My take on the ugly 13-10 Eagles victory over Oakland....
* Was it appropriate that the Eagles wore all black last night for their lackluster performance against the Raiders? They won, and clinch home field advantage thru-out the NFC playoffs, yet the night felt like a funeral. Oakland had nothing to play for. They were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday. They flew across country, a California team playing in the cold and windy Philadelphia night, on Christmas no less. But that's what happens when you let teams hang around.
The Raiders did win 12 games last season. 2017 wasn't their year, and they do have a bad team, as witnessed last night. I guess the Raiders were even worse- they lost the game. But they are a pro team, with pride, on national TV.
When the Birds went ahead early, 7-0, I thought the Raiders may head for their warm, running buses and pack it in. But then CB Jalen Mills got burned on a double-move for a long Raider TD reception and it was a game from then on.
* Good to see Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz blitz more. Making Oakland QB Derek Carr move and throw on the run paid off. The Raiders committed five turnovers in the second half, helping the Birds' cause. Schwartz needs to continue putting the pressure on opposing QBs, not just rely on the front four to get to the quarterback.
Against more experienced QBs in the playoffs- Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, even Cam Newton, they will carve up the Philly secondary unless the defensive consistently pressures the pocket.
* Speaking of Mills, he continues to be overrated. He gets burned a lot, and drop an interception in the second half. I can easily see CB Sidney Jones taking his place in the secondary next season.
* Penalties weren't as costly this week but continue to be a problem. Lane Johnson had a few violations. Overall the offensive line did OK protecting Nick Foles. The left side of the line held up, but it seems the Raiders make a mistake not moving linebacker Kahlik Mack more often over the left side, instead matching him up with Johnson,
* Sloppy was the key word of the night. But it wasn't just last night. Even before Carson Wentz went down with an injury the Birds were not sharp like earlier in the season. Wentz' injury seems to have had a domino effect on the entire team. There were also reports the team was slacking off in practice, or maybe playing down to the competition. Whatever the reason, the Birds don't look like the same team, despite being 13-2 and having the best record in football.
* RB Jay Ajayi continued to run hard, when given the ball. He did fumble in the second half, and almost fumbled early, but the play was blown dead. I agreed that the offense should not change much after Wentz went down, as teams would put eight guys in the box if the Birds overloaded on the run. But defense and a strong running game wins in the playoffs, especially in cold weather, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to stress the run more.
Last night, the Eagles threw the ball 38 times- far too much for Foles- and ran the ball 21 times- not enough to control the clock and keep Foles protected. Ajayi was gaining huge chunks of yardage, so why not run he and Blount and Clement more? Foles is OK on the short throws in the slot, as we saw last night with Ertz and the backs. But Foles cannot push the ball down the field like Wentz. The receivers weren't getting open either. There's a reason why Foles is a back-up QB. So, the Eagles need to rely more heavily on their running game going into the post-season.
* Lots of Santa Claus outfits in the chilly crowd at the Linc. Santas' wearing green instead of red; Santas with rooftops on their heads; Traditional Santas wearing all red and millennial Santas wearing spaced-out gear.
Sadly, ESPN felt the need to bring up the old, tired Eagles fans throw snowballs at Santa story. I noticed that Ed Rendell, Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow contributed to their piece- did Philly fans really boo Santa Claus?
Playing on Christmas night in Philadelphia, I suppose it was inevitable. The way the Eagles played last nigh,tn the stadium.
* The defense saved the game. They limited the Raiders to 10 points and forced five crucial turnovers. But they did surrender a season-high total of yards rushing, which was a concern. Overall, I feel better about the defense then I did last week vs the Giants. Defense wins in the cold weather and playoffs, so I'm happy to see the defense wake up.
* Back to Foles. We weren't expecting him to be Wentz. But what we wanted was what we got against New York- a well-managed game, limiting turnovers, still pushing the ball down the field and hitting open receivers .Foles needs to get rid of the ball, as when the pocket collapses, he cannot scramble like Wentz.
What we want is something in-between the excellent performance vs the Giants and the horrible game against Oakland.That shouldn't be too much to ask from Foles.
Before the season began, and the Birds signed Foles as their back-up, the feeling was "Well, if Wentz goes down, it really doesn't matter- we are screwed anyway." Last night reminded me of that thinking. Are we kidding ourselves with Foles? Realistically, did our Super Bowl dreams end in Los Angeles the night Wentz hurt his knee? Wentz was not only the starting QB, he was having an MVP-caliber season. You can't replace a guy like that. Home field advantage or not, was it only a fantasy to htink the Eagles could still make it to the Super bowl without Wentz leading the way?
Now, whatever team invades the Linc in the divisional game, they will need to battle the weather and the frenzied fans. But home field or not, if the team, specifically Foles, isn't playing well, will it matter?
*DE Chris Long, Howie's son, has been a pleasant surprise this year. He continues to be a force whenever he's in the rotation, getting after the QB and making things happen. If the Birds do go deep into the post=season, give Long a lot of credit. He may not be an every play guy anymore, but he's a great situational player and gets into the pocket.
* Like always, turnovers proved to be key. Foles threw his first interception in a long time, and very nearly gave the Raiders a pick-six with another throw. When it looked as though Oakland would march down the field in the last few minutes and kick a game-winning field goal, Ronald Darby intercepted a Carr pass to set up our winning field goal.
* For the second time this year, the Eagles' defense scored a touchdown on the last play of the game, returning a fumbled or bad lateral during the opposition's desperate last-second scrum.Both times coach Doug Pederson elected not to kick the extra point,not wanting to rub in the score of an already won game. At least Pederson is consistent with his decision. With the Eagles favored by nine points last night, the extra point may have swayed bets on the game.
* Momentum. I always like team, no matter what the sport, who is peaking when the post-season begins. The eagles, despite having a 13-2 record, seemed to be going backwards . The players looked worried last night after the loss, wondering if they are doomed with Foles leading the ship. Funny to see Wentz in the stands, taking notes and probably feeling sick that something he helped to build may not be so rock-solid as before.
Wild card teams in football and baseball have made the playoffs and have gone on to win championships. The Eagles are division winners, yet, even at home, will they be favored against a Saints team, or thought of as paper tigers in the media and by the opposition? Next Sunday's meaningless game against arch-rival Dallas may not be so meaningless.
First, it's the Cowboys,and it's always good to whip the Cowboys,e specially at home. Winning would give the Eagles 14 victories in 2017, a new franchise record. Winning decisively would bring much-needed confidence back to the team and the fans. Beating Dallas would send the "Boys to an average 8-8 record for the year and continue their anguish into the off-season.
It will be interesting to see if Foles plays on New Year's Eve or not. I think he should, at least the first half. It's obvious that he still needs a rapport with his receivers.Back-up QB Nate Sudfed should get some time, just in case he is needed down the road. Otherwise, the Birds won't play a meaningful game for three weeks.
The rest will be great, especially for the wounded. But somehow the Eagles need to gain a little momentum heading into their division playoff game. Beating up on Dallas, who may pack it in anyway on Sunday, with the weather again predicted to be frigid, but it would feel good to win big and gain some much-needed confidence.
* So, what does it all mean? The Eagles are 13-2. no matter what, and Minnesota, New Orleans, or whomever need to beat the Birds at the Linc to reach the Super Bowl. Interesting dynamics: The Vikings with their great defense, the Rams with their explosive offense, the Saints and Rams with experienced quarterbacks and the Panthers with an unpredictable versatility. Regardless of who the Eagles play in three weeks, they need to play better- that's the bottom line.
I did expect more from the Raider game. I expected the team to come out on fire, fueled by a holiday crowd that missed their pro football team for several weeks while they were on the road. I expected domination of Oakland, seeing home field and the Super bowl in their grasp, not limping into the post-season, but crushing these lesser squads with authority, the Birds being the powerful, fearful team, not being intimidated.
Until they kick-off on January 13 or 14 and we finally have the first playoff game underway in Philadelphia, only then we will know for sure if this Eagles team are true contenders or merely pretenders without Carson Wentz.
No comments:
Post a Comment