Take a Bow, Mr. Barwin
Posted: December 4th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 221 Comments »Connor Barwin. NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November. I know I predicted that this summer, but I just can’t seem to find the post. Oh well, I’m sure you’ll trust me. Right?
Barwin is having an amazing season, as winning that award shows. I’ve referred to him as the “anti-Babin”. His success comes within the framework of a good defensive scheme and Barwin doesn’t sell out to make plays. He still excels in coverage and playing the run. He’s nothing close to a one-trick pony.
People love stats so let’s start there. Barwin has 12.5 sacks this year. Want some perspective for that? When he gets his next sack, Barwin will have had a better sack total than Trent Cole ever has for one season. Cole got 12.5 in 2007 and 2009. Barwin has 15 pass deflections in his time as an Eagle. Trent Cole has 17 in 10 years.
Forget stats and use the eye test. Watch run plays to Barwin’s side. He does not get beaten wide very often. Barwin does a terrific job of setting the edge and forcing the ball back to the inside (where the pursuit is). Watch him in coverage. Barwin can cover TEs. He can cover RBs. He can also help on WRs. Remember when the Panthers tried to throw downfield on 4th down and Barwin was all over the WR? In 2013 the coaches had him line up over Larry Fitzgerald and jam him at the snap. That kept Fitz from getting a clean release and helped the pass rush get pressure on Carson Palmer.
Barwin was a truly great free agent signing by Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman. Prior to FA, I didn’t think they would go for him. Barwin seemed more natural as a rusher than a SAM, which is what the Eagles needed. Cole was already here to be the Predator. When the Eagles did sign Barwin, I thought it was solid, but hardly got fired up.
Heck, I’ll be honest and say that this summer I was already thinking about Barwin’s replacement. Love him off the field, but I just didn’t think he was a good enough rusher for this defense to thrive. Barwin still isn’t an explosive, dominant rusher, but he’s better than I realized. He is a good bull rusher. He is very good on stunts/games. He is quick off the edge and dips well. Barwin will never be a Von Miller type that you build gameplans around, but he’s good enough to win his share of one-on-one matchups.
Kudos to Barwin for winning the award. Kudos to the Personnel Dept for signing him. Kudos to the coaches for using Barwin creatively and getting the most out of him.
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Down the road, could the Eagles consider putting Barwin at ILB and then going with Marcus Smith at SAM?
Possible, but not likely. Barwin is an established OLB. I know Clay Matthews has done well at ILB for the Packers, but he’s 6-3, 250 and is more of a natural fit in there than Barwin (6-4, 265). Barwin also has a basketball background so it is likely more natural for him to operate in space than in the chaos of the middle of the field.
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Some of you have asked about hiring Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator, assuming the Jets do as expected and fire him.
Rex is a top flight DC. He is truly a guru and is a better DC than Bill Davis. That said, the Eagles are in Year 2 with the current staff and I think I’d rather stick with this group. If I thought Rex would definitely stay 5 years I might change my mind. My guess is that he’ll be looking for another head coaching gig as soon as possible.
You could talk to Rex about being an assistant to this staff. He specializes in designing overload blitzes and creative coverages. While he does operate from the 3-4, he’s different than Davis. Rex comes the Ravens school of defense where you do creative, complex things and build unique gameplans. Davis comes the Steelers school of defense where things are creative up front, but coverages tend to be simpler.
I don’t know how well Rex’s ideas would mesh with Davis and the current staff.
We saw late in the Andy Reid tenure how bad things can go when you force coaches together and their schematic ideas don’t naturally mesh well. As cool as it would be to have Rex as DC, I doubt it happens and I’m not sure that it should.
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I love Cole, but would be very nice if we have two Barwins in our OLB’s spots.
And I’m very curious to know how the front office will act with Graham. He have the skills man, please don’t let him go.
The slow development of Graham coupled with his less than full time usage on D should hold down any contract offers on him to a reasonable level. He’ll be very easy to keep from a financial standpoint if the teams sees him as an eventual starter in 2015 or beyond.
I’m more interested to see if we cut Trent Cole or force him into a significant pay cut.
I think Roseman will try to keep Cole, but have to be a big pay cut. I’m not sure if he wanna stay,bottom teams may give big money for him.
It’s hard to find a Predator OLB, and I don’t know yet how is the draft class or the Free Agency market for next year in that position.
Marcus Smith would be the one, but he is not a certainty.
If marcus smith isnt a certainty, the kid you draft won’t be a certainty either….. Actually this is a really really strong draft class loaded with edge rushers.,. Im just not sure we will draft one after scooping Marcus next year, who will grow into a quality player for us…
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BG, Barwin, Marcus, COLE…. You really can’t get a stronger 4 man rotation at OLB than that…. Not sure why we would make change just for the sake of change… Trent Cole is turning 33 years old, no one will pay him his contracted price, I’m sure we can work out a renegotiation/paycut to keep COLE here 2 more years..
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brandon Graham I expect to be a priority signing for us… OLB is one of the 3 most valued positions in the NFL,,,and BG is playing that position at a really high level, is still improving and has even transformed himself into a beast of a ST player… There is no reason why we should lose BG and go with another young OLB… If we can’t keep Cole(which would shock me), then I’d hope we draft another OLB…it’s a key position, we need a Quality 4 man rotation at that position…
I think Graham gets a good deal similar to Griffin in FA.
He would have to reach free agency to get that deal
The Eagles aint going to tag him and Graham would be stupid not to reach FA and test the market.
Teams like Giants, Raiders, Falcons, Bears, Dolphins etc. might be interested in giving way more money than the Eagles and let him play starting DE in a 4-3
Eagles either reach a deal with him before free agency, or he is gone…. 0.000% chance they let other teams bid on him, and then sign him…. That’s just not. Going to happen…if BG reaches the open market, he is gone. This isn’t a nate allen case where we let him test the market, and no one drives up the price so we end up bringing Nate back…. If he reaches the open market, he is gone….
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I’d bet, we extend him before that
I bet he reaches the open market only Graham really wants to take a team discount.
Teams won’t get to make offers to Graham. He will be extended before he ever reaches the open market… If he hits the open market, say goodbye, but I expect this extension to get done before March
From the Eagles standpoint, what resigning Graham to a team friendly contract before he reaches FA makes complete sense. Unfortunately, it makes zero sense for Graham. He’s been unfairly labeled a bust here in Philly and is stuck in a system that does not maximize his talents or value him as a full time player. He’d be crazy to not at least take the time to listen to outside offers. By your logic, that means there is almost no chance of BG coming back.
Go back and listen to BGs interviews this year
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Don’t worry about BG! I personally promise you he will be here next year
im not worried about next year because its now or never. ever I fear.
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because I don’t think we will be better next year. this is a good group in its prime.
a lot of mature players only 1 year older next year. theres often a team that grabs the trophy a year before ‘they are ready’ and that I hope is us!
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smith will be effectively a rookie next season; and I don’t see where fresh new strengths come to us (I cant project the FA additions vs whom we will let go).
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we have this incredible momentum NOW
im so psyched for this game because I am OK with a win that still leaves us wondering and uncertain !!
These crappy Bears making the Cowboys look good.
Can’t believe just how pathetic they really are… Figured now that they were eliminated, they would get it together a little bit and play the spoiler role down the stretch, since they do have some potent weapons……. But that team is clearly not a well coached team, or it’s not responding to the coaching, and the team character is clearly lacking….. I would have announced Trestmans firing at the beginning of the 4th quarter last night if I was the owner…
Agreed. If nothing else, they should be at least involved in some shootouts. But they are getting blown out half the time, which is crazy considering the amount of talent they have on that offense. Yeah, coach should be fired. Eagles broke that team last year, and they have never recovered.
Forget about sexy Rexy, he’s already believed to sign a multi million TV deal. It would definitely suit him since he’s a character.
I think I won’t watch this crappy TNF game until the end.
Time to go home. What a disappointing and absolute miserable Bears team. If I was a Bears fan I’d probably be an alcoholic.
Bears are my second favorite team, and I am. I hate Cole Beasley so much.
I think its safe to say Trestman is out
Weird – I have an irrational hatred of the Bears. Outside of the Cowboys and Giants, I can’t think of a team I’d rather see lose.
The Redskins? Maybe because I live down here.
Yeah that lil prick gets on my nerves too
same here on all accounts.
the bar next to me where I used to watch Iggles games is now Bears only. wont even put other games on any of their multiple big screens (place has great wings and tater tots also!)
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.. that stupid f in bell ring and fake fight song every time they score .. ha I was there when that sheeeyat went down opening their season and I saw the stfd’d and silent 3 quarters later.
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I hate the bares and their mustache and trendy bearded dope bandwagon fans!
only thing better would be watching philly/dallas in a cowboys bar and hear them in denial tossing a zillion excuses for jerry.
Hey, I am a Bears fan too. Take it easy on me.
Brilliant business sense there. The owner is losing a lot of money chasing away fans of other teams.
yes except for 3 hours every sunday its jam packed .. well maybe most of the time its starts clearing out by half time
LOL @ dallas defensive player saying “if our offense can keep us off the field we can beat anybody” That’s the spirit you want in your defender lol
You can’t be really angry with him. The Bears make the Cowboys D look like the Legion of Boom.
Bears have NO pass rush. Romo has all day to throw. Tomorrow we will have to hear how the Cowboys are folding in December…. I hope we crush them again.
Look at it this way, ATleast we now have the opportunity to single handedly be responsible for crushing all their hopes and dreams… . If Dallas misses the playoffs and gets embarressed again, it will be the Eagles doing….of course the colts will also chip in
Remember when Phil Simms said our offense was in the bottom 5 of the league? LOL! What a dope.
I can’t stomach him at all. He is such a clown.. He reminds me of a clown pro wrestlers like Bobby the brain heanen on some 80s wrestling clown…. Bob Backlund…that’s the dork wrestler he reminds me of lol
In Wrestling parlance they are called heels
phil simms love to mess with philly fans
I’d love to mess with his face……. WITH MY FIST!!!
I loved hearing the two morons last night saying that their loss last week was because Tony’s back wasn’t ready! It had nothing at all to do with the Eagles kicking the snot out of them!
That’s what all the analysts are saying. It’s crazy how little credit we are getting this year.
Cowboys are gonna be riding real high coming into Philly. We are gonna knock them down again.
Really really hope we beat the Seahawks, so all the pressure in the world will be on dallas to beat us. And then we can smack them around and put them back in their place
1. At some point, the Bears are going to see what happens if they cover Murray, right?
2. Remember how frustrating it was when our defense was this bad?
that team’s given up. Coach gotta go.
As I write this, they are in the middle of an epic comeback.
I hope you guys didn’t turn this game off — somehow dallas only up by 7.
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it’s too late for math.
Or perhaps too early?
Cue the Romo collapse int.
I’ll stick with Bill Davis at D coordinator.
Rex Ryan is more than likely to do TV for a bit after he gets canned.
yeah must have been a depressing situation in NY for the last few years. Sort of surprised he wants to be there still, although i’m sure he’s got a great relationship with his defensive players. He seems like a great coordinator.
Lol. we are still getting no respect. Is anyone picking the Eagles this week? Ol’ Heath is saying we can’t deal with a physical team…… National media for ya.
Interesting he would say that after we just beat Dallas.
He’s such a troll.
On the Rex Ryan point, I absolutely agree that I wouldn’t bring him in to work with Davis and, after this year, you’re obviously not gonna fire Billy.
Where it becomes interesting is if somebody offers Davis a head coaching gig. If he leaves of his own free will and we’re left looking for a DC, then Ryan becomes a much more viable option.
Rex Ryan will NEVER be a viable option for Chip Kelly’s staff…
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There isn’t a single assistant coach that has ever worked with chip, with the character and personality of sexy rexy..
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Would never see chip and Rex work together, and billy is still a year or two away from head coaching offers…and by the time billy leaves, I assume Azzinaro will be promoted
Rex is a chief, we need indians, the debate isn’t Rex or Billy, it’s Rex or Chip, and I pick Chip every time. Bill Bellichick would probably be a kick-ass DC to have too, but that ain’t happenin’
rex is a terrible hc, he’d be a great coordinator.
and that’s the tragedy. He’d coach his defense on a team like Washburn coached our DL, us against the world. Chip getting all kinds of attention for his offense, going super fast at the expense of his defense. Rex wouldn’t be a positive influence in that situation.
Rex isn’t going to be available for a coordinator job because he’ll be the head coach at either Chicago or Atlanta.
If he goes to Chicago, they will be in the same place before they fired Lovie. ALL D no O.
Chicago should have brought Rex in for HC and trestman for OC.
I wonder if that’s still a possibility.
Cutler is going to continue to take his share of garbage this week but even P. Manning couldn’t win with that Bears’ defense.
Really have come to loathe the Thurs night games. Just a lot of mediocre and awful football.
this didn’t even look like that bad of a match-up when they made the schedule (like most of the thursday night games did)
I have no friggin clue how the Barwin signing could fly under the radar the way it did. This wasn’t some player that started to blow up after we signed him, Barwin been Beasting for years… Pretty much proof that our media is a bunch of hacks THAT just look at stats and talk out their ass. Barwin came off a 4 sack year, obviously he wasn’t a special signing lol, when anyone who knew Barwins game knew the moment his signing was announced that he was the crown Jewel of that free agent class for us…
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ATleast now we praise the sighing, better late than never I guess…
sack numbers crazy this year but i think that’s as much about line play as it is about barwiin. let’s see what happens against seattle, sacks mean a lot less if they don’t come in big games.
I would call division games pretty darn big…Barwin is the defensive player of the month, who made Jimmy Graham his bitch In a playoff game.. There is no reason why you should
Be talkingabout Barwin as someone who hasn’t always shown up in big games….I’m sure) will,make his presence felt sunday against an average RT
“Pretty much proof that our media is a bunch of hacks”
There’s an opening over at philly.com. Why not throw your name in the hat, since you seem to have such a high opinion of your own journalistic abilities.
As if I’m not already entertaining offers…. Lol silly
You’re not.
I would only take Rex Ryan if he brings Dennis Thurman with him for our secondary. He’s one of the best and would bring a nastiness in our backfield.
As for Barwin, I guess you could say he’s our JJ Watt? We could sure use him in goal line offensive plays…
I think talkimg about Rex Ryan joining Chip Kelly’s staff, is just as dumb as talking about johnny football being chips Dream QB by..
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What’s next, we gonna talk orchestrating trades for JJ Watt? Lol
Now that you mentioned it…
I never liked Johnny Football, and don’t know why everyone is in love with him. If you get mad at Kap for looking for the first option and running, Johnny Football is the same except shorter, with a lesser arm, and tons more attitude.
I think some people like the idea of Ryan because he is such a great defensive mind. It might be some people like the idea of one of the best offensive minds and one of the best defensive minds working together. Rex wants a HC position, so I don’t think it matters. Just a thought experiment.
Please…Rex spent like 15 top 20 picks on defenders… Juan Castillo can coach all that defensive talent lol. Rex has done nothing that should make any eagle fan want to see billy Davis get replaced by Rex…..and I just don’t see chip meshing with Rex the person, or shall I say,Rex the blowhard
Is it too early to make calls on the game?? I think we’re gonna beat down the Seahawks like we did Dallas. Maybe Shady or someone else has a great game but it’ll b a beatdown.
Yeah I don’t think it will be as close as people think…
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Thinking Seattle scores 16-23 points (depending on if they get the meaningless back door TD at the end), while the Eagles score in the 27-31 range,,,
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I love how seattle is trying to convince themselves that our tempo won’t effect them. While it’s true that lining up won’t be as much of a problem for seattle defense as most teams who scramble to get lined up before we snap the ball. Because seattle defense is so basic, they pretty much line up the same way the majority of the time….so YES, our tempo won’t catch them off balanced as we catch most defenses, so part of what the seahawks are saying about our temoo Not effecting them is probably true, but the part seattle isnt accounting for is, they may be able to get lined up fast enough to not get caught off guard by our tempo, but I highly doubt seattle is in “Eagle shape”.. Part of our tempo attack is that our fat bastards are in more shape than your fat bastards, we practice so quickly every day since April OTAs, that Seattles defense is still subject to getting gassed by our tempo…who cares if they can get lined up fast enough if they are sucking wind?
I don’t think they will score that many points… it will b tough scoring offensively against them n the term beatdown needs to put in perspective considering the opponent but it’ll b a beatdown by 4Q.
We score 20 just by rolling out of bed in the morning..
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I have a feeling facing the Eagles offehse at home will be very different than facing the Cardinals and 49er offense the last two weeks,,,
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But we shall see
I’m not all that impressed by Sanchez so far, but he will be the best QB, by a fair margin, that they have faced in that period.
Yeah, I’m not as gaga over him as most fans and media either. He still needs to prove a lot to me before I really by it.. BUT if chip keeps him on an pitch count 25-33 passes, Mark can manage the game and not turn the ball over if he doesn’t try to do too much…. All we have to do is not turn the ball over and we win… Simple as that. Play smart, live to play another down instead of forcing something..
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One thing that should really help mark on Sunday is when you look at the seattle defense, you see that they are always willing to give up the 4yard check down throw. You can dink and dunk your way all the way up field if you have the patience. They will give you the check down throw every single time, but they don’t miss tackles so you will only get 2 to 4 yards….but if Mark is smart, when in doubt, he will take that check down throw every time…it’s wide open all day, they blatantly are willing to live with giving that up and tackling you without giving up Yards after catch..
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I expect to have enough success running, and throwing short to backs and TEs, to where Sanchez won’t have to win or lose the game for us… We overcame bad QB play often this year…just be average instead of bad and we should score enough…seattle is going to struggle putting up points, it will be like pulling teeth for them.
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I also see a Sproles punt return againsg their piss poor coverage unit…and maybe a defensive score or another ST score…..it won’t just be the offense putting up 30, but I think the entire team can chip in to score 27-31 against this team…seattle probably won’t break 20 points,
sanchez not impressed you?
I am a foles lover but sanchez has impressed me in that dallas game and against the panthers. he’s quick getting rid of the ball, much faster then foles, he is hitting guys on the move, and a little run once in a while is nice to.
he is athletic, but he is also scary that he could melt down at any point, thank god we have chip to keep him together
Still not sold at all, botto. I’m not denying any of the positives that you pointed out, but I temper them with the bad turnovers and how often he puts the ball up for grabs. Scariest part about playing Seattle is I expect Sanchez to turn it over a minimum of two times this weekend.
Some stuff Sanchez has shown has impressed… However he has a lot to still prove. For example, everything he throws is short and intermediate. Soon a good Defense will take that away and Sanchez will need to complete some balls down field to loosen the defense up, Sanchez hasn’t proven that yet… He also only has what 1 game without any turnovers? Sanchez has been impressive thus far, but he still has a ton to prove before I’m sold…. I’m not going to be a prisoner of the moment like most fans
LOL “We score 20 just rolling out of bed in the morning.”
well what happened when we rolled out of bed in San Fran?
We still scored over 20 points. Just not the offense.
Chip weaponized this entire team… Everyone scores points, not just the offense
You had 3 interior OL that barely every played before all lined up next to each other against Justin smith, Ian williams and.ray mcdOnals… If you pay attention to any of my posts, the battle in the trenches is EVERYTHING!!!
Every game is different and can go a bunch of different ways, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the Eagles playing at home, is a better team than the SEAHAWK team we see on the road, especially cross country
We haven’t beaten Seattle much. We lead all-time 7-6-0 with losing the last 3 out of 4
http://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/teamvsteam?opp=28
That being said, we’re due for beating them down. Still bitter about the 28-24 loss in 2007when Westbrook almost took it coast to coast in the 4th quarter and AJ Feeley found a way to slip on the banana peel.
I just don’t really get into what past teams that have nothing to do with us now have done. It’s a cool stat we all have fun with. But pretty meaningless. No streak will last forever anyway…
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Heck I think the lions haven’t won in Lambeau since like 92 or some crazy stat, watch Lions win the last game of the season… Games whacky
What’s the difference between last years seattle defense and this years seattle defense? The secondary and LBs are pretty much the same as last year for the most part…. The difference is that seattle DL lost its depth. Last year they had two waves a quality DLineman to keep throwing at teams in waves…free agency stripped them of their DL depth which was a major part of last years defense.,,.since seattle doesn’t play as many DL as they did last year, should be a great opportunity to use our tempo and run game to wear the seattle defense down! Once they are sucking for air, their backups arent the fierce unit we saw last year,… Wear down the thin seattle DL(even thinner with the major loss of Mebane) and we should blow the game open in the second half when fatigue really starts to kick in
Bobby Wagner has also been hurt for a large portion of the season.
He is back, that doesn’t help us. He is playing well too. Tho Mebane is a much bigger loss for their run defense than wagner would be… Mebane could have really created some problems for Kelce in the run game… Good riddance
Read somewhere that Seahawks are playing a lot more man than just cover 3.
Chip said 60-40 man to zone ratio
Exhibit 1 as to why Howie needs to lock up our DL talent for growing dominance…lots of decisions to be made on the Defense this off season (Trent, ‘Meco, Graham, Fletcher, Allen, Ced, CMatt) – would love to see the defense stymie this Seattle O. Not sure what crew is assigned to this game, but if they allow the DBs to play, I really think we can make life difficult for RW.
It’s not their offense i’m worried about – if we can stop the RO we just need to be able to score more than 9pts.
What the hell are the skins doing? They are soo confusing.
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If there is a real chance they give Up on RG3 after the season, and they are eliminated from contention and have 4 meaningless games left, what’s the point in starting Colt McCoy? It’s not like they would ever reach the conclusion that Colt will he their new franchise QB… If there is a real chance of giving up on the young QB they sacraficed 3 drafts to aquire, why wouldn’t they spend the last 4 meaningful games continuing to evaluate RG3 in hopes that by some miracle he shows enough to renew confidence in him…. It’s not like the skins have anything else to play for….
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Give RG3 the last 4 games to either try and salvage his career or give him enough rope to hang himself and get everyone on board with banishing him from Washington after the season….. Part of this post comes from me desperately wanting Rg3 to play when we face the skins again… Watching my beloved defense make RG3 look like a fool is a guilty pleasure
RGIII has (or had) extremely close ties to the ownership and organization (and I’m sure still is pretty tight with plenty of the lockeroom). Gruden doesn’t care about the past 3 drafts, he only cares about the next 3. He hopes to have success without RGthree (years of crippling draft-debt), and hope to convince ownership to kick off a full-on rebuild with full licence to go out and find his guy.
It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if ownership is balancing out if they need a new QB to fit the coach, or a new coach to fit their QB. Basically give the coach licence to do what he wants and show them what he can do as a type of tryout.
Basically all of this is predicated on: Gruden has no interest in RGIII in his west-coast system. He’s an old-school West Coast guy, and like most of them, they are very particular about their quarterbacks.
rgiii lost the lockerroom that’s a big part of the reason he isn’t playing.
My take is he isn’t playing because he’s playing like hot garbage. Losing the locker room simply makes him easier to get rid of/bench without any blow back to the coach.
Its not like Colt McCoy or Kirk Cousin has been much better.
The funny thing regarding WCO guys, Reid has learned it directly from Holmgren, yet had no problems drafting McNabb or going with Vick.
I know Reid’s WCO is more vertical than most, but it also shows he is more willing to adapt to his QB
I get the feeling with Reid coming fresh off the Steve Young Era, he had adapted to have a value for mobility in his variation of the WCO. How mobility is used is more important than the mobility itself. Russel Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, RGIII, Andrew Luck (or even guys whose mobility are underated like Aaron Rodgers) are all mobile but the style they play and the way they use that mobility are very different. So while McNabb began as something of a running phenom, you could very quickly see the direction Andy wanted to utilize that mobility (some might say under utilize, but for him I think he highly valued buying time for his beloved pass with that mobility).
I wasn’t suggesting Gruden didn’t like RGIII because he was mobile, probably just wasn’t wired like a WCO guy. Seems like if he isn’t making a read then throwing or running, he is very much out of his comfort zone. I get the feeling RGIII needs a QB overhall, mechanics up. It’s great that coaches found ways to utilize these kids right out of college, but I think that indulgence may be hurting some of them in the long run. Seems tricky to transition to pro pocket passer.
McNabb was a more developed passer coming out than RG3.
RG3 needs the offense from his rookie season or something close to his Baylor offense, but sadly Gruden would rather play his WCO style offense than use the best QB on the roster right.
Even Mike Shanahan was smart enough to change basics of his offense to fit RG3’s style.
But RG3 still would rather work on his brand than his game. The guy is unwilling to put in the work to be an NFL passer.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/04/report-jay-gruden-wants-rg3-gone/
I would too if my coach was Gruden, a guy the FO did not even interview before hiring him
That sums up exactly why RGMe is a lazy and media-obsesses soft diva of a football player and has failed in this league.
He’s been terrible, he’s a fish out of water. It’s not all him. Reads and package plays are gone. He’s obviously being told not to run because he’s barely done it this year, so he’s been getting sacked at an astronomical rate because he can’t get through his progressions. Getting tiny yards per attempt because he’s checking it Down, in spite of a better completion percentage than you might expect. I thought Barnwell did a decent job breaking it all down. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/rg3-robert-griffin-10-possible-destinations/
My question is, while certainly effective, can we still consider these offenses like the one RG3 ran in 2012 a safe bet to get a qb through 16-20 games?
Too bad he didn’t learn how to adapt to running the ball…sigh.
The problem was Marty,
he’s terrible. it probably killed him to only pass the ball 5 times against miami.
“it’s not like they would ever reach the conclusion” i wouldn’t be so presumptuous
Blah blah blah ti piace chiaciera
nah you base your argument on a fallacy. We’re sitting here talking about whether some team will make Sanchize a franchise QB after this year — Colt McCoy is the same situation – though i find it funny that Cousins is completely out of the conversation.
If they have already decided to move on, the worst thing hat could happen is for RGIII to play just well enough to cloud that decision. He can’t create doubt from the bench.
His stock is at Rock bottom. Put him on the bench now you are stuck trading him for a 6th rd pick Can conditionally be a little higher pick…. He can’t hurt his stock any more…maybe if he can get something Going now that he hit rock bottom, maybe he could build his stock back up a little with the last 4 years…
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At the very least just play him against us.. I love playing against him, it’s so much fun!!!
Don’t try and make sense of it. Just enjoy it.
What is the basis for asserting that Ryan is a superior DC to Billy Davis? Is it statistical? Davis’s real value, seems to me, is in teaching/mentoring athletes he did not select, and who were not selected (many of them) for the scheme that Kelly wants utilized. Whatever stats support the notion that Rex Ryan is a defensive “guru” (really?), I know he’s had way more scheme-ready talent on the field, particularly at linebacker and secondary, than Davis has had to work with. He has a good reputation, and he’s legit, but he grew that rep as a Ravens DC, as Marvin Lewis did before him. Baltimore, under the regime of Ozzie Newsome has been a DC’s dream job. Newsome seems to spend more early round draft picks on defensive players than anybody else, and he usually knows what he’s getting. I’ll stipulate that Ryan is a very good DC, but from what I can see, so is Bill Davis. As for “defensive guru”… back in the day I’d use that moniker on Buddy, but Bellichick is the only one who’s really earned it.
You can make a point about billy without denigrating rex. Given what that team has on offense he’s still somehow able to keep games competitive even with the broncos and the patriots of the world. I’m not sure we can say that about a defense that’s been fielded in philly during this decade.
I’d call him a guru because of the consistent performance he’s able to achieve year in and year out with out the benefit of ever playing with a lead.
12.5 celebrations cut somewhat short because he always goes to share it with his teammates! best ever. smart teammate.
Forget about Rex as a DC, he is only interested in being a Head Coach and since that probably won’t happen look for him in the broadcasting booth next year.
you know that how?
Respected members of the New York media have reported that Rex has no interest in a DC job.
What? I think you meant to say “members of the NY media to whom Rex has spoken.” I have no respect for any piece of garbage from New York.
No, i meant what i said, I promise you Rex has no interest in being a Coordinator next year. Nobody will give him a head coaching job next year off the dismal job he has done this year. He will be a broadcaster next year, waiting for his next Head Coaching job.
I’m agreeing with that part of what you said, I’m just saying nobody from New York deserves any respect.
I’m really happy with Davis and pleased to see the defense keep getting better. Rex and rob are good, rather have Davis.
In some ways the defense is specifically designed to stop the Seahawks, stopping read option should be easy. Gotta be careful of the RB and TE leaking out though.
With all the discussion about replacing Davis with Ryans, I wonder if it makes sense at all to bring in an outside DC to take over if/when Davis is either poached or pushed out. Though some other DC may have a history of success, I don’t think Chip necessarily values the results as much as the process it took and the lessons learned. Bringing in a new face will mean:
– initiating them into the Kelly training regiment,Kelly game planing regiment, and Kelly’s expectation on collaboration and openness with the players/support staff,
– potentially redesigning the entire defensive scheme
– potentially having to turn over a significant amount of position coaches
– potentially changing fundamental techniques of players again
etc.
on the other hand if you promote from within, the changes in scheme will most likely be evolutionary and not require major differences, and the new DC is already part of Kelly’s system. Of course, they most likely won’t have a track record of success in the NFL as a DC, however, neither did Davis or JJ when he was hired for that matter.
Bullets 1 & 3 are valid. Not so sure about 2 & 4 – everything I’ve read implied that the 2-gap scheme is Chip’s overwhelming preference. Davis was a guy who was known for 4-3 under schemes previously. And I find it unlikely Azz moves on, so I think at least the DL’s fundamental techniques are likely to stay fairly consistent.
Agree. I think they’ve stated chips preference was the two gap 3-4. He would probably look for another DC that can run it.
And because of that, I think that trying to shoehorn Rex Ryan in as a defensive coordinator would be a huge mistake. Ryan, like his father, is a brilliant defensive mind. On the downside, I can’t see him agreeing to coach the defense exactly the way that Chip wants it. It would be a repeat of Buddy Ryan vs. the Oiler’s offensive coordinator the first time the Eagles had a quick three and out on offense.
Like Azz.
In all honesty, I think bullet 1 is probably the most important because the way Chip has structured the organization is heavily based on his idea of how things should run. He has stated repeatedly that he is a process oriented person, caring more for how things are done than the immediate results, because he believes that if things are done the right way, the results will follow. I really believe if Davis is poached, he will promote from within. On the other hand, if Davis is fired, there will probably be significant turnover because something went seriously wrong.
Ultimately, I trust Chip’s ability to find the right fit at any coaching position within his organization. When the time comes for a coach to transition, feel like Chip will be a desired landing spot for both new and experienced coaches…
Still a bit puzzling why Kelly isn’t in more of the ‘Coach of the Year’ conversations right now including in Barnwell’s recent column on Grantland and a feature they ran the other night on NFL channel.
If the Eagles win Sunday, all of a sudden I bet he shots to the top of the list.
“If the Eagles win Sunday, all of a sudden I bet he shots to the top of the list.”
This is exactly why. If we had beaten GB or SF or if we beat SEA then I think that will happen. Otherwise it’s the perinneal guys.
Actually would say AZ instead of SF. The win at Indy gets discounted for some reason and it still seems like the Eagles are labeled as the ‘Best of the Good Bad’ teams (Teams with winning records that aren’t able to beat .500 or better teams)
Yeah indy doens’t seem to count (perhaps b/c they arent a hot team) neither do the weekly beat downs we put on other teams, nor the fact that we’ve been decimated by injuries all yeah. But whatever, i don’t need respect, i want the title.
Interestingly our season looks a lot like SEA’s 2012 season.
Won’t happen. The voters are media who can’t stand to admit they are EVER wrong.
The playoffs will weigh heavy on who gets the nod.
As they should. I’m not trying to see us choke lose another home playoff game.
Isn’t Coach of the Year based on regular season? In theory at least.
Now that you mention it, I’m not sure. If that’s the case, the upcoming game against Seattle should be a factor. If the Eagles win and then win the remainders against our East rivals, they finish 13-3. That should certainly put Chip in contention.
The driver was under the influence with PBR!
https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/blogs/celeb-news/megan-fox-and-brian-austin-green-hit-by-drunk-driver-150723002.html
I had this conversation with a friend who work in the Boston DA’s office this fall.
He has this theory (or at least based upon Boston-area criminals) that Bud Light is disproportionately responsible and associated with more crimes than any other beer/alcohol product from his time prosecuting the last decade or so.
No offense to American beer, but I will never understand how someone can get drunk from drinking Bud Light. It’s like water (and I am not talking about the taste only)…
I saw this documentary on brewing, and the German brewers were all saying the same thing. “Dis ees a zoft drink! Not ein bier!”
They were pretty funny.
Lol.
His theory was this and multi-faceted:
1. You can’t have Happy Hour alcoholic specials in MA due to Blue Laws but you can have cheap food. People will buy a good drink or two and then switch to Bud Lights or just order them from the outset since it is usually the cheapest beer on tap.
2. Beer that people buy when they are already on their way to becoming drunk and want quantity over quality for the $$$ or drunk already and don’t care
3. A bit too expensive for true alcoholics who prefer cheap hard stuff.
4. Frat/college staple along with people under 30
5. Volume drinking beer in the summer when people are drinking all day long.
6. Every place carries it and it comes in 30-can packs.
It is a horrendous product with the absolute bottom of the barrel ingredients. All of the major light beers by US brewers suck although I still think Miller Lite is at the absolute bottom of the barrel.
Still wretch at the thought of drinking a slightly too warm Miller Lite that is half-finished.
I am proud of coming from the country with arguably the best beer in the world.
If drinking German beer you will mistake any US light beer with ‘pee-water’. 😉
Curious to know who a German might think would argue they have better beer than Germany? Cuz I can’t think of one. Most of America’s best breweries have roots in immigration from the “old world”.
The Belgians. And to be honest their beer come very close.
Not to start up trouble, but I happen to prefer Belgian beer to German; but I’m not turning down either if offered. You folks do it the right way over there.
No Offense taken.
Would you say the beer you guys export fairly represents German beer or would you say you gotta go to Germany to get the best stuff. I know I would be mortified if folks outside America defined American beers with corporate beers like Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc.
Yes German exports are just fine! My top 3 Lager are as follows:
1. Augustiner (haven’t seen it in the states yet)
2. Paulaner
3. HB
My top 3 Hefeweizen (wheat beer) are as follows:
1. Franziskaner
2. Paulaner
3. Weihenstephan
Luckily you can get all 5 but Augustiner in a super market or a bar here in NYC.
Not only breweries. I absolutely love the fact to get to know so many Americans with German roots. It’s very cool!
You’re speaking to one. 3 German brothers came to America with their dad. They settled in northern New York with a bunch of other German immigrants. (Most went to Pennsylvania and became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsche)) Anyway that was 254 years ago and now there are over 3,000 of us.
Fun story. America is fiercly fighting the movement to become a bi lingual country, spanosh being the other language thanks to immigrants from latin America. Buy 250 years ago, one of our founding fathers, Benjam Franklin had to fight tooth and nail to prevent Philadelphia from officially becoming bi-lingual, English-German, because Pennsylvania had so many roots to Germany. Forgive me if you already heard that one.
“spanosh” – nice!
Lol, wasn’t inentional. No idea how auto-correct didn’t catch that.
“Auto-correct is the Devil!” – Mrs. Boucher
Here’s a very interesting and surprising stat for you: the 3rd most spoken language after English and Spanish in the States is… German!
Back in 1754 a Swiss Anabaptist named Jacov Schumacher was born. He and his family migrated to Prussia, trying to escape religious persecution. Probably similiar to your 3 brothers. A few years later, they heard of William Penn and his state allowing religious freedom. They were part of a group who migrated to Pennsylvania, where they eventually became the Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites, I don’t have the exact dates right in front of me, but a couple of generations later, a group of Mennonites further migrated to southern Ontario, among them a 17-year-old girl named Susannah, who became my several-greats grandmother. Her granddaughter became my great-grandmother, in western Canada. Back then many people went back and forth across the border with ease. Finally, I am probably related to half of the Shoemakers in North America. Genealogy can be interesting.
All of the beer companies that have commercials played on TV suck.
Miller or Coors…either one is garbage. Now if You are young and throwing say a college or HS party its the way to go. Cheap.
Out of big three American breweries main products, I’d rank them: (best to worst)
Coors Original
Miller High Life
Miller Genuine Draft
Michelob
Michelob light
Old Milwaukee
Coors Light
Bud
Bud Light
Busch
In either case the worst of the worst is anything Anheuser Busch makes besides Michelob.
What do you even like to drink here anyway?
There are many good beers in America.
Which are?! I’m open to listening.
There literally are like thousands of smaller breweries making a ton of high-quality brews.
Outside of Coors Original, none of the big American Breweries make anything good.
If you’re in the states (I don’t know from your screen name if you’re in Germany or just a German in the US), find a bar or restaurant that has a wide variety of stuff and get to sampling.
If you’re in Germany; stick with your own stuff there. Y’all make some quality brew!
I’m just an (German) alien in New York. 😉
Ommegang from Cooperstown NY is something you should be able to find with ease. Anything they make is excellent.
Is this far up north? I live in Queens.
Northwest of you, but they distribute all over. I get their stuff in PA and DE all the time.
Cool. Will try next time.
Just as a point of interest, Coors is also brewed in Canada, as is PBR.
Dogfish head (sold in any Philly liquor store) Any oregon micro brew.
I worked at a London pub and the two best selling beers were fosters and Budweiser. Albeit it’s a better brew and more alcoholic than America.
Just an example that idiots and bad beer is everywhere.
Fosters is the most horrible beer. Geez. I wouldn’t even call it a beer.
If the bars don’t have any German I am sticking with Stella most of the time.
Tommy, this is your chance to send Megan a nice get well card and chocolate pudding to help her heal quickly! lol
You guys ever drink Victory? Made in Downingtown PA. Try their Golden Monkey. Absolutley great.
You should go to their brewery / restaurant and sample the whole run of their beers. Several are way better than Golden Monkey.
This thread has made a very interesting turn. 🙂
Agreed.
Im stuck down here in Florida but going back up for xmas, which ones in particular so i can try them when i go back up?
If you’re going to the HQ itself, just do some reading on their web site and have a good time purchasing while you’re there.
If you’re just going to be in the area, find the best bottle shop near where you’ll be and ask them.
I hate giving out specific beer recs because everybody has a very different set of tastes.
Rex just does not seem like a Chip guy. Just cant see it happening.
You’re right. Chip likes teamwork, no egos, and generally keeping a low profile. It appears that Rex can’t help himself. He seems to like being the centerpiece.
Also regarding Rex/Eagles -Azzinaro already has a pretty lofty title for a line coach. It seems like he has a lot more influence over the team than the average position coach.
Would Rex be able to work with the system in place as well as Davis does. Not to say he’s an egomaniac or anything, it doesn’t seem to be a typical coaching structure here.
That’s a great question. I don’t really see Rex as a fit here at this time.
I can’t friggin believe yous have been talking about Rex Ryan all day….LOL!!!!! That’s about as realistic as Peyton Manning joining forces with chip Kelly..
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It’s really not rocket science, billy will be here ATleast 1 more year, if he gets poached after that and chip is still here, I’ll take any bets that Azzinaro would be the next DC….. He isn’t your typical DL coach already anyway
If I thought last week was rough listening to no one give us a chance against Dallas, the national media is killing us this week lol..
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Brian Billick had the audacity to say we won’t score 20 points tomorrow, but seattle will score ATleast 30 in our house lol, because Sanchez will have to throw 35 times and he will throw 3 INTs….lol
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Bunch of idiots
well, I don’t think we score any points tomorrow, Sunday on the other hand… Sorry, couldn’t resist.
At least the local media is picking the correct bird of prey.
I already beat you to editing it…refresh lol.. I know you fuckers won’t cut me any slack 😉
I meant it in good fun, it was too easy.
I know,..just teasing,,, you have always been respectful
I don’t see Seattle putting enough points on the board to pressure us into a high volume of low % passing. That is a dumb way to analyze the game.
I still see us losing, but it’ll be due to red zone f-ups and some poor tackling by Casey Matthews, Nate Allen, and/or Bradley Fletcher in the open field. We’ll lose something like 16-13, 17-16, etc.
In any case every game we’ve lost and will lose is because of Nate Allen, Casey Matthews, Bradley Fletcher, Howie not upgrading those guys, poor red zone execution, Riley Cooper, and/or poor use of Jordan Matthews and/or Zach Ertz in the red zone.
And also not calling my favorite plays in the red zone.
I agree about Seattle not putting up enough points to force the issue. But about the red zone, Seattle is surprisingly not all that great of a red zone D. I am having a hard time getting a feel for this game, the match ups seem to be strengths to strengths, weakness to weakness.
I don’t like our ability to put up any big plays vs. their back 7 (8) and really don’t like our WRs vs. their DBs.
I like the ability of either Ertz or Matthews to get down the middle and take advantage of a height mismatch however. I’d also like to see if we can block well enough with both Sproles and Shady in the game to get one of the two open on a deep route vs. coverage from a LB.
I just don’t see us doing well in the run game or via Maclin or Cooper.
Maybe Allen plays really well and nabs another int. You know their receivers aren’t very good.
Red zone, absolutely. Even 2 TDs instead of FGs would have won at least 1 more game.
why would anyone want a new defense coach? we need some more talent but not a new coach
That’s a great question.
Funny how two weeks ago, half this board still didn’t believe in Billy Davis, now everyone is talking about him getting poached?… Interesting,,,
,,,
I guess “Philly will fall in love with Billy Davis”-GEAGLE turned out to be true
Billy Davis has zero chance of being poached.
And he still has no clue on what good CB play is.
But he’s doing a great job this year with our D.
Not now…. Few years from both Billy and Shurmur will get head coaching gigs…. id bet we have billy ATleast another year or two, same with Shurm
Shurmur would be first. He was instrumental in adapting Kelly’s stuff to the NFL. I would love to see video of the moment the two of them found the successful mesh of Kelly’s ideals to what’s necessary to be successful as a pro style offense. WAY too many people (and I’m not calling you one) don’t like Shurmur because of their ill-placed hatred of Reid. Shurmur is 100% a better HC than half of the dudes in those jobs right now.
I’m very happy that we’ve got him on our staff.
Oh I totally agree…I think he was the perfect offensive coordinator for an offensive minded college coach making his first trip to the NFL…. Also probably helped Chip that Shurm had experience coaching in this whacky town..
What I really like about this matchup…and I pray Sanchez has the patience to take advantage of it…Seattles defense, will give us the Checkdown throw all game, they always give up the Checkdown option, and quickly make the tackle so they don’t give up any yards after catch, but any time Sanchez wants it, he has a 2-4 yard Checkdown pass open for the taking….if mark just takes what this defense is willing to give him, without taking chances, our skill players are good enough to make some plays against any defenders,
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I have a feeling Ertz, Mathews and Sproles are going to be BIG parts of the offense this week, and I think we will see a different offense like Sproles flexed out wide instead of a riley Cooper, Ertz and Jordan will be attacking the seams all day…. Sounds like Maclin isn’t going to run from Sherm and plans on going right at him…good for him, he has the crisp route running to go after anyone.. I Will be proud to see him go at Sherm instead of running from him like Jordy Nelson did
You’re better off with Sproles and Shady both in the backfield and heading out in a pattern after that because you’re more likely to draw coverage from a LB rather than a S or 3rd / 4th CB.
I totally agree with using Ertz and Matthews up the middle.
I like this plan a lot.
I’d love to see Sproles lined up as a wr for a wr screen, the type of play we’ve seen with Maclin and Cooper.
Sproles needs to line up all over the place. Only,lining him up in one spot all game would be an epic fail.. He needs to be all over the place, backfield, slot, out wide, a lot of going in motion..
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Im curious to see, Ertz, Sproles and riley coopers snap count for ths week
I wish after this game, that someone would sell the All 22 book of all chips plays in this SEAHAWK game… Have a feeling he is Goimg to whip out a lot of stuff we haven’t seen him unleash yet…I’d be fascinated to see the breakdown of every single play chip throws at Pete Carrol
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I really can’t wait for the first shady McCoy 20 yard run when he jukes Wagner, or Kam, or KJ out oftheir. Jock straps making them completely miss…Watching shady make elite defenders miss is going to be glorious…
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Also, it really weird how chip hasnt whipped out any GIMICKY offense this year. No wide reciever reverses, no Brad Smith at QB, no fakes, no trickery… He hasnt put a single trick play on film this year, wonder if he whips out some trickery for this week…
Since Billy Davis took over last year, only two RBs in 28 games were able to gain 100 yards against us…… And it took this long for people to starts to realize our D is well on its way.,,?
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The Battle of the Trenches…
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This weeks GEAGLE “Pigeon of the week” is RT Justin Britt. Sucks for him that he will find the NFL defensive player of the month BRAMA Bull Barwin across from him all game…BIG OPPORTUNITY for Barwin to pick on this “pigeon”
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Geagles Pigeon of the week last game was non other than LG Ronald Leary, we all say our DL taking turns abusing him..
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Justin Britt is probably on a similar level to Doug Free who Barwin whipped on last week, Free is probabky the better run blocker and Barwin had no issue setting the edge against him, whooping on Britt shouldn’t be a problem for the BRAMA Bull…. LT Russel Okung can play, but he is playing thru injury, scheduled to have surgery at the end of the year, you probably want to be at full strength if you are going to war against COLE and BG these days, I’d bet we see Cox stunt around COLE and take his shots at Okung as well.
..the pass rush this week is:
Bruce Irvin, Cliff Avril, mIcheal Bennett against Barwin,COLE, BG… Probably pretty even in terms of pass rush firepower, but IMO Jason Peters and Lane should be able to slow them down more than Okung and Britt can handle our OLBs…..Britt is the weakest Tackle out of both teams, so Barwin has the biggest advantage… While our edge rushers are even, Seattle doesn’t have interior pass rushers like Cox, Curry, Logan…… Our pass rush should have a big game… Wilson can be Houdini, but he also tackles some bad sacks at times, so I expect him to get knocked around at the Linc..
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A CRUCIAL Part of the equation is the Center vs. NT matchup. How that battle unfolds can have a big trickle down effect to the rest of the offense and defense,, With Mebane lost for the seasons, Jason Kelce has a much much much more favorable matchup, than Seattles back up center against Bennie Logan who should be really disruptive this week. … bennie Logan was going to whip on their starting center Max Unger, but he is hurt, so you can bet Bennie,Baeu and Papa Bair are really going to feast on backüp Guardwbois playing center Lemuel Jeanpierre….. Kelce and Bennie Logan should both out play their counterparts this week significantly which will probably have trickle down effects that is going to be a big advantage for us… We are the stronger team in the middle of both sides of the trenches. that’s HUGE.. With Mebane out, bet Kelce goes hunting for LB’s and gets his hands on Wagner and KJ, two high quality LB, but I’ll take Kelce against Keacly or any other LB in the NFL… Where as JeanPierre won’t be able to get to our LBs, cause Bennie logan will beat him like a drum all day…
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If you look at the teams seattle struggles with, common denometer is Strong Run Game, and 3-4 defense…. Check, and Check…..
Just sit back, and enjoy Eagles OL and DL whoop the defending champs in the trenches… BEASTMODE wont break the 70 yard mark…
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We did well containing KAp and Cam… Our pass rush is best suited to stop Wilson, because our rushers are Discaplined and selfless and no ones pass rush, rushes as a unit better than us… Bet wilson wont be able to get out of the pocket at will…he will first find himself sorrounded And then the rush will close in on him from every side..Wilson is a small dude, let’s see how he takes Cox dropping all his weight on him, or Barwin jumping on his back, or Graham bullrush ing Russel Okung into his lap
Passing game against these two pass rushing defenses probably comes down to which QB is able to get out of the pocket more… Wilson isnt the only one that likes to roll out and throw on the run….both pass rushes will focus on forcing yhe QB to beat them from the pocket… Also both QBs will ideally be on a “pitch count”… Only way QBs will be throwing 35 plus time on Sunday is if their run game is being completely shut down,,.
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Seahawks secondary is light years ahead of ours, but I like our hungry front 7 to make life more missable for Lynch and Wilson, than the seattle defense is able to do to our backs and QB,,.
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Interesting that Kansas City turned the ball over twice, seattle had no turn overs, but the Cheifs still won….seattle doesn’t like to run against the 3-4, and bennie logan is going to destroy the backüp center Lemuel JeanPierre… Let’s see how well they run the ball when bennie logan blows their center into their lap all game…if they thought Dontari Poe was scary wait til they face the em best young NT in the NFL
Tommy- I read your posts and love your passion. HOWEVER- Rex Ryan is not the person I would like for the Birds. He does not fit the culture of this organization.