The Stretch Run
Posted: November 25th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 275 Comments »In 2 of the last 3 weeks the Eagles have scored 43 or more points and won by 19 or more points. That is pretty friggin’ impressive and sounds like a team to be feared. In the other game, the Eagles lost by 33 and were completely dominated. That sounds like a team that got exposed.
So what do we make of the Eagles right now?
As has been the case all year, the Eagles are a talented, but flawed team. They’re too successful to be considered anything other than good. But they make too many mistakes for anyone to completely trust them. Think about Sunday.
The Eagles raced out to a 17-0 lead. I didn’t expect them to win 68-0, but it was a little concerning how quickly that turned into a 20-14 game. The score was then 27-17 at the half. An INT from Mark Sanchez is what got the ball rolling. That put the Titans at the Eagles 40. At that point, they had 12 yards and 4 punts. The good field position woke them up and they scored a quick TD. Then they had a pair of long drives that led to the other 10 points.
There was some luck in that stretch (the tipped ball that turned into a long TD), but the Eagles also were sloppy on defense and let the Titans get back in the game. I don’t know what adjustments were made at halftime, but they worked. The defense was dominant in the 3rd quarter. They allowed one yard and had a pair of takeaways. Tennessee did score another TD, but that came in the 4th quarter and was against some backups with about 5 minutes left in the game.
But just who were the Eagles shutting down? Rookies Zach Mettenberger and Bishop Sankey. Pass catchers like Delanie Walker and Justin Hunter. That’s not exactly murderer’s row.
We really can’t make too much of yesterday’s game. I don’t know how the Eagles are going to play in the next 3 weeks. They are on the road to Dallas and then host Seattle and Dallas. That will be 3 straight weeks against teams with tough, physical runners. That will be 3 straight weeks against teams that have QBs who can make plays outside the pocket. Dallas has a mediocre defense, while the Seahawks are back up to 1st in fewest yards allowed.
We’ll find out just what to make of this team in the next 3 weeks.
The answer may be good. Mark Sanchez showed vs Carolina that he can play a clean game. It is physically possible. We don’t need to go to an alternate universe. Can Sanchez do that for 1 of the 3 weeks? 2? All 3? Any? If he can play a clean game, the offense can play well against anyone. The OL seems to be getting better. LeSean McCoy is getting hot. Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz are all weapons.
The defense is 2nd in the league in sacks. They lead the league in FFs. Thankfully, INTs are starting to pick up. The defense will give up some yards and points, but they will make some plays as well.
The answer may be bad. The offense is a turnover machine (mostly due to QBs). The offense still has Red Zone issues (only 3-7 on Sunday). The OL hasn’t stayed healthy all year. God forbid anything happens to Jason Peters.
The defense is hurt by a bad secondary. Those guys struggle to consistently cover people. Like ya know…Dez Bryant. And the Eagles have been burned recently in the ILB/TE matchup. Both Dallas and Seattle love to get the ball to their TEs. That could make life tough for Bill Davis.
The Eagles have put themselves in good position for the stretch run. They are 8-3. They can afford to lose a game without it killing them. But the point of this time of the year is more than just winning and losing. It is seeing what kind of team you have. You want to play your best football in the final month or so.
The Eagles have shown a ton of potential to this point. They could absolutely clean their game up and take the next step as a team. That’s what we’re all hoping is going to happen. The 2008 team was 5-5-1 heading into a Thanksgiving game. They blew out the Cardinals 48-20. The next week they went to NY and beat the Giants 20-14 when the Giants were 11-1. The Eagles then closed out the season by destroying Dallas 44-6. That team won a couple of playoff games and came close to going to the Super Bowl.
Last year the Eagles were very good down the stretch, with the exception of the debacle in MIN. Philly was 4-1 in December (coming off a bye). That included the Snow Game, the SNF demolition of the Bears and their playoff hopes and the NFC East title game vs Dallas. The Lions, Bears and Boys all had winning records when the Eagles beat them.
This team is different than last year’s was. The 2013 Eagles had 4 turnovers in the month of December. They had 12 takeaways. Can you imagine the 2014 Eagles being +8 for a month? The 2013 team was ready for the stretch run. They already had the formula of running the ball and not turning it over (and being healthy). The current Eagles could get away with sloppy play vs Austin Davis, Kirk Cousins and Zach Mettenberger and still win, but that’s not likely to work vs Dallas and Seattle.
The Eagles got a big test when they went to GB and they failed miserably.
This is another test. Can the Eagles protect the ball and win big games? While I would dearly love a sweep, a more realistic goal is winning 2 of 3. If the Eagles can do that, they’ll have a great chance of winning the division. If the Eagles lose 2 of 3, just making the playoffs is less of a sure thing.
And the point isn’t to just make the playoffs. The Eagles want postseason success. As important as winning is in the next 3 weeks, the Eagles must play better. They need to start looking like a playoff team.
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The #Eagles have 10 TD returns this year. The rest of the NFL has 12 total.
— Brian Solomon (@Brian_Solomon) November 24, 2014
With Josh Huff's opening kick return for a TD, 9 different Eagles have now scored a return TD, tied for most in single season in NFL history
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 24, 2014
Having a return TD or two in the next 3 weeks would probably be a good thing. That’s one area where this team is deadly. They can score from just about any situation.
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While everything in this article is true, you could say the same things about every playoff contender this year. It’s a wide open year, every team has multiple flaws, who can hide their flaws the best while exposing their opponents? I can’t really recall a year so wide open like this one…
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The best team in the NFL today is the Patriots, but they been choking in the playoffs since they lost all their CIA spy equipment, hard to really take them serious as some powerhouse Super Bowl contender… Every other team has flaws… When It’s time to gameplan for an opponent you really focus on the most recent 4 games…pick a team, and good chance they have been blown out suffering an Embarressing loss in the last 4 games..
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We have plenty of issues, but so does everyone else… Fortunately, we seem to have eliminated most of our “issues” in the trenches. The battle in the trenches is the foundation of each game, and our foundation is strong right about now. If OL stops getting injured Id bet we see a line that starts getting into a Rythem, they played well sunday, and I’m expecting them to get better with every week that passes, our DL is literally as good as ANYONEs, and we have 3 puppies that are still growing and improving….
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These next 3games will define the 2014 season. Kind of frustrating to be at the end of a season and still not know what to expect from your starting QB, but hopefully Nick only misses another game or two….we need our Leader back!
Nailed with the internal trenches play! No way Chip let’s Dallas off the hook by rushing only 4 with the game on the line. Dallas will be playing a better front line defense for sure. It’s the back end that has me concerned….
I like the way Cary battled Dez last year… They also moved Dez into the slot at times last year, and Boykin did well against him..but I plan on hitting romo hard and often.. Barwin should anuse doug free, curry should destroy Ronald Leary when they try to pass block
Be nice to get out and get a big lead early in this game. Character is NOT their strong suite, get a big lead, watch Dysfunctional Dez start freaking out on the sideline…
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Culture is supposed to beat scheme. Our coach has been obsessively building our culture for two years, no,way that Jerruh Jones “culture” can beat ours….close, dog fight. Division game, I’ll take the chip built team over the Jerruh built team all day, every day
I thought for sure(last year) that Dez would destroy Cary. He more than held his own. Witten is not what he use to be…Stop the run and get a great pass rush…should be simple 🙂
cary is a BIG game CB… Just notice how you will always see him give up big plays to inferior competition. He plays down to the level of competition. VIkings was his worse game down the stretch last year, when Cary actyaly played pretty well for the most part in December and playoff game…. When Cary is up against an Elite Big WR with size that he fears,mhe usually steps up and plays him tôugh… You don’t want Cary matched up with smaller fast WRs, and he will often piss you off letting up X plays to inferior competition like Jaguars, VIkings, Titans, Panthers…. BUT THink back to crunch time last year, he did well against Dez, brandon Marshall, Alshon, Calvin in the snow(offensive player has the advantage in the snow)m Fitzgerald last year, FLoyd, the saints WRs…..
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Look at the Ravens Super Bowl year. cary had a rough september, October, midway thru Nvember he buckled down. Went into the playoffs against BRADY and Peyton who both went into the game game planning to pick on Cary, he stepped up, sent both BRADY and Peyton Home while Cary earned his SUPERBOWL ring…today Cary is a better player than he was when he just started to get playing time with the Ravens…
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cary isnt a top corner, he can be solid, but he isn’t a playmaker.,.HOWEVER it’s been PROVEN, that if you put the pieces around him, you can win a Lombardi with Cary on the outside…it’s a proven fact
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One thing we can count on of the flawed Corner is he will step up and play his best ball when it matters most…I’ll take that over a corner who picks on scrubs and folds in big moments any day
I’m worried about Boykin against Dez in the slot. He gives up a lot of height, which when he’s at full health, he seems to compensate for more than adequately with his top notch athleticism and absurd vertical, but watching him run this year it’s obvious that his hamstring is not allowing him to really open up. And, it’s clearly bothering him still. At least once a game he limps off rubbing that hamstring. And, It’s most obvious when he’s trying to chase WRs down from behind. People are just pulling away from him and he doesn’t appear able to really open up. If I’m Dallas’ offensive coordinator I’m scheming to get Dez on Boykin in the slot to the side of the field with Nate Allen or his backup over the top and testing his deep speed.
True That! Worrisome INDEED! Corners are really going to Need the front 7 to help them out by consistently getting to Romo and putting the Heat on him…
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Everything could be so much easier if Cox throws Ronald Learly out of the way early in the game and puts a monster legal hit on Romo. We hav to batter and bruise him. Front 7 has to rough Romo up this week
Seriously, what was that passive, weak, 4 man wussified non rush? That was a disgrace. 7 seconds and a clean pocket? Uggh!
I have no problem taking the patriots seriously, because on those grounds the Eagles are a complete joke. The Broncos however, god help Peyton in the low altitude cold. When Peyton had to go to Foxboro, he just couldn’t throw anymore. Ugly
Broncos have all sorts of issues… They are currently auditioning Kickers. A playoff team looking for kickers in late November, can’t be good…. They have OL issues, a week ago Peyton was crying about how two weeks isnt long enough for OL to Gel and build continuity, this is why I get mad when people don’t get what a good sign it is that we played 10 different OL this year and still managed to go 8-3… Peyton crying over two weeks of OL issues, imagine if he had to trade shoes with FOles this year…… What we were able to overcome on the OL, I don’t think People really appreciate how hard that is…. Bad teams could never have persevered thru that like we did
They’re total idiots for ditching Matt Prater, what were they thinking?
They saw a guy with a drinking problem and erratic behavior in a league that recently has a huge image problem, and probably figured that they’d find a kicker that wasn’t that much of a drop off.
Oops.
see, we are different from the Romans, we make sure only the most squeaky clean get to go into our coliseums to bash eachother’s brains to mush.
If you told me before the year started that we wouldn’t have Lane for the first 4 games, Mathis for the first 9 essentially, Kelce for about half the year, that we’d lose our top back up for the entire year, have another back up go down and lose Herremans for half the year, and we’d still be winning, I’d say no freaking way!
If you to.d me we would have all that injury trouble I would hVe expected a 5 or 6 win year… OL is THAT important… Fans are down on Nick because he didn’t have the spectacular year he has last year playing behind the best OL in the history of our franchise, but what you do during the good times at QB, isnt as important as how you handle the bad times…
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I know it wasn’t pretty, but Nick managing to perserver thru playing 10 diffent OL in 9 weeks, managing to overcome thThis rough times to claw and scratch and find a way to lead s to a 7-2 record, might be more important than seeing Nick light the league on fire playing behind an elite OL…. How QB handle the rough times is the true test….and I promise not many youñg QBs could have over come this OL mess to lead the team to a 7-2 start….it wasn’t as pretty as last year, but it might be more impressive and it was definitely important to see how Nick would handle adversity… What makes Nick and Luck legit young QBs is thy dont unravel after mistakes. They have a short memory, they will keep battling to find a way to give you a chance to win,…. Not many of everyone’s favorite young QBs have this quality
I want Foles back as well. I think people are far to low on what he has achieved in his brief career and how far he can go.
Foles has shown greatness so far in his career at times, and while he may never be the franchise guy (that is to be determined still), he has shown when he is hot he can be a dominate player.
Sanchez has never in his entire career ever shown dominance, has never taken over a game and become the dominate factor.
My feelings going into the green bay game were that we were going to get smoked because our D cannot handle the very best QB’s, (Brady/Rogers/Manning), and because i expected us to let up 35-40 points i could not see Sanchez being able to keep up with those kind of numbers, and he would crack under pressure. Foles could have lost just as badly but i know if he hit his stride he could put up 40 points and keep up with Rogers.
I am praying Foles gets good news in december, because with him we have a chance of going to the superbowl, with Sanchez we don’t, in my opinion.
Me too! We’re lucky the fracture is to his non throwing shoulder. Hopefully he can be back before the regular season ends.
If Nick can get a game or two under his belt before the playoffs, then I wll be so Jacked up for a Super Bowl run. If Nick is healthy for the playoffs and gets a game or two under his belt before the playoffs, I like our chances as much as any team. All it takes is clicking at the right time, getting hot for a 3-4 game stretch,..
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But we can’t lose anymore players to injury if we,are going to take advantage of a wide open year..just give me Nick and a healthy OL and DL and I like our chances
hopefully it’s old nick. otherwise i’m riding with the hairband.
I think,Chip goes right to Nick the moment he is healthy….the only way I can see Nick Not take over is if he doesn’t get to play ATleast 1 regular season game to shake the rust off….. If Nick takes another snap in the regular season, I expect him to play in the playoffs…
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If Nick finds a way to correct his footwork, consistently throw from a solid platform and relearns how to step up in the pocket like he did last year, I have every bit of confidence that he’ll be an above average QB in this league. If you don’t trust your oline, which he had no reason to trust, and you’re first instinct becomes to run backwards, you start to create pressure even when it’s not there because no edge blocker can create a pocket for a QB who’s 12 yards deep. And, it starts to snowball, the QB seems to be under constant pressure, which only makes matters worse because confidence in your blocking continues to plummet, you start paying more attention to the rush and your mechanics get progressively more sloppy, inaccuracy and poor decisions follow. That’s what we saw from Nick this year. Hopefully, some time off to clear his head, reset his mechanics and a stabilized offensive line will get him back on track.
Oh absolutely…I always maintained that his mechanical issues this year were a clear case of not trusting your OL. A lot of it has to do with I think he was playing through serious bruises so he wasn’t capable of taking the hits he is used to taking, and this thru all his mechanics out of whack…. Also, most young QB struggle when you completly take away tbeir run game…but not trusting his line, even the times the line held up. It didmt matter, the trust wasn’t there so the damage was already done….
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Heck go back and look at his throws when we were in Max protect and he knew he was going to get time, the mechanical issues disappeared on those plays and you often saw some Of his best balls out of Max protect when he knew he could trust his OL
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Young QB development doesnt just keep going up like an elevator. Their will be peaks and Valleys.. I don’t get carried away with his struggles, because I know we are going to see him play really well again, and he will also struggle again… Another year and a half worth of ROLLERCOASTER development before he can mature into the QB he will be throughout his career, and I wouldn’t bet against him growing into a QB this city falls in love with…SPECIAL KID, HAS that IT factor, the “winner gene”…. Even during the bad times, this kid always gives us a chance to win the game…
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Just the fact that chip andFoles have never lost back to back games is way more impressive than people realize… Fans expectations are so screwed up. They judge the Eagles like a BCS, as if the other team doesn’t have NFL players.. I mean, how do you complain that the defense gave up 20, when the Offense scores 40? Lol fans think a good game is being in control for 60 minutes, and football doesn’t work that way..
if you told me that our qb’s would be ranked 22 and 33 and that we’d be 8-3 and ihave said NO FLREAKIGN WAY DOOOOD YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK STOOPID OR SOMETHING ..and id prolly have spit some of my dinty moore’s on your nice clean shirt
Add that Shady would be having a down year and our running game was struggling while the QB play was that poor and I wouldn’t even have entertained the idea that we’d be 8-3.
Totally agree
They’ll probably have home field advantage through the playoffs, and they have rarely lost playoff games at home. I’m not a gambler, but if I had to bet, I’d take Patriots to win AFC. I’m convinced Mannings have amassed all of the rings they’re going to get, but Brady has Belicheck, and they have been the core of the NFL’s most recent dynasty.
(the only problem I have with bashing the Pats bout spy-gate ..is that that same game where they got busted ..the Eagles coaches were holding up towels around the signal caller, who was Marty im thinking. but this went on the entire game. what was going on? no one has ever addressed it
so why hasn’t anyone connected those 2 dots? it wasn’t just the Pats.
it was multiple teams and I think it was another coverup by our patriarch commish, a proven liar already, had the pats take the fall)
Patriots were caught filming Terrell Owens running his routes in individual practice the week of the Super Bowl…like come on dude, I’m all for its all fair in love and war, but you should be able to practice without being spied on…
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Not many people care about this when it comes to spy gate, but this was also part of it. Funny how they spied on TO, saw him practice all his routes for the game, yet she great Bellicek still had NO answer for TO… TO should have won MVP even in a losing effort…
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Then again, that entire Super Bowl is bullshit. They cheated to beat steelers to get to the Super Bowl…steelers players said the Patriots defense were calling out their plays before the QB could even tell the play to the offenses in the huddle. Steelers offensive players were literally hearing the playcall from the Pats D, before they heard the call from their own QB…
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Yet those Frauds have a Super Bowl ring from a year where the Super Bowl shoulda have been the Battle of PA Steelers vs. Philly. What a disgrace,
Gotta also remember that the commish destroyed the other evidence of cheating before anyone could see it. Ask ACV what kind of inferences a jury is instructed it is allowed to make when a party to litigation destroys evidence.
Me, I assume that it was an absolute bombshell, and that the taping was only the tip of the iceberg. Otherwise, why not release it, if it only showed what everyone already knew?
Totally agree that no one knows what would have happened that season without the cheaters. But in school, you don’t get to keep your 100% when you’re caught cheating. Unless, of course, there are billions of dollars being bet on the outcome of your test…
“Ask ACV what kind of inferences a jury is instructed it is allowed to make when a party to litigation destroys evidence.”
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In the case of a party’s willful destruction of evidence, the court is obligated to instruct the jury that they are free to draw an adverse inference that the contents of that evidence was harmful to the destroying party and constituted proof of liability.
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bill . .
Great Point
the fact that they destroyed the tapes to me is just so damning.
With respect to the return TD’s, that is just Chip’s philosophy… Scoring f’in points. He believes all three phases can score and emphasizes that.
As far as the secondary, I may be wrong in my stats here, but I think Fletch and Sconces only gave up a combine 80 yards on Sunday. I am not saying that they are great corners, they are average with large standard deviations of good and bad. I think just sometimes we over-state how they play and that the stats of the secondary alone are a bit skewed as the preferred method of playing the Eagles, whether by choice or because of the deficit, is to throw the ball (unless you are the Colts). It would be interesting to see a run/pass ratio against this Eagles D. Keep in mind, we are holding opposing QB’s below 60% completion and have really improved getting off the field on 3rd down. If we just eliminate the occasional big play…
I am curious to see how Dallas plays us. Our D is very good vs. the run, especially the stretch play. Do they come out throwing, ala Green Bay? Do they stick with what got them to 8-3 and pound the ball? I am also curious how their O-line handles a 3 – 4 front. The Skin’s gave them fits and busted Romo. Our front 7 is playing better than the Skins’. Should be a great game.
you can bet Dallas is going to want to run the ball. They know their defense isn’t good, it’s just a mirage. They know their defense sucks and it’s performing similar to last years Defemse, the only difference is this year Dallas has been able to use their run game to hide their defense and keep it off the field….. You can bet, Dallas doesn’t want their mirage of a defense on the field against Chips offense, so they will try to hide the defense with ball control run game…
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Lucky for us, we are a top run defense, last 6 games giving up 90yards per game, average of 3.6 yards per carry. We are a
So awesome at defending those stretch run plays because our big boys cox and logan move well laterally and can hunt a RB down..also our OLB are elite run defenders who set the edge as well as anyone. Big chunk of Murrays yards come from bouncing runs outside, luckily our OLBs dont łet runners get outside, they set the edge and funnel the RBs back into the middle where our defenders can swarm on em..
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They are going to go heavy power sets, add an extra OL, two TEs and try to pound the ball….. Our 3 puppy defensive lineman are as good as any DL in football. I look forward to shutting down their run game
I feel good about our defensive match up w the Cowboys. A Chip Kelly defense is literally designed to stop this type of attack. It’ll ultimately come down to individual matchups but I’ll take our front seven vs their oline any day.
That should limit there running game which is the foundation of their offense. Outside of that I’m not overly worried. Dez can hurt any defense. He’s a true freak of nature and DBs that ca match him physically just don’t exist. But, having big physical DBs is at least a step in the right direction. I’m more worried about him going up against 5’9″ Boykin, who appears to be a half step slow with a bum hamstring. Witten is a potential HOF player when all is said and done, but does he honestly scare anyone. He averages like 8 yards per catch and is allergic to the end zone. And, their other WRs don’t really scare me.
Cowboys only win on offense is if we get beat on upfront and can’t stop Murray. Unlikely, but weirder things have happened. Or if Romo has one of his magic, constantly spinning out of sacks and hurling TD passes kind of days.
If we play a clean game and limit turnovers I think we make a statement and win handedly.
I completely agree…back when the world was praising this over rated OL, I been chirping about how suspect they are in pass protection, and I’ll take our front 7 against any run game, next 3 games facing Demarco and BEASTMODE should back that up…
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I’d be surprised if our defense doesn’t force ATleast 2 turnovers..hoping for a 4 turnover performance by the defense to overcome a Sanchez turnover..
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Dallas is going to put up some points, but our defense won’t allow them to put up 30 points, and their defense can’t stop us from hanging 30 on the scoreboard especially with mathis and Kelce looking like they are back to their elite level…
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Dallas will score in the 20-24 range, while eagkes score in the 30-34 range….. I see a 10 point win. I KNOW we have the better TEAM and the better coaches!!!..
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I see our front 7 beating romo up…Dez will get his, but we should shut down Murray and Witten.
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You’re spot on. Games are won in the trenches. Our front seven > their oline. And our oline with Mathis and Kelce returning to form and turnstile Tobin on the bench >>> dline. That should be the difference.
Amazing what a small percentage of die hard fans that think they know the game actually grasp that concept. battle in the trenches almost always define the way games unfold. atleast half of the equation is how the battle of the trenches unfold… Fans can’t expect a young QB to not just lose starters, but lose the best guard and best Center in football, and expect the young QB to operate as business as usual… There is a reason Jason Peters and Kelce had the brinks truck backed up to their houses this summer. These dudes wouldn’t be getting millions and millions of dollars if offense could function without them.
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It’s pretty rare to see an offense put up points when their OL is getting their butt kicked. Now the WRs, Backs and QBs can do things to help out the struggling OL, but if the OL is losing the battle, you aren’t going to be able to put many points on the scoreboard. Shady is the best back in football, look at how the OL injuries effected him. How can people not expect it to effect a young developing QB….RG3, Cam Newton, Kapernick these guys could have NEVER played behind our OL and gone 7-2…NO WAY!!! What FOles did this year in the face adversity was very important to learn about our young QB…it may be even more important than seeing him face no adversity and throw for 27-2 again….. Learned a lot more about FOles thru our struggles, than I did last year when he was having a hall of fame year behind an elite run game and the best OL in the history off the eagle franchise…
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Amd if the OL is THAT important, obviously the front 7 is equally as crucial….
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Battle in the trenches Impact EVERYTHING, put the tape of the Titans game and you will see Mathis back to manhandling dudes and Kelce back to his elite self… I’ll take this OL against any DL.. Heck we almost persevered thru the Niners DL when we playd with 3 inexperienced interior OLinemen…I’ll take THIS OL against the Niners DL, Cowboys DL, Cardinal DL and SEAHAWK DL..and the Packers DL(not at Lambeau on a slippery field)
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And I’ll take our front 7(minus the one ILB spot) against any OL In the NFL, and Iike our chances.
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If we can MAINTAIN our current Health in the trenches, we should finish this year strong and make some playpff noise… healthy OL/DL can hang with anyone…
Eagles gave up 345 passing yards. If Fletch and Sconces gave up 80 — who’s giving up the other yards?
linebackers.
Per PFF (thanks to BGN) Sconces gave up 11 yards and Fletch 69. 155 yards was to Walker, the TE. The WRs for TN accounted for 170 yards against all secondary defenders.
I’m not a sconces fan at all, but the dude quietly plays really well in between some really egregious blown coverages where he’s not within 5 yards of his man and blames it on expecting safety help. Come on dude…even when u expect safety help in a cover 3 situation you’re still expected to be somewhere near the WR you’re covering when he runs a skinny post.
Agree. Not a fan, but like his on field attitude and his physicality. Wish he was more consistent (hence my standard deviation comment). With that being said, he tends to play more towards his level of competition. Oddly, I am more worried about Terrance beating him than Dez,. If you can pound Dez at the line of scrimmage, you can disrupt his game.
High standard deviation is a great way to put it. Both our CBs do some really good things. Fletcher plays the ball at the point of catch better than most DBs. He’s really excellent at breaking up the pass last second. Cary is good at getting physical, disrupting routes and playing the run. Both are limited athletically though and they are prone to give up big plays when they have to cover a lot of ground. So we see the big plays once a week and it overshadows a lot of the good coverage they provide. Honestly, they’re both really good cover 2 CBs, but if we’re not gonna play a Tampa 2 scheme we should look to upgrade significantly next year as giving up 2-3 big plays a game is not a sustainable defensive scheme.
Agreed on all points. I think if we upgrade 1 CB spot and the safety spot as well as one ILB spot, we could have a very good defense. It will be interesting to see what happens to graham, I could see the team wanting to resign him.
Ideally, since MS2 hasn’t shown me enough yet to be comfortable starting him, I’d like to bring back both Trent (on a reworked contract) and resign Graham while drafting another LB either MLB or OLB. But, my top priority is improving our DBs. I think a top notch CB with elite talent and playmaking ability would have a bigger effect on this team than anything else. At safety, I’d love a stud, but I’m perfectly fine with a Nate Allen-esque talent that just doesn’t have his weekly blown coverages. Basically, another Malcolm Jenkins. But I want at least a FA and a high draft pick at CB.
Good post. My blood pressure has dropped a bit.
High standard deviation can be a better path to win a SB. I think Eagles rewind did a post on this. You just need the right small sample size to overlap with the playoffs.
yea … that’s an excellent piece on game theory and I totally agree with it as presented. However, I don’t think our CBs have the “good” kind of high standard deviation that would help us. The standard deviation talked about in that article is what a team is capable of and applies specifically to how being a high variance team in general can be an advantage, but only when you are the clearly inferior team playing a clearly better opponent.
Some teams can hit incredible highs as well as incredible lows, other teams are consistently mediocre, and the theory being that a team that’s at least capable of incredibly high output will have a better chance to beat a better team in a one off match than a team that is consistently mediocre and consistently not as good as the competition in question.
Williams and Fletcher are consistently decent with wide swings of completely shitty coverage sprinkled in. This means that for most of the day their coverage is solid, but they are physically prone to giving up big plays fairly regularly. I just can’t see how having CBs who consistently give up 1-2 big plays per game, helps us in our quest for the super bowl, especially since the high variance rarely shows up as incredible highs where they pick off multiple passes and change the game in a good way. The high variance CB that you’re thinking of is more in the Asante Samuel mold. Occasionally gets burned, but can also be a huge playmaker that can change a game. If you are a clearly inferior team having Asante means that you might pull off an upset if you get lucky and he has a big day, because he’s capable of being a game changer on any given day. However, it’s always better to be consistently good as opposed to high variance bad.
Weird to almost be in December and have no idea what you are going to get from your QB….Leagûe is wide open… Rare opportunity for a flawed team to win a Lombardi this year..,.every team has some major flaws that can be exposed… Going to be a very Intersting DECEMBER and january
This is a really fun season because it’s so hard to predict which teams are strong from week to week.
I am not sure I am quite getting that Brian Solomon tweet. There’s no way that is correct as worded.
Would “Returns for a TD” make more sense or is it purely disbelief?
For us to have ten return touchdowns, he is including defensive touchdowns because by my count, we only have six special teams touchdowns. And if you include pick 6’s and fumble returns, then I guarantee you that NFL combined has much more than 12.
His tweet doesn’t make any sense / is incorrect.
Yeah, good point, that doesn’t make much sense at all. But at the same time that Schefter tweet kinda backs up his claim. Where you getting your data from?
Yeah, Schefter is including special teams and defensive touchdowns as returns, which is pretty typical.
And by that standard, the Eagles have 10 return TDs (by 9 different players), and the rest of the NFL has 57. So, yeah, Solomon’s “stat” is gibberish.
I’m guessing “by returns” includes everything except an offensive td?
Agreed, but then his claim that the rest of the combined NFL only has 12 is incorrect. The real number would be north of 40 I would imagine.
VICK did what VICK does, he got hurt last night….last 5 games are going to be really ugly for Rex Ryan….
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Percy Harvin went from living the elite Super Bowl life, to catching 1 pass for two yards with the Jets….. This is why you act professional instead of being a jackass. Love it when these idiots like Desean and Havin go from good teams to dysfunctional sess pools
What is it about elite speed that turns people into jackasses? Is there a classy and humble guy out there that runs blazing fast?
That kid John Brown for the Cardinals? Yes, he’s a 3rd round rookie from Pittsburgh State (KS) but he seems to be a humble dude…for now
Cooks is a good kid
Cornerbacks, Wide Receivers, and Sopranos.
Prima donna syndrome.
so NO lost again? that means that ATL leads the division, right?! ……. with a record of 4-7. thats fucking amazing.
Tied with NO, in a TIGHT race. They got themselves a log-jam, the 2-9 buc’s are still in this thing only down 2 games, rofl.
That’s hilarious! What’s the worst record ever to win a division? We could possibly see a 7-9 or even 6-10 playoff team hosting a game. That’s just sad.
the 7-9 Seahawks who famously beat the Saints with that sick Beastmode run are the worst record ever to make the playoffs apparently. Yes I think the first 6-10 team to make the playoffs may be on it’s way.
The hell of it is the division has 12 wins gifted to it because each division has 12 inter-division games that pretty much have to be won by one of the member of the division at the expense of another. So the division winner’s record is going to be inflated by the simple fact that someone in the NFC south has to win some of the games by default.
This conversation happens nearly every year.
True, but it’s usually with 9-7 or even an 8-8 team not what’s potentially a 6-10 or 7-9 team. I’m not sure if that’s ever happened. When a 2-9 team is legitimately still in the playoff hunt I think that’s noteworthy.
I think most of their intra-division games come in December, like everyone else. Either ATL or NO will rack up some wins there and probably end up 8-8 or 7-9.
and it will get a lot louder around these parts if we lose on Thursday and start sweating whether we will miss the playoffs. Straight riots if we miss the playoffs with 11 wins because the NFC South has to have a play-off representative by default.
They lead on a tiebreaker. Nobody wants to win that one…
I don’t think DJax and Harvin — in terms of disruption — belong in the same sentence.
Jackson generally was a good teammate. Yes, he brooded over his contract in 2011. And he had 1 side-line spat with Bicknell.
But he never punched any teammates in the face. Or called out his head coach.
titans complaining that they missed way too many tackles. is that a result of more than just luck on our part?
While our ability to beat the best teams in the league is still somewhat unsettled, I do love that Chip has built a program that consistently demolishes the lower end teams in this league. It’s so nice to watch us score 30 points before half and talk about how the offense seems to be struggling (which, almost counterintuitively I completely agree with). Almost 2 years in and I have yet to see us maddeningly play down to the level of our competition or lose to a clearly inferior team (probably only MIN last year). Anyone else see Oakland beat KC and have a PTSD-esque flashback to those one or two games a year that Reid’s teams would lose a game like that?
different than earlier in the season where we were up and down even against bad opponents.
Up and down game that ends with a win is infinitely different from losing 13-3 to a team like the Raiders once a year.
“Anyone else see Oakland beat KC and have a PTSD-esque flashback to those one or two games a year that Reid’s teams would lose a game like that?”
________________
We’re in Year 2 of Kelly.
Let’s look at the how Reid’s Eagles actually did in Years 2 – 6:
2000 11-5 – finishing 7-2, losing to 13-3 Titans and 12-4 Giants
2001 11-5 – finishing 8-2, losing to 12-4 49ers and 8-8 Washington
2002 12-4 – finishing 9-2, losing to 10-6 Giants and 10-6 Colts
2003 12-4 – finishing 12-2, losing to 10-6 Dallas and 7-9 49ers
2004 13-3 – started 13-1 then benched starters, losing to 15-1 Pitts.
______________
I think the remarkable level of Reid’s early success here is forgotten. His later years speak for themselves.
Reid’s Eagles went 49-9 down the stretch in those golden years of 2000-04 — with just 1 loss to a team that finished below .500 (and just barely).
Kelly’s on the same track as Reid in his early tenure.
But in 5 years, maybe everyone will be shouting for Kelly’s head.
But until then . . . .
Anyone hear anything about what type of time frame we are looking at with Acho?
Nothing yet. Eagles being their typically quie selves regarding injuries. But there’s lots of talk about MS2 being the next man up from the coaches which makes me pretty sure that he’s out at least for Thursdays game. Plus it’s be pretty rare for a groin strain that was bad enough to shut you down completely on Sunday to heal in 4 days…sports science not sports magic I guess.
Amazing how much damage we’ve sustained to the LB position without getting torched. We’ve lost Knott, Long, Goode, Ryans and Acho, most for extended periods of time. Just crazy how well we’ve handled having near practice squad level talent at MLB and Oline throughout the year.
Amazing how much damage we’ve sustained to the LB position without getting torched.
I am not sure if this trend continues with Marcus Smith III in the lineup against Demarco Murray..
That lack-of-torching (success, I guess) is directly on the front 3. The 3-4 is predicated on keeping the LB clean to make plays. One of the only non-stupid things I’ve heard Ray Lewis say is that his career is due to the Ravens always having a stout first line.
dealing walker had 155yds and he’s not a good TE. but for a team that’s been killed by injuries we are holding up really well. Be nice if we were getting memo or goode back at some point. but who knows maybe carroll will be the next great linebacker
Carrol isnt a LB… He is a dime CB. He won’t be able to cover for marcus this week, because they will use a lot of heavy Power SETs, extra OL, multiple TEs, not going to use our dime package against power sets…
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Marcus will need to step up this week. Big opportunity for the kid. I’m happy for him
that’s interesting after the game Casey and Davis both said more Caroll, though MSII will obviously have to play more.
I was talking more about the run game. Obviously, the front 3 can’t really help with less athletic LBs in coverage.
Smith III? he can’t be more than a few months old!
And we didn’t have Kendricks for a long stretch as well.
Good point! Meant to include him and there was literally so many names that by the time I got to the end of that sentence I had forgotten about him. Insane.
It is totally insane! Another crazy way to look at it is to say that the only ILB who hasn’t been injured this year is Casey Matthews. Yikes!
Yes sir…both coach Minter and Stoutland have done an amazing job with ILB and OL depth… Normally, a team that has the injuries that we had at OL, will usually end up being a 4 or 5 win team… Don’t think fans and local media really understand how impressive it is to overcome the OL mess we have dealt with all year and find a way to be 8-3… Measure of a really good team, coaches, locker room..
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Fortunately casey is solid against the run, Acho and Casey both struggle in coverage so we were going to need marcus in coverage this week anyway for when Cowboys throw out of two TE sets with Escobar emerging as a decent weapon. Time to step up for Maaaaarcus Daaaaaaarling
Acho told the press this morning that he’s trying to be ready for Thursday. Said he’s “praying for a miracle” but overall thinks he’ll be ready to go Thursday. Not sure what exactly that means, but I’d be skeptical that we’ll see much of him Thursday.
Also sounds like Earl had some more knee damage than we thought. Dr James Andrews did a scope, found a missing piece of cartilage that was causing him problems and did a mini-micro-fracture surgery (essentially where they drill holes into the bone where the missing cartilage is, cause some bleeding and damage, hoping that the subsequent scar tissue will protect the bone where the cartilage should be. It’s not the same as micrfracture surgery for an ACL, because it doesn’t involve the ligaments so recovery won’t be nearly as difficult). So it seems like some of us, me included, owe Wollf the benefit of the doubt since his injury was real and more than it seemed. But, I still think it’s a little disconcerting that he essentially had an injury that just causes some pain and yet he was so limited. Trotter by comparison played his entire career with essentially zero knee cartilage, bone on bone and basically played through his knees turning to powder. But, let’s hope Earl gets better and can give our secondary the boost next year that we were all hoping for this year.
Yeah I’m pretty much expecting to be without acho.. But losing Acho doesn’t really bother me since Acho and casey have a similar skill set and I don’t like neither in coverage, so as long as I have one to play against the run, I’m happy… In coverage I expect some Dime with Nolan as the quasi backer dime CB role, and I expect Marcus to play in nickel. Only on passing downs when the boys have both Escobar and Witten on the field. Sure billy will give him a small niche role that ismt too much to him to handle…
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Sucks for Wolff, good news for Fans, since this explains a lot and gives us hope that not all is lost with him, and that he still has a chance to put all that atleticism to use and grow into a Quality safety. He has all the ability, hopefully he gets this knee taken care of so its no longer an issue, and puts it all together in year 3.
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He is a good kid with a ton of ability, Im not ready to say he wont ever put it all together
Like you I think Wolff has limitless potential. Let’s hope we actually get to see it.
Yes sir… This def provides some hope for the kid figuring it all out and putting all that ability to use
This Thursday would be the perfect time for a pick 6 by Mr Sconces.
Also the perfect time for all 3 phases to play a complete game.
Also the perfect time to humiliate “everyone’s darling on ESPN” on national TV.
Be nice to see fletch have a decent game. i hope they don’t put dez on him.
at this point i think we have to expect the TOs. Expecting sanchez or foles to have clean games that this point just doesn’t seem realistic. it’d be great if the D can keep those from turning into 7 points.
TOs are equally on QB / WR since sanchez has been working. But that being said they are putting up a lot of points with sanchez in the game. i have every confidence we can put up 50 on dallas if our defense can get off the field. I think with sanchize’s movement in the pocket we have fewer 3 and outs though more bad sacks.
We were in the red zone 7 times on sunday. That’s crazy even against a bad opponent.
In 2011, Eli has 16 INT’s in the regular season and just 1 in the playoffs.
It’s like a tweet i read last weekend: With Sanchez seems like the interceptions will never stop, with Foles seems like will stop sometime.
Success in post season depends on Foles too, and i believe he will learn something watching outside.
Yea Sanchez’s interceptions are pretty disheartening. There really hasn’t been that Jeff Garcia-esque up tick in intensity and play that you sometimes see when a struggling QB goes down and the backup gets a chance to shine. This still feels like Foles’ team. Unlike the feeling I had in 2006 when Garcia took the reigns and you could feel him take over and lead the team. Seems more like the year we got by with Feeley for an extended stretch. The offense has been more of the same, inconsistent QB play with 2 turnovers per game yet we keep winning.
foles’ picks, fumbles, throaways, lack of mobility, back pedaling weren’t disheartening? At worse the backup is playing as good as the starter right now. let’s just be happy with that.
At best, he’s playing as good as the starter right now. Of course, it’s with a much better OL and run game, but other than that, I can agree with you.
yeah not down on nick now. i’m fine washing this year — he’s got another year to do his thing. but it was meh this year — hopefully he can figure out why and fix it. that 26/2 probably hurt him a bit.
Some interesting stats from Football Outsiders today. Nick is the worst passer in the red zone. Best in game-winning situations. 2nd worst at protecting a late lead. So weird! http://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick-reads/2014/week-12-quick-reads
I think it says a lot about Kelly, and something about a young QB, that they could be successful at all with the issues on the OL they had this year. And it’s not just that they stank in pass pro (which they did), but it also meant that there was a very, very ineffective ground game. That’s why the stats are so weird and counterintuitive. Normally, an offense with Gardner being a matador at RT and Molk just physically overmatched at C and with musical chairs at guard would just flat out implode, ala that year where the ‘Boys smoked them 2 weeks in a row (and then, only missing a C and having a veteran QB!). Kelly (and to a lesser extent, Foles) were able to make omelets out of all those broken eggs this year. Not something you want to count on being able to do again, but still amazing that he pulled it off even once.
I’m not at all down on Nick… I’m actually really impressed with how he handles all the OL and run game adversity, how he handles his struggle and still managed to lead us to 7-2….. I find that to be very impressive, and learning about your young QB during the rough times is probably more important than seeing your young QB in 27-2 years were nothing goes wrong
Never said anything about Foles’ play not being disheartening. Foles was incredibly disheartening this year. I had a feeling that Sanchez would play better than Foles. Unfortunately, QB play has been the same, just as good as Foles, same good play, some bad and about 2 turnovers per game. All around disheartening. Fortunately, we’ve been able to win all year with average to below average QB play and about 2 turnovers a game from the QB position.
Last games INT were very correctable. They don’t have to happen again, hopefully mark clean it up.
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The first one was coopers fault as much as Sanchez. Their chemistry will improve with each week that passes..
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The second INT was just a footwork problem, he was on the move, didmt set his feet and the bail sailed on him…I’m not too upset about that one, because since taking over Mark has done a good job stepping up or side stepping pressure, getting out of the way of them Rush and he has done a great job of setting his feet before he throws on the move….it’s something he has done really well for the most part since taking over, so I don’t expect to see balls sail like that too often…
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I can deal with 1 turnover. I expect our defense to take the ball away a few times so we can overcome a turnover,,,but multiple turnovers will be tôugh to overcome on the road
Agreed. I put that first INT squarely on Riley’s shoulders. He had the DB turned completely backwards to his i breaking route. Mark made a good decision and a good throw. Riley just ran an incredibly lazy route, didn’t stick his outside foot in the ground and Mae a sharp in breaking cut, he rounded his route and made no effort to fight for the ball.
Well said
So 1 pick may have been Coopers fault. There are still others. I feel like when.he throws a pick the first thing we try and do is see if we can try and blame it on the WRs because people are so reluctant to admit it may be to late for him in his career to change, or maybe he just isnt that good and never will be.
yeah i mean he’s the backup and he’s MS, he’s outplaying my expectations.
The problem unfortunetly is that for Sanchez they may not be correctable. After so many years you just have to admit what a player is even if you dont want to. I was optimistic about Sanchez, and yes he has talent, but its time to admit he is what he is. Im not bashing, im just being realistic. I bet if he went from the Jets to a different team and ended up on the feild due to injury and he was throwing picks with that team we would all say he thats who he is and he isnt changing.
yeah i’m wondering if we can succeed in spite of getting 2TO/game performances from the offense. what do you think?
Not against good offensive teams esspecially with our secondary. But i guess anything is possible when it seems like your ST can take it tothe house on the reg.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo148/GracePhil215/Eagles-Dallas.gif
Foles routinely stepped up in the pocket last year and had good mechanics and anticipation. I’m excited to see him come back and see if a combination of time off to reset himself, a chance to watch Sanchez step up in the pocket and see it work, and a stabilized offensive line can correct his issues. He’s a damn good QB when he doesn’t run backwards and throw off his back foot.
I’ve said this same thing for awhile now about Foles. I think he was playing hurt, and playing not to get hurt. Now with some time on the sideline to heal up, hopefully he comes back mentally stronger and closer to last year’s form.
Foles had some issues to start the season, but the real problems didn’t show up until he the OL became a turnstyle. That’s when he started the backpedaling, and the wheels fell off. It was clear he didn’t trust Gardner or Molk at all. Since they were the RT and C, that equated to a loss of confidence in the pocket (to be clear, still at least partially Nick’s fault – an NFL QB has to do his job properly even when his OL is a dumpster fire).
With Kelce, Mathis, and Johnson all rounding into form now, I’d be curious to see how Foles’s mechanics look.
Speaking of winning 2 out of 3… If we sweep the Cowboys, then the division is virtually won. We would be 10-6 and the Boys 9-7 if they win in between. We would have to lose our two last games and the Boys win their final two to lose the division. Just a way to emphasize the importance of these games…
A symetrical version of this comment can be written with the Cowboys sweeping the Eagles. In that scenario, we’re virtually out of the division crown race.
sweep the ‘Boys and we are pretty much guaranteed to win any tie-breakers with them, too! i think the head-head record is the first tie-breaker.
That’s it, and was the point of my comment. If we lock the tie-breaker, then we’re pretty guranteed vs any bad scenario. Just a way to emphasize the importance of Thursday…
I cared about beating seattle when they were perceived to be the top team and I wanted to see Nick get a win over wilson… But now, if gladly trade a loss to seahawks, for two wins against the boys… Then again, I don’t think we have to think that way undr chip. Our boys will be focused on the task in front of them. One game at a time, we are as good as any team, no reason why we shouldn’t strive to win the next 3, one at a time…I saw chip and a lot of these players go on to have a 7 game win streak in crunch time last year, no reason why we can’t strive for 3 wins against a very flawed seattle and cowboy team.
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I believe in the battle of the trenches. When we face seattle. NT MEBANE, elite run defender is GONE, Kelce will abuse the backüp
.on the other side of the trenches, Center Kax Ungar is injured, bennie logan will destroy backüp centers. LT has been playing injured all year waiting til after the season to have surgery. You better be at full strength if you want to stand a chance against COLE and BG this year… I love our OLBs setting the edge and playing the run against the Seattle OTs, and I love Bennie Logan against any backüp Center, we have what it takes to shutdown MArshawn Lynch,.. Actually I think we have an easier time shutting down seattle run game, then we do against Dallas…
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One game at a time, win out the rest of the way. Time to,pickup momentum and go into the playoffs as the hot team no one wants to play
I totally agree that the team should take games one at a time, and I also think that Chip does that very well. As you, I cared about beating the Seahawks… But I really care about going into playoffs, especially this year with the way the NFC is open. And best way is to win next Thursday First.
WHAT “BACKUPS” ON D ??
between injury & normal rotation THOSE GUYS ARE OUR STARTERS
im really curious about this dallas game
One person that impressed me sunday night was Cole Beasley. If we stay in base to stop Murray I’m terrified of watching him against our LBs and safeties.
Thought same thing. Very quick and speedy. I think if you jam him at the line it will really limit him however. Very finnese player.
Matthews strength is being able to diagnose plays and play the run. He just can’t cover anyone. I think they’ll be okay.
Sorry, I mean no disrespect, but I’m confused by your reply. How is the fact that matthews plays the run well but can’t cover “anyone” make you think that we’ll be okay with him covering an incredibly quick slot receiver?
Bad reading comprehension on my part. When I first read it, I was thinking you meant Murray not Beasley. You may proceed fine sir!
Now that ypu mention it, I am suprisingly not to concerned regarding Murray. Up the middle i feel as though he will be handled. On the outside i am a little concerned and i think he will find SOME succes there. Out of all the RBs coming up its Lynch that has me the most worried.
Me too. It’ll be interesting to see the defensive game plan vs. Romo. I hope they bring more than 4 a lot of times. Redskins showed that blitzing can get to Romo, but Davis likes to bring 4 for pressure. They can run block with the best of them, but their pass pro was exposed a little bit vs. the Skins.
Double barrel A-gap blitz has been used effectively against the Cowboys for years. Deadskins used it to great effect earlier this year proving they still haven’t fixed that flaw. Hope to see it exploited again.
Im expecting very creative and disguised blitzing from Davis, with yes alot f A gap blitzing. Wont be shocked to even see a well disguised safety blitz.
Seems like that might be playing to Smith’s strengths, too. Which means that even the Cowboys have to figure it’s coming. The key will be moving the LBs around and running stunts on the DL to keep the OL guessing. That can lead to some big holes to run through, however.
lol its as though he just confirmed your worst fears in a very backward way.
I think Davis will do his best to keep a safety on him at worse. Cowboys are not overly creative with play calling and audibles. I expect Davis to be able tofind a match for him.
Re: Note to P_P_K . . .
I just read your comment — including your son’s 10 reasons — from the last thread.
You’re a fantastic dad.
Wonderful story about tossing your son in the air. And now I understand the “home” assignment. Loved that he worked in the Dallas fans among his 10 reasons. (I lived in Dallas for a while and attended a few games. Your son has no idea how right he is!)
But even better, you have a rule limiting the use of cuss words in the house — except twice a year for Dallas. (You’re recent comment asking commenters here to dial back the language makes even more sense.) Impressive stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??? Coach Azz Mic’d up…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqTdeGKfMBw
That stat is insane!!!! Birds have 10 of 22 returns in the league. Guess picking up all those ST aces payed off huh? Is it possible we could be considered best ST of all time? If not definetly close to it.
It still feels like Chip and Billy have yet to go deep in their play books – been winning by executing the fundamentals better than the opponent.
If the O Line can stay healthy, and Gardner/Tobin minimize their mistakes, we could be well set up for expanded play selections come playoff time! Would love to see the Eagles add a lead blocker with Polk in the backfield inside the 10. Would love to see a 3 TE set with Shady and Sproles in the backfield and Maclin/Matthews/Cooper/Huff split wide. Can’t wait to see tempo drives in the 2nd halves to wear down opponents front 7. Mathis, Kelce, Johnson all have fresh legs with all the playing time they’ve missed.
Defense has handled their injuries well also. Feels like the Eagles could unleash some blitzes they haven’t put on tape yet. If the DBs can maintain coverage, our front 7 rotation is a handful for any O Line.
Special Teams contribution impact remains un-factored in most national media team analysis. This past game, there were 38 special teams snaps, representing 20% of the overall game snaps. That’s a huge number of opportunities to make an impact. The Eagles commitment and emphasis on Special Teams cannot be stressed enough in the impact they provide each game. This is a true area of competitive advantage!
Lastly, I really like the mental makeup of this team going into the stretch run. Really feel the sense of unity and team from the entire organization. The players really are on a mission and focused on the right things. As many have noted, there is no dominant team imposing their will this year. The Eagles could become that team, and at the least, are one of the main contenders. I expect a passionate performance against the Cowboys this Turkey Day…
Notice that in the last few minutes of the Titans game Chip tried a few behind the center runs. As I recall they were ineffective, but I think he wanted them on tape to scheme for the Cowgirls. I do expect Chip to add some new formations for the run game on Thursday.
Seems like last year we had great success with the screen game early in the year, but by the time we were playing the Saints in the wild card game they were getting sniffed out left and right. I was looking forward to Chips scheming to see how he was going to combat this. Unfortunately, it’s carried over into this season and our screen game has all but disappeared, which I find crazy since I expected much more with Sproles. We seem to run that same long developing screen where the QB fakes one way, usually to an orbit motioning WR and then spins around and throws to the back. It seems to always get sniffed out and gives the LBs time to recover even if they bite on the initial fake. I’d love to see a more creative screen game unveiled down the stretch.
76M wrote:
“It still feels like Chip and Billy have yet to go deep in their play
books – been winning by executing the fundamentals better than the
opponent.”
“Would love to see a 3 TE set with Shady and Sproles in the backfield and Maclin/Matthews/Cooper/Huff split wide.”
_______________
What hasn’t been pulled out yet?
Seems that Kelly’s always said his concepts are pretty straightforward, but success is all about execution. Hence, so many reps.
That’s been my impression, at least.
So I’m curious what else — besides end-arounds and flea-flickers — haven’t we seen in the past two years?
Regarding the 3 TE set w/ McCoy and Sproles both on the field and one of the WRs split wide . . .
I think that would result either in an illegal-formation penalty or penalty for too many men on the field.
The offense can only put 5 eligible receivers on the field at one time, which includes RBs.
Your hypothetical presupposes 6 eligible players.
I remember when I used to like reading the comments. That was before it became GEAGLE’s personal writing platform.
Then dont read his comments. He at times brings up good points, even if i dont always agree with them, and that is why there is a comment section. So you can discuss and agree or disagree.
GEAGLE catches a lot of flack, but he’s a passionate Eagles fan that, sure while he might be a little verbose and repetitive with his points, he almost always has something intelligent and well thought out to add to the discussion.
Home vs Eagles
@ Chicago
@ Eagles
Home,vs. Colts
@ Washington….
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That’s the Cowboys schedule. BOLD Prediction:
1) If the Eagles win Thursday, Cowboys will lose in Soldier Field Vs. Bears
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2) Then IF the Eagles can beat them again in Philly, Dallas is going to nose Dive into losing the last 5 games of the season and missing the playoffs completely which would be their most epic collapse of the romo era
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Not only are we playing for a chance at making the playoffs in a wide open year that will see a flawed team win a Lombardi, but we also have the power to completly ruin the Cowboys world and give them their most Embarressing collapse ever. dallas is going to lose in Chicago. If we beat them twice, they don’t have the CULTURE IN PLACE to stop from completely IMPLODING!
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CULTURE BEATS SCHEME!! We been obsessively building chips Cultire for two OFFSEASONS Now, Are we really going to lose to Jerry jones built cultire? Give me a break, fly Eagles fly!
that’s a sweepable schedule even giving us and colts due credit.
If the Eagles win Thursday, Cowboys will lose in Soldier Field Vs. Bears
Why would they lose to the Bears!? Last time I checked Jay Cutler is still their QB and sucks pretty heavily at doing so…
Dallas will sincerely begin to question their legitimacy. Their heads will be down and their hearts broken.
Ya Damn Skippy…..and once they start questioning themselves, they will be haunted by the ghosts of all their DECEMBER “choke-jobs” of the past…
….
This dallas team has like 10 quality players, but no one can convince me they have the better TEAM!
This is the time of year when the crappy teams start playing teams tough. Bears suck, but I like the way their skill players match up against Dallas… Expecting Dallas and the Bears to engage in a shootout, now that games don’t matter for the Bears and they are eliminated from the playoffs, that’s when we see them start to play teams Tough…
…
I really don’t thnk very highly of the cowboy defense. Same percentages as last year, only difference is they have been able to hide their defense and keep it off the field, controlling the clock with their run game…..
…
I can’t help it, I just don’t view thwir defense as being any good. Where is the talemt? If Mincy was worth a damn Super Bowl contending denver wouldn’t let him leave to sign cheap contract with Dallas. Nick Crawford? The asshole who killed his team mate driving like an idiot? We are talking about a team that praises career QUITTER Rolando McClain for his “leadership”… Scandrick?mchurch? Wilcox? Carr? They just don’t scare me….. And I thnk our OL will dominate their front 7, now that mathis and Kelce look back to Normal
Watching the SNF broadcast I was struck by how frequently the commentators mentioned Orlando Scanderick as the one Dallas defender that offenses fear and game plan before…I couldn’t help thinking, wow that really let’s you know how putrid their talent level is
LOL no one fears that Molly-head. Eat another E pill why don’t you Scandrick. I think Scandrick and Carr are so damn over rated, and our corners salaries combined are less then Cowboys pay for that bum Carr
Chip has a few surprises in store. Look for some new run formations that will confuse and demoralize the Cowgirls.
So excited for Thursday. This is the game we all waited for. I didn’t expect to have sanche leading us, but this stretch defines our season. All year I have believed this dallas team was grossly over rated…and I look forward to the chance for us to prove it, in front of America on thanksgiving when very family is gathered together in front of the TV
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Eagles go INTO Dallas and win by 10 points, and ruin that crappy fanbase holiday and completly demoralize them when we expose how flawed their team really is
Re: Sanchez in the Playoffs
So in his first two years, Sanchez played a total of 6 playoff games, including 2 AFC Title game.
Over those same two regular seasons, Sanchez played in 31 games and his passing numbers were:
474 of 877, 5795 yards, 6.65 YPA, 29 TDs + 33 INTs — RATING: 70.48
In those 6 playoff games, though:
96 of 158, 1140 yards, 7.2 YPA, 9 TDs + 3 INTs — RATING: 93.86
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Sanchez really stepped up his game in the post-season.
Maybe we’ll see that same raised-level of play over the next few weeks.
Im not holding my breath…..sorry, got a little bit negative there.
W2424:
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t disagree.
But I was struck by how much Sanchez’s game improved in the post-season against BETTER teams those first two years.
Or maybe the credit goes to Brian Schottenheimer.
Anyway, it’s an interesting factoid.
Sanchez has the potential to excel but his emotions get in the way. If Chip can calm him down, then he will slice up any D. No doubt he has a problem. I just hope he can be fixed by Chip and his staff.
I think you have to really look at who he played, remember he was assisted by a good running game, great defense and good Oline durring those playoff years. Also when he was going to the playoffs those were his first few years in the league, I think before his confidence was completely shattered. Confidence has alot to do with it, esspecially as a QB. Im not saying anything i said is a definite reason, just throwing some things into the pot.
NIGHTMARE ALERT
So I had trouble sleeping last night, and not just because the dog has taken to sleeping perpendicularly next to my head, her butt aimed right at my nostrils. Before you judge, when I try to move her she yelps, startling Mrs. Baloophi and generally angering all involved. She’s pretty clever for a creature that will dart across traffic to sniff a stranger’s poo. (the dog… not Mrs. Baloophi). Anyway, I digress.
During one of my few, blessed spurts of sleep, I had a dream about Thursday’s game. We were trading scores with Dallas in a shootout when somehow the defense managed to force a 3 and out from Romo and Co. We come back from commercial and suddenly the field is decorated like a Revolutionary War battlefield. Players in pantaloons and tricorn hats, trying to run plays through set-pieces of cannons and ships, made more dramatic via a wafting layer of dry ice. It was like “Les Mis” in JerryWorld.
It was insanity: Sanchez couldn’t see because his powdered wig kept sliding down his face and poor Sprolesy kept tripping over his too-long waistcoat. Needless to say we quickly had to punt. But when we came back from commercial the field was suddenly back to normal. Dez Bryant was in his football uniform, NOT in a cravat and knee-high Hessian boots trying to run a skinny post while shouldering a musket and a powder horn like Maclin had to do. It was as if Roger Goodell had conspired to stop our offense by demanding some sort of “commemorative Thanksgiving experience” during one of our series.
Obviously I don’t THINK this is what will unfold on the field, but it does have me nervous…
You sir have won the Internets for the day! I would love to see Sanchez w/a powdered wig.
Lol, do.you take trazedone to help you sleep? I do, and it gives me the most whacked out dreams and nightmares.
Is that what it is? I was wondering about that.
lol yeah, my mind has been like a TV with all diffiferent types of channels lately while im sleeping.
I don’t take it nightly, but I’ve noticed over the last two months I’ve been dreaming more and they are even more weird than usual.
This syndrome is usually a prelude to alien abduction or an Eagles SB run.
Let’s hope for the latter. I have an aversion to pain and probing.
lol
Yeah, its deffinetly the trazedone. If you were taking it at night you would also wake up with a hard one. Thats why its also jokingly reffered to as trazebone. Sorry, TMI?
Your comment reminded me of this: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ybHnPg7QLH4
lol good find.
In my dream We were worried about Marvus smith, and had a big relief because Marcus Smith was having a monster day forcing fumbles, getting INT.. But I can’t remember if we were playing against Dallas in my dream or if it was thanksgiving
As long as the Eagle logo on the side of the helmets doesn’t turn into a Thanksgiving turkey, we should be fine if I remember Carl Jung’s Dreams and Archetypes correctly.
Postseason success? That’s asking a lot with this secondary.
I mean they dnt have to be lockdowns we just need more ints from them. I mean they get thrown to enough!
I still maintain the Eagles need the kind of pass-rusher for whom teams must game plan.
That’s just not the case right now.
Sure, the Eagles have piled up the 2nd-most sacks in the NFL after 11 games — but more than half have come in just 3 games against very bad teams (NYG, Carolina, TN).
Look at the Ravens during their SB season a couple year’s ago.
How many shutdown players did Baltimore have playing in the D-backfield besides a waning Ed Reed at safety — who, while a surefire HOFer, had lost more than a step by that point and was cut loose after the SB.
Answer: None.
But what the Ravens did have was Terrell Suggs at ROLB.
Yes, Barwin’s having a fine year statistically with sacks.
But is a he a guy teams have to game-plan for?
Can Barwin take over a game like Suggs in 2012? Or Watt now?
Or Lawrence Taylor or DeMarcus Ware most of their careers?
The Eagles’ pass-rushing reminds me of a winning baseball team with 4 good starters but no Ace. And when a team like that gets into post-season, and face a team with fewer wins but 2 Aces, the team with more wins usually loses.
Not always. But usually.
Wrong Mr. Viking. They had C-Dub Williams!
I know.
But not even Baltimore considered him “SHUT DOWN” — which is the standard I used in my premise.
Williams had never been a starter for Baltimore prior to 2012.
And — like Ed Reed — as soon as the SB was over, the Ravens let Williams walk.
Does a NFL team let a shut-down corner walk?
You think the Eagles will pay Williams the $8 million for which his contract calls in 2015? Which is barely Top-15 CB money.
Or let him walk? Or at least restructure.
Williams is a nice piece of the puzzle.
But he benefits from playing on the opposite side of Fletcher.
I was completely joking. I agree with you original post.
Stupid me . . .
At the office catching up on some filings.
I was way too focused before I realized you were kidding.
I should add . . .
That’s not to say the Eagles cannot win the SB this year.
(Baseball analogy: 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates)
Cut down the turnovers, and they’ll stay competitive with anyone.
But over the long haul, the Eagles need a great pass-rusher — you know, for those games where the other team’s defense is actually really good.
Was T-sizzle really still an elite pass rusher when they won the last Super Bowl? Paul Kruger’s pass rush was a big factor in that playoff run, Daniel Ellerbe stepped up and played some quality ball, both Krugs and Ellerbe got paid in free agency after the superbowl win…
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TODAY, I probably wouldn’t be willing to trade Barwin,COLE and BG for Suggs and Dumerville…
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Our DEFENSE doesn’t need that 16 sack guy, and even if we get him, you won’t see him get 16 sacks. No matter how good our pass rushers are, we don’t just let them hunt QBs… Our Defense is Built on coordinating the pass rush to rush as a team. Often that 16’sack guy teams game plan for gets to do his own thing and wrack up sacks…even if we get THAT guy, in our defense he will be asked to be part of the group pass rush, be Discaplined in his rush, and OFTEN the initial pass rusher in OUR scheme chases the QB into the arms of one of our other rushers, that’s why we are so fixated on Discaplined pass rush, rushiñg as a group. We don’t want the OLBs looping too far around that they end up behind the QB, we want our edge rushers to come from the QBs side, and we want our Interior Rushers to be Discaplined in their rush and take away that QBs ability to avoid our edge rusher by stepping up in the pocket. That’s why our GROUP pass rush FAILED on the last play that the Cardinals beat us on that Bomb, billy Davis beat himself up that we didn’t call a stunt or something to take away Palmers ability to step up in the pocket and complete that pass to Brown.
…..
Doubt you ever see billy Davis/Chips eagkes with a 20 sack guy, because when you ask our guys to rush as a group, the first guy is often going to chase the QB into someone else’s arms and someone else get credit for the sack… Often Bawin and COLE are getting sacks because of Cox dominance! Other times when Barwin gets the sack, Cole really created the sack for Barwin, other times when Barwin gets credit for the sack it was really Coles pass rush who created it.
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I feel greedy asking for more OLB production than what we are getting this year…keep all 3 OLB in place, add an improved Marcus and we can rotate two waves of talented OLBs at teams the way we do with our DL
I have this horrible gut feeling that Riley Cooper will start proving me wrong again soon. Whichever team’s defense steps up on Thursday will walk away with a win.
Maclin fired his agent…not sure what this means yet but I’ll edit when I find out.
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Cowboys WR Terrence Williams Broke his Fingertip on Sunday night….hopefully it costs him a drop or two on Thursday
means he’s signing with ROC NATION! and the eagles are going to have to make a decision on him b/c it’s going to cost $$.
Bwahahaha.. I’m expecting him to sign with someone with a good relationship with the Eagles…Maclin wants to get paid, but not have to leave the Eagles to get his money…he is going to want someone who has had a good working relationship with Howie, Id guess… I SOOO can’t see Maclin putting his career in Jay Z hands
No way. Maclin is a huge country music fan who hates bad rap(utation).
It means we have to pay $$$$ to keep him
Think that’s a given no matter who is agent is, but thanks
It only means his agent wasn’t getting Maclin what he wanted, whether that means his agent wasn’t getting him a big enough offer, or was taking too long getting an extension (players want deals while they’re healthy and productive, sell high, grats Carson Palmer’s agent). Who knows the specifics, but yes, Maclin’s 1 year deal will expire, and we will need to get him to sign a new one if we want to keep him.
i’d be calling jay culture’s agent — he’s the man.
Jay Culture . . . thanks for giving me my new rap name
Before the season, it sound like Maclin hoped to get a new deal during this season.
No matter what, the deal will come before they ever let him reach the open market
Doubt we let him leave… As great of a year as he is having, it’s reasonable to expect that he can reach another level of greatness the second year removed from the injury and the second year in the same offense.
…
Just last week on Howies Monday radio show he was raving about Maclin and volunteering that he is a player that we want here for years to come and how excited tbey are about Maclins future…
heh. how different does that sound in contrast with how Dallas is handling Dez’s situation?
instead of the GM going on talk shows talking about how much they like the guy, they are leaking reports about how much trouble their player has gotten into lately.
HAH! makes me wonder why anybody would want to re-sign with a guy who works like that…
Yea Mac will be locked up long term for sure. No reason to free up all that WR money by releasing Jackson, rolling it over and then jettisoning our best WR. I believe since he signed a one year deal though he can’t negotiate another deal with his current team until he reaches FA. Similar to Donnie Jones last year. Or that rule might just apply to vet minimum deals…I’m fuzzy on the details.
J:
You may be thinking about the rules governing franchised players.
After July 15th, a franchised player can sign only a 1-year contract with his team — but that contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.
What was the deal with Donnie Jones last year? I know we were not allowed to negotiate a new contract with him until FA started because he was on a 1 yr deal. Not sure if it applied to all 1 yr deals or just vet minimum 1 yr deals.
J:
Good question.
I’ll dig into that.
Sorry your point didn’t click sooner. Again, it’s a good one.
Great question, I forgot all about that situation with Donnie Jones.
Next question
the birds 24/7 article on this is interesting b/c it includes coop’s weird comments about him not playing b/c of mac’s contract situation.
basically mac’s “assigned” agent at csa was fired. he’s probably taking csa over his agent.
Cooper is just an idiot. He thought he was being funny, but he is not…Maclin clearly didn’t think he was funny. No big deal tho
LOL there is a report that all 3 NFC east Rivals have tried to hire Oregons Defensive coordinator…. What a bunch of scared, chicken shit organizations…
..
FEAR THE CHIPPAH!!!
3-0 vs. Skins
Lost 1 game to Dallas with Matt Barkley at QB and Folea with a concussion
Lost 1 game to Giants with rookie Barkley, recently SHUT OUT!
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This year chip will run the table and not lose a single division game…while Oregons defensive coordinator won’t stab chip in the back…. Desperate TROLLS!!!!
Why hire Oregon’s former DC Nick Aliotti?
First of all, he didn’t have to play the Ducks every Saturday.
Second of all, we haven’t a clue how his unit did in practice against the offense — other than during Spring practices.
Maybe NFL teams should be trying to hire Stanford’s DC, Derick Mason — whose defenses have split with Oregon since he took over in 2011, including going 1-1 when Kelly was there.
This cooky idea sounds like something Washington owner Dan Snyder or Jets owner Woodrow Johnson IV would do.
Think they’re more interested in learning about the Chip behind closed doors – how he thinks, processes information/input, what makes him tick – strengths/weaknesses…like an expanded psyche profile.
As for Mason’s success, they can ascertain from game film his approach and plan. Aliotti was an insider that would provide first person intel.
Thanks.
Coaches are, to coin a cliche, thick as thieves.
Short of threatening Aliotti with prison time, I’m not sure he — or any other Kelly confident (as opposed to a mere NFL assistants) — would give up Kelly’s secret formulas.
Also to learn chips practice methods
Good point on Derick Mason. That’s something to keep an eye on in the offseason.
Lol yeah I read up on this last night. Its hilarious. Good thing the guy retired. I’m sure teams would’ve thrown a lot of money at him.
GE wrote:
“[Kelly] Lost 1 game to Dallas with Matt Barkley at QB and Foles with a concussion.
________________
The flip side, which is just as grounded, is:
Jason Garrett’s 1-1 against Kelly.
Game 1: 17-3 win in Philadelphia — when Foles swore he wasn’t concussed early (until he was).
Game 2: a 2-point loss in Dallas without Romo and — with a QB who’d thrown only 66 passes in the prior two seasons, and only 5 in 2013.
________________
I don’t think 2013 tells us much about 2014 — except Dallas came damned close with a back-up QB to sweeping the Eagles.
After this year Garrett will be 1-3 vs, Chip
COUGHLIN will be 1-3 having been shut out
And Snyders joke of a franchise will be 0-4
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Running the table on the NFC east this year!!!!!
everything i’ve heard about his defense, granted not very much, makes it sound like he uses his backup players EXTENSIVELY.
Oregon’s defense was built as a counterpart to their offense… the defense needed to be on the field constantly and lived by the ‘bend but dont break’ strategy. a FG was a win for that defense.
They had to rotate guys like crazy to keep everyone fresh playing 40 minutes per game. which means that you need a very large roster, without much of a dropoff in talent between each wave of guys.
none of this sounds like it would translate well to NFL to me. not trying to disrespect the guy, he built a defense tailored to his team. i just don’t think that same strategy works at this level.
It’s hard to turn over a roster in 2 drafts. If we had a better secondary, I really believe this would be a top tier defense. The front 7 is legit, but our CBs and Allen couldn’t cover a cough.
Beau Allen, Vinny Curry, Brandon Graham, and even Nolan Carroll have been able to step in and play well. When we get another real safety and CBs, I think they will be able to do this. They’ve lost 4 ILBs for the season and are still hanging tough. That’s really good depth there.
Do you have a link?
Pretty sure BGN has it up…heard it on the radio
Thanks.
yeah I cant wait for this cowboys game
Good team that has some real inefficiencies on offense despite moving the ball at really impressive clip and a defense that has improved (numbers show that and i was wrong to argue otherwise 2 weeks) but gives up a ton of passing yardage and big plays week after week.
Don’t see this team all of a sudden cleaning up their issues because of who they have at QB (Sanchez) and the limitations of the personnel in the secondary and now at ILB.
Showed they beat up poor offensive teams and pile on them. Just a question of whether they can score enough to beat good teams because this defense is going to give up their share of big passing plays & ultimately at least 23-24 pts.
Translation of BS77’s comment:
“By this point, the Eagles are who they appear to be.”
I’m not sure it is it’s a matter of who we are. We can say who we were, who we think we are now, but you never know who you’re going to be at any given point in the future. Football and life if you like. For us as fans, we obsess and get anxiety trying to figure out: how good will the Eagles be this Thursday, will they be good enough to make it to the Playoffs, Will they be good enough to belong during the playoffs, etc.
We try to use the past as an indicator because it’s the best indicator…but it’s still a pretty terrible indicator.
Pretty much. I don’t see this team taking a real leap ahead forward or flaming out & missing out on the playoffs either unless they get racked by injuries including an injury to Sanchez.
Against good teams especially against teams that can score it is a toss up. Can’t see them winning 3 playoff games to get to the SB either this year.
Some anecdotal evidence of the unpredictable nature of football: In 2008, I didn’t think they would make the playoffs before they Cowboys game started, much less make it to the NFC championship game. And before that game I was convinced AZ would be a cake walk after the way the birds dominated them during the season. Going into the playoffs AZ was called the worst playoff team in history by the talking heads. No one gave them a chance to make it past the wild card round much less make it to the SB.
Very true! I love Andy Reid, he’s a great coach and a great guy and most of my favorite times of being an Eagles fan were from Eagles teams that he coached. It’s fun to joke about some of his down years since the team is back to winning, but I don’t forget how good his teams were especially early in his tenure and down the stretch almost every year. My PTSD is almost exclusively from the later years when you’d watch McNabbs first few passes and just know with 100% certainty 3 minutes into the game that we weren’t going to get anything going on offense and that it’d be a long day.
J wrote:
“My PTSD is almost exclusively from the later years when you’d watch
McNabbs first few passes and just know with 100% certainty 3 minutes into the game that we weren’t going to get anything going on offense and that it’d be a long day”
_____________
Truth spoken. Totally agree.
Every week, it seems, was a question-mark post-2005. Especially after the great 2008 run.
And having Marty calling the plays made every Sunday just miserable. Even when they won.
We’re on the same page.
Me too… the offense was totally busted. (at least it felt that way)
And to think they brought Marty in to fix Andy’s play calling…
Poor Geno.
– in reply to ACViking above
Re: Past As Prologue for the Eagles — Reposting ARK87’s Comment
Ark87’s 3rd-generation comment above, I think, is worth repeating [regrets in advance to dissenters]:
________________
I’m not sure it is it’s a matter of who we are. We can say who we were, who we think we are now, but you never know who you’re going to be at any given point in the future. Football and life if you like. For us as fans, we obsess and get anxiety trying to figure out: how good will the Eagles be this Thursday, will they be good enough to make it to the Playoffs, Will they be good enough to belong during the playoffs, etc.
We try to use the past as an indicator because it’s the best indicator…but it’s still a pretty terrible indicator.
_______________
He’s right.
“I’m not sure it is it’s a matter of who we are. We can say who we were, who we think we are now, but you never know who you’re going to be at any given point in the future.”
That’s way too existential for this board. Ark87 should be on EMB.
Beat me to it. Football, like anything else in life, is out of our control. If nothing else, listen to every winning player or coach stating, “We worked hard”. As if somehow everybody else slacked off. Work is fine, necessary. But we can all still be beaten by a sprained toe. ;~)
Dude,
First Benny, then Ced, and now Maclin and Riley.
These guys didn’t necessarily pick the best time to open their mouth.
F that!!… Rules go out the window during cowboy week. All the Bulletin board material in the world won’t save Dallas for its holiday ass kicking THATS coming their way… I like that Bennie told it just how it is before he goes out there and punches their prized young center in the mouth
..
I LOVE that all the Eagles are showing the passion for this hate fest bowl…
…
Like Celek Said “when you play in this city the team takes on the personality of the fanbase, The Fans HATE the cowboys, So I HATE the cowboys!”… LOVE IT!!
Disagree. No need for Trash Talk before the game. We all know that actions (on the field) speak louder than words.
You can still (silently) hate the Cowboys. 😉
Yes. On silence. Or at least only a few whispers. ;~) Also, I hate to see folks guaranteeing anything. It often doesn’t work. Remember how the Eagles were guaranteed to blow out the Saints last year? Or how it was guaranteed that Romo’s back would break apart by mid-season?
Not disagree!
Logan promised a win vs the Cowboys last year. This is nothing new with our guys and Dallas.
Barwin vs. Doug Free….. Advantage Barwin
..
Thornton vs, Zack Martin…advantage Thornton
…
Logan vs. Fredrick.. Call it even,Tho I like logan a lot
…
Cox vs. Ronald Leary…COX has a BIG mismatch
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COLE vs. Tyrone smith… Advantage Tyrone
…
…
Cedrick Thornton is a technical stud, I’ll take him all day against any rookie…the biggest mismatch belongs to Cox over Leary, leary pass protection and run blocking will need much help against Cox. Tyrone Smith is the best cowboy, he is ELITE young player, I have to give him the nod over BG and COLE but both players are capable of beating him once or twice, when they do, they have to make it count and force a fumble or something, because they won’t get many chances at all against Tyrone Smith… Tho, I’m sure COLE and BG will get moved around and get pass rushing opportunities against other blockers…
…
The most evenly matched battle should be the two 2nd year anchors, Bennie Logan and Frederick (center),.. I Genuinly view Bennie Logan as one of the best NT in the NFL and I like him against anyone, but the cowboy center is legit young player that needs to be respected..Bennie and Cox lateral mobility along with Barwin n COle being elite edge setters in the run game is why our defense has had so much success against those zone stretch runs that dallas and the skins like to run so much, yet we also have the discapline to not let our backside player get out of position and give them the cutback lane after stopping the initial zone stretch play….. Barwin and COLE elite run defenders that rarely let a runner get outside of them. Don’t let Murray outside, funnel him inside to the teeth of our defense, and Murray will have a rough day.
….
Cowboys defense sucks, they are going to try and hide it, eating the clock by running the ball. Defense will be playing to shut down the run and make them one dimensional, but it’s also important that our offense helps the defense. dallas defense sucks. Execute offense early, put some points on the board early. And keep scoring in the first half to help the defense make them one dimensional…once they start to chuck it every play and put the run game n the back burner they go back to being the pathetic team they have been these past 5 years….
…
I can’t wait til this game. Tomorrow is Goimg to be hard cuz im too amped already
What I don’t like is Cooper putting his foot in his mouth and starting internal drama this week because his stupid sense of humor isn’t funny… Coopers mouth is on my nerves this week…but I love the dallas talk
…
Look, if you need bulletin board material to get amped to play your rival that has the same record as you, late in the year, playoffs and division title on the line, and on top of that the entire world is watching on thanksgiving, something is wrong with you!
…
Some how, I doubt there is anything that can be said this week to motivate anyone any more than they already are for this game…
…
I have no problem telling the Cowboys you will punch them square in the mouth. Before we punch them in the mouth! The cowboy BEATDOWN is inevitable, no words can save them this week. You can bet we will have our big boy pants on thursday
Wait what did Ced say?
He basically seconded Benny’s comments in the public, saying that ‘they’re not untouchable like everybody thinks they are”.
Demarco Murray’s reply: ‘Let’s find out Thursday”.
Jernst . . .
The rule governing the Birds’ re-signing Donnie Jones last year before free agency began was, under the CBA, a player on a 1-year deal cannot sign a new contract for the *same* deal in-season. Must wait ’til the free agency period to do that.
Since Maclin wouldn’t be signing a 1-year deal for the same amount, it seems he could do an in-season extension.
Think we can extend Maclin… Pretty sure that rule is for players on minimum salary one year deals or something weird, can’t be extended for more than the minimum salary they were on…or something like that
..
Think of all the plays that get slapped with the franchise tag(a one year deal). They often get a Longterm deal before becoming a free agent, unless the team doesn’t want to retain the player
Yes. Agree.
I had a feeling when I read that question that you would be on top of it. Jernst brought up a great question on that one, forgot all about that situation with Donnie Jones.
time for some Marcus Smith sightings on Thursday.
maybe it will be a break out day for the young guy.
maybe he can crush Romo sometime
If Acho can’t go, he’ll be Matthews’ backup… good question as to whether he winds up playing more or if they just have Matthews play the entire game.
I have more faith in Marcus Smith to cover Witten than i do Casey.
I think covering Witten is the key to winningg the game.
This was answered today, they won’t rotate the way they did with Acho and Casey…casey will play the majority of the snaps..
…
HOWEVER, Malcolm Jenkins agreed with my thinking that we won’t be able to play much Dime against the Cowboys, because they throw to two TEs, and have a physical run blocking OL that can trample our dime defense, so unless they are in 3rd and 10, can use much dime, especially when you won’t get many 3rd and Longs against teams who run on 1st and 2nd down….. So while Marcus won’t do the 50-50’rotation with Mathews the way Acho does, we probably will have to use Marcus when we go to Nickel for passing downs… If we can’t play much dime this week, you can either play base or Nickel on say 3rd and 7 against two TE sets….my gut says marcus is so much better than Casey in coverage, that we will see Marcus in Nickel on certain 3rd down situations…. But something to keep an eye on for sure…
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I doubt we will use Casey as a 3down linebacker this week
Sounds about right
According to playoffstatus.com, the importance of this game on a scale of 0-100 is 134. I kid you not, that’s what it says
http://www.playoffstatus.com/nfl/nfcmig.html
Remember the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode “Who poo’ed the bed?!” That’s how much is at stake…
Bengals a playoff contended’s game having less playoff relevance than Rams-raiders and Jags-giants.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m88heriBEH1rziwwco1_500.gif
That page only applies to importance to NFC playoff status, not AFC, they have a different page for that http://www.playoffstatus.com/nfl/afcmig.html
You said it yourself, TL.
” I don’t know what adjustments were made at halftime, but they worked. The defense was dominant in the 3rd quarter.”
Adjustments. Sometimes that means the coaches change their play calling to better use the players’ talents or create different matchups. Right?
Something Andy had a problem with during his time here. If it wasn’t working the 1st half, he’d come out in the 2nd half and do the same thing.
If there was a third half, he’d do it some more.
This time of year, run game becomes the key. Everyone wants to shut down run games and force offenses to become 1 dimensional… This NFC east show down will be no different. To win on Thursday, we have to be able to shutdown Demarco, not allowing them to play the ball control game and keep their defense off the field which is how they have been hiding that defense all year…
Can’t let cowboy run game chew up the clock all game, because right now, the Cowboys defense has problems.
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On the flip side, it’s just as important that our run game to be effective… Historically you have to be able to run the ball late in the year to be successful. this won’t be some blowout that gets out of hand by the second quarter..this is going to be a hard fought game and we can’t ask Sanchez to throw 40 times again this week and expect to win. If Sanchez throws 40’times, he will turn the ball over… If we can build off last weeks run game which I assume we can since Mathis and Kelce started to look dominant again, and only ask mark to throw 24-30 times, we have a chance at playing a Clean offensive game, Our defense will force turnovers, if the offense plays a clean game, it will be hard to send us home with a loss
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My personal oppinion, is both teams are capable of a potent run game…with the way Mahis and Kelce finally looked in the last game, this run game can be just as potent as the Cowboys…I’d expect to see two similarly rated high quality run games on Sunday…. The difference is I think our,defense is way more equipped to stop run games than the Cowboys defense..
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When you break down tape of our last 4 games, they will see a QB who WONT keep the ball and run with it, and they will see a QB who isn’t taking shots down field or the outside, focusing most of his throws on crossing patterns in the middle of the field…. So I’m sure the Cowboys Defense will crash on the RB, not respecting Sanchez as a threat to Run, and they are going to play up and try to take away all the short and intermediate routes in the middle of the field….so it becomes CRUCIAL for Sanchez to do two things this week
1) Take Shots down field, get Maclin more involved on the outside, not just because we can be successful going deep, but also the threat of going deep should loosen up the tight coverage we see trying to take away the intermediate routes in the middle..Even if we don’t connect Deep, they will have to honor the threat, which they probabky won’t do at the beginning of the game because we haven’t gone deep in weeks…
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2) first time early in the game when we are in a 3rd and 4 situatipn, run a zone read and keep the ball, run for the first down, gash them for 20 yards and slide before they can hit you…and if they don’t respect the threat to run after that, keep it and gashing them again….they won’t let a QB run free too many times before they respect it, amd once they respect it, it will open things up even more for shady to shred them!!!
Cowboys Defense looked sorry in a close game against the Giants on Sunday, doubt they will show up looking THAT much better 4 days later. Giants offense has been a mess these last 4’games, Giant hung 28 on them during a closely contested game……that’s very different than the Eagles giving up 24 points when they have 40 points on the board…
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Dallas is really struggling to generate pressure lately, especially without blitzing. They won’t be able to get to Sanchez rushiñg 4 too often. Sanchez won’t be under crazy pressure all night, so it increases his chances of playing a clean game, so far this year when Mark has set his feet, he been throwing some darts out there..and it’s easier to set your feet when you aren’t under crazy pressure all game
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Scandrick, church, Wilcox, Carr…..meh this isnt a secondary that can perform at a high level when the front 7 isnt generating pressure. Maclin, Jordan should be able to do some Damage… they also don’t have LBs that can cover Sproles
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I honestly respect the Titans defense, especially their front 7 as a tougher defense than what the Cowboys have. Dallas front 7 doesn’t have Jurell Casey, Derrick Morgan type Of talent…Mathis was back to playing at an elite level and Kelce looked better than he has too, if we ran the ball at will against Tennessee Front 7, I don’t see how dallas front 7 is going to be able to stop us,… Shady and Sproles should have a monster game,.. Like to get the running backs off to a fast start, wear down the defense a little, as soon as we run our way to the 40 yard line, play action Bomb to Maclin!… If we get them worried about the deep ball, while shady has the kind of day Im expecting, we,will dissect this fraudulent defense
I’m not sold Sanchez will turn it over every game. He had a clean game vs. Carolina and he can do it against this defense. No one played well in GB and he was far from the worst problem in that game. He understands what he did wrong against Tenn, and I feel confident he can fix that. This defense isn’t that good, and we should be able to take advantage of them.
If we ask hm to pass the ball 40 times, he is turning it over….but I’d love to be wrong!
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If we keep him on an under 33 pass pitch count, no reason he can’t play a clean game
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I just don’t want to see another repeat of the Titans game, when we were having a field day in the run game, but still felt the need to chuck it 40 plus times…
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I know this dallas defense is SWEET, I saw Evan Mathis back at his elite level last week.. There is NO REASON why we can’t have a big day running the ball against this sweet defense, and if we can have a big day running the ball, there just is no reason why we need to throw 40 times like we did in the Titans game. I understand why we threw so much in the GB loss, but I have no clue why we passed so much against the Titans when we finally were running the ball so well….it was just uncalled for, but those two INTs he had, were fluke INTs, not mistakes that he is destined to keep making…
Agree with this. I just do not trust Sanchez throwing the ball in a shootout. Yeah, Nick threw some interceptions this year, but he also makes some big time throws regularly. Not sure I see Sanchez do that. I honestly don’t think Sanchez can constantly throw the 15 yd out route. In fact, Sanchez doesn’t throw outside the numbers well at all. I think folks are going to rue the day they wished foles gone.
I’m about settled in for the game. Food, drink, and firewood. I’m so pumped about this game and it’s going to be an awesome day watching the Eagles stomp the fake star. The turkey should come out sometime around noon in time for the first game. Settle in and enjoy the rest of the games for the day.
How about everyone else?
Well, I’ll be at my parents’ place, and since that is right on the parade route in Center City we can’t start as early as you since I’m taking my mother-in-law over and that means we have to drive right up to the door, so the parade has to be over. So I think we’ll get started our meal about 3 or 3;30 and we’ll get the game on as soon as it starts.
Off to Lake Placid tomorrow.
Thanksgiving lunch is booked from 2pm, before watching the Feast-Ival in our hotel bar.
Romo… dead!
Murray… dead!
Niedermayer…
Now there’s a guy we should have drafted.