Crazy Game
Posted: August 24th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 220 Comments »The Eagles beat the Dolphins 38-31 in a wild preseason game. That is a ton of points. There were big plays, turnovers and way too many penalties. I’m going to post some quick observations so I can start re-watching the game.
The Eagles came out pretty healthy. That is far and away the key to having a good preseason.
Carson Wentz played well. 6-10-129 with 2 TDs. And he got air yards.
The WR position is so much better than last year it is insane. Looks like Wentz and Alshon Jeffery are starting to get on the same page.
I give Zach Ertz a lot of grief for his blocking, but the man can catch the football. Really talented receiver.
Wendell Smallwood brought some life to the run game. His burst and athleticism got things going. 4-28 on the ground.
The OL was up and down. The run blocking was better, but Wentz got hit too much. I’m not sure who’s at fault for that.
Matt McGloin wasn’t awful. He actually made some nice throws and had a solid game…after he did throw one awful INT.
Ronald Darby is human. He got beat for a big play and then got burned on another play and was called for interference. Last week he dominated, but part of that was going against mediocre receivers. Devante Parker is big, fast and talented. He got the best of Darby.
The DL got pretty good pressure. Very good at times.
The defense came up with more takeaways. They gave up too many big plays. Some of that can be cleaned up. I’m betting Schwartz’s biggest criticism will be the Red Zone defense. Giving up easy TDs to Ajayi was ugly. Can’t do that.
Mychal Kendricks is going to the 2017 Preseason Hall of Fame. He had another INT and actually took this back for the TD. This came on a tipped ball (thanks to C.J. Smith), but you have to give Kendricks credit for being in the right spot and making the play. Ask an older Eagles fan about watching Takeo Spikes fail to do this over and over and over in 2007. It was maddening.
The Eagles need Jordan Hicks at MLB. Najee Goode is better on the outside.
Caleb Sturgis had a good night. He seems to have settled down. Overall though, another poor night from STs. Dave Fipp has to be going nuts.
It was surprising to see how little the starters played (about a quarter). Normally they go into the third quarter in this game. Pederson saw enough to be happy and also was worried about playing the game so close to a pair of intense practices. He played it safe by pulling his guys and going with the backups. He’s a former player and seems to have a good feel for how to handle things like this.
_
Dolphins look to be a pretty decent football team at the moment, and we hung in there blow for blow. The OL is still worrying…
“WE”? You didn’t play.
Well, for all we know CrackSammich might actually be Brent Celek or Fletcher Cox.
Hell no one even realizes that I’m Sam Bradford.
Cutler didn’t look as bad as I thought he would. I’d heard he was… uninspiring when he first got there.
I think Cutler and Wentz are similar at this point. Both can make some WOW throws, but both can and will make some head-scratching mistakes.
One is in his early 20s. One is a giant douche. Can you guess which is which?
As I’ve said before, my diabetes will not permit me to talk shit on Cutler.
I wonder if Cutler makes them a better team right now. Probably to many turn overs. Makes them way more exciting for sure.
Darby getting beat on that pass to Parker actually displayed how good the guy is. He was right with the WR, had eye contact on the ball, came so close to swatting it, then brought the receiver down before he could score. The best Eagle CB since TV I’m thinking.
Yeah Darby did not have bad coverage at all on that long one, he missed the ball by a fingertip. Contrast that with previous starting CB’s who would have been 2 steps behind and not recovered to make the tackle.
Just that fact he turned to play the ball makes me happy. Been so long since that has been here.
That might be overstating it a bit – there have been some really good corners here since the invention of television.
Emlen Tunel (sp?) comes to mind, among one or two others. Good one, ATG!
I think he meant Troy Vincent. Edit: I just realized there may be a possibility that you already know this and you are just joking. So…..
You are probably right, but that interpretation is less fun.
Yeah, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, and Asante Samuel were such trash.
Why the sarcasm? I like all of those guys. Lito was on the fragile side, but a phenomenal athlete that really excelled in college. Brown was a good CB. Asante was not a physical, press CB, but revered for his stats. He was better at baiting the QB than tackling the ball carrier. I thought and still think that Vincent was the best, most complete corner to play for the Eagles in a generation. I think he serves as a useful yardstick.
I think you aren’t giving Asante enough credit. You have QBs such as Peyton that have stated he was the one CB that he would fear and he would try not to throw in his direction.
Asante was masterful at getting in the head of the QB. He played a lot of man coverage, not mirroring the WR, but giving him some space, daring the QB to throw. If the pass was completed in front of Samuel, he may or may not have made the tackle. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/404032-eagles-should-part-ways-with-me-first-asante-samuel
Pump those breaks lol. Lito, Sheldon, and Asante were prettt damn good.
We do not need Darby to be a lock down corner. He is not Deion Sanders or Patrick Peterson. We only need him to be an above average CB who helps us get off the field on 3rd downs and covers for an extra second to give our defense time to get to the QB. ( just being above average is a huge upgrade from last season at CB) We drafted Sydney jones to eventually be our #1 CB and when he plays and Darby is a #2 CB our secondary will have a chance to be elite. Darby will learn from tonight’s game.
This is the ideal, and I hope you are right. Remember, though, CBS have a high bust rate. Even if you pretend Jones didn’t get hurt and view him as a first round pick, Darby is better than the average first round drafted corner.
Kendricks almost had a sack tonight too, but Cutler did one those bullshit throw the ball into the ground at the heels of an RB who is blocking things to avoid intentional grounding.
Can’t really call it bullshit, becasue Wentz did the exact same thing a few minutes before. The rule is the rule.
Hey bullshit if I do it bullshit if you do it…
It’s called an Eli.
I think the Eli though is just randomly chucking the ball towards some part of the field then scanning around to try and find the nearest receiver, then pointing to him.
The key to the Eli is how obvious it is that he has no clear plan to throw towards someone. You need to scan the field after you’ve heaved the ball to nowhere, then start pointing and yelling at the refs that you were totally throwing towards that guy running a go route 25 yards away.
Actually, “an Eli” could have multiple meanings…another one would be similar to a Chuck-N-Duck where he heaves it into double or triple coverage and then watches the receiver make a miraculous catch and win the Superbowl.
Thus giving him the SB MVP
I cannot downvote this enough 😉
1) O-Line is not getting much push, especially by Kelce who gets driven back constantly. Regular season scheming should help buy Carson more time, but that won’t make Kelce more explosive or stronger. It’s starting to get worrisome against interior pass and run blitzes.
2) D-Line has great depth and gave up some rushing yards, but having Graham back in should let them feast. Was hoping for a great game by Barnett, but he was solid.
3) Hicks makes our linebackers look so much better, especially tackling runners east-west. His coverage abilities need no explaining.
4) Kendricks being in the right place at the right time has helped tremendously, but he’s playing lights out right now, albeit in preseason.
5) I was hoping Pumphrey would start looking explosive like Sproles, but alas, you can’t teach that. He’s been terrible as a punt returner, too. I know he’s a rook, but if it’s down to him or some other guy for the last PS spot, I’m going with some other guy.
6) Darby gave up some big plays, but at least he was right there, fighting for the ball or recovering well from hesitating in coverage. The PI call was ticky-tacky, but there’s no reason to hook a receiver if you’re going for a PBU. Hopefully he’ll learn.
7) Mac-10 looks so natural and fluid for such a big guy. I think he’ll be one of our X or Y guys in a year or so. Marcus Johnson looks like a great UDFA keeper that has developed nicely.
8) Carson may not throw the prettiest passes and sometimes tries to do too much, but he’s the real deal. There aren’t too many QBs with his kind of composure when dealing with low snaps or falling down after the snap. He’s the real deal.
9) No injuries!
10) Birds win!
I was just re-watching the Ertz play and I came away thinking there are not many QBs in the league that could have pulled that off.
I love the way he rifles the ball. So effortless. Reminds me a bit of Vick in that regard.
Darby should have excelled against the Bills. He faced them all spring and summer in OTA’s and camp. He knows their schemes and their tendacies. He is still learning the Eagles schemes and his new teammates. He held his own and turned around for the ball. We should all sleep easy an be optimistic.
We just need to trade him to our upcoming opponent for practice each week, then trade back for him on game day. He’d DOMINATE!
Not to mention motivation you just don’t see in starters in the preseason in the form of a gigantic chip on his shoulder. Got to let the team that dumped you know that they made a huge mistake.
This is completely off topic but it’s still off season. Tommy, I think you would enjoy, but anyway. Jay Thomas died on Thursday. He was on Cheers among other shows. If anyone here has an adult sense of humor, please go to Jay Thomas on Letterman, Lone Ranger. Just a little remembrance. Thanks.
Thanks for the recommendation of the Letterman clip. That story was hilarious.
Some personal observations:
1. I have no idea what Kelce was doing on that early third down where Wentz got buried by 3 Dolphins. He had perfect position to pick up the late stunt, but went wide to pick up #20 blitzing from the outside effectively opening the door. Smallwood did a really bad job of pass protecting, but the bigger problem was Kelce moving out of the way to pick up the outside rusher.
2. Speaking of Kelce, if no one lines up directly on top of him, he’s fine. But when he’s got someone in his face, there’s literally nothing he can do to stop the bull rush from what I’ve seen. He does an effective job of redirecting and keep Wentz clean, but he will be shoved back 5 yards.
3. I wonder if Darby is having some problems learning the defense? The 72 yard completion doesn’t bother me. It was a good pass, good catch, and he was in good position. The other guys get paid too and unless you’re playing Madden on Rookie level, they’re going to get theirs. But on the play where he got the PI, it looked like Jenkins jumped the underneath route while Darby ALSO jumped the underneath route. I wonder if it was supposed to be a bracket look with Jenkins in a robber role underneath and Darby back deep? Also the redzone pass TD to Thomas (MIA), it looked like McCleod was barking out instructions and Mills picked it up but, Darby never looked and went with the inside release instead of the outside.
4. I still like Clement more than Pumphrey at running back, but maybe I’m looking at it wrong? Pumphrey is not going to be used a traditional back, but then I’m not sure where or how Pump fits on the roster. Clement is a player I’m more comfortable with in actual game action, but Pump….eh….
5. This is still a very sloppy football team. The amount of laundry on the field again was ridiculous.
6. I thought the offensive line needed more time out on the field. I get pulling Wentz, but the line? They need some more game action. They do no look ready.
7. Let’s all pray for Foles’ elbow. I don’t want to watch McGloin anymore than I have to. He was better last night but….I think I’ve seen enough.
1) Remember you have a total different view than Kelce. We as fans often forget that when we watch the play in slow for the 10th time
2) Im suprised we kept him over moving Seomalu or Wiz at C.
3) It takes to get the communication 100% down. Darby might know the defense, but he also has to see the same thing as McCleod and Jenkins.
4) I do honestly see nothing in Clement. If you want Clement over Pump, just go with 3 RBs only. I be honest, Pump does not look like the same player as in college right now.
5) This is pre season
6) If you wont risk certain starters, do not risk any starters.
7) I hope Foles elbow is okay, else I think the team would have found a guy more to challenge for the 2nd spot.
“This is preseason” is a fine excuse if the team wasn’t highly penalized for the past few years. In my opinion, this is a problem that is continuing since the Kelly regime.
I expect it on defense, as Jim would rather have the players play over the line, then not be aggressive enough. The OL as a whole is just sloppy right now
I was thinking the same thing on the RB’s. Clement is nothing special – I doubt he’ll be in the league in another year. Pumphrey gets tackled going through a hole by somebody sticking their arm out – not a good look for an NFL running back. I’d rather keep 3 and put a guy like Gibson on the 53 figuring he’s going to be inactive anyway, but at least he’s got the potential to develop into an NFL player.
It’s a little scary since Blount is over 30, Sproles is 50, and Smallwood can’t pick up a blitz and struggles to stay healthy, but if you need to pick someone up during the season I don’t think you’d see a big difference between whoever you pick up and Clement/Pump. Hell, I think Byron Marshall is probably as good as either of those 2 guys.
Pumphrey looks like a better than average receiving back to me. He has soft hands and is quick enough to get a 1st down and they’ll put him in the slot too. I know that’s not a lot to fans but I think it is to Dougie.
I don’t really think they can go with 3 backs since Smallwood hasn’t proven he can stay healthy and they don’t want to overuse Sproles and Blount is better in the second half of the season. Sure they could risk it with the practice squad and with 3 pretty good backs in Clement, Pumphrey , and Marshall but I doubt Pederson does because he likes to use backs a lot.
nice note about the play where Jenkins & Darby both tried to jump the underneath route. I didn’t notice that at first
[…] Crazy Game – Iggles BlitzThe Eagles beat the Dolphins 38-31 in a wild preseason game. That is a ton of points. There were big plays, turnovers and way too many penalties. I’m going to post some quick observations so I can start re-watching the game. The Eagles came out pretty healthy. That is far and away the key to having a good preseason. Carson Wentz played well. 6-10-129 with 2 TDs. And he got air yards. […]
Love Darby. Get burned/fooled – yes. But that recovery speed – oh my. Tons better than what’s on the rest of the roster.
…
Not a fan of pulling players so early. Not sure how they’re going to be prepared for 4 quarters of their body taking a beating….going to be interesting…
They have had a tougher TC then the majority of the league so it may even out.
Would taking a beating last night change their body in a positive way over the next two weeks?
Seems to be the new NFL. Quality of play across the league seems down, not hard to imagine why.
Foles missed another game with the elbow injury…when does this become a concern? The other two are not QB I want any part of on the roster
Outside of New England, does any team with a franchise QB have a backup that could actually save a season if the starter goes down for an extended period of time?
Cinci…… maybe…
I would say no to him just for the fact that he was a 5th round pick with only 119 attempts while subbing for a playoff-caliber team.
Vikings, if Bridgewater plays this season.
Maybe PIT.
I think the Eagles do IF Foles is healthy and thus my worry. I agree that most teams do not have a starter quality backup, but that does not mean the Eagles should not strive to have the best backup they can.
Green Bay? I can’t think of his name (and don’t feel like looking it up) and he has never played in the regular season, but I like Green Bay’s backup QB.
The thing about that is that we really don’t know until it happens.
Well, the Eagles generally have a pretty good backup able to win a few games, and certainly did under Reid.
does the fact that McGloin played almost 3 quarters indicate Foles won’t be ready for the season?
No, never said it did, but it is worrisome that our backup is not healthy late in the preseason and the other two guys are total scrubs.
Now.
CHANG YOUR EAGLE FONT !!! PUT WENTZ AND COX AND HICKS!!!
Dude, if you want to make a new header do it. Tommy isn’t a graphic artist. He already puts a crazy amount of work into hosting this forum. Pretty rude to CAPSLOCK him like that.
I was over water so i did one. . https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1239b6512364e8e5148105908d2883c17f2617735033ac2a2f3cae1d05cce6c.png
Might need some formatting help here.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/16c783c9d683a6037245f6aa2458474c6119a538e2b88424e853436659b84f23.jpg
Sweet.
If there is a photo of Josh Huff driving across the Walt Whitman Br … igglesblitz y’all !!
part of me wishes you took this and copy/pasted that all over the damn place so the name of the site wasn’t even recognizable
..waiting for a bus. . https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a2a8696bcc84edce29dede063eedba48ed43d4adae16890b00352eee50909c3d.png
I’m on the bus. .but not sure if this got up already
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a2a8696bcc84edce29dede063eedba48ed43d4adae16890b00352eee50909c3d.png
hahah actually more tastefully done than what i was imagining! nice work!
OK I WILL OMG SNOWFLAKE!! CAPS LOG IS THE LEAS OF TOMMIES WORRIES FOR F’S SAKE
Alright, Durden.
You don’t know what font means?
You knew what I meant, so tighten up butter cup.
Don’t feed the troll.
not trolling he said. he was going to change it like 6 moths ago
if i was trolling i would say put Mean Long Cox up there!!
You fucking come here for the banner? Blocked.
fuck you how about that
TOMMY YOU SPELLED EAGLES WRONG IN YOUR BLOG NAME!!!
Haha. Yeah, he shoud CHANG it
The point is He writes hella good articles and it would be awesome to see Hicks and wentz and longcox up there so , that’s it no harm no foul
Its ALL about that Torrey Toss that burned Maxwell for 50 yds. Solidifies so much speculation about Smith, Wentz, taking the top of the D, trading Maxwell, etc. Great to see!
For that brief moment in time, football made sense.
When Ajayi broke free on the first series, it was Barnett who helped Mills on the tackle, 15 yards downfield. Says a lot that I thought it was Kendricks at first, the way he flashed.
Last of my four grandparents passed away on Monday. Blessed to have had her for so long. Volunteering to help with the music at the service has turned out to be much harder than I thought (emotionally not musically).
Just wanted to drop a line of empathy for those of you on here who’ve shared about losing loved ones. I really appreciate the community here.
Sorry brother. Been there. I had at least one alive into my 30s. Ok to just let yourself mourn your way and pass along the music responsibility.
My grandmother was 90 this year (I nearly made it to 40 with her). There’s no way I would have been able to sing under the circumstances, but it was an honor for me to be able to play guitar for her service.
One of the songs played was “The Old Rugged Cross,” her personal favorite hymn, which was pretty special for me as I had done a total rewrite of the song in my younger days that I can still remember playing for her in her living room (a memory that feels like it just happened yesterday).
Sorry for your loss. I have one left, and I make a point to spend time when I can. No matter when, it is always too soon.
Yeah, we had a standing lunch date every Tuesday at her favorite local pizza shop for the past 7 years.
Sorry for you loss.
Thank you.
My condolences, Lost my daughter last October she was 23.. My life revolved around the Eagles, not so much anymore. Still follow this site daily don’t post much.
That is sad indeed. Much respect and sincere condolences. Very sad for your loss.
I don’t know if there is any other loss that compares with a parent losing a child. My uncle passed away at age 15, leaving a deep impact on the life of my grandma (and my mom who was 11 at the time). You have my most sincere sympathies.
Hey all- It’s a recurring troll theme to mention changing the players in the banner on this website. Do not engage with the trolls on this subject. Block them.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a1603f5aed1cc671859d656b99beca55ddeb06881b6f725a413db2e49aa671ef.jpg
Is that cat a troll?
I just thought he was special needs.
But you’d be happy with a big picture of Koy’s neck in the banner.
Are you saying you wouldn’t?
Correct. But I’m far too polite to bring it up.
THE OL WASN’T BAD PEOPLE. STOP. I’M GOING TO HAVE A STROKE
THANK YOU
Dude, what you do in the privacy of your own home is up to you, but there are better websites for that kind of thing.
Well played…..
You mean everyone doesn’t have a life size Halapoulivati Vaitai wax figure in their bedroom?
Is that a good or a bad thing?
Well that depends on if there’s a big ( ) to go along with the big V?
Impressive if just one stroke.
It’s amazing how much “better” the OL looked when Smallwood was in the game.
He’s got the ability to make the qucik cut and redirect in the backfield. Blount you have to let him build up a head a steam and if he gets forced sideways and has to restart it’s play over.
#thanksKelce
It seems like absolute perfection all the time against other professionals is the new standard. If anyone gets beat on any one play it is evidence that they are terrible and we need to get rid of them.
“Anyone gets beat on any one play” might be swinging that pendulum back the other direction a tad too far.
https://twitter.com/pff/status/900872499331780609
Pederson, Reich, and Flip are doing it intentionally to sharpen the iron! shhhhhhhh
So if 4 were not on the OL then suddenly that doesn’t look so bad.
Stats without context are bad. Especially in football.
Stats without out context are not ideal, but considering the only stats in the conversation are those and the one you just pulled out of your ass, they are the best we have at the moment.
Were there four plays where the OL was without fault and someone still got to Wentz?
I detailed them yesterday.
1. The bootleg that Wake was immediately in Wentz’s face is not on the OL.
2. The 1-step drop where the double slants were both covered. Not on the OL.
3. The play where Wentzs trips on himself is not on the OL.
Additionally:
The sack was on Smallwood not the OL. The TD pass was a “pressure” but it’s a deep pass and Lane reset his his base and stopped Wake from getting there.
Ha ha, I might have engaged in a tiny bit of hyperbole.
There’s a city on the other side of the river from Camden. I’ll take you there some day.
Sweet! Field trip!
I’m just here to watch you drool.
Lane getting roller skated into Wentz causing the tipped pass INT was really hard to stomach. Especially by some nobody.
The guy uses and inside move and Lane is washing him down the line.
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins
On what planet is this roller skates?
The link went to the Dolphin’s twitter page, not the specific play.
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/900865712708763648
Thank you for posting.
Ok, rewatched the play after crack posted it. So honest question, what’s the correct way to explain how Johnson let his man advance right into the throwing lane of Wentz to cause the INT?
Lane played this correctly.
Wentz needs to either get it through traffic or move.
It’s really more just dumb bad luck than anything. Batted balls at the line happen multiple times a game.
Gothca. It was f-ing infuriating to watch. I’ve seen enough “dumb bad luck” plays go against this team for about the next 3 centuries, so that crap needs to be kept to a minimum.
Kelllc—-never mind…
I think both teams pulled their starters early because the practices were very physical and the coaches saw what they needed to see. But as a fan, I was disappointed. Wentz looks like he has taken the next step. i thought Pumphrey looked better (low bar). I don’t care much whether or nor he makes the team because he’d be the 4th RB. I doubt if he’d be on the field much. Ertz looks primed for the long awaited breakout year.
I think they like Pumphrey to replace Sproles when he retires so they may keep him on the roster. They seem to be trying to develop his receiving & returning. Pump has shown pretty good receiving ability.
He got skinny through not much of a hole on one run and he’s a patient runner who hasn’t gotten it done though for whatever reason. He’s not real explosive but he always seems to finish his runs.
Agreed. I wonder how much of Pumphrey’s lack of luster is him trying to learn RB, slot, returner all at once and without a need to use him a lot this year. Maybe? Hopefully?
It feels like he is swimming mentally to me. Like the screen he caught yesterday. He made an OK play and gain, but was just hesitant to explode up field.
I agree. But then again, most babies learning to walk stumble. O M G
Pump is the Sproles replacement. You should care. It’s ok you will when he is ballin for us at some point.
I hope he will be. It probably won’t be this year. They may keep him as 4th RB because other team’s may take him on waivers which I DON’T Think will happen with Clement. Given a year to add some muscle, he may turn into a good player. I would love it if he exceeded my expectations this year.
I don’t think you really need to replace Sproles. He’s kind of his own position in the league, and the only teams with somebody similar are maybe the Bengals with Gio Bernard, KC with DAT, and possibly Carolina with McCafferty. Even if you include a couple more teams with somebody similar, there’s plenty of teams like the Cowboys that do just fine without a gadget player, Sproles is a luxury item, and if we don’t have a player that can replicate him, we shouldn’t force the issue. It’s kind of like replacing JMatt in the slot–you don’t need just one person to do all of the roles when you can have multiple people do it.
It’s not looking like Pump is ever going to be the returner Sproles is, and if he’s going to be the runner/receiver, he needs some time to adjust to NFL speed.
We drafted a phenomenally talented RB in the 4th round, not because he is like Sproles but because he is good. He happens to be a small RB like Sproles who is retiring after this year. Sure it isn’t left tackle. It is a thing though and that is why we drafted him.
Lance Dunbar was that guy for the Cowboys. You could say their slot guy is that right now.
Not playing like this he isn’t.
Agree. His head is swimming. This year might be a wash.
Sometimes Carson will forego the open underneath throw in favor of a deeper and more tightly covered throw down the field. He needs to stop that. Those passes got Tom Brady a rich hot wife and 5 Superbowl rings.
I wonder if we’ll see more no-huddle and a faster pace than last year. KC did have the slowest pace in the league when Doug was OC. Hopefully that was due to a personnel problem and not a coaching philosophy
Kendricks is better suited as a 3-4 pass rushing LB. That long screen play the Eagles gave up in the 1st had a lot to do with him over-running the play.
I can’t complain about Darby. He got beat but he did contest each reception.
But what about air yards? That is the only measure of a Qb that truly matters.
Remember before they used air yards that they used to mess around with that “completion percentage” and “QB rating” mumbo jumbo!
I mean there was a day when # of interceptions was considered a relevant stat….sheesh
“they”, the conspiracy of people who want to downgrade your favorite player…
Yeah, no stat is better than the fan’s eye test.
I am not by any means against the use of statistics of analytics when analyzing players. But cherry picking one stat and ignoring context is really not much (if any) better than the fan’s eye test.
I don’t want to pick on you, but complaining about air yards is very misguided. It is a stat. Information. It is how you use it.
I have read the air yards articles on Football Outsiders. Nowhere do they say that low air yards = bad quarterback. Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and and Drew Brees all have low air yards, but they are obviously great quarterbacks.
The fact is that some mediocrities like Alex Smith and Sam Bradford are always at the bottom of this stat, and Wentz last year also was a dinker.
Air yards just tells you, in a general sense, something about the style of play. You can be a very effective QB throwing short passes. Wentz, however, was not that last year. Granted, he had plenty of excuses, but that doesn’t change that his air yards were low. Why discredit information?
Below us, the cheerleader known as or___ attempts to discredit completion% and QB rating. completion % was never used by knowledgeable fans to evaluate QBs, because it’s so obviously gamed–short passes, even ones that only net a yard or two, have a high%, while long bombs that win games have a low%. However, yards/attempt is a useful stat because it combines those bits of information in a general way. Also, QBs with good yards/attempt tend to be the ones who win lots of games and go to probowls.
QB rating is another stat that had much higher prestige among meatheads than stats guys. That being said, it correlates surprisingly well with winning despite its weird parameters.
None of these stats in themselves mean anything. Even putting them all together does not give the whole story. Still, they all give a slice of the pie, and for many of us fans, a fascinating glimpse into the game. I can’t fathom badmouthing air yards or QB rating or any other bit of information, just because it is being used to describe a favorite player in a way I don’t like.
I don’t think you are picking on me at all. In fact I agree with everything you wrote. I have no problem with the air yards stat, just the assumption by some that it means that Went was no good when looked at without context. I think I tend to be more hopeful about future development of young players than most, but I agree that every stat is worth considering.
When that guy dies; I’m crapping on his grave. Cian Fahey is such an unmitigated piece of shit troll.
When Tom Brady had Randy Moss, he threw it downfield. After that, they relied on the TEs and the slot to have YAC.
To be fair, Randy Moss and Tom Brady are like 1a/1b at their positions of all time.
Bo Jackson and Randy Moss are two of the best pure athletes I’ve witnessed in the NFL. Totally opposite body compositions, but completely overmatched their opponents and made it look effortless.
Agreed, with Deion and Reggie.
Worrying about Foles being injured or Clement making the team seem seem to be more about planning for disaster than anything else. I would imagine if either see significant playing time, our season is not going well.
Not everyone has such a rational view of Clement… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cdabcfce9070999571172044f116833f290246afb520b8ee60ba87047b2b79e7.png
Well what can you expect from someone named Zak Troutman, really.
I’ll make the argument of Clement over Pumphrey, since I think they’re both competing for the same back end roster spot, but I don’t get the hate for Smallwood who has literally not played except for last night and then played well.
I think that Clement would deserve the spot of Pumphrey if we were only considering how they have played to this point and the immediate future. But I would keep Pumphrey over Clement because:
(1) I think (and I think the Eagles think) that given some time Pumphrey can be developed into an offensive weapon that can create mismatches and be a significant factor in the passing game;
(2) Clement has looked good but his skill set does not seem to be unique and it is not hard to find backs like him; and
(3) Based on the above points, it seems much more likely that they could get Clement on the practice squad without another team poaching him than Pumphrey.
3 for 3
But they did keep shitbag Barner based on work vs. 3s and 4s over other guys who outplayed him vs. 3s and 4s…………..but I don’t disagree with you on Clement at all.
Lol Glad I could get through to someone.
Y’know. It’s very GEagle-like to cut and paste your own conversation. It’s kinda like responding to your own post.
This team really brings energy. Especially the D, fun to watch. You can tell this team really has confidence in itself. That is a very underrated aspect in team sports.
McGloin almost makes me long for M. McMahon but at least he isn’t Goebel.
Joseph? That would be pretty terrible.
NFL’s trying to cut into the NASCAR demographic
I wonder if they could go with Clement over Blount. Seems plausible.
Nope.
NFW.
Blount makes me miss Ryan Matthews.
That’s cold.
Cold would be he makes me miss DeMarco.
LOL
Beau passed his physical, wonder how long before he’s ready
So we will get to see one player cut (to make room) prior to preseason game 4. Take that new rule!
Beau was already on the active roster
no cut required to activate Beau
Oh right. Misread BGN
I’m very impressed that he’s back early.
Wisconsin Cheese flows through his veins! Of course he’s back early!
I’m partial to Cabot’s stuff from VT, but noted.
Man I get mad every time I watch that replay of cherry’s pick last night! He should have scored, but timid rasul Douglass was running away from a block around the 5! Then to make it worse he got in the way! Lol, for a second their I was wondering which team he played for!
It looked like Rasul expected Cherry to go to his outside shoulder, but Cherry got there too fast. I still don’t think Rasul would have walled the tackler off, but he would have gotten in the way if Cherry allowed the block to set up. But yeah, LBs generally aren’t really known for their return ability.
Yeah I see what you mean. When cherry ran toward the sidelines, I thought he would just run out of bounds. But when he cut back to the middle, I knew he was trying to take it all the way back! I think cherry just needed Rasul to commit to blocking somebody. But he didn’t do it. He was just slowly running in front of cherry with a lack of decisiveness. It is like screen passes when there are 2 or lineman I’m front and they don’t block anyone as a dB comes knifing in for a tackle , lol!
Welcome To Philly || Marcus Johnson Texas Highlights
https://youtu.be/Ay67XkxPxpg
I watched. . He looks very athletic and versatile. . Am i correct? ? Can he catch punts? ?
Use him like i had hopes for Josh Huff ??
He does look athletic and he seems to have a good feel for position. I like him and hope he sticks around. Looks like he’s Alshon’s backup currently.
This could be a big deal…
https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/901225328076623874
Hm, guess they’re not going undefeated.
Paul Turner for Rowe.
Agholar for 3rd rounder .. that too hopeful
So Eagles Super Bowl Champs!!!
Bored at work notes on KC vs Seattle:
1. Andy is looking skinny. For real, no sarcasm.
2. KC OL is looking pretty good, at least compared to our starters the other night. Sorry, D3FB. Or at least the Seattle DL isn’t looking great.
3. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster that our receivers can finally catch, because they sure fucking can’t in KC.
4. Spencer Ware just got carted off with a non-contact injury.
Who is next man up after Ware? A rookie? Is that where Kareem Hunt is?
Yeah, it looked like Hunt was the next man up. Got blown up on the next play, but it was very clearly a good play by the LB or a bad blocking assignment up front.
5. Pick up Eddie Lacy in your fantasy league.
Did he look good?
Only one run so far, but he’s a fat RB in SEA with dreads and a visor, and he legit looked like Lynch for a min there. Just demolished a dude with a stiff arm.
6. SEA OL looks like hot garbage, but Russell Wilson is doing Russell Wilson things…
He’s my favorite non-Eagle QB. He also might be my favorite non-Eagle period. But I’m also a big Richard Sherman fan.
I like the player, but hate his off field, hokey, fake, constantly selling shit persona. He reminds me of when they did the ads in The Truman Show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43fqtIPGo2A
There is certainly some “corn ball” to him, to reference a bad attempt at criticism of RG3 from a pundit a few years ago, but I love his game.
Valentino Rossi is my favorite non Eagle
I just looked him up. Seems like a Fonzi wannabee.
Fonsi .. the jumper of sharks
7. Don’t draft Tyreek Hill in fantasy. Two *awful* drops already in this game.
One thing I really liked from last night’s game… Alshon’s TD. Wentz and Alshon made it look easy. That’s what a quality QB-WR tandem does.
I’m not sure if there were enough “air yards” to make it really a good pass.
Hitting in stride is important.
I’d hit Fahey in stride, then let him get up and hit him down to the ground again.
Who? Am i missing an inside joke?
Yes, sort of. Cian Fahey is this f-ing scumbag piece of trash who is constantly badmouthing Wentz in a manner that is explicitly designed to inflame Eagle fans. And he’s blocked a ton of them on Twitter when they go at him. I think Kempski owned his ass at some point over the summer. Fahey’s big thing is “air yards”, but presented without any context.
Catching is even more important.
Man, feeling better about the Eagles preseason games after watching Seahawks vs Chiefs. Both teams struggling. Preseason is so different now, takes teams much longer to get into form.
One thing I didn’t like at all from last night’s game…Goal line defense from the wide-9. Dude walked into the end zone after getting rudely brushed.
I soooooo miss Jim Johnson’s goal line defense.
Sadly it turned into McDermott’s 30 year worst red zone D and hasn’t fully recovered.
That seems partly tarded
Beau….