Looking ahead at the schedule. Packers (@ Eagles) will be coming off a mini bye (they play Thurs the week before). And @ Chicago, the Bears will be coming off a full bye week. 

Just now, TorontoEagle said:

His second target was a 22 yard square in I thought last night 

It was.  His other catch was a screen though and that was it. 

Just now, bpac55 said:

Read my posts again.  It isn't about touches.  I've said it multiple times.  I've posted their receptions.  It's a great problem to have 3 top targets.  That's not my complaint.  It's about how they use him and what plays they call for Smith.

However, if we want to talk about targets, Gainwell had 3 catches to Smith's 2.  Sorry, give those to Smith or someone else. 

RB targets are needed to keep the LBs up towards the LOS. You can't just replace those with Smith targets. It affects the run game, the RPO game, etc.

There are only so many passes to go around each week.  The Eagles have so many viable weapons that there just aren't enough balls to go around. Right now Hurts is doing great going thru his progressions. And he's finding open receivers early.  Can't be upset about that, even if it means Smith isn't getting the ball.  Brown and Goedert are always open. 

3 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

See my post though.  There top 3 targets have nearly identical number of catches.  43, 40 and 40.  Brown and Goedert are having great plays drawn up for them.  Smith is being thrown screen passes.  The plays they are targeting Smith on are behind the line of scrimmage.  His production is a result of the plays being called for him.  Instead of dialing up a WR screen for him, dial up a quick slant, a post, a corner.  Let him use his elite route running skills to get open and feed him the ball that way.  Stop throwing screens to him when none of them work and it takes away his best skillset. 

It's not about the so many passes to go around, it's what they are doing when they call those pass plays.

I guess. Seems like a weird thing to belabor weekly. He’s just not as good or explosive at his position as Brown and Goedert. I don’t like the screens to Smith, but it’s just not something to hammer away at so much. We have an efficient offense. We’re 8-0. Let’s save it for when it actually matters. 

39 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Bit of an ugly game yesterday.  Pierce is a fun runner to watch, just not when he is playing our team.  But the better team won.  Eagles looked like a group on four days rest that traveled to the game and has its home city baseball team in the World Series.  Nick looked like he hadn’t slept in days.  He will give the team the weekend off to enjoy the Phillies and Union. (No matter what happens the next two games, the Phillies are the reigning National League champion.). 

My concern is that Gannon has no real answers against the run and is unwilling to take chances to stop a drive.  If he does not adjust the defense game plans to make run fits a priority they will be lucky to pull out wins against the Giants and Titans.  I think the problem is excacerbated by poor tackling in the secondary and LBs that have struggled to get off of blocks.  Epps and CJG are not big safeties.  Epps is a willing hitter and seems to be a good tackler but CJG does not wrap up players well.  I am not sure why Dean isn't getting some snaps and why they don't consider moving to a 4-3 against a heavy run team like Houston even when they are in 11 personnel.  

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

RB targets are needed to keep the LBs up towards the LOS. You can't just replace those with Smith targets. It affects the run game, the RPO game, etc.

Yeah. It’s not just a snap of the fingers. Sometimes you just take advantage of what the defense gives you. 

 

 

15 minutes ago, Mike31mt said:

My memory of our run D back then was similar to how it is now.   It wasnt that we were amazing at it, its just that teams hardly ran against us.

nah... it was really good. They didnt get to run against us because we had leads. But even if they tried early in games theyd get like 1.7 yards per carry (I just made that number up but I bet its pretty close).

No team could have ever kept itself close in the game for an entire half by just running the ball against us like we saw last night. Our pass D was what was suspect in 2017. Run D was spectacular.

7 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

We were No. 1 in rush yards per game and sixth in YPC against. 

So now you made me check....we were last in the league in opponents rushing attempts

337 total rushing attempts against us that season.  21 attempts per game, pretty incredible.

This season the Eagles have the 9th fewest attempts against them so far. 24 attempts/game

7 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

My concern is that Gannon has no real answers against the run and is unwilling to take chances to stop a drive.  If he does not adjust the defense game plans to make run fits a priority they will be lucky to pull out wins against the Giants and Titans.  I think the problem is excacerbated by poor tackling in the secondary and LBs that have struggled to get off of blocks.  Epps and CJG are not big safeties.  Epps is a willing hitter and seems to be a good tackler but CJG does not wrap up players well.  I am not sure why Dean isn't getting some snaps and why they don't consider moving to a 4-3 against a heavy run team like Houston even when they are in 11 personnel.  

The problem is the poor tackling.  If a LB or S is in the runner's gap, that is a win for the defense.  But he has to make the tackle.  That wasn't happening last night.

 

2 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

I guess. Seems like a weird thing to belabor weekly. He’s just not as good or explosive at his position as Brown and Goedert. I don’t like the screens to Smith, but it’s just not something to hammer away at so much. We have an efficient offense. We’re 8-0. Let’s save it for when it actually matters. 

It's easy to forget how explosive Smith is because outside of the Washington game this year, in his 2 years here he hasn't been used like he was at Alabama.  Yes, the college game is different than the NFL but he didn't average less than 15 YPC over his entire career. You don't catch 46 TD in the SEC from not being explosive.  He's not jitterbug explosive like Waddle or TO explosive like Brown but he 100% can dominate. 

 

 

13 minutes ago, RLC said:

Who exactly do you want to target less for more Smith touches? We ran the ball more than we passed last night...which we should have done. Brown is our #1 WR and Goedert was killing their zone coverage. Quez was 2 for 2 on targets. Pascal had 1 target. The entire backfield combined for 3 targets.

It's not an actual problem.

Im pretty positive from being able to read, hes not complaining about # of targets for smith, so much as the way he is used.

 

9 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

I guess. Seems like a weird thing to belabor weekly. He’s just not as good or explosive at his position as Brown and Goedert. I don’t like the screens to Smith, but it’s just not something to hammer away at so much. We have an efficient offense. We’re 8-0. Let’s save it for when it actually matters. 

Thats probably very wrong. 

40 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I don't feel as bad about Mailata after Lane struggled with Hughes too. He looked bad on those back to back plays but I think he was otherwise good the rest of the game.  

I thought one of the sacks Mailata gave up was on a early snap by Kelce which cost him a few steps. The other problem I thought was when we dropped back 10 plays in a row. Texans were able to just pin thier ears back.

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

The problem is the poor tackling.  If a LB or S is in the runners gap, that is a win for the defense.  But he has to make the tackle.  That wasn't happening last night.

 

We’re last in the league in yards after contact allowed. 

10 minutes ago, RLC said:

Who exactly do you want to target less for more Smith touches? We ran the ball more than we passed last night...which we should have done. Brown is our #1 WR and Goedert was killing their zone coverage. Quez was 2 for 2 on targets. Pascal had 1 target. The entire backfield combined for 3 targets.

It's not an actual problem.

I don't think the argument is necessarily his number of targets, I think the argument is more on how he is being utilized.  I think they should have some specific plays drawn up to utilize his unique skill set.  

 

I think it has been ok, but I would like to see him get a little more stuff for him specifically.

23 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

I posted the stat last night.  Smith had 169 yards against Washington.  He's had 172 in the 5 games since, 35 yards per game.  I get that one of their guys is going to have the majority of the targets and yards every game, but Smith is being used like he's Greg Ward.  He's a top 10 pick they traded up for with a division rival (giving them Michael Parsons) and he's being thrown the ball behind the line of scrimmage nearly every play.  Sorry, 35 yards per game for him is NOT good nor is it a good use of resources.  Again, might as well be Greg Ward out there the way they are using him.

I would argue that they "gave" Michael Parsons to the Giants but they were too stupid to pick him.

Also comparing Smith to Ward is catastrophically silly. 

Just now, HazletonEagle said:

Thats probably very wrong. 

Brown is one of the more explosive WRs in the NFL, and Goedert is elite after the catch at TE. 

22 minutes ago, Mike31mt said:

You can push a runner but cant pull.  It definitely should have been a penalty.  

But should you be penalized for pulling a runner who is already down? That was the point that I made instantly and was happy that Herbstreit addressed it.

5 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

nah... it was really good. They didnt get to run against us because we had leads. But even if they tried early in games theyd get like 1.7 yards per carry (I just made that number up but I bet its pretty close).

No team could have ever kept itself close in the game for an entire half by just running the ball against us like we saw last night. Our pass D was what was suspect in 2017. Run D was spectacular.

So my weird memory is that we were started out really good and developed a reputation for being very good vs. the run, but then a few games where teams ran on us kind of crushed that narrative and it became more about just teams having an easier time passing on us and choosing to do that instead of run

The per run average is good, no doubt, but for some reason I remember it that way.  Like our pass defense was pretty poor so no one bothered to test the run D

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

I don't think the argument is necessarily his number of targets, I think the argument is more on how he is being utilized.  I think they should have some specific plays drawn up to utilize his unique skill set.  

 

I think it has been ok, but I would like to see him get a little more stuff for him specifically.

His unique skill set includes getting open at will.  No need to send him on go routes all the time when he can keep drives moving on underneath routes.

And the WR screens are a scheme thing.  If Hurts sees numbers in the box, throwing it to the perimeter is part of the play call.  

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

Brown is one of the more explosive WRs in the NFL, and Goedert is elite after the catch at TE. 

Smith is faster than brown by a LOT, and is also elite after the catch. We just dont get to see it because they give him the ball at the LOS with no blockers.

Let him run real WR routes and see him make the CB miss and pick up YAC. Let him go on crossing routes and separate and turn the corner with his speed. Get him the ball in space, not in traffic. 

Brown and Goedert are more physical. Smith is just as elite running with the ball, in his own way which is more quickness and speed. Hes on their level. He just doesnt get the chance to show it.

1 minute ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I would argue that they "gave" Michael Parsons to the Giants but they were too stupid to pick him.

Also comparing Smith to Ward is catastrophically silly. 

Come on, be realistic.  Do you think I'm comparing their skillsets and saying Ward is as good as Smith?  No, absolutely not.  What I'm saying is if they are going to continue to just use Smith on behind the LOS plays and he has games where his average looks more like a RB YPC than yes, they might as well use Greg Ward.

Let me also say I was top in line of the anti draft DeVonta Smith train.  I was the conductor of the at all costs go up and get Kyle Pitts train.  Smith was the last WR I wanted out of the top targets available.  

 

Not sure why folks are arguing about Smith. He’s currently also on pace for close to 1000 yards and that’s before the league adjusts during the last quarter of the season to take away Brown and Goedert.

He’s going to get his. He needs to stay healthy and it should be only a matter of time.