Eagles Come Up Short in Wild Shootout
Posted: December 31st, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 319 Comments »
How’s that for my final smart-ass headline of 2017?
At its best, football is a combination of chess, a track meet and hand-to-hand combat. At its worst, football is 22 guys running around on frozen dirt and wasting three hours of your life that you’ll never get back. Today was the latter.
The Eagles lost 6-0 to Dallas. It was an ugly performance for both offenses. The Eagles only played their starters about a quarter. The Cowboys might have won the game, but they can’t feel good heading into the offseason. Dak Prescott struggled to move his offense against an Eagles defense that played a lot of backups.
The Eagles can’t feel good about their offense heading into the playoffs. Cold weather has really brought out the worst in Nick Foles and his teammates haven’t helped. A bad drop from Torrey Smith killed a promising drive to open the game. If Smith catches that, the Eagles are in FG range at the worst. Smith had room to run and might have gotten deep into Dallas territory. That drop just seemed to kill the offense.
Nate Sudfeld came in in the 2nd quarter and brought a spark to the Eagles, but he couldn’t put together a sustained drive that led to points. There were some reasons to be encouraged by Sudfeld. He never seemed panicked. He was confident and aggressive. He showed a good arm on a couple of throws. Sudfeld ran 22 yards for a 1st down. He looked like a QB worth developing.
There will be some talk of Sudfeld starting over Foles in a couple of weeks. As poorly as Foles has played, I think it is fair to raise that question. I wouldn’t do it and I think there is zero chance Pederson does it. Pederson sees problems all over the offense. He’s not going to blame Foles when he thinks the struggles are on the whole unit.
One thing you can feel good about is the Eagles defense. They have allowed 575 yards and 16 points over the last 2 weeks combined. Today you saw Steven Means, Beau Allen, Nate Gerry and Sidney Jones shutting down Dak and Zeke, the cornerstones of Dallas team. That was pretty cool to see. The defense played with a lot of energy and toughness. The starters set the tone for the game and the backups played their butts off.
Jones had a couple of mistakes, biting on a double-move and then letting Zeke get outside of him on a run play. Still, it was great to see him moving around and playing in a real game. I’m looking forward to studying his snaps.
Gerry played well when he was out there. He blew up a run play and almost picked off a pass.
You know things weren’t good when the player of the game is the punter. Donnie Jones averaged 43 yards per punt and pinned the Cowboys inside the 20 on 3 of his 7 punts. He had one punt go out at the 1-yard line.
There are serious reasons for concern. Foles struggled. The OL was up and down. The run game wasn’t good enough.
You can be happy that the team came out of this game healthy and feeling good about the defense. You aren’t going to win in January if you can’t play good defense. Pederson has two weeks to get his offense fixed. One of the real keys is going to be for the O-line to play better and for the running game to take a big step forward. Foles isn’t going to win without a running game to help him out.
The Eagles finish the regular season at 13-3. Today was an ugly game, but 2017 has been a really fun season. The next time we see this team in action will be the divisional round of the playoffs. Let’s hope Pederson can work his magic between now and then.
Happy New Year.
_
A major complaint I had with Pederson last year was he relied on Ags, DGB, Treggs, and every other disappointing WR and kept Burton on the sideline.
He’s doing the same thing this year.
It’s one thing to avoid going all in on Hollins because he is a rookie, but Burton is a better receiver than Torrey. It would be different if Torrey was the deep threat we were led to believe, but he’s not.
Burton is pretty much the most athletic versatile dude on the entire team
Torrey Smith is just eating up snaps and a roster spot.
Not a problem by mid-march.
Doug is the one who (1) is a professional football coach and (2) is putting his career on the line with his player evaluations.
If he’s playing Torrey Smith over Hollins, and using multiple WR sets over two TE sets, there’s probably a reason for both.
That response is textbook Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Ha!
I bet Sanders knows a little bit more about politics than you do, too.
Pederson’s player usage is 100% up for discussion in a really aggressive manner if they’re not playing in Minnesota in February.
I can’t believe the Eagles lost to the Cowboys and I don’t care.
How it ensures long contracts for dak and coach
at least the eagles wont have to too far to home after the home field throughout the playoffs loss coming up, why wentz, why
It seems to be the most Eagles thing ever to be a #1 seed and yet feel like there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell. This was such a fun, unexpectedly good season, and one and done under these circumstances shouldn’t dampen enthusiasmy over what they accomplished or the brightness of the future, but at least in ’04 we knew 5 and 36 were going to be in there.
I am actually glad that the Eagles Home game winning streak ended today and not in two weeks time.
I dont think what happens to today has any bearing on 2 weeks from now…unless PEDs finds a way to fix Foles.
It’s just mathematics. Or my pure superstitions. Every streak has got to take an end. I’m personally glad that streak came to an end during the regular season.
Pederson clearly didn’t care about this game in the press conference and neither did I.
Yeah Foles was awful but so what. Playing him another 2-3 series wasn’t going to impact how he looks in 2 weeks.
Continued offensive penalties though and lack of concentration today from the starters was the only thing that even marginally concerned me. Been an issue for weeks now and this team isn’t good enough to overcome them in 2 weeks.
Exactly. They just need to clean up the stupidity and they’ll be in a much better spot.
I’ll say again, if I’m the Eagles next opponent, I stack the box and shut down the run game, forcing Foles to beat me via the pass. On offense, I work hard to build a lead by running the ball on the edges and use a quick pass game negate the rush. Pederson will go pass heavy to catch up which helps my defense and I can pressure Foles at will. Pederson better have answers to this approach or we will see the last two weeks repeated.
It was all a set up….
I like this theory. Coach of the year type plan.
Eagles 7th in the NFL in penalties
Eagles have not scored a TD by a RB in 6 weeks
Eagles were horrible in 3rd down conversions the last two weeks and lost the field position battle badly
Without Peters and Wiz on the left side, this line really struggles to run the ball with any kind of consistency.
They have a decent enough overall group but don’t have a back of McCoy’s caliber to great something from nothing nor a bell cow like Watters who can they could hand the ball 25 times and really lean on either.
Having a decent receiving RB would notably help this offense too right now.
RB touchdowns is a misleading stat. Wentz was so good in the redzone throwing TDs, there was no need to run.
Penalties are a major concern.
3rd down inefficiency is due to Foles inability to run the offense.
Um, not sure why you don’t think Ajayi can be a bell cow back.
It’s because we have Clement and Blount that we don’t just run Ajayi every down.
Didn’t Ajayi score last week vs Raiders? Unless I’m misunderstanding something.
He did but it was a pass not a run, which is what I think Gary’s point was intended to be.
Converting 3rd downs was a secret ingredient to their success this year. Helps with chewing up clock in a way too.
Eagles will be an underdog in 1st playoff game… Could be sizable point differential depending on who they play
No they won’t. Stop with the negadelphian crap will you!!
Thank you.
This board has become insufferable the last few days.
It’s more likely than not they they won’t win the SB but that was true even before Wentz got hurt. That is true of literally every team at the beginning of every year. Being irrationally pessimistic doesn’t change that, it just ruins the ability of everyone to enjoy the ride.
Yup. I’m not going into the game expecting anything less than a better effort than we saw vs. Oakland. If we don’t get it, I’ll have plenty of time for explosive negativity then.
Cleveland got a present from Houston who lost 6 in a row. They now have the 1st and 4th pick. Please don’t send Saquon there God, thanks. Not that I want the Giants to get him.
It could go
CLE – Darnold
Giants – Rosen
Indy – Barkley? – they need more unfortunately than a back but Saquon could take some pressure off Luck. Do they go OT though?
I would like to see Barkley go to Indy. That’s a smart match for that team who needs a RB, and offensive line. Tough choice but Barkley is that good.
Last time they went RB was on Trent Richardson. I don’t think he goes to Indy at #3 but maybe they trade down
Are you a hoosier? I hate the owner, coach, racist corn-fed dolts.
Haha No lol ! I’m not a Giant or Browns lover ha ha, are you. I just don’t think Saquon falls out of the top 4 probably . He’s not a lock. to go top 4 but it’s just a mock for fun!
I got nothing against farms or farmers so what’s the corn fed thing about?! Calling an entire group of people racist is as bad as being racist or prejudiced come on man !
Sorry about that. You are correct. I saw your happy tidings for a franchise that has a college basketball fan base which I encountered close-up and negatively years ago, and my ingestion of too much tequila permitted a humiliating utterance. It will not happen again. I’m sure that Indiana has some admirable people (at least I think I’m sure).
As for Barkley, my only hope is that he has a healthy, long career in the NFL. He may be better than Gurley and Elliot when it’s all said. HNY!
Indiana is home to some of the best beer brewers in the country! With artwork for their brew that is cool as hell too.
Bask in the dark fantasy glory: https://www.3floyds.com
Thanks.
Saints gonna lose. Will be 4th seed.
Seattle has been eliminated from the playoffs, so no Wilson heroics to worry about.
Our path is clear.
The only hope in Saints vs. Panthers is Saints beat them twice so revenge and tough to beat team three times factor but the Panthers suck.
I think Panthers beating Saints and Rams beating Falcons and Vikings is our only hope. Just my personal opinion. I know Gurley is awesome but our D vs Goff in playoffs is a wing and a prayer to me.
I think avoiding Saints and Vikings is our best hope.
Goff and Gurley have done squat in posts season. Same as Mcvay.
The only team I’m worried about knocking us out is the Nick Foles “Led” eagles
I disagree. I think we have a better chance against the teams other than Saints and Vikings. Kamara/Ingram is pretty scary too as Gurley is but not quite as good as him and I’d rather go against Goff than Brees.
The Vikings are clicking and their D is a match for ours but their offense is better than ours right now.
Our Strengths are stopping the run and running the ball with special teams mixed in too. Brees does not have the arm to travel here and win it on his own. Eagles have the 2nd best defense (At a minimum) and for my money the best special teams.
Vikings offense would be complete shut down by our crew. Keenum has always looked 27-2 Foles-ish.
Vikings would also completely shut down our offense…unfortunately.
Please fill me in: who’s scary in the NFC again?
The Eagles will be 0-0 in two weeks time and I don’t give a bullocks arse if Foles pooed the bed in the last two games.
GE will be at the Linc for the divisional playoffs and you guys better get your popcorn ready.
Go birds and happy new year!
Hope your attending both games.
I am in(at)tending actually..
I don’t know how anyone couldn’t care at all how Foles has played the last two games.
Who cares. Really? Do you think the Eagles chances would be greater if Foles threw for 10 TDS and 0 Ints?!
Yes, their chances would be greater if we’d seen more 2013 Foles and less 2015 Foles. At least, fans and oddsmakers would see it that way.
The good news is, 2013 Foles did make an appearance in the swamps of Jersey two weeks ago, so we know he still has it in him.
The last two games don’t matter very much. Today doesn’t matter at all.
Foles has played well in the past at times so he can do so again. The whole body of work matters way more.
Falcons is probably the only team I would be somewhat comfortable playing against but can they beat the Rams?!!
Hell yes. Rams in the frigging cold Philly will go down hard.
Panthers would be my top choice.
Quick thoughts:
1. I love that Wentz finished with 1 more passing TD than everyone else.
2. Fuck the soft ass rams, would love to face them first
3. Saints, Panthers, Falcons all looked very beatable today
4. Maybe just maybe Foles has his garbage games out of the way
5. Even tho we lost, Cowboys looked like the real losers
Couldn’t agree more.
The Cowboys hurt their draft position, and looked terrible doing it. Hard to ask for much more.
1,2,3,5 — With confidence.
4 — With prayers.
Congrats to Sean McDermott for getting the Bills to the playoffs and breaking an 18 year post-season drought for that team.
Any word on how serious the McCoy injury is?
Foles looked slow, confused, indecisive, inaccurate and completely unable to hit a receiver downfield. He’s looked like this for two games now. The SB is not gonna happen, start Suds, give him some experience coming into next season as the #2…
Foles’ experience trumps Sudfelds superior ability I think. Starting Suds is like throwing in the towel.
Yeah but if Foles can’t play worth a crap in cold weather experience is irrelevant.
If Torrey doesn’t drop that easy pass and maybe takes it in for the score how would you feel now?
Why even bother playing next season since they probably won’t win the SB? In fact, why bother following football at all since we’re all going to die anyway?
JFC, relax and enjoy it a little.
Someone tell me how I should feel about the team since I didn’t get to watch today.
Not good.
Foles couldn’t move the offense and had a terrible pass that was an easy int and he left game in second quarter . It is a mystery how he didn’t see the Cowgirl.
The o line fell apart but team has no confidence in Nick. Sudfeld wasn’t impressive but 1st action. Ajayi rested.
Dallas made asses out of themselves playing many starters the whole game vs a lot of our backups.
Zeke was smothered by our D early. Dak sucked. Dez stunk.
The defense played well until we had more scrubs come in.
There are signs of life, especially in our D, but our Offense looked pretty terrible – Foles particularly. He led the first drive pretty well until a Torrey Smith drop on 4th down killed it, not sure he picked up another first down after that until he sat down at the start of the 2nd quarter. Sudfeld looked a bit more lively but obviously still inexperienced and raw – though he did move around the pocket better and had a 22yd run.
Really the only good news is we had no injuries, we kept Zeke under 1000yds for the season (and Dak was terrible also), and Blount got the 21yds he needed for his bonus money.
So hope for the Falcons?
Get ready for pick 28.
🙁
Get ready for the cold inescapable reality of death. Your life is pointless, you might as well get it over with and end it now.
(He plans to be extremely sad for two weeks… And then see what happens next. Extremely sad. Just in case.)
Makes no damn sense to me. Sure, they will very likely fall short of winning the Super Bowl. 31 our of 32 teams do every year after all. But wallowing in misery over that fact doesn’t change anything, other than ruining the chance you have to enjoy 2+ more weeks of football. If the year lose it doesn’t make you feel better, and if they beat the odds and go all the way you don’t enjoy it as much.
Honestly, we’ll see what we see in 2 weeks.
My guys are saying that Doug went with a very vanilla plan today, didn’t want to reveal some stuff designed for Foles’ strengths that they’ll use in the Div round.
Doug pretty much said as much in his post-game press conference.
Still, Foles could’ve played a little better. That INT was hideous.
first drive was promising at least. we could have won this game with one TD… Sigh.
I surely hope your guys are right.
What did we expect him to say?
What game plan did he go with last week? Was that vanilla too?
Well, maybe it was “French Vanilla” instead of regular.
stuff designed for Foles’ strengths = running game?
Would be interesting if they went to the chip kelly tempo playbook
So how’s the feeling for next year
Good.
well, well, well, looks like Joe Webb will be going to another playoff game. Hmmm, seem to have played in more of them than many of you all’s faves, and certainly was a reason that the Bills have at least one postseason game! He deserves his fan support!
…moseys along, whistling away…
The greatest QB who never was
by shah8
The End
I have a game to watch next week, fool!! Maybe there’ll be a WILDCAT PLAY or tWO… Legends can always build further!
You’re gonna die on that hill. You’re still breathing!
If the “multiple universes” theory of quantum physics is correct, somewhere there is a universe in which shah is correct and Joe Webb is something better than a 3rd string QB. To me that casts doubt on the likelihood of the theory, though.
You do know there is a Panthers forum right?
Anyone think Carolina tanked to keep Seattle out of the playoffs?
Nope they are very streaky. Make Cam pass and they pretty much lose.
I’m happy to Seattle not make it in
SAME here. Sea has our number.
No, I think Carolina just sucks.
Foles BLOWS.
So dallas dropped 3-4 draft spots with that win against us. woot.
Not only that, but Dallas won in the worst way. Their starting offense struggled against a backup defense.
BUILD A DOME QUICK
The Raiders. WTF? Del Rio pulls them out of the basement where they’ve been for 15 years, makes them respectable, gets a 4 year extension, and they fire him because Gruden – who hasn’t coached in nearly as long, is suddenly available?
I don’t think this is going to end well for the Raiders.
At the same time though, it means one high profile replacement for Schwartz may be available if he goes to NY.
I don’t want Schwartz to leave however I don’t see him being successful as a HC there. The smartest thing for them to do is go young at QB and get an offensive minded HC.
We have owned the Giants for years now so I’m assuming part of the reason as to why they are interested in Schwartz is simply in the hopes that information he retains will be used to help beat us.
Completely agree. Schwartz is not a good fit for NYG. He could be very successful in Indy if Luck is healthy. Build that team a defense and they could own the AFC for a while.
Very true. Him to Indy would make a lot of sense on Indy’s part. Fortunately if he does leave he does not run a complicated D by today’s standards. I’m sure the FO and DP would want to replace him with someone that is going to stick to the same blue print that Schwartz brought here. Him leaving may not hurt us simply because it isn’t a difficult scheme for the new hypothetical DC to follow.
I don’t want Spags, and I’m happy that we got Schwartz over him.
While it would make a lot of sense for Indy to want him I’m not sure if he would want to go there. He would not have much to work with at all as far as talent goes on the D side, plus some talent that may be there may not fit what he wants to do. They run a 3-4. When he came here we had 4-3 players playing in a 3-4. Not the case with Indy.
dude took two teams to sbs, including in the city that’s he’s going back to coach, not a surprising move from a guy that inherited his team
His job coaching the Raiders was outstanding. When he went to Tampa Bay he inherited and awesome defense with a great defensive coordinator and a stacked roster.
True, but how long ago was that? Del Rio had them on the right path. We’ll see if Gruden still has any magic left.
Raiders fans seem almost universally psyched to be getting rid of Del Rio. Looks like the people
who actually follow that team had quite a few complaints about the
coaching this year. Most seem to think he’s continually unprepared, doesn’t make in-game adjustments, and lost the team by the end of the season. Plus Carr has noticeably regressed (even taking into
account injuries).
Like you, they’re pretty mixed on Gruden, but I haven’t seen any tears shed over them losing Del Rio.
Thanks for the info. I’m surprised that after being a bottom feeder for a long time, they are being quick to jettison the guy who got them out of the cellar.
They seem to credit the GM more than the coach (McKenzie was Executive of the Year last season).
I’m glad the Raiders are hiring him, anything to get him off of MNF.
I actually really like Gruden on MNF along with the guy that replaced Tirico. Worlds better than Buck.
Alright, tastes can differ, but Gruden drives me nuts. He’s smart and knows a ton about football, but I find him grating. Plus, don’t come after me with pitchforks and torches, but I like Buck. I think it’s because I heard an interview with him one time and I found him friendly and humble.
Oh yea, one more thing while I’m making a big deal about nothing, have you ever heard Gruden in ecstasy over the play of “Sean Lee, of Penn State University”? If it turns out Jon has a pic of him naked hanging in his den, I won’t be surprised.
Fwiw: eagles play on 13th of January. My lucky number. Go birds.
13 is your lucky #?
Me too.
We have a decent shot at playing either the Panthers or Falcons in our first playoff game and will have to beat only one of the Vikings or Rams to make the SB. Might’ve preferred to avoid a potential matchup with the Saints but otherwise today broke about as well as we could’ve hoped as far as other NFC results go.
Dude
It’s more likely than other that we will play the Saints on 13 January.
Apart from that I agree with you…
There are four potential combinations of outcomes from next weekend’s games and only one of them results in us playing the Saints.
I think P(Falcons win or Panthers win) > P(Saints win and Falcons lose).
I just wish the falcons win.
I hope they both win, then the Panthers beat the Vikings, and our path to the SB is Falcons —> Panthers.
We cannot play the Saints in the divisional round. 3rd seed, everyone else is the “lower seed.”
OK. I’m looking to see some of the Eagles fans toughen up over the next two weeks too. Two straight weeks of crying in advance of the game is not going to help anything.
January 13th at 4:35pm is game day. Happy New Years! Go Eagles!
I beginning to believe Doug just bluffed the Saints and Falcons.
So you believe Doug is playing the chess match here.
MM, maybe I’m crazy it’s false hope, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Even if Wentz was playing Doug would have had a vanilla game plan against the Cowboys. With Foles it makes even more sense to hide your hand because if you can get your opponent believing the opposing QB can’t do anything, you can surprise the hell out of them.
We have a much better shot for the Birds to win the SB, even without Fo!es playing better, than fans toughening up.
Convinced that Foles and the rest of the offense tanked the last 2 games to strengthen Carson’s MVP case. Now that the regular season is out of the way they will unleash the hounds again.
Well – hopefully anyway.
Happy 2018 to the IB community!
You might be on to something.
There have been people that claimed I’m too negative. Well, at the risk of sounding too positive, I can’t help but believe that people are getting too worked up by Foles performance the past two games. Why, because it appears that weather played a big part on what had been happening. It’s one thing if only Foles struggled, but Carr and Prescott also couldn’t solve the weather problem.
One other thing is in this game, no one can convince me that Doug Pederson had any intention of giving the Saints or Falcons any inkling on what he’s planning in two weeks. Remember, when Eagles lost to the Chiefs and many complained about them not running the ball enough? So, what did they do the next game, run ball damn well against the Giants. I believe Doug intends on building his game plan around Ajaxi, which will lead to more play action and success.
Now don’t get me wrong because I don’t expect backup QBS can win Super Bowls, but I’m optimistic that they will play a lot better in two weeks.
Seems like a pretty rational take to me, although backup QBs can win Super Bowls. Personally I didn’t expect them to win even with Wentz, so I certainly expect them to do so with Foles.
I think it’s going to come down to the defense. If they are dominant, especially if the weather is cold and we are facing dome teams, the Eagles have a realistic chance of making it to the Super Bowl.
Agreed. Foles is not likely to become a Pro Bowl QB all of a sudden so a dominant defensive performance coupled with just enough clutch plays by the offense and special teams is the formula they’ll have to have.
Hey Philly! Happy New Year!
I say it’s up to Doug Pederson now. He was great last year and masterful this year. I say it’s up to Doug to put the team on his shoulders with the offensive game plan and get his first playoff win as head coach.
It would be a much easier mission with Carson healthy and playing. Foles has shown he’s just not the same dynamic playmaker. But he can execute the offense.
Doug’s been up to the task at every turn so far. We need a very special game plan now. So coach ’em up, Doug!
I say Dougie Fresh gets us a playoff win in two weeks. Go Eagles!
Happy New Years to you, also.
I’m not going to lie, it’s going to be tough, but as number one seed the Eagles have a chance of facing two dome teams at home. If Doug can figure out a way to improve the offense’s performance in cold weather, obviously that’s assuming the weather is cold, anything is possible. Without a doubt if the games become necessary to run, it plays right into the Eagles hands defensively. If the defense is dominant we have a realistic chance.
The issue with Foles is that during the past 2 games, he has the Dak “Deer in the Headlights” Prescott awareness of the receivers routes and defensive scheme. Couple that with his inability to step up in into throws, as he constantly seems to be pack pedaling and throwing off balance, leaves me with little confidence in St. Nick.
Hence why you need to establish a running game and/or get him into some play designs that prevent him from being stuck into immediate back pedal mode. And if a team is loaded up on the run, some semblance of effort in pass blocking should allow him some easy reads.
This is why it’s imperative that Pederson comes up with a running and short passing game to help with play action. Forcing Foles to throw on 3rd and long will never work.
weather didnt effect brady
When I say backup I’m referring to a guy who is nothing more than a career backup. Guys like Brady and Kurt Warner ended up being a lot more than the type of QB I am referring to.
I hope you are right about the weather impacting Foles. You raise a good point about Carr and Prescott, though Zak has been playing like crap (rhyme intentional) anyway.
One of the lowlights of the year was Doug’s playcalling against the Chiefs. One of the highlights was that he did seem to learn his lesson. I hope the bright lights of the playoffs don’t cause him to revert to bad habits.
Also, there have been backup qbs who won the Super Bowl, so maybe there’s some hope. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/9-teams-won-super-bowl-backup-quarterback-article-1.3703335
I probably should have made my point more clear about the type of backup I mean. I’m actually referring to the type of guy that basically becomes a backup QB.and nothing else. Yes, guys like Kurt Warner and Tom Brady initially were backups, but it became obvious that they were something more.
Morall was an interesting story because he almost did the impossible twice. As it turned out the first time with the Colts he ended up being on the short end of one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, losing to Namath and the Jets. The second time he did help his team get to the Super Bowl, but it was Bob Greise that ended starting the championship game and winning it. The fact is both times Morall wasn’t the QB that won the Super Bowl.
Roger Staubach and Jim Plunkett ended up being starting quality QBS more so than backup. I put those guys in the same category as Warner and Brady.
Doug Williams did come through as a backup, but the guy was once a starting QB which meant he had more ability.
You are right about Dilfer and Hostetler, but they were fortunate enough to play on teams that the defense was so overpowering that all they were asked to do is not make mistakes. In fact, even though he should be a first ballot hall of famer, I’m going to claim Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl win two years ago with Denver was in the same category as Hostetler and Dilfer and that was playing for a team with an outstanding defense. That year Manning was a shadow of his greatness, but ended up not only winning the Super Bowl, but beating his lifetime nemesis Tom Brady because all he was asked to do is not make mistakes.
The bottom line is nothing is impossible. However, it’s imperative that Foles play somewhat better and/or the defense plays at a very high level for the Eagles to have a chance.
Good stuff. We find ourselves in such an interesting situation. If Wentz was still playing, everyone would be sharpening their knives in preparation of the playoff feast (at least this first game). Instead, we have two weeks to have these kinds of discussions.
Go Nick Go!
You’re too optimistic
Happy New Year, Tommy. Thanks for making another season fun and informative.
And don’t forget to watch out for the chance to send Tommy to the senior bowl once again as well for all of us able to send some $ support. Best way I can think of to show thanks for Tommy’s excellent work.
I’m really looking forward to seeing who we’ll face in the next round. I’d 90% assume it’ll be the Saints, which for QB reasons is a scary match up for us. But all of that being equal the Eagles have a job to do between now and the 13th and I expect it to be done.
* As a reminder, getting the offensive effort vs. the Giants combined with (minus one play) the defensive effort vs. the Raiders and Cowboys will do just fine.
1) Come in with a winning game plan, especially as it pertains to run/pass mixture, formation/design of passing plays, and player usage.
2) For the love of God; BLOCK! Big V should be settled in enough, Wiz will be back to full health, and Kelce/Brooks/Lane should be a strength at this point. That unit absolutely needs to execute.
3) Get home on the pass rush. I’m not trying to hear it with pressures, hurries, and/or knockdowns. Sack the QB, force fumbles, block passes at the LOS.
4) No more f-ing long TDs allowed due to a combo of dumb route jumping / poor safety play on the same play. Those dudes need to get on the same page back there.
5) Stupid mistakes need to go away. We need to zero out the false starts, off sides, and/or any other procedural type penalties. And limiting the holding to emergencies (rather than lazy ones like what Lane did to negate the big run vs. the Raiders) would be great. This would also include brain dead missed tackles and poor guesses on run plays that leave a big cut back lane.
All in all they either win or get ripped for being lazy, stupid, unmotivated, disinterested, and unfocused.
The coaching moves are really really weird in terms of hiring/firing.
I’m happy Todd Bowles stayed with the Jets. Bowles is one of my favorite coaches in the league and I wish he’d have been given the DC job here by Chip instead of bringing in ding dong Billy Davis.
I love John Elway (one of my favorite players as a kid along with Walter Payton), but he can go F himself if he’s going to fire Vance Joseph after a year.
I just don’t get John Gruden. Not that I really like Del Rio, but that’s weird.
I get why Chuck Pagano is gone in Indy, but I’m not sure I understand how Detroit gets better just by firing Caldwell.
Arizona is going to be a weird opening.
Anybody calling the Giants a premium job/destination needs to be slapped. Fuck New York.
Foxy just officially ate it as Bears head coach. I’d be really scared of losing our OC or QB coach to that job.
Maybe we can bring him on board to be our DC.
They will be looking for somebody who can work with that young QB Mitch Trubisky and bring him along.
What Bowles did in New York is outstanding. Unfortunately, he’ll probably never get proper credit for being a great coach without a franchise QB.
Hopefully they’ll get one this year.
Good restaurants and the world’s eleventh largest military budget.
Good news guys: I was looking over the stats and watching film. Nick Foles has not thrown a bad pass this year.
And Pederson hasn’t called a single run all damn year either!
Nate Geary hasn’t taken any bad angles this year and until I hit post, I haven’t ruffled your feathers either
well whater Pederson is doing must be working because we’re undefeated so far this year!
And I have posted any predictions that turn out to be stone cold wrong.
I know Greg doesn’t stop by here as much as would be ideal for our ability to benefit from his knowledge, but he’s been killing it on Twitter all morning.
https://twitter.com/igglesnut/status/947828412835680256
That would be pretty surprising. He’ll land a new job in no time. Let it not be the Giants, please.
It would be poetic justice, though, if he went to Cleveland and turned them into a contender.
Poetic justice because he’s coaching the former Browns or is that Indy?
The Ravens were the Browns. The Indy Colts were the Baltimore Colts.
My understanding is that the Eagles, as #1 seed, will play the lowest seed from the winners of the Wildcard games. That means we’ll play either the Falcons, should they upset the Rams, or the winner of the Panthers-Saints game. Is this correct?
Yup. So I’ll just assume the Saints.
I’m figuring the same. Probably getting ahead of ourselves, but I wonder if Brees has any history of playing poorly in the cold?
I gave up on the weather being a determinant in a game after the Tampa choke in the 2002 season NFC title game. I think you’d totally want to play Brees here rather than in the dome however.
I get a pain in my chest whenever someone brings up that loss to TB. And don’t get me started about the super-choke to Carolina the next season.
Definitely agree, getting Brees at the Linc is vastly preferable.
He went to Purdue, so it isn’t like he’s never had to play in icy weather.
It’s free so I’ll go out on a cartoon limb and say Carolina or Atlanta.
Starting the New Year with more Eagles football to come is pretty cool. It’s also a pleasure to start 2018 ruminating about the Cowboys lousy season and the bleak outlook for their future.
Here is our 2018 schedule now confirmed:
Home: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings
Away: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams
There is a good chance we will be asked to play a London game this year as the ‘away’ team, with the Jaguars and Rams being the obvious options.
I know its stupid to assess schedules 9 months in advance – it is amazing how the league changes year to year, but damn that could be a brutal set of fixtures. Even the ‘bad’ teams in the Colts (if Luck is healthy), Texans, Bucs could with good moves and coaching be dangerous teams. Only saving grace could be our division, especially if Cousins leaves and the Giants take a QB in the 1st, not scared of Dak long term either.
I’m going to really enjoy the summer golf season. I’ll take tremendous joy reminding all my Cowboys friends that Dak is their QB.
Clearly there are 13 soft teams on that schedule and something like 18,19, or even 26 wins is on the schedule.
I’m really happy to see the Eagles get a London game finally. And there aren’t any scary road environments on there like @ KC or @ Seattle, so I think we’ll be ok.
I know its stupid to assess schedules 9 months in advance
To me this is the most critical sentence in your post.
All these teams will be significantly different by the time training camp opens. The only ones I would say it’s reasonable to count on being good are the ones with franchise QBs – that’s the Panthers, Falcons, Saints, Colts (presuming Luck is healthy), Texans (presuming Watson is healthy and progresses), and maybe the Rams. Every other team in our division also plays every one of those teams except for the Rams (and the other teams in our division will play the Seahawks, once-again-healthy Cardinals, and suddenly frisky 49ers, none of which is a gimmie game). Frankly I would rather play the Vikings than the Packers with a healthy Rodgers, which is what the Redskins will get. The Cowboys will play the Lions, who aren’t a cupcake either.
There’s a very good chance both the Giants and Redskins will be starting over at QB next season. The Titans, Bucs, Jags, etc. are mediocre teams and do not scare me in the least.
I cannot get remotely excited for our playoff game. Foles looks like a guy who just can’t wait for it all to be over. No confidence. No energy.
I know anyone that doesn’t poop rainbows about this team is just way too negative, but this team will be lucky to steal 1 game with no shot to win it all. We’d be lucky to have Trent Dilfer level QB play right now. These last 3 weeks have sucked any joy from this season away.
Get well soon Carson.
I know we don’t stand much of a chance for major success, but at least the season continues. The other NFC East fans have to sit at home and watch our team on tv.
Remember the joy we all had watching Dallas be one and done. Having not shot doesn’t excite me.
I am excited for the future of this team and I’m honestly just ready for the offseason. I love draft season.
I hope you pull that thing out of your lower cheeks at some point this year. Plenty of time left. #1 seed. And you’re feeling sorry for yourself and predicting the future…
If Foles has shown anything other than completely ineptitude I would feel differently. These last 2 weeks have shown me all I need to know. Foles is not good enough. He isn’t even Trent Dilfer/Brad Johnson level right now
So in your experience recency is usually a good indicator of performance in the NFL? Regardless of context (as in clinched a playoff spot or #1 seed versus actual sudden death playoff games?
I’m not sure I understand your question. Yes Fole’s recent performance is more relevant to the Eagles overall record if that’s what you are asking.
I’m just saying that the way he played in the last two games doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play like that next time, which will be in a very different context.
He did show something other than complete ineptitude in the Giants game. He has shown something other than complete ineptitude over the course of his career. Why do you assume that the last two games, one of which was somewhat lacking in urgency and the other of which was totally meaningless, are indicative of what we’ll get in the playoffs?
After watching Foles I’ve come to the conclusion that he is what he is. He has not improved at all since he left Philly the first time.
I think the Giants game was decent results, but he took advantage of short fields and just poor defense. I think the Foles we’ve seen the last 2 games and his last starting gig in St Louis are a better indication of what he is.
1) he plays like his feet are in cement. His slow feet prevent him from effectively moving around the pocket. All of the NFC playoff team rush the pass well.
2) he has a horrible habit of back pedaling when he feels pressure. I think this leads back to his slow feet and inability to navigate the pocket. He does not have the arm to move backwards like Russell Wilson.
3) #1 & #2 have huge impacts on 3rd downs. His lack of success on 3rd downs has a trickle down effect on the defense. As good as they are at home, the more chances you give other offenses the more likely they are to score.
4) teams know Foles is a sitting duck on 3rd downs so they ply to stop the run putting us in 3rd and medium/long situations where Foles struggles.
Foles doesn’t just impact the passing game. He impacts the run game and defense as well. Add to these issues what appears to be a lack of confidence and I will argue he is just not good enough.
Dilfer and Johnson were game managers that at least played with confidence. The kept the offense on schedule. The current Foles is proving he can’t do it.
I’d personally rather see Sudfeld. He has better feet and a better arm. He lacks experience, but while I’m not confident he won’t get the job done, I’m not certain he can’t. I’m pretty damn certain foles cant
If everyone else wants to pretend he’s good enough until they see him lose that’s fine. I’m not trying to make anyone else not excited. Just wish I could be. I’m already in mock draft mode.
Foles is what he is, which is a backup QB with flaws that make him unable to carry an offense. No argument there. If they’re going to win in the postseason, the rest of the team will need to elevate its game so that they don’t need to win the game with his arm. But in the games the Eagles have played with Foles at QB that had real stakes, he looked competent. He was bad in the Oakland game, but so was the opposing QB – cold, windy conditions tend to make QBs look bad. Even Brady didn’t look great this past weekend playing in that kind of weather. As for the Giants game, that’s pretty much meaningless to me. It was a glorified preseason game and Pederson wasn’t going to bother scheming anything complex that would be better saved for the playoffs. Moreover, we have in the past seen Foles play competent football for long stretches when his teammates play well around him. I don’t see why 1.25 bad games outweighs a six year track record.
Moreover I think it’s pretty irrational to think that Sudfeld would be better in any game that matters. He’s a 6th round pick who wasn’t with the team in training camp and has never started an NFL game. His only game action with the Eagles was in a glorified preseason game running an extremely limited playbook. Foles at his best can play well enough to win a playoff game. We have zero reason to believe Sudfeld can do that.
So just block me if opposing views bother you so much. Most people can have conversations even if they don’t agree.
The problem is I find most of the time it seems like you’re not even trying to have a conversation, you just want to vent and be negative. Literally every other Eagles blog/website is like that which is why I don’t post on any of them.
As for blocking you, that’s a drastic measure I generally reserve for trolls and bullies.
The only time we’ve seen Foles ply continent football for any length of time was when Chip’s offense caught the NFL off guard. He is been below average since then
He’s played competently in Andy Reid’s offense. He played competently against the Giants and Rams. The only time he’s even gotten to play for any length of time outside of Chip’s offense was in the QB graveyard that was the Jeff Fisher Rams so you’re kind of stacking the deck by framing his career the way you are.
I guess that is a fair point.
Do you personally feel he is playing with confidence right now?
I don’t know. I’m not inside his head. I generally refrain from psychoanalyzing athletes.
I mean, under similar weather conditions, Flacco, Prescott, Carr, Cousins, etc. have all also sucked over the last few weeks. Are they all terrible QBs too? Even Tom Brady (arguably the GOAT) was mediocre on Sunday despite playing a bad team. Maybe the weather has something to do with it?
Yea but we have house money. They were complete frauds. Apples and oranges homey
Imagine being the kind of person who decides to wallow in misery for a month instead of accepting that sometimes things bounce in favor of the underdog.
Yup, I’m down on Foles. But at the same time, I saw him play lights out for the better part of a season.
Heck, you could make the argument that although the defense isn’t is good as Denver’s a few years ago, Foles is a better QB than Peyton was during his last season.
It’s the postseason, anything can happen. Heck, if it stays frigid and becomes really windy, it may come down to the running game/run defense and kicking game.
So happy I don’t live in Philly anymore – I grew up there and the place will always be a part of me but I just can’t stand the Negadelphian mindset.
Life is too short to be miserable all the time.
I think the Philly mindset is more like: Life is so short, be miserable all the time.
I’d rather be a “Negadelphian” than someone who constantly bitches about “Negadelphians.” Ugh.
Your choice. But if that’s your mindset you’re only validating the stereotype of Philadelphia fans as a bunch of miserable, wretched SOBs who are simultaneously nasty and unpleasant and annoyingly self-pitying.
Personally, fuck that mentality. It’s a lousy way to lead my life.
I imagine Santa brings them coal.
Or Giants gear.
I got my son a “Most Interesting Man” knockoff t-shirt for Christmas. The front reads, “I don’t often hate, but when I do I hate the Dallas Cowboys.” On the back, “Stay victorious, my friends.”
Hah! My daughter gave me the same shirt for Xmas.
Maybe we should think about your daughter & my son. What kind of dowry are you offering — cows, sheep, coins of silver?
I got a car insurance bill, 3 1/2 years of tuition payments upcoming, and constant stressful hair loss to offer. Your boy able to hold down a steady job?
Yea, but you’re an Eagles fan. That will count for a lot with my son. His interest is in criminal justice and law enforcement (the irony is not lost and, since we’re practically family, please don’t tell him know about my wayward youth).
Frankly, if you can’t get excited about the team’s first divisional round playoff game since 2008, you’re a shit fan and all the Cowboys and Giants fans who were gloating over the misery of Eagles fans when Wentz got hurt and saying they don’t deserve to have a good team are right, at least about people like you.
I don’t rate their chances of making it to the SB highly either, but the reality is that if you came into this season with SB-or-bust expectations, you were delusional and setting yourself up for disappointment. I would’ve considered 10-6 and a WC berth with Carson looking like a top 10 QB a very good season. 13-3 and a divisional round berth with Carson looking like a top 3, superstar QB far surpasses those expectations. Anything that happens from here on out is gravy.
I can’t for the life of me understand why anybody would look at this situation and decide to be miserable, but that’s Philadelphia sports fans for you. The most inexplicably miserable people on the planet.
“but that’s Philadelphia sports fans for you. The most inexplicably miserable people on the planet.”
No, we rule!
“you’re a shit fan”
I’m like the biggest vulgar maniac here when it comes to venom directed at all kinds of stuff, but that seems a tad gratuitous to aim at another guy posting.
I stand by it – if you’re not excited about your team being two games from the SB, you’re not a good fan.
Any chance to watch postseason football, especially in a season where most fans came into the year with middling-at-best expectations, is something to be savored and enjoyed. Being miserable about it makes no goddamned sense.
I don’t disagree with your premise at all, but I think was a nasty way of going about it. I’m aggressively optimistic that the team will do what I scream at them to do in order to win two home playoff games, but I don’t want to but Kajamo in my crosshairs over it.
Fair enough. Perhaps I was too blunt. I suppose my patience for irrational pessimism is exhausted after the last three weeks.
I hear you. I just don’t go to DEFCON 1 on another poster here unless they say something directly to/about me. I don’t even curse at Shah when he’s cheerleading the most offensive type of “QB” play.
Shah has crossed over into the Poe’s Law zone where I don’t know if his posts about Joe Webb being unappreciated franchise QB talent are real or self-parody at this point.
I can’t be mad at somebody who’s so entertainingly delusional.
I think its because we are all really die hard fans. That guy loves the team, not a shit fan. He is still grieving our loss. Post season is a whole new season.
U know who has shit fans, Dallas. They went 3-5 at home this year because they can’t pack a stadium. This is AFTER posting a #1 seed last year. That would NEVER happen in Philly.
Philly really doesn’t have shit fans. Shit people? Sure
I can’t agree. Our shit doesn’t stink!
Fair enough, as said below I could’ve phrased it less harshly.
My fault didn’t see. Either way I just came here to shit on Dallas. I will enjoy the hell out of being an underdog #1 seed, its so Philly.
It wouldn’t be right to win the Super Bowl in any other fashion.
You could have said something like, “should have his kneecaps smashed by a crowbar” or “have his neck torn off and defecated down” or “has a whore for a mother.”
I only direct those shots at the unworthy and not any of y’all.
I think your macro perspective sells short the gut punch of having the team MVP out of the lineup. The last two weeks have brought fans horrendous football, as well. I also take the long view, but I understand the emotional exhaustion expressed by Kajomo. Claiming he has to be excited is pretty arrogant.
Bottom line is, we could be fans of a team like the Browns or the Bills. If you think losing Wentz for the end of a season with an injury is a gut punch, imagine your team passing on him in the draft, telling you it was because they didn’t think he was a top 20 QB prospect, and then drafting DeShone fricking Kizer. If you think a playoff drought of four years has been long, imagine it being 17 years. Etc.
We have what looks like a good management team, a good coach, and a great young QB. That doesn’t mean we’re going to win in any given year, but it does mean we’re better off than perhaps any other team in the NFL going forward.
Yes, losing Wentz sucks, and it’s too bad this season is unlikely to end up in a SB championship – but the truth is my happiness about the macro situation so swamps that disappointment that it feels like nothing more than a temporary setback.
He doesn’t have to be excited. I’m fine with being realistic or even pessimistic about the team’s chances. But wallowing in misery for two weeks instead of enjoying the ride, however long it lasts, is just pointless.
For the record: Last Cleveland championship 1964; Last Eagles championship 1960. I get your point, but we were all giddy just waiting for the post-season. When your team sucks it’s slow weekly torture, but when you turn it around and then…you know.
Look at it this way – even if Wentz were healthy, they’d more likely lose in the postseason than win it all. That’s nothing to do with Wentz, it’s just a reality – even the best teams/QBs of all time have at best maybe a 35% chance of winning it all at the beginning of any given playoff tournament. Losing when you’ve convinced yourself the team is going all the way is WAY more crushing than losing when you don’t have any expectations to begin with, so the end of this season is likely to be less painful than it would be if Wentz were still playing.
The team has hope, and we can realistically expect to be a contender every year for the next decade assuming Wentz has a typical career arc for a franchise QB. That is WAY better than being a fan of a “factory of sadness” type team where you no you have no chance.
I’m with both of you guys. It’s gone from excitement to embarrassment the last three weeks. I don’t care what the conditions were yesterday or the week before. This is the same quarterback who worked magic in the snow against the Lions. Those were far worse conditions. I would be happy for the Dilfer version, but Foles has shown nothing to exude any confidence in me that he can even manage a game.
(It’s “Barner” btw.)
It did seem like gunners were getting to him fairly quickly, but he also muffed one, so maybe he was just spooked. I hope we get one of those “dangerous” returners next year that seem to be a dime a dozen for every team but ours…
Thanks, BC. I think auto correct did me in on Barner. I wonder whether we already have our dangerous returner next season in Pumphrey. I recall that he had butterfingers in the preseason, but maybe a redshirt year corrects that flaw.
Just tell me there’s a chance for us to win it all this year. 20 other teams can’t say that right now. By the time we play 4 more teams will no longer have a shot.
Do I like our chances? No Not without Wentz. But I will be hyped as fuck for this team in 2 weeks.
Exactly how I feel.
Anyone who thinks Dug and Foles have no chance to cobble together a reasonably effective offense to go along with a really good D and special teams is being unreasonably pessimistic.
And I’m supposedly the local pessimist around here.
I certainly wouldn’t say I’m a shit fan. I will be rooting as hard as anyone come game day. The last snap I missed was 13 years ago when I was in basic training. I’m loyal and defend this team against criticism from anyone outside this fan base.
That said, I think good fans can also be realistic. I’m not religious. Not into the blind faith thing. Living in reality doesn’t make me a bad fan. Demanding better from your team is a good trait. I demand better from Foles and know deep down he can’t deliver
I came into this season with 1 goal. I wanted to see Carson take a big step forward. That happened and is ultimately why i am excited about the future.
Watching this season unfold my expectations and goals changed. I still believe with a healthy carson the eagles are going to the super bowl. I don’t know how you can blame anyone for being extremely dissapointed to have that opportunity taken away.
I can’t bring myself to get excited for the upcoming game. It’s great that we get another eagles game, but once in the playoffs everyone’s goal should be super bowl or bust. If Foles didn’t have that deer in the headlights look or showed any confidence at all I may be able to get excited, but I see that guy and see a bum. He’s not good enough.
I would love to be proven wrong. I’ll root as hard as anyone in 2 weeks, but I won’t be disappointed when we lose. I fully expect it.
Not into the blind faith thing. Living in reality doesn’t make me a bad fan.
There’s a difference between blind faith and acknowledging the odds while remaining hopeful, which you don’t seem to get. There’s also a difference between realism and defeatism, which you also don’t seem to get. The Eagles’ chances aren’t great, but they’re not zero either.
I demand better from Foles and know deep down he can’t deliver.
Then why are you even watching the games? Why waste your time?
Watching this season unfold my expectations and goals changed. I still believe with a healthy carson the eagles are going to the super bowl.
Even with a healthy Carson, the odds were against them, so that’s an irrational belief. NFL playoff history is littered with dominant regular season teams “destined” for the Super Bowl who lost to inferior opponents in the playoffs. That’s the nature of a one-and-done tournament. So all you’ve done is substitute irrational pessimism for irrational optimism.
If Foles didn’t have that deer in the headlights look or showed any confidence at all I may be able to get excited, but I see that guy and see a bum.
If these games weren’t played in inclement conditions in which both QBs sucked, and if one of them hadn’t been completely meaningless, I might put more stock into them. Personally, I’m a statistically minded guy, and in statistics large sample sizes are better than small ones. The large sample size on Foles suggests he’s not as bad as the guy who has played the last two weeks, and is a guy who if he’s on his game is good enough to win a playoff game.
’ll root as hard as anyone in 2 weeks, but I won’t be disappointed when we lose.
Neither will I, but I don’t see why you’d want to be miserable for the next few weeks. Why not talk about things the Eagles could do to pull off a win rather than dwell on the negative? I don’t understand why you’d even want to follow sports if that’s how you look at things, because 99% of all sports seasons end in failure.
1) I’m not miserable. Just not excited. I’ve already accepted their fate. I deal with eagle’s losses by planning for the future. I’m keeping one eye on this season, but already looking ahead to the offseason.
2) the bad weather is likely to continue throughout the playoffs. If we should expect Foles to struggle in those conditions why should we expect improvement?
While I fully expect us to lose I do know the games need to be played. Our DL being a dominant unit is our only real shot. They have the ability to take over games. DP is also going to have to coach his ass off.
I’m less than fully optimistic but I’m excited as hell for Eagles playoff football.
This is very Trumpian.
So excited for playoffs. Eagles defense playing well at the end of the season? Eagles have had really good defense for a while that just fell apart. This year holding together. D is balling all games are winnable.
Really whole teams future looks great!! Franchise qb, offensive weapons OL is strong, te, rb, wr all look good. Eagles think Ajayi is the MAN he is going to be front and center for playoffs and eagles offense will live and die on Ajayi shoulders. Imagine eagles having that fast big back that gashes defense on every carry, opening The offense to give foles more options. It’s gonna be fun.
Big piece of eagles playoff run is a lack of weakness there isn’t one position that sucks, few teams can say that. It makes opposing OC and DC have a hard time to scheme against eagles.
Say it with me ‘eagles have secondary depth’, when have we ever been able to say that?
Eagles are ahead of the curve. While teams are searching for their franchise qb, the Eagles have one. While teams are searching for their offensive minded coaches, the Eagles have one. If they happen to lose Schwartz it seems as though Rivera and Fox may be available?
They’re going to have their pick of young up-and-comers, or vets looking to rehabilitate their resumes ala Schwartz. Philly’s a prime landing spot, and Doug’s shown good judgement. We’re in a real good position to withstand some coaching turnover.
Rivera as in Ron as in Carolina HC? Or is there another Rivera?
Would be awesome
By Rivera I mean Del Rio of course!
¿Qué? estás confundido hermano!
If Brady or Big Ben play in the Superbowl this year, it will be the 14th out of 15 years that Brady, Ben, or Manning has been the AFC Superbowl QB. Ugh!
When Big Ben, Brady (and Rivers) retire, there will be no franchise QBs left in the AFC.
Now I can see why Gruden wants to coach the Raiders as Carr is currently the best of the young AFC QBs.
That’s an incredible stat about SB qbs. Shows the importance of a franchise qb and how fortunate we are to have Wentz. Also, who was the one qb besides those guys?
Ravens – Flacco.
https://i.imgflip.com/21z9q9.jpg
All true, but Carr has looked really bad this year, and the Raiders are locked in for a considerable amount of time. I’m kinda surprised this is the job that brings Gruden back.
NFL.com is reporting that both Arizona and Chicago have requested interviews with DeFilippo.
Schwartz has not been listed at all, while the Giants requested interviews with 2 others… at least so far.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000900272/article/nfl-coaching-tracker-latest-moves-developments
If John DeFilippo is such a QB whisperer, why does Nick Foles look so lost the past 2 weeks?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very high on DeFilippo, but I have a feeling Wentz would be great, with or without DeFilippo.
Its a good point. I think that fact that Carson is legit MVP in only his 2nd year though is impressive and the coaching has something to do with it. I also believe DeFilippo is credited with helping to develop Carr in his early years with the Raiders.
He coached Carr for 1 season
Coaches aren’t magic, but he worked with Sanchez early in his career when he had success, got semi competent play out of Pryor at QB, worked with Carr as a rookie, and Wentz for two years. That’s one hell of a resume. Everyone who has talked to him or interacted with him for an extended period of time walks away saying that man is going to be a head coach soon and probably a good one.
He coached Sanchez for his rookie year where he had a 54% completion percentage with 12 TDs and 20 INTs. Sanchez never really improved much until he played for Chip.
He was the QB coach for Carr for 1 year. He was the OC for Pryor, but not his QB coach, for 1 year.
Again, if Wentz was not on his resume, he surely wouldn’t be considered a great cultivator of QB talent.
I 100% agree that he may very well have the other traits to be a very good head coach. People seem to talk about Defilippo the way they did Harbaugh.
It seems hiring a head coach is a crapshoot. Chip was considered a great hire while Andy and Doug were not highly regarded by the rest of the league.
I don’t doubt that DeFilippo did a nice job with Carson, but there are two former NFL quarterbacks on the staff. I think you’re right, Carson Wentz is legitimately special and was going to be a good one regardless. But if he’s received any benefit from good coaching (and he certainly has), I think Pederson and Reich are as much a part of that as Flip.
Random thought. Ya know who I think I’d like to hear in the booth (though I have no idea if he’d be any good)… Pete Carroll.
Thought I saw a speculative rumor he might retire. He’s what 71? 72?
The weekly breakdown of does jetfuel really melt steel beams will replace Spider 2 Y Banana.
I would make that trade in a heartbeat.
Same here.
Happy New Year, Mr. Tommy Lawlor! Thanks for all you do!
I’m finding the coaching stuff fascinating. If the Giants wind up going with Schwartz or Patricia, does that make them less likely to go with a QB @ 2 because a defensive HC isn’t going to be interested in having a rookie QB?
I think some of the interviewing for NFL HC positions is brain-picking. If you can find a defensive guy who says he needs two players to have a top 10 defense next season – and he’s credible – then you sell your OC gig as dream opportunity. Giants defense is worse than their offense in my opinion, but LOS on both sides need padding.
They’re also going to lose their best offensive lineman (Justin Pugh)… to the Eagles.
That’s going to be difficult with our cap space issues and money tied up in our OL already.
They’d probably have to cut Peters but they can’t just cut him while he’s injured and he has more dead money $6,333,334 than cap savings $5,333,332 so that maybe doesn’t make a lot of sense if he recovers.
Howie was able to do work magic with next to nothing last off-season. We’ll see what he can pull off this year.
You’re free to dream but TBH I don’t really want him to spend money on Pugh anyway. I’d rather address the OL by getting younger in the draft. Wiz is only 3 million next year and he is solid.
I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, we still have the playoffs ahead of us. But I’m not so sure Wiz isn’t starting in the middle next year. I think that was one possible plan when he was extended last year… and some hard decisions are going to have to be made this off-season about some big-ticket veterans.
If Pugh was coming off a completely healthy Pro Bowl season, it’s a different story. But he’s not. He might be in line for a prove it deal for 2018, and an extension if he plays well (ala Alshon and Jernigan).
What is the basis for you prediction? I know Pugh was probably an Eagles fan growing up, but has HR or JD given any clues?
He intercepted a note being passed from Schwartz to Pugh, which read, “Do you like me? Yes ☐ No ☐ “
Well he sounds optimistic.
I just think it’s a good fit, and the fact that Pugh finished the season on the IR is fortuitous from a financial standpoint for the Eagles. It’s impossible to say anything this far out without knowing JP’s fate.
Honestly, I’d be pretty excited if the Giants hired either Schwartz or Patricia as I don’t think either is likely to make them competitive again.
Schwartz was a bad HC in Detroit and I think is in the Wade Phillips/Rod Marinelli/Marvin Lewis category of guys who are good coordinators but underwhelming at best as head coaches.
Patricia is the defensive coordinator for one of the best defensive minds in the history of football and I question how much credit he deserves for the performance of that team. The track record of Belichick assistants is pretty bad – he doesn’t have a coaching tree so much as a bunch of withered branches with rotten fruit at the end of them.
DeFilippo is the guy I don’t want going to an NFC rival.
Would actually be a double win for Eagles if Giants hired Schwartz. And looks like Bears are going to make a hard run at DeFilippo.
Any coach that doesn’t care about getting a franchise qb is an idiot. Even defensive minded coaches should have that as the top priority.
Schwartz took Matt Stafford #1 overall his first year in Detroit.
I dont think the GM will give the coach the option to pass up a QB.
Familiarity breeds contempt. I used to like Baker Mayfield the undersized gritty QB but he’s so annoying now for some reason.
He’s the Cole Beasley of QBs.
Arrogant, cocky, loudmouth. He’s the anti-Wentz. I hope the Giants draft him.
He’s not going to be a top 10 pick.. would have to be in a later round.
Could you imagine him and OBJ?
Dream come true 🙂
I don’t watch much college FB but do watch some games during Bowl season… Watching this Georgia-Oklahoma game I’m wondering if anybody at the college level can play defense. Mayfield and Fromm aren’t so much putting on an impressive display of quarterbacking as playing catch with wide open receivers, and it appears no NCAA level linebacker knows how to shed a block.
So Green Bay finally bid adieu to Dom Capers. If Schwartz jumps ship, how many DC jobs are Eagles going to be bidding against?
He runs 3-4, no?
He tries.
At least the Eagles should be a very attractive destination.
I wonder if one of our position coaches could make the jump. Someone who’s been with Schwartz awhile, who wouldn’t want to radically alter the current scheme. Maybe someone who can stop a slant.
Is Fipp out of the question? He was a college DC.
Is that sarcasm I detect? Actually thought P Robinson had a good year.
I dont think we need a clone or anyone from the Schwartz coaching tree.
The DL is designed to both rush the passer and stop the run. The talent up front should make any DC’s job much easier.
I’m just afraid a new scheme will alter some of the “magic” they’ve had this year.
Different DC’s often get different results from the same talent. Look at the Raiders this year. They replaced Norton with Pagano mid-season, and their defense has performed noticeably better.
I just hope if Schwartz leaves, we get someone who understands they don’t necessarily have to fix what isn’t broken.
One upside of the fad for hiring offensive-minded, QB guru type head coaches everyone is predicting will happen is that there should be plenty of experienced defensive coaches available for coordinator jobs.
I want a DC who wants to attack but I’m guessing DP and the organization does too.. There are many styles and philosophies and it is important who they choose but I’m fine going outside the organization.
That’s what Juan said too;-)
Don’t think there’s anyone who’s been with Schwartz awhile. Undlin was here. They hired Flajole before Schwartz. Hauck and Wilson came from college.
If Schwartz goes, one of the major characteristics of his successor they need to find is leadership ability. Schwartz’s leadership style won’t be easy to replace – the players seem to have responded to his coaching. They need someone who has or will quickly earn the respect of the locker room. Learn from past. For example, the Jim Johnson to Sean McDermott mistake. McDermott knew his stuff but wasn’t ready to lead.
Bring Spagnuolo back. Seems too easy
Why would we do that? Spagnuolo’s work as a DC is less than impressive as I see it.
I’m not sure I’d want him to rebuild a defense. I think our current roster matches up really well with his scheme. He did a very good job last year with veteran players.
I really want to avoid any major scheme change and/or position coaching changes. Continuity and stability are so important for a defense. I also s think Spags understand the Philly mentality which is a bonus
I guess, but on the other hand everything you say is also true of John Fox who has a better track record of consistently fielding elite defenses. I wouldn’t hate a Spags hire like I would hate re-hiring Billy Davis but he wouldn’t be my first choice.
I wouldnt be against Fox, but it has been a long time since he specifically coached a defense. They also ran a 3-4 in Chicago so it’s been even longer since he coached a 4-3.
I honestly trust Doug’s judgement. I do like spags and think the connection makes a lot of sense.
Fair enough. I also think Pederson has earned the benefit of the doubt and will give whoever he hires (assuming Schwartz does leave) the benefit of the doubt.
Except his derivative Jim Johnson system is predicated on megadoses of blitzes, which is more pressure on play-calling. Spags had some good defensive talent in St. Louis but they were pretty run-of-the-mill. I question if Joe Douglas is a fan.
I’m not sure Joe Douglas will have any input. Seems like a doug only decision.
I don’t recall the Giants blitzing an excessive amount
That’s because Gettleman handed him a DL that was uber-dominant.
How many can provide job security like we can right now? Probably none?
Mayfield catches a TD. He’s still really annoying just breathing on the sideline.
https://twitter.com/PFF_Sam/status/947679369710985217
That is an amazing stat. That’s a crazy high percentage for a team that doesn’t blitz all that much.
Reason for hope assuming Foles can give them a minimal level of QB competence in the playoffs. If he plays to his career averages the Dilfer Ravens/Manning Giants path is possible, if improbable.
He also said Harrison Smith is the best player in the NFL.
Sooooo,,,,,
Some of the things I hope Doug has been hiding for the past few weeks.
Mack Hollins
Triple headed run game
Screens to Clement/Ags
Triple TE sets (probably talking out of my ass here)
Jet sweeps with Ajayi (lol)
Also, this isn’t a moderated board. If you can’t stop restrain yourself from insulting each on here then just block the guy. We are not savages like some other Eagles boards here.
DP’s insistence on playing Torrey Smith is my only real knock on him all year. I would love to see Hollins and Burton get more looks.
I’m inclined to believe there must be a reason Pederson isn’t playing Hollins more, given that Smith has been less than impressive. Perhaps he doesn’t know the whole route tree yet and the coaches would rather take their chances on a Torrey drop than on Hollins running the wrong route and causing an interception? We’ve seen him not be on the same page as the QB a few times this season.
Yes.
I’m fairly confident we will see Pederson roll out some plays/formations we haven’t seen in the playoffs. I’m not sure if it will be enough, but I think the team will be prepared and will have a good gameplan.
“Triple headed run game”?
How about “Hand it to Ajayi and occasionally Clement as a change of pace?”
The least-inspiring thing this coaching staff has done is not play the hot hand. If I have to see one more instance of Blount stutter-stepping into an offensive lineman’s back for a 1-yard gain,,, *places face firmly into palm*