Eagles - Giants Diary
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| Run Snail Run |
> PR Darren Sproles is back to make a fair catch; so glad he's not seriously hurt
> T Lane Johnson back tonight, which has to help
> RB Ryan Mathews back for 15 behind Johnson, and maybe it's just that simple
> QB Carson Wentz off play action to TE Brent Celek for 16, and that's probably the longest play that Celek can still make; nice work by the QB
> From the Blue 45, Mathews for 4, continuing good work from the Baltimore game
> Two more power runs moves the chains, then Wentz has all day, no targets, and enough legs to get 9
> Sproles takes it the rest of the way behind A+ blocking, and it's like September out there; Green 7, Blue 0
> QB Eli Manning takes TE Will Tye in the flat; defense is physical, responsive, unrecognizable
> Draw for RB Paul Perkins doesn't end soon enough, setting up 3rd and 4
> From the gun, Manning throws a terrible pick to Jenkins, who takes it to the house, and damn, that was too easy
> I have no idea what Manning was doing there, other than handing Green a big early lead
> RB Rashad Jennings for little after a touch back, then a force to WR Odell Beckham into heavy coverage; bad ideas, worse execution
> 3rd and 9 and continue the avalanche has Manning short hop WR Victor Cruz when a good throw moves the sticks, and this is just terrible work by the QB early
> P Brad Wing out of bounds and middling, but helped with a flag
> WR Nelson Agholor with a clear air drop; Little Nell just is, well, Little Nell
> Rollout bootleg to TE Trey Burton, who is stopped by stud S Landon Collins for little
> 3rd and All Agholor's Fault is Wentz from the gun to Sproles, but he's stopped on a great play by DB Trayvon Wade, and that's a bit of a shock; Sproles got a little greedy going for a bigger play
> P Donnie Jones does nice work, and gunner Jaylon Watkins collects it at the 3
> 2 for Perkins, then 20 as the line gets wiped; first really bad play for them, first Blue first down; big play
> Perkins loses two on sideways sloppiness, then Manning eludes pressure and gets 11; that's more mobility than he usually shows or tries
> 3rd and 1 from the gun, oddly, is Perkins to move the sticks; defense had another shot to get off the field but didn't
> Cris Collingsworth likes the Eagle LBs; not sure I share the love, or have any idea what he's seeing
> A yard for Perkins, then Manning hits Beckham on the fly, because CB Leodis McKelvin sucks, and S Rodney McLeod doesn't get there in time
> From the Green 31 with all momentum leaving, it's Jennings for an easy 10 on a draw
> Jennings for 3 on a hole a better RB would have gotten a lot more out of, then Manning tries WR Sterling Shephed in the end zone, but McKelvin gets very lucky by just running blindly at the WR to close, and having the ball hit him in the back of the head
> 9 times out of 10, that's a TD or DPI, but better lucky than good
> Honestly, McKelvin over Eric Rowe, currently starting for NE, is an indictment of DC Jim Schwartz
> Manning pressured by Cox on 3rd and forces the figgie; was a little lucky to avoid bigger issues
> K Robbie Gould connects from 35, so Blue is off the schneid
> Little Nell to the 22, doesn't trip or anything, good for Little Nell
> Mathews for a yard ends a longer than usual first quarter
> Wentz misses WR Jordan Matthews badly, and this game is turning in the wrong direction
> 3rd and 8 is a big deal with a probably tired defense, and Wentz burns a timeout on long clock; meh
> From the gun, Wentz keeps the play alive for an ungodly long time, then tries WR Bryce Treggs deep for a pick; de facto arm punt and not a great decision, but at least the QB was looking down field
> Manning tries Shepherd who doesn't catch a high ball, with Watkins not doing much in coverage
> Perkins for 4 instead of 0 as the tackling is starting to fade
> 3rd and 6 and major danger down if the defense can't get off the field quick is Manning short hopping Beckham, and Eli Face follows
> Green's MVP in this game is Manning, so far
> Wing hits a garbage punt that checks up perfectly to the Green 2; better lucky than good
> With major field position issues to overcome, Wentz tries long count, then gives to Mathews for 2; G Allen Barbre out because of course
> From the 4, Wentz audibles to a bootleg, then hits Celek on a really worrisome throw with two guys chasing him in the end zone, throwing across his body
> 3rd and 3 is a big deal, and Wentz calls another timeout while yelling at the refs; that seems odd
> From the gun, long clock, then a give to Mathews that fooled no one; 3 and out at least took a lot of time
> Jones to midfield, ball on the ground on good coverage as PR Dwayne Harris gets stripped, but Blue falls on it for a major save
> QBs so far are a combined 7 for 19 for 72 yards and 2 INTs, on a night with no wind
> Shepherd on the bubble screen for a very easy 10, then Jennings gets eaten by Cox for no gain
> Jennings on a middling screen for 3; good pursuit
> 3rd and 7 outside of figgie range is Manning on long count from the gun, way too much time to find Beckham on the cross
> From the Green 30, Manning to Cruz to the 18, and Giant Fan sings his song, because of course Giant Fan is here
> 2 for Jennings on the ground, then stopped on a screen by DT Beau Allen for a loss
> 3rd and get off the field please is Manning off his back foot on pressure from DE Brandon Graham, way overthrows Beckham, and that's another weak play by the Blue QB
> Gould hits a corkscrew kick to make it Green 14, Blue 6, and it's back to a one possession game
> Touchback, then Mathews for a yard, then 4, as the line isn't creating holes any more
> 3rd and 5 to avoid their fourth straight 3 and out is a must, and Wentz tries WR Dorial Green-Beckham on a bubble screen; the physical marvel and mental midget makes a man miss and moves the sticks
> From the Green 37, Wentz off play action runs, slides, and finally gets a flag several seconds after contact
> That's not football, but it is how the game is called now, so it's nice to see it called the same for a young athletic QB, as opposed to just the old farts
> From the Blue 40, Wentz hits Little Nell in the end zone, and wow, an actual big play to a WR
> Just bad coverage by Collins and CB Eli Apple; throw wasn't even all that great
> Sturgis banks in a PAT, and it's 21-6
> Harris to the 16 on good coverage, then Perkins for a yard
> Tye stopped in front of the sticks as Manning still has too much time
> 3rd and 3 to get off the field with enough clock and just one timeout is a big play, and Manning hits Cruz down the sideline on the same not good coverage my McKelvin and Watkins
> Perkins for 3, then Cruz again in front of the sticks
> 3rd and 2 to stop figgie chance is Manning to Shepherd, easy button at 2 minute warning
> Jennings loses to Graham on good penetration, then Mannning is high to Tye for 8
> 3rd and 6 to keep it at a long figgie is Beckham on the cross, stays up and moves the sticks
> From the Green 20, Manning to Cruz, but the WR fails
> Wind up, but Manning to Shepherd gets 6 on the slant; Blue timeout
> 3rd and 3 to keep to 3rd Blue figgie is Manning on long clock, then hits Shepherd on the kitten-soft slant for his 8th TD; Jenkins got worked by the young WR
> Good PAT, so it's Green 21, Blue 13, just what they needed
> Manning is 15 for his last 21, patiently figuring out a one note defensive scheme with a DL that doesn't win enough to cover for meh DBs
> From the Green 25 after a touchback with just one timeout, Wentz to TE Zach Ertz for a first, but in bounds; the throw didn't let the player stay upright to save 10+ seconds
> 15 seconds left from the Green 39, Wentz on long clock to Matthews, no flag for obvious DPI, but the WR doesn't have any separation, either
> 11 seconds left, Wentz from gun to Sproles on the screen for some magic; he gets it to the Blue 44 with 2 seconds left, final timeout
> Too far in the wind for a 61 yard figgie, so Wentz from the gun gets it in the end zone and deflected, but no one makes a play; half ends
> Green needs to control the ball to start the second after a bad half for time of possession; after a middling return by Little Nell after a kick to the 1, Green starts at their own 19
> Ertz leaves before the play starts on ref action, because he's on my fantasy team; returns 2 plays later, does little
> Mathews for 2, then loses 5 as DE Olivier Vernon earns his pay; T Jason Peters and C Jason Kelce both fail
> 3rd and 13 and fast fail looming, Wentz from the gun buys time, then nearly throws another deep INT by trying Agholor; not a good throw, and again, none of these WRs get open unless it's on firt move, because they are really just that terrible
> Jones nearly blocked, then Harris ended by S Terrance Brooks; the KR lucky to avoid injury as he's spun on the tackle
> All credit to NFLN for local B-Roll that isn't a cheese steak assembly, but I'm not sure Mummery is better
> Holding on Blue for just the second flag of the game, then Jennings for 3
> Manning from the gun takes Jennings on the dump off, setting up 3rd and 11
> Pretty much a must down to get off the field again, but Manning has all day to throw a duck to Beckham for 26, because why cover that guy; CB Nolan Carroll doesn't understand the coverage
> Manning tries Tye on a fly route, with Jenkins doing the work; actual pressure happened, amazingly
> Jennings on a massive hold on 2nd and 10 as containment is lost; Watkins down on the play, and we're back to the defense that only gets stops when the offense makes mistakes
> From the Green 22, Manning om the cotton-soft button to Cruz to get 10
> Carroll closes on Cruz with violence, just to show that can actually happen
> From the 11 on 2nd and 9, Manning from empty and long clock tries Beckham, who drops it in the middle of the field; too many ideas pre-catch
> 3rd and keep it to a figgie is Manning on a fade to Beckham; the WR doesn't get the flag on Carroll, and the refs refuse to make me astoundingly happy by calling him for unsportsmanlike
> Gould connects, and it's Green 21, Blue 16; feel free to start dreading how Peterson is going to lose another close game
> Touchback, then Wentz to Matthews for 7 on a fairly mechanical progression
> Mathews moves the sticks on good power, and the line gets a first down in a workmanlike way
> From the Green 39, Wentz to Celek, who fumbles after gaining 6; Ertz falls on it ahead of the sticks, but that doesn't work for gains any more
> 2nd and 4 sees Wentz pull it down instead of throw into coverage, then flips to Mathews to get an improv 2
> 3rd and 2 is vital, and Wentz gets Ertz for 18 off a cross where Blue blows the underneath coverage
> False start on Peters, just when things were looking up
> From the Blue 39, slow developing run to Sproles for 2; Vernon eats Celek
> 2nd and 13, Wentz to DG-B, DPI not called as the QB is late on the release; dangerous
> 3rd and 13 outside of figgie range is trouble; from the gun, Wentz can't evade pressure, but Vernon abuses the QB for a gift flag; dirty and dumb play with driving the head to the ground, and Wentz is off for concussion check and looks shaky
> QB2 Chase Daniel in for hopefully not long, but Wentz looks iffy; Mathews loses 2 as everyone in the building knows this is a running play
> 2nd and 12 from the Blue 25, and Daniel shovels to Mathews for 16 on luck and improv; the back up does have some wheels
> From the Blue 9, Mathews on good work all the way to the 1; Wentz off to the locker room at a run
> Green OL has to do the work and doesn't; Collins stops Mathew for a loss
> 3rd and goal from the 3 is massive with Wentz out; Daniel gives to Mathews, who is stopped just short of the goal line
> Pederson goes for it because of course he does; Blue DT David Harrison is down, which might make interior power a little easier / more predictable
> Power set up, give to Mathews, right up the gut where Blue is in waiting, and the RB has no chance; de facto turnover
> Maybe, just maybe, you kick the field goal with QB2 in the game and QB1 out with a possible concussion, but I am clearly Not Aggro Enough to be an NFL HC
> From the 2 with the game in the balance, Perkins gets outside for 4 before DE Connor Barwin can spin him down
> Perkins for another 4, and with QB2 looking like he'll have to work the rest of the game, it's all kinds of important; third quarter ends before a snap
> Just to add to the misery of the year, Wentz does have a history of concussion
> Manning from the gun on long clock, gives to Perkins, converts for 9, easy as can be to audible into a run on the 2-deep safety look
> Perkins for little, then Manning from gun to Beckham for 4, setting up another possible get off the field moment
> 3rd and 5, Manning from gun, has time of course, I wrote the conversion before it happened, checkdown to move the chains because Schwartz has no ideas on how to make this hard
> Slant to Beckham for 4 as Carroll closes, and Wentz is back on the sideline; hopeful
> Manning slammed by Allen on check down, with screen fails
> 3rd and 5 and Manning tries the fly again, terrible throw, and Jenkins closes well, high points it, and major INT from out of nowhere
> Again, no idea why the QB is trying that throw when patient check downs have worked all night; he also wasn't pressured
> NFLN goes for Longwood Gardens; nice!
> Wentz back in, avoids pressure and throws it away; does not look addled
> From the Blue 36, 2nd and 10, yards needed for figgie, and Sproles moves the chains with major studwork
> Johnson with first quarter work there
> Wentz avoids pressure with serious shiftiness and moves the sticks with a sick fake, then causes heart failure with a near fumble on giving himself up
> Blue coach Bob McAdoo makes a bad challenge that he can't make, and the refs talk him out of losing a timeout; not sure why the defense gets to rest for free there
> Not for nothing, but the move that Wentz made to get free was fantastic and ungodly for a 6'-5" white dude who just got his bell rung
> From the Blue 32, Sproles gets no help and loses two on a sweep
> Trickery with Wentz leading the block on backfield flippery; Little Nell gets 4 as Apple is hurt by the QB's dive block
> Not sure why you want to try trickery there, or put your over-eager pup QB who just got his bell rung in a position to make blocks, but Pederson is a Soup Err Gene Yuss
> Apple off for a play, but so is Peters; Little Nell catches an out that Pederson challenges, so that Sturgis can try from less; not a fan of the challenge, but what do I know, Pederson is such a game genius; call is reversed
> On 4th and 1, Sturgis tries from 41 instead of 48; kick would have been good from either
> Green 24, Blue 16, 8:47 left
> NFLN pulls up snowballs at Santa Claus, because that never gets old or hacky or overplayed and screw you, NFLN
> Harris to the 25 on Blue's best KR of the game
> Defense with a kill shot chance, and Shepherd gets 2 on an end around; Mills closes well
> Manning to Beckham, lost in middle coverage, gets 33 and then sits
> Manning to Tye for 5 as Blue raises tempo, then to Jennings for a drop on slight pressure on both ends
> 3rd and 5 outside of figgie range with less than 7 minutes left matters, and Manning tries Cruz, who doesn't come up with the button; McKelvin gets a deflect
> 4th and 5 to go is aggro but defensible from here, and Manning hits Beckham (of course) on McKelvin, because why wouldn't you
> Manning tries Beckham in the end zone, same zone throw, overthrown
> Manning tries the same play to Cruz on the other side of the field; Beckham was gassed
> 3rd and 10 is another major play; Manning from the gun has time and Cruz, but Carroll stops him after 7
> McAdoo takes the figgie attempt, and Blue false starts to make it a little harder
> Gould from 41 now connects, and it's Green 24, Blue 19 with less than six minutes left
> On the offense to secure this, with Blue holding all 3 timeouts
> Peters back in, Harrison back in
> Power formation, Sproles loses a yard, line not winning when needed
> From gun, Wentz with long clock, rolls out to Matthews for 7, but idiot WR stops the clock out of bounds
> 3rd and 6 as Blue Fan chants for defense; from the gun the line does the work, but Wentz to Agholor is high and incomplete and not open, and that's a 3 and out with no timeouts used
> How Ertz was a target magnet all month and gets all of 2 targets on 22 throws tonight, I'll never know
> Jones to Harris, stopped at the 27 as Beckham does trickiness; Blue with 4:15 and 3 timeouts, down 5, and no Eagle Fan has confidence in a win right now
> Blue is minus 1 on turnovers, hasn't executed in the red zone and still has tons of chances to win, because LOL Pederson
> Perkins for 9 as a bunch of guys don't tackle and Manning just gets it off: LB Jordan Hicks off for the useless Stephen Tulloch
> Perkins moves the sticks, then Manning to Beckham for 9 on the cross that never gets stopped by the first tackler
> From the Green 46, Perkins isn't stopped in the backfield by Cox and moves the sticks again
> From the Green 41, Manning to Beckham, makes a man miss, gets 6 and out of bounds
> From the Green 35, Manning throws a duck that McKelvin knocks away, rather than catches; terrible idea and throw
> 3rd and 4, Beckham dangerous with the ball and gets an absurdly good stop; 2 minute warning, and the WR nearly lost the game for his team there by risking the fumble, but his hands are otherworldly
> This is a good place to note that if Pederson had kicked the field goal from the 1 with his QB2 in during the third quarter, it's an 8-point game; if he calls something other than Dumb Power Up The Middle, maybe it's a 12-point game
> Pederson can challenge for the last time and does; refs reverse the call, so it's 4th and less than a yard
> From the 31 with another kill shot chance, Blue jumps, and that's helpful
> From the 36 with a much bigger killshot chance, Manning from the gun to Shepherd doesn't secure the ball and gets muscled off by Carroll, and that's DPI if it's Beckham and/or not fourth down, honestly
> Blue still has 3 timeouts, so it's very much a game
> Sproles for 2 and Timeout 1
> Sproles for 3 and Timeout 2
> 3rd and 5, Wentz tries to draw, then calls a timeout; nice idea, rook
> From the gun, Wentz goes deep to Matthews, no chance, no clock burn, no timeout, terrible call by Pederson, and I'd rather the QB takes the sack there, rather than do the dumb thing the HC told him to do
> No separation from an injured WR, and FFS, that's a complete gift
> Again, if you have to throw there, why not put your mobile QB on the run, try to use your plus TE who has caught everything you've thrown his way tonight
> Aggro is not a plus if it's just a synonym for Effing Stoopid
> Jones kicks to Beckham, who makes the fair catch at his own 16, and Blue is still crazy alive
> Manning to Tye for 5 and out of bounds
> Manning to Cruz for 7, moves sticks, clock but no worries
> Manning to RB Bobby Rainey, doesn't get tackled, Blue with all tempo
> Manning to Rainey, out of bounds but defensive subs in
> 50 seconds to go, 53 yards away
> Manning through Rainey, not a good throw
> 3rd and 4 with 47 seconds left, would be a nice time for a pass rush, Manning to Shepherd moves the sticks
> Hicks back in, Blue tempo, Cruz for another 12, final Blue timeout
> 25 seconds, 34 yards
> Manning pressured, avoids sack, Graham nearly had the game ender
> 20 seconds left, 3 man rush, Manning to end zone, misses Beckham, better throw wins the game for Blue
> 14 seconds left, 3 man rush, Manning throws another terrible duck, and S Terrance Brooks collects it for the game ending INT
> MVP for Green: Manning in a walk
> First division win ever for Pederson, and man alive, did he try everything he could to not get it
> Dallas win the division and the #1 seed, so even a win feels bad, but at least the season will end without a massive losing streak
> Another big loser tonight: Cleveland, whose first round pick next year just got worse
> New York can still get in the playoffs, and have shown in the past that home field or seed doesn't really matter to them, but this is a bad offense with a QB that turns it over a lot, and only one good WR, honestly
> In terms of development, it's nice that the offense looks loads better with Johnson on the line again, but it's not as if Green won this, so much as Blue lost it
> With Dallas now the 1 seed and playing here next week, maybe Green ends on a 2-game winning streak by playing against scrubs like Tony Romo
> Club is now 4-1 with Johnson in it, assuming you'd like to cherry pick
> All things being equal, ending the year with a win is rare, so, um, Happy Holidays, my fellow miserable bastards
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