• March 29, 2024

What Would Make The Eagles The Type Of Team To Win This Weekend?

49ersvsSeahawks1I’ve heard former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson talk about how he built that great Dallas offensive line which blocked for Emmitt Smith and helped them win three Super Bowl titles.  He said he simply tried to put together an offensive line that could block the Eagles defensive line of Reggie White, Jerome Brown, and Clyde Simmons.  He knew if he could put together a line that could block that line he would probably have a championship level squad.

I think that’s a good concept for the Birds to use in putting together a roster that could go up to Seattle and beat the Seahawks as well as go out to San Francisco and beat the 49ers.  I don’t think they’re at a level now to do that, but that has to be the goal.

Both of the teams in the NFC Championship game have tremendous defenses.  I would give the Niners a slight edge in the front seven and I would give the Seattle the edge in the secondary.

Could the Eagles offense as it is currently constructed be able to move the football consistently against the Seattle defense or its counterpart in San Francisco?  The Eagles must draft with the thought in mind of beating the Niners, the Seahawks, the Panthers, the Saints and maybe the Packers also.

I was very impressed with the way the Birds were winning the battles at the line of scrimmage during the season, but then those last two games happened.  Remember they were beaten up front by the Cowboys in both of their battles this year.

It’s on my mind, so I know it has to be on Kelly’s mind.  He has to be wrestling with the degree that he needs to improve his offensive and defensive lines.  I went into the last two games of the season thinking the Birds had the best offensive line in the game.  Despite the great regular season, the Birds were unable to run the football effectively against New Orleans.

I was really concerned that the Eagles guys upfront were outplayed by the offensive and defensive lines of both the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the last two games of the season.

After looking at the video of the Eagles battle with the Saints, the defensive line wasn’t manhandled like I thought.  The main reason the Birds run defense didn’t get the job done was because they spent most of the game in nickel.  Brandon Boykin was on the field most of the time instead of nose tackle Bennie Logan.  New Orleans  took advantage of the match ups and ran for 185 yards.

I know it’s a difficult time for Chip Kelly and his players to look at television each day this week and see nothing but news about  the upcoming NFC and AFC Championship games. I’m sure the coach is thinking about what his game plan would be against the two outstanding defenses in the NFC, while Birds defensive coordinator Billy Davis is probably wondering how he would try to stop running games of the Seahawks and 49ers.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman has to look at the Seattle roster and think about what type of receiver can get off the bump-and-run and beat Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas.   Roseman will be looking for difference-makers.  Players, who can enforce their will on their opponents in a playoff situation.

What kind of team would you want to take up to Seattle this weekend to play the Seahawks?  Do you see anybody in free agency or in the draft who would make the Eagles good enough to win games against Seattle or San Francisco?

You would definitely want to go in there with a strong running game.  The NFC playoffs have been very run-oriented, so far.  The team that runs the football most effectively wins the game.

The Northwest is much like the Northeast of the country in that during the winter or playoff period, you must be able to run the football.  Each year during late December and throughout the month of January, the weather becomes m0re of a factor.

I think that weather factor makes your punter and kicker more important than usual.  If either one struggles in the elements, it could cost you the football game.

GCOBB

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DonP
DonP
January 15, 2014 12:13 pm

G you’re giving howie too much credit I dont feel comfortable knowing its his decision to find difference makers on this team after looking at some of his choices he personally had his stamp on in draft and fa.

paulman
paulman
January 15, 2014 12:50 pm

Easy… Hire GMCliff as the New GM for the Eagles
He will make Deals and have the Eagles Drafting 6-8 Prospects in the First 2 Rounds

Eaglehaslanded
Eaglehaslanded
January 15, 2014 2:44 pm
Reply to  paulman

LOL!

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 15, 2014 4:52 pm
Reply to  paulman

5 in the first 2 rounds…..8 in the first 3

btc24
btc24
January 15, 2014 1:42 pm

Sign Jarius Byrd. Bring in (or draft) another CB to compete with Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Move up in the draft to get Anthony Barr. Resign Maclin and Cooper.

Eaglehaslanded
Eaglehaslanded
January 15, 2014 2:43 pm
Reply to  btc24

The Eagles don’t have enough fire power(draft picks) to move up and grab Barr. It would take our first, a two, and probably a 3 next year. Naw…to much. I like Barr though. If he slipped into the mid teens, then we can move up. But I suspect he will go in the top 10. I actually saw a mock draft where he slipped down to 22 and the Eagles took him. That would be the dream scenario.

btc24
btc24
January 15, 2014 2:46 pm
Reply to  Eaglehaslanded

Eaglehaslanded, I saw that same mock where Barr slipped so it’s why I threw it out there. I realize it’s a bit of pipe dream.

paulman
paulman
January 15, 2014 3:16 pm
Reply to  btc24

If OLB Anthony Barr drops to #20 or below in the 2014 NFL Draft
I will never post here on GCobb again… Whoever put that Mock Together needs to be dragged to the Gallows and Hung in Public from a Platform outside Radio City Hall where the Draft is being Held..

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 15, 2014 4:53 pm
Reply to  paulman

I’ve seen him mocked at 15….not impossible. Stranger things have happened, but I would rather have Khalil Mack

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2014 3:06 am
Reply to  gmcliff

Either, or gm. IMHO, both are studs, & will carry that into the NFL.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 15, 2014 5:07 pm
Reply to  btc24

I replace Bradley Fletcher, and assign him to special teams, if not cut him

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 15, 2014 3:29 pm

Im hearing that Mel Kiper has the Eagles selecting big wr target Kelvin Benjamin at 22. If this happens Id be a happy fan. Ive been saying the mans name for a week or so now. Kelvin Benjamin..

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 15, 2014 3:55 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

He also has Johnny Football going #1 overall like I said he would paulman. Don’t be surprised to actually see this happen..

paulman
paulman
January 15, 2014 4:25 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

I am not buying what Mel Kiper,Jr says..
Chip Kelly says he wants to get Bigger,Stronger and Faster as a Team
he and everyone else knows that it’s along their Defense where they need the best Prospects.. They can get a big Target WR in the 3rd/4th WR but you won’t find any big DL,OLB after the Top 2 Rounds

DCar
DCar
January 16, 2014 3:08 am
Reply to  paulman

The only thing Kiper has ever gotten correct, is his hair spray. Dude is a joke. Mayock is much, much better, & isn’t a condescending POS JO. ESPN is a turd festival.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 15, 2014 4:56 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

That guy is not a NFL QB JH…

drafting him #1 overall will not only get the GM fired, but would be as big of a mistake as drafting Matt Barkley in the 1st round if he came out a year earlier….don’t believe the hype…..will be the biggest flop since Andre Ware

Biglion821
Biglion821
January 15, 2014 8:54 pm
Reply to  Jon Hart

I’ve been talking defense defense defense but if Benjamin drops to 22 you cannot let him past.

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 15, 2014 11:07 pm
Reply to  Biglion821

If Benjamin is there at 22 Big L they will select him, no doubt in my mind. He has superstar potential

daggolden
daggolden
January 15, 2014 3:37 pm

Am I wrong? Im watching the 49ers and Seattles press conferences and Im looking at there defenses. We are sooooo far away on defense. Is it possible that Brandon Boykin may be the only player on the Eagles defense that would start for either Seattle or SF? I went over it in my head. Our dline? maybe Cox gets 20 snaps a game but he damn sure isn’t taking anyones job. LB hell no. Kendricks would be special teams them LB don’t over run plays and miss tackles. Our secondary no unless injuries. We are so far away on defense.

daggolden
daggolden
January 15, 2014 3:43 pm
Reply to  daggolden

Eagles 1 year to early again. This years draft is loaded in the top 10. Lane Johnson along with alot of the top 10 picks ;last year wouldn’t even crack the top 20 this year. He may become a good player for years but you have Manziel, Bridgewater, Clowney all the stud recievers this year. We had to take a right tackle lol. SMH

mhenski
mhenski
January 15, 2014 4:17 pm
Reply to  daggolden

manziel bridgewater and clowney are nothing special

daggolden
daggolden
January 15, 2014 4:58 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Says?

mhenski
mhenski
January 15, 2014 6:29 pm
Reply to  daggolden

According to NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, “several teams” don’t view Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater as a first-round talent.
Jeremiah is a well-sourced former scout, so we doubt he’s reaching. Although it’s surprising to hear that “several” teams are questioning Bridgewater’s first-round credentials, “several” could still mean only three or four clubs. Consensus is rare for any player, especially quarterbacks. Despite some outlier views, we still fully expect Bridgewater to be a first-round pick.

gmcliff
gmcliff
January 15, 2014 5:05 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Neither is lame Johnson Big Mhenski……although I do see Bridgewater, and Clowney excelling, I see nothing out of Johnny Manziel; just another overhyped college player, who does nothing in the NFL.

mhenski
mhenski
January 15, 2014 5:12 pm
Reply to  gmcliff

Lane Johnson isnt anything special. offensive lineman never are and it is hard to measure them b/c there isnt really stats out there for OL, and I dont watch coaches tape to analyze his game. So I will take Profootball focuses assessment of him which gives him a +.2 grade and ranked him as the number 39 tackle in football. I will take their word for it and add that 39th is awesome for a rookie… he outperformed the other tackles selected prior to him and was pretty versatile for us…

Jon Hart
Jon Hart
January 15, 2014 11:05 pm
Reply to  mhenski

Omg you guys know your talking about a rookie right? Give Lane a chance sheesh. I feel he had a good year for a rook. We never really said “Man Lane is struggling, the side hes at is a mess” Not once..

Whats great about Lane is that he wants to get better. He said he’ll be working with Jason Peters this off season. That’s only gonna make this kid into a great one..

Stevo
Stevo
January 15, 2014 4:42 pm

Dag and others….

Give it time… i see this D getting better over the next 2 years. I believe they will land 2 very very good starting players on D through FA and another in the draft.

pheags88
pheags88
January 15, 2014 5:23 pm

Defense. When the playoffs started we had the QB and RB who were playing the best at their positions in the NFC. I truly believe if we exchanged defenses with Seattle, SF, CAR and even the Saints we would be in the Superbowl and have a very good chance to win it. I think we would be unbeatable if we had a defense like those no matter where we played. You give us Seattle D and give them the Eagles D, I think we beat them easily in Seattle same with the others.

Those defenses are unreal. The only reason Sea/SF/Car wouldn’t win the Superbowl this year is because of the lack of offense on their teams.

btc24
btc24
January 16, 2014 9:45 am
Reply to  pheags88

Great point Pheags. Surprisingly, Seattle, San Fran and Carolina were all top 10 defenses even in 2012. However, Baltimore and New England, both of which played in the AFC championship game last year, were ranked 17th and 25th defensively, respectively. So you don’t have to have a top 10 defense to be a Super Bowl contender but it clearly makes it much easier.