Game Review – PHI 29, CLE 10 – Offense
Posted: September 15th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 188 Comments »To borrow a line from Pete Townshend, sort of, the kid is alright. There was excitement in the air with Carson Wentz’s first start, but I don’t think anyone realistically expected him to throw for 278 yards and 2 TDs while leading the Eagles to a dominant win. But that’s just what happened. Maybe dominant is a bit too strong, but something very close to that.
There were a lot of unknowns heading into the game. How would Wentz play? How would Doug Pederson do in his first real game as a coach? Would the Eagles WRs make plays and, you know, catch the ball? Could the defense continue playing like they did this summer? Were the Cleveland Browns going to be as bad as they looked on paper?
All of those questions came up with favorable answers for the Eagles. It was kinda like reaching into the bottom of the fridge for your last PBR, only to find there are a few more that had gotten pushed back to the corner. Jackpot! In some ways, that’s how Sunday felt. Rookie QB looks like a stud. Rookie coach has a good game. OL blocks well. WRs make plays. Defense plays lights out. No major injuries. Quite a way to start the 2016 season.
The thing I liked best about the win is that it wasn’t fluky. Remember when Chip Kelly unleashed his offense on Monday night in 2013? The Skins didn’t know what hit them. It was awesome, but that moment couldn’t really be duplicated. The moment people saw the offense, they could start to get ideas on how to stop it. Remember 2009? Carolina turned the ball over 7 times. That made for a great day, but you couldn’t count on that happening again. Fun blowout, but not a blueprint you could follow. How about 2014? Darren Sproles ran for a 49-yard TD. He had an interstate up the middle of the field. Jeremy Maclin caught a 68-yard TD pass when the Jags forgot to cover him. Fletcher Cox ran a strip sack back for a TD. Great moments, but not stuff you can count on.
Now think about Sunday. Did anything happen in that game that the Eagles can’t replicate? There were no wide open, gimme TDs. There were no huge plays. Cleveland turned the ball over once. They turned it over on downs a couple of time, but those plays didn’t play a big role in the outcome. The Eagles were more talented than the Browns and they out-executed them. And it wasn’t as if the Eagles were perfect. They can play a lot better in the future.
Sunday was a great start to the season, but it wasn’t a fluke. That was just some good football.
OFFENSE
I enjoyed watching the Eagles on offense. Pederson took ideas from Andy Reid and Chip Kelly and built a hybrid attack. That’s smart. Both men are gifted offensive minds. Stubborn and somewhat flawed, but very gifted. Pederson is just getting started, but I liked what I saw.
He knows the Eagles don’t have dynamic playmakers. They have to be creative to maximize the talented personnel on the roster. Pederson used players creatively. He was down Trey Burton at TE so put OL Matt Tobin into 3-TE packages. They worked really well. DT Beau Allen became the FB on some goal line plays. Pederson had 4 different RBs get carries.
The Eagles used lots of different formations. They spread the field and ran up the middle. They used bunch sets and threw passes. There were empty sets. There were unbalanced lines. Unlike Kelly who focused on simplicity and speed, Pederson focused on maximizing each play. That meant changing personnel on a regular basis and then using motion or pre-snap adjustments to confuse the defense.
I think Pederson held plenty back. Wentz never kept the ball on a zone-read play. The Eagles never ran the jet sweep to Josh Huff. Screen passes were fairly simple. Pederson wanted to win this game, but he comes from the Andy Reid school. You save your best stuff for division games and key rivals.
The Eagles ended up running 71 plays and keeping the ball for 39:20. I still completely agree with Chip that TOP is very overrated, but the Eagles kept Cleveland’s offense off the field so controlling the game was a big part of the win.
The Eagles threw 37 passes. Wentz got sacked twice and scrambled twice. That is 41 called passes. There were 32 called runs. That’s not 50-50, but it was a fairly balanced attack.
I didn’t really have a beef with any of the plays. I know some wanted DGB in the game on 3rd/GL when the Eagles threw the fade to Jordan Matthews. That ball was off target, but DGB might have had a chance due to his size. Pederson said after the game that was just a bad throw. Still, it would have made sense to throw that ball to the biggest WR.
- 403 yards
- 5-15 on 3rd downs
- 2-4 in the Red Zone
- Too many offensive penalties
QB
Carson Wentz was simply terrific. 22-37-278 with 2 TDs and no INTs. He did not play like a rookie. The Eagles didn’t have to waste a timeout until late in the game. For the most part, Wentz ran the offense like a veteran. Pederson put together a gameplan where Wentz would go to the line, use his hard count, see what the defense showed and then adjust the play as needed. As a rookie. All game long. That’s insane…but it worked very well. Wentz did a lot of that in college so he was very comfortable making pre-snap reads and adjustments.
Wentz made some absolutely terrific throws. He hit Matthews for a 19-yd TD down the left sideline. Perfect throw. He hit Agholor down the right sideline for a 35-yd TD. Incredible throw. One of the best throws of the night was a short pass over the middle to Zach Ertz on 4th/4. Wentz let go of the ball just as a blitzer was about to hit him. The pass was right there for Ertz to catch and move the chains. Wentz threw a couple of beautiful throws to Matthews over the middle of the field.
This is what @gregcosell would call a 'DNA throw'. You either have this, or you don't. Wow. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/i0syncgsbn
— Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) September 12, 2016
Wow, indeed.
One of my favorite plays came early in the game. Ertz lined up outside and to the right. He was covered tightly by a DB, but Wentz threw the ball to that side. Wentz put the ball where only Ertz could get to it. Sure enough, Ertz made an incredible catch. That was a 15-yd play that moved the chains. I love the fact that Ertz wasn’t open, but Wentz gave him a chance to make a play. So many young QBs need to see a receiver wide open. It just doesn’t work like that.
How did Wentz handle pressure?
Wentz was blitzed 12x vs CLE. Sacked 1x. He completed 11 passes. 11-11 for 123 yards.
My All-22 piece on his debut:https://t.co/UByX1BRj2c
— Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) September 13, 2016
Again, wow. That’s crazy.
The rookie was smart. He was accurate. He made good decisions. He spread the ball around. He put good touch on his passes. So many good things to say you could just go on and on. Really great debut.
There are some things he needs to work on. I want to save them and make that a separate piece.
RB
Ryan Mathews ran 22 times for 77 yards and a score. I was frustrated when I watched the tape. There were some plays where it didn’t seem like Mathews was seeing the field well or just wasn’t sure where to go. Pederson mentioned in a PC that the Eagles should have had a TD with one of the goal line runs in the 1st half. The blocking was there, but Mathews went inside instead of wide.
I did like the fact that Mathews ran hard and wasn’t going down on first contact. He knows he needs to stay healthy this year, but isn’t running “safe”. He’s using his size and power to get more yards. Mathews did come close to breaking a run for a good gain in the 2nd half, but never quite got there. Long run ended up being just 7 yards.
Kenjon Barner got 4 carries and went for 42 yards. He did see the field well and used a really good bust on a couple of runs. His long carry went for 19 yards. Darren Sproles ran 5 times, but only got 12 yards. He dropped a couple of short passes as well. I’m not sure if he was rusty or what. He did look as quick/fast/elusive as he usually does. Rookie Wendell Smallwood had one carry for one yard. He also played on STs.
WR
I wondered how Jordan Matthews would do outside of Chip’s offense. Did that maximize his potential? Uh, no. Matthews was 7-114-1 in the opener. The TD was a simple play. He lined up in the slot and ran a vertical route, but bent it toward the sideline to create a good angle for the pass. Wentz put the ball on the money and JM had his TD. He caught passes in a variety of places and ways. Matthews lined up outside and in the slot. He ran dig routes and corner routes. He ran short stuff and even had a deep ball thrown his way. There were 2 drops. Those need to go away. Matthews and Wentz had pretty good chemistry, but they still need to work on their timing on some plays.
Nelson Agholor was 4-57-1, with the highlight being the TD. He had a good release to get by Joe Haden and then ran down the sideline, with a step advantage. Wentz had the ball come right down to him and Agholor made a smooth catch. No hesitation, confusion or bobble. Looked good. Craziest catch came on WR screen that bounced off Huff’s hands and went to Agholor.
DGB was 2-14. Neither catch was anything special, but he was tough to tackle. Josh Huff had 3 passes thrown his way. He didn’t catch any, but did draw a holding call on one crossing route.
TE
Good games for both Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. Celek caught one pass for 11 yards on the opening drive. He was hard to bring down, as usual. He had one bonehead play where he was called for OPI. Celek was supposed to occupy a defender. Instead, he just ran into the guy and drove him backward. Looked obvious. Celek blocked well in the run game.
Ertz was a busier man, playing 60 snaps to Celek’s 38. Ertz was 6-58 as a receiver. He had a chance to add a 20-yd grab onto that, but the ball was deflected at the LOS. The highlight catch is one I already covered. Ertz had a DB all over him, but made a one-handed grab and then held on as he went to the ground. I also thought his 5-yd catch on 4th/4 was impressive. Short and simple, but Ertz had a defender about to hit him and that was a crucial play. Clutch catch. Ertz blocked well. He’s taken a big step forward in that area. Watch him on rookie DE Carl Nassib below.
This is a monster combo between RG & RT. Put the 3-tech in the lap of the LB. pic.twitter.com/vUCDLAlL96
— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) September 14, 2016
OL
Jason Peters didn’t stand out to me when I watched the game live. He was much better on tape. He can still be a devastating run blocker due to his size and power. And he’s mean. There were some plays where he just caved in DL. Peters and Barbre had some really impressive double team blocks. Peters was good in pass pro. He has always cheated by trying to get off the snap a millisecond early, but it seemed more pronounced in this game. Opposing coaches should be warning the refs before the game.
LG Allen Barbre impressed the heck out of me. I’ve been trying to get the Eagles to cut him for months now. I’m glad they didn’t listen. I thought he might have played the best game of any of the OL. Barbre is a good run blocker. He got off the ball and pounded on DL and LBs. Barbre put defenders on the ground on multiple plays. You know Pederson likes blockers with a nasty streak…that’s Barbre.
C Jason Kelce was very up and down. He struggled with NT Danny Shelton, who does go 340 or so. Shelton drove Kelce backward multiple times and it disrupted several run plays. RBs were usually able to get around it, but the penetration threw off the timing and angles of the runs. Kelce had some outstanding blitz pickups. Wentz hit Matthews for a gain of 28 to set up a FG. That play doesn’t happen if Kelce doesn’t pick off a blitzer at the last minute. He also had a couple of really impressive reach blocks in the run game. Kelce had a bad snap that Wentz managed to turn into a simple incompletion. Kelce has to be more consistent in the future. I do think dealing with a massive NT hurt him.
I was not overly impressed with Brandon Brooks either. He was sloppy in pass protection a couple of times. One led to a sack and the other to pressure. Brooks was in position to make those blocks, but didn’t get his hands cleanly on the rushers. Brooks did a solid job in the run game, but there weren’t any huge blocks. I was hoping the big fella would unload on a couple of Browns. Never saw that.
Lane Johnson got the start at RT. He was outstanding at times. He can get some really good movement in the run game, as the clip above shows. Good job in pass pro as well. I look forward to seeing him and Brooks develop some chemistry. They could be overwhelming run blockers.
Matt Tobin played as the #3 TE and was outstanding. He got off the ball quickly and pounded on defenders. Trey Burton is supposed to be healthy and ready to play against the Bears, but I hope the coaches continue to mix in Tobin. He could prove to be a solid role player that gives the run game a boost.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor To borrow a line from Pete Townshend, sort of, the kid is alright. There was excitement in the air […]
Hawaiian Eagle was simply terrific. In on all 71 offensive plays, went 7 for 7 Guinness with no drops or turnovers. Showed incredible, inate ability to remain focused on the game regardless of cheerleader distractions or lame neighbors yelling over the fence about how badly the cowboys were going to win. Truly exceptional but still room for improvement.
On a side note I out up 121 points in the igglesblitz fantasy league, good enough for 2nd in the league. However, I happened to be playing the guy in first
I know your pain. Scored 127 points last week, and was leading going into monday night. I had Big Ben left to play, and my opponent had Deangelo Williams – So i was sure i had game locked up…. Nope #FantasyBadBeats.
Yeah…makes you wonder how good Leveon really is. D.Will is like 100 years old.
Yup Deangelo Williams did me in too even though I had A. Brown starting on Monday night. Made up the 8 pt deficit and then some.
In my non-Igglesblitz league, I had a big lead going into Monday. Big Ben and D. Williams chewed through the lead and the garbage TD put me behind. Luckily, Hyde quickly put me back on top.
Ha Ha…The same thing happened to me with Big Ben doing heavy damage on Sunday and good ole Carlos Hyde yanking my team from the jaws of defeat on MNF.
What a ride.
Nice i scored 172 in my league helped largely in part by the big ben to antonio brown connection ( i have both of them on my team) CJ anderson was a big contributor as well
I saw that. It is funny how often that seems to happen. Well, funny when it happens to someone else.
On the other hand, your team looks solid going forward.
Our previously marginal OL players seem to be massively improve., New blocking scheme + defenders not actually knowing which play is coming must be helping!
Also, time in the huddle to catch their breath, the QB able to check plays at the line, many factors have helped them.
Having a rookie QB who played like a seasoned vet didn’t hurt us either.
Wentz impressed me beyond words.
He’s got it and we are all witnesses.
Is Pederson using Kelce to pull? If that’s not part of this offense then I don’t see the advantage of having an undersized mobile center. We should get a 330 pounder in here.
Chip Wagon had two plays documented where Kelce pulled. He missed his block both times.
I don’t think there’s a Center in the league that’s 330.
Jamaal Jackson was 330!
The Eagles also gave a fullback an $11 million contract.
Here’s some of the best centers in the league:
Travis Frederick: 6’3 315
Weston Richburg: 6’4 300
Mike Pouncey: 6’5 305
Ryan Kalil: 6’2 300
Matt Paradis: 6’3 300
Mitch Morse: 6’5 305
Alex Mack: 6’4 310
Rodney Hudson 6’2 300
Jason Kelce 6’3 305
How about borrowing from Loverboy? “The Kiid is Hot Tonight”. Check it out on YouTube.
Loverboy? Need something a bit more recent especially with a song that is older than Wentz.
How about “Turn Wentz Loose!”
Or is that “The Outfield”? Either way, effin’ Canadians.
If were going old school, then I would equate Wentzs’ play to Ride the Lightning by Metallica.
Loved the breakdown, Tommy. This was a solid win and a great way to start the Wentz era/season.
Why do people think Jordan Matthews will fix his drops? It was a weakness in college, it’s a weakness now, he is what he is.
He is not a natural catcher that is for sure, and he never will be. However there are a lot of receivers who develop and improve over time and become really reliable receivers – TO caught balls like they were wet bars of soap early in his career but later on he became a very reliable wide receiver.
Generally i think Jordan struggles when he is anticipating contact or is starting to look towards getting YAK. Think he needs to learn that you focus 100% on catching and securing the ball, and then focus on getting the YAK after. It may cost you 3-4 big YAK plays over the year but it will be worth it for the 7-8 less drops.
I think all of our receivers will greatly benefit from having Carson as their QB. Bradford, like many other QBs, typically only threw to a receiver if he was open. Wentz tends to throw the receiver open. This, IMO, makes the receiver concentrate on the ball more than when he just has to make the catch in the open field.
He certainly works at it hard enough.
His drop % isn’t that bad according to this and it improved from 5.8 to 3.9% last year. Julio Jones was 3%. Jeffery was 4.3%, Thomas was 5.1%.. Marshall 5.8%. DGB 6%. Amari Cooper 7.7%. Edelman 9.1%.. OBJ 3.2%. Maclin 1.6%
Sproles dropped 19 passes in 2 years prior to joining Eagles and dropped no passes for us in 2013 so improvement is possible but you’re possibly talking small increments when Matthews had 5 drops last year.
I’m not saying he’s great or anything.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/drops/2015/
I think it will probably always be an issue. But Jordan Matthews is starting to seem like a “Mr. Intangibles” kind of guy, a leader and tireless worker that can set the tone for the receiving core, if not the entire offense and team. He’s never going to be Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant , or Odell Beckham Jr. He’s just not that kind of athlete and I think we all know that. But he can be a very solid offensive weapon and seems like the kind of guy we are going to want around his entire career until he retires owning most Eagles receiving records.
He’s a way better athlete than Antonio Brown honestly. He just doesn’t have half the hands that AB has!
With the amount of dedication he exhibits week in and week out, in practice and even on his own time, he’s not only a good WR but a good role model for the young players on and off the field.
Every WR is going to have an occasional drop or two, but as long as he makes up for it in production, I am okay with it.
From memory, he was bad early in both his seasons and got much better as the year went on. Last year it was less noticeable because every other WR kept up dropping them.
Couple of mental notes of ‘my eye’ vs. a write up….My opinion all along was that Sproles(while very good) isn’t needed on a team that’s rebuilding. After the game, my opinion hadn’t change. Sproles can’t run the ball anymore. Numbers proved it. Having read the link to Eagle eye — man is Sproles impressive as a blocker. Never thought about him blocking before. Glad he’s here :).
Kelce though – hasn’t changed my mind even after reading. That same article shows a clear blitz by both lb’s. Kelce chose to double team one and let one run right through. Glad the play still worked.
….
Also in the write is video of Sproles n Kelce making pick ups of a blitz to give Wentz time to hit 17 for a first down. Wentz also had a wide open 86 that entered a spot where the blitz came from. That play gave Wentz 2 great options…have to give credit(as much as you can give for 1 game) to the coaches for putting Wentz in these spots…exciting times ahead…
Cleveland had a lot of rookies playing. They are a bad team right now. However, I love the stat about the blitzes. You would never expect a vet to handle blitzes that well, let alone a rookie qb. If the line can give him just a little bit of time against blitzes, Wentz knows what to do and doesn’t hesitate or get rattled. That’s the most impressive part of his play.
I had a laugh this morning digesting my plate of NFL news. Roger the dodger is quoted as having acknowledged that the kickoff may be taken out of the game…to make the game “safer.” This on the heels of that ugly display of head-hunting in Colorado. I’m thinking that the NFLPA may be more in denial than the billionaires. If the mindset of players and fans is ever going to change, I would argue that it will have to begin with over-zealous calls on the field that routinely punish any player off of the LOS, who isn’t a ball carrier, who leads with his head. Head-to-head contact will not always be avoidable, but a huge amount of HTH contact will be completely avoided if players are penalized for head-to-chest, head-to-back, head to scrum. In other words, a player who launches himself horizontally, parallel to the ground, had better make first contact with his shoulder or risk a personal foul call. This will be extraordinarily unpopular with players and fans, but it addresses the root problem that eliminating kickoffs can never approach: The helmet, designed to protect the wearer, is a veritable weapon. Its propensity to injure can only be mitigated by altering the behavior of the players on the field of play. The day that this change is made, there should be a campaign that reaches every institution, every league, every team that coaches or plays football. The change will have to be comprehensive and will take time to achieve. Old habits die very hard, but this is one that I believe could save the game, and have a real impact on the welfare of the players.
Or, take away their helmets.
In addition to the good science behind this idea, it also appeals to the neanderthal tough guys who complain about “pussification”.
or, maybe they could pad the outside of the helmet too?
I imagine there would be a lot of neck injuries from the padding wrapping around and “sticking” to the ground and other players.
Depends on what the outer soft-shell is made out of, the padding wouldn’t be as soft as we would imagine, basically the forces at play woulD compress any padding too soft way too quickly to have an effect. The design probably wouldn’t feel that much different to someone casually examining it, exterior would seem solid, but in impact it would act like the crumple section of a car in a collision.
Yeah, that might be the ultimate change to be made, but it strikes me as too abrupt to sell to the football world without first attempting to alter behavior. Leather helmets preceded the skull cradling shells, and the old footage shows how upright even running backs carried themselves. The game would slow down, but it’d still be running, blocking, tackling and strategy. I think changing the current rules to try to move the style of play in that direction would lessen the alarmist reaction we can all expect.
I honestly don’t care about the kickoffs. Having a commercial break after a touchdown only to have another commercial break after the kick off is infuriating.
yeah but the game needs onsides kicks, otherwise teams will quit in blowouts
this is complicated because so many times the O players lower themselves for contact and then you have helmet to helmet. I agree though they should penalize any player leaving their feet and leading with the helmet almost regardless. I dont get the kickoffs thing, is there proof there are more injuries on kickoffs. Peirera on Dan Patrick this morning had a neat idea. He said less injuries on punts because the team lines up at line of scrimmage and has to run backwards so institute something like that on kickoffs instead of running full speed at each other. Also, any targeting should be penalized severely with longer suspensions and kicked out of games. Also, have those reviewed to be sure during the game. May slow it down, but only 3 or 4x max during a game so not too bad.
Jason Peters: Also caught Ryan Mathews in the endzone, +1.
New injury prevention program
LOL reports are that Jeff FIsher will sign a three year extension! How? What? Who? I would be livid if I was a new LA fan
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Wow. So, are they thinking the players are going to quit on him, and this will reign them back in? I can think of no other explanation… It’s not like Fisher is a cheap coach, so it can’t be a money thing.
To his credit he has brought a lot of talent to the Rams since 2012. Look at what the Rams did from 2005-2011. I guess the ownership feels more comfortable with him.
Everyone always talks about the talent on the Rams, but I don’t see it. They have a few nice players, but they suck every year.
They do have talent, they just have awful coaching that doesn’t know what to do with their talent. I mean they’ve had enough high picks where they should have talent at some point just by sheer numbers.
It is mind blowing if true. I could accept in a way keeping him as a fall guy during the move, which is always very disruptive and difficult and then find a new QB friendly coach to develop Goff and the offence in 2017 and give the franchise a fresh start.
What is insane is keeping a coach who has never developed QB’s, has failed to deliver a winning season even with a boatload of picks from the RG3 trade and from hard knocks it is pretty obvious his team is not taking his message or responding to it.
He was always a motivator back in the day – Bill Cowher type but he just seems concerned with hanging onto his job and he seems burned out.
Not to go OT, but holy shit. Gurley had 47 yards last week – but 52 yards after contact. The Rams may not have to make a deal to get the #1 this year.
That they give to the Titans?
Now that’s a stat that competes with the scoreless quarters since 1994 stat.
Brandon Brooks was pretty disappointing in the preseason as well.
Yeah I’m a little surprised about his lack of quality play.
Did anything happen in that game that the Eagles can’t replicate?
How about Hue Jackson’s coaching? (remember when people wanted us to hire him way back when? lol) There was the fake punt, plus a couple other questionable play calls I can’t remember off-hand…
Also the bad snap from the center that led to a safety. Probably won’t happen that often this year.
EMORY AND HENRY!
Think he meant offensively for the Eagles.
In his list of fluke plays, Tommy mentioned things done by both the defense and special teams, so I’m pretty sure he wasn’t ruling them out here.
But either way, the safety obviously led to points, and the fake punt meant a shorter field for the offense. Not enough to make up for the point differential, but I do think they could be considered “fluky.”
Should we just call Wentz “Can’t Miss?”
Is anyone else reading the “other sides of the fence”? I know it’s SBNation but still….
BROWNS:
Hue Jackson can finally focus on the whole team instead of just trying to fix RG3.
The Browns were high on Goff, Kessler and RG3 AND NOT HIGH ON Wentz and Dak in the offseason.
RAMS:
Fisher was FORCED to take Goff?
Hue Jackson was OC at CAL and USC before he went into NFL.
The article I read made it sound like every Browns player to a man wishes they had drafted Wentz… their praise may have exceeded Shah8’s love of Webb.
I wonder if that’s true about Fisher, or if he’s just trying to distance himself from a mistake…
Hugh Jackson has become a real clown, talks too much and a lot of it is crazy talk.. Fake confidence.. But Jeff Fisher is worse
Cannot wait to read the next ‘know your enemy’ to focus on Chicago.
It will not only be simply feasible, but also huge to start the season with 2-0 with either the Skins or Boys falling into an early season hole just the opposite.
need to rack wins before mid-season losing streak
You never know what’s going to happen with injuries. The chances the Eagles come up with a single win in that Seahawks/Packers/Bengals stretch look slim now, but a few weeks ago everyone had the Vikings penciled in as a definite loss and now that’s looking winnable.
ooh Sleeves vs Wentz. That’d be an interesting game.
at home too.
It’s not like we don’t have some injury-prone guys, too.
Really have to disagree. The Seahawks are on a downward trajectory and could barely handle the Dolphins, a garbage team. The Packers almost lost to the Jaguars. The Bengals will Bungle. You guys are putting way too much stock in the final standings from last year.
Yeah, you’re 100% right.
Except I still think the Bengals are going to be good. So maybe not 100%, but pretty close.
That Packers pass defense was awful. The Jags had guys wide open, just tons of blown coverages. Hopefully they don’t get that cleaned up until after Hurrican Wentz blows through…
seahawk were crappy to start last year but got a lot better as the year went on.
Could be true, but you can also be putting to much stock into week 1.
Who are we rooting for in that game? I live in Dallas so I’m really wanting them fall to 0-2 so I can witness the panic set in locally! lol
As I said in a previous post earlier, I think I am afraid that I will have to ‘root’ for the Cowboys since I personally believe that the Redskins are the bigger threat to win the NFCE.
Agree to disagree! I do think they are the bigger threat, but nothing makes me happier than an Eagle win followed by a Dallas loss.
If all hope has not been abandoned and Dak earmarked for the failed QB pile by the time Romo returns, it will be a sad day in Eagles land.
Not worried about the threat, we need to win heads up with them if we don’t then they deserve the conference anyway
How fitting. A character called “Rambo” resides in Dallas. I can definitely appreciate your uber anti-Cowboy position. Washington is favored by 3.5, but after last week I am skeptical about that. NY was sacrificing pass rush for containment on Prescott, and even though Jerry Reese spent a trillion on that DL, Cowboys almost won the damn game! If Washington does not over-commit to stopping the run, they could easily lose their 2nd straight home game. I don’t really mind who wins, but I hope it is grueling for both sides. Dallas would be 1-1 and hosting Bears next week. “Skins would be 1-1 and visiting NY next week. If we take care of the Bears this week, they’d go to Texas 0-2 which would be awesome. If the Saints take care of the Giants this week, the 1-1 Giants will host (and beat) the “Skins. Kirk is a known item, and Spags will limit him, I think. So, I guess I’m with you. The world is a better place when the Cowboys lose.
Yes it is my friend!
It is and always will be the Cowboys
Want Dallas to lose… After all the big losing streak they had to endure, if they get off to a bad start losing the first 3 or 4 game, it has to be really demoralizing after what their players went thru last year..
..
Think a loss for Dallas would be more destructive than a loss to the skins, because the psyche and confidence of the Cowboys has to be fragile after what they went thru last year without Romo. I rooted for the Giants To beat Dallas last week, and I’ll be rooting for the skins this week
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ease up there. We didn’t even get to the offensive game review.
We only get to do this 15 more times, lets savor each one.
I think this is the offensive game review.
Maybe you didn’t recognize it because it is not as offensive as last year.
Really like how we match up with this bears team
..
2-0 here we come
McKelvin has a hamstring strain, but Pederson said he didn’t expect to make a roster move to add a corner from the practice squad.
So either he changes his mind or Jenkins and maybe Jaylen or Terrence Brooks are backups?
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/eagles/eagles-coach-doug-pederson-hopeful-zach-ertz-leodis-mckelvin-can/article_28072c5e-1027-5b9c-8332-827314bbc147.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The impression I got was that they know Ertz won’t be available Monday night, but They aren’t sure yet about Leodis..
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For one game against the Bears, we should be ok without Leodis, as long as our DE’s take advantage of the Bears OT issues and rough up Jay Cutler all night. kyle Long is no slouch but is playing thru a bum shoûlder which can’t be much fun when having to block Bennie and Cox all game…
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The Eagles probably tinkered with different DB groupings all week since we have options:
McLeod and Jenkins are capable of being the nickel slot corner
And Nolan, Mills and I think Brooks too are all capable of playing outside or inside. Rowe could only play outside corner, and I assume that hurt him when most of our other corners brought that to versatility to the table.
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Nolan needs to be matched up with Alshon Jeffries with safety help rolling to that side, since Kevin White is still raw. Their TE Zack Miller Isnt anything that Bradham and our safeties can’t handle…
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Think Lagford and the Bears run game, vs Mathews/Barner and the Birds run game will be very important this week, and the team who runs the ball better and hits the QB the most will win this game..
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I like Jason Peters and Lane to do better against Lamar Houston and the Bears edge rushers, where as the Bears have issues at OT and should struggle against our DE rotation. Im a big Kyle Long fan, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to block Fletcher Cox with a messed up shoûlder.
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If we can protect Wentz better than they can protect Cutler, I like our Chamces to get off to a 2-0 start with the Steelers game on Deck
Athletic, 5-11 corners with a hint of fearlessness and a physical game don’t grow on trees. After watching a high pick Eagle (ER) get cut and picked up by NE, Andy Reid mimics that and cuts Keivarae Russell. Nothing to say if a guy ain’t producing, but geez, he’s shown he can play. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article101919557.html
Should know soon who claimed him. I’m assuming someone does and probably before we do.
Did he go unclaimed on waivers?
So far as I know. I get that 53 is not a holding cell for ANY non-producing player, but will anybody feign surprise if ER impresses the league in NE? I think coaches come in all stripes and some are probably dogmatic to a degree, but AR cut this kid after 5 months. Is a 3rd round pick eligible for PS? I don’t know, but he must be eligible now. Just like schools set kids up to fail, there may be a bit of that in the NFL.
What round player was selected has nothing to do with practice squad eligibility. If he clears waivers any team can sign him to roster or practice squad. Yes he is eligible since he’s a rookie and it’s only week 2.
What I really did not get was if AR could have removed someone from his PS and put Russell there in his place or did he first have to waive him. Thanks for the info and also about the Bengals.
Bengals claimed him.
I saw that. Were they before or after us?
Pedantic fix, but we traded Rowe. Not exactly getting nothing back, like DJax.
I was unaware that he was traded. Thank you, (you sniveling pedant).
Wouldn’t it make sense to put Ertz on IR? He should be able to return in a couple of months but for now he has a floating bone near his aorta.
They apparently don’t think so. They do have bye after next two games.
There was no break so the bone isn’t floating. It’s just displaced 7 mm, which is about 3/10ths of an inch.
ERtz might need a mike vick flack jacket
Is this a charade? Is NFL going to let this happen?
https://twitter.com/NateNews3LV/status/776492029555593216
I fully expect slot machines on the back of all seats in the stadium.
They should put a sports book in each end of the stadium just for the hell of it too.
Why would anyone want to spend 750m in taxes to build a stadium? You still have to pay absurd ticket prices, it’s not like you get free entry. What a giant scam.
Sad it took so long to get people to come around to that line of thinking.
For LV it’s a great tie-in for the conference crowd.
Las Vegas Raiders sound like an XFL team.
It’s Las Vegas so you can probably get a $750M stadium for like $180,000
Eff, fantasy help with starting WR’s. Lost Keenan Allen last weekend for season. Have Julio as my solid 1 but then I have Randall Cobb who is a complete unknown at this point, can he be good at all? And I have DGB and Steve Smith Sr. on the bench. I wanna just put Randall in but he was bad the first week and last year he was horrible.
anything on waiver?
Nope someone picked up Fuller off waivers in front of me and the rest of the heap looks fairly meh.
Cobb is only viable option, and not a great once since nelson is back.
He is a great one cause Nelson is back, Cobb works slot, Nelson frees the middle of the field open. Cobb had injury he played through last year and is healthy this year.
You need to go with Cobb at this point.
Yeah, kinda figured that.
I’m assuming Williams from SD isn’t available?
Its a no brainer Cobb. Cobb had a solid first week, he just didn’t score you a TD, which was plenty of WR week one. Cobb has Nelson back which opens him up. Look at the prior year when Nelson and Cobb both set career years. Plus Cobb worked through an injury. I mean, if you are in one of my leagues please drop Cobb, otherwise you’d be unbelievably foolish to drop him. Also, Smith is next in your pecking order. He had the most targets on his team, though the yards were awful. Hope he plays his way back into shape which I think he has too much pride not too. But, for FF for WR targets are everything.
I’d wager that Smith will have the better week between DGB, Smith and Cobb.
How the hell is it possible that both Jeff Fisher and the Rams GM are finalizing 3 year extensions? How is that possible? WTF has to happen for the Rams to realize that there are plenty of better coaches and GMs that could a a better job? WTF has to happen for Fisher to get fired? Shame on Rams fans if they stand for this crap
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Fosher/snead had like 9 first round picks in the past 5 or 6 years. Most were top 10 picks, only 1 of the 9 was outside of the top 15 (Ogletree)
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This hack of a “coach” has been given two Qbs drafted #1 overall
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He has been,given a LT drafted #2 overall
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He has been given one of the best young RB to enter the league in years
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He has been given a WR drafted in the top 10(Tavon)
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He has been given 3 first round DL, the great Quinn DE, the stud Donald, and Brockers
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1st round Linebacker
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What has to happen for the Rams to reach the conclusion that Fisher is not the man for the job? This man has been a coach since I was a child, and he is close to becoming the all time losingest coach, yet being the highest paid coach in the NFL ISNT enough? They are giving him a 3yr extension too? Charlatan Rex Ryan is even a better coach, I’d much rather have chip kelly than Fisher.
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I don’t care that LA hasn’t had a teams in years, if fans have any sense, they will boycott this crap and do everything possible to make it clear to the owner that extending this current regime is not OK…Eagles fans love their football, but we would never let Lurie get away with this. This is disgusting, I feel bad for the fans, and great players like Aaron Donald wasting their career playing for that joke of a franchise.
I just watched the first episode of Hard Knocks last night. Fisher is a joke. He releases someone and acts like it’s because he had a female in his room.
LOL!!!
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“9 games away from being the NFL’s all time losingest coach, Fisher suffered his most comprehensive exposure yet in week 1, where his team was utterly annihilated by a similarly hapless 49er squad. The game seems to have passed Fisher by, but owner Stan Kroenke has never been that concerned with wins and losses, Kroenke is focused on monetizing the team as much as possible and tricking out his new stadium. fisher could go 0-16 and retain the owners his owners trust. The rest of the league is just fine with the arrangement”-Roto
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How can you even try to justify a 3yr extension to the fans? What a blatant spit in the face to a new FANBASE starved for football. After they fleeced the skins and had so many high first round picks in the last 5 years, what else do you need to see to realize that this Regime needs to go
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I know money is important to playërs, but now that they know fisher and Snead are getting extended, I want NOTHING to do with ANY player that would sigń an extension to play for Fisher for 3 more years, nor do I want anything to do with a quality free agent who would take the Rams money.
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I don’t think highly of Hugh Jackson, and the Rams certainly have more talent than the Browns, but extending this regime absolutely makes the Rams even more dysfunctional than the Browns
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Dead serious, you might as well trade Goff now and try to get value for him, because you are COMPLETELY WASTING AND RUINING his career by having him spend the first 4 years which are crucial for a QBs development under clueless Jeff Fisher who hasn’t been a good coach since I was a kid.
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I wanted NO PARTS of Goff going into this draft, but you are destroying the kids career completely by having him spend his first 4 years under Jeff Fisher… You might as well trade him to the Cardinals or something because he is ONLY going to continuosly lose value from here on out if they go thru with the Fisher extension
Most of the time when teams do things that I don’t understand I remind myself that these are professionals who do this for a living, have access to information I don’t have, and are much smarter about these things than I am.
Not in this case. It’s objectively wrong to keep Fisher around.
INSANITY!!!
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I don’t know what’s crazier, his HC job security or the fact that he is the highest paid coach in the NFL?
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I seriously need the media to find out who the hell is negotiating on behalf of the Rams, that was unable to negotiate a contract that pays Fisher Less than Bill Bellichik? Either fisher has the best negotiator walking this earth working on his behalf, or someone with some mental handicap is negotiating on behalf of the Rams.
Don’t know about wrong to keep him around but it is the strangest time I can think of a head coach who has been mediocre at best for a long time getting a 3-yr extension.
I cringed seeing Fisher basically try to talk his players into believing that he still knows what he is doing. I was Embarressed for him watching it..
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notice how similar that speech was to the recent footage of Rex Ryan trying to motivate his team and convince them that the media is wrong about Rex not knowing what he is doing, and that the media is wrong about his brother only being hired to coach the defense because of Nepotism… Embarressing to see two long time coaches like fisher and Rex having to try and convince their players that they know what they are doing..I’d pay money to be able to read what was going thru the minds of the players when listening to those pathetic speeches
Chronically bad teams stay bad for a reason.
Fisher has been given two Qbs drafted #1 overall . . .
Bradford and Goff.
Was Fisher supposed to turn Bradford into Joe Montana?
Or was Bradford already a superstar whom Fisher ruined?
Or maybe it was the fact that Bradford blew out his knee 2 out of the 3 seasons Fisher had him?
Hmmm . . . let me see?
In Bradford’s only full season, Fisher took the Rams from 2-14 to 7-8-1.
As for Goff . . . so you’re saying he’s already a bust?
’cause he didn’t start opening day?
Seriously?
And Fisher’s record with Steve McNair as his QB?
As opposed to Shaun Hill, Case Keenum, and . . . “THE RAINMAKER”
Right . . . bad fact for the argument.
Montana was not the full time starter at ND; he shared it with others. And if I recall correctly, he was drafted in the third round. So with a first round pick, the Rams GM couldn’t find as good a good QB & the coach couldn’t develop him. Sounds like an indictment of both.
Ray888:
The Rams hired Fisher in 2012 — at which point, Bradford had already been with the Rams for 2 years.
And in that first year together, Fisher/Bradford improved the Rams record from 2-14 to 7-8-1.
But in 2013, after 7 games Bradford blew-out his knee.
Then in 2014 training camp, he did it again.
I don’t get the previous commenter’s point that somehow Fisher’s a bad coach because he had Sam Bradford . . . a 1st-overall pick . . . when Bradford’s missing most of 2 seasons.
The 1 time Fisher had a healthy Bradford, the Rams improved dramatically.
As for my reference to Montana — who was a full-time starter his senior year at ND . . . and led ND to the maybe the most incredible comeback victory in the Cotton Bowl against Houston — it’s not about who is coaching up whom as a rookie.
My remark was simply asking whether the commenter’s point is that Fisher’s a bad coach because he couldn’t turn Bradford into what Montana was in his prime.
That seems to be the commenter’s complaint.
I think the correct way to look Fisher is that in 20 seasons, he’s had an 8-8 record or worse in 14 of them (and this doesn’t include his first 6 games as head coach from 94).
At the end of the day, results matter. I don’t think I’ve particularly seen much out of Fisher to warrant to keep working as a head coach. He’s been at the Rams for the last 5 years and the best record he could muster was 7-9.
Though, despite all of that – Rex Ryan is a coach I don’t understand how he keeps working either. His overall record doesn’t even reach .500.
Anyways, how’ve you been? Haven’t seen you for awhile.
I don’t agree with all of GE’s arguments, but Fisher sure seems like the Teflon man. He doesn’t seem capable of doing offense. His career has been long and mediocre. Not that it’s easy to have sustained success. The odd thing is not being mediocre, it’s that he keeps getting more chances to do it.
ChoTime:
Agree that Fisher’s been a HC for a damn long time.
Maybe he’s the poster-boy for the principle that having a great QB makes all the difference.
‘Cause Fisher wasn’t half bad with TN when he had McNair.
And had 1 decent year with the Rams with a healthy, young Bradford.
Just seems there’s much, much more — things about which the public and fans have no idea — to why Rams ownership like Fisher.
The view may be very different from the inside out than the outside in.
Fischer has been a HC for 22 years and only made the play offs in 6 years.
You got me at the Townshend quote, Tommy. Tommy, Can You Hear Me? Ok, sorry. My take for Wentz would be the Pinball Wizard.
such a supple wrist
WR Treggs practiced fully, really curious to see how he does in this offense as our home run hitter.
I don’t see this blows the top off D WR some are saying watching him at Cal. He just doesn’t blow by corners that often but he’s not slow or anything.. Maybe a Maclin level threat.
I’m curious toothough even if it’s just a little faster than Agholor or Huff. Actually, if he’s fast as Huff but with better hands that could be significant. Will he be activated?
But will he be as good in traffic as huff?
Exactly Huff is 20lbs heavier.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/776518550865448960
Had to have been personnel issues – bengals love bad boys
Chiefs have Peters and Reid said there were no off the field issues.
Then why not trade him?
He was getting outplayed by a 6th round pick. AR did everybody concerned a favor by not trying to trade him. They could not come close to recouping their investment and it is a distraction for FO to try and wring compensation out of a 3rd party for somebody that is not producing.
isn’t that howie’s job description?
I’m not following. If you’re referring to Rowe, I think that was probably great effort by HR to get something for him, but Rowe was not clearly the worst CB on our roster to anybody but Jim Schwartz, and Dougie. And at least it gave Rowe a clean break before the season got under way. I expect that Dorsey put out feelers, but it cannot be a simple thing to get a player of value for one who you don’t value, but maybe he could have had a 6th round future pick. I’m guessing he checked.
Gotten away from bringing in that many bad boys though and emphasizing overall culture a lot more.
Anyone know If McNabb has commented on Wentz debut?
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Saw a crazy Stat where McNabb didn’t have a statistical game like Wentz had vs the Browns til the 27th game of McNabbs career (coincidentally I think it also came against the Browns if im not mistaken)
i can guess he said it wasn’t all that great and he needs to get better and so on…
And that he was more impressed by Dak Prescott of course,,
You’re comparing two different eras. In 1998 there was only 1 4000+ passer. In 2015 there was 12 and it could have been 18 had it not been for injuries.
Yea, you cant really compare pre 2011 stats with anything after because passing has sky rocketed since.
Only thing we won’t be able to replicate again this season is playing a team with as crappy a roster as the Cleveland Browns. Ooof that team is a hole.
Don’t miss the brutally honest Joel Embiid documentary:
https://twitter.com/ringer/status/776072061697593344
Wow that was unnecessary
Yes but there is some truth to it. The hype over Embiid has gotten a little ridiculous again for a guy who hasn’t played a single NBA regular season minute and is trying to overcome something (2 significant foot injuries) no other NBA has ever done.
So we get crap for tanking and then crap for being excited.
The training sessions is Embiid’s trainer putting them up and Sixers fans love em. The reason theringer made it is because Bill Simmons is salty (his own son has become a sixers fan, while he is a Celtics fan).
I found the video funny.
I found it funny
Strikes me as more due to the fact that the Ringer’s website traffic is way down since it debuted in June (20-25% from various sites) and they are trying to be more provocative to generate more social media buzz.
It was kinda like reaching into the bottom of the fridge for your last PBR, only to find there are a few more that had gotten pushed back to the corner. Jackpot!
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It was kinda like reaching into the bottom of the fridge for your last PBR, only to find there are a few more that had gotten pushed back to the corner. Jackpot!
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It was kinda like reaching into the bottom of the fridge for your last PBR, only to find there are a few more that had gotten pushed back to the corner. Jackpot!
My reaction if the only thing left is a can of PBR, is more like ‘god damn it I guess this is the only beer I have left from that summer cookout 2 months ago from my cheap ass neighbor who was supposed to bring drinks. instead he brought a sleeve of pbr cans and bottom shelf tequila with store-bought margarita mix when I got grass-feed filets’
Love your insight dude. Have a great weekend. Go Birds
Always great to hear from 2006.
JP may be losing it, but Im really happy to have him. Really hope Lane can be 1/2 of JP.
Darrelle Revis is having a rough 2 weeks. No shame in getting beat by A.J. Greene, but Marquise Goodwin? Jets pay him big buds to play on an island, and he’s costing them.
There was some inklings he lost a step last year a bit but teams weren’t willing to challenge him as much as they should have.
Doesn’t look like the case this year. Wonder if teams saw something in game film from last year and training camp.
CB is brutal especially with today’s rules. Always marveled at how Darrell Green was able to play at such a high level at CB well into his mid/late 30s (starter until 39 at CB and played in the NFL at CB until 42).
Yeah that was remarkable. Most of his career Greene was faster than most WR’s. Receivers are a different breed now.
Didn’t they move him to S later?
Interesting if you look at his comps on Pro Football Reference. Haynes, Boyd, Bird, and Cherry were all good/very good in their prime in the 20s but they all hit walls around 30 and were almost immediately out of the league shortly afterwards.
Paying a visit to Nnamdi Island.
He lost a step years ago. No clue why people think he’s still a dominant CB.
time to be a safety.
If they are paying him big buds it won’t be long till he gets suspended.
You know, my damn phone is too smart for my good. It will change what I type into something it recognizes. Occasionally I miss what it changes. It doesn’t help that I have 9 thumbs.
Not watching the game but looking at the statline I’d say that Buffalo’s D is not getting any love from the Ryan double dose.
Stat of the day: The Jets have in one half almost as many yards as the Rams and Niners passed for combined.
It makes me feel a little ill seeing Mccoy still running so well and knowing Kiko’s already shipped off to Siberia. At least it helped us go up and get Wentz.
117 yards on 31 carries in 2 games …3.8 ypc . Receiving 8-43 yds
7.675 million cap number
This kneeling thing seems to have caught on — people must be actually unhappy with the treatment of minorities in this country. Who would have thought.