Eagles - Titans Takeaways
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| Trap Games Are Bullsquat |
> This, of course, pre-supposes the idea that in a league where double-digit upsets are a weekly occurrence, that there is such a thing as truly good and truly bad teams
> The Titans win the toss and defer, KR Josh Huff continues the ST's magical year with a 107-yard touchdown return, and honestly, on some level, that was the game
> The rookie showed excellent strength in the straight arm to close the deal on the kicker and gunner, and yeah, that helps to start to redeem his year
> STer Brandon Graham with the close and pre-20 tackle, and yes, this is ST Dominance
> QB Zach Mettenberger was mounted on his first third down conversion attempt by LB Connor Barwin, doing his unspayed dog imitation
> McCoy for 15 on dominant blocking to the right, and honestly, any RB in the NFL can hit that hole
> QB Mark Sanchez to the crazy open TE Brent Celek for 16 cotton-soft yards, and yes, Celek is burying TE Zach Ertz with purpose
> Sanchez rolls and throws one away on a CB blitz, then it's McCoy for another big chunk of 12, with a near fumble at the close
> McCoy for 3 on jumps and jukes, then Sproles goes left and scores to continue his year of ridiculous touchdowns to touches ratio
> After Sproles scored, the Eagles have outscored the rest of the NFL, 14-6
> So, um, not much of a Trap Game, really
> Parkey with a short for him kickoff, and KR Leon Washington gets 45 yards on a lack of tackling return
> RB Bishop Sankey for 4, then 3, reasonable defensive line work on both plays
> 3rd and 3 and continue the runaway is Mettenberger to WR Justin Hunter, with clear DPI going uncalled, and if the refs are going to allow that, Green might win a playoff game after all
> The refs quickly made up for that with a phantom OPI call on McCoy that ruined a third down conversion
> This game would have been a full half of garbage time, rather than just a quarter, if PR Dexter McCluster hadn't picked up a room service hop off a muffed punt
> Blue's first three drives resulted in no first downs, and yeah, the defense was a little pissy after that Packer game
> CBS went to split screen to try to keep up with tempo, and mostly failed
> WR Brad Smith got de-cleated and hurt on a play that somehow wasn't a flag, with DPI on some other guy
> Sanchez almost had Mathews for another score, but a drop on contact took four points off the board
> Really nice game for LB Brandon Graham, who stopped Sankey for a loss of 3 by throwing his OL at him
> RB/WR/STer Dexter McCluster took a snap away from Mettenberger for a gain of three, on a play that looked ugly and random
> Sanchez's first INT of the day was bad for both him and WR Riley Cooper, who looked like he gave up on the throw
> Two plays later, Blue got back in the game on a 40-yard lucky tip to WR Justin Hunter
> Really lucky play for the road team, but just that quickly, it's a 1-play game
> McCoy went for 53 yards on great feet and acceleration, but true to his year, it didn't end with a a score or sexiness
> Sproles with his usual magic to convert a third and four, and honestly, he's just been absurdly good this year
> Blue uses RB Bishop Sankey to run back kicks, which seems like an absurd use of resources, given how he's the only good RB on the roster
> Mettenberger to Walker for 68 inexcusable yards, with LB Emmanuael Acho getting roasted, and yeah, Green misses LB DeMecco Ryans a lot
> Blue benefited from a bailout face mask on DE Vinny Curry, and honestly, if you are a QB, it makes sense to just duck and aim for face for hands when your line gets overwhelmed
> Greene gets a couple on poor tackling, then gets in with help from the heavy package, and why more teams don't do that against my laundry, I have no idea
> Thanks to two offensive plays and a flag, this blowout game is 20-14
> Huff's only kickoff return was his first one, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense
> Matthews might have the best hand fighting skills on the team as a rookie, which he showed on a cross for 20
> Third and 4 from deep figgie range is Sanchez to Ertz, who converts with some physicality
> Live play happens before a replay, which is fun; Ertz for 3 more before Griffin goes down with an ugly arm issue
> McCoy for a yard, then Sanchez to Cooper on a nice rollout, out at the 2
> Quick tempo give to McCoy, walks in for the score, and I love running plays against exhausted defenses from quick counts
> I don't know if TE Delanie Walker really is this good, but he's made himself into a player by working on his hands
> Kelly got Green another possession with aggressive timeouts at the end of the half
> The nice part about a high tempo offense is that you don't need to freak out and do different stuff late in a half
> Sanchez to Matthews, scrambles and stays alive, and converts nicely off a blitz
> Sproles made a great play to get 10 yards and out of bounds with no timeouts left
> Sanchez misses Maclin badly on an out, only to throw the exact same play again and have it work out
> Parkey from 49 missed by hitting an upright, preventing the Easy Cover for a few more minutes
> Funky turnover off a tipped ball, catch by an OL fumble and recovery by S Nate Allen, and more proof that OL should never handle the ball
> McCoy was just toying with the defenders at the close of a 14-yard run
> Sanchez's touchdown throw to TE James Casey, nice ball off play action, was the kind of throw that tricks people into thinking he might be more than a back up
> LB Trent Cole with the avalanche sack, backed up on the next play by a sack for DE Vinny Curry (wiped off with a hold), than another sack for Cole, and he's loving this game for his numbers
> I don't have much use for WR Riley Cooper, but at least he finished a play with violence to get the first before flopping like a Euro soccer player
> McCoy for 4 and 0, then Sanchez throws a terrible pick on a middle overthrow, and dear Lord in heaven, he's still Mark Sanchez
> Luckily, Blue gives the ball right back, as Sankey gives it up on pressure from DT Bennie Logan
> Sproles for 13 on a downright Matrix-esque play where he abused Titans S Michael Griffith
> It says something about how good Parkey has been this year that he looked off while going 4 for 5 on FGs
> Sanchez with his weekly near disaster on a shotgun snap, just able to throw it away, and it's amazing how a team this bad in the red zone can still score this many points
> Mettenberger to Wright on a cross for 28, sigh, this secondary
> Hunter has obvious physical gifts, but has no real clue how to use them yet
> Garbage time in this game was filled with all kinds of awkwardness, hurt feelings and head-scratching as to why Kelly didn't run clock
> Why Sanchez is trying to get Maclin for 50 late in the game with a huge lead, I'll never know
> It's as if Kelly has all of his guys in fantasy, and those on the other team, too
> RB Dexter McCluster's score ruined someone's fantasy league day
> Green actually huddled on a couple of plays late in this one, and yes, it was awkward for everyone
> Parkey's final figgie of the day from 50 was his best ball of the day, and if you had him in fantasy this week, you won
> Mettenberger finally throws a pick to CB Brandon Boykin, and yeah, not that many people left in the building to see that, actually
> 10 straight wins at home now, not that the Linc still feels like a terribly imposing place to play, really
> Green moves to 8-3, Kelly has one more I Beat Bad Teams moment, and we're all set up for Thanksgiving meaning way too much, assuming Dallas doesn't spit the bit against New York tonight
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