erod
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There's a reason they pack up a big ole airplane and send these mammoth dudes off to play these games. Paper football doesn't write the script of these organized bar fights. That's what makes it so great.
I was thinking it'd take 40 points. Turns out 4 would have been plenty.
Let's get this out of the way first. Foles wasn't good. Nope. But enough with the goo seeping from the media this morning about how "bad" the Eagles are, when just 24 hours ago, they were about to run roughshod through the division and become a contender with their newfound QB at the helm. No, you sadly vicarious mediots, you can't have it both ways. You can't write Vick off for good one day, then declare him the irreplaceable team MVP the next.
Subtly, and with little fanfare, I think the Cowboys have happened upon something really crucial to this season. After "zoning out" defensively against the Chargers and Broncos, Monte Kiffin decided to make an important change.
(Speaking of Kiffen, can we finally put to bed this nonsense about Chip Kelly owning him at Oregon? Vastly superior talent will do that, and Kelly is suddenly looking awfully ordinary - and face swollen - pacing the sidelines in Philly. He'd jump back into college in a heartbeat if he could, I suspect.)
Kiffin and Marinelli have decided to scrap the zone and play to the strength of these corners, which is press coverage. It's allowing Church and Wilcox to roam and slash and dice randomly, and it's causing serious problems for the bad guys.
No, the story yesterday wasn't Foles. It was the complete nullification of Shady McCoy, who simply could not get loose. Joseph Randle outrushed McCoy and outgained him in total yardage. You could have gotten serious odds yesterday on that, if you could have gotten the Vegas teller to stop laughing long enough to take your bet.
They ran him left and right, draws and pitches, swung him out wide and beyond the line for dumpoffs, and they couldn't shake the stink of the Dallas defense. Lee and Carter repeatedly ran him down, and if he got a glimpse of daylight, Church and Wilcox were there to squelch anything substantial from Shady.
I thought the first big hit Wilcox put on McCoy early seemed to send a message. Lesean didn't seem like Shady after getting cut down hard along the sideline on the Eagles first possession. Wilcox sent him flailing into the Cowboy bench, then let him know more was coming
Shady shrank.
That left Desean Jackson to wow us, but Brandon Carr put the loud-mouthed thug in timeout for three hours. I thought Jackson missed the team bus until I saw him clutching his ankle late the game while "blocking". Somehow, I don't think Jackson was a planned decoy and blocker in Kelly's gameplan.
More than a game was won yesterday. That was a psychological blow to Kelly and the Eagles. The dipsy-doo and run-and-chuck ain't puttin' up points in the pros like you thought, eh Chipster? You're getting figured out.
That's two games now, and no, I don't care about the yardage given up against Washington. The same Commanders that trackmeeted the Bears yesterday scored a single touchdown against Dallas. That's one TD allowed in eight quarters since retiring the zone coverage against Denver.
Press coverage is working beautifully, especially since it's taking longer to get the pass rush to the QB. It's allowing the safeties to roam and attack. It's simplifying things for a defense minus Ware, Spencer, Ratliff, and Brent, who could have thrived in this defense if not for a quad, a knee, and two cases of mental midgetry.
Meanwhile, the offense left points all over the field, so it wasn't a brilliant performance all around. But you take road division wins no matter how they happen. No questions asked, although I've got a dozen or so for the Keystone referees yesterday. Send those yahoos back to Foot Locker.
The offense was good enough, and who'd a thunk a touchdown wasn't even necessary from those boys anyway? Not me, not you, not our coaches and players or theirs. Certainly not the pencil-pushing media blowhards.
That's why we'll load up the plane again in five days. Bring on the Lions and 5-3. Somehow, someway.
I was thinking it'd take 40 points. Turns out 4 would have been plenty.
Let's get this out of the way first. Foles wasn't good. Nope. But enough with the goo seeping from the media this morning about how "bad" the Eagles are, when just 24 hours ago, they were about to run roughshod through the division and become a contender with their newfound QB at the helm. No, you sadly vicarious mediots, you can't have it both ways. You can't write Vick off for good one day, then declare him the irreplaceable team MVP the next.
Subtly, and with little fanfare, I think the Cowboys have happened upon something really crucial to this season. After "zoning out" defensively against the Chargers and Broncos, Monte Kiffin decided to make an important change.
(Speaking of Kiffen, can we finally put to bed this nonsense about Chip Kelly owning him at Oregon? Vastly superior talent will do that, and Kelly is suddenly looking awfully ordinary - and face swollen - pacing the sidelines in Philly. He'd jump back into college in a heartbeat if he could, I suspect.)
Kiffin and Marinelli have decided to scrap the zone and play to the strength of these corners, which is press coverage. It's allowing Church and Wilcox to roam and slash and dice randomly, and it's causing serious problems for the bad guys.
No, the story yesterday wasn't Foles. It was the complete nullification of Shady McCoy, who simply could not get loose. Joseph Randle outrushed McCoy and outgained him in total yardage. You could have gotten serious odds yesterday on that, if you could have gotten the Vegas teller to stop laughing long enough to take your bet.
They ran him left and right, draws and pitches, swung him out wide and beyond the line for dumpoffs, and they couldn't shake the stink of the Dallas defense. Lee and Carter repeatedly ran him down, and if he got a glimpse of daylight, Church and Wilcox were there to squelch anything substantial from Shady.
I thought the first big hit Wilcox put on McCoy early seemed to send a message. Lesean didn't seem like Shady after getting cut down hard along the sideline on the Eagles first possession. Wilcox sent him flailing into the Cowboy bench, then let him know more was coming
Shady shrank.
That left Desean Jackson to wow us, but Brandon Carr put the loud-mouthed thug in timeout for three hours. I thought Jackson missed the team bus until I saw him clutching his ankle late the game while "blocking". Somehow, I don't think Jackson was a planned decoy and blocker in Kelly's gameplan.
More than a game was won yesterday. That was a psychological blow to Kelly and the Eagles. The dipsy-doo and run-and-chuck ain't puttin' up points in the pros like you thought, eh Chipster? You're getting figured out.
That's two games now, and no, I don't care about the yardage given up against Washington. The same Commanders that trackmeeted the Bears yesterday scored a single touchdown against Dallas. That's one TD allowed in eight quarters since retiring the zone coverage against Denver.
Press coverage is working beautifully, especially since it's taking longer to get the pass rush to the QB. It's allowing the safeties to roam and attack. It's simplifying things for a defense minus Ware, Spencer, Ratliff, and Brent, who could have thrived in this defense if not for a quad, a knee, and two cases of mental midgetry.
Meanwhile, the offense left points all over the field, so it wasn't a brilliant performance all around. But you take road division wins no matter how they happen. No questions asked, although I've got a dozen or so for the Keystone referees yesterday. Send those yahoos back to Foot Locker.
The offense was good enough, and who'd a thunk a touchdown wasn't even necessary from those boys anyway? Not me, not you, not our coaches and players or theirs. Certainly not the pencil-pushing media blowhards.
That's why we'll load up the plane again in five days. Bring on the Lions and 5-3. Somehow, someway.
