 }})
Blognosticator - Rymanofthenorth
There are two teams in the NFC east right now who are performing well under expectations, well to be honest there are three, but the cowpies just came off stomping the team we are about to play so they are riding high so to speak.
The Redskins and Eagles have a few similiarities, both teams depend a lot on their mobile QB to help below par Offensive lines, both teams have solid defences on paper that havent performed on the field. but thats where the similiarities end.
The Eagles are a team that last year many picked to be in the superbowl, they have a solid young core, and added a pile of free agents, people called them the dream team because the talent level across the board was ridiculous. They underachieved last season to an almost ridiculous degree, they had implemented a defensive scheme that required certain pieces and they never looked quite comfortable in the wide 9, at times it looked scary and like a championship scheme, but other times it looked weak and unsound. they ignored chemistry and fit two things you cant really measure with numbers and two things that all winning teams take into account.
The Redskins on the other hand were not talent rich, in fact, last year one could argue was even more talent poor than this season, but they actually overachieved to get the record they had. They had REX GROSSMAN under centre, do you even understand what that means? on defence they had added some great young talent but they were coming off a 31st ranked defence, so they literally couldnt get worse. they managed to get their defence ranked in the middle of the Pack based on a couple standout performances. but there were obvious holes in this team and in the offseason we only filled some of them. The one Hole we filled we filled in spectacular fashion, Rg3 hasnt surpassed expectations he exploded them, if he had any sort of protection or help at receiver, we have seen that he wouldnt just be good, he would be THE BEST. Heck even behind a terrible Oline and with receivers who would be the #3 or worse guy on every other team he is still making wonderful things happen. imagine if we had a defence that wasnt on pace to end up the worst defence in history and you honestly start to see some light at the end of the loooong tunnel. his worst game came when our receivers literally dropped 10 passes. when was the last time we could say that?
Thats why, this season things look different, the clear advantage at QB isnt with the eagles anymore, its with the skins, RG3 isnt the "new mike vick" thats insulting, Rg3 is the new prototype QUARTERBACK. He is mobile, hell he is probably fast and shifty enough to play RB, but he has displayed pocket awareness, intelligence and leadership that Vick never even sniffed, perhaps his most impressive play was in our first game when he rolled out, bought time but couldnt get anyone open, AND THREW THE BALL AWAY. displying a veteran awareness of the game. We finally have a running back who fits our style, Morris isnt super fast, he isnt super strong, but he is patient, has great awareness of where the hole should be and has heart, the kid simply doesnt quit. The Eagles suddenly dont have a clear advantage in talent on offence, thats weird.
along the Olines, Philly is injury ridden, they started one starter last game against the cowpies, the left guard (who I said we should sign in free agency Evan Mathis) they are hurting as badly as we are on the Oline, and this makes the ripe for the picking. they will be starting a Young QB in Foles, and if we cant get to him behind a patchwork line with our supposedly more aggressive defence, then we will deserve to lose. Our Offence should work well against a wide 9 alignment, we have weak and undersized guards and a lumbering right tackle, as long as Polumbus doesnt chase the DE, he should get the seal and the guard and center should be able to get the tackle blocked and slide up to the linebacker. this is a game where our supposedly more mobile Oline should excel as the wider alignment of the wide 9 plays into our hands.
where I worry is on defence, we cant cover anyone, so we had better start at least being in position, the Eagles love to run a lot of slants and streaks, we MUST at least be in position or we are gonna end up making Foles look like a probowler. We will NEED to take advantage of a patchwork line, we need to be more creative with our blitz packages and we need to move our most active rusher around so they cant slide the pocket. we need to play big we cant let then get a run game going to keep the young QB from having to win the game, we need to ramp up the pressure. we need to be sound but unpredictable. the entire advantage of a 3-4 is supposed to be in its inherent unpredictability, in blitzing from various angles in various combinations. but we have been running the most vanilla 3-4 I have ever seen and our greatest success this year and last came when we ran 40 looks and blitzed like crazy. if we rush 3 very often, we will lose. write it down.
THIS has the Potential to be a spit in your eye game, for Haslett, who has yet to show that he can gameplan or make adjustments, remember we played the fecals after a bye week coming off a good performance and we were all stoked as heck, and then they dropped 60 friggin points on us. Haslett needs to step up and get these guys ready and wanting to play, his only real upside is that he is a good motivator, but these past few games the defence seems to finally understand that they are in bad position and they have stopped caring. This one game, could be the game where Haslett makes Shannahan look smart or where he confirms what a massive mistake it was to hire him and force him to run a 3-4. the more we are forced to watch this team force this scheme and fail, the more people are finally understanding what some of us meant when we said that football is more than just numbers, football is about the fit, its about making sure that you scheme around the players you have, maximising strengths while hiding weaknesses. the best coaches do that, its the reason some teams are talent poor and still manage to be competitive and some teams are talent rich and are not.
Shannahan needs to start showing that he can get this team to play above its talent level, im tired of the excuses, I look at Indianopolis, how many games did they win last year? they didnt add that many players either, yet they look worlds better than we do at every level, the only place we even come close is at qb and thats due to Rg3 looking like a once in a lifetime talent who is becoming a gamechanger without any help at WR or TE or Oline. pretty soon fans are gonna ask why teams like the niners can improve immensely in 2 seasons, why the Colts and Texans can do it, yet we are stuck in what seems like a constant rebuild. Other teams lose multiple players, look at green bay, they lost what seemed like half their team, and won the superbowl.
I am expecting us to win this game, probably by at least 10 points, which means we will lose and probably by at least 7 points.
There are two teams in the NFC east right now who are performing well under expectations, well to be honest there are three, but the cowpies just came off stomping the team we are about to play so they are riding high so to speak.
The Redskins and Eagles have a few similiarities, both teams depend a lot on their mobile QB to help below par Offensive lines, both teams have solid defences on paper that havent performed on the field. but thats where the similiarities end.
The Eagles are a team that last year many picked to be in the superbowl, they have a solid young core, and added a pile of free agents, people called them the dream team because the talent level across the board was ridiculous. They underachieved last season to an almost ridiculous degree, they had implemented a defensive scheme that required certain pieces and they never looked quite comfortable in the wide 9, at times it looked scary and like a championship scheme, but other times it looked weak and unsound. they ignored chemistry and fit two things you cant really measure with numbers and two things that all winning teams take into account.
The Redskins on the other hand were not talent rich, in fact, last year one could argue was even more talent poor than this season, but they actually overachieved to get the record they had. They had REX GROSSMAN under centre, do you even understand what that means? on defence they had added some great young talent but they were coming off a 31st ranked defence, so they literally couldnt get worse. they managed to get their defence ranked in the middle of the Pack based on a couple standout performances. but there were obvious holes in this team and in the offseason we only filled some of them. The one Hole we filled we filled in spectacular fashion, Rg3 hasnt surpassed expectations he exploded them, if he had any sort of protection or help at receiver, we have seen that he wouldnt just be good, he would be THE BEST. Heck even behind a terrible Oline and with receivers who would be the #3 or worse guy on every other team he is still making wonderful things happen. imagine if we had a defence that wasnt on pace to end up the worst defence in history and you honestly start to see some light at the end of the loooong tunnel. his worst game came when our receivers literally dropped 10 passes. when was the last time we could say that?
Thats why, this season things look different, the clear advantage at QB isnt with the eagles anymore, its with the skins, RG3 isnt the "new mike vick" thats insulting, Rg3 is the new prototype QUARTERBACK. He is mobile, hell he is probably fast and shifty enough to play RB, but he has displayed pocket awareness, intelligence and leadership that Vick never even sniffed, perhaps his most impressive play was in our first game when he rolled out, bought time but couldnt get anyone open, AND THREW THE BALL AWAY. displying a veteran awareness of the game. We finally have a running back who fits our style, Morris isnt super fast, he isnt super strong, but he is patient, has great awareness of where the hole should be and has heart, the kid simply doesnt quit. The Eagles suddenly dont have a clear advantage in talent on offence, thats weird.
along the Olines, Philly is injury ridden, they started one starter last game against the cowpies, the left guard (who I said we should sign in free agency Evan Mathis) they are hurting as badly as we are on the Oline, and this makes the ripe for the picking. they will be starting a Young QB in Foles, and if we cant get to him behind a patchwork line with our supposedly more aggressive defence, then we will deserve to lose. Our Offence should work well against a wide 9 alignment, we have weak and undersized guards and a lumbering right tackle, as long as Polumbus doesnt chase the DE, he should get the seal and the guard and center should be able to get the tackle blocked and slide up to the linebacker. this is a game where our supposedly more mobile Oline should excel as the wider alignment of the wide 9 plays into our hands.
where I worry is on defence, we cant cover anyone, so we had better start at least being in position, the Eagles love to run a lot of slants and streaks, we MUST at least be in position or we are gonna end up making Foles look like a probowler. We will NEED to take advantage of a patchwork line, we need to be more creative with our blitz packages and we need to move our most active rusher around so they cant slide the pocket. we need to play big we cant let then get a run game going to keep the young QB from having to win the game, we need to ramp up the pressure. we need to be sound but unpredictable. the entire advantage of a 3-4 is supposed to be in its inherent unpredictability, in blitzing from various angles in various combinations. but we have been running the most vanilla 3-4 I have ever seen and our greatest success this year and last came when we ran 40 looks and blitzed like crazy. if we rush 3 very often, we will lose. write it down.
THIS has the Potential to be a spit in your eye game, for Haslett, who has yet to show that he can gameplan or make adjustments, remember we played the fecals after a bye week coming off a good performance and we were all stoked as heck, and then they dropped 60 friggin points on us. Haslett needs to step up and get these guys ready and wanting to play, his only real upside is that he is a good motivator, but these past few games the defence seems to finally understand that they are in bad position and they have stopped caring. This one game, could be the game where Haslett makes Shannahan look smart or where he confirms what a massive mistake it was to hire him and force him to run a 3-4. the more we are forced to watch this team force this scheme and fail, the more people are finally understanding what some of us meant when we said that football is more than just numbers, football is about the fit, its about making sure that you scheme around the players you have, maximising strengths while hiding weaknesses. the best coaches do that, its the reason some teams are talent poor and still manage to be competitive and some teams are talent rich and are not.
Shannahan needs to start showing that he can get this team to play above its talent level, im tired of the excuses, I look at Indianopolis, how many games did they win last year? they didnt add that many players either, yet they look worlds better than we do at every level, the only place we even come close is at qb and thats due to Rg3 looking like a once in a lifetime talent who is becoming a gamechanger without any help at WR or TE or Oline. pretty soon fans are gonna ask why teams like the niners can improve immensely in 2 seasons, why the Colts and Texans can do it, yet we are stuck in what seems like a constant rebuild. Other teams lose multiple players, look at green bay, they lost what seemed like half their team, and won the superbowl.
I am expecting us to win this game, probably by at least 10 points, which means we will lose and probably by at least 7 points.