Wentz keeps trying to keep the ball and make plays.  He ended up getting sacked, fumble or worse could get hurt.  He admitted that this has been a battle for him in his career.  Someone has to get the idea in his head that it is OK to throw the ball away.  The coaches have to simplify the plays to get quick out, fewer or shorter read options.

Nothing wrong to go long.  But at least make your WR the only one who can get to it.  The rookie WR may not have the polish to win all the passes.  Practice, practice, practice until it is right.

Another problem is that they don't seem to run the plays enough in practices to refine the execution.  When Hurt was in the game that was most obvious.  Most of those plays did not get the intended results.  If they don't have creative designs to use him or practice those plays enough, why put him in there to waste downs?

Doug had a few questionable calls last night.  Trying to be creative or aggressive is fine, but that is only good when they work.  You could allow a few miscues here and there, but they need to converge to something that work.

4 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

A 2-4-1 team can't afford a 'trap game'.   You come out with intensity because beating your division rivals is the ONLY way you are going to win this division.  It's a division game with a bye to follow.   Feast on the newb, don't take it for granted.   And they can't consider themselves better than any team.  They already did that with Washington and it bit them.  They might have even done it with Cincinnati.   This is a 2 win team.  There are no trap games.  

There are always trap games, show me a team that plays at a high level for 16 games?

What makes a top team is being so talented and efficient they can bring their "C" game and beat bad teams.

While the Eagles got a few players back, they still had Herbig, Pryor and Mialata starting on the OL, Scott/Clements at RB, Reagor/Fulgham/Highttower/Ward at WR, down to their #5 CB with Slay out, Malik still out (Hargrave had his best game, maybe he's getting comfortable in Schwartz's scheme). So this wasn't a very talented team, they struggled to beat a bad team at home, but on paper, other than QB, the Cowboys were the more talented team with Martin back.

I said from the beginning of the season this was going to be a weird first half with no offseason or exhibition games, normally second year players step into starting jobs in September whereas most rookies don't play much until the second half of the season - due to injuries Eagles were forced to play rookies and street free agent types in the first half - the bad side was ugly football, the good side may be much better depth the second half when starters return, and a few surprises like Fulgham.

Getting to the bye week 3-4-1 is fine, they now have two weeks to heal, fix what is ailing them, and make a fresh start with a deeper team.

5-3 the second half means 8-7-1, home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs and a chance to surprise. The only team on their schedule that's clearly better is Seattle, and they probably would have won that playoff game if not for the cheap shot on Wentz. So even the Seahawks don't intimidate me.

19 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Not impressed by Reagor. He was the reason for that pick last night. He had a step on both dbs and gave up and slowed down thinking Wentz was throwing it out of bounds and instead the DB runs by him and picks it off. He had a lazy route against the Skins that lead to a pick week 1. This kid has a ton to learn. he gives up and gets lazy. Not very impressed at this point. Need to hope he just gets better with time and more coaching. 

I don't think that interception is on Reagor.  It was a poor choice and he clearly didn't have a step on the DB. 

1 minute ago, bpac55 said:

A few trade deadline thoughts.  I don't know some of the cap implications on these guys but just thoughts.

-Can the Eagles sell high with Brandon Graham?  Would love to see him retire an Eagle but he's a top 3 pass rusher this year, causes turnovers and is a great team guy.  What would a contender give for him to help in a SB push?  Could BG bring back a 3rd?

-What could Rodney McLeod bring?  Would someone give a 4th?  He's playing pretty well.  He's going on 31.  This is the best he will be.  Much like BG, sell high on him. 

-Will Parks, do you get us a 6th?

-Malik Jackson, can you bring a 5th?

-JJAW conditional 2022 7th?

-Derek Barnett was mentioned a few weeks back and I thought he was improving and worth keeping.  Quiet since, 3rd or 4th?

-Clearly Howie sucks at drafting.  What 23-25 year old ascending players could our 2nd or 3rd bring back who could be Eagles for the prime of their careers?  We are getting ZERO production out of the last 2 drafts 2nd and 3rd round picks (including Sanders on the shelf).  Use those assets for proven players.  I don't consider this buying but investing in the future.

With all that being said, tomorrow will come and go and the Eagles will have the same roster at 4:01.

 

Graham won't be sold.  He's a lifer here.  It might be the right move, but it won't happen.

 

We need a new grocery shopper.  Let's just get that... and someone else deciding who gets resigned and to how much money.   Howie is giving away too many big money contracts to the wrong players, or too big to the right ones.  We are cap strapped because of the combination of bad drafting and bad contracts.  There's a long list of bad contracts.  Guys who are getting paid a ton and not producing.

16 minutes ago, austinfan said:

There are always trap games, show me a team that plays at a high level for 16 games?

What makes a top team is being so talented and efficient they can bring their "C" game and beat bad teams.

While the Eagles got a few players back, they still had Herbig, Pryor and Mialata starting on the OL, Scott/Clements at RB, Reagor/Fulgham/Highttower/Ward at WR, down to their #5 CB with Slay out, Malik still out (Hargrave had his best game, maybe he's getting comfortable in Schwartz's scheme). So this wasn't a very talented team, they struggled to beat a bad team at home, but on paper, other than QB, the Cowboys were the more talented team with Martin back.

I said from the beginning of the season this was going to be a weird first half with no offseason or exhibition games, normally second year players step into starting jobs in September whereas most rookies don't play much until the second half of the season - due to injuries Eagles were forced to play rookies and street free agent types in the first half - the bad side was ugly football, the good side may be much better depth the second half when starters return, and a few surprises like Fulgham.

Getting to the bye week 3-4-1 is fine, they now have two weeks to heal, fix what is ailing them, and make a fresh start with a deeper team.

5-3 the second half means 8-7-1, home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs and a chance to surprise. The only team on their schedule that's clearly better is Seattle, and they probably would have won that playoff game if not for the cheap shot on Wentz. So even the Seahawks don't intimidate me.

That's not what I said.  They can't afford trap games at 2-4-1, especially to their division foe.  A division game can NEVER be a trap game, especially in the midst of a season like this.   So, if they want to throw a clunker out there, fine... do it against a team like the Rams... oh, they did that too.  Or the Steelers or Ravens as those are out of conference and the least important... oh, they did that with the Bungles.  

Don't give me 'trap game' with a team that has yet to play ONE game at a 'high level'.  

 

The last bolded piece is comical.   The Eagles have not 'clearly' defined themselves as even a mediocre team yet.  So, every team is dangerous, which is why they struggled against the Giants... and needed a dropped pass from Engram to have a chance for the big comeback... and struggled against a Dallas defense that has been leaking oil since week 1.  But, this offensive team managed to only put up 14 points against them.

16 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I don't think that interception is on Reagor.  It was a poor choice and he clearly didn't have a step on the DB. 

I'd be interested in seeing the All-22 of that play... what did Carson see as he threw it and what did all 3 players down there do leading up to and after the throw.

5 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Graham won't be sold.  He's a lifer here.  It might be the right move, but it won't happen.

1) He's an all-time Eagle who is arguably the team's heartbeat.
2) His contract is untradable for us. To take that kind of cap hit, we'd have to basically get a 1st rounder back, which is not happening.

Waiting on the all-22 but my impression is that Mailata was much better this week than last and he was going against Dallas's best player. That's not to say he was good, but he was better. It's worth remembering that Lawrence has given Lane fits in the past.

1 hour ago, Bacarty2 said:

So you'd think the play calling and play design would change.... nah... lets keep running the same ish as if we had 5 all pros blocking 

I think the chances of success greatly increase with an increase in the talent on the field no matter what play calling or play design is used.  Are you saying the Miles Sanders doesn't bring more success with him?  Or Dillard,/Seomalu/Kelce/Brooks/Lane isn't much more talented than Peters/Herbig/Kelce/Pryor/Mailata?  Or that throwing to WRs that likely make no other roster in the league makes no difference?   Look, Wentz and Doug need to improve, but let's not pretend like they aren't playing with only part of the deck, as well.

Who all do we reasonably expect to return from injury after the bye week?

2 minutes ago, Parrot Head said:

Who all do we reasonably expect to return from injury after the bye week?

Hopefully Seumalo, but we still don't know the extent of his injury.

9 hours ago, ManuManu said:

 

 

9 hours ago, BigEFly said:

F off, Kist.,That is why Tim has a national media gig and you are a wannabe journalist for SB Nation.  

The thing is, we know Edwards is not a good coverage LB where Gerry was a college S who supposedly could cover.  I think we accept that Edwards is a 2-down LB and won't/shouldn't be out there on 3rd down passing downs.  But, he is loads better at diagnosing a play and making the tackle.  He had a really good tackle on the Ewok where it almost looked like a wrestling takedown.  And honestly, you literally can NOT do worse than allowing every target thrown your way to be completed and have (near) perfect passing rating against you, which is what Gerry had.  Bottom line:  Edwards >>>>> Gerry.

So Kist can suck it for trying to get clicks by pointing out something we all pretty much knew anyway.

 

42 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I don't think that interception is on Reagor.  It was a poor choice and he clearly didn't have a step on the DB. 

It definitely was not on Reagor. Some fans are still defending Wentz. There were two DBs on  Reagor and it was 1st down.  A QB can't force a ball into 30 MPH winds into double coverage on 1st down and expect something good to come from it.

24 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Waiting on the all-22 but my impression is that Mailata was much better this week than last and he was going against Dallas's best player. That's not to say he was good, but he was better. It's worth remembering that Lawrence has given Lane fits in the past.

I'd be interested to hear your impressions on the amount of help Mailata is getting.  Seemed to me like Goedert disappeared in the game for that reason.

1 hour ago, Asg 15 said:

The sack Mailata gave up on the first pass.

Did he think there was a different pass peotection called or did Pryou screw him?

He took a step to his right at the snap which isn't usual.

Ross Tucker said he was "95% sure" that sack was actually on Pryor because it looked like Mailata was expecting inside help (probably a chip block) that never happened.  It does make sense as Mailata just allowed Lawrence to breeze past him on the inside while it looked like he was ready to collect him further to the outside and keep pushing him wide.  I tried to watch Mailata most of the O snaps to see how he was handling the switch to RT and I though I might have missed one, I can't recall him even giving up a pressure the rest of the game.  And he wasn't given help all the time, either.  I do remember him in multiple 1v1 battles and doing a solid job.

I really hope if/when Lane comes back that they put Mailata back at LT and JP at G like he was training to do.  For the reasons that we really need the help at G and that Mailata needs to keep getting reps.  

 

5 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

I'd be interested to hear your impressions on the amount of help Mailata is getting.  Seemed to me like Goedert disappeared in the game for that reason.

That was my thought as well. Watching live I barely saw Goedert and just figured he was on a pitch count. But after seeing he played 84% of the snaps, I have to imagine he was staying in to help the majority of time.

I was listening to the Roob/Zangaro podcast this morning.

A lot of criticism of Carson and Doug.  Most well deserved.  But through the first 30 minutes, not a single mention of 4 backups starting on OL.

I am not excusing Carson and Doug, but context is important.  Doug is hamstrung by limited talent on OL.  

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

I was listening to the Roob/Zangaro podcast this morning.

A lot of criticism of Carson and Doug.  Most well deserved.  But through the first 30 minutes, not a single mention of 4 backups starting on OL.

I am not excusing Carson and Doug, but context is important.  Doug is hamstrung by limited talent on OL.  

During the game Collinsworth and Michaels mentioned the Cowboys injuries, but not ours.

1 minute ago, downundermike said:

During the game Collinsworth and Michaels mentioned the Cowboys injuries, but not ours.

We're missing more All-Pros on the OL than they are (Brooks/Johnson vs. Smith).

31 minutes ago, RLC said:

1) He's an all-time Eagle who is arguably the team's heartbeat.
2) His contract is untradable for us. To take that kind of cap hit, we'd have to basically get a 1st rounder back, which is not happening.

I don’t think the eagles would ever trade Graham. He’s one of the leaders and he brings it on the field every game. And in the locker room this team needs him.

But for s**ts and giggled i looked at this last night because his value to other teams would never be as high as it is right now. So it would be the classic sell high. If you traded him now you take a 5 mil dead money and save only 1.4 in this season. It would help for next year based on what over the cap has if traded post June 1 which would be 5 mil dead money and 13 mil in cap space. Still you’d probably not get the compensation you are looking for as a team would be hard pressed to take on that cap number at his age next season and give up compensation. While he’s playing great now i don’t think teams want to take that contract on next year when he could decline at 33. 
 

 

8 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Wentz needs to be coached properly!!!  Period.  End of story.  He is not getting the coaching and the coordinating.  The difference?  Coaching would be footwork, decision making, pre-snap reads, mechanics, PLAY CLOCK MANAGEMENT!!!   Coordinating would be, play design, game plan for the opponent, scripted plays, offensive philosophy, pocket movement and again.....PLAY CLOCK MANAGEMENT!!!!  Too many times it seems a play seems frenetic and Carson gets frenetic because the F-ING plays are coming in too late and the play clock is counting down under 5 seconds.  It is not a good way to start a play!  I have been saying it for 2 years now, but it all has a correlation to how a QB and an offense performs.  If I know they won't snap it until it gets under 5 seconds, don't you think the defense knows that?  Maybe, maybe you switch it up every now and then and catch the defense off guard.  You cannot run the GD play clock down below 5 seconds on every play!  And he should not be allowed to check out of every GD play!  Carson, run it!  Enough with the KILL KILL KILL.  Run the GD play.  Take what is there and get the ball out of your hands.  

 

The two picks were more just being too aggressive in the wind.  They weren't necessarily bad throws.  They just maybe weren't necessary throws.  The two fumbles is what had me livid.  Especially the first one.  I'm pretty sure the neighbors heard me on that one.  My dog started shaking.  Ginger SpazzBot, held onto the ball too long...then left the pocket.  But where did he go?  Floated off to the left, which is never a great idea if your a right handed QB.  But what made it even worse is there was no routes being run on that side of the field.  A good QB coach will have that fixed.  A well coached QB will know not to do that and if all else fails, put it in the 3rd row.  A QB that has a proper coordinator will design plays and a philosophy to avoid such lulls in productivity.  Carson's decline is on him.  But it is also on the coaching.  But if he is getting the coaching and he refuses to take it and apply it, then he needs to be benched.  Plain and simple.  I said last night, he should have benched for one drive.  

The first fumble he had Goedert infront of him, but they weren't on the same page. I think Carson expected DG to slip past to lob it over the defenders head but Goedert starting blocking thinking Carson was going to keep scrambling. I'm not excusing Wentz for that turnover, he had plenty of time to throw it away, but that is juat how it looked to me.

So anybody hit any thoughts on all the 4th down attempts and 2 point conversion attempts? Honestly getting pretty tired of it. I get when it’s 13-9 going for 2 etc.. but some of the other ones over the past few weeks and these 4th down attempts... My God does Doug still think we have the 2017 offense??

 

 

Also, a tip of the hat to Jim Schwartz last night. I routinely kill him. He did a tremendous job last night. With Doug’s help they only gave up 9 points, w/o it most likely only 3. 

7 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

Am I reading this right... JJAW had 5 offensive snaps last night? 

Well he has lost his job to Fulgham. There is no role for him in this offense anymore. He should be released day 1 next year alongside Alshon and Desean.

Oh and he doesn't even play special teams. A struggling player could potentially redeem himself that way but he can't do that either.

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

He is not a good DC.  I wouldn't pat him on the back too much.  Dallas sucks.  

Exactly. It's like when the defense looked stellar against the Jets last year.

5 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

5 too many.  I was hoping to see him on the inactive list.  Ridiculous.  

Quez Watkins should get his snaps after the bye.