November 16, 2016
As we know, power rankings are kind of pointless, but we click them anyway. Here's a roundup of where the Eagles "rank" after their impressive win over the offensive juggernaut Atlanta Falcons.
For our equally pointless NFC power rankings, go here.
The Eagles have a 41 percent chance of making the playoffs according to NFL FPI, but they also have the second-most difficult remaining schedule based on opponent win-loss records. A road game against Seattle this week is as tough as they get.
#JimmyNote: The Eagles jumped ten spots from 18th on ESPN last week.
Every single NFC East team won in Week 10. Loved the way Jim Schwartz's defense competed -- again -- in leading Philly to the win. For all the love given to Carson Wentz, the reality is that he threw no touchdown passes and averaged well under 7 yards per throw. Not disparaging him at all, but right now he is closer to game manager than Norm Van Brocklin.
#JimmyNote: The notion that Wentz is a "game manager" because he didn't throw any touchdown passes is a little silly, when he orchestrated drives that happened to end with rushing touchdowns. Wentz is on pace for 553 pass attempts this season, which would be the fourth-most in NFL history for a rookie quarterback.
That said, Wentz has been relegated to something of a ball-control role recently, which makes sense. The Eagles have very little in the way of playmakers at the skill positions. Meanwhile, the clear strengths of the team are the defense and special teams. The most optimal formula for winning based on their offensive deficiencies is for the offense to control the ball, move the sticks, chew clock, and scheme plays at opportune moments. If the Eagles had even competent weapons in the passing game, you be be sure Doug would love airing it out.
Copying Dallas blueprint? Philly rushed for season-best 208 yards and held ball 38 minutes Sunday, aiding Carson Wentz while limiting Atlanta.
#JimmyNote: The defense has been excellent in games, but the offense can also serve as defense when they can control the flow of the game like they did on Sunday.
Carson Wentz has become reliant on the checkdown (10 of 25 completions to running backs), but he got the job done against the Falcons. If the Eagles are going to make the playoffs, they’ll need Wentz to make more throws downfield and utilize his wide receivers more than he has (eight receptions on Sunday). The defense, on the other hand, has been outstanding.
#JimmyNote: Yeah Carson, force the ball downfield to receivers who can't catch and aren't open. Also, on the 10 completions to running backs, I was curious, so I went back and watched them all. I count one checkdown and five first downs.
Sunday’s formula has to be how the Eagles win the rest of this season. They can’t ask Carson Wentz to throw 45 times a game, as they did in their previous two games. Wentz is still a rookie and will be much better when the run game is doing a majority of the work. Ask the Cowboys about that formula.
#JimmyNote: And now two mentions of the "Cowboys' formula," which has really been around in the NFL, like, forever.
Beating the Falcons has them moving back in the right direction. But now comes a brutal road trip to Seattle.
#JimmyNote: High level #analysis here.
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