Eagles/Vikings Thoughts...

Tito

Tito

The Salty Dog
Whats up guys - I've lurked here for some time, I'm mostly over at "the other site", but getting more and more fed up with it - this game was one that has stuck out to me from the start....


I really like the Vikes here, I got to watch them last week and AD Peterson was great, they are a young team that was in a tough spot on the road against a good team in Dallas. They get to come home now and play the Brian Westbrook's. The only thing that worries me here is Philly off a dissapointing loss. Do they bounce back?

Phillys opponents are avg about 96 yds per game (Det and Gb running games make this look even better than it is). Minny can run on anyone and next week should be no exception. The Skins, who are similar in some ways (rb oriented, young qb) to the Vikes ran for 130 on them and only passed it 16 times - and won in Philly 20-12.
Minny's pass D is obviously a concern, but Philly (minus the Det game) is not exactly bombing away.
I like the over here a bit as well. I think Minny can get 20 to 24 pts here, can Phily get a couple tds?

Any thoughts/insight would be appreciated, as Minny has really just come on to my radar and I don't know everything about them.

Thanks
 
I was thinking the total opposite. Minnesoata has the worst passing defense in the league which will stongly help an Eagles offense especially with McNabb on the radar. If you look at the Eagles numbers they aren't that bad on paper. They have good rush defense, but then again they haven't played a team that has been running the ball as well as the Vikings.

I just really think that this is a game that McNabb must go into an win. The Eagles defensive line will be key to the game for the Eagles to get an easy win, I have some confidence in the Eagles defense against AP.
 
The weird thing is, normally I'd be all about the former coach situation here, but the reality is, I don't think it's going to matter.

The whole world knows Childress has only one weapon. Of course, the Eagles have never been able to defend the run well, so even if they stack the box they still might not be able to stop AP all that well.

I really believe the Eagles are the better team here, but they've been that in any number of their games this year and it hasn't helped them walk away with the win more often than the loss. So I'm not sure what you do.
 
I guess this is why I keep going back to the over here, I get stuck on the Vikings D which can be torched and Philly has shown the ability to capitalize on poor dbackfields and the Vikings will be able to run on the Eagles -
Philly is the better team, but they are just not playing well, maybe Mcnabb is getting more into form, I don't know I didn't see him last week

I think the Over is a play here, but it's early in the week
 
Here's what you missed last week.

He looked good in the first half.

They basically walked down the field on the first drive, got to like the eight or so and Reggie Brown dropped an easy TD pass. He let the ball get into his body rather than catching it and it bounced right off his chest. So there were three points rather than seven.

And the trend basically continued like that. It's been like this most of the year for the Eagles. Even last week against the Jets, the first half it was, go right down the field, leave lots of points on the board.

So then the second half came around and the Bears were still in the game. The Eagles tightened up a bit offensively and, again, guys just weren't really making plays.

But when the Eagles needed the drive for the TD, they got it. Problem was, they didn't get the finishing drive with about 3:00 to go that they really needed. Any points on that drive and it's basically over. Instead they had to punt, which was a great one, their defense just folded.

A couple of big things to look for this week. Is Brian Dawkins still out. He's been out for like four weeks now and he's really the leader of that unit. Think Bob Sanders for Indy, he QBs the defense and really makes everybody that much better around him.

Two, see if LJ Smith is playing. If he could stay on the field LJ would be one of the best TEs in the NFC, but he can't. But if he's out there he creates matchup problems (ones that Childress knows about but that I'm not sure he can stop) and that will help your chances of Philly passing on this team.

In theory, the Eagles should win this game 23-10 or 27-13. Given the way they are playing, though, those points dip down to 20 or 17 and though they should still win, I worry about betting a team when I can't count on more than 20 from them on a consistent basis.
 
couple of big things to look for this week. Is Brian Dawkins still out.

There is a rumor circulating Dawk might be on the shelf for a very long time (possibly year) but nothing confirmed so expect him to play again. Your right though he is absolutley their leader on defense and sets the tone for that team.

Personally I do not think there is anyway Philly loses this game this week (of course anything can happen) but their season is on the line and going on the road against a one dimensional offense might be the best case scenario.
 
Well, their season was on the line last week, too, and they s**t themselves.

This is actually somewhat reminiscent of the last two years where things started going bad, against bad teams early, Donovan got hurt and the season changed dramatically (two years go for the worse, last year for the better).

The Eagles are the better team, but that doesn't mean anything if they don't show up.

The news about B-Dawk is disturbing, though it doesn't totally shock me seeing as how he's basically, supposedly, been almost ready to play for four weeks now.

This really just points out what a lot of us were saying last year, that they should have looked at a safety early in the draft. Now, the big ones were gone by the time they drafted, but I'd still like they could have believed they could have moved up a couple of slots to where Jax was and taken Reggie Nelson. But that could just be wishful thinking.
 
The ineptitude of the offensive playcalling in this game from both sides might be unmatched by anyone for the rest of the year...

I heard somewhere (WIP i think?) that Holcomb is starting

I also heard somewhere that Dawks injury may be career threatening, but I chose to pretend like I didnt hear that...I really believe if he was on the field last week, that Bears drive doesnt happen - he woulda stepped up and made a play which is something that no one on that unit seems capable of come crunch time...

Who knows with the Eagles anymore? You really might as well flip a coin...I could see them coming out and stomping all over Minnys inept secondary ala the Detroit game and thus taking Peterson out of the game (if Childress doesnt do that himself anyway) or they could get run all over and their red zone woes could continue and they could be held to like 5 field goals and lose 17-15

And oh yeah, im officially one loss away from rooting against them for draft pick and firing of the headcoach (which will never happen, its his job till he steps down - which hes too damn stubborn to do) so its a pretty big game for them in my book...
 
I really believe if he was on the field last week, that Bears drive doesnt happen

I choose to believe this same thing.

I have a very hard time seeing B-Dawk let a bad team go 97 yards that easily.
 
B-Dawk update from Philly.com:

After seeing a neck specialist in Oregon while the Eagles went up to the Meadowlands for a game against the New York Jets earlier this month, Dawkins was encouraged enough to believe that he will return at some point this season.

Full story
 
just a quick point. much of the reason the Vikes pass D is so bad is because their run D is so stout. teams have abandoned the run early, leading to more passing yards.
 
The Vikings defense is very misunderstood. Their run D is OK, just dont run it up the middle with those 2 monsters. They can be beat bad in the secondary, short passing games like the eagles will eat them up. but they also lead the league in turnovers I believe so you better protect and not let that defense score any TDs(I think they are the highest scoring defense also.)

I think I will be on Philly pretty heavy, but everytime I bet them the birds go to shit. The eagles "should" win this game to save face. And if they dont win this one then I will write them off for awhile. Face it Eagles fans you know your team is deteriorating. The window might have closed on this team last season.
 
The stats show that Philly's pass protection has been pretty inept this year, I guess less so if you take out the anomaly which was the Giants game. Even if you take all 12 of those sacks out, they still are in the middle of the pack as far as sacks against go.

Minny has put a decent amount of sacks on the board this year, nothing spectacular, but good enough.

Who knows these teams well enough to comment a bit on what the effect of the pass rush will be? I would imagine Minny is going to try to get a little imaginative in trying to get around what has proved to be a beatable line.
 
Oh, and to jump on board with Philly's rush D being overrated by the stats... they have not only faced poor rushing offenses, but in many cases a backfield that was incomplete or missing their starter.

The played Detroit with Kevin Jones just getting back in the mix, they played NYG without Jacobs, GB without Morency and with Brandon Jackson carrying the load(he has a 2.6 YPC average). Detroit also abandoned the run really early as they fell behind. Ruben Droughns and Eli combined for 8 carries for 3 yards in the NYG game as well(Manning 3 for -5).

When you figure that none of these teams are good rushing offenses to begin with, perhaps with the exception of the Giants and less so the Skins, it just goes to show that the numbers don't always tell the truth.

That being said, if the Eagles can focus on the run and make Jackson pass, it could be a long day for Minny. I think Holcomb coming in would be a blessing for anyone who has or wants to bet on Minny.
 
If Eagles lose their season is officially over. Last week WAS a must-win, and they DID lose. But this week is officially the last straw.
 
I strongly agree with you on the over here. I have Philly by the spread as well as Philly team total over 19. I feel more confident in the eagles putting up their points than I do the Vikings. I have a much larger play on Philadelphia team total over than I do the spread. It's going to be on the Eagles offense and McNabb's reputation to score touchdowns, it should happen at the metrodome. Even if the Vikings pull of the win I would expect the Eagles go down fighting and at least put up 20 if not then they are done, I'll take the chances that they do, they have more on the line then I do.
 
This line makes no sense to me at all, no way Philly should be laying points on the road the way they have preformed this year. Minny is not an easy place to play, and as long as Peterson gets more than 9 carries I think the Vikes win outright. Getting 3 points here is a joke, Philly has been so good for so long that people are going to waste good money on a sub par team laying points on the road. McNabb is clearly not 100%, and only Kevin Curtis seems reliable as a receiver. We are talking about a team that has played three road games this year and scored 13 against GB, 3 against the Giants and 16 against a pitiful Jets team. I say Minny holds the iggles to less points than the Jets did, and I think they score enough to cover and probably win outright. I will be taking the points more than likely, good luck with whatever you decide
 
Good lord, I'm going back and forth on this game...

I actually have a gut feeling here, a bad one - I know that sounds stupid, but I don't have them often so I might just stay away from this one altogether

Childress worries me - he tries to protect Ad by not giving him too many carries, but then why use him on returns?? I don't think I'll play the total -with the bad feeling I have coupled with the line dropping two points -stay away

I might still play Minny, but there are other games out there too - thanks for the thoughts guys and gl

:15_10_5:
 
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