EMB Blog: 2022 Regular Season (and beyond?) - NO POLITICS

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

correct. blog will argue semantics. you know what I mean. 

Meh. No one was actually scared of Houston, and we did have to steal that game from Indy. Even Green Bay we had to hang on late. It’s not like we dominated those two games. 

[TorontoEagle]

5 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I think one of the reasons that some talking heads in the national media don’t want to give Hurts much credit is because it goes against their previous evaluation of him. The spent the entire offseason discrediting him and by admitting now that he’s actually good makes them appear silly. They can’t have that happen to their reputation so they just say that it’s the team that’s so good.

We are ranked first overall in DVOA. 2nd in offense and 7 in defense. 
 

Buffalo is 2nd, 4th in O and 4th in D

 

Cin is 6th, 5th on O and 10th in D

 

KC is 7, 1st in O and 25th! on D.

 

I think Mahomes has done more with less around him, on both sides. He lost arguably a top 3 WR, and still has the best offense in the league. 
 

The supporting cast around Hurts has elevated his play substantially, and to his credit he has elevated his play as well. 
 

When it comes down to it, I think Mahomes is the MVP, by whatever definition you want to use.

[SkippyX]

Tua on playing in Buffalo: It also snows in Alabama.

 

Tua around 11 PM EST tomorrow night

[TorontoEagle]

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

Meh. No one was actually scared of Houston, and we did have to steal that game from Indy. Even Green Bay we had to hang on late. It’s not like we dominated those two games. 

Disagree. We dominated GB and they were never really in it at all

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

Just now, SkippyX said:

Tua on playing in Buffalo: It also snows in Alabama.

 

Tua around 11 PM EST tomorrow night

I think the dolphins are gonna get smoked in that game. The dolphins aren’t playing all that well lately as it is. Waddle has disappeared from that offense. Hill dealing with a foot injury. Then going into to Buffalo with 7-9 inches of snow. Feels like recipe for Buffalo just smashing them 

[mattwill]

7 hours ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Tbh the giants schedule is brutal.  They really have to beat Washington and the colts to get in. Or win one of those and hope the eagles clinch homefield before week 17 so we don’t play everyone the entire game. They are at Washington, at Minnesota, vs. colts and at eagles. Imo they could easily lose all 4. If they beat Washington and beat the colts then i think they likely get in at 9-7-1.

The Seahawks are at KC, vs. jets and vs. rams. The jets game might be the difference between making and missing the playoffs. Losing Lockett is pretty big. Jets are top 4 against the pass and 6th ppg allowed. I’d argue he’s their most valuable weapon on that team. If he doesn’t play that jets game, makes the matchup much harder as sauce will cover metcalf exclusively.

The lions have a shot to win all 4 games left. They are at jets, at Carolina, vs. Chicago and at GB. That said 3 of the 4 are on the road and the lions on the road average 18.4 ppg and 31.7 ppg at home. Granted last two road games they’ve played much better and won. I actually think the jets/lions game probably determines the fate of both of those teams. 

You seem to assume the Vikings will beat the Giants.  I believe that is assuming too much.

[DEagle7]

33 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

Mahomes is the only guy this year that has a stronger MVP case than Hurts. He has better overall stats, with a far weaker supporting cast. But it’s a close race between them 

I think Burrow has an argument too with that sieve of an OL they have. Guy has been playing out of his mind in the second half. Any one of those 3 would be reasonable choices IMO. 

[NCiggles]

14 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

I think his reading has improved. Pre-snap, and quick recognition after the snap. 

And his passing vision and decision making has improved too. There are numerous plays in ever game last where you could point to and say- he had this guy open for a TD.... This year, we have rarely said that. Hes seeing the plays to be made for the most part.

What he is still struggling with is staying composed when he knows a blitz is coming. Or not even a blitz. But seeing 1 OL getting pushed back a little bit. When he leaves a solid pocket and makes a play more difficult because he wouldnt stand in an extra half second, or move just a bit and deliver from a different point. 

He clearly has some sort of mechanical issue that makes a lot of his short passes nose dive. 

He inexplicably is a poor passer on the move when mobility has always been the best (and sometimes only redeeming) part of his game. 

His accuracy on deep balls has been juuuuust good enough, but has been tempting fate often. Whether that fate be an INT or a trip to the hospital for his WRs... Or a fumble caused by his placement of the ball on what could have otherwise been a game winning play.     This deep ball accuracy represents an major improvement for him, but still a major area of weakness. He needs to learn to change trajectory at times (though maybe he cant because of his arm strength issue). 

He did well against the blitz on Sunday. He had a very nice throw to Watkins in the face of a blitzer. The TD to Smith was also in the face of a free rusher up the middle.  I think he is fine when he's made the decision to throw.  It's when he has to still process where to throw it  that he gets to jumpy in the pocket.  Pocket presence has been one of his weaknesses this season but like other areas of his game, I see it improving.  I think he's a poor passer when he's on the move to his left.  He missed a wide open AJ moving to his left and it was almost like he shot putted the ball to him.  Moving to his right he had several good throws on Sunday.  The throw to Sanders was perfectly placed and was called incomplete.  He also threw back accross his body to AJ and AJ had that terrible drop.  He seems like he is better able to rotate his hips better and get more on the ball moving to his right.  Similarily his deep balls have gotten much better.  I think you are nitpicking a part of his game that is probably the strongest.  He is accurate and gives the receivers an opportunity to make a play.  He does put a bunch of air under the ball but I don't think that's really creating INT opportunities.  The INT he had on the pass intended for AJ was the result of deciding to throw it when 2 defenders could make a play.  He also threw that ball without much air under it.  I just don't see a complaint.  Sure the throw to Smith could have been a hospital ball but the problem was that he didn't have time to look off the safety not that he didn't make a good throw.  

He had to hurry the throw because he had Lawrence running full speed right up the middle to him.  

[we_gotta_believe]

7 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

To be fair, the blue print no longer exists because we added two quality run defenders in Suh and Joseph and Gannon smartly added more run blitzes after letting Houston’s only good player help them keep the game close into the second half. 

Whatever the case, he asked who was "scared" of those teams and I answered. Whether the concerns were justified are another story. 

[TorontoEagle]

1 minute ago, DEagle7 said:

I think Burrow has an argument too with that sieve of an OL they have. Guy has been playing out of his mind in the second half. Any one of those 3 would be reasonable choices IMO. 

Problem for Burrow is they have a very tough schedule left, while Baltimore has a cakewalk. If Cincy can’t win the division, Burrow has no shot at MVP.

Of course, if Burrow runs the table, he’ll firmly plant himself in the thick of the conversation 

[mattwill]

14 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I think one of the reasons that some talking heads in the national media don’t want to give Hurts much credit is because it goes against their previous evaluation of him. The spent the entire offseason discrediting him and by admitting now that he’s actually good makes them appear silly. They can’t have that happen to their reputation so they just say that it’s the team that’s so good.

That same reason applies to a lot of posters on the EMB as well

[NCiggles]

3 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

I think the dolphins are gonna get smoked in that game. The dolphins aren’t playing all that well lately as it is. Waddle has disappeared from that offense. Hill dealing with a foot injury. Then going into to Buffalo with 7-9 inches of snow. Feels like recipe for Buffalo just smashing them 

The only issue is that Buffalo's running game isn't good.  The Dolphins have a better running game.  I just wouldn't expect much from Hill or Waddle. 

[TorontoEagle]

Just now, NCiggles said:

He did well against the blitz on Sunday. He had a very nice throw to Watkins in the face of a blitzer. The TD to Smith was also in the face of a free rusher up the middle.  I think he is fine when he's made the decision to throw.  It's when he has to still process where to throw it  that he gets to jumpy in the pocket.  Pocket presence has been one of his weaknesses this season but like other areas of his game, I see it improving.  I think he's a poor passer when he's on the move to his left.  He missed a wide open AJ moving to his left and it was almost like he shot putted the ball to him.  Moving to his right he had several good throws on Sunday.  The throw to Sanders was perfectly placed and was called incomplete.  He also threw back accross his body to AJ and AJ had that terrible drop.  He seems like he is better able to rotate his hips better and get more on the ball moving to his right.  Similarily his deep balls have gotten much better.  I think you are nitpicking a part of his game that is probably the strongest.  He is accurate and gives the receivers an opportunity to make a play.  He does put a bunch of air under the ball but I don't think that's really creating INT opportunities.  The INT he had on the pass intended for AJ was the result of deciding to throw it when 2 defenders could make a play.  He also threw that ball without much air under it.  I just don't see a complaint.  Sure the throw to Smith could have been a hospital ball but the problem was that he didn't have time to look off the safety not that he didn't make a good throw.  

He had to hurry the throw because he had Lawrence running full speed right up the middle to him.  

I’ve argued this plenty this week….that pass to Smith was god awful, the only saving grace is the safety is a complete idiot

[ManuManu]

5 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

Disagree. We dominated GB and they were never really in it at all

It was a 7 point game with 9 minutes left. 

2 minutes ago, mattwill said:

That same reason applies to a lot of posters on the EMB as well

Yep. 

[TorontoEagle]

Just now, ManuManu said:

It was a 7 point game with 9 minutes left. 

When we took the lead at halftime, the win probability chart hit 80% and never dipped under it again. That game wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated 

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, TorontoEagle said:

When we took the lead at halftime, the win probability chart hit 80% and never dipped under it again. That game wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated 

Ok…

[TorontoEagle]

6 minutes ago, mattwill said:

That same reason applies to a lot of posters on the EMB as well

Wrong

[Mike31mt]

2 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

When we took the lead at halftime, the win probability chart hit 80% and never dipped under it again. That game wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated 

I get what youre saying, but the game is exactly as close as the score indicates.  

[TorontoEagle]

Just now, ManuManu said:

Ok…

You love analytics. But only when it supports your argument?

We ran for 363 yards, but Green Bay was "in it”? Lol

Just now, Mike31mt said:

I get what youre saying, but the game is exactly as close as the score indicates.  

Wrong

[jsb235]

2 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

I think Mahomes has done more with less around him, on both sides. He lost arguably a top 3 WR, and still has the best offense in the league. 

I don't think Hurts is better than Mahomes, but according to espn, kc has the best pass blocking oline in the league. The eagles are ranked ninth. 

Hill was replaced by juju, who is a former pro bowler who put up 1,400 yards. He also has Kelce, who is an all pro. He also has Valdes-Scandling, who put up solid numbers for Green Bay two years ago. 

So while Mahomes may be better than Hurts, there is simply no truth to the argument that there is some massive gap in offensive talent between the two teams. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

6 minutes ago, mattwill said:

You seem to assume the Vikings will beat the Giants.  I believe that is assuming too much.

 if the giants continue to give up 32ppg like they have over the last 4 games i don’t think they are beating anyone. I’d add Barkley is dealing with a neck injury now. So your best player is hurting and your defense has begun to collapse along with having a boatload of injuries. Plus have to go on the road for 2nd consecutive week.

could they win? Yeah. It’s the nfl. however they are trending in the wrong direction both play and health wise. 

[mattwill]

2 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

The logic is broken here.   IF they already have WON, then what is the gamble being taken this year? 

The gamble is that Hurts follows a Lamar Jackson trajectory with this year being Hurts’ ceiling. The timing of when that gamble is taken (by extending his contract) is undetermined,  it could be this year (technically this offseason) or next year or never (by trading him while his market value is high).

[pallidrone]

8 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

We are ranked first overall in DVOA. 2nd in offense and 7 in defense. 
 

Buffalo is 2nd, 4th in O and 4th in D

 

Cin is 6th, 5th on O and 10th in D

 

KC is 7, 1st in O and 25th! on D.

 

I think Mahomes has done more with less around him, on both sides. He lost arguably a top 3 WR, and still has the best offense in the league.
 

The supporting cast around Hurts has elevated his play substantially, and to his credit he has elevated his play as well. 
 

When it comes down to it, I think Mahomes is the MVP, by whatever definition you want to use.

You make it seem like all he has is garbage around him. He still has his future HOF TE, who, when it is all said and done, will probably go down as the greatest to play the position.

They signed JuJu Smith Schuster, probably the best available WR in FA. Then they signed a speedster in Valdes-Scantling. They brought in weapons to replace Hill.

The offense ALWAYS went through Kelce, not Hill. That is why Hill was upset and wanted to leave. 

Not diminishing his candidacy as MVP or what he has done this year,  but let's stop pretending that he has nothing around him.

[TorontoEagle]

1 minute ago, jsb235 said:

I don't think Hurts is better than Mahomes, but according to espn, kc has the best pass blocking oline in the league. The eagles are ranked ninth. 

Hill was replaced by juju, who is a former pro bowler who put up 1,400 yards. He also has Kelce, who is an all pro. He also has Valdes-Scandling, who put up solid numbers for Green Bay two years ago. 

So while Mahomes may be better than Hurts, there is simply no truth to the argument that there is some massive gap in offensive talent between the two teams. 

Wrong

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, TorontoEagle said:

You love analytics. But only when it supports your argument?

We ran for 363 yards, but Green Bay was "in it”? Lol

Wrong

I love analytics, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend a 7 point game in the fourth quarter wasn’t a close game based on "win probability.”