The Day After – PHI 29, JAX 21

[time2rock]

The Day After – PHI 29, JAX 21

Posted: October 3rd, 2022 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The Eagles are good. Really good. This isn’t about a soft schedule, lucky bounces or miracle finishes. This team is legit. The Eagles are the only undefeated team at 4-0. They are second in total yards and third in yards allowed. Football Outsiders has them at #2 in DVOA. Use records, stats or data analysis. They’ll all tell you that this is a damn good team.

We’ve all heard the Bill Parcells quote that "You are what your record is”. There certainly is a lot of truth in that, but it can be very deceiving, especially early in the season. The Giants are 3-1. They needed a late 2-point conversion to beat the mediocre Titans. They needed a late FG to beat the Panthers, who might be the worst team in the league. Yesterday the Giants beat a bad Bears team in an ugly game. Good for the Giants for getting off to a 3-1 start, but they are light years from being a good team.

The Eagles started 4-0 back in 1993. That was fluke city. They needed fourth quarter comebacks to beat the Cardinals, Packers, Skins and Jets. Randall Cunningham got hurt in the miracle win over the Jets and that team fell apart. They lost six games in a row and the season was gone. In case you don’t remember that Jets game, enjoy this.

[NOTE: click on link to article below to view video]

I love Byron Evans hit to seal the game. But let’s jump back to today’s Eagles.

This team is 4-0. They have controlled, if not dominated, all four games. Think about the runs they went on in each game.

• DET 31-7
• MIN 24-0
• WAS 24-0
• JAX 29-7

This Eagles team can get down 7-0 or even 14-0 as they did on Sunday, but they are so good and so mentally tough that they stay focused and slowly take control of the game.

The 2022 Eagles do resemble the 2004 team and the 2017 team. I know some people will see this as bad luck to compare them, but I think you have to when looking at how this team has played and what their potential is.

All of them had good coaches, good QBs, strong line play, good skill talent and playmakers on defense. The 2004 and 2017 teams were dominant in the regular season and then got to the Super Bowl.

https://twitter.com/FO_ASchatz/status/1576950258638409733

We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for this group. But it sure is fun to have a team playing at this level.

*****

The Eagles have struggled with field position this season. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, thanks in large part to Trevor Lawrence and his fumbles. The Eagles started one drive at their own 43. They had another start at Jacksonville’s 35-yard line and one at the 24. Those drives resulted in 20 points. If there was ever a day to have a short field advantage, yesterday was it.

The Jags had one drive start at their own 40. Eight of their drives started at or inside their own 25. Field position didn’t help them.

*****

Points off turnovers are critical. The Eagles scored 22 of their 29 points after taking the ball away from the Jags.

*****

Speaking of takeaways, I didn’t realize how impressive James Bradberry’s pick was.

https://twitter.com/CarlosYakNFL/status/1576652311866138624

Nick Sirianni explained in his press conference today that Bradberry turned in the middle of the catch to land on his back and that was all by design. Players are taught to do that when possible to avoid the ball hitting the ground and coming loose.

The Eagles don’t just talk about takeaways. They teach specific details on how to come up with them. That’s a credit to Sirianni and his staff. And the results are showing this year.

*****

The Eagles defense has beaten two #1 overall picks (Goff, Lawrence), a #2 overall pick (Wentz) and a 3-time Pro Bowler (Cousins). That’s a far cry from last year when the Eagles struggled against anything close to a talented QB.

*****

Jacksonville led 14-0 on Sunday. Lawrence dropped back and had a WR open for a long TD, but the pass was just a bit off. Three plays later Lawrence fumbled the ball near midfield. That sequence really changed the game. Had the Eagles gone down 21-0, they might not have been able to come back and win.

When you play a good team, you must make plays when you have a chance. The Eagles have done a good job of that this year and it is a big part of the reason they’re 4-0.

*****

The Eagles have had pretty good success when going after pass rushers in free agency. William Fuller was a stud from 1994-1996. Jevon Kearse helped them reach the Super Bowl in 2004, but never posted great numbers. Jason Babin posted great numbers, but wasn’t a complete player and was a handful in the locker room. Connor Barwin was good on the field and even better off it. Chris Long was a great situational rusher and a huge part of the great team chemistry in 2017.

Haason Reddick looks he could turn out to be a great addition.

He leads the NFL in FF with 3. Reddick is on pace for double-digit sacks. Those are the kind of impact plays they paid him for.

*****

The versatility of this Eagles offense is really impressive. They have run for more than 200 yards in two games. They have thrown for more than 320 yards in the other two games. Are the Eagles a running team? Are they a passing team? Right now they can do both at a high level.

The dominant OL is a huge part of this. They open holes for the runners and give good protection to Hurts when he throws it.

DeVonta and AJ are stud receivers who can make all kinds of plays. Zach Pascal and Quez Watkins are good role players. Dallas Goedert is a gifted TE. The RBs are a good fit for this system, with Miles Sanders having the best year of his career.

Jalen Hurts is the X-factor. He can beat you with his arm and also make plays with his legs. This year he’s also beating teams with his brain (see the 4th/goal play from the WAS game).

It also helps to have good coaches who can come up with creative plays to use all these weapons.

http://igglesblitz.com/2022/10/the-day-after-phi/

[EricAllenPick6]

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

The 2022 Eagles do resemble the 2004 team and the 2017 team. I know some people will see this as bad luck to compare them, but I think you have to when looking at how this team has played and what their potential is.

I think this team is better than both of those.

This team is much tougher mentally than 2004.  McNabb was always a head case and TO was ... special.  Hurts is so mentally tough and works so hard.  I don't think I would ever count this team out.  Even if they were down 21-0 I'd still give them a shot to come back.  Jalen just works too hard and is such a good leader.

The 2017 team was the Carson Wentz show until it wasn't.  We had great offensive and defensive lines, but correct me if I'm wrong but they were just OK running the ball.  This team can beat you running, passing, defense, whatever.  

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

Jevon Kearse helped them reach the Super Bowl in 2004, but never posted great numbers.

Ugh, yes, let's never mention him again.  He was a bust in Philly.  I'll give you the other guys, though.