Ruminations on the Eagles Game is a post-game thread for everyone on .NET to post their thoughts (ruminations) about the game.
I was very nervous going into this game because of the point spread. It felt like the wrong team was favored, and so I spent the entire week trying to figure out what Vegas knew, that I didn't know. The public went in heavy on the Hawks, so it was in Vegas' best interest that the Seahawks didn't cover the spread. The fix was in, or at least we would get a one sided officiated affair to steer the game to produce the necessary result. The referees did what they could calling double digits worth of penalties on the Seahawks, until the Eagles got their first one very late in the 3rd quarter.
They need to fire the odds makers who set that line, as they clearly have no clue what they are doing. The Eagles have maybe the worst offense in the entire NFC that is pretty much playing with backups across the board.
Seattle defenselessly picked up where they left off against SF. Getting in receiver's muggs, and playing with great tenacity across the defensive line. Ziggy showed up with a couple of nice bull rushes, filling in for the injured Clowney. Shaqueem was blazing off the edge when in the game. They swarmed the Eagles for most of the game, and took advantage of a struggling Wentz.
Pete and Norton have gotten it together, and have stopped mostly playing that give up outside bail, off coverage garbage. I think Diggs being inserted at Free Safety has also given them the confidence to do so.
Offensively, Schotty had an excellent early game script. That should have produced a 28-3 halftime lead. But Wilson missed 2 TD's to Hollister, and DK dropped a TD bomb at the half. So they only led 7-3. Penny came in with his fresh legs and looked a whole other gear faster than anyone on the field for most of the game. Eventually ripping off a big run to seal the game. Seattle's offensive line struggled and were picking up penalties at a record pace. Duane Brown had a little pow-wow on the sideline, and pleaded with them to get their crap together.
Their is a lot to like from this game. Seattle offensively is in a funk, but I don't expect that to last for long. But Seattle's
defense is coming together, and they are figuring out how to play just at the right time.
I've missed a lot, but a thousand things happen in a football game, and I can't cover it all. So please feel free to give your thoughts and chime in.
RANDOM PLAYER & COACH NOTES
*I hate to say it but, Metcalf has very sub-optimal hands. The ball has to be delivered within his frame. Every catch is an adventure with him.
*I have no idea where Wilson can go with the ball. No one can get open, no one can catch, and his O-Line cannot hold up. Go get 'em MVP. *Watches flea-flicker* Okay, Schotty! I see you.
*Looking very windy. Wentz had an easy swing pass go awry and then they almost missed the chip shot FG.
*Lowkey, Malik Turner is the 2nd best WR on the team, at least until Josh Gordon gets more acclimated.
*Carson Wentz with zero pocket awareness gives the ball back to the Seahawks. Rasheem Green punches it out from his keister.
*Wilson misses Hollister on the out and up. It would've been a TD.
*Pin them down on the 1. Immediately jump offsides and give them breathing room. Makes sense. /s
*Wentz is a terrible QB right now. He can't wait to get to the off-season, and push the reset button.
*Wilson misses a wide open Hollister for the easy TD. After scrambling out of a would-be sack.
ukeface:
Stop with the lollipops and puts some heat on the football.
*The DBs are consistently getting in the WRs grills and I love it.
*Wilson just took one of the worst sacks of his career. He isn't playing well right now either.
*DK needs to practice catching the ball outside of his frame. 500 balls a day.
*The Seahawks should be up 28-3 at half if Wilson was more accurate on two key throws, and DK could catch.
*Ziggy Ansah showing up today. He is just using a bull rush, but it has been effective.
*Penny has fresh legs. They should use him a ton in the 2nd half.
*David Moore finally won on a 1-on-1 downfield. They might need to go with the hot hand and have him play more for DK in this game.
*Another DK drop, though a very tough catch, and I would not expect many receivers to make it.
*All of the penalties on the Seahawks today. Hmm.... This delay of game was good though, as that run would've went no where.
*I feel like if the Eagles ran the ball every play they would score a touchdown. Good thing they don't think that.
*It only took the Seattle defense a half a season to figure out they were getting burned by the screen game. They have snuffed that out now for three games running. A major weakness has now become a strength.
*It's like the Tom Cable era with all of these O-Line penalties.
*Penny hits pay dirt! I am glad the coaches saw what I saw, and have decided to go with him. His legs are incredibly fresh at this juncture of the season, so they might as well take advantage of it.
*Get Carson the fumbler out of there. Stick with Penny.
*I said get him out of there! What are they doing! He fumbles again. I am shocked. /s
*Carson Wentz has major mechanical issues that are going to take an off-season, or two to fix.
*Penny stopped in the backfield for a two yard loss. I will take it. He didn't fumble.
*They are throwing? Don't the Seahawks realize they are playing the clock?
*Super nice pooch punt by Dickson. He hasn't had an all-pro year by any means. But he has been a lot better than some would have you believe.
*A very nice game by Shaqueem today. I know they are playing with a backup at RT, but he has had enough impact on the game that they have had to chip him quite a bit to assist said backup RT.
*Trey Flowers making the best play of his career. He definitely looks more comfortable with a Safety over the top.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Not only is the division there for the taking, but so is the #1 seed. So I will be rooting for the 9ers to win the game tonight over the Packers.
The #1 and #2 Seeds are the teams that are making the Super Bowls in recent history. Seattle is also 3 for 3 when getting the #1 seed. Go 9ers.ukeface:
The Packers have a cup cake schedule the rest of the way, so they need to lose tonight. The Seahawks can deal with the 9ers week 17. If they even need to. The 9ers are at Baltimore and at New Orleans, and playing the Rams again might just do the trick. In other words I don't expect the Niners to keep up their fervent pace. But the Packers will if they win tonight.
I was very nervous going into this game because of the point spread. It felt like the wrong team was favored, and so I spent the entire week trying to figure out what Vegas knew, that I didn't know. The public went in heavy on the Hawks, so it was in Vegas' best interest that the Seahawks didn't cover the spread. The fix was in, or at least we would get a one sided officiated affair to steer the game to produce the necessary result. The referees did what they could calling double digits worth of penalties on the Seahawks, until the Eagles got their first one very late in the 3rd quarter.
They need to fire the odds makers who set that line, as they clearly have no clue what they are doing. The Eagles have maybe the worst offense in the entire NFC that is pretty much playing with backups across the board.
Seattle defenselessly picked up where they left off against SF. Getting in receiver's muggs, and playing with great tenacity across the defensive line. Ziggy showed up with a couple of nice bull rushes, filling in for the injured Clowney. Shaqueem was blazing off the edge when in the game. They swarmed the Eagles for most of the game, and took advantage of a struggling Wentz.
Pete and Norton have gotten it together, and have stopped mostly playing that give up outside bail, off coverage garbage. I think Diggs being inserted at Free Safety has also given them the confidence to do so.
Offensively, Schotty had an excellent early game script. That should have produced a 28-3 halftime lead. But Wilson missed 2 TD's to Hollister, and DK dropped a TD bomb at the half. So they only led 7-3. Penny came in with his fresh legs and looked a whole other gear faster than anyone on the field for most of the game. Eventually ripping off a big run to seal the game. Seattle's offensive line struggled and were picking up penalties at a record pace. Duane Brown had a little pow-wow on the sideline, and pleaded with them to get their crap together.
Their is a lot to like from this game. Seattle offensively is in a funk, but I don't expect that to last for long. But Seattle's
defense is coming together, and they are figuring out how to play just at the right time.
I've missed a lot, but a thousand things happen in a football game, and I can't cover it all. So please feel free to give your thoughts and chime in.
RANDOM PLAYER & COACH NOTES
*I hate to say it but, Metcalf has very sub-optimal hands. The ball has to be delivered within his frame. Every catch is an adventure with him.
*I have no idea where Wilson can go with the ball. No one can get open, no one can catch, and his O-Line cannot hold up. Go get 'em MVP. *Watches flea-flicker* Okay, Schotty! I see you.
*Looking very windy. Wentz had an easy swing pass go awry and then they almost missed the chip shot FG.
*Lowkey, Malik Turner is the 2nd best WR on the team, at least until Josh Gordon gets more acclimated.
*Carson Wentz with zero pocket awareness gives the ball back to the Seahawks. Rasheem Green punches it out from his keister.
*Wilson misses Hollister on the out and up. It would've been a TD.
*Pin them down on the 1. Immediately jump offsides and give them breathing room. Makes sense. /s
*Wentz is a terrible QB right now. He can't wait to get to the off-season, and push the reset button.
*Wilson misses a wide open Hollister for the easy TD. After scrambling out of a would-be sack.
ukeface: Stop with the lollipops and puts some heat on the football.
*The DBs are consistently getting in the WRs grills and I love it.
*Wilson just took one of the worst sacks of his career. He isn't playing well right now either.
*DK needs to practice catching the ball outside of his frame. 500 balls a day.
*The Seahawks should be up 28-3 at half if Wilson was more accurate on two key throws, and DK could catch.
*Ziggy Ansah showing up today. He is just using a bull rush, but it has been effective.
*Penny has fresh legs. They should use him a ton in the 2nd half.
*David Moore finally won on a 1-on-1 downfield. They might need to go with the hot hand and have him play more for DK in this game.
*Another DK drop, though a very tough catch, and I would not expect many receivers to make it.
*All of the penalties on the Seahawks today. Hmm.... This delay of game was good though, as that run would've went no where.
*I feel like if the Eagles ran the ball every play they would score a touchdown. Good thing they don't think that.
*It only took the Seattle defense a half a season to figure out they were getting burned by the screen game. They have snuffed that out now for three games running. A major weakness has now become a strength.
*It's like the Tom Cable era with all of these O-Line penalties.
*Penny hits pay dirt! I am glad the coaches saw what I saw, and have decided to go with him. His legs are incredibly fresh at this juncture of the season, so they might as well take advantage of it.
*Get Carson the fumbler out of there. Stick with Penny.
*I said get him out of there! What are they doing! He fumbles again. I am shocked. /s
*Carson Wentz has major mechanical issues that are going to take an off-season, or two to fix.
*Penny stopped in the backfield for a two yard loss. I will take it. He didn't fumble.
*They are throwing? Don't the Seahawks realize they are playing the clock?
*Super nice pooch punt by Dickson. He hasn't had an all-pro year by any means. But he has been a lot better than some would have you believe.
*A very nice game by Shaqueem today. I know they are playing with a backup at RT, but he has had enough impact on the game that they have had to chip him quite a bit to assist said backup RT.
*Trey Flowers making the best play of his career. He definitely looks more comfortable with a Safety over the top.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Not only is the division there for the taking, but so is the #1 seed. So I will be rooting for the 9ers to win the game tonight over the Packers.
The #1 and #2 Seeds are the teams that are making the Super Bowls in recent history. Seattle is also 3 for 3 when getting the #1 seed. Go 9ers.
ukeface: The Packers have a cup cake schedule the rest of the way, so they need to lose tonight. The Seahawks can deal with the 9ers week 17. If they even need to. The 9ers are at Baltimore and at New Orleans, and playing the Rams again might just do the trick. In other words I don't expect the Niners to keep up their fervent pace. But the Packers will if they win tonight.
