The Eagles coaches will be hard pressed to find a way to keep DeMarcus Ware and his defensive teammates out of the Birds offensive backfield. The Eagles offensive line has only one remaining player from last year’s starting unit.
Todd Herremans was placed on injured reserve today and will miss the rest of the season. Herremans has tendon damage in his right foot. Justin Vandervelde took Herremans place on the roster. So the Birds are missing four of the five offensive line starters from a year ago. Herremans, left tackle Jason Peters is out with an Achilles tendon tear, center Jason Kelce had ACL surgery and right guard Danny Watkins is out with a mysterious ankle injury.
Running back LeSean McCoy missed practice today because he was ill. He’s expected to be available for the game this Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys.
Nate Allen practiced this afternoon, while last week’s starter at Allen’s safety position, David Sims missed practice today with a foot injury.
OOOOHH!!! Allen practiced! SB BABY!!!!!
McCoy’s sick, from playing with his teammates!
nate allen’s back? mr softie….. Romo will look like the 2nd coming of Joe Montana this game..the Eagles are the prescription for bad teams.
Dallas 20
Eagles 10
Your going to see the eagles run the ball 30+ times due to the o-line mess….I know its a shocker…..low scoring game, Dallas wins by a FG 16-13
Hopefully, they run it 50 times and get Polk involved.
run 50 times behind that line? not sure i understand the logic there. i know you are between a rock and hard place but seriously the d. line gets such good penetration that there are no lanes… the d. line will over run 1 or 2 giving up a 15 yarder but they will learn not to over pursue and make tackle after tackle in the backfield…..
What’s everyone thoughts about the Off-Season
What HC would everyone relaisitically like to see tka over
What Personnel Moves at QB,SB,OL,DL,WR,Safety does this Team need to get back to being a legitimate Team..
How about next years Draft and Free-Agency Market..
Clearly, this Team a lot more changes than just the Coaching Staff and GM.. They also need get rid of a overpaid, underperforming players and rebuild thier Talent Across the entire Roster… (RB is about the only Position that I can say is in good hands with McCoy/Brown) but ever other group from the OL,TE,WR,DL,LB,CB,Safeties need upgrading and a lot will chance based on who the next HC and their Staff will be.. If it’s a Defensive, run the ball, smash-mouth typwe of system to be put in place, than 1/2 this Eagles Roster is not set up to play this type of ball.. Lot’s of questions,scenario’s,strategy to Owner Jeff Lurie to figure out and he won’t have a lot of time to do it so I hope he is making his plans now .. because he will need to have a new GM/HC in Place by January to give this new regime a chance to build a Roster in their likeness and hopefully a more physical style of Team than what we have had for 14 Years under AR and this will need to be done nad deceided right after the Season.. There is not JAn/Feb To waste… Get a new Vision and Philosophy in here now to evaluate on how stays and how goes and move forward would be my plan.. ..
it is a 3 year building process at this point. the draft has been so bad the last 2-3 years that there is no foundation. 1. see if foles can play 2. dump salary 3. be prepared to be the browns for a couple of years 4. hope that your new hot shot, young coach is good. This isn’t like harbaugh taking over SF, which was a good but underperforming team. This is a bad team.
Build Oline with Kelce and JP i guess, move herremans back to guard. put shady on the shelf for a year so he doesn’t get killed. Cox, kendricks and ryans are the only defenders that should be a definite keep (although ryans has been exposed a bit) — evaluate the hell out of foles and make a decision is he the guy or not. if not you are drafting 1, 2, 3 and you need to get a guy.
ill bite Pman…..
For me it all depends on how the FO looks at this team.
IF….. they look at this team and try to build off what we already have since this div is possible to claim next year… i would….
Bring in a Gruden
Draft OT 1st round
Bring in the best RG/LG on the market
Keep Vick at least long enough to see what Foles gives us. ( i know ill get slammed for this but QB’s dont grow on trees and IF Foles is not the guy, we will have a hard time stealing someone from another team.
Get a DC that has been an actual DC.
IF… they see this team as we do…… and scrap all of it…
Get wade phillips (i know he has not been a good HC but i love what he does on D.
Get an OC that is not afraid to run the ball.
Build up that Oline
See what Foles gives us (unless we land the top spot in the draft or something).
I would like to go with option 2.
Stevo and all other fans who want Gruden to be the Eagles coach or NFL coach need to know the John Gruden will never coach again in the NFL unless he gets fired from Monday Night Football. John makes more money and works less doing MNF as opposed to being a coach, John went into the entertainment business if he wanted to be a coach he would’ve.
MH, he also works for NFL network. You’re right, he has no reason to ever coach again!
absolutely going from a cake job to one of the hardest… ain’t happening; and if it does i worry a guy who has spent years in the booth losing his edge, getting soft. no way on gruden!
Some good thoughts Stevo..
Remember that Wade Phillips runs a 3-4 which requires at least 2 More LB’s and having big DE’s which the Eagles have none of these .. So it would probably take 5-6 New Defensive PLayers in the Front 7 Alone to make his Scheme work let alone updgrades for the Secondary..
I also think that Phillips is happiest down in his hometown of Houston and would have a very difficult time in Philly dealing ith the Press/Media and would be very surprised if he would even be interested being in a such demanding City like Philly. I think he’s found his spot as DC which he is very good at..
I think Perry Jewell, the DC from the NY Giants could be a good match for what the Eagles Roster currently has and yes some updgrades need to be made at every level of the Defense, but the learning curve would not be as great for th eGiants run many similare Defenses Fronts/Schemes as the Eagles do, except that they have always used the blitz more with their LB’s and Secondary players than what the Eagles have done since McDermott/Castillo have over the last few Seasons
Ray Horton Jr (DC of the Cardinals) could be an interesting Candidate to talk to, formerly a LB/Secondary Coach for the Steelers under Dick LeBeau for years and now having success with as the DC with the Cardinals.. Horton does use both a 3-4 & 4-3 Scheme and appears to really relate well to his players and maizmize their strengths..Downside is that this is his 2nd Year as DC and is not very experienced yet, but he is rising fast and will be a HC in th NFL someday and probably make a great Coach..
DC Vince Fangio from the 49ers and SPecial Teams Coach Brad Seeley would be excellent,quality Coaches to talk to..
If Eagles wnat to Pursue an Offensive Coach
Dirk Koetter (OC for the Falcons) – very dynamic and agressive play caller..has bounced around with the Dolphins,Jaguars and now Atlanta
was also College Coach in Arizona/Louisville/Tulsa who all had high-scoring offense’s while he coached there.. Would need a Strong DC to go along with Koetter who concentrates on the Offensive side of the ball ..
***Jay Gruden*** (OC of the Bengals) – younger brother of Jon, has done a great job of helping to develop Bengals QB Andrew Dalton and the Bengals Offense over the last couple of Seasons, Has the personal,tough skin to be able to handle the Philly Pressure and Demand and when Jon Gruden is asked who is one of the top Offensive Minds and QB Developers in the NFL, he always list his Brother Jay as having a brilliant mind and great energy,work habits and that Jay was much more advanced than he was ..
Again, an experienced DC would also need to be hired to counter Gruden’s Offensive Philosophy
If GM Roseman is retained and per his Contract Deal, we would have to assume that he will, then you have to look at the make-up of the ROster and these Committed Contracts.. If you Keep Vick,D-Jax,McCoy,Maclin,Celek and have the injured OL return back (who are more pass-protectors than run blockers) then Maybe it makes sense to hire an Offensive Minded Coach to get the Birds the most competitive the quickest since all these players I listed above are under long-tewrm deals..
If the Decision is to get away from a Pass-Happy Offensem and hire a Defensive Minded Coach with more Run first,Smash-Mouth Football, than most of the Eagles 22 Starters and key back-ups don’t fit this Philosophy and then your looking at a 3 Year Program to get better suited players in place to fit that mold…
This is the aQuestion that Lurie and GM Roseman will have to make and they will have to come to a decision by December/January to hit the Off-Season with a plan
Are you all reading this?
Vick
“I just gotta believe in the guys in front of me,” Vick said.
Translation: I do not believe in the guys in front of me – but I ‘gotta’ (I won’t)
Vick:
“Do whatever it takes to get the ball out. Slide. Move. Break contain. Continue to maintain trust in them. That’s part of my job as a quarterback. Stay optimistic. Keep playing the game and try to block out everything else.”
Translation: me me me me me me me me me me do what I do me
Kelce:
“Sometimes they bring a blitz and we lose a one-on-one matchup somewhere, and that’s the reason for the failure.
Translation: Sometimes its the olines fault
Kelce:
“Sometimes there’s an unblocked guy and you look at it schematically and see there was a ‘hot’ throw we should’ve made. Should Mike have gotten the ball out quicker?
Translation: Every team lets free guys come on blitzes, but they have QBs who know how to deal with this. Mike who can’t make pre-snap reads and recognize where the ball is supposed to go.
Vick:
“It’s not the funnest thing in the world to get hit over and over and over again. But I keep getting up. And I thank God that he blessed me with the ability to keep getting up, keep fighting, keep battling for this football team.”
Translation: Hello Bus. Here’s my oline. I hate them. But its ok because God blessed me….I am so special. I will battle on alone! Me.
Vick:
“Even though I sometimes find myself doing too much and overcompensating.”
Translation: See how special I am. I am so good I can overcompensate for my shitty team.
Vick:
“We’ve got to find a way to come up with some big plays. I think the coaches will do that. We just have to do it out on the field. We’ve got to be able to block up front. If we can do that, that’ll give Jeremy [Maclin] and DeSean [Jackson] time to make some moves downfield and get open.”
Translation: But if I can’t get it done…its everyone else’s fault.
Reid:
“We’re seeing some overload blitzes down there and some zero blitzes down in the red zone. It seems like a pretty common look for most defenses down there.
Transllation: Everyone knows how to defend Vick. And he can’t adjust.
“You
Reid either see ‘Cover 4’ or you see zero blitz. Against zero blitz, you have to know that one man can’t be taken care of. The ball has to come out and the receivers need to be aware of that and the quarterback needs to be aware of that.”
Translation: Teams are running Zero blitzes against us. Its what teams do to rookie QBs named Carr. Guys like Brady, or Manning, or just about any QB in the top 15 would shred a gimmick like that. My 10 yr vet Qb can’t handle that though. And this really pisses me off. Most teams FEAST on this kind of all-out blitz garbage, but our guy gets pummelled. Why the hell am I playing him again?
Now there’s some faith in the QB from Reid and Kelse, and some excellent leadership from Vick don’t you think?
This team is finished…..
This dysfunctional team is sunk.
Vinniemysister….Come on Sis, Its funny how this article is an injury report update and all you can talk about is Vick…but I will entertain you for one moment…
After the play of the O Line, how much trust would you have in them. After losing your best offensive linemen left on the line, how confident would you feel in your blind side being protected? To you its all about Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick….
Also in regards to the zero blitz, yes Vick is at fault when he gets sacked due to not recognizing the free blitzer, but I also see Reid made a mention to the receivers…So what 2-3 times we’ve seen Vick lose against the zero blitz, does that equate to all the time? You act as if he has failed against that type of defense every single time….
I really thought the Eagles Offense could overcome the loss of LT Peters, even though VIck saw such few snaps in the PRe-Season and thought it would take a few games into the Seasons because of this.. But once they lost Center Kelce, I knew this Offense was in serious trouble and now add RT Herremans to the list.. it’s going to be extremely ugly from here on out where Defenses can pretty much play/scheme straight up and beat 4/5 of the Eagles OL on almost every Pass-Play and Run play.. I have not been a fan of Vick and never will be, but I see very little any QB can accomplish playing behind this OL.. College Teams like Alabama,Georiga,UNC,USC,Rutgers,Ohio State,Wiscons,Texas A&M,Miss State and on and on have better OL that what the Eagles are putting out there for the rest of this Season.. Scoring 16-17 Points is going to very hard to acheieve with this Group they have on the field..
“I have not been a fan of Vick and never will be, but I see very little any QB can accomplish playing behind this OL.. ”
And thats all we so-called Vickpologists have been saying
if they are sending 1 more than you can physically block it doesn’t matter who is the o. line…. it is the qb’s job to beat the extra man– whether its vick, brady or a rookie. this blitz doesn’t get run much because most qb’sbeat it in their sleep– hmmm not sure why its run so much against us?????
Yes HaveNoBrain…if you are simple minded that is what you would think…But how about there is more than 1 defensive rusher Vick has to worry about on many occasion, than just the 1 free rusher you speak of….Yes there have been 2-3 times that stands out to me where Vick got sacked because he didn’t recognize the extra rusher….Brady doesn’t get sacked? because Bell gets bull rushed, Herremanns can’t keep up produciton, Reynolds gets steam rolled, Dunlap gets jooked…..I mean seriously, think logical for one minute in your life!
yes our line SUCKS, i never said it didn’t. i only say a superstar QB can make up some for it.and that most teams don’t run that blitz against good qb’s…. this has been the formula against vick since that Giants game when he made the great comeback– every team since then, no matter who was on the line ran all out blitz’s or corner blitz (early on) … they must know something cuz they don’t run those blitzes every play against other QB’s
our line sucks, our QB sucks, our coach sucks … i get it!
As the Season moves along, most opponents probably see on tape that they don’t have to Blitz often to get to Vick now with this back-up OL and can keep more players back in Pass Coverages..
Now Cowboys D/C Ryan & Redskins D/C Hasslett will probably bring the house for that’s what they do.. But I see Teams like the Giants,Panthers,TB Bucs,Bengals will stay with their base Pass-Rush and will drop more in Coverages thinking their D/Lines alone can get solid Pressure on Vick playing to prevent a big play over the Top from the Eagles
Teams are double teaming the Eagles defensive line and have been since the start of the season. We’ve watched the Eagles not get pressure on the QB, and we’ve seen what happens as a result. We’ve watched the Eagles game and seen the QB get consistently pressured and we see the result. Unless you’re blind or have a personal hatred toward Vick, you’ll understand what the result is for consistent pressure, mistakes.
Is there anything the coaches can do to effectively counteract teams doing this to us ? ex : Chess not Checkers
I really wanna know ?
If I was the defensive coach, I’d just use a different mix of things, the DE would have to be more disciplined in the wide 9 scheme. Make DE go inside no matter what and bring the DB from the outside, fake blitz with LB, bring some delayed safety blitzes….Wide 9, is exactly as it sounds, there are too many throwing lanes, to many gaps. Need to bring a player or two up on occasion to fill those lanes. drop a DE back into coverage, while sending the LB on that same side while faking blitz with safety or LB on opposite side, try and confuse the offensive front (the front is so worried about blocking the front 4. Playing zone on top of the wide 9 is a liability, there are too many throwing lanes already. I think the Eagles play too much zone. Another issue is our safeties bite on the play action. The Eagles are becoming predictable with blitzing on 3rd down in my opinion. I’d send a bit more on 1st and 2nd downs. It all depends on the scenario, but mixing it up is a big part. From what I saw from the Eagles defense on Monday, there were a few times the DB’s didn’t seem to know the coverage, seemed confused pre snap, if I were the DC that would be the first place I’d start.
Teams, attack weakness.
One of the popular lines out there from 2 yrs ago was that “teams avoided Nnamdi” (we’ve heard the same with “teams avoid Deion, Revis” etc). But this isn’t really the case.
On offense, teams do not avoid the good players as much as they attack the perceived weakness.
Slow LBs?- slants and crosses to Welker all day.
Terrence Newman? Desean field day.
Look at the Falcons who attacked our over-zealous wide 9 pass rushers with screens, and then attacked our over-comitting safties with that fake screen to Julio for that beautiful first TD to that WR no one had heard of.
Defense is different. Sometimes a passive posture, sometimes aggressive. Depending on the QB. (Yes the QB)
Jim Johnson used to attack young QBs with crazy blitzes, but they struggled against elite QBs because elite QBs invite the blitz.
Right now, D-coordinators perceive (rightly) that the Eagles’ O is suseptible to the blitz. More importantly, suseptible to “big” blitzes of 6 or even more players. Big blitz recognition is not on the oline. Its on the QB. The purpose of the big blitz is to overwhelm the Oline by sending more blitzers than there are blockers. It is the QBs job to rec this and deal. Co-ordinators rarely use this, esp against good QBs because it automatically means someone is open somewhere on the field. (Send 6 blitzers and leave 2 safies deep, means 3 LBs/CBs to cover 4 wr/tes and a rb at the LOS)
This is why the “Zero” blitz is rarely called, and usually only used at the goalline..(anywhere else and a 4 yrd slant becomes an 80 yrd td easy).
It is extremely troubling that teams are calling this vs the Birds, and it means the other co-ordinators have absolutely no faith in Vick to diagnose it.
It does not mean they have no faith in the Eagles’ oline. If they thought the Oline was as swiss cheese as you guys do, they wouldn’t be sending blitzers, confident that their 4 would dominate by themselves.
How to defeat? Burn it.
Firstly, the no back sets are exactly what should be called vs all out blitzes. Several people in here are complaining that the Birds kept going to no back sets close to the endzone, when teams were blitzing us.
This is the exact correct thing to do. Big blitzes = someone open. The more you spread out the D and put WRs on the LOS, the more guys you have open.
It is inherent on the QB to recognize the defensive formation, communicate with his WR and bang bang, hit the open WR.
Screens also work, but Vick hasn’t thrown a good screen pass since ’78 and I don’t think we’ll be seeing many of them with him at QB.
Sis, when the Eagles have seen the zero blitz many times it has been in the red zone…if teams know that it works so well against Vick, why not crank it up and send a zero blitz every single damn play…Why? because Vick has beaten the zero blitz.
As for the screen pass, the O Line needs to setup the screen pass and get out up field in accordance with the pass. The O Line being suspect has nothing to do with why screens are not called or why the Eagles lead the league in negative rushes with a pro bowl RB.
With no back sets, you need the right routes…
Things the Eagles need to do to be contenders in 2013
1. Hire JAY Gruden as your new head coach.
2. Use the 5th-10th round pick to draft a OT.
3. Add a BIG redzone threat (Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings)
4. Eliminate the wide 9 and evaluate the defensive line
5. Establish an IDENTITY!! this is probably the most important thing.
6. Add another threat at running back and use Shady much like
the Texans use Arian Foster and Ben Tate. I think this team would thrive if this offense ran around running the football and using Nick Foles much like Alex Smith is being used in San Fran.
7. Desean Jackson must return punts again. Percy Harvin, Randal Cobb. These are guys that are dangerous because they can kill you by doing many things on the field and Desean Jackson is faster than all of them. Use Desean as much as you can while he’s still fresh. 3 years from now im not so sure if he can keep the same speed he has now. Get the ball in his hands! End arounds, Direct snaps, punt returns etc.
ES, since when has the draft been 10 rounds?!? WTF!!!! LMFBO!!!!
I will always remember the Packers/Eagles playoff game where Vick had plenty of time(good job o-line) and ignored the wide-open receivers and threw it to the only receiver covered. Vick lovers will say that was one play but lol, that is when we need our clutch QB to make the right decision. So many QBs would have thrown it to, well some one open in that game!!!
@Berks – all those QB’s you speak of have never thrown to a covered receiver that resulted in a INT? please provide me the name of those football players…thanks….
For all the Andy lovers, who are all blind cause their is alot to love there, love the idea our RB rush 10 times in games that really count. where are our #1 draft picks the last 6 years? oh half got traded, cool. one was a fireman ready to retire, excellent, we skipped who up for Graham, wow. last game will show u, forget last 14 years of stupid, last game when u are 1st and goal, run the ball in, just run the ball!!! u have a bad o-line, playing against a D that can’t stop the run, QB who can’t read a blitz, just run, why do u think Giants, Steelers have been in the 4of the last 6 Super Bowls, they would pound the ball in that situation……….blame the o-line all u want, remember we score avg 10points in Reid’s playoff history and even if we had a bad 0-line for last 4 years, who fault is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kevin Kolb usually throws directly to a Defender with no Receiver within 5 Yards of the Pass.. Just Sayin’ RT777…
On a more serious Note in response to ES
I like yuor list and agree with most of what your saying and especially about D-JAx who was the NFL’s most Dangerrous Return Man from 2009-2010 Seasons.. Just like Devin Hester continues to run back kics/punts, so shouyld D-JAx on th PUnt Side.. Just think of the 2 Roster Spaces mis-used with Danrius Johnson,Mardy Gilyard and Dion LEwis which is 3 Players where the Eagles could have used a Big-Target WR, a more Athletic TE or more OL Depth, or a Safety … A lot of you are probably tired of reading my whine about “Roster Management” but look around the NFL, the Eagles Bottom 7-8 SPots are filled with players who simply don’t contribute and you can’t have that in Todays NFL where Specialized packages are used on both Offense and Defense, Insteard the Eagles carry 5 RB when the Run the Ball 30%-35% of the Time.. They Carry 6 DE’s who are all under 6-2 265lbs.. and on and on and on … The Best Teams with efficient GM/Coaching Staffs use the most to maximize their 53 Man-Roster where the Eagles every years seem to have wasted or mis-used Roster Spots… I am tired of it ..
If Coach Reid wasn’t so stubborn and had a back up blocking tight end & a FB whose first strength was blocking – maybe he could save this season but he choose Harbour and Havilli because they can catch 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Hiring Mudd who tossed Justice, Gilles, Cole, Howard , &Jackson out the door for Kelly, Reynolds, Mathis, Watkins, and Kelce looks like a mistake ——- Howard Mudd you failed us ————–
Paulman’s question
If the HC has a pedigree, such as a SuperBowl ring for being a HC not the kind of ring for holding Brett Farve’s hat on the sideline but a real Super Bowl HC then you stick with these starters and try and make the playoffs next year.
If the new HC doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring then it is rebuild time and Vick, Patterson, Jenkins, Avant and a few other easy release contracts need to be shipped out. Asmo I believe has another guaranteed year, Graham does also, Cole, Mathis, Herrimans just signed new contracts so they might be hard to get out of.
College Coaches having good years who might be worth an interview ——Charlie Strong( L-ville), Chip Kelly(Ore), Brian Kelly (ND), Mike Riley(OreST)
As for the draft, QB is the biggest need and since Coach Reid won’t play Foles he must be a Gabbert or Cassels — who besides Barkley is a first round QB.
Howard Mudd was never really that good. The Eagles have a bunch of coaches that coach in a era where we are beyond their ways of coaching. Remember when Joe Gibbs returned to coach Washington? it was a total fail because the NFL has changed since he was a successful head coach. Andy Reid, Howard Mudd, Jim Washburn are all pass their prime and their philosophies are simply not made for todays NFL.
To back my point go review the teams with young head coaches and compare them to the teams who have the “old school style” of coaching
Norv Turner, Fishure, Andy Reid. How successful have these their respected teams been in the last 5 years?
You mean new school like Tom Coughlin?
well realtalk, Eli was pretty clutch in the SB and NFC CHAMPIONSHIP game, but what helped him was his coach calling some running plays. For example, SB: 3 MIN left in 4th and Giants trailing 15-17. the last 3 plays was Bradshaw 6 yds, Bradshaw 1 yard, Bradshaw 7 yd TOUCHDOWN, now NFC game Giants and 49ers tied at 17 in OT last 3 plays Bradshaw 8 yds, Bradshaw 6 yds, Bradshaw 4 yds Field goal. 2 playoff games a QB was clutch and did not throw an int in the last drive now would Vick won any of these games, probally not cause they did blitz, but Reid would have passed every play. passing league but SB champions still run it down your throat
Peyton MAnning while QB made Howard Mudd the OL Guru..
Look at the Colt’s OL during hit’s heydey.. A very good Center in Saturday and a good LT , the rest were jounermen but because they had Manning to get rid of the ball in 3 Seconds and who can dissect a Defense preobably better than anyone else in NFL History, Mudd looked like an All_Star Coach..
I am not saying MUdd is a poopr coach, but look who he had running the OFfense for him in Peyton Manning, everyone on that Team looked good from the WR’.TE,RB’s etc,etc .. remember RB Anthony Mungro..Good Grief..
are you saying MV isn’t as bright or good as P. Manning? blasphome!
are you saying a great QB makes the entire team, and even individuals look better than they are???? damn hell is freezing over HAC agrees w/paul
Ummm what you to knuckleheads fail to digest is, the personnel on the line…how about a line full of backups?
I think that we also need to face facts that McCoy also made the O-line look very good last year, because he was dodging tackles in the backfield pretty consistently. I am not saying that they were bad, but he made them look better than they really are.
All-22: Why the Eagles Failed In the Red Zone
Here’s the All-22 review of the Eagles’ offense, with a focus on why the team failed to score a touchdown on five trips inside the red zone against the Saints.
Play 1: On the first play of the game, Michael Vick might have been better off using DeSean Jackson as a decoy and going to Jeremy Maclin
Maclin’s got all kinds of space in the middle of the field. This would have been an easy 15-yard gain to start the drive off. Instead, Vick takes a shot with Jackson. And to be fair, the decision is defensible. Jackson’s running away from the safety. If he can create some separation, the Eagles have a chance at a big play. But cornerback Patrick Robinson did a good job in coverage.
Play 2: Later on the first drive, the Eagles had a stretch of three straight sacks. The second one, by Brodrick Bunkley, was a direct result of defensive end Will Smith beating King Dunlap. Had the left tackle done a better job, the Eagles would have had a shot at a huge gain.
After the play-fake, Bryce Brown went out into his route, and there were zero Saints defenders nearby. If Vick’s able to get him the ball, it’s a big play. Maybe even a touchdown if Brown makes a man miss. But instead, Vick had pressure in his face, tried to scramble and took the sack.
Play 3: The first red-zone trip resulted in a pick-six. And while there are certainly things to criticize Vick about in this game (see below), I don’t know that this play is really one of them. He knew the blitz was coming and got rid of the ball quickly. Here’s a look
I actually buy the explanation from Vick and Andy Reid that they thought Brent Celek was held. You’re not going to get every call, but this play draws a flag more often than not. With Celek blanketed, Vick’s throw had to be to the outside. And if the tight end doesn’t get held, we might be talking about what a good job Vick did of fitting it into a tight window.
You can see his other options on the play. It looked like he wanted to go to Clay Harbor (blue arrow) with his first read. Harbor’s open in front of the defender, but the safety blitzing from that side likely got in Vick’s way, and he couldn’t attempt the throw. In the middle of the field, Jackson is covered. On the right, Maclin has some room, but I’m not sure Vick could have turned around and gotten him the ball without first getting crushed.
Play 4: On red-zone trip number two, the Eagles went to the old reliable shovel pass. Perhaps you recall them using this once or twice over the years? The play here requires two things to take place to be successful. One is that the linebacker goes with Stanley Havili into the flat. The other is that right guard Dennis Kelly executes his block
If one of the two things happens, maybe McCoy can make something out of nothing, which he is asked to do all the time anyway. But instead, neither of the two happen
McCoy gets crushed for no gain. I’ve heard some argue that this play was too predictable, and I think that’s fair. The linebacker kept his eyes on McCoy the whole time and was able to make a play. The Eagles certainly did not catch the Saints off-guard.
Play 5: I will fully admit that I know far less about scheme than NFL coaches. But I can’t figure out how this 3rd-and-11 setup from the second quarter makes any sense. The Eagles go with an empty backfield and five receivers
The offense had trouble protecting Vick all game long (all season long?) up to this point. The Saints were showing blitz, meaning he’d likely have to get rid of the ball quickly. But the Eagles needed 11 yards for a first down, so right away, that doesn’t seem like a recipe for success. And it wasn’t
Three of the receivers (red boxes) are running vertical routes and are nowhere close to being open by the time Vick has to get rid of the ball. Maclin (yellow circle) isn’t open either, and even if he was, he’s not in a position to pick up a first down. So Vick fires it to Jason Avant for what would have been about a 2-yard gain had it been completed.
Nothing about this play made sense to me. If someone can help me out, chime in.
Play 6: After the special-teams takeaway, the Eagles had a chance to make it a 21-17 game. On first down, they got what they wanted too. Here, you’ll see Maclin wide open on the post
The cornerback is trailing him, and the safety is occupied by Jackson. This should be a touchdown, but Vick tucks the ball and takes off for 14 yards. The Saints blitzed, and Vick did not have a clean pocket. But if he had kept his eyes downfield when he started to scramble, he would have seen Maclin
On one hand, Vick left a touchdown on the field. On the other hand, is it really reasonable to expect him to be patient here, given the beating he’d taken all game long? This play’s a pretty good example of why the offense is such a mess right now.
Play 7: Since going with the empty backfield made so much sense earlier, the Eagles try it again. The Saints show six at the line of scrimmage, but the key is they only rush five. One linebacker drops back into coverage.
Of course, the Eagles do not know the linebacker is going to drop back when the ball is snapped, so they slide protection to the right and let the defensive end come unblocked. Vick’s hoping to go to Celek, but because the linebacker dropped back, a throw to the tight end would likely result in a turnover. In a way, Vick shows progress here for not forcing it.
As you can see, nowhere to go with the football. The sack occurs (unofficially) 1.9 seconds after the ball is snapped. No chance.
Play 8: On the very next play, Vick has Maclin on the post in the end zone again. He’s got the cornerback trailing.
Watching live, I thought this was just a throw that Vick sailed. But the safety dropping adds to the degree of difficulty. And the result is an incompletion. It also doesn’t help that Dallas Reynolds gets beat and Vick gets hit (again) as he got rid of the ball.
Play 9: There’s at least one sack (actually two) we can say definitively was on Vick. Here, he’s got Harbor running across the middle of the field, but doesn’t pull the trigger
He had about 3.6 seconds before he was sacked. The Saints only rushed four. This is a play Vick’s got to make.
Play 10: On the fourth red-zone trip, Vick missed a potential touchdown on what would have been an easy throw.
McCoy (red circle) is all by himself in the flat. There are no defenders to that side of the field. At the very least, he gets inside the 10. There’s a good chance he scores. But Vick launches one out of the back of the end zone for Jackson instead. This one’s on the quarterback. It was a four-man rush without pressure.
After this play, the Eagles just imploded. Demetress Bell had two penalties and allowed a sack. McCoy had a drop. And Celek fumbled.
On the fifth red-zone trip, which took place when the game was essentially over, Harbor and Avant had drops.
Damn ..I didn’t space shyt out …MY BAD
All-22: Why the Eagles Failed In the Red Zone
Here’s the All-22 review of the Eagles’ offense, with a focus on why the team failed to score a touchdown on five trips inside the red zone against the Saints.
Play 1: On the first play of the game, Michael Vick might have been better off using DeSean Jackson as a decoy and going to Jeremy Maclin
Maclin’s got all kinds of space in the middle of the field. This would have been an easy 15-yard gain to start the drive off. Instead, Vick takes a shot with Jackson. And to be fair, the decision is defensible. Jackson’s running away from the safety. If he can create some separation, the Eagles have a chance at a big play. But cornerback Patrick Robinson did a good job in coverage.
Play 2: Later on the first drive, the Eagles had a stretch of three straight sacks. The second one, by Brodrick Bunkley, was a direct result of defensive end Will Smith beating King Dunlap. Had the left tackle done a better job, the Eagles would have had a shot at a huge gain.
After the play-fake, Bryce Brown went out into his route, and there were zero Saints defenders nearby. If Vick’s able to get him the ball, it’s a big play. Maybe even a touchdown if Brown makes a man miss. But instead, Vick had pressure in his face, tried to scramble and took the sack.
Play 3: The first red-zone trip resulted in a pick-six. And while there are certainly things to criticize Vick about in this game (see below), I don’t know that this play is really one of them. He knew the blitz was coming and got rid of the ball quickly. Here’s a look
I actually buy the explanation from Vick and Andy Reid that they thought Brent Celek was held. You’re not going to get every call, but this play draws a flag more often than not. With Celek blanketed, Vick’s throw had to be to the outside. And if the tight end doesn’t get held, we might be talking about what a good job Vick did of fitting it into a tight window.
You can see his other options on the play. It looked like he wanted to go to Clay Harbor (blue arrow) with his first read. Harbor’s open in front of the defender, but the safety blitzing from that side likely got in Vick’s way, and he couldn’t attempt the throw. In the middle of the field, Jackson is covered. On the right, Maclin has some room, but I’m not sure Vick could have turned around and gotten him the ball without first getting crushed.
Play 4: On red-zone trip number two, the Eagles went to the old reliable shovel pass. Perhaps you recall them using this once or twice over the years? The play here requires two things to take place to be successful. One is that the linebacker goes with Stanley Havili into the flat. The other is that right guard Dennis Kelly executes his block
If one of the two things happens, maybe McCoy can make something out of nothing, which he is asked to do all the time anyway. But instead, neither of the two happen
McCoy gets crushed for no gain. I’ve heard some argue that this play was too predictable, and I think that’s fair. The linebacker kept his eyes on McCoy the whole time and was able to make a play. The Eagles certainly did not catch the Saints off-guard.
Play 5: I will fully admit that I know far less about scheme than NFL coaches. But I can’t figure out how this 3rd-and-11 setup from the second quarter makes any sense. The Eagles go with an empty backfield and five receivers
The offense had trouble protecting Vick all game long (all season long?) up to this point. The Saints were showing blitz, meaning he’d likely have to get rid of the ball quickly. But the Eagles needed 11 yards for a first down, so right away, that doesn’t seem like a recipe for success. And it wasn’t
Three of the receivers (red boxes) are running vertical routes and are nowhere close to being open by the time Vick has to get rid of the ball. Maclin (yellow circle) isn’t open either, and even if he was, he’s not in a position to pick up a first down. So Vick fires it to Jason Avant for what would have been about a 2-yard gain had it been completed.
Nothing about this play made sense to me. If someone can help me out, chime in.
Play 6: After the special-teams takeaway, the Eagles had a chance to make it a 21-17 game. On first down, they got what they wanted too. Here, you’ll see Maclin wide open on the post
The cornerback is trailing him, and the safety is occupied by Jackson. This should be a touchdown, but Vick tucks the ball and takes off for 14 yards. The Saints blitzed, and Vick did not have a clean pocket. But if he had kept his eyes downfield when he started to scramble, he would have seen Maclin
On one hand, Vick left a touchdown on the field. On the other hand, is it really reasonable to expect him to be patient here, given the beating he’d taken all game long? This play’s a pretty good example of why the offense is such a mess right now.
Play 7: Since going with the empty backfield made so much sense earlier, the Eagles try it again. The Saints show six at the line of scrimmage, but the key is they only rush five. One linebacker drops back into coverage.
Of course, the Eagles do not know the linebacker is going to drop back when the ball is snapped, so they slide protection to the right and let the defensive end come unblocked. Vick’s hoping to go to Celek, but because the linebacker dropped back, a throw to the tight end would likely result in a turnover. In a way, Vick shows progress here for not forcing it.
As you can see, nowhere to go with the football. The sack occurs (unofficially) 1.9 seconds after the ball is snapped. No chance.
Play 8: On the very next play, Vick has Maclin on the post in the end zone again. He’s got the cornerback trailing.
Watching live, I thought this was just a throw that Vick sailed. But the safety dropping adds to the degree of difficulty. And the result is an incompletion. It also doesn’t help that Dallas Reynolds gets beat and Vick gets hit (again) as he got rid of the ball.
Play 9: There’s at least one sack (actually two) we can say definitively was on Vick. Here, he’s got Harbor running across the middle of the field, but doesn’t pull the trigger
He had about 3.6 seconds before he was sacked. The Saints only rushed four. This is a play Vick’s got to make.
Play 10: On the fourth red-zone trip, Vick missed a potential touchdown on what would have been an easy throw.
McCoy (red circle) is all by himself in the flat. There are no defenders to that side of the field. At the very least, he gets inside the 10. There’s a good chance he scores. But Vick launches one out of the back of the end zone for Jackson instead. This one’s on the quarterback. It was a four-man rush without pressure.
After this play, the Eagles just imploded. Demetress Bell had two penalties and allowed a sack. McCoy had a drop. And Celek fumbled.
On the fifth red-zone trip, which took place when the game was essentially over, Harbor and Avant had drops.
Bugsytalk… EXACTLY…. i said this about the oline last year too. McCoy had a great year running behind Peters… the rest of the line was so so…. i debated on here about this and was told over and over again that the line is making Shady better, BOGUS!!! This line as been bad for a while….. it should have been a bigger priority in the off season. and guess what…. WE STILL HAD/HAVE LOTS OF CASH LEFT.
Gotta love it… did you do this write up? its good. It covers everything… and its true. Blame all around.
phillymag.com/eagles
by Shiel Kapadia
Birds 24/7
Stevo ..It’s always good to see pics of all 22 men ..to REALLY see whats going on….
People always make assumptions of whats happening just off of the broadcast…
Go check it out it’s a great resource tool
Report: Jon Gruden could be headed to Philly
Posted by Mike Florio on November 8, 2012, 2:30 PM EST
AP
It’s been rumored for years that, if/when Eagles coach Andy Reid no longer is coaching the Eagles, former Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden could be lured back to town.
Now, Howard Eskin of WIP and FOX 29 reports that Gruden could be the next coach of the Eagles.
The move, obviously, hinges on the Eagles firing Reid. And on Gruden being interested.
Gruden has made it clear from time to time that he’ll coach again, even as ESPN has tried to make staying in the broadcast booth more and more attractive to the man who led the Bucs to a Super Bowl win a decade ago.
Some of you will scoff at Eskin’s report, given that he said last week that a quarterback change with the Eagles was “likely.” Keep in mind, however, that the Browns scoffed in June when Eskin reported that former Eagles president Joe Banner could resurface in Cleveland.
Eskin serves as the radio sideline reporter for Eagles games, so he’s plugged in. And while it doesn’t take a genius to plug Gruden’s name in to a potential vacancy in Philadelphia, Eskin’s report makes sense.
If, of course, owner Jeffrey Lurie and agent Bob LaMonte will be able to transact business after Lurie has fired Reid, a LaMonte client.
Yes, but, I’ve also read that Gruden has been quietly talking to assistants around the league to be his assistant coaches….do you know who (allegedly) the first guy he talked to was?
Juan Castillo.
That would be beyond funny if Gruden came in with Castillo in the fold.
Whoa. Berks. You’re better than this. (I hope). You bring up the last 3 plays of the SB and NFC champ to ‘prove’ that the Giants were “Run it down throats” of the teams they were playing? Not exactly…..
NFC champ – final 3 runs.
Giants got the ball at the SF 24 with 3 mins left after fumbled punt return. A 40 yrd FG to win at that point. The only logical thing to do is run and burn time to set up the short FG. Even Reid would have. (though funny in that same situation this year the NYG passed vs the Birds otherwise we’d be 2-6)
Do you know how their other plays went in that OT?? pass pass run pass pass run pass pass pass pass (not quite running it down anyone’s throats)
As for the Superbowl….that whole…look at the last 3 plays “running it down their throats” business is disingenuous.
NYG had 1st and goal with just over 1 min left. (BTW they had got that first down with a pass and then only ran 2 runs) Down 2pts FG wins it. NE only had 2 TO left. Bradshaw ran for 1 yrd and NE took a timout. Only 1 left. They were completely fucked at this point…. You do realize that the NE Pats let the Giants score on the next play don’t you? It was their only chance. In fact, what the Giants really should have done is kneeled down 2x there and kicked the winning FG, thus keeping the ball from NE with 57 secs left (they would have instead got it back with about 10 secs).
Do you know how the Giants got to that point in the 4th?
pass run pass pass run pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass pass run pass
Running it down their throats indeed….though if I were playing the Pats, I’d pass too!
WOW LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE O LINE HERE TODAY.
I think I speak for everyone here that we all understand our O Line blows, I think our wives, kids, neighbors, handicapped and pets know this too.
I think the only people that do not know this is Mike Vick, Andy Reid and Marty.
I think everyone who has watched the eagles for more than 20 minutes this year knows the O Line stinks and yet our coaches & QB dont. What disgrace. If they realized this Vick would be throwing hot reads 80+% of the time and getting the ball out in UNDER 2 SECONDS, but they don’t and Mike regularly throws the ball in 3+ seconds.
If our coaches understood our O Line sucked they would run the ball close to our a little above 60% of the time.
We have the 3 stooges steering our ship and its headed for an iceberg.
I agree Henski, but I am sure Vick knows this all too well himself..
He has the bruises,aches and pain to show for it.. He can’t come out publicly to say this.. This is what he pays his little Brother MArcus to do…
maybe this scrub should fire the ball in under 2 seconds?
Mhenski, did you watch Monday’s night game? There were times when Vick was being pressure so quickly he had no chance…In fact, I just read a post from Gotta that states the QB was actually sacked on a play in 1.9 seconds….yes sometimes Vick holds the ball too long, but sometimes he just doesn’t have the time to throw
But realtalk…. real qb’s fire the ball off before the ball is even snapped. In fact… real QB’s score TD’s before the game starts…. lol. 1.9 seconds is a life time in todays NFL. haha…..
Those pics are fantastic. You know what I see?
Pic 1 – a guy wide open. unbelievably wide open. no throw to him
pic 2 – a guy wide upen between the hashes. no throw…and rb wide open on the right. hut throw hut throw…try it just friggin once!
pic 3.- desean is in front of his DB. throw to middle = td…instead, throw a late out
pic 4 – look how the saints are not afraid…leaving entire centre of endzone open (pic 3 also)….embarassing
pic 5 – Again – qb signal either wr on the 40s into slants…bottom wr to a slant under Celek = easy 15 yrds
pic 6 – wide open wr – great pocket
pic 7 – see that saint on the left. you know he’s coming right. theres a wr right to the left of him. Signal the wr to hook in and bang….instead he’s running an out
pic 8 – and I remember this. A throw an nflqb must make.
pic 9 – 2 guys open and a good pocket
pic 10 – I can’t even comment on this ineptitude McCoy is right f-ing in front of him
Read the post Gotta made above (there are two of them) Gotta’s post has much more detail, as it gives scenarios…not just based off the picture taken. Sis, I always knew you didnt like to read, but it may do you some good, so you don’t come off sounding like a dumb ass
wanna know what i see? A little girl crying that her dolls are on fire as the family house burns to the ground. Sorry “sis”.
Todd Bowles and Bobby April held press conferences today as well…no news on what was said in regards to the other aspects of the team?
Read the entire thing Vinnie a look from upstairs means nothing absolutely nothing if the QB doesn’t have a chance to see things. I guess with all the scoring going on in the NFL no other QB misses opportunities didn’t someone play a 7-6 game this year. The QB isn’t having a good year because of the pounding he is taking he’s not trusting his o-line plays were missed Monday because of this any QB will wilt under constant pressure.
Ya…Rivers and the rookie what’s his name in Cleveland produced that 7-6 game. Good to see you put Vick in that category.
Its not that he misses some opportunties…its that he misses the majority of them.
New QB and hits cut in half. Guaranteed.
Vinnie is Rhea Hughes on the DL…
I might laugh at that if I knew who she is
Put in foles and see how the o line magically improves, shady has no beef with this o line, as pathetic as it appears, Vick has no pocket awareness , you never see him step up in the pocket like big Ben, Brady, Eli , he is too slow to react, too dumb, that’s some real talk….