Sports

[teganslaw]

I read that Houston will be concentrating on stopping Gore: he ran for 107 yards last time the teams met.Joseph is doubtful to play for the Texans, so that helps the Colts. Maybe if they work on Gore, it means that Hilton and Moncrief will be  more open. One can only hope.

The media mentions a "revenge" game for DeSean Jackson vs. Philly, but if I recall corrrectly, that didn't happen last time. Crowder seems to be the one getting most of the snaps. Garcon had a lot last week, also. Anyway, I'm thinking that it's all hype regarding Jackson. Any thoughts on that, SPURT? Do you think that Jackson will get more snaps this Sunday?

[gardenman]

Pretty much every Eagles/Redskins game since DeSean left has featured him getting a few bombs thrown his way. The guy who really kills the Eagles though is the Redskins' tight end Jordan Reed. I'm not sure if he'll play though as he's got a bad shoulder. If Reed is out, expect the Redskins to spread the ball around a bit more.

[gardenman]

And it's game day! Maybe, just maybe, Doug Pederson is starting to learn from his mistakes. This week he said that Paul Turner (our rookie free agent wide receiver who impressed everyone in the preseason before getting cut) would get more playing time and that if we fall out of the playoff hunt (truly more of a fantasy than a reality now) that he'll play more of the rookies and younger players. 

A lot of the kids showed enough in the offseason/preseason to earn starting spots, but were passed over for veteran players. Many of those vets have done little to nothing during the season, so getting the kids in there can't really hurt anything. Hiring a recent former player as a head coach sometimes can be detrimental as they're more inclined to favor the vets, believing they too were given up on prematurely and they don't want to repeat that mistake with the guys they coach. Very often they'll end up hanging onto a guy a bit too long when the player is well past his peak.

You're apt to see Paul Turner, CJ Smith, Steven Means, Aaron Grymes, and maybe even Kenjon Barner seeing the field more over these last few weeks. They were largely the unexpected stars of the offseason/preseason, then they got set aside when the regular season started.

It's going to be an interesting offseason for the Eagles. The first, biggest question the team has to answer is, do they keep Doug Pederson as the head coach? Tom Coughlin is still out there. There's a likelihood that one or more head coach they love will get fired (Gus Bradley from Jacksonville and the Eagles had agreed to him being the head coach before Chip Kelly changed his mind and agreed to take the job.) Sean Payton of the Saints is another head coach they love who could be available. Marvin Lewis, John Fox and Todd Bowles are also names that could pop up when/if they get fired.

Add in the good young coordinators from around the league who are considered top head coaching candidates and the Eagles may just decide to make a bold move. A Josh McDaniel from the Patriots might get their attention. 

Doug Pederson needs to end the season on a high note to ensure he holds onto the job. He's got to make good decisions (something he's been iffy on,) play the kids if they're playing as well as, or better than the vets, manage the game properly, and keep the team together over these last few weeks. A blowout loss or two, and he's likely gone.

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

I read that Houston will be concentrating on stopping Gore: he ran for 107 yards last time the teams met.Joseph is doubtful to play for the Texans, so that helps the Colts. Maybe if they work on Gore, it means that Hilton and Moncrief will be  more open. One can only hope.

The media mentions a "revenge" game for DeSean Jackson vs. Philly, but if I recall corrrectly, that didn't happen last time. Crowder seems to be the one getting most of the snaps. Garcon had a lot last week, also. Anyway, I'm thinking that it's all hype regarding Jackson. Any thoughts on that, SPURT? Do you think that Jackson will get more snaps this Sunday?

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@teganslaw

DeJack keeps saying he wants the ball, but he's done it in a polie way without any controversy.....but your right, Capt Kirk has been going with other options but it could be caused by the pressure Kirk is getting or coverage of the opponent.....I think the Redskins will continue on course with perhaps a few extra throws DeJacks way this week, but I think Kirk will still pass more to Garcon and Crowder and I think Gruden will want to get the running game going strong too..

Good luck to your Colts!

[Spurt]

@gardenman

Since the Cowboys play Giants on SNF  They are actually showing the REDSKINS/EAGLES GAME at the noon game here!!! YEAH!!!

Seahawks/Packers as our late game

And of course SNF Cowboys/Giants!

[gardenman]

Some confusing inactive players for the Eagles today. Kenjon Barner who is our best kick returner and just had a 61 yard return last week, and who's averaging 5.1 yards per carry as a back is inactive. I'm not sure why the coaches made that move. The good news is they did finally activate defensive end Steven Means, our young edge rusher who plays like his hair is on fire. Paul Turner is officially listed as a starter today. It looks like the coaches are trying to mix in some younger players now.

[Spurt]

@gardenman

Jordan Reed is IN!!--

[gardenman]

A decent first half for the Eagles. A few bad plays, but overall a decent half. The Redskins weren't expecting a back of the end zone pass to the smallest guy on the field in Sproles. That would have been ridiculously easy for Breeland to defend and he knew that so he cheated to the up guy in Burton and Wentz hit Sproles instead. I'm guessing the Eagles saw that on film from the first game and hoped it would work. Those back corner fades tend to be won by the bigger guy and that's not Sproles. Had Breeland stayed with Sproles it likely would have been an interception, but the Eagles knew he'd let Sproles go.

[gardenman]

Kudos to the Redskins for pulling out the win. The Eagles gave them a good fight and it was a typical NFC East game with a near riot breaking out, but another bad decision by Doug Pederson at the end hurt the Eagles. On the last play we had Ryan Matthews lined up behind and to the right of Carson Wentz, which put him in a perfect position to chip Ryan Kerrigan to slow his pass rush down, but instead Pederson left our fourth string right tackle (Tobin) to go one on one with the Redskins' best pass rusher. Not surprisngly Kerrigan blew past Tobin and knocked the ball out of Wentz's hand ending the game when the ball was recovered by the Redskins.

There have been about five games this year where the coaching has largely cost us the win.  There are just things Doug Pederson does in crucial situations that make you pull your hair out. One of his more questionable decisions today was sitting down our best runningback/kick returner in Kenjon Barner only to lose two other runningbacks and our other experienced kick returners in the game. Ugh! It's kind of silly to handicap your own team but Doug does that game after game..

It was a very entertaining game anyway. Carson Wentz played very well. He just needs more help.

[teganslaw]

Not a good game for the Colts. Too many dropped passes (looking at Dorsett!), and pressure on Luck. At the end, the Colts were driving, fourth and one, and the coach calls a screen pass instead of running the ball. I don't expect the Colts to make the playoffs; Houston is in first place and have swept Indy for the first time in their franchise.

Arizona's season is probably done. They lost to Miami in the last second.

If the media is correct, Rex Ryan's job is on the line. However, can anyone stop Le'Veon Bell? That guy can't be human!

Good game between Washington and Philly. The NFC east usually plays close games. Washington likes this: Philly doesn't.