ARZ 40 , PHI 17
Posted: December 20th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 163 Comments »Tough loss. The game was 17-10 and the Eagles had the ball deep in Cardinals territory. They could have tied the game or cut the lead to 17-13.
Things slowly fell apart after that and the game ended 40-17.
I’m not all that down after this game, though. I think knowing the Eagles still control their own destiny makes all the difference in the world. This win would have been helpful, but the next 2 weeks will make or break the season.
The most encouraging thing about the game was the performance of Sam Bradford. He was 28-41-361 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Bradford looked comfortable running the offense and threw the ball well. He really passed the eye test with me.
The most discouraging part of the game was the run defense. You have to pick your poison and I’m sure the tape will show the Eagles focusing on the pass. Still, you can’t give up 230 rushing yards. That’s going to get you killed every time out. Tackling was a huge issue. Jaylen Watkins was embarrassingly bad. Other DBs struggled as well. Kiko Alonso seemed to be invisible.
Arizona is clearly a better team. Injuries to Byron Maxwell and Eric Rowe didn’t help matters, but they wouldn’t have made 23 points worth of difference.
Turnovers were huge. The Eagles turned the ball over 4 times. Arizona had one fumble, but they recovered it. They also only had one penalty. You can’t beat a better team when you make key mistakes and they play a pretty clean game.
A win would have been nice, but the bigger concern right now is the health of the starting CBs. The Eagles need those guys back to help shut down the Skins passing attack on Saturday. That’s a must win game.
_
“The most encouraging thing about the game was the performance of Sam Bradford. He was 28-41-361 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs.”
Rating took a hit towards the end — ended at 91.6 — but it was very good much of the game. Notch better than he had been playing, so it still seems like progress.
Honestly the tackling was the worst part of this game — seemed like we couldn’t get anyone down, but the Cardinals did that very well.
What’s your point?
still not that good
Was good till be was forced to be who he isn’t forcing balls and throwing to much.
Did you watch it? The stats are misleading. He was taking a beating back there all game, and still was delivering beautiful throws. The run-game was non-existent – it was all on Bradford to move the team, and once the Cards got up by two scores, he started taking chances. With this young receiving corps and sieve of an OL, that was a recipe for problems, especially against a very good pass defense. The fumble is almost entirely on Peters, who slapped his guy on the butt as blew by on the way to hammering Bradford in the back.
I’m not going to argue that Bradford is awesome, but he had a good game last night. Too bad he might be the only player other than Matthews on the entire team who can say that.
At this point we have to win out. If the Giants lose to the Vikings and the Redskins lose to Dallas the last game, we could still lose to the Giants, but that’s nothing to count on.
Agree with the post… much like the Patriots game, the turnovers were really the difference. If we are even in turnovers, we were pretty competitive. But… we weren’t close on that score.
Cornerback health is a sudden major concern against the Redskins. We lost last time and Jackson wasn’t even playing then…
Yeah without the turnovers they at least keep this as a game from being a blowout.
And cousins is playing Pretty good lately
If we can’t beat the ‘Skins and Giants to save our season, we have to admit that we’re just not that good.
Why wait for that outcome…even if we do win out this is not a good team…winner of the NFC east is akin to worlds tallest midget…
There is some value to winning a poor division and losing to a good team in the playoffs. Carolina and Seattle did that in the past and used the experience to build for future seasons.
So supposedly Murray had a ski cap on in the 4th quarter and his helmet wasn’t even close by him while he was sitting on the bench.
He’s done here. Eagles are going to have to move him this offseason come hell or high water.
Shame. He should have had the 4th and inches carry in the 2nd.
Yeah Rendall harped on that point. Given Murray’s success this year and last year on 1 yard or less. Said he didn’t understand it. He is right for a change.
even the guys chip hated didn’t get benched. can’t see him staying here in the offseason but the way the deal is structured they have to eat a ton of money to move on.
He’ll get traded somehow. Browns/Boys.
Colts might have an interest, I would think.
Wishful thinking… No one is taking him on with that salary
You cut him anyway, despite the cap hit. Yeah, thats terrible and his signing was a big mistake, but it doesn’t make any sense to do otherwise if you can’t trade him (which I doubt they will be able to do)
Won’t happen, not unless there’s a coaching change
Why? Kelly’s pride?
Yup. I agree with you, though
We just aren’t in the same league as good teams. This team has a long way to go. I thought the game was unwatcheable b/c we weren’t really in it after the first half.
It’ll be interesting to see how they come out against the skins. I think the belief in this team is only skin deep.
I think we made a mistake w/ ilbs. Kendricks + Kiko is no bueno and the non-tackling is killing this team.
Three straight turnovers will make the game look hopeless against most teams — especially good ones. I think we were competitive outside of that, though would probably still lose with the non-tackling.
That’s true we were there till accumulative mistakes was insurmountable. I feel it really started with that horrible call on 4th and inches
If Kiko continues playing like shit in his time here then we did lose the Shady trade.
I think the jury is in on that one
Bradford plays his best game … And the offense puts up only 17 points.
Not good enough. Not nearly.
I don’t understand what some fans see in Bradford. He had 2 INTS AND a fumble. He led the offense to a grand total of 17 points. Sure he isn’t the only offensive player, but to me he simply isn’t good enough.
go look at sammy’s numbers and sanchez’s numbers from last year
I think the fans that like Bradford watch the games see his progress and capabilities improve each week. Furthermore, his numbers are skewed on the low side due to the following:
– Consistent drops by receivers
– Offensive linemen who consistently make metal mistakes (e.g., holding, false start, illegal formation, etc.)
– Offensive lineman who physically or athletically limited
– Lack of running game
He had a couple throws in a single game that would rank among the 10 best throws by an Eagles QB in the last 5 years.
AZ was bigger / stronger / faster, but thought Sam made some plays for once.
183 and 3tds for a rookie
Watkins was a terrible tackler but any worse than Maxwell?
Maxwell looked disinterested this game, but Rowe going down I think hurt us quite a bit more.
Really shouldn’t be counting to much on cover corners to solo tackle.
Thank you.
3rd time a team has put up a 40 spot on us not good.
But I have to keep hearing that Billy D should stay. I’m done with him. This is a passing team that gashed us running the ball. Matter of fact, we lost 2 CBs and they still kept running the ball. Fire the defensive coordinator.
I know I’m mad, but this seems to be a running theme with me this year.
Agreed we let passing teams run on us and running teams run on us lol. Funny thing was that was BD’S one string point. Stopping the run
i think worse thing is that i don’t even know if we’re a good program. tackling is terrible, fumbles, penalties, there’s media drama every week. Demarco murray is now a huge issue. Losing is one thing but what’s honestly happening w/ this team?
They aren’t. It is a mediocre team that has a lot of needs, some really bad contracts, and not a ton of picks/cap space to address them. Also have to decide whether to spend a ton of money to resign Bradford.
So other than that, Mrs Lincoln, you think it’s a good play?
I wouldn’t say things are that bad but instead of rebuilding Kelly tried to retool on the fly. Left them in quite a precarious position now need to hit on almost every move in the draft and FA to be a 10 or 11 win team next year.
Your 2nd sentence doesn’t match the 1st
So 10 and 6 wasn’t good enough. What’s that make 6 and 10?
They are exactly who we all thought they were 3 weeks ago before the Owner and HC pulled out all the stops and they pulled a W out of their a$$ against the Pats. But you can only do so much of that to cover up the underlying problems.
They don’t have great talent, the HC is not a genius and he’s in way over his head as GM, and the QB is no better than average.
can see why you dont give an hc roster power, can kill a team for years after thet are gone
490 t0 430 yds. 40pts to 17pts
4 turnovers will do that to you.
A lot of garbage yards though including the Matthews long TD
Still a lot of game at that point . Think you’re off on that point . Game was pretty competitive til the 4th
Turnovers is ALWAYS the problem. Bottom third in the league yet again. Our differential is 0 before this game but just because the D is getting takeaways doesnt give the offense the right to give it right back.
D wasn’t getting turnovers today, though they were getting turned over.
Tough to get turnovers when the other team is running on you at will.
Below average OL and WRs. We play from behind too much too, no?
The OL is atrocious at times.
Turnovers, penalties and a floundering offense is Chips legacy so far. *sigh
no improvement really in 3 years
That’s the most frustrating part. Its gotten worse.
Actually we were pretty darn good in those departments his first year. Got much worse last year. This year… a little better but not good enough. Still shoot ourselves in the foot too much.
Simple answer by Chip. Execution.
Didinger said the Cards had 10 official drops going into the game tonight and he counted 6 alone in the game tonight. He said if the Cards’ WRs have played like they have all year their offense would have hung 50+ points on the Eagles tonight.
Probably 54 if you want to count those drops by Brown
Horrible summary / analysis… Totally misses the mark.
This game was not about turnovers, or Sam Bradford… Rather, it was a clear display of the advantage of superior talent. Unfortunately, the Eagles are woefully difficient in this area. It is positively depressing to see how mediocre they are… So little to build on.
As far as how that talent is being managed, it is also concerning how this group can play so uninspiringly. Would take a lot of imagination to feel good about where this organization is at the moment.
I hate to admit this, but I think it has more to do with coaching.
That would be the best possible scenario. I just don’t see it.
It could be a combination of talent and coaching, but I saw a shoddy coaching job tonight on both sides of the ball.
I really think Chip thought you could plug and play at the NFL level same as college. I hope be had learned though it maybe to late to matter
Elite CB and S allows your defense to do a lot of creative things.
We all knew our OL was a weakness. Let’s see what Chip can do to retool the line. Lots of young talent to work with over the next few years.
I don’t think you’re seeing the bigger picture
Davis – ‘Tonight we were just terrible. We didn’t tackle and I didn’t know where it came from. It was a bad night and we need to coach better’
So long Billy.
Is that a promise?
He’ll be the guy who falls on the sword and rightfully so.
Yes he will be the scapegoat because it’s easier to get rid of him than it is Chip.
Literally DVOA (which I am sure took a real hit tonight and will put the Eagles at 14-15th or worse) and turnovers are the only stats where this defense isn’t a bottom 10 or in most cases a bottom 5 team.
Davis deserves to get fired given what has occurred especially since the bye.
I don’t disagree, just saying that Chip is at least equally responsible.
Eagles are dead last in RZ defense.
I wish. I bet he’s back next year.
Wussy tackling seemed contagious.
“I’m not all that down after this game, though.”
Really, Tommy?
Well how about this then. Our last 5 games now include 3 blowouts where the winners scored at least 40 and we were held under 20 – the average margin of loss was 27 points for those 3 games, or nearly 4 freaking TDs!
And as far as Bradford goes, when exactly can we expect this guy to win us a (as in one) game? Alex Smith-type stats are nice, but not for a guy who has been sold to us a potential franchise QB. If Chip signs this bum to a long-term deal, that will be the kiss of death for him, except that he’ll probably take a hike back to college first and leave us holding the Bradford Joke Bag.
If they sign Bradford to a long-term deal, it will be the next coach’s problem.
If you expect any QB outside of Brady himself to win you a game like this you’re nucking futs.
wow, I hope you’re a teenager
Sorry, I don’t follow. You think it’s reasonable to blame the QB for a game like this because he couldn’t put up more than 40 points with the garbage OL, receivers, & coaching he has around him all while the defense is bleeding yards & points like they’re whitewater rapids?
i think he is alluding to your use of salty language….even though it isn’t salty…..Aaron doesn’t like to read bad words
Ah. Well, I have a very low tolerance for idiocy.
Some teams have QBs who are capable of a sneak for a couple of inches.
Jarring how much bigger, longer and more physical AZ was.
We have a long way to go still.
Also, we gonna talk about JMatt’s TD celebration down 21 or nah?
What was that about (jmatt)?
At least he’s not headbutting CBs.
Yep that was silly stuff indeed
Westbrook – ‘They don’t have enough talent or guys who have enough conviction either on defense’
Bingo
I wonder what the offense would look like with Bradford Maclin and shady…. Or Bradford, Jackson, maclin. And shady
self inflicted wounds
That’s a lot of cap space…
i wonder what the defense would look like with all that money on offense
no murray, no mathews, no maxwell numbers not that different. think we’re better w/ shady, udfa, sproles.
i personally would prefer Mathews,sproles, draft pick
Yeah would take Mathews Sproles rookie and Mac over Murray
It would look probably just as bad…. They overachieved early in the season. Our starting cbs are prob 3’s and 4’s on most teams. Our linebackers are eh extend kendricks who really isn’t that great… Kiko isn’t doin jack, Ryan’s tires have seen better days. Unfortunately Hicks got injured because he is our best LB and he’s a rookie. Cox is a man dog so that’s good (beast), Logan is eh prob should have a real 3-4 DT in there. Anyone else I didn’t name is just solid.
I hope someone watches film of the game and reports that Kiko is not as bad as he seemed while I watched live. He sure looked like one terrible linebacker. Shades of Casey Matthews.
you can have one kendricks but you cant have two, which is what we have
My expectations for Kendricks weren’t too high anyway. I thought Kiko was going to be a stud.
me too. knew he might be kinda slow mentally, but he looks like he has no interest in playing for the eagles.
Chip: “Jeffrie, can you whip up another speech and t shirt this week? I think we’re gonna need it..”
Not sure why you singled out Jaylen Watkins, if anything his coverage as CB was one of the positive aspects of the night. So he missed one tackle, if Hart doesn’t trip over his own to feet the RB doesn’t have a cutback lane to start the play.
The ILB situation is Moe, Larry, and Curly situation. Ryans is showing his age which is understandable, Kendricks has taken a huge step back this year after showing promise late last year, and Kiko looks like he’d rather be surfing. I say put Kiko on IR and give Goode more snaps.
Logan for the last 5 games and Thornton for the season have been quiet, what’s up with them? Why is Bair always inactive?
Watkins coverage was somewhat encouraging, but he missed about 7 tackles, many in embarrassing fashion
Never was a good tackler… Was clear from his college “highlights”
He got trucked by an OL a second later when he tried to go for the strip during that long run by Johnson. You can’t blame that on him.
Watkins is playing like he’s always played. He’s always been good at coverage and a bad tackler. If he had tackled better he wouldn’t have been cut. So after injuries piled up they took a good coverage guy off a PS that knew their defense and hoped he’d make some tackles.
Great post..all great questions!
..
Hart seems to play alot and not accomplish a lot.
same ol sorry eagles, pretty much they suck again, may win one of the next two,
Yup probably the second n one when all it will do is cost us draft selection
on the bright side, I recorded this crapfest, went to the movies instead, fast forwarded after it became obvious the eagles were sucking again, as usual
Andy Reid now has 12 winning seasons since 2000. Turned around KC just like PHI.
yeah, but it was still right to move on from him in 2012. His time here was over.
I honestly think he was happy to get out and get a fresh start, too. He’s a great coach, but from what I’ve seen, he’s still got the same flaws that limited him here. If he gets a top 10 QB, he could still win a SB, but the window on that D isn’t infinite.
Andy is probably going back to the playoffs. He might be one and done though with his bad offense though.
Im not a fan but have to give him credit. And last year also was a lot of wins with no td passes. Tough to coach a team to accomplish that.
“The Redskins got something coming to them.” Mychal Kendricks
him saying that now is more infuriating than anything the team did tonight
Stupid. Fits well with his play this year.
Yeah a division championship, courtesy of the Eagles.
Lol
Lurie making t shirts again later this week.
(From off camera)
“You better not be talking about my passes you piece–” -Bradford
“Or my carries.” -Mathews
What a dumbass thing to say. They’ve been absolutely blown out at least three times this year, by my faulty memory. Crap defense doesn’t tackle or cover. It’s like Jordan Hicks was the straw that stirred the drink, a third round rookie.
Running backs with 160 yards vs. the Eagles 2007-2014: 0
Running backs with 160 yards vs. the Eagles last 5 weeks: 2
My God how do you let short-armed little A.Q. Shipley dominate you in the run game like he did tonight?
Sorry PSU homers.
How many average yards do we think Maxwell yields after “contact”? 10? 12? 5-6 million per yard?
Crazy thing is he has given the Eagles more value this for his contract than Murray. Two utter turd contracts to go along with resigning Ryans and extending Kendricks.
I wanted him with the 3rd round pick – Chip Kelly
Fuck this guy – Howie
Skins get a good gm, one good draft and a free pro-bowl WR from chip and they look like a solid team. Eagles look like he opposite.
The season is over. The Redskins and Giants both look like real teams. Even if by some miracle they default into the playoffs, they’re not beating anyone else.
no gimme to win next two games
The Giants look like a real team? Who would of thought one game when they almost pulled off an upset makes them a real team, I guess all their other games meant nothing.
Which other games? The only game they weren’t in until the end was (oddly) against the Eagles. All the others they lost by 4 points or fewer. They came very close to beating the Patriots, and it didn’t take a bunch of fluke ST plays, either.
At the very least, they certainly look realer than the Eagles.
Ehh, Giants not really, but it’s not like the Eagles have shown much more. The Potatoes look like a significantly better team than the Eagles right now. I think they win the LOS on both sides of the ball against the Eagles, so the Eagles will need to get lucky to beat them.
Season was over a long time ago. They’ve been absolutely destroyed by the Lions, Bucs and Cardinals, 40+ points laid on them each time. They are a crap team.
What’s funny about this is that I’m actually not concerned with the defense. It can play better than tonight, of course. But a lot of previous holes have been plugged, and with a couple guys coming back from injury, plus maybe one or 2 new parts, it’s a VERY solid unit coming into 2016.
What worries me is the offense. I don’t think that the major issues have been resolved. Offensive line, wide receiver, consistent QB play. I don’t think they can be resolved in one offseason. I think it’s going to be really hard to build on this the way we can build on the defense. Unless some of the young guys step up in a very unexpected way.
Strangely, I’m OK with Bradford. Better than any other option going into 2016 and into the next 2-3 years.
Oh, and yes, I’m talking about 2016 and beyond. Because really, what’s the point in talking about 2015? They proved tonight that they don’t belong in the conversation, and they haven’t shown anything remotely like an ability to capture lightning in a bottle like those Giants teams. I say, let’s count our blessings, watch what we have in Bradford, and play the sweet shit out of the young guys.
If you can’t beat the good teams why bother making the play-offs?
I didn’t expect a win, but they were hanging with the Cards until Palmer could go after the backup CBs and the tackling fell apart. If they cleaned up the second part and put more points on the board they’d have a chance to pull one off in Arizona if they make it that far. In other words, still in Iffsville and not What-iffsville.
A few points:
I think it is pretty clear that Bradford is as real as it ever gets. His pocket presence is really good for somebody with no knees. Next year I wanna go into the TC with Bradford, Sanchez, RG3 (He wont sign but one can hope), Morris and a draft pick (give me an athletic guy who need polish)
It does seem like this offense could really use a John Brown, Ted Ginn or Jackson type that can blow past defense (see Corey Coleman in the draft please). If we had Coleman, Matthews, Ertz and Agholor, it would be nice 3 WR set.
We really need better OL and RB play. I really hope we get at least 1 instant OL starter in the draft and I hope we trade Murray and manage to draft a late round RB who can play 1-2 punch with Mathews.
Defense overall need talent, but playing less would help a lot.
Don’t forget about Huff. Guy has been underutilized all year
I have given up on Huff, there must be a reason why he isnt playing more
OL, OL, OL. Sam was very good last night, considering how (stop me if you’ve heard this before) the OL took turns letting guys blow by them essentially untouched. I didn’t see them successfully pick up a stunt all night. There were *no* holes in the run game. And maybe this is intentional, but Kelce’s shotgun snaps looked consistently low, such that Bradford was constantly stepping forward and reaching down just to receive them.
They just got owned at the line of scrimmage. The worst part is that statement is true on both sides of the ball. I knew the OL is mostly hot garbage at this point, but I was surprised at how easily the DL was handled not just on the pass rush, but they were getting blown back three yards anytime the Cards ran the ball. Not sure what happened to Logan and Thornton, but in real time, it looked like they had awful games.
I 100% agree with the need for OL. Not sure how they fix all the simple dropped passes though.
The 2 week vacation from the fact that this Eagles team is bad was nice, but back to reality for a while. We might pull off wins the next 2 weeks, but this team is the worst in the Chip Kelly era. Just dreadful.
We do nothing well (not a good running team, not a good passing team, can’t stop the run, can’t stop the pass). We have only 1 pro bowl level player (Cox) remaining (2 if you really want to count the punter). We are frequently out coached and embarrassed.
Chip must go. Lurie won’t fire him for another year, but he should this year.
I guess Jenkins isn’t a pro bowl player?
I stand corrected. He’s earned it.
Also Sproles on returns.
[…] ARZ 40 , PHI 17 – Iggles BlitzThe most encouraging thing about the game was the performance of Sam Bradford. He was 28-41-361 with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Bradford looked comfortable running the offense and threw the ball well. He really passed the eye test with me. The most discouraging part of the game was the run defense. You have to pick your poison and I’m sure the tape will show the Eagles focusing on the pass. Still, you can’t give up 230 rushing yards. That’s going to get you killed every time out. Tackling was a huge issue. Jaylen Watkins was embarrassingly bad. Other DBs struggled as well. Kiko Alonso seemed to be invisible. […]
Not fun looking into the mirror that is the Cards and remembering we are a mediocre at best team who does not even know how to spell consistency. The turnovers and penalties continue to be killers.
Kiko is bad, really bad trade.
Defense played like a unit that has been on the field way too much this season. Happened last year and its happening again,
This team is unwatchable garbage and it’s all on Chip. Why does he insist on running the same crappy stretch play over and over? Why does he sign a running back who is a poor fit in his crappy offense? Why does he insist on running inside and outside zone reads like he is back in Oregon with a mobile QB? It’s just ridiculous and it makes for very tough watching.
Let’s not even talk about the defense without Jordan Hicks, Chip’s one shining star moment as the GM.
This L didn’t upset me. If we in the last two we win the division. If we don’t, and I don’t think we will, then really it’s better to have lost this game.
I just really thought the Cards are much more talented. Chip didn’t allocate resources to WR or OL and it really shows in the disparity of play/talent level against a team like the Cardinals (even with their drops), then he did allocate big bucks to RB which is not the way the league is going and we saw last night yet another example of great production out of a small salary RB.
Wow, I don’t know if I had different expectations than most of you, or if I am just a blind optimist, or what. My sky isn’t falling.
We played possibly the best team in the league, and we were staying with them until a failed 4th down attempt killed our momentum, a failed series started it rolling the other way, and a little desperation caused turnovers that sent it careening out of control.
Was the 4th down call a bad one? Sure, because it didn’t work. I don’t remember seeing many comments that people wished they wouldn’t run so much on short yardage plays or that they wished DeMarco wasn’t on the sideline. People wanted a QB sneak, until it fails. Then they criticize not using the guys that get paid to run.
Did we tackle poorly? Yep, but the defense couldn’t get a rest and the Cards are really good. How many teams do you think could stop that offense with a 4th string corner and a guy signed from a PS two weeks ago? I can list at least 11 other teams who could not. I am betting there are an additional 19 beyond that.
We have two games to play and if we win we are in the playoffs. That is a lot better than we all thought we were getting a few weeks ago. I’ll take it, personally.
I think it’s an eye test thing. Despite the score being close, they did not look good all game.
John Brown was the best player on the Eagles’ defense last night. If he didn’t drop those 3 (4?) balls, they would have been down way earlier than they were.
Actually I didn’t have a problem with not using Murray, I don’t think he picks up the first in that play either. Problem #1 with Kelce you can’t really run QB sneak, problem #2 making Riley Cooper your lead blocker on 4th and a foot. I share your optimism with respect to Bradford, but the defense was lucky to have a few drops by Brown. The ILB play is atrocious.