Down goes Sammy Sleeves

Simply Amazing. What a turn around for this defense. Coming off back to back below average performances Jim Schwartz and the defense turned it up against Sammy Sleeves and the undefeated Vikings. The first quarter of this game was one to forget for the offense. Carson Wentz finally looked like a rookie against the top defense in the NFL. That is to be expected. They have made every quarterback look bad so far. Wentz had a passer rating of 52.4, easily the worst performance of his young career. At the end of the day he made enough plays to compliment our defense and outplayed Sam Bradford to get the win. This game was about the defense though. They stole the spotlight and won us this game. Let’s go over some of the positives and negatives of this game.

Positives:

Jim Schwartz and the defense. Enough said. They came out yesterday and looked like the defense we saw the first 3 weeks of the season. Every level of the defense from the d line to the linebackers to the safeties came to play. Let’s start with the d line. Brandon Graham might have had his best game in his 7 years as an Eagle. He was in Bradford’s face all day. Let’s not forget he was going against back up offensive lineman because of injuries but it didn’t matter. He was unblock-able. Re watch the game if you get a chance and focus on Graham and you will see what I’m talking about. He finished with 5 hurries and a strip sack but those stats don’t do it justice. He wasn’t the only one who played well on the d line  but he stood out. He was a beast and hopefully this continues in Dallas. At linebacker, Jordan Hicks was AMAZING all day. He looked quicker than ever and was flying around the Vikings backfield. After getting swallowed up the last two weeks by lineman he was back to his old self making tackles in the backfield and blowing up running plays. His quickness was really on display Sunday. He finished with 11 tackles and 1 sack for the best performance of the season so far. I don’t know what it was but Mychal Kendricks had a bounce back game for sure going against his younger brother Eric. He looked quick, decisive and was disrupting in the backfield with Hicks on multiple occasions. Hopefully this type of play continues throughout the season because it would help stabilize our linebacker position. Nigel Bradham was as steady as he has been all season finishing with 6 tackles and a sack. Our linebackers held it down yesterday. Now onto our safeties. I think the overall player of the game has to go to Rodney McLeod. He was a force in every factor of the game. He had a sack, a forced fumble, an interception, a tackle for loss, and a pass defended. He and Malcolm Jenkins made it impossible for any kind of deep pass to happen. Like I said, every level of the defense was playing well and it contributed to one of the most consistent games of the season. Let’s not forget special teams though. Back to back weeks now our special teams has scored a touchdown on kickoffs. That’s just unbelievable. Josh Huff looked dynamic all game at WR and kickoff returner. ST coordinator Dave Fipp is the most underrated man in the nova care complex.

Negatives:

The offense as a whole. Carson Wentz looked confused and indecisive but let’s not forget he was going against the top defense in the NFL. He had two ugly picks in the first half but settled in after that. Besides a few dropped snaps, which can’t continue to happen, Wentz looked solid. He managed the game well and helped us move the chains with his legs and his arm. The O line didn’t allow any sacks which was a good sign and #72 Vatai bounced back but the rest of the offense struggled to get anything going. Zach Ertz again disappointing only getting one catch for 14 yards. He must become a factor for this offense for them to be able to consistently move the ball. Dorial Green-Beckham finished with 2 catches for 8 yards but did snag a touchdown. Jordan Matthews finished with 10 yards as did Nelson Agholor. These WR’s have to step it up or we wont be able to take that next step forward as an offense. It sounds like a broken record but something has to change here. Ryan Matthews fumbled again down the stretch and had it been a closer game could have potentially killed us. He did gain 56 yards but he has to stop turning the ball over. I don’t trust him late in games anymore so expect to see some changes.

Overall:

Overall, a very impressive win against an undefeated Vikings team. We needed this win to keep pace with the rest of the division. At 4-2 we are in second place and travel to 5-1 Dallas where I will be reporting live. Washington and the Giants are 4-3 so every game from here on out is essential. That’s what makes this win so much more important. Sports is 90% mental and hopefully a win like this shows this team that they can play with anyone on their schedule. This may be the confidence boost this team needed. Let’s keep it rolling on national television this Sunday night and take over first place in the NFC East. GO BIRDS.