GHH's Observations: The Good, The Bad and The 'Well Hell. We Got Ourselves a Football Team Again!' W3: Punch-up in Philly.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Has anyone watched a re-run of this game yet?

 

I'm asking out of pure curiosity as I know a lot of you do and per earlier discussion, I'm curious to know just how many times we did actually hit Foles. Like I said I don't personally remember much of any pressure until Haslet was forced to switch the LB's over due to Orakpo's injury. And the official league site is still showing it at 2 'official' QB hits.

 

Real curious to what actually shows on the re-watch. Thanks in advance.

 

Hail.

[justice98]

Actually we "had them right where we wanted them" so to speak.

 

When you enjoy a pass rush like we think we have and have a secondary like we think we have, you take your chances where you think you have the best chances to win.  We just weren't able to get to Foles like we thought we would be able to.

 

Most teams spread the ball out these days. 

 

 

The crazy thing is, I think we're going to have to stop expecting things from our pass rush.  Especially if Hatcher's gonna be gimpy.  Basically we don't get a pass rush unless it's against Jacksonville.  All 10 sacks this year were against the Jags, none against Hou, none against Philly.  And sure, sacks don't tell the whole story, but Fitzpatrick and Foles were rather comfortable, in general, for most of those games.  Which is curious, cuz with Kerrigan, Orakpo, Hatcher, and spending a high pick on Murphy, you'd think we'd wreak havoc on QBs.

[DC9]

Has anyone watched a re-run of this game yet?

 

I'm asking out of pure curiosity as I know a lot of you do and per earlier discussion, I'm curious to know just how many times we did actually hit Foles. Like I said I don't personally remember much of any pressure until Haslet was forced to switch the LB's over due to Orakpo's injury. And the official league site is still showing it at 2 'official' QB hits.

 

Real curious to what actually shows on the re-watch. Thanks in advance.

 

Hail.

 

PFF... it's what's for dinner.

 

I don't know how many times he was hit.  But I do remember that he had a relatively clean pocket the vast majority of his time back there.

The crazy thing is, I think we're going to have to stop expecting things from our pass rush.  Especially if Hatcher's gonna be gimpy.  Basically we don't get a pass rush unless it's against Jacksonville.  All 10 sacks this year were against the Jags, none against Hou, none against Philly.  And sure, sacks don't tell the whole story, but Fitzpatrick and Foles were rather comfortable, in general, for most of those games.  Which is curious, cuz with Kerrigan, Orakpo, Hatcher, and spending a high pick on Murphy, you'd think we'd wreak havoc on QBs.

 

I actually think we've improved dramatically from last year.  The Eagles have two All-Pro linemen and Houston has two or three very good linemen.

 

We should do well on Thursday depending on health.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

PFF... it's what's for dinner.

 

I don't know how many times he was hit.  But I do remember that he had a relatively clean pocket the vast majority of his time back there.

 

.....

 

That was my recollection too but others seem to disagree so I might of been wrong.

 

Strong side tonight man. You need to switch threads.

 

Hail.

[Thekyle1591]

The crazy thing is, I think we're going to have to stop expecting things from our pass rush. Especially if Hatcher's gonna be gimpy. Basically we don't get a pass rush unless it's against Jacksonville. All 10 sacks this year were against the Jags, none against Hou, none against Philly. And sure, sacks don't tell the whole story, but Fitzpatrick and Foles were rather comfortable, in general, for most of those games. Which is curious, cuz with Kerrigan, Orakpo, Hatcher, and spending a high pick on Murphy, you'd think we'd wreak havoc on QBs.

We had 8 hits and 17 hurries. Also had a sack that got negated. We absolutely destroyed their offensive line from the first snap to the last. Re watch the game. Count how many of Foles passes were to wide open WRs on the run or where he got the ball out in 1-1.5 seconds.

[RandyHolt]

Kerrigan got a hand on him twice early in the game.

 

I think that was the only time he was touched in the first half.

[Thekyle1591]

Kerrigan got a hand on him twice early in the game.

I think that was the only time he was touched in the first half.

He had 4 throw always, so he was getting the ball out. Hatcher also only played the first half and had 1 hit and 4 hurries, so saying he wasn't hit isn't super accurate.

[justice98]

PFF... it's what's for dinner.

 

I don't know how many times he was hit.  But I do remember that he had a relatively clean pocket the vast majority of his time back there.

 

I actually think we've improved dramatically from last year.  The Eagles have two All-Pro linemen and Houston has two or three very good linemen.

 

We should do well on Thursday depending on health.

 

What are we running out there, chopped liver?  lol

 

The Eagles were running out there 4 reserves at one point, if I'm not mistaken.  We should've been eating their lunch.  

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

What are we running out there, chopped liver?  lol

 

The Eagles were running out there 4 reserves at one point, if I'm not mistaken.  We should've been eating their lunch.  

 

Absolutely.

 

As much as I love Ryan, both he and Orakpo, regardless of anything, need to get home against such inferior opponents.

 

NO excuses

 

Hail.

[RandyHolt]

He had 4 throw always, so he was getting the ball out. Hatcher also only played the first half and had 1 hit and 4 hurries, so saying he wasn't hit isn't super accurate.

 

Thanks for sharing what you saw. 

 

He is big, I am not sure 1 hit really changes much in terms of throwing him off his game like we did in 2012.

 

He seems like a smart QB, pressure coming, get rid of the ball. 

 

How many times was he knocked down in the first half? I presume zero.

 

The 4 man rush simply was not a significant factor in slowing down their passing game. The problem with the presumed Haslett game plan was that Hall went out early and Nacho likely as well. He stuck to his guns WRT to not blitzing, and Foles torched us for a few easy TD's, in presumed more zone without Hall.

[fearlessNelms]

I have no problem with the call to run on 1st down on the final drive. We have the ball at their 41 with 1:52 left and 2 TO's. With how much time was left, were we had the ball and with 2 timeouts in our pocket, time was well on our side. We had the luxury of not having to be in absolute passing mode and I thought to call a run and maybe catch them on their heels a bit was a good call. The likely thinking was if Alfred picks up 3 to 5 yds. that's fine, but he might be able to pop off a 15 to 20 yarder in that situation. Obviously, it didn't work out and most are questioning the call. If Alfred gains 5 yds., most are fine with the call. If he ever breaks one down inside the twenty or scores, EVERYONE on here is saying what a great call that was by Gruden.

 

And please, no one say how they were yelling NOOOOO at their T.V. when Cousins handed the ball off to Morris. You all only yelled NOOOOO when he got stuffed.

[Thekyle1591]

Thanks for sharing what you saw. 

 

He is big, I am not sure 1 hit really changes much in terms of throwing him off his game like we did in 2012.

 

He seems like a smart QB, pressure coming, get rid of the ball. 

 

How many times was he knocked down in the first half? I presume zero.

 

The 4 man rush simply was not a significant factor in slowing down their passing game. The problem with the presumed Haslett game plan was that Hall went out early and Nacho likely as well. He stuck to his guns WRT to not blitzing, and Foles torched us for a few easy TD's, in presumed more zone without Hall.

He was knocked down 4 times and forced out of the pocket 5 by my count. Pass rush got home relatively quick. The pocket was collapsed almost instantly, but Merriweather, Hall and at times Amerson were beaten very quickly and they had guys running free all game. 

[Suffolk_Skins]

I agree with a lot on this thread but people think Philly is one of the best teams in the NFC. I am really not that sold on their D, not to take anything away from how well our offense played. To be one of the best in the league though you need to be outstanding on both sides of the ball. Time will tell.

[Hersh]

I have no problem with the call to run on 1st down on the final drive. We have the ball at their 41 with 1:52 left and 2 TO's. With how much time was left, were we had the ball and with 2 timeouts in our pocket, time was well on our side. We had the luxury of not having to be in absolute passing mode and I thought to call a run and maybe catch them on their heels a bit was a good call. The likely thinking was if Alfred picks up 3 to 5 yds. that's fine, but he might be able to pop off a 15 to 20 yarder in that situation. Obviously, it didn't work out and most are questioning the call. If Alfred gains 5 yds., most are fine with the call. If he ever breaks one down inside the twenty or scores, EVERYONE on here is saying what a great call that was by Gruden.

 

And please, no one say how they were yelling NOOOOO at their T.V. when Cousins handed the ball off to Morris. You all only yelled NOOOOO when he got stuffed.

 

It was really poor clock management. If you run, fine, but call time out immediately after the run is stuffed. By letting the clock run down to the 2-minute warning and using a timeout after an incomplete pass, they wasted valuable time and they wasted a time out that would have been used to stop the clock when Philly got the ball back. If the Redskins have all three time outs left or it's 4th down before the 2-minute warning, the could choose to pin the Eagles deep and go for a stop.

 

Either way, it was poor clock management.

[London Kev]

I haven't re-watched yet, but I'm sure we hit foles five or six times. The coms said more than once that he was hurt.

 

I've never thought he was much of a QB, but he played well and earned a little respect (even though he is an dirty bird).

[RandyHolt]

I am interested in first half numbers on Foles 'Under Pressure'.

 

My point, I think its more effective to have success getting the QB early in games vs late. If you have to blitz, so be it.  Get after the QB early, it changes the OCs approach and game plan. Make them keep that back into block.

 

Chip Kelly is a PITA and tough to game plan for, but in the end, we didn't get to Foles early and he pretty much had his way with us. At least until the great late stops by the D, to keep us in it when our O stalled in the 2nd half. 

 

While we all know Haslett clearly geared up to stop McCoy and succeeded there, I feel like he underestimated the damage Foles.and the WRs would do. Stubborn Chip kept using McCoy after his obvious concussion. I was surprised. Haslett did not appear to be. At that point I wanted to see the bullseye peeled off McCoy and stuck on Foles's back. While I know McCoy wanted to get back in I was surprised at his workload.

 

Losing Hall early may have been a factor in what Haslett was doing in that first half.

[fearlessNelms]

It was really poor clock management. If you run, fine, but call time out immediately after the run is stuffed. By letting the clock run down to the 2-minute warning and using a timeout after an incomplete pass, they wasted valuable time and they wasted a time out that would have been used to stop the clock when Philly got the ball back. If the Redskins have all three time outs left or it's 4th down before the 2-minute warning, the could choose to pin the Eagles deep and go for a stop.

 

Either way, it was poor clock management.

You're right on the time, we took over possesion after the Philly punt with 2:25 left. I suppose Gruden could've used a timeout after the Morris run on 1st down, but my point was that I was fine with the call to run in that situation. With 2:25 left, down three on their 41 yd. line and two TO's + the 2 minute warning remaining, everything was on our side to come out of that drive with at least a tie game. I still can't believe we couldn't move the ball at least ten yds. to set up a game tying FG try and I really think that game 3 or not, that loss on Sunday is going to haunt us all season long.

[Larry]

I am interested in first half numbers on Foles 'Under Pressure'.

 While we all know Haslett clearly geared up to stop McCoy and succeeded there, I feel like he underestimated the damage Foles.and the WRs would do. Stubborn Chip kept using McCoy after his obvious concussion. I was surprised. Haslett did not appear to be. At that point I wanted to see the bullseye peeled off McCoy and stuck on Foles's back. While I know McCoy wanted to get back in I was surprised at his workload.

 

Losing Hall early may have been a factor in what Haslett was doing in that first half.

My personal theory is that Has thought he could get adequate pressure from a four man rush. His plan (rather, my theory about his plan) was that rushing four would get there quick enough that our coverage would be good enough.

In that calculation, I don't really think he was correct. (Although, the fact that Foles got rid of the ball quick may be a bigger explanation for his relative upright-ness, than a lack of our rush).

You're right on the time, we took over possesion after the Philly punt with 2:25 left. I suppose Gruden could've used a timeout after the Morris run on 1st down, but my point was that I was fine with the call to run in that situation. With 2:25 left, down three on their 41 yd. line and two TO's + the 2 minute warning remaining, everything was on our side to come out of that drive with at least a tie game. I still can't believe we couldn't move the ball at least ten yds. to set up a game tying FG try and I really think that game 3 or not, that loss on Sunday is going to haunt us all season long.

Dink and dunk had been working for the whole game. There was no reason to assume it would stop.

I certainly approved of the play calling.

[skinny21]

I am interested in first half numbers on Foles 'Under Pressure'.

My point, I think its more effective to have success getting the QB early in games vs late. If you have to blitz, so be it. Get after the QB early, it changes the OCs approach and game plan. Make them keep that back into block.

Chip Kelly is a PITA and tough to game plan for, but in the end, we didn't get to Foles early and he pretty much had his way with us. At least until the great late stops by the D, to keep us in it when our O stalled in the 2nd half.

While we all know Haslett clearly geared up to stop McCoy and succeeded there, I feel like he underestimated the damage Foles.and the WRs would do. Stubborn Chip kept using McCoy after his obvious concussion. I was surprised. Haslett did not appear to be. At that point I wanted to see the bullseye peeled off McCoy and stuck on Foles's back. While I know McCoy wanted to get back in I was surprised at his workload.

Losing Hall early may have been a factor in what Haslett was doing in that first half.

I would have been interested in seeing a third safety getting some snaps for Riley. Increase the speed somewhat and possibly the coverage as well. Maybe it allows a bit more creativity while (hopefully) not losing too much in run D.

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

The good:  Ours guys are really getting after it.  The rest will take care of itself.

 

I don't know why Haslett was retained, and I still don't.  To be fair, I don't think he's the worst DC in the league, I just thought we had a chance to upgrade there.  

 

And although I thought our OL held up well, I don't think the Iggles have much upfront.  I think we're still gonna get whipped upfront against the better DLs in the league.  Hope I'm wrong.

 

Lauvao is garbage.  To be the guy we targeted early in FA, what a huge head scratcher.  Hopefully Ribs sees this as his opportunity to step up.

 

Special shoutout to JJenkins and Kearse for stepping up and playing well while Cofield is out.  And Hatcher, is well...he's pretty damn good.

[chipwhich]

It was really poor clock management. If you run, fine, but call time out immediately after the run is stuffed. By letting the clock run down to the 2-minute warning and using a timeout after an incomplete pass, they wasted valuable time and they wasted a time out that would have been used to stop the clock when Philly got the ball back. If the Redskins have all three time outs left or it's 4th down before the 2-minute warning, the could choose to pin the Eagles deep and go for a stop.

 

Either way, it was poor clock management.

 

Uhhh, it wasn't bad clock management.  He knew if Philly got the ball back they could score again.  He assumed he would get into at least field goal range.  Running the clock out was the right move.  You don't play to keep time on the clock so philly has 2 minutes left.

[Wildbunny]

Could not agree more. Kills me to watch Graham Gano knocking footballs out of the endzone effortlessly, and make field goals from everywhere wearing a Panthers uniform. Thanks for choosing Cundiff Danny. Danny Smith, the gift that keeps on giving.

 

After Kai's (inexcusable) miss, I hope to see Hocker, Conner Barth, and any others worth a damn in there to take the job. Kai was money in 2012, but he's missed a couple gimmes in crucial moments. Also, he cant kick it through the endzone without pulling something.

 

Ease down... When Gano was kicking for us almost everyone down here wanted to cut his ass short anytime he lined up for FG. Even the cheap shots, he missed quite many of them.

 

Kai has been great since his coming here, and have missed only 6 since the beginning of his career. Honestly, he's pretty money each time he lines for FG. KO could be better, but I expect to see more Tress Way booming them out like against the Jags. That's a good option.

 

And furthermore, the loss have more to do with last drive woes or Return TD than missed FG.

 

Back to OT:

 

Meh: 

Helu: Getting caught by Jenkins the way it was was really disturbing...

Morris: Great effort as always, but stats aren't that great, sadly. But I'm not going to get mad, he'll be better next time.

Officiating for not drawing a flag for blatant foul on Cousins, but drawing one for a hit on Foles? Come one guys!

 

Bad:

Merriweather. Should I said, that's casual?

Injuries.

ST, casual here again.

Both BM and ST makes me think that we should bring Doughty back to set this up. Not the best player on the field, but he was getting the job done. We're really missing him.

 

Good:

Cousins, obviously. I really enjoyed watching him play and taking the offense down the field. Not perfect, but considering it was just his 5th start, and that the last 3 were starts in a despesrate situation on a desperate team where players and coaches than had quit he's pretty interesting. If he keeps on, correct mistakes, and win games, RG3 will have some tough time to get his job back.

DJax, Garcon, Paul, Grant... What's its name already Hank...?

Run D: Just impressive the way they nailed McCoy and Sproles. Really good game from our front 7 on stopping the Run.

Amerson and Breeland. Injury to DHall is concerning, but those two can be a dynamic duo in the forthcoming weeks. 

[Hersh]

 

Uhhh, it wasn't bad clock management.  He knew if Philly got the ball back they could score again.  He assumed he would get into at least field goal range.  Running the clock out was the right move.  You don't play to keep time on the clock so philly has 2 minutes left.

 

 

I can understand doing that after you actually get within FG range, but he can't assume anything in that situation. He limited his options by running the clock and using a timeout on the wrong side of the two minute warning after an incompletion.

[SkinsFTW]

I would have been interested in seeing a third safety getting some snaps for Riley. Increase the speed somewhat and possibly the coverage as well. Maybe it allows a bit more creativity while (hopefully) not losing too much in run D.

 

Yeah Riley gave up at least 2 of the TD's and it looked like he couldve swatted down both of them if he just got his arms up in the air.

[Long n Left]

Ease down... When Gano was kicking for us almost everyone down here wanted to cut his ass short anytime he lined up for FG. Even the cheap shots, he missed quite many of them.

 

Kai has been great since his coming here, and have missed only 6 since the beginning of his career. Honestly, he's pretty money each time he lines for FG. KO could be better, but I expect to see more Tress Way booming them out like against the Jags. That's a good option.

 

And furthermore, the loss have more to do with last drive woes or Return TD than missed FG.

 

 

Well, in the past 3 years Gano has a better percentage made than Forbath, and the highest touchback percentage in the league. Just sayin'.