Four Down Territory: NFL Week 5

First Down

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles lost to the Vikings on Sunday and fell to 2-3. Many fans will point to the bogus roughing the passer call at the end of the first half as the reason the Eagles have to hold their second L in a row.

That Vikings touchdown came after Michael Bennett was flagged for roughing the passer on THIS… pic.twitter.com/YaSivcWBy8

— Dave Loughran (@Loughy_D) October 7, 2018

We’ve spoken at length about how roughing the passer calls will start to change games and many people will throw this game in that category.

On the other hand, the Eagles had numerous opportunities to win this game. Jay Ajayi‘s fumble in the red zone, Carson‘s fluke fumble that was returned for a touchdown, Mills biting on ANOTHER double move, Doug Pederson’s bizarre challenge that burned a valuable timeout in the second half, the offense’s inability to score after the defense caused a turnover in Vikings’ territory, the offensive line’s terrible habit of getting Wentz hit waaayyyy too many times, and the penalties that kept pushing the offense back come to mind for reasons the team lost. One can blow steam at the officials all they want, and rightfully so, but this loss is Philadelphia’s fault.

Also, does it feels like Cousins is on the positive end of all the game-changing roughing the passer calls or is that just me? As one of many resident Eagle fans at GoingFor2, I wish the refs would treat Carson with the same level of fragility as Cousins.

This wasn't roughing the passer last week: pic.twitter.com/kj0oqn4FJZ

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) October 7, 2018

Where’s the consistency?

To make matters worse starting running back Jay Ajayi has been placed on IR with a torn ACL. That leaves the Eagles with Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, and Josh Adams. In other words, a not so inspiring group. The talks of the Eagles acquiring Le’Veon Bell just got a lot more serious. If the Eagles are going to repeat then they need serious help at two key positions (safety and running back for those keeping tabs) and fast. With that Jim Schwartz and his defensive staff have to find a way to hide Jalen Mills or replace him altogether. The Green Goblin is a fan favorite but teams are testing him with double moves numerous times every week and he keeps falling for it. At what point do you put Sidney Jones on the outside? You know, the stud corner from Washington that the Eagles snagged in the second round because he tore his Achilles during his pro day. Yes, he’s had his ups and downs this season but it can’t get any worse, right?

The news isn’t all bad, though. Carson Wentz appears to be 100% and he and Alshon are quickly becoming the duo they were last year. Fletcher Cox has taken his play to another level, like defensive player of the year, and we have yet to see this team fully healthy. (We won’t now since Ajayi is gone but the point still remains). The NFC East is also weak this year so the Eagles will have plenty of opportunities to get this right. This team is still one of the most talented teams in the league. The question is, will it be too late when they do decide to put it all together?

The sky isn’t falling just yet but the sun isn’t shining, either.

Second Down

Staying in the NFC East Giants’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. sat down with ESPN’s Josina Anderson and…Lil Wayne (you’re reading that right) to talk about a lot of things. In particular, Eli Manning and the offense.

This week on Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m. ET), @JosinaAnderson sits down with Odell Beckham Jr. and @LilTunechi for a 2-part conversation about growing up in Louisiana, and @OBJ’s 1-3 Giants. pic.twitter.com/acMSyN1nrY

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 5, 2018

A few things to unpack.

We can’t tell athletes we want honesty then rip them for giving it to us. Odell is right, the offense is boring and it’s tailored for a 37-year-old quarterback who can’t push the ball down the field. That’s cool when you’re the Patriots but when you have a generational weapon like Odell your main goal should be stretching the field as much as possible.

Second, we’ve bashed him for years for not being too emotional and not being a leader. So why is it bad that he’s calling out his team for not having good energy every single day? The answer: we don’t like Odell so whenever he fixes the things we criticize him for we just find something else to chastise him for.

Lastly, point out one thing in that entire interview that he’s wrong about?

Find something?

Anything?

Exactly, everything he said was spot on.

As every old Southern person I’ve ever met has said, “hit dogs holler.”

One final thought: can someone please find a picture of Josina when she found out that Lil Wayne, of all people, would be sitting down for the interview. So random.

Third Down

The Bengals are 4-1 and on top of the AFC North. No one outside of Ohio would’ve said this at the beginning of the year especially if they knew that Tyler Eifert would go down to another season-ending injury. Sunday Joe Mixon returned and look great posting 115 scrimmage yards and one receiving touchdown. The defense scored TWICE and it looks like the Bengals can beat teams in many different ways.

The problem? We’ve seen this before. We’ve seen Andy Dalton and company light it up during the regular season only to crumble in the playoffs. We’ve seen a Marvin Lewis team put up numbers only to shut down in the postseason. We don’t know what this year holds but they’re the Falcons of the AFC, we’ll only judge them by what they do in the winter.

They face a hot Pittsburgh team on Sunday.

Fourth Down

Monday night Drew Brees passed Peyton Manning as the all-time leader in passing yards.

With this 62-yard touchdown pass…@drewbrees is the NFL's all-time leading passer! 🙌 #GoSaints https://t.co/K6vTQVwfOe

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2018

Anyone that’s familiar with Brees’ story already knows how much of an accomplishment this is, especially his story to this point. After being in the league for three years the Chargers drafted Philip Rivers in 2004 as Drew’s replacement. After signing him to the franchise tag the Chargers went with Rivers after Drew tore his labrum against the Broncos. After the 2005 season Drew was a free agent and narrowed his choices down to the Dolphins and Saints. Then Miami coach, Nick Saban, chose Daunte Culpepper over Brees which led to him signing with the Saints.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The story of Drew’s meaning to New Orleans is remarkable. Two separate entities on the same path becoming exactly what the opposite side needed.

Drew, a second chance.

New Orleans, hope.

Extra Points 

Patrick Mahomes came back to earth Sunday and the Chiefs still won by 16. How will anyone stop this offense?

Twitter beef is always welcomed. After getting smoked on Monday night Washington corner Josh Norman and Saints’ receiver Michael Thomas got into it on Twitter.

#Saints star WR Michael Thomas [@Cantguardmike] and #Redskins star CB Josh Norman [@J_No24] were at each other on twitter after last night's game. pic.twitter.com/7JcJmq7CdY

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 9, 2018

NBA Twitter is undefeated but this will suffice.

Slowly but surely the Browns are starting to look pretty good. Will they still fire Hue Jackson at the end of the year?

Yes, yes they will.

Throwing the ball at the goal line while Marshawn Lynch is in your backfield is not a good idea.

Since the start of Super Bowl XLIX, teams have now thrown four times — FOUR TIMES! — at the 1-yard line with Marshawn Lynch on the field. Following Derek Carr's interception, those passers are 0-4 with 2 Int on those passes, per ESPN Stats & Information. https://t.co/wOH4A7WG6u

— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 7, 2018

Sunday the Raiders made that mistake and Derek Carr threw a pick. The most undervalued story in the league this year is Gruden’s relationship with Lynch and how it evolves over the season. The Raiders are 1-4 and Gruden’s playcalling is questionable. This is just the tip of the iceberg, Oakland.

@ me: madads14

As always, thanks for reading.

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