You know how Andy Reid comes out after every loss and says he and his coaches didn’t put his players in a position to win, whether it’s the truth or his players were put in position or didn’t get the job done. Last night after the loss to the Vikings, he was telling the truth when he said it.
The Eagles offensive coaches still haven’t come up with the adjustment to Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield blitzing off the slot side of the Birds shot gun formation. At the start of the game, he was coming free, then sacking or harassing Michael Vick.
He was still doing that the same thing in the second half. I would imagine if they played again on Wednesday, he would still be blitzing off the corner and getting to Vick.
It made me think of the great 12-sack game a few years ago against the New York Giants. Donovan McNabb was getting killed but refused to run. Vick ran against the Giants, and tried to do the same thing last night but he wasn’t able to get away from the Vikings.
It’s as if the Birds coaches mentally go up into the stands and become fans. Somebody should take away their sideline passes and have them pay for tickets because they did more standing and watching than they did coaching.
Andy Reid and Marty Morhinweg have had a good year but the way they’re coaching now, it’s going to end after one game in the playoffs unless they come up with a strategy to counteract the all out blitzes which the Eagles are getting hit with.
Last week against the Giants, Vick had been able to escape the blitz and single-handedly put a dagger in the hearts of the Giants defense, but the Minnesota Vikings were another story. The Vikings defensive backs were breaking down and not buying all of Vick’s fakes.
Vick was escaping and heading downfield for big plays, he was being taken down in the Eagles backfield by Minnesota’s blitzing secondary.
In addition, it didn’t seem that Vick and his receivers were on the same page for much of the night. On Vick’s one interception he threw the ball behind DeSean Jackson who would have been able to pull down a touchdown, if the Eagles quarterback had thrown the ball out in front of him versus the two-deep coverage.
It seems that Vikings coach Leslie Frazier decided to employ the previously-used strategy of shutting down Vick. Blitz him and get him to start concentrating on the pass rush as much as he does his receivers downfield.
That was the ugliest game I’ve seen the Eagles play all year. Seriously. The offense was horrendous. Defense played well in the first half, broke down a bit in the second half.
That’s why I posted yesterday that I do not want to face the Saints. Andy never makes halftime adjustments for the offense. When it stalls it stalls. There are time tested answers to the blitz.
1. Screens 2. Draws 3. Trap blocking runs 4. hot read throws
Shady had the burst last night. They should have kept feeding him the rock. Desean looked hurt. So did Vick. The field was probaly hard as a rock.
Rest the starters on sunday.
Let Babyarm play. Start playing Riley Cooper more. A 3rd corners should not be able to cover him with his size and speed. Clay Harbor. Let’s see some more of that!
How do you let a rookie QB go the whole game with little or no pressure.
The Eagles Offensive line has to be one of the worst in the entire league. Just watching any other team play the QB has some time. This line can block anybody. Dag! They have faced all these good defensive teams you would think by now they could block somebody. They stink!
Vick can not throw accurately in the cold. It is no coinsidense that his ints are up as the weather gets colder. I am now looking forward to making it to Atlanta were he can play indoors. Those passes were horrible.
Thanks NFL for screwing the Eagles for your ratings profit.
Andy I hope you listened to Chris Collingsworth. Take advantage of this loss and rest everybody.
Sick.
Now the Saints, Packers, Falcons, and Bears websites are writing storys on how the
Eagles can be Beat.
Tough game to watch last night…kept getting text messages from my “hater” friends in other states, but watching this team was even more frustrating.
How can this coaching staff just keep putting Vick out in the middle of a super-highway withouit any protection. The guy has pulled them out of mess after mess this year, but they keep throwing him to the wolves. It has been reported that Vick hurt his thigh on the 1st play of the game, and still, this bull-headed coaching staff keep droping him back and telling him to make something happen….WHERE WAS THE RUNNING GAME??
We have a really good back in McCoy, if the other team is selling out with the blitzes and your QB has an injured leg….why keep throwing and throwing….establish a running game to slow down the blitzes…it will also bring the safeties up and give you a chance for the long ball. But instead we choose to throw and throw and throw…allow the defense to stay with 2 safeties over the top and send everything but the kitchen sink at Vick on the blitzes.
We have a team that has has some suprising success this year. We have some talented players, but the holes that many saw in pre-season are still there. Our O-line is definetly one of the poorer in the league (don’t tell me about Peters making the Pro-bowl, give me a break)….the Defensive backfield is a trainwreck.
Since it will make no difference where we are seeded in the playoffs, I would like to see Big Red sit a number of starters with nagging injuries before the 1st round begins. That would include Vick, Samuals, Justice and possibly DJax. We need to be as healthy as possible if we are to stand a chance against a team like Green Bay in the 1st round. To have ANY chance we cannot have Vick limping, we would need him at full speed to make up for the poor protection we are sure to give him.
Wonder if Baldinger and Didinger and the ESPN types are going to do a film study and report if Vick was missing seeing open receivers or was it all the O line breaking down
Wish Leonard Weaver hadn’t gotten injured
He and McCoy could run draws and screens and help negate the O lines weakness
Weaver’s injury was a big factor and most probably don’t even remember what he brought to the offense
He was also great on the short pass and run
um,mmm i dont know…how about a BALANCED attack. Problem is teams know the eagles arent going to run so they pin their ears back. If they were concerned for a running attack they wouldn’t blitz. Same sutff for over 10 years and andy somehow doesnt get called out on it. This game was the same old nightmare i have seen in the playoffs for years. Until we value the running the game last night will happen again and again. Lets waut and listen to the COWARD Eskin blame the line…and whoever but never Andy.
This is the part of season I worry about every year… this is the point where teams figure out what reid is doing and he doesnt adjust….
He refuses to help his Qb out… They were blizting like crazy and reid keeps running the same crap over and over… Not enough McCoy, not enough of the screen game….. Not enough draws…
Now, we get to see if Reid adjusts for this coming game…. You would think he would have learned by now, but Reid amazes me with his hard headed ways… I hope he does smarten up and start using the run game and stop trying to throw bombs every play…
Tough loss… Very poor coaching job by Andy and crew. Man I’m not even a coach and I could’ve gameplanned against what they were doing. Andy could of motioned to or away from that blitz. He could’ve went 2 tightends… He could’ve attacked it with a back. I don’t get it, I was sitting there waiting for an adjustment that just didn’t come. The Eagles really struggle against ex-coaches that come from their system. New Orleans or Green Bay, wow pick your poison, sheesh…
I Blame Andy reid for this. Our offense is either 10 to 20 yards or nothing. I saw one drive that was after half where they ran quick curls and in and outs. Witch is what they should have done the whole damn time!!!! Its like big play or nothing with them!!! Vick isnt going through his progressions because he dosent have time cause the offensive line sucks. They have all season lets be honest! Vick has covered up alot for them. But hes not going through progressions because he has no time. Hes been getting hit so much hes looking to get out of the pocket to soon. The guy cant keep taking all these hits. Shorting up the pass plays woiuld help witch did for that drive after half. After that, right back to 20 yards or nothing. Thats coaching and nothing else!!!!!!!
I love it when idiots blame Andy and the scheme for this loss. Yes, Andy does take some blame…..but how about we look at the man that turned the ball over 3 times, one for a score and should have turned it over a total of 6 times.
Yes, the coaching was definitely subpar last night. Very few screens or draws, yet Shady looked very, very good out there. No rolling pocket, no end arounds with players other than Jackson, just Vick runs when protection busted up. If you wanted to see how to beat the blitz, all you had to do was watch what the Vikings did, because evidently they’ve studied this stuff. Did you notice how the Viking Offense moved the ball more consistently in the second half? They tried the same things over and over again (I’m thinking the Peterson run to the left), because they knew one would eventually break.
I also noticed something that was very disturbing on the QB side. Vick reverted to his old playing style – 1 read and run – after he got hit a few times. He held onto the ball as opposed to throwing it away when flushed out of the pocket. Someone has to slow him down when he’s reverting to old form (it’s bound to happen every now and then), and remind him of his hot reads. It would also be nice if Vick looked away from Jared Allen and looked to his right (when he was under center, he barely looked left of the center), because he could have seen half the blitzes coming and threw into them. Remember, if someone’s blitzing, that means that a receiver (usually the closest one on the blitzing side) is not being covered immediately at the snap. That’s why you work on (and call) three step drop plays.
All the Vikes did was blitz on the blind side in the first half, then a little mix in the second. We should have torn them up, but both the players and the coaches didn’t adjust.
Another thing, if we’re so smart about knowing that Vick goes to his left and excels at it, why don’t we have a crossing route that goes from right to left in the playbook? I saw at least one play where the hot read was open in space, but was located away from where Vick took the play, forcing him to run. That kind of stuff makes you think that the coaches really don’t know their players, which is inexcusable at this time of year.
Don’t even get me started on McDermott. He’s outclassed by almost every OC out there, to the point of it being pathetic. We see that Webb likes to run to his right in the first half, so we blitz and apply all our pressure to the blind side only? Why not show pressure in his face, and try to get a rookie mistake from him? Why not move Cole around in the line and show him different line formations at least?
It’s pretty obvious to me that Reid and Co. thought this was going to be an easy game, and were complacent in their planning. McDermott is the worst with this, because he simplifies the gameplan for his defenders, thereby simplfying the gameplan for the other team’s offense. The worst part of this is that this is EXACTLY what happened last year at the same time.
Hey bird….. I can blame vick for a fumble or a couple but how do u blame him for 6 sacks 6 hits on him. The guy has no time because every dam pass play was 20 yards or more. That’s scheme u idiot!
Vick played pretty poorly… That was obvious… But it was even more obvious (to me anyway) that Andy was caught flat footed again…. These last 2 games remind me of the Dallas games from last year…. Pressure is coming from everywhere and yet the QB is still being asked to drop back throw as if the pressure doesnt matter….. We have a great back in McCoy… He looked like one of the few players ready to play last night and yet Reid hardly calls his number.. Blitzing Vick to death and Reid does nothing to counter it…..Andy Reid seriously needs to lean on the run a little more than he does…. If not? this team isnt going anywhere this postseason… It will end just like the last postseason… with the Eagles getting whupped and the other playing like they are in our huddle and already know the plays…
Smarten up Reid
Good points G,
I agree that sometimes it appears that Coach AR/MM do become fans and keep calling the homerun play with the deep drops and the deep routes .. Were they forcing Vick to put up big #’s to stay in the MVP race perhaps.. I would hope not as I would hope that all this distracting talk of Vick for League MVP now ends and the team,players can concerntrate on the next game and the playoffs moving forward..
2 things I really noticed last evening was the poor play at the line of Scrimmage by both the Offense and DefensIve lines.. The team looked tired,ragged and just not that inspired.. I think DE J Parker played his worst game as a Pro and missed Vikings QB Webb about 5 times behind the line of scrimmage, T Cole was a non-factor again as he’s been in many games down the Stretch..
With Laws getting injured, DT Dixon/Patterson were pooped out in crunch time, the only player who looked quick and ready to play along the DL was Darryl Tapp..(Dixon does need to work on his conditioning a little bit to help give him the stamina to finish off games strong..)
The O/Line was a nightmare all game long, Center McGlynn and RG MJG had a hard time switching off on rushers and picking up blitzes,stunts you name it, they were dominated at the point of attack, the Tackles played ok and got burned a few times which happens when you pass 45-50 times,
but the schemes of empty backfields really hurt the EAgles.. Where was Owen Schmitt to stay in a help block and finally at the end of the game , they started to keep TE Celek in more to pass blaco but too little, too late..
This team will not beat anyone in the playoffs if it plays anywhere near like they did last evening.
The Vikings bascially controlled the line of scrimmage for 80% of the game..The Eagle made no adjustments and were poorly prepared and not focused.. all around poor performance by the Coaches & Players who were not obviously ready to play ball and just like last year, they have blown an opportunity to go in the playoffs as a higher seed and get some rest.. Now they are Stuck as a #3 Seed and most likely will see the PAckers come into Philly nad whip thier butt in the WIld-Card Round.. What a Season of lost opportunity.. The Players,Coaches,Fans got a little too full of themselves I believe and now are paying the price, does this team want it bad enough… I am not so sure, and now they are going to have a tough road to prove it to me…
Hey dawk — was it also scheme when he had plenty of time to throw and still threw an interception WAY behind Desean and almost threw one to Lito that hit him right in the chest? STFU. Vick should have had 6 turnovers last night.
He’s the QB. He’s allowed to audible. If he sees something he doesn’t like, MAKE THE CHANGE!
@Birdo
Vick played a poor game no doubt….but dont put the play calling on him. McCoy was having success running the ball last night, why we didnt run the ball more to counter the blitzes, who knows? why we didnt set up a few more screen playes who knows? these are calls that should come directly from the coaching staff. Reid hasn’t adjusted to the blitzes at all. We’ve been seeing similar blitzes since the first time we played the Giants, on a regular basis from teams, and our QB still has to retreat, or get hit on damn near every play. you should take your own advice and STFU, herb!
@Paulman
What do the Eagles have to prove to you…they’ve already execeeded beyond your expectations…you didnt think we’d even be in this situation at the beginning of the season…you’re like the guy from Major League “they’ll blow it in the playoffs” …From the get go, I could tell the team was not right, I’m not worried, I’d rather them get this out of their system now, rather Vick have his worst game of the season now, than in the the playoffs…
If you use just a bit of reason, you’ll come to understand that Vick has been playing and last night it totally affected his throwing mechanics. Further, he’s been playing hurt because of Reid’s insistence to throw the ball downfield over and over again. Regardless of how deep the safeties line up, Reid runs deep patterns which take 4-5 seconds to develop.
It would appear to be poor scheme by the coach, but the QB should get a bigger piece of the blame. Vick was horrible and was horrible the week before until he started running again. Over the past several weeks he’s been reverting back to the ‘old vick’ trying to make plays with his feet.
He’s getting hit a lot, but he’s also holding the ball a lot. Earlier on he was getting the ball out of his hands, now he’s getting hit and getting sacked and fumbling. It’s the same line as earlier in the year, so nothing has changed.
Yes Reid needs to run more. When they run they do well. Reid also needs a couple more screens and slants, but Vick needs to get the ball out of his hand and stop dancing.
Sorry that should read “been playing hurt.”
When Vick was in Atlanta, he was not a very good QB. He abandoned plays and took off running. That has not been the case with him as an Eagle.
As an Eagle, Vick has stayed with the game plan against the top defenses in the league, but the game plan has caused Vick to suffer too many hits over and over again.
You don’t see Brady, Brees or Manning getting hit like this. That’s why they enjoy such success. The game plans their coaches employ are diverse and allow for the use all of their offensive weapons.
Earlier, Vick was picking defenses apart, but he’s slowly become a cripple.
Regardless of down/distance, injury, defense employed, weather, success with other offensive weapons, lack of weapons, etc., Reid wants to throw the ball deep.
He calls patterns that take 4-5 seconds to develop, regardless of consequence.
For some time, Vick was able to overcome Reid’s play-calling, but as I said it would, the play-calling has caught up with him. That’s why I’ve always maintained that Reid sets his QBs up for failure.
Many thought I was just “hatin’ on” Reid when I expressed these same things after each win, but as I continually pointed out, it was all about keeping our QB healthy.
Vick can do us no good from neither the training room nor the hospital.
Likewise, he’s no good to us if his body is wracked with pain to the point that it affects his mechanics.
mugzybrown
I’ve watched this scenario play out time and time again.
Our QB gets creamed game after game, yet the fans expect him to perform at the same level.
No one can do that — not Brady, Brees, Rodgers or Manning.
First, unless you’re looking at the coaching film, you do not know where all of the receivers are on the field to judge if all of the routes are taking too long to develop.
Second, the QB has the ability to audible the calls based on the defensive front.
Third, the receivers have the ability to break off routes based on blitzes.
@Mugzy
Teams are sending the house at Vick…if you watched the game you saw there was no protection at times…how is he supposed to throw the ball on every down when blitzing are coming at him…Vick definitely needs to take care of the ball moving forward, no doubt! but the offensive line, RB’s FB”s have to pick up the blitzes and keep Vick from getting hit on damn near every drop back…No other QB in the league gives us a chance behind our offense line the way Vick does…you have to take the good with the bad…
How many hits has Vick taken? How many times has Reid said, “We’ve got to do a better job of protecting him?”
Vick, with his escapability and speed, along with McCoy, made this offense go “in spite of Reid,” just as McNabb and Westbrook did before them.
New QB, new receivers, all new players – same coach – same results.
Realtalk:
Vick has time. Watch Manning/Brady/Brees when they’re blitzed. The ball is gone before the blitz gets there. Last night on all of those corner blitzes, the line did a pretty good job. They’re supposed ensure the middle is picked up first, and they did. A couple of times the right tackle probably should have come off his block and tried to get the corner, but most of the time they were blocked properly.
Vick had time to drop back 3 steps and throw on those occasions and never be touched.
mugzybrown
They show angles from behind the QB and from behind the defense. So, I do know.
When Vick rolled left in the first game against the Giants, the Giants overloaded that side and forced Vick to his right. We were in max protect and Reid had his only receivers running patterns on the left side of the field. So, Vick was left on an island, with no receivers.
Reid’s been in max protect nearly the entire season, because he wants to go long. That’s why Celek’s numbers are down. That’s why McCoy has gotten the ball as much.
How do you justify 12 runs last night?
And who passes the ball 93% of the time? What coach in the NFL does that?
Vick has gotten rid of the ball when the hot Reid was there. Again, the patterns must be called.
Reid has chosen max protect over hot read, because he loves the vertical game.
@mugzy
Vick does not have as much time as the Brady, Manning, Brees…you are talking about teams that have solid offensive lines…what games do you be watching? you can’t be serious! Once Vick is chased out the pocket and forced to run, the receivers then need to break their routes and come back to the ball, were you able to see if this was happening from watching TV? There were times when defensive linemen were coming straight down the middle, again were you watching the game? what about picking up the blitz from the ends? this is what gave us the trouble, this is whats been giving us the trouble, when does the coaching staff make the adjustment and send the right formations out there to handle this pressure…its easy to talk about the game and critque a poor performance like Vick had last night…but lets remember if not for Vick, where would we be! playing the role of the spoiler?
Drummer
They show angles from behind the QB on what 10% of the plays? And that view is limited to a pretty small area of the field. Unless you see the coaches tape on every pass play, you or I can’t comment really on the routes being called
I have already said they need to run more
It’s the receivers job to break off routes if they see blitzes. The coach can’t call that play because play calls are based on personel before the defense lines up. It’s also the QBs job to audible if there’s nothing but long routes called and the defense is bringing 7.
Lets not get it twisted..I was very dissapointed in the performance from our MVP last night…regardless of the scenario he has to take care of the ball. I think thats a manageable adjustment thus I am not worried…last night the game was lost, and it started with our QB…he corrects his mistakes, again I am not worried
I dont know… I didnt see Vick get much time back there… #26 Winfield was blitzing off the corner all night and it took at least until halftime before it seems Reid even noticed this.. The same blitz off the corner time after time… They were simply bringing one more man than we could block all night.. Vick didnt have much time.. these arent 3 step plays that the eagles were running for most of that game…
I could see blaming Vick if we hadnt seen this same movie last year starring McNabb…. Its the same crap again…
Dallas Cowboys were saying they exactly what was coming in those 2 games last year… Looks like teams are picking up on the gameplan again a year later…
Its time for Andy to bring some balance to the offense… this is the same we have had with Reid forever….. this has been an issue long before Vick ever got here
Mugzy
I’ve been posting this same stuff, even after our wins. I predicted that this would happen. I even charted plays during the past 6 or 7 games to validate my point.
I can see who’s staying in to block and I can see the routes that are being run (not on every play) but much more than 10% of the plays. Besides the commentators mention it all the time.
Now, you’re the one who’s saying that you know what the play book calls for.
It’s not even about running the ball more. It’s about play diversity. We ran one screen all night, one reverse, no draws. The same plays we used to slow down the pass rush against Atlanta would work against theses other teams.
Instead, Reid chose max protect (even though it stopped working several games ago).
Realtalk
First off, teams don’t blitz Brees, Manning, and Brady like they’ve been blitzing Vick because they know they’ll get torched.
Think back to NFCCG vs Arizona. Eagles blitz 7, Warner takes 2 steps and hits Fitz for 15. Rinse, repeat over and over. Warner wasn’t breathed on. Brees & Brady & Manning (other than this year) did the same exact thing to the Eagles in the past times they’ve met. Eagles blitz, ball’s gone before the pressure is close.
This is what needs to be done. I don’t know if there’s nobody open or not.. I just doubt that on all of these plays there’s no short route to dump it off to. Reid and the receivers can’t be that incompetent. And if they are, Vick needs to get them out of those plays at the line.
Also, in the past 3 games, Reid decided to go close formation, max protect with Vick under center.
In that formation, Vick had no time to set up. He had to immediately scramble. He did this against the Giants until the final 7:30. After that, Reid went exclusively from the shotgun which allowed Vick an opportunity to escape the blitz and bring us back.
2-07 1 Shotgun, play action screen to McCoy for a loss of 1 (good team pursuit, like they knew the play)
3-08 1 Shotgun, blitz, sack by Tuck, Vick might have been able to ste up in the pocket, but went right (Vick limping)
Punt
1-10 1 Shotgun, blitz from the right, no time to set up, Vick escapes for 1
2-09 1 Maclin complete (fumble?)
HALF TIME
1-10 1 UC, 5, check down to McCoy in the middle for 4
2-06 1 UC, pass batted down left
3-06 1 Shotgun, blitzed, hit immediately by Tuck
Punt
1-10 1 UC, McCoy up the middle for 11
1-10 1 UC, Vick trips on lineman, hands off to McCoy 1 hole for 5
2-06 1 UC, 7, I formation, play action, scramble, check down to Schmitt for 6 (illegal formation)
2-11 1 UC, McCoy up the middle, bounces outside right for 5
3-06 1 UC, 5, over the middle to Avant for 1st down
1-10 1 UC, I formation, screen left McCoy (poor blocking)
1-10 1 Shotgun, McCoy up the middle for 12
1-10 1 Shotgun, McCoy, 1 hole for 12
1-20 1 Shotgun, McCoy off-tackle left for 11 (holding)
2-10 1 UC, 5 step, hook right to Maclin for 5
2-15 1 UC, 5 step, overload left, no time, pass behind Maclin, Vick hit
3-15 1 Shotgun (high), blitz, pass high but Avant well covered – Vick hit
Punt
1-10 1 UC, play action middle, scramble left for 13
1-10 1 Shotgun, pass over the middle to Avant for 4
2-06 from 8 1 UC, blitz, Maclin drag pattern for 8 yard TD
1-10 1 UC, 3, hitch to Clay Habor for 4 (harbor falls)
2-06 1 UC, down and out to Jackson for 8
1-10 1 UC, Blitz, McCoy up the middle for 2
4th quarter
2-08 UC, false start
2-13 1 UC, pass batted down left
3-13 1 Shotgun, blitz, Vick ducks and steps up, deep to Maclin incomplete (Barry Cofield prevented Vick from getting anything on the ball)
Punt
1-10 from 20 1 UC, I formation, 7 Vick hits Jackson for 30 (fumble Jackson) – Reid doesn’t challenge
1-10 from 25 1 Shotgun, blitz, hitch to Maclin for 10
1-10 Shotgun (high), blitz, Celek bobbles but holds on for a 65-yard TD
ON-SIDE KICK RECOVERED BY EAGLES
1-10 from 42 1 Shotgun (5 receiver set), McCoy wide right, 3 receivers right, one receiver left, Jackson over the middle for 13
1-10 1 Shotgun, blitz, Vick ducks, scrambles for 35
1-10 from 9 1 Shotgun (high), blitz, end zone pass to Jackson incomplete
2-10 1 Shotgun, QB keeper right, Vick tackled for loss (penalty off-sides defense, neutral zone)
2-goal 1 Shotgun, 4 receiver set, pass knocked down middle
3-goal 1 Shotgun (wide left, good catch), QB draw left for TD (Max Jean pulls to lead the way)
1-10 from 11 1 Shotgun, blitz, Vick misses Celek wide open with 3:01 to play
2-10 1 Shotgun, blitz, pressure up the middle, no time, incomplete to Jackson
3-10 1 Shotgun, blitz, pressure up the middle, Vick scrambles left for 33 yards
1-10 1 Shotgun, (no blitz) Vick buys time, complete to Avant for 14, gets hit hard
1-10 1 Shotgun, (tight formation) pass batted down
2-10 1 Shotgun, Vick up the middle to the 20 for 22
1-10 1 Shotgun, complete to Celek over the middle for 7
2-03 1 Shotgun, Hook to Maclin for TD (great block by McCoy)
When under center, Reid generally passed and when in the shotgun, he generally ran the ball. Vick was getting hit on nearly every play, and has been getting hit like that for many games.
Mugzy
I know you’ve posted on GCobb before, but you haven’t been posting much lately. If you had, you would know that I’ve been charting the plays and taking meticulous notes during each game.
You’d also know that I said this would happen (even when the party was on).
@Mugzy
I’m sure their offensive line has nothing to do with why they do not get blitzed as often…I’m also sure that Vick has a dimension that none of those guys posess, running ability, which has gotten us out of jams time and time again! you just dont seem to understand, that even with short routes the pressure was coming so quickly at times that it didnt matter!
I didn’t do last night’s game, but I will after it’s downloaded. One thing is certain, it looked like we were running the same play during the entire 4th quarter (with the same results). Vick was hit from the very first play to the very last.
Here’s a portion of an article by Didinger, describing what we did against Atlanta (48% passing):
Let’s take the first two possessions…
First play from scrimmage: The Eagles anticipate Atlanta playing Tampa 2 coverage with the middle linebacker Curtis Lofton responsible for the deep middle. Reid sends Chad Hall and Jeremy Maclin at the linebacker, who doesn’t know what to do. Hall goes deep and draws the safeties, leaving Lofton on Maclin – a mismatch – and the result is a 22-yard completion.
Second play: DeSean Jackson lines up in the backfield and goes in motion. Cornerback Chris Owens goes with him, which indicates Atlanta is in man coverage. At the snap, Jackson takes a handoff going left. Abraham, the end on that side, is caught flat-footed. Left tackle King Dunlap doesn’t even block Abraham. He goes up field and takes a position facing inside. His assignment: cut off the pursuit.
Jackson turns the corner without being touched. Maclin does a good job blocking cornerback Dunta Robinson and Dunlap bumps Owens aside in the open field. Jackson completes a 31-yard touchdown run and the Eagles lead 7-0 after just two plays.
“The Eagles have created confusion in the Atlanta defense and they’ve put the ball in the hands of their two big guns, Jackson and Maclin,” Brian said. “That’s important. I don’t think [Jackson and Maclin] are divas like some other receivers, but they are better when they get involved early. I’m sure that’s what Andy and Marty wanted. Look at Maclin. He just had a nice catch for a big gain and now he’s blocking for his buddy. He’s into it.”
On the next possession…
Second down: Having shown Atlanta the reverse, the Eagles run a cutback. At the snap, the flow starts left and Atlanta’s smallish front seven (which relies on quickness) goes that way. LeSean McCoy takes the handoff and right tackle Winston Justice blocks down on end Kroy Biermann. McCoy cuts behind him for an easy eight yards.
On the next play, the Eagles run another reverse but give Atlanta a different look. Instead of going in motion, Jackson lines up on the right. At the snap, the Eagles flow right and it appears Kolb will pitch the ball to McCoy on a sweep. The Falcons flow that way so when Jackson takes the handoff going left, they are caught off-guard again.
(Part of the Eagles’ strategy was designed to slow down Abraham. The Eagles were without left tackle Jason Peters (knee) so Dunlap was making his first NFL start. It was a tall order asking Dunlap to block a speed rusher like Abraham, so the coaches schemed ways to help him. They put an extra blocker on that side to double-team and they also ran all those reverses and misdirections to make Abraham hesitate. It worked: Abraham had just one tackle.)
After hitting the Falcons with two more runs – one by McCoy for nine yards, another by Hall for five – Reid and Mornhinweg go for the home run. They call the same play Kolb threw for his first touchdown against New Orleans last season. It is a two-man route with Jackson and tight end Garrett Mills attacking the safeties in a Cover 2.
Mills cuts his route at 10 yards, holding safety Thomas DeCoud at that depth. That opens the whole field behind DeCoud and Jackson runs a deep crossing pattern, leaving safety William Moore and Lofton in his dust. Kolb’s pass is on target for a 34-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Eagles ran other nice combinations, mixing short drops with bootlegs, but they closed the deal in the third quarter when Kolb hit Maclin on an 83-yard touchdown pass. It was the culmination of everything the Eagles had done to that point. That was all prelude; this was the payoff.
“Think of all the things the Falcons saw – the reverses, the fakes, the misdirection,” Brian said, rerunning the touchdown on tape. “Now here it is: the same look as the end-around. The only difference is Jackson is out and Avant is in, but the Falcons see this and think, ‘Here it comes again.’”
Owens, the cornerback who replaced the injured Robinson, comes up to force the run. DeCoud glances at Maclin, who is hardly moving so he, too, shifts his attention to the backfield. Dunlap moves into the same blocking position he assumed on the two earlier running plays by Jackson. The setup is perfect.
Kolb fakes the handoff and Maclin takes off running down the sideline. DeCoud finally figures out what’s going on, but it’s too late. Maclin is 10 yards in the clear and Kolb hits him in stride for the game-breaking touchdown.
“Maclin does a great job of selling this,” Brian said. “He doesn’t show [the deep route] too soon. He looks like he’s loafing, then he takes off.
“This is great play calling. You spend the whole day setting a team up for this. You’re gonna pull this play out one time, so you have to pick just the right time and you have to hit it. They did.”
Since then, the play calling has been one dimensional – throw the deep route. We’re known as a screen team but we don’t run very many. I bet we haven’t called 5 screens in one game.
We only get diverse play in the first 15 scripted plays. After that, it’s all about getting the ball deep.
Nice posts Mugzy. Good, veteran, QBs want to be blitzed because it means there’s a wide upen WR somewhere. I think I’ve seen Vick hit one of these (to Maclin right side vs Giants) over the past 5 weeks.
Now, one of the reasons they never hit the short route, or why the WRs don’t break off routes and allow for VIck to hit hot reads against the blitz is that he’s too short. 3 step drops = ball batted down. How many times have you seen that happen the past few weeks?
Drummer, I think you’ll find that a lot of the plays last night were Shotgun in the second half, but it didn’t make a difference. Many times, Vick didn’t even set his feet before taking off, and you won’t see that in the down/distance breakdown. He either scrambled left or up the middle (the up the middle was a halftime adjustment). To his credit, when he was going left he was looking downfield, for the most part. Vick played easily his worst game as an Eagle last night, and we still had the chance to win it in the 4th after three turnovers until the defense gave up the runs to Peterson.
Regardless, we’ll get trounced by any playoff team out there if we’re not running like a running team and not relying on the scramble to get ground yards. Everyone here is just blatantly blaming the play calling, but you all realize that if Vick has any of the freedom that McNabb had, he can audible out of the play. If that’s the case, he could have adjusted to runs up the gut on those blitzes, but he chose to use his scrambling and holding on to the ball in order to take control of the game. One of Vick’s scrambles up the left was actually shorter than it could have been (he would have to cut inside, not outside), but he also could have thrown up the middle to Maclin for a first down and a lot more. We’ve never bashed an Eagles QB in the past for that, have we?
One thing that last night proved is that you CAN’T rely on the QB scramble to win games, especially when it worked the game a week earlier. I’d take a QB taking a 7-10 yard run on 3rd and 10-12 as long as I get to hit him at the end all day. Notice how Vick’s scrambles got shorter as the game came on. Hopefully the coaching staff and Vick have both learned this lesson.
Vick is by far the best QB we have. He’s also only one player on the team, and it’s up to the coaches to keep him grounded and put him in a position to succeed (yes, I’m being ironic). At the same time, he needs to be held accountable for his role in this defeat, because he was outplayed in every facet by a rookie playing his first start.
When anyone gets too cocky, they’re twice as likely to play sloppy: in life, you’re at your most vulnerable when you think you’re untouchable.
There was only one ball batted down last night Vinnie! So what Vick is shorter than most QB’s, so what….Vick threw some bad balls last night, but him throwing the ball is not what hurt us. Vick fumbled the ball two times, this is what hurt us…one time for a TD, the second time as we were entering the red zone…thats a possible 14 point swing right there. Talk about what really hurt the Eagles and not just trying to prove a point that you’ve been trying to make all season long…Especially since Vick has already proved you wrong! he’s exceeded your expectations by far, be real about it!
Also, people would respect you a little more if you came on here while Vick was doing well. Showing up when he has the worst game of his season, exactly what you’ve been waiting for, huh? Scrub!
BTW,
From what I saw, the open players were to Vick’s blind side for the most part (to the right). Take it for what it’s worth, but when Vick was looking downfield moving to the left, the receivers were either standing still or still running away from the QB. Look at all the batted balls throughout the game, and on each one, I think you’ll see that the receiver was standing still (not coming back to the QB). It’s not all on Vick, or the called plays. Execution was poor in all three phases of the game.
There was one batted ball at the line, but 3-4 balls knocked out of the receivers hands, and 3 possible int’s because of poor throws or shortened/lazy routes.
@grifft
I agree with you for the most part…but if we take Vick’s fumbles away, the game is could of easily been different to our advantage. My point is this, Vick’s poor play as far as taking care of the ball is manageable, and can improve, will improve. So moving forward I’m not too concerned. We did not execute as you said in all areas…Akers even had a bad kick that led to the Peterson TD in the 4th. We had tons of penalties too. Missed tackles….we can go on and on about what the Eagles did wrong..I think we’ll all agree that this was the worst offensive performance of the season…I’d just rather see it happen now, than in the playoffs.
I think it goes without saying that Vick needs to secure the ball and stop hitting defenders in the chest out there… He owned up to his mistakes and Reid did also..
What concerns me more than the individual player mistakes is the same problems we have been seeing for years…
Reid is really pass heavy and he is slow to make adjustments… Watch enough Eagle games and this becomes obvious…
Going into the Playoffs, the teams get better and they tend to sharpen their focus… We seem to be outmatched from a coaching standpoint in EVERYONE of our playoff losses… Somebody mentioned the Arizona game and Kurt Warner…. The Cardinals GAMEPLANNED to beat the blitz… We couldnt get pressure without it and couldnt find another way to stop that team… We lose
Last year… the same deal.. Cowboys obviously were well prepared in BOTH games, meanwhile we return to Dallas to play the 2nd Cowboy game with what looks like the same plan that got our heads handed to us in the first game…
A team this talented shouldnt come out looking so lost on multiple levels
I just think if we can mix it up more, we would make the game alot easier for the QB and he wouldnt be running around fumbling and throwing the ball to the other team