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12/11/2018

Vikings Fire Former Eagles QB Coach John DeFilippo

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Vikings have fired offensive coordinator John Defilippo in the wake of a 21-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

DeFilippo (Flip) served as the QB coach for the Eagles during their Super Bowl run last season. He was one of two coaches to leave the staff. With Frank Reich not expected to leave, Flip left for the offensive coordinator job in Minnesota before Josh McDaniels decided he had no need to uphold commitments and the Eagles lost Frank Reich to the head coaching job in Indianapolis.

The Vikings now stand at 6-6-1 on the year. While the Vikings ranked eight in the league in passing yards under Flip, but ranked 30th in total rush yards. It should be difficult to blame Flip for that, however as he is working with Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray, both of whom have been underachieving. It should also be noted that Flip, much like he did in Philly, has been utilizing the screen game as an extension of the run game. In fact, those top two backs have an additional 350 yards and two touchdowns through the air, much of which has come through the screen game.

The other issue is his quarterback. The Vikings decided to let Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater walk this offseason to pay Kirk Cousins $84 million in guaranteed money. 6-6-1 is where you should expect to be with the wildly mediocre Cousins at quarterback. Afterall, this is the same guy that knelt instead of spiking the ball to gift the Eagles a win a few seasons ago. The man is now 4-24 against teams with records above .500. In the playoffs, almost every team is a winning team. You can’t expect to win a Super Bowl without beating winning teams.

Due to the Cousins commitment, Flip becomes the first casualty to take a fall for the Vikings not winning with Cousins at the helm. Expect to see more as the Vikings continue to struggle with an “elite QB” who is throwing to a receiving corps of Adam Thelien, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell and Kyle Rudolph.

For the Eagles, the move is a gift. The Birds could bring him in right away to help with coaching Carson Wentz and he might even be in line to be the team’s new offensive coordinator in 2019.

Posted by on 12/11/2018 | | Comments (0)

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12/10/2018

Eagles Plan to Sign RB Boston Scott

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles are planning to sign running back Boston Scott off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad roster, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

The move likely means that the Eagles got Clement’s MRI back and it was not good. Expect Clement to wind up on the injured reserve to make room for Scott. With three games remaining in the season, the move may only be a precautionary one. The injury could not come at a worse time for Clement, who had finally seemed to be getting over his early season injury to produce again. His season would end with a disappointing 68 rushes for just 259 yards (3.8 yard per carry average), 22 catches for 192 yards (8.7 yards per catch) and a combined two touchdowns.

Boston Scott, a sixth-round pick of the Saints in this year’s draft, would enter with no experience in NFL games that count. He has appeared only in the four preseason games for the Saints, gaining 121 yards on 25 carries and 18 yards on three receptions.

Scott’s teammate, All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan, took to Twitter to express his feelings on the potential of losing Scott to the Eagles.

Boston is only five foot, six inches tall and weighs only 203 pounds – the same height as Darren Sproles and a mere 13 pounds heavier. The Eagles may bring Scott in with the hope that he could learn from Sproles and be the young replacement for him in the future. Scott did return kicks during his college career, and, with his size, he could learn to hide behind his linemen and make cuts just as Sproles. If he proves to be successful at one or both, expect him to stick around in 2019.

Posted by on 12/10/2018 | | Comments (0)

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Doug Pederson Tiptoes Around Questions About Sidney Jones

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

When Doug Pederson met with the media on Monday, he faced many questions that could be anticipated: updates on the injuries to Corey Clement, Isaac Seumalo and Josh Sweat, how he felt about the poor officiating, not going for the two-point conversion and Carson Wentz’s inaccuracy among others. There was one question he did not see prepared for, questions about Sidney Jones.

When asked about the other injuries, Pederson noted that Clement and Sweat were still waiting on MRI results and Seumalo is “day-to-day”, but when asked about Jones, he had a far more puzzling response.

“Yeah, Amari is obviously a tremendous receiver and he has done some great things there for Dallas. Yeah, ok. Yeah, um… I gotta be careful because… yeah. Amari is a great receiver. He is hard to defend and, early on in the game, I thought Sidney did a nice job defending a couple passes, a couple tackles in there, so you’ll have to continue to ask Sidney on the rest of it. ”

you'd think he was answering a question about Amari Cooper with that response. When asked follow-up questions about Jones, he replied with an answer about how he was a “tremendous” player in college and then, after another question, about how the secondary was thin and that they think they can get Avonte Maddox back this weekend. Nothing more was shared about Jones. I might argue that Doug shared nothing at all other than he made a few plays early in the game Sunday.

Pederson seemed to be caught off-guard for some reason and commented that he needed to be careful there. His simply saying that raised eyebrows. That is not a response that is typically given for an injured player. It was no "we need to wait on MRIs" or "I haven't talked to the doctors yet". Why does he need to be careful? Was Jones lying to staff and hiding an injury that the staff was unaware of? Had the medical staff missed something and allowed an injury to get worse? Maybe it is some combination of the two and maybe there is a whole different reasoning. No matter the case, something is going on in the Eagles clubhouse.

Jones started the Cowboys game off pretty well making some nice tackles and breaking up a couple of passes prior to being removed from the game. Following halftime, Jones returned to the field, but he was more of a liability than a help. Jones was obviously favoring one leg for the entire second half and, as a direct result, he was not making plays. Jones could be seen visibly limping by the fourth quarter, so it’s no surprise that the Cowboys kept throwing at him.

It seems like Jones never really got over that hamstring injury he suffered early in the season yet he has returned to the field twice now. At this point, the Eagles may be better off sitting Jones out of games until he is actually healthy. A practice squad level player in DeVante Bausby or Chandon Sullivan still has a better chance than a corner running on one leg every play. Who knows, maybe one of the two new guys can develop and become a long-term backup option.

The team is doing itself no favors allowing Jones no time to heal from his physical injury and leaving him in the game to confidence shattered throw after throw. Philadelphia Phillies fans often argue that the way that some prospects like Dominic Brown or Darin Ruf have been handled stunted their development and kept them from reaching their potential. If the Eagles continue to allow Jones to run on an injured leg and be a target for opposing offenses, the same might soon be said of Jones.

Posted by on 12/10/2018 | | Comments (2)

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Eagles Armchair: Assigning blame for a season-crushing loss

By Tucker Bagley

The Eagles season is in shambles after yesterday's overtime loss to the Cowboys. There is a lot to get through, from inept officiating to an exhausted defense and an under-performing offense. We'll start by trying to find the true cause of the Eagles' struggles yesterday before figuring out where the team goes from here.

Going Deep

Officiating

Clete Blakeman's crew will be discussed in earnest this morning as fans grumble about the inexcusable calls that put the Eagles in a tough spot. The first and most ridiculous occurred on the opening kickoff when Malcolm Jenkins forced a fumble that was recovered by Kamu Grugier-Hill.

However, the officials blew the play dead, unaware the ball was loose on the ground. Doug Pederson challenged the call, and despite the officials admitting there was a fumble on the play, they couldn’t confirm a clear recovery. The video replays clearly showed the Eagles piling on top of the ball and Grugier-Hill handing the ball to the referee following the play.

Continue reading "Eagles Armchair: Assigning blame for a season-crushing loss" »

Posted by on 12/10/2018 | | Comments (1)

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12/09/2018

Post-Game Recap: Cowboys Win In OT

By Matthew Kaplan

In a game that came down to the wire, the game was not as close on the box score as it was on the scoreboard. The Cowboys, on both sides of the ball, out-classed the Eagles. Dallas had the ball for a total of 45 minutes and 33 seconds, they had twice as many first downs (32-16) and twice as many yards (576-256). Prescott, despite throwing two interceptions, played well when it counted, finding Cooper three times between the fourth quarter and overtime for touchdowns. Cooper would also catch seven more passes for a grand total of 10 catches, which would gain him 217 yards. Then to add insult to injury, Elliot would run the ball 28 times and catch 12 balls for a grand total of 192 yards. Ultimately, the Cowboys stars would be the main reason for the Eagles downfall, 29-23.

While the Cowboys will look to take this win into next week as they go into Indianapolis to battle the Colts, the Eagles will chew on this while they take a trip to L.A to take on the Rams. In my opinion, the Eagles biggest issue in this game was not the defense, Carson Wentz, the offensive line or the injuries. The biggest issue for the Eagles was the lack of patience in the run game. They only ran the ball 14 times. Adams (our best back right now), only touched the ball seven times. When Adams did touch the ball, it moved as he had a yards per carry average over five (5.14 per carry). Considering it was a close game the whole time, a run game could have made a difference.  

In the big picture, the Eagles now need a miracle to win the division. They will now move the focus more to the Wild Card race, which means they need wins and they need the Vikings and/or the Seahawks to struggle down the home stretch. As of right now, the magic number for losses by either of those teams is two. That is assuming the Eagles win out. Luckily for us, they do play each other tomorrow night on ESPN in a big Monday night match-up.

 

Posted by on 12/09/2018 | | Comments (0)

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Halftime Report: Eagles at Cowboys

By Tucker Bagley

The Eagles' playoff hopes hang in the balance this afternoon as they travel to Dallas to take on the division-leading Cowboys. Despite playing terribly on offense, the Birds have held the Cowboys to just 3 points on their three red zone possessions and trail, 6-0, at the half. Here's what happened in the first 30 minutes of action:

What Worked

  • After their early success, the Eagles defense struggled to contain the Dallas offense, allowing a 13-play, 80-yard drive on their second possession. However, the Eagles succeeding in stopping the Cowboys in the red zone, holding them to a field goal. Jim Schwartz has always employed a "bend but don't break" scheme, but the defense's ability to hold the Cowboys' streaky offense to just three points on their three red zone possessions is huge, considering the offense's early struggles.
  • Rasul Douglas's second quarter interception was a huge momentum swing for the Eagles, who looked to be on their heels. Granted, the Eagles went three-and-out on their next drive, but Douglas became the first Eagle in 2018 with multiple interceptions. Douglas came up with a pair of big tackles later in the half.

What Didn't

  • The Eagles created a big play on the opening kickoff when Malcolm Jenkins forced a fumble that was recovered by Kamu Grugier-Hill. The only issue was the officials blew the play dead and awarded possession to the Cowboys. Doug Pederson's ensuing challenge wasn't fruitful because "there wasn't a clear recovery" on the video. Luckily for the Eagles, they forced a three-and-out on the drive, but after the Cowboys' punt, they lost roughly 69 yards in field position and had to punt on their next drive. Now, it's unclear what video Clete Blakeman watched because it was obvious the Birds recovered the ball, but the bigger travesty was them missing the fumble in real time and costing the Eagles a challenge and time out.
  • A speed option on third-and-1 against a defense that has two Pro Bowl linebackers? My goodness, what a terrible call. 

Halftime Adjustment

The Eagles offense had just two first downs in the first half and stood on the sideline for more than 20 minutes of the first half. The Birds are at their best when they are controlling the ball and the clock. Pederson's play-calling on third downs has been atrocious, with the Eagles converting just one opportunity in the first half. The Eagles will start the second half with the ball and need to put together a drive that ends with points to get back in this game. 

Second Half X-Factor: Fletcher Cox

The Eagles remain thin up the middle on defense with Tim Jernigan missing another game with back spasms. Cox and company have struggled to contain Ezekiel Elliott, who has averaged north of 6 yards per carry in the first half. The Eagles need to stymie the rushing attack of Dallas and put the game on the arm of Prescott. 

Posted by on 12/09/2018 | | Comments (0)

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12/08/2018

Preview: Eagles Searching For a Vital Win vs. Cowboys

By Gia Lanci, Sports Talk Philly Staff

The Eagles have a divisional matchup against the Cowboys in week 14. The Eagles are coming off of two wins against divisional teams, the Giants and the Redskins. The games have been crucial wins because of the tight race for position in the division. The Cowboys have been on a hot streak, beating arguably the best team in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints, who beat the Eagles 48-7. It is going to be a tough game against the Cowboys Sunday however, the team that has the most determination will be the team that wins.

A Modest Win

When the Eagles played the Redskins on prime time last Monday, the Eagles won by a fair amount. It was a well-played game by the team, to a sub-par Redskins team. The Eagles offense was able to make great plays, with good play calling that allowed them to get points onto the board. They even showed flashes of how they looked last season. But improvements still need to be made. The defense looked good as well however, it is difficult to judge if they have improved because the Redskins offense made a lot of mistakes themselves and did not play great, but they did wind up beating the Redskins, by 15 points.

A Close Game in Week Nine

The last meeting the Eagles had with the Cowboys was in week nine. The Cowboys only won by one touchdown. Going into the game against the Cowboys, the Eagles were too confident that they would win. The Cowboys had an awful loss the week before, so they definitely underestimated the Cowboys team. Much of the play calling was Wentz throwing the ball to Ertz. They still felt unsure about their run options. They did not use enough of their offensive weapons. Carson Wentz threw an interception as well.

The defense had a rough game. Ezekiel Elliott ran all over the secondary. The only way he was stopped was if the front line could hold him there, but if he got past them there was no stopping him. This is something to be cautious about for this upcoming game as well, since so many of our secondary are injured, or second string players. The defensive line has stepped up since then, and hopefully will be able to prove their abilities. 

A Surprising Triumph

Everyone was sure the Cowboys would lose against the Saints, just like the Eagles did. However, that was not the case. The Cowboys had a great game, and won at the end against the Saints. Dak Prescott had a great game, along with Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys defense. Dak Prescott is hot right now, but he does get frazzled easily. This means the defense has to put pressure on him early on, to prevent him from making big plays. Their defense was able to hold Drew Brees and the Saints who are one of the best offenses in the league right now, to only 10 points. When the Saints scored 48 points on the Eagles defense. So if the Eagles have a chance, they need to get points on the board early on within their first drive, put extra coverage on Elliott, and put pressure on Dak.

Injury Report

Eagles

Out

LB Jordan Hicks

Jordan Hicks was ruled out for this upcoming game against the Cowboys. He did not practice this week. Jordan Hicks has been out the past two weeks and is still leading the team in total tackles, and assists. He is a defensive powerhouse that would assist in putting pressure on Dak and extra coverage on Elliott.

Questionable

DE Michael Bennett, DT Timmy Jernigan, DB Avonte Maddox

Michael Bennett is the most optimistic to play on Sunday because he has this ongoing foot injury, but he did have a full practice on Friday. It is essential he plays on Sunday, because he is leading the team in sacks. It is important for him to bring on the pressure for Prescott, and Bennett is the best bet. Timmy Jernigan, and Avonte Maddox both did not practice all this week and their position for the game is questionable, and probably doubtful.

Cowboys

Out

LB Sean Lee, DL David Irving, WR Tavon Austin, and TE Geoff Swaim

Sean Lee is the Cowboys starting linebacker who is a great player. He has been out for a few weeks because of a hamstring injury. But the second string linebackers filling in for him are pretty good. He is the most eminent on the injured reserve. 

Questionable

OT Tyron Smith, WR Michael Gallup

Tyron Smith had an injury to his neck that forced him to be limited at practice, and Gallup missed practice because of illness and he did not practice all week. 

Broadcast Information

Time: 4:25 pm

TV: FOX

Radio: 94.1 WIP

Online: NFL Game Pass

Posted by on 12/08/2018 | | Comments (0)

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Eagles Place Jalen Mills on Injured Reserve

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

When Doug Pederson gave updates on all the injured Eagles this Monday, he left the door open for a potential return of Avonte Maddox, Jordan Hicks and Jalen Mills. That makes the latest Eagles news rather shocking: Mills has been placed on IR.

Mills not being on IR gave fans hope that at least two of their three starting corners could be playing come the end of the season. With only nine weeks until the Super Bowl and a minimum stay of eight weeks on IR, the move ends The Green Goblin’s season no matter how deep the Eagles could get.

Despite missing the last four and a half games, Mills remains second on the team with nine defensed passes and fifth on the team with 42 tackles. With him officially out for the remainder of the season, Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas will be the starting outside corners while Cre’Von LeBlanc is likely to be the corner in the slot. The Eagles will hope that their improved pass rush will continue to benefit the corners and that Sidney Jones can play to the level that made him a potential number one overall pick in the draft prior to suffering an Achilles injury during his pro day workouts.

In his place, the Eagles have re-signed defensive tackle Bruce Hector to the active roster. The Eagles like Hector and think he could be a valuable contributor in the future. In his limited snaps across six games this season, he has registered only one assist and is credited with half a sack.

With the Eagles seemingly expecting to get receiver Mike Wallace back this season, Hector would seem like a likely candidate to be waived to create room. Should that be the case, Hector would almost certainly return to the practice squad should he clear waivers for the third time this season.

Posted by on 12/08/2018 | | Comments (0)

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12/07/2018

Eagles Evaluation: Monday Night Victory

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By Gia Lanci, Sports Talk Philly Staff

The Eagles were in continuous search for a position to go to the play-offs. Every game is a must win for them. The Eagles are expected to win this game against the Redskins because of the injury to the Redskins starting quarterback. Everything is coming into line for the Birds, who are coming off a win last week. They need to show up to the game, and be the team with more motivation.

 

Below are my drive by drive analyses:

First Quarter

Drive One (Offense)

  • The Eagles offense looked very excited. After a touchback, a short throw was completed to Zach Ertz. It is essential for them to get off to a good start and get ahead early on.
  • Josh Adams carried the ball for five yards. Another hand-off was given to Adams, that only gained one yard. Wentz did a good job of faking it, and some defenders fell for it.
  • Alshon Jeffery gained a first down by getting physical to get the yardage through defenders. 
  • A play-action play was made and then Wentz threw the ball to Golden Tate who was able to beat out the defender and reach for a catch. He ran for a few more yards and then the ball was knocked out of his hand. He gained a first down and 22-yards. Really great play by both Tate and Wentz.
  • Another pass was completed on the slant to Zach Ertz. It was a very quick route that had great timing because of the chemistry between Wentz and Ertz. Wentz was able to knife the ball into Ertz' chest as he was well-covered. 
  • Adams carried the ball and was looking for a gap in the middle, but there was nothing. He was able to swerve into the outside and got a gain of 11 yards by stiff-arming the defender. Finally, the offense was able to gain some yards by using the run game.
  • Clement carried the ball to what looked like an open field, but a defender came up and got the stop. Clement fumbled the ball and was able to recover it. They attempted to run the ball again with Clement. He went to run up the middle but the defense was right there. He was able to push his way in, however, and gain a first down.
  • Wentz scrambled and threw the ball on the run for a touchdown pass to Golden Tate. It took Wentz a long time to find an open receiver, but Tate was able to get open and the timing was perfect to him to take the lead. 

Drive Two (Defense)

  • The defense was already coming onto Colt McCoy, but he scrambled and got the ball away. 
  • Adrian Peterson carried the ball, but Michael Bennett was right there, ready for him, and got the stop.
  • Chris Long almost got to McCoy, but he put pressure on him. The defense stopped the ball, and it was a quick drive for the Redskins. That's what the defense needs to do, make big stops quickly and let the offense take their time.

Drive Three (Offense)

  • Sproles was prepared to return the ball. He was stopped at the 12-yard line. 
  • Josh Adams carried the ball and was able to get decent yardage, six yards. 
  • A pass was incomplete to Dallas Goedert. It was a low pass and Goedert was well covered.
  • A run was attempted by Sproles. There was no gain on the play. This forced a three and out.

Drive Four (Defense)

  • Cameron Johnston punted the ball for 50 yards. The offense returned the ball for only one yard because Hall got the tackle.
  • A play-action pass was thrown to the receiver. The receiver was wide open, but Rasul Douglas read the play and was able to get to him after he already caught the ball.
  • A pitch was thrown and the runner was stopped right before the line of scrimmage by Rasul Douglas. Douglas got the tackle on the next play as well, allowing the receiver to gain only one yard.
  • A pass was thrown and there was a pass interference call made on LeBlanc. It was a controversial call.
  • Another penalty was called on the defense on the next play for an illegal use of hands. This pushed the Redskins offense up into the Redzone.
  • Nathan Gerry stopped the runner to not allow him to get any further than the line of scrimmage.
  • Fletcher Cox put pressure on their quarterback, but the QB was able to escape. He was sacked by Malcolm Jenkins and lost six yards. Cox and Long assisted in getting Colt McCoy to scramble. Colt McCoy was injured on this play.

Second Quarter

Drive Four (Continued)

  • Fletcher Cox stopped the runner on the run. He was able to anticipate the play and get to the runner while he was running through blockers.
  • The runner attempted to run the ball, but a bunch of defenders came up to him and he couldn't go anywhere. 
  • They took a 44-yard field goal attempt, that was made.

Drive Five (Offense)

  • After a touchback, Wentz was scrambling and fumbled the ball, but recovered it and threw it away to Zach Ertz for no gain.
  • Josh Adams carried the ball and gained four yards.
  • The pocket came in and collapsed and Wentz was sacked. The offensive line was not able to protect him and push back their men. The sack was negated by a penalty on the Redskins defensive line, however.
  • A pass was thrown to Ertz. Both tight ends ran routes to distract the defense. Ertz was able to get open and stretch out for the pass from Wentz. It was an incredibly athletic catch by Ertz.
  • A pass was overthrown by Wentz, intended for Agholor. Wentz has been inaccurate for his deep passes. Usually his interceptions this season have been from deep passes or they have just been completely overthrown with bad timing.
  • Wentz had tons of pressure coming onto him, but was able to scramble and get rid of the ball to Jordan Matthews. It was a great play by Wentz. Matthews had a penalty called on him for offensive pass interference. This made them repeat third down. An incomplete pass was thrown, intended for Agholor. This forced the punt.

Drive Six (Defense)

  • Adrian Peterson was handed the ball and ran it down field for 90 yards. The gap was created for him and no one was able to catch him. Fletcher Cox could not get to him because of the offensive lineman holding him back. Sidney Jones dove and tried to get the tackle but missed. If he was able to trip him up, the other defenders in the secondary may have been able to catch him and prevent that touchdown from happening.

Drive Seven (Offense)

  • Corey Clement was in position for the return. He caught it and ran it for 22 yards.
  • Wentz tried to throw the ball too quickly and it was incomplete to Ertz. Wentz needs to find his timing that he had last season. He is either taking too long or trying to get it away too quickly. His rhythm is not right and he is still trying to figure it out.
  • Jeffery was able to get away from his defender, Josh Norman, and catch the ball on the inside and gain a few extra yards and a first down.
  • A big throw down field was thrown to Agholor for 39 yards. Finally, Carson was able to throw the ball down field as he scrambled. He tried that play a few times in the past few games and finally completed it. Great throw by Wentz and catch by Agholor.
  • Zach Ertz received a short pass, and was able to get through receivers to get within a few yards of the end zone. Ertz had a good block on this play, and was able to release at the right time to catch the ball.
  • Two attempts to run the ball up the middle were tried. Both failed. The defense stopped them right away. On third down, a short pass was thrown to Agholor that was just short of the end zone. They went for it on fourth down and gave it to Josh Adams but he failed to get into the end zone as well. The defense was able to stop the Birds here.

Drive Eight (Defense)

  • The ball was carried and there was a loss of two yards on the play. Then, Mark Sanchez, the Redskins third-string quarterback, had an incomplete pass.
  • A pass was thrown and the receiver ran the ball and almost got a first down, but Chris Long was able to come up with the stop.

Drive Nine (Offense)

  • The punt by the Redskins punter was bad. Darren Sproles caught the ball and returned it for 14 more yards. This gave the Eagles a nice starting position at Washington's 40-yard line.
  • The ball was carried by Corey Clement and the lead blocker was Jason Kelce. Clement should have decided on a path and stuck with it, but he hesitated. He still had a good run but, if he was confident, he could've gained a few more yards instead of dancing around before the defenders came to him.
  • Wentz was able to get rid of the ball to Tate to gain one yard. Wentz was hit after he got rid of the ball and a roughing the passer penalty was enforced for the Redskins 28-yard line.
  • Darren Sproles carried the ball into the end zone for his first touchdown this season. It was a 14-yard rush. Jason Kelce had the block of the season with a one-handed block that paved the way for Mighty Mouse. Great teamwork for a touchdown.

Drive 10 (Defense)

  • After a touchback, a 20-yard pass was thrown and Douglas was able to halt the play.
  • Mark Sanchez was sacked almost instantly by Brandon Graham. The offensive line could not hold Graham back. He hit him so hard that Sanchez fumbled, but recovered the ball right away. This pushed the Redskins back seven yards.
  • A short pass was thrown and LeBlanc was able to get to him. Due to the man-to-man coverage, LeBlanc had to read the play and try to get the tackle after the catch instead of preventing it.
  • The same circumstance happened in the next play with Tre Sullivan, when he was able to read the play while it was happening to get to the receiver after he already caught the ball. It was a bad tackle and he could not hold onto the receiver. This meant the receiver was able to shake him off and gain just two more yards for a first down.
  • LeBlanc missed two opportunities. One pass was right in front of him that he could've intercepted and again another pass inches away from his hands when he could've prevented the pass from being complete.
  • Mark Sanchez took a shot down field into the end zone, but it was just a bad pass. The coverage was good by Sullivan.
  • D.J. Alexander put pressure onto Sanchez. He hit him, but Sanchez was able to throw it up. It was almost, and should've been, intercepted by Nigel Bradham.

Drive 11 (Offense)

  • The Eagles knelt, that ended the first half.

Third Quarter

Drive 12 (Defense)

  • The Eagles defense came up with a three and out for the Redskins offense's first drive in the second half.
  • Grugier-Hill had a great tackle on Adrian Peterson. Flecther Cox had his hands on Peterson, but he spun out of it. AP is a dangerous player and needs to be locked in as soon as he gets the ball.
  • Sanchez is able to scramble and get the ball away. He was tripped up. The pass was ruled incomplete as the receiver was out of bounds. This forced the three and out.

Drive 13 (Offense)

  • It was good that the Redskins won the toss in the beginning of the game and had the ball to start the second half. The defense was able to come out with aggression and shut down the Redskins offense.
  • Clement ran the ball for nine yards and got a first down. It was his first good run of the game. This play was a great example for the run game and Doug Pederson. It showed how the runner is able to make plays and gain great yardage by running to the outside. We have come to the point in the season where the run game is finally incorporated into the offense, but there needs to be more variety with how they are doing it. In the first half, it was mostly just runs up the middle. These work but not all the time.
  • A short pass was thrown to Tate for 19 yards. It was a perfectly executed play. Carson looked very relaxed as he threw on the run. Dallas Goedert had a good block to let Carson run and read the field.
  • Ertz was able to beat out his defender and get open for Carson to throw him a short pass. They make these plays look easy.
  • Josh Adams ran right up the middle and lost four yards. This showed that they cannot keep trying to run the ball right up the middle, especially when there are openings on the side of the field.
  • A big pass was thrown to Tate, who was having himself a day. He was covered, but, after he caught the ball, he shrugged the defender off of him and was able to gain a total of 32 yards and well into the red zone.
  • A pass was thrown and intended for what looked like Nelson Agholor, but it was intercepted by Josh Norman. It was a terrible pass by Carson Wentz. It looked like he was aiming right for Josh Norman. Agholor was not even looking the way the ball was coming from. It looked like Josh Norman was going to run it all the way down field because the offense was not prepared to tackle him.

Drive 14 (Defense)

  • The defense does look better than they have this season. However, it is really hard to judge because they are playing a team that has their third-string quarterback in and only have a few really good players.
  • The offense tossed the ball back to Adrian Peterson, and LeBlanc was able to get right in there and immediately wrapped up to get tackle. It was a great tackle by LeBlanc. Throughout this game, because he is still so new, he has had a lot of missed tackles. He needs to review plays like this and note what he did correctly and apply that to each upcoming game.
  • A pass was thrown underneath to a wide-open receiver. The secondary came up from behind and got the tackle. Man-to-man coverage works against this offense because they are not that good, but for upcoming games, it may not work so well. There has to be some plays where they prevent the catches instead of just getting the stop after the plays.
  • Sidney Jones had a good tackle on the receiver to put a stop to their drive.

Drive 15 (Offense)

  • Josh Adams carried the ball right up the middle and was able to find the gap through the middle, executing his way to the outside. Zach Ertz was able to block here and assist the play for Adams.
  • They attempted a play-action play. They faked the hand off to Adams, then he ran and was not covered well. Wentz tried to throw it to Agholor, but Adams was open and Wentz missed that.
  • Corey Clement carried the ball for 23 yards. He had great blockers in front of him. Vaitai, Seumalo and Kelce helped pave the way for Clement’s 23-yard carry. These were the plays the offense have been missing this season - run plays that gain great yardage.
  • Ertz caught two nice passes from Wentz that moved the Eagles down the field.
  • Sproles ran the ball and was stopped within five yards. It was a decent run. It was a good run for him because it gives him minutes on the field and a chance to dip his foot back in the water.
  • Wentz threw a pass to Jeffery, who was able to get a first down. Wentz had plenty of time to throw the ball with the help of the offensive line.
  • Adams had no help when he carried the ball in the red zone. He was able to get to the side, but the Redskins defense was right there and he could not get around them.

Fourth Quarter

Drive 15 (Continued)

  • A short pass was thrown to Clement, who weaved his way through the defenders and gained 13 yards. This gave the offense a great position to score. He is a player that was missed when he was injured this season. No one else could truck through defenders like he could on this play.
  • A touchdown pass was thrown to Jordan Matthews. Incredible pass by Wentz, who was able to configure the pass into his hands while he was well-covered. The timing was fantastic as well because of the chemistry between Wentz and Matthews. The pass was thrown just as he was stepping into the end zone. Well done.
  • The offense went for two points, which was a great call by Doug Pederson. He was able to read the confidence of his team. An extremely accurate pass was thrown to Golden Tate. It was a little low but right into the hands of Tate. The two-point conversion was a success. The Eagles were leading the Redskins 22-13.

Drive 16 (Defense)

  • After a touchback, a short pass was thrown. It was surprising that Adrian Peterson was not used for a big play right here.
  • Adrian Peterson carried the ball, but only for three yards because Brandon Graham tackled him and rejected his run.
  • The ball was intercepted by Nathan Gerry. Mark Sanchez had pressure coming onto him and threw the ball on the run, making it inaccurate. Malcolm Jenkins had good coverage on the intended receiver which allowed Gerry to intercept the ball.

Drive 17 (Offense)

  • A pass was overthrown by Wentz. Again, it was a pass that was too quick, and the receiver did not get to where Wentz had thrown the ball. He has to wait on passes like that for the receiver to be in the right spot.
  • Another incomplete pass by Wentz forced Jake Elliott to attempt a 46-yard field goal, that was good.

Drive 18 (Defense)

  • After a touchback, the ball was carried up the middle and Ngata pushed him back four yards. In the process of that, the ball was knocked out of the runner’s hands by Ngata. It was then recovered by the runner. Good play by Ngata. Some of the defensive players need to be more aggressive like Ngata on this play.
  • A pass was thrown by Mark Sanchez, but it was incomplete. He then threw another pass and was hit. Then they lateraled to another receiver who was tackled by Douglas. It was a trick play and Douglas had a really good read on the play. This forced the punt.

Drive 19 (Offense)

  • Wentz was looking for weapons to seal this game and passed it to Ertz and then Tate. Both made decent plays but not gaining anything more than seven yards.
  • Adams carried the ball again for 13 yards, which was one of his better carries this game. He was able to run through defenders like its nothing. It looked like they weren't going to make a play with the throws by Wentz, so it was good they changed it up and tried a run play. There was a defensive penalty on this play that pushed the Eagles up further.
  • The Eagles struggled to get down the field. Golden Tate caught the ball and gained only a few yards. Josh Adams carried the ball but only gained a few yards as well.
  • Wentz tried two passes, and both were incomplete. This forced the field goal attempt, which was good. With less than five minutes left, it put the Redskins in the position of having a must-score drive.

Drive 20 (Defense)

  • After a touchback, an incomplete pass was thrown by Mark Sanchez. The defense does not even really have to focus on putting too much pressure on Sanchez because he throws inaccurate passes anyway.
  • The offense did not huddle, but the pressure was coming onto Sanchez from Fletcher Cox. That forced Sanchez to throw a bad pass that was incomplete.
  • A short pass was thrown to Thompson, but Rasul Douglas was right there to get the tackle. Douglas had a good game today. He was there and ready to get the tackle right after the catches, but he needs to work on getting there to prevent the pass.
  • Sanchez was sacked by Fletcher Cox, and that pushed the Redskins back six yards. That pretty much sealed the game. There were a bunch of penalties this drive, which showed the Redskins fell apart in the end. This forced the punt.

Drive 21 (Offense)

  • After a touchback, Adams attempted a run up the middle but only gained three yards.
  • Corey Clement carried the ball through defenders for 11 yards. A great run by Clement, and it was great that he was able to keep able to keep his momentum up even in these circumstances.
  • The clock went down under two minutes and that allowed the Eagles to kneel.

 

Game Notes

  • It was a good game played by both offense and defense. The offense had some great plays. The play calling improved from recent games by using different offensive weapons and the run game. Golden Tate and Darren Sproles were both able to have some action in this game, which gave a spark to the offense.
  • Each running back was able to take turns throughout the game, giving them rest so that they could come out and make bigger plays each time.
  • Carson Wentz had good and bad moments throughout the game, but mostly good. He completed 27/39 passes and had one interception.
  • The offensive line was able to hold the defense back and Wentz was not sacked at all.
  • The defense looked good. But it is hard to tell if they are as good as they played today. Were they good because they improved or because they were playing a team without a good offense? I guess we will find out next week against Dallas.

Posted by on 12/07/2018 | | Comments (0)

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Mike Wallace Ramps Up Rehab

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Eagles have been missing a deep threat all season long. Mike Wallace was supposed to provide that, but after he registering no catches in the first game of the season, the Eagles and Wallace visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the fourth play of the second drive, Wallace made what would have been his first catch with the Birds for eight yards. It was instead called back by an illegal block by Jason Peters and Wallace suffered a fractured fibula.

With Wallace on IR, Shelton Gibson was supposed to be the guy who could stretch the field. The problem is that Gibson has played only 64 offensive snaps (8%) and has made only one reception. While the catch was a beauty for 48 yards, one catch across 10 games is not going to keep opposing defenses honest.

That could change soon. On Wednesday, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Wallace was running again and could return to the team this season.

Eagles Offensive Coordinator Mike Groh met with the media on October 15 and said the following:

" Mike [Wallace] is progressing and [hopefully] we’ll get a chance to get him back this season.”

The season is coming to an end, but Wallace may still be able to get time in.

In the 2016 offseason, the NFL approved a rules change that allows teams to have two players rather than one return from IR each season. The Eagles have plenty more than that land on IR this season. One of those two designations was given to Richard Rodgers while the second remains to be used.

Mike Wallace and fellow wide out Mack Hollins are the only two players with injuries that would allow them to return this season. Groh’s comments and the fact that nothing has been shared about the injury that has kept Hollins sidelined point to the Eagles expecting Wallace to be back.

The Eagles would need to create room for Wallace and that will be a tough decision for the Eagles. They currently have Alshon Jeffery, Golden Tate, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews and Shelton Gibson on the roster at receiver. It can be assumed that Jeffery, Tate and Agholor are safe, but Jordan Matthews has made quite a few big plays and has proven to be a very good mid-season signing for the Birds. At the same time, Gibson was a fifth-round pick just last season; would the Eagles be willing to give up on him already?

The Eagles may look to release someone else on the roster instead. Perhaps they release a cornerback. If Mills and Maddox return and the other corners remain healthy, the Eagles would be carrying seven healthy corners on their roster and could look to move one back onto the practice squad.

Posted by on 12/07/2018 | | Comments (0)

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