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[time2rock]

Trending

Posted: November 17th, 2021 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The Eagles have won two of the last three games. They blew out the Lions, 44-6, and beat the Broncos 30-13. Even the loss to the Chargers was encouraging in some ways. The Eagles are trending in the right direction.

Everything starts with the run game. The Eagles have averaged 208 yards per game over the past three contests. That is a great rushing attack. This isn’t just grinding out three yards and protecting the ball. The Eagles are getting explosive plays. Jalen Hurts, Jordan Howard and Boston Scott are all averaging more than five yards per carry for the entire season. They’ve been gashing defenses in the last three games.

The key to this is the offensive line. The left side of the line is massive, while the right side is athletic. That gives Jeff Stoutland a lot of different options. He knows his guys up front can win in different ways. Again, this isn’t just bully ball to get some yards and wear down a defense. The Eagles are moving the ball up and down the field and the offense is averaging 28 points per game.

Focusing on the run has helped the Eagles passing game. Hurts is throwing less, but playing better.

Go beyond the numbers. We know in today’s NFL you can twist numbers in a lot of different ways. Just use the eye test and Hurts looks vastly improved. He is making a concerted effort to stay in the pocket. His instinct is to bail when he feels pressure. He did that for the first two months. Now he is moving up in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield.

Hurts is seeing the field better. He had a bad habit of throwing to the right side almost all of the time. Hurts is now working the middle and throwing to his left as well. You must make defenses cover the whole field.

Hurts threw a pair of terrific deep balls on Sunday. DeVonta Smith caught one for a TD. Quez Watkins let the other one go through his hands. There isn’t much of a point in having young, fast receivers if the QB can’t hit them down the field. Hurts accuracy has been erratic, short and deep. In the recent hot streak, he’s been more accurate with his throws.

The dynamic run game and productive passing attack have led to an efficient offense.

This recent hot stretch isn’t all about the offense. The Eagles defense has allowed just 15 points per game in the past three weeks. None of the opponents has run for 100 yards (although Denver did have a good game overall). The Eagles have gotten multiple fourth down stops in each game. They have played good Red Zone defense. The scheme has been more aggressive and the players have looked better. The defense even scored a pair of TDs, both on fumbles that Darius Slay scooped up and took to the house.

The defense still has issues. They didn’t force a single punt in the Chargers game and had some sloppy stretches vs Denver, but overall the defense has done some good things and does show promise. Linebackers TJ Edwards and Davion Taylor are playing the best football of their young careers and that has helped a lot.

Even the Eagles STs have done their part. Jake Elliott and Arryn Siposs have kicked the ball well and the Eagles got a blocked field goal out in Denver. Shaun Bradley had a huge hit on Sunday while covering a kick and he’s developed into a really good STer.

The Eagles never trailed against Detroit or Denver. The Chargers game was tight throughout. The Eagles are disappearing for large chunks of the game, as they did last year and early on this season. The team is playing consistent football right now.

This is a formula that can work. We’ve seen teams get hot when fluke plays were going their way. That’s not the case here. You aren’t seeing circus catches, bunches of turnovers and wild highlight plays. This is good, basic football. Shane Steichen mentioned the offense’s lack of penalties. It makes a big difference when you are facing 2nd-and-4 as opposed to 2nd-and-14. The Eagles are staying ahead of the chains.

The defense and STs have still had some penalty issues that need to be cleaned up, but that goes to the point of this not being a fluke. The Eagles are playing well, but they still have a lot of room for improvement.

I am curious to see how this team handles success. They haven’t won consecutive games this year. The schedule the rest of the way is soft so the Eagles will have a chance to string together some wins, but that only happens if the coaches continue to make smart decisions and the players continue to execute well. And the players need to stay focused.

If the Eagles start to feel too good about themselves, this could go sideways in a hurry. I don’t think that will happen to this bunch, though. Sirianni is a hungry coach. Hurts is a hungry QB. With veteran leaders like Jason Kelce and Rodney McLeod, I think the players will appreciate the recent success in the right way.

We’ll get hint on this team’s mentality by how they play on Sunday.

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[birdman#12]

Consistency is a big characteristic of good teams.  And it's really hard to achieve it in the NFL.

The offense has started to settle in since Sirianni realized running the ball is legal in the NFL.  And it takes pressure off of Hurts.  But they still have a way to go to......but improving.

The defense is all over the place....and the defensive line disappears in some games.  That has got to stop.  But they aren't as good as advertised either.  The defensive ends have brutally underachieved with offensive lines focusing on Cox and Hargrave.  Barnett is a waste of a uniform.  The defense has played better with the insertion of Taylor and Edwards.  These last 7 games will need the defensive line to play better and more consistent if the eagles are going to continue to improve.

I still think Sirianni is a bonehead when it comes to calling plays.  He doesn't seem to have a knack for situational play calls.....

[time2rock]

2 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

Consistency is a big characteristic of good teams.  And it's really hard to achieve it in the NFL.

The offense has started to settle in since Sirianni realized running the ball is legal in the NFL.  And it takes pressure off of Hurts.  But they still have a way to go to......but improving.

The defense is all over the place....and the defensive line disappears in some games.  That has got to stop.  But they aren't as good as advertised either.  The defensive ends have brutally underachieved with offensive lines focusing on Cox and Hargrave.  Barnett is a waste of a uniform.  The defense has played better with the insertion of Taylor and Edwards.  These last 7 games will need the defensive line to play better and more consistent if the eagles are going to continue to improve.

I still think Sirianni is a bonehead when it comes to calling plays.  He doesn't seem to have a knack for situational play calls.....

DE has GOT to be one of the top offseason priorities for this team.  With three 1st rd picks (assuming we get Indy's), I'd be shocked if one of them wasn't a DE.  Further, it wouldn't surprise me if TWO of those three picks are on DE (or they use a 1 and a 2 or a 3).  I think they'll be adding multiple picks to the position with Kerrigan and Barnett surely gone and Graham at the end of his career.  

[EricAllenPick6]

8 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

The offense has started to settle in since Sirianni realized running the ball is legal in the NFL.

Definitely.  Diagree on Siri, though.  He's learned and adjusted, which is something that not many coaches can actually do.  We've gone from not running the ball at all to dominating the run.  

Now, what's odd is that dominating the running game and an offense usually leads to a big time of possession lead, which helps the defense.  We haven't seen that.  Maybe we will soon?

[birdman#12]

12 hours ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Definitely.  Diagree on Siri, though.  He's learned and adjusted, which is something that not many coaches can actually do.  We've gone from not running the ball at all to dominating the run.  

Now, what's odd is that dominating the running game and an offense usually leads to a big time of possession lead, which helps the defense.  We haven't seen that.  Maybe we will soon?

Sirianni learned and adapted with a basic facet of football.......he ran the ball so little early on, I was completely baffled as to why he didn't.....

I think if Sirianni continues to realize the eagles can run the ball so effectively and Hurts continues to improve, TOP will favor the eagles more.....BUT, the defense has to do their part more consistently....these long scoring drives they give up have to stop....6,7 and 8 minute drives of 70+ yards have been too common this year