Hello Friends!
ELECTRIC * EXCITING * EXHILIRATING *WILD * STIMULATING. Those are just a few of the words to help describe what the atmosphere was like here in the Locker Room for this past Sunday's big win against the division rivals the New York Giants. We had more than 100 people here and were jammed by 12:30pm. By 1pm and the opening kickoff the joint was off the charts and it stayed that way right up until the final gun sounded. I wish I had one of those noise meters to record what the decibel level was at the end of the game.
The win didn't come without a hefty price though, as the Eagles lost their Swiss Army knife and team sparkplug Darren Sproles for the season with a broken arm as well as a torn ACL. That's a big blow to not only our offense, but also the special teams units as Mighty Mouse always seemed to make good things happen whenever he touched the ball. This was supposed to be his final year of his long successful career, but I am hopeful that the Eagles can bring him back next season and let Mighty Mouse go out on his terms before he hangs up his spikes.
Our already depleted defense suffered some more troubling injuries as well to tackle Fletcher Cox and linebacker Jordan Hicks. Hopefully Cox & Hicks and Rodney McCloud, who missed the Giants game, can be back in the lineup for this week's game against the Chargers. As I wrote in last week’s blog, I was hoping that the Eagles would try and get their run game going to give us a much more balanced attack. Well they did, and it paid off big time with Wendell Smallwood toting the rock 12 times for 71 yards and LaGarrette Blount also getting 12 carries for 67 yards. Blount looked like he was possessed and wanted to prove something. They ran the ball a total of 39 times with Cory Clement, Darren Sproles along with QB Carson Wentz splitting 15 runs between them.
The offense looked much improved. As I said before, it's gonna take some time to gel. The defense looked like world beaters until that final 9 minutes or so when the Giants scored 21 points to take the lead, but the loss of Cox & Hicks had a great deal to do with that. I give the team credit because it was these type of games last year that the Eagles would lose and so far this year they are finding ways to win. Let's hope it continues. The undeniable star of the game was a player that most Eagles fans never heard of going into the game. Rookie kicker Jake Elliott who was just signed off the Bengals practice squad last week to replace injured Caleb Sturgis came into the game with only 1 second left on the clock and NAILED an Eagles record-breaking 61-yard field goal to give the Eagles a HUGE 27-24 victory. The kid will never have to buy a drink in Philly, as he's the city's newest hero after making that awesome game-winning kick that sent those Giants back up the turnpike with a record of 0 & 3. As history proves; the Giants chances of even smelling the playoffs pretty much went up in smoke Sunday around 4pm when Elliott's kick sailed through the uprights!
Now onto this coming Sunday's game…
Three Things To Look For In This Week's Game…
1. A No-Sproles Offense.
For one thing, Carson Wentz and company should have no trouble hearing the snap count this week as the Chargers are playing in the smallest of venues with a stadium that only holds around 29,000 fans. Heck, the Eagles have twice that many on a Sunday morning at the "Linc" tailgating and getting all lathered up for the game. We will see how the offense will do without Sproles, and hopefully coach Pederson will divide the carries between Blount, Smallwood & Clement like he did vs. the Giants because they proved they can get it done. This Chargers team has a very good defensive unit so it's not going to be a cake walk for the Eagles by any stretch of the imagination. The Chargers defensive line has Brandon Mebane and Corey Liuget in the middle who are very stout and effective against the run. The outside rushers are very good with Melvin Ingram, who had 3 sacks in last week’s game against the Chiefs and the great second year player Joey Bosa who had 10.5 sacks last season as a rookie, and that was with missing training camp in a contract dispute. He's a player to watch out for and our O line will be tested for sure. It was good to see Carson Wentz throwing the deep ball even though his passes didn't connect with Torrey Smith (who was open a few times) because eventually Wentz will complete them and it opens up the underneath area for the rest of the receivers. I look for Nelson Agholar to get back on track this week to become more involved in the pass game and I'm also anxious to see Alshon Jefferey, who had a very good game vs. the Giants continue to get comfortable with Wentz. The Chargers cornerbacks Jason Verrett & Casey Hayward are very sound and might end up being one of the league’s best duos at that position, so the Eagles will have their work cut out for them.
2. Charger Injuries May Help.
Although he's getting a little long in the tooth, quarterback Phillip Rivers is still very good and quite capable of picking a team apart. He had a rough game last week vs. the Chiefs, throwing 3 interceptions, and you can bet he'll be looking to bounce back this week. At running back, the Chargers have Melvin Gordon who is a stud, but the Eagles might have caught a little bit of a break here as Gordon is listed as questionable with a knee injury. Branden Oliver is another back that the Chargers are counting on if he can bounce back from an ACL injury he suffered last year. The Birds might have gotten another big break with receiver Mike Williams being listed as doubtful with a back injury. Williams was the 7th overall pick in last April's draft and promises to be a standout star for years to come in the NFL. I can't say I'm sorry not to be seeing him line up against the Eagles. The Chargers will look for Keenan Allen, Isaiah Burse and Dontrelle Inman to handle the receiving chores. Another player that the Eagles must be aware of is the great Antonio Gates at tight end. Even though Gates is at an advanced age, he is still big with really sure hands and can destroy a defense; hopefully our linebackers are up to the task. Hunter Henry is the other option at tight end. Hopefully the Eagles get some of their injured players back for this week’s game because we will need them.
3. Like I stated before, the crowd noise should not be a factor this week, so the Eagles can take that off their list of things to worry about.
But there are other factors to consider that have me concerned. First off, the team has the long flight out to the west coast. Secondly, they are coming off a high of beating their division rivals the New York Giants in a thriller of a game. Finally, they are going up against a team that is rebuilding and goes into the game with a record of 0 & 3. This is a team that you would think that the Eagles should beat, but those are always the ones that are worrisome for all us Eagle fans as we've seen way too many "Piece Of Cake" games end up in the loss column. The Eagles seem to have found themselves a reliable kicker in Elliott and the new long snapper Lovatto is settling in fine while Donnie "Longball" Jones is as reliable as ever though. The Chargers, on the other hand, have a very shaky special teams unit if the game would come down to that. Punter Drew Kaser and kicker Josh Lambo are not putting fear in anyone’s eyes to say the least. The Eagles seem to be a confident bunch right now as they proved last week by winning a game that last year they would have found a crazy way to lose. This week, I look for the Eagles to play tough, hard-nosed football against the Chargers and return home with their third win of the season. Check in with me next Thursday friends when we take a look ahead to our next opponent the Arizona Cardinals. Until then, as always I wish you…
Love, Luck, Lollipops & Linguini,
Barry "The Hatchet" Vagnoni
Fly Eagles, Fly!
