Week 13 GDT: Wentzlvania Tuddy Hoofers (10-1) vs the Seattle Legion of Boo- Boos (7-4)

[WeaponX]

Russell Wilson was playing at a different level last night. That was just unreal. 

Pete Carroll said after the game that it was the best game he's ever seen form Russell Wilson.

Other than trying to beat an ridiculously special game from Wilson, I think our coaching staff came out with a relatively passive game plan. We weren't the aggressors. From the jump, we were playing passive and were on our heels for the entirety of the game.

They adjusted a little in the 2nd half and might have over compensated in an effort to generate some big plays and swing momentum. No reason for Schwartz to call that zero blitz. And that was clearly an over compensation in an effort to make a big play and get off the field. You could almost feel Schwartz's frustration on that play call. They were getting to Wilson but not able to bring him down. Wilson had been torching us on 3rd down with incredible plays. And Schwartz became too aggressive and really thought we could get to Wilson if he sent extra defenders. Two things went wrong on that play based on interviews after the game:

1. There was a hard count and even though the Eagles didn't jump, they tipped their hand and showed the blitz. Wilson made an adjustment at the line and kept a TE in to block on the play after he recognized that the Eagles were sending the house. 
2. The Eagles didn't check out of the blitz. Whether it was due to not being able to check out of the blitz because of scheme or whether it wasn't recognized, the Eagles stayed with the blitz that was called and got beat deep. 

 

Two plays changed that game:

1. The Wentz fumble out of the back of the end zone. That was 7 points they left on the field. 
2. The zero blitz that left McLeod on an island against Baldwin. Not only was he left on an island, he was put in the worst possible position. There was absolutely no way for any defender in the NFL to cover that route from where McLeod was on the field.

 

This was one of those games where Seattle just made more plays than the Eagles. They made the plays when they needed to and we made just enough mistakes to cost us. That's going to happen in the NFL. This wasn't some beat down. It was a really close game with some key moments that didn't go our way. 

 

What does this mean for the Eagles going forward?

1. This doesn't change how I feel about playing the Saints, Rams, Panthers, Falcons, or Vikings in a playoff game. Those teams don't feature QBs with the elusiveness that Russell Wilson has.
2. I don't want to face the Seahawks in the playoffs even if it's at home. One of the strengths of the Eagles is their elite pass rush. The Eagles defense has the ability to put teams in 2nd and long and 3rd and long situations because of their pass rush and defensive line play. The only QB in the NFL who can single handedly mitigate an elite pass rush on his own is Russell Wilson. He takes our biggest strength and throws it in the trash. 
3. I expect this team to beat the Rams. If they don't, sound the alarm. The Rams are built like a team we should match up well against. We are excellent at stopping the run and that should help mitigate some of the Gurley impact. Goff doesn't have lead feet but he's still mobile enough to buy a little bit of time. However, he's nowhere near Wilson in terms of buying time. I would be stunned if Goff showed the ability to beat our pass rush on his own. 
4. First round bye will be gone if we lose to the Rams. We have to essentially win out if we want that first round bye. The NFC is too competitive and we possess almost no tie breakers due to the weakness of our schedule. 
5. I am not afraid of going to Minnesota to win a playoff game. Yes, it's a road playoff game. However, I love that matchup for our team. If any team in the NFL wants to muddy up the game and try to run and play defense, we can match them. Our strengths are stopping the run and running the ball. And although the Vikings have shown that they can do those things, I just think the Eagles can do those things better than the Vikings. 
6. I'm not worried about Wentz. The game plan to start the game was passive. And Wentz didn't quite seem as confident early on in the game. Some people are saying the missed pass to Agholor early was a miscommunication on a route. They're saying that Agholor cut his route short and ran underneath and Carson expected him to run a little deeper. But who knows. Later in the game, we saw Carson underthrow Agholor on what looked like a potential TD. It's very possible that this was the same play as the one that Carson missed early in the game. The only difference would be that it was to the other side of the field. Early in the game, overthrow. Late in the game, underthrow. It happens even to the best of QBs. Carson showed a lot of fight with that really special drive. 
7. LB and OT are the obvious needs this offseason. We can't rely on Hicks to stay healthy. Vaitai is a liability and will be a liability in the playoffs. However, during the game last night, I kept thinking about what another dynamic safety would do for this defense. Yes, Jenkins is great and yes, McLeod is solid. But during last night's game, I kept thinking about how much better this defense could be with a truly elite safety. Like a Dawkins/Reed/Weddle type of safety. This already is a top defense in the NFL year to year. But I think an elite safety takes this defense to another level, maybe historically great. Sure would be a nice luxury to find one of those guys late in the draft. 

[AZ_Eaglesfan]

We need a new GDT fam. One of you posters who is actually good do it(that's why I'm not doing it).

[Nabbs4u]

44 minutes ago, RollEagles said:

Yes, Jenkins is great and yes, McLeod is solid. But during last night's game, I kept thinking about how much better this defense could be with a truly elite safety. Like a Dawkins/Reed/Weddle type of safety. This already is a top defense in the NFL year to year. But I think an elite safety takes this defense to another level, maybe historically great. Sure would be a nice luxury to find one of those guys late in the draft. 

Problem is finding that "Elite Safety" might be harder to achieve, then an Elite QB. Seriously you named 3 above and I'd add Earl Thomas,  Troy Polamalu , John Lynch and maybe even Eric Berry/Harrison Smith. Who else in the past 20 years would you consider Elite though?

So 7-8 Safeties out of 32 team's x 20 years worth of play. It's IMO the single hardest position to find "the Elite" future HOF type talent in the NFL!

 

PS: Sean Taylor was Elite but taken way to early.

[Jroc04]

Where da GDT?

what are we, Indy now?

I want the Rams! Let's go! Bring it!

[nlesthought]

Clear head, a few takeaways. 

With Seattle moving to #5 they're still a team we could play post season. We have to adjust to RW if we see them in the playoffs. Mush rush, keep him in front of us in obvious pash situations. I also didn't see a spy on him, or we just didn't execute it, that spy could/should trigger once RW starts breaking contain. 

With all the rub routes they run, we have to zone that up. They lived off that for the past few years. Not gameplanning vs that imo is inexcusable. 

 

 

[Jroc04]

33 minutes ago, nlesthought said:

Clear head, a few takeaways. 

With Seattle moving to #5 they're still a team we could play post season. We have to adjust to RW if we see them in the playoffs. Mush rush, keep him in front of us in obvious pash situations. I also didn't see a spy on him, or we just didn't execute it, that spy could/should trigger once RW starts breaking contain. 

With all the rub routes they run, we have to zone that up. They lived off that for the past few years. Not gameplanning vs that imo is inexcusable. 

 

 

We had a spy on him. He was just amazing at creating time. 

Funny I heard they actually spied Carson. 

I guess that's the book on us. Man up outside, take away Ertz and keep our running game contained. That's the best chance you got. 

I think we were all screaming to go down field and pick on Maxwell. It was just too late once we started moving the ball and the mistakes piled up. Eagles just had a sorry gameplan going in and didn't adjus quick enough. I'm really confident we win again against Seattle, especially in Philly. Carson apparently had trouble "killing" plays because of the noise. Growing pains should be expected I guess. Coaching staff needs to prepare him better for those types of things. The Seattle game was probably the worst coached game we've seen this year. 

[nlesthought]

5 minutes ago, Jroc04 said:

We had a spy on him. He was just amazing at creating time. 

Funny I heard they actually spied Carson. 

I guess that's the book on us. Man up outside, take away Ertz and keep our running game contained. That's the best chance you got. 

I think we were all screaming to go down field and pick on Maxwell. It was just too late once we started moving the ball and the mistakes piled up. Eagles just had a sorry gameplan going in and didn't adjus quick enough. I'm really confident we win again against Seattle, especially in Philly. Carson apparently had trouble "killing" plays because of the noise. Growing pains should be expected I guess. Coaching staff needs to prepare him better for those types of things. The Seattle game was probably the worst coached game we've seen this year. 

I didn't listen to any post game comments or see any all-22, RW also did a great job throwing it away and playing the next down. We aren't going to force him to make mistakes. Blitzing him is by far one of the worse decisions I think we can make vs him. I think they have rub routes and combinations that look like rub routes intertwined in their play calls at the LOS (audibles). 

[Jroc04]

19 minutes ago, nlesthought said:

I didn't listen to any post game comments or see any all-22, RW also did a great job throwing it away and playing the next down. We aren't going to force him to make mistakes. Blitzing him is by far one of the worse decisions I think we can make vs him. I think they have rub routes and combinations that look like rub routes intertwined in their play calls at the LOS (audibles). 

It's an interesting take. I wonder if we drop everyone next time (if there is one) into zone to take away those rub (pick) plays. Rushing just our 4 and spying Wilson should have been the gameplan. That's probably the way to go. 

[RandyMossIsBoss]

Defense does not concern me, as others have said Russell is one of a kind and a kryptonite for a defense that relies on pressure w/4 linemen. 

 

The offense on the otherhand, I grow more worried by the week. They have had 3 straight slow starts, and while they finally got going after those first 2 slow starts, that didn't happen the other night. Over the last 12 quarters, they've spent probably 7 looking mostly lethargic and/or making mistakes. I'm not sure who to point the finger at, as everyone has made mistakes but also made big plays, during this stretch.

[EaglesPeteC]

6 minutes ago, RandyMossIsBoss said:

Defense does not concern me, as others have said Russell is one of a kind and a kryptonite for a defense that relies on pressure w/4 linemen. 

 

The offense on the otherhand, I grow more worried by the week. They have had 3 straight slow starts, and while they finally got going after those first 2 slow starts, that didn't happen the other night. Over the last 12 quarters, they've spent probably 7 looking mostly lethargic and/or making mistakes. I'm not sure who to point the finger at, as everyone has made mistakes but also made big plays, during this stretch.

Too me Carson is the biggest reason in the Seahawks game, and as you all know I get panty soup for Carson Wentz, but looking at it objectively between the fumble into the end-zone and those missed throws to Swaggy Aggy and Barner should have made up the difference in the score and put them in a position to win the game.

[RandyMossIsBoss]

Just now, EaglesPeteC said:

Too me Carson is the biggest reason in the Seahawks game, and as you all know I get panty soup for Carson Wentz, but looking at it objectively between the fumble into the end-zone and those missed throws to Swaggy Aggy and Barner should have made up the difference in the score and put them in a position to win the game.

The reason I have a problem blaming Carson is that 7 points we did score are 100% due to him (the miracle heave to Nelson, followed by the beautiful tuddy drop to Nelson). Fumble I blame him 100% for. Those two can negate each other in the blame game. So that leaves us with the 1.5 missed throws to Nelson, the first of which I am not so sure goes for a TD, although it would have been a big gain no doubt. Certainly wasn't a good game from him, some big plays left on the table, but he's why we even moved the ball so I am hard pressed to say "Wentz is why the offense was poor". He was asked to throw nearly 50 times, run game was not giving much help. There's definitely a clear correlation between Carson's pass attempts and our W/L record. He's other wordly for a year 2 QB, but he's not Brady/Rodgers/Peyton... yet. 

[EaglesPeteC]

What I am really saying I guess is those 2 or 3 plays that he didn't make and the fumble easily were the difference in the score.

 

There are other factors of course but if those plays get made, it was an entirely different football game.

[808]

Just now, EaglesPeteC said:

What I am really saying I guess is those 2 or 3 plays that he didn't make and the fumble easily were the difference in the score.

 

There are other factors of course but if those plays get made, it was an entirely different football game.

Unfortunately for us they didn't get made. Despite a loosely categorized "up-and-down performance" from Wentz, that game is viewed as a Wentz dud by pretty much every one outside of Eagles circles. Wilson was indeed magical, especially on 3rd down, and has now risen to or above Wentz in the MVP conversation by mainstream fans and media.

[Blaaaaaah]

I really think Doug gave the Seahawks too much respect; he should've come out with the mindset that we were the better team and went straight at them. I feel like the first half was about as passive an offense/decision making I've seen in a while. 

[BLick12]

12 hours ago, Nabbs4u said:

Problem is finding that "Elite Safety" might be harder to achieve, then an Elite QB. Seriously you named 3 above and I'd add Earl Thomas,  Troy Polamalu , John Lynch and maybe even Eric Berry/Harrison Smith. Who else in the past 20 years would you consider Elite though?

So 7-8 Safeties out of 32 team's x 20 years worth of play. It's IMO the single hardest position to find "the Elite" future HOF type talent in the NFL!

 

PS: Sean Taylor was Elite but taken way to early.

Yeah, I don't know what Roll Eagles is talking about, other than stating the obvious.  A generational talent like B-Dakw would improve this defense.  That's a "Hot take" especially after the two of them had their worst game all season.

They are both very good in their own rights and them and the d-line have covered up for some pretty sub-par corner back play (sans P-Rob) for much of the season.