Detailed Game Review – PHI 27, NYG 0

Posted: October 23rd, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 92 Comments »

(Sorry for the delay in getting this full DGR posted. Crazy stuff with the day job last week and this week cut into my night time writing schedule.)

The Eagles shut out the Giants 27-0. Connor Barwin is the player who got a ton of praise for his 3 sacks and overall good showing. Others talked about LeSean McCoy and his season high 149 yards. Some pointed to the Eagles O-line and the great game they played.

I think the MVP of the game was Brent Celek. He was flat out fantastic. Celek has been up and down as a blocker this year. He came alive against the Giants and played a terrific game. Jason Pierre-Paul, once the most dominant DE in the league, was limited to 4 tackles. He had no sacks or QB hits. Jason Peters blocked him most of the time, but Celek blocked JPP more than you would expect. And Celek did an outstanding job on him. Whey your TE can neutralize the other team’s best defensive linemen over and over, you are going to win.

Giants players complained about the Eagles tempo getting the best of them. If you watched the mic’d up piece on Chip Kelly and Nick Foles, they kept pushing tempo. They talked about it on the sidelines. They talked about it on the field. Faster, faster, faster. This wore on the Giants physically and mentally. The Giants knew it was coming, but it is hard to simulate what the Eagles do when their offense is clicking.

The shutout wasn’t just on the defense. That was a team accomplishment. The Eagles controlled the ball for 32:26, which is rare. You just don’t see the Eagles winning the time of possession battle very much. The STs play was good, which meant the Giants had to deal with a long field most of the time. Only one drive started outside their 24-yard line and that came on Foles INT. There were 3 drives that started inside the Giants 10.

What a glorious night.

OFFENSE

Chip Kelly did a terrific job of making subtle adjustments to help the offense. Kelly also called a really good game. The rushing attack set up the play-action passing game. By mixing run and pass so effectively, Foles had a clean pocket for much of the game.

MISC

* Some of you wonder about the importance of WR blocking. Is that overstated? Watch the first play after the Eagles get the ball from the 4th/goal stop. The team is backed up deep. The Eagles come out 3-wide. The Giants respond with a Nickel look. Riley Cooper and Jordan Matthews have great seal blocks on DBs and let Shady get wide for 9 yards. That got the Eagles away from the end zone and jump-started a great drive.

* Giants used a 3-man front a couple of times in the mid-3rd. Foles had a clean pocket and hit Celek for short, easy gains on both plays.

* The Eagles were 4 of 13 on 3rd downs.

* They were just 2 of 4 in the Red Zone. Both TDs came on 15-yd plays. There were no goal-to-go situations.

Players

QB

FOLES – Good game. 21-34-248. Had 2 TDs and 2 INTs. The picks were both bad. Nick forced the ball on plays where he shouldn’t have. Generally got good protection and took advantage of that. There were a couple of plays where he was able to hold the ball and then get Riley Cooper coming over the middle. Kelly mentioned that Coop wasn’t a first or second option on some of those plays. Foles didn’t force the ball deep. The Giants LBs aren’t the best athletes so the best way to attack that defense is over the middle. Foles did that. His highlight throw was the TD pass to Ertz. Foles put that out where Ertz could make a play, but kept the ball away from the defender. That is exactly what you want in that situation. The TD pass to Casey was easy because he was so open, but sometimes those are the hardest throws. Foles put the ball right on Casey and threw a touch pass.

-MISC-
Made several good throws over the middle to Coop. Had NT beat Molk and pressure him in the mid-1st. Was able to fight off the NT and then throw the ball away. Good throw to Celek in the early 2nd. Lots of time to wait for him to get open. Tried to scramble on 3rd/5, but JPP managed to get him by the foot after only a yard. Foles made the right decision to run. There was plenty of room. That tackle was an impressive play by JPP. Kept the ball on a read play on 2nd/1. Very smart. Got 4 yds and also made the Giants pay more attention to him. Had a chance to make a great play in the late 3rd when he got pressured, but threw downfield for Ertz and wasn’t able to keep the ball inbounds. Tough throw.

On the INTs…the first came when Foles seemed to think the Giants were in zone. He threw the ball to the sideline for Sproles, only to have it picked off. That ended a potential scoring drive. The other INT came when Foles didn’t see a DB and forced the ball to Matthews. That could have been costly since it was on the Eagles side of the field.

RB

SHADY – The return of Shady the Magnificent. 22-149 on the ground. That was his first 100-yard game of the year. Got good OL play for the first time and took advantage of it. Bad habits were with him at the beginning. The OL opened a good hole on the first play, but Shady was weaving instead of just hitting the hole hard. Got loose to the outside on the next run and that seemed to wake him up. Fumbled after good run in the mid-1st. Got free in space, but then had the ball come loose as he was tackled. Happened as his forearm hit the ground so it was ruled no fumble. You still hate to see that. Had a good run in the early 2nd Qtr where he made a DB miss at the LOS and was then able to bounce the run to the outside for a gain of 15. Got loose for a long gain of 28 yds in the mid-3rd. That put the Eagles into Giants territory. Pure Shady run in the late 3rd. Went 2 TEs to the right. Played flowed left, but Shady made an immediate cut to the backside. There was one unblocked defender, a DB. Shady made him miss and got upfield for 18 yds. Only caught 2 passes for 5 yds.

SPROLES – 7-39 on the ground, including a 15-yd TD run in the 3rd Qtr. That put the game to 27-0. Saved Molk from holding call on opening drive. LB started to get free. Molk had an arm on him. Then Sproles hit the LB, which stopped the LB and knocked Molk’s arm off him. Got the ball on a lateral in the mid-2nd. That let him get outside quickly and turn upfield for 5 yds. Was tackled by the neck, but it was legal. Ran for a 15-yd TD in the mid-3rd. Had good blocking and used his speed to get outside to the left and up the field. Got the ball on 3rd/3 in the late 3rd Qtr. Got upfield quickly for 6 yds and moved the chains. Made one mistake in the game. The Eagles ran a trick play where Sproles was going to get the ball to Huff on a reverse. The back side of the play was wide open. Was going to be a minimum 15-yd gain. But…Sproles flipped the ball and when he did, it hit his forearm. All Huff could do was fall on the ball for a 7-yd loss.

POLK – DNP

TE

CELEK – Best game of the year. 4-45 as a receiver. Just as important, blocked well. Had a very good block of JPP on run to his side in the mid-1st. Big gain to that side. Beat man coverage in the 1st Qtr on 3rd/8. Ran a short crossing route and got the ball across the middle. Turned upfield and got a gain of 23. Caught 24-yd pass in the early 2nd Qtr. Terrific block of JPP on early 3rd Qtr run. Got him to lean inside, then sealed him. Had a great block of JPP on pass play in early 3rd. Came across the formation on a wind-back block. Engaged and sustained the block, giving Foles a clean pocket and tons of time. Good block of JPP on Sproles TD run. Engaged him and was able to slow him enough that Sproles could get by cleanly. Held the block just long enough.

ERTZ – 3-47. Highlight was a beautiful 15-yd TD catch. Had to extend for the ball, get it with his hands and then get a knee down before going out of bounds. Great body control, concentration on that play. Good run block of JPP on wind-back run on the opening drive. Caught pass over the middle on the opening drive. Actually got knocked down initially, but hopped up and snared a high pass from Foles. Caught 23-yd pass on 1st Qtr drive that helped set up his TD catch.

CASEY – Caught his first TD as an Eagle, a 26-yd grab on a play-action pass. Was wide open. Blocked LB from side on run play on opening drive. Almost got him in the back. Play where he got his TD came in the mid-2nd Qtr. Eagles ran play action with Casey to the left and split out a bit. Ran to middle as if he was going to block a LB and then headed up the field. Everyone bit on the play fake and Casey was wide open for the easy TD.

BURTON – Finally got some time on offense, but it came as a RB. Had 5 carries for 10 yds. Everyone knew the Eagles would be running so the Giants were stacking the line.

WR

MACLIN – Quiet game. Only 2-16 as a receiver. Had a good play in the late 3rd when he blocked a CB initially and then Shady came that direction. The CB got off the block so Mac went and started to block a S. Is this the same guy who was so dis-interested in any blocking in 2012? On the next play, caught a 7-yd pass in traffic. Nothing special, but the kind of safe, quick play you love when trying to maintain possession and work the clock. Blocked well in the game.

MATTHEWS – 4-50, Long play was a catch for 26. Was wide open on that play. Caught pass on crossing route in the early 3rd. Had some outstanding blocks on perimeter run plays in the 3rd Qtr. Caught screen in the early 4th and got 10 yds on 3rd/11.

COOPER – Probably his best game of the year. Led the team with 5 catches for 59 yds. No highlight plays. Mostly got the ball working over the middle. Foles did find Coop along the right sideline on one play where Foles was moving to buy time.

HUFF – Good block on 1st Qtr run. Lined up in the slot and blocked DB as run came to his side. Had poor block of DB on run play in the early 2nd Qtr when he came in motion toward the formation. Got robbed of a great chance when trick play for him went awry. Sproles made a poor flip and couldn’t get the ball to him on a reverse. Had a pass come his way late in the game that could have eaten up 30 to 40 seconds, but he dropped the ball and gave the Giants a chance to score because of that.

OL

* Gave up 1 sack. Johnson was initially beaten by JPP. Then the DE got free from Peters and sacked Foles.

PETERS – Best game of the year. Handled JPP and had some terrific run blocks. Got up to 2nd level and sealed LB to give Shady big room to run on the opening drive. Made a good reach block of JPP on outside run on opening drive. Very hard to do, but Jason made it look easy. Good block on early 3rd Qtr run. Made sure Tobin had the DT and gave the defender a shove in the side, then released and got a LB. That gave Shady the ability to get to the 2nd level clean. Terrific block on Sproles TD run. Did a short pull to the left and was able to seal the ILB, which kept Sproles clean. Not a dramatic block, but chose the right guy and shielded him from doing anything. Peters kept Foles clean from JPP and the other rushers that lined up there on virtually every pass play.

TOBIN – Got his second start. Played better. Good job on 2nd Qtr pass play. Blocked Ayers initially, then switched over and got Hankins. Showed good hand punch on the initial blocks. Struggled with Ayers late in the half in known passing situations. Good seal of Ayers on 3rd/3 run play to Sproles in the late 3rd. Gave him room to run and moved the chains. Beaten by Hankins with a spin move in the late 3rd. That flushed Foles and forced an incompletion. Still looks like a young guy that is learning to play in the NFL.

MOLK – Up and down game. Was badly beaten by Hankins on pass play. Hankins used a good power move and just swatted Molk out of the way. Wasn’t able to get the sack, though. Pulled and got good block of Beason on run play that Shady broke to the outside for a big gain. Excellent block on Sproles TD run. Pulled to the left and took out a DB on the 2nd level, which was enough to get Sproles into the end zone. Good block of Beason on 3rd/3 run to Sproles in the late 3rd. Was able to engage him and give Sproles an area to attack. Molk was good on the move, but struggled when he had defenders right on top of him.

HERREMANS – Mostly a good game. Got beaten by spin move on the TD pass to Ertz. Gave Foles just enough time to get the ball out. Poor block of Hankins on 2nd Qtr pass play led to Foles getting hurried, throwing incompletion. Great block late in the half. Johnson was blocking a DE. Todd didn’t have anyone in front of him so he went over and floored the DE by hitting him in the side. OL love when they get a chance to punish pass rushers like that. Pulled right and blocked DB, sealing him and giving Shady a free running lane up the field.

JOHNSON – Another start and he looked better. Good block on 2nd Qtr run play. Got to 2nd level, sealed LB. That let Shady get wide for nice gain. Had some issues when JPP lined up against him. Got pushed back by JPP in the early 3rd and that forced Foles to scramble. Foles then made a bad decision and threw a pick. JPP drove Johnson back and created a sack for the other DE on another pass play. Johnson mostly had a good night, but JPP did get the best of him a few times.

=============================================================

DEFENSE

Bill Davis and his defense did a masterful job. The Giants were averaging 35 points a game in their previous 3 contests. They were red hot. But in playing HOU, WAS and NYG, they didn’t exactly face a trio of great defenses. I didn’t see the Texans game. The Skins played on a short week and were just awful overall in that game. The Falcons could not generate a pass rush to save their lives. The Giants played well in those games, but they weren’t challenged.

Davis had other ideas.

The interesting strategy he had was to play his base defense against the Giants 3-WR look. Teams love to go 3-wide to get the Nickel defense on the field. That opens up running lanes. Davis stayed base. He would either have Nate Allen go out over the slot or he would have the OLB walk out there (Cole or Barwin). This essentially dared the Giants to throw the ball.

Davis then had his players play press coverage. That kept Giants receivers from getting a free release. The Eagles weren’t jamming them, but were playing close enough to affect how the players ran their routes. Eli Manning had been getting the ball out very quickly this year. Prior to Sunday, he had only been sacked 7 times in 5 games. He wasn’t holding the ball long at all.

The Eagles pass rush racked up 8 sacks. There were some plays when they cleanly beat blockers and were on top of Eli instantly. There were other plays where he had to hold the ball due to coverage and then pass rushers were able to get him. It seemed like Eli was under pressure all night long. There were a couple of plays when he did have good protection and Eli felt phantom pressure. That’s when you know you’ve got the QB rattled.

The Eagles did mix in Nickel and Dime looks in obvious passing situations. Davis had some creative looks.

* Interesting look from the late 1st Qtr. Eagles showed 3-man front with Curry and Cole as DEs, with Beau Allen at NT. Barwin jumped down at DE beside Cole at the last minute and drove Eli to Curry, who got the sack.

* 3rd/long. Had CBs play off. Boykin & Marcus Smith buzzed into underneath zones while the CBs played deep. This took away any quick, safe throws and prevented downfield stuff.

* Trent Cole played the Where’s Waldo role. He lined up all over the field. Connor Barwin moved around a lot as well, but Cole seemed to be all over the place. He gave the Giants fits because they never knew where he would line up or where he would attack once the ball was snapped.

It was a lot of fun watching the Giants OL get whipped. Not one of them had a good game. RT Justin Pugh was especially awful. He was beaten to the inside and the outside, repeatedly. Teams will study that tape and attack him in the coming weeks.

Great gameplan by Bill Davis. Great execution by the players. That’s how you come up with a dominant defensive showing…and a shutout.   

PLAYERS

DL

COX – Unblocked on 1st Qtr run and got TFL of RB. Perfect 2-gap technique on 2nd Qtr run. Engaged the LT and read the play. Saw the RB trying to cut back to the outside. Cox shed the block and tackled the RB. Got some pressure on the next play, a pass. Cox ended up on the ground and an OL speared him. Drew the flag. Stuffed an inside run play in the early 3rd Qtr. Used hard inside move and got pressure on Eli. Forced a quick throw. LG easily could have been called for holding. Pushed RT to the ground and stuffed 3rd Qtr run that came to his side. Hustled out wide and tackled RB from behind. Was in on 5 total tackles.

LOGAN – Controlled the middle of the line. Got the best of the C for most of the game. Stuffed Eli when he tried to scramble up the middle in the 2nd Qtr. Just missed that being a sack. Got some pressue on pass play. Pushed the RG into the backfield, then used a spin move to get off the block and pressure the QB. Shed the C and stuffed RB at the line on 1st/GL run play in the 3rd Qtr.

THORNTON – Started quiet, but then got going. Destroyed the RG and flushed Eli on the final play of the half. Shed the RT and stuffed a 3rd Qtr run that came right at him. Got off block of the RG and got to Williams as he started upfield. Gave up a few yards on that play. Finished with 3 solo tackles.

CURRY – Had 2 sacks. One came when Barwin flushed Eli to Curry’s side. The other was a coverage sack. Curry lined up over the RG and got by him into the backfield. Eli moved up in the pocket. Curry got off the block and sacked Eli from behind. Was disruptive on a regular basis.

BAIR – Best game so far. Shed the block of the LT and stuffed a run that came his way late in the 1st Qtr. Shed the LG and stuffed a RB that came up the middle in the late 2nd Qtr. Had a chance for TFL in the late 2nd on run play, but LT held him. Bair did force the RB to stay deep, wide and someone did get a TFL. Looped around wide and got pressure on 4th Qtr pass play. Sealed the game, and the shutout, with a sack on the final play of the game. More about hustle and good coverage than anything Bair did as a rusher. Had to be exhausted at that point so seeing that kind of hustle was impressive.

B. ALLEN – Good showing. Lined up as 3-tech on early 2nd Qtr pass play. Used very quick burst and good move to split the LG and C. Eli saw this and moved to his right, where Barwin was free for the sack. Great job on 2nd Qtr run. Fought through block of C off the ball. Got to his outside and moved with the play. Had to work through trash, but finally got to the RB. Ryans already had control, but Allen was able to pile on. One of these days Beau is going to get a sack. I can’t wait to see his attempt at a sack dance.

OLB

COLE – Robbed of a sack in the 1st Qtr when Barwin selfishly sacked Manning himself. Lined up at LOLB and used a hard inside move to beat the RT and sack Eli. Chased down a run play from the backside. Blitzed the A-gap on 2nd Qtr screen pass and the play had no chance. Eli had to throw the ball away. Looped to the inside and hit Eli as he released the ball, causing an incompletion in the 3rd Qtr. Active game. Lined up all over and was regularly disruptive.

BARWIN – Has turned into a combination of Seth Joyner and Reggie White. Led the team in solo tackles (5). Had 3 sacks and FF. Covered well. But quiet game other than that. Got sack on opening series. Went upfield, then used spin move and got Eli from behind. Coverage sack. Did manage to knock the ball loose, but the Giants got it. Used a very good spin move to beat the RT for a sack in the early 2nd Qtr. Next play was a run on 3rd/26. Barwin got by his blocker and just slung Hillis to the ground. Got a sack in the early 4th Qtr when he beat the RT off the ball with a pure speed move. Barwin got pressure on other plays. Regularly in the backfield.

GRAHAM – Didn’t seem to play a lot until the 4th Qtr. Did make a good tackle in the 1st half when he chased down a draw play from behind. Finished the game with 4 solo tackles. Hustled from the backside and got strip sack on the final drive. Giants did recover the fumble.

SMITH – Played mostly ILB, but did rush off the edge and hit Eli on next to last play in the game.

ILB

KENDRICKS – DNP

RYANS – Stuffed a 2nd Qtr run. RB tried to cut back and Ryans was right there waiting for him. Got easy TFL in the late 2nd. DL strung out a run play to the outside. Ryans just mirrored the RB and then came upfield for the tackle. Made excellent pre-snap adjustment on 3rd/GL play. Moved to zone and Eli threw to WR who probably would have been open vs man coverage. Cruz did catch the ball, but was tackled quickly. Was only in on 3 tackles, but that’s because the Giants couldn’t run the ball or sustain drives.

MATTHEWS – Great job on 2nd Qtr run. Made pre-snap move and got into better position to handle the play. Flowed to his left and mirrored the RB. Once Casey had a clean lane to him, went up and made a physical tackle. Helped Bair to stuff a 2nd Qtr run up the middle. Diagnosed 3rd Qtr run play very well. Saw where it was going and got to that gap. Fought off the lead blocker and got the RB. Did give up some yards on that play. Recovered fumble late in the game. Good showing.

ACHO – Robbed of a sack in the 1st Qtr when Cole selfishly sacked Manning himself. Blitzed around the edge and got there fractions of a second after Cole had already hit Eli. Not the best athlete, but did a solid job of dropping quickly on pass plays and trying to take away easy passes.

S

N. ALLEN – Led the team with 6 total tackles. Covered Cruz out of the slot on the opening play. Gave up catch over the middle. Covered him several other times and did a surprisingly good job. Broke up 3rd Qtr pass play. WR was juggling a catch when Nate hit him and knocked the ball loose. Missed tackle of RB on 4th Qtr run play.

JENKINS – Came up quickly to pop Cruz on catch over the middle to start the game. A couple of plays later, Williams ran over Jenkins, but Malcolm managed to slow him down enough that others could gang tackle Williams. Blitzed up the middle in the late 2nd Qtr and had a free run at Eli. Forced him to throw the ball away. Close to grounding. Had inside position on TE on throw into the end zone. TE couldn’t get to the ball. Played the deep Safety a lot in the game and never let the Giants get behind h9m.

WOLFF – Didn’t see him on D.

MARAGOS – Didn’t see him on D.

CB

FLETCHER – Gave up some yards and completions. Beaten on deep comeback route on the second drive of the game. Beaten by Randle on comeback route. Had solid coverage, but wasn’t in position to prevent the catch or make a play on the ball. Gave up 18-yd completion to Beckham on 3rd/14. But…that may have saved the shutout. If the Giants don’t convert there and faced 4th/14, they probably kick a FG. Had good coverage on 4th Qtr pass play, but never saw the ball. Luckily it went out of bounds. Stripped TE Fells on play where the Giants got into Eagles territory. Eagles recovered. Fletcher was involved with a couple of huge plays that led to the shutout.

WILLIAMS – Mostly a quiet game. Didn’t have many throws come his way and run plays weren’t getting out to him. 2 of his 3 solo tackles came on the final drive. Almost gave me a heart attack late. Made terrible tackle attempt on TE that got loose down the sideline on the final drive. Tried to hit him up high with a shoulder. Didn’t even slow him down. That let the TE turn a 15 yd play into a 29-yd gain. If that had turned into a long TD…I might have snapped.

BOYKIN – Stat sheet only shows 1 tackle assist, but Boykin had a good game. Quick tackle of Cruz on 3rd/GL kept him from scoring. Had okay coverage on Cruz on the 4th/GL play. Wasn’t blanketing him, but had inside position and forced Eli to throw over him. That helped to cause the incompletion. Covered well for most of the night. Played  a mixture of man and zone. Helped to keep Eli confused and took away some quick, underneath throws.

CARROLL – Helped Boykin get Cruz down on 3rd/GL pass. Made good tackle on 4th Qtr screen pass where the RB appeared to have some room to work with. Had 3 solo stops.

WATKINS – Not sure if he played on D.

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ST’s

JONES – Averaged 45.5 per punt. 5 of his 6 punts were downed inside the 20. There was one touchback.

PARKEY – 2 of 2 on FGs. Good with touchbacks.

KOR – Only one KO and that was a touchback.

PR – Sproles had one great PR. Got loose to the right side and gained 43 yards. Jenkins got in his way and looked like the only thing that prevented Sproles from going all the way. Ugh. Almost broke a long return in the 3rd Qtr. Went wide and looked for seam. Wasn’t quite fast enough to get totally outside the coverage and a LB forced him out of bounds.

Mac caught punt in the 4th after Sproles had gotten hurt.

– MISC –

* Maragos rushed off the edge and got a piece of a punt late in the 1st half.

* Rookies Trey Burton and Marcus Smith, along with James Casey, had the key blocks on Sproles long PR.

GAMEBOOK

_


92 Comments on “Detailed Game Review – PHI 27, NYG 0”

  1. 1 P_P_K said at 9:27 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    “The picks were both bad. Nick forced the ball on plays where he shouldn’t have.”
    This is music to my ears because this is a problem that a young qb can fix.

  2. 2 eagleyankfan said at 8:26 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I watch a lot of games during a Sunday. Plenty of poor QB play going around. Making a bad decision like Foles did, doesn’t mean he played poorly. 0 worries about Foles.

  3. 3 GEAGLE said at 8:31 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Yeh I don’t know if you can call two bad throws playing poorly.. Other than a hand full of plays he would like to have back these past few weeks he has been playing better and better since our OL/offense hit rock bottom in San Fran…
    ..
    Was the San Fran loss, a version of last year loss to the Broncos, where it launched us into an impressive win streak as one of the hottest teams in the NFL

  4. 4 P_P_K said at 9:31 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Wait, what? Who did you say led the team in tackles against the Giants?

  5. 5 GermanEagle said at 9:37 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Despite all the preliminary optimistic sounding injury reports at the beginning of this week, I happen to believe that we will only see Polk back on the field on Sunday.

    That being said, whom do you think is more critical to a possible Eagles W against the Cards: Sproles or Kendricks?

  6. 6 GEAGLE said at 10:48 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Sproles, his field position impact on St along with offense is just so valuable. Marcus smith going to have to step up for Kendricks and stop them from throwing to RBs.
    ..
    Just picked up Cardinal backup running back to stash. Hearing Ellington is playing through a couple injuries and is waiting til after seen to get them fixed and they already give redZone touches to Stefan Taylor, so I picked him up to stash, hoping Ellington breaks down in a week or two..
    ..
    Good news: Brian Cushing will miss Eagles game for texans

  7. 7 GermanEagle said at 6:10 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I just thought Kendricks would have been a ‘nice 2 have’ against the outside runs of speedy Ellington.
    Remember that Ellington missed last year’s contest and with him the Cardinals may have one that game.

  8. 8 GEAGLE said at 8:00 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Don’t disagree,, I damn sure wish we had Kendricks defending the backs when Carson tries to throw at them..

    Either one is a big loss

  9. 9 Avery Greene said at 7:38 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Is Clowney playing?

  10. 10 anon said at 8:00 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    yes

  11. 11 GEAGLE said at 4:31 PM on October 25th, 2014:

    Limited pitch count for him sunday

  12. 12 BobSmith77 said at 11:21 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Sproles. As crazy as it sounds Matthews/Acho have actually been competent the last 2 weeks although Ryan’s groin injury is the kind of injury he can tweak easily.

  13. 13 Anders said at 2:22 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Sproles

  14. 14 shah8 said at 9:40 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    OT, this Thursday Night game is very well played. I really enjoy a good game of football, and P. Manning’s offense is much more of a genuine pleasure to watch than his offense last year.

  15. 15 shah8 said at 12:20 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    well, it got out of hand since right before the half. Oh well.

  16. 16 SteveH said at 9:48 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Interesting that San Diego is running a bunch of our concepts in their offense. Saw them run our double stacks play at one point.

  17. 17 eagleyankfan said at 8:24 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Chip has said it before, he’s not re-inventing the wheel. That play has been around for awhile…

  18. 18 GermanEagle said at 9:49 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Emanuel Sanders might be the most underrated starting WR of the NFL

  19. 19 anon said at 7:57 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    who would have thought

  20. 20 Anders said at 8:12 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I think it is Antonio Brown and Jeremy Maclin.

  21. 21 GermanEagle said at 5:14 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    Don’t think that AB is anywhere close to being underrated in this league by coaches nor by fans.

  22. 22 Anders said at 6:21 AM on October 26th, 2014:

    I think he was until this year and he is still not mentioned among the rest of the top WRs because of his size. Jackson gets named more often because of his explosive plays (I do not have TV, so for me its only what is written by NFL.com, ESPN, CBSSports etc.)

  23. 23 eagleyankfan said at 8:23 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Funny how being with P. Manning does that to wr’s. If he was on another team, he’d be a forgot man…like Decker….

  24. 24 GEAGLE said at 8:27 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Sanders was the truth before Peyton got to him.mhe has been coveted for a while..remember Bellicek signed him to an offer sheet, but he was restricted so the steelers matched…..
    if you have denver and the pats trying to sign you, safe bet that you Prob have some game

  25. 25 eagleyankfan said at 8:31 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    IF he had that great of game — wouldn’t the Steelers have kept him? I’m not saying he’s a bad player but you can insert ANY wr as a 3rd wr with Peyton and he’s going to be great. He’s only in Denver because the other WR left. It wasn’t like they ran out to get this guy and kicked their wr off the team. NE’s recent history of WR’s is nothing to take seriously. Amendola?

  26. 26 GEAGLE said at 8:34 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Thinking they keep man man and jettison Welker at the end of the year..

    Teams give up good players all the time..

    I’m not sure how this is a debate…it’s pretty factual, sanders isnt a WR who Peyton put on the map, he has been a Qualitu WR for a few years now, of course playing with Peyton will elevate his numbers..

    But whatever, we can agree to disagree. No worries mate

  27. 27 eagleyankfan said at 9:15 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    But it’s a good discussion. :). I think Sanders is a talented WR. No question. He’s not a talented 3 td game wr. He’s only remotely that way because of Manning. Manning decides who is going to have a great day. Sanders talent doesn’t dictate the great day. The TE is, probably, the best, ok, second best TE in the NFL of pure talent. Manning decides if he’s going to have a great day or not. I don’t think Welker is any worse than last year, Manning isn’t just dialing him up.

  28. 28 anon said at 9:22 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    sanders took his job

  29. 29 BobSmith77 said at 9:56 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Watched enough of Denver to say they are the best team in the NFL right now and by a decent margin.

    Did Manning make a Faustian bargain to look this good at 38? He looks more mobile and definitely has more arm strength than Brady at this point.

  30. 30 GEAGLE said at 11:05 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    I dunno about arm strength. U can tell it takes every bit of his body to get enough on those throws..but they sure are pin point accurate and he is never late.. What an amazing player

  31. 31 BobSmith77 said at 11:20 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Then Brady he does. I am not saying it is great but Brady can’t get anything on the ball if it is past 15 yards anymore.

  32. 32 BobSmith77 said at 10:00 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Denver has 3 games left where they might lose:

    @ NE (next week)
    @ KC (Nov 30th)
    @ SD (Dec 14th)

    They play Oakland the last week of the season and that is the only game I think they possibly might lose because they will be 14-1 and have the bye & home-field through the playoffs wrapped up already going into the final game.

  33. 33 GEAGLE said at 11:08 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Should be too much for New England, especially if chandler jones doesn’t play. If u don’t pressure manning u stand no chance. Curious to see those two road division games u listed. Wish we could see Green Bay vs. Denver. Curious to see how that’s me would play out

  34. 34 Anders said at 7:05 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    The most important part is interior pressure to get Manning off his spot so his amazing timing gets off.

  35. 35 GEAGLE said at 8:05 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Interior pressure is always the best pressure… But you are right, taking away manning and Brady’s ability to step up in the pocket is probably best bet at defending those elite immobile pocket passers

  36. 36 Anders said at 8:13 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    yea, Manning is simply to good at stepping up and avoiding outside pressure, that only interior pressure really matters

  37. 37 Avery Greene said at 7:36 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I think SD can beat them. Cut out the stupid mistakes and stop running the same play from the LOS that doesn’t work – they can do it.

  38. 38 GermanEagle said at 10:02 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    I will be VERY suprised if the Broncos don’t win the Super Bowl this season. It’s not even close.

  39. 39 GEAGLE said at 11:01 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    They are dominating a damn good team with rivers who is playing some elite ball this year. Very impressive after spanking the niners a few days ago. Scary team for sure.
    DJ Fluker can’t block Von Miler. As in, not even a little bit…
    ..
    Thought the Chargers would have put up a better fight than this. Thurs night blowouts never fail…

  40. 40 BobSmith77 said at 11:03 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Yup and a lot of people put money on the Chargers. Lined up steadily all weak from 7 or 7.5 to 9.5 at game time.

    Broncos with their schedule are going to be double-digit favorites at home the rest of the year.

  41. 41 Bob Scatchard said at 12:36 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    San diego was missing their top 2 CB’s…Bronco’s would probably still win, but would have been a closer contest…

  42. 42 GEAGLE said at 8:05 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Verrett ended up playing. Only flowers sat out..l

  43. 43 BobSmith77 said at 11:02 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Still too early to say that given injuries & nature of football but yeah they just looked methodological and business-like.

    Almost have to hope if you are an AFC team that you get a fluky inclement weather day when playing in Denver (ideally sleet and cold).

  44. 44 Anders said at 4:39 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    If you look through the history of the last 10+ years. The safe money is on that the Broncos wont win the Super Bowl

  45. 45 GermanEagle said at 7:13 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Of those 10 years, how many years have Peyton Manning, T&T, and Sanders played together in Denver?!

  46. 46 Anders said at 7:29 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Does it matter? Last year it was Erik Decker instead of Sanders.
    How often did Manning have Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, James, Clark?

  47. 47 Avery Greene said at 7:34 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I don’t think Manning plays well in the big game. Even in the Chicago game he was pretty pedestrian. The Bears were still in the game after Grossman turned the ball over 6 times all by himself.

  48. 48 Mitchell said at 11:09 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Nick Foles is trash, where can we find this Grossman?

  49. 49 GermanEagle said at 5:11 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    Of course it matters. You cannot simply rely on the past when the trend might not apply to the current circumstances.

    Or would you like to expect underwear for Xmas 10 times in a row?!

    Besides the fact that the Broncos D is slightly better than the Colts back then.

  50. 50 FrenchEagles said at 7:49 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    If you look through the History of Super Bowl era, Eagles won’t win a Super Bowl… Well, is it a reason to not think the Eagles will have a SB? Broncos have not only a great offense, they have also a great defense. I don’t know if they’ll win, but they have everything they need…

  51. 51 Anders said at 7:53 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    What has that anything to do with how rare it is for even the best team in the NFL to win?

    That the Eagles hasnt won does not tell us anything about their chance to win a SB, but how the supposed best team has won the SB does tell us something about the odds that the suppose best team will win the Super Bowl

  52. 52 FrenchEagles said at 8:29 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    10 years is really a small sample if that is the kind of trend you are looking. And even, on the last ten years, Seahawks (2013), Saints (2009), Steelers (2008) can be considered as winners of the SB being the best team that year . You can add Colts (2006) and Pats (2005, yeah I know) that were clearly one of the two best teams.
    It’s not guaranteed that the best team will win the SB, but clearly it helps. Besides these teams… You have the Giants who can be an average team until SB and win two titles…

  53. 53 Anders said at 8:47 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    In 2009 the Colts was the “best team”, 2008 it was the Titans (just followed by the Giants and Steelers). In 2006, the Chargers was by far the best team and there was 4 teams who was clearly better than the Colts.

  54. 54 Ark87 said at 8:54 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    More specifically, the clear “best team” might have the best odds at winning a superbowl, but they still aren’t great odds, certainly not a lock. Figuring the Broncos an .80 chance to win against elite playoff teams (extremely generous). The odds of winning 3 such heavily favored games in a row is still just over 50%

    No matter how good a team is, the path to the superbowl is very very hard.

  55. 55 FrenchEagles said at 10:20 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I agree with that. They still have the best odds to win (and honestly, at this point of the year by far), but play-offs path can destroy any favorite and result to a Giants win…

  56. 56 GEAGLE said at 10:43 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Emmanuel sanders has me in fantasy football heaven. Not a bad way to start my week!

  57. 57 EagleNebula said at 12:04 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    My opponent this week had him and Antonio Gates… Meanwhile Julius Thomas is completely MIA for me.

  58. 58 BobSmith77 said at 10:53 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    Is Kendricks going to appear on the side of a milk cartoon soon? Everything points to him being out on Sunday.

  59. 59 Mac said at 10:59 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Woulda been nice for them to know how bad the injury was at first instead of making us all think he just pulled a calf muscle (and inferred he would be back in a couple weeks ((are we there yet?))).

  60. 60 Insomniac said at 11:36 PM on October 23rd, 2014:

    I think Dunlap was starting tonight? IMO, he didn’t look all that bad.

  61. 61 Mitchell said at 2:12 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Except when Demarcus Ware ate him up. NOM NOM NOM

  62. 62 GEAGLE said at 8:59 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    DJ Fluker got completely dominated by VON Miller…

  63. 63 eagleyankfan said at 9:05 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Von Miller is fun to watch…

  64. 64 GEAGLE said at 2:28 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    He been starting for them for two years now.

  65. 65 kaninfaan said at 6:14 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    this quote from brian urlacher, talking about jay cutler, sums up why we should be very happy with Nick Foles:
    “We say it every year how talented Jay is … how much talent,”
    Urlacher continued. “But the NFL is not a talent contest. It’s a winning
    contest. You want to win football games, that’s what it comes down to.
    “If your quarterback can’t make plays in certain situations for you to win games, he’s not getting the job done.””

  66. 66 Anders said at 6:44 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    We should be happy that Nick Foles lead the NFL in turnovers because Jay Cutler isnt playing 100% up to his talent?

  67. 67 sutherneagle said at 6:55 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    no, he`s talking about the end of game type plays/throws Foles makes at the crucial times to win( see Cooper`s dropped winning TD pass ), in a game where he did not perform up to his optimum before in the game.

  68. 68 Anders said at 6:59 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    An int matters no matter when in it thrown (unless its an end of half hail mary). A first quarter int is just as devasting as a 4th quarter win

  69. 69 kaninfaan said at 7:09 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I think jay cutler IS “playing 100% up to his talent” which shows the limitations of judging QB’s by their “rocket-arm” (see stafford, rivers, cutler, #listgoeson) and down-grading Nick Foles because he’s “only” got an “average arm”
    Check Foles wins/losses record.
    “- But the NFL is not a talent contest. It’s a winning
    contest.” (-Brian Urlacher)
    “- Culture beats scheme everyday” (Chip Kelly)

  70. 70 Anders said at 7:28 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Not sure anybody here is downgrading Foles for his arm, we are downgrading him right now because of all the misses and the turnovers

  71. 71 kaninfaan said at 7:53 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    The “arm-thing” is just a placeholder for the usual complaints, by people who get a hard-on when watching rg3 or vick or x move around and display their physical traits that is only a small part of being a good QB, against Foles

    “the misses” is just guesswork and the turnovers infinitely more fixable than transforming, for example, rg3 or jay cutler into good quarterbacks.

  72. 72 anon said at 8:01 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    cutler’s issues are turnovers, but keep stanning

  73. 73 fran35 said at 9:54 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    C ‘ mon man. I love Foles to death and desperately want him to be our QB going forward, but he has displayed some serious accuracy and decision making issues. When your other measurables are just fair, you need to excel at both of those attributes. But you can’t throw all the credit for our record at foles feet. Some games we have won despite his performance.

  74. 74 anon said at 7:49 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    c’mon — look at foles’ numbers and look at cutlers. luckily the rest of the team is putting up points or it’d be the same situation.

  75. 75 sutherneagle said at 10:26 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    don`t see how is a 4th quarter win devastating if you win.
    which is why you play, to win, not create stats. Had Cooper caught that pass we`d 6-0 and this dicussion about Foles would more irrelevant than it is now.

  76. 76 GEAGLE said at 8:21 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    It would be huge if kendrick and Sproles practice today. Chip is maniacle when it comes to “training”, not sure if we would ever see a player play if he woke up feeling good on game day but he hasn’t practiced during the week…Tho kendrick and Sproles are veterans so who knows..

    I get a kick out of chip and this injury stuff. He is nuts lol. Reporter asked him a question starting it off by praising Meco for being a warrior playing thru the groin injury and having a good game against the Giants. Chip was having none of that.. He answered a harmless compliment/question with: “I would argue that Meco wasn’t injured at all, because if he was we would have never player him” LOL…as if chip doesn’t know that players play thru injuries…

  77. 77 eagleyankfan said at 8:34 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I had thought the Giants D played better when JPP went to Lane’s side. Lane is still in “pre-season” mode getting use to playing regular games. I think we’ll see him 10 times better this week. No question we need Kendricks back .. just wondering if the D is rallying without him there knowing they have to play better. I hope they keep it up. This is going to be a great game.

  78. 78 GEAGLE said at 8:35 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Lane had a really nice game IMO
    ..
    Beau allen is absolutely going to get a sack soon…he has been really close.
    ..
    Coaches say Cox has been the best pass rusher at getting pressure on QBS forcing them off their spots, getting so close to a sack but often chasing the QB into a team mates arms so someone else gets the credit for the sack… For Cox to be playing so well, getting the most pressure on a QBs but not recording a single sack, I’d bet sacks in bunches start to flow Cox’s way….and it would be well deserved, he is starting to dominate.

  79. 79 eagleyankfan said at 8:37 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Only second game of the season, yes he did. He did just fine. He had some struggles with JPP but 90% of tackles do. That’ll only make him better. Can’t wait to see the finished product of Lane. He’ll be beast mode…

  80. 80 GEAGLE said at 8:40 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    JPP might have gotten by him, but for the most part Lane was blocking him long enough so that JPP couldnt make the play…I can live with JPP beating our OL as long as he doesn’t make plays..

    I’d bet the Eagles game him a high grade for the Giants game,,,but whatever, like you said, his best ball is still ahead of him

  81. 81 eagleyankfan said at 8:59 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I’m going by what I thought I saw, what the announcers said and what T-Law said. JPP wasn’t remotely effective until he was moved. It’s ok that you don’t agree…

  82. 82 GEAGLE said at 9:00 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Yup yup. Cheers

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 8:54 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Life just isn’t fair… I have to live in the midst of the over rated cowboy bandwagon for weeks now….and now they are facing Colt McCoy ugh? No fair. What a joke. The way analyst over rated the cowgirls, they will treat beating Colt McCoy las if they just beat jOe Montana..

    Hopefully division game element kicks in and the skins can steal a game. I’m just not sure the skins OL is good enough to pull it off. To win with Colt McCoy, alfred and the run game need to come up huge and they should give Cowboys a ball controls dose of their own medicine. Dallas has the OL to where it can run against certain opponents and hide all its weakness.. I’m just not sure Skins have 5 OL good enough to pull it off, Tho that dallas DL is average at best. I’m sure trent Williams can maul them, but none of their other OL look like anything special to me
    ..
    I don’t care how bad Cousins played…how arent u embarressed to start colt McCoy in an NFL game?

  84. 84 eagleyankfan said at 9:19 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Normally we can say — any given Sunday — but not with this game. I’m pulling for the Redskins in a huge way because of a survivor pool. So many people would be knocked out. I just don’t see a way the Redskins can win. Clock management and run the ball a ton?

  85. 85 CrackSammich said at 1:07 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    Just think of how happy you’ll be if Colt McCoy somehow pulls it off.

  86. 86 eagleyankfan said at 9:09 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Last nights game. Players I have on fantasy I watch a little closer. That Oliver kid was impressive on passing plays. This kind initiates contact. He finds the blitzer and goes after him. A lot of rb’s will sit in the back field on a pass play and watch 1 gap. This kid looks all around, finds the blitz and picks him up. Smart player. Maybe a more experienced back will already know where the blitz is coming from but this kid did just fine.

  87. 87 eagleyankfan said at 9:23 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    SMITH – Played mostly ILB, but did rush off the edge and hit Eli on next to last play in the game. — But there wasn’t a write up under ILB. How did Smith play while at ILB? Maybe he didn’t play enough snaps to be judged? ( I don’t know his snap count)

  88. 88 jpate said at 10:04 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    Yesterday driving home from I turned on 97.5 they are taking a closer look at that crazy espn trade scenario of shady to Oakland and wip is talking about the possibility of chip leaving to go coach Florida. Seriously, wtf is wrong with these people?! This is a 5-1 team!

  89. 89 Mitchell said at 11:16 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    I’ve learned how we can solve our QB problems!!! Avery brought it to my mind! We just need to dredge Rex Grossman out of his hole AND START HIM!!!!! He can do it all. The bears and Redskins were dumb to let him go! This guy has got a CANNON and loves to sling it down field which is way better than The Flash. Get this, HE WENT TO THE SUPER BOWL! I also read he can scramble like a mother, which is PERFECT for Chip’s offense! Even better he’s not afraid to take chances with his 56/60 td/int ratio, couple that with 55% accuracy and you have one helluva decision maker. You guys can send me your checks for figuring this out and I’ll call Howie to get “Sexy Rexy” in Philly before Sunday’s game.

  90. 90 Avery Greene said at 11:21 AM on October 24th, 2014:

    LOL. Wait, saying Grossman turned it over 6 times wasn’t in anyway referencing that clown as a legitimate QB. Chicago’s defense did well that game and if not for Rhodes/Addai, I’m not sure Indy wins that game. The only place Grossman needs to work is in a pizza shop where turnovers are acceptable.

  91. 91 Mitchell said at 4:03 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    I kid, Avery, I kid

  92. 92 GEAGLE said at 1:55 PM on October 24th, 2014:

    Kelce, kendrick and Sproles were all full participants today and the 3 were listed as questionable for Sunday….only Brad smith has been ruled out for this week….. For whatever THATS worth. Keep in mind Friday’s practice isn’t as difficult as Wed n Thurs practice, or shall I say, training…