Monday Morning Notebook
Posted: October 2nd, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 222 Comments »
The Eagles did something pretty special on Sunday. I’m not talking about winning on the west coast or rushing for more than 200 yards. I’m referring to them running a screen pass that actually worked.
There was a time when the Eagles were the best screen team in the NFL. This year the screen game has been a mess. It was very encouraging to see Carson Wentz fake one way and then dump the ball to Wendell Smallwood, who got behind a convoy and went up the field for 24 yards. Good design, good execution. Big gain.
Screen passes are simple in theory. You let the defense get into the backfield and then you throw around/over them and get the runner/receiver into space. OL release and go downfield to block. If the runner/receiver can read blocks and make some moves, you can get a big gain on somewhat of a safe play.
The problem is that screen passes must be executed by a whole group of people. Timing is crucial. If rushers get upfield too quickly, the QB doesn’t have time to get the throw off. The back must release and get to the right spot. The QB needs a good throwing angle. A lot can go wrong and all of this has to happen in less than two seconds.
The Eagles executed well on Sunday and that offers hope for the future. Smallwood is a player you want to get the ball to in space. He’s perfect for screen passes. Let’s hope the Eagles can execute those well in the coming weeks.
*****
Beau Allen is no Fletcher Cox, but Allen had a sack and TFL against the Chargers. He showed some quickness and always plays hard. Cox impacts plays just by being on the field. Allen won’t ever get to that level, but he can be a solid player if he can make plays like he did on Sunday.
*****
Nelson Agholor is on pace for 48-692-8. That would be a good season for him. He’s probably never going to catch 70 passes for 1,000 yards, but if he can become a playmaker from the slot, like he’s done this year, that makes him a valuable weapon in the passing game. Right now he’s 12-173-2.
For the 2016 season, he was 36-365-2. He’s already matched the TD total and is almost halfway there on receiving yards.
Beyond the numbers, Agholor is making plays consistently. He’s not perfect by any stretch, but you don’t have the regular drops and mental errors that he made regularly last year.
*****
Lots of praise for Jake Elliott, and rightfully so. He was 4 for 4 a week after hitting a 61-yard FG to be the Giants. This guy is becoming a weapon. Any time the Eagles get inside the opponents 40, I feel like the team is in field goal range.
Elliott is also a weapon on kickoffs. He had 7 of them against the Chargers and all of those were touchbacks. That saves wear and tear on the coverage units and it eliminates the possibility of a long return. He’s kinda decent.
More than a few people have brought up the question of what happens when Caleb Sturgis is healthy. We’ll have to wait and see. If Elliott is still killing it at that point, he might just keep the job. If he’s more up and down, Sturgis might get the nod.
The Eagles liked Cody Parkey, but then Caleb Sturgis beat him out. They loved Sturgis, but he got hurt and now Elliott is the guy. The Eagles are going to be loyal to whoever does the best job.
*****
This was cool.
Only team in the NFL with 9 home games this season!!! Thank you @Eagles fans!! #FlyEaglesFly
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) October 2, 2017
*****
What an amazing run. Having a RB who can physically destroy tacklers adds to the fun of big plays. Speed is great. Elusive is too. But physicality and power is primal and makes those runs even more satisfying.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/914619947707330560
Feels like plays like that give an emotional lift to the whole team.
*****
We knew Torrey Smith didn’t have great hands. The stats showed that. His game tape showed that. But some of his drops this year have been brutal. He had a TD in the KC game, but dropped it. He had a big gain on Sunday and possible TD, but dropped it. Wentz continues to throw him the ball, which he should. Smith can be a playmaker so he’s worth some risk.
Smith needs to get better if he wants to stick around for more than just this year.
*****
The Eagles were 9 of 16 on 3rd downs and 1 for 1 on 4th downs. That’s how keep the chains moving and dominate time of possession. While that stat is still overrated by many, there are times when it does have meaning.
At the start of the final drive, the Eagles had already run 61 plays, compared to the Chargers 53. The Eagles had run the ball a lot and you have to wonder if being on the field that much on a hot, sunny afternoon and having to tackle Eagles RBs so much wore down their defense.
The Eagles ate up the final 6:44 and it didn’t require any magic. There were no sensational moves. Just good blocking and physical running.
_
Didnt see the game, but heard they rotated LG again and that Wis was the far surperior player again.
I hope they from next week just play him.
In regards to Blount, he seems like one of those guys you wonder how he would have played had he not wasted the start of his career
They whole LG situation is stupid.
They pulled the trigger on benching Sem after 1 bad game. Which was too quick.
Then they institute this dumbass rotation, which is stupid on so many levels. Then Wiz clearly outplays Warmack last week and they still keep it up. And it seems like they are going to continue. If you’re going to force the rotation it should at least be to get Sem reps.
Its a really weird situation when one player is clearly better than the other. And what does it do to the locker room, when everyone can see that coach is taking the better player off the field, which makes life harder on everybody else? I don’t like this one bit.
“Its a really weird situation when one player is clearly better than the other.”
The roster is supposed to be a meritocracy. When we can all see a guy lacks merit, you’re correct that the locker room saw it sooner than we did.
..and how does that not create some displeasement with the coaching staff. Imagine you are the RB who suddenly have no holes, or the QB who is now getting pummeled because the coaches are keeping the best of the available players on the bench. Or the gassed DL-men who has to get back on the field after a quick 3’n out because the guard blew his assignment again. coaches preach effort and accountability as foundaional traits fo a winning culture. These guys are supposed to go out there and give everything, take all the hits and risk serious injury on every play because winning is what matters at all costs and above all else, and every single play is vital, right? But if the coaching staff is then dicking around and not putting the best players on the field for whatever weird reasons, (contract speculation, planning for the future, coach simply having favourites, etc.), then that should demoralize everybody else. Who wants to give a 100 percent – in practice or in game – when the coaches are not fielding the best players? I really think this is detrimental to the kind of culture that a winning team needs. Something to monitor.
Teams are developing players all the time, esp early in the season. They’ve run for 200 the last 2 games. If it starts to hurt the team, you’ll see a change.
No why don’t you understand that if we had just stuck with one LG, we could have one at least one of the last two games!
Yes, I guess these are the kinds of things that a coach can get away with if the team is winning. Real hard to justify such an approach if they are losing the close games though.
Wis may be outplaying Chance, I dont know. But people keep saying it like it’s a fact. Not sure how people seem to know that without breaking down the tape.
Also it’s not like Wis is a future HOFer or even a probowler that we’re benching for Chance.
Plenty of people have pointed it out from the tape study. Warmack is simply not reliable in pass protection. He lunges, reaches and gets off balance when defenders cross his face and he has a very weak grasp of how to handle stunts. Slow feet and/or slow brain is putting him in bad situations where the defender gets an inside track to the QB almost immediately after the snap. Wiz is no world beater, but he is technically sound and he knows his assignments. That’s a huge difference.
Just watch a few replays, right? With Wiz, it’s the footwork and knowing the assignments. He reacts quickly and the neat feet get him in the right position. One step, bang, he’s blocking. Technically sound.
Knowing where you are supposed to be and what side you are supposed to lead the defender to brings you a long way as a guard. Wiz is not a special talent in terms of athleticism, and he will get beat 1v1 against good interior linemen. But even when he gets beat, he stands in their way, slowing them down for a second. When your guard can do that consistently, you can work with that as an offense/coordinator. With Warmack its a handful of plays every game where he just completely seems to whiff on a defender that goes right through unblocked. Those plays usually end up killing a drive, an opportunity to score and possession of the football and can literally make the difference in a close game. And sometimes they get your QB injured for the season and/or beyond. It just seems to me, if you are playing that guard in stead of a better option, you are playing with fire.
He is and it’s not close
Where do you lay the blame on that? Pederson? Reich? Stoutland?
Stoutland as it is him who determines the starting 5.
Yes, Doug could overrule him, but thats not very common because if the HC needs to overrule the OL coach on OL matters, he should fire his OL coach
Thank you
It’s not like they don’t discuss it during the decision making process.
So. Much. Anger.
I don’t understand the move. But it’s not being done willy-nilly. Way too much happening behind the scenes for fans to dissect every decision, even with all the beat guys in Philly. I don’t think we’ll see it all season (unless they keep running for 200/game, in which case they should keep it up until the SB).
I think it’s weird, too. The guy has physical tools and was a high draft pick, so presumably the coaches think he has potential and are giving him PT to try to draw it out. That’s pretty normal, if often a failing proposition.
Stoutland
They clearly want someone with long term potential to step up, Wiz obviously not being that guy. I’m thinking they want Warmack, maybe because they have Center plans for Seumalo. Of course, it’s not ideal that he couldn’t handle LG if he’s moving to C, but there has to be some kind of hidden logic here.
Explain how Warmack is a long term piece.
Please. I’ll wait.
Is it because he was a high draft pick? Because Stoutland is going to magically fix hm?
Why is Wiz not? His contract says he’s more of a long term piece than Warmack. He’s only 28.
The logic is pretty simple. Stoutland is a nepotistic fuck.
You seem kinda worked up over this one. I thought Wiz was 30, so my bad on that one. Did kind of shoot my theory to hell, but I wasn’t that attached to it. I’ve been down on Stoutland for a couple years, but I’m still inclined to think there’s more to it than nepotistic fuck, though that would make a cool headline.
I don’t think this is something we’ll see much longer. But I do see the merits of not changing something after back to back 200 yards games.
on the flip side, he could have just given Warmack the job, while the rotation was unconventional I appreciate that it revealed Wiz to be the best option when convention would have kept him on the bench. That said, not sure why the competition continued this week. Then I’m not sure why the constant switching has no obvious impact on the O-line, goes against everything I’ve been taught about. Guess it pays for the LG to be between 2 veteran players who have been on the team for years.
Anywho, I expect it all to be settled next week. I am surprised Sem is this deep in the dog house. I thought it was going to be a 1 game wake up call thing. Dude must have showed up to the game high or something because they buried him.
One of the things I wonder about with Blount is how much he was caught up in the league trending away from bigger backs. And loser/liar Todd Haley causing Blount to quit on the Steelers, only to win a title with New England that year, was amazing.
No upside to Wiz. They really want someone to step up, long term.
“More than a few people have brought up the question of what happens when Caleb Sturgis is healthy. We’ll have to wait and see. If Elliott is still killing it at that point, he might just keep the job. If he’s more up and down, Sturgis might get the nod.”
Magically Sturgis doesn’t have to be declared healthy enough to worry about it until next pre-season starts.
Wally Pipp’d
Way too many big plays, a week after getting dinked and dunked. Really curious what happened on that first td, can’t believe there wasn’t deep help, only 4 rushed.
Saw Barnett and Graham covering wr, that’s ok but the rush better hit home fast. Seems like Schwartz is still experimenting.
I’d love to know what crack was being smoked by Kendricks, Hicks, and McLeod to allow that nonsense TD run.
And Keenan Allen has some balls putting together that kind of a game after putting my money to sleep in 2015 and 2016 with all of those missed games.
I thought I saw some sort of linebacker blitz, so when the rb got past the line there was all that open turf.
Both Safeties were up near the LOS and Douglas was on an island and drowned.
Yeah, I’d question Schwartz heavily on that.
Why was he on an island against a fast receiver, with only 4 rushing? I can’t believe that was the design.
My concern is that Jenkins hasn’t been showing good centerfield instincts this year. I was hopeful that getting him out of the slot would help with deep balls.
Jenkins wasnt playing centerfield. They usually have him around the LOS or roaming around underneath.
Looks it was some kind of zone. Maybe the DC will give some clarity.
Looked like it may have been quarters coverage to me. If so, it was both a good route to attack the coverage and poor execution by the secondary.
This article thinks Douglas had outside leverage, and McLeod may have supposed to have been the inside leverage, but bit on a pump fake.
http://www.mcall.com/sports/football/eagles/blog/mc-spt-eagles-five-takeaways-20171002-story.html
Douglas was way late in reacting to the move back to the inside though. Mills raced back from his guy and got closer, but not close enough.
Thanks, certainly seemed like a safety should have been there.
This was a game that was easily a loss both on paper before the game and on the field during the game. This was a game they would have lost last year. While it was far from a must win game, I think its a big one for the momentum of the season. Good teams find a way to win, and that’s what this team is doing even with key injuries. Far from perfect, but this was a very good game.
Why was this ‘easily a loss both on paper’….SD was 0-3. Eagles are playing terrible…so just wondering how this was ‘easily a loss’?
Trap game. Travel to west coast. I don’t think the chargers are a bad team either. They’ve lost some close ones including this game. And I’ll clarify that I didn’t expect the eagles to lose, but I thought it could go either way. So it easily could have been a loss.
Easy loss? What.
See below.
A better way to say it was “This was a game that was easily a toss up…” etc.
Fair enough. As an Eagle’s fan I was prepared for a loss. Conditions were set up for one. I guess I thought other people were thinking along those lines too. Regardless, my main point is it was a good win, which I think we can agree on.
And Wentz was 3-3 passing during the last possession. Nothing spectacular, but Brady-seque in moving the chains. It can be utterly demoralizing to a team trying to get the ball back when its opponent takes three downs to move up 11 yards. Being here in Maine, I have seen Brady do just that over this century. Good for Wentz and the team.
Damn, JMatt needs thumb surgery and is out a month. He has 10 catches for 162 yards and 1 TD.
poor guy has been snakebit after being traded
He’s going to become a legend, just like Sam Bradford.
Hoping for the holy trinity of Cowboys/Giants/Redskins losing in the same week…
Add the Pats to yesterday’s losing teams. Not quite the holy trinity but I sure like it when they lose.
Not sure, but I think Wentz hit all his deepish throws yesterday, or at least most. Ertz, Ags, and the Smith drop were all perfect passes.
the pass to marcus johnson was ill advised but i guess it was where it was supposed to be
Ah, forgot about that one. See if we are going to throw any passes like that, I want them to go to Alshon, stupid to force a ball to Marcus Johnson
i think Johnson was out there 1 on 1 against his defender. i think the WR(s?) on the other side had a few more defenders out there.
i don’t really like the call to throw that one, but i can see the merit of letting your guys make a play for you.
There was a safety right on top of him as well wasn’t there?
i could be wrong!
Nah, that was one-on-one. Hayward had great coverage though.
Hayward had a great day yesterday
He broke up the pic. Im not mad at MJ or Wentz for throwing it.
It was basically a punt.
I loved the run game yesterday, but then to take a step back, it was against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Let’s see if they can keep it consistent! 3-1 feels pretty good, especially getting wins on the road this year!
I’m happy they did what they were supposed to do against a bad run defense. Too many times in the Reid era against bad run defenses, they would come out passing and it seemed like Reid was thinking that the other team expects us to run so we’ll surprise them and pass.
I loved that the Chargers knew what was coming with 6 1/2 minutes left in the game, and they couldn’t stop us. We mixed in just enough passes to keep them honest, while opening up holes in the run game.
I’ll take a stat line of 14/25 for 200 yards and a TD for Wentz when it gets us a W.
Oh my gosh… you know what’s better than doing something that’s almost guaranteed to work? SOMETHING UNEXPECTED!
Even if you just get 2-4 yards on a run, that puts you in a better position than making a young QB sit back there and throw to people who are waiting for it. Wentz should be protected, not leaned on as if he were prime AR or Peyton Manning.
Yesterday felt like a close game during the Chip era, except the Eagles won this time.
and we won TOP
Very good win on the road, offense played consistently well and they are starting to utilize the various skill players more effectively. I like the balance b/t run and pass and especially thought the OL did a great job controlling the LOS.
Defensively, it was more of a mixed bag. Pressure was pretty consistent, but the coverage was very leaky and we gave up too many big chunk plays. We have some injuries back there, but still we need better performance.
ST were quite good even after the loss of Sproles. Sure, Barner is not dynamic, but steady and Elliott is quickly becoming quite a revelation.
Hey Gary! I actually predicted that the Chargers would score 24 points. Phil Rivers is a tough competitor. And those wide receivers he has are very good, especially Allen and Williams. I think that, without Cox, C. Graham and Watkins, it turned into a long day for our starting safeties and young corners. But they did enough to get the win.
I had predicted that the Birds would score 30 with two passing TDs, a rushing TD and 3 FGs. But Torrey dropped a big time pass by Wentz, and I think that led to one of Jake’s 4-4 FG attempts. So the score was closer than I thought.
Barner looked a little sluggish on STs didn’t he? Maybe he’s out of football shape or something. As you say, he wasn’t that “dynamic.” Give him a few weeks in Philly to workout, practice and drink a few smoothies. Maybe some of that dynamism will return.
Barner will be ok, but never Sproles. Just a different level talent.
The offense won the game for us. The defense and/or ST have won other games for us. Usually those performances balance out over the season and the team starts winning games with all 3 units playing well. They call that “peaking at the right time” i.e. for the playoffs. Hopefully, we’ll get there.
I was right about Jeffrey & Torrey Smith, they both suck that’s why they were let go by their respective teams.
Except Cousins on week 1 it seems that every QB we face decide to bring their A game against us (Yes Eli “A game ” is throwing few picks in the process). I would like this trend to stop please.
That’s definitely the “glass half full” way of looking at it. After a few weeks of the same thing every time, it might not be the opposing QB’s
I hope you are right though!
Yeah, I’m with Tom in this. I think QBs throw against us with confidence and results follow. We’ve given up a ton of 4th quarter points and I wonder if stats will show teams are simply throwing at us more in the fourth. More throwing = more yard and points.
Our pass rush is solid but unless we figure out DB teams will stick to the blueprint that Giants and Chargers used.
Darby’s return will be helpful.
We give up cushions because of poor CB quality, thus QBs often have a short man open. This leads to high opposing QB rating and helps them get into a rhythm. There’s not much we can do about it right now.
This seems like the case. Though it doesn’t seem to help much. Receivers just run past our corners on slant patterns and the like. I wouldn’t mind seeing the corners being more aggressive at times, even it it means we’re more susceptible to the long ball. At least we’d go down swinging.
I don’t know, maybe they were trying to be aggressive yesterday and that caused the big plays. Just guessing, I didn’t really see that much detail and am not qualified to analyze it.
Did notice on one double A Gap blitz that the pressure was totally picked up. THINK Allen may have gotten 30 on that.
Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. You could feel it happening before Rivers even threw the ball–when a good QB has time on a blitz, trouble is coming. Good point.
Rivers had _huge_ time on some of his throws, and I assume its because they were doing max-protect type things and we were doing max-cover (that’s not a word, I think) things. But eventually the DL has to break through, or it’s going to be ugly. Can’t cover forever.
It looked like the one big TD play was because Douglas bit on a slant fake and couldn’t recover. Didn’t notice how far he was playing off, though.
Well to use the boxing reference, we are raising our fist in victory after the final bell. If what we are doing keeps winning games, I can live with it.
Can’t argue with the Ws. II just hope it’s sustainable with this secondary until Darby gets back and then integrated.
Some of it, too, is that we just faced 3 veteran QBs in row (A. Smith, E. Manning, P. Rivers) who already have AARP membership. They know how to play, especially against a depleted secondary.
https://twitter.com/BenFennell_NFL/status/914820114809278464
Lurie: the fans are so tired of Andy, and these last few years have been pretty bad.
Roseman: and now for something completely different…
(Chip year’s ensue)
Lurie: you know what… I really miss Andy. I just wish he would have done a better job with the run game, and found a better replacement after Jim Johnson passed away (RIP JJ).
Roseman: and now for something completely different… (that seems eerily similar to what we had a few years ago).
OT – but was watching the Indy/Seattle game last night and saw our old friend MSII make a few plays and look like an effective pass rusher.
How does a guy go from “bust” to that in a few weeks? Is it attitude? Opportunity? Coaching? Not saying the Eagles miss him at DE this year, but it definitely jumped out at me watching him get a couple sacks and create the fumble that broke the game open.
He looked ‘ok’ in 2016 and had a semi decent camp in 2017. Our DE depth is just fantastic now.
MSII always had the athletic tools to become a quality NFL player, and the work ethic and brains to slowly put it all together in time. However the problem was that he showed no real ability to put his hand in the dirt and have NFL pass rush moves (he played QB initially in college). In college he stood up and beat people on stunts and with athleticism.
It has taken him time to develop the moves and instincts to be a decent NFL player and it wouldn’t surprise me if in 2-3 years he had a shock break out year with ~10 sacks.
Still wouldn’t surprise me if he’s out of the league in 2 years
He was playing against a backup QB, in obvious passing downs against a horrible offensive line. When he can pin his ears back and beat people with speed, he has a chance.
He didn’t want to be in Philly anymore- it was clear. So he gets a fresh start some place else. And I think Seattle will fit his personality in a much better way than Philly did- he didn’t have the mindset to succeed here.
I think he has a total of 20 tackles in his career.
Attitude and opportunity. He didn’t have the right mixture here.
You probably would have looked good vs the effort where he made his play.
In a related note: Seattle’s defense is VERY over rated.
Sometimes getting released and losing your job is the kick in the pants you need to start focusing better.
another reason PFF sucks:
https://twitter.com/BenFennell_NFL/status/914852521088360448
What dangerous throws? The only one I can think of is the one he heaved towards Marcus Johnson in the end zone, and that was a jump ball type deal.
PFF has a real hate boner for Wentz it seems.
I do not remember who the WR was on another play, but Wentz threw into double coverage and it should have been picked. I believe it was in the first half.
Criticism of Wentz is ok, no QB is perfect especially in their second year. I’m confident Wentz can handle whatever comes anyway.
i thought that one of the throws to the endzone near the end of the game was somewhat ill advised, but its hard to get a good view of it from the TV feed.
yes, i realize i’m splitting hairs on this one.
72 correlates to about average performance for an NFL starter in their system. Wentz’s 91 QB rating would have ranked about 16th in the NFL last year
So given the 72 means average, and the QB rating is about average, what’s crazy or biased or weird about the PFF grade?
You saw a bunch of dangerous throws? Do they clearly don’t take into account his ability to move in and out of the pocket, or his ability to make the cross body throw to Blount early on.
Sure no rating system does, but they don’t really admit flaw in their ratings do they?
Why is it a flaw that a single number rating doesn’t capture the entirety of a player’s performance? I don’t think you’d run into many stats guys who say it does.
When your single number rating indicates that a shitty QB like Kizer had a game on par with Wentz yesterday (in which he was VERY, VERY good, even if it doesn’t show up on the stats), your single number rating isn’t capturing anything worthwhile at all about a player’s performance. Then your single number rating has no point for even existing. Combine that with a textual “analysis” that’s based on watching broadcast footage, and you have a steaming pile of horseshit.
I know it’s popular to bash on those guys, but sometimes things are popular for a reason. They are classic examples of what happens when you cannot ever admit you are wrong because of “losing face”; what happens is, you turn into a giant asshole. (not you, but them, I mean).
Yeah. Well, sometimes there are anomalous results, but that does sound very bad. I would hope they can explain why they got that result and try to understand why it happened. Of course you know some of the best QB ratings of all time belong to punters because they hit a TD on their one attempt of the year, for example 🙂
Back in the mid-late Reid years, the Eagles were always near the top of Football Outsiders’ DVOA, even while not winning a huge amount of games, to the point that it was a big bone of contention. However, in the end they usually did perform well enough to seemingly validate the results (for example, in 2008, when they were maybe a play away from the Superbowl).
It is a flaw when they make the rating and then follow it up with narrative as if Wentz had a bad game.
I think the problem is that they gave Kizer a similar grade. That’s just nuts.
You mean in week 1? He had respectable stats that game, but JaredGoff2016 stats since.
No. For yesterday’s game. The one in which Kizer and Cleveland almost got shut out by Cincy.
Looks like he had a 43 QB rating. Apparently he had 5 drops, and those aren’t factored into his performance? But that does look pretty bad. I’ve never been interested in PFF’s stuff, so I don’t have anything more than that…
That was the only one for sure, and fully intended, as you say.
I’ve never heard that expression before. If it’s not copywritten I’ll be using it.
Do not visualize an angry erection with a C in a circle stamped on it. It is not a pretty visual.
Carson sucks….
Workin on my stand up, how did I do?
Yup. I thought Wentz played one of his best games despite the stats and he had some nice audibles. He had a “mature” game . Better blocking and a running game help.
That 68 yard Blount run was a thing of beauty. For a 250 pound runner, he’s got pretty good speed and change-of-direction ability, and he is a load to tackle when he gets up a head of steam. He absolutely destroyed Desmond King on that play. I hope to see more of the Eagles pounding demoralized defenses into submission in the 4th quarter using him.
I’ve watched the replay of that run about 20 times this morning already!
It was great- he made people miss, and made people hurt. Glad he’s playing like he can
The kinda cool thing about Blount is that he doesn’t really take any big shots at all. He gives out the punishment, doesn’t seem to to take it. Like there are backs that break tackles and shrug off huge hits. He is the one it feels like that initiates contact. By the end of the game (when we actually use him more than 5-7 times, there are guys that just aren’t really willing to even try and square up.
All Blount really has to do is jump over a half assed low attempt and he has so much room.
I love it.
This description of big backs who take big hits reminds me of Eddie George. That guy could run, but he was so upright that he sometimes took some nasty shots. It’s a shame–I really like watching him (and the rest of that Titans team) play.
Earl Campbell.
I’ll share credit for that. I had them in my suicide pool also.
And I was playing against Cam Newton in fantasy.
https://youtu.be/DGUT3GInsAI
cool breakdown of the Alshon TD
Lots of hate for Philly Blount last couple of weeks. That shit is undeniable right now. Also super clear HPV was the issue with the line, run blocking is way better right now.
Propose benching Smith. Put in Mack truck on the outside.
Sem, not HPV, but otherwise agreed. I was down on Blount in the preseason. It appears now he was pacing himself.
I feel like everyone is loving Blount right now, aren’t they? First couple weeks I certainly agree with you. Now the haters have receded into the dark. As soon as he has a bad game they will be back in force.
Think by HPV you meant Seo.
Can’t bench Smith, he is like the leader of the offense oddly enough.
I had thought he was overrated, and did a statistical comparison with Ryan Mathews (who I think is underrated). What surprised me is that he actually measured up quite well, although of course their strengths are slightly different. The fact that he’s not injured helps, too.
Blount looked like Lynch in full beast mode.
Any [injury] news on Fitzzzzzz?! Last night an Eagles fan seem to have predicted his career ending, but I can’t find any related news…
I have no news, but it looked like a collar bone break from the way he feel.
Huh? I thought he caught the game winner?
He got hurt making the game winning catch, was pretty awkward, everyone is cheering like crazy and a legend that is basically their Dawk, can’t get off the turf. But to be fair they may have mistaken him being super emotional or something I suppose.
So apparently the Chargers are stuck in that hell hole until 2020 when that mystical stadium they get to share with the Rams is complete. Why did they make the move so many years before they would have a home?
I believe the welcome had long expired in San Diego and it was like, no really, we will kill you if you don’t leave by the time we finish this breath…
For the same reason the Rams left St. Louis. They are vying against each other to build a fan base in LA. Plus they both burned every bridge with their respective former cities/fans.
The Raiders cannot move to Vegas for 3 years because there is no available stadium that meets the minimum NFL standards in Vegas.
Question for those of you who recorded the game:
On the final drive, Smith caught a pass and feel 1 yard short of the first. I think the first set of downs, maybe the second. It’s obviously moot (or mute) now, but watching live it didn’t look like he was touched down. Looked like he could have hopped up and ran it to the house.
Can anyone confirm or deny?
After listening to Stockton and Schlereth yesterday, I wish it was mute.
(Sorry, don’t know the answer to your actual question)
You are not alone…
https://twitter.com/jimmykempski/status/914614926865338369
I just flipped on the game and watched in slow motion. Torrey caught it falling forward in a kneeling position. He rolled over on his back and Trevor Williams (24) clearly reached out and touched Torrey on the side of his thigh just above his knee.
“Mute: 1) silent, refraining from speech or utterance. 2) Not emitting or having sound of any kind.”
Just to be clear, a point cannot ever in the history of things that make sense, ever be “mute”. You cannot render a concept or idea incapable of speaking, because that makes no sense. A point can be **moot**. It cannot be **mute** any more than a religion or cup or sock or fantasy or piece of paper or turd can be “mute”.
I want to find whoever started the “point is mute” fallacy and punch him in the face. He should of kept his mouth shut. (sic)
None other than Dougie P uttered the phrase this offseason.
I’m glad I missed that. It’s an unforgiveable offense.
Dug actually said “mute,” not “moot”?
If so, I’m going to switch from neutral to being a hater.
I need to moot your comments. Dug runs the ball. Dug is my guy.
https://www.crossingbroad.com/2016/08/both-howie-roseman-and-doug-pederson-give-the-ol-no-comment-on-lane-johnson.html
scroll down for “mute”
And today he hit us with “pound and ground” when describing the Eagles offense. Heh.
Who was saying the Denver run D was bad yesterday?
https://twitter.com/fieldyates/status/914634093626839041
And a little something for the analytics guys…
https://twitter.com/jimmykempski/status/914632228147040256
It’s interesting that we have two 0-4 teams in our past schedule so far, isn’t it? Of course, we contributed to that, but it is something to think about.
Division opponents, even if they’re 0-15, are always tough games.
Yeah but PFF has them at 4-0 with their proprietary mysterious algorithm that none of us are allowed to know.
But they play the Chargers next week so, someone will finally win a game?
Ugh. Are the skins actually decent? Better than the other two I guess
Well they’ve come out and punched the Chiefs in the mouth early anyhow. Surprisingly. The Chiefs kind of look like ass early here.
I like how Cousins is ready to play from the very start !
No. They’re BS, their fans are BS, and both Oakland and KC choking to them is BS.
They’re the second best team in the NFC. Behind the Eagles that is.
I’d rather the Giants, Washington, and Dallas be the 14th, 15th, and 16th worst teams in the NFC.
They were previously ranked like #5 by DVOA, so yeah, it appears that they are decent.
Think Desmond King had some nightmares about getting hit by a freight train or an 18 wheeler last night?
Here’s Merril’s runaway train call in case you haven’t heard it:
https://soundcloud.com/nickpiccone/blount-run
I understand calling football might be difficult, but Reese is just awful. Counting down by five and shouting does poor service to the play.
What did you just say?
Reese stinks.
Blasphemer
Go away.
Oh boy. Get ready to get stoned for saying that. Take care..
Wow, I’ve never heard of anyone regarding Merrill as anything less than a Philadelphia treasure. Have you always disliked him?
Only after listening to him for 8 seasons before Sunday ticket.
I have on several occasions had to follow the Eagles on the radio. I dare you to listen to a whole game called by Merrill and claim that you missed something.
Most radio announcers are lucky to get the personnel right. Merrill gives you that, the set, the motions; he’ll tell you what the crowd is doing, he’s that descriptive. And he could even do it during the Chip era.
His passion and love for the Eagles are clear in his voice. If you’re excited about a touchdown, Merrill is on cloud 9. You remember a great play or a great game. Merrill remembers all of them. All of them. And he salts that knowledge in during his broadcast at the right times.
In short, you, sir, are an idiot.
Wow I thought for sure he meant Ike
I listened for years. He’s all schtick. He does get down and distance about 75% of the time which probably pit’s him in the upper echelon of play by play guys.
Kempski at his best… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c9d47f6f69426ade8f6b803abb91adc0cac88a25324e12ac98cc995cc026a606.png
It’s like a green sunshine that grew heads and stole someone’s fanny pack…I like it
He can do better. Blount is clearly the center head.
I particularly like the stiff arm.
always frustrated me how andy could never run a qb sneak. such as tonight when they’re half a yard from the end zone. anyway, glad dougie can.
Well, it’s hard to complain about design on that QB option run by Smith.
agreed, just a general point
I can complain. He stole Hunt’s TD, which I need right now.
yeah but Who’s stopping a6’5 240+ ginger giant with god on his side
That guy gets the ball on 4th and 1 every time
ugh skins.
Classic Big Red game
I’m starting to think the redskins are … good?
We might get them without Norman in a few weeks.
Its been a good week for football
and even if they do end up winning they will be having a week 4 bye week! We all know how that goes
Uhg, I always hit a wall on these “prime time” games around now. These schedules are bull shit for someone living on the east coast with a job. Well, hopefully I get to wake up and find out Big Red pulled this one out.
Kareem Hunt is such a stud it’s crazy
I don’t watch a lot of college football but tonight I made an exception
There wasn’t 1 Jacksass Chiefs fan in the entire stadium doing that Chief Chop in unison…
What a bunch of dicks.
Chiefs Redskins and not 1 player kneels out of respect for the sad abuse of the American Indian.
Marcus Peters sat. If anyone did kneel for that reason would anyone know that was the cause… not unless they talked about it, which in turn makes it all about them (meaning they are a douche).
Indeed.
Do these idiots still not understand that if the ball comes out when the receiver goes to the ground, it is incomplete?
I hate every second of rooting for the chiefs
I’ll root for them any time I’m not rooting for the eagles.
I’ll always root for AR
Ha no way. .nothings better than seeing him with a great great great Chiefs team ffffduck it all up and lose his 1st playoff game each season
Nothing is better than seeing our former great coach fuck up? Dude:
Cowboys, Giants, Patriots, Redskins and Cowboys all lost this week while our team won.
THATS BETTER by far in my book
Yeah those are better. Way better.
(And watching Dawkins, Westbrook and TO highlights )
Not with TE Kelce eagles wing flapping after he scores
To be clear I think he really did that to mock Kelce but he has Alex Smith and we have Wentz
I think we win that one next time on our field or in LA
As much as I dislike that ass, I love Andy more. Go Cheifs!
Alright fellas. First place eagles!. Woot
Wonder how many bets changed on that last play
Welllll we were first no matter what.
Quiet u
LOL. The Chiefs just covered!
I think it changed the over/under as well. And probably changed a bunch of fantasy games on the last play of the week.
Suck it Washington Football Team
So close, Redskins, so close.
https://youtu.be/J8KJe8Ugtd8?t=6s
Perfect!
I don’t know Blues (?). Really good song. Maybe I should do some exploring.
Aw man, Fats Domino was a classic. Definitely check him out. Not really blues, but more like pop music with that blues background. I believe at that time they called the genre “Race.” (it wasn’t PC)
Not pc, kinda like the team names tonight
I was hoping KC would get caught with 12 men on the field so the official could announce “Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians. 5 yard penalty.”
Oooo riskay. I listened to him on the way in to work today. I am diggin it.
Can’t believe the bad manners of Justin Houston. Funny tho!
All about them stats baby.
Defensive players don’t get a chance for a TD all that often. Pretty hard to fault that.
Thanks Andy!
Staying up late alllllll worth it to see the Washteam go home with a loss.
I hate how fast Kirk Cousins can run. Where the fuck did those feels come from.
Gruden kinda threw Kurt under the bus at his pc lol