Misc Thoughts: Eagles

[Guest]

One comment on the defense.  It looked to me like the game plan was to play exclusively zone coverage with minimal blitzing to take away Hurts' ability to gash the defense by running the ball.  The bet was that we could get pressure without blitzing and that Hurts would make some bad reads that would lead to turnovers and or missed 3rd down conversions.  What happened was the pressure rarely materialized and guys were wide open against a soft zone scheme.  Hurts was both accurate and unchallenged by the looks he was given.  Perhaps, too, the pass rush was slowed by the need to not abandon lanes and give Hurts a way to escape the pocket with his legs.  The other thing I saw were guys guessing wrong consistently on the RPO.  How many times did we see an edge guy crash flat on the running back, only to find that Hurts had not handed the ball off and had a gaping running lane to the outside?  

[Guest]

@Purpleblooded said:
One comment on the defense.  It looked to me like the game plan was to play exclusively zone coverage with minimal blitzing to take away Hurts' ability to gash the defense by running the ball.  The bet was that we could get pressure without blitzing and that Hurts would make some bad reads that would lead to turnovers and or missed 3rd down conversions.  What happened was the pressure rarely materialized and guys were wide open against a soft zone scheme.  Hurts was both accurate and unchallenged by the looks he was given.  Perhaps, too, the pass rush was slowed by the need to not abandon lanes and give Hurts a way to escape the pocket with his legs.  The other thing I saw were guys guessing wrong consistently on the RPO.  How many times did we see an edge guy crash flat on the running back, only to find that Hurts had not handed the ball off and had a gaping running lane to the outside?  

In retrospect, a poor choice for a defensive game plan. That doesn't surprise or bother me. What does bother me is the seeming lack of in game adjustments. Where was plan B if plan A doesn't work?

[Guest]

Definitely perplexed at what the issue is with Dantzler. I thought he had a really strong game, with the penalty called on him very ticky tacky. KOC's reasoning that he just wanted to get Evans some playing time didn't seem convincing either. If you're going to use that excuse then you should have sat a vet like Pat Pete.

[Guest]

@greediron said:

@VikingOracle said:
Just a quick post as I am really busy with work:

• Dropped Passes:  I haven't seen the stats but I can't recall a game where the Vikings dropped more passes (or where the opposing team dropped more interceptions).
  

So since both teams were dropping passes thrown by Cousins, we should probably blame him, right?

Definitely my favorite post of 2022.

[Guest]

@PurpleCrush said:
Definitely perplexed at what the issue is with Dantzler. I thought he had a really strong game, with the penalty called on him very ticky tacky. KOC's reasoning that he just wanted to get Evans some playing time didn't seem convincing either. If you're going to use that excuse then you should have sat a vet like Pat Pete.

To support your point, PFF grades through 2 games (though PFF is not definitive obviously):

[Guest]

@PurpleCrush said:
Definitely perplexed at what the issue is with Dantzler. I thought he had a really strong game, with the penalty called on him very ticky tacky. KOC's reasoning that he just wanted to get Evans some playing time didn't seem convincing either. If you're going to use that excuse then you should have sat a vet like Pat Pete.

Agree. I think KOC is lying. I think Dantzler was benched because of the blown coverage on the long TD to Watkins. Outside of that, which PFF probably blamed on Bynum, he played pretty well I thought. 

[Guest]

I think I get it now. Wow. 

https://twitter.com/NickOlsonNFL/status/...69507?s=20&t=I0Xc2S2B-YAS_oB4DDk_Kw

[Guest]

Yeesh. Left the best WR on the Eagles to double a blanketed Goedert and then half-a$$ed the pursuit on the tackle. Maybe not get-to-the-pine-and-stay-there-bad, but certainly not great.

[Guest]

@pattersaur said:
Yeesh. Left the best WR on the Eagles to double a blanketed Goedert and then half-a$$ed the pursuit on the tackle. Maybe not get-to-the-pine-and-stay-there-bad, but certainly not great.

Yeah that was some half-hearted effort.

This was his issue last year, not knowing his assignments.  They say practice makes perfect, so half assing in practice is perfected right here.

[Guest]

@pattersaur said:
Yeesh. Left the best WR on the Eagles to double a blanketed Goedert and then half-a$$ed the pursuit on the tackle. Maybe not get-to-the-pine-and-stay-there-bad, but certainly not great.

Yeah, the blown coverage was disappointing, but the way he aimlessly ran after the ball carrier "like a toddler who just stole their mom's phone" (credit: someone on twitter), pissed me off.