The draw, Eagles' spending and Vick
Where do the Eagles rank in terms of running draw plays effectively? What about in terms of defending the draw? Plus a link to the Birds' spending and some thoughts on Michael Vick.
The draw, Eagles' spending and Vick
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
A few different things to get to today.
Let's start with the part I enjoy the most - football, the actual game being played on the field.
Football Outsiders took a look at which teams ran the draw most effectively last year, and which teams defended the draw the best.
Let's start with the offenses. As soon as I saw the article, my guess was that the Eagles would rank near the bottom of the league in number of draws run last year. I barely remember them running any. Maybe once in awhile at the end of a half when they were trying to run the clock out.
The numbers show the Eagles ran 20 draws last season. Only six teams had fewer. But what about percentage of draws? The article shows the Eagles had 301 rushing attempts by running backs last year, the lowest number in the league, meaning they ran draws on 7 percent of their running plays. Surprisingly, that percentage put them right around the middle of the pack (18th).
And then there's the issue of effectiveness. The Eagles averaged 3.4 yards per carry on draws, putting them at 30th in the league.
What about the Birds' success at defending the draw?
Only three defenses faced more draws than the Eagles, who had 42 run against them. The Birds saw draws on 11 percent of run plays from opposing offenses. Only four defenses saw a higher percentage.
On those draws, offenses averaged 5.8 yards per carry, putting the Eagles' defense at No. 24.
It's also interesting to note that no offense ran more draws than the Cowboys, the team that ended the Birds' season. Dallas ran draws on 20 percent of their run plays (77 overall) and averaged 4.6 yards per carry on those plays. In the Week 17 matchup, Felix Jones and Marion Barber combined for 182 yards on 29 carries. In the playoff game, Dallas piled up 198 rushing yards on 35 carries. In the two games, the Cowboys' running backs had carries of 32, 49 and 73 yards. I did some digging, but can't figure out which of the big runs came on draws though.
Anyway, just something to keep in mind as the Eagles sort out their defensive line rotation and figure out how to better compete with the Cowboys.
WHERE THE EAGLES SPEND
The Football Outsiders guys provide a lot of good material for chatter this time of year. Here's another item from them.
Friend to the blog Bill Barnwell took a look at which teams spent the most and the least at each position in 2009. The Eagles were low spenders in two areas: tight end and defensive line. The Eagles of course awarded Brent Celek with an eight-year, $34M deal, but that didn't count against last year's number.
Along the defensive line, the Eagles were the only team to spend less than $10M. As Barnwell points out, they can partly thank the low figure for Trent Cole for that.
VICK THOUGHTS
Some quick thoughts on the Michael Vick situation.
First off, the Eagles have to assess his value to their team on the field. In other words, if Vick had DeSean Jackson's skill set, then the Eagles would be more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt. You may not like it, but not every player is treated the same.
If you believe that the Eagles tried to unload Vick this offseason, but did not see a deal they liked, then it makes sense that they'd be more likely to cut ties with him.
I remember when Andy Reid closed down OTAs, he spoke glowingly about Vick and how he was picking things up in his second season here. But it's smart to trust your eyes over what Reid says, and Vick seemed pretty inconsistent to me at practices. As I mentioned at the time, the thought did occur to me that Reid was hoping to pump Vick up in hopes that a QB-needy team would make a play for him in the coming months.
The latest incident, regardless of how much blame you put on Vick, pretty much squashes any chance the Eagles had at building up his reputation and getting a team to trade for him.
And finally, the Kevin Kolb factor. If there's any good coming out of this nonsense, it's that the spotlight is off Kolb, for a little while at least. Will that change? Probably. But take a step back. The 2010 season really is all about Kolb as he enters his first season as a starter and ushers in the new era of Eagles football. But with every Vick story and every article about DeSean Jackson's contract, a small piece of attention gets taken off of Kolb.
I think that's a good thing.
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soulman, panthro, and others, the police have been investigating. There is time-stamped video showing Vick leaving only 3 minutes before showing a group of people ducking for cover. This is not 'well before' as was stated by Vick's attorney. Having said that, when normal people try to change their lives for the better, they generally cut-ties with those things that made it bad. Vick's mere association with people who, themselves, associate with one of the co-defendants should be enough for the Eagles to cut-ties with him. When you need to project the image of a boyscout, don't even go to night clubs! Not only has he tarnished his own name, but he's tarnished the name of his meal-ticket: the Eagles. Change is hard, as we all know, and many people simply cannot get away from a life that was comfortable, no matter how destructive. He got his chance, did not show the 'transformative change' that his conditional reinstatment asked for, and should be treated accordingly. By the way Charmaine, Ben Roethlisberger's name was plastered all over the media. His reputation is in shambles. The Steeler's considered trading him, but probably couldn't find a good enough deal. Even winning a Superbowl would not entirely polish it back to a shine. I think his career has been more than just negatively affected by the amount of media attention. In addition, he is a starting quarterback with a good NFL record- Vick is not. The arguement isn't about Black or White, it's about talent: Roethlisberger is a proven quarterback and Vick is not. Expecting them to be treated equally is unrealistic at best.— disgruntled fan- Two things here that are almost CERTAINLY true: 1)Vick had NOTHING to do with the shooting. 2)His reputation as a flat-out liar will probably hurt him here, deservedly or not. And because our Iggles only have ONE guy with any experience at being a #2 QB...(Kevin Kolb!) Andy is probably sweating razor blades for yet again failing to have a viable option there if the League pulls the plug on Vick.— TBear
Comment removed.- Panthro: I don't think the little boy would be a problem, but the little boy's dog had better run like hell.— jimmyj
- Hey, where was Marvin Harrison that night? I'm just saying is all.— jimmyj
Seems to me that if you want to know which of the big plays that Dallas ran against the Eagles were draws, you could ask someone... like one of the guys who wrote the Football Outsiders article, or, maybe Jaws, or better yet Tommy Lawlor, the ubiquitous Eagles blogger who does detailed game review of all Eagles games.— ICDogg- Vick's birthday party was an ill considered venture. It was well publicized and people could buy tickets to attend. It wasn't a private bash he gave ofr his friends--it was a business venture to make a few bucks off his celebrity in VA Beach. Party attracted its share of low-lifes. It could have ended uneventfully with Phillips being tossed out. BUT--some one had to go and shoot Quanis Phillips for good measure. Now, detectives, who'd have a motive to do that?— Smashmouth
- I'm a white guy who believes that the race factor gets brought up too often when it's not really involved. In this case, I think Charmaine has a valid point. Many of the Philly writers and "fans" like to pick on easy targets to make themselves look holier and more righteous. That's who bigots pick on - easy targets. Always have, always will.— kidricky
- I was at a convenience store last night and Michael Vick happened to be there as well. About 30 seconds after he walked down one particular isle, a jar of jelly fell, shattered and made a giant mess all over the place. I think there was a camera that got it all on tape and Roger Goodell's office has been notified.— tommy_the_k
- Soulman, you're probably right, however, the man walked to close to the fire. Vick should have stayed away from any chance of problems. I think you'll see that he is going to have a hard time finding NFL employment. As a father of two grown sons I respect what the Eagles have done for Michael Vick. He may be inicident this time, I just think they should cut ties. I don't think the great majority, if not almost all Eagles fans will accept any less!— GOLDY2007
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