Bad News for Bennie

Posted: December 23rd, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 169 Comments »

The Eagles were a very healthy team last Saturday. That’s not looking like the case for this week.

Yikes.

Les Bowen has a story up on Bennie and his calf injury.

THE EAGLES’ battered defense, already nursing injuries to both starting cornerbacks, is likely to be without starting nose tackle Bennie Logan on Saturday against Washington, an NFL source said.

Logan has started every Eagles game since taking over for Isaac Sopoaga midway through 2013, Logan’s rookie season. That would be 38 successive starts for a man who has been working through an ankle injury in recent weeks, then suffered a calf strain near the end of Sunday’s 40-17 loss to Arizona.

That’s worth another yikes.

Logan has had a strange season, but he remains a key part of the defense. This summer Logan was unblockable. He made all kinds of plays and looked to be ready for a breakout season. He played very well early in the season, but somewhere in the middle (Carolina game maybe) he just hasn’t been the same. Maybe he’s been dealing with a nagging injury. Maybe he wore down. I don’t know the cause, but I do know that his play has leveled off. His last TFL was on Thanksgiving.

Beau Allen is the backup NT. I don’t think he’s the kind of backup you just insert into the lineup and move on. Allen has played limited snaps this year. He’s got 17 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PD. I was hoping he would take a big step forward this year, but he’s been inconsistent in my eyes. Maybe being forced into the lineup will bring out the best in him.

The Eagles will likely use a combination of people to play NT. Allen will likely start, but Cedric Thornton and Fletcher Cox can both play there. In sub-packages the Eagles can use Taylor Hart and Brandon Bair as DTs or as the NT. Heck, even Brandon Graham has played NT on some passing downs.

You can bet the Skins will run the ball early and often. They’ll want to test the Eagles DL. They’ll also try to wear down the DL, figuring the starters will play more with a key player out. This sure would be a great week for the Eagles offense to be able to sustain drives. Or build a nice lead so the Skins have to go into passing mode.

It will be good to find out a bit more about Beau Allen. The Eagles seem to like him, but I’m more up and down. I wish he was pushing for more playing time. I also wish this experiment wasn’t taking place in the biggest game of the entire season. Terrible timing.

*****

No real news on Byron Maxwell and Eric Rowe. Neither practiced on Tuesday. Maxwell is trying to get full range of motion in his shoulder/arm. Rowe is working his way through the concussion protocol.

Bill Davis sounded optimistic about both, but I’m not sure if that’s more hope than reality. The Eagles could definitely use both CBs on Saturday night.

*****

Pro Bowl players were announced last night.

DL Fletcher Cox
RS Darren Sproles
OT Jason Peters

Cox absolutely deserved to make it. He’s having a terrific season and is finally getting the kind of recognition he deserves.

Sproles remains one of the best returners in the league.

Peters? He made it based on reputation and not merit. He’s been hurt for part of the year. He’s been highly inconsistent. He just got beaten for a critical strip-sack on Sunday night. I’ve been a fan of Peters since he was a TE playing beside RT Shawn Andrews at Arkansas, but you’ve got to be honest in evaluating players. Peters is having a down season. He isn’t deserving of Pro Bowl honors this year.

The one Eagle who did get snubbed was Malcolm Jenkins. He leads the team in tackles and has been a playmaker this year. Jenkins has 3 FF, 1 FR, 2 INTs and 7 PDs. I don’t know how many TFLs he has. ESPN doesn’t have any listed for the Eagles. STATS Inc has him with 4.5, which seems low. The Eagles media guide has him with 12, which seems high. No matter how you slice it, Jenkins has played at a high level all year long. He’s been outstanding in coverage and against the run.

Hopefully the snub will serve as a bit of extra motivation for Jenkins.

_


169 Comments on “Bad News for Bennie”

  1. 1 Julescat said at 9:30 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    first

  2. 2 philllyfanatic said at 9:31 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    This team is not deserving of a playoff game and I’m glad that all of a sudden there are injuries that might keep multiple players out of a game. The worst possible thing for this team is to win the NFC East and have a false hope of where they stand. They are mediocre at best. Their record says that they are worse than mediocre. They have huge holes to fill all over the place. They need offensive linemen, wide receivers, a corner and another pass rusher. I’m still far from convinced that they’ve solved for the quarterback position. Quit playing for one more win and accept a better draft position for once. This team stinks. Quit candycoating things with the Eagles. They need to lose these last two games.

  3. 3 unhinged said at 10:01 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Kelly wasn’t delusional about 10-6, so it stands to reason that he won’t make false inferences if he wins the division with this group. Seeing this team in a win-or-go-home setting can provide insights to personnel and administrative roles, so I hope they win. Too much information is rarely a bad thing.

  4. 4 CryEaglesCry said at 11:25 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    They aren’t even mediocre. They are horrible. There is no future on this roster. Blow it up and start over. This is a disaster.

  5. 5 Honest_T said at 1:26 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Stop this nonsense! This isn’t Cleveland, we don’t blow everything up after 1 bad season.

    Chip didn’t even hire his scouts until after the draft, we were still using the same guys that forced Andy Reid to fill roster holes from Free Agency year after year. It failed, and we just brought in people to change that. Firing them all now does nothing but set the team back another 3 years.

  6. 6 CryEaglesCry said at 2:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Blow it up. THis is horrible. They won’t be good next year. I gaurantee you that. There is no hope for this roster nor this coach. We need to move on and not hire another clueless college coach

  7. 7 Sean Stott said at 12:47 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    That’s a loser’s mentality right there.

  8. 8 sflomenb said at 9:35 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    If Maxwell and Rowe are out I don’t know how we will be able to cover DeSean

  9. 9 A_T_G said at 9:59 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I think our best bet would be to use a blanket, bars of soap, and socks in the parking lot before the game.

  10. 10 CryEaglesCry said at 11:24 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    And we cut him! That’s crazy! We are worried about stopping a guy to get into the playoffs and the only reason we have to worry about that is because we cut him!

  11. 11 Nelson ALGore said at 2:23 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    have injured player wave a bat at him before the game….?

  12. 12 Jamie Parker said at 6:55 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Even with Maxwell and Rowe, I don’t know how we will be able to cover D-Jax.

  13. 13 bdbd20 said at 10:19 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Bennie has not been good lately. If he’s injured, then he should sit. We actually have some good depth there. Would be interested to see Cox at NT versus ‘Skins backup C.

    More Curry also please.

  14. 14 Jamie Parker said at 6:56 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    And finally let Bair play again.

  15. 15 Mitchell said at 10:47 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I think 12 TFLs mqy actually be close to accurate for Jenkins. He really has had a lot. If I remember correctly 2-3 in some games.

  16. 16 JoeBlow said at 4:18 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Kamalei Correa plays at 430 today on ESPN

  17. 17 Mitchell said at 5:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    This game is a blood bath. I saw Correa on the second defensive series. Looked like a monster. From what I’ve seen, if we cant get the OL we want, trade down into the top of the second and snag him!

  18. 18 CryEaglesCry said at 11:23 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    It’s funny how the only chance we have at winning this game is if we can stop a guy we cut. That is so fucked up.

  19. 19 lcwboyboy said at 11:47 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Tommy’s column from yesterday was all about Kiko Alonso. Today’s focused heavily on Beau Allen. Does anyone else think of the state of this team and just start to cry uncontrollably?

  20. 20 CryEaglesCry said at 11:53 AM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Ive been doing that since all the people on this board were awarding the Eagles the preseason super bowl trophy. Now they call me Howie Roseman.

  21. 21 ACViking said at 1:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    “all the people on this board . . . ”

    Stop, please. A ridiculous exaggeration.

  22. 22 anon said at 2:02 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Non-football related. Are you familiar with the Steve Avery/Brendon Dassey story? Be interested to hear your take on crim procedure as they intersect with notions of justice – and how often you your practice do you see cases that a “lay person” would characters as miscarriages of justice.

  23. 23 Bert's Bells said at 2:56 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I just finished watching that too. You always wonder what evidence a documentary isn’t showing -but what they did show was more than enough for reasonable doubt.

    Also, the Avery defense lawyers were tremendous. I feel like I could kill ten guys and they’d get me off…

  24. 24 anon said at 3:38 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    yeah i found it more than a bit depressing. Interesting that the developers had taken the show to HBO and some networks and gotten no bites. But after Serial and the Durst special Netflix was willing to take it on.

    It will be interesting to see whether the democratization of content creation / production / dissemination will lead to more of these stories being told (not just in criminal justice).

  25. 25 Bert's Bells said at 4:11 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Yup. Totally in awe of the women who made it. They were embedded in the story for almost a decade. They really deserve a Pulitzer as much as Kempski for his Steven A. Smith piece.

  26. 26 anon said at 4:15 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    would love to see a kempski-diagrammed version of the documentary.

  27. 27 CryEaglesCry said at 2:48 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Yes all the people on this board were awarding them the Supr Bowl Trophy in the preseason. I was the ONLY person saying dial it back boys…this team is not good.

  28. 28 ACViking said at 2:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Really . . .

    That’s funny.

    Because I comment here frequently.

    And I didn’t award anyone anything in the preseason.

  29. 29 Bert's Bells said at 2:59 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    We can award Supr Bowl Trophies here?

    Did I miss that post? Do we have to give it Belichick?

  30. 30 TypicalDouche said at 2:59 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Save your insightful comments for us people who actually appreciate them AC. You’re dealing with a stupid troll who isn’t worth the time. Let’s say this is the guy that said at the beginning of the season that, and I quote, “No team has ever started the season 0-2 and win the super bowl”, yet the Patriots just did it. That alone should tell you he has no validity to any of his comments.

  31. 31 CryEaglesCry said at 3:01 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Yeah right. You were always a Chip Kelly hater.

  32. 32 ACViking said at 3:03 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    What does that even mean?

    That only Kelly haters (whatever that means) have any currency in criticizing him?

    That’s moronic.

  33. 33 Nelson ALGore said at 3:15 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Im pretty sure this is a cowboys troll you are arguing with

    Chip has had 1 GM season that hasn’t even concluded yet.

    Im pretty sure the plan was to pound the ball and unfortunately we couldn’t do that due to a multitude of reasons.

    My supporting evidence???

    1. All the Play action passes in playbook
    2.$$$ spent at RB
    3. Zach Ertz did even attempt a pass catch until September. He was too focused on run blocking
    4. We kept the best RB wr in NFL

  34. 34 botto said at 3:21 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    you never were that smart howie

  35. 35 daveH said at 1:46 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Hart worries me more than beau alen

  36. 36 lcwboyboy said at 1:52 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Oh, I agree. I’m just saying we’re at this point in the season and the conversation is about Kiko Matthews and our backup DL. Holy hell this team is a mess.

  37. 37 botto said at 12:25 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    i’m starting to feel like we are going to get worked Saturday night.
    i’m not mad about the eagles not making the playoffs, but the skins? come on man.
    we didn’t get beat by shady but if we do get roasted by a guy we cut, well then, that just sucks, but only if our guys, Jmatt, huff, and nelson, don’t do anything themselves. it will just look bad.
    could be a bad night.
    im definitely not feeling good about much on this team moving forward.
    need a big hit In the draft and a couple FA OL.

  38. 38 FairOaks said at 12:31 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Odds are good that DeSean gets one on us.

    If we are at least even in turnovers, we shouldn’t be worked over. We were close to even to the Cardinals without the turnovers — but that turned the game into a rout (and that’s not counting the 4th down miss at the end of the first half, which cost points). It’s interesting how one game can change the feeling towards a team — we probably expected to lose going in, but getting blown out maybe was not. But, that was the flip side to the New England game — a few turnovers go our way, we can beat much much better teams, let alone the Redskins. But if turnovers go their way, yes I think they can capitalize.

  39. 39 botto said at 12:45 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    that’s true the cards game was all about them turning those turnovers into TD’s.
    but I’m still weary of this game coming.

  40. 40 CryEaglesCry said at 12:34 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I am going to go to a bar in South Jersey and wear my Desean Jackson jersey. If you hear some moron screaming in yelling when you are crying that is me.

  41. 41 Nelson ALGore said at 2:25 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Yea I remember when we had Jackson he always came up big in big games and he never disappeared of 2-4 games at a time. Really miss those x plays

    /sarcasm

  42. 42 anon said at 2:31 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    if we got rid of all our receivers that dissapear in games we wouldn’t have any receivers left.

  43. 43 Nelson ALGore said at 2:58 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    For sure

    I miss Maclin more than Jackson.

    Djack was alway more motivated to be a star. He just happens to play football. If he shows up big against his old team vs whoever is at DB Saturday, that will be his Super Bowl.

  44. 44 Joe Minx said at 1:09 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    https://twitter.com/howardeskin/status/679704173382897670

  45. 45 RobNE said at 1:40 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    is it a little odd that it’s even possible to clear concussion protocols and practice 3 days (2 days off) after getting the concussion. that can’t be good for you.

  46. 46 TypicalDouche said at 1:45 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    If I am not mistaken their are levels of severity to concussions. You see players come back into games they were taken out of due to concussions, some players miss a couple of days, and some players miss weeks (see Ryan Mathews).

  47. 47 botto said at 1:54 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    depends on how much brain you have too

  48. 48 TypicalDouche said at 2:33 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Well if that is the case then a lot of these players shouldn’t get head injuries since most of them don’t have much brain in them.

  49. 49 Joe Minx said at 1:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    https://twitter.com/howardeskin/status/679708605621338113

  50. 50 Gary Barnes said at 1:30 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Feel bad for Logan, biggest game of the year and he cannot go. Get well soon, big fella.

    Good news on Rowe. If Maxwell is out, then we’ll see Biggers who has been pretty awful and Watkins who I think is decent in coverage, but seemingly allergic to tackling. Jenkins on the TE Reed?

    It is a gut check game. Win and we stay alive. Lose and its over. All phases of the team need to step up and perform. I want to see a hungry team, full of passion who will not be denied. Time is yours, Chip.

  51. 51 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:31 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    chip claims that Bennie isn’t being shutdown
    ..
    The last few weeks Bennie has missed a few days of practice each week, yet always ended up playing… So Hopefully he plays Saturday, Tho I think this calf injury is new, where as he was missing days of practice the last few weeks because of a knee issue

  52. 52 Media Mike said at 4:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    100% a gut check game; lose are they’re gutless.

  53. 53 anon said at 1:37 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Kelly says not shutting big bennie down.

  54. 54 botto said at 1:46 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    so fletcher cox says we will beat Washington!
    done and done.

  55. 55 Nelson ALGore said at 2:21 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    CryEaglesCry 3 hours ago

    THey gave up a second round pick for the worst rated QB in the league. Yeah that’s a fukc up.

    ReplyView in discussion

    Nelson ALGore a few seconds ago

    So your telling me a player with 2 years of ACL tears is supposed to come into a new team with 4 other new starters on offense and just play at a high level?

    They gave up the second rounder true but so far the results are inconclusive

  56. 56 ACViking said at 2:41 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I’ve come around to thinking the problems on offense do not center on Bradford (besides bad INTs, which every QB — including Brady and Rodgers — occasionally have).

    No QB in NFL history has missed 1.6 seasons (or more) and came back as a starter. Which makes measuring Bradford’s performance against how other, past comparators performed impossible.

    That said, it seems the Eagles’ offensive problems are more organic. And *not* Bradford-centric.

    Either it’s the playbook. The playcalls. Or the coaching.

    (It’s a given that with more talent, this offense would perform better — but I believe that is true of all teams, regardless of scheme. For example, as great as Rodgers is, he’s had a subpar season, for him, because he lost his best deep-threat and O-line trouble.)
    _____________

    Circling back to Bradford, I wonder at this point if he’d be more productive in a different scheme. Or with a different O.C.

    Maybe not. Maybe it’s just about the surrounding talent.

    No question, talent’s a salve that can make any scheme — and any QB — look better.

  57. 57 Nelson ALGore said at 3:07 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Im ok with Bradford. He’s not a guy who will make everyone better around him. However he will do his part and I believe CK can win with that if we can fix this OL mess.

    Andy always took care of both Oline and Dline. That is one huge thing I miss from the old regime

    I mean who knows how well Bradford and Mathews would play if they had more than 3 NFL caliber lineman blocking in front of them!

  58. 58 ACViking said at 3:09 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Agree completely on your take about Bradford’s propensity — at least based on what he’s shown in 4+ seasons of actual playing — to make players around him better.

  59. 59 CryEaglesCry said at 2:52 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    The results aren’t inconclusive. He sucks. He is below Josh McCown who did the same thing.

    http://espn.go.com/nfl/qbr

  60. 60 Nelson ALGore said at 3:02 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    ummm ok. Well Brandon Weeden beats every team he faces when coming off the bench. So clearly he should always play in the 4th quarter

    6 new starters on offense not counting (Gardner on IR too)… Why did anybody think we were going to be good

  61. 61 MattE said at 3:47 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Howie Roseman! You sly-dog.

  62. 62 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:28 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Insane Stat…, only Rothlisberger, Cason Palmer, and eli have more 40 plus yard passes this year than SAM Bradford…
    ..
    How can that even be when we been lamenting Lack of big play all season…
    ..
    This contradicts the Checkdown charlie shade thrown Bradfords way… He actually throws a pretty accurate deep ball”., hopefully chip looks at the rookie Corner that the skins start, and have Agholar take him deep a few times Saturday and let SAM go after the rookie

  63. 63 anon said at 2:32 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    sam has gone more downfield i think as he’s gotten more comfortable in the system

  64. 64 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:33 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Sams recent play is the best thing to come out of this season..
    .
    finally a QB, we can build continuity with

  65. 65 anon said at 2:35 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    ‘d like to see this team get revenge for last skins game. but i’m done caring about this season. need to build toward next year. CK needs to look hard at his coaching staff and maybe continue to make changes.

  66. 66 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:28 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Oh Absolutely!!!
    ..
    #1 on Chips to do list: FIRE coach Bicknell and find a better WR coach… We upgraded the secondary coach last summer and I think it paid dividends, Time to upgrade Bob Bicknell and find a WR coach we can entrust with the development of our 1st, 2nd and 3rd round young WRs..
    ..
    Good interview on the radio with MIke Quick who knows a thing or two about NFL WR’s, great to hear how highly he thinks of Agholar even tho he had a quiet rookie season

  67. 67 anon said at 3:31 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Bicknell has been a travesty.

  68. 68 Mac said at 2:36 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Which is really the majority of what this season was about to begin with. I have no problem with Chip not using the word “rebuilding” because he doesn’t want anyone himself or players included to give less than 100%. But that’s what this year was destined to be from day one. If we get into the playoffs then that’s pretty amazing.

  69. 69 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:07 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I agree… Even when we were excited about this season, I always Maintained that getting SAM to the offseasn healthy was the single most important goal for this franchise..
    ..
    Since then, SAM impressed me much more than I expected, and the most important thing we learned is that our players responded to his leadership.
    ..
    new QB
    New RB
    3 young WRs
    New Guards
    Entire New secondary..
    ..
    That’s a more serious rebuild than we acknowledged going into this season… I figured we would grow into a better team come the second half, but it turns out that we have more weaknesses than expected.. For example:

    Single most dissapointing aspect of this season, the Implosion Of our inside LB position which is mainly responsible for our top ranked run defense going down the Toilet… Never imagined we would be seeing such piss poor ILB play in December Crunch tIme….. Fortunately its a weakness where we already have In House Solutions that should be able to fix it, return of Hicks,and KIKO two years removed from his ACL tear…
    ..
    The most dissapointing player has been Mychal Kendricks, and I say this because I know how Talented he is and how much more capable he is than what he has shown… it’s been over a month since he came back from the hamstring strain, he should have shaked off the rust, stepped up and performed as one of our very best defenders, and he hasn’t even come close to that down the stretch this season….
    ..
    Kendricks better work his ass off this summer, because he needs to make this up to us Next year…. actually, he better show some damn heart Saturday night with the season on the line

  70. 70 Nelson ALGore said at 12:24 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    U forgot Shower room pep talks!!! Cant put a price on intangibles……

  71. 71 ACViking said at 2:56 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Anon:

    Hope you see this (I’ll repost if you don’t respond).

    I just saw you comment asking about the Avery/Dassey case.

    It’s a great topic — and I’m preparing a response.

  72. 72 anon said at 3:28 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Thanks. I realize the cases raise almost too many issues to cover. I’m seeing these cases through the lense of the new Netflix documentary (Which everyone should watch), which i’m hoping is a really biased view bc otherwise those cases really make you think (not highly) about the state of the justice system, especially in small towns and especially if you are poor or uneducated (or a minority though the parties in these cases are white).

    I understood from lawschool that the procedural safeguards in a criminal investigation/trial are pretty limited especially if they aren’t nipped in the bud. What i cant tell is if the prosecutor in that case is a [evil] genius the way he planned / conducted the trial [everything from tainting the jury pool, to forcing the defense into a “corruption” theory that the prosecutor probably knew the jury would never acquit on] or if the reality is that if the police wanted to get you for something bad enough, they could (even if you had competent lawyers).

  73. 73 ACViking said at 3:57 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Great take away.

    Procedural protections — despite what the Constitution says — operate on what I call the “Bill of Rights Sliding Scale.”

    The more heinous the crime, generally, the less protection criminal suspects and defendants are accorded by the police, prosecutors, and the courts (especially elected state-court judges).

    And . . . the less financial resources a suspect/defendant has, the less protection he can buy under the Constitution.

    As for the local prosecutor, my experience over the years has been that if a prosecutor and the cops wanna get someone who doesn’t have the resources to go engage in hand-to-hand legal combat, they get him.

    With any documentary, the narrative can skew — particularly when the prosecutor isn’t participating, which I think is the case here.

    On the other hand, the documentary can present the case in a way that the court system cannot (and does not). No “search for the truth” in the courts. Just a search for the story that will win.

    Absent compelling proof of actual innocence, these two defendants are history. Habeas relief is all but unavailable except in the rarest of cases now.

    Note: My first month as an federal prosecutor, I had to cover the initial appearance — charges read, bail set — in a drug case involving someone accused driving 300 lbs of marijuana from Florida to New Jersey. State Troopers stopped and arrested the defendant on the NJ Turnpike.

    When the defendant showed up in court, the left side of his face was badly swollen and black and blue. The state trooper was in court with me; when I asked him what happened to the defendant, the trooper told me he fell getting out of his truck and landed on his face.

    Very sobering moment. I was fortunate to do almost entirely white-collar cases during my time with US-DOJ.

  74. 74 anon said at 4:08 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    The sliding scale is a good way to look at it — and it seems that’s the way the cases do turn out, sometimes creating bad law (the interplay between politics and the judicial system is another mixed bag).

    Did you ever draw any ideological conclusions from your experience with the criminal justice system – or do you think most “insiders” take a “realpolitik” view of the system.

    I’m guessing in your experience the system works a lot “better”, from an ideological standpoint, when dealing with white collar defenders?

  75. 75 ACViking said at 5:05 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    A:

    My view of the criminal justice system at the trail level is, generally, despite all its shortcomings, the right results are reached. Juries are the great leveler — and 12 people (in most jurisdictions) working together bring a remarkable amount of wisdom and commonsense to the process of discerning guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

    At the appellate level, however, I think the process is much more idealogical. And, for white-collar cases, works better generally . . . because the emotion is usually missing.

    (The Bernie Madoff-type scam is the exception which proves that general rule.)

  76. 76 Bert's Bells said at 5:02 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Thanks for the answer. I thought the defense in this case was tremendous. The guys were smart, engaged, had all the right answers, raised good objections (it drives me crazy when TV lawyers don’t object or throw out judico-babble in the courtroom).

    As for the integrity of the documentary, I do a good deal of work in that field. No way they would paint such an enormously skewed vision of the process and retain any standing. Some POV, sure, like in Herzog’s death row docs. But I highly doubt they’re coloring the system so badly if it isn’t pretty close in reality.

  77. 77 ACViking said at 5:06 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    BB:

    When I used the word “skew,” I tried to frame the sentence to mean that — with a lack of complete information — a documentary can reach or, better, point to a conclusion that tips in one direction.

    I didn’t mean to suggest the docu-makers had an agenda, though.

  78. 78 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:11 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Full disclosure.. Not all of the plays counted in this stat were SAM throwing 40 yards down field..
    ..
    One was a wheel route to Murray that went for over 40 yards
    ,
    One was the slant to Huff, when two defenders ran into each other and Huff took it to the house
    ..
    Think there was a short pass or two to the TE’s that ended up big Yards after catch…

    But even if SAM doesn’t deserve all the credit for it, still surprising that as a team we are top 5 in passing plays over 40 yards, considering we really didn’t attack down field as much as we had in the past

  79. 79 anon said at 3:30 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    ahh, i believe that’s called the “Nick Foles” effect. I’d put sam’s accuracy up against anyone in the league. Problem is what you really have here is a 2nd year qb though he’s about to make starting vet money. He’s early in his career and has a long way to go. Can’t look at him as a finished product. Most guys playing at a high level right now are mid-to late 30s and career starters.

  80. 80 botto said at 3:36 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    isn’t that how passing yards are always done, the receiver gets yards too for those other guys no doubt.

  81. 81 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Yes it is

  82. 82 Mitchell said at 4:23 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I guess if you take those out the Eagles are ranked 5th in 40+ yard passes with 15 and 3rd in 20+ yard passes with 63. I think it’s’ the turnovers and being 26th in the RZ holding them back.

  83. 83 botto said at 3:19 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    that’s weird I can only remember like 2 of them

  84. 84 A_T_G said at 4:15 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Wow. That is just dumbfounding how wrong the anecdotal descriptions have been.

  85. 85 Gian GEAGLE said at 3:22 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    This team has been emotionally draining, It’s to the point, I don’t even feel like going to the game Saturday night… The ONLY 2 things that keep me invested are:
    1) Really enjoying the level of play SAM has been showing the second half of the season. He really is looking better and better each week, regardless of the game results…. This is an opportunity to see SAM in a true DO OR DIE situation, Saturday night, playpff atmosphere, I have a feeling SAM is going to look very sharp on Saturday night, even if he may not have a good enough supporting cast.
    .
    2) infuriqting to see that fat piece of crap. Chris Baker talking all this shit about how they will celebrate the division crown in Philly on Saturday night… Shame on the Eagles if they don’t have enough heart and Pride to shut his fat, disrespectful Mouth, i will be sick..
    ..
    Getting swept by JayGruden is unacceptable..
    .
    What I do look forward to is FINALLY a game where if we lose, I won’t have to hear Eagles down play a loss because they are still in the Playoff Hunt…
    ..
    All season we been claiming that the majority of our games were MUST WINS, FINAlLLY we have a Real MUST WIN game on our hands, and I want To find out who has heart, and who “sits down to Pee”,… I have a feeling Bradford will be bigtime on Saturday, not sure if he will get enough help from the other eagles to win this game..
    ..
    Against Arizona, we were beat by a better team, I can live with That… We may be a mess, but the skins ARENT so good that we can excuse losing to them ..
    ..
    Saturday night, true GUTCHECK game against a hated Rival that ended our season last year,,, 53 players better fight their asses off for 60 minutes to not allow the same division Rival to knock us out of the playoffs two years in a row,IN OUR HOUSE At that,..

  86. 86 MattE said at 4:04 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Is Jon Gruden going to commentating? That will be terrible lol.

  87. 87 TypicalDouche said at 4:42 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    He’s the worst, especially doing his brothers games but good thing he only does MNF. I cant stand hearing about “Gruden’s Grinders” and also sick of hearing “Player X is the one of the best players in the league”. How can 10 different players from one game be one of the best at their position. Sorry I just cant stand hearing him and had to vent that out lol.

  88. 88 Gian GEAGLE said at 6:06 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    The use of Jon Gruden has been unfair as far as I’m concerned.
    ..
    CBA limits the time during the offseason that coaches get to work with their players, the skins circumvented this rule, by having Cousins train with Jon Gruden during the parts of the offseason coaches aren’t allowed with their players..
    ..
    Jon Gruden helped tutor Cousins, major conflict of interest to have to listen to his commentary

  89. 89 ACViking said at 3:36 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Re: Fletcher Cox v. Washington

    So far, Cox has played 7 games against Washington — lining up for the most part against Pro Bowl OLT Trent Williams.

    In 2012, Cox had one of his best games as an Eagle against Washington, with
    7 tackles, 2 assists, and 1 sack. (In the second game, his line was 0/2/0.)

    In 2013, Cox had two very good games against Washington. In the opener, he had 3 tackles and 1 sack. In the rematch, 4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 FR.

    In 2014, Cox was relatively quiet and likely getting more attention:
    First game – 1 tackle, 1 assist. Second game – 3 tackles, 1 sack.

    Early this season, Cox again had a very good game against Trent Williams and the rest of the Washington O-line, with 4 tackles and 1 assist.
    _________

    In Washington’s last 4 games (3-1 record), they’ve given up 7 sacks and 3 turnovers.

  90. 90 MattE said at 3:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Bright-spot to the season: We wasted another year of Romo’s career. Merry Christmas everyone.

  91. 91 anon said at 3:55 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    and dez

  92. 92 botto said at 4:50 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    and sproles

  93. 93 A_T_G said at 4:21 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    We have the Washington team right where we want them. At this moment they are furiously scribbling out and rewriting a game plan for the 8th time. Between running against an untested NT and throwing against the 4th and 11th string corners, indecision has them paralyzed.

  94. 94 Mac said at 5:01 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I can see it now on game day. Kirk Cousins in the huddle and he says “you like this. OR WAIT… did we change it to: you like that. this. that. this. that.” all the other players start arguing among themselves as Cousins starts walking toward the sideline punches are thrown. A delay of game penalty ensues, two Wasteam players are ejected for fighting (with other Wasteam players), and two other players head to the locker room for concussion protocol.

  95. 95 Mitchell said at 4:27 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I posted this below but for as bad as the offense is they still are ranked 5th in 40+ yard passes with 15 and 3rd in 20+ yard passes with 63. So what is the problem? The offense is getting big plays. It has to be the turnovers (27) which puts them in like 30th for giveaways….. and RZ efficiency which they are like 26th. The turnovers have got to stop, I mean good lord, this is the second year in a row where the Eagles have been at the bottom. That in my opinion is the biggest problem and if you somehow fix the giveaways, it will cascade through the rest of the team. Bill Davis still needs to go.

  96. 96 Media Mike said at 4:47 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    4 out of the last 5 seasons have been lazily irresponsible with the football.

  97. 97 Gian GEAGLE said at 5:08 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    No coach “NEEDS to Go” more than WR coach Bob Bicknell. He has to be relieved of his position as soon as the season ends
    ..
    My main issue is with the OL and Inside Linebackers..
    .
    I think we have in house solutions to our ILB problems..
    ..
    I don’t want to see the Eagles do anything until they upgrade the Wr coach and grade the starting Offensive Line… You can’t do shit in this league if you aren’t winning the line of scrimmage… There is no point in investing in any other positions, until we get our OL where it needs to be…
    ..
    build a top notch starting OL, and they can bring back the entire team next year for all I care… But Until we get right at the Line of scrimmage,nothing else matters…on the Defense, we probably have to replace Cedrick Thornton. Since we can’t pay Ced, Cox and Bennie. One needs to be replaced with 4 or 5 years of cheap rookie contract
    ..
    Spend this offseason extending our quality playërs, upgrading our WR coach, and building an elite OL….if after that we have money and draft picks left over, then we can start addressing some other positions, but in most cases, we need depth upgrade, not neccessarily upgrading our starters.. For example, BG and Barwin will start at OLB next year, but they are playing too many snaps, and we need to have a 3rd and maybe 4th edge rusher to rotate in the game.. We have gotten lucky that Barwin and BG play every game, an injury to one of those two would be a disaster… Lol Marcus Smith Finally recorded his first NFL “half of a sack”
    ..
    I would Imagine that our 1st round pick will be spent on the OL or replacing Thornton with Buckner from oregon,
    ..
    When you aren’t good enough in the trenches, Investing a first round pick on the OL or DL becomes a NO BRAINER….. After we shore up both sides of the trenches, then we can start addressing other positipns with draft picks:
    backüp OLB
    Add a DB to our much improved secondary Depth
    Maybe add another WR to replace AUSTIN and Cooper on the bench
    If we can get out of some Of our RB contracts, WOULDNT be terrible to spend a pick on getting younger/cheaper at the RB position
    ..
    I don’t think we are as far away from the type of roster we need as it seems.
    Upgrade a few Key Starting positions, and along with our young players improving and all our new players getting more comfortable in our system, and we should be a good team next year assuming Bradford really gets comfortable as chips QB with this season, plus next offseason under his belt…
    ..
    The starting lineups are mostly in place for next year.. Maybe we need two new starting OL, and a starting replacement for Ced thornton, but after that, the rest of the upgrades we need to make are improving our depth at OLB, WR, DB,

    Id be surprised if we see more than 4 new starters on the Eagles opening day… Think we need continuity more than we need to blow up the roster agan

  98. 98 Media Mike said at 5:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Bicknell sucks at life. He should have been fired for starting a sideline fight with one of his own players.

  99. 99 Gian GEAGLE said at 6:03 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    he has to be replaced

  100. 100 ACViking said at 5:18 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Eagles are 5-1 in games in which they won the TO battle (16 to 6).

    Birds are 1-6 in games they lost the TO battle (19 to 7).

    And 0-1 in games in which the TOs were equal (2 to 2).

  101. 101 bdbd20 said at 7:32 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    This is really the main issue. Defense needs to get turnovers to succeed. If we can’t get any, it’s really over.

  102. 102 Media Mike said at 4:46 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Next
    Man
    Up

    Teams in the NFL live by this credo and the Eagles need to adopt it to win this division. Anything less than that is BS. Go beat Washington.

  103. 103 myartz04 said at 4:51 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I don’t understand why some people are saying that they don’t want or dont care if the Eagles make the playoffs. Wait, what? Are you a fan of the team or not? That’s the first goal in the offseason is to make the playoffs because when you make the playoffs it doesn’t matter how you got there or what your record is. Last I checked Philly isn’t a sports town that churns out juggernauts of professional sports teams every year, yet it’s like if they aren’t 14-2 then why even watch? Get out of here with that shit. Be happy we are even in the running. You better believe I will be cheering for them the make the playoffs. Beat Washington.

  104. 104 Media Mike said at 4:51 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I want to make the playoffs.

  105. 105 Bert's Bells said at 4:54 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Dude! Don’t you get it? Draft position, draft position, sis boom ba!

  106. 106 myartz04 said at 4:56 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    People think Madden is real life.

  107. 107 daveH said at 7:17 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    What to pick ms2 again .. or agholar .. nah..in the history of eagles the 3rd round is our savior

  108. 108 Tom from Hungary said at 5:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I agree, and this is especially true if the Eagles advance to the playoffs by winning the division. Finishing first in the NFC East is always an accomplishment in my eyes, because it means beating the Cobwoys, the Giants and the Redskins to the title. Of course, I want the Birds to go 16-0 and enter the playoffs with all guns blazing, but I will cheer on them no matter their record.

  109. 109 ACViking said at 5:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Lots of folks think football in Philadelphia started in 1999. So only a SB is good enough . . . and even then.

    But others remember being in NFL Siberia for nearly every year of two straight decades.

  110. 110 myartz04 said at 5:18 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I always say…I live near Cleveland and things could be A LOT worse. And some people don’t realize that if they had their own way and everyone got fired every year, we would become the Browns.

  111. 111 ACViking said at 5:19 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Those folks, sadly, live in the same NFL Siberia that gripped Philadelphia from 1961-1977.

  112. 112 P_P_K said at 5:39 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Those were some dark times for Eagles fans. Was also the birth of our hatred towards the Cowboys.

  113. 113 Gian GEAGLE said at 6:00 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    CONTINUTY is certainly so much more important than many fans/media seem to think…

  114. 114 myartz04 said at 6:39 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    i.e. Ron Rivera

  115. 115 Insomniac said at 6:44 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    i,e building through the draft but lets continue to skew things to make your narrative look better.

  116. 116 myartz04 said at 7:01 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    My narrative? That I want to win on sundays? That I don’t want coaching staffs fired every other year? There is definitely one thing that will never work in the NFL…and that’s running your coaches out of town every three years. If that’s what you want, and that’s your narrative, the Browns play on Sunday, 1pm.

  117. 117 Insomniac said at 7:19 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Stop exaggerating for one. Rivera, Carroll, Lewis, Tomlin, and even Gus Bradley have found their foundation for their teams in the draft. With the exception of Bradley all of those guys are going to the playoffs because they finally hit on studs. Oh did I mention they have a chance of higher than 2% at winning in the playoffs too unlike this mediocre team?

  118. 118 myartz04 said at 7:39 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    You made my point for me. Lewis and Rivera would have never lasted long enough in Philly to be where they are with fans who share your attitude. Tomlin inherited a franchise QB and has mixed results in the draft. Carroll gutted the whole team to build through the draft, although they aquired one of their cornerstone players (Lynch) via trade. Chip, less than 1 year ago, was given full control and that’s when the roster purge started. He is a first time GM and folks like you don’t think he is allowed to make any mistakes to learn from. No one wants to give him any credit for the good moves he’s made but only want to focus on the bad.

  119. 119 Insomniac said at 8:01 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I can’t tell if you’re just a media sheep or if you don’t even actually watch the games. Chip Kelly is the sole reason why this team is trending downwards to a losing record. You want to focus on his good moves? Try making it to an even scale with the bad moves first.

    Chip’s first year as GM? He has had 3 years to build the team. What you see now is what he wants. He had Tom Gamble who he had thrown out. He had Howie Roseman who he had gagged and sent into the basement. Yet people don’t blame Chip for telling Gamble or Howie to go find guys that suit his taste? Well sorry Chip Kelly, the NFL is not plug and play bullshit where just any guy can be elite because of a system.

  120. 120 Will:↑↑↓↓←→←→BA said at 8:53 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I’ve been this saying all year

  121. 121 botto said at 8:00 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    football in Philly started in 1981 when we beat the cowboys in the NFCCG!

  122. 122 Tumtum said at 9:13 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I really don’t care that the east is a shitter division. I just want to win it. Everyone I know is either a Ravens, Redskins, Cowboys, or Giants fan. We win the division, and we are uncontested the best of the group. That would make me happy.

  123. 123 Cafone said at 3:44 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    Need to hang that banner!

  124. 124 bentheimmigrant said at 4:14 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    “Better than the alternative”

  125. 125 botto said at 5:28 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    yeah boy! beat the skins, then crush the giants!
    lets do it!
    I’m with you.

  126. 126 Tumtum said at 8:26 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I’m in the same boat, but don’t fault those that are really unhappy.

  127. 127 Gian GEAGLE said at 5:55 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    im not one of the fans that want to lose because of draft position.. But this has been an extremely taxing season for me, to the point that im finding it hard to get up for these games.. I was pretty Meh about going to the Cardinals game, and I really don’t feel like going to the skins game Saturday which is crazy, I have never cared so little about what’s basically gping to be a playpff game on Saturday. I’m hoping that I feel different on game day..
    ..
    The one thing that has kept some FIGHT in my body is that we are facing Hated Rivals, and I will NEVER WANT to see us lose to the trash in our division.
    ..
    It also helped that the hated scumbag who cheap shotted FOles, Chris Baker is talking all this shit about how the skins will win the division Saturday and Celebrate in Philly… Thanks to Baker for putting some FIGHT back into me for Saturday.
    ..
    We haven’t drafted well enough to care about Draft position, although I do think Agholar, ROWE, Hicks are going to end up being a great draft class..
    ..
    A better draft pick won’t make it acceptable to let this dirty skins team to eliminate us from playpff contention two years in a row, both times in OUR HOUSE…
    .,
    I can’t stomach Losing to our division rivals, and playoff experince is good for our players, so I damn sure don’t Hope we lose in the name of picking #13th instead of picking #21… But I’m finding it difficult to get excited for Eagles games, and I NEVER thought I would feel this way especially when making the playoffs is still very much a possibility… Seeing our elite run defense completely implode because of the inside Linebackers, kills me… Especially after an offseason of everyone comparing had too many good ILBs..
    ..
    It has been a rough season, and the local media made it even worse..
    .,
    We went into this season having an Embarressment of riches at ILB and RB, and now it’s crunch time in the season and the ILB position alone has ruined our top notch run defense, and our Run Game has been pretty Pathetic when you take into account we have more money invested in the RB position than any other team..
    ..
    You won’t have much success in this league if you
    1) Can’t stop the Run
    2) have ball security issues
    3) struggle to consistently run the ball
    4) Have our often injured 13million dollar QB taking Monster Hits all year
    ..
    i do have to thank redskin scumbag Chris Baker for talkimg shit about celebrating in Philly after they beat us on Saturday, because it helped put some fire back in my belly..
    ..
    as tôugh as this year was, I am thankful for a few things:
    .
    1) SAM Bradford knees have held up and he is starting to show that he is even better than I expected in some key areas, and we are extremely fortunate to have gotten our hands on a serious QB talent that I trust to lead us to success as long as we have a good enough team around him
    .
    2) Thankful that our just turned 25yr old Fletcher Cox, has officially grown into one of the most disruptive Defensive players in the NFL
    .
    3) thankful that we rebuilt our entire secondary, and Its looking very promising For the future

    The Key areas we need to be great at in order to have an elite team are:
    1) QB
    2) OL
    3) DL
    4) Secondary
    .,
    I’m full steam ahead with Bradford
    ..
    We have 3 of 5 OL starters in place, and some decent backups in Barbre and Gardmer

    We only need to replace 1 starting DL(Thornton)

    I think we have our starting secondary in place, and I expect ROWE, Maxwell and Thurmond to all be better next year, and our secondary further gelling into a cohesive unit. Add anothet Talented DB in the draft to add to our depth, as well as getting backups, Nolan Carroll and JaCorey Sheppard Back healthy
    In

  128. 128 Iskar36 said at 10:13 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    My view is this. I don’t believe in this team. To me, this ranks among the least enjoyable seasons I have watched the Eagles. With that said, I would love them to have success obviously. Now the question is, what defines success. One argument is Superbowl or bust. I agree with you that clearly that isn’t a reasonable measure of success. At the same time, I think playoffs or no playoffs is not a measure of success either, particularly for a 3rd year coach (I don’t buy the ‘this is Chip’s first year with his system’ logic as a way of calling Chip a “rookie” coach).

    With all that, making the playoffs wouldn’t be something that upsets me by itself. What would upset me is how that changes the offseason. Yes, making the playoffs means we drop several spots in the draft. Personally, I think that is meaningful, however that isn’t the only thing that changes. I simply do not trust Chip Kelly and the FO to treat the offseason the same if the team went 8-8 and make the playoffs due to a weak division vs. going 8-8 and missing the playoff because the Giants for example won a few of those 4th quarter loses. The reality is in both situations, nothing changed in regards to how the Eagles performed, but I personally think Chip would change his approach to improving the team based on whether or not we make the playoffs. So that is why to me backing into the playoffs is something I can’t get excited about. I know many disagree but Chip Kelly the GM really discouraged me this offseason and I simply do not trust him.

  129. 129 myartz04 said at 10:46 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Fair point. I guess I don’t care how they get into the playoffs. I want a shot at a superbowl and crazy things happen. Very unlikely, but a hypothetical question. If somehow they catch fire, finish 8-8 and let’s say they lose the superbowl. Would you be glad they did or would you be mad that the offseason might be a little different? Me…I would be very happy. These men, coaches, players and stadium staff members put in a lot of hard work and I will root for their success no matter what has happened and no matter how it might change the offseason. Remember, you never want to ‘win the offseason.’ Also, a lot of effort is made in personal moves for the competition in your division so regardless of its 8-8 or 12-4 I will take an NFL East title any which way we can get it.

  130. 130 Iskar36 said at 11:08 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    To me, if they win a single playoff game, that changes things a ton. To me, that is success. I just have no faith that is a realistic possibility let alone getting to the Superbowl. If we win just a single playoff game, I would be very happy.

    As for “winning the offseason,” of course that is not the goal. However, with all due respect you are misusing the cliche here. You don’t want to “win the offseason” but having a successful offseason (as measured by how those moves succeeded in the season rather than how they looked in the offseason) is critical to winning the regular season. So that doesn’t mean playoffs or not I want them going for all the top tier FAs. Instead, I want them to critically assess what mistakes they made with the current roster. Making the playoffs allows you put a positive spin on the current roster, and while a good GM can see beyond that, as I said, I am not convinced Chip is a good GM (and the fact that he made many of the significant moves will add to the incentive of being satisfied).

  131. 131 ACViking said at 11:11 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Your last two comments have been outstanding

  132. 132 Iskar36 said at 11:17 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Thanks. I hate having negative views on the current state of the Eagles, and being pessimistic, but to me, I want a successful team using a definition that is not dependent on the rest of the NFC East. I will be cheering each game for the Eagles to win the remainder of the season. I would love them to pull off a surprise run in the playoffs. But when I assess the team trying to be realistic rather than a fan, I simply can’t get excited about the current direction of the team.

  133. 133 Neil said at 10:59 PM on December 24th, 2015:

    I thought about it and that last sentence isn’t really addressing anything in your post. I really can’t say that statement would apply to you. Sorry about that.

  134. 134 Neil said at 7:48 PM on December 24th, 2015:

    Just one playoff game, huh? I’ll raise you the one field goal at the end of the Atlanta game and the missed interception at the end of the Washington game. Two plays go different ways, and the Eagles look mediocre but are comfortably winning a bad division with two games left.

    But even if that did happen, this Eagles team would be the exact same mess it is now.

  135. 135 Neil said at 7:44 PM on December 24th, 2015:

    If Chip really can be fooled about this team simply based on whether or not we make the playoffs at 8-8 or not, that means he’s a complete moron and should be fired immediately. We should expect to have absolutely no hope that this team is going to go anywhere ever with such a fool running the show, and it must be a miracle he’s had any success at all in the NFL so far.

    At least, wouldn’t you say? I mean, if you can see that this team has been awful (as all of us, including me, have done), could Chip really be so daft? A man who has had moderate success at the NFL level, who I would presume has 1000x as much knowledge of football as us?

    Personally, I think what the fanbase goes through after each horrible play the coaching staff goes through times two, since it’s their careers, 16+ hour working days, etc., on display. Nobody is forgetting this debacle.

  136. 136 A_T_G said at 11:35 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Personally, I am not as introspective as Iskar. The off season is so, so long. If we can delay the start by a few weeks, I am in favor of it.

    But you are right, in a city that might not see a single playoofs appearance, it is odd to see people Turing up their noses because the home playoff game wasn’t earning in a convincing fashion.

  137. 137 Iskar36 said at 11:48 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I don’t have an issue with anyone that shares this view. To me though, the offseason is going to suck no matter what for 31 of the 32 teams. My goal is what gives you the best chance at being that 32nd team. Some years, getting the playoff experience is extremely valuable. Some years, making progress during the season and inot the playoffs is the goal. Right now, I think we need more talent and need to be critical about what we are doing as a team from the players and coaches standpoint, hence the playoffs (barring an unforseen run) doesn’t do much for me. One week extra football is nice, but will that mean one less week next season?

  138. 138 A_T_G said at 8:45 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    I have yet to see any correlation between missing the playoffs one year increasing your probability of making it the next. Until I do, I will hope to emulate the 7-9 playoff -bound Seahawks rather than the 7-9 couch-bound 49ers.

  139. 139 ACViking said at 5:29 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Re: 2nd Half Adjustments

    Birds started the season outscoring opponents in the 2nd Half in 4 of the first 6 games . . . going 3-3.

    Since then, opponents have outscored the Eagles in the 2nd Half in 6 of the last 8 . . . with the Eagles going 3-5.

  140. 140 anon said at 6:36 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    defense hasn’t really helped.

  141. 141 ACViking said at 6:48 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Anon:

    Maybe proves what Jon Runyon always says about NFL football being a product of (i) offense, (ii) defense, and (iii) STs.

  142. 142 daveH said at 7:13 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Chip disagrees.. its about chemistry.. speed of plays… mumber of plays .. and acl comebacks

  143. 143 ACViking said at 7:19 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    daveH:

    Now that is ironical.

  144. 144 P_P_K said at 10:45 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I’ve never before thought of Big Jon as being a wise man.

  145. 145 Insomniac said at 6:48 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Neither side has helped each other. This team hasn’t played a complete football game in years.

  146. 146 ACViking said at 6:49 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Opening day 2013?

    (I’m being ironical.)

  147. 147 Insomniac said at 6:53 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    2013. The year where we still had Alex Henery screwing up on ST.

  148. 148 anon said at 6:57 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    does Sturgis get cut at the end of the year? He’s hasn’t played poorly recently.

  149. 149 Insomniac said at 7:01 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    We should keep him but if there’s actually reliable kickers out there in FA then we cut him. Parkey has been inconsistent and we need all the points that we can get with this team.

  150. 150 Iskar36 said at 9:57 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Parkey was inconsistent early this season, but I think his injury had a significant role in that. Assuming he comes back healthy, I think he is likely to be the day 1 starter and considering his rookie year, I am mostly ok with that. The one thing I would love to see though would be to keep Sturgis so that there is competition and we at least get the best of those two.

  151. 151 Insomniac said at 10:11 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    He was struggling in camp. I don’t remember if he had the groin injury then but that was a bad sign already.

  152. 152 Iskar36 said at 10:19 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    During the preseason, they never admitted to Parkey being injured, so it isn’t clear, but they also didn’t let him kick in the last two preseason games, giving all those kicks to the backup punter. To me, that was an indication that something was bothering Parkey throughout the preseason. I could be wrong, but that was how I interpreted how we used him during the preseason.

  153. 153 A_T_G said at 11:26 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    There is no reason to cut him then. Kicking is so mental, I think they keep him around until Parkey proves he actually made it out the other side.

  154. 154 daveH said at 7:11 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Excellent ironics .

  155. 155 daveH said at 7:10 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Chip’s idiotic commitment to the relentless 45 second 3 and outs are killin everyone

  156. 156 botto said at 7:58 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    45 seconds would be nice.

  157. 157 Insomniac said at 8:04 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Realistically it’s about a minute and a half though. Those smoothies need an upgrade if they want to keep running that fast tempo.

  158. 158 daveH said at 11:20 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Figured i was onbthe low side 1 min 30 sec not actually all that encouraging

  159. 159 Tumtum said at 8:25 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    At least the man is committed.

  160. 160 daveH said at 11:18 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Hmmm.. not ready to cheer that

  161. 161 The original AG said at 8:20 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    https://twitter.com/sport_philly/status/679833202110935040

  162. 162 The original AG said at 9:54 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    http://i.imgur.com/U2vifEr.jpg

  163. 163 The original AG said at 10:02 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    I have a feeling they win this weekend. Everything seems to be going against them, and for some reason this is when they win.

    Plus, Cousins is kinda crappy on the road.

  164. 164 justanotherdummy said at 11:58 PM on December 23rd, 2015:

    Shawn Andrews, what a bag over the head punch in the face he was for Eagles fans. Could have been …

  165. 165 Media Mike said at 7:35 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    Andrews chose to smoke and slack his way out of the NFL. The guy was the quintessential quitter and waste of talent.

  166. 166 justanotherdummy said at 9:58 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    Clearly, but without the ten cent head we would have never been forced to endure Danny Watkins tour of triumph through philadelphia’s firehouses.

  167. 167 Eagles News: Sam Bradford needs to step up in must-win game against Redskins - said at 6:23 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    […] Bad News for Bennie – Iggles BlitzLogan has had a strange season, but he remains a key part of the defense. This summer Logan was unblockable. He made all kinds of plays and looked to be ready for a breakout season. He played very well early in the season, but somewhere in the middle (Carolina game maybe) he just hasn’t been the same. Maybe he’s been dealing with a nagging injury. Maybe he wore down. I don’t know the cause, but I do know that his play has leveled off. His last TFL was on Thanksgiving. Beau Allen is the backup NT. I don’t think he’s the kind of backup you just insert into the lineup and move on. Allen has played limited snaps this year. He’s got 17 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PD. I was hoping he would take a big step forward this year, but he’s been inconsistent in my eyes. Maybe being forced into the lineup will bring out the best in him. […]

  168. 168 Media Mike said at 8:16 AM on December 24th, 2015:

    Good news for our roster next year

    Your Picks:
    Round 1 Pick 16: Jared Goff, QB, California (A+)
    Round 3 Pick 10: Kyle Murphy, OT, Stanford (A)
    Round 3 Pick 16: Nick Martin, C, Notre Dame (A+)
    Round 4 Pick 16: Kamalei Correa, OLB, Boise State (B+)
    Round 5 Pick 16: Deiondre’ Hall, CB, Northern Iowa (A)
    Round 5 Pick 23: Ricky Seals-Jones, WR, Texas A&M (A+)
    Round 6 Pick 16: Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State (A)
    Round 7 Pick 16: Travis Feeney, OLB, Washington (A+)
    Round 7 Pick 31: Eric Mac Lain, OG, Clemson (B+)

  169. 169 FEATURED EAGLES POST: Bad News for Bennie | Eagles Nest Online | Philadelphia Eagles Blog said at 11:19 AM on January 5th, 2016:

    […] The rest of the article can be found here: Iggles Blitz […]