Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Gotta Earn It

Posted November 30th, 2017 | 191 Comments »

A Dallas loss or an Eagles win and the Eagles will be NFC East champs. The Skins had a chance to give the Eagles a nice gift by beating Dallas on Thursday Night Football, but the Skins proved to be just as gutless as we all feared.

No title tonight.

That’s probably a good thing, as crazy as that sounds. It would  be hard to believe the Eagles would keep their edge for Sunday if they had the title wrapped up tonight. And that’s not a team you want to play without complete focus.

Seattle is already upset that they are underdogs. LB K.J. Wright shared his thoughts.

“Don’t sleep on us, man,” Wright said. “This team is really good. We’re still talented. We can be the best of the best. We are the best of the best, so just because we have injuries don’t mean that things will change. We’re going to be good out there.”

Seattle is at their best when they have a chip on their shoulder and it sounds like that’s the case.

The Eagles will need to have an edge of their own and playing for the NFC East title certainly helps. There won’t be any complacency. That doesn’t guarantee a win, but I think the team will have a better mindset with the Dallas win on TNF.

There’s also the fact that it would feel better to win the title rather than having someone else lose and get eliminated.

Sunday is going to be a tough, interesting game. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Eagles handle that situation.

*****

We all knew Russell Wilson was the key to the Seahawks, but this is insane.

Wilson has 3 of their 4 rushing TDs and all 23 passing TDs.

Jim Schwartz needs to have a great gameplan and the players need to play at a high level.

*****

3 of those 5 teams won the Super Bowl.

Miami and NE are the exceptions. Neither of them run the ball as well as the Eagles.

When you see nuggets like this, it can be tough to keep from immediately dreaming about the Super Bowl. There are six five games left and all the playoffs. Anything can happen. Enjoy this team and every step of the journey.

You can’t count on having a magical season like this next year or in the near future. Make sure you enjoy it. Live in the moment.

And mix in a few thoughts about winning it all. There’s not just hope this year. There is real potential.

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Glad to be Wrong

Posted November 30th, 2017 | 257 Comments »

I didn’t think the Eagles should keep Corey Clement. He did some good things this summer, but I just didn’t see him as a player who would contribute much to this team.

I didn’t think Jalen Mills would be more than an adequate CB this year.

I didn’t think Brandon Brooks was as good as his reputation.

These players have proven me wrong this season and I’m happy to admit that.

Clement has proven to be important with the injuries to Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood. Clement is 58-259-4 on the ground and is 5-58-2 as a receiver. In Sproles last 34 games with the Eagles, he has 8 offensive TDs. Clement has 6 through 11 games of his rookie season. TDs can be misleading, but Clement has consistently made impact plays in the Red Zone. His catch on MNF vs the Skins was a play that Sproles would have a hard time matching.

The coaches are smart with how they use Clement. They mix him in here and there, but once the team gets near the Red Zone, he gets snaps. Clement runs hard, so that helps a lot. The worst thing you can do near the goal line is dance. You want guys who get the ball and run toward the goal line. Clement has value because he can pass block and catch passes. Defenses don’t know what to expect when he’s in the lineup.

I don’t think Clement will ever become a starting RB in the NFL, but he’s already proven he can be a good role player. That has a lot of value at RB, where most teams use a group of guys and don’t feed just one star.

Mills is a fun player to watch. If he was a Cowboy, I’d hate his guts, but luckily he’s the Green Goblin and we get to have fun watching him make plays and wag the finger. Mills was up and down as a rookie. I loved his personality and the way he played, but I worried if he had the combination of athleticism and skill to handle good receivers. Mills has proven this year he can be effective against good receivers.

He isn’t great. He’s not a shutdown corner. Mills is smart and a good fit for the system. He’ll give up some catches, but makes plays and tackles well. As Jim Schwartz would say, he competes. Football seems to be personal to him and that’s a great trait for a CB to have.

I don’t know what will happen next year when the Eagles have Sidney Jones and Ronald Darby as your projected starters. Does Mills move inside? Do you re-sign Patrick Robinson? I do know this. Mills has shown that he isn’t giving up his job to anyone. Someone would have to outplay him to get him off the field.

Brooks is a huge OG. He’s not a mauler, though. He’s more of a technician. When I think of 340-pound guards, I think of them driving DTs 10 yards off the ball and planting them on their backside. Brooks isn’t going to do that often. That just doesn’t seem to be his game. He is a really good player, though.

Brooks has had a really good year. I can’t vouch for the stats below, but even if they were off a little, you can see that he’s playing at a high level.

Brooks deserves to go to the Pro Bowl. I don’t know if that will happen with other big name guys at the position, but he’s played outstanding football for the Eagles. The more I’ve watched him, the more he’s grown on me.

*****

I also didn’t think the Eagles were going to be Super Bowl contenders this year.

I can’t tell you how glad I am to be wrong about that.

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