Skins vs Eagles Pre Game Thread

Meriweather gives Sproles a concussion with a massive helmet-to-helmet hit in the first quarter. After that, we only have to worry about McCoy. Redskins win 27-24.

Meriweather gives Sproles a concussion with a massive helmet-to-helmet hit in the first quarter. After that, we only have to worry about McCoy. Redskins win 27-24.

i was actually wondering whether they would use merriweather to shadow sproles or mccoy. we dont have the OLBs to keep up with them.

but i see merriweather going knee level low .. and of course pissing off the eagles in the process for trying to end sproles or mccoy's career.

that leaves us exposed on the back end by bringing merriweather in the box or close to it and we might have to drop a corner back into soft coverage on one side giving foles some easy short looks..... but id rather see if foles can beat us vs sproles/mccoy

im interested to see haslett's gameplan

i was actually wondering whether they would use merriweather to shadow sproles or mccoy. we dont have the OLBs to keep up with them.

but i see merriweather going knee level low .. and of course pissing off the eagles in the process for trying to end sproles or mccoy's career.

I think it's a good idea to have BM shadow Sproles. I think we have the ILBs with enough speed to take care of Shady. The key will be to make sure that our front 7 do a good job getting to foles and prevent a deep pass to Maclin or Cooper.

If Kelly goes on to be a star coach, I will have a heckuva lot of crow to eat. I can't see this as being an appropriate response for an NFL coach about an injured player:

Zach Berman ‏@ZBerm 7m
Chip said he doesn't know what's wrong with Kendricks' calf because he didn't ask. Said all he wants to know is can player play, yes or no

and from the full article:
Kelly would not discuss the degree of Kendricks' calf injury.

"I don’t ask," Kelly said. "Can we get this out of the way: I’m never going to ask. I don’t care. Just tell me if they can play or can’t play. That’s all I ever ask."


Read more at Mychal Kendricks still absent from practice; Marcus Smith working at inside linebacker (http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/Mychal-Kendricks-still-absent-from-practice-Marcus-Smith-working-at-inside-linebacker.html#Kps7Cz4lAhSSjvBF.99)

Positive notes:
Philly has O-Line problems
Colts ran right thru their D-Line
WRs are overhyped
secondary does not impress me

Really pisses me off that we couldn't grab Sproles bc he is my favorite non-Skin player

And to Kelly's comment that he doesn't care, I would imagine that snippet (and I am reading more into it for sure) plays into DJax's exit. Just listening to DJax and his answers, he is someone who needs a coach who shows he cares. He had that with Andy Reid, but clearly it isn't Kelly's style. Have there been coaches who succeed without being a "caring coach" sure, but I can't think of many who have just come out to the media and said he's never going to care about the specific degree of injury to his players.

And to Kelly's comment that he doesn't care, I would imagine that snippet (and I am reading more into it for sure) plays into DJax's exit. Just listening to DJax and his answers, he is someone who needs a coach who shows he cares. He had that with Andy Reid, but clearly it isn't Kelly's style. Have there been coaches who succeed without being a "caring coach" sure, but I can't think of many who have just come out to the media and said he's never going to care about the specific degree of injury to his players.

Kelly is a good X's and O's guy, and that will probably keep him alive. But if he ever starts losing, things could get ugly. Some players still like the head coach even if they're losing as a team, but I doubt Kelly would find it that way.

Interesting side note leading up to this game: our first pick, 2nd rounder Trent Murphy, is already getting a nice amount of defensive snaps even with Rak and Kerrigan ahead of him, plus he's contributing on special teams. Meanwhile, their first pick, 1st rounder Marcus Smith, got 0 total snaps in their first game and was on the inactive list against the Colts, even though the players ahead of him aren't as good as Rak and Kerrigan. May not be the war, but it is a small battle, and we're winning. :D

Looking at the listings and its looking like the Skins, AGAIN, are not on in Baltimore. F'ing sucks.

This exchange re: Chip Kelly reminds me a little about Tom Coughlin. He's always been strong on Xs and Os. Early on in his head coaching career, he was viewed as a rather cold hardass by his players. He had success, but when things started to slide (which is inevitable in the salary-cap era), players didn't have his back. Over the years coaching the Giants, however, I think he's changed his approach; you get the impression that he's got closer individual relationships with his players, and I don't think it is a coincidence that his greatest success has come in NY.

Kelly may learn that over time as well. It's funny -- one of my favorite quotes about Vince Lombardi by one of his players, was something like: "Oh, Coach Lombardi is great. He treats us all teh same. He treats us like dogs." But I think his players really loved him, and in part because he was a winner (he was THE winner), but also because he was such a great father figure (albeit a tough love father figure, and not in the Adrian Peterson kind of way).

It's one thing to be a hard ass. I think it's off the charts another to put out for public consumption that a coach doesn't care about the severity of an injury, and further says don't ask me those type questions about any injuries ever.