Eagles - Texans Takeaways
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| You Got Sprolesed |
> WR Damaris Johnson on the easy out for 11, as the secondary gets picked far too easily, and has for the entirety of the Kelly Era
> In the first quarter, on their first drive, Red was going to go for it on 4th and inches, but a jump off side killed that
> Honestly, given how my team defends QB sneaks on fourth and short, a false start in that situation is pretty much a turnover
> Once a game, just to set my teeth on edge, Green runs a backward throw screen for maximum danger and minimal benefit
> If you need your DL to have Full On Pro Wrestler Strut, Watt is so your man
> 3rd and 10 as Red's crowd gets loud is Foles to WR Jeremy Maclin, perfect feet for the first
> Foles scrambly, but hits Matthews on the numbers for a drop; illegal contact on Red gets 5 and a first
> 3rd and 3 is Foles to Sproles, immediate hit, but holds on and gets the first, and so nice to have him back
> CB Jonathan Joseph to a knee, because hitting Sproles is not always something that goes well for you
> Both Red starting corners out, so Foles hits Maclin in perfect stride for a 59-yard strike, and that was awesome
> While you can correctly point to Green taking advantages of injuries on that shot, the execution was strong enough to work against starting CBs, too
> Fitzpatrick for 5 yards, and the point about being on your fifth team is that you don't slide
> 3rd and 2 to keep the momentum is Fitzpatrick to WR DeAndre Hopkins for 22, just one of those back shoulder throws where the WR wins, great play by Red's true WR1
> Green can't get off the field 3rd and 18, as Foster gets a huge gain out of the draw to convert
> Just an inexcusable lapse and generous spot, not challenged, and honest, Chip, you can think about challenging on running plays
> Foster for 2, then a second sack as LB Mychal Kendricks looks quick and healthy again
> P Shane Lechler is coasting on his Oakland rep, when he was good
> Foles tries WR Riley Cooper deep, it's a terrible ball, and Red takes it back for the score
> Pressure caused the underthrow, but a brutal decision is a brutal decision
> Green didn't exactly cover themselves in glory on the pick 6 return, either
> Green 7, Red 7, and so much for anything being easy
> Foles to Cooper for the first, tight coverage, but the ball was accurate
> Cooper for another first, soft coverage on the easy screen from play action
> McCoy for nice movement and 7, then an easy conversion to Huff, plenty of opportunities in this secondary
> Of course, this assumes the QB gets rid of the damned ball; 11 yard sack taken
> 2nd and 21 is a bubble to WR Jeff Mahel for five
> 3rd and 16 from outside figgie range is another terrible sack, and Foles just isn't getting rid of the ball
> End of the first quarter, and even more grist for the When Foles Was Good / When Foles Was Bad narrative
> Foles to the locker room for X-rays and a questionable return (it's a possibly broken clavicle, which might have him out for a really long time), and that's the end of his day
> Jones sets Red back to their own 15 on what looked like a returnable ball
> Fitzpatrick misses an open Foster, then strip sacked, but ruled down (correctly); LB Brandon Graham with the tally, Kendricks so much better than last week, and just flying to the ball
> Sproles with a good return sets up the first action this year of QB Mark Sanchez, and if he plays well, This Way Lies QB Controversy
> Sanchez to Maclin for deep ball and completion, underthrown to prevent the score, but hey, 52 yards isn't bad
> Maclin with the cheap 15 yard post catch flag, not smart
> Sanchez to Sproles on the quick hitter for 7 yards, then McCoy to the 8 as tempo remains quick
> McCoy to the 4 as Fox analysts are shocked, shocked, to see that QB2 runs the offense at the same pace as QB1
> Sanchez with the bad sack to Watt as Green doesn't seem to realize that the play action center throw to the TE isn't going to work today
> 3rd and goal from the 11 is Sanchez to Matthews, perfect throw and catch, and just well done on both sides of the exchange
> Green 14, Red 7, and there are worse road situations to come in as a backup QB then a game where you aren't facing starting corners
> Parkey without a touchback, but it's bottled up at the 16 with a flag for a clip, so much better, really
> Foster for 3, then a yard loss from a 3-TE set, with Ryans owning the play
> 3rd and 8 for great field position is CB Brandon Boykin getting Johnson to the ground in the flat, great play by the CB / weak work by the WR
> Sproles with the fair catch at Green's 41, and margin / comfort is a possibility
> McCoy loses a yard as Watt owns the middle, then gets 3 as Green tries to wear Watt out with multiple tackles
> 3rd and 8 to Huff as the WR makes two men miss to convert, and this is a bad secondary
> Sproles keeps his feet and converts on the long stretch left, just so good at getting everything out of every play
> Sanchez hits Huff, who derps it into a tipped drill pick, and man alive, this offense is looking snake bit on turnovers now
> C Jason Kelce and Sanchez looking shaky on exchanges, too
> Fitzpatrick remembers he has WR Andre Johnson for 9 yards, then gives to Foster to get a first
> Foster off with a wrist issue, and that might help, too
> Fitzpatrick to Hopkins for 7 yards, with a bonus 5 for a hold on LB Trent Cole
> Defense looking like they've lost focus with the turnovers
> RB Alfred Blue loses 5, and He's No Foster
> Foster comes back on the field and goes 56 yards for the score as LB Connor Barwin gets beat on the wheel route, and this defense keeps having breathtaking lapses to ruin otherwise strong halves
> Green 14, Red 14 with 4 minutes left, and welcome to the roller coaster
> McCoy for 9, then Sanchez on the rollout to Matthews for 24, easy big yards
> Green timeout as Sanchez doesn't seem as ready on tempo
> McCoy for 5 on awkward carry, then Sanchez to TE Brent Celek for 4
> 3rd and 1 has the QB keep after play action, nice decision to just get the first
> McCoy for 4, and Green's actually eating clock to avoid another Red possession this half
> Sanchez for an awkward yard on the read, and it eats clock, but still makes me worried
> 3rd and 5 is a big damned deal, and TE Zach Ertz can't shake his man for the last yard
> 4th and 1 going for it, and McCoy barely gets it -- ballsy but it worked
> Ertz can't corral a cross, tough chance but a reasonable ball
> Green timeout on deep clock, then Sproles for 5 off a high snap
> Watt with another sack and what the hell, o-line
> Watt's a great player, but honestly, lesser guys get rung up for unsportsmanlike for nonsense like this
> Parkey on to try from 45 for the halftime lead, and connects, but Red does shifting and freezes kicker, with lots of gyrations
> Parkey hits again from 45, because he's balls like that
> Green 17, Red 14 at the half, and my laundry should be up by more, but that's the story of much of their recent play
> Parkey touchback, as Fox breathlessly reports that Chip Kelly doesn't skew down his playcalling with QB2, as if last year's work with Matt Barkley didn't answer this question already
> Foster with two carries for a first down, much more room, then uses nice patience to get five more on what could have been a loss
> Blue for 3, and it's 3rd and 2 to get off the field; Blue on the trap gets 4, and this is worrisome
> Sixth run of the drive is the first win for the defensive line
> 2nd and 9 from the gun is a nice play by CB Bradley Fletcher, who separates Johnson from the ball
> 3rd and 9 from the gun is a sack for Barwin with an offensive hold to boot, so that's a useful play by the DL; 4th Green sack
> Sproles with the fair catch at the 15, a little awkward but safe
> Watt with another sack, but defensive holding wipes it off the board; Peters just got owned
> Sanchez to Maclin for the simple check down and 10 yard
> Fumble-riffic snap and exchange, and Kelce is having a rough day
> 3rd and 8 to keep the ball is Sanchez to Sproles, who turns a 4 yard check down into a 24 yard back-breaker
> Sanchez misses Cooper, then throws into coverage and is lucky to avoid a pick; enough Cooper, honestly
> 3rd and 10 to keep the ball is more Sproles magic, with a bubble screen for 11 where he's just absurd
> Sanchez with an ugly incomplete, borderline fumbly
> McCoy for 3 on a nice surge, but no break to the second level
> 3rd and 7 from outside figgie range is an absolute gift drop of INT, as Sanchez misses the cross on pressure from Watt
> Jones to the 11, and the offense right now is just allowing one player to ruin way too much
> Foster for little as the Fox team talks about, I am not making this up, cake balls
> G Todd Herremanns out with an ankle to add to his earlier elbow problem
> Fitzpatrick to Hopkins for the first, simple turn, pressure only coming on third downs
> Foster with patience and a nice run, but holding makes it's 1st and 20
> Johnson for a small screen, he's not really shifty enough to make that work anymore, but DT Bennie Logan's face mask makes it a big play
> Fitzpatrick eludes a sack, then misses Johnson, as Graham overran the QB
> Hopkins on the simple cross for 45, and that's an absurd whiff for another monster play down the field
> CB Cary Williams avoids DPI, then Fitzpatrick misses two WRs colliding in the same spot; good comedy
> 3rd and 10 to keep Red out of the end zone is Fitzpatrick just missing Johnson in the end zone, with Williams doing just enough to not get flagged
> K Randy Bullock misses to the left, and that's another big break for a defense that's ten plays a game from being really good
> McCoy with good hole and patience for 14, then has an even better hole for 26
> RB Chris Polk on for a really nice 22 yard burst around the right side, and that was even nicer
> Polk closes the drive with an 8 yard gash right up the gut, and Watt's looking a lot less excited now
> Four plays, 70 yard, 1:24, all on the ground, and I think I just achieved footballgasm
> Green 24, Red 14, and I'm not sure you can have a better drive than that
> Parkey touchback, and no, not getting tired of that
> Foster for a loss, injury, and that might be it for him for a good long while, judging from the helmet toss
> Blue drops, and third and 11 is Fitzpatrick avoiding ridiculous pressure, but can't connect with Johnson for the save
> Cole is going to take a lot of heat for that whiff in film sessions this week
> Sproles with a credible return after some cobra shakes; Green was offside, but Red doesn't want to give Green another shot at a return or block
> Third and 8 is a don't turn it over dammit down, with Sanchez from the gun throwing the goddamned pick
> End of three quarters, and Green leads by 10, on the road, while being down 3 in turnovers -- freaking hard to do
> 3rd and 8 with Kendricks off is worrisome, and Fitzpatrick from the gun hits, get this, a wide open cross to Hopkins for 21 yards
> 2nd and 7 is huge pressure, INT for Ryans, but the LB fumbles the damned ball, and Red recovers
> Ryans also down after the play with an ankle problem, adding absurd insult to injury
> Even more annoying after all that is the fact that two turnovers on the same play gives Red a fresh first down
> Blue for nothing, then Fitzpatrick to Hopkins for the touchdown, and S Earl Wolff with the extra F for failure
> Green 24, Red 21, and between the injuries and possible collapse with lead, we were staring down the barrel of a really devastating loss
> For those who care to track such things, Ryans with the fourth Green turnover of the day
> McCoy loses one on the long left stretch, then gets five
> Third and For The Love Of God, Don't Turn The Ball Over is Sanchez from the gun to Sproles, who doesn't make the catch... and man alive, did he have a lot of room ahead of him, but the flag saves it
> Screen to Maclin clicks for 21, and Kelce is in front of the WR to make blocks, possibly by using powers of teleportation
> Sanchez to Mahel for 8 as tempo stays up, but the next snap takes forever with a procedure call
> It's telling that Fox was complimenting Sanchez for taking his time up to the moment that the procedure flag was dropped
> 2nd and 7 is McCoy for the first, up the middle, and that was bursty
> McCoy for 2 and a nice little bit of clock burn here
> Another Red man down, and if this game was on turf, it would be getting blamed for it
> Polk for 7 fullbackish yards, which is a compliment, yes
> Third and 1 to Polk again to convert, and it's nice to have his power back in the world
> Fox complaining about burning clock in the fourth quarter, um, for some reason
> Sanchez for 3 yards on a bootleg, stays in bounds, wisely
> Detention Mode gets more obvious, and Huff gets a first down on a bubble screen, nice push through by the big rookie
> Detention Mode confuses Fox, and McCoy gets 5, then just a yard more
> Third and 4 from the Red 7 with less than 5 minutes left is all kinds of a big damned deal, and it's Sanchez to Celek just short of the marker
> Kelly going for it on fourth and a yard
> Tempo isn't great, and Red slows it down even more with a timeout
> Green still going for it after the timeout, as scary as it gets
> 2 WRs, Polk in, and the RB looks like he got it, though Red is celebrating
> >Just< got it, by the nose of the football, and wow, was that close
> Red challenge of the spot, just to extend the drama
> Challenge wasted, and that helps a little more
> False start is just terrible by T Lane Johnson, and ye gads, man
> Sanchez to Maclin in the end zone corner for a great play by the QB and WR, and a terrible back to the ball read by the corner
> Green 31, Red 21 with 3:50 left, and disaster may be averted after all
> Maclin's one-year make-good contract is looking like one hell of a move by the WR
> Ruling reviewed, just to give Red Fan more chance to yell at the refs
> That's an 8-minute long clock-killing drive for the win, which hardly seems possible for this team
> Let's not forget that life gets so much harder with a worse spot
> Fitzpatrick to Hopkins for a first and out of bounds, then gets 7 and out of bounds as the defense needs to buckle down
> QB takes another 16 on scamper power, and he's decisive on those
> Another 5 for the QB as the DL keeps missing sacks
> Short hop to Hopkins, near pick into coverage
> Fourth and 5 and end the damned game is Fitzpatrick with a deflection from (of course) Barwin, and that's the win
> Polk for 5 to the 2-minute warning, Polk for 4 and Red's last timeout, Polk for 2 and killshot
> Monster work by the young back, and as long as he stays healthy, he's just tons of fun
> Sanchez sits on it, and that's it
> Green is 10-0 against Houston Football, which is fun and useless information
> As useful as the closing drive was, and as big as it is to be 6-2 now... injuries and turnovers are damned worrisome
> Nearly 500 yards and 31 points of offense with 4 turnovers (3 on offense) does speak to some good work, though
> Next week is a MNFer against the not very good Panthers, while Dallas is in Jacksonville for what should be a get-well game
> If the season ended today, they'd be the 3rd seed and hosting the (gulp) Packers, so, um, yeah, a lot still to do
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