Eagles: Perfectly balanced on first down
According to the Advanced NFL Stats guys, the Birds are the only team in the NFL which passes and runs exactly as often as they should and exactly as effectively as they can on first down this year. Draw your own conclusions as to what this may mean.
about 2 years ago
NJBammer
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Wow..........
That is shocking……..I thought that the playcalling had improved but i didnt think that we were actually balance!! Good job Reid/Marty
it should be noted that their being "balanced" involves them passing 64% of the time.
human beings, who are almost unique in their ability to learn from the experiences of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
by variablesdont on Dec 4, 2009 12:34 PM EST up reply actions
Hmmm
First downs have been great this year but I’d like to see how balanced third down playcalling is considering that’s been one of the biggest weakness. Well, that and the Red Zone.
That's a really cool article.
I follow advanced nfl stats in my blogger profile but hadn’t seen that one. I might actually be moved to writing up a full on fan post with a breakdown of what that means.
Can I haz thurd down statz?
& red zone.
what are our redzone score & TD percentages anyway?
"Leave Michael Alone!" - said like that Brittany Spears fan on youtube
hmm...
I most def. would like to see the Third down and redzone stats too! Third downs and Redzone is where game “Can” be decided!! Im NOT downplaying that “First down” stat. Im proud of the Birds for that…BUT honestly. Third downs and Redzone is where it counts MORE!!! IMO
"... You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play it to just play it. That's the great thing about sports: you play to win..."
So basically
What I’ve been saying is true, it’s not “balance,” it’s just the fact we’re not EXECUTING when we’re not playing well… The "play calling’ is such an easy scape goat.
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
Yea
Idk if u can call the play calling an easy “scape goat”! It does come down to execution though. Was the Belichick call against the Colts this year a bad play call or just bad execution.? If they got that first down…it would’ve been a great call. But they didn’t so ppl think it was a bad call! But play calling and execution go hand and hand. Like I said, u call the play..if it works than ur a genus. If it fails then it was a bad call. This is football…no coach is perfect. But Reid and MM have called some pretty bad plays and have managed the clock poorly on many occasions in their tenure here. We know this buy history. Our offensive players have changed through the Reid era. Yet, we are STILL seeing same of the same old problems year in and year out. Ur telling me that, of all the players we had on offense, that they just arent executing. Season after season..the players are just not getting it done?? ! Come on..
"... You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play it to just play it. That's the great thing about sports: you play to win..."
Seriously...
If it just comes down to the players, then Reid should be fired. Becuz we all know Reid is the main voice in selecting our players. He’s in charge of instilling discipline in the players and emphasize "execution. Not just talkn about it in press conferences. My point is, a coach is ultimately responsible for the players on field execution. I know the coach doesn’t play on the field..but it’s a mentality thing. Mental discipline, and mental toughness. Short yardage, penalties etc…Play calling is not a scape goat in our case “the Eagles”, it’s been like this for sometime now. Reid and trying to “trick or out smart teams” rather than just man’n up and play ball has been a problem. But if we keep winning then it is what is it. Im not saying Fire Reid right now..but I buy that playcallin is an easy scape goat. Especially when it comes to Reid. We just need to focus on man’n up and playin ball!!
"... You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play it to just play it. That's the great thing about sports: you play to win..."
Hard
It’s hard for me to comment on these stats, as I don’t pretend to fully understand their intricacies. But I remain skeptical of any methodology that jumps from first down calls to a score differential. That seems to leave a lot of factors in between (yards made, game situations, types of runs and passes, etc.). I’m not sure how much the former directly effects the latter.
One of my biggest frustrations in past years was handing the ball off to Westbrook for a one yard lost on first down. I often thought that Buckhalter was a better between-the-tackles runner in those situations. I agree with the comment that the type of plays we call as much as how much we call run/pass have been legitimate issues in the past. And our failure to utilize our huge fullback on 3rd and short is not part of these statistics.
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