What Did We Learn About the Eagles?

Chuck 54

Chuck 54

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More importantly, what did we learn about ourselves and about what it takes to win in the NFC and Super Bowl.

The Eagles won the Super Bowl against a very good Chiefs defense that was able to shut down Saquan Barkley (25 carries for 57 yards and no TDs, and they only attempted 22 passes, 7 of those were to the RB, so only 15 passes directed towards the TEs or WRs. When is the last time a team won the SB with so little passing?
It didn't matter than they were getting nothing out of the run game; they leaned on their defense and still ran the ball more times than they passed it.

All those seemingly meaningless handoffs to Barkley made the Chiefs focus on the run game, and that gave Hurts 1) good protection and 2) good receivers running open all over the field.

What did the Eagles learn as their season rolled along? You tell me. Here are their passing attempts across 16 games.
  1. 34
  2. 30 - L
  3. 38
  4. 30 - L
  5. 25
  6. 14
  7. 20
  8. 24
  9. 20
  10. 28
  11. 22
  12. 19
  13. 21
  14. 32
  15. 28 - L
  16. 19
I'm not including game 17 because they played their 3rd string QB in a meaningless game with backups and let him throw the ball 41 times....haha.
It's obvious they were not thrilled with their 2-2 record after 4 games when they averaged passing the ball 33 times per game.
In the next 12 games, they averaged 22.6 passes per game, and in games 14 and 15, they saw that they were heading in the wrong direction again.

Playoffs?
Round 1 - 21 passes
Round 2 - 20 passes
NFC title - 28 passes
Super Bowl - 22 passes, 7 to RB -------this is much more reminiscent of the 90's Cowboys and how little Aikman was required to pass per game than today's pass happy NFL.

I was also a little shocked by the note shared on their OL. I knew they were the best, but the biggest ever? Averaging 6'6" and 338 lbs? Yeah, that helps.
Meanwhile, despite McCarthy's verbal desire to run more, we have had an offense under McCarthy that has been pass happy.

Dak's career
Garrett 1- 16 games, 28.69 attempts per game as a rookie
Garrett 2- 16 games, 30.63 attempts per game
Garrett 3- 16 games, 32.88 attempts per game
Garrett 4- 16 games, 37.25 attempts per game.....more and more passing during Zeke's prime
McCarthy 5- 5 games, 44.4 attempts per game prior to injury
McCarthy 6- 16 games, 37.31 attempts per game
McCarthy 7- 12 games, 32.83 attempts per game
McCarthy 8- 17 games, 34.71 attempts per game
McCarthy 9- 8 games, 35.75 attempts per game prior to injury

5 trips to the playoffs in 9 years
year 1 - 1 game, 38 pass attempts
year 2 - 2 games, 65 pass attempts
year 3 - 1 game, 43 pass attempts
year 4 - 2 games, 70 pass attempts
year 5 - 1 game, 60 pass attempts

7 games, 91.8 passer rating, 14 TDs, 7 INTs.....2-5 record, but 39.4 passing attempts per game

First, we all know Dak Prescott was not drafted in the 4th round due to his elite passing skills; he worked hard and improved his processing, passing, accuracy, etc, and he IS an above average QB in the NFL, but not a guy who should be throwing the ball at the exorbitant rates he has had every season since his rookie year.

Second, we all know that this is not the recipe for winning tough football games in the playoffs no matter who your QB is. No, we don't have the Eagles OL, nor their RB, but they handed Barkley the ball 25 times for only 57 yards and no scores because 1) they did not want their QB passing the ball 30+ times; and 2) they wanted KC in there preparing for the run every down in order to get their guys open in the secondary.

Whether you think our QB is above average or below average or you're a true homer who wants to believe he's elite, you have to admit that we've done him no favors over his 9 seasons asking him to throw the ball so many times per game, especially in so many seasons when we have had only 1 significant receiver.

Maybe Schottenhiemer won't be the guy who gets us over the hump, but if he can get us focused on being a tougher team, a team that can run the ball and play defense up the middle, it will be a step in the right direction.....because these stats over the past 9 seasons (and probably throughout Romo's career if someone wants to look into it) are not the recipe for success with any team, any QB, any defense.
 
In short we learned 3 big things (if we didn’t already know):
  • Having a GM and FO that knows what they’re doing with the salary cap matters a TON.
  • Building a dominant OL and DL is the REAL foundation of a great team. There are probably 10-15 QBs in the NFL that could have won that game last night for the egirls.
  • When you have dominant trench players your skill position players don’t have to win every game for you.
 
Bobhaze said:
In short we learned 3 big things (if we didn’t already know):
  • Having a GM and FO that knows what they’re doing with the salary cap matters a TON.
  • Building a dominant OL and DL is the REAL foundation of a great team. There are probably 10-15 QBs in the NFL that could have won that game last night for the egirls.
  • When you have dominant trench players your skill position players don’t have to win every game for you.
Click to expand...
BULLET!!!!
Nominated for post of the year.
 
Bobhaze said:
In short we learned 3 big things (if we didn’t already know):
  • Having a GM and FO that knows what they’re doing with the salary cap matters a TON.
  • Building a dominant OL and DL is the REAL foundation of a great team. There are probably 10-15 QBs in the NFL that could have won that game last night for the egirls.
  • When you have dominant trench players your skill position players don’t have to win every game for you.
Click to expand...
Dak can't run. Hurts rushed for several key first downs and 72 yards in total (I heard it was a Superbowl record for a QB). Hurts also threw some absolute dimes on his deep balls...I'm unsure if Dak wins that game last night. Zero threat with his legs with a noodle arm. The Eagles defense played lights out but the offense also put constant pressure on the Chiefs' offense either through scoreboard pressure or consistently giving the Chiefs very challenging field positions.
 
No new info came about last night that we didn't know. Eagles since the turn of the century has been light years ahead of Dallas in every aspect. Starting with their 4 straight NFC championship appearances and a Super Bowl appearance. Now, they have 2 appearances in 3 years, a ring and one other from 2017. All of this while we are waiting for one single NFC championship appearance, now the longest drought in the NFC. And there aren't many teams left in the NFL period with a longer drought.

Eagles build teams the right way. Draft well, utilize free agency to add 'impact now' players and trades.

Remember, when they drafted Hurts in 2020, their offensive weapons were pretty low. The front office then drafted Smith, traded for AJ Brown. Boom, instant offense. They knew they needed a RB to take the pressure off Hurts, they went and got probably the best. Instant success. Built probably the best DL in the league and an amazing OL. Hurts has all day for routes to develop.
 
Bobhaze said:
In short we learned 3 big things (if we didn’t already know):
  • Having a GM and FO that knows what they’re doing with the salary cap matters a TON.
  • Building a dominant OL and DL is the REAL foundation of a great team. There are probably 10-15 QBs in the NFL that could have won that game last night for the egirls.
  • When you have dominant trench players your skill position players don’t have to win every game for you.
Click to expand...
Yep, it's always about winning in the trenches, winning the turnover battle, and running a balanced offense.
 
Draft the Boise State running back if he's available and lets get back to historical Cowboys football
 
Bobhaze said:
In short we learned 3 big things (if we didn’t already know):
  • Having a GM and FO that knows what they’re doing with the salary cap matters a TON.
  • Building a dominant OL and DL is the REAL foundation of a great team. There are probably 10-15 QBs in the NFL that could have won that game last night for the egirls.
  • When you have dominant trench players your skill position players don’t have to win every game for you.
Click to expand...
Stop making so much sense. Its making the natives restless
 
We learned they are really good. That they have a stacked roster. That their coach, while certainly possessing a punchable face, is a pretty good coach. That their QB is actually good and doesn't suck. That you can fix a major issue a team has in short order when you have a smart GM who has a real game plan on how to fix the problem.

In other words, we learned they are better, smarter, more innovative than our rag tag bunch.
 
Swagger said:
Dak can't run. Hurts rushed for several key first downs and 72 yards in total (I heard it was a Superbowl record for a QB). Hurts also threw some absolute dimes on his deep balls...I'm unsure if Dak wins that game last night. Zero threat with his legs with a noodle arm. The Eagles defense played lights out but the offense also put constant pressure on the Chiefs' offense either through scoreboard pressure or consistently giving the Chiefs very challenging field positions.
Click to expand...
You said it. Dak doesn't win that game last night with Barkley being contained. Hurts stayed calm, cool and collected, where we'd be seeing the Dak deer in the headlights look.
 
We re-learned this gem from “Bear” Bryant, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.”

Whether we resigned Osa or not, we need a couple of interior DL, a DE, a LB and a CB.... Basically, every level of the D.
 
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