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Omar 382
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Most everyone is giving up on this season without Carson Wentz and moving on to next year, when we can make a legitimate Super Bowl run with Wentz back and hopefully able to stay healthy. I agree that we are no longer the favorites (by a long shot). We might actually be the worst playoff team in the NFC; probably, only the Titans and Bills have lower expectations than us.
I'm not going to give up. If we get bounced in the first round, so be it, but why not try to fuck around and get lucky? It's not like there will ever be a QB controversy.
Our defense is still good. 4th in the league in opponent points at 18.4 points, 4th in opponent yards at 306.5 yards, 4th in takeaways at 1.9 per game (most takeaways among all NFC playoff teams). Our ST is good enough- 13th in net yards per successful punt, 15th in gross yards per successful punt, 9th in opponent net yards per successful punt, 13th in opponent gross yards per successful punt, 17th in field goal percentage. Elliott is also 6th in made field goals from 50+, and 4th in field goals made from 40-49 yards.
If they all show up, it will come down to our offense. Foles could be lights out, or he could be horrendous. We better prepare for 'horrendous,' but it's certainly more likely. That means our run game needs to be excellent. As a team, we have been thus far, finishing 3rd in total rushing yards, and 4th in yards per rush attempt.
We need to decide who our #1 back is, the distribution between all the backs, and in what situations they should be used. LeGarrette Blount had the best Y/A on the Eagles this year at 4.4 yards, if you count Ajax's time in Miami. If you look solely at Ajax's time in Philly, he is considerably higher, at 5.8 yards.
It's also very important to think about screens to the RB's, considering that Nick Foles isn't extremely accurate. You could argue who is the best here (Clement certainly was this year), but Blount is clearly the worse with only 50 receiving yards and 6.3 yards/reception- both team lows among RB's.
Personally, I think Ajayi and Clement should be used the most. Ajayi should get ~20 attempts, Clement with ~10. Outside of 2-3 runs in normal circumstances, Blount (IMO) should really only be used at the goal line (even then, I'd probably prefer Ajayi). Barner should (obviously) get 0.
Honestly, I'd prefer Smallwood to Barner. Barner has been pretty average with kickoff and punt returns, and has muffed a few balls. At least Smallwood is a decent back in addition to returning the ball.
I'm not going to give up. If we get bounced in the first round, so be it, but why not try to fuck around and get lucky? It's not like there will ever be a QB controversy.
Our defense is still good. 4th in the league in opponent points at 18.4 points, 4th in opponent yards at 306.5 yards, 4th in takeaways at 1.9 per game (most takeaways among all NFC playoff teams). Our ST is good enough- 13th in net yards per successful punt, 15th in gross yards per successful punt, 9th in opponent net yards per successful punt, 13th in opponent gross yards per successful punt, 17th in field goal percentage. Elliott is also 6th in made field goals from 50+, and 4th in field goals made from 40-49 yards.
If they all show up, it will come down to our offense. Foles could be lights out, or he could be horrendous. We better prepare for 'horrendous,' but it's certainly more likely. That means our run game needs to be excellent. As a team, we have been thus far, finishing 3rd in total rushing yards, and 4th in yards per rush attempt.
We need to decide who our #1 back is, the distribution between all the backs, and in what situations they should be used. LeGarrette Blount had the best Y/A on the Eagles this year at 4.4 yards, if you count Ajax's time in Miami. If you look solely at Ajax's time in Philly, he is considerably higher, at 5.8 yards.
It's also very important to think about screens to the RB's, considering that Nick Foles isn't extremely accurate. You could argue who is the best here (Clement certainly was this year), but Blount is clearly the worse with only 50 receiving yards and 6.3 yards/reception- both team lows among RB's.
Personally, I think Ajayi and Clement should be used the most. Ajayi should get ~20 attempts, Clement with ~10. Outside of 2-3 runs in normal circumstances, Blount (IMO) should really only be used at the goal line (even then, I'd probably prefer Ajayi). Barner should (obviously) get 0.
Honestly, I'd prefer Smallwood to Barner. Barner has been pretty average with kickoff and punt returns, and has muffed a few balls. At least Smallwood is a decent back in addition to returning the ball.