Detailed Game Review – ARZ 24 , PHI 20

(Way late with this one but wanted to get it posted.)

Such a frustrating loss. I hate losing to the Cardinals. And I hate losing winnable “What if” games.

Really boils down to situational awareness. The Eagles didn’t have it on some key plays.

* Josh Huff fumbles inside the 10. Ball security is always critical, but absolutely when you are in the scoring area. That cost the Eagles at least 3 points.

* Nate Allen on the final TD. He can’t worry about the short throw. Nate has to know that only one thing can lose him the game there and that is getting beat deep. He then bit on the short move and let the WR get open deep.

* Nick Foles throwing the ball to Huff in the end zone. That was picked off. Nick can’t throw a ball into that much traffic without being able to set his feet and make a strong throw. Cost us 3 points.

* Foles at the end of the game. The one thing he had to do was keep the ball inbounds. You never know when a defender will fall down or a deflected pass will be caught. You have to give your guys a chance. 2 of the 3 throws were out of bounds. Can’t have that.

Even if the Eagles fix those mistakes, they still could have lost. But the Cardinals would have had to earn it more. You can’t make critical mistakes like that. You’re helping the other team by beating yourself. Make the other team beat you.

Ugh.

All that said, there was stuff to like about this game. The D played really well for the most part. The running game worked well. The go-ahead drive was a thing of beauty until the 3rd/1 run got stuffed. Foles made some terrific throws that will be forgotten due to his mistakes. Jeremy Maclin was great.     

COACHING

Not the greatest game. The Eagles threw 62 passes. I know their pass D was bad, but Foles was erratic. I think you need to run more to take some pressure off him. And the run game was working reasonably well.

No Hail Mary late in the half. The Eagles had the ball at midfield with :06 left. Why not throw a deep ball? The Cardinals pass rush was non-existent unless they blitzed. Seems like that was worth a shot.

Many hated the 3rd/1 play. Go QB sneak or under Center and run it. I was mad at the time, but upon reflection it was a missed block that ruined the play, not going from shotgun.

OFFENSE

MISC

* 9 for 20 on 3rd down. Good.

* 1 for 1 on 4th down. Good.

* 0 for 3 in the Red Zone. Good god is that bad.

* The Eagles had terrific field position for most of the 2nd half and just couldn’t make it pay off. Wasted chances.

Players

QB

FOLES – 36-62-411. 2 TDs, 2 INTs. Up and down game. Critical mistakes ruined some really good moments.

The bad:

* INT on throw to Huff. He was open, but there were DBs near him. Aaron Rodgers can zip that ball in. Foles can only do it if he can step into the throw and get something on it. Didn’t happen and Cromartie picked it off.

* INT on throw to Cooper. Open. Just a bad throw. Put the ball behind Coop and right to Cro.

* First throw into end zone at the end. Had Matthews vs small DB. Made a bad throw and Matthews had no chance.

* Final play of the game. Had Matthews open in the back of the end zone. Just threw the ball a yard too wide. Had to get those throws into the field of play.

The good:

* Great job on deep ball to Riley. That was 3rd/15. Bought time by moving wide. Showed awareness. Smart. Then made good throw downfield and gave his guy a chance to make a play.

* Put the ball behind Ertz late in the half, but that was the only place coverage would let him throw it. Gave Ertz a chance to make a play, which he did. Smart risk.

* Ran for 1st down late in the half. Smart scramble.

*Long TD to Maclin was perfect. Mac was his 3rd or 4th read. Saw him open and put the ball right on the money.

* Hit Maclin along the sideline for a gain of 18 to set up the final 3 plays. Had a clean pocket and made a perfect throw. That is Foles at his best.

RB

SHADY – Good game. 21-83 vs the NFL’s top run defense. Showed good speed/strength on 2Q run to right side. Went wide and ran through tackle attempt by Honey Badger. Turned upfield and got 7 yds. Had another highlight moment when he made the backside LB miss in the mid-3rd and got upfield for 7 yards. Should have been easy TFL. Ran the ball really well on the go-ahead drive. Didn’t go wide. Stayed as N-S as possible. 3-14 as a receiver. 2 of those came on the final drive. Wisely got out of bounds on both plays.

SPROLES – DNP

POLK – 3-13. Ran hard. Got a poor spot on his final carry. Sure looked like a 1st down to most of the world.

TE

CELEK – Only 2-8 as a receiver. Solid job as a blocker.

ERTZ – 5-48. Made good catch along the sideline in the 1st Qtr. Made a terrific catch on throw behind him late in the half. Great body adjustment. Was able to scoop the ball and hold on. Had a good catch and run on the go-ahead drive. Had a chance for winning TD, but the DB was able to deflect the pass. Great play by him.

CASEY – Had some good run blocks.

WR

MACLIN – Great game. 12-187-2. First TD came on quick screen. Didn’t have to do too much. Caught the ball and then got upfield into the end zone. Very good call vs that defense. Had to fully extend to haul in pass along sideline in the early 2Q. Burned Peterson for a gain of 28 on a play where he was looking in the backfield. Mac ran a good route and got wide open on the play, then added some RAC yards. Took a big hit in the mid-2nd Q and left the game for a while. Came back in and played just as well. Still worked the middle of the field. Made a couple of catches in heavy traffic. Took hits and got right up. Actually ran at a couple of defenders on one play. Did a great job on the long TD. Ran that route perfectly, despite the fact that he wasn’t 1st or 2nd option. Made a smooth catch for the TD. Best grab was along the sideline late in the game. Secured the ball and got his feet in.

MATTHEWS – 6-47. Failed to hang on to pass over middle. Replay showed it wasn’t a catch. Best play was short catch and run that went for 23 yards.

COOPER – Best game of the year. 5-88. His 50-yd catch was pretty amazing. Ran 50 yds downfield and then 50 yds across the field before making a diving grab. Wow. Great effort. Got some tough RAC yards. Lowered his shoulder and hit DBs. Almost made a sensational catch on a deep ball Foles forced his way. Was in heavy traffic and just couldn’t hang on.

HUFF – Caught pass on early 3rd down and moved the chains. Simple crossing route. Caught short dump-off pass from Foles in the early 2Q and then worked his way down to the 5-yd line, but was hit from behind and fumbled the ball away. UGH. Love the effort on the run, but you must protect the football.

MAEHL – Called for blocking penalty on 2Q quick screen to his side. Caught 6-yd pass on 3rd/5 in the early 3rd. Nice grab.

OL

* The OL had a terrific game. The Cards only pressure came when they blitzed. And even many of those were picked up. No sacks on 62 dropbacks is pretty darn amazing.

* The go-ahead drive was a thing of beauty. The OL got push all the way down the field.

PETERS – Sloppy game. 3 penalties. 2 of them were hands to the face. One was false start. Then failed to block LB on the 3rd/1 run at the goal line. Was a tough assignment and JP was a step late. Eliminate the mistakes and Peters was good, but you can’t just do that.

TOBIN – Best game so far. Pulled to his left on 2Q run play and made good block of DB. Pass blocking was good. Got beat a time or two, but won most of the day.

MOLK – Played better than I anticipated. Terrific block on 1st Qtr run. Pulled left and blocked DB, which opened a good running lane for McCoy. Lost his guy in pass pro in 2Q and he hit Nick, but didn’t affect play.

HERREMANS – Good game. Got hurt late and was replaced by Gardner for a few snaps.

JOHNSON – Made key block out wide on Maclin’s screen pass for TD in the 1st Qtr. Engaged the guy. Didn’t try to crush him and managed not to hold on the play.

=============================================================

DEFENSE

MISC

* Houston was 7 for 17 on 3rd downs. I was surprised it was that high.

* 1 of 2 in the Red Zone.

* The Eagles didn’t get any sacks, but do not make the mistake of thinking the pass rush was bad. Palmer was 20-42 passing. He threw the ball away to avoid sacks. Same result, but much less satisfying.

PLAYERS

DL

COX – Did good job of pushing the pocket. Shed the C and just engulfed RB on a 3Q draw play. Beat the C very quickly on a 3Q pass play and had a free run at Palmer, but it was a quick screen and the ball was out instantly.

LOGAN – Good game. Controlled the middle of the line. Had 4 solo tackles. Shed LG and stuffed RB to open the 3Q. Had an impressive sequence in the 4th. Hit the C and put him back on his knees, then went and got in on the tackle. On the next snap he got off a block, flowed down the LOS, and tackled the RB on a play going away from him.

THORNTON – The right side of the Cards OL isn’t good and Thornton showed that. Won plenty of battles. Got pressure on 1st Qtr pass play. Batted down 2Q pass. Drew holding call when he got penetration on 3Q pass play. Got penetration on 3rd/1 pass play and forced a quick throw (incompletion). Only made one tackle.

CURRY – Somewhat of a quiet game. Drew holding call in the mid-2nd that wiped out a nice gain on a pass play.

BAIR – Shed a blocker and stuffed an inside run in the late 3rd.

B. ALLEN – Solid job in the middle when he was out there.

OLB

COLE – Lost strip sack on opening drive to penalty by DB. Was unblocked on the play and got to Palmer quickly. Beat the LG in the late 3rd and had Palmer all but sacked. Somehow Palmer shook him off and threw the ball away. More quiet than I expected. Only one tackle. Did get pressure on other plays.

BARWIN – Just missed a sack on the opening drive. Half a step from getting to Palmer. Looped around the right side and got right in Palmer’s face on 3Q pass play. Palmer threw the ball away instead of taking the sack. Should have been a grounding call, but there was no flag. Had a TFL and a couple of solo tackles.

GRAHAM – Unblocked off the backside and pressured Palmer, but wasn’t able to get to him. Got delayed pressure on the very next snap and forced Palmer to throw the ball away. Got TFL in the late 3rd when penetration forced RB to go wide. Graham nailed him for a loss. Slanted to the inside on the next play and flushed Palmer. Chased him outside and forced an errant throw.

ILB

KENDRICKS – Played in some Dime looks. Was in on a couple of tackles. Looked okay, but was shaking off some rust.

RYANS – Very good game. Missed TFL on opening drive, but limited RB to minimal gain. Made strong, physical tackle of Ellington on run coming out of the end zone. Got TFL in the early 3rd. Cox ate up a blocker and gave Ryans a clear path to the RB. Had terrific coverage of TE in the Red Zone and forced Palmer to throw the ball away. Broke up pass to TE in the end zone. TE got his hands on the ball and then Ryans knocked it loose with his hand. That took away a TD and forced a FG.

MATTHEWS – Got burned by RB after catching pass in space. Not a huge gain, but Casey was clearly beaten.

ACHO – Had a solid game in coverage. Had chance for INT in the late 3rd, but couldn’t make the catch. Could have been a huge play.

S

N. ALLEN – Huge mistake late in the game wiped out the good stuff he did prior to that. Was in on 4 tackles, Had FF, FR. Hands to the face penalty wiped out a sack on the opening drive. Made a sensational play in the late 3rd when he ripped the ball from the RB and recovered the fumble while standing inches from the sideline. Great body control. Had solid coverage of Brown on pass play in the end zone. Forced Palmer to put the ball too wide. Bit on move late in the game and let Brown get behind him for winning TD.

JENKINS – Led the team with 5 tackles. Got TFL on the opening play. Got to RB in the backfield quickly. Tackled RB after short catch in the early 4th. Didn’t make any real impact plays.

CB

FLETCHER – Not his best showing. Called for PI on the opening drive. Stumbled when trying to break on the ball. Had okay coverage on deep ball to Floyd, but never turned back to see the ball. Got lucky on the play. Beaten deep by Floyd in the early 2Q, but he couldn’t hold onto the ball as he went to the ground. Didn’t take a good angle on the quick screen to Fitzgerald and that turned into an 80-yd TD. Ugh.

WILLIAMS – Poor job vs run inside the 10. Should have had RB contained (had the angle), but was flat-footed and let the RB get wide and down to the 1. Was then worse on the next play. Hesitated as the RB came at him and the guy was able to easily get in the end zone. Beaten for long gain in the 2Q by John Brown, but had very good coverage on the play. Great throw & catch. Wasn’t able to catch Brown on the final TD play. Chased him and made the tackle, but in the end zone.

BOYKIN – Not his best game. Beaten on initial 3rd down. Had solid coverage, but the WR beat him to the sideline. Beaten by Fitz on 1st Qtr pass play. Fitz had a step on him and then made a great catch as he slid out of bounds. Had to cover Fitzgerald a few times and you could see where Boykin’s size was an issue. Did have 4 tackles and broke up one pass.

CARROLL – Best game so far. Has really settled into role as the Dime LB. Tackled RB on run play early on. Tackled WR on quick screen and held him to short gain. Broke up 3rd down pass to TE late in the half. Made clean tackle of RB out in space after a short catch. Had a chance for INT right before the long TD, but didn’t get his hands cleanly on the ball. 4 tackles and one PD.

=============================================================

ST’s

JONES – Averaged 48 yds per punt, but 2 were touchbacks. Did have 2 downed inside the 20.

PARKEY – Nailed a career-long 54-yd FG in the mid-3rd. All 5 KOs were touchbacks.

KOR – Huff ran one back for 26 yards.

PR – Flirting with disaster. Mac replaced Sproles and struggled. Caught the ball on the bounce multiple times. Did run one back 18 yards. Looked shaky and I’m shocked the coaches stuck with him. Coop fielded one punt when Mac was out. Fair catch, but it was smooth.

– MISC –

* Rookies Josh Huff and Trey Burton were the first ones down the field on the first punt. Burton made the tackle.

GAMEBOOK

_