Really disappointing loss, we were in it all the way and had a chance up to the last drive. Clearly was not what I (or most anyone) expected. I definitely believed the Eagles would win fairly easily (even before we traded Parsons). I had a rule when I used to gamble on NFL games that I would never bet on any games Dallas was playing in but admit I would have been very tempted to take Philly minus the 7 1/2 last night. Seemed like a lock.
In the end though, we still lost. They lost because two pretty highly paid guys had too many drops and one veteran RB who shouldn't have made the team anyway lost a fumble at the worst possible time.
1) Last yr (and sometimes in other years) I'd start out flaming the QB. But he gets props for last night from me, he played a really, really good game and threw a ton of great balls. Didn't always have the cleanest protections which resulted in him having to avoid a few sacks, but even with that he for the most part delivered the ball into spots where our guys could catch it. All 3 of Lamb's drops were perfect throws. The one he didn't haul in at the end ala Butch Johnson style was also a near perfect throw. The ball he threw to Ferguson on 3rd and 20+ into the endzone was a perfect throw. If he could play this way every week I doubt many would complain.
2) Lamb will go down as a major goat for the drops. Had a good night of production with 7/110 and could have had another mass Eagles torture night had he caught those other 3. That said, when seeing the replays of the deep one he dropped I do think Tolbert is partly to blame. He clearly runs the wrong route and ends up almost right on top of Lamb. He also made a nonchalant effort to try and catch the throw himself. He's right in Lamb's line of sight and even the slightest distraction can cause receivers to drop balls. Still doesn't excuse Lamb for dropping it,he's a superstar and makes too much money to miss that. But I do think Tolbert is partly to blame. Will be interesting to see if is PT is impacted moving forward (I thought Flournoy was better than him anyway)
3) I thought Schottenheimer called a good 1st game. I think he had the team ready to play and for the most part alot of the maddening dumbfuck plays we were used to seeing for 5 yrs under McCarthy didnt happen. Total for the game we had only 4 penalties and one of those was a save the QB hold on Tyler Smith. Encouraging to me for sure even if we did ultimately lose the game. They DID look like a better coached and better prepared team than we typically saw.
4) OL clearly has talent but is also a work in progress. Guyton got almost no training camp time after his injury and held up pretty well. Steele was not quite as bad as I expected (did get beaten bad on a couple of run block plays). The interior was pretty good in run blocking but were a mixed bag in pass protection, seemed like they got confused on a handful of reps and let guy through forcing Dak to bail or throw the ball away. Probably also a product of no real game time in preseason as a unit together. Arrow definitely pointing up for them though. Run blocking opened some nice holes and generated a decent push on most downs, short yardage/goal-line rushes were much improved.
5) Came away pleasantly surprised at Javonte Williams. He ran hard and made the tough yards and had two nice between the tackle TDs inside the 5. Also caught a couple of passes. Hopefully when Blue is healthy/ready they remove Miles Sanders completely though. Had a 49 yd run (nice) but it was so well blocked that almost ANY other RB would have scored a TD on that play, but he got run down. Then had a miserable fucking fumble on a 1st down run (he has had issues with fumbling prior to here). His other 3 carris netted 4 yds and he lost another 3 on a pass play. I never thought he should have made the team to begin with, now firmly believe he should be cut this week. Really hope we get to see Phil Mafah some once he is healthy.
6) The defense was really bad in the 1st half, reminiscent of the Monte Kiffin/Mike Nolan times. They couldnt stop anything. That said, they did seem to make some adjustments and played much better in the 2nd half, especially after the storm delay. Kenny Clark is a huge upgrade from bust Mazi (who was deactivated, at this point not sure why he is on the team either). Odiggy got quick penetration quite a bit but on many of those plays (esp 1st half) there was no one to contain/finish. I think if those two stay healthy along with Solomon Thomas we are in good shape there. Thomas was also quite active. I thought the young DE's got better and better as game wore on. Sam Williams had 5 tackels and several pressures. Kneeland looked really good and got full credit for our 1 sack. Ezeiruaku started slow but should have drawn an obvious holding call in Eagles 1st TD drive (3rd down scramble by Hurts for 1st) and nearly had a sack when he blew by their all-pro LT later in the game. There's some hope on the DL I think.
7) AJ Brown and Devonte Smith combined for 4 catches for 24 yds, and a long play of only 8 yds. Good job by our secondary on them. In fact the Eagles had only one completion the entire game over NINE yards (that long one to Dotson, which was a perfect throw by Hurts). Diggs played, not sure what his snap count was but he looked like he was moving and covering well. Again, some hope for the backend of the defense. Diggs should improve the healthier he gets and at some point we will get our talented 3rd rd pick Revel on the field too.
8) Never seen anything like that Jalen Carter fiasco. How the hell could a guy be that fucking dumb? That said, this kind of stuff WAS something that Georgia coaches didn't like about him, very immature. I'm sure him missing the game had an impact but thats 100% on him. FAFO
9) Ferguson won't get the blame level Lamb is getting but he should get his fair share. Awful drop on that 3rd and 22 play that should have been a TD. He didn't really get open much and didn't appear to be all that much of a factor in the run game with his blocking either. He also had what appeared to be a fuck up play of his own on Williams 2nd TD run. Everyone is run blocking for what was obviously a run play call, but Ferguson for some reason runs a pass route. Williams got in but the play would have probably been a much easier TD had he blocked somebody. He got a big pay day (unexpected) and he needs to play like he did his rookie and second years. Last yr he had the injuries but when he was on the field he was very mediocre. Last night looked like more of the same.
10) Hope we see them incorporate more of Pickens and Turpin in coming games. Both guys are weapons and could help take more heat off Lamb. TE's were pretty much a zero for us last night (despite 8 total targets) so maybe they need to throw a little more to Williams and Luepke (and Blue once he gets on the field) to make up for it.
It's a loss and I still don't think we're really a "playoff" team but the team did look better, much better than I expected. They are extremely young (3rd youngest in the league I believe) and we should see some improvement week to week. Key will be staying healthy obviously. But overall pleased with what we saw from Schotty in his 1st game.
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