*Official 2015 Philadelphia Eagles* - Winning when it doesnt count (5 Viewers)

[Ash]

One of the things that's really stood out to me in looking at these games over the last couple of weeks is all the things we've seen in this run game in particular, but the offense overall, in the past that we're not seeing this year. Here's a list:

• Outside Zone
• Inside Power, w/ backside G or T leading through the hole.
• Split Zone
• Split Zone counter
• Read Option run plays. Now I do think this is for the best, but it's still an element that is missing.
• Packaged plays w/ run/pass option. This one is much more of a mystery.
• Pistol plays. There was a bit of this last year, it helps to avoid tipping the play direction but still keep the QB in (almost) shotgun, with the advantages that has.

All this makes me think they've contracted the Offense a bit this year, whether it's due to perceived deficiencies on the OL, or to ease the transition of all the new players and these plays or variations on them will be back. Either way, it does feel like they're more predictable in the run game so far this year than in the past.

 

[Ash]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

 

[Deamon]

I'll take the Eagles + points. Not buying the Jets

 

[Deamon]

Anyone else feel like Ash should be coaching in the NFL?

Nah I think he's too smart.

Thanks for the compliment, but the more I learn about this game, the more I realise there is to learn. That's one of the things I enjoy about it.

Ain't that the truth. I'm also in an industry that the more you learn the more humbling it is about how little you know... the more people think you know all there is to know, the more you want to know. Your expertise is so very appreciated in here, even when you get more in depth than I can fully comprehend haha.

 

[Deamon]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Ya not sure how that isn't a drop by Austin. I guess "technically" it wasn't. A lot of his blame is wrongly placed. Not saying he's been good at all, but what if JM doesn't drop that and he leads us to a game winning FG vs Atlanta? Then everyone is excited about him. What if our WRs came up with some of those balls and those turned into TDs and we're 2-0 and everyone is praising Bradford? He has not been great, but with great WR play we'd possibly be 2-0 and none of this negativity would be here at all. Let's hope it evens out over time...

 

[Snotbubbles]

One of the things that's really stood out to me in looking at these games over the last couple of weeks is all the things we've seen in this run game in particular, but the offense overall, in the past that we're not seeing this year. Here's a list:

• Outside Zone
• Inside Power, w/ backside G or T leading through the hole.
• Split Zone
• Split Zone counter
• Read Option run plays. Now I do think this is for the best, but it's still an element that is missing.
• Packaged plays w/ run/pass option. This one is much more of a mystery.
• Pistol plays. There was a bit of this last year, it helps to avoid tipping the play direction but still keep the QB in (almost) shotgun, with the advantages that has.

All this makes me think they've contracted the Offense a bit this year, whether it's due to perceived deficiencies on the OL, or to ease the transition of all the new players and these plays or variations on them will be back. Either way, it does feel like they're more predictable in the run game so far this year than in the past.

Lane Johnson said the Eagles are only running two run plays right now.

 

[Bankerguy]

Offense Observations from the Dallas Game:

Overall I don't think there's one goat, but the whole offense had their share of mistakes. Guys who are usually solid like Celek & Kelce have multiple bad plays. Bradford had more misses than last week for sure. I actually don't think the two OGs are as big a problem as I expected, but the overall decline in talent on the OL is a bigger issue. Those two guys are not as good as Mathis and Herremans, were in 2013, Peters is still good but declining. Kelce is no longer able to work as much to his strengths in space and at the 2nd level and his deficiencies as an inline blocker show up more.

The lack cohesion of a zone blocking unit as far as being able to handle line stunts and shifts in the run game is showing here too. We have less talented players who haven't played much together and the results are showing. The pass protection is holding up surprisingly well though, which gives some hope.

There are coaching and schematic issues as well. I just don't think you can run sweep plays repeatedly in the NFL without being found out. You can't run around NFL defences. The biggest issue though is how often we are behind the down/distance count due to loss plays in the run game. We have to cut those out, they're worse than penalties because we lose the yards and the down.

Anyway here it is, I stopped at the INT in the 3rd quarter, I thought that was a logical point, and it seemed like going over and over the same things by that point anyway. And it was making me angry.

1st Series

• 1st play at Q1 12:30 - Matthews in motion across the formation and settles into H-back position to block DE 1:1, which predictably fails and the DE makes the tackle. Otherwise pretty well blocked by the OL.
• 3rd down play on this series, Bradford badly underthrows an open Matthews on the corner route, almost an INT. Right read, bad throw Good pocket, no pressure.

2nd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray, MLB unblocked makes the tackle for short gain. Think Kelce got trapped a little bit by the flow of the play and couldn't release.
• 2nd down pass, Bradford didn't see Matthews was uncovered off the line and wide open in the flat until CB adjusted. Dallas penalised for PI on the play elsewhere
• At 9:03, they run a sweep to Sproles with R. Mathews also in the backfield, who lead blocks with Babre pulling. Celek fails to seal his man shooting inside, then Kelce can't reach Lee who makes the tackle for -4. Mathews and Babre both failed to block the same DB.
• 3rd and 8, play designed for Matthews who is open but drops a well thrown ball as Lee closes in with a solid hit. Probably 1st down if he makes the catch.

3rd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray for short gain. Lee made the tackle again. Cowboys aligned with him behind DE/DT, Peters tried to come off the combo w/ Babre on the DT but he's so quick Peters couldn't reach him in time and he gets there. Kelce blocked the other (closer to the ball at the snap) ILB.
• Inside Zone to Murray again. Kelce & Gardner had combo on the DT. Gardner seemed to miss and Kelce got shoved into the backfield. Babre gets to 2nd level but seems indecisive before taking the wrong (ie not Lee) ILB. Seemed like one of Gardner or Kelce should have released to Lee but they were both chasing that DT in the backfield. Lee makes another TFL.
• On 3rd and 10 Bradford makes a nice back shoulder throw to Austin who gets 2 hands on the ball but drops it as he hits the ground. Right side DE/DT twist, with DE looping behind DT. DE beats Gardner with bull rush, but not before Bradford releases.

4th Series

• Short pass to Sproles, couple of other places he could have maybe gone to Matthews vertical down the right sideline who beat press coverage with a nice move off the line, but wasn't wide open.
• Inside Zone to Mathews from under centre. Both DTs slanted toward the playside which left Kelce and Peters with tough blocks with players who were aligned outside and then slanted away to keep them under control. Neither really did, Mathews had to cut back into the unblocked #42 due to the Cowboys 7 on 6 numbers advantage. Both Gardner and Babre did get to the ILBs at the 2nd level on this play. No gain though.
• Tight man coverage across the board on 3rd down. Bradford missed throw to Ertz who wasn't open but did have inside position on his man. #97 put Kelce on the ground with a bull rush, Lee looped from open side A gap to opposite side B gap on the blitz. Babre picked him up pretty well after the DT crossed his face to Kelce. Solid pass protection again.

5th Series

• Short screen to Ertz. Peters couldn't reach #42 in time, who read the play quickly and attacked it hard and made the tackle. Not Peters fault really. Otherwise, blocks were there.
• Inside Zone to Murray from centre. Cowboys with 7 on 6 numbers and the play is almost a carbon copy of the earlier IZ to #24 from under centre. Starts right, DL slants right. 1:1 blocks made but no real push and this time it's Lee unblocked who makes the TFL. Again. He really is pretty good.
• 3rd and long conversion on screen to Sproles called back by Ertz blatant pick on Lee.

6th Series (Q3)

• PA Pass to Agholor for 12 yards. Clever protection, with split zone action from the OL and Celek coming back across the formation to pick up the DE after Peters "released" to the 2nd level. He came back to assist. Protection held up a long time on this play. Cowboys playing Cover 2 here, and I think Bradford missed a bigger gain to Matthews as he cleared the underneath coverage from the slot on the other side of the play. Only 3 targets released which is unusual.
• Sweep to Murray, w/ Gardner and Kelce pulling. DE slanted hard inside and appeared to catch Celek by surprise who missed him. Johnson had DT under control and Gardner had pancaked somebody on the outside but the DE made the TFL.
• This was the series that ended in the punt block TD.

7th Series

• Cowboys showed man coverage pre snap but switched to Cover 2. Bradford had Murray wide open in the left flat, or Huff a bit later on the deep curl. Both were on the left side of the play, but Bradford appeared to be going through a progression on the right side and threw incomplete to Agholor short over the middle. Ball was behind him. Another DE/DT twist. Gardner lost the DE on the handoff from Johnson, who picked up the DT well. DE then got a hit on Bradford.
• 2nd down Eagles ran the play w/ 2 short crossers and one deeper. Cowboys in zone so everybody just ran into coverage. Could have had a completion for a short gain but Bradford seemed to try to pull the ball back and it hit the ground.
• Good read and throw to Cooper in the Cover 2 sideline hole on what should have been a 3rd down conversion. Cooper let it go through his hands.

8th series

• Another PA pass off the same split zone action as earlier. This time 3 verticals. Agholor had inside position and a step on his man with the S on the far hash. Protection was a little messier here but Bradford should have made this throw. Appeared to get spooked and rolled left and took a sack despite plenty of opportunity to throw the ball away. Bad mental errors on two counts here from Bradford.
• Well blocked screen for Murray for 18 yds on 2nd and long.
• Wide splits between Cooper, Matthews and Ertz on the wide side of the field appeared to stretch the seams in the Cover 2 here, Bradford could have had Cooper short or Matthews deeper with the S deep and the CB in no man's land but didn't pull the trigger. Luckily we got holding against Ertz.
• Sweep left this time and it failed exactly the same way as previously. Celek couldn't prevent the DE penetrating inside, which results in another big loss.
• Nice read and throw to Matthews down the sideline who drew a PI penalty. Clean pocket again.
• Quick read and throw to Ertz for 9 yds on first down.
• Nice WR screen to Huff for 9 yards couple of plays later.
• 1st and goal from the 3, threw high to Agholor out the back of the end zone, but should have gone to Cooper immediately, open on a slant underneath a pick from Matthews on the left side of the formation. Would have been a TD. Protection held up very well here too.
• Missed Huff open early on the shallow cross. Might not have got in but would have been better than what happened. Could also have had Ertz earlier off the line, Lee picked him up late. Bradford then forced the pass and it was picked off, ending the best series of the game so far.

Wow, I hope your fellow Eagle fans appreciate the effort and insight this takes.

Very impressive and a great read.

 

[JuniorNB]

Offense Observations from the Dallas Game:

Overall I don't think there's one goat, but the whole offense had their share of mistakes. Guys who are usually solid like Celek & Kelce have multiple bad plays. Bradford had more misses than last week for sure. I actually don't think the two OGs are as big a problem as I expected, but the overall decline in talent on the OL is a bigger issue. Those two guys are not as good as Mathis and Herremans, were in 2013, Peters is still good but declining. Kelce is no longer able to work as much to his strengths in space and at the 2nd level and his deficiencies as an inline blocker show up more.

The lack cohesion of a zone blocking unit as far as being able to handle line stunts and shifts in the run game is showing here too. We have less talented players who haven't played much together and the results are showing. The pass protection is holding up surprisingly well though, which gives some hope.

There are coaching and schematic issues as well. I just don't think you can run sweep plays repeatedly in the NFL without being found out. You can't run around NFL defences. The biggest issue though is how often we are behind the down/distance count due to loss plays in the run game. We have to cut those out, they're worse than penalties because we lose the yards and the down.

Anyway here it is, I stopped at the INT in the 3rd quarter, I thought that was a logical point, and it seemed like going over and over the same things by that point anyway. And it was making me angry.

1st Series

• 1st play at Q1 12:30 - Matthews in motion across the formation and settles into H-back position to block DE 1:1, which predictably fails and the DE makes the tackle. Otherwise pretty well blocked by the OL.
• 3rd down play on this series, Bradford badly underthrows an open Matthews on the corner route, almost an INT. Right read, bad throw Good pocket, no pressure.

2nd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray, MLB unblocked makes the tackle for short gain. Think Kelce got trapped a little bit by the flow of the play and couldn't release.
• 2nd down pass, Bradford didn't see Matthews was uncovered off the line and wide open in the flat until CB adjusted. Dallas penalised for PI on the play elsewhere
• At 9:03, they run a sweep to Sproles with R. Mathews also in the backfield, who lead blocks with Babre pulling. Celek fails to seal his man shooting inside, then Kelce can't reach Lee who makes the tackle for -4. Mathews and Babre both failed to block the same DB.
• 3rd and 8, play designed for Matthews who is open but drops a well thrown ball as Lee closes in with a solid hit. Probably 1st down if he makes the catch.

3rd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray for short gain. Lee made the tackle again. Cowboys aligned with him behind DE/DT, Peters tried to come off the combo w/ Babre on the DT but he's so quick Peters couldn't reach him in time and he gets there. Kelce blocked the other (closer to the ball at the snap) ILB.
• Inside Zone to Murray again. Kelce & Gardner had combo on the DT. Gardner seemed to miss and Kelce got shoved into the backfield. Babre gets to 2nd level but seems indecisive before taking the wrong (ie not Lee) ILB. Seemed like one of Gardner or Kelce should have released to Lee but they were both chasing that DT in the backfield. Lee makes another TFL.
• On 3rd and 10 Bradford makes a nice back shoulder throw to Austin who gets 2 hands on the ball but drops it as he hits the ground. Right side DE/DT twist, with DE looping behind DT. DE beats Gardner with bull rush, but not before Bradford releases.

4th Series

• Short pass to Sproles, couple of other places he could have maybe gone to Matthews vertical down the right sideline who beat press coverage with a nice move off the line, but wasn't wide open.
• Inside Zone to Mathews from under centre. Both DTs slanted toward the playside which left Kelce and Peters with tough blocks with players who were aligned outside and then slanted away to keep them under control. Neither really did, Mathews had to cut back into the unblocked #42 due to the Cowboys 7 on 6 numbers advantage. Both Gardner and Babre did get to the ILBs at the 2nd level on this play. No gain though.
• Tight man coverage across the board on 3rd down. Bradford missed throw to Ertz who wasn't open but did have inside position on his man. #97 put Kelce on the ground with a bull rush, Lee looped from open side A gap to opposite side B gap on the blitz. Babre picked him up pretty well after the DT crossed his face to Kelce. Solid pass protection again.

5th Series

• Short screen to Ertz. Peters couldn't reach #42 in time, who read the play quickly and attacked it hard and made the tackle. Not Peters fault really. Otherwise, blocks were there.
• Inside Zone to Murray from centre. Cowboys with 7 on 6 numbers and the play is almost a carbon copy of the earlier IZ to #24 from under centre. Starts right, DL slants right. 1:1 blocks made but no real push and this time it's Lee unblocked who makes the TFL. Again. He really is pretty good.
• 3rd and long conversion on screen to Sproles called back by Ertz blatant pick on Lee.

6th Series (Q3)

• PA Pass to Agholor for 12 yards. Clever protection, with split zone action from the OL and Celek coming back across the formation to pick up the DE after Peters "released" to the 2nd level. He came back to assist. Protection held up a long time on this play. Cowboys playing Cover 2 here, and I think Bradford missed a bigger gain to Matthews as he cleared the underneath coverage from the slot on the other side of the play. Only 3 targets released which is unusual.
• Sweep to Murray, w/ Gardner and Kelce pulling. DE slanted hard inside and appeared to catch Celek by surprise who missed him. Johnson had DT under control and Gardner had pancaked somebody on the outside but the DE made the TFL.
• This was the series that ended in the punt block TD.

7th Series

• Cowboys showed man coverage pre snap but switched to Cover 2. Bradford had Murray wide open in the left flat, or Huff a bit later on the deep curl. Both were on the left side of the play, but Bradford appeared to be going through a progression on the right side and threw incomplete to Agholor short over the middle. Ball was behind him. Another DE/DT twist. Gardner lost the DE on the handoff from Johnson, who picked up the DT well. DE then got a hit on Bradford.
• 2nd down Eagles ran the play w/ 2 short crossers and one deeper. Cowboys in zone so everybody just ran into coverage. Could have had a completion for a short gain but Bradford seemed to try to pull the ball back and it hit the ground.
• Good read and throw to Cooper in the Cover 2 sideline hole on what should have been a 3rd down conversion. Cooper let it go through his hands.

8th series

• Another PA pass off the same split zone action as earlier. This time 3 verticals. Agholor had inside position and a step on his man with the S on the far hash. Protection was a little messier here but Bradford should have made this throw. Appeared to get spooked and rolled left and took a sack despite plenty of opportunity to throw the ball away. Bad mental errors on two counts here from Bradford.
• Well blocked screen for Murray for 18 yds on 2nd and long.
• Wide splits between Cooper, Matthews and Ertz on the wide side of the field appeared to stretch the seams in the Cover 2 here, Bradford could have had Cooper short or Matthews deeper with the S deep and the CB in no man's land but didn't pull the trigger. Luckily we got holding against Ertz.
• Sweep left this time and it failed exactly the same way as previously. Celek couldn't prevent the DE penetrating inside, which results in another big loss.
• Nice read and throw to Matthews down the sideline who drew a PI penalty. Clean pocket again.
• Quick read and throw to Ertz for 9 yds on first down.
• Nice WR screen to Huff for 9 yards couple of plays later.
• 1st and goal from the 3, threw high to Agholor out the back of the end zone, but should have gone to Cooper immediately, open on a slant underneath a pick from Matthews on the left side of the formation. Would have been a TD. Protection held up very well here too.
• Missed Huff open early on the shallow cross. Might not have got in but would have been better than what happened. Could also have had Ertz earlier off the line, Lee picked him up late. Bradford then forced the pass and it was picked off, ending the best series of the game so far.

Wow, I hope your fellow Eagle fans appreciate the effort and insight this takes.

Very impressive and a great read.

Ash does this after every game. Great read. And yes, I appreciate it and actually look forward to it. Awesome job Ash!

 

[Insein]

Offense Observations from the Dallas Game:

Overall I don't think there's one goat, but the whole offense had their share of mistakes. Guys who are usually solid like Celek & Kelce have multiple bad plays. Bradford had more misses than last week for sure. I actually don't think the two OGs are as big a problem as I expected, but the overall decline in talent on the OL is a bigger issue. Those two guys are not as good as Mathis and Herremans, were in 2013, Peters is still good but declining. Kelce is no longer able to work as much to his strengths in space and at the 2nd level and his deficiencies as an inline blocker show up more.

The lack cohesion of a zone blocking unit as far as being able to handle line stunts and shifts in the run game is showing here too. We have less talented players who haven't played much together and the results are showing. The pass protection is holding up surprisingly well though, which gives some hope.

There are coaching and schematic issues as well. I just don't think you can run sweep plays repeatedly in the NFL without being found out. You can't run around NFL defences. The biggest issue though is how often we are behind the down/distance count due to loss plays in the run game. We have to cut those out, they're worse than penalties because we lose the yards and the down.

Anyway here it is, I stopped at the INT in the 3rd quarter, I thought that was a logical point, and it seemed like going over and over the same things by that point anyway. And it was making me angry.

1st Series

• 1st play at Q1 12:30 - Matthews in motion across the formation and settles into H-back position to block DE 1:1, which predictably fails and the DE makes the tackle. Otherwise pretty well blocked by the OL.
• 3rd down play on this series, Bradford badly underthrows an open Matthews on the corner route, almost an INT. Right read, bad throw Good pocket, no pressure.

2nd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray, MLB unblocked makes the tackle for short gain. Think Kelce got trapped a little bit by the flow of the play and couldn't release.
• 2nd down pass, Bradford didn't see Matthews was uncovered off the line and wide open in the flat until CB adjusted. Dallas penalised for PI on the play elsewhere
• At 9:03, they run a sweep to Sproles with R. Mathews also in the backfield, who lead blocks with Babre pulling. Celek fails to seal his man shooting inside, then Kelce can't reach Lee who makes the tackle for -4. Mathews and Babre both failed to block the same DB.
• 3rd and 8, play designed for Matthews who is open but drops a well thrown ball as Lee closes in with a solid hit. Probably 1st down if he makes the catch.

3rd Series

• Inside Zone to Murray for short gain. Lee made the tackle again. Cowboys aligned with him behind DE/DT, Peters tried to come off the combo w/ Babre on the DT but he's so quick Peters couldn't reach him in time and he gets there. Kelce blocked the other (closer to the ball at the snap) ILB.
• Inside Zone to Murray again. Kelce & Gardner had combo on the DT. Gardner seemed to miss and Kelce got shoved into the backfield. Babre gets to 2nd level but seems indecisive before taking the wrong (ie not Lee) ILB. Seemed like one of Gardner or Kelce should have released to Lee but they were both chasing that DT in the backfield. Lee makes another TFL.
• On 3rd and 10 Bradford makes a nice back shoulder throw to Austin who gets 2 hands on the ball but drops it as he hits the ground. Right side DE/DT twist, with DE looping behind DT. DE beats Gardner with bull rush, but not before Bradford releases.

4th Series

• Short pass to Sproles, couple of other places he could have maybe gone to Matthews vertical down the right sideline who beat press coverage with a nice move off the line, but wasn't wide open.
• Inside Zone to Mathews from under centre. Both DTs slanted toward the playside which left Kelce and Peters with tough blocks with players who were aligned outside and then slanted away to keep them under control. Neither really did, Mathews had to cut back into the unblocked #42 due to the Cowboys 7 on 6 numbers advantage. Both Gardner and Babre did get to the ILBs at the 2nd level on this play. No gain though.
• Tight man coverage across the board on 3rd down. Bradford missed throw to Ertz who wasn't open but did have inside position on his man. #97 put Kelce on the ground with a bull rush, Lee looped from open side A gap to opposite side B gap on the blitz. Babre picked him up pretty well after the DT crossed his face to Kelce. Solid pass protection again.

5th Series

• Short screen to Ertz. Peters couldn't reach #42 in time, who read the play quickly and attacked it hard and made the tackle. Not Peters fault really. Otherwise, blocks were there.
• Inside Zone to Murray from centre. Cowboys with 7 on 6 numbers and the play is almost a carbon copy of the earlier IZ to #24 from under centre. Starts right, DL slants right. 1:1 blocks made but no real push and this time it's Lee unblocked who makes the TFL. Again. He really is pretty good.
• 3rd and long conversion on screen to Sproles called back by Ertz blatant pick on Lee.

6th Series (Q3)

• PA Pass to Agholor for 12 yards. Clever protection, with split zone action from the OL and Celek coming back across the formation to pick up the DE after Peters "released" to the 2nd level. He came back to assist. Protection held up a long time on this play. Cowboys playing Cover 2 here, and I think Bradford missed a bigger gain to Matthews as he cleared the underneath coverage from the slot on the other side of the play. Only 3 targets released which is unusual.
• Sweep to Murray, w/ Gardner and Kelce pulling. DE slanted hard inside and appeared to catch Celek by surprise who missed him. Johnson had DT under control and Gardner had pancaked somebody on the outside but the DE made the TFL.
• This was the series that ended in the punt block TD.

7th Series

• Cowboys showed man coverage pre snap but switched to Cover 2. Bradford had Murray wide open in the left flat, or Huff a bit later on the deep curl. Both were on the left side of the play, but Bradford appeared to be going through a progression on the right side and threw incomplete to Agholor short over the middle. Ball was behind him. Another DE/DT twist. Gardner lost the DE on the handoff from Johnson, who picked up the DT well. DE then got a hit on Bradford.
• 2nd down Eagles ran the play w/ 2 short crossers and one deeper. Cowboys in zone so everybody just ran into coverage. Could have had a completion for a short gain but Bradford seemed to try to pull the ball back and it hit the ground.
• Good read and throw to Cooper in the Cover 2 sideline hole on what should have been a 3rd down conversion. Cooper let it go through his hands.

8th series

• Another PA pass off the same split zone action as earlier. This time 3 verticals. Agholor had inside position and a step on his man with the S on the far hash. Protection was a little messier here but Bradford should have made this throw. Appeared to get spooked and rolled left and took a sack despite plenty of opportunity to throw the ball away. Bad mental errors on two counts here from Bradford.
• Well blocked screen for Murray for 18 yds on 2nd and long.
• Wide splits between Cooper, Matthews and Ertz on the wide side of the field appeared to stretch the seams in the Cover 2 here, Bradford could have had Cooper short or Matthews deeper with the S deep and the CB in no man's land but didn't pull the trigger. Luckily we got holding against Ertz.
• Sweep left this time and it failed exactly the same way as previously. Celek couldn't prevent the DE penetrating inside, which results in another big loss.
• Nice read and throw to Matthews down the sideline who drew a PI penalty. Clean pocket again.
• Quick read and throw to Ertz for 9 yds on first down.
• Nice WR screen to Huff for 9 yards couple of plays later.
• 1st and goal from the 3, threw high to Agholor out the back of the end zone, but should have gone to Cooper immediately, open on a slant underneath a pick from Matthews on the left side of the formation. Would have been a TD. Protection held up very well here too.
• Missed Huff open early on the shallow cross. Might not have got in but would have been better than what happened. Could also have had Ertz earlier off the line, Lee picked him up late. Bradford then forced the pass and it was picked off, ending the best series of the game so far.

Wow, I hope your fellow Eagle fans appreciate the effort and insight this takes.

Very impressive and a great read.

You have no idea. He's a treasure.

 

[ShaHBucks]

One of the things that's really stood out to me in looking at these games over the last couple of weeks is all the things we've seen in this run game in particular, but the offense overall, in the past that we're not seeing this year. Here's a list:

• Outside Zone
• Inside Power, w/ backside G or T leading through the hole.
• Split Zone
• Split Zone counter
• Read Option run plays. Now I do think this is for the best, but it's still an element that is missing.
• Packaged plays w/ run/pass option. This one is much more of a mystery.
• Pistol plays. There was a bit of this last year, it helps to avoid tipping the play direction but still keep the QB in (almost) shotgun, with the advantages that has.

All this makes me think they've contracted the Offense a bit this year, whether it's due to perceived deficiencies on the OL, or to ease the transition of all the new players and these plays or variations on them will be back. Either way, it does feel like they're more predictable in the run game so far this year than in the past.

Lane Johnson said the Eagles are only running two run plays right now.

The entire offense is based on those two plays being ran successfully. The possibilities from them being ran correctly are endless.

 

[dhockster]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

 

[Deamon]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

So it makes you happy that your two favourite teams are leading the league in drops?

 

[fred_1_15301]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

So it makes you happy that your two favourite teams are leading the league in drops?

He was being sarcastic

 

[Deamon]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

So it makes you happy that your two favourite teams are leading the league in drops?

He was being sarcastic

I thought he must have been but seemed like he mis read the post instead of being sarcastic

 

[fred_1_15301]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

So it makes you happy that your two favourite teams are leading the league in drops?

He was being sarcastic

I thought he must have been but seemed like he mis read the post instead of being sarcastic

You could be right

 

[Insein]

So this division is awful. We need to fix our #### so we can take this.

 

[Deamon]

So this division is awful. We need to fix our #### so we can take this.

ya, an atlanta and philly win and the div is 2-1, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2.

Don't like that Wash gets 10 days rest before our game with them. I feel like we always end up playing teams coming off of the Thursday games getting that long rest.

 

[ShaHBucks]

You guys think coaches know what their looking at when they see some this like this? Fitzpatrick & Bradford career numbers

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1∑=1&p1=BradSa00&p2=FitzRy00&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=

 

[Bushead]

sort of surprised, but sounds like Murray is a go this Sunday

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13736633/demarco-murray-philadelphia-eagles-play-sunday

 

[dhockster]

Excellent breakdown, Ash.

I was thinking the pass protection looked good enough. Bradford is just not reading the defense and hesitating.

That's true, there was some of that this week, but he made some good throws as well. That said, I kind of feel the same way about him as I felt about Foles last year. It's a bit unfair to judge the QB to harshly when the running game is going backwards at this rate of knots and you're always behind the down/distance count. I do think Bradford has an easier time with the protection so far than Foles had last year but has suffered more from drops. According to this the Eagles are trailing only the Texans for drops in the NFL so far this year, and I would have given Austin a drop for Sunday which they didn't which would tie it.

Well, this makes me happy since the two teams I root for are the Eagles and the Texans. Dropped passes are very demoralizing. "Oh, you could have a gain of 15-20 yards....uh, no, he dropped it."

So it makes you happy that your two favourite teams are leading the league in drops?

He was being sarcastic

I thought he must have been but seemed like he mis read the post instead of being sarcastic

You could be right

Total sarcasm. Sorry if I was not clear.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

So this division is awful. We need to fix our #### so we can take this.

ya, an atlanta and philly win and the div is 2-1, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2.

Don't like that Wash gets 10 days rest before our game with them. I feel like we always end up playing teams coming off of the Thursday games getting that long rest.

ATL with a weird schedule. 4 of first 5 against NFC East.

And overall, their schedule looks insanely easy. They could be like 10-0 going into the Colts game.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

You guys think coaches know what their looking at when they see some this like this? Fitzpatrick & Bradford career numbers

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1∑=1&p1=BradSa00&p2=FitzRy00&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=

For what it's worth, here were Fitz's stats from his first 3 (somewhat) full seasons: 58.0% CP, 40 TD, 34 INT, 4.57 ANY/A. In his last 5, those same numbers have been 61.9%, 83 TD, 61 INT, 5.83 ANY/A. Step change.

Bradford's career averages thus far are 59.0%, 61 TD, 42 INT, 5.14 ANY/A. If "mid-career Bradford" were to make a jump the size of "mid-career Fitzpatrick", he'd turn into a pretty solid QB.

 

[Mighty Mice]

Was talking earlier about taking the NYJ when the line was PHI -2.5. Unreal the line has shifted to NYJ -2.5. Millions have been bet on the home team to shift the line 5 points. That's massive.

Here's hoping Vegas takes their money and the Eagles pull this one off on the road.

Reading the tea leaves here, PHI has a few advantages:

-NYJ short week. Played on MNF on the road, 5.5 day turnaround for a 1 EST start

-Injuries to NYJ passing game (Decker doubtful, Owusu out)

-Injuries to NYJ running game (Ivory doubtful)

-Injuries to NYJ passing D (Revise questionable)

In light of the above and the shift in the line, if betting today I take PHI and 2.5 points.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Was talking earlier about taking the NYJ when the line was PHI -2.5. Unreal the line has shifted to NYJ -2.5. Millions have been bet on the home team to shift the line 5 points. That's massive.

Here's hoping Vegas takes their money and the Eagles pull this one off on the road.

Reading the tea leaves here, PHI has a few advantages:

-NYJ short week. Played on MNF on the road, 5.5 day turnaround for a 1 EST start

-Injuries to NYJ passing game (Decker doubtful, Owusu out)

-Injuries to NYJ running game (Ivory doubtful)

-Injuries to NYJ passing D (Revise questionable)

In light of the above and the shift in the line, if betting today I take PHI and 2.5 points.

Missanelli claimed on Wednesday that 96% of the money was on the Jets after they went to -2.5 and it has not budged since, which would seem to be a good sign.

 

[Polish Hammer]

My wife brought up something today I hadn't thought of. Any chance that game coverage is preempted locally for Pope stuff? Sure hope not.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

My wife brought up something today I hadn't thought of. Any chance that game coverage is preempted locally for Pope stuff? Sure hope not.

Eagles get better ratings.

Fox29 (WTXF-TV)News special: A 30-minute preview of the pope's Philadelphia visit Friday at 10:30 p.m.

Live coverage: Saturday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 11 p.m.; Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m., then a break for the Eagles vs. the Jets. Coverage returns from 4 to 8 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m.

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/television/20150924_Where_to_watch_the_Pope_on_TV.html

 

[simmonjm]

So this division is awful. We need to fix our #### so we can take this.

Giant fans have to be saying the same thing.

 

[CentralPA]

So this division is awful. We need to fix our #### so we can take this.

Giant fans have to be saying the same thing.

Skins fans too?

 

[CentralPA]

They just need to show something. Some sustained drives and some TDs. The offense cannot be this inept. That line can block way better than they did against Dallas. If they lose but lose with good offensive production i'll be more optimistic, even at 0-3.

With that said, I am taking the Jets in my Survivor Pool...so at least if the Eagles are rolled I won't be too down in the dumps.

 

[need2know]

They just need to show something. Some sustained drives and some TDs. The offense cannot be this inept. That line can block way better than they did against Dallas. If they lose but lose with good offensive production i'll be more optimistic, even at 0-3.

With that said, I am taking the Jets in my Survivor Pool...so at least if the Eagles are rolled I won't be too down in the dumps.

Haha. I did the exact same thing. This is what makes the nfl great. Looking at how both teams have played going into week 3 it makes no sense for eagles to be able to win but it wouldn't be shocking if they did

 

[unckeyherb]

Sucks being in a must-win situation going into week 3 but that's where we are. a win and we're right back in it, but 0-3 and the season is almost a lost cause.

I actually think that they get their #### together and the Jets show who they are. Starting Bradford/Matthews connection in a lot of Fanduel lineups this week.

 

[CentralPA]

Sucks being in a must-win situation going into week 3 but that's where we are. a win and we're right back in it, but 0-3 and the season is almost a lost cause.

I actually think that they get their #### together and the Jets show who they are. Starting Bradford/Matthews connection in a lot of Fanduel lineups this week.

Even if they lose this weekend they are still not out of it. I really don't see Dallas beating Atlanta with Weeden as QB. Falcons will light them up.

 

[CentralPA]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

I don't play DFS, but I'll probably be forced to start him in my 14-team league because of massive injuries to my RBs. I may also start him in a 12-team league if Ivory can't go.

 

[Saint]

They just need to show something. Some sustained drives and some TDs. The offense cannot be this inept. That line can block way better than they did against Dallas. If they lose but lose with good offensive production i'll be more optimistic, even at 0-3.

With that said, I am taking the Jets in my Survivor Pool...so at least if the Eagles are rolled I won't be too down in the dumps.

Haha. I did the exact same thing. This is what makes the nfl great. Looking at how both teams have played going into week 3 it makes no sense for eagles to be able to win but it wouldn't be shocking if they did

More power to you guys. Can't pick against the squad. Go Seahawks for survivor pool. They're at home facing Chicago with Jimmy Clausen at QB, no Alshon Jeffery, and Kam Chancellor back on D.

 

[Mighty Mice]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Yes, after seeing Decker and Ivory didn't practice today. Overall, the NYJ O takes a hit without Decker, Owusu, and Ivory. I think the Eagles have to scheme to take Marshall away if possible and that leaves Powell with lots of dump offs and check downs. As well as 10-12 rushes.

PHI has to take advantage of the short week and a beat up team.

 

[babydemon90]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Yes, after seeing Decker and Ivory didn't practice today. Overall, the NYJ O takes a hit without Decker, Owusu, and Ivory. I think the Eagles have to scheme to take Marshall away if possible and that leaves Powell with lots of dump offs and check downs. As well as 10-12 rushes.

PHI has to take advantage of the short week and a beat up team.

We couldn't scheme to take away Terance Williams...

 

[Mighty Mice]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Yes, after seeing Decker and Ivory didn't practice today. Overall, the NYJ O takes a hit without Decker, Owusu, and Ivory. I think the Eagles have to scheme to take Marshall away if possible and that leaves Powell with lots of dump offs and check downs. As well as 10-12 rushes.

PHI has to take advantage of the short week and a beat up team.

We couldn't scheme to take away Terance Williams...

LOL true, but once bitten twice shy for Billy Davis hopefully. Actually, I think they did ok until they got tired. No TDs allowed until 40+ minutes of TOP by the Cowboys. Blocked punt and two FGs, looked fine to me. Fingers crossed.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Jordan Hicks is going to show up this week

 

[GoBirds]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Yes, after seeing Decker and Ivory didn't practice today. Overall, the NYJ O takes a hit without Decker, Owusu, and Ivory. I think the Eagles have to scheme to take Marshall away if possible and that leaves Powell with lots of dump offs and check downs. As well as 10-12 rushes.

PHI has to take advantage of the short week and a beat up team.

We couldn't scheme to take away Terance Williams...

LOL true, but once bitten twice shy for Billy Davis hopefully. Actually, I think they did ok until they got tired. No TDs allowed until 40+ minutes of TOP by the Cowboys. Blocked punt and two FGs, looked fine to me. Fingers crossed.

I feel like Chip has been in the league long enough now he should realize Billy Davis is a below average D coordinator and there has to be a better option.

 

[Ash]

:(

Sounds like Kendricks is out for Sunday's game. No Kiko, no Kendricks, anyone taking Powell in DFS this week?

Yes, after seeing Decker and Ivory didn't practice today. Overall, the NYJ O takes a hit without Decker, Owusu, and Ivory. I think the Eagles have to scheme to take Marshall away if possible and that leaves Powell with lots of dump offs and check downs. As well as 10-12 rushes.

PHI has to take advantage of the short week and a beat up team.

We couldn't scheme to take away Terance Williams...

LOL true, but once bitten twice shy for Billy Davis hopefully. Actually, I think they did ok until they got tired. No TDs allowed until 40+ minutes of TOP by the Cowboys. Blocked punt and two FGs, looked fine to me. Fingers crossed.

I looked at that Williams TD again. That was all Maxwell. It was straight man with no safety at all, Cover 0 in other words. No way Maxwell should have been playing that technique. Easy read and throw for Weedon, everyone else was lined up tight. Only way fatigue comes into it is if that made him have a brain explosion.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I really think that we are ####ed this week. Alonso and Kendricks being out is going to be a real problem, not to mention Thornton. I have to assume that Kelly is smart enough to figure out some changes to help jump start this offense, but are they really going to be able to turn it all around quickly enough against a really good defense?

I don't know how to make a legitimate case from a match-up perspective.

The only arguments that I see are general intangible things like the team just needed more time to gel, there's no way they can be this bad and be 0-3, every single bad thing that could have happened has all happened at the same time, etc.

 

[Insein]

I really think that we are ####ed this week. Alonso and Kendricks being out is going to be a real problem, not to mention Thornton. I have to assume that Kelly is smart enough to figure out some changes to help jump start this offense, but are they really going to be able to turn it all around quickly enough against a really good defense?

I don't know how to make a legitimate case from a match-up perspective.

The only arguments that I see are general intangible things like the team just needed more time to gel, there's no way they can be this bad and be 0-3, every single bad thing that could have happened has all happened at the same time, etc.

I look at the usual intangibles. Jets on a short week after a road MNF game. Key guys like, Ivory and Revis are dinged up and Decker is out. They're started an unexpected 2-0 and are playing a desperate 0-2 team they was just humiliated. In the NFL, that usually means trap game.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Offense Observations from the Dallas Game:

Kelce is no longer able to work as much to his strengths in space and at the 2nd level and his deficiencies as an inline blocker show up more.

The lack cohesion of a zone blocking unit as far as being able to handle line stunts and shifts in the run game is showing here too. We have less talented players who haven't played much together and the results are showing. The pass protection is holding up surprisingly well though, which gives some hope.

There are coaching and schematic issues as well. I just don't think you can run sweep plays repeatedly in the NFL without being found out. You can't run around NFL defences. The biggest issue though is how often we are behind the down/distance count due to loss plays in the run game. We have to cut those out, they're worse than penalties because we lose the yards and the down.

Yesterday, Didinger was talking about the fact that 1) 22 of the 27 running plays last game were exactly the same (RB lined up next to QB and sweep to opposite side of where he is lined up) and 2) defenses are running slants with their defenders to essentially pick the Eagles' linemen and prevent them from getting to the spot where they need to be to block. This disruption of line's cohesion completely destroys the moving protection that they are trying to get and leaves no room at all.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I really think that we are ####ed this week. Alonso and Kendricks being out is going to be a real problem, not to mention Thornton. I have to assume that Kelly is smart enough to figure out some changes to help jump start this offense, but are they really going to be able to turn it all around quickly enough against a really good defense?

I don't know how to make a legitimate case from a match-up perspective.

The only arguments that I see are general intangible things like the team just needed more time to gel, there's no way they can be this bad and be 0-3, every single bad thing that could have happened has all happened at the same time, etc.

I look at the usual intangibles. Jets on a short week after a road MNF game. Key guys like, Ivory and Revis are dinged up and Decker is out. They're started an unexpected 2-0 and are playing a desperate 0-2 team they was just humiliated. In the NFL, that usually means trap game.

I mean, sure, that's all well and good, but I have a hard time having that much faith in that.

 

[Deamon]

So an hour ago they say Murray is playing and won't be limited at all. THen he warms up and is now INACTIVE for the game.

I actually (and this is not just me being overly optimistic) am excited to see Matthews with a full work load. Murray isn't getting it done, and as much as I still believe he'll get it going, Matthews has just seemed like the better runner behind this Oline. Could be a plus for us today.

 

[RealReactions]

So an hour ago they say Murray is playing and won't be limited at all. THen he warms up and is now INACTIVE for the game.

I actually (and this is not just me being overly optimistic) am excited to see Matthews with a full work load. Murray isn't getting it done, and as much as I still believe he'll get it going, Matthews has just seemed like the better runner behind this Oline. Could be a plus for us today.

i actually see sproles being in more snaps then Matthews. Eagles unit just looks better with sproles out there. Im not saying he is going to get the bulk of the carries but i do see him getting around 6-8 catches and then maybe a handful of carries. So it might end up something like matthews 15 carries 1 catch and sproles 7 catches 6 carries

 

[Insein]

Sproles will get his regardless. Murray being out doesn't really affect how they use him. Mathews will see a lot more touches today.

 

[GoBirds]

So an hour ago they say Murray is playing and won't be limited at all. THen he warms up and is now INACTIVE for the game.

I actually (and this is not just me being overly optimistic) am excited to see Matthews with a full work load. Murray isn't getting it done, and as much as I still believe he'll get it going, Matthews has just seemed like the better runner behind this Oline. Could be a plus for us today.

I think its a good call, let Murray rest it and see if Mathews can spark something. Mathews is a stud, just hasn't stayed healthy.

 

[need2know]

Chips needs to show some adjustments this game or I am selling stock in his skills