The Eagles play the Saints in week five of the NFL season on Sunday which means it’s time for another set of bold predictions. Last week we saw parts of all three of our predictions come to fruition, let’s break the internet again!
3: Not a “Brees”, but a storm
The Saints haven’t exactly boasted the best pass protection for Drew Brees in the few games he’s been active. The team have allowed 10 sacks on the season, tying them 9th in the NFL. After a very slow week against Washington when it came to the Eagles pass rush and considering that both Kendricks and Alonso are sidelined..bold prediction number one is that the Eagles can sack Drew Brees three times and force at least one interception.
Jordan Hicks has had a brilliant rookie year so far and that should continue against the Saints. Brandon Graham will be looking for improvements after a slow start to his year with Barwin joining him on that front. The Eagles pass rush should easily be a top 10 unit but instead, it’s struggling. You have to think that Chip Kelly would have addressed that after last weeks narrow loss and try to find out why they were unable to hit Kirk Cousins. This could be the resurrection of the Eagles pass rush.
The secondary have arguably been the most effective unit in the team and with Eric Rowe continuing to progress, Thurmond becoming a ball-hawk and Jenkins making plays all over the field, they will be looking to get back to their weekly interception record that ran through the opening three games. Not to mention the return of Byron Maxwell, the Eagles secondary should be primed for a big game.
2: Planet Ertz
Zach Ertz has had a very quiet season so far. Regarded as one of this seasons top Fantasy tight ends, the Eagles sensation has failed to conquer planet Redskins..let alone Planet Ertz! But a Touchdown that never was may just be enough to inspire the tight end to a good performance. We have already noted that so far, Bradford has not really used his tight ends.
Until week 4, Ertz has been targeted 19 times this season…with five of those targets coming over a two game period..FIVE TARGETS IN TWO GAMES. Lucky for Ertz though, Bradford has now found the confidence to send darts down the field, meaning he will be leaning more and more to those big bodies who have the speed of a receiver but the physicality of a lineman. I think Ertz is going to receive for a season best 75 yards and catch a touchdown.
1:If you never shoot you’ll never know
DeMarco Murray was quick to tell the media that he doesn’t feel as though he’s getting enough carries after last weeks loss. The running back has arguably been the biggest cause for concern in the entire NFL this season. He has simply not been able to get anything going. Regardless of the reasoning, whether it’s his failure to adapt to the Philadelphia running game or Philadelphia failing to adapt to him, Murray has been less than impressive.
But this week, a change is on the horizon. He played a vengeful game against his former team and had a big run against the Jets..that’s all it takes, one big run. With the Saints being ranked 25th in the league when defending the run, the Eagles Offensive Line might not only finally have enough fire in their bellies to burn down the stadium, but play an opponent who is weak at stopping the run.
Washington are now top of the league in run Defense, conceding just 279 yards in the opening four games. It wasn’t as though the Eagles came up against a shoddy run D and failed last week. They actually rushed for 87 yards..which doesn’t sound a lot but when you take every problem the Offense has into account and the quality of the line they were up against..it isn’t that bad.
For those reasons, we think the Eagles will finally get it right. That DeMarco Murray will run from under Center as opposed to the Shotgun, wreak havoc on outside sweeps after claiming to “love the scheme” and rush for 100 yards and at least one touchdown. We have broken the internet once before by being the ONLY news source to claim that Bradford would throw for close to 400 yards, no interceptions and have success with the deep pass..everybody else was focused on slamming the Offensive line and saying how Bradford is not right for this team. It’s time to break the internet again.
