The Means Effect

Posted: October 5th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

We can talk about the talent and potential of the Eagles, but there is no denying the fact the team isn’t playing up to the level they should be at. But why is that?

Tough, tough question. One thing occurred to me recently. I was thinking about Lane Johnson and why he’s been so inconsistent this year. Last season he was the best RT in football and arguably the best OL period.

Means is gone and rookie Josh Sweat now has that spot. Anyone who watched Sweat this summer could see his potential, but also that he’s very raw and needs a lot of work. It is fair to wonder if someone like Sweat is a strong practice player. Means had a limited ceiling, but was a relentless player who treated practice like the Super Bowl. That helped Johnson and the other O-linemen to play at a high level.

Joe Ostman is on the practice squad, but he’s an undersized rookie. I doubt he’s having the impact that Means did.

The interior OL were practicing against Beau Allen at times. He combined effort and talent. Allen is gone to Tampa now and Destiny Vaeao might be the best practice DT on the roster. He’s a solid role player, but isn’t as good as Allen.

Bryce Treggs was on the practice squad last year. He had NFL experience and talent. He was also an overachiever type who shined in the preseason. I’m sure facing him in practice helped the DBs. Now they have new guys like Braxton Miller and Dorren Miller. Are they the kind of practice players who can really push starting DBs?

Last year Wendell Smallwood was the RB who probably got the most reps in practice against the starting defense. He had talent and experience. Now that guy might be rookie Josh Adams. Sure, he’s got upside, but he’s still learning pro football. Is he going bring out the best in the guys facing him each day?

The Eagles are still loaded with top notch talent. Unfortunately, they are simply not playing to that level on a consistent basis.

Think back to last January. At the conclusion of the regular season, the players pushed the coaching staff to have tough, physical practices. That set the tone for the playoffs and the Eagles played some of their best football over the next month. Practice does matter.

I certainly don’t know for a fact that practice is part of the problem right now, but I think it is a real possibility.

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This is a game where you definitely want Barnett to play. Kirk “Don’t call me Kurt” Cousins has been sacked 13 times. The Eagles have gotten good pressure on Vikings QBs in each of the past two years. It is critical that the DL win the battle up front this week.

Griffen won’t be playing. Cook is battling a hamstring issue and I’m sure they’d love to sit him so he can get healthy for the long haul. At the same time, this is a desperate team so don’t rule anything out. We’ll have to wait and see with Waynes. Doesn’t feel like he will play, but again…this is a desperate team.

It is going to be interesting to see which team responds better on Sunday. The Eagles are disappointed to be 2-2. The Vikings are shocked that they’re 1-2-1. Both squads have injury issues and some tough challenges to deal with. Both squads also have lots of talent.

The team that can eliminate mistakes and make plays is going to win this game.

For all the Eagles issues on defense, the Vikings have given up 29 more points this year. On the flip side, they are scoring more as well, but not nearly as much of a difference.

I would feel really good about the Eagles, but playing a desperate team that also has a significant revenge motive does make me nervous.

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If you prefer hearing my sultry voice to reading my words, here you go.

https://twitter.com/PhiladelphiaPST/status/1047947356342300679

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Tough Losses

Posted: October 3rd, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

I was a guest on a podcast tonight and we obviously discussed Sunday’s game quite a bit.

That got me to thinking about what a frustrating, torturous loss that was. The Eagles are 22-14 since Doug Pederson took over so there aren’t that many bad losses to discuss, but I thought I would put together a list of my 5 worst losses of the Pederson era.

5- CIN 32, PHI 14 – 2016

This was the low-point of the Pederson era. The Bengals were on a three-game losing streak and struggling to score points. The Eagles needed a win in the worst way. This felt like a huge opportunity. Instead, Cincy dominated the Eagles. Dominated. The score was 29-0 at one point. I will admit that I questioned Pederson and whether he had what it took after seeing this performance. There were a lot of problems. He got the team to bounce back and they never played like this again.

4 – WAS 27, PHI 22 – 2016

The Skins have been a thorn in the Eagles side in recent years. Washington was up in this game, 21-13, at the end of the 3rd quarter. Leodis McKelvin had a pick-six that cut the lead to 21-19 in the 4th quarter. Caleb Sturgis nailed a 41-yard FG with under five minutes left to give the Eagles a 22-21 lead. It looked like they were finally going to beat the Skins. Oops. Washington went for a late TD on a 25-yard run by Chris Thompson to win the game. Ugh.

3 – DET 24, PHI 23 – 2016

The Eagles were 3-0 and looked like one of the best teams in the league. Detroit had a great gameplan and got off to a 21-7 lead. So much for 3-0. The Eagles took control of the game in the second half and led 23-21 with 6:40 left in the game. The Eagles had a chance to put the game away, but a fumble from Ryan Mathews proved costly. The Lions were able to go kick a FG and take the lead. Carson Wentz threw a bad pick to close out the game.

2 – TEN 26, PHI 23 in OT – 2018

4th and 15. That’s all I have to say.

1 – DAL 29, PHI 23 in OT- 2016

The 5-1 Cowboys hosted the 5-2 Eagles on SNF. This was a big game. The Eagles played really well and led 23-13 in the 4th quarter. Dak and Zeke were nothing compared to Carson and Sproles. It was beautiful to see the Eagles playing so well against their biggest rival in a big game. And then things slowly came apart. Doug Pederson did a terrible job of calling plays and managing the game. The defense forgot how to tackle/cover. Dallas tied the game at 23 and then won in overtime. Jason Witten was wide open for a TD pass, making the loss all the more torturous. How does a 74-year old man get that open in overtime? Ugh.

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We see things through an Eagles-centric lens. We focus on the Eagles losing that game and making mistakes.

We also have to give the Titans credit. They are now 3-1 and certainly look like a team on the rise.

Tennessee spent a Top 10 pick on WR Corey Davis to give them an explosive receiver. He sure looked like an explosive receiver on Sunday. Marcus Mariota played like a franchise QB. And that defense made their share of big plays.

I’m not excusing the Eagles mistakes, but we do need to make sure we give the Titans some credit as well.

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Benjamin Solak wrote a good piece on the Eagles defensive scheme.

There were problems with the players and the scheme.

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This makes for a fun thought, but I still don’t see how it works financially.

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I mentioned a podcast earlier. It will be posted on Thursday.

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