Monday Morning Thoughts on the Game

Posted: October 6th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 247 Comments »

Early this season I was frustrated with the Eagles because they would fall behind and then make an impressive comeback to win. Yesterday I was frustrated because the Eagles built a big lead and then let the Rams come storming back to make it a tight game. The Eagles still won, but the fun of the 34-7 lead lasted way too short a time for me.

We know this team can overcome a deficit and win.

We know this team can build a big lead.

I have no idea if this team can play a complete game. If you could combine the Jags and Rams games to form the best 4 quarters, the Eagles would look like the best team in football. But that’s not how life works. The Eagles are a talented team. They are playing well enough to be 4-1. But this team hasn’t come close to playing to their potential.

In some ways, that is a good thing. There is nothing good about peaking in September or October. You want to play your best football when it counts, which is later in the season. I believe this team will get better.

How much and how soon…who knows?

* * * * *

One of the positives from the game was the pass rush. They notched 4 sacks and just missed a couple of others. There were a few plays when pressure forced Austin Davis to scramble. The Eagles now have 11 sacks on the year. The Rams are stuck on 1.

Sack differential is a key stat to watch. Last year the Eagles were -9. So far this year they are +5.

* * * * *

Some of you want Darren Sproles to get more carries. You see him fly up the field and wonder why Chip Kelly isn’t feeding him the ball more. I’m fine with giving Sproles more work, but one thing you have to be careful about is understanding context. Defenses get into a rhythm. They know when LeSean McCoy is in the game that they will be chasing him laterally. They get used to that.

Then Sproles comes in and gets a quick hitter up the middle and those guys are caught flat-footed. Chasing Shady around helps to set up Sproles to be more effective with his style. If you start feeding Sproles the ball more, you can’t expect more 20 and 30-yard runs. The defense will adjust to him and there will be some good ones, but also plenty of minimal gains as well.

Any time a player is good in a limited role you have to be careful about projecting the results based on more touches and/or playing time. It is rarely as simple as “just get that guy on the field more”.

I do think Sproles deserves more carries.

* * * * *

Beau Allen has just missed a sack 2 weeks in a row. He is a solid role player who flashes good ability. Allen has heavy, powerful hands that can stun blockers. Bennie Logan has played well at NT, but Allen is going to push him for time in the years ahead.

* * * * *

The Eagles played more small ball on Sunday than they normally do. Foles only threw one deep ball that I remember, and that was picked off. The Eagles threw a lot of screens and quick passes. I thought that was smart. Move the chains and get the ball to your playmakers. Let them make some plays for you.

Unfortunately, no one could really get loose and deliver much in the way of RAC yards. Jeremy Maclin had one good WR screen.

It is amazing how teams have shut down the Eagles ability to throw to Sproles and McCoy. They are not effective at all on screen passes and are struggling on other short throws. I’m sure the patchwork O-line is part of that. You need timing to make those throws work. But defenses have also done a good job of diagnosing the plays and not giving them any chance of success at all.

I would guess that Kelly and the staff will spend some time during the bye week trying to see how/why teams are reading the screens so well right now.

* * * * *

My biggest beef with the 4th quarter defense? The Eagles played their CBs off. Both Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher struggle when playing off. They are much better when pressing. I could see if Bill Davis mixed things up. You never want to do the same thing on every play, but the CBs played off on almost every snap in the 4th quarter.

Why give WRs a free release? Throw off their timing and help the pass rush.

Williams and Fletcher lack the ball skills and athleticism to be really effective at playing off.

_


247 Comments on “Monday Morning Thoughts on the Game”

  1. 1 dislikedisqus said at 8:49 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    You’re spot on about the CB tactic. Hopefully this teaches them that lesson. If you ‘re going to give up 3 TDs playing soft and 1TD playing physical, which is the better plan ?

    But on the small-ball offense, let’s face it: Foles was like 1-13 deep the week before. It’s small-ball by default, not strategy.

    Off topic, but former Eagles Vick and Henery were embarrassing yesterday.

  2. 2 Corry said at 8:55 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Didn’t we go through this last year with Davis going to soft zones late in games? Does he need to learn that lesson every season?

    I thought Foles was better other than some bone headed decisions. He’s good on the short/intermediate routes. He really needs to work out the deep accuracy problems though.

  3. 3 bdbd20 said at 9:04 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Tommy,

    KC-Bal in the ALCS. Who had that in spring training?

  4. 4 Armchairgm3 said at 9:07 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Bill Davis seems to be too predictable with his play calling. Until we built up a lead, you could almost guarantee that he was blitzing on 3rd and 5+. If I knew it was coming, you better believe the Rams did too. And to consistently drop back into zone coverage and rush 4 with the lead was problematic. I’ve had questions about Davis when we hired him — his track record was anything but impressive. But often gave him a pass because the defensive side lacked elite talent, and they seemed to improve under his tutelage. But, his predictable play calling is causing me to doubt his ability. As is his abject refusal to bench Williams and Fletcher, when neither are getting the job done. Put in Carroll and Boykin. They cannot do much worse.

  5. 5 GEAGLE said at 9:38 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I couldn’t disagree more with a post

  6. 6 Avery Greene said at 9:46 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I like Davis, I think he let off the gas too early. I’ve never been a fan of Williams, but I live in Ravens/Skins country and have seen him play before he even got to Philly. I hope Watkins is the answer, and I’ve noticed Carroll getting more pt. Williams is too inconsistent to be an every down CB. Fletcher and Williams aren’t elite athletes, and I question Williams technique. Too many times they don’t turn around for the ball.
    I’m not a fan of Nate Allen either, but that’s a different story.
    Overall the front 7 (even with Matthews) is legit. We have some serious problems in our secondary right now.

  7. 7 GEAGLE said at 9:50 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    For starters… You see plays where Vinny curry is running unblocked to blast QBs and forced fumbles? That’s billy Davis “scheming pressure”….

    Billy Davis does a really good job with what he has. Usually finds a good balance of attacking, while making sure to mask and protect our weaknesses.. For what he has to work with he has been more than solid.l

    Half of his defense is puppies that he is still growing…and many of them are really making big strides of improvement each week…
    ..
    Can’t think of too many young defenders that you can say Billy ISNT grooming well…maybe wolff… All our other 2nd and 3rd year puppies are playing lights are playing well and improving every month

  8. 8 Avery Greene said at 9:54 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Don’t mistake me for saying he took his foot off the gas that I don’t like Davis. I think he’s good, I would have liked to have seen him stay a bit more aggressive going into the 4th quarter. I love our front 7 and the growth I’m seeing out of them. I’m just not a fan of our secondary (sans Jenkins) right now.

  9. 9 GEAGLE said at 10:00 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Doubt our secondary has many “fans”

  10. 10 Avery Greene said at 10:23 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    It’ll take time, but they’ll get it right. Can’t turnover a team in a year. I wouldn’t mind our starters if they were backups, but considering the mess 2 years ago – this defense is surprisingly close to being dominant. 1 elite CB and a younger OLB (Smith presumably late this year or next) and this defense could be lights out.

  11. 11 GEAGLE said at 10:33 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Last year we saw both corners struggle in September/October, and then buckle down in November and shut down a murderes row of big WR tandems to go on a 7-1 streak going into the playoffs.

    These corners shut down:
    Fitzgerald and fLoyd
    Brandon Marshall and Alshon
    Dez and Terrence
    Calvin and what’s his name(Detroit)
    Vincent Jax and Mike Williams

    We don’t make the playoffs if Cary and Brad didn’t buckle down against those big quality WRs..

    Also if you look at Cary since he has been a starter in the NFL, he always turns it up in November thru the playoffs….

    Our Sevondary needs to add corners and a safety, but what we currently have, is better than we are seeing now….come DECEMBER, I’d bet these corners play much better again when it really matters… Especially with improved pass rush and the addition of Malcolm

  12. 12 Avery Greene said at 10:37 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I think this is the one thing we disagree on. So I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t rip Williams/Fletcher until the December games. If they turn it on, I eat crow. If not, I’ll complain again. For me, this is the only thing that worries me long-term. Everything else is easily fixable.

  13. 13 GEAGLE said at 10:42 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    They didn’t play well yesterday…perfectly fair to rip them…FOles didmt play well either… Doesn’t mean I’m going to be a prisoner of the moment and expect to see them play at that same level in December after we been practicing for 8 more weeks

    But trust me, I’m a defensive maniac.. I’d be happy to see us upgrade ANY POSITION, let alone our weak links like the secondary… I just understand rome isn’t built in a day

  14. 14 Tom33 said at 10:57 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Tying in to Tommy’s point above about playing off, I’ve been wondering if the new “rules” in the secondary are messing with the Eagles’ CB’s more than most. The Eagles made a point to go and get big, physical guys on the outside. With the emphasis on illegal contact are Williams and Fletcher just uncomfortable figuring out how to play this year?

    Personally I would have rather seen them draw 5 yard illegal contact penalties in the 4th quarter than give up 25 yard completions yesterday.

  15. 15 Scott J said at 9:15 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Last year Foles benefitted from the run. This year the run is suffering because of our passing game.

  16. 16 suthrneagle said at 12:01 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    the run is suffering because the Oline is not opening holes for McCoy to dance thru. Only on a few occaisions has he run up the middle attempting to take 3 or 4 yards tough running would get him… the pass is suffering from a combined effort from Foles and the receivers, the first has been off target when the second are open, and the second has dropped too many(1 is too many) passes when the ball is catchable.

  17. 17 bill said at 12:29 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    The Oline is affecting everything. Yesterday’s putrid effort from Foles was what it looks like when a pocket passer has lost all confidence in his line – and that’s not a defense of Foles. The scary thing is that sometimes when younger QBs lose that, they never get it back. The sole positive is that Foles’s big problem was throwing mechanics – throwing off back foot and bailing out; he still was going through his read progressions quite well. It’s easier to fix the mechanical problem than it is to get them to continue their reads when they lack the trust.

  18. 18 Right_On1 said at 4:32 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I think the problems run deeper than the O-line. Yesterday’s O-Line featured one the league’s best left tackles, a no. 4 overall pick, a nine year veteran and a C who was a consensus All-American in college.

    If our offence collapses to this level without Kelce and Mathis then we’re in big trouble. Don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting it shouldn’t have an effect but we can’t just keep saying the whole offence doesn’t work without the RG and C (as good as they are).

  19. 19 Tom33 said at 9:22 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I was actually thinking along a similar line this morning. The fact that this team has not played lights out, but still sits at 4-1, is great. Nobody wins a Superbowl in September or even October (just ask Denver last year or Dallas most years over the past decade) but you can lose your shot at them by losing early (like the Giants last year).

    Beat the Giants next week and go into the bye 5-1, with a lot to work on and players/coaches not being satisfied, that sound pretty good to me.

    Also, Kelly and the Eagles are 11-2 in their last 13 regular season games (dating back to the midpoint last year). I didn’t go back and look but I have to believe that’s best in the league.

  20. 20 Michael Winter Cho said at 10:44 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    They are not really playing that well, but the 4 wins are a big help. Get healthy, hope they start hitting on all cylinders, fight for division/wild card. Better to be in this position that have a losing record, after all.

  21. 21 Mr. Magee said at 2:19 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    You’re perfect for this forum.
    I’ll see myself out…

  22. 22 A Roy said at 9:24 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    It would seem to me that a Tampa 2 with press coverage is a better ‘prevent’ with the personnel we have.

  23. 23 teltschikfakeout88 said at 9:24 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    playing soft or off coverage is fine when up 34-7……the problem is once we gave up a couple of scores some of which seem to be set-up by long pass plays….it was time to take the Austin kid seriously and go back to our base defense which is bump and run…no free releases etc….heck didn’t BJ Cunningham make some plays against us????

  24. 24 EaglesTrolltheWorld said at 9:26 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    In multiple games we’ve seen Jason Peters with seemingly minor injuries causing him to limp. Any insight?

  25. 25 GEAGLE said at 9:28 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Logan is playing at a probowl NT level so far…. But I’m also impresse with Beau, no surprise, I wanted us to sign him as a UDFA pre draft..

    I don’t think anyone will ever be “pushing” logan… He is playing too well to care about how anyone else is playing….but if Beau continues to improve the way Logan has, we will eventually end up with a 50-50 split between the two, and us fans getting to enjoy a two headed NT Monster

    Personally, THATS probably the position I’m most comfortable with, and the one position where we don’t have to look at any free agents or draft prospects at

  26. 26 GEAGLE said at 9:32 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Arizona lost Caleus Cambell to a gutless chop block… That is a rival that gets weaker every week.

    Demarco Murray 4yr extensin

  27. 27 RobNE said at 9:43 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I read Swartz had asked the team since training camp that if they beat the Lions, please carry me off the field. Lame.

  28. 28 GEAGLE said at 9:45 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yup…msoooo friggin lame… You want to be carried off in a week 5 toilet bowl against the lions? What a clown… I would be Embarressed to be a bills fan today

  29. 29 Crus57 said at 11:57 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    How is that different from any other day for a bills fan?

  30. 30 GEAGLE said at 9:35 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Our OLBs really hurt us last week by not setting the edge and allowing the niners to run on the perimeter….yesterday, Barwin, BG and COLE were fantastic… Meco was really good too…saw him punish Rams RB early in the game, hitting them with some nasty forearm shots at the end up plays,, he defended the WR screen masterfully…and I love how he doesn’t worry about covering WRs, he just knocks them on their ass in the first 5 yards so he doesn’t event have to worry about dropping into coverage lol

    Billy said knowing the man that Demeco is he probably won’t miss more than a day or two of practice for the injury..

  31. 31 GEAGLE said at 9:37 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    On a positive note….stevie Johnson is starting to catch a TD every week… Hello extra 3rd round pick…. Thank you bryce brown

  32. 32 Avery Greene said at 9:41 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I like the sound of this.

  33. 33 RobNE said at 9:42 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    what’s the measuring stick between 3rd and 4th round pick? I did try to find out, but I just read “has to have a good year” and we could get a 2015 4th or 2016 3rd or 4th. Isn’t a 2015 4th = 2016 3rd? what are we even rooting for?

  34. 34 GEAGLE said at 9:43 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    A good year lol… I don’t know off the top of my head either.. But he is catching a TD every week… Keep that up and I’m sure it will do the trick lol
    ..
    Crazy how the bills not playing Bryce has nothing to do with the compensation equation lol… If that was Howies idea…friggin brilliant

  35. 35 RobNE said at 9:47 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I can’t find it anywhere.

  36. 36 GEAGLE said at 9:59 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yeah all I can find is we either get:
    1) 4th round pick this year
    2) 3rd rd pick next year
    3) 4th rd pick next year…
    ..
    Sure it’s some equation involving snap count, catches, yards, TDs…

  37. 37 CrackSammich said at 2:26 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    http://www.wgr550.com/The-Bryce-Brown-trade-explained-for-Bills/9034669?pid=400723

    That explains how the picks go to who, but I wasn’t able to find what the production conditions actually are. I admittedly didn’t look for very long.

    That said, I’d almost rather that Stevie Johnson doesn’t perform so we don’t have to wait until 2016 for the pick. It doesn’t look like Bryce Brown is doing much with the team as of yet, so that 3rd rounder is out.

  38. 38 GEAGLE said at 9:42 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Scary how we are seeing so many different special teams players making monster plays…. What a unit chip and Fipp have built… They took what was a liability and completely weaponized it…

    I find myself anxious to see what they will do for an encore every week, and our special team usually plays a role in Giant games,,,

    It’s one thing to have one or two stand out special team player, but half our special teams will Be playing at a Probowl level if they keep up this pace

  39. 39 McNabbulousness said at 11:33 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    getting rid of henery was a big step forward for the STs unit. just ask the lions; henery misses a 50 yarder (in a dome) and then lions fans have to watch carpenter (a competent/good kicker) nail a 58 yarder to steal the game. AND lions fans had to watch jim schwartz get carried off the field like he’s vince fucking lombardi. man lions fans can’t catch a break.

  40. 40 anon said at 11:40 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    he missed two 40yarders in that game too

  41. 41 McNabbulousness said at 2:07 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    holy shit! only got to see the last couple highlights of that game. i mean he’s in a dome right?

  42. 42 anon said at 2:11 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    yup

  43. 43 McNabbulousness said at 2:13 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    boy as time goes on i get more and more upset at that draft selection

  44. 44 anon said at 2:14 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    good when it was made, it’s psychological.

  45. 45 Mac said at 3:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not any more… just got cut today.

  46. 46 GEAGLE said at 12:07 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Lions caught a major break when they got rid of a losers who asked to be carried off for beating the crappy lions in September…watching Schwartz get carried off is a MAJOR WIN for Lions fan lol

  47. 47 McNabbulousness said at 2:08 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    addition by subtraction i guess…

  48. 48 daveH said at 9:42 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Tommy can you give us your assessment on CHip’s clock mamagement skills please?
    does he have the diabolical mental disposition to use th clock to his team’s benefit??

  49. 49 RobNE said at 9:50 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    This clock management stuff like going prevent for too long and/or when you stink at it or keep snapping the ball with 10 seconds left on offense while milking a lead was kinda cute in the Skins opener last year and each subsequent time has lost its quirkiness. Now it’s just annoying.

  50. 50 RobNE said at 9:56 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    and what’s with not being able to slide? that’s full blown annoying now too. They had a slip and slide in camp.

  51. 51 fran35 said at 10:28 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Vick and Foles practice sliding together each offseason. Not sure why Foles looked so pathetic.

  52. 52 P_P_K said at 1:31 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Most kids in little league baseball can slide better than those guys. Why do they make it seem so difficult?

  53. 53 RobNE said at 2:20 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    this bothers me. Because even if they didn’t play baseball, they are in the top .01% of athletes.

  54. 54 P_P_K said at 2:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yea, it doesn’t make much sense.

  55. 55 Ben said at 10:09 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Shady finally had a few runs where he started to look like Shady again. It’s like he got one 5 yard run where he just cut up the field and had a flashback to 2013.

    As Lane settles in this week, I think we’re going to see Shady hit a new level through October and hopefully return strong with Kelce (hopefully Mathis, too?) back in Nov./Dec.

    I will say, we’re set to peak at the right time. If it actually happens or not is a completely different story.

  56. 56 GEAGLE said at 10:26 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I been saying this.. While everyone acts like the sky is falling after each of our 4 wins.. All we have to do is maintain, keep winning ugly, stay healthy, get our guys back and we will peak at the RIGHT TIME just like our coaches got us to do last year….

    We already seen our coaches do that last year…. We are absolutely still on schedule… Then again, I been writing about a 4-1 start since August so I guess it’s logical that I feel good about where we are at…

    Last year, I don’t think we knew how to win these types of ugly games and overcome so much adversity… We keep taking steps in the right direction… Keep growing our young players and as long as we stop losing guys to injury I bet we enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams no one wants to play, just like last year,,
    ,,,
    It may not look like it now, but I’d bet money we enter the playoffs as a much better team then we were in last years playoffs…so we are perfectly still on schedule, even tho we have plenty of fires to put out still

  57. 57 Ben said at 12:04 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Our D also took a while to get in rythm last year, but ultimately had some really good streaks (albeit some backup QBs in there) and did well enough for us to win in most cases. Run D will be crucial down the stretch as the Saints just ran the clock on us in the playoffs last year.

    We’re gaining some great experience in depth right now, but I’d sure love to have all of our starters healthy.

  58. 58 Avery Greene said at 10:26 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    The Panthers will see the full offensive line, and the defense may start to really gel by that point. I think they will peak.

  59. 59 GEAGLE said at 10:14 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    4-1, and there is no difference between today and a Monday coming off a loss.. While Other 4-1 teams squeek by teams scoring 20 and they are thrilled with that win and I have to hear how good they are all week…it’s always “sunny” in Philadelphia lol yeah right..

    jason Peters: “one or two different plays and we score 50 and win a blow out”… Yet yesterday’s win wasn’t good enough in this city lol… Rams don’t have 53 professional players or anything…it’s not like it’s hard to win in this league…

    Lol watching a team overcome tons of injury adversity..play like 50% of their ability and still tied for first place in the NFC at 4-1…. Yet I have to live in a city where everywhere I turn this week will be treated as if we lost yesterday….smh
    ..
    ATleast Token or Charliegarnerfan don’t post here, and I can’t hear Angelo cataldi or misanellis boneheaded comments here,,

  60. 60 Avery Greene said at 10:25 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    People will come around after the bye week. A win against the Giants puts this team in the driver seat for the year. I’m not sold on them as a good team, but this usually is one of the toughest games of the year. 4-1 is 4-1, it could be a lot worse. Obviously there’s mistakes and things to clean up, but these problems are fixable.

  61. 61 GEAGLE said at 10:40 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I don’t know when the fuck these fans got the impression that if the Eagles doesn’t score 35 every week and the defense doesn’t hold teams to 17…it’s a failure

    You would think the fucking BCS is judging us on style points..

    It’s not good enough now, but who the hell cares as long as we are winning? These players won’t get complacent..who cares if it’s note pretty now, October just started, this team will improve as the weeks go by…. Instead we are prisoners of the moment who see the team play on Sunday and expect us to be doomed to play at that exact level all season smh..

    You would think our fans had been rooting for the BRADY/ Randy moss Patriots team for the last 7 years,,, when the fuck did our fanbase get like this, to where these miserable losers can’t even appreciate a 4-1 start… We are half way to 8 wins with 11 games left and people can’t appreciate an ugly win?

    I just don’t get it, and I really don’t get how this loser fanbase can call themselves the best fans, the most knowledgable fans….smh… Same fanbase that won’t even make noise on 3rd down when the opponent is coming back on us in the second half… Losers

  62. 62 RobNE said at 10:49 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    they aren’t playing consistently well. can’t we question different aspects of the team without being losers? just like Foles can be between awful and Brady, our criticism can be between they totally suck (no one is saying that) and everything is peaches and cream.

    if you are talking about the fan base that isn’t posting here, then never mind but how are we supposed to know?

  63. 63 GEAGLE said at 11:07 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I point out everything that wasn’t good enough every week, write about how that needs To improve..but I manage to do that while also enjoying the NFL season and not taking hard fought wins that are hard to come by in the NFL for Granted…maybe this loser fanbase should try it

  64. 64 RobNE said at 12:46 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    well maybe there’s some benefits to living outside of Eagles territory but I still wish otherwise.

  65. 65 Ark87 said at 10:55 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    That’s why I had to step it down on the Eagles boards. It’s funny you mention the BCS, because I actually had the thought that this feels like back when I was at Penn State and people would get upset that wins weren’t dominant enough. I loved this board when the Eagles are a dumpster fire like 2012. When we have a winning record, it’s pretty bad. I think everyone is upset because Dallas and New York have started to look pretty good? Maybe it’s some kind of let-down defense? Don’t know what it is but it’s making for the most miserable 4-1 start ever.

    Sidenote: I’m still enjoying Tommy’s articles, they’ve picked up here lately too.

  66. 66 GEAGLE said at 11:06 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I know exactly how you feel…

    Funny that pathetic dallas squeaks out a win scoring 20 points, and I have to hear how great they are all weak, while we are 4-1 not playing anywhere near the level we will reach in November and December and I have to live in a city that acts like the Sky is falling all week

    Pathetic steelers scored 17 petty points on the Jags yesterday and won, and the steelers and its fans are going to celebrate a win all week… When the hell did we become this absurd?

    These dumb fans expect to score 40 point on offense every week or its a failure… These morons think this young defense should already be holding teams to 17 every week when it took the seahawks 4 years to get to that level…

    It’s sad how dumb we are….and our players who been fighting to overcome horrible injuries deserve better than this….especially when they trying to hold on to a win at home in the second half

    These fans act like we are the only ones with good NFL players and we should be winning by 40 every week as if we are playing college teams..
    ,,
    The NFL season in a nutshell is about overcoming all kinds of different adversity that pops up over the course of the season…the teams THAT can win regardless of the adversity go to the playoffs wherre it becomes a brand new season,,,

    Teams grow over the course of a season..as they gain game experience and as another week of practice goes by,,,. All it matters is we win enough games to make the playoffs, peak at the RIGHT TIME(DECEMBER) and go into the playoffs as a hot team with momentum…that’s all THATS matters, and we aren’t at all behind schedule…we are perfectly on pace to achieve that still…thanks to not losing Kelce and Matis for the entire season

  67. 67 anon said at 11:33 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    we shoot ourselves in the foot, always. that’s the problem.

  68. 68 GEAGLE said at 11:52 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    So does everyone else.l
    What’s your point? Who the fuck is playing perfect football right now? Look around…the great seahawks can barely win a road game… Who the fuck isn’t shooting themselves in the foot? 4-1, WHATS going to happen when we stop shooting ourselves in the foot?

    Fanbase is trash… Sorry, it’s the truth

  69. 69 anon said at 12:05 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    It’s just two ways of approaching. Like CK who criticizes the offense after a good game for us it’s really more about the process than the outcome. We just expect more – progress week to week.

  70. 70 TXEaglesFan said at 12:43 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I agree with you generally on feeling positive about 4 wins. When you say the pathetic cowboys though I assume to mean just out of general spite, because right now they look like a decent team. They basically won the lottery with the McClain pickup based on how he is playing. Houston scored 10 points on their last two regular time possessions when McClain was injured.

  71. 71 GEAGLE said at 1:39 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Decent team my ass… I see this song and dance every year, they will be a decent team when they don’t Imlode in Nov or DECEMBER for the 10th year in a row… I heard this all before too many times

  72. 72 Mr. Magee said at 2:26 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yikes, nothing matters but the result I guess… The season ain’t over yet. The glass is half full but we can’t top it off without filling some holes. I’m not expecting special teams and the D to score every week…

  73. 73 fran35 said at 10:21 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I watched three straight passes towards the end of the game where Davis locked in on the WR on Cary Williams side and never looked anywhere else. Of course they were completions, but it appears that Williams has a huge bullseye on his back now.

  74. 74 fran35 said at 10:30 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I heard on the Chip interview with the 610 morning crew that Lesean pulled himself out of th end of the game for non-medical reasons. Thats why Sproles was in there for the last series. Chip didn’t expand. I wonder what was going on?

  75. 75 RobNE said at 10:41 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I love him he’s an Eagle, but I’m not impressed with his maturity. He isn’t nice to women on his bus, he leaves 20 cent tips (I don’t care how bad the service is), he gets mad at reporters asking about the running game.

  76. 76 GEAGLE said at 10:45 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I was very impressed with his post game interview yesterday,,. But I saw him make a disgusting, selfish, boneheaded play on That fumble…

  77. 77 RobNE said at 10:49 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I didn’t see either. what did he do on the fumble? just juke more (doesn’t sound so bad), or what?

  78. 78 GEAGLE said at 10:58 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Literally ran back n fourth, sideline to sideline, 4 times for no gain, fell down and fumbled the ball away

    Gave a ton of credit to OL, said they were much better this week and blamed the game on him, saying he needs to break more tackles,..he is letting the first guy bring him down too often and he has to do better to make the first guy miss… Very complimentary of the OL and took full responsibility…never heard Mcnabb talk like that in a decade..

    Seems to think he can work with this OL and get back to his usual Terrorist self!

  79. 79 RobNE said at 11:00 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    fell down without being tackled? so he and Foles fumbled on non-contact plays? wtf?

  80. 80 GEAGLE said at 11:09 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yes… I literally don’t know which fumble was worse, shady or FOles… Both were competing with Stankchezs “butt fumble”

  81. 81 Buge Halls said at 1:00 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    McCoy’s fumble was NOT no contact. The ball was punched out as he was going down.

  82. 82 Buge Halls said at 12:59 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not selfish – boneheaded? Maybe. But he was pouring his soul out there to get more yards.

  83. 83 GEAGLE said at 1:38 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Lol child please…We were up by a ton and he was doing dumb shit because he was frustrated that he wasn’t getting his yards..disgusting display of selfish play by our best player on a team that was winning by a lot without him… Just selfish football

  84. 84 BobSmith77 said at 11:36 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    I heard that too and wondered what it was about. Kelly was pissed about McCoy’s fumble too when he mentioned it too yesterday in the post game conference.

    Get the sense that Kelly is pretty frustrated with McCoy right now especially on the those inside zone reads and not hitting the hole. Take the 3-4 yards and protect the football.

    Eagles though did generally have a lot shorter 3 downs this week and were fairly successful (8-15) yesterday on 3rd down conversions.

  85. 85 ceedubya9 said at 2:56 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I don’t know. i’m not looking at game tape or anything, but i’m not seeing too many holes to pick up those 3-4 yards half the time. Most of the time, i see nothing but other team’s jersies in front of him by the time he gets the ball, and then he tries to escape and instead of a 1 yard loss you are looking at a loss of 3.

    Sproles does do a better job going N/S, but he seems to have much better holes to run through than Shady does in a lot of cases (from what I can see anyway). That 25 yarder he hit near the end of the game, for instance, he had a lot of room.

    Had McCoy been in there, you wonder if the result would have been similar. I wouldn’t be surprised if teams play Shady a lot tighter than they do the other backs on the team.

  86. 86 GEAGLE said at 1:53 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    He just said that McCoy had played the previous two plays before taking himself out…and chip acted like he has nothing to don its shady and Sproles snap counts and that’s all up to DUECE.. Not sure I believe that, but that was his explanation at today’s lunch time press conference

  87. 87 GEAGLE said at 10:52 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Instead of ripping us,.. I would be very afraid of us… Odds are we are going to play complete games Sooners or later…for us to go 4-1 operating at like 50% of what we are capable of, should scare the crap out of our division,,, if we are learning to win ugly, and overcome not playing our best, how tough will we be when we catch our stride and start playing complete games, which we will see by November/December.

    I would be Freightened if I’m in the division of a team that managed to go 4-1 while playing like Crap especially when we get the best center and guard in football back in 4 weeks… Be afraid….be very afraid…

    Cowboys had to play their best ball i i20 years to go 4-1, we tie them playing like crap… Unless you think we will play this bad all year and not improve with another 4 weeks of practice, you should fear us!

  88. 88 GEAGLE said at 11:20 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    A HORRIBLE game for FOles is 200 yards 2TDs and an INT… That’s a BAD game for FOles..

    For every other franchise QB from young KAp n Cam to old head BRADY/Brees, a Bad game for those GUys is like 200yard, 1TD, 3 INTs… FOles NEVER unravels the way all the other franchise QBS do when they have a bad game…. For whatever reasons, FOles is going to have bad games in the future.. Great to know that even a bad day, he won’t unravel and turn it over 4 times, still giving us a chance to overcome his bad day and win,,,
    ….
    Notice how a BAD game for FOles, ISNT even close to unraveling bad games for other QBs.

    Luck is being praised for yesterday going like 30/46 1 TD and 2 INTs… When luck wins playing like shit, he gets praised for it,,FOles gets killed if he dosnt throw for 300 3TDs and No INT,l. Heck we even kill him at times for 300 yard games,,,

  89. 89 ACViking said at 11:29 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    GE:

    In fairness to Luck, at least coming into the season, I think the consensus view was the Eagles have far more talent on offense than the Colts. Especially on the O-line.

    Consequently, the “around the NFL” post-game serenades for a player like Luck seem to rely on those kinds of pre-season assumptions.

    That’s why I pay no attention to what any non-local writer or commentator says about anything concerning the NFL.

    There’s just no way anyone knows enough about every team to make reliably insightful comments.

    Really, the kinds of worthless comments we get nationally — Jay Glazer aside — are the product of the internet world and 2-minute news-cycle.

    Who cares. Those guys don’t play.

  90. 90 GEAGLE said at 11:51 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Our OL has been in shambles since game 1… Luck is one of the few QBS with comperable weapons to FOles..

    Did you see what the great Drew Bree’s did yesterday?

  91. 91 ACViking said at 12:10 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    If Andy Reid had Drew Brees in the 2000s, to go along with Jim Johnson, the Eagles really would have won a couple of SBs.

    Brees is a surgeon.

  92. 92 GEAGLE said at 1:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yeah well that surgeon was awefully close to being subject to a malpractice lawsuit with the way he played yesterday TIL the end 😉

  93. 93 anon said at 11:29 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    just stop with that tired narrative. he’s had several multiple turnover games this year. last week he had under 200yds and no tds. this week his tds came on short field drives. roles isn’t terrible but please stop disrespecting other QBs ours isn’t any better or worse.

  94. 94 GEAGLE said at 11:50 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    LOL has FOles ever played as Bad as kAp, RG3, Cams worst games? Did FOles play worse than Drew Bree’s yesterday? When the fuck has FOles ever unraveled and had those 3 INT games that everyone favorite franchise QB has from time to time…when has he ever played so bad that he costs his team to the points were they can’t over comes ism lay…

    FOles has bad gmes, but he still hasn’t unraveled like most of everyones favorite QBS have done from one time or another and that’s a fucking fact..
    ..
    A bad game for FOles is like 200 yards, a turnover, 50 percent completions and looking indecisive in the pocket… Other QBS wish a bad game for them was like that…

    Every week I see a great QB throw 3 INTs, and throw 1 TD…yet you dumb fucks rip a kid in his 20th game for a 200 yard, two TD game..that we win lol

  95. 95 anon said at 12:39 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Drew breed still threw for 400 yds. They aren’t getting plus points from their defense. Foles isn’t throwing pick 6s but that’s luck, but his fumble could have cost us the game — if the Rams could have done something.

  96. 96 jay ray said at 11:36 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    What about the part where he threw off his back foot on >50% of his passes? Certainly that won’t catch up to him.

  97. 97 GEAGLE said at 11:45 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Clear sign that he doesn’t trust his OL yet or is in too much pain(bruise) too stay in the pocket and eat the big shots to deliver the perfect ball while a defender closes down on him which he has been showing that he is capable of since playing behind a shitty OL in college..

    You already saw FOles play with perfect mechanics over a long stretch of games and be a very accurate QB…why would you doubt him reaching that level again?

  98. 98 CrackSammich said at 2:13 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Your grammar is usually poor, but this post is unreable. It’s a little early to be drinking?

  99. 99 ACViking said at 11:23 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Starting next week, the Eagles have 8 games out of the 11 remaining against quality QBs — something they avoided for a good part of last year.

    NYG: Eli Manning (I’m not much of an “Eli’s Overrated” type).

    Cards: Carson Palmer (expected to be back by Eagles game)

    Carolina: Newton

    Packers: Rodgers

    Dallas: Romo.

    Seattle: Wilson

    Dallas: Romo

    NYG: Manning.
    ___________________

    The NFL’s a QB-driven league.

    The Eagles are 1-1 against good QBs this year. (no hypos “1 yard from 5-0,” please, because the Eagles are only a few plays from 2-3.)

    The Birds cannot play the way they have against that list.

    The team will need to improve.

    So far, through 5 games, the Eagles look like the same team they were on opening day — when they had Mathis and Kelce.

  100. 100 McNabbulousness said at 11:41 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    really good points (although i myself am an eli hater [as in he’s good not great]) but i think the underlying factor here is health (for us and our opponents).

  101. 101 ACViking said at 12:08 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    McN . . .

    Wholly agree.

    Next week McCoy and Jenkins could go down. Or Cox and Barwin. Or Peters and Maclin.

    The NFL has so injury-centric that the season is about attrition more than anything else. A big negative, unfortunately.

  102. 102 McNabbulousness said at 2:11 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    super duper parity will do that. that and pushing your body past what it’s capable of doing by taking HGH and other PEDs in an already violent game.

  103. 103 NinjaP said at 11:51 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    You listed only 1 QB worth anything of note.

  104. 104 ACViking said at 12:06 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    None of them has a losing record. 3 of them have only 1 loss. The other’s injured but led his team to a 10-6 record last year.

    Are the NFL’s only good QBs just Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and no one else?

    Tough sell.

  105. 105 Buge Halls said at 1:07 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    So, by your logic, Nick Foles with only one loss is one of the NLF’s elite QBs.

  106. 106 ACViking said at 7:38 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    You ignore the context in which I (a) made my first comment, and (b) responded to NinjaP.

    Put those two together and my “logic” rejects your postulation.

  107. 107 Anders said at 12:41 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    We should have Mathis and Kelce back by the Carolina game and Mathis and Kelce will help the run game in the long run.

  108. 108 Buge Halls said at 1:05 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    But the Eagles are also one play (Cooper’s dropped pass in the endzone last week) from being 5-0. You can’t have it both ways. A play her or there for any team makes a huge difference.

    And Romo is not a quality QB. He’s serviceable at best.

  109. 109 ACViking said at 8:17 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    That’s my point.

  110. 110 P_P_K said at 1:28 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I’ve been thinking the same thing about our upcoming opponents. Optomistically, Manning and Romo get rattled by a good pass rush. Palmer and Newton will get their yards, but I think the Eagles can beat both of their teams. I’m not looking forward to facing Rogers and Wilson.

  111. 111 mksp said at 1:47 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Tough schedule coming up. Carolina showed a lot of moxie coming back against Chicago.

    Romo made one of the best plays I’ve seen a QB make all year yesterday when he spun away from a Watt blindside sack and launched the ball 60 yards (this is literally a play that Nick isn’t capable of making).

  112. 112 jpate said at 9:21 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    In all fairness I can’t see manning or brady making that play either :p

  113. 113 eagleyankfan said at 2:37 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    this is a garbage can. in that garbage can you throw away any stat you think you have with games vs. Giant/Dallas including saying they are “good” qb’s.

  114. 114 T_S_O_P said at 11:25 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Bennie Logan seems to have a lot of athleticism with which Coach Davis seems to be able to be very creative and employ a lot of stunts. Allen has different attributes, many of which seem to appeal to the average fan, but I get the feeling that the coaching team really like Bennie. One thought would be sliding him out to End, especially if the Eagles don’t extend Thornton.

  115. 115 GEAGLE said at 11:43 AM on October 6th, 2014:

    Cedrick will be extended very soon, according to his wife

  116. 116 T_S_O_P said at 12:10 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Does his wife know you spell his name wrong 😉 . Otherwise, a wise move from the big fella to let his wife run his business. No agent fees!

  117. 117 GEAGLE said at 12:10 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Tammie Thornton…mread cool chick

  118. 118 RobNE said at 12:40 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    if you are so close ask what’s Wolff’s problem?

  119. 119 GEAGLE said at 1:56 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not close to the man like that

  120. 120 D3FB said at 2:30 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Thornton will be back next year. He’s a RFA. We can tender him at a second round protection for like 1.2 million. Nobody would give him a big contract and give up a second round pick..

  121. 121 Ben Hert said at 12:34 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    RE: Sproles effectiveness

    Tommy,

    I don’t know if I fully buy that the reason Sproles has been more effective is because of the “change of pace.” NFL players seem smart enough to recognize that when a player a good 6 inches shorter and wearing a different number lines up at running back, they’ll have to worry less about lateral cuts and can adjust on a snap-to-snap basis.

    I think more of it has to do with the state of the OL. With so many 2nd stringers filling in, and the loss of cohesiveness on timing and athleticism, the run game has shifted away from getting guys like Kelce and Mathis to the second level to give Shady that room to cut, and more to just opening a hole and having a short, explosive guy like Sproles shoot through the gap. The guys who have been filling in Kelce and Mathis don’t have the ability to do what they do best. Therefore, our run game has been more effective when Sproles can disappear behind the line, and come exploding through a gap before the second level defender can get in a position to make a tackle. A lot of his big gains have been in this manner, from what I can remember.

    I really think Shady will regain his true form, and this offense will as well, when we get our 5 starters back after the bye (and hopefully my fantasy team will too). In the meantime, I wouldn’t mind seeing Sproles getting more of the workload. He might not consistently produce 7-10 yard gains like we are used to from last year with Shady, but I think that it will be more effective than watching Shady trying to dance behind the LOS and get TFL’d consistently.

  122. 122 ACViking said at 12:42 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    nice job

  123. 123 James said at 1:04 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    We dont get Mathis and Kelce back after the bye, not til week 10-11 likely

  124. 124 Mr. Magee said at 2:07 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Couldn’t have said it better. With the benefit of all the different TV angles we get, it seems there are consistently 2 – 3 yard opportunities that Shady is dancing into either no gain or negative yardage. For now, we need more Sproles.

  125. 125 eagleyankfan said at 2:31 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Sproles was/is and will always be role player. You don’t have to buy into T-Law’s reasoning. Saints did it and now Chip does it. The best runner in the NFL last year and probably still is today — is Shady. You don’t sit an elite guy to “just give more chances”. Sproles has a role and he excels at it. Its a perfect situation.

  126. 126 anon said at 12:35 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Lions released K Alex Henery.

  127. 127 RobNE said at 12:38 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I am so glad we upgraded but I hate seeing anyone out of work. But my gosh, what if we had lost b/c he missed 3 field goals.

  128. 128 ACViking said at 12:41 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    RNE:

    You’re harkening back to the days of former Eagles kickers like Sam Baker, Mark Moseley, Happy Feller, and Tom Dempsey.

    I can’t remember the last time an Eagles kicker missed 3 FGs — when 2 of them were sub-50 shots.

    Rare in today’s NFL. For sure.

  129. 129 RobNE said at 12:43 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I just meant GEAGLE thinks people are complaining now, the uproar in here if that had happened would be insane.

    I grew up with Tony Franklin. He was barefoot right, why aren’t there any barefoot guys around anymore?

    But I agree with you, hate to see the guy out of work.

  130. 130 ACViking said at 12:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Ah, I see that now in your comment.

    Wow, Tony Franklin.

    What a great rookie season he had in ’79. Highlighted by a 58 yard FG at the half-time buzzer on MNF against the Cowboys in Dallas — a game the Birds won 31-21. Greatest MNF game for me.

    And the lowlight of ignoring Vermeil’s instructions to kick deep in the divisional playoff game against Tampa.

  131. 131 RobNE said at 4:22 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    did he kick off barefoot too? B/C running to cover a kickoff with only one shoe on would adversely affect your effectiveness.

    this article tries to answer the question as to where did they go:

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=klosterman/061016

  132. 132 botto said at 12:53 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    haha i forgot about him being barefoot, why would he kick barefoot? and why aren’t there any barefoot kickers anymore? good question.

  133. 133 anon said at 12:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    gotta imagine his feet don’t look too good after kicking 10,000 balls.

  134. 134 ACViking said at 12:58 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Franklin supposedly had a big, thick callous on his foot.

    I’m glad I don’t know for sure.

  135. 135 ACViking said at 12:58 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Why no barefoot kickers?

    I think it was just a phase.

    And in the lower levels — Pop Warner and high school — I players had shoes on both feet because kickers played other positions. And coaches, being coaches, thought it was stupid.

    Who knows, though. One day, we may see another one.

  136. 136 Buge Halls said at 1:09 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I don’t remember the last time Henery made three FGs in a row over 50…has he made that many in his career?

  137. 137 ACViking said at 12:39 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    AH has a confidence problem. (Henery’s no Maverick, but he still has a confidence problem.)

    I hope he pieces his career back together.

    Why?

    ‘Cause he never did anything to me, personally. He’s never been anything but an honest guy.

    And life’s too short to waste time rooting against some kid who’s trying to do his best and take care of his family.

  138. 138 P_P_K said at 1:25 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “And life’s too short to waste time rooting against some kid who’s trying to do his best and take care of his family.”
    Learning about the college guys and their prep for the draft has had a similar impact on me. These aren’t two dimensional uniforms. These are real human beings with lives off the field. On game day, it’s fun to “hate” ones opponent but, really, once the game ends we’re all men and worthy of some degree of respect.

  139. 139 GEAGLE said at 1:48 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Agreed… Unless he is playing against us, then I hope he fails miserably

  140. 140 Buge Halls said at 12:46 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Hopefully as the season goes on and the O-line comes back, we’ll see big improvements on the offensive side of the ball in November/December. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the defense can do to improve. Our secondary is a joke across the board with the exception of Boykin.

  141. 141 GEAGLE said at 1:47 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Boykin was on the field yesterday for the entire 4th quarter collapse…played 26 of 26 4th quarter plays the defense was on the field for

  142. 142 botto said at 12:52 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    If foles goes 20-30 with 357 yards 3 TDs and 0 ints and mccoy goes 17 carries for 125 yards and WE LOSE will the comments on this board be only about how great Foles is playing and how Mccoy is awesome? or will the loss bug anyone?

  143. 143 anon said at 12:57 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    No shame in losing a game where you play well. We’d probably be complaining about the defense…

  144. 144 Buge Halls said at 1:11 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Spoken like a lifetime bench warmer! No prize for second place in the NFL. No “moral victories” The end of the year the only thing that matters in wins and losses.

  145. 145 anon said at 1:54 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    That’s funny, you speak like someone that’s never played a team sport. If the offense puts up 40points but the D gives up 45, how am I going to rip the offense? That doesn’t make much sense.

  146. 146 GEAGLE said at 1:46 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    The defense that has done more to deserve being 4-1’than the great offense…

  147. 147 Anders said at 1:02 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I would most likely complain about the horrid secondary performance needed for us to lose a game like that

  148. 148 GEAGLE said at 1:45 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Win or lose, the comments have become the same

  149. 149 mksp said at 1:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    If you care about winning a Super Bowl its probably more important to see Nick actually get on track than win any given game. But he’s been so inconsistent, not sure I’d take anything too meaningful away from it.

    The nice thing about ugly wins is they still count at the end of the year.

  150. 150 eagleyankfan said at 2:25 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    You can play well and win/lose. You can suck and win/lose. When there are areas of the team that suck, we’re allowed to point it out. If you want sunny skies with unicorns and flowers go read Spuds columns. Right now, the Monday after a win is “why did the prevent d not prevent anything”. Tomorrow the focus will change….

  151. 151 GEAGLE said at 2:49 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    No..l I’m sure there will be another 4-5 days of negativity…after all it’s philly

  152. 152 anon said at 2:50 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    but it’ll mean more when we say something nice.

  153. 153 eagleyankfan said at 3:05 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    to be honest — I expected to read how bad Foles played.(I’m glad there’s no focus there)..As much as I was on Cooper last week, he did make a nice catch(or 2) yesterday :).

  154. 154 Plzgetreal said at 1:14 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Cary Williams struggles when he plays. Period. Hopefully he’ll be gone by season’s end.

  155. 155 GEAGLE said at 1:46 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Lol

  156. 156 Plzgetreal said at 8:48 AM on October 7th, 2014:

    What’s not so brilliant is to think that he wouldn’t be replaced. But then why would you miss the chance for a snark even it it reveals your shallow thought process?

  157. 157 BobSmith77 said at 7:33 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Cary Williams:

    – Weaknesses:
    1. Starting NFL wide receivers (basically the makings of an Onion piece)

  158. 158 Sean Stott said at 1:26 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Saw Beau Allen in person. His arms are about as big around as a watermelon.

  159. 159 Crus57 said at 1:28 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I feel like something is off with the coaching of our CBs: in preseason Curtis Marsh and Roc Carmichael got torched when they didn’t turn their heads around to look for the ball, and now it is happening to Fletcher and Williams.

  160. 160 GEAGLE said at 1:35 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Chip just talked about it in the press conference..
    ..
    He shut up the dopes who cry about boykin saying that defense was on the field 26 plays in the 4th and boykin played every snap in the 4th..and Nolan played 20-26 because we were in dime a lot..
    ..
    Also said our outside corners have to work on their ball skills, turning around in time to see the ball and make a play on… He said they would be drilling it in practice this week

  161. 161 BobSmith77 said at 7:32 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Only put so much lipstick and mascara on a pig.

  162. 162 Mr. Magee said at 2:02 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    This is what, the 2nd post-mortem on the St. Louis game, and still no mention of the fact that the Eagles probably don’t win without a STs TD and a defensive TD? Same with last week… “Hey we didn’t win, but at least we were close and had a chance at the end.” Are the birds just expected to score on STs & defense at a prolific and historic rate?? I must have missed the memo.

    Sorry Tommy, really appreciate the effort on the blog, but I’m glad you’re writing about the team and not coaching it. I just think we’d all be better off if everything were on the table. Just sayin.

  163. 163 anon said at 2:03 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “I just think we’d all be better off if everything were on the table.” what does that mean?

  164. 164 Mr. Magee said at 2:15 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not sure it’s worth delving into that one statement… You get the gist of what I’m saying? Perhaps you do, but just don’t agree..

  165. 165 anon said at 2:18 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    First para i understand. That sentence I don’t. It’s a free country if you have something to say you should just say it.

  166. 166 Mr. Magee said at 2:30 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I think I did. If you don’t get it or don’t agree, I’m fine with that.

  167. 167 Crus57 said at 2:40 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    While it’s easy to subtract defensive and STs points from the total and see we would have lost, you also have to remember that because of those scores our offence didn’t get the ball. Now it’s not guaranteed that our O would’ve scored a TD each time, but they might’ve got a FG and burned more clock that would have become important later on.

  168. 168 Mr. Magee said at 3:10 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yeah, I know. But I’m ignoring them and kidding myself about where we’re at, either. And I’m not going into games expecting scores from these units..

  169. 169 Maggie said at 6:40 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    They are winning as a team! Sometimes my glass IS half full.

  170. 170 GEAGLE said at 2:18 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Thee Boss Hog Jason Peters has spoken: “we are better than you think we are..”
    ..
    As for yesterday “one or two plays go different and we score 50 and win a blowout”

  171. 171 anon said at 2:19 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I don’t think they are better than we think they are. This is a SB caliber team in my mind — they just aren’t playing that way. But if all 3 phases are working the only team that can beat us are the Broncos (maybe by implication SEA but we’ll find out).

  172. 172 eagleyankfan said at 2:44 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    this is too funny. Weren’t they also one or two plays from losing by 1? I agree, we expect them to play to their potential, which they haven’t yet. Better things are yet to come. I’m not saying they’ll go undefeated the rest of the season. I do think better play is coming. Including from the defense.

  173. 173 mtn_green said at 3:56 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Many more than one. Rams score still time on clock

  174. 174 GEAGLE said at 2:46 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “Protect the ball, and we blow teams out”- the boss hog
    ..,
    Props to Jason Peters, he showed why he is the best LT. in the game… He went toe to toe with one of the NFLs most dominant players who can really take over a game, and he held him in check all day long… Can’t wait to watch all the snaps from that battle…

  175. 175 anon said at 2:47 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    not sure what they did on defense. If i’m the rams i’m stunting, running double and triple a gap blitzes, etc.

  176. 176 NinjaP said at 8:25 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    While with a noticeable limp.

  177. 177 kaninfaan said at 2:30 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “The Lions are going to be looking for another kicker (Matt Prater’s agent should have already received a call by the time you read this). Alex Henery — signed two weeks ago — missed three field goals. Lions kickers are now 1-for-9 on attempts longer than 30 yards on the season.”

    Evidently Alex Henery still bleeds Eagles Green… 😉

  178. 178 GEAGLE said at 2:32 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Who hell is the female reporter that has credentials to ask questions at Novacare that keeps asking chip n players all these intelligent questions compared to all our dopey beat reporters like Les who ask all the ridiculous questions?

    For weeks now at press conferences I hear this woman’s voice always asking really good questions not wasting her access on crap or drama… No idea who she is or what media outlet she works for….anyone know who I’m talking about?

    Color me impressed

  179. 179 RobNE said at 2:56 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Ashley Fox?

  180. 180 GEAGLE said at 2:57 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    No way… She can’t possibly a) ask intelligent questions, B) why would she be at Novacare every single day….has to be a local reporter

  181. 181 RobNE said at 2:58 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I was joking. Remember that hit piece she did last year on Chip? I don’t remember the specifics, but I remember she did it.

  182. 182 GEAGLE said at 2:59 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yeah…she is infamous lol

  183. 183 GEAGLE said at 2:52 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    If Rashard jennings doesn’t play this week it’s a big blow to Giants… Tho our defensive line would eat him and that midget OL for dinner next Sunday…

    ODB is finally playing for them… Eagles defense is going to put on a show against the Giants… Hopefully our secondary joins the party

  184. 184 anon said at 2:53 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    their other RB is decent — gave him bradshaw’s number

  185. 185 GEAGLE said at 2:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Yeah the Andre dude… Just think stylisticalky they are the types of backs our DL performs real well against. Doubt Giants can run on us…especially if kendrick plays..

  186. 186 eagleyankfan said at 2:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    It’s the TE that scares me.

  187. 187 anon said at 2:58 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    yeah 0 yds this week — fantasy season is in ruins.

  188. 188 eagleyankfan said at 2:59 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    he SCREWED me this past week with 0 points. I HATE HIM!!! LOL

  189. 189 Anders said at 3:13 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Who? Donnell is a flash in the pan type TE tbh.

  190. 190 anon said at 3:16 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    nah i think he’ll be part of the game plan as the dump off guy. It’ll be interesting to see what ODB does going forward.

  191. 191 mtn_green said at 3:53 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Cook had his moments last Sunday.

  192. 192 miked718 said at 2:59 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    No mention of Beau Allen’s braided pony tail with the pink ribbon?? He looked like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Best use of pink that I saw in any game yesterday.

  193. 193 ian_no_2 said at 3:26 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    All praise of long blonde hair aggregately extends Riley and Casey’s Eagles career.

  194. 194 mksp said at 4:42 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Loved it!

  195. 195 anon said at 3:11 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “Foles currently ranks tied for 32nd out of 35 QBs on PFF (minimum 25% snaps). Only Geno Smith and Jake Locker have been graded worse on the entire season.”

  196. 196 SteveH said at 3:29 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not surprising. He hasn’t played well at all, outside of the Washington game and parts of the Indy game.

  197. 197 GEAGLE said at 3:29 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    PFF also told you we were getting a garbage safety in mAlcolm Jenkins lol

  198. 198 anon said at 3:31 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    pff is what it is.

  199. 199 GEAGLE said at 3:32 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Does more harm than good that site…. Couldn’t pay me to visit that site

  200. 200 mtn_green said at 3:52 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Oh

  201. 201 botto said at 4:23 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    how does he rank in the one catagory that counts?
    wins and losses?

  202. 202 D3FB said at 4:49 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    AQ Shipley was their 3rd rated center. AQ Shipley got benched last week.

  203. 203 ian_no_2 said at 3:16 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    The Eagles could consider mixing in some blitz packages and press coverages when they’re up by a lot. It’s better to have CBs that can play off and play the ball, of course.

    Re: playing the ball, Kelly said that will be a priority in practices this week, which is good. The problem is that timing your look back so that you don’t get beaten deep or on a receivers cut is an intuitive skill that takes a long time to learn. You can’t learn it in one week. Boykin and Watkins can still learn it. Curtis Marsh is fast and tall enough to play the position but it became clear this summer that nearing a second contract, all information about how to play the position had gone in one ear and out the other.

  204. 204 mtn_green said at 3:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Eagles brought heat on fourth and 15 last rams play.

  205. 205 GEAGLE said at 3:26 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    COOL NEWS!!!!

    For the first time, Eagles will wear black uniforms with black pants for Sunday nights giant game

  206. 206 botto said at 4:22 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    eh, dont really care if they wear pink they just need to win this one

  207. 207 Maggie said at 6:33 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Maybe that’s why all black uniforms. Good contrast for the pink anti breast cancer accessories.

  208. 208 BobSmith77 said at 7:29 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Never been a fan of the all black uniforms unless it is the New Zealand rugby team. Trend that seems worn out and overplayed too.

  209. 209 botto said at 4:43 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    biggets game of the year coming up.
    whcih menas we need Fole’s best game fo the year without a doubt.
    i know Chip says all games are the same but he better realize how much we hate the giants and how badly we need to beat them.
    this needs to be mccoys best game as well.

  210. 210 BobSmith77 said at 7:20 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Important game? Yes
    Biggest game of the year? Absolutely not.

  211. 211 botto said at 8:06 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    you bet it is.
    biggest game so far i guess i should say. but beating the giants is always big

  212. 212 botto said at 4:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    looks like no jennings this week fo rthe giants, thats good, but we’ve been winning without mccoy too so….

  213. 213 GermanEagle said at 5:18 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I am pretty sure a no name RB will make things pretty interesting for the Eagles again..

  214. 214 botto said at 5:29 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    ugh, true

  215. 215 GENETiC-FREAK said at 5:24 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Andre Williams might be better than Jennings.. Runs hard

  216. 216 Maggie said at 6:41 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    “Any time a player is good in a limited role you have to be careful about projecting the results based on more touches and/or playing time. It is rarely as simple as “just get that guy on the field more”.” Boykin.

  217. 217 BobSmith77 said at 7:44 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    After listening to Kelly/McCoy/others yesterday and today, it simply doesn’t add up why McCoy ‘removed himself’ from the final 4 plays of the game yesterday with Sproles getting those 4 carries.

    I don’t buy for a second that after the timeout was called that McCoy was too winded/tired to carry the ball and that it was by design or standard in their rotation.

    My bet is that McCoy was frustrated with himself (and with Kelly who got in his face after that fumble) and Kelly simply didn’t have time to deal with McCoy’s pouting/immaturity. One thing to put Sproles in their on 2nd or 3rd down but removing your franchise RB when you are trying to pick up a 1st down and end the game simply makes no sense.

    Eagles wisely tried to squash it today and didn’t provide any additional insight. I do wonder if this lingers though especially if McCoy continues to struggle so much.

  218. 218 botto said at 8:01 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    he isn’t playing like a franchise RB. it’s sure on the oline but he is not looking good. sproles IS looking good though

  219. 219 anon said at 8:04 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I think he’s frustrated, i wouldn’t call it pouting but maybe it is. He’s a space runner not a pile mover. He’s got no space. He wanted to prove he’s the best and it’s not happening, life just throws curveballs. I’d be nice if we could dominate in the passing game to open things up but right now there’s 8 to 9 guys in the box.

    Sproles is running better right now — i took it as a sign of maturity.

  220. 220 anon said at 8:34 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    This running QB is KILLING the skins right now.

  221. 221 ConcussedFB said at 8:43 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Underthrow, floater that his WR should have caught, and another floater down the seam that Foles throws and gets killed for here.

  222. 222 anon said at 8:50 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    60yds running read option is what i mean. makes it easy. Orakpo out — that makes it even easier.

  223. 223 ConcussedFB said at 8:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I know exactly what you meant. I just noticed his passes. Im not even criticizing Wilson.

  224. 224 anon said at 8:52 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I can’t tell if it’s Wilson or Vick tonight.

  225. 225 SteveH said at 8:49 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Redskins look like they’ve never seen a read option before.

  226. 226 SteveH said at 8:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Orakpo hurt but doesn’t look serious.

  227. 227 SteveH said at 8:52 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Hahahaaa… the Skins are getting destroyed.

  228. 228 ConcussedFB said at 8:53 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Was there any doubt?

  229. 229 SteveH said at 8:55 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not really, but still a treat to watch. Seahawks managed to mess up 2 snaps in 3 plays, get it together Seattle!

  230. 230 SteveH said at 8:58 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Seattle defense is ridiculous, we’re going to get annihilated by them,

  231. 231 anon said at 8:59 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    yeah hopefully we get it together by then

  232. 232 SteveH said at 9:01 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    If we played them next week it would be ugly.

  233. 233 GermanEagle said at 6:43 AM on October 7th, 2014:

    No they’re not! All I needed from the Seahawks was 9 points in my fantasy league and they only scored 6!!!

  234. 234 GermanEagle said at 9:07 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Is this an Eagles thang that most fans automatically write off any NFCE team but the Eagles?!

    I have to say that both the Giants and Cowboys currently look better than us. And my gut wouldn’t be surprised if the Redskins hang in there tonight as well; even against the legion of boom.

  235. 235 ConcussedFB said at 9:15 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I think you went a little too far with the ‘Skins. It does seem like a common narrative.

  236. 236 ConcussedFB said at 9:16 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I still think we beat both.

  237. 237 bubqr said at 9:30 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I agree that recent years have showed that the SB winner is often a team that was not great during the season, but for whom everything clicked in the playoffs. Our objectives is to get in the playoffs, period. Until we get to weeks 13/14+, I won’t be overly worried by the way we win, as long as we win.
    I’d say that now, my biggest worry is not Foles, the OL, McCoy, it’s the division and Dallas/NY being not as bad as I thought they would be. That NYG game is already very important.

  238. 238 anon said at 9:47 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Wow Djax touchdown against the best corner in the league — who would have thought.

  239. 239 CrackSammich said at 11:01 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Wasn’t against Sherman. Sherman passed him off, but was still the closest to him anyway because the guy he passed him off to was so far out of it.

  240. 240 anon said at 11:05 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    yeah zone coverage first time, double coverage second time.

  241. 241 CrackSammich said at 11:08 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    looked more like they flipped the coverage in man, though diagnosing coverages is admittedly not my strength. The second catch into double coverage was on the opposite sideline from Sherman.

  242. 242 iceberg584 said at 9:51 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    Not to rehash the tired “Chip needs a mobile quarterback narrative”, but could you imagine what Chip’s offense could do with Russell Wilson? This is a real zone read that he’s running out there tonight. What’s just as frustrating is that Andy and Howie intended to draft Wilson, and just missed him.

  243. 243 anon said at 9:56 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    yup

  244. 244 anon said at 10:14 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    wow. Djax catches another bomb in double coverage against the best secondary in the league.

  245. 245 ConcussedFB said at 10:15 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    I may be coming around to your point.

  246. 246 SteveH said at 10:41 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    It’s amazing how different Seattle is at home versus on the road. At home they look unbeatable, on the road they look very good but not unstoppable.

  247. 247 anon said at 10:45 PM on October 6th, 2014:

    they don’t look that good on offense rw has 100yds rushing. it’s anyone’s game right now.