Playoff Talk
Posted: December 19th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 213 Comments »Week 15 is in the books so let’s look at the standings.
PHI 12-2
MIN 11-3
LAR 10-4
NO 10-4
CAR 10-4
ATL 9-5
DET 8-6
SEA 8-6
DAL 8-6
The Falcons won on Monday night, eliminating the Packers. I think that’s a good thing. As you saw on Sunday, a team that goes no-huddle and throws the ball a lot can give the Eagles fits. Green Bay has been a flawed team all year, but the last thing I wanted was to have to face Aaron Rodgers.
Seattle is the other team that I want no part of. They were horrible on Sunday, but that was rock bottom for them. You never know what they can do in another game. Russell Wilson is a freak. Watching Eagles pass rushers chase after him for the past few years was pure torture.
Seattle and Dallas both are in big trouble because they lost to Atlanta. That means a tie goes to the Falcons. Seattle and Dallas have to win out and hope the Falcons lose both of their games. The problem there is that Seattle and Dallas play each other this week. One of them is getting eliminated.
Atlanta does have a tough pair of games ahead of them. They play at New Orleans and then host the Panthers. That is a brutal finish.
The Eagles play at home both of the final two games, hosting the Raiders and Cowboys. Those games could be meaningless if the Vikings lose to the Packers on Saturday night, but that might be tough now. Rodgers may sit for the final two games now that Green Bay is out. I don’t see the Packers beating the Vikings without Rodgers. The Eagles are going to need to beat Oakland (or Dallas) to clinch homefield advantage.
It sure does feel good to be on top and looking down. Recent years have been the opposite and that’s just no fun as the season winds down.
*****
While Atlanta won, they struggled against a bad Tampa Bay team. A missed FG clinched the victory.
The week before, the Pats went down to Miami and lost to a wildly inconsistent Dolphins team.
You never know what is going to happen when you play against teams in your division, especially on the road. I’m not excusing the Eagles mistakes from Sunday, but division games have a habit of going in unexpected directions. Who thought the Ravens and Steelers would be a shootout? Who thought the Rams would beat the Seahawks so badly? There was a point in that game where the Rams had 40 points and Seattle had 56 yards. That’s just hard to comprehend.
Back in 2012 the 4-10 Eagles were playing the division-leading Skins. Washington had a 27-20 lead when the Eagles got the ball with 4:15 left. Some rookie named Nick Foles drove the Eagles down to the 5-yard line. Evan Moore dropped a TD or the Eagles might have tied that game. The last drive is actually kind of a fun watch.
Division games rarely make sense.
*****
Eagles finished the season 6-2 on the road. They went 1-7 on the road last year. Remember how excited they were Week 1 in Washington? Doug Pederson was soaked with a Gatorade bath. Was a big deal then; has become the standard now.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 18, 2017
Great point.
The Eagles were awful on the road when Andy Reid took over. He changed that and it was a sign that the team had really improved. We’ll have to wait and see if the Eagles can keep this up next year.
_
Hope the season begins and ends with Doug getting a Gatorade bath.
Agree Tommy. Glad the pack is out. Hope Seattle is out soon. Hope Atlanta wins and knocks out Seattle and dallas.
There’s no juggernaut in the AFC. And there’s no juggernaut in the NFC. Unless maybe it’s the Eagles.
If the road to Minneapolis in February comes through South Philly in the NFC, then maybe we’re the juggernaut after all. It looks like we’re back on track and we control our own destiny.
Go Doug! Go Nicky! Go Eagles!
The Rams are the most complete team in the NFL after Wentz went down.
I hope they are knocked off before the NFFCG. I really hope we face the Panther or Falcons in the divisional round because our defense stack up best against them
Idk about that. I respect how well Goff is playing, but I think Foles is even with him. I would say we are even or slightly better. Remember we were down in that game when Foles came in.
I’d agree that getting an upset road winner from the massively flawed wild card teams would be a lot better than facing a division winner in the divisional round.
I don’t want to see that Rams team again.
I’m inclined to agree.. I think they might not be quite AS dangerous on the road, but I think they’re a tougher matchup than Minnesota is.
I disagree because Minny plays tough physical and aggressive football on both sides. They have a playoff feel where I think the Rams are more explosive but not as tough and gritty. They folded when they should have beaten us at home and reading their press they didn’t even seem too upset about it. I think we a mental edge on the Rams that is amplified at home, January, outside ect.
Gurley is an absolute load, while I’m not terribly impressed by Minnesota’s running game. Thielen and Diggs are good, but I still think Keenum is inarguably the worst QB in the NFC field aside perhaps from Foles, unless the Cowboys somehow sneak in. Both teams have good defenses but with the shaky left side of our line I don’t fancy trying to block Aaron Donald for four quarters.
Minnesota is not chopped liver, and if the choice is between playing them in Minneapolis or the Rams at home I’ll take the Rams at home.. but at the Linc I’d prefer to play them to the Rams.
I’d argue NE is a juggernaut – multiple SB winner, defending champion, a true team who hate losing more than they love winning and have an extremely strong mental approach. Are they as good as the 2004 Pats? No, but they will be a very very very tough out.
It’s crazy to me how they always seem to be playing in close games, but usually come out on top.
It’s almost like it’s intentional. The Pats would have been ok from 28-3 going on to win 31-21 or 24. Falcons said we are throwing, this is what we do~!! Oh noes our QB got stripped sacked in FG range. Why are we so unlucky?
Its just really good coaching. They are well coached and prepared for the end of games. That poorly executed fake spike? The players said they practice against that all the time and we’re looking for it.
That win goes to Belichick*.
that was my point!
Have you watched the Patriots the last two weeks?
They’re a very good, well-coached team that won’t beat themselves, and they should be considered the favorite to win the title at this point IMO, but they are far from a juggernaut. They are not as good as the 2007 Patriots. They’re not even as good as last year’s Patriots.
Just stop.
Haha.
NE is no longer the favorite to win the SB when they are in a post season game, losing, and there is 0:00 on the clock. Until then, they are the favorite.
Those guys know what the hell they’re doing.
Rams are the juggernaut, it would seem. They have very few weaknesses and have had great injury luck so far. (As have the Vikings). In fact, injuries appear to this years superbowl participants. And we have to wonder what would have been if we had Wentz, Peters, Sproles, Hicks and Maragos on this team right now.
Vikes lost their starting QB and their starter the previous year just recently returned from injury. Keenum is a journeyman benefitting from a very strong D, strong OL and good weapons. They are also missing Cook – he is a dynamic RB that would help, him & Murray would be a tough combo.
Their performance actually makes the Foles will be fine case pretty well IF the Eagles can execute consistently like the Vikes have.
Rams have gotten injury luck for sure, big part of their run so far.
Considering that we just beat the Rams in their house, and they also lost to the Vikings, I think it’s going a bit far to call them a “juggernaut”. They’re 0-2 against what look to be the NFC’s top two seeds at this point.
Well, it was relatively speaking of course. I think by virtue of staying healthy and by having succes in the first year of a new offense that D-coordinators have no tape on they appear to be the team that has the highest potential. But scheme covers a lot of their flaws too, especially on offense. So they could also bust, whereas the Vikes appear to enjoy a more solid, repetetive, reproductive succes. McVai scares the hell out of me though.
The Cowgirls can also get in the playoffs by winning both of their remaining games and the Saints losing both of their remaining games.
Zeke back?
Back this week I believe.
Atlanta loing not the saints
Also Detroit has to lose to one of the Bengals and Packers which seems unlikely.
Okay so boys would have tiebreakers over the saints but lose tiebreaker to both Atlanta and Atlanta and Detroit. So basically there only chance is if Atlanta loses both remaining games and Detroit drops a meaningless game to the packers
In your scenario Atlanta would beat the saints and would get a playoff spot. Detroit would get the other one
The Boys can also get in if NO loses both games and Detroit loses one game. Cowboys also have to win both games. I used the ESPN playoff machine. This accounts for all tie-breakers involved. Pretty cool to play around with . http://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs/machine
Who the hell was Evan Moore? I’m usually good with Birds players from 2002 up.
Backup lineman in an eligible position. Cappy play call.
He was actually a tight end. Played college ball at Stanford, late season pickup from somebody’s practice squad due to injury, no NFL moments to speak of.
You are correct. Guess I remembered him as an OL due to the number of passes he caught.
The genius of that kind of play call is that no one is expecting it.
Just like the jeenyus of AR was to pass every down because they wouldn’t expect it and the jeenyus of CK was to run the same three plays because they wouldn’t expect it. Throwing to someone who hasn’t caught a pass during a game in days….weeks….months was asking for trouble.
Gotcha.
I’m glad you had to ask that, too. I didn’t recognize that name at all.
Just win vs. Oakland (or face vulgar recriminations), get home field, and beat the Rams and Vikings in back to back home games. We’ll worry about the Super Bowl when it happens.
And I’d imagine that both Carolina and Atlanta get slapped around on the road in the wild card round. Carolina especially.
If the Rams hold on to the 3 seed (and I think they will), then they would have to play the Vikings in the second round of the playoffs.
I’m seeing a Rams loss to the Titans in Tennessee this weekend and the Saints winning out.
Keeping the #1 seed is critical so we have home field and the Rams & Vikes will likely need to play while we face the worse seed.
It would be great if a low seed NFC team goes on a cinderella run and knocks off the competition so we can smack them in the NFCCG or, better yet, that a AFC team knocks off the Pats and/or Steelers.
Usually a wildcard team wins because one of the division leaders doesnt deserve to be there. I don’t think that’s the case this year in the NFC.
I think you’re right about this year being a stronger group of #1-6 seeded teams in the NFC.
I’m confident we can beat any of them, but have zero problem with getting help. There is no extra prize for beating the best teams to secure the ring.
That is a good point, but 4-6 are all NFC south teams right now and pretty even. Assuming the 4 and 5 seeds are both NFC south teams, I could see the wild card team beating a team in it’s own division in the first round. I don’t see any of those teams beating the Rams, but stranger things have happened.
*Random tackling rant*
One of my pet peeves is defensive players, mainly LB, CB or S, throwing shoulders or trying to undercut legs instead of actually tackling the opponent by wrapping him up and making sure he goes down.
Please, Eagles, please stop allowing this to happen. If I see Jenkins try to undercut another runner or Mills or Darby throw another shoulder instead of wrapping up, I may go protest outside of Schwartz’s office at Novacare.
*Random tackling rant*
They wouldn’t have to worry about form tackling if they were 5 yards away from the receivers as they make their catches.
That’s all the Rams tacklers do — dive at the legs…
That only works on guys like Ertz.
Unless you are Brian Dawkins, trying to arm tackle, will often result in the RB or WR shrugging you off like dust
Not advocating arm tackling – “wrapping him up and making sure he goes down.” As Dave stated, form tackling.
That involves getting your head infront of the guy, making it easy for most RBs to change direction and break the arm tackle
There have been some misses as form has degraded, but at least we dont see Maxwell or Asante types of wiffs out there.
Jenkins deserves some credit with Mcleod for missing tackles badly with their heads down. They can and hopefully will clean that up as it is a technique issue. As far as CBs go, they do well tackling for being CBs.
Missed tackles are the devil
Just making sure I’m reading that right – Eagles beat Oakland – clinch Home field for the playoffs? Does that mean Eagles win tie breaker over Vikes? (assuming Eagles lose last game and Vikes win next 2 games of course)
Yes, we have the better record vs common opponents
thanks
A playoffs without the Packers, Seattle, and the Cowbabies is a thing of beauty, not because those teams are dangerous, but because I can’t stand them. The NFC is deeper than the AFC, but thee Patriots and Steelers are going to be tough match ups for the NFC champs. Having said that, I’m going to make a bold prediction: Eagles vs Jaguars in the Superbowl. Now who would have even thought of that possibility back in September.
I was at the game the last time the Eagles played the Jags. Hopefully Slick Nick gets off to a better start, but the result was ok.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000390902/Week-1-Jaguars-vs-Eagles-highlights
While the Cowboys not making it is good from a schadenfreude standpoint, I actually think they’re the easiest matchup for the Eagles of teams that remain alive besides the Lions (and maybe the Panthers). I don’t see stopping Dak as as big a challenge as stopping Brees, Goff, Wilson, or Ryan, and while Elliott is a great RB all of those teams besides the Seahawks have great running backs.
I’d prefer a Cam-less playoffs as well, but point taken.
Dear Santa – please deliver an Eagles defense. Specifically – Eagles D that stops Crabtree… that is all
Crabtree is a sorry as receiver; we’d better stop him.
https://youtu.be/P1sTmDIZ1LM
https://youtu.be/QR11WxZbHFI
That’s an awesome video.
Brian Baldinger has been cranking out some tight stuff this year as far as video clips.
Yeah man. I know Baldy can be super complimentary sometimes, but I definitely enjoyed this breakdown of Nick’s play.
Just won a raffle basket at work – $10 for 15 tickets – for “superbowl survival kit” – bunch of gift cards, pint glasses, water bottles, oh yeah and eagles hats, sunglasses, a yeti cooler, 4 big bottles of beer, a big bottle of wine, a bottle of tequilla, and oh yes, signed Derick Barnett Football with certificate of authenticity.
Do you believe in omens!?
And this the morning after reaching my fantasy SB…. just sayin
If you would have won a parka, warm hat, gloves, and socks, along with a bottle of whiskey, I would have considered that more of an omen. Minnesota is very cold for tailgating in February;-)
It did include a winter cap and hand warmers… and a fleece blanket… But good points.
The DBs were very clear after the Giants game that Eli’s game plan was to keep throwing the slant against the off-coverage until the DBs started biting. Then Eli would throw deep off the double move when the DBs started to bite to stop the slants.
I’m not scout or coach, but it seems like the way to counter that happening would be to play press-man coverage. By making Rasul (whose specialty is press-man coverage) inactive and continually having he DBs play 7 yards off the line of scrimmage requiring them to read and react, Schwartz either doesn’t have any confidence in the DBs, or he is unwilling to adapt his scheme to the offense’s game plan.
This is all part of Schwartz’s master plan- put the “bad” defense on tape so teams try to exploit it, only to have a better game plan prepared for the playoffs.
https://twitter.com/sethjoyner/status/942858488627286016
Seth Joyner had this figured out / explained fairly well. Schwartz needs to stop prepping for head coaching interviews and take some damn notes.
So I missed the fantasy playoffs because I chose to stream mccown against Denver two weeks ago and then this week my team puts up 160 and I get zeke back this week. Fml
I lost in the first round of my playoffs because I started Tom Brady over Foles. Ugh. Should have listened to my heart.
That’s why I have 5 teams. Two made the playoffs. One missed it with the Fournette injury.
I advanced to the finals riding Foles in place of Wentz. But now I play the team with Gurly. If he has another week like last week, it won’t be close.
I lost to the team with Gurley in one league. My team scored 155 points, but he put up 175 points with Gurley and Newton combining for over 90 points themselves.
I play the team with Gurley in the championship of my other league.
Robbie Gould and Gronk saved my season. I think I have this in the bag if Fournette starts and Zeke performs as usual.
If I’m a paying fan, I’m pissed if they don’t play Rodgers. That’s tantamount to tanking. Disgusting if they sit him.
Risking the health of your QB further by having him play in meaningless games before fully recovered is just wildly irresponsible.
Their season is over. Risking the long-term health of your franchise just so you can feel better watching two irrelevant games is myopia.
But he’s fully recovered, that’s why he played last week.
Also can’t see Rodgers sitting an NFL game out
I would say, more accurately, that he’s somewhere in the 80-90% range. He clearly rushed back for the playoff push. During interviews after the loss to Carolina, he admitted there was still soreness, etc. When asked about playing out the schedule, his responses were non-committal in a defeatist way.
At the post game press conference Rodgers looked like that shoulder/collarbone area was bothering him a lot.
He rushed back to give his team a chance, but he looked like he had rushed back too soon…..
Fair enough, if it’s reinjured then put him back on the injury report and make him doubtful.
This I agree with. I hate the games teams play with injury reports.
That’s interesting. He’s not questionable or doubtful?
You could look at him and tell he was fighting off some pain, you know…. It was obvious.
Then I read something too about Aaron being sore….
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2749962-mike-mccarthy-says-aaron-rodgers-is-sore-undecided-on-week-16-status
“I paid for season tickets to see RGIII, I want to see RGIII”
Pick your poison.
Right now Rams have the #3 seed and that’s unlikely to change as the remainder of their schedule is SF and Tennessee. Saints, Falcons, Panthers play each other or Tampa Bay last 2 weeks. So #4, #5, and #6 are all really up in the air. Highly unlikely any outsiders catch them – Lions most likely if anyone, but let’s say they don’t make it.
Which team would you most like the Eagles to face in the divisional round?
And which team would you most like to send to play the Vikings in the divisional round?
I think getting the #1 pick is key because it means we will never have to play the rams unless it’s in the conference round. No other NFC team should scare us.
the good thing is the Rams will have to travel if they make it out of first round of playoffs.
Our defense handled the Falcons pretty well last year in the regular season. They are not as strong this year.
Might want to see ATL here instead of the Panthers. But we handled the Panthers this year at their place during the regular season.
If Foles can hold his own, then home field advantage might let us advance either way.
I want the Vikings and Rams to hold steady as the #2 and #3 seeds as I think they’re the two best teams in the conference aside from the Eagles, and with that seeding we’d only have to beat one of them to make the Super Bowl.
I’ll take my chances with the Saints/Panthers/Falcons/Lions (I know the Cowboys and Seahawks are both technically still alive but I doubt either will be after this weekend).
Well said. This is my view as well.
Out of your choices- the Saints are the only team that scares me for our Divisional round match up.
Panthers are tough, but I think we can beat them. Falcons are playing better, but our scheme matches up well with them overall.
Vikings and Rams would be a heck of a game to watch to see who goes to the championship verses the Eagles in Philly.
I’d favor the Saints to win out and the Rams to drop their game in Tennessee this weekend as the Titans aren’t going to be calling non-stop passes in a brain dead manner vs. a team that can’t stop the run.
Clement & Bradham aint scared of no one
I would put my preferred order of teams to play against in the playoffs this way from best matchup to worst matchup:
Lions
Falcons – they are not the same team as last year and the Eagles played well against them last year. Ryan’s “clutchness is way overrated.”
Cowboys – this is essentially a tie with the Falcons, but I would rather they not make the playoffs at all, let alone advance to the second round.
Panthers – I think some people are underrating them.
Saints
Vikings (at the Linc)
Rams
Vikings (in Minnesota)
I’d put them in the exact same order with the exception of ranking the Falcons higher than the Cowboys and Panthers.
I could see that and was thinking the same about the Falcons until I watched their last few games. They did not look impressive.
The Rams look like the best in the NFC right now- Gurley is amazing, Goff is playing well, and that defense (with Wade in command) is going to be tough in the playoffs.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out for the rest of the year. Playing the Rams in Philly in January for the NFC championship would be a heck of a game.
Meh we beat the Rams, with them getting home field calls, and a punt block TD. Playing them at the Linc in proper January Philly weather is a massive advantage for us over Rams
Think offensively we match up really well with the Rams – their strength is their DL, but it is a speed unit, not a power one, and we have some of the more athletic OL in the NFL which matches up really well. There is a reason why their DL didn’t really control the game against us, and their back 7 really isn’t that special. We will put up points even with Foles.
I would much rather face the Rams over the Vikings – their defense is much better equipped to hold us under 20 points and get some turn overs.
Yeah, I remember how that “proper January Philly weather” helped us vs the Bucs. 19 Jan 03.
we don’t talk about that here.
Wow. That’s a response I would expect to find about a negative comment made on BtB.
And don’t forget how Drew Brees never won an away game in the playoffs…
That was a shit the bed choke loss by dumb fuck Billy Davis and pass dropping pussy Riley Cooper.
That was a shit the bed coaching “effort” by Reid / Johnson that had zero to do with any external trend.
I’m curious as to how the Rams do in Tennessee. The Titans will go right at that soft Rams run D, so we’ll see what’s up. I also don’t fear the Rams coming into our building after the game against them was only close because we made too many mistakes and/or lazy plays.
I have seen you comment multiple times that you feel Rams will lose vs Tenn. They could come back to earth after playing their best game last week in Seattle, but I think they are now playing their best football. This past Sunday the Titans could not beat a 2 win 49ers team (at the time) in a game they absolutely needed to win. IMHO the Rams will not lose to Tenn. I am hoping Rams end up as 3rd seed so they can battle it out with Minnesota. I personally do not believe the Eagles would fare as well against the Rams w/out Carson even in chilly Philly. We will know soon enough.
I look at the Rams as very close to us in talent, scheme, and coaching. Phillips is an amazing coordinator, and one guy that I wouldn’t want to face in a winner take all game (the other being Sean Payton).
Bounces go one way or another, and eventually we’ll have to face a team that isn’t a favorable match up. Beating them will be key to reaching (and maybe winning) the Super Bowl.
I’m glad that we have Foles as a backup; that the front office was wise enough to invest prime resources into a contingency plan, and for the coaches being willing to stay aggressive while playing to St. Nick’s strengths and weaknesses.
And a one-sided affair, I’m afraid
What do you mean?
I actually would welcome the Seahwaks coming to the Linc. Let our boys respond to the only team that has consistently embarrassed them as men once and for all, with the hawks wounded and on the road. I think they will be used up by that point if they even get that far and even Wilson will have a hard time replicating the utter genius of his last game against us..
I don’t want anything to do with the Seahawks. That’s one team that seems to have our number.
If they can’t beat a depleted Hawks’ team at home in the playoffs emphatically then I would be disappointed. That should be an emotional revenge statement game that brings out the best and shows what they are made of.
I don’t worry about emotional revenge statements; match ups are key, and we don’t match up well with them.
Agreed. That gutless lay down job out in Seattle was like a submissive pack animal going straight to its back.
Spot on; that’s what worries me about playing them. I think it’s mental.
I’d rank them against us as follows: 1-Pats because I think those fuckers would find ways to exploit and expose our secondary. 2- Steelers same as above but less so- I like our chances of really hammering on Big Ben. 3 – Vikes, most complete team to me. 4- Panthers – still inconsistent but their best game might be yet to come. They played us tough on a Thursday 5 – Rams – I feel like we have the mental edge and would wreck Goff even worse than last time 6- Jags – Like the Vikes it would come down to getting just enough out of our running game. I think with Jay T. and Blount we have as good a chance as any team to beat them down, and make just enough plays if we have the grit to stick to it. After those there is a drop I would say. Atlanta or Saints don’t scare me at the Linc. Cowboys should be gone but while the prospect of them knocking us off at home in the playoffs is the worst possible outcome they don’t scare me, stupid ewok pervert notwithstanding. Seahawks see previous – bring them on. Who else? Chiefs? Ravens? Bills? Lions? Would like our chances against those bottom teams. Against the top 6 we need the D to really step up. Even so if any of those teams play their best game we will be hard pressed to match. We will not see Foles against a real defense until the playoffs and I am hoping the wheels don’t come flying off which is honestly a bigger risk for our QB than probably any other playoff QB. I would put Bortles and Cam in that boat too but not as risky.
Rather face the Packers and a version of Rodgers that still doesn’t have arm strength than the Falcons.
Falcons are a better and deeper team with an experienced & quality QB, better head coach, and a running game which is physical and quick. Jones is a real matchup problem too at WR.
Well-suited to win in Jan outdoors even if Ryan’s numbers are weaker outside the dome especially later in the year.
Disagree, but purely from a match-up standpoint. I think the Falcon’s desire to go deep, lack of mobility from Ryan, and balanced rushing attack plays to the Eagles D strengths; whereas, the mobility of Rodgers and ability to quick pass to any WR on their team is something that would give the Eagles D a rough day. I think the Eagles can come up with a plan to cover Jones.
If you’re thinking the Packer’s D is weaker than the Falcon’s… then I can get along with that.
Jenkins did well against Jones last year. You know, when we beat them, the year they made the SB.
I really don’t get all this Falcons fear. It seems like it’s based just on the fact they were in the SB last year. The team I watched barely scrape by Tampa Bay last night is not very terrifying.
Eh; I don’t worry about Atlanta doing much on the road in the playoffs.
https://streamable.com/197fa
I think Ags could have used this in the past.
Hilarious
I think Greg Lewis was screaming that and much worse at him but he couldn’t hear in the Seattle crowd noise.
Rodgers is OUT for sat vikes game
So, unless the Browns can beat the Bears or the Steelers, they will complete the 2nd ever 0-16 season, and be 1-31 over a 2 year period.
The Browns are somehow out Brownsing the Browns. This is ineptitude on a scale that has never been seen, nor should ever be seen.
They’re a flat out embarrassment.
Haslam makes Snyder and Jones look brilliant. Quick trigger, no plans, attraction to names without strategic thought. Changes mind twice a year with consequences in a market that is already difficult to attract FAs.
Fanbase is awesome. Dedicated, come hell or high water, they are there. They deserve much better.
likes running QBs
Stop 🙂
What? Haslem has a know affinity for guys who don’t play the game the right way. RG3 twice over, Johnny Streetball, Kizer, and soon to be Sorry Miss Jackson from Louisville. Haslem is a dope.
You have a very particular view on how to play QB – which I truly respect and largely agree with. However, given how difficult it is to find a franchise QB, you can build a competitive team around an athletic/running QB, if and only if, you have a competent coaching staff that recognizes the strength and limitations (e.g. Harbaugh, Jim).
Falling in love with Johnny Football was just stupid (e.g. Jones, Jerry). God, I so wish the Cowboys had drafted him.
“You have a very particular view……….”
True across many topics.
JOIN OR DIE!
Jungite aut Perite
Excellent!
Own my Union jersey and was at the home opener when in their first season.
Like Kanye West?
All this talk of ranking what opponents we least want to face in the playoffs makes me wonder where other teams rank us.
Are we the least desirable? Were we before Wentz went down?
What probably worries team the most about playing us is;
– game would be here in a very hostile environment for whatever team is traveling here
-our D line really stresses every aspect of the opponent’s o-line
– our offense has multiple guys who can produce
Not sure anyone is too worried about our defense at this point… It looks positively edible, in fact, as of now.
Not the D as a whole, but the D-line. Nobody wants to face our front 4 with a raucous crowd making all kinds of noise. And our D’s issues over the last few weeks were all effort / focus based; they just need to stop playing like a bunch of lazy / gutless / disorganized fucks.
Kelce snubbed in the pro bowl. Graham snubbed as well, but that’s predicted since he only has 9.5 through 14 games. You need absurd sack numbers to make the pro bowl anymore.
Ironically, Kelce was horrific last year and made the Pro Bowl.
Crazy right? All-pro teams are more important.
Otherwise though we’re pretty well represented.
But way fewer guys make the all pro team, so I tend to like looking at both when evaluating a whole career. There is only one all pro center each year.
Looking back, Donny was a Pro Bowl alternate his 2nd year in the league, but at the same time, 2nd in MVP voting.
Pro Bowl is a lot like the Heisman Trophy, players get rewarded for being on good teams first, and level of play 2nd.
That’s true in any one given year, but aggregate pro bowls in a career (or lack of them) is extremely telling about how good of a player a guy was.
Terrell Davis only made 3 Pro Bowls yet he’s in the HOF:-)
Bad vote.
Eli is relying on the same type of vote.
Fuck Eli, fuck treating titles as anything other than a team accomplishment, fuck New York. and fuck and fucking voter who votes in favor of Eli.
How can you leave Eli out when his backup, Kurt Warner, is already in the HOF.
Another horrible vote not grounded in anything remotely mathematical.
But that leaves open the opportunity for Foles to get in the HOF when we win the Superbowl this year, because we damn well know Wentz is a lock with the multiple Superbowls he will win…
I’m more seeing Foles winning the Super Bowl this year and his subsequent trade to the Jet for two first rounders is what will get Howie into the HOF.
I actually see it more for a 2nd round pick and Hackenburg.
Next year Wentz will miss a game with a stomach flu and Hack will throw for 4 TDs and the league will call Pederson the QB Whisperer. Howie will then flip Hack for a 2nd round pick from the Dolphins before the trade deadline.
Wentz will then miss one more game and Sudfeld will throw 5 TDs. Howie will then trade Sudfeld in the off-season the the Skins for another 2nd round pick.
They take two centers; is Kelce better than Frederick or Mack?
Graham has few sacks than the DEs taken ahead of him.
I don’t feel either was really snubbed.
Kelce is better than Mack at least.
Graham is half a sack behind Cam Jordan, I don’t think Cam Jordan is better than Graham.
I’d tell Graham what Howie told Graham; get more sacks and you’ll get more money (pro bowl nods).
And be interested in hearing what D3 had to say about Mack vs. Kelce.
Graham should be there. The idiot announcing team on Sunday got one thing right, Graham is deserving. He’s been a matchup nightmare in every single game.
But they only take 3 at that position, so it isn’t easy to make it.
I know. But he’s been absolutely stellar this year. He’s earned it.
I’d tell him to sack the QB more often and he’d be in.
Charles Davis said on two different Eagles broadcasts that Mills was in contention for the Pro Bowl. They tend to talk up the players on the field in front of them.
Could make the argument Graham should have more sacks playing next to Cox, but how many sacks has Cox taken or shared with Graham?
Hard to get sacks when you’re in a rotation. On top of that, teams get rid of the ball much quicker since the entire defensive line is strong.
The stat should be sacks + TFLs, they are equivalent in terms of shutting down possessions. Sacks are sexier because you hit the QB. Slamming an RB. to the ground 9 yards behind the line of scrimmage, awesome. And BG’s runs defense has been outstanding.
I think Wentz, Ertz, Lane, Jenkins, Cox, and Brooks is a good pro bowl group for this team.
And I’m REALLY happy for Brooks as the guy is still barely a year removed from having dumb fuck stone age doctors misdiagnose him out of the league. That dude has worked his ass off to battle through some really significant issues to have a dominant year. Role model in every sense of the word.
All 3 NFC Pro Bowl tackles come from the NFC East.
With all the elite pass rushers seemingly playing the right side anymore, I’d be satisfied with Lane and Brooks staying together for many more years.
Agreed.
Kelce got jobbed. I’m not historically his biggest fan but this year he has been dominant and definitely unsung.
I hope this makes even more of a chip on his shoulder. (I do realize he has made it other times when he was less deserving)
Kelce has been way better this year, but I’m not sure that quite translates to being one of the best two in the conference.
Exactly. Kelce’s been having a great season, but Mack and Frederick getting the nod instead can barely be called a snub…
Anybody post a list yet?
Carson Wentz — Quarterback (First Pro Bowl selection)
Zach Ertz — Tight end (First Pro Bowl selection)
Lane Johnson — Offensive tackle (First Pro Bowl selection)
Brandon Brooks — Offensive guard (First Pro Bowl selection)
Fletcher Cox — Defensive tackle (Third Pro Bowl selection)
Malcolm Jenkins – Safety (Second Pro Bowl selection)
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/12/19/16797630/pro-bowl-roster-2018-nfl-eagles-carson-wentz-philadelphia-players-fletcher-cox-lane-johnson-ertz-qb
Yes, just not as well as you did.
We had 3 more that could have made it if not injured. Spoles as a returner, Maragos as a special teamer, and Peters at tackle.
No irrational argument for Hicks over Keuchley and Wagner?
I thought about that but those guys are absolute irreplaceable studs.
Any idea what player got taken right before Wagner???????????????
At least the pick 2 before Wagner turned out OK for the Eagles.
Who I was convinced was going to fall to us and let out a 100+ decibel F bomb when he was taken by the Bears.
Urlackerzzz?
Hollins was my toughest snub
Should just posted who didn’t get in. 😉
Eagles working out Kenny Ladler. Draft crush from 3 years ago!
Damn, I forgot about that dude. That’s awesome!
Mills is a Pro Bowl alternate. Lol. Who need coverage abilities when you can wag a finger.
Shut up lol.
Mills is not a Pro Bowler, but is also not as bad as you are insistent on believing he is.
His game is all smoke and mirrors reliant on safety help over the top, playing 7 to 10 yards off the line of scrimmage, and/or a fierce pass rush.
He’s not Deion Sanders, and nobody claims otherwise. But he’s also not a complete stiff.
He’s an average NFL starting CB, maybe slightly better than that. I don’t understand why you have such antipathy toward him.
My issue is much more about Schwartz and his man-crush on Mills and his aversion to better athletes based on their personality traits.
Mills and Patrick Robinson have shown no ability to play press-man coverage, yet Schwartz allowed them to repeatedly get exposed by playing 7 to 10 yards off the ball while Eli repeatedly threw slants.
Do you know who excels at press-man, Rasul Douglas. Yet he doesn’t get a snap because he is inactive. My aversion to Mills is that he is treated as a team leader and undisputed starter while Douglas sits on the sideline never getting very little experience.
Woah, Jalen Mills as a Pro Bowl alternate! #FingerSwag
https://twitter.com/Jeff_McLane/status/943298235627659264
Full list of alternates! And Mills on there is awesome.
Mills sucks.
But now he sucks ,with name recognition!!! Swagsinthebag, Goblingobblin’
I hope he is the next Agholor
Ags always had talent, just bad hands.
Mills has good hands (Finger wag, Ball skills)
Not as much talent
so he is the Anti-Ags
BGN has a great post on Agholor: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/12/18/16791056/the-rise-of-nelly
IMO, its just further confirmation that Chip Kelly was atrocious as an NFL coach. The system wins over talent versus DP who, appears to me anyway, to adjust the system to the talent.
I found this amusing:
https://sports.yahoo.com/seahawks-earl-thomas-injured-bobby-wagner-shouldnt-played-022032757.html
They’re looking (except vs. our choking ass scared bums) real done.
…we were their Super Bowl this year
Are we not considering Mills may have been voted in because of his sweet dance moves, league leading finger wag prowess, best hair in league? I can go on and on
Haters gonna hate.
(New thread)
U are already in post season form
You’re talking to a seasoned poster.