Solving Problems

Posted: October 27th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 395 Comments »

Nick Foles throws too many INTs. He tells us week after week that he is working on it.

Chip Kelly talks about fixing trouble spots, like the Red Zone offense.

Bill Davis talks about the need to stop giving up big plays.

All 3 of these problems have plagued the Eagles this year, but aren’t getting solved. I realize “plagued” is a strong word for a 5-2 team, but without these issues the Eagles could be 7-0 or at least playing better football.

The Eagles have smart players. Chip Kelly focuses on adding intelligent, high character, coachable players. Kelly is a very smart coach. He hired a veteran staff of coaches that he describes as “teachers”. So why is there so little progress on the issues?

You can want to solve problems. You can try to solve problems. You can have the right situation to get problems solved. But sometimes problems are…well, problematic.

I think Foles issues are the most complex. You want him to eliminate the INTs, but you don’t want him to become hesitant about making aggressive throws. I’d rather have a QB be too aggressive than too hesitant. Now, understand there is a difference in aggressive and stupid. The INTs from the Giants game were just dumb. Low reward, high risk. No reason to make them. If Foles forces a ball to someone to try and give his guy a chance to make a play, I can deal with that pick a heck of a lot easier than one that was an obvious bad decision.

I do think the play of the O-line has had a big impact on Foles. First, his protection has been erratic. That causes Foles to rush things even on some plays where he does have time. Pressure can also cause bad mechanics. We’ve seen Foles throwing off his back foot at times. We’ve seen him look awkward even when he tries to step into his throws.

Poor OL play caused problems with the run game. That has led Kelly to call a lot of pass plays. In 10 starts last year, Foles had 3 games where he threw 30 or more passes. Foles has thrown at least 34 passes in all 7 games this year. He’s been over 40 on 4 different occasions. Foles was more than a game manager last year, but he certainly wasn’t carrying the offense on his back.

Foles can solve some of his own problems, but let’s not ignore circumstances and the effect they have. Better OL play and a consistent run game will help him as well.

I think the Red Zone issues are heavily influenced by the OL situation. When you get into a condensed space, scheme is less important than execution. Blocking needs to be precise. That’s not been the case for the Eagles this year. Things are improving as the OL gets healthy and builds continuity, but there is still a long way to go. I look forward to seeing how the line plays when the starting 5 are finally together. The Red Zone offense should look different.

As to Davis and the big plays…that is a mystery. There isn’t one common denominator that I see. Sometimes there are bad decisions (see Nate Allen yesterday). Sometimes there are guys taking bad angles. CBs have not played the ball well on several of them. There has been confusion on some plays. This is more of a true group problem.

I like Davis and think he will get this resolved, but we’ll have to wait and see. Many of these issues involve players that were here last year so it is hard to understand the breakdowns.

The good news is that these are solvable problems. The bad news is that we’re almost at midseason and the problems haven’t been solved yet.

_


395 Comments on “Solving Problems”

  1. 1 Henly125 said at 10:49 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    I would rather the Eagles get back in full gear when the offensive line gets healthy. Once the entire unit is intact, expect better play all around. Better to get hot when the playoffs are near.

    Looks like Romo might miss some time. DeSean is looking good tonight too.

  2. 2 Charlie Kelly said at 10:53 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    wasnt the red zone an issue last year too? with the starters on OL?

  3. 3 TommyLawlor said at 11:08 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Eagles were 13th last year. 32nd this year. Huge difference.

  4. 4 anon said at 11:29 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    wow i didn’t know we were THAT bad. Can’t blame the OL for that bc our hurt OL is better than some guys’ starting OLs

  5. 5 holeplug said at 12:26 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    and it was that low last year b/c of Vick’s numbers. He was brutal in the RZ. Think they were around top 5 in Foles starts.

  6. 6 iceberg584 said at 10:53 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    That was actually top-notch reporting by Lisa Salters. She was all over that story, and the cameras even caught Jerry Jones telling Jason Garrett that Romo might be back for this game.

    This compared to the horrible production job for the Eagles-Cards game yesterday.

  7. 7 Dominik said at 11:13 AM on October 29th, 2014:

    I watch the games re-live and I missed the time right before kick off, so I didn’t know who was active/inactive and I obviously could not quickly look it up. But why wasn’t there any word on the Eagle injuries? They made Beau Allen the starter in their graphic (why?), so I thought Logan was injured. Could have happened in warm ups, idk. Saw him and felt better.

    Saw Kendricks and felt better, but then I didn’t see him for a long time. Thought he was re-injured, but later he was on the field again. A quick update from the sideline reporter would have been great, imho. Why wouldn’t the Eagles say to the reporter that Kendricks was brought back slowly?

    No word on Sproles, altough I figured it out later, especially when Maclin was back returning punts.

  8. 8 anon said at 11:00 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    on the article, ok let’s kick the ball down the road 4 more weeks. i can buy losing two interior OL making the QB look like hot *ss, but you think Foles is going to get way better ‘fundamentally’ in the last 6 games?

  9. 9 FairOaks said at 12:38 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think, save for the INTs, he’s looking very good now. I’m not seeing the major inaccuracy from early in the year. It was the turnovers which stopped us in the red zone yesterday (that and the odd third down play call). So yes, the INTs need to be cut down, and the red zone needs to improve. But he’s far better than early in the year.

  10. 10 anon said at 12:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hard to say he’s playing well. but it is what it is — gotta keep plugging away.

  11. 11 D3FB said at 1:31 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Look at what he does when he steps into his throw. That ball to Maclin was a 65 yard pass that he couldn’t have thrown any better. When he gets his feet set and isn’t throwing off his back foot, he looks great. Part of that will increase with better protection. Part of that is fundamentals.

    I think the idea that he’s ever going to be a top 5 QB is a bit overboard. As is the notion that he’s crap, because he isn’t anywhere near a finished product, he hasn’t even had 900 career attempts yet. But he could very easily become a Joe Flacco/Ben Rothelisberger/Phillip Rivers level QB. He’s not going to take you all the way on his own like a Brees, Rodgers, Brady, Manning, but put a decent team around him, get a few lucky bounces in the playoffs, and you have a quality shot at winning the whole thing.

  12. 12 anon said at 1:49 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Agree with all that. Just gotta get rid of the picks our TO ratio is terrible (it’s not all Foles’ fault). I don’t think Foles looks that bad, he just doesn’t look good enough for us to be what i think we’re capable of being. But it is what it is, with QBs you sort of have to stay positive and keep trucking, so much is about confidence.

  13. 13 D3FB said at 11:17 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m ok with how he is playing. The turnovers are frustrating. But this year was never going to be Super Bowl or bust. Short of an implosion we’re going to be in the playoffs. There is no clear favorite in the NFC anymore. It’s looking more and more like 5 or even all 6 teams who make it are all going to be pretty much even money, with anybody being able to beat anybody. If Nick continues to develop, and we win a game or two in the playoffs, it’s been a great year.

  14. 14 daveH said at 12:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    and as long as we get IN playoffs ..he is good enough to hustle a stolen game or more (like he has already proven he can do!)

  15. 15 MaggieMagpie said at 3:38 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Let’s keep in mind that San Diego gave up on Brees 3 years into his career.

  16. 16 xeynon said at 10:50 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think it remains to be seen. He doesn’t have the athleticism to ever be what Aaron Rodgers is, but whether he can duplicate the other guys depends on whether he can fix his technical flaws and further develop his mental understanding of the game.

  17. 17 daveH said at 12:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    your comment should be mandatory reading!!
    he doesn’t have to be top5 and I think the management would be much much happier never having to pay him top5 $$ ! Rothlesburger may end up in HOF (right, 2 rings gets you in..if he snags another then automatic) so id replace him with Matt Ryan. .but i’m just digressing from your very important first 2 sentances of 2nd paragraph.

  18. 18 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:03 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Maybe the problems are solvable, maybe not. If you look at Foles’ draft scouting reports, you see the same problems. To wit:

    Weaknesses:
    Field vision
    Lacks mobility
    Decision-making
    Streaky
    Too many interceptions
    Footwork
    http://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2012nfoles.php

  19. 19 anon said at 11:28 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    i hate to think we are what we are but sometimes it’s as simple as that.

  20. 20 D3FB said at 1:20 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Keep in mind that the AZ OL was beyond hot garbage. That unit would have been bad in the Sun Belt. The only other NFL player on that offense was Juron Criner, who couldn’t stick at WR in Oakland. You could have stuck Peyton Manning with that group and he would have gotten the same negatives.

  21. 21 ConcussedFB said at 1:44 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Now list his strengths.

  22. 22 George said at 9:01 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    “Derek Anderson. Anderson was a sixth-round pick of the Ravens in the 2005 NFL Draft. Anderson had some success in 2007, but he has proven to be just a backup in the NFL. Anderson (6-6, 235) is a statue pocket passer who has a big arm. Foles is the same kind of quarterback” comparisson from same scouting report. I hete to think the one-yr. wonder thing is true, but i’m starting to think it is

  23. 23 xeynon said at 10:52 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    The difference is that apart from his one good year, Derek Anderson has sucked. Foles has played very well at times (if inconsistently) in his other two seasons.

  24. 24 sutherneagle said at 2:11 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    san diego gave up on brees after 3 years,look how that turned out for them.
    too soon judge

  25. 25 Poppi said at 11:06 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Tommy – you always say perspective, so here’s one – think five year plan, or four if you are really anxious, to get most everything right. Let’s see, Chipper has been on the job for nearly a season and a half Andy was 1-11 his last twelve games and Chip will likely take us to the playoffs two straight right off the bat. And wait, The AZ Cards are 4-0 at home including defeats of SD and SF and may be the only one loss team in the NFC after tonight. Let’s all breathe and give the man a chance to replace the bad eggs and build a franchise. Give us the starters back on the OL and Sproles and see what happens. Can’t do much about the secondary this year.

  26. 26 shah8 said at 11:10 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    OT: I’m having trouble seeing how the Cowboys are a good team, this game.

  27. 27 anon said at 11:26 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    doesn’t matter if they come away with the w

  28. 28 shah8 said at 11:31 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Nah, it’s just like me and Foles. These guys are just not good enough. Sooner or later, the mirage evaporates. DC is playing better fundamental defense. The Jets defense feels like a better unit than these Cowboys, and they’re playing WR at CB at times. There’s not really enough talent or discipline to think this will hold up, at all. Look at all the missed tackles for instance. It’s not as if these are try-hard dudes playing sound. This is genuinely a weak talented defense that isn’t all that disciplined. They just fly to the ball, like a certain Texas alumni that played for cup of coffee here.

  29. 29 Joe Minx said at 11:33 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Rod Marinelli must have some otherwordly coaching ability because most of the guys on that D should be unloading packages at Home Depot.

  30. 30 fran35 said at 11:53 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Murray is an absolute beast. His speed, power and vision are eye popping this year…..until he gets injured.

  31. 31 anon said at 11:55 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    too many carries. he’s eye popping every year they just never ran the ball before.

  32. 32 shah8 said at 11:17 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    On topic, I see Foles problems as essentially deriving from his lack of talent. He’s trying to play at a level higher than he’s genuinely capable of, and getting erratic. Some of his INTs are a result of him trying to throw into more windows and give up less sacks. Of course, he’s not getting that great protection he did last year, and he’s not allowed to do so many lofted balls as he has preferred to do. That makes thing harder, because it means that he has much less margin for error in his mechanics. Does have to be a bit mentally tougher about setting his feet and throwing, but he is who he is, and that Cincinnati game in 2012 shows the real issues with him any time you ask him to be a real QB carrying the full weight of a passing offense, without easy reads and throws all the time.

  33. 33 Buge Halls said at 10:34 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    So I guess last year wasn’t the “real Foles”? You can’t pick out one bad game and claim that’s who he is, but just forget about all the great games he’s had. Who’s to say the game he had in Oakland last year isn’t the “real Foles” and he will get back to form once the O-line is whole again?

  34. 34 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:26 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Guess you are not familiar with the awesomeness of shah8. In his worldview, Chip dumbed down the offense so that Foles only had to do simple throws, not “NFL throws” that someone with a weak arm could execute. Against the Raiders, Foles threw 7 TDs, but they weren’t “big boy” throws. Eventually, Foles’ lack of talent will be exposed. (FYI, “talent” in this context purely means the arm strength to throw a 50 yard laser off your back foot with a flick of your arm).

  35. 35 D3FB said at 11:30 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    and Joe Webb is the greatest QB in the history of football.

  36. 36 shah8 said at 2:17 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Joe Webb, a reliably passing version, would eventually take Foles’ job.

  37. 37 anon said at 11:26 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    colt mccoy about to crap his pants

  38. 38 Joe Minx said at 11:28 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    As to Davis and the big plays…that is a mystery.

    3/5 of the secondary blows. No mystery there.

  39. 39 TommyLawlor said at 11:29 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    If D is designed to not let guys behind you, talent should not make that impossible.

  40. 40 Joe Minx said at 11:30 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Totally agree.

  41. 41 Anders said at 3:48 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Take the Brown TD. Talent was part of that. Some of Williams or Allen had bad technique.

  42. 42 GEAGLE said at 8:51 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    What’s billy going to do, if nate keeps “biting the cheese” as chip put it, on double moves?

  43. 43 daveH said at 12:40 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I hope Nate’s left hamstring is OK..he grabbed as his man was crossing the goal line .. was wondering if he really hurt it or if it was fake hurt ..like when your 4 yr old gets in trouble and he fake hurts his leg “oH I HURT My LAG”
    frekaing nate just run the guy down man!

  44. 44 ceteris_paribus1776 said at 9:45 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Athletic ability is a subset of talent. Talent includes mental capabilities and the ability to read and understand the game. I don’t care how athletic you are if you don’t understand how to play the game. Getting beat on deep balls can happen even with the most athletic players. Biting on a double move in that situation is mentally reprehensible, that is why Nate Allen isn’t that talented. Once we start divorcing the idea that athlete=talent, it makes it easier to understand why something’s never change

  45. 45 Ark87 said at 9:52 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    It didn’t exactly seem like prevent to me though, seemed like an aggressive call with all the DB’s so far up (which I like btw), just didn’t work out.

  46. 46 D3FB said at 11:10 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Quarters is a fairly conservative coverage.

  47. 47 Ark87 said at 11:51 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah, rewatching it, Nate gave him plenty of cushion was just blown away, if he would have noticed it the dude hauling ass sooner he might have been able to get more depth and turn the hips slightly sooner to run with him. Nate’s zone there was the middle deep though, looks like that was William’s zone, of which in Quarters aren’t both CB’s and Nate all supposed to stay deeper than the deepest man? Seems to me the WR did a nice job of splitting the zones, Nate started moving towards his middle deep zone responsibility (possibly saw Fitz as a threat running a slant), Williams wasn’t supposed to let anyone get by him either. They all just got blown away.

    But you’re right, it was fairly conservative in that everyone dropped into coverage.

    PS: I hate you for making me go back and watch this over and over to have a half-decent conversation with you

  48. 48 D3FB said at 12:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yea he split the zones. A couple people noted that the route combination is a notorious “quarters beater”. Good play call by the Cards. Poor execution by us.

  49. 49 daveH said at 12:45 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I watched it like 8 times.
    looked like all the receivers turned in (except for Larry) and a bunch of our D stepped up at all the same time .. so other guys also reacted ..but Carson didn’t really pump so if it wudve been better if Nate was staring at QB he would not have been faked out

  50. 50 TommyLawlor said at 11:28 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    I don’t know how Ryan Kerrigan didn’t fall on that fumble. Ugh. Hope the Skins can pull this out.

  51. 51 Pennguino said at 11:30 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    I thought there was holding in the end zone on that first down pass. Never called

  52. 52 anon said at 11:31 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    you surprised. ref’s not making that call in jerry’s world

  53. 53 Mitchell said at 11:54 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    TOMMY I THINK I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! *eh hem* Too happy after this Cowboys loss.

  54. 54 eagleyankfan said at 9:15 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    The Redskins should have had that int right after that play too….

  55. 55 anon said at 11:36 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    this is a nail biter

  56. 56 shah8 said at 11:43 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Heh, and the usual suspects in DC will attempt to hand the starting role to McCoy…

    He did do well, but honestly? Bad defense.

  57. 57 shah8 said at 11:43 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Oh, and we didn’t fall behind in the standings, that’s nice…

  58. 58 fran35 said at 11:51 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    I wasn’t impressed with McCoy. Their defense and defensive scheme was impressive to me. Their CBs have been decimated with injuries and these guys still played well.

  59. 59 Mitchell said at 11:44 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Cowboys just got exposed.

  60. 60 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:48 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Woo hoo!

  61. 61 BC1968 said at 11:50 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    We got that game back and they lost a division game.

  62. 62 anon said at 11:50 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    so forget everything i said before, playoffs!!!

  63. 63 anon said at 11:52 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    murray put up 220 yds. wow.

  64. 64 P_P_K said at 11:53 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    I keep waiting for him to get tired.

  65. 65 GermanEagle said at 7:44 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    …and waiting…and waiting…and waiting.

  66. 66 EagleNebula said at 12:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yet they only got 17 points.

  67. 67 BC1968 said at 11:53 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Seemed like McCoy completed a lot of third and very shorts.

  68. 68 CrackSammich said at 9:37 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Jordan Reed and good play design. Gruden the broadcaster was calling the plays out before the snap… Good game planning by Gruden the coach.

  69. 69 Anders said at 9:40 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Jordan Reed is a very good TE and if healthy might be best TE from that year

  70. 70 BC1968 said at 11:54 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    7-1 Cowboys? The announcer asked Colt how it felt to beat the 7-1 Cowboys. See?: Those idiots gave them that game already. I hope they have a lot of white out in their studios.

  71. 71 PK_NZ said at 11:55 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    One thing I thought while I was watching this game. Foles doesn’t really use McCoy as a check down at all. Could be by design, but it just seems like dumping it to him would be way better than throwing those long bombs out of bounds over and over…

  72. 72 anon said at 11:56 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    agree 100% looking at tape he’s open a lot, but he never looks at the check down, like he used to back in the day.

  73. 73 PK_NZ said at 12:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m sure it’s Foles not wanting to take a sack or throw an INT, but seems like every 3rd pass gets thrown out of bounds…

  74. 74 D3FB said at 1:08 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    That’s called good decision making.

  75. 75 PK_NZ said at 5:55 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I just just wish instead of throwing it away as much, every now and then McCoy would be there to get a yard or two, or do his thing and make a big play… If we’re focusing on throwing, at least give your best player a chance to do something with the ball in hand even when its not designed so… Easier said than done, we all know, but McCoys absence from the passing game is definitely a trend.

  76. 76 anon said at 11:57 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    djax 6/136 #sigh. but i guess he’s not that guy.

  77. 77 since1961 said at 12:36 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Dropped pass, illegal hands to the face; big talent, also big issues. I think Kelly figured “less drama is easier”. When Andy decided to sign TO, I thought “whoa, we’re willing to try anything.” I guess Kelly’s not ready for that (yet.)

  78. 78 anon said at 12:37 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    TO project would have worked with a better QB, i won’t draw any parallels…

  79. 79 since1961 said at 12:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Head cases don’t lend themselves to rational analysis; maybe if the QB was a bigger diva????

  80. 80 daveH said at 12:53 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    disagree. I think DMac was very good QB. Mac was so good he covered up ALL of Andy’s faults!!! 50 plus attempts a game and lousy recievers for years!!
    all Andy’s fault.
    1st good receiver = super bowl. and watch the game and see how many scrambling yards Mac has in the 1st half!! its like the entire offensive line was asleep or on the take.
    ..
    ..andy should have paid TO a few more bucks and the issue never would have smoldered and the entire 05 season would NOT hav been a painful waste.
    ..
    but it’s Andy Reid’s arrogance that hurt us the most.

  81. 81 bdbd20 said at 7:21 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    The guy is an incredible talent. If the coaches couldn’t work with him, that’s life.

    The last coach loved him and went 8-8 and 4-12. You don’t bring Chip in here unless he has control over the roster.

  82. 82 Buge Halls said at 10:36 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    If the last coach “loved him”, why isn’t he in KC right now?

  83. 83 Crus57 said at 11:42 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    because he wanted to stay in the NFC East for revenge?

  84. 84 daveH said at 12:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    andy reid loves KFC

  85. 85 sutherneagle said at 2:23 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    how about only wash would give the $ he was asking for?

  86. 86 Buge Halls said at 2:50 PM on October 29th, 2014:

    No, because nobody else wanted to sign him – especially Big Red who had put up with him for years!

  87. 87 Anthony Hart said at 8:48 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    He could have promised Chip a 2000 yard 20 TD season and he still would have been cut. Had nothing to do with play, everything to do with DeSean being a shady jerk who Chip couldn’t stand and didn’t want around.

  88. 88 xeynon said at 10:54 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    GET. OVER. IT.

  89. 89 BobSmith77 said at 11:58 PM on October 27th, 2014:

    Jackson with another huge night.

    Eagles have been horrendous in the red zone but I would bet their run production has fell off a cliff there this year. Subsequently also had a real impact on their passing numbers especially on Cooper and TEs (especially Celek) red zone production.

  90. 90 EagleNebula said at 12:21 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Run production has improved since the line got Johnson back. Continuity and not starting essentially 3 3rd stringers (Herramans at tackle was the 3rd option) with a back up center playing the first few games of his career makes a huge difference

  91. 91 Buge Halls said at 10:37 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    How many TD’s in that “huge night”?

  92. 92 BobSmith77 said at 10:59 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    missing the point and in a tight, low-scoring game with 2 conservative game plays he had a few big plays and key catches.

  93. 93 BC1968 said at 12:02 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    You guys can thank me later or whatever, and I appreciate the guys who had my back. 99 percent is off the charts.

    BC1968

    10 hours ago

    Here’s something that I’m going to say that’s going to make everyone
    feel better: The Dallas Cowboys will LOSE tonight. No doubt, this is not
    a game they will win. The Redskins will shut down the run, Romo will
    throw some picks and the skins’ offense will do enough on their side to
    score more points than the Girls. There you go, feel better now.

    1

    Joe Minx

    BC1968

    10 hours ago

    You saying it doesn’t make it so. They have a 99% chance of winning & everybody knows it.

    EagleNebula

    Joe Minx

    10 hours ago

    99%? No NFL game is that guaranteed, especially not divisional games.

    1

    BC1968

    EagleNebula

    5 hours ago

    Seriously thanks for stepping in there, what a freaking party pooper.

    D3FB

    BC1968

    4 hours ago

    The Broncos could play Colorado State and wouldn’t even have a 99% chance of winning.

  94. 94 EagleNebula said at 12:17 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Edit:crap phone commented on the wrong reply

  95. 95 BobSmith77 said at 12:05 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Cowboys will go as far as Romo’s back and Murray’s knees carry them. One of the biggest reasons why I thought the Boys would struggle this year (6-10) was that Romo was going to miss meaningful time & Weeden would start at least 4-5 G.

  96. 96 P_P_K said at 11:36 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I doubt Romo will make it through the season. Back surgery is no small thing.

  97. 97 anon said at 12:05 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    colt mccoy 25/30 for 300yds.

  98. 98 EagleNebula said at 12:12 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Cowboys secondary is definitely suspect…

  99. 99 Cafone said at 2:27 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    He had DeSean Jackson

  100. 100 MaggieMagpie said at 3:33 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Really? Every play? Every touchdown?

  101. 101 GermanEagle said at 7:43 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Some could think DeDean cheated on you with your wife.

  102. 102 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:17 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Er, Mrs. Maclin has a wife?

  103. 103 D3FB said at 11:20 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Statistically speaking since Maggie is a female, and she has a grown son, I’m thinking it’s unlikely she has a wife.

  104. 104 GermanEagle said at 12:16 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    You never know these days.

  105. 105 sutherneagle said at 2:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    in today`s world, you never know

  106. 106 MaggieMagpie said at 3:08 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    At no time did this heterosexual mother of 4 EVER say I hated DiccSean. Where did you get that idea? I hate the endless fawning over him which the media and some other folks keep doing. I hate the mooning over a former player who is GONE and no amount of talking about how many passes he caught is going to bring him back!
    I also hate rap crap with a passion as so much of it over the years has brainwashed young males into believing that it is a good thing to hate, kill, rape, abuse and use drugs. DiccSean likes to think he is a rapper which automatically makes me glad he’s gone.
    Stats:
    2012 2 touchdowns
    2011 4 touchdowns
    2010 6 touchdowns
    2009 9 touchdowns
    2008 2 touchdowns
    Yet writers and some other folks keep insisting that he was a “dominant” player. Male bovine manure.

  107. 107 GermanEagle said at 3:40 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Preach it mama!

  108. 108 CrackSammich said at 9:34 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    No. He had Jordan Reed to get him a bunch of short 3rd and 4th downs. But Jackson had 136 yds, most of which came on 2 plays. It was a pretty dominant night for him, all things considered.

  109. 109 Buge Halls said at 10:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah, and ZERO TD’s. Dominant? SMH

  110. 110 Nicodemus_09 said at 1:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I definitely think that Kelly & Davis can fix these issues. But at this point, not this year & not with portions of this personnel (DB’s & REALLY SAD to say I’m starting to doubt with Foles either). Yes the O line has certainly been in flux & patch worked, but they’ve given up what? ONE whole sack in the last 2 games? And he still threw some truly horrific back foot picks that are discouraging enough to at least for me, negate the majority of the good things he’s done. I’ve said, even though 5-2 is absolutely a good record I feel like it’s despite Nick not because of him. I’d still say the same if we were 6-1, I’d just be happier. And I HATE IT because I was crazy on his band wagon & want him to be the guy still. Our DB’s w/ the exception of Jenkins I think most of us agree need to be replaced as soon as reasonably possible. Sconces is another one I liked attitude wise & has def. had some good games but when he messes up, he messes up big. Bottom line for me is being only in year 2, I think what Kelly & the coaches have accomplished is incredible & we are just a couple of guys away from being a reliable consistent powerhouse. Just based on our record alone, with all the turnovers & sloppy play at QB, it speaks volumes for me what the staff has been able to accomplish.

  111. 111 D3FB said at 1:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    A big reason they have only given up 7 sacks is because of Foles. Don’t confuse sacks with protection. Foles is still getting planted a good amount of the time. He’s taking a lot of hits.

  112. 112 Joe Lawrence said at 7:52 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    How many of his back foot throws are conscious decisions he’s making to get the ball out quicker? Sometimes it seems like he’s short arming the ball while his lower body is still dropping back. When it’s a designed play, it works nicely. When he’s trying to buy some time or gets happy feet, the results are the exact opposite.

  113. 113 Nicodemus_09 said at 3:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think you’re right. And the example that popped immediately into my head where he did EXACTLY what your describing, was that horrific pick he through while backpedaling, intended for Sproles on the right sideline in the red zone no less & he slung that one to an apparently completely invisible defender. He was also under virtually no pressure there either. I BELIEVE that was against the Giants. Incredible we got a shutout with bone headed gaffs like that. It’s for reasons like that, that I feel (and I know it sounds harsh) that we have a good recordmostly despite him, not because of him. Even with all the legit O line issues, his regression has been mind boggling. I’m starting to really wonder if Bill Lazor or was a damn magician? Or if the focused on Foles taking less sacks and getting the ball out more quickly, that maybe they really made him too self conscious & loused up his game?

  114. 114 bill said at 8:19 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Also, the last three weeks the game plan has changed to lots of quick release/one read plays. Hard to get sacked on those – but as you note, he still ends up getting planted on a fair share. Molk, especially, is just overmatched in the interior, and Foles clearly doesn’t trust his pocket (to be clear, that’s a problem he has to overcome). Foles has definitely regressed – he hasn’t had a good game since the WAS game. But like Tommy said, let’s not drop all context from the evaluation.

  115. 115 Ben Hert said at 9:25 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think this is an excellent point. Foles is constantly throwing off of his back foot because he can’t trust Molk to hold his ground in pass pro, this not giving him a pocket to step up into.

    Hopefully, once Kelce comes back, he can improve on this, but I could see it taking a week or two for Nick to settle down again and trust his center.

  116. 116 bill said at 11:12 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    The only problem is – sometimes (you could even argue most of the time), when a young QB loses confidence in the safety of the pocket, they never get it back. That’s why it’s so difficult to develop a pocket QB in the NFL if they don’t already have extensive experience in the pocket. Foles has a chance to overcome it, due to his extensive experience as a pocket QB at lower levels. But it’s far from a certain thing.

  117. 117 Ben Hert said at 12:03 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Something else to keep in mind was his situation at Arizona. I can’t cite a direct source, but I recall seeing several instances of people talking about his ability to play so well between a VERY shoddy OL. He had to do a lot for that team with very little protection. Hopefully this will aide in his stabilization back to the Nick we knew last year.

  118. 118 Nicodemus_09 said at 3:39 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I dunno. He thew off his back foot A TON last season but he somehow he just seemed to make miraculous completions last seasonhat are picks this year. I remember thinking AND hearing so many times last year when he’d throw one of those “I cannot believe he got away with that throw”.

  119. 119 D3FB said at 1:47 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Dear God, It’s me, D3FB.

    Please let Jerry Jones give away all his first round picks for Manziel. The ensuing circus comedy may bring enough joy to end all wars, famine, and poverty. Think of the children big guy.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RybNI0KB1bg

  120. 120 GEAGLE said at 3:29 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Jerruh looks like the love child of a massive plastic surgery orgy between micheal Jackson, Bruce Jenner and Joan Rivers

  121. 121 Anders said at 6:00 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    For all the people who say big CBs and WRs are the future, here is the current top 10 WRs in recieving yards

    http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/receiving/sort/receivingYards/year/2014/seasontype/2

    Notice that 7 out of 10 is 6’0 or smaller, then you have 6’1 Watkins and Randell Cobb at 13th as well. That means 10 out of 15 is 6’1 or less (DeAndre Hopkins is 15th and is 6’1)

  122. 122 anon said at 7:31 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    mail that research to chip i don’t think you have to convince any of us

  123. 123 Anders said at 7:41 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Kelly drafted Huff and kept Jeff Maehl and Jeremy Maclin.

    Not sure Kelly cares about size as much about ability to play and be part of the culture

  124. 124 anon said at 7:58 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    maybe he only cares when it comes to corners.

  125. 125 sutherneagle said at 8:06 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    or reporters

  126. 126 A_T_G said at 8:09 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    So you are saying Kelly is defensive regarding the “size matters” conversation?

  127. 127 RobNE said at 8:54 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    aren’t most receivers 6’1″ or less? I’m not really sure what this proves. If this is about DeSean, I don’t think his height had much to do with it.

  128. 128 Anders said at 11:34 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not at all about desean, about people’s believe that you need to be 6’3+ to be a wr1

  129. 129 Jernst said at 8:57 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    This is the problem with trends. Most CBs were short for a reason. People combatted this by trying to get mismatches with big WR. At first the big WR proved to be a huge mismatch. Then teams invested in bigger CBs, who predictably were less quick/fast than their vertically challenged predecessors. Now teams will find the advantage by deploying small quick WR against these big lumbering CBs and around we go. That’s why I always think it’s just better to worry about getting good football players and utilizing them in a way that accentuates their best qualities than to limit your pool of potential players based upon some advantage or trend that will only change every couple of years anyway. Would you rather have Darrell Green in his prime or Cary Williams in his…sometimes it sea like Chip would still take Cary.

  130. 130 Avery Greene said at 9:18 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Darrell Green also ran like a 4.4 didn’t he? He was always faster than most WR.

  131. 131 truehaynes said at 10:06 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    He ran a 4.4 at 40 years old. Probably ran around 4.2 as a rook

  132. 132 iceberg584 said at 10:13 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Lol. That was his point. Small, but fast corner.

  133. 133 Jernst said at 11:04 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Darrell Green was the fastest or one of the fastest players in the entire league for almost 15 years. But, that’s the point. He didn’t fit Chip’s current philosophy of big physical corners. My question is, do we think that Chip’s adherence to that philosophy is so strict that he would rather take the bigger Cary Williams over the faster, supremely more talented Green simply because he thinks the hate disadvantage would be too great? The reason I ask, is because in the future I’d hate to see us miss out on the next Darrell Green because we took him off our draft board for being to short.

  134. 134 Avery Greene said at 11:18 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    This is a fair concern. I’d like to think they wouldn’t be so obtuse. Boykin is smaller and they do like him inside, and Watkins is 5’11 right? We’ll see over the next few years, but yeah that should be a worry if it’s true.

  135. 135 Anders said at 3:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think 5’11 is Kelly’s lower limit on CBs.

  136. 136 Anders said at 10:13 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I really do not know. Back when we had Marvin Harrison, Wayne, Bruce, Smith etc. we also had Burress, TO, Moss, Johnson etc.

    The 15 years I have watched the NFL, it have seemed fairly even in distribution.

  137. 137 Anders said at 2:59 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Btw good question regarding Green. Green was drafted 28th overall, so its not like his talent was super apparent like a Revis was.

  138. 138 mtn_green said at 10:17 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think the emphasis on contact changed the analysis.

    Chip likes db that can tackle the RB on the edges, Fletcher and Williams do a decent job.

  139. 139 Anders said at 3:05 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Why?

    Look at the list from 2003, the year before the rule changes in 2004.

    http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/receiving/sort/receivingYards/year/2003

    Only Randy Moss in the top 10 would be a big WR.

  140. 140 mtn_green said at 3:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Ten years ago the average was shorter.

    Watch a Seahawks game last year and then one from this year you’ll see wr getting free releases and incidental contact that altered a wrs course are being whistled.

  141. 141 GEAGLE said at 8:43 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Lol @ the big bad Cowboys… What’s funny is that their is more that still has yet to be exposed..
    .
    DL:
    Mincey, journeyman backüp DE for Broncos meh defense last year
    Nick Hayden, decent, nothing special that Mathis should fear
    Melton.. Older gentleman coming off injury, nothing that Kelce should fear
    Crawford.. meh, Demarcus lawrence the rookie will fill in when healthy, I’m sure our Tackles can handle a rook..
    ..
    This DL will be Severly outclassed by our OL
    ..
    The LB is probabky their strength but they lost Justin Durrant last night for the season to a tore bicep who was playing well for them. Rolando McClain and Bruce Carter just don’t scare me..

    Their corners Scandrick and Carr, don’t scare anyone..
    ..
    Safety Church is ok, Wilcox decent young player, nothing Ertz can’t expose..

    Our healthy offense will run over this over rated joke of a defense..

  142. 142 GEAGLE said at 8:48 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Their OL pass blocking liability still hasn’t been fully exposed left. Wait til we don’t let Demarco run wild and force Leary and Free to pass block, while we throw waves of pass rushers at them

    Leopard can’t chance it’s spots. At the end of the day, romo will be romo, choke when it matters most or fold due to injury..and Demarco will be Demarco, he will fumble and he won’t last 16 games..

    It’s Embarressing how many paid morons over rated this cowboy team.. The big bad Cowboys,funny, we will be in first place next week, and while they have been playing above their level, we haven’t even played our best ball yet… Sucks to be the Cowboys and have to play us in December, when I expect us to establish ourselves as one of the best teams in NFL going into playoffs,
    ..
    Dallas OL is much better, but 2/5 are liabilities in pass blocking, and while they are playing well, I’m sure our DL won’t be dominated by anyone.. I expect us to thoroughly outclass dallas on both sides of the trenches…win the trenches, and you win the game..

  143. 143 mtn_green said at 10:19 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Cowboys will definitely regress. Their defense is what we thought they were. Maybe not quite as bad.

    Division games can be really random, seems like boys and wft were beating themselves, one just beat harder.

  144. 144 RobNE said at 8:52 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m glad I don’t have to read any more posts about how the Cowboys are going 15-1 or only have maybe 2 games left they could lose.

  145. 145 Michael Winter Cho said at 11:07 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    No, only, 14-2

  146. 146 Jernst said at 8:52 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Biggest issue I see with Foles is his reversion into Kevin Kolb 2.0. His first instinct has been to take the shotgun snap at 6-7 yards deep and immediately retreat another 7-10 yards backwards which makes the rush angles for the edge defenders nearly impossible for our tackles, ect to block, leaves him under pressure and already drifting backwards where he ultimately holds the ball until the rush gets to him and then slings the ball off his back foot while spinning around backwards and ducking. Last year he didn’t do this except in the Dallas game. This year the only game he hasn’t done this and actually stepped up in the pocket and threw from a solid platform was the Giants game. The results have been predictable. I don’t know how you teach someone to trust their offensive line and move forward instead of away from 300 pound gentleman that want to kill you.

  147. 147 GEAGLE said at 8:56 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    You stick the best OL in the league back in front of him like last year…

    No one ever said FOles could carry a team.. The deal was, that if he plays behind a quality OL and plays off a run game, he can be a pretty darn capable QB… Take those away from him, and it’s probably a mistake tor expect the same player who played behind the best OL in franchise history last year, with an elite run game that opened up all types of play action..
    ….
    What do teams pay jason Peters, Kelce 50million dollars, if you can just lost the best Center and Guard in the NFL, replace them with backups who never played before, and expect the same potent offense as the year before.
    ..
    If we aren’t going to acknowledge that OL makes a very big difference on offense, then we might as well cut Kelce, Peters and Matis and save a ton of money lol

  148. 148 mtn_green said at 10:21 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Foles will be back. He will have some joystick games.

  149. 149 xeynon said at 10:58 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I don’t think Kolb is a good comparison at all. Kolb got spooked and became indecisive. The first half against Jacksonville aside, Foles’ problem has been that he’s been too decisive in the face of pressure, making stupidly aggressive decisions too often and throwing the ball when he shouldn’t. Different kind of mental problem which requires a different solution.

  150. 150 P_P_K said at 11:35 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Well said.

  151. 151 Jernst said at 3:50 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m not saying Foles’ issues are mental at all. In fact, the complete opposite, they’re almost all physical. He’s running backwards at the snap and throwing off his back foot instead of stepping up and driving the ball like he should. He needs to fix his footwork and start throwing the ball from a solid base.

  152. 152 RobNE said at 8:56 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    so when do we expect Kelce to play?

    I think JJ Watt is a little full of himself admonishing rookie QB’s who take a picture of themselves. The QB didn’t go out the night before, he took a selfie. Takes like 2 seconds. He can be the best in the game without being condescending.

  153. 153 GEAGLE said at 8:58 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Don’t have a good feeling about him playing this week. Sproles will, but I’m thinking we get both mathis and Kelce back against Carolina which was their original target return date….certainly wouldn’t mind Kelce back this week. Herremans has an arm injury, waiting for test results today.. For what it’s worth, he came back in and played after leaving with the injury sunday

  154. 154 Avery Greene said at 9:16 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I was pretty mad about Boykin on Sunday, but I was thinking he doesn’t seem to have any burst right now. Is he playing injured?

  155. 155 Ark87 said at 9:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    When Mac had that decent punt return Boykin was blocking for him, Mac sort of used him as a shield and have him a shove and he came immediately began hopping on 1 leg like he pull. I think he was dealing with a leg injury all game to not be able to run down Fitz.

  156. 156 Avery Greene said at 9:24 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hmm interesting. Because there were a couple plays where he used to knock the ball away. Just a gut feeling I had by watching him.

  157. 157 Ark87 said at 9:26 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah on Fitzgeralds long TD, I couldn’t see the number clearly, I thought he was being chased by Malcolm Jenkins. Turns out it was Boykin in pursuit, not the speed Boykin usually has.

  158. 158 GEAGLE said at 3:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Our defense had problems with cramps all day

  159. 159 RobNE said at 9:35 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    yes I’ve read articles saying he was grabbing at his hamstring a lot.

  160. 160 GEAGLE said at 9:37 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    It’s that the eagkes players were cramping Alot in the desert. We lost Nolan Carrol like 5 times sunday to cramps, and he kept coming back in the game..nate claims to have tweaked his hamstring while he gave up th game winning TD

  161. 161 Mitchell said at 11:13 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    He did. I saw him grab it but he did it at the end and it had no inpact on the plsy

  162. 162 eagleyankfan said at 9:15 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    why do you(any of you) keep posting stats about DJ? Do you think we don’t know he’s good? Do you think Chip Kelly reads these boards or think Chip Kelly doesn’t know DJ is a talented player? Get over your “letting go” issues. CK for his own reasons that has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH DJ’s TALENT, let DJ go. Get over it. It’s as annoying as some(me) posting all the time that Nate Allen sucks. Well, almost as annoying…

  163. 163 MaggieMagpie said at 2:57 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Many upvotes!

  164. 164 GEAGLE said at 3:25 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I used kempskis article about missing Desean Friday as toilet paper on Sunday when Maclin and FOles completed a 60yard bomb of a TD

  165. 165 eagleyankfan said at 9:20 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Davis will get this resolved — in the off season. As much as Nate is the goat, he’s not the only issue. I don’t think some of the hold over players are as talented as some think. It’ll be 2 full years for the coaches to truly judge players so I think there will be some turnover next year. Last year was “ok, new scheme” for the players. This was(is) they should be able to play at a higher level. So they should know the scheme at this point, which leaves talent as the factor. Kendricks at 100% helps too…

  166. 166 GermanEagle said at 9:22 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I guess the Eagles won the day without actually playing. Good job, Chip.

  167. 167 eagleyankfan said at 9:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Dallas lose Durant for the season. That has to hurt…

  168. 168 RobNE said at 9:41 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    well at least that D already had a lot of depth. BWAHHHAAHHAAA

  169. 169 the DONALD said at 9:25 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Is BoyKING hurt? maybe a hammie issue? why couldnt he run down Fitzgerald on that pick play? seems odd.. Boykin is faster than Fitz, yet Fitz could beat him 80 yards… something is UP! any insight?

  170. 170 GermanEagle said at 9:33 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Unfortunately we didn’t get last year’s playmaking version of Boykin this year. Imagine our record if he had some picks.

  171. 171 the DONALD said at 9:40 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    guys hurt.. but your right, hes not coming up huge.. still a long season left.. but hey maybe it brings his price down..

  172. 172 RobNE said at 9:40 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    yes he was grabbing his hammy a lot.

  173. 173 anon said at 9:43 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    chip was like nothing was wrong with him. made it seem like boykin was just exposed but ck isn’t reliable when it comes to injuries.

  174. 174 Avery Greene said at 9:47 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I just asked this lower in this thread. I wonder the same thing.

  175. 175 Gary Barnes said at 9:26 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Good article, Tommy.

    I agree some of the issue is with the OL, but if you study the tape (Didinger did some nice film work to show this on Eagles Extra) even when Foles has a perfectly fine pocket/protection he gets skittish and is still throwing off his back foot and/or moving left/right/backwards when he does not have to do so. That makes the OL job harder because they expect Foles to be behind them and suddenly he is off the left/right and getting sacked. He just does not appear to trust them, that is bad and something that cannot be fixed until the full OL is back together. And even then it will take 2-3 games before Foles probably re-develops the comfort level (if everyone stays healthy) with that group. I’m not sure if Chip can do it, but he must get through to Foles, build up his confidence and get him to stop moving. His mechanics need major work, but they cannot address that until he stops floating around in the pocket and throwing off-balance/back foot.

    On the RZ issue, I find it hard to blame the OL again especially when I see Foles bailing out like described above a lot in the RZ and the play calling being very predictable and pass heavy. The run has been reduced quite a bit in the RZ, but when we have run it has worked pretty well. It’s now been two games that we ran the ball down to the 1 yd line and Chip has either taken the FG or tried to pass. Afterwards, he states the OL is not good enough to punch it in? This is supposedly an offense based on the run and whose run attack last season was among the best in the league. Was that all the OL? Not IMO, it was Chip’s committment to the run and continuing to run even if it is shut down for a period of time. Now Chip seems to be changing away from the run if it is not working and putting even more of the load on Foles. Like you said, Foles was more of a game manager last season and that suits him better. Like we’ve seen with Romo, if you put too much on the QB the offense will likely sputter, but if you lead with the run and then use smart play/action off of that, the offense shines. Chip has got to get the run game going early EVERY game and committ to it.

  176. 176 RobNE said at 9:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    the radio guys were ripping Brady here for doing similar things even on those plays when there wasn’t someone about to hit him. I think it’s much easier said than done to say you will be hit again and again and again, but then on the other plays don’t feel phantom pressure.

    I agree it’s a problem but it’s not so easy to solve except for upgrading your OL – oh wait, that’s what we’re going to do in a 2 weeks.

    I would say someone like Big Ben does do this. He just steps up and gets whacked and doesn’t throw off his back foot. But it’s pretty natural to do so.

    I’m not excusing him, just saying Tom freakin Brady sometimes does it too.

  177. 177 Gary Barnes said at 12:51 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I understand every QB does it once in a while, but Foles has continually done it over all 7 games. It has become a pattern defenses can key on – shut down the run game, attack Foles and help him throw the ball to your teammates. It has got to be addressed – hopefully the OL guys come back from injury soon, but again Foles is doing this even with good protection. Re-committ to the run and stick with it so Foles can manage the game and the play/action will be a lot more effective.

  178. 178 MaggieMagpie said at 2:56 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Agree on the run and also wonder about some of the play calling. Especially in the red zone. Watching some of the Washington play calling and execution (!) made me ask where did the innovative first-year Chip get to?

  179. 179 Gary Barnes said at 9:32 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    We got lucky that Dallas lost last night…boy is it sweet to see them start to choke up as they usually do headed into Nov/Dec. Now we play HOU and they play AZ; we need a win badly and hopefully the Cards can beat the Cowboys for us.

  180. 180 mtn_green said at 9:58 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hopefully they are not choking too early.

  181. 181 sutherneagle said at 2:47 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    never too early for them to choke

  182. 182 mtn_green said at 3:38 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not as dramatic as losing a win and in game three years in a row.

  183. 183 MaggieMagpie said at 2:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not sure about choking. I’m kind of thinking that Gruden and his staff just might turn out to be better than we thought. They are definitely not afraid to take a chance.

  184. 184 sutherneagle said at 3:01 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    there is that…also maybe dallas was believing all the hype about themselves , and got a little too over confident,and then it wasn`t as easy as they had thought, Romo goes down and things get out of control and wash took advantage of the situation…good for them,better for us.

  185. 185 Avery Greene said at 3:02 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think that is what happened. They read their press clippings and thought they could walk on the field and win. In this league especially, you gotta lace up and play every game hard.

  186. 186 sutherneagle said at 3:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    really is `any given day`, cause they`re all pros, and even though the individual difference between the best and the worst may be large, on the team level even the teams with the worst record win sometimes, so no one can ever let their guard down. definitely a lesson to be learned there for the Eagles whenever playing a `sure win `game. cause there aren`t any.

  187. 187 GEAGLE said at 9:35 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Dallas isn’t good enough to beat Arizona. The blitz was killing Romo last night, and arizona will blitz all day. They also have the run defense to not allow the Cowboys to play ball control and keep their defense off the field, so they will force thee Cowboys OL to pass block, where two of its 5 OL really struggle.
    ..
    Hopefully romo plays Sunday because arizona will hit him ALOT! And Cowboys don’t have the secondarin and pass rush to stop all of Arizonas 4 and 5 WR sets…

    Arizona is going to really kick dallas ass and win by like 10 points, all while we beat the Texans and claim first place in the division. Barwin, Meco, Braman will all be jacked up for the Texans game..

  188. 188 Avery Greene said at 9:51 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think the whole team will, especially the defense. They gave up a lot of points in the last quarter to the Rams and came out like gang busters against the Giants. This is a game that is teed up for this defense. Fitzpatrick will make mistakes. If Sproles and Kendricks are back full-time, we’ll be fine. Just want to make sure Kelce is ready before bringing him back. So if he’s out 1 more week, we should be okay.

  189. 189 the DONALD said at 10:00 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hopefully Patrick Peterson can bounce back and pass the concussion tests.. need him on DEZ..

  190. 190 MaggieMagpie said at 2:50 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Good avatar!

  191. 191 GEAGLE said at 3:24 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Meh patrick Everson isnt scaring anyone this year. Teams are going after him and he already has 8 penalties in 7 games… All we need is the Arizona defebse to shut down Demarco Murray forcing them to pass, and Jason Garret will get ourcoaches like did last night… They were getting blitzed every other play, yet the genius coach doesn’t call max protect, doesnt keep a back in to pick up the blitz lol

    The owner comes down from his box.. Tells the head coach that room is going to go back in lol, then he gestures to the crowd to raise the roof and make noise.. Funny how Jerruh nose the routine of a loser really well by now, and he knows to make sure he gets back in his luxury box before the end of the game so he can hide when he chokes

  192. 192 the DONALD said at 3:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think he has an elevator from his box directly to field level.. guy is AMAZING, really knows how to ruin a season. did u hear his in game interview.. JINX and a half there… better buy the whole team a coke for that one… JERRYS WORLD!

  193. 193 GEAGLE said at 7:13 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    One minute he was doing an interview as the king of the NFL! The next minute his world came crashing down with his QB layed out on the turf Lol… SOOO typical Dallas! How bout them cowboys!! Lol

  194. 194 EagleNebula said at 2:22 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not to mention Dallas has one less day to prepare after an overtime loss where the injury bug started to show it’s ugly face. Knowing the cowboys, Romo will take as many reps as he can with the first team regardless of whether he can function adequately – ultimately hurting his team in the process of preparations. Back ups won’t get enough reps for the inevitable injury. And you know Jerrah will trot out an injured Romo without thinking of the consequences than sit him for a game to let him heal for the rest of the season. And as we saw last night, it is Jerrah’s call. How long till he trades Murray for Johnny football?

  195. 195 GEAGLE said at 9:40 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Still laughing at how people really had the nerve to call this cowboy team elite. LOL fools

  196. 196 RobNE said at 9:44 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    thought they gave the SB trophy to Jerry Jones last week. Maybe the NFL needs it back now.

  197. 197 mtn_green said at 10:24 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    NFL is tired of taking trophy back when boys collapse.

  198. 198 Ark87 said at 9:44 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    yet the birds get taken to the woodshed for losing to the leader of the NFC West in their home in a game that ended with us in the redzone threatening to win the game.

  199. 199 Avery Greene said at 9:57 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    I know. I don’t understand this. We lost both games while threatening to score to go ahead/win. And we still haven’t played a good 4 quarters with this offense. I’m feeling pretty good about my team right now.

  200. 200 mtn_green said at 10:23 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Lost by four in a three point spread.

  201. 201 Ark87 said at 10:37 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    That’s a bit silly, they were a coin flip from winning by 3, just the way the math worked out, if they were losing by 3 they’d easily have the 3 to tie and go into OT. Was pretty inconsequential whether they lost by 4, 5, 6 or 7, was the same situation of being extremely close to winning

  202. 202 mtn_green said at 10:57 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Point was the eagles lost to what most people considered a slightly better team at home, and the loss was right around what was expected.

  203. 203 Ark87 said at 10:59 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    gotcha, misinterpreted it as you saying it wasn’t really that close, sorry bout that

  204. 204 anon said at 10:43 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    don’t take the spread with the eagles, they never hit it

  205. 205 MaggieMagpie said at 2:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Unfortunately there are folks who would be complaining even if the Eagles had scored, but only won by 3.

  206. 206 76mustang said at 9:49 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Seattle’s the best, no, SF is the best, no, Green Bay is the best, wait a minute, Dallas is the best, nope, Arizona is the best…

    NFC is wide open, and the Eagles are well positioned…I like our chances a lot…

  207. 207 GEAGLE said at 3:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    WIDE OPEN!!! Tab here for the taking boys… And if we combine OL and DL I think we are the best team in the NFC in the trenches. Think it would be between us and the Niners…and if you can win the battle of the trenches, great chance you end up winning the game. Our Veteran OL and our beastly puppies on the DL will OWN the line of scrimmage once we get healthy and get hot in December…

    NFC can’t be any more wide open. Glory is there for the et taking..

    I just don’t want to go to Lambeau or new ORLEANS in January. Fortunately saints probably won’t have a better record than us… I’m fine with going to Arizona, Detroit, Dallas, San Fran and even seattle. Dont care about the 12th man

  208. 208 eagleyankfan said at 2:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    and I quote the experts on the NFL Network “Does anyone on their(Dallas) schedule that scares you”?

  209. 209 xeynon said at 10:48 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hope everyone feels a little better now that the Cowboys have gakked up a game they were expected to win (as I’ve been saying they inevitably would), and possibly lost Romo in the process.

  210. 210 P_P_K said at 11:39 AM on October 28th, 2014:

    Did anyone else notice that right before Romo got injured, Jerry Jones was interviewed and was bragging about how great is the Dalls O-line and how well they protect Romo?

  211. 211 EagleNebula said at 12:28 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I just find it hilarious that he felt the need to talk to his head coach mid game. Guarantees he will never have a decent coach, no sane person would put up with that level of micro-management.

  212. 212 MaggieMagpie said at 2:46 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Totally agree. Don’t know why Garrett didn’t walk out 2 years ago. He can’t possibly have any self-respect left.

  213. 213 Avery Greene said at 3:01 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He’s pocketing $5 mill for his last season. It remains to be seen if Jerrah extends him. I’m thinking he lets him walk and goes after the next new shiny thing.

  214. 214 MaggieMagpie said at 3:35 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    You could well be right on the shiny thing. Just can’t see any head coach go into that cesspool of numerous play callers and the semi-senile owner’s constant interference. Garrett was a diehard Cryboy already, but man, take your 5 million and RUN! I think he’s supposed to be a decent coach when left alone, so he could probably find a job as OC without too much trouble. Anyway, just another example of Cryboy arrogance and false belief in their own superiority.

  215. 215 EagleNebula said at 3:01 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He’s a Princeton grad-he never had self-respect

  216. 216 MaggieMagpie said at 3:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Ah. A Harvard man? Yalie?

  217. 217 EagleNebula said at 4:02 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Harvard Grads are almost as bad as the Princetonians… I went to Penn but I made the comment because I find it hilarious that Noah Becker on twitter uses any excuse to connect Jason Garrett’s evilness with his college.

  218. 218 ACViking said at 12:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    P_P_K:

    It’s the sort of moment that makes one wonder if the cosmos is indeed inhabited by Olympian gods that, foremost, detest hubris — and intervene in silly human games to prove it.

  219. 219 P_P_K said at 1:44 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Every once in awhile, one of those gods will descend to Earth, incarnate as a human being, and don an Eagles jersey. Such was the case with Brian Dawkins.

  220. 220 ACViking said at 3:58 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hercules incarnate!

  221. 221 sutherneagle said at 3:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    saw that, 3 no# 1 picks?
    hahaha

  222. 222 GermanEagle said at 12:15 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I do wonder if Colts Fans asked for Peyton Manning to be benched when he threw for 23 picks in his 4th season…

  223. 223 anon said at 12:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Is that the season where he had a perfect passer rating against us and they went 10-6? or the two following seasons when he was league mvl? or the season prior where he was responsible for the second most points in the league (including 30tds)

  224. 224 GermanEagle said at 12:36 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Idk mate. I only know his passer rating was 84.1.

  225. 225 anon said at 12:39 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    They all happened – see Peyton Manning Wiki.

  226. 226 GermanEagle said at 12:46 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Fair enough. I still don’t get your point though.

    Who can guarantee that Foles will never be the league MVP in two years time?! Is that what you were implying?

  227. 227 anon said at 12:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    haha yup!

  228. 228 EagleNebula said at 12:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    His 4th season they were 6-10, 26TDs to 23INTs. GE was making a comment about how in 1 season early in his career Payton played poorly, at least significantly sub par compared to the rest of his career. Your statement actually furthers the comment in that a player can have bad seasons and it not be a reflection of his entire body of work or his entire career by emphasizing how good he was the year before when he had 33TDs vs 15INTs.

  229. 229 GermanEagle said at 12:51 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I couldn’t have said it better.

  230. 230 Avery Greene said at 12:20 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I ripped him post-game. Then when the alcohol wore off I thought about the larger picture. His mistakes are coachable. Don’t force a ball on 1st and 10, especially in the redzone. On 3rd down, take the pass for the 1st down rather than a shot down the field.

  231. 231 ACViking said at 12:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think that was the season in which Manning lost both Edgerrin James and Reggie Wayne to injuries.

    And HC Jim Mora lost his sanity.

  232. 232 EagleNebula said at 12:53 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Even the greatest needs weapons.

  233. 233 Avery Greene said at 12:53 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Was that this year?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

  234. 234 ACViking said at 12:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    “Check.”

    (To quote the bartender in “The Hustler” — played by former middleweight champ Jake LaMotta.)

  235. 235 GermanEagle said at 1:04 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Awesome. Thanks for the memories. This rant is up there with Dennis Green’s infamous press conference.

  236. 236 Avery Greene said at 12:22 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Hey Tommy, how do you feel about Chip punting w/6 sec left in the half? He could have tried a hail mary for some points. The time still would have run off the clock.

  237. 237 ACViking said at 12:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    My reaction (as if anyone at Nova Care cared) . . . .

    WTF?!

  238. 238 ACViking said at 12:28 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Re: Foles’s Trigger — At What Price?

    The Eagles LEAD the NFL in fewest Sacks-Allowed per game — allowing only 7 in 7 games (1/gm).

    In 2013, the Eagles finished 26th overall — allowing 46 sacks in 16 games (2.875/gm)
    ________________

    Xeynon commented in part:

    “. . . Foles’ problem has been that he’s been too decisive in the face of pressure . . . .”

    (Original emphasis on the word “too”.)
    ________________

    After the 49ers game — 4th game, w/ Foles then at 6 INTs — I wrote:

    “I liked Foles better when he wasn’t hurraying [his passes] to avoid the sack.

    ‘Be quick but don’t hurry’ — a great John Wooden-ism.

    Foles just seems a bit off. I wanna believe he’s hurraying instead of being quick — so as to avoid sacks.”
    __________________

    I continue to believe, even more more so, that Foles’s INT propensity is a by-product of Kelly’s emphasis on eliminating sacks.

    [Foles has 9 INTs in 7 games. But his TD production is lower than any other QB with 7-9 INTs — except Matt Stafford, who has played 1 more game.]

    Kelly wanted to wring-out of Foles v.2013 his propensity for taking his time in the pocket — and getting sacked. Too many times for Kelly, as he made clear.

    So it follows (arguably) that Kelly’s committed this season to reconstructing Nick Foles by (1) changing Foles’s mental clock foremost, and (2) living with the INTs in the meanwhile.

    The premise for Kelly here, I’m assuming, is that Foles’s decision making will — only through live game reps — catch up with the coach’s command to AVOID SACKS.

    _________________

    Ironically, after the Cards game, Kelly suggested that, because it was only 1st down in the RZ, Foles should have just taken the sack rather than throw the pass to Huff in the EZ, which Cromartie undercut and picked-off.

    That’s the first time this season I can remember Kelly suggesting that maybe Foles should have just taken a sack.
    __________________

    It’s great the Eagles lead the NFL in fewest sacks allowed — even with that beaten up O-line.

    But at what price, Ugarte? At what price?

  239. 239 EagleNebula said at 12:39 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Thank you for delving into this topic, it has been on my mind as well but I don’t have the time to really study the topic. I know in the past Kelly has said sacks are the QBs fault, even if he changed his tune last year.

  240. 240 Michael Winter Cho said at 12:42 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think it’s rare that “hurrying” works. In most disciplines, you start slow and gradually, naturally speed up as you gain the sufficient knowledge and experience, “chunking”, to allow the speed to occur. For example, in playing guitar, you don’t just start off “trying” to play fast. You would want to practice something slow. Gradually, as it becomes automated, it will happen faster. Although it’s more than faintly ridiculous that I should disagree with Chip’s methods, it seems to me that if he wants to avoid sacks, he should just have Foles throw it away after 3 seconds or something rather than have him rush through progressions he hasn’t fully mastered.

  241. 241 anon said at 12:43 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    i think that’s what he’s been doing

  242. 242 Michael Winter Cho said at 12:45 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    By “throw it away”, I mean out of bounds, not to random opponents. 🙂

  243. 243 anon said at 12:42 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    agree 100% Foles has to find that medium. Problem being the worse you are at operating under pressure the more teams are going to pressure you.

  244. 244 Avery Greene said at 12:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He has to learn patience. I heard a stat from Baldinger that says about 4 or 5 of his INTs came on 1st and 10. That shouldn’t happen. Especially in the RZ. That pass to Huff was late, at that point yeah I can see taking the sack. If not, make sure you throw it out of bounds. It’s his 3rd year, so he still has some maturing to do.

  245. 245 ACViking said at 12:56 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    “Learn Patience”
    _________

    Last season, Foles seemed really, really patient. And too many sacks resulted for Kelly.

    I think Kelly wants Foles to be “patient” but also be “quick.”

    Foles doesn’t appear to be there yet.

    But that’s the ideal, for sure.

  246. 246 mtn_green said at 12:57 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Often going deep on first down.

  247. 247 mtn_green said at 1:03 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Agree and to add: I Rewatched the first game, the jags game and Foles had two strip sacks in the first half. That probably added fuel to the anti sack idea.

    Foles has always had the fierce competitive at all cost persona. In AZ he threw a left handed pass, in giants game he had a two handed basketball pass. He is not wired to do check, check, toss out if bounds. He fights to make every play.

    I think that 27/2 was the upper cieling of Foles potential and that last 7 weeks was the low floor, that he will figure out a way to be right in between. 35-10 maybe. Foles isn’t perfect but he is the future of this franchise. Definitely good enough to win the Super Bowl, and make the few clutch plays that entails.

    Next question is, how did 27/2 happen?

  248. 248 anon said at 1:07 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    everyone was wide open last year. that’s what i think it was. plus luck.

  249. 249 EagleNebula said at 1:47 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    You can’t dismiss last years performance than assume this years verbatim. You have to consider the entire distribution. This year there has been drops and miscues with open receivers, do we call those bad luck if we call Foles hitting open receivers last year good luck? He had 11 starts last year including the playoffs and 7 this year, barely a seasons worth of experience under Chip Kelly. You should expect the type of variance in performance we are seeing with the understanding that more data is needed to draw any reasonable conclusion. If you want, I can detail how to appropriately handle low data statistics – but in general, it is high variance (broad spread that is statistically indistinguishable).

  250. 250 anon said at 1:25 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    what makes you think he’ll get to 35 considering he’s passing almost more than anyone else in the nfl, probably half of those are screens.

  251. 251 BC1968 said at 1:16 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    You ready to barf? I’m guessing no one noticed and I wasn’t thinking to post this last night but here goes. The other announcer, not Gruden, compared Romo coming out of the tunnel to the Willis Reed moment. I swear to barfing god it’s pukeworthy and there isn’t enough throw-up words I can say about that. Romo is a big fat nothing who has won one playoff game. I can’t stand the Knicks, but comparing the two moments, wow.

  252. 252 GermanEagle said at 1:23 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    How about them Cowboys?! Lol…

  253. 253 BC1968 said at 1:27 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Unreal huh? But this is them, this is what they do. Someone gave me crap when I gave the gift of this win to everyone. They said the Cowboys are 99 percent to win the game blah blah blah…Like Han Solo once said, “Never tell me the odds!”

  254. 254 Joe Minx said at 4:59 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    That was me. I was afraid you would knock our karma out of balance, so I felt like I had to put it back by saying that.

  255. 255 MaggieMagpie said at 2:40 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Besides all that, is Romo going to still be the starting QB when he’s 50 and hobbling out of the tunnel on crutches? JJ calling the shots, no doubt. That was a pathetic display of stupidity letting Romo back on the field. I have disliked the Dallas team for many years, but even I do not want to see any player spend the net 40 years in a wheelchair with a destroyed spinal cord.

  256. 256 Nicodemus_09 said at 1:49 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Anyone else feeling a BIT better this fine day about being 5-2, losing a close one to a very good team now that the Crygirls were felled by the lowly Redskins? The lowly Redskins that handed out a division LOSS? Took some of the sting out for me…. : ))

  257. 257 EagleNebula said at 2:05 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The lowly Washington team starting their 3rd string QB who was under-throwing his wide open deep threat and taking untimely delay of game penalties. A team that couldn’t get out of its own way several times last night.

  258. 258 Nicodemus_09 said at 2:17 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Oh wow!!! No kidding!? I PATHETICALLY don’t have dish or cable at the moment & only saw the final score. From what you’ve told me, I’m feeling MORE than a BIT good about this! Dare I hope for the annual and EPIC Dallas collapse? In Will Farrell’s voice: “That would be GLORIOUS”. You’re my boys big blue! lol

  259. 259 EagleNebula said at 2:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I don’t either, but people on this board directed me over to wiziwig.tv which has live feeds of games.

    And I was saying the same thing last night as Romo got banged up, their DBs got burnt repeatedly, and their coaches made questionable decisions – like putting an injured stiff Romo back in and not running the ball on 3rd or 4th and short in overtime.

  260. 260 RobNE said at 2:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I feel a lot better. Thank you.

  261. 261 SteveH said at 2:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I feel a lot better actually. We’re better off than we were before the week started despite the loss, because we the Cowboys fell behind in the tiebreaker scenario.

    So, despite losing this week, we actually gained slightly in the first place race.

  262. 262 MaggieMagpie said at 2:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    It was entertaining watching WRs make some plays over DBs, watching the DBs sometimes make plays on the receivers. Also further proof that a good running game makes everything else a little simpler. A close game is always more interesting. Dallas should not have let Romo back in. Especially since they had managed without him. It was especially interesting to see a QB sneak, for a TD, and the “gutsy” play calling exhibited by the Eag….oops, the team from Washington.

  263. 263 EagleNebula said at 2:35 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    No way Romo should have gone back in, but clearly Jerrah made that decision when he went down to talk to Garrett of the sideline. Could you imagine dealing with that type of owner, not just the GM but talking in the coaches ear in the middle of a game. Unreal.

  264. 264 anon said at 2:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    you’d take a “rookie” backup that was fired on his rookie deal, and probably hasn’t taken any real snaps in crunch time? vs your $50m guy? Who has 26 come from behind victories including a victory in game 16 last year against the skins in a similar situation?

  265. 265 EagleNebula said at 2:59 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    If that 50m guy is coming off a back surgery and just got injured near the location of that surgery? A stiff back decreases mobility, so he will have a harder time escaping pressure = more hits and a greater chance for further injury/losing him for the season. A stiff back affects the throwing mechanics = less accurate. So do I want to subject my highly valued QB to more hits when he is much less than 100% and my back up was performing adequately up to this point…. Nah, I’ll protect my investment and roll with the back up. It’s that type of recklessness that led to RGIII getting injured his rookie season.

  266. 266 MaggieMagpie said at 3:15 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The backup and team had been holding their own up to that point. I’m more than happy Dallas lost but I wouldn’t wish Jones on anybody.

  267. 267 MaggieMagpie said at 3:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The Bills should be very glad that Trump did not get control of them! He would be exactly the same. ;~)

  268. 268 EagleNebula said at 3:23 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Maybe trump should buy the giants! The threesome of Jones, Snyder and Trump would be glorious!

  269. 269 MaggieMagpie said at 3:29 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yes. “I have more billions than you do. Nyah!” “My football toy brings in more revenue than yours does! Nyah, nyah!” Sorry, just had a vision of the 3 of them sitting in the sandbox throwing cat poop at each other with their little shovels and pails. It’s all your fault!

  270. 270 anon said at 2:35 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    mmcoy is way faster than foles.

  271. 271 MaggieMagpie said at 3:18 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Falling or crawling over the goal line from a yard or two away does not require speed. Foles is a little more than 2 yards tall. He could score by falling down! In theory. And in the right direction. I truly wonder why Chip seems to have become a little too cautious in his play calling this year.

  272. 272 Anders said at 2:56 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I love that the Cowboys lost, but Im still sad we wasted a great opportunity to be in prime position for the 1st seed (with Pakcers losing as well)

  273. 273 NinjaP said at 3:06 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Well if arizona gets the number 1 seed I’m not worried. I think if we go back there we beat them.

  274. 274 Anders said at 3:12 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    True, but I just do minimum want 2nd seed if Zona gets first, because Packers, Seahawks or Saints at home is much harder

  275. 275 EagleNebula said at 3:13 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    There is a real possibility neither the Saints nor Seahawks make the post season… Going to be an interesting final half of a season.

  276. 276 Anders said at 3:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    That is true, but still rather be in best position than relay on other teams losing

  277. 277 GEAGLE said at 5:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Saints and GB the only teams I don’t want to play on the road in January…. I don’t mind seattle. I’ll gladly face any team thats playing a backup center and a LT that needs surgery

  278. 278 SteveH said at 2:11 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Cowboys likely lost Justin Durant for the rest of the year, their best remaining linebacker. At this point they’re just running out late rounders and practice squad guys.

  279. 279 GEAGLE said at 3:11 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He is def out for the season. Torn bicep

  280. 280 CrackSammich said at 3:20 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    They’ve been running out late rounders and practice squad guys all over that defense for weeks and managed a respectable unit. It might not matter all that much in the long run. When the offense stops clicking, that’s when they’re going to fall apart. Just hope for some more Weedon.

  281. 281 fran35 said at 3:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    With all of the horrible trades they have done through the years, it seems like they only have late rounders anymore. I say that half joking, but it sometimes feels like they are still giving up 1st rounders for the Roy Williams trade.

  282. 282 botto said at 2:17 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    wow I thought the season was over until the cowgirls got worked last night. now we are back in business, especially since they didn’t look good.
    Colt McCoy looked alright I thought. it was fun watching djax not block at all ever. but he sure is fast.
    eagles are back in business. can our o-line survive the clowney watt destruction coming? I hope so. run the ball!!!

  283. 283 the DONALD said at 2:43 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    so if the cowgirls won you would think the season is over after week 8? come on man, have a little FAITH in the BIRDS!!!!

  284. 284 botto said at 3:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    well they aren’t playing well but it was really more about the cowboys having that easy schedule going forward.

  285. 285 the DONALD said at 3:17 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    i hear ya.. but its a LONG SEASON… keep that head up.

  286. 286 EagleNebula said at 3:20 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    And they lost to a team that was part of the reason their schedule was considered easy.

  287. 287 NinjaP said at 2:47 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah season was in real dire straits after barely losing to two tough teams on the road.

  288. 288 botto said at 3:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    yeah but unfortunately they haven’t looked great in the wins either except for against NY. and I assumed dallas had such an easy schedule it would hurt us to not play well for any longer

  289. 289 eagleyankfan said at 2:33 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Kelce running with the ones. Most problems solved :).

  290. 290 anon said at 2:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    hope so. lots of pressure on foles this week once the line is back.

  291. 291 GEAGLE said at 4:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I expect FOles to be much better when we get Kelce and Mathis back… His breakdown in mechanics to me is all about not trusting his line..
    ..
    Center/QB is “a very intimate relationship”.. Lol soon FOles will get to stick his hands up Kelce’s familiar ass, an ass he knows, and trusts completely. Once he has confidence in his line again, I expect his mechanics/footwork to be much better.
    ..
    Why do I believe this? Because when you take a look at plays we run out of Max protect, when FOles expects to get good protection, they have been some of his best passes…
    ..
    OL hasn’t done a bad job last few weeks, so I don’t believe it’s about the pressure he is facing, I think it’s about trust…
    ..
    Think this problem was compounded by getting BLASTED against the skins, he was probably playing thru a very painful bruise where it just hurt him way too much to get hit, and that’s what started all the back peddling and breakdowns in mechanics….
    ..
    I do wish we could cut the bullshit and have a real FOles discussion,.. If we did, we would have to acknowledge that besides a handful of plays in each game, he has been much much better these past few weeks….

    I see a defense that needs to clean up a few things to really arrive as a defense we can be proud of, and I see a QB who, if he cleans up those 5 bad plays each game, he would look much difference to us right now…

    Personally, I will be really surprised if FOles performs the way he has, when we get our OL and run game back

  292. 292 GEAGLE said at 3:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He said he is trying to push it this week and will be an ame time decision.. More important, Herremans was a full go at practice today. The last thing we needed was to lose him right now

  293. 293 ACViking said at 3:17 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Except QB sneaks . . . because, you know, when the O-line was intact last year, the play failed against Dallas once.

  294. 294 GEAGLE said at 3:08 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    INTERESTING!!!! Bucs are open to fielding offers for safety mArk Baron…

    That’s one of the few defenses I haven’t paid attention to these last few years so I have no idea if his play has lived up to his name brand

  295. 295 Anders said at 3:12 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He is Nate Allen that can hit

  296. 296 NinjaP said at 3:15 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Well being able to do something is an upgrade.

  297. 297 EagleNebula said at 3:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I guess but not sure I can handle another player who bites on every play action and underneath route. I guess if he replaces Earl Wolfe then it is worth a shot? Not like Wolfe is even seeing the field on defense.

  298. 298 NinjaP said at 3:21 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I was mostly just being outrageous. I wouldn’t expect Barron to ever start for us if we traded for him. At least not this season.

  299. 299 EagleNebula said at 3:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Nor would I, which is why I wouldn’t expect an I season trade unless it involved losing a player the coaches have seemed to give up on…

  300. 300 GEAGLE said at 3:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Never lived up to his high draft status? Was Stoutland at Bama when Baron was there?… I haven’t followed his career at all since he was drafted.. I did feel that he was drafted way too high..
    ..
    Can he play man to man? If he can’t, we won’t be interested
    ..
    Not many teams have a spare quality safety. It’s a scarce position league wide

  301. 301 Anders said at 3:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Stoutland was there, but not sure if the OL coach can really offer more. Also his NFL tape is way more telling than his college now anyway.

    He can play some man to man (so can Allen), but just like Allen, he should never ever be asked to cover deep as he has bad eye tendencies.

  302. 302 GEAGLE said at 4:06 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He can offer Charecter Intel… For example, I heard one of the main things that turned chip off his former stud safety Jarius BYRD was, that “Byrd doesnt practice”. Either always injured or milking injuries and was turned off by his practice habits..

    We know chip cares a lot about the intangibles and Charecter of the players we bring in, a OL coach can’t tell you much about a safety, but he can provide practice Info, and I’m sure Stoutland can pick up the phone and ask a Alabama defensive coach questions about his preperation that Stoutland can’t speak on off experience..
    ..
    Not a big deal obviously, but it doesn’t hurts

    We definitely don’t need any more safeties with bad eye placement who we can’t count on being that last line of defense…
    ..
    Heck I think the trade deadline just passed. Wasn’t it 4pm? Or 5pm?

  303. 303 MaggieMagpie said at 3:23 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The Bucs are shopping a safety?? The Bucs? Don’t they need all the help they can get? Is salary the reason?

    Here is a piece on the Bucs which might be interesting. More on the offense.
    http://espn.go.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/6993/fire-sale-might-be-wise-move-for-buccaneers

  304. 304 CrackSammich said at 3:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Goldson is a salary concern, making $8mil/yr for a long time. Mark Barron is on a rookie contract still if he’s the guy I’m thinking of.

    I think the major concern is that they’re both better suited for a SS, in-the-box role, so the Bucs have no solid safeties that can cover over the top.

  305. 305 CrackSammich said at 3:33 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He’s more of a SS. If Kelly/Davis are holding to their idea of mirrored safeties that can do a little of everything, both Goldson and Barron don’t really fit the mold.

  306. 306 GEAGLE said at 4:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Mark Baron was just traded to the Rams..

  307. 307 RobNE said at 4:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    for what?

  308. 308 GEAGLE said at 4:13 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not sure yet.. Bucs also traded OLB Cassilas to the Patriots

  309. 309 Crus57 said at 4:33 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    4th and 6th round picks apparently

  310. 310 Mitchell said at 4:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    damn it

  311. 311 Phyxius said at 4:12 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’ve seen enough of Foles, I’m surprised he hasn’t been benched by now. I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing Sanchez in this offense..

  312. 312 GermanEagle said at 4:13 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Here we go again…

    Don’t hate the player, hate the ‘TATE’.

  313. 313 GEAGLE said at 4:13 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Lol

  314. 314 Phyxius said at 4:45 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    English please.

  315. 315 GermanEagle said at 4:53 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m sure someone will fill you in on this.

  316. 316 MaggieMagpie said at 9:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Don’t know about benching but wouldn’t mind seeing what Sanchez could do for, say, a quarter.

  317. 317 GermanEagle said at 4:18 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    You gotta be shitting me:

    Todd Herremans tore the biceps in his left arm, per NFL sources. The #Eagles RG is apparently going to try and play at least for 1 week.

  318. 318 GEAGLE said at 4:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He practiced today, wearing long sleeves.. Full participant tho
    ..

  319. 319 GermanEagle said at 4:21 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Torn biceps normally means surgery and out for season, doesn’t it? That’s why I don’t really understand Jeff McLane’s Tweet.

  320. 320 GEAGLE said at 4:23 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah that’s why I have a hard time believing the report. Torn bicep ends seasons. Doubt he would practice two days later and play against JJ Watt, the best DL since Reggie white with 1 arm…. You would think he would sit Monday, Tuesday, and maybe try to practice later in the week if he was injured like that…but torn bicep ends your season.

  321. 321 GermanEagle said at 4:24 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Let’s hope McLane got this wrong. Herremans will rather need three arms against JJ that’s Watt’s Up on Sunday.

  322. 322 GEAGLE said at 4:25 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    RIGHT!!! I’m not sure about partially torn biceps or anything like that.. Can’t recall ever hearing about a partially torn bicep injury..

    Dallas best LB Justin Durrant tore his bicep last night and he is out for the season,,,hope for the best.

  323. 323 GermanEagle said at 4:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Now Adam Caplan is retweeting McLane’s tweet. Doesn’t look good.

  324. 324 GEAGLE said at 4:27 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah but, when have you ever heard a player is injured, but he will try to gut it out for 1 more game in the middle of the season? If he can possibly play one more game, how do they know he can’t play two more games? This is odd..

  325. 325 EagleNebula said at 4:29 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    well, perhaps he is gutting it out till Mathis is back? I don’t know, the whole things just seems odd, I don’t see how he could practice much less play with a torn bicep.

  326. 326 GEAGLE said at 4:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Really really odd.. This is strange, I don’t know what to make of it… Wait for more Intel I guess,,,
    ,,,
    Thus is the last friggin thing we need…

    Wait, we do tests on injured players on Monday.. If this was true, why is it just coming out now? 5pm on Tuesday…he def has some horrible looking bruise on his arm or he wouldn’t have practiced in long sleeves today you would think…

    Why isn’t this injury being reporters in a timely fashion with the rest of our injuries?

    Don’t know what to think

  327. 327 GermanEagle said at 4:31 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Ffs:
    Sources: Todd Herremans has torn biceps, which typically requires season-ending surgery, but he will attempt to play po.st/1Kc6o7

  328. 328 GEAGLE said at 4:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Geez dude. Can we catch a friggin break!
    ..
    He tore his bicep, then went back in the game for our last drive where we marched all the way down field while he was blocking with a torn bicep? WTF

  329. 329 GermanEagle said at 4:35 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I don’t expect him to line up again this season. If it’s a tear then it will be insane to play.

  330. 330 GEAGLE said at 4:40 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I sure as hell don’t want a one armed man trying to block JJ Watt

  331. 331 anon said at 5:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Yeah seems silly to take 1st string reps away from a guy. Too bad no djax, speed WRs killing TX this year.

  332. 332 CrackSammich said at 4:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Apparently Suggs played with a torn bicep a couple years ago with some success… But he wasn’t trying to block Watt. Him wanting to play one more game makes it sound like they intend to put him on the shelf until Mathis comes back and Tobin can take his spot. Should be an interesting news week. Dennis Kelly makes his triumphant return…

  333. 333 ConcussedFB said at 4:25 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I think it was Eskin this morning said Herremans finished the game playing with one arm. My first thought was torn bi/tricep. Sucks.

  334. 334 Ben Hert said at 4:33 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I kinda lol when I see power rankings with the Cowboys above the Eagles. Cowboys lose close game to 2-5 team at home, listed at 24 after win in PW; Eagles lose close game on the road to 5-1 team, listed at 2 on PW, yet, Cowboys>Eagles.

    I don’t really mind, I just find it comical.

  335. 335 GEAGLE said at 4:36 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    What a joke… I can’t wait til all dallas flaws are exposed.. Natipnal people will prove to be completely clueless…football coverage is pathetic

  336. 336 BobSmith77 said at 5:10 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Polls are completely meaningless and just easy fodder for a column to pump out a required column each week.

  337. 337 GermanEagle said at 4:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    With Herremans probably landing on IR could we have not traded for a RG?!

  338. 338 Avery Greene said at 4:45 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Can Tobin play RG? I thought Chip liked his lineman to be versatile. Tobin has been playing well.

  339. 339 anon said at 5:33 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    no way we trade for anyone in that position. Gotta learn blocking schemes, tempo, has to be athletic, etc. Going to be very hard to bring in guys.

  340. 340 D3FB said at 2:02 AM on October 29th, 2014:

    Exactly, there’s probably less than 20 OL in each draft that can play in our scheme. And that’s before you even try and account for quality.

  341. 341 Ark87 said at 4:35 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m not TOO down on Nate, he had a bad play at an unrecoverable part of the game, That happens early, or we win that game, it’s no big deal. If you watch his snaps in reverse chronological order you’d say he had a good day by Nate Allen standards. Some pretty good notes http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/eagles/Davis-says-Nate-hate-is-misplaced.html

  342. 342 GEAGLE said at 4:40 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Billy Davis spoke on length today about what a good game Nate had minus the last horrible play.. He emphatically stated that he absolutely trusts Nate
    ..
    I will throw a party the day I see a quality safety line up next to Malcolm Jenkns.. With that said, Nate has been much better this year than he has ever been. Can anyone recall Nate making a better play then the strip fumble on Sunday? Might very well be his best play as an eagle…
    .. Shame that one false step ruined what should have been a hard fought win, and a solid game by Nate,,

  343. 343 Ark87 said at 4:42 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    never even one close, his second best play is a long way down, and that was last year when he recognized he didn’t have any responsibilities in his zone coverage and gave himself the green light to blitz make a key sack on Alex Smith

  344. 344 anon said at 5:32 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Nate is good, but as the reporter mentioned he’s bit on 3 double moves that have gone for TDs this year.

    What else is Davis going to say? His trust is entirely tied to how much they paid him this year.

  345. 345 P_P_K said at 4:50 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    “… he had a bad play at an unrecoverable part of the game.”

    Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

  346. 346 Ark87 said at 4:56 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    And to be fair, as Davis said, the whole defense blew that play. The coverage was quaters: http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/6/4/5777548/bsd-film-room-penn-state-defense-quarters-coverage-james-franklin-bob-shoop-nick-saban

    Brown ran right down the seam of Nate and Cary’s zones, neither one of them managed to stay over top. The dude is just getting scapegoated by the fans

  347. 347 GermanEagle said at 6:39 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The dude is just getting scapegoated by the fans

    I hope that dude finds a new home next season. Enough with the mediocre safety play.

  348. 348 D3FB said at 2:00 AM on October 29th, 2014:

    Find me 64 safeties better than Nate.

  349. 349 GermanEagle said at 1:32 PM on October 29th, 2014:

    Why 64?! It should be 33 which is the benchmark for the median. We shouldn’t be satisfied with below average safety play.

  350. 350 D3FB said at 3:39 PM on October 29th, 2014:

    64 starting safties in the NFL. Probably another 75 backups.

  351. 351 GermanEagle said at 4:04 PM on October 29th, 2014:

    You obviously didn’t get my point.

  352. 352 P_P_K said at 9:22 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I appreciate what you are saying, it’s quite possible I don’t know the Eagles defensive schemes, and I think it is noble that Davis is sticking up for his guy. Considering the game was in the final 90sec, I’ve got to believe it was more of a responsibility for the safety, not the cb, to protect against a deep pass.

  353. 353 RobNE said at 4:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    so what’s the real deal with Todd?

  354. 354 GermanEagle said at 4:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He’s trying to play one more week before undergoing season ending injury.

  355. 355 Ark87 said at 4:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Torn Biceps, Basically intends to play one-armed until Mathis gets back so we can move tobin over to RG

  356. 356 anon said at 5:30 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    That’s going to be terrible. Watt + Clowney? Plus public info that he’s got a torn bicep? Don’t think that’s going to go well.

  357. 357 GermanEagle said at 5:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The only good thing will be that we won’t be seeing any holding penalties from Todd.

  358. 358 anon said at 5:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Soooooo Herremans torn Bicep — think he’ll play or…..IR?

    Maybe That Hulls guy needs to go….sooo many injuries this year.

  359. 359 GEAGLE said at 5:01 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Espn just said “good news for Eagles, Sproles is playing Sunday in Texas”

  360. 360 BobSmith77 said at 5:22 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Getting Sproles and Kelce back should be a notable lift and hopefully Kendricks is out there more than 50% of the snaps this week including more non-passing downs.

  361. 361 GEAGLE said at 7:06 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Add kendrick to our front 7 and we should be nasty. We only lost one game without Kendricks, not a bad trade of for the chance to develop some depth in terms of Casey Mathews, Acho, Marcus smith… More importantly, the loss PF Kendrick forced us to play a lot of Dime instead of Nickel, so we were able to grow our Dime and now you are seeing Nolan Carrol start to really flash in that dime CB/quasi LB role.. He made like 5 nice plays Sunday, shame he kept cramping up and leaving like every 3 plays(I believe)… He has really grown into that Dime role and its a huge addition. Think of this blitzing, forcing the QB to throw that INT that Malcolm Jenkins took to the house,
    ..
    Losing Kendrick sucks, but we have some nice added depth since we lost him… Hopefully the damn injuries STOP, so we can put it all together get hot in December and go into the playoffs as that bad mofo that no one wants to have to play

  362. 362 BobSmith77 said at 5:19 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Giver Herremans a lot of credit playing through that biceps injury on Sunday and attempting to play through it again Sunday. I would just rather have Kelly practice & get reps with the 1st team all week instead.

    It wouldn’t surprise me though if Sunday is Herremans’ last game in an Eagles’ uniform though. His salary jumps up to $5.2M next year. If the Eagles cut Herremans though, it will be $2.4M in dead salary money (think not sure). Either Herremans or Mathis will be gone this offseason though because I can’t see the Eagles continuing to invest large dollars in 2 Gs in their mid-30s coming off notable injuries. Foolish teams do that and quickly end up behind the eight ball in regards to the cap.

    Herremans has also been an average/below-average player the last 1 1/2 or so and is the kind of guy I definitely could see the Eagles looking to replace in the draft or even via FA.

  363. 363 GEAGLE said at 5:54 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m not so sure Dennis Kelly would even be next in line,,. IMO, I love Kellys size so he is who I would put in the game, but I’m not sure that’s how our coaches feel. Keep in mind that Molk and Vandervelde can also play Guard, Molk started a game at Guard next to Kelce early in the year, and Vandervelde was a Guard who we moved to center…
    .
    I always like Kelly. I think he is scrappy and gets the job done even if it’s not pretty or you don’t expect him to. A gamer if you will…..but I could easily see our coaches prefer to go with Molksaility instead

  364. 364 izzylangfan said at 5:22 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    We know that Nick Foles is not a great athlete and he does not have a very strong arm either. In fact, I think if he could have put more mustard on the final pass of the Cardinals game he might have been able to get the ball to Matthews before he went out of bounds. But with athleticism and arm strength lacking quick accurate decision making would seem to be all the more important. The good news is that decision making is exactly what Nick Foles is best at. But what is disturbing then, is all those interceptions. Interceptions after all are so often the result of of bad decision making. So I would like to look deeper into the interceptions this year while noting that I do not have complete data but am estimating just from my memory of all the games this year.

    Two or three of this years interceptions came at the end of halves when Nick was a long way from scoring and was trying to make something happen. No harm, no foul, I have no problem with those.

    One or two came from inaccurate passes. While no one likes those, there’s not much to do about it since there are always going to be at least a few of those. Sure Nick can work on his footwork and fundamentals and will in the offseason and next preseason but I’m not sure how much can be accomplished during the rest of this season. The thing about Nick is that when he throws an inaccurate pass it often seems often to be wildly inaccurate. Perhaps because of Nicks height and long limbs it is more difficult for Nick to achieve the repetitive precision compared to other quarterbacks.

    Two or three of his interceptions came from passes that were thrown down the middle after holding the ball to long. This is a recipe for disaster and these throws are just flat out bad judgement.

    Two or three of his passes were thrown to late to catch the receivers when they were open. Thus the DBs had closed the gap. These are bad judgement bad timing or both. However, these are curious since in his rookie year and all last year Nick had thrown as his receivers were just making their move or even totally threw them open.

    Remember 2010. Mike Vick came in after Kevin Kolb was hurt and for about 10 games he was lights out. He played better than he had ever played before, particularly as a pocket QB not a running QB. While he did run effectively his passing was a revelation. In his first 10 game I think he had one or no interceptions. Then in the last few games he started throwing interceptions again. Talk about “late down the middle” – that was Vick. But Vick had already played 10 seasons. While people can change I think we now know that Vick was who is always has been – not a great pocket passer. What I think was happening is that he was going on adrenaline. He was back to starting after his stint in prison, he was back as a starting QB which he well might have imagined would never happen again. Adreneline makes your vision sharper, slows down everything and increases brain activity and judgement. Those are all qualities that should help avoid interceptions.

    Well, last year Nick Foles finds himself starting QB for the Eagles after being a third round pick a year earlier. He must have been excited and I’m thinking the adrenaline was flowing. So for 10 games he is lights out and then struggles in the last three games of the year and then this year. But last year he was learning to play on adrenaline now he has to learn how to play without it. Some of the visual acuity is gone and the game has to slow down from familiarity and understanding alone. But Nick is not a finished product, we don’t know who he is yet, Nick doesn’t know, Kelly doesn’t know. He can still learn and improve. Or not.

    There is one other thing that might be going on with Nick. Last year and the year before he was thrown in when other QBs went down. This year he comes back as the MAN. Play well and the city will love him, play well and he gets the big contract. This may be different kind of pressure than he has experienced before – at least in his mind (which is the only mind that counts). I think this might explain some of his mistakes – the pressure might have put a small ding in his confidence. He is likely fighting to get it back.

    So there you have it Nick might be good or great or not so much. When the time comes Kelly will make the necessary decisions. The rest of us can’t really make any decisions because we have no power in this situation. So why not root for the guy. Its a lot more fun that way. I promise.

  365. 365 BobSmith77 said at 5:24 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Vick just had some really good luck in ’10 in regards to interceptions and after he got injured at Chicago & had to wear that heavy flak jacket the rest of the year he wasn’t as effective.

  366. 366 mtn_green said at 7:31 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    He couldn’t see rush. Or dropping LB.

  367. 367 ACViking said at 6:31 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    QBs w/ 2 INTs in week 8:

    Luck – 22 TDs / 9 INTs (8 games)

    Rivers – 20 TDs / 5 INTs (8 gms)

    Rodgers – 19 TDs / 3 INTs (8 gms)

    Nick Foles – 12 TDs / 9 INTs (7 gms)

  368. 368 anon said at 6:41 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    hard to believe he only has thrown for 12 tds in 8 games considering our run game isn’t great.

  369. 369 ACViking said at 6:46 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Foles is fourth overall in total pass attempts at 299, in just 7 games

    Roethlisberger is third at 301 (8 gm).

    Matt Ryan is second at 305 (8gm).

    Luck leads with 348 (8 gms).

  370. 370 GermanEagle said at 6:58 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Which also puts his 9 picks in a better perspective. I’m too lazy to calculate his int/pass attempt ratio and compare it with the likes of Luck & Co. right now though.

  371. 371 GEAGLE said at 7:00 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    I’m just as lazy, but I bet the numbers would be similar. Luck has always thrown his share of INTs

  372. 372 anon said at 7:05 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    yeah throwing picks at similar rates but the TD/INT ratio is a lot different. But a lot of their goal line plays are passes, so wouldn’t be surprised if they had way fewer running tds. But Foles doesn’t look as productive given all the attempts.

  373. 373 izzylangfan said at 8:02 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Andrew Luck, Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rogers: all 5-3. Nick Foles 5-2.

  374. 374 Mitchell said at 10:43 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    If you add the 2 td’s Cooper should have caught and take away the 2 int’s at the end of the half/game, along with the 2 bonehead ints in the giants game and you have 14/7. I’m WAY happier with that.

  375. 375 GEAGLE said at 5:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    The latest im seeing:
    ..
    1) Inquirer calls it “practically a certainty” that Jason Kelce will play Sunday
    ..
    2)’Herremans has a slightly torn bicep and it’s not completely unheard of for a player to try and play thru it and have surgery at the end of the year. My understanding is that right now, he is still at the point where he is going to try and gut it out..I havent seen what Caplan tweeted that it’s just a case of trying to only play 1 more game…My understanding is that at this moment there is still a smidget of Hope that this ismt a season ending deal. But it’s obviously am wry fluid situation and any minute he can hang it up and end his season…

    Fortunately Tobin has been growing Nicely..

    I wonder if you consider Leaving Tobin next to Jason Peters, and stick Mathis next to Lane?

  376. 376 GermanEagle said at 6:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Where did you see/hear that he has a slight tear?! Or is this pure speculation on your part?

  377. 377 GEAGLE said at 6:58 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Rotoworld

  378. 378 unhinged said at 6:47 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    “Plagued” is too strong a word. “Impeded” might be better if only because plagues kill, and impediments hinder, and they are 5-2. I think Philly and every other team in today’s NFL are a long way from fixing all of their problems “for good”. Everyone wants scheme-worthy execution on every play and everyone knows that ain’t gonna happen. Kelly had praise for his defense, and said overall that they did their job. Kelly speaks about rhythm frequently, and I do think that the OL not sustaining their blocks long enough to launch a feisty running game has multiple negative consequences, one of which is Foles feeling pressure to win the game in the air. They left points on the field in Arizona, as in just about every game so far, and as good as Kelly is, he cannot get middling players to play like studs. We are still a few studs away from an elite herd.

  379. 379 Matt Hoover said at 7:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Is the Bill Lazor factor being ignored? It seems alot of Foles issues are QB coaching, Musgrave sucked in 98 too

  380. 380 MaggieMagpie said at 8:52 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Not being ignored by some. Questions have arisen about change of QB coach.

  381. 381 Matt Hoover said at 2:02 AM on October 29th, 2014:

    I dare say Musgrave wont be back next year.

  382. 382 ACViking said at 7:26 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Re: INT & TD Percentages – Foles v. Others

    A couple folks were wondering:

    Foles – INT% 3.0. TD% 4.0

    Luck – INT% 2.6. TD% 6.3

    Roethlessberger – INT% 1.0. TD% 5.3.

    Ryan – INT% 2.6. TD% 4.9
    _____________

    Foles’s TD% is 26th overall.

    Luck ranks 6th overall in TD %.

  383. 383 anon said at 7:31 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    putting on my foles apologist hat i’m going to say we have to throw more between the 20s than most teams b/c of our lack of run game and i’ll posit, without investigation, that we have a larger percentage of rushing tds than most teams. That might be a little contradictory but i’m ok doing some mental gymnastics to get to the proper conclusion…

  384. 384 ACViking said at 7:37 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Birds have 4 rushing TDs, 12 passing TDs.

    As a percentage of total TDs scored, the Eagles’ rushing TDs put them in the bottom third or so.

  385. 385 Avery Greene said at 8:50 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Through some of the analysis I’ve seen after the game, the last time a QB won throwing the ball 60+ times in a game was Rich Gannon in 2002. Kelly didn’t do Foles any favors in that game.

  386. 386 GermanEagle said at 8:05 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Interesting. MT @ProFootballDoc: Possible for OL to play thru distal biceps tear and have surgery after season. Harder for defensive player.

    TIFWIW.

    Still don’t understand why it’s harder for a defensive player than an O Liner who needs his hands to block…

  387. 387 MaggieMagpie said at 8:51 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    don’t know if it is harder for D Line players or O Line. This defensive tackle continued on to help create the 4/3 nut stunt (or whatever it’s called), made several more All Pro and Pro Bowl teams, Defensive Player of the year and the HOF. So it does seem that an O Lineman would need both arms and hands more.

    http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19760304&id=FwAkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JmcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2643,1323419

  388. 388 EagleNebula said at 9:31 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    One plausible reason: biceps are used in contraction not extension. Blocking is predominantly pushing and extending, tackling requires contracting…

    But that is just a wild ass guess

  389. 389 anon said at 9:34 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    yeah i thought the same thing but wondering if it’s different in zone blocking vs pass pro.

  390. 390 SteveH said at 9:07 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    So still no word on Romo’s injury huh? They said they had done the scan but still haven’t released the results…

  391. 391 anon said at 9:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    If it was serious they would have stopped the world series to report it live.

  392. 392 SteveH said at 10:09 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Well no one could know if it is serious or not because no one knows what it is yet.

  393. 393 P_P_K said at 9:24 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    My 11 year-old son wants me to share his orginal joke with you guys.
    Q. What’s the difference between Tony Romo and the Cowboys cheerleaders?
    A. There isn’t one!

  394. 394 ACViking said at 9:48 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Fantastic!

  395. 395 A_T_G said at 11:38 PM on October 28th, 2014:

    Give him a couple more years, he’ll start noticing differences.