Deuces
Posted: November 25th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 46 Comments »Number two overall pick Mitch Trubisky will be taking on number two overall pick Carson Wentz on Sunday. Beyond that, there aren’t a lot of compelling angles to the Bears-Eagles game.
There have been some odd games in the series. The two met in a forgettable game last year, with the Eagles winning 29-14. There was a wild game in 2013. The Eagles won 54-11. There was the 2011 game where my long lost son Brian Rolle returned a fumble for a TD. I miss my son. If you go back a decade, you find rock bottom.
The 2007 game featured one of the strangest moments in Eagles history. The Bears had the ball near midfield. Olin Kreutz snapped the ball and the QB wasn’t expecting it. The ball was away from everyone when Sean Considine scooped it up and ran it down to the 8-yard line. What a great moment, right? Only there was a flag on the ground. It turns out that if the QB never touches the ball, this is called an illegal snap and is a 5-yard penalty on the offense, but they get to keep the ball. UGH!!!
The Bears got the ball back and went down and kicked a FG. The Eagles did take the lead in the game and then pinned the Bears at their 3-yard line with 1:52 left and no timeouts. They had to score a TD to take the lead. No way they do that, right? Brian Griese led his team right down the field and they scored with a few seconds left. Brian frickin’ Griese!!! The Eagles fell to 3-4 and never got above .500 that year. A win there might have gotten them into the playoffs.
I really should learn to let go of things, but that game still bugs me. Thank goodness for Carson Wentz and the current Eagles.
I wrote my preview of the game for PE.com.
This is a game the Eagles should win, but the Bears could be tougher than expected. The X-factor is injuries. Chicago just put OLB Leonard Floyd on IR. ILB Danny Trevathan is doubtful to play. DE Akiem Hicks expects to play, but missed some practice time this week. OLB Pernell McPhee also missed practice and there is some question about whether he’ll play.
Chicago stays in games by playing solid defense. If they’re missing too many guys, that group could get overwhelmed and this could be a blowout.
I’m curious to see how things play out. The Bears have faced the third fewest passes in the league. There are a variety of reasons for that, some good and some bad. There have been six games this year when the opponent threw for fewer than 195 yards. They’ve only given up 11 TD passes all year.
When I watched the Lions game (last week), I saw Matt Stafford have plenty of success throwing on them, especially from 3-WR sets. The Eagles haven’t thrown as much recently so it will be interesting to see how the Eagles attack Chicago.
The cool thing about this game is how quickly the tables turned from last year. Last November it was Wentz who was the rookie QB going after Super Bowl contenders. Now the rookie is coming after him.
Life in the NFL can change in a hurry.
*****
If the Bears have a chance in this game, they’ll need to play outstanding defense and will need to make impact plays in all phases of the game.
- They beat Carolina by scoring a pair of defensive TDs.
- Rookie Tarik Cohen has a 70-yard reception this year.
- Three different players have runs of 46 or more yards this year.
- DB Adrian Amos, former Penn State starter, has a 90-yard INT return.
- Cohen is a dangerous, aggressive returner. He has yet to break a huge return this year, but certainly has the speed and skill to do that.
Eliminate the big plays and the Bears will have an incredibly hard time pulling off an upset.
_
I still don’t understand that illegal snap penalty and have never seen it called anywhere else.
Why don’t QBs always get out of the way from bad snaps (like a punt returner on a rolling ball)? If you don’t touch it a 5 yard penalty is almost always going to be better field position than a sack or worse yet a turnover.
Yeah I don’t ever recall seeing that anywhere. Maybe it is such a non known rule that QBs don’t even really know it and instinctually go after the ball. Strange.
Rule needs to be changed.
It was changed the next season due to that play.
“That play led to a change in the rules for the following season and is now ruled as a live ball. Although, that is little consolation for Eagles fans, as it didn’t help them that day.”
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/926278-eagles-vs-bears-controversial-call-highlighted-last-game-in-philadelphia
Ahhh
There are direct snaps to RB’s. Why aren’t they illegal?
The first player to touch the snapped ball must be someone lined up behind the line of scrimmage — that is the only rule, I think.
I guess the RB or WR counts as QB when they receive the snap?
Just met a family from Fargo. .they love and think very highly of Caw..but made the point if both him and the Vikes get to MNn in JAn thru will be very undecided on who to root for
carson did grow up a vikings fan
There we go
Then tell them they can’t cheer for Wentz anymore.
Gotta respect that. You don’t abandon your team over one player. You can quietly, say, root for the Broncos when Dawkins plays for them, but if they face the Eagles. You root for Philly.
I have a friend who became an Eagles fan when Vick played for the birds. it always bothered me that he was really a Vick fan. he stopped rooting for the Birds when Vick left the team.
You guys bet much? I don’t. But sometimes I find the lines interesting to look at.
The Vegas line is Eagles minus 13.5 points over the Bears. Yet Vegas Vic only expects the Eagles to win by 10 points and predicts the final score will be 27-17 Eagles.
Double digit betting lines for the Eagles… What a season, huh? Great expectations every week!
I’m not betting. But I’m predicting 30-10 Eagles!
Not since I took on a mortgage.
Been a while since the Eagles have been favored by 13.5 points in any game.
I bet you have to go back to 2004.
I believe NFL game pickers like Vegas Vic as much as I believe stockbrokers. If you could pick winners, you would bet on the games/stocks rather than sell advice.
The perceptions are interesting. I don’t bet. But they think fans will bet on double digit victories for the Eagles in large numbers. They post lines to attract bets that they suspect will also be profitable.
Off Topic – Net Neutrality Pro and Con
Here’s a news item for you:
“More than a Million Pro-Repeal Net Neutrality Comments were Likely Faked”
“I used natural language processing techniques to analyze net neutrality
comments submitted to the FCC from April-October 2017, and the results
were disturbing.”
See the LINK below. Can you say “BOTS?”
https://hackernoon.com/more-than-a-million-pro-repeal-net-neutrality-comments-were-likely-faked-e9f0e3ed36a6
There is a reckoning coming for the perpetrators of this on-line scammery.
what’s the con for net neutrality? seems pretty terrible to me.
Great question…….
Bots faking millions of consumer comments?
Scary stuff.
We have it now. In the last week I have become pro on the issue. There’s a strong movement in government and the ISP industry to repeal it and they are close. The article suggests they are using bots to create fake comments to influence policy.
Large resourceful industrial forces are trying to get net neutrality repealed. The objective for ISPs is the ability to charge the consumer base premium prices for general access and content access.
I’m asking (maybe phrased it wrong) why repeal? What’s the argument other than to allow corporations to screw you and control the internet.
Let the consumer decide, freedom, etc.
The FCC seems about to repeal Net Neutrality. And it seems that millions of internet user comments against Net Neutrality have been faked by industrial bots. Very good bots.
As far as the reasons about “Why Repeal?” I don’t see any positives in it.
Not a chock Sean Considine was involved in an all time screw up type play, that dude sucked.
There was no screwup on that play. Just a rule that seemed wrong, and the NFL agreed the next year.
You’re missing the point that Sean Considine is an unmitigated fuckup of a human being and should be ridiculed at all times.
Personal rooting interest today
Atlanta over Tampa – I need a live Falcons to give some losses to Saints, Vikings, Panthers, etc.
Cincy over Cleveland – you shit talk Wentz – YOU DESERVE TO LOSE FOREVER!
Titans over Indy – Watching the colts lose is funny
KC over Buffalo – I’d like to see KC get back on track, win the division, and FU MCDermott!!!!!
NE over Miami – New England existing to cause misery to Pittsburgh is vital
Jets over Carolina – FU Cam, LOSE LOSE LOSE and get KTFOd by some of the war daddies on the Jets D
Seattle over Niners – I’d like Seattle with enough wins to make our impending win over them look better, keep Carolina out of they playoffs, and hopefully put a body bag type loss on the Rams again.
Oakland over Denver – Hopefully that dirty hipster Lynch loses
Rams over Saints – Saints need that 3rd L
Arizona over Jags – won’t happen, but I’d like to see the Jags knocked down a peg. The Tom Coughlin fluffing is getting out of hand.
Pittsburgh over Green Bay – I might wind up taking Pittsburgh in suicide this week (if I don’t take the Eagles or Patriots) and further losses for Hundley and excellent.
Baltimore over Houston – Ravens winning causes Steelers fans discomfort, good! Plus I’d like Baltimore in the playoffs over Buffalo.
I can’t agree with Seattle (I want no part of them in the playoffs) or NE (same, but for SB).
So ideally, the NFC playoffs look like this.
1 – Us – we win out
2 – Vikings
3- Saints
4 – Rams
5 – Falcons
6 – Seahawks
This means misery in Dallas and Carolina! Excellent!!!!
Saints beat Seattle, but get really banged up in the process.
Rams beat Atlanta and get all kinds of hype, swole, and out of focus in celebrating a win.
Eagles beat Rams for the 2nd time on the season once again using a big rushing day
Vikings beat Saints in a really sloppy low scoring game that exposes all kinds of flaws in Vikings blocking and QB play
Eagles swarm the F out of the Vikings with a stifling win featuring another big rushing day.
I’m in. Then in the SB we play anyone other than NE or the Steelers. We can up the level of difficulty next year.
I’d actually prefer to play one of those two teams to get revenge on the Patriots for the 04 season loss or permanently shut up all of the western 2/3rds of PA.
Your week 12 rooting guide. You’re welcome. (Will probably repost to Tommy’s next thread – since he always posts 5 minutes after I put time into a post here.)
Tennessee (6-4) v Indianapolis (3-7). Titans. Let the Colts continue in free fall and attract the good coaching unit/draft picks away from NY. And, as Media Mike said, “Watching the Colts lose is funny.”
Carolina (7-3) v NY Jets (4-6). J-E-T-S. But, I’d rather face Carolina than Atlanta in the playoffs. Carolina has exploitable weaknesses. Atlanta, if they put it together, can be very dangerous. Still, our playoff seed is still far from set. Jets all day.
Miami (4-6) v. New England* (8-2). Miami. It is tempting to root for the evil empire* here because the absolute garbage product that Miami puts on the field is an embarrassment. Cover your eyes bad. Maybe without Cutler, it will look better.
Tampa Bay (4-6) v. Atlanta (6-4). Buccaneers. Please slow down and trip up the Falcons before they make the playoffs. Disclaimer: Pinning hopes on a team that needed a last second FG to beat Miami is not a winning strategy.
Cleveland (0-10) v. Cincinnati (4-6). Bengals. Because the Browns are the Browns and 0-16 record is merely just desserts for passing on Wentz. The Browns fans deserve much better, but their owner and organization do not. Besides, let the NY Giants trade up with them in next year’s draft for the second coming of Danny Wuerffel.
Buffalo (4-6)) v. Kansas City (6-4). Chiefs. Despite their struggles, AR has one of the few teams that could take down the Patriots* or the West Virginia Steelers in the playoffs. Need them to stay alive for that reason alone.
Seattle (6-4) v. San Francisco (1-9). Seahawks. Say what??!! Yah, last thing we want is to face a super desperate backs-against-the-wall do-or-die hyper-motivated Seattle team in their home stadium next week. Russell Wilson wins games singlehandedly they should be lose. Don’t give them any extra edges. Let them get a victory over San Fran today.
New Orleans (8-2) v. LA Rams (7-3). Rams. Obviously. Most important matchup of the week for Eagles fans outside over our Bears matchup. Looking for a really good game to watch here in the late afternoon slot.
Jacksonville (7-3) v. Arizona (4-6). Jaguars. The Cardinals and their fans deserve much retribution and pain. Can the Jags catch the Cheatriots* or the Stillers? Rest of their schedule is: Indy, Seattle, Houston, SF and Tennessee. Could they go 13-3 and get a bye? Nothing against Dougie P., but why isn’t anyone talking about Doug Marrone as a coach of the year candidate? He’s doing this with Blake freaking Bortles at QB. That’s like competing at a swim meet with a 2 ton anchor tied to your nut sack with fishing wire. Ow.
Denver (3-7) v. Oakland (4-6). Raiders. Let the Giants catch Denver and slide behind them in the draft order. Denver will increase the price the Giants need to pay to get a quality QB.
Green Bay (5-5) v. Pittsburgh (8-2). Yuck. Steelers. Although they look awful, Green Bay is still alive for the playoffs. That must not happen. And it must not happen to the extent that we have to hold our nose and hope for a Steelers victory (Their fans smell of cockroach-infested rotten meat).
Houston (4-6) v. Baltimore (5-5). Ravens. Baltimore, like Kansas City, isn’t playing great, but if they put it together down the stretch, they are capable of taking out one of those two AFC teams we all hate.
Bonus material:
LA Chargers (4-6) v. Dallas (5-5). Chargers. Lololololololol. Suck it Jerry!!
The 2017 Rule Book. If you can’t remember all that above, the general guidelines are as follows in order of importance.
1) GO EAGLES!
1a) Dallas sucks.
2) Division rivals must not win, except in rare instances. E.g. facing each other with one of them threatening to make the playoffs.
3) Down with the rest of the NFC.
4) The Patriots cheat; AND
5) Steelers fans do not deserve anything good to happen to them ever again.
One lousy week of games except the Rams vs Saints game.
Yes, not a pretty slate this week. Hoping the Saints-Rams makes it. Vikes-Lions was good. Chargers did their job. That was fun.
Wasn’t the ‘Mitch Trubisky Experience’ a largely nondescript band from Toledo, OH, in the late 60s?
Well… the Chaz Green thing was like the Winston Justice debut, so that was more Reid.
With Chip, the defense was calling out the offense’s plays; with the Cowboys, it was the other way around (offense calling out blitzes). More of an indictment of Morinelli than Garrett. Although frankly Morinelli has gotten far more out of that defense over the last few years than I would have ever expected.
We whipped Dem Boyz so bad the went into a tailspin!
good article but I’m still mad about the Fog Bowl.
That was the worst. Especially because it wound up being Buddy’s best chance to actually not choke a playoff game.
Beau Allen inactive today.
and Trey Burton is inactive. Steven Means gets to play a little today with Allen out.
From a Tim McManus Tweet-
Tim McManus ✔ @Tim_McManus
67 teams have started 9-1 or better in the Super Bowl era before the Eagles. All 67 reached the playoffs. 48 won at least one game. 33 reached the Super Bowl. 17 won it. Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info.
http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0726479086796412426-4 …