Sunday, October 5, 2014

Eagles - Rams Takeaways

The STs Are All Right
> I'm pretty sure that if you handcuffed Tony Siragusa, he could not talk

> Lots of pinkwashig on the field, so, um, great, and it hardly matters that the Komen Fund is corrupt, spends way too little on actual research and works against reproductive choice, or that the NFL's PR on women post Ricegate is a bad joke

> The Rams haven't gotten the memo that beating the Eagles with TEs is passe

> First series ends with a three and out with CB Cary Williams separates WR Kenny Britt from the ball, and could have been a fumble

> Second straight week with a punt block for touchdown, and wow, this unit is just historic right now

> 7-0 Green after 23 seconds of play is hard to do

> Low line drive kick from K Cody Parkey actually allows a return, but that's kind of OK, the way STs are working

> Davis to RB Zac Stacy for the way too easy first down pick up stops the Green wave, and makes me wonder if we're going to see long delay before offense

> LB Casey Matthews had a good play, which is the kind of thing we need to note and appreciate on principle

> Davis channeling Super Mario leads to a sack by LB Connor Barwin

> Poor punt continues the Rams' ST bad day, and Green starts at their own 34

> QB Nick Foles to WR Jordan Matthews for a first down with tempo

> RB LeSean McCoy with a loss on his first carry, then only gets three on second, sigh

> 3rd and long sees Foles hold it too long, gamble into contact, and connect with TE Zach Ertz for the big gain anyway

> RB Darren Sproles with the bigger hole and gain, which is happening a lot lately

> TE Brent Celek with the well-designed short screen, and it's rolling now

> Foles to WR Riley Cooper with absolute speed, and it's nice to have an offensive line again

> Ertz with a drop, which is why he wasn't a first round pick

> McCoy hopping before carries, which is a slight tell, really

> Third and goal is a weak incomplete, and has been an issue this year

> Parkey connects from 26, he's 9 of 10 for the year, and it's 10-0 Green

> Fox shows that the Liberty Bell is still in town, so we're just a cheese steak shot away from completing Cliche TV requirements

> TE Lance Kendricks with his second false start penalty, and coming off the bye hasn't helped Blue so far

> WR Brian Quick is broken up by CB Bradley Fletcher, great close by the corner who has struggled this year

> Third and 12 to stop a runaway is Davis sliding too soon to not get the first, and another Blue gift

> P Johnny Hekker gives Sproles an opportunity, and he gets loose, with Blue adding 15 at the end of the play for cheap shotting STer Brad Smith, and sure, Jeff Fisher is a good coach

> Foles to WR Jeremy Maclin for 5, then barely avoids a pick on second -- yeesh

> Slow tempo on third, but Foles finds McCoy split out for the first

> Empty backfield on first isn't exactly showing faith in the running game

> Foles to Matthews for 3 as free run on Foles is worrisome

> Third and five to avoid long figgie has Foles floating a jump ball on pressure to Ertz, who draws the flag... but Foles would have been picked by now by a good team

> Foles and Maclin can't connect, then McCoy for four as he actually makes a man miss

> Third and 6 is pressure and an incomplete, and more red zone problems

> T Lane Johnson with poor technique on that play in particular

> Parkey connects, and it's 13-0 Green

> Davis to Kendricks in heavy coverage goes for 21, and could have easily been picked

> Stacy for a few gets Blue into the Green side of the field for the first time

> 2nd and 4 from a 1 WR line up is, surprise, a running play, and Stacy dominates Williams for the first

> Davis uses a lot of clock and settles for a covered screen, which OLB Brandon Graham covers for a loss to end the quarter

> Five straight quarters of Green having solid defense is kind of nice

> Third and 10 to prevent a figgie is another motion flag, Blue's fifth flag in 15+ minutes, and wow

> Third and 15 to TE Jared Cook is on the money, but the receiver can't control it, and more Blue gifts

> Hekker drops it at the five nicely, and the defense has done the job so far, albeit with assistance

> Foles to Maclin off play action for 23 flips the field quickly

> McCoy spends time and yards trying to make the entire Blue team miss, then fumbles, and that's about as bad of a play as an NFL RB can make

> At this point, bench time for McCoy would be completely warranted, and that's the 10th Green turnover in 5 games

> Stacy for 2, then a scattered incomplete to set up 3rd and 8

> Davis to Cook for Blue's first conversion on third, as S Nate Allen got a mite picked

> Stacy stopped, then a Barwin deflection to set up third and goal

> Great blitz and sack by DE Vinny Curry, DT Fletcher Cox recovers, and that was all kinds of manly for Green

> Just perfect technique and execution by Curry to create the turnover

> Eagle Fan starting to really lose patience with McCoy dancing for nothing or worse

> Cooper for little, and it's third and long, but Blue's 6th flag of the day (a jump by DL Robert Quinn) helps

> Foles to Matthews for 12 yards of hand fight

> Foles tries Maclin for the long ball, but it's covered and a relatively easy pick for Blue CB EJ Gaines, and that long ball hasn't been good all year

> Decent arm punt, at least

> DT Beau Allen with good penetration and pressure on first, but that pink hair tie and braid isn't a good look

> RB Bennie Cunningham with a nice burst and first down conversion

> 3rd and 5 after two more Cunningham runs, and yes, OC Brian Schottenheimer is kind of predictable

> WR Brian Quick finally gets a ball and the first

> Blue with an unconscionable timeout because they can't get a play called in time, as Cook throws a mini-fit

> Cook dances the sideline for 14, and that's why he's in the NFL despite being a head case

> Quick's end-around comes back on a hold, and LB Emmanual Acho needs attention, which is a real worry given the lack of depth at MLB

> WR Steadman Bailey with an easy pitch and catch for 13

> WR Kenny Britt owns Williams for 32 yards on a fly, as the CB never sees the ball in flight

> Cunningham for a yard, then Davis to RB Trey Watts on the bubble screen for little, very easy to diagnose

> Third and goal is Davis to Quick after working off pressure for the score, and we've got a ball game

> Green 13, Blue 7, and another half where the offense hasn't done very much

> McCoy for 19 easy ones up the middle, and hey, almost looks like him

> Motion flag, then McCoy for a meh screen

> Second and 13 is a free play and screen to Maclin for the first, as the DB blows it

> WR Josh Huff's first NFL catch is a screen for four, and that's the two minute warning

> McCoy for 7 and a first, officially hopeful

> Clock running but Green with three timeouts

> Cooper with an idiotic offsides off motion, and yeesh

> Foles misses Ertz on a deep ball, and that was open, but missed by a lot by the QB

> Foles to Matthews on lots of pocket dancing

> Third and 6 is a give to Sproles, who gets it inside, and that was nifty

> Foles to Celek for 5 stops the clock with 41 seconds in the half, Green needing the TD to make the offense feel competent

> Foles to McCoy, simple inside, first down and timeout

> First good series for McCoy in forever

> Foles to Cooper, who attacks the ball in the air and snatches it for the score

> First time in 2014 that the 2013 Cooper has shown up

> 11 plays, 80 yards, 3 minutes, and yeah, this offense is fun when it's running

> Green 20, Blue 7 with 30 seconds left, and they get the ball to start the second

> Parkey with a relatively thin kickoff, but the coverage is good

> Fisher has two timeouts, but no taste for anything but a lack of risk, so that's it for the half

> McCoy for 3 as T Jason Peters needs to limp around again

> Foles to Maclin for a reasonable gain to set up third and one

> McCoy converts on third and one with a solid middle run, no dancing

> McCoy loses to the right as T Lane Johnson shows more rust

> McCoy for 10, most of it by the RB, but C David Molk with a rare nice moment

> Foles is too deliberate on third and 3, and it's a punt

> P Donnie Jones gives PR Tayvon Austin a chance, but the world's most obvious clip happens for more Blue gifting

> LB Trent Cole got a sack and strip on his birthday, with DT Cedric Thornton getting the ball and score

> Worst play ever by T Jake Long, who got beat on the play by LB Trent Cole, then couldn't collect the ball and prevent the score

> Green 27, Blue 7, and this isn't the kind of blowout that was expected, but hey, still a blowout

> Davis to Britt, then Stacy, and Blue's not dead yet

> Stacy for 8 out of smashmouth running, and that's an odd formation down 20 in the third

> Cunningham for the first, and had this been on the opening drive, it would have made a lot more sense

> Davis wants Cook, but MLB DeMeco Ryans just knocks him down inside the chuck zone for funsies, since that's legal and all

> Fletcher disrupts to set up third and long as Britt plays DB

> Davis and Quick can't connect after a near disaster snap, and that's more on the WR than the QB

> Hekker with a great punt, and Green has bad field position again; other than the block, the P has been good, but the block trumps

> McCoy for a very anxious yard, as he almost dances into a safety

> Gain of seven with space internally as the run game looks a little more competent

> Third and 2 is a false start on Cooper, his second of the day

> Third and 7 is Foles to Ertz, perfect for the first, nice catch by the TE

> Foles to Maclin is ruled incomplete, and hard to imagine, but not worth a challenge
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> McCoy for a yard on the split draw

> Third and nine is easy to Ertz, with a defensive hold waved off

> It's nice to have a matchup nightmare at TE

> Two more plays of RB Give Up sets up 3rd and 13

> Foles to Cooper is lucky to not be a pick, as Foles goes sideways into coverage

> Jones with a deep one, and the STs swallow up WR/PR Tayvon Austin, who really isn't good enough to start in the NFL

> Davis to Stacy for 12, then 4 more on the ground, and if Blue was smart, they would have gone for this kind of power game when it was close early

> Davis misses Cook, and while he's been under pressure, the completion percentage that the QB had coming into this game looks like small sample size fluke

> Third and 6 with 10 on the line results in a simple cross to Austin, who takes a hit from Allen at the sideline, but still has 21 yards

> Bailey for a few, but Stacy fumbles off a poke by OLB Brandon Graham

> Thornton nearly takes it to the house, but S Malcolm Jenkins misses the block to get yet another defensive score

> Foles underthrows Matthews at the end zone, and yeesh, kid, I can hear the week of sports talk trashing already

> Off play action, Foles finds an embarrasingly open Maclin, and it's 33-7 Green, as Blue still seems on the bye week

> If you are looking for something to criticize on STs, Parkey hasn't had a great day on getting touchbacks

> Quick for 25 as the defense seems to be looking for highlight plays

> WR Austin Pettis as Matthews gets a weak flag

> Davis shows good wheels for a first, and inaccuracy aside, he's got some NFL tools

> Davis into the pressure of first round whiff Marcus Smith for a first, then it's Cunningham for an easy cutback score

> Green 34, Blue 14, just a lack of concentration on most of that drive by the home team

> McCoy for 8 to close the quarter, then 5 to get the first, as the offense doesn't go into full Detention Mode just yet

> McCoy and Sproles set up third and 4, Foles heaves one up down the field and draws an illegal contact flag, another poor choice by the QB that doesn't get punished

> Simply holding the ball gets another minute off the clock by now, and appears to be something they forgot how to do since 2013

> McCoy to midfield, and now has 74 yards and increasing amounts of hope

> Polk out, which at least makes some sense as to why he hasn't gotten any offenaive snaps

> Foles with a nice run for the first, and then an absurd fumble that called to mind the worst days of Mike Vick

> I get that the QB was going to regress from last year's turnover-free performance, but this is getting ridiculous

> Still a game with 12 minutes left, for no good reason at all

> Pettis with a drop, and it really doesn't seem like Blue has a WR not named Quick

> Davis for 7 on a slide that a star QB would draw a flag on contact

> Third and 3 to Cook converts and keeps this a game

> DT Brandon Bair with a nice deflection to stop a screen

> Davis tries Bailey deep, no separation, could have been a pick

> Austin for a first and This Ain't Over

> Cunningham for a first with good balance, and I think I like him better than Stacy

> I'm pretty sure that every good moment in Britt's terrible career has come against my laundry, who gathers in a TD heave on third and long

> Terrible play by Fletcher, who has otherwise had a nice game

> Green 34, Blue 20, and it's still very much a game

> No offsides kick, and Sproles gets it to the 29, so that's a ST mistake by Blue

> Foles to Cooper, who gets a first down, but somehow does not know to fall down in bounds with a lead late

> McCoy for three, clock running but not for very long

> McCoy dances and loses, and it's third and long and all kinds of uneasiness in the stadium

> Foles tries Matthews on a not nearly long enough crossing pattern, which doesn't kill clock or even stay complete

> Bad punt by Jones, and the Rams have it at their 25 with 7 minutes left, down 13

> With 7 minutes left, we get the inevitable food montage so Cliche Complete

> Davis to Cunningham for a first as the collapse continues

> Britt draws PI on Fletcher for a big penalty, and that's way too easy

> Pettis for 8 instead of a sack from pressure

> Cunningham for a first down and gets out of bounds, and that's 50 yards in less than a minute

> Pettis on a screen, then Watts for another first down on a cross, and this drive could not have been easier

> Davis with 7 straight completions as Quick scores on the back shoulder catch, and the collapse is nearly complete

> Williams with token coverage, and it's Green 34, Blue 28 with 4:41 left

> Hardcore booing now, all of it deserved

> Offense has to win this now

> McCoy for three from a power formation and huddling... then Green has to call timeout because the game hasn't gotten maddening enough yet

> McCoy for four as he gets past initial contact, Blue timeout

> Third and 3 means everything, and it's Sproles for 26 off an inside handoff, and a major sigh of relief

> Should be a killshot, but heaven knows with this team right now

> Sproles again for 3, decent clock burn for once, and Sproles for a yard with Blue's second time out

> Third and 6 could end things with 2:06 left could end it... but Sproles can't make magic again, and it's the 2-minute warning

> Note that in killshot have to have it carries, it's Sproles and not McCoy

> Jones with his best punt of the day, and it takes 13 seconds while being down at the 7

> On the defense to not give up a touchdown and lose the game and division lead

> Davis to Quick for 42 yards with Jenkins losing the ball in the air somehow

> Loss to Cunningham on pressure, then Pettis drops an easy ball, big Blue gift

> Third and 8 with 48 secodns left, Pettis can't bring it down, Blue favor to go away from Quick as CB Brandon Boykin separates the ball

> Fourth and 8 with 42 seconds left, have to end this now... and it's a delay flag to make it 4th and 13

> 4th and 13 has to have, and Davis misses Quick on a center heave

> A historic collapse is averted on another Blue gift

> My laundry is lucky, lucky, lucky, and also 4-1... but also now in a division that looks oddly resurgent

> The offense scored 20 points with 3 turnovers in a home game where the offensive line didn't give up sacks, and opened some holes for the running game

> For the third straight game, the best RB on the team was Sproles and it wasn't close

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