Five Eagles numbers that matter
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Five Eagles numbers that matter
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's another edition of Five Eagles numbers that matter:
5 - The number of times the Eagles had the lead entering the fourth quarter last year, only to end up on the losing end.
We've dissected, at length, the struggles of the defense. But in those games (against the Falcons, Giants, 49ers, Bears and Cardinals), the offense had 13 possessions in the fourth quarter and came away with points just once, on a field goal.
The Eagles were outscored 60-3 in the fourth quarters of those games. The offense turned it over on downs four times; the quarterbacks threw three interceptions; there were three punts; one missed field goal (a 33-yarder); one made field goal; and one fumble (by Jeremy Maclin). Yes, Juan Castillo and the defense deserve a lot of blame, but don't let the offense off the hook. They did nothing to help this team in the final 15 minutes.
0 - The number of game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks led by Michael Vick in 2011. He was the quarterback on 10 of the 13 drives mentioned above, and the numbers were not pretty: He completed 59.8 percent of his passes, averaged 6.93 yards per attempt, threw three touchdowns and was intercepted three times for a quarterback rating of 77.7.
When we talk about the differences in the 2010 version of Vick, compared to the 2011 version, fourth-quarter performance stands out. In 2010, he completed 59 percent of his passes, but averaged 8.53 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and no picks for a QB rating of 106.8. Vick led four fourth-quarter comebacks and had three game-winning drives in 2010.
Obviously, the fourth-quarter struggles aren't all on him. I mentioned the missed field goal and the fumble above. Two of the three interceptions were thrown by Mike Kafka. And Maclin also had a costly drop. But Vick clearly needs to play better late in games.
22 - The number of runs by LeSean McCoy last year that resulted in a loss of 3 yards or more, according to Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders. That was twice as many as any running back in the league, other than the Titans' Chris Johnson.
In many ways, McCoy was a hit-or-miss running back, as he led the league with 14 runs of 20+ yards. But the losses should cause some level of concern - not only for McCoy, but for the offensive line, which will have Demetress Bell and not Jason Peters at left tackle.
"The really good running backs are willing to take zero," running backs coach Ted Williams told Rich Hofmann last month. "When you’re young, you think you can make a big play out of every play. That’s kind of where he is. He’s not, per se, not willing to run it up in there -- he just thinks he can make a play out of every play. There are time when that doesn’t happen. It’s my job to make sure he understands there are going to be days where that ain’t going to happen, where you’re not going to outrun ‘em all, you’re not going to fake ‘em all out, they’re not all going to miss you. What are you going to do then? We talk about that constantly."
McCoy is already one of the best running backs in the league, but it'll be interesting to see how much he's able to improve on the specific aspects of his game that still need work.
10 - The number of points the Eagles' defense allowed in their Week 11 matchup against the Giants. If you're looking for a ray of hope for Castillo, it's that game. The Giants averaged 24.6 points per game, ninth-best in the league, but they only managed 10 (tying a season-low) against the Eagles.
The defensive line led the charge for the Birds, hitting Eli Manning 10 times and notching three sacks. The damage was done almost exclusively with the front four, as the Birds blitzed just once on 39 dropbacks.
It took awhile, but we saw what the Eagles' defense was supposed to look like. Pressure up front, full effort for 60 minutes and big plays down the stretch (Jason Babin stripping Manning). The Giants, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl, averaging 26.8 points per game the rest of the way (counting the playoffs).
If the Eagles want to carry anything over from the 2011 season, forget the final four games. It should be that Week 11 matchup against the Giants they should look to build on.
29.9 - The percentage of pass plays Brent Celek was used as a blocker for in the first five games last year, according to Pro Football Focus. It's easy to forget now, but Celek was a non-factor in the passing game early in 2011, averaging just 14.6 receiving yards per game in the first five.
The final 11 games were a different story. Celek was used as a blocker on just 23.0 percent of the Eagles' pass plays, and he and Vick formed great chemistry, as his yards-per-game average jumped to 67.1.
These are important numbers as we look ahead to 2012. How much more help will Bell require than Peters in pass protection? Depending on the answer, Celek could be called on to stay in and block more, which would put more pressure on the Eagles' wide receivers and limit the tight end's receiving numbers.
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- Why don't you find a life, no one is interested in your stats. What do you do just sit around looking for articles about Vick, hell you post comments any and everywhere if that article has Vick's name on it. He's our qb get the hell over it.
— charmaine - Tyrone, are you an idiot or just a plain bigot or both combined.— sewell guy
TNEagles, thanks! I was just making a play on words, but you wouldn't have known that.- Vinnietheinventor! What's up, buddy! It's drummer. I see you're still at it. Some things never change. I gave up on that other site. Too much name-calling and trash talking. I enjoy talking football, not smack. It's always good to read your opinion (I think).
- 400 years, that's how much time it has been since sackvicknow and sewell guy's ancestors ordered dogs to attack innocent women, children and babies in non-violent protests. You can't forget a crime that Vick paid for and we can't forget how racists will always hate all Blacks, Jews, Hispanic and non-pale football players on the Philadelphia Eagles team. If this site will allow fools to constantly call Vick a "dog killer", they shouldn't mind true Eagles fans calling ignorant and hateful posters sons of racists slave masters that ordered dogs to attack children!— allworld2
- Thank you so much, couldn't have said that better. They will never admit that, even though it a very big big part of their history, that they want to pretend never happened, fact is they are still doing it everytime they get a chance. — charmaine
- So in other words sewell guy, Vick sucks!!— Geno D
- thee most definitive articles/opinions/evaluations of this past season's failure to make playoffs. amen! the one thing i loved about mcnabb is that he didnt turn the ball over nor made bad decisions during the game...he kept them in contention. he may have been off target and threw a lot of balls in the dirt but the those balls weren't fumbled in the redzone or picked off by the defense. if mcnabb led these 4th qtr collapses he would have been tarred and feathered.i pray the balls for vick fall favorably next year...for all us who bleed green!— jonton826
- Not only does he disappear in the second half, Vick is actually too short to see over his own linemen. He HAS to leave the pocket to be able to see any of his receivers downfield. But that's what you get with Andy's endless obsession with high-motor midgets and "fastballs."— NM Eagle fan
- Glad this was finally broken out like this, everyone wanted to put it all on the D, but you won't win if your offense stops scoring. And hey Tyrone, "slow stiffs" win superbowls because they can play quarterback.— Sidewinder7
- Hey Vick...Heard you were in Stone Harbor, NJ...did you go swim on an unprotected beach?— MRD
- Hey Drummer. I think I've made about 4 posts on this site. Only when I feel the writer has it wrong. Here some posters still holding out for the "if only Vick reverts to the first 6 games of 2010....." Just pointing out that those hopes run into a big dose of career numbers when looked at objectively. I think he's thrown only about 33% of his TDs in the second half because he's small and is tired/worn down in the second half.....he's a small guy. Or perhaps its just a whole lot of..."haters gotta hate" and all that....
I'm still visiting the other site. Funny to watch people blow gaskets..— vinnietheevictor - Sheil is the master of data...finally a local piece that shows that it was a failure of the O as well as a failure of the D that led to the dismal season last year. Until you put the heart of Vick into the body of McNabb the Birds will be looking from the outside in.— 2ndNlong
- No Tyrone7, we're just trying to find a winner who can take the Eagles to the Superbowl.— mario1239
- charmaine, you want to talk about numbers? Although African Americans are only one seventh of the population, they commit seven times more crimes than all the other ethnic groups. They kill 1,600 white people a year. That's happening today, not 400 years ago.— mario1239
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