A fun, Space Jam-inspired look at the best NFL players.
Only one question for Jimmy: where is Chad Hall?
Change for Change's Sake
Tommy Lawlor, at Iggles Blitz:
A factor that gets largely ignored is that firing Andy Reid is only half the issue. Who do you replace him with? You do not make a change for the sake of making a change. That’s a dumb way to run an organization. Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner need to have some ideas about who might be brought in to replace Reid if they decide to fire him.
Is that true? Take the flipside. Is it smart to keep an employee who isn’t the right person for the job just because you don’t have a candidate to replace him yet? That seems like a poor management philosophy.
Define 'Bad Team'
Phil Sheridan, for the Inquirer:
It’s one thing to be a bad team. Indianapolis without Peyton Manning is a bad team. Jacksonville, which fired coach Jack Del Rio on Tuesday, is a bad team. Bad teams lose to better teams. Pretty simple.
But this team has shown that it can be very good. And that makes an effort, or a lack it - as in Sunday’s game against New England - all the more galling for fans.
I don’t disagree with the overall point of Sheridan’s column, but his definition of a bad team is questionable. For starters, there isn’t one monolithic version of a bad team. At 4-7 and in line for a top ten draft pick, the Eagles are bad. Just because they’re not as bad as the hapless Colts, you can’t classify them differently.
Furthermore, I’m not sure how good the Eagles have shown themselves capable of being. They beat St. Louis (2-9) in the least convincing 31-13 win of the year. They beat Washington (4-7) when Rex Grossman mistook Kurt Coleman for one of his wide receivers. Then one fluky blowout of a flawed Dallas team (7-4) and one squeaky victory against the Giants (6-5). That’s not a high ceiling.
Short Week, Short Stats
On this short week, it’s a perfect time to throw a bunch of quick Eagles stats conclusions at you. All the data is from Pro Football Focus.
* * *
Vince Young is throwing pretty well to all parts of the field except one — deep down the sideline.
Standard caveats apply: small sample size, DeSean-itis. Still, it’s a striking discrepancy. Maybe Marty Mornhinweg should call fewer fly routes.
For what it’s worth, Michael Vick has gone 6/20 for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception throwing that same way.
* * *
It’s easy to see why Jim Washburn was mad at Marty Mornhinweg. His defensive linemen each averaged just under 10 more snaps in the Patriots game, compared with the previous week against the Giants. No wonder they wore down as the game went on.
By the way, the correlation between Eagles defensive linemen snaps and LeSean McCoy’s carries (inverted) is rather high:
* * *
Owen Schmitt, ostensibly the Eagles fullback, saw the field five times against the Patriots. All five were passing plays.
* * *
Turns out Asomugha did pretty well in his limited role, but Tom Brady picked apart the rest of the pass coverage. There’s not much to smile about here.
* * *
But don’t despair, the Eagles still have a 2.5% chance of winning the division!
Photo from Getty.
In Nnamdi's Own Words
Nnamdi Asomugha, as reported by Yahoo Sports’ Doug Farrar:
“You can move around all you want and line up and take a guy out of the game, but things change when you’re moving around and the coverages are changing and now you’re fitting off of the next guy and it’s not just about stopping the guy in front of you. That’s been the transition.”
Asomugha has had some major lapses this year (hello Victor Cruz), but I doubt his physical ability has declined this much in one year. The next defensive coordinator needs to let Nnamdi play the way he he did in Oakland. If he still fails, then you have a problem.
(Via Christian - @xtiandc)
Looking Ahead
Amusing column from Bob Ford at the Inquirer:
With 2011 in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead and get things moving in the right direction for 2012. Fortunately for the Eagles, the organization has been clever enough to schedule five exhibition games before the offseason officially begins. Andy Reid and his staff, along with the front office, can use these five games to put in place a plan for 2012 that works out even better than the one they devised for 2011. I know it seems impossible, but these are some can-do guys.
Also, tight ends coach Tom Melvin for defensive coordinator!
What Caused the Washburn-Mornhinweg Fight
Jeff McLane and Jonathan Tamari, for the Inquirer:
The sideline spat between offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and defensive line coach Jim Washburn was set off by a bump on the sidelines, according to an Eagles source.
Mornhinweg bumped into Washburn at one point Sunday night, and the fiery defensive line coach took exception. Mornhinweg wouldn’t back down, and the two had to be separated by team personnel, the source said.
Play-calling was not at the root of the incident.
Right.
Eagles Bravado Not Striking the Right Tone
You play to win the game. Corollary: if you don’t win, show some humility.
On Monday, Trevor Laws talked to Reuben Frank about the upcoming game against Seattle. “Watching the film, I think it’s an easily winnable game,” he said. “If we play our game, we should blow these guys out. That’s just how I feel.”
One might dismiss Laws’s words as a single player speaking off the cuff, not to be taken too seriously. But that would be to ignore the many other quotes from players over the course of the season, who’ve made similarly confident assertions about this Eagles team. Even right after Sunday’s debacle, I watched Asante Samuel assert that they were still a “really good team.”
It’s unclear if the players are delusional, overly cocky, or both. Any team that’s closer to a top five draft pick then to the playoffs should realize and admit that they just aren’t as good as as they expected. These quotes flew when it was early in the season and we still thought the losses might be an aberration. Not anymore.
It’s time to fess up to the disappointment and display some humility. Rather than boast about how “easily winnable” the upcoming game appears, look in the mirror. Most Eagles fans I know can “easily” see another loss as the Eagles head west on Thursday.
You were just embarrassed at home, and the fans that weren’t calling for your coach to be fired were headed to the exits a quarter early.
Save the talk about blowing other teams out for another season.
Photo from Getty.