L.J. Smith ... (1 Viewer)

[Dancing Bear]

L.J. had 20 balls thrown to him in the first two games with Donte' Stallworth healthy ...

While Stallworth was injured he averaged 5 looks a game.

Now that Stallworth is back healthy L.J. has only 3 looks a game and he has a whopping total of 20 yards the past two weeks.

Can anybody help to portray why L.J. is no longer part of the passing game?

 

[War Eagle]

L.J. had 20 balls thrown to him in the first two games with Donte' Stallworth healthy ...While Stallworth was injured he averaged 5 looks a game.Now that Stallworth is back healthy L.J. has only 3 looks a game and he has a whopping total of 20 yards the past two weeks.Can anybody help to portray why L.J. is no longer part of the passing game?

McScabb has lost his early season MoJo! Mainly because instead of speading the love, he's locking in on one WR now. At least that's what I've been seeing.As soon as he starts seeing the field again...LJ will pick back up!

 

[redman]

The other thing is that the Eagles for whatever reasons were having a lot of success attacking the perimeter of the Redskins defense in the last game (which incidentally was the first game in which Stallworth returned from injury, no?). They stuck with what worked. I also think a single game back from Stallworth is too limited of a sample size to work from for the purposes of predicting future performance.

 

[buckeye35]

I have no proof of this, but a friend of mine, who is an Eagles' fan, said it's because Marty Morningweg is calling the plays now. I'm not sure how long he's been calling the plays, but it seems to coincide with L.J.'s disappearance.

 

[u999spf]

The redskins game was the first time Marty had play calling duties for the Eagles. It looks like they are going to stay with it for a while and see how it works out.

Marty called more runs about 50%, but that could have been because they had a pretty solid lead throughout the game.

 

[malice]

I have no proof of this, but a friend of mine, who is an Eagles' fan, said it's because Marty Morningweg is calling the plays now. I'm not sure how long he's been calling the plays, but it seems to coincide with L.J.'s disappearance.

So does this mean LJ is running his routes against the wind?

 

[L5UT1ger]

havent the Eagles played in terrible weather the last couple of games? Windy, rainy etc.?

I am assuming that is why, I hope im right.

 

[mcnabbmcnow]

havent the Eagles played in terrible weather the last couple of games? Windy, rainy etc.?I am assuming that is why, I hope im right.

Exactly. From an Eagles fan, people are making too much of this LJ slump. The Jacksonville game was like 25 MPH winds, and the Redskins game was played in rain, the second half in a downpour. He will still get looks, especially in the red zone.

 

[Jedimaster21]

This is just how the Eagle's offense works, which is why I always target McNabb and not their receivers in the draft. Since they do spread the ball around, it is very difficult for one WR or TE to put up elite numbers for an entire season. Certain teams take certain players out of games, and then the Eagle's go to another player to pick up the slack. I do think, however, that by the end of the year LJ will be one of the top TE. He is still a top 3 option for them in the passing game.

As for the play calling change, I don't think it is as big of a factor as many think. Yes, Marty "officially" called all the plays the last game, but he had already been making about 50% of the calls the entire season. All of the offensive coaches work on the game plan, and I'm sure Reid still has plenty of input into the team's strategy. When any of the players are asked about it, they really don't see it as a big change, and Reid has done this many times in the past with other coaches when his offense is struggling. I actually think the biggest change will be their continuing tendency to go to the no huddle, which seems to really limit the defense's ability to matchup with all the Eagle's weapons. Although it makes it harder on their defense, the opposing defense has difficulty substituting and implementing their game plan due to the quick snaps.

 

[Dancing Bear]

I agree that 1 game is not a good data source, but ...

L.J. had more than 50% of his receptions [53%] in the first 3 games, and nearly 50% of his yardage [47%] in those same 3 games.

His ypc has gone up since the first 3 games, but his reception completion ratio has dropped dramatically! From around 70% in the first 3 games [73%] to around 50% since [52%].

I just don't see this as isolated to the last game or last two games. I see it as a big decrease in his participation in the game plan since the beginning of the season.

 

[redman]

I agree that 1 game is not a good data source, but ...L.J. had more than 50% of his receptions [53%] in the first 3 games, and nearly 50% of his yardage [47%] in those same 3 games.His ypc has gone up since the first 3 games, but his reception completion ratio has dropped dramatically! From around 70% in the first 3 games [73%] to around 50% since [52%].I just don't see this as isolated to the last game or last two games. I see it as a big decrease in his participation in the game plan since the beginning of the season.

As an LJ owner I've also noted that he's been on the injury report consistently since that time. I wonder whether he's limited by an injury that's not enough to keep him out of the lineup, but is enough to slow him down.

 

[cubbie5150]

I agree that 1 game is not a good data source, but ...L.J. had more than 50% of his receptions [53%] in the first 3 games, and nearly 50% of his yardage [47%] in those same 3 games.His ypc has gone up since the first 3 games, but his reception completion ratio has dropped dramatically! From around 70% in the first 3 games [73%] to around 50% since [52%].I just don't see this as isolated to the last game or last two games. I see it as a big decrease in his participation in the game plan since the beginning of the season.

As an LJ owner I've also noted that he's been on the injury report consistently since that time. I wonder whether he's limited by an injury that's not enough to keep him out of the lineup, but is enough to slow him down.

I think that could be part of it--he's been dealing w/ a shoulder since week 4, I believe. All I know for sure is that he's killing me right now. I had projected LJ as a top 3 TE, & was counting on him. It looked good for me early, but he has seriously got to step it up down the stretch....

 

[L_O_D]

As a former LJ owner I can tell you this, the week you drop him to the WW he will point his ### off. Pick him back up the next week and enjoy 2-23-0.

 

[The Jerk]

I don't think there's anything new about L.J. this year compared to 2005. He started off strong both years, coincidentally with huge Week 2 yardage numbers. Then he tapered off as the season approached its midpoint.

2005 totals: 61-682-3 = 3.8-43-0.2 on a per game basis (granted, without McNabb for the final 1/3 of season)

2006 thru Week 9: 30-392-2 = 3.3-44-0.2 on a per game basis.

To me, the aberration is the early season play, not the past few weeks. Sadly, I say this as an owner...

 

[#@%&$!?]

didn't philly pass on extending LJ's contract? is this a finiancial issue or a bad sign for LJ's productivity?