What pisses me off.
- Thread starter TommyD420
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TommyD420
Joe Milton is my QB1
Yeah, keep trying that 'Miami has a better roster than Philly' bullshit you've been trying elsewhere. It will work just as well.
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TommyD420
Joe Milton is my QB1
We don't have that luxury anymore chevs. You can't go 1-3 in September again while they 'need moar time to figure shit out'.
Sure we do. It means that we need to take care of bidnis in our own division, but the luxury is still there if we do. And yes, I am aware that the division is much tougher. Doesn't change the math.
I poked around the three fan boards a bit last night and while there was the typical BS about Mac, the serious folks were shitting a bit over yesterday's Eagles game.
And they should.
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TommyD420
Joe Milton is my QB1
Even 4-2 in the division isn't going to be good enough, not this year. I think the Patriots should get the next two, just on their defense alone, but then you've got the Cowboys in Dallas, Bills, @Miami, KC is right after the bye - a 1-3 start isn't going to cut it this time. Not with this schedule.Sure we do. It means that we need to take care of bidnis in our own division, but the luxury is still there if we do. And yes, I am aware that the division is much tougher. Doesn't change the math.
I poked around the three fan boards a bit last night and while there was the typical BS about Mac, the serious folks were shitting a bit over yesterday's Eagles game.
And they should.
The Patriots could be 4–2 prior to the Bills game at home. And that would be 2-0 in the division.
After yesterday's performance, I am less concerned rather than more concerned. Do I think anything is close to settled in stone? No, of course not. That's why they play the games.
I see a path to 11-6.
Went into the office this morning. Came home and then went and played 9 holes. Come home and took a nap so I could watch MNF.
Then I come on here and see that you're still pissed off.
Aloyouis - you able to get this Philly.com story? i can post link but then paywall comes upSure we do. It means that we need to take care of bidnis in our own division, but the luxury is still there if we do. And yes, I am aware that the division is much tougher. Doesn't change the math.
I poked around the three fan boards a bit last night and while there was the typical BS about Mac, the serious folks were shitting a bit over yesterday's Eagles game.
And they should.
What we learned from Eagles-Patriots: Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis splash. Is spineless defense cause for alarm?
The rookie Carter constantly pressured the quarterback, and Davis forced a key turnover. But there are concerns for the Eagles at the linebacker and safety positions.
www.inquirer.com
Here ya go!Aloyouis - you able to get this Philly.com story? i can post link but then paywall comes up
What we learned from Eagles-Patriots: Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis splash. Is spineless defense cause for alarm?
The rookie Carter constantly pressured the quarterback, and Davis forced a key turnover. But there are concerns for the Eagles at the linebacker and safety positions.
What we learned from Eagles-Patriots: Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis splash. Is spineless defense cause for alarm?
The rookie Carter constantly pressured the quarterback, and Davis forced a key turnover. But there are concerns for the Eagles at the linebacker and safety positions.
EJ SmithSep. 11, 2023, 1:15 p.m. ET/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/OWCS5336PRD2XLHQVW24GYPV6E.jpg "Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter points to fans walking off the field after the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 25-20 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023")
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter points to fans walking off the field after the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 25-20 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Eagles escaped Gillette Stadium with a 25-20 victory over the New England Patriots to start the season, however ugly the performance may have been for most of the game. A short week ensues with plenty of mistakes to clean up. Here’s what we learned from the season opener:
Georgia DTs live up to the hype
Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis each went into the season with ever-heightening expectations and a major role on the Eagles’ defensive interior. On Sunday, each of the Georgia products delivered.
Davis had a game-changing play in the early going and Carter was constantly beating his one-on-one matchups and even defeating double teams at times, occupying a pass-rush specialist role similar to Javon Hargrave’s from last year.
Carter, the rookie defensive tackle, in particular, has a presence about him on the field. The combination of quickness off the ball and powerful hands to shed blocks makes him a threat on every play. By the fourth quarter, he was long overdue for a sack and finally got home, fittingly wrestling Mac Jones to the ground to help salt the game away as New England center David Andrews made a futile effort to dislodge him.
» READ MORE: Inside Jalen Carter’s circle: How the rookie is learning to be a pro after a turbulent path to the Eagles helped provide a fresh start
If the Eagles’ coverage synced up better with their rush (more on that later), Carter may have had more than one sack. According to Next Gen Stats, Carter had six pressures, which is tied for the most of any rookie defensive tackle in a game in the last five years.
It’s important to temper expectations considering the Patriots’ offensive line was missing three of its four starters, but that’s still a staggering stat for Carter’s debut.
As dominant as Carter was, it was Davis who pulled off one of the most important plays of the game in the first quarter, forcing an Ezekiel Elliott fumble on a screen pass. It gave the offense the ball at New England’s 26-yard line and set up the unit’s only touchdown of the day, putting the Eagles ahead, 16-0.
The play was an obvious display of what makes Davis more than just a gap-plugging nose tackle, even if his pass-rush ability may be a work in progress. The 6-foot-6, 340-pounder read the screen and closed the gap between him and Elliott in a hurry, laying a surprising hit from behind on the former Cowboys running back and jarring the ball loose. The second-year player also logged his first career sack — well, half of one — when he and Haason Reddick corralled Jones in the fourth quarter.
If the defensive front is going to come close to the level of production it had last year, it will be in large part thanks to the two Georgia defensive tackles. The early returns are promising.
Defense predictably spineless
What’s not promising is how the other two levels up the middle of the Eagles defense fared in the first live action of the season.
For as much as Nick Sirianni made of shrouding the starting spots at linebacker and safety going into the game, the Patriots were more than prepared to test both spots with success. With all the injuries to their offensive line, the Patriots substituted the run game with screen passes on the perimeter and underneath routes to challenge the linebackers to cover.
Two of New England’s three touchdowns came at the expense of the Eagles’ safeties to some degree as well. Hunter Henry had the first one, beating Reed Blankenship on a double move out and up and rising up for a well-placed pass from Jones. The Patriots continued countering aggressive secondary play in the red zone with a similar out-and-up route for their second score, this time by Kendrick Bourne against Darius Slay.
The third touchdown came with Bourne lined up against James Bradberry, challenging his outside leverage before breaking inside. Bradberry seemed to expect safety help from Justin Evans, who had his eyes on the opposite side of the field before breaking late on the ball. Evans, 28, missed three years due to injury before returning to football with the New Orleans Saints last year. The Patriots tested his mettle, and got results.
Same goes for Zach Cunningham, who the Patriots also sought out for several completions in the middle of the field. According to PFF, he was targeted 11 times on Sunday and surrendered nine catches for 71 yards on those targets. Jones had four completions of 10 yards or more up the middle, including a fourth-and-8 conversion where Henry discarded an off-balance Cunningham before managing a one-handed catch in the fourth quarter. Jones was able to get the ball out quickly all evening, which kept the pass rush from capitalizing on the Patriots’ shoddy offensive line. According to Next Gen, Jones’ 2.52-second average time to throw was the fourth shortest of all quarterbacks going into Monday night.
» READ MORE: Source: Eagles’ new starting LB Nakobe Dean expected to miss multiple weeks with a foot injury
The Eagles eventually went away from Cunningham in favor of Christian Elliss, but Nakobe Dean’s foot injury left them with only two linebackers and no other options. Dean will miss at least a couple of weeks, leaving an already-thin linebacking corps alarmingly undermanned.
Some of the Eagles’ pitfalls in the opener can be chalked up to a sluggish start after a lenient preseason, but the concerns about the middle of the field were apparent going into the year and were confirmed even more against the Patriots. The offenses on the schedule will get much better as the year wears on, especially in the playoffs (looking at you, Kyle Shanahan). The Eagles linebacker and safety spots have to improve, either with personnel changes or schematically.
Hurts hasn’t seen it all
In his first game action since last February, Jalen Hurts looked out of sorts.
Perhaps trying to make more of an effort to protect himself after signing a $255 million contract, Hurts had a few uncomfortable slides to avoid contact and a mind-numbing fumble that could have cost the Eagles the game. Hurts usually has sound instincts when it comes to avoiding contact or when to fight for extra yards, but he looked like a player still adjusting to shedding the red non-contact jersey on Sunday.
» READ MORE: The Eagles are 1-0, but have some reason for concern after the offense struggled vs. the Patriots
The Patriots’ defensive scheme gave the Eagles plenty of trouble as well. They played man on the outside but passed off routes in the middle of the field, causing confusion and leading to Hurts leaving clean pockets a few times. The Eagles’ offensive front struggled as well, which didn’t help.
Hurts’ body of work last year is reason enough not to sound the alarms, but Sunday did serve as a reminder that there are still areas for him and the offense to improve. It may also be a good idea for him to get a little dirt on his jersey in a preseason game next summer.
Relitigating the rest
Speaking of that, it is telling that Nick Sirianni conceded the Eagles’ starters may have benefited from a series or two in the preseason.
Playing in the preseason is a double-edged sword, of course. The laundry list of injuries to Eagles reserves this summer is evidence enough of the risk — it’s also worth remembering that Hurts took a late shot on the sideline last year playing in the preseason opener against the New York Jets.
» READ MORE: Eagles-Patriots report card: It wasn’t pretty, but the Birds won their season opener
The Eagles’ health going into Week 1 is, in part, because of the lack of preseason action and the lighter training-camp schedule, but those things have contributed to some season-opening drama the last two years.
Next summer, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sirianni tried to strike more of a balance, as risky as it may be.
Thanks!
Any time, just tell me. I can get most of them for now. The hack is simple so it could go away anytime.
I like reading what ‘the other side’ has to say after a game
usually you get a story or two free.
will admit I had to go read post-gazette after stillers got waxed by 9ers
I have always liked going to the enemy's major newspapers to get their perspective after a game.
It's often extremely enlightening for what the Pats did well to take away their bread and butter and to show their weaknesses.
In this case, the Eagles have way more work to do than they may have thought.
The Pats took full advantage of their weak LBs and Ss and in doing so, showed other teams how to beat them.
The Pats of the not so distant future will take care of business, not make so many mistakes and they'd win that game. A healthy OL will help immensely.
As it is, they came oh so close. One more thing...go look at the Eagles' injury report after the game...they know they were in a dogfight.
Coming opponents will know it, too.
I've never seen so many players with rib injuries after a game.
If only Miami had lost, it would have been great. But the Bills are down one game in the division, and Allen still looks flaky as hell with his decision-making; Rodgers looks screwed, so we have everything to play for. The win would have made it a perfect opening weekend.
I'm not shying away from it, we should have won that game, is was there for us on a plate. But I won't ignore the positives as well with big improvements already on offense.
There is no AFC team who looks dominant and KC can kiss it with all the asterisk talk due ti Kelce being out. They were still shit on opening night. All the pundits raved about the AFC this season saying it will be way stronger than the NFC. Really??
The Niners are continuing where they left off, Purdy looks dynamite again as does McCaffrey and their defense....The Cowboys defense looks legit, the Rams look decent and the Eagles will still be in the mix in NFC.
I'm not shying away from it, we should have won that game, is was there for us on a plate. But I won't ignore the positives as well with big improvements already on offense.
There is no AFC team who looks dominant and KC can kiss it with all the asterisk talk due ti Kelce being out. They were still shit on opening night. All the pundits raved about the AFC this season saying it will be way stronger than the NFC. Really??
The Niners are continuing where they left off, Purdy looks dynamite again as does McCaffrey and their defense....The Cowboys defense looks legit, the Rams look decent and the Eagles will still be in the mix in NFC.
Mazz22
Gonzo - Ty Law 2.0
It's week one.
We should have. Miami IMO is going to be a tougher test. The Pats have yet to beat Tua.
This is going to change. We will know more in a few weeks. The Chiefs just signed Jones to a one year deal so they have him back. That is a tremendous boost for their defense.
Don't sleep on GB.
Flagg the Wanderer
Mourning Algernon
The NFC has 2 teams that are as good as any team in the AFC. Then Dallas and Seattle in that next tier that will be right there. There are a few others that aren't bad teams. But the AFC has a solid 11 or 12 teams that don't need too many things to break well to contend.
Aloyuis - one more Philly.com as I am curious how much they credit pats D vs ‘rust’
www.inquirer.com
‘Too sloppy’: The Eagles offense regroups after a frustrating day in the win at New England
After his debut as the Eagles' play-caller, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson knows that there's corrections to be made and lessons to be learned after an ugly 25-20 win against the Patriots.
www.inquirer.com
I think the NFC has a team better than any team in the AFC. The Niners.
Keep the requests coming. If I can grab them I will.Aloyuis - one more Philly.com as I am curious how much they credit pats D vs ‘rust’
‘Too sloppy’: The Eagles offense regroups after a frustrating day in the win at New England
After his debut as the Eagles' play-caller, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson knows that there's corrections to be made and lessons to be learned after an ugly 25-20 win against the Patriots.
‘Too sloppy’: The Eagles offense regroups after a frustrating day in the win at New England
After his first game as the Eagles' play-caller, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson knows that there's corrections to be made and lessons to be learned after an ugly 25-20 win against the Patriots.
EJ SmithSep. 12, 2023, 7:24 p.m. ET/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/KKX7LX63BBEANI67PFD7NVSBKE.jpg "Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (second right) during a timeout against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023")
Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (second right) during a timeout against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Rewatching the Eagles’ season opener, Brian Johnson’s frustration set in right around the time it did for everyone else.
The Eagles’ new offensive coordinator and play-caller said the offense’s performance in the 25-20 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday was “sloppy,” pointing to the stagnant stretch in which the group went three-and-out on four consecutive series.
Johnson, who took over play-calling duties after replacing Shane Steichen over the offseason, said the offense’s failure to stretch a 16-point lead was the thing that stood out most when reviewing the tape.
“It was too sloppy,” Johnson said. “For me, the thing that was really most frustrating is we had an opportunity up 16-0 with the ball in the minus territory, three possessions in a row, and we couldn’t get much going. Obviously, we’ve just got to continue to clean up those corrections, make those corrections, and put ourselves in a position to go out there and have some success.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/6ZLAJH26QFFZJK6J6P2WVMLONA.jpg "Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson talks to the media on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, during a press conference at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pa.")
Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson talks to the media on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, during a press conference at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pa.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The Eagles got out to the early lead mostly thanks to opportunistic plays on defense. Following a pick-six from Darius Slay, a forced fumble from Jordan Davis gave them a short field for their only touchdown drive of the day.
From there, the offense managed just 21 yards on 13 plays the rest of the first half, including a few notably conservative run calls on third-and-longs and to run the clock out with 25 seconds left in the half from the Patriots’ 25-yard line.
The team managed just one explosive play as a result of the Patriots’ deep secondary structure. The heavy rain during the start of the game may have also contributed to the lack of shots, and the offensive line struggled to protect Jalen Hurts, who was pressured 16 times.
“I think one of the things that they did a great job of,” Johnson said, “was eliminating us from being able to make explosive plays down the field and really staying back in their coverage and making it sort of a dink-and-dunk type of operation where you’re just trying to keep the ball in play and keep it moving forward, and there wasn’t much opportunity to really get behind the defense just with the depth that they were playing.”
» READ MORE: The Eagles are 1-0, but have some reason for concern after the offense struggled vs. the Patriots
The Eagles faced third down with eight or more yards to gain on seven of their 14 conversion attempts and Johnson dialed up running plays on three occasions. The first one was successful, the second was not, and the third one from 20 yards to gain eked into field-goal range while coming up well short of the marker.
When asked about the potentially conservative approach of running the ball instead of giving Hurts and the team’s trio of elite receiving targets a chance to convert, Johnson said those types of draws have worked for the team in past seasons and pointed to Hurts’ 22-yard touchdown scamper on third-and-8 against the Chicago Bears last year.
“You can catch guys sometimes in some unique fronts and be able to pop a run,” Johnson said. “Dealing with some of the weather that we were dealing with, as well, certainly played a factor.”
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni also pushed back on the notion that a third-and-long run was a “conservative” approach after the game.
“That’s not necessarily true,” he said. “A run call could be aggressive. It doesn’t have to be a pass to be aggressive and so I actually think calling a run play in a third-and-8 situation is aggressive. ... It’s unique but I thought we were aggressive with that style of play that we ran in that scenario. So I respectfully disagree with not being aggressive. We just thought it was the right call for that scenario.”
The Eagles did eventually string together some positive plays in the second half. Johnson said he and Hurts went through some possible adjustments throughout the game and eventually found success hitting A.J. Brown on deep in-breaking routes against the Patriots, who used a lot of man-to-man on the outside with zone concepts in the middle of the field.
While Brown and DeVonta Smith got 10 targets apiece, Dallas Goedert was hardly featured in the passing offense. The tight end got just one target, an overthrow near the sideline. The Eagles also featured Kenneth Gainwell quite heavily out of the backfield — he suffered a rib injury in the game — at the expense of D’Andre Swift and Boston Scott.
» READ MORE: Kenneth Gainwell emerges as Eagles go with three halfbacks in the opener
Johnson said finding a better balance between the receiving and running options is among the things the group wants to “clean up,” but there’s a premium on time with the home opener against the Minnesota Vikings fast approaching on Thursday night. Setting the frustration from Sunday aside, Johnson said the end result of Sunday’s game makes cramming the corrections a little easier.
“There are so many lessons that you can take from a game like we had,” Johnson said. “Obviously, those lessons are much easier to learn after a win. We’ll definitely take that and keep moving forward and continue to get better.”
Mazz22
Gonzo - Ty Law 2.0
It’s week one. So many teams were sloppy because they really don’t play their starters in the preseason. I believe the head coach of the eagle said this. That he needs to start playing his starters more.
I don’t think we’re really going to know very much about any team until the end of September early October. I do think we will find out more about our secondary versus Miami just because their skill guys are so good and Tua appears to be playing very well. I also expect our pass rush to get home a lot more versus Miami than it did versus Philly. Their Oline is not very good.
I don’t think we’re really going to know very much about any team until the end of September early October. I do think we will find out more about our secondary versus Miami just because their skill guys are so good and Tua appears to be playing very well. I also expect our pass rush to get home a lot more versus Miami than it did versus Philly. Their Oline is not very good.