Sanchez Gets His Chance

Posted: November 2nd, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 119 Comments »

Most of Eagles Nation was not happy when the team signed Mark Sanchez. All they could think about was the Butt Fumble and bad ending for Sanchez with the Jets. Then Sanchez struggled in the spring and his doubters grew. Things began to change in the summer. Sanchez played better in Training Camp. Maybe he wasn’t going to be so bad.

Preseason games brought out the best in Sanchez and he went 25-31. Suddenly the questions were less about whether he could be a backup and more about if some other team would trade for him or if Sanchez should start over Nick Foles.

Sanchez sat until today. When Nick Foles hurt his collar bone, Sanchez finally got his shot. And he didn’t disappoint. Sanchez finished 15-22-202. He threw 2 TDs and had 2 INTs. Those aren’t great numbers. Sanchez didn’t have a great game. He did play well and helped the Eagles to a tough win on the road.

For the most part, Sanchez played smart. One INT came on a pass where Josh Huff should have made the catch, but the ball deflected off his hands and was picked. The other INT was confusing. I’m not sure what happened. It sure looked like a bad decision, but Sanchez looked very confused afterward, as though he expected something else to happen on the play. There was one terrible moment in the 2nd half when Sanchez was hit by a rusher coming up the middle and he threw the ball right to a defender. Luckily the guy dropped the ball. That was one play where Sanchez was totally at fault and he can’t do that.

I thought Sanchez threw the ball well. His 2 TDs both came in the Red Zone and they were terrific throws. One was a fade to Jordan Matthews that had great touch. The ball went right over the DB and Matthews was able to pluck it smoothly. The other TD was a low throw to Maclin where only he could make the play. That was aggressive, but smart. Sanchez threw one deep ball and connected with Maclin for a gain of 52. Mac did have to slow down for the ball or that could have been a TD.

Sanchez didn’t play like a backup. He was confident and aggressive. The offense kept moving at a high tempo pace until late when they slowed down to work the clock. Jason Kelce had several bad snaps, but Sanchez got them all and never panicked.

I’m sure some people are going to start the whole Sanchez vs Foles debate. That’s silly at this point. Sanchez played 3/4 of a game against a mediocre defense. That’s hardly enough to make a compelling case for him down the road. Reports say that Foles has a broken collar bone. If so, he will be out a minimum of 3 games and possibly until Christmas time. Aaron Rodgers missed 7 games last year with that injury. Sanchez is going to get a chance to show what he can do in this offense for multiple weeks.

It will be interesting to see how Sanchez does. For the first time, he is running an offense that is loaded with weapons. He had some good skill players in his first years with the Jets, but they weren’t as good as the current Eagles group. Sanchez also has his first chance to play for an offensive-minded head coach. The goal isn’t to avoid turnovers and run the ball. Chip Kelly wants to score points. Sanchez will be under pressure to move the ball and score points at the pace Kelly is accustomed to.

We’ll see how Sanchez does. He has the right system, good blockers and lots of talent to work with. He should deliver good results.

* * * * *

DeMeco Ryans has a torn Achilles. I’ll write about him tomorrow.

I did take the time to look around the practice squads of the NFL to see who might be of interest. Ryans will be going to IR so they’ll need someone to fill his spot. I saw 3 names that might make some sense.

* Steve Beauharnais – WAS – Steve was with the Pats in the summer so the Eagles saw him in practices and the preseason. He was in on 7 tackles when the 2 teams played. He is currently playing in a 3-4 system so that might help his adjustment to a new system.

* Kevin Reddick – CAR – I thought Kevin might be a mid-round pick last spring but he slid and was a UDFA. Does have NFL potential.

* Max Bullough – HOU – Goes almost 250 pounds. Thick run stuffer who had a great career at Michigan State. Not as athletic as the Eagles like.

In case you were wondering about Jake Knott, he got an injury settlement from the Eagles and can’t return until Week 14.

The team could look for a veteran, but I doubt there is much available on the street right now. There have been a lot of ILB injuries this year around the league. The pickings are probably very slim.

_


119 Comments on “Sanchez Gets His Chance”

  1. 1 mtn_green said at 11:02 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    2 yards from 8-0. Eagles will be getting healthier as the season continues. Every other good NFL team has a silly loss where they were dominated, not eagles. Defense is getting pressure and sacks. Davis is dialing up blitzes and being aggressive, some long passes have come, but a lot of the time there is dominance.

    Loving the defense.

  2. 2 ceedubya9 said at 11:19 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    They played well today. Only gave up two TDs.

  3. 3 EagleNebula said at 11:25 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Only 2 drives over 36 yards as well.

  4. 4 wee2424 said at 11:36 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Replace Nate Allen and maybe some of those big pass plays wouldnt even be there.

  5. 5 Cafone said at 11:49 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Replace him with Earl Wolff? Judging by his performance today, that would only increase the number of big pass plays.

  6. 6 wee2424 said at 12:35 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    No…what i meant was replace Allen with better safety play. Ive been stuck in Florida for 2 years now, the large majority of the games have been broadcasted down here so far with the exception of this week, and ironically the Jaguars game. Wolff was that bad?

  7. 7 EAGLES said at 12:59 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Gave up a TD but overall I don’t have a problem with him in this game.

  8. 8 mtn_green said at 1:21 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Won’t know until all 22. The TD that Wolff gave up he wasn’t terribly out of position and really had to hustle to cover him from where he was lined up.

  9. 9 Stacks209 said at 7:41 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Ya, watching that TD i asked myself who on the Eagles D could have stopped that play? Boykin..maybe? Otherwise I dont blame Wolff so much cause no one else in green could have stopped that play either.

  10. 10 Avery Greene said at 9:00 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Yes. He’s not in the right place, takes bad angles, and seemed to make some bad decisions.

  11. 11 Buge Halls said at 9:16 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Really? How many big pass plays did they have compared to the rest of the season?

  12. 12 GEAGLE said at 8:38 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Shocker, we have. Nice defense after all….wonder where we heard that all offseason? 😉

  13. 13 wee2424 said at 11:22 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Never thought i would say this but i am acctually more concerned about us missing our MLB then QB. Just sounds idiotic.

  14. 14 Cafone said at 11:47 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    I wonder if you would be saying that if Matt Barkley was Foles’ backup

  15. 15 wee2424 said at 11:50 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Lol my 3 year old brother knows the answer to that question.

  16. 16 P_P_K said at 8:21 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I’m still curious about Barkley. Remember he tore it up at USC. Let’s find out what he’s made of during pre-season, though, not while we’re in playoff contention.

  17. 17 Anders said at 8:25 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez lit it up at USC. Brandon Weeden was a great college QB.

  18. 18 George said at 8:45 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    tim tebow also lit it up in college

  19. 19 eagleyankfan said at 7:33 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    that concern is valid. At back up QB, we have a veteran who can play the position. At MLB we have … we have … um, well … warm bodies. We have 1 player(at least) that wouldn’t even be on our team if it wasn’t for an injury to another player during the preseason. To put it bluntly, he’s not nfl material….

  20. 20 Anders said at 7:35 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Casey Matthews is just as much a veteran ILB as Sanchez is veteran QB.

  21. 21 eagleyankfan said at 7:38 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Surely you’re joking. Time in the NFL does not equal experience. Sanchez was a starter for an nfl team. He has some serious experience. Mathews can’t touch Sanchez experience.

  22. 22 wee2424 said at 10:57 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think the 2 gap system we run at the line really helps the LBs. I just cant see Acho or Mathews making all those calls and audibles like Ryans did. I guess alot of that is going to fall on Jenkins and Kendricks.

  23. 23 Daniel said at 2:12 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Couldn’t agree more.

  24. 24 P_P_K said at 11:27 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    “Most of Eagles Nation was not happy when the team signed Mark Sanchez.” Not me. I was really happy with the signing. I think Mark got a raw deal with the Jets. Nick is still qb#1, but I’m glad with have a solid guy with NFL starter experience to step in. I look forward to seeing him after a full week of practice with the #1s.

    “I thought Sanchez threw the ball well. His 2 TDs both came in the Red Zone and they were terrific throws.” Two, count ’em, two good throws in the RZ for TDs. Now this is music to my ears.

    “DeMeco Ryans has a torn Achilles.” Crap. Crap. Crap.

  25. 25 GEAGLE said at 8:41 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    When your backüp is better than a handful of teams starters, that’s all you can really ask for…be very difficult to do better as a back up than Sanchez… He hasn’t played in like two years, I expect him to get sharper with every game he gets under his belt…
    .l
    As an backup, think Sanchize can be > Jeff Garcia who served us well

  26. 26 bsuperfi said at 10:00 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I dunno – I’d love to have the legend that is Jeff Garcia as our backup/current starter right now. I think he would fit this team perfectly.

  27. 27 McNabbulousness said at 11:28 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    per adam shefter: foles has broken collar bone

  28. 28 ICDogg said at 12:08 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Aaron Rogers missed 7 weeks with similar injury last season.

  29. 29 EagleNebula said at 11:32 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    There was an orthopedic surgeon who tweeted Reuben Frank about broken collar bones, the gist of his tweets were that location of the break significantly impacts recovery time, as does any damage to tendons (hence the MRI). He said the basic time frame for a classic break was 6-8 weeks, but again, depends on the break.

  30. 30 sprawl said at 11:42 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Too early to put very much thought into but you have to be curious about Sanchez coming back next year. If he can play well enough to have a whiff of a QB competition next season does he stick around at a reasonable price for a potential “prove it” year or risk winding up on another team with a putrid offense like Vick did going to the Jets?

    The “prove it” thing seems to be working out pretty well for Maclin…

  31. 31 Cafone said at 11:51 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    I don’t think so. He’s got his chance to prove it now. I see two possible scenarios where he is back: 1) he doesn’t prove it and can’t get a #1 job next year. 2) he proves it enough to take Foles’ job.

  32. 32 wee2424 said at 12:48 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Thank you Nostradamus, i think those are pretty much the only 2 scenarios in which he would be back.

  33. 33 Cafone said at 11:55 PM on November 2nd, 2014:

    Tommy, who do you see getting the greatest number of snaps for Ryans next week? Matthews, Acho, or Smith? How about in week 16?

  34. 34 sprawl said at 12:03 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    The coaches were saying Casey Matthews will try and fill in for Demeco’s “leadership role” as far as adjusting coverages and such. Figure that would get him more snaps despite how much we’re worried about his athletic limitations. Guess Casey has the most experience with Azzinaro’s system as far as setting up the front 7 back in Oregon?

  35. 35 CASEY MATTHEWS said at 12:14 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Time to put all those dinner conversations to use.

  36. 36 Ark87 said at 10:40 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I’m a little bit confused, In the Locker room Kendricks was like, It’s my time, ‘Meco’s been grooming me for this moment. Gonna step up and make the calls, yeah! Coaches are like, Casey’s the new ‘Meco! Yeesh.

    Honestly to me it seems Jenkins is our #2 coach on the field and should be the guy to step up to fill the leadership stuff on the field, naturally a LB has to make the calls they do while he does the secondary calls.

  37. 37 TommyLawlor said at 12:06 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I’ll write about that in the morning.

  38. 38 Baloophi said at 12:02 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Hate to lose DeMeco for the season, but it’s good to see Steve Buscemi has found work driving the Texans’ golf cart.

  39. 39 A_T_G said at 12:05 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    So that victory only cost us the QB of our defense and our actual QB?

  40. 40 Ark87 said at 12:08 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I may or may not have sacrificed a hundred bulls that I may or may not have owned to heathen gods that may or may not exist. It definitely worked though.

  41. 41 A_T_G said at 12:20 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    That is a bunch of bull.

  42. 42 EAGLES said at 12:58 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I seen a few reports on fansided with barchard tweets saying herremans needs surgery.

  43. 43 Media Mike said at 5:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think we all expected that in after Mathis was allowed to return.

  44. 44 Anders said at 5:56 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Herremans actually said he would play this game and then get surgery once Mathis was back to help the team

  45. 45 Cafone said at 8:57 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    If true, that’s such a team first move. I had heard something like that, but I thought it was speculation. Did Herremans actually say it?

  46. 46 Pennguino said at 2:01 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Just finished up week 9 on my broke clavicle (motorcycle accident) Spent the first 3 weeks sleeping in a lazy boy. Just started being able to sleep on my right side again. I am no where close to being an athlete like Foles. Mine wasn’t a displacement just minor break. Hopefully Foles is able to heal up and get back in 6 weeks.

  47. 47 Sean Stott said at 2:14 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think there’s no way he’s coming back until at the earliest week 15. Even that would be very fast.

  48. 48 EAGLES said at 2:20 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    http://section215.com/2014/11/02/report-todd-herremans-may-season/

  49. 49 Insomniac said at 2:52 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    In honor of Sanchez, I will go get chicken fingers for dinner. I hope Maclin got him some after the game.

  50. 50 Anders said at 4:25 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Shouldnt it be Sanchez who buys Maclin them?

  51. 51 Insomniac said at 7:13 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Why? Maclin didn’t bail out Sanchez.

  52. 52 Anders said at 3:39 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Just noticed how effective the Eagles have been at drafting a good OL compared to the Cowboys:

    Lane Johnson, 1st round
    Jason Kelce, 6th round
    Matt Tobin, UDFA

    compare that versus

    Tyron Smith, 1st round
    Travis Frederick, 1st round
    Zach Martin, 1st round

    The Eagles trio if young guys is playing at least as good as the Cowboys trio, but when you compare the resources spend, it give a clear edge to the Eagles

  53. 53 ian_no_2 said at 8:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    & don’t forget 168 picks before Kelce they used a mere 1st for Danny Watkins

  54. 54 jpate said at 11:30 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    If he were able to get an competent guard with that pick. We’d be set right now. F watkins

  55. 55 Matt Hoover said at 4:25 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    So Tommy? Jonathan Vilma is of no interest to the Eagles? Seems like the best Veteran on the street. Or how about Dan Connor? No chance London Fletcher wants to come out of retirement to a contender? And I am assuming Rocky McIntosh cannot play the Mike.

  56. 56 Anders said at 4:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    What about Trotter now we are talking retired MLBs?

  57. 57 Matt Hoover said at 5:23 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I love trot, but I was being serious, the guy played just last year and played well.

  58. 58 BlindChow said at 4:36 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    While we might be clamoring for Foles after a few weeks, I can’t say I’m too concerned about starting Sanchez right now. Foles hasn’t been anywhere near the same guy he was last year. If Sanchez plays well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him keep starting even after Foles is healthy.

    Of course, now we have to worry about the backup situation…

  59. 59 Matt Hoover said at 5:24 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think Barkley would surprise everyone, not that he would be a super star, but he is like a foles/sanchez cross. He would be just fine. Make some beautiful throws, some dumb mistakes, almost like Foles with better feet but less arm.

  60. 60 Anders said at 5:57 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    But why not just have Sanchez? Sanchez has better feet than Foles and better arm than Barkley and he is also a better athlete than both

  61. 61 Michael Winter Cho said at 8:48 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Vick was better than all three put together.

    Sanchez just never was even a decent QB, and I do not base it on the stupid butt-fumble incident. I don’t see him being a good backup QB either–those aren’t supposed to throw 2 INTs a game.

  62. 62 Buge Halls said at 9:31 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Really? Vick? Sanchez took his team to the AFC Championship game twice with a playoff run in a third year. How’s Vick done in the post-season? 2 wins in 12 years?

    Vick INTs – 86 + 43 FUM lost
    Sanchez INTs – 71 + 20 FUM lost

    Yeah, Vick is muuuuuch better /sarcasm off/

  63. 63 Avery Greene said at 9:36 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    To be fair, I read it that Vick was a better athlete not QB. Which he is, I don’t think anyone would think Vick was better than Foles or Sanchez in terms of post-season or QB success.

    Though I could be wrong, in that case sir, you may proceed…

  64. 64 Michael Winter Cho said at 3:06 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    You are right, Avery, that’s what I meant. Still, I do take issue that Sanchez is a better QB than Vick in any aspect of the game. I will be shocked if Sanchez plays even decently during his stint here.

  65. 65 Avery Greene said at 3:20 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think he will. They just need to take the game out of his hands. They have 3 RBs they can use throughout the game. Plus, if he averages 1 TO a game, it’s still better than what we were getting before.

    We don’t need him to be a hero, we just need him to be effective and I think he can do that.

  66. 66 Michael Winter Cho said at 3:04 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    “Took his team to playoff” in the same way that Trent Dilfer brought home a Superbowl, right? As in, allowed the other players to win it and didn’t manage to mess it up…

    Here are their DVOA stats. There is overlap–Sanchez at his best was as good as Vick at his worst. Don’t forget to check out the rushing; those yards count, too.

    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/17914/michael-vick

    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22337/mark-sanchez

  67. 67 Buge Halls said at 3:10 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Blow off his stats all you want – please list Mike Vick’s accomplishments. It’s be a extremely short list! And you bust on Trent, but how many Superbowls has Vick won?

  68. 68 eagleyankfan said at 7:28 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Barkley has surprised many. We’re surprised he’s still on the team.

  69. 69 jshort said at 9:13 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I just hope it doesn’t come to that…..One more thought. Could a lot of these INT’s be because Kelly blames the QB when it comes to taking sacks. Putting pressure on them to get the ball out rather than taking the sack. just a thought.

  70. 70 eagleyankfan said at 7:28 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    As T-Law said “That’s Silly”.
    I’m excited to see what Sanchez can do under Chip. He is(should be) more than a capable back up. He should be able to handle this offense accept for the read/option where he keeps the ball. Other than that, he should be fine. If he wasn’t capable, than shame on CK. To say though he’ll start of a healthy Foles, is silly.

    Back up is a great question. Not sure we can assume Sanchez will stay healthy….

  71. 71 Cafone said at 8:54 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Why are you excited to see what Sanchez can do if you don’t think he has any chance to beat out Foles? Just curiosity?

  72. 72 Buge Halls said at 9:32 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Trade bait

  73. 73 Avery Greene said at 9:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    He’s only on a one year contract I thought.

  74. 74 Dragon_Eagle said at 5:31 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Thinking longer term, the injury to Foles is one of the worst situations that could have happened to the Eagles. My thoughts going into the season were that the most important thing for the team, apart from winning a Superbowl, was getting an answer on whether Foles is our franchise QB.

    Foles has not played well enough to date to claim that spot, but he still had 8 games to improve and make his case. Now, we don’t know. He may come back and have 2-4 games plus perhaps some playoffs. He may not get back on the field if Sanchez is playing well. In any event it looks unlikely that we will know the answer on Foles at the end of this season, still possible, but very unlikely.

    That leaves the team having to consider other QBs in FA, the draft, or trying to sign Foles to a low end but longer term contract. AND, more importantly, questions will likely be there in the offseason as to who our starting QB in 2015 an beyond will be. That is not good as it chews up resources trying to acquire QBs and/or developing new ones.

  75. 75 Media Mike said at 5:32 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think you’ll still get your view of Foles when he’s back after 4 weeks.

  76. 76 Jarrod said at 8:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Foles still has one more year on his rookie contract. If he doesn’t prove anything the team can keep him at his current rate and decide on him after next season. If Foles doesn’t prove anything he won’t want to resign because he’ll want to wait til he is coming off of a better year to get more money.

  77. 77 Birds4Life said at 2:34 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Actually, I think it is kind of a blessing in disguise. I don’t like to see anyone get hurt, but now Sanchez has a few games to show us what another QB can do in this system. If he plays well, that proves that Chip’s system is QB friendly and we can plug anyone in there and get good results. Then we don’t need to spend $20 million on a franchise QB. If Sanchez, plays ok, then Nick can come back healthy at the end of the year for the playoff run. And if Sanchez sucks, then we will have a better draft spot to get Mariota. Foles is still under contract for next year, so he’s not getting a mega deal after this year. Plus maybe Foles can learn some things from spending some time on the sidelines.

  78. 78 Media Mike said at 5:32 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    We have three different types of games left in our final 8.

    2 vs. good teams – Seattle and Green Bay
    2 vs. fraud teams – Dallas twice
    4 vs. garbage teams – Carolina, Giants, Washington, Titans.

    I’d want a 6-2 record in those games at this point even if Guido Merkins was starting at QB.

    Odds are we won’t go 6-2, but Sanchez (and Foles when he returns) is capable of 6-2 at best or 4-4 at worst.

    The team is still a division winner.

  79. 79 Anders said at 5:58 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I was thinking 5-3 over that stretch, but that is also right in the middle of our projection

  80. 80 eagleyankfan said at 7:22 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    if you’re looking at the qb issue alone, sure that’s fine but DR is a much, much bigger impact. Garbage teams? I’m thinking those teams you listed are now licking their chops at the hit the Eagles just took on D.

  81. 81 Anders said at 7:32 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Meco wont be difference in a game against the likes of the Packers.

  82. 82 eagleyankfan said at 7:36 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    you mean the general/heart and soul of this defense? Ryans is more than just a MLB. What he brings to the table, very few players do. Doesn’t matter who the other team is, if they have a rb, Ryans will be missed…

  83. 83 Anders said at 7:41 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    The DL is far more important in terms of stopping the run than Meco. Also against the Packers, we will most likely play a lot of nickle or dime anyway.

  84. 84 eagleyankfan said at 7:46 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    no, I’ll disagree all day with that statement. Some of roles of the DL is to take up blockers so the MLB can get to the rb. You can sit in dime all day vs. packers and they’ll run like crazy — against our back up mlb….

  85. 85 Anders said at 8:06 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    In dime the LB is Kendricks no matter what, not Ryans anyway

  86. 86 eagleyankfan said at 10:31 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I’m sure — CK and Davis are sitting in their chairs right now saying — who cares if we lost Ryans because we’ll just sit in dime all day. Because its that easy. It’s a piece of cake.

  87. 87 NinjaP said at 7:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    So it looks like we are looking at Nick missing 7 weeks? So he could be back for the giants game like Rodgers came back last year?

  88. 88 kajomo said at 7:42 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    While you never want to lose a veteran starter I think everyone is making way too big a deal over losing DeMeco. Everyone seems to point to his leadership or “he’s the QB of the D”, both of which i believe have less impact on W&Ls than people think.

    We will miss his presence against the run. I dont look forward to Casey Matthews getting run over by Demarco Murray. That wont be pretty. However Kendricks is a much better and more impactful player for this defense than Meco is and we survived missing him for 5 weeks.

    Leadership is important, but remember “culture geats scheme.” This isnt a team or defense that is devoid of leadership. Jenkins, Barwin, and Cole are still respected veterans and Chip has put a premium on smart, good character guys in the draft.

    Kendrick will have to step up as the guy making all the calls. He has gotten to watch Ryans do it for 3 years now. Its time to take those training wheels off anyway. We will also add a veteran LB off the street.

    You never want to lose someone as solid as Ryans, but people are acting like this is the worst thing that could have happened to this team.

  89. 89 kajomo said at 7:46 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    In addition to the points above Bill Davis will scheme around the loss of Ryans. Expect to see more nickle packages now. Get Boykin on the field more.

    Also wanted to point out that Meco was here Andy’s last year. His leadership did nothing to get that defense to play better. While I believe you need leaders in you locker room I also feel it is a completely overrated aspect by fans

  90. 90 eagleyankfan said at 7:50 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    again with judging players during AR last year? Ugh. Can we stop that already?
    …..
    Ryans is a big hit to the defense because of the depth. It’s weak, at best. Did you notice any difference when the starting safety Allen didn’t play? No. When Kendricks when down, Ryans stepped up. It’ll be interesting to how they scheme and how well Kendricks can step up. That’s all good stuff. But to brush this off like we just lost a “nobody” on defense is — again — silly.

  91. 91 kajomo said at 8:19 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Not brushing it off, but injuries happen in football. Meco would not be in my top 5 players I am afraid to lose for the season. At the end of the season I doubt we look back and say “but if only we hadnt lost DeMeco…”

  92. 92 eagleyankfan said at 10:30 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    The team leader in tackles — replaced just like that. The talent level from him to (any) back up is the largest for any starter to back up on the team…

  93. 93 eagleyankfan said at 7:43 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I love the sugar coating over turnovers for one QB vs. another. One QB — oh, that’s terrible, he has do better blah blah blah. Second qb with what should have been 3 int’s — oh, that’s ok because he looked confident. Puke.
    ……
    Is it me — or is Huff in a weekly piece about turnovers? I know, I know — he’s a rookie. Looked great getting that first down. That was great stuff. Then the pass. Ugh. Hopefully they are just growing pains and not a weekly habit(like his fumble last week).
    ……
    It’s funny(or ironic?) that the Jets starting QB was our back up and our starting QB was their back up. Someone sent me a text prior to Foles being hurt saying the Jets should have gotten rid of their coach and not Sanchez. IF he turns out to be more than capable, we have to tip our hats to CK for finding such a guy.
    ……
    Who would you rather have, Dallas back up or Sanchez?

  94. 94 Bert's Bells said at 7:45 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    The Jets should get rid of Woody Johnson, he’s Jerry Jones without the football acumen.

  95. 95 Jernst said at 9:19 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Ouch

  96. 96 Bert's Bells said at 9:25 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    (glad you got the joke) He doesn’t have JJ’s “business” sense, either. In a league of Dan Snyders, Woody Johnson is probably the worst.

  97. 97 GermanEagle said at 7:54 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Give DR huge props for keeping the longest Current streak of takeaways in the NFL at 20 games alive.

  98. 98 eagleyankfan said at 7:57 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Man — what a game by Maclin. This is great on many levels. Is it scheme? Is Maclin an elite WR? Maybe a combination of both. Its a joy to watch him play at such a high level. Kelce looked great.
    …..
    How about that long drive in the 4th quarter? That was a killer drive. A game savor really.

  99. 99 Winged Nazgul said at 8:11 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I never, ever thought I’d be saying this…but thank God Mark Sanchez is our backup QB.

  100. 100 ian_no_2 said at 8:28 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Kevin Reddick was my first choice on Day 3 in 2013 (noted on this board).

    Is it necessary to pick up a LB that’s just going to be on the inactive list? It may make more sense to promote S Ed Reynolds and start easing him in.

    Another option is to grab a veteran QB for the time being who’s not practice squad eligible. The name that sticks out is Josh Freeman, who may or may not fit in to Kelly’s offense. I thought he would bust out of college, but for free, when he’s experienced and fighting for his football life..

  101. 101 GEAGLE said at 8:37 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Losing Meco is a heartbreaker, but we will be fine,,,
    ..
    Casey will step in for Meco in our base, and do a solid job against the run… Outside of our base, we will use Dime which means we only need 1’LB on the field which would be Mykal, and it gets Nolan on the field…
    ..
    As the weeks go by, assume Marcus gets more comfortable, and when we want to go with two LBs on passing downs, like our 4-2-5 nickel, it will be Mykal and Marcus…
    ..
    Thinking we are equipped to overcome the loss of our Leader, the problem is, that now we lack depth and can’t afford another injury at that position

  102. 102 ceteris_paribus1776 said at 8:40 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think loosing Meco is actually a pretty big deal. It’s not too difficult for coordinators to get isolation matchups. This is where having Meco makes a big difference. He wins his ISO match ups, plugs the gap and makes the stop for minimal gain. Those plays to for fist downs if the one-on-one matchup is lost. That’s going to lead to additional safety help and open up play action down field. The other thing Meco provides that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is an anchor that allows Kendrick to play freely. If the next man up can’t provide that anchor Davis won’t be able to deploy Kendrick in his most useful capacity. Meco is the linchpin that holds many things together because you don’t have to worry as much about the middle of the field and gaping holes to his side. If you do have to worry about that you have to use other resources as cover, which limits their ability as well. I think he’s actually one of the few players on this defense that have a nonlinear impact on the unit as a whole. Hope I’m wrong.

  103. 103 GEAGLE said at 8:51 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Props to ANDREW Gardner…when the warrior Herremans had enough and couldn’t keep going, Gardner came in, and we went on to stampede JJ Watt and his front 7… 4 runs, 70 yards down your throat!! That might have been one of my favorite Eagles drives… Shady and Polk trampled their defense all the way up the field and into the endzone..
    ..
    Love “Baby Huey” Polk. Really need him to stay healthy, stylistically he is the perfect compliment to shady, Sproles….not only does he run hard, beast in short yardage, and he is even a good pass catcher, solid blitz pickup…

    Down the road Id like to go two backs in the backfield so defenses don’t know who is getting the handoff…maybe lineup in two back pistol on occasion and have Polk lead block for shady, just to give defenses different looks that they haven’t practiced for

  104. 104 Avery Greene said at 8:55 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I’d like this too. Also, with Mathis back I’d love to see some power I formations.

  105. 105 GEAGLE said at 9:07 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    We are probably going to take advantage of Sanchez mobility and start unleashing some zone reads,.. Would love to see two back zone read, fake handoff to one back, then hand it off to the second back, or keep it, depending on what the player does that we are “reading”
    ..
    Once we establish the two back Attack,we can stick shady n Sproles back their and have two tough backs to match up with go out ass pass catchers..
    ….
    We haven’t seen it yet, but I’d bet anything chip won’t waste all the mismatches we can create with Sproles and shady in the backfield.. So far it hasn’t been time to unleash that portion of the playbook, but I’d bet anything we will eventually see it…there is no way we aren’t going to send shady and Sproles on wheel routes together ATleast once this season.
    ..
    Curious to see what he is saving this for, and who will be the team that he unleashes On for the first time. I used to think we were saving it for seattle game which could have determined whether us or seattle got homefield advantage, but now that they aren’t the team to beat, not sure who we will unleash that portion of the playoff against

  106. 106 Avery Greene said at 9:12 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Maybe Dallas or GB. I look at it this way, if we win our next 3, we set ourselves up nicely for the stretch run. Carolina, GB, and Dallas – we’d only have 2 conference losses at that point and I think put ourselves in a position to get that bye and a home game.

  107. 107 GEAGLE said at 9:22 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Agreed…doubt we lose more than two games,if that, the rest of the way.
    ..
    Too well coached, too much heart, mental/physical toughness..and this is the time of year we start gaining momentum.. We stick together amd always play hard….
    ..
    and if we start to clean up the mistake, be really tough to beat us once we stop trying to beat ourselves. If we take care of the ball and stop committing penalties, it’s going to be very difficult to send us home with a loss
    ..
    Teams won’t b too eager to get matched up against us

  108. 108 Avery Greene said at 9:23 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    We turned the ball over 4 times yesterday and still won by 10. Now that Mathis is back we should run the ball more, and that will help with the INTs.

  109. 109 jshort said at 10:05 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Was thinking, If Foles was under center and Polk was used instead of Shady, Think we would have come out of the desert with a W

  110. 110 Buge Halls said at 9:13 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    “He threw 2 TDs and had 2 INTs.” That little nugget right there tells the story of Sanchez’s career!

  111. 111 Buge Halls said at 9:34 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I just wonder how much Foles’ shoulder has been bothering him since the game where he got beat up (Week 2 was it?). Might explain some of his skittish movements – trying to protect the shoulder. The break might be the best thing to happen. Then again, maybe not.

  112. 112 Avery Greene said at 9:43 AM on November 3rd, 2014:

    You may be right. It’ll be good for him to focus on getting healthy and not worry about exacerbating his injury.

  113. 113 botto said at 12:11 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    the one thing I saw was sanchez gets the ball out very quickly. hits the routes right away. that little screen to sproles, he threw the ball before anyone knew what was going on. that’s good stuff. I love foles but I love the eagles more. I just want wins. I think sanchez will do very well.

  114. 114 Mark F said at 1:14 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Mattthews/Acho until December, Knott takes over.

  115. 115 botto said at 2:08 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    how sweet was that touchdown pass to Matthews. little float over the DB perfect placement.
    he also can roll out nicely.
    as long as he makes quick decisions he should do OK. and it might help that we run the ball so well now.

  116. 116 sutherneagle said at 4:52 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    as long as he makes quick decisions he should do OK

    smart decisions would be better than quick ones

  117. 117 botto said at 2:13 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    I think maclin is looking like one of the best WR’s out there right now. he looks tough like Garcon and fast like Djax. he’s making great catches, blocking well, just doing it all.
    way to go MAC!

  118. 118 Daniel said at 2:13 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Whew. Thank God I have something to complain about different than Nick Foles’s footwork now. That was getting old.

    /sarcasm /negadelphian

  119. 119 ICDogg said at 4:31 PM on November 3rd, 2014:

    Is whatever we find on the street at ILB going to be any better than Marcus Smith, now that he’s been practicing at that position for several weeks?