Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Eagles head into the bye on top of the NFC East at 5-1
An impressive 27-0 shutout against the division rival New York Giants puts the Philadelphia Eagles at an impressive 5-1 record. Heading into the bye week, there is a lot to like about this club, but there is a lot of work to do ahead. If you would have told me that the Eagles would be on top of the NFC East at the bye week I would have expected it to be that way, but if you were to tell me that record would only get to a tie in the East with the Dallas Cowboys at the same record of 5-1, I would have called you nuts.
A lot of fans and analysts around the NFL are pushing aside the Eagles 5-1 record and claiming that this team is not as good as it's record shows. Let me be the first to say that I am not satisifed with how everyone on the roster is playing, I believe that Nick Foles has not played up to expectations as he leads the NFL in total turnovers with 7 interceptions, I also think the two outside corners have played very poorly besides the Sunday Night bout against the G-Men. Yet besides all the trials and tribulation including two vital offensive lineman down with injuires in Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce, the team is still 5-1!
Yes they should beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams, but the agrument that the Eagles have not played contenders is not close to the truth. Wins against the Colts, Redskins, and Giants are wins that I consider to be impressive ones. The Colts since losing the Monday Night game to the Eagles have gone on to win four straight. The New York Giants before getting stomped by Philly was on a three game winning streak of their own. The Redskins are better than their record shows in my opinion.
The Eagles have gotten a huge boost from their special teams and defense since the match up against the Redskins. 3 blocked punts, 2 for touchdowns, 1 kickoff return touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown. That is just on the special teams side. The defense has recorded 2 fumbles recovered for touchdowns as well as 3 interceptions from Malcolm Jenkins. The defense had a league high of 8 sacks last game including 3 from Connor Barwin, 2 from Vinny Curry, and 1 from Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, and Brandon Bair. This defensive front is 9 players deep and is sneekely the deepest position on the roster. Vinny Curry continues to make plays when he is on the field. Already having 4 sacks in the snaps he gets. He and Graham have made huge contributions on the pass rush which seemed to be lost after the first three weeks. Brandon Boykin continues to impress completely shutting down Victor Cruz before #80 suffered a season ending injury in his leg.
As for the offense. You would think it is the strongest link on the team with how dominant they were last season, well they rank 20th among total offense in the NFL. That doesn't mean everyone has under played though. Darren Sproles has been absolutely phenominal this year not only returning and receivng the ball, but actually running the football! Yes a running back that is running! Lesean McCoy rebounded against the Giants posting 149 yards rushing. Maclin, Cooper, and Jordan Matthews have provided consistency at the receiver position with some big contributions from tight end Zach Ertz as well in the passing game. The offensive line has improved each week with backups Matt Tobin and David Molk in the lineup. They have held opposing defenses to 0 sacks in the past two weeks against what seemed like two formadable pass rushes.
As for Nick Foles, I am a skeptic. I believe Chip Kelly's system is plug and play. Foles is built from the system not vise versa. Yes he has had his bright spots this year, just look at the Washington game. Yet week in and week out he continues to make the costly mental errors of forcing throws and hanging onto the football too long which tend to coinside with each other. When he is on, don't get me wrong he is stellar. The first half against the Giants was nearly perfect for Foles including a perfect ball in the end zone to Ertz. Even with all these mistakes, Foles still is 5th in the NFL with 1,628 passing touchdowns and 10 touchdowns. Turnovers are costly though, if Foles can fix these mistakes which he even says are very fixable, this team can get to the next level which we know they can do with how well they are playing under some tough injuries and bad Quaterback play.
A lot of fans and analysts around the NFL are pushing aside the Eagles 5-1 record and claiming that this team is not as good as it's record shows. Let me be the first to say that I am not satisifed with how everyone on the roster is playing, I believe that Nick Foles has not played up to expectations as he leads the NFL in total turnovers with 7 interceptions, I also think the two outside corners have played very poorly besides the Sunday Night bout against the G-Men. Yet besides all the trials and tribulation including two vital offensive lineman down with injuires in Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce, the team is still 5-1!
Yes they should beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams, but the agrument that the Eagles have not played contenders is not close to the truth. Wins against the Colts, Redskins, and Giants are wins that I consider to be impressive ones. The Colts since losing the Monday Night game to the Eagles have gone on to win four straight. The New York Giants before getting stomped by Philly was on a three game winning streak of their own. The Redskins are better than their record shows in my opinion.
The Eagles have gotten a huge boost from their special teams and defense since the match up against the Redskins. 3 blocked punts, 2 for touchdowns, 1 kickoff return touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown. That is just on the special teams side. The defense has recorded 2 fumbles recovered for touchdowns as well as 3 interceptions from Malcolm Jenkins. The defense had a league high of 8 sacks last game including 3 from Connor Barwin, 2 from Vinny Curry, and 1 from Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, and Brandon Bair. This defensive front is 9 players deep and is sneekely the deepest position on the roster. Vinny Curry continues to make plays when he is on the field. Already having 4 sacks in the snaps he gets. He and Graham have made huge contributions on the pass rush which seemed to be lost after the first three weeks. Brandon Boykin continues to impress completely shutting down Victor Cruz before #80 suffered a season ending injury in his leg.
As for the offense. You would think it is the strongest link on the team with how dominant they were last season, well they rank 20th among total offense in the NFL. That doesn't mean everyone has under played though. Darren Sproles has been absolutely phenominal this year not only returning and receivng the ball, but actually running the football! Yes a running back that is running! Lesean McCoy rebounded against the Giants posting 149 yards rushing. Maclin, Cooper, and Jordan Matthews have provided consistency at the receiver position with some big contributions from tight end Zach Ertz as well in the passing game. The offensive line has improved each week with backups Matt Tobin and David Molk in the lineup. They have held opposing defenses to 0 sacks in the past two weeks against what seemed like two formadable pass rushes.
As for Nick Foles, I am a skeptic. I believe Chip Kelly's system is plug and play. Foles is built from the system not vise versa. Yes he has had his bright spots this year, just look at the Washington game. Yet week in and week out he continues to make the costly mental errors of forcing throws and hanging onto the football too long which tend to coinside with each other. When he is on, don't get me wrong he is stellar. The first half against the Giants was nearly perfect for Foles including a perfect ball in the end zone to Ertz. Even with all these mistakes, Foles still is 5th in the NFL with 1,628 passing touchdowns and 10 touchdowns. Turnovers are costly though, if Foles can fix these mistakes which he even says are very fixable, this team can get to the next level which we know they can do with how well they are playing under some tough injuries and bad Quaterback play.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Eagles Round Up: The Fight to 4-1
If your completely comfortable with the way the Eagles have gotten to 4-1 so far then this article isn't for you. I am not saying that I am unhappy with the Eagles who are atop of the NFC East, but in no way am I comfortable with where the team is considering the Dallas Cowboys are right with the Eagles at 4-1, as well as the Giants who have now won three straight to get to 3-2. Of course this is perfect timing as the Eagles take on the Giants next week on Sunday night football. The defense and special teams have been a sight for sore eyes the past three weeks. Scoring six touchdowns that are not from the offense in the past three match ups is a recipe for success, that is of course if the offense is doing their diligence as well which you can say as of late the Eagles are not doing.
The Eagles defeated the St. Louis Rams 34-28 in what was, but should not have been a close outing. After the Eagles got off to a rocking start, blocking a punt for a touchdown in the first 23 seconds of the game, it looked like the Eagles were going to finally handle a team without any trouble. That was not the case. Nick Foles threw for 207 yards on 24 completions of which two of them were touchdowns to Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper. Foles again was inconsistent with his footwork and decision making down field throwing a unnecessary interception down the middle of the field. He also got away with a few other risky lobs down the middle that were thrown off his back foot. Even though the Eagles offensive line held the Rams to 0 sacks, Foles did not look comfortable like most of this season. Is it safe to say Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis are two of the biggest pieces on this team? Another costly turnover from Foles almost gave the game away late in the second half. After scrambling for an 11 yard first down, instead of sliding on his feet ruling him down, Foles dove head first into the ground and fumbled the ball on his own. The Rams recovered and immediately scored on a Austin Davis to Brian Quick touchdown that put the Rams within two scores. Turnovers will be the life or the death of a team and for the Eagles, they got on the lucky end of the stick.
The defense was a force all game minus the end of the 4th quarter where they gave up 3 touchdowns. Connor Barwin had a pair of sacks as well as a pass deflection, Trent Cole had a strip sack, Vinny Curry had a sack again continuing to show why he needs to be on the field, and Brandon Graham had a strip tackle on Zac Stacy that end Cedric Thornton picked up and ran for the score. Thornton had two fumble recoveries including a 40 yard scamper that he nearly took to the house. Almost 2 touchdowns for a defensive end! Crazy. I have said this all along, I don't care how much Curry and Graham don't fit the traditional 3-4 scheme, just get these guys on the field. Curry is one of the most efficient pass rushers in the NFL with is limited reps according to Pro Football Focus. Together Graham and Curry have combined for 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in the limited work they have had, not to mention their 20 tackles between the two. Those may not look like flashy numbers, but if you go back and look at these two, all they do is make plays. The corner position continues to be an issue. Carry Williams and Bradley Fletcher were beaten bad by Kenny Britt and Brian Quick. It isn't the fact that both weren't there to make a play on the ball, it is that they simply didn't turn around. The lack of adjustment in the secondary makes me question the situation with Brandon Boykin who again saved the day with a last second pass breakup to end the Rams final drive. How much worse could Boykin and Carrol do on the outside? It is almost impossible to do worse than Williams and Fletcher have. The special teams continues it's historic run, Chris Maragos, James Casey, Trey Burton, and Darren Sproles have been absolutely huge signings for the team this year in that area.
At 4-1 things are looking good for the Eagles, but there is a lot of work to be done. With a huge prime time match up next week, expect the Eagles offense to come out swinging. I expect a wide variety of play calls by Chip Kelly to get McCoy and Sproles more involved in the offense. As of late it has been all Jeremy Maclin who is on pace to surpass Desean Jackson's career high numbers of last season. Maclin had 76 yards and another touchdown this week putting him already at 4 scores.
Is this team on the downfall and are getting plain lucky? Or is this a powerhouse with a boat load of talent that is finding ways to win and yet they just aren't clicking yet? Time will tell.
The Eagles defeated the St. Louis Rams 34-28 in what was, but should not have been a close outing. After the Eagles got off to a rocking start, blocking a punt for a touchdown in the first 23 seconds of the game, it looked like the Eagles were going to finally handle a team without any trouble. That was not the case. Nick Foles threw for 207 yards on 24 completions of which two of them were touchdowns to Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper. Foles again was inconsistent with his footwork and decision making down field throwing a unnecessary interception down the middle of the field. He also got away with a few other risky lobs down the middle that were thrown off his back foot. Even though the Eagles offensive line held the Rams to 0 sacks, Foles did not look comfortable like most of this season. Is it safe to say Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis are two of the biggest pieces on this team? Another costly turnover from Foles almost gave the game away late in the second half. After scrambling for an 11 yard first down, instead of sliding on his feet ruling him down, Foles dove head first into the ground and fumbled the ball on his own. The Rams recovered and immediately scored on a Austin Davis to Brian Quick touchdown that put the Rams within two scores. Turnovers will be the life or the death of a team and for the Eagles, they got on the lucky end of the stick. The defense was a force all game minus the end of the 4th quarter where they gave up 3 touchdowns. Connor Barwin had a pair of sacks as well as a pass deflection, Trent Cole had a strip sack, Vinny Curry had a sack again continuing to show why he needs to be on the field, and Brandon Graham had a strip tackle on Zac Stacy that end Cedric Thornton picked up and ran for the score. Thornton had two fumble recoveries including a 40 yard scamper that he nearly took to the house. Almost 2 touchdowns for a defensive end! Crazy. I have said this all along, I don't care how much Curry and Graham don't fit the traditional 3-4 scheme, just get these guys on the field. Curry is one of the most efficient pass rushers in the NFL with is limited reps according to Pro Football Focus. Together Graham and Curry have combined for 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in the limited work they have had, not to mention their 20 tackles between the two. Those may not look like flashy numbers, but if you go back and look at these two, all they do is make plays. The corner position continues to be an issue. Carry Williams and Bradley Fletcher were beaten bad by Kenny Britt and Brian Quick. It isn't the fact that both weren't there to make a play on the ball, it is that they simply didn't turn around. The lack of adjustment in the secondary makes me question the situation with Brandon Boykin who again saved the day with a last second pass breakup to end the Rams final drive. How much worse could Boykin and Carrol do on the outside? It is almost impossible to do worse than Williams and Fletcher have. The special teams continues it's historic run, Chris Maragos, James Casey, Trey Burton, and Darren Sproles have been absolutely huge signings for the team this year in that area.
At 4-1 things are looking good for the Eagles, but there is a lot of work to be done. With a huge prime time match up next week, expect the Eagles offense to come out swinging. I expect a wide variety of play calls by Chip Kelly to get McCoy and Sproles more involved in the offense. As of late it has been all Jeremy Maclin who is on pace to surpass Desean Jackson's career high numbers of last season. Maclin had 76 yards and another touchdown this week putting him already at 4 scores.
Is this team on the downfall and are getting plain lucky? Or is this a powerhouse with a boat load of talent that is finding ways to win and yet they just aren't clicking yet? Time will tell.
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