4:39 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I can’t believe it’s butter — I mean Parkey — 35 points scored – most in franchise history after the 1st 3 games…

  249. 249 GEAGLE said at 4:41 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    We been setting all types of crazy league and franchise records since Chip n FOles arrived

  250. 250 RobNE said at 4:02 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    when will the fines re: Foles hit be levied? how long does it take to watch that and conclude that guy should be suspended.

    Does Roger not know how to get the video?

  251. 251 Maggie said at 4:14 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    It isn’t Roger who reviews videos, either of vicious late hits or really bad officiating.

  252. 252 RobNE said at 4:25 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    it was a joke. ATG got it.

  253. 253 A_T_G said at 4:14 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Well, the Rice footage was sent to him in April but he didn’t see it until September, so…

  254. 254 GEAGLE said at 4:19 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    We were in awe of FOles toughness, will to win in the second half…
    ..
    But in the first half when he was getting time, he was 12/14 150yards 2TDs..
    nice to see him be so sharp when he gets time again…and then the second half wasn’t as smooth sailing in the stat column, but it was legendary toughness..
    ..
    All while getting the ball out fast enough to not take any sacks.,

    What’s REALLY amazing is that typically, when you beat the living shit out of a QB like that, they will ATleast cough up a turnover or make some horrible mistake. That never happened. They kept beating on him, and he kept getting up and make some huge throw…. That sideline throw and catch to Mac was so damn BIGTIME! I’m in awe

    Finally saw the broadcast….how the hell did you guys put up with Aikmen? He was unbearable

  255. 255 bsuperfi said at 5:54 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I agree with all of this re Foles. I just hope he doesn’t get injured and miss significant playing time. Thank god lane is coming back soon. I mean, Sanchez had a great preseason against backups, but it’s pretty tough to imagine him having a transcendent game like that.

  256. 256 GEAGLE said at 6:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Don’t even say that… No more injuries. We paid enough injury tax so far this year. Enough damn it

  257. 257 Avery Greene said at 5:55 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I’m not sold on a lot of the Fox broadcasters. I hate the arrogance of Aikman and Buck – it’s the same reason why I can’t watch the ESPN football guys pregame (but for some reason I do like Gruden lol). I like Collingsworth too, but I sure miss Madden. Maybe Jerry Glanville will come back and do some broadcasts, he was entertaining.

  258. 258 anon said at 4:50 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Stevie Brown benched for Quincy Demps — looks like he’s not right after the ACL. He probabl sees what MAC is doing and wishes he signed with the eagles.

  259. 259 GEAGLE said at 4:51 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Lol again today Phybil says Tannahill being benched is a possibility..
    ..
    Jay Gruden admit that it’s possibly RG3 doesn’t get his job back when he is healthy..
    ..
    While we sit here like greedy pigs withe a young stud, and the best backup in the NFL.. 😉

  260. 260 RobNE said at 5:16 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    if RGIII isn’t even your starter, let alone an elite one, what a horrible, no good trade. Shanahan trying to save his job.

  261. 261 anon said at 5:18 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    hard to question it when it happened. Rams are the same place they were as well.

  262. 262 RobNE said at 5:59 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I think it can definitely be questioned when it happened. It was a king’s ransom. If he isn’t great, it’s a bad trade. Shanny had already had a few bad years, and it seemed like an easy way to say to Snyder, well now you have to give me 3-4 years to see how this pans out.

  263. 263 Media Mike said at 6:09 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The draft pick value chart indicates Washington was robbed.

  264. 264 Avery Greene said at 5:50 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    They gave up and extra two 1st rounds picks and a 2nd rounder I believe right? Not counting the 1st round swap in the same year.

  265. 265 Media Mike said at 6:08 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Different head coach and recently neutered GM. Gruden can easily walk away from RG Knee and blame others.

  266. 266 GEAGLE said at 6:50 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    They could be amazing if they just drafted Cousins and never made that trade for RG3… U know what that roster could look like if they didn’t make that trade? Lol
    ..
    Chandler Jones
    Chance Warmack
    Greg Robinson
    Alshon Jeffries..

    Kurt cousin could be throwing it to Alson Jeffries and garçon. WHile the right side of his offensive line is Greg Robinson and Chance Warmack with Trent Williams on the other side…

    On defense they would have:
    ..
    Kerrigan OLB, Hatcher DE, Coffield NT, Chandler jones DE, Orakpo OLB

    LOL Rg3

  267. 267 GEAGLE said at 5:27 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Stevie brown benched
    Deangelo hall torn Achilles,
    Morris Claiborne getting benched

    Not a great time for secondaries in the NFC east. Our biggest problem is coaches and Wolff arguing over if he is healthy or not…
    With all the problems right now in our secondary, I expect them to play some good football in November-January, Crunch time… Jenkins and Boykins I think we can count on to be playmakers

  268. 268 Avery Greene said at 5:48 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I rewatched the game today, and Boykin and Jenkins were both doing the right things in the secondary. I’m not sure if it’s Allen or our corners that are causing the troubles we see there. I lean toward both, but I definitely feel Allen will be replaced by Wolff eventually when he gets healthy. I’m wondering if we see more Carroll this week in place of Fletcher or Williams.

  269. 269 Media Mike said at 5:56 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    It’s Allen. The coaches, who had every reason to flame Cary and be mad at him, said the D-Jax TD was missing the safety help that Cary expected to be there.

    Allen, in spite of some improvement towards mediocrity last season, was terrible on Sunday.

  270. 270 Avery Greene said at 6:04 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t think he’s a starting safety in this league. Maybe on ours and like 2 others, but if you can only start on 3/32 teams, you can’t be that good. Williams and Fletcher are more 6/32, but that isn’t much better.

  271. 271 Media Mike said at 6:08 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    What is sadly the case is that there really aren’t more than 4 or 5 good safeties and maybe 10 more who are competent in the NFL.

    In a league where a middling talent like Eric Weddle gets paid $8 million / year to be mediocre, it tells you something about the quality of the position in the NFL.

    Allen, sadly enough, is the type of guy a lot of teams are stuck starting.

  272. 272 Avery Greene said at 6:11 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    That is a shame. His problem isn’t his athleticism (though he’s not the greatest) he just doesn’t have a good feel for the game. He doesn’t hit his spots and he bites on too many fakes. If we could have someone who would just be in the right place at the right time I think the pass defense would be a lot better (and having a decent ilb as well).

  273. 273 GEAGLE said at 6:28 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Allen was terrible Sunday.

    Bennie Logan had a fantastic game.. Had like 3 or 4 tackles for no gain, I’d say close to 10 total tackles. Amazing game for a NT

  274. 274 botto said at 7:38 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    whats going on with wolffman?
    this guy could be so awesome.

  275. 275 Media Mike said at 6:12 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    If any of y’all use twitter and are in the mood to mess with somebody, feel free to troll Trevor Matich.

    http://www.topix.com/football-players/kirk-cousins/2014/09/redskins-lineman-chris-baker-got-ejected-but-trevor-matich-still-named-him-lineman-of-the-game

    This loser was championing the cheap shot that almost cost us the services of our franchise QB.

    You can find him at @Tmatich and remind him to learn the NFL rules.

  276. 276 Avery Greene said at 6:17 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Don’t waste your time with trolls. Hometown fan, so it’s obvious he would side with a Skins player. These are the same people that are touting how good their defense is and we dropped 30 on them in 3 quarters with 1/2 our o-line missing. Let the uneducated fans have their fun on the way to a 8-8 season.

  277. 277 Media Mike said at 6:22 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    No, I mean straight up contact Matich and scold him on his poor understand of the rules. Much like when Kempski, and a few of us. crushed Pete Prisco earlier this year.

    I’m not talking about bothering run of the mill Washington fans, just a loud mouth member of the Washington media who needs to be dealt with.

  278. 278 GEAGLE said at 8:02 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    If Nicky BIGTIME plays 16 games, he is going to lead the NFL in passing yards this year

  279. 279 RobNE said at 10:21 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    See bgn. Troy Vincent says hit on Foles was a legal hit.

  280. 280 ICDogg said at 10:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    When he played, it was.

  281. 281 RobNE said at 10:36 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    He is saying it as an nfl rep.

  282. 282 ICDogg said at 10:38 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    Yeah, I just looked at it. Welp… that’s that.

  283. 283 Flyin said at 11:21 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I think it is wrong. After letting the game and emotions settle for a couple days, as someone else pointed out, this could be a huge team moment. This I agree with.

  284. 284 suthrneagle said at 11:21 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    if it was a legal hit then ask mr nfl rep why the player ejected

  285. 285 Flyin said at 11:24 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    The officials thought he was dead, however he got up, so after close evaluation, it must not have been as bad as the officials witnessed. Clean hit!

  286. 286 Flyin said at 11:11 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I disagree. He is going off his playing days and attitude. If you read the rule, it is clearly illegal in 2014.

  287. 287 Flyin said at 11:47 PM on September 23rd, 2014:

    I just watched my first Les Bowman video.

    Trust me… Don’t ever do it!!! I blame Kempski! (Les’s vid auto played after his)