The 700 Level - Home of the Ginger Jesus.

[Haffa]

This team couldnt be more different to last years, where last year it always felt fraudulent, this year i've been supremely confident that it's a good team since about week 6

It’s so easy to forget we started last season 10-2. That felt like a 5-7 team at best.

 

[nick87]

Jimmy Kempski did an easily digestible thread here. https://x.com/JimmyKempski/status/1863643820153323827

Love that Jimmy did this. Outrageous that he cant get a flag on some of these

 

[nick87]

That win leaves about as sour a taste in your mouth as could be had... honestly a dreadful Jalen Hurts game, so many turn downs and bad plays in key downs. Not Kellen Moore's best game either, so many times in 2nd and medium he's asking Hurts to drop back and pass in a game Hurts just wasn't at his best... just hand the ball off to the dude averaging 6.2 ypc

2nd and 5, maybe he doesn't get a first down, but he's going to get a couple at least, which opens up a run on 3rd or the brotherly shove, or QB power or quick passing game. Instead constantly calling pass plays and Hurts continually made negative plays

The eagles did not deserve to win this game, the Panthers were the better team today. The only reason the eagles won was because they have such a disparity in talent.

The eagles also have a kicker problem. Jake Elliott was nails from beyond 50 prior to this year, something like 7/9 success rate

This year he's 0-5 and they've mostly not been close. That's a real problem in the play offs. Kicking is a weird thing where it can and go very quickly and he's still pretty reliable inside 50, so don't need a change and i still have some belief in him to get it done when it counts most, but the eagles need to adjust and understand 50+ yard FGs aren't something we can lean on anymore. Get more aggressive on 3rd down knowing that's now 4 down territory

Not going to panic, this eagles team has built up some equity that lets me forgive a poor performance where perhaps a little compliancy was involved. Take the W, keep it moving and on to PIT

 

[Valheru]

I was abroad last week so haven't seen the game outside of very basic highlights and of course all the comments through the podcasts.

Seems like we had a down game which is not all that surprising, winning 9 in a row in the NFL is damn hard and after back to back trips against Rams/Ravens this did feel like a banana peel game. I'm not in love with AJ Brown's comments. Sure, the passing game needs to improve to win the big games but take that in house dude, don't sook to the media after an 11th straight victory.

Big picture - Detroit beat GB which means we need to finish a clear game above them as I can't se a path for us to win the tiebreaker against them. There is one scenario that hasn't been discussed though, if Minnesota win the division (I'm not sure how they are looking in a tie breaker v Detroit) and they finish equal with us we win on common opponents as they lost to rams.

Personally I'm not too fussed with the 1 seed and unless it's a legitimate chance I would like to see us rest players over the last 3 games.

 

[nick87]

The benefit is that we'll kind of know in the next few weeks whats up with the #1 seed
Like if Detroit beat the Bills this week, its all but over... and we'll likley know if we're in control of the #1 seed or have no shot heading into week 18.

My gut feeling is Detroit arent going to drop 2 games
I think they'll beat the Bills and the eagles at that point can probably start planning for a big time rest game in week 18 with the #2 locked in. Take our rest week and get ready for the play offs

 

[nick87]

As ugly as last week was, total reverse this week
Excellent game. Even the early turn overs were just kind of "eh, that happens" sort of plays.

Passing game was on point and diced up the Steelers which is no joke of a defence. Barkley ran tough against a hard front and honestly i never felt like we werent completely in control of that game. Once the turnovers stopped, we took control and maintained it

The last drive to take out 10 minutes of the clock, with a 2 score lead and finish it with kneels is highly impressive. That's the sort of shit the 2022 eagles were doing. Establishing control and a lead, and then snuffing the life out of teams in the 4th qtr with long sustained drives that gives them NO chance to get back into it

12-2, Lions lost so the 1 seed is now very open... we finish with Commies, Dallas and NYG to come.
Might not get an opportunity to rest starters,
If we win out the Lions have Bears (w), Niners (w) and Vikings to go... #1 seed might come down to who wins that final Lions Vikings game

 

[Valheru]

Great win!

Well that should quiet the noise about the passing game, P\Pittsburgh had no answers at all and both AJ and Smith feasted. There was obviously a focus on the passing game during the week but also passing is the way to beat the Steelers as they have a top notch run defence. Offensively it was nice to see them produce in the first quarter although we are still humorously waiting on our first, first drive TD for the season. I particularly liked what they did in the 2nd half, especially that last drive where they just kept getting first downs, killing the clock and not even giving the steelers a sniff. Jalen did have the one turnover but that was a good play by the defender, all in all he took care of the ball again.

Defensively, they keep rolling, they made it hard all day and the Steelers only really got going on two drives outside of short field. One of them we got a fortunate turnover but that's football, luck comes your way with pressure.

The biggest thing with today's result is that the Lions lost as well. After tomorrow there could be a 3 way tie for the 1 seed and that's actually what we want to see because we win a tiebreaker over Minnesota based on common opponents where we beat rams and they lost. That's assuming conference record is tied which it is currently. To win a tiebreak over lions we are relying on SOV which we are well behind on and looks unlikely. So in a tie breaker scenario, our path is for the Vikings to win the NFC North.

 

[Valheru]

So I forgot Lions lost to an AFC team meaning they own the tiebreaker based on record within the conference. Both us and them only play NFC teams the rest of the way meaning it's impossible for us to finish equal and have an equal NFC record. Therefore we cannot pass lions based on tiebreaker so we will need to finish a game above them or a 3 way tie where Vikings beat them for the division on tiebreaker (if that's possible). Either way the Lions play vikings the final week which probably decides it all and no doubt will be the SNF game

 

[nick87]

Going to be real hard rooting for the niners in a few weeks against the lions

 

[Valheru]

Going to be real hard rooting for the niners in a few weeks against the lions

Don't discount bears next week either. Outdoor game and the lions are ravaged on defence.

Also think @WAS won't be easy for us and our obvious loss game if there is to be one the rest of the way. I reckon we could rest all the starters and still beat the giants.

 

[nick87]

Eagles lost Hurts early, got hosed by the zebras all game and ultimately lost the game when Davonta Smith dropped a pass WIDE open
He wasnt alone either, AJ and Saquon had key drops in the final minutes of that game.

Similar to the Atlanta game, catch the ball and win the game. Unreal.
Eagles have now lost 3 games and 2 of them would have finished with kneels if wide open passes arent dropped. That being said Kenny Pickett is an appalling QB. Just awful. I cannot believe he's the back up over McKee who out played him in the preseason. McKee wins this game

The calls against CJGJ, particularly the first one which counted to his ejection was honestly a fireable offence for the official. He's talking shit and the Commies player hits him in the face and the flag goes on us? Not even offsetting! haha. Just straight bullshit. Then multiple other 15 yard penalties that were horseshit, and a missed DPI on AJ Brown in the end zone cost them 4 points

Ultimately the eagles defence couldnt overcome the commanders, zebras and Kenny Pickett all at once and now the hopes of the #1 seed are over. ST's was an issue today too, Elliott's kick offs consistently coming up short and giving the commanders the ball starting at the 40+

The silver lining of that is they dont have to chase it now. They're locked into the 2nd seed, so it's about getting through Dallas next week without major injury and i think sitting starters in week 18 to rest for the play offs.

 

[Valheru]

Honestly, thank f**k that is over because that was wild. Not much more to add really than what was already said above, if hurts stays in we win in a blowout. Even still, if Smith holds that catch we win. The offence was awful after Hurts went as the commanders just ran run blitzes knowing we couldn't do anything else.

Defence had their worst game in a while, they are allowed one. I get they had absolutely no faith in the offence and they were also put in a couple of bad positions but they conceded some explosive plays and even though the last drive shouldn't have happened, they still should have stopped it. The ejection didn't help either.

Anyways, this is football and I kind of feel relieved as in the NFL these wild days happen and i'd much rather it now than in the playoffs. The humourous side effect of this is that the cowboys are now officially eliminated.

Call me crazy but ill happily take the 2 seed from here with 0 pressure down the stretch. I'm more than happy for vikings/lions to battle all the way to week 18 (our best case scenario is they meet in divisional round too) as well as the NFC south and West whilst we look to the playoffs. Not saying I didn't want the one seed but now it's gone, get this squad healthy for postseason week 1 which will likely be against the commanders.

We still haven't technically won the division but all we need is one more win OR one more WAS loss. They play Saturday night against falcons so could be done before we play. Ideally we beat dallas who have nothing to play for now or WAS loses and rest everyone against NYG but worse case scenario we can beat NYG in our sleep if required.

 

[nick87]

The most annoying part of this loss is not the game itself but the narrative that is cooking now about how Hurts going out concussion protocol isnt meaningful because he doesnt play defence

f**k me... like Pickett got handed 4 turnovers and produced 6 points, most drives completely stalled out because they didnt have to worry about that dude in the passing game or run game.. you dont think with +4 turnover margin Jalen Hurts might have put up more than 6 f**king points?
Maybe a drive or two sustains and limites the Commanders ability to even have time to make a comeback

The discourse is f**king crazy. Hurts plays this game, the Eagles win 20+
Hopefully this is a point of reflection for some media types trying to pretend like Hurts isnt a significant part of our success and not just any dude can get behind this team and make it go...

again Pickett got a +4 turn over ratio and played 3/4 of a game and put up 6 points

 

[Valheru]

The most annoying part of this loss is not the game itself but the narrative that is cooking now about how Hurts going out concussion protocol isnt meaningful because he doesnt play defence

f**k me... like Pickett got handed 4 turnovers and produced 6 points, most drives completely stalled out because they didnt have to worry about that dude in the passing game or run game.. you dont think with +4 turnover margin Jalen Hurts might have put up more than 6 f**king points?
Maybe a drive or two sustains and limites the Commanders ability to even have time to make a comeback

The discourse is f**king crazy. Hurts plays this game, the Eagles win 20+
Hopefully this is a point of reflection for some media types trying to pretend like Hurts isnt a significant part of our success and not just any dude can get behind this team and make it go...

again Pickett got a +4 turn over ratio and played 3/4 of a game and put up 6 points

Yep it's an outrageous narrative.

Like we win this by a minimum of 20 if he stays on the field. Pickett finished off the drive in the red zone when hurts went off but other than that all he had was the saquon run for 70 and some fortuitous penalties.

Hurts puts up more points and more importantly keeps the ball away from the commanders down the stretch. There were also at least two and 1 to go's where they run the tuah push if he is there.

I said above the defence didn't have their best game, I don't want the team to lose site of that but to suggest the result would have stayed the same is ludicrous. CGJ getting ejected also threw the secondary in to disarray.

Having said that, I don't mind the narrative, just adds fuel to the fire. We should be 14-1 if not for two dropped balls despite the other things that went against us yesterday. The chiefs have that record and have got outright lucky in at least 3 games.

 

[nick87]

Caveat - its obviously better to get the one seed, have a week off and play all your play off games at home

But looking at how the NFC is going to shape up... it's looking very likely it's going to be:

1. Lions/Vikings
2. Eagles
3. Rams
4. Falcons
5. Lions/Vikings
6. Packers
7. Commanders

Assuming Detroit get the #1.
Lions - Bye

Commanders @ Eagles
Packers @ Rams
Falcons @ Vikings

I would think the Eagles, Packers and Vikings win those games. Setting up
Packers @ Lions
Vikings @ Eagles

So the #2 likely gets us the softer side of the NFC draw. Potetnially going through the Commanders and Sam Darnold's vikings before we would potentially either play @ Lions or vs Packers. Even if the Vikings win the #1 seed, Lions coming TOO philly with that defence so banged up, i like our chances there.

The ability for us to lock down the 2 seed this week and take our "bye" against the Giants further enhances my thoughts that the #2 is maybe a better path

 

[Valheru]

If the NFC does play out that way, those NFC divisional games are going to be unreal. Lions/vikings and packers represent two of the best wild cars teams we have seen in some time IMO.

Having said that, now they are healthy I give the rams every chance to beat the 6 seed which to me represents our best case scenario

Wild card - vs WAS - this should be a comfortable win and if we get upset then we have no business advancing anyways

Divisional - vs LAR - we have the defence to limit them and they don't have the defence to limit us.

Conference - vs DET/MIN - best case scenario is the wild card wins the divisional matchup meaning we host although I don't have any reservations going to either venue.