GTripp0012
10-10-2008, 01:57 AM
So I used by 6,000th post to discuss the economy. Bummer. Here's the more celebratory 6,001st post!
----------------------------------------------------------
Donovan McNabb was once an elite quarterback. Perhaps more because of circumstance and lack of elite passers in the NFL, but there was a time when Mark Brunell, Kurt Warner, and Vinny Testeverde roamed the NFC East, when Eli Manning was but Peyton’s kid brother, when Tony Romo was a clipboard holder buried behind Drew Henson (it worked out well for Tom Brady too!), when Jason Campbell was winning games in a new offense, and when Donovan McNabb was a lock for the pro bowl every year.
Call me crazy, but I think those days are over.
Since he first started to make plays in 2001, and the Eagles reached the top of the division, McNabb has always seen the field well. His name is right up there with Neil O’Donnell in terms of lowest ever INT percentage. He’s never thrown more than 13 INTs in a season and never more than 9 in any season since his breakout in 2004.
And, as was typified in this game, McNabb was never able to become a complete passer. No matter how often his receivers turnover from year to year, McNabb cannot consistently break the 60% completion plateau. He’s thrown for 7.0 Y/A or better every year since 2004, and yet, he can’t seem to sustain drives. The Eagles allow him to throw on first down more than any QB in the NFL, and all it seems to do is cost Brian Westbrook some carries.
McNabb has two major tangible problems. One was not a factor in this game. The other cost the Eagles the ball game. 1) McNabb holds the ball too long and takes too many sacks for a man with his mobility. (The Redskins did not sack McNabb) 2) When McNabb feels pressure, he throws errantly to [often wide open] wide receivers who struggle to come up with the catches. (This cost the Eagles the game). By not anticipating the routes and the coverages, McNabb costs himself valuable split seconds and puts his receivers in bad positions.
The thing is, the Eagles have a GREAT pass blocking offensive line. McNabb only feels pressure because he’s not looking to get the ball out of his hands. Jason Campbell, on the other hand, spends most of the game getting the ball out of his hand as soon as someone comes open. Both guys feel the pocket very well, but Campbell was the better QB in this game, and likely is the better QB of the two right at this moment.
Pass Defense
Because the open was all about McNabb, we’ll jump right into the pass defense.
Vital Statistics — 30 plays [5 screens]
Adj Pass Yards Against — 204
Adj Pass Yds per Play — 6.8
Success Rate against — 43%
The yards per attempt vastly outdid the Redskins’ passing production, but success rate tells a VASTLY different story. Almost as if for two entire quarters, there was nothing successful about the Eagles’ passing game. Oh wait, that’s EXACTLY what happened. The Redskins consistently beat the Eagles, but were unable to prevent big chunks of yards on the two Eagles’ scoring drives.
I don’t like the Redskins chances if you give the Eagles more offensive plays. However, combined with the fact that the Redskins offense kept the Eagles offense on the sideline, credit also has to go to the pass defense for putting them there in the first place.
Time to check out the coverage stats:
(Targeted, Comp % against, YPA, SR against)
*Carlos Rogers 5, 20%, 1.8, 20%
**Fred Smoot 5, 80%, 9.8, 60%
Chris Horton 3, 100%, 9.3, 100%
LaRon Landry — NOT TARGETED
London Fletcher 3, 67%, 3.0, 0%
Rocky McIntosh 4, 50%, 5.3, 50%
*I said after the Saints game that no one targets Carlos Rogers. That was a premature statement. Teams have to throw at Rogers because they won’t ever throw at Landry. Rogers just shuts everyone down.
If there’s a reason his statline reminds you of Cooley’s, its because Carlos was to the defense what Cooley was to the offense. His side was simply never available.
**Fred Smoot sucks.
London Fletcher is definately in the running for game MVP. He’s getting some overdue hype for the pro bowl, but he really deserved it last season. This year, Rocky is more deserving, although Fletcher was the better of the two on this day.
Screen Defense — Because it’s the Eagles
5 screens, 4 successful screens, 39 total yards off screens (7.8 per)
The Eagles had their most success in the screen game, mostly because they get the ball out of Donovan’s hands quickly and block it well. The screen that didn’t work…yeah Rogers blew that play up too. No, that wasn’t factored into his individual stats. If Carlos Rogers doesn’t go to the pro bowl this season we need to seriously consider abolishing the pro bowl.
Pass Pressure
There wasn’t very much in this department. I’d give gameballs to the entire Eagles OL in this one. McNabb held the ball a long time and the Redskins blitzed often (see below). Normally, that would favor the defense, but on 80% of all passing plays, the Redskins did not register a sack, hit, deflection, or pressure.
No hits, no sacks
Pressures (4)
Lorenzo Alexander
London Fletcher
Anthony Montgomery (he was really good at this last year, this is his first pressure of the year)
LaRon Landry
Passes Deflected (2)
London Fletcher
Andre Carter
Run Defense
Vital Statistics (19 plays)
Total Rush yds against - 58
Rush yds/play - 3.05
Rush SR against - 37%
Successful running plays by the Eagles in between the two scoring drives = 0
Longest run from scrimmage for Eagles = 9 yards (the touchdown)
I’d say more, but those two stats say it all. That team has Brian Westbrook!
Individual Numbers:
(tackles [for] yards per tackle)
HB Blades 4 for 2.8
Andre Carter 3 for 0.7
Rocky McIntosh 2 for 3.0
London Fletcher 1 for 3.0
Chris Horton 4 for 2.3
LaRon Landry 1 for 5.0
Khary Campbell 1 for -3
Corneilius Griffin 1 for 7.0
Fred Smoot 1 for 5
Leigh Torrence 1 for 6
Lorenzo Alexander 1 for 2
Chris Wilson 1 for 6
The Eagles gameplan was to get bodies on Fletcher and McIntosh and prevent them from making plays. This made sense at the time because they figured the Redskins would spend a lot of time in the nickel vs their 3 WR sets. The Redskins were in the nickel for three plays. Anyway, that plan blew up in their faces.
I’m a bit disappointed with the interior DL play, against both the pass and the run. With O-Linemen trying to get to the second level, there should have been more tackles at the first level. Oh well, I guess you can put that on Westbrook’s greatness. Kedric Golston started really strong, but his play has noticeably dropped off the last two games. Griffin manhandled Max Jean-Gilles all day, but if Shawn Andrews is healthy when we see them again, this could be a lot tougher.
Greg Blache
Greg Blache was relegated all the way down here for his mockery of people who look at statistics.
Personnel Groupings:
Base 4-3 - 30 (61%)
Cobra (3 safeties) - 4 (8%)
Nickel (3 corners) - 3 (6%)
Dime - 11 (22%)
4-4 - 1
Remember all the talk about how Blache was avoiding 6+ DB sets? Yeah, not so much these days. The Redskins basically went between their 4-3, and 6 DBs depending on the down and distance. This is the main reason that Rocky Mac’s numbers were down this game, is that he was on the sideline for almost a quarter of the defensive plays.
Blitz calls:
7 Five+ man blitzes
3 Six+ man blitzes
McIntosh x2
Horton x2
Fletcher x2 - 1 pressure
Doughty x2
Blades
Landry - 1 pressure
Overall Defense
Vital Statistics
Total Adj Yards - 262
Adj Yards per Play - 5.46
SR Against - 44%
The Redskins beat the Eagles by running the ball and playing good defense. That doesn’t mean the DL play isn’t a cause for concern, but it does mean that the Redskins are talented enough on defense to shut down top offenses even without Gregg Williams’ complex schemes. The overall defense might actually end up holding the offense back in the playoffs, but outside of the defensive line, I don’t see a weakness on this team. Demetric Evans, who was so great against the Cowboys, was dominated by Jon Runyan to the point where no one even knew he was on the field. Erasmus James got some snaps in his place at the end of the game with similar results. Chris Wilson is getting increased playing time. The Redskins may need a quicker rotation at DT with Golston potentially wearing down. If the DL is going to do damage in the playoffs, KG needs to be at his best.
Overall, these issues are minor, and the Redskins D will get to play some weaker offenses now and should establish itself as a top ten unit. Combined with the help it’s now getting from Jason Campbell’s offensive unit, and the resurgence of Clinton Portis, I’m starting to see a very special season in Washington shaping up on the horizon.
----------------------------------------------------------
Donovan McNabb was once an elite quarterback. Perhaps more because of circumstance and lack of elite passers in the NFL, but there was a time when Mark Brunell, Kurt Warner, and Vinny Testeverde roamed the NFC East, when Eli Manning was but Peyton’s kid brother, when Tony Romo was a clipboard holder buried behind Drew Henson (it worked out well for Tom Brady too!), when Jason Campbell was winning games in a new offense, and when Donovan McNabb was a lock for the pro bowl every year.
Call me crazy, but I think those days are over.
Since he first started to make plays in 2001, and the Eagles reached the top of the division, McNabb has always seen the field well. His name is right up there with Neil O’Donnell in terms of lowest ever INT percentage. He’s never thrown more than 13 INTs in a season and never more than 9 in any season since his breakout in 2004.
And, as was typified in this game, McNabb was never able to become a complete passer. No matter how often his receivers turnover from year to year, McNabb cannot consistently break the 60% completion plateau. He’s thrown for 7.0 Y/A or better every year since 2004, and yet, he can’t seem to sustain drives. The Eagles allow him to throw on first down more than any QB in the NFL, and all it seems to do is cost Brian Westbrook some carries.
McNabb has two major tangible problems. One was not a factor in this game. The other cost the Eagles the ball game. 1) McNabb holds the ball too long and takes too many sacks for a man with his mobility. (The Redskins did not sack McNabb) 2) When McNabb feels pressure, he throws errantly to [often wide open] wide receivers who struggle to come up with the catches. (This cost the Eagles the game). By not anticipating the routes and the coverages, McNabb costs himself valuable split seconds and puts his receivers in bad positions.
The thing is, the Eagles have a GREAT pass blocking offensive line. McNabb only feels pressure because he’s not looking to get the ball out of his hands. Jason Campbell, on the other hand, spends most of the game getting the ball out of his hand as soon as someone comes open. Both guys feel the pocket very well, but Campbell was the better QB in this game, and likely is the better QB of the two right at this moment.
Pass Defense
Because the open was all about McNabb, we’ll jump right into the pass defense.
Vital Statistics — 30 plays [5 screens]
Adj Pass Yards Against — 204
Adj Pass Yds per Play — 6.8
Success Rate against — 43%
The yards per attempt vastly outdid the Redskins’ passing production, but success rate tells a VASTLY different story. Almost as if for two entire quarters, there was nothing successful about the Eagles’ passing game. Oh wait, that’s EXACTLY what happened. The Redskins consistently beat the Eagles, but were unable to prevent big chunks of yards on the two Eagles’ scoring drives.
I don’t like the Redskins chances if you give the Eagles more offensive plays. However, combined with the fact that the Redskins offense kept the Eagles offense on the sideline, credit also has to go to the pass defense for putting them there in the first place.
Time to check out the coverage stats:
(Targeted, Comp % against, YPA, SR against)
*Carlos Rogers 5, 20%, 1.8, 20%
**Fred Smoot 5, 80%, 9.8, 60%
Chris Horton 3, 100%, 9.3, 100%
LaRon Landry — NOT TARGETED
London Fletcher 3, 67%, 3.0, 0%
Rocky McIntosh 4, 50%, 5.3, 50%
*I said after the Saints game that no one targets Carlos Rogers. That was a premature statement. Teams have to throw at Rogers because they won’t ever throw at Landry. Rogers just shuts everyone down.
If there’s a reason his statline reminds you of Cooley’s, its because Carlos was to the defense what Cooley was to the offense. His side was simply never available.
**Fred Smoot sucks.
London Fletcher is definately in the running for game MVP. He’s getting some overdue hype for the pro bowl, but he really deserved it last season. This year, Rocky is more deserving, although Fletcher was the better of the two on this day.
Screen Defense — Because it’s the Eagles
5 screens, 4 successful screens, 39 total yards off screens (7.8 per)
The Eagles had their most success in the screen game, mostly because they get the ball out of Donovan’s hands quickly and block it well. The screen that didn’t work…yeah Rogers blew that play up too. No, that wasn’t factored into his individual stats. If Carlos Rogers doesn’t go to the pro bowl this season we need to seriously consider abolishing the pro bowl.
Pass Pressure
There wasn’t very much in this department. I’d give gameballs to the entire Eagles OL in this one. McNabb held the ball a long time and the Redskins blitzed often (see below). Normally, that would favor the defense, but on 80% of all passing plays, the Redskins did not register a sack, hit, deflection, or pressure.
No hits, no sacks
Pressures (4)
Lorenzo Alexander
London Fletcher
Anthony Montgomery (he was really good at this last year, this is his first pressure of the year)
LaRon Landry
Passes Deflected (2)
London Fletcher
Andre Carter
Run Defense
Vital Statistics (19 plays)
Total Rush yds against - 58
Rush yds/play - 3.05
Rush SR against - 37%
Successful running plays by the Eagles in between the two scoring drives = 0
Longest run from scrimmage for Eagles = 9 yards (the touchdown)
I’d say more, but those two stats say it all. That team has Brian Westbrook!
Individual Numbers:
(tackles [for] yards per tackle)
HB Blades 4 for 2.8
Andre Carter 3 for 0.7
Rocky McIntosh 2 for 3.0
London Fletcher 1 for 3.0
Chris Horton 4 for 2.3
LaRon Landry 1 for 5.0
Khary Campbell 1 for -3
Corneilius Griffin 1 for 7.0
Fred Smoot 1 for 5
Leigh Torrence 1 for 6
Lorenzo Alexander 1 for 2
Chris Wilson 1 for 6
The Eagles gameplan was to get bodies on Fletcher and McIntosh and prevent them from making plays. This made sense at the time because they figured the Redskins would spend a lot of time in the nickel vs their 3 WR sets. The Redskins were in the nickel for three plays. Anyway, that plan blew up in their faces.
I’m a bit disappointed with the interior DL play, against both the pass and the run. With O-Linemen trying to get to the second level, there should have been more tackles at the first level. Oh well, I guess you can put that on Westbrook’s greatness. Kedric Golston started really strong, but his play has noticeably dropped off the last two games. Griffin manhandled Max Jean-Gilles all day, but if Shawn Andrews is healthy when we see them again, this could be a lot tougher.
Greg Blache
Greg Blache was relegated all the way down here for his mockery of people who look at statistics.
Personnel Groupings:
Base 4-3 - 30 (61%)
Cobra (3 safeties) - 4 (8%)
Nickel (3 corners) - 3 (6%)
Dime - 11 (22%)
4-4 - 1
Remember all the talk about how Blache was avoiding 6+ DB sets? Yeah, not so much these days. The Redskins basically went between their 4-3, and 6 DBs depending on the down and distance. This is the main reason that Rocky Mac’s numbers were down this game, is that he was on the sideline for almost a quarter of the defensive plays.
Blitz calls:
7 Five+ man blitzes
3 Six+ man blitzes
McIntosh x2
Horton x2
Fletcher x2 - 1 pressure
Doughty x2
Blades
Landry - 1 pressure
Overall Defense
Vital Statistics
Total Adj Yards - 262
Adj Yards per Play - 5.46
SR Against - 44%
The Redskins beat the Eagles by running the ball and playing good defense. That doesn’t mean the DL play isn’t a cause for concern, but it does mean that the Redskins are talented enough on defense to shut down top offenses even without Gregg Williams’ complex schemes. The overall defense might actually end up holding the offense back in the playoffs, but outside of the defensive line, I don’t see a weakness on this team. Demetric Evans, who was so great against the Cowboys, was dominated by Jon Runyan to the point where no one even knew he was on the field. Erasmus James got some snaps in his place at the end of the game with similar results. Chris Wilson is getting increased playing time. The Redskins may need a quicker rotation at DT with Golston potentially wearing down. If the DL is going to do damage in the playoffs, KG needs to be at his best.
Overall, these issues are minor, and the Redskins D will get to play some weaker offenses now and should establish itself as a top ten unit. Combined with the help it’s now getting from Jason Campbell’s offensive unit, and the resurgence of Clinton Portis, I’m starting to see a very special season in Washington shaping up on the horizon.