Eagles Earn #1 Seed With Dominant Win
Posted: December 26th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 276 Comments »I skipped the Raiders game, but saw the Eagles won 19-10 so I assume things went smoothly and everyone is happy.
Right?
After watching that game, part of me wishes I had skipped it. Ugh. The Eagles did win and made some clutch plays, but that was a bad performance by the offense. They gained a season-low 216 yards and needed an end of game defensive TD to get to 19 points.
Nick Foles really struggled, going 19-38-163 with 1 TD and 1 INT. I wish I could tell you the numbers are deceiving, but that’s not the case. He played poorly. More than a few people went into panic mode with “The season is over”.
If Foles plays like he did tonight, the season is over. But he played well last week and has played well in the past. Foles has been sitting all year so each week is a different experience for him. We aren’t going to know what to expect until gameday.
I also have some questions about whether Doug Pederson handled this situation well. With this being a Monday game and a holiday game, he took it easy on his players this week. They had time today to spend with their families. That didn’t seem to help the offense, which played sloppy all night long. Maybe a normal week of practice wouldn’t have made a difference, but it might have.
Doug Pederson wouldn’t commit to anything after the game, but I think Foles and the starters must play at least part of the season finale. They need some good on-field reps. You don’t want to head into the postseason coming off an ugly performance like that.
Is there reason to worry? Heck yes. Foles struggled in a big way and the offense was a mess. There were penalties, missed blocks, missed assignments, dropped passes and some turnovers. Carson Wentz was good enough to overcome some sloppy play. Foles isn’t.
Is there reason to panic? Heck no. The Eagles have the finale, the week off and then will host a game. That is three weeks of practice time. Pederson and his staff have done a great job this year of getting the most out of their players. If anyone can work through the issues and get things cleaned up, I think Pederson and crew will do that. There are no guarantees, but I trust them.
As easy as it is to come away worried about the offense, you do have to give the defense credit. They held the Raiders to 274 yards and 10 points. They had 5 takeaways and were incredibly clutch. There is something to be said for that.
We do have to give the Eagles credit for winning an ugly game. Let’s not forget that a good Eagles team played a bad Raiders team in 2009 and lost 13-9. This team won. Ronald Darby came up with a huge INT. Foles made some good throws to advance the final 17 yards into FG range. Jake Elliott nailed a 48-yard kick to win the game. Then the D-line came out and put the game away.
Ugly is ugly, but you would rather win those games than lose them.
The Eagles didn’t do it in ideal fashion, but they came away with win number 13 and secured homefield advantage in the playoffs. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for a team with a second-year QB, several key injuries and now a backup QB leading the way. Don’t apologize for being 13-2 because it wasn’t a pretty win.
Enjoy the moment and let Foles and the coaches figure out how to get the offense back on track.
_
Had amazing seats by endzone for that final play. Needed Foles to flop and our D to shine to win fantasy league. Was down a lot to start the game. Down by 4 at start of final play. And this is after winning work raffle this week (cancer benefit) DB 96 autographed football, which I immediately made my phone background once it was on a tee in my living room. Amazing
Was down 45 for the title with Foles, Aggy, Jake and Eagles D. Felt pretty good going into it. Start of the 4th I started saying things like “just need a TD to Aggy from our own end zone” to win this. Then it became “OK just need 20 more fumble recoveries”. Ended up losing by 2.6 points. Sooooo many ways I could have gotten those points at some point in the game, but no. It just wasn’t meant to be.
I rode the Eagles all year to get to the title game and I know Wentz would have won it for me. And now I must choke down the fact that I must once again be patient for my first title. My only salve would be if the Eagles got theirs first.
Ouch. Sorry bud. Next year maybe diversify a bit more?
I don’t think you can call it garbage time when the play could determine the winner of the game.
Poor choice of words. Meaningless TD would have been better.
And merry Christmas, Tommy. Thanks for talking a few devoted fans down off the ledges recently.
Ronald Darby’s pick was nice. He played much better tonight, and hopefully continues to turn in good performances come playoff time. People shouldn’t overlook we have home field now. I still think we can beat anyone who comes into the Linc.
We’ve been saving Mack Hollins all season. Time to unleash him.
If only we had a QB who threw to wide receivers…
Time for a certain someone to swallow the pride, and make that phone call. Not every eyery year that the Eagles legit can win it all.
????
Hello? Romo speaking.
Joe Webb, here we come!!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8cfefbb552551f48117c8545c6059945615bfbd72cd98c108c5f92fdce5e2e4a.gif
Well he had better call soon. I can’t just clear my weekend at the drop of a hat.
If you’re talking about bringing in a new QB – no.
Foles has to be more consistent, and if the version we saw last night shows up in the playoffs, we have no chance to win it all. But we definitely don’t have any chance to win it all with any QB who’s available off the street.
Unless Rogers gets released for GB violating IR rules.
Sure, but I think the chances of that actually happening are nil.
Rogers would have to clear waivers. He’d be a Brown.
Or a Giant; Browns might not figure how Aaron Rodgers could fit into their future.
I hear the Browns don’t project him as a top-20 QB.
If you’re thinking Tony Romo – what about his playoff history makes you think he’ll be able to win anything for the Eagles?
Wish it weren’t true, but this team is going DOWN in first playoff game… Their prospects rested on the shoulders of one guy
Nope. Get wiz back, get rest, get Graham healthy. Get Carson to personally bless each team member, and practice, practice, practice. Plus moee more Jason Peters “advice”.
Seriously though, as with most NFL seasons, this one has made it abundantly clear that drawing logic game to game don’t work. SF Jax anyone?
Certainly possible, but not a given.
All depends on what version of Foles shows up for the playoffs. The guy we saw last night can’t win a playoff game, but the guy we saw in the Giants’ game certainly can.
And I think when we break down the game film, we’re going to see that it was only a small handful of throws separating the Giants game from the Raiders game. I didn’t think Nick’s game against NY was as impressive as the stat line indicated, and I’m guessing this one wasn’t as bad as it indicated either.
Bottom line is, we’re going to need a surprise hero or two to make any noise in the playoffs.
And I think when we break down the game film, we’re going to see that it was only a small handful of throws separating the Giants game from the Raiders game.
Likely true, but this is likely true of ANY two pairs of good and bad NFL QB performances. If Foles hits on, say, four more throws last night, he’s 23-38 for over 200 yards and 2 TDs, the Eagles win easily, and we’re not having this conversation. Conversely look at the best QB performance in the league this week and take away the four best throws and you’re looking at an average or worse performance.
The margin separating good QB play from bad QB play is narrow in the NFL.
Some sobering facts from this game:
That one TD drive: 2 passes, 9 runs
The rest of the game: 36 passes, 12 runs
Just wanted to put this out there for those who think Doug’s playcalling is without reproach.
“We thought we saw something downfield “. Andy Reid.
Yeah. It was a Tampa 2 defense, Andy.
The running game averaged 3.7 YPC and at least in the part of the game I watched the offensive line was getting blown back into the backfield every time a running play was called, but was doing a decent job pass blocking.
Nobody is claiming Pederson’s playcalling is perfect but from what I saw I don’t think it was really the problem. Whenever he tried to run it it was completely ineffective.
Except for that one drive…
I think Oakland must have changed up to stop the run after getting trampled the length of the field, because I saw nothing that made me think we could sustain a running drive after that one.
Oakland was stacking 7 – 8 in the box a lot after that TD drive.
There’s only one way to beat that kind of defense and it’s to have your passing game make throws any professional team should be able to make.
Can’t blame Doug’s playcalling for that. It’s all on Foles and his receivers.
Yes, but we still had a number of good runs, too many got called back by holding calls putting us in bad spots.
Yeah, we played behind the chains A LOT. Just an overall crappy performance by the offense.
Said another way, after that drive most of our runs that looked good came when we were guilty of holding.
Or Mack gets the Academy award. #Flopping
It’s a little misleading. The were getting 1-2 yards on runs, putting them in 2nd/3rd and longs, and forcing them to pass.
How many of these passes were RPO. I counted few last night and of course Foles missed those throws. If we hit those it would have helped open up the run more.
So, are we gonna get some film breakdowns of some of those dogshit throws that Foles made? He was all over the map. My favorite is that he missed Ertz twice high on the same damn route.
I know a of a guy who will happily send you a box full of (ok, not dog but) manure if that’s what you’re looking to get into. I’m more interested in the positives (d), and getting healthy/enjoying the season.
Is that guy you.
Nope. Check the news about the US secretary of the treasury.
It was a fugly game. Brutal to witness. But what will be even worse to take in is all the fans who will kill the buzz of where we’re at right now the rest of the way.
“Foles sucks”. But ignore that we ran the ball well this year, have weapons not named torrey, have the hottest qb coach name in the league (ahem), he’s essentially won a playoff game before, we have home field and are on a sick run with that.
“Defense wins championships”. Well…
Maybe Sidney comes “back”? Wiz hopefully…
And maybe our opponent fs up a bit?
But no, it will be brutal to interact with Eagles fans despite the awesome season that this is and the premium position we’re in.
F THAT. I’M gonna enjoy the ride anyway.
Yeah. I generally avoid Eagles forums after ugly losses. I’m increasingly inclined to do so after ugly wins as well. Eagles fans can be a miserable lot.
If the Birds win the superbowl and its an ugly win, i might never read below Tommys post again.
Ok hell no, i have nowhere near that self control, but still.
None of those Patriots SuperBowls count because they were “ugly”.
Football is a vanity sport after all
For once, Eagles’ fans feeling dejected and a bit forlorn is pretty warranted. This was a special season with a real opportunity for this team to not only make but win a Super Bowl after a decade of mediocrity.
Now they are back to being that mediocre team that struggles to get by each week. Also the very real possibility that Wentz isn’t ready to start the season and likely be won’t fully back next year.
No, I’m sorry, you can’t get away with calling them a mediocre team. The team with the best record in football, #1 seed, home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a bye is not a mediocre team. “You are what your record says you are” is a saying for a reason.
You just can’t be serious or accurate with that statement.
Reason for concern? Absolutely. Last nights game very ugly and concerning? Absolutely.
But no, you just can’t say what you said without “seems like” or “feels like” with any credibility.
And now you’re predicting the future of a young athlete and injury recovery with confidence? Are you joking around?
The statement about the record is a tired cliche and teams can often underperform/outperform by a few games each year.
This team is a mediocre team right now given the injuries and Foles as the QB. Doesn’t mean they can get hot and win a playoff game or two but I don’t see that happening.
As for Wentz, the Eagles have only said the injury was worse than first thought and have said nothing about it since.
Best case he is back for Week 1 but there is a very real possibility too that he might miss a portion of the regular season with medical experts saying his injuries had a 9-12 month recovery time frame.
Ok.
Let’s not be sore winners. That’s just my opinion though.
Foles played like Tom Brady of late.
I thought he looked more like a combination of Rogers and Watson this week.
Har har.
Sounds like the members of some English progressive rock outfit.
Wow, that was putrid. Just watched it knowing the score, I bet watching it live ruined Crimble night.
I think Pederson should rest some of the starters next week, but Foles and the offense should not be among them, at least for the first half. Last night convinced me that the risk of losing in the playoffs because Foles is rusty, ineffective, and not on the same page as his receivers is higher than the risk for losing because he gets hurt.
Nick Foles was dreadful last night. He was by far the biggest problem for the team, but the entire offensive line wasn’t exactly spectacular. Even Lane Johnson had his issues last night.
In the short part of the game I watched, they looked fine in pass protection, but were beyond dreadful in the running game. Several handoffs to Blount and Ajayi that had no chance from the get go because there were already three defenders in the backfield.
As the game went on and they got stuck in obvious passing situations, the pass protection broke down too. The left side of the line was a problem (obviously) but there were some break downs on our “Prow Bowl” right.
I only watched the end of the third quarter and the fourth. There was one atrocious sack that was entirely Foles’ fault and a couple of pressures but nothing too bad otherwise. Khalil Mack was even kept under control. Looked like Foles had ample time on most of his dropbacks, and either nobody got open or (my impression) he was gunshy and wouldn’t pull the trigger.
Yeah, Foles was awful. But I thought the line should have been better too. Foles was just all around slow last night. Slow reads, slow throws, slow running, slow decisions. Just slow.
Need Wiz back. Womack struggled last night and struggled badly at times in the 2nd half especially in the run game.
Pass pro was fine all night.
I disagree. Looked like they had issues with stunts and twists on both sides of the line. Foles didn’t help.
Khalil Mack is a great actor. 2 holding calls were iffy at best, but Khalil’s body language and flopping of his arms in the air drew the flags.
I thought the one on the 22 yard Blount run was ticky tacky, but legit. Lane held on for .25 seconds too long.
It didn’t help that Lane kept throwing his own hands up after those plays, which made him look even guiltier.
Merry belated Christmas everyone.
I don’t think Foles was “rusty”, I just think he is a mediocre QB who needs his receivers to be open. Foles is basically Dak without the running ability. Heck, Foles could start on more than a few teams in the NFL.
Gruden kept saying that Foles and the receivers were not on the same page. I think that is incorrect. One thing I was in awe in during the season with Wentz is his understanding of the defense and where the receivers would be in their pass patterns. How many times did the ball leave Wentz’s hand before his receivers weren’t out of their breaks?
I don’t fault Nick for that as much as I think it’s what separate’s Wentz from most QBs and puts him in the franchise category.
This game reminded me so much of the Tuesday Night Football game against MIN.
Just no rhythm on offense. Hopefully it was just a product of the guys being off their normal schedule.
Great point that good teams win these games, bad teams find a way to lose.
Running game will be so important in the playoffs. Let’s hope Wiz is healthy and ready to rumble.
As for defense, I’m beginning to hope Schwartz is poached for a head coaching job. His unwillingness to play/develop Rasul Douglas while Mills, even with his sprained ankle, gets beat yet again playing off coverage on a slant an go is infuriating.
I cannot believe that Derek Carr makes $25M per year. He has the arm but not the head to play QB. I have no doubt most of the QBs we will face in the playoffs would have hit that 3rd down pass against Robinson, which would have been an easy TD.
The defense plays well when inferior QBs are rattled by pressure and throw inaccurate passes.
Last year the Raiders went 12-4 and he tore his ACL and the end of the season. QBs are generaly rusty coming back from ACL injury. People might be saying the same thing about Wentz next year.
I’m actually not Schwartz’ biggest fan but that double move on Mills was the only play they were badly beat on.
He broke his fibula in week 16 last year and missed the playoffs. No injury to his ACL injury.
Carr also fractured his back this year.
The back thing must have been affecting him badly. He was worse than Foles, and more than half of his output was the result of that one double move on Mills.
It wasn’t a torn ACL, it was a broken leg.
I also don’t think Carr is that good, notwithstanding injuries. I’ve just never been impressed when I’ve watched him.
Have to wonder how much the cold/wind affected Nick. Not making excuses, he played poorly. But Nick doesn’t have a rocket arm so the wind can have a significant impact on anything downfield. I can imagine you get 1 or 2 passes moved by the wind, it hurts your confidence and you either pull back or look for the short easy throws (which he still missed on occasion.)
I was thinking the same thing. If Foles can’t throw effectively in cold weather, it kind of negates home field advantage.
My thoughts exactly. If true, need to get Wiz back and step that running attack up.
Last nights game showed why Carson Wentz is so damn good – he’s everything Foles isn’t.
The first playoff game will be against:
1. ATL/SEA
2. Carolina
3. New Orleans
In that order. I want nothing to do with Seattle or New Orleans. A playoff win against Atlanta or Carolina is doable.
This is a decent playoffs year because i think teams #1-6 are very even in talent.
Rams coach stated he will likely rest his key starters. ( Goff, Gurley etc..) vs 49ers this week. So when Rams lose they will be 4th seed. So you can then include Rams in list of teams we will face in first round. Personally i do not want to see Rams in div game, but it is what it is.
I have very mixed feelings about the game and the future. Obviously, Foles didn’t play well. Part of it I think was die to the wind and I have a feeling that Wentz would have had a down game if he was playing. Still, I don’t know why they got away from the run. During the TD drive they were imposing their will on the Raiders and couldn’t be stopped. Should they rest the starters next week? No idea. If they lose the first playoff game, whatever Pederson does will be blamed for it. So, while I have not been impressed with the team lately, they continue to win. So instead of complaining, I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the season, and see if they can stay undefeated at home.
People keep bringing up us getting away from the run game, but Oakland really shit the run down after that TD drive. We attempted to run it, but had little to no success with several loss of yardage’s plays sixedbin.
I am not sure I agree with that. The Oakland run defense played better, yes, but we had a number of penalties that negated good runs. We also had a number of series that felt like pass-pass-pass-punt.
I would play them the first quarter and sit them for the rest of the game.
This game throws the Nick Foles trade discussion completely out the window. Ain’t no one trading a 3rd rounder for him.
But to fair/reasonable, we’re not making any trades with our starting QB between week 16 and the upcoming playoffs which we will play in. So any trade would factor in how he plays in the playoffs. Which is yet to be seen.
This is as close as one can come to backing into the playoffs while actually winning games.
Against a better team like New Orleans this is a 33-10 blowout.
Maybe they need to bring back that up-tempo stuff.
A word to the wise: Enjoy the moment.
Was I the only one who felt like he was watching the Eagles second stringers against the Raiders? Did Nick Foles seem like he was playing hurt? Somehow, I get the feeling that a couple of weeks of rest will do this team wonders.
To be fair, it was probably only 1/3 second stringers.
Wow. After this game concluded, I shut off my TV and just stared at the blank screen for a bit.
Nick said he has to do better on third downs….. How about every down he threw the ball? I wondered when he completed 19 passes… the Nick I remember didn’t turn the ball over and that interception he threw didnt change my perception. He was holding the ball way to long. Which was a problem when he was here last time. The fact that he has that type of game now, is enough for me to write him off. I am all about guys improving.
One of the many things I like about Wentz is he has guts. He will sling it. It reminded me of Brett Farve. It can be obvious in hindsight that we needed foles to just be a timid as he was and rely on the defense. But if we are gonna pass the ball that much, I needed to see foles take some shots in preparation for the playoffs.
I kept thinking There were some challenges though. It was windy and cold. Receivers dont have as much chemistry with foles.
But Foles performance was not just poor. It was GARBAGE.
I hope we see a better game in the playoffs. But this performance gives me zero confidence. Negative confidence.
We dont even know if Dougs playcalling was bad, because Foles didn’t really seem like he had the ability to get the ball down field. His arm was noticeably weaker than Carson’s
Ok…I cant talk about this anymore…just depressing.
To put it in perspective, Carr (who is a top 15 QB in the league and who made the Pro Bowl last year) also sucked.
Foles isn’t always as bad as he was last night. Obviously if we get that version of him in the playoffs, we’re toast. But we might not. We might get the guy who showed up last week, and he’s good enough to compete with.
Foles isn’t that bad nor is this offense.
With a shoutout to Donald below, this morning I’ve been thinking about 2013’s 27-2. It was the first year of Chip’s breaknet speed offense. Foles must channel at least part of that season, all of which makes me think that he may function best in an all-out uptempo offense.
Methinks that Foles does worst when he has to think. Uptempo is more reflex. I believe that Pederson, if he thinks the same way, will change the game pace, because it’s the only way that Foles can have a modicum of success, IMO.
Bringing 2013 back requires bringing LeSean McCoy back. He was the engine that drove that offense. Since its unlikely the Bills will part with him and the fact that trades this late are not permitted, its up to Doug to figure out how to prepare our RBs for more screens and plays in the passing game.
Considering where most thought the 2017 season would go back in the summer, this is still a successful year no matter what happens the rest of the way. Playoff experience for the core players is important moving forward, even if just one game. They can still be in a multiple Lombardi winning era. Nothing but clear skies ahead. If not this season, then beyond. At peace with how it goes no matter. It’s all about Carson Wentz.
“I also have some questions about whether Doug Pederson handled this situation well. With this being a Monday game and a holiday game, he took it easy on his players this week. They had time today to spend with their families. That didn’t seem to help the offense, which played sloppy all night long. Maybe a normal week of practice wouldn’t have made a difference, but it might have.”
While it is preferable to win convincingly and see a good chance to play in the conference championship…and win it, that (winning convincingly) cannot be a top priority right now. The loss of CW is not a tragedy, but it has reduced this offensive unit’s threat potential substantially. This weekend and next are probably dividing the attention of Doug and his coaches. They have not-quite-meaningless games to prepare for, but they also have to gear down the urgency because it is going to be ratcheted up very soon. As a former player on teams that were often in the playoffs, I believe that DP is following a strategy that comes off risking appearances more than onlookers appreciate. A case can be made that NOT giving some personal time in a very brief window can bite you big time when soon the focus has to be intense and prolonged. Starting some players next week may be wise for the physical requirements of playoff preparation, but if the game is meaningless, that can undermine the mental toughness that is so critical in big games.
It was really a no-win for the offense. If Foles lit it up, the narrative would still be him beating a bad defense.
I would prefer that narrative.
In the media and among the fans, maybe. But what matters is what happens on the field, and you’d much rather have Foles light up a bad defense than struggle against it.
I hope it’s just Foles and not the WRs being shut down by the CBs. I don’t think Alshon was targeted at all yesterday.
Alshon had 2 targets and zero catches.
Nick Foles is an interesting character. Last night, you almost wondered if he’d ever played QB in the NFL before. He ended with a 59 QB rating. So he sucks, right?
Except he had 115 QB rating last week. 4 TD, 0 interceptions. Didn’t suck.
We all know in STL, he played awful. Maybe nearly as bad as Jared Goff or Case Keenum, both of whom are putting up HOF-level numbers now. What can one draw from such a situation?
Oh, but the “eye test.” Everyone watching Goff and Keenum could tell that they had great talent, and just needed a change of scenery to blossom to Pro-Bowlers. Everyone knew Nick sucked, though. Eye test, after all.
Yeah right.
In four games at Kansas City, Foles put up a 105 rating. So did he suck then? What in 2013, when he had a 119 rating for the year?
No, “suck” is not the right word. He is at the very least a quality NFL backup. In fact, I wonder who’s the last backup who has this kind of resume.
He played awful last night. We’ve all seen him play awful other nights. Let’s not forget that we’ve also seen him play very well.
It’s on Doug to find a way to “put him in a position to succeed.” It would help if the receivers didn’t let pass after pass (even if somewhat off-target) bounce off their hands. You have to catch those mofos. You have to step up and help the skinny guy playing in the swirling winds. Thankfully, the D did step up and grab victory from this comedy of errors we saw last night.
But blaming Foles for not being Wentz is senseless. He’s going to have to do better, and so is the rest of the team.
Here’s a list of the 2nd string QBs. Who would you rather have?
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/05/15/ranking-nfl-backup-quarterbacks
I would take Foles as the #2 qb over anyone on the list. I think the acquisition was brilliant and it’s a good thing we have him or we’d really know what it’s like to have a qb who sucks (Chase Daniel). At the same time, as everyone in and out of an Eagles uniform knows, Nick better upgrade his game or the Eagles won’t do anything in the playoffs.
I agree Foles is a good backup QB, but Garapollo, Watson, and Keenum are on that list.
Garappolo and Watson are definitely better than Foles.
Not sure Keenum is.
Are those guys “back-ups” though? I mean i suppose literally.
No, certainly not now. Both are clearly starting quality QBs even if they weren’t nominally starters coming into the year.
AJ Mcarron would be a good pick up. Look the goods when played last time. Teams werr tryna trade for him.
Chucky said it last night -and whatever he is, he’s smart about QB talent -Foles is streaky. He was in cold streak last night. When he’s in a hot streak, he’s good.
Man, Chucky was driving me nuts last night. Everybody on the field is just awesome according to him. If I had to hear him fawn over Long, I was going to cry
That’s his shtick. It used to bother me a lot more. Now I’m old and just want to die.
Last night reminded me of the game against Dallas in October 2013. He was 11 for 29 and looked totally inept. I actually thought he had a concussion.
One week later and he throws 7 TDs against the Raiders.
I have no explanation but he can fall off a cliff at times.
So if the trend is true then 7 TDs this week against the Cowgirls?
hopefully 3.5 TDs week 17 and 3.5 TDs 1st playoff game
This is the strongest argument for resting him next week. Gotta save that 7 TD game for the playoffs!
Hopefully, he saves the 7 for the two playoff games. How does 4 one week and 3 the other week sound and the order doesn’t matter?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I think the thing with Nick is that he throws such rainbows that lack the tight spiral. His balls are incredibly catchable, but they are highly susceptible to any type of cross wind. Mix in ice cold temps when all QBs have issues with the ball being too hard, and he is just terrible.
He was off-target, took unnaccesary sacks, couldn’t move the ball down the field, didn’t run for 1st downs when he had ability to do so, had a slow release on the ball, and shrunk the field because the opposing defense didn’t respect the deep ball.
The Raiders were constistently starting at the 50 yard line. An average offense unit would have been able to put 20 points given the circumstances. The team won in spite of him.
Nobody’s arguing that he wasn’t bad last night, but Foles isn’t usually as bad as he was last night. That’s kind of the point.
I uh… is this meant to be a response to what I wrote?
The fact is just finding a decent starting QB is difficult, so any backup with skills will likely be someone elves starter.
It’s not a matter of “who would you rather have.”
It’s a matter of not being delusional about who you DO HAVE.
Foles is, simply, an adequate QB. He is in no way exceptional. He needs optimal conditions all around him to succeed. Period.
He had an utterly fluke-ish run one season under Kelly. He was, essentially, a product of the system Kelly created. Is he an awful QB? No.
But he is a career back-up and/or a starter on a really bad team. That’s the reality.
This is a life long Eagles fan. Remember Bednarik and Jurgensen and McDonald?
I do. And I’d like nothing better than to see this Eagles team win a championship.
But an awful lot is going to have to go right in order for them to do so … starting with the play of Foles.
We’ll see how this plays out …
At the beginning of the week, I was thinking of putting money on the Eagles at -9.5. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/furious-gamblers-slam-the-eagles-for-the-way-they-failed-to-cover-the-spread/ar-BBHmW7x?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout
glad you didnt)
Thanks. In gambling, money not lost is money won.
The closest statistical comps to Foles were Dalton and Bortles.
Bortles hasn’t made the playoffs yet so we’ll see how he does this year with arguably a better defense.
Dalton is 0-4 in the playoffs and has played poorly in every playoff game.
Foles played ok in the 2013 wildcard vs Saints but he isn’t going to win a playoff game for this team either.
Feel like I did after Wentz went 2 weeks ago. Maybe they win a playoff game but aren’t going to win 2 playoff games even at home with Foles to make the Super Bowl.
It’s not likely they will win the SB. But it wasn’t likely they’d win it before Wentz got hurt either. The injury reduces their chances, but it’s more like a reduction from 20% to 10% than from 50% to 0% as lots of fans seem to be saying.
yeah it certainly wasn’t 50 to 0 but it does feel like it went down fairly close to 0 with out him.
Odds of winning a Super Bowl any team are tough enough and your assessment of 20 sounds about right. Maybe a bit higher with Wentz and home field.
Yeah I agree with this. Having said that, you can’t really do much better than a Bortles/Dalton quality QB as a backup – shows why a team’s chances of winning an SB go to almost zero when a starter goes down.
This is why I hate wrapping up so much money into back up QB. Why pay a guy a ton of money if your chances of him being good enough are still so slim? You need your franchise guy to be healthy to have a shot. If he gets hurt roll your back up, rookie contract guy out there and hope for the best.
Because a season ending injury to the starting QB is not the only contingency you’re planning for.
If Carson had gotten a less serious injury mid-season (like the broken collar bone Rodgers sustained), and been out, say, 4-6 weeks, a capable veteran QB who could keep the ship afloat could help salvage the season, and would be a much better option than a stiff who would likely play us out of contention by the time Wentz made it back.
Remember the Mike McMahon disaster?
You type faster than I do, apparently…
I think it is more for a situation like the one GB found itself in than ours. If their backup was a little bit better than Hundley, Aaron Rodgers might be leading his team on a playoff run.
Backups don’t only play due to season ending injury. Sometimes you just need a guy that can beat 2 or 3 mediocre teams to keep you in the playoff hunt till your starter comes back.
I’d still rather have that money to add a player that will play 16 games
There have been 51 Superbowls. 9 have been won by back-up QBs.
The real statistical factor would include how many teams ended the season with a backup QB starting, but the fact that nearly 18% of championship games have been won by second stringers show that the chances are higher than zero.
Arguably a better defense? It is probably the best in the league. A vicious pass rush and a great secondary. If their OL succeeds in battering their opponent’s D, Jacksonville could very likely play in Pittsburgh (who they smoked earlier this season) or NE for the AFC championship. Bortles has very little weight on his shoulders.
Mostly due to an empty noggin.
Touche.
Interesting that Doug didn’t shoot down Sidney Jones playing Sunday.
If Jones is healthy, this could allow Schwartz to be more aggressive with blitzes. Could be a big factor when we have to play the great rushing teams.
This.
You are being really optimistic if you believe our injured rookie in his first game is:
1) going to play well
2) going to play a lot
3) going to change the entire game plan of our DC
Yes. There is not much hope for optimism on the offensive side of the ball right now.
Maybe our ticket is to sell out to stop the run.
Last week there wasn’t much hope for the defensive side of the ball…….Don’t panic, how long have you been watching pro football, this stuff happens all the time. I was thinking the same as kajomo.
No we are talking about his second game in 3 weeks don’t be silly.
Walk of TD.
#1 seed.
Woe is us.
Realize that the past year of success is meaningless because there is not much to come of it.
I don’t understand. When you say “not much to come of it” – what do you mean?
Also by “past year” what do you mean?
Do you mean Carson’s rookie year? Or are you predicting the future and quitting on this season like a psychic wuss?
I’d play Foles and the offensive starters for close to a half this week and hopefully have a solid 4-5 drives before they leave.
Not having a decent blocking TE (Ertz isn’t it) and a run game that leans so much on the right side of the OL really hampers what they can do too.
Love to see what others are saying but Womack seemed to play poorly this week and struggled badly at times in the 2nd half.
Foles is streaky good and bad. He did enough to win and seems to be a guy u can’t count out, even when he plays poorly.
Give him some credit he is something like 17-4 as a starter in Philly. He played poorly last night but he can and probably will rebound.
That 17-4 means nothing too be honest. Chip scheme got him alot of those wins. Dunno how you go from looking good last week to looking like real bad yesterday. Foles gold.
That’s what I would expect with a backup QB though -scheming (i.e. better run/pass balance) to try to put the team and your backup in position to win.
Tommy ~
I usually appreciate your positive spin on the Birds.
However your assessment comes across as “Pollyanna-ish” if not delusional.
Foles is a mediocre QB.
Mediocre QB’s – and there are a lot of them in the NFL – usually play to the given situation. They tend to be much more affected by weather; by the quality of the opposition; and by lapses ie. dropped passes of their teammates.
They tend NOT to rise about the given circumstances and rarely are capable of putting a team on their back and carrying it forward.
Alas, from this perspective that defines Nick Foles.
With this in mind, I would DEFINITELY play him against the Cowboys in an attempt to get him on the same page as his receivers; get more comfortable with Kelce (so many bad snaps!?); and just get more real game time in.
To believe (trust???) that this all can be accomplished in practice is foolish.
He needs to play more NOW before it’s too late and the Eagles are up against a more daunting defense in horrible weather and Nick Foles once again looks pathetically lost …
I would play him too.
So… Army of Darkness?
Why is it non-Cubs fans were happy when they were on their way to a championship?
Do people really like Santa from the 70’s that much? Or do we have to suffer 100+ years for the general public to give the Eagles fan base a break?
Honestly when Antonio Brown went down I smirked, I have no remorse for any other team because we get treated like dog-shit by every other fan base.
“I have no remorse for any other team because we get treated like dog-shit by every other fan base.”
I’d qualify this with especially enjoying misfortune visited upon fan bases with the “rings” insults and/or players who don’t play the game the right way.
Honestly when Antonio Brown went down I smirked, I have no remorse for any other team because we get treated like dog-shit by every other fan base.
If it bothers you that Philly fans get endless shit for lacking class and sportsmanship (and it bothers me), making statements like this that exhibit a lack of class and sportsmanship are probably not the best response.
Edit: When I attempted to control-C a quotation to post in there, it didn’t work, resulting in a total non-sequitur.
i didn’t have a parade or clap when Brown went down. Pittsburgh’s fan base is on the level of NE and DAL nationally, and they are more annoying to me because they are 4 hours away and basically think our organization is run by idiots since the inception of the Super Bowl, as if Philly is not trying or we are retarded.
we are the unattractive sibling of Leo DiCaprio/Bradley Cooper/Derek Zoolander…….
I get being annoyed by them. I am perfectly happy celebrating when the team of a despised fan base loses.
Smirking about a guy getting hurt crosses a line for me though. Ultimately it’s just a game and these guys are human beings. I was disgusted by Cowboys and Giants fans celebrating how unhappy Eagles fans were when Wentz got hurt and I don’t think we should sink to that level. As a guy who played a lot of sports when I was younger, I hated seeing guys get hurt, even bitter rivals whose ass I was trying to beat on the field/court/ice. It’s not cool.
oh i feel ya…. Michael Irvin obviously comes to mind….
The whole Wentz hate really bugged me after he went down…. its like seriously don’t you fuckers have any fucking sense of what it is like being an Eagles fan? We have NOTHING to hang our hat on. Nothing.
there is no more leg to stand on for us. we are truly cursed
I hate national commentary feeling sorry for us…. “it’s not over”, “Foles is better than Philly fans give him credit for”…………. shut up and go back to your NE/Pitt/GB dick-riding ways.
Figure this game vs. Dallas is really just some live reps for as long as they feel like playing the starters (and I bet it isn’t long) and then they can get back in the bunker to really get their collective heads screwed on straight. They’ve basically been given until January 12th / 13th to correct a lot of stupid, sloppy, lazy, unfocused, undisciplined play and play calling with all 3 phases of the game. They can also get a ton of guys really feeling better from a wear and tear and/or dinged up standpoint.
Am I wrong to expect that they’ll come out with a better effort in the divisional round?
Preseason game 3.
No, you’re not wrong
anybody concerned about jay ajayi as our lead back? I do like the effort he puts in on his runs, but 90% of the time when hitting the ground he seems to consistently lose the football. A lot of time the body hits first, avoiding a fumble, but I hate seeing run going to review. if you can’t hold on to the football, don’t fight for any extra yard!
I’m concerned that he’s not given the ball enough. I don’t think his fumbling is Barner / Heath Sherman level scary just yet, but I agree it isn’t ideal.
He’s probably just trying too hard because he knows he’s only getting the ball once every three or four drives and is trying to make the most of it…
I’d want to know for sure, but it seems like he’s losing the ball by having it stripped while trying for extra yards. That’s a problem that can be fixed by his recognizing when to acknowledge the play is over.
And until the Vikings are coming to town, I don’t respect anybody’s run D to stop a dedicated approach to running the football by us……..especially given our D being able to (hopefully) turn it up in our raucous home environment.
You can be as dedicated to running the ball as you want, if the D is stacking 8 men in the box and daring you to beat single coverage on the outside and you can’t do it to make them back off, as was the case last night, you’re not going to have success with it.
As was pointed out earlier, there were some needless penalties that negated big runs that gave a skewed impression of the Raiders being able to stop the run vs. us that was more self inflicted than anything. Also, Wis being back makes a difference.
But I agree you can’t be 60/40 run/pass, I just want it to be more of an emphasis.
I think it will be, provided Nick can hit on a few of the easy throws the stacked box defenses give him to make them pay. He wasn’t doing that last night in any of the part of the game I watched, despite being given opportunities, so I didn’t really have an issue with Pederson not wanting to slam his head into a wall by attempting to utilize an ineffective running game.
I’m still mixed on that. As much as I get annoyed at Pederson’s play calling at times, it has really improved from last year. I just think they get away from the run far too often. But all in all, I thing Pederson will have a good game plan together for the playoff game.
well at least we don’t have to worry about Schwartz or Reich going anywhere next year lol
Don’t know about that.
There are supposedly going to be a record number of head coaching changes. Minimum of 12 with possibly even 14.
I could see both of them getting head coaching interviews and the Eagles losing some of other coaches this offseason including Fipp, DeFilippo, and Groh too with new coaching gigs elsewhere next year.
If Reich or Schwartz does get a head coaching gig, you can bet he brings at least 1-2 coaches here with him too.
anyone see previews for a TV show (not sure what network) for a gentlemen from Ireland picking his favorite NFL team…. the previews show him in a Seahawks, Packers and Cowboys jersey….. fuck that guy, fuck that show. As if we need those fan bases to have any more ammunition.
There seems to be two extremes:
– Foles sucks and even some ridiculous ideas of bringing in Sudfeld to start.
vs
– Simply be happy that Eagles got the #1 seed and are 13-2
I fall into the middle. Foles wasn’t as bad as he was this last week but he is a marginal starting QB.
I don’t see this team making the Super Bowl and even being at best a toss-up in the divisional round.
agreed. delaying the inevitable….
weakest #1 seed in modern history?
Dallas seriously just 1 year ago?
No.
Shocking a team loses QB in the MVP conversation and a HOF OT and are greatly weakened.
What is disappointing is that everything seemed to be falling into place just like it did for the Phillies in 2008.
I honestly don’t really see this argument. Even before Wentz went down the Eagles had already lost two of their five best players for the season, including their best offensive lineman and the quarterback of their defense. They’d also lost their best special teams weapon and pass catching RB, and played more than half the season without their best CB. You can point at potential roadblock teams like Green Bay and Dallas being hurt by injuries and suspensions, but on the other hand teams like the Rams and Saints have benefited from exceptionally good injury luck this year.
This wasn’t an especially lucky year by any stretch. In fact I think you can argue the Eagles have been winning despite their luck and not because of it.
“In fact I think you can argue the Eagles have been winning despite their luck and not because of it.”
I accept that argument.
Going to have injuries every year though to some degree. With Wentz, they could have gotten into a shootout with anyone and still had a good chance to win.
They didn’t make a huge trade but did pick up Ajayi which bolstered the run game too. If Roseman doesn’t think this team were really well-positioned this year, he doesn’t make that trade.
Of course the team was well-positioned this year – they were the best team in the conference. My point is they weren’t well-positioned as a result of exceptional luck, or other circumstances that aren’t repeatable. They have a good coaching staff and a great young QB. When you have those two ingredients you’re going to be well-positioned most years. It takes exceptionally bad luck (such as a preseason season-ending injury to your QB) for you not to be.
It’s completely rational to expect them to be well-positioned next year as well. Wentz will be back. Ajayi will be back. This is the beginning of a window, not a one-and-done chance.
It does feel like this team has been on the end of a number of fortunate bounces and critical breaks all year long starting with the 61-yard FG in the Giants’ game.
Gotta capitalize on those seasons. Giants got 2 rings out of it starting from the wild card spot.
Can nick foles be at least eli manning?
Like what?
That’s one play you can call lucky (and even that’s debatable – Elliott might just be a good K) that went in their favor. Can you name another game that was decided by a fortuitous bounce of the ball? Most of their wins have been blowouts and even in the close ones, they made big time plays to win the game when the chips were down.
I will never understand the mentality of Eagles fans who refuse to believe that the team is objectively good. They’re not great, they’re not invincible, they aren’t even the favorites this year, but they are objectively good. You don’t go 13-2 in the NFL by accident.
Not to mention, we were coming off a loss in Seattle and stuck in a dogfight with the Rams that we could have lost, Wentz or no.
There’s no real powerhouse in the NFC. Every one of those teams has a weakness. If Wentz was our qb, I’d already have my tickets to Minn booked.
If the Eagles come into the Divisional round rested, healthy, and fired up, and the team plays well (yup, especially Nick), it’s onto the Conference Championship. Then, at home, we play a dome team in some cold, nasty, Philly weather, and the team plays well (especially Nick, part 2), then it’s onto the SB.
At that point, we pray for anyone except the Pats and, who knows…?
Gotta be honest, this fanbase straight up does not deserve a championship. It’s pathetic how negative people are.
This is the other extreme.
This is a fan base that hasn’t won a championship and saw even their chances next year thrown into flux to the severity of Wentz’s injury. Hell even him being out to a broken hand wouldn’t have left the negative taste in a lot of fan’s mouthes. It isn’t being pessimistic to say their odds of getting to or winning a Super Bowl have dropped considerably either.
It is like having a great meal and a terrible dessert.
I’ve seen it over the past two years.
Doug sucks.
He can’t speak well.
He’s a doofus.
Can’t believe the Eagles gave up a first round pick for a luxury QB they don’t need.
Sam Bradford sucks.
Why would they draft a QB when they already have Sam Bradford.
Why would they draft a RB I don’t like in the 4th round, when they could have traded up to draft the RB I like, now that I’ve seen him play well in the regular season, in the 3rd round.
The offensive line sucks, get rid of Kelce.
Yea, we’re 13-2, but some of the wins haven’t been impressive enough.
I can’t believe we lost to Seattle, a team with a decent record, in the playoff hunt, with one of the best HFA in the league.
Nick put up 4 TDs, we’re good.
Nick puts up 1 TD, we suck and are getting eliminated in the Divisional round.
It’s just fucking sad and pathetic.
See everybody in three weeks.
We’ve got a great shot to win a playoff game at home against whoever survives the next two weeks. We’ve got a great shot!
This is a common mistake. Taking the gripes of every fan that ever had a complaint or hot take and ascribing them to the entire fanbase as universally complaining about every single thing. There are fans like that but it is representative of an insanely small group of fans.
IE it is fun to laugh at all the sheeple who hate Sam Bradford AND hate drafting his replacement like idiots. But these were mostly 2 different camps of fans. Anti Bradford fans were not sad to see us draft Wentz, while the people who complained about wasting picks on Wentz were likely not part of the Bradford sucks camp.
The Doug sucks people have almost entirely admitted they were wrong or at least acknowledge Doug has grown into a good coach if he wasn’t before, like decent reasonable human beings (with a few notable exceptions, the greatest of which is not an Eagles fan). But that’s no fun, more fun to hate everyone.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21884390/john-harbaugh-baltimore-ravens-criticizes-nfl-sunday-game-was-changed
“Now, the fear is the hometown crowd will be smaller because of conflicts with New Year’s Eve plans.”
Really Baltimore? Really? If your fans’ New Year’s Eve plans aren’t the Ravens; your fans suck.
They blamed the anthem protests earlier this year for their declining numbers. And London. And now New Years Eve. They suck
If anybody wants to give away tickets because you have a problem with the anthem stuff, I’ll gladly take them.
Last night by the end of the game, I was kind of wiped out. But I’m doing a lot better today. Perspective is an interesting thing.
The defense played great last night. That was Carr, Lynch, Crabtree, Cooper and Cook out there with the Raiders offense. Those guys can all play.
Our offense was sluggish. But Doug gave them time off. And again, that was Navorro Bowman and Khalil Mack out there with the Raiders D. Those guys can play. The Raiders were playing for pride last night, and it showed.
We got a tough win on a major holiday in the cold during a shaky practice week. Division Champs. First Round Bye. Home Field Advantage throughout.
Now it’s just up to Coach Pederson and Nicky Foles to take us as far as we can go. We’re one win away from the NFC Championship Game. We’re two wins away from the Super Bowl.
There’s nobody out there who can tell me we can’t win one or two games at home. Foles is good enough. The defense is good enough. The coaches have been amazing.
See you in three weeks! Go Eagles!
“Last night by the end of the game, I was kind of wiped out. But I’m doing a lot better today. Perspective is an interesting thing.”
Game time is for catharsis, after wins is for perspective, after losses is for recriminations.
Glad we’re able to be using some perspective.
And I agree with you across the board.
The Carson loss is rough, but we’re not out of it at all. We’re playing at home. The close games are turning into good practice for us.
Yup, they’re out of games against push overs, but don’t have to host any world beaters either. The Eagles are either going to decide to take care of business in both games or they’re going to choke. But I’m not presupposing that they’ll choke.
(Hey Guy! I hope we get some help while we sit home the first week. Maybe some of the starch might get knocked out of these NFC contenders in the wild card round. Then somebody has to come to South Philly!)
Rams choking vs. the Falcons and the Saints having to go to Minnesota is the best case scenario if current seeds hold.
I agree, this is the dream scenario.
I think the Rams, Saints, and Vikings are the three biggest threats to our chances and we should be hoping things break so that we only have to beat one of them.
You’d like to see the Saints diminished in a war with Carolina before getting into a barn burner of a loss in Minnesota. I don’t really fear the Rams out here as much as I’m not sure how Goff would do in a road playoff game. Getting the Vikings here would be ideal after beating Atlanta.
Apart from scenarios that best work for the Eagles, I think that LA is considerably better now than when they began the season. If they put away Atlanta, they could gather momentum and defeat their next opponent. Right now I think the NFC goes to either LA or Minnesota. New Orleans is possible whereas Eagles are improbable.
You don’t think the Eagles could win one home game or two..?
You’re saying we have no chance to win one or two home playoff games..?
I’m choking on the words you’re putting in my mouth. I think we could be in the SB, but I don’t think it is likely. I’m not averse to seeing the glass half-full, but I’m trying to be as realistic as I can. If we get a few breaks and Foles surprises me, I’l be ecstatic. I’m not holding my breath.
We have one game coming up in three weeks:
1) against an unspecified NFC opponent
2) that has fought hard to survive for several weeks
3) traveling to Philly to play
4) and playing at an unknown level of health and strength, while…
5) the Eagles will be rested, practiced up, game-planned up, and…
6) where the Eagles have been undefeated at home all this year.
I’m not ready to reach any negative conclusions or argue any negative likelihoods. Are you???
Why do I get the feeling I’m arguing atheism to a rabbi? I WANT to see our guys in the SB. I just think the absence of Wentz knocks a chunk of dynamism out of our offense…to the extent that we will have multiple players trying too hard to do too much…which is the definition of losing.
I can tell you are a thoughtful guy, unhinged.
My feeling is that you are trying to predict the future with a severe lack of data as my post above points out.
What’s coming through is your pessimism. That’s not objective, it’s subjective.
I’m suggesting that if you want to be pessimistic then go ahead. But don’t claim you are being objective about your negative conclusions. Not enough data yet.
I choose to be optimistic because this team with these coaches has been strong all year. And there’s not enough information to say we are going one and done. There not enough information to say our championship hopes are now doomed.
We have the easiest road so far. And we don’t have an opponent in front of us yet who looks like they will stop us. We’re waiting to see all that in about two weeks.
Meanwhile, I’m optimistic. And you?
I want to believe in God, Shlomo but I can’t find convincing evidence. Is it pessimism to see that Saint Nick is a myth? Our offense was elevated by Wentz who is unavailable. Foles has a very clear history of mediocrity. Our offense is not dynamic with his shaky leadership. Our defense is not world-class, but it could steal us a game…like it did against a Raiders team with a putrid defense.
Be the best fan you can be, but please don’t make delusion the new optimism.
Agrees with unhinged. . and think NO far better now than begin of season
I have to disagree to the extent you seem to think it’s nearly futile or hopeless. That’s the impression you’re nearly giving me anyhoo. You may be right that those teams win but I don’t think it’s improbable we beat LA or Minnesota. Frankly neither team scares me to the point they’re favored by much. It’s gonna be close to a toss up.
Keenum is good but Minnesota’s offense doesn’t scare me that much. They’re solid but we can stop them.
We beat the Rams and you can spin that but there’s no way we beat them and it’s improbable we beat them. Yeah the Rams have Gurley but if we commit to our running game, we can equalize Gurley.
Minny is a dome team and the Rams a warm weather team. That may or may not mean crap.
Also Saints have the most experienced QB by far of us, Rams, Vikings and Saints.which is something to think about.
I’m glad you used “nearly” because I don’t believe that it is hopeless. I just think that our offense is a lot closer to mediocre without 11.
Dilly dilly in Philly Philly this awesome sentiment :
We’re two wins away from the Super Bowl.
There’s nobody out there who can tell me we can’t win one or two games at home. Foles is good enough. The defense is good enough. The coaches have been amazing.
See you in three weeks! Go Eagles!
We need 3 wins against top flight teams to bring home the trophy. It’s long odds, which aren’t even favorable when you do have your MVP. Even a team who beats elite teams 8 out of 10 times, we’re talking real dominance here, only has just over a 50% chance of winning 3 in a row (80%^3). Odds are never great in tournaments, just better or worse odds than the other teams in the tournament. We don’t get to chose the circumstance, the Eagles will get their shot for the first time since 2013 and we will be routing for them hard, whether the odds of bringing it all home are 12.5% (50%^3) or 6.4% (40%^3)
So you’re saying there’s a chance.
never tell me the odds!
I’m hoping that the wind played a big part in Foles inability to pass. Also, let’s hope that the defense that was on the field during the 2nd half is back.
My question to you is what changes can Pederson make if passing is a problem and even better defenses stack the box? Do we try to develop a screen passing game even though without Sproles it hasn’t really been a strength? Does it make sense to bring Smallwood back into the mix because when healthy, and I would think he’s is that, Smallwood is one of our better backs in catching passes out of the backfield? Even though many people might think using Smallwood is a waste of time, it wouldn’t be the first time this year a written off player surprised everyone.
Supporting the hypothesis that the weather was a factor was that Carr also played poorly (in fact, worse than Foles did).
We’re likely to have to win in bad weather outdoors in January. But I’d argue that a bad weather game is to our advantage as it neutralizes the advantage the other NFC teams have over us at QB.
I commented yesterday during the game that you could only read the “IGA” on Jernigan’s jersey on this play. I didn’t exaggerate by much.
https://twitter.com/baldynfl/status/945684378503479296
That’s disgusting.
Yeah and as I said last night the 2nd call on Lane was bad because they’d call holding nearly every play if that was holding and his wasn’t close to that.
3 Wins to Philly IMMORTALITY : GO EAGLES! !!
Better hope the first one isn’t Dalls or you’re one short.
Wisniewski returning to health, gritty defense and a running game along with special teams are a recipe for us. Add in key completions to Ertz, Alshon, Burton, Ags are a formula to winning for us..
38 pass attempts to 21 rushing attempts is not what we want with Nick at QB. That’s 36/64 run to pass. Pederson has to put him in better position to succeed.
“Burton, Ags are a potential formula to winning for us…” what a difference a season makes
Love this Reidesque quote from Pederson haha say what?:
Right now, if I had to stand here today and say Ellerbe is the guy, then he might be the guy moving forward.
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/12/26/16819592/eagles-sidney-jones-play-cowboys-takeaways-doug-pederson-press-conference-philadelphia-rest-starters
His Soviet Doublespeak is next level and I again eat crow for ever wondering if he could handle the press.
Looking at the Baldy breakdown on the Eagles D.
So far:
– McLeod also biting on the double move that Mills did was embarrassing. I’m getting a little sick of poor safety play.
– Chris Long was 100% NOT offsides. The ref who called that if a fucking idiot and should either resign or agreed to be tied to a light post in the Linc parking lot and be shot with paint balls.
– The bomb to Cooper that both Mills and Graham allowed themselves to get out competed on was really f-ing soft and needs to be cleaned up. Thank God Brandon Graham was held.
– 100% Crabtree pushed off and should have been called for OPI on the goal line play where Mills battled back and forced up the PBU.
– Ellerbee did a great job reading the blocking and blowing up that run he talked in the backfield
I thought the bomb was caught between Graham and McLeod.
McLeod was back there but kind of away from the ball. It was Mills and Graham who came up weak on their jumps
Its ok for McLeod to jump for the double move as if it was a Cover 3 or single high the slant would have been the LB zone or if was single high McLeod did the right thing. Mills just got outplayed from a double move.
it’s 1st rd pick amari cooper againt 7th rd pick j. mills. should be focusing on the positive, aside from that bad bite he held his own
I don’t think Foles wins a playoff game, but I’m interested in what Dougie et al think up. How do you scheme around someone whose reads are slow, throws are high, and regularly tries to kill his receivers over the middle?
Run more? Block better? Snap better?
If the D plays as well as it did last night he won’t have to win us a playoff game – he’ll just have to not lose it.
The level of play we saw yesterday won’t get it done. The level of play he showed us against the Giants can. Foles has always been streaky, all we can do is hope he can put together a good streak when it counts.
And part of Foles has always been more blocking dependent that other guys. O line can certainly do it’s job a lot better than it did yesterday.
Perfect examples of your scenario were the Ravens in 2000, when Trent Differ was their QB and as recent as Peyton Manning’s last year with Denver when he was only a shell of himself.
However, in both of those examples the defenses were not just very good, but we’re outstanding.
I like to believe that Foles is somewhat better than what Differ was and Manning in his final year, but make no mistake the defense that shows up must be as good as it was in the 2nd half and nothing like it was the previous 3 games.
Run the ball more so there’s more balance?… go to quick reads, more slants (one of Jeffery’s strengths) less progressions and less long pass plays? It is possible his throws aren’t so high but his lack of games this year is a big concern.
But yeah if he’s that erratic as he was last night which seems fairly likely you’re probably gonna have to beat Rams, Viking , Saints 13-10 , 20-17 or so.
You need a different Nick but his arm strength didn’t measure up to some of the patterns last night, no? Not that his short passing was that good till that last drive.
Wiz being out was hurting Wentz too , he was getting beat up so getting him back could help.
Wiz will help. He’s more disciplined in pass protections. Stunts and gimmick rushes don’t trip him up nearly as easily.
Big V needs a smart veteran next to him. Warmack is better than earlier in the season. But in a playoff push or a playoff run, we need Wiz in there.
Foles needs Wiz in there.
For those of you who want to declare the season over!
Your score is: 16601 (GRADE: B-)
Your Picks:
Round 2 Pick 7 (N.E.): Rashaan Evans, OLB, Alabama (A-)
Round 3 Pick 23 (N.E.): Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State (A)
Round 4 Pick 3 (IND): K.J. Malone, OG, LSU (B+)
Round 4 Pick 23: Cameron Smith, ILB, Southern California (A+)
Round 4 Pick 32: John Kelly, RB, Tennessee (A)
Round 5 Pick 21: Tre Flowers, SS, Oklahoma State (A-)
Round 5 Pick 32: Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame (B)
Round 6 Pick 32: Kurt Benkert, QB, Virginia (A-)
A guy from the other Dakota named Dallas? Sounds like a chemistry risk.
Foles looked like a first year college QB staring down his receivers on every play. He wasn’t looking off or going through his progressions at all (for the majority of the game). He was looking like the “deer in the headlights” Foles we saw before he was traded in several games. He can be better than he played – let’s hope he finds it again in three weeks!
Hypnosis may work.
Body bag game is on Comcast right now. Kelly green jersey, silver pants, black sneakers was a bad ass uniform combo.
Off topic.
The Browns currently hold the 1st and 4th (from Houston) picks, plus 3 more in the first 2 rounds, in the 2018 draft.
Would you double down on QBs a la the Washington Redhawks RGIII & Cousins draft? Could you imagine spending 1 and 4 overall on 2 QBs?
Noooo. You can’t spend two high first round picks on QBs in the same year. You have to choose one guy and hope you’ve chosen right. There are only so many resources to go around in terms of coaching time, etc.
RG3 and Cousins is not comparable because Cousins was a 4th round pick who was selected with the hope that he could develop into a backup.
It would be unorthodox, sure, but it would improve your odds significantly of getting a franchise QB, something the Browns V2.0 have never had.
There simply aren’t enough reps to go around.
Also if you’re so scared you can’t just make the call on one, hand in your badge at the front desk and be gone please.
Unless you’re talking about a Peyton Manning-type prodigy, drafting a talented guy is only half of “getting a franchise QB”. The other half is coaching/development, and having two guys on the roster would severely hamper that.
Pick the one you want and trade that pick to a QB needy team like Denver, Arizona, or NYJ.
FYI. It’s foolisgh for NYG to pass up on a QB. Eli is 37.
browns need to take all the qbs, look at the 49ers
No!
I’m nearly positive they are Jeff Fisher in franchise form. There’s no way that gigantic list of bust QBs has no talent on it. Why is there a QB shortage in the NFL? The Browns and Jeff Fisher and their ilk gobbling them all up and turning them to trash.
That’s what I’m going with anyway. Use 1 pick on qb to put people in the stands if you have to, otherwise just go the Jag’s route and build a good team with all those picks.
Except they have tried to do that (build a team first) the last two drafts, and have little to show for it. It’s not just QBs they are not drafting well.
If someone has to be cut in order to activate Sidney Jones, would the eagles drop?
My guess would be Means or Gibson.
I would drop Ellerbe. He looked horrible last night. We could also drop Wil Beatty with little consequence at this point.
I was at the game and I did not see any of the WR’s getting open. Alson and Torrie were not getting any separation at all. Foles can’t extend plays as long as CW and if his WR’s are not getting open then drives will continue to stall. Foles is not going to get 2 or 3 1st downs with his legs like CW would. I am more concerned with our WR’s not getting open than anything else on this team heading into the playoffs.
I’m way more concerned with left side of ol.
Foles was not under crazy pressure. Got sacked twice. Reason he got sacked was because nobody was open down field. We will at least get Wiz back to stabilize the left side of the line a bit. The line play can not hold an extra 3 or 4 seconds to allow WR’s to get open. Our WR’s have to win their 1 on 1 battles. This is why I am concerned most by our lack of separation from the WR’s.
13 and 86 can consistently get open. But really, to me looking for consistent separation is college football.
We don’t need consistent separation, but we need enough that teams have to respect our outside WR’s and can’t freely load the box to stop the run w/out fear of being beat 1 on 1 in the passing game. Foles needs to let it rip and give his WR’s a chance to make plays. I can live with the outcome. Just take some shots.
All this team has done so far is able to win games regardless of what the circumstances be!! I will be concerned when they start losing those tight games which they haven’t done so far!
We just need to ride our running game and Defense the rest of the way. Getting HFA is huge and should give us an extra edge over other teams. I wont be disappointed if we lose in NFCCG with the adversity we have shown provided we had horrible luck with the injuries.
Few things to work on the next 3 weeks:
1. Clean up penalties, drops and bad snaps
2. Screen game with faster RB/WR like Clement and Agholor to lose up the opposing D
3. Run, run, run and please start running with Ajayi and Clement. Keep Blount mostly off till the 2nd half
4. Short passing game
5. Press the opposing WRs a little more to disrupt the routes
Agree. If eagles win all blowouts-“can’t win close games”
If eagles win three close games-“eagles suck have to win in last minutes.”
Get wrecked people (as my kids would say).
The play choice was different than other games. More comeback routes. Less quick slants. Lots of 3 yard outs. I think Doug is either trying new plays or going vanilla to not show hand for playoffs, like preseason.