Eagles 360: Beating The Blitz

Buffalo is not the same class as Arizona, Dave. Arizona is really one of the two or three best teams in the NFL. I think people don't really see it because they play on the West Coast. Our memory is always, oh, the Cardinals are terrible, but they have offense, defense, special team. Bruce Arians has done a great job coaching. You're right, it's a great test for the Eagles. Arizona is a team that could end up in the Super Bowl this year. It's just to me, it's just it's a formula. How

do you win in December. I've always thought that December was different than the rest of the year in terms of the pace of the game, the attention to detail, the teams that don't turn the football over, the teams that score touchdowns in the red zone, those are the teams that win in December, and those are the teams to make the playoffs. And we saw last year the Eagles losing three straight games in December because they come into too many penalties. They had a bad turnover ratio,

they didn't score touchdowns on the red zone. Mark Sanchez not at the level that we see now that Sam Bradford is playing. Redford has been great, great, great, but he's been good enough to inspire a lot of confidence and he's just been smart. Yeah, he's a guy who's avoided turnovers. The interception last week was clearly not his fault. The only bad play he made was on the sack, which whatever, you lost track of time. I'll just add one thing to what you said about what you have

to do to win. You got to win at home in December. You got to win those home games. The Eagles are three and three at home this year. You have to own your stadium. It's going to be a cold night Sunday. You're gonna have sixty eight thousand people. They're excited for you. This is that kind of game. Where if you want to win the division, win in the playoffs, you grab the home field and be yea. So we will see on Sunday night. It's back in

black night for the Eagles. But before we get to Sunday, we've got a lot going on today at an overcare complex. And to get you caught up on everything happening here, it's our Eagles three to six the update. Take it away, Alex Smith. Hi everyone, I'm Alex Smith and this is

your three sixty update. As you can see, the any weather here in South Philadelphia forced the Eagles inside the bubble for today's training session as they continue to get set for sunday nights match up with the Arizona Cardinals. One of the big storylines today was the Eagles facing the Cardinals defense, which is the biggest blitzing defense in the NFL, as they have the most blitzing attempts of

any team. We heard from head coach Chip Kelly and some of the players inside the locker room about how playing against this blitz will work out on Sunday. It's everybody, you know. I think that you got to tie the offensive line in there, You got to tie the receivers in there knowing when when things are hot and when things aren't hard. But I think Sam has has done a really good job. Um. I think he's got a

better feeling, a better understanding in terms of what we're doing. Um, from a tax standpoint, what are we trying to get accomplished? Great team obviously, defense bring a lot of no lot different types of blitzes and differently got the type of personnel at a game and trying to get coasiself done

right hands. Inside the Eagles locker room, we also caught up with left tackle Jason Peters, who discussed how he's been dealing with a bunch of nagging injuries this season and what he has to do to get through them on a daily basis. There's a lot of treatment coming in at six o'clock, you know, I come in early, I stay late, you know, just trying to get my body, you know together. You just gotta get yourself and in best preparation as you can to play in the game

for us. If you got an ankle or back or some kind of injury, you just gotta, you know, get it up how as you can during the week and get ready to go on Sunday and Finally, we hear from running back to Marco Murray, and while this may be his first season here in Philadelphia, his time with the Dallas Cowboys has prepared him for how the NFC East always seems to be a close race down the stretch, and he's ready for the final three games here in Philadelphia.

Every year I've been in size last year it's been like this million. So come down every game every Sunday. You gotta team obviously about other teams I've got that will wrap things up up here from outside the Novacare Complex. Be sure to stay tuned to Philadelphia Eagles dot Com for all the latest Eagles news throughout the week and for an injury update heading into Sunday's game. Thank you so much, Alex. Lots to get to today. We've got

Glenn's Bold Predictions coming up. We've got the great Merrill Reese, the voice of the Philadelphia Eagles, in studio. But when we return, we're gonna go behind enemy Lions Chris McPherson with Darren urban Azy Cardinals dot Com and find out the very latest on the rampaging can you believe it? Arizona Cardinals Hot carbs to compete electrolytes to replenish everything you need to keep sweating. I got tickets, Metro tickets. You need a Metro ticket? Talk to me please, I

don't even know he's real tickets. If you know, just a touch it this leather legit. I mean, how do we really know? It looks good? Right? No, I'm paying myself. I gotta make prot Does a baby need a Metro ticket, I'll give her one on me. These tickets. They're not stealing your soul. You can look at him. May nobody wants to buy tickets from a guy on the street. I don't understand. What if this year we went around the table and instead of saying what we're thankful for,

we said who we're thankful for. Lincoln Financial helps provide financial security for those who are always there for you, because this is what you do for people you love. Take charge of your now at Lincoln Financial dot com. Lincoln Financial, You're in charge. Were welcome you back to Eagles three sixty. We come your way Monday through Friday at five pm on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com and the official Eagles Happened in a moment. We're going to go

behind enemy lines and talk about the Cardinals. I've kind of just reluctantly accepted that the Cardinals are for real. I do believe they are for real. I believe they're very good. What point in the season did you kind of feel that they were a legit team. Yeah. I was with you at the beginning because Carson Palmer, you know, old quarterback Chris Johnson is going to come back. He's now hurt, but he did great. You know in November they had a stretch of two weeks where they beat

Seattle and they beat Cincinnati. Beat Seattle on the road in Cincinnati. Those are two real contenders this year. You win those teams, that's when you know they're for real. Yeah. I thought they would suffer when Todd Bowles left to become the head coach in New York. That has not been the case at all. Anyway, let's get you caught up with the Arizona Cardinals Behind Enemy Lines with Chris

McPherson and Darren Urban from Azy Cardinals dot Com. Hello everyone, I'm Chris McPherson and welcome to Behind Enemy Lines, presented by Gatorade. Here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. On Sunday night, the Eagles host the eleven and two Arizona Cardinals, who are sailing into the playoffs after winning seven consecutive games entering this Sunday's showdown Ellencoln Financial Field, and to preview the matchup, we bring in Darren Urban from Azy Cardinals

dot Com. And Darren, we have to start with the potential MVP canon in quarterback Carson Palmer, who has rebounded nicely after missing the second half of last season with the knee injury. What has impressed you the most about his twenty fifteen season. Well, in a lot of ways, Carson is playing perhaps better football than he's ever played. I know, obviously he had some good years in Cincinnati,

especially before he heard his knee the first time. But the way he's doing things this year, in terms of his accuracy, especially with as much as they throw the ball down the field, the fact that he's in arguably the best shape of his career. He hurt his knee, and obviously he had to rehab his knee, but he took that time to rehab really the rest of his body. I mean, his upper body is clearly in better shape

than it had been in the past. Not that he was in bad shape, but he's He's in fantastic shape for a guy who's about to turn thirty six later this month, I believe, So, you know, I think those kinds of things. He's moving in the pocket better than he has in a long time. You know, he worked with his brother in the off season in terms of his steps and standing tall in the pocket and buying

himself time. And he's never going to be a scrambler, but he's been really effective in terms of extending plays, the way he can move his feet, and all those things together have obviously led him to a MVP type season. Saron, we know in Philadelphia what Larry Fitzgerald has done over the years, and his twenty fifteen campaign has been brilliant to this point. But it's not just Gerald in that

passing attack. John Brown had the game winning touchdown against the Eagles last season, and Michael Floyd has been very impressive. What can you say about this trio wide receivers which will make it tough for any defense to contain. Well, again, you're talking about having three Pro Bowl type receivers when they're playing at the top of their game. You know, Michael Floyd's not going to make the Pro Bowl. He got off to too slow of a start after he

heard his finger in training camp. And I don't know with all the receivers out there, if John Brown's got a chance. But you know, you got guys that could be number one receivers if they needed them to be. And John Brown is closing in on a thousand yards and he missed a couple of games because of injury. You know, Michael Floyd got off to the slow start because of his injury, and yet he's had four one

hundred yard games in his last five. And you mentioned Larry Fitzgerald, who is having a renaissance season that not a lot of people, including myself saw coming, not to this level. So Carson Palmer's got a lot of weapons. He's throwing the ball again. Well, they're getting decent protection, They're running the ball better than they have in the last couple of years, which gives them some balance. All

those things help. But when you've got receivers like Brown and Floyd and Fitzgerald again, like you mentioned it, it's tough to cover them all. I mean, if you want to double cover one or maybe two, that's fine, but somebody's going to have single coverage. And Palmer's done a

really good job finding them. And that doesn't even include a guy like rookie running back David Johnson out of the backfield, who's one of the better receiving running backs around and he can catch the ball too, So they've got a lot of options and that's why they have among the most points in the NFL. Starn Obviously, the offense is getting a ton of accolades, ton of hype, you know, number one offense in the entire NFL. Let's

talk about the defense for a moment here. The story of Dwight Freeney, who was nearly on the verge of retirement, gets a call to come to Arizona and he's helped rejuvenate that pass rush. How important has his addition been, not just from a playing standpoint, but from a veteran leadership standpoint as this Arizona team looks to get over the fifteen. I think one of the things about Dwight Frainy that's worked out so well is he understands his role.

He understands that he came in to be a pass rush specialist, the guy that's not going to play every down, and he's been okay with that. Like you mentioned, he was on the verge of retirement. Talked to him the other day and he basically said, it's kind of lucky that he didn't retire at the time the Cardinals called him because he was ready to. He figured if he wasn't signed two or three weeks into the regular season,

he was probably time to wrap it up. His agent convinced him to give it another week or two, and that's right about the time the Cardinals called because Alex Okaffer had hurt his calf after the fourth game, the fifth game, somewhere in there, and they needed another guy, and they called Dwight Frainye and he's stepped in. He leads the team in sacks with four at this point. Now, they don't have a tremendous pass rush overall. They have to blitz a lot of the time to get pressure.

They don't have a dynamic young pass rusher who they can lean on. So you know, having a guy like Freeny is a big deal. And it's still something I think this team has to continue to work on very hard to generate pass rush, but having Freeny here has made a big difference. He's teaching a rookie, Marcus Golden who's the starter at outside linebacker, some of the tricks of the trade, and they think that that's going to help Marcus Golden down the road. It's just worked out

really well. But again, that's what general manager Steve Kim has done. He brings in these one year veterans with something to prove, a little bit left in the tank. He gets just what he needs out of them. It doesn't cost him a lot of money. Oftentimes it's a minimum contract, and it's really helped this team the last three years when they've done things like that. Darren Urban from az Cardinals dot com, thank you very much for taking us behind enemy lines presented by Gatorade. You're on

Philadelphia Eagles dot com. Thanks so much, Chris, thanks so much, Darren. They are done and you are on. You are on time. I have in my hand, yes, yes, bold predictions for this week. You've been so good at him last week. Yeah, it's up and down. Last week I hit four out of five. I feel as good this week and you will hear those coming right up on Eagles three sixty. Give any more chips, fellas. I'm sorry if we were daydreaming about that VIP tailgate and game tickets. Yeah, that

pregame sideline experience exactly. We believe in Eagles season tickets. You both have the new Instant game from the Pennsylvania Lottery. Yeah, the Eagles Instant Game with top prizes of fifty grand and second chance prizes including season tickets the Pennsylvania Lottery bring your dreams to life. It's game day in America. Across the country, fans are watching football in a whole new way. To join the league, we pick a team and we compete like never before. Today watching football's more

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Go to FanDuel dot com for your free account. Now, welcome back Eagles three sixty Dame Spidero Eagles insider along with Glenn mac Now, I'm going to step aside and let the bold prediction man make his pick. Here we go. You feel free to agree or disagree. I'm excited, all right, Here you go. Number one, Ryan Matthews is going to be this game's leading rusher. And I'm talking about for both teams. Give a minimum sixteen carries, give a minimum a seventy five yards. Arizona blitzes a lot. They run

blitz a lot. You want the guy who's quick to the whole, you can go up the middle on him. I think this is his kind of game. It's ay, Ryan Matthews dead. So you are suggesting, of course, the other shoe here, that DeMarco Murray. Not that involved, quick to the whole, not that above right. I mean he could get ten carrocs, but I don't think he's sixteen more than that. I'll take sixteen to seventy five. Sixteen seventy a minimum, all right. Number two we have seen

over the year's Dave Larry Fitzgerald. Just kill the Eagles. He's killed everybody but man, he's been great against the Eagles over the years. It will not be him this week. He'll catch some passes, but he's not going to be the dangerous guy. The guy, I kind of put it this way, the guy who will break your heart, the guy who will cause you pain will be John Brown. You probably remember him last year he caught that what eighty yard or bring the Eagles to loss. He missed

three games with an injury this year. Since he's been back, he's averaged ninety five yards a game. Huge touchdown against the Vikings last week. He's gonna be tough to cover Byron Maxwell's got that ankle. We'll see how that plays out. Or Eric Rowe. He's a tough matchup. He's gonna hurt. Yeah. Ed Reynolds over the top is gonna be so critical in this game. Can't afford any breakdowns like the one

in the first quarter last week against Sammy Watkins. Now Reynolds learned his lesson obviously late in the game, got over on the throne of Robert Woods made the game saving interception. But Ed Reynolds has never seen speed like this with Brown, with Floyd, with Fitzgerald. And while you say Fitzgerald may not be the primary receiver, we've seen it so many times for he's coming back home. He went to school a Valley Forge military academy. But it wouldn't be bold for me to just tell you still

fingered crossway. Alright, all right, here you go number three. And I know I've done this one before, but I do feel this one again again because of the way the Cardinals play defense. They blitz, they have a very good secondary. To me, the answer is find your tight ends underneath or going down this seam. So I'll tell you Ertz, oh boy, he had a great one last week and sell A combined for a minimum of nine catches this week against Arizona. And if the Eagles are

gonna win, those two have to have great games. Okay, the tight end tight ends take control of the passing game. Correct alright, those are Glenn's three bold predictions. You can get two more of those predictions on Sunday at or kickoff show in Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. We got you covered all day long as the Eagles get ready for the back in Black game against the Arizona Cardinals. Glenn mentioned Byron Maxwell he'll be the subject of our progress report in just a bit. But when we return to

Eagles three sixty. The voice of the Philadelphia Eagles, Meryl Reese, stopped by the studio in previews Arizona Philadelphia Prime time. Huh, fifteen minutes could save your fifteen percent of more on car shoots. Yeah, everybody knows that. Well, did you know they're playing cards with Kenny Rogers? Gets old pretty fast. You got to know window hold them, no window fold them,

No wind to walk away, no wind to run. You never kind out money when you sit at the day What yeah, guy, go fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. The tournament is there, you're here, and before you take the team's star midfielder from here to there along with his entourage, you have some things to do, like finding a place to stay. It's getting an oil change, mapping out the best route. Yes, are we there yet? No roadside assistance? Not today but

always on call. So wherever your journey takes you, Triple A helps you get there. So everyone's a winner. Start your journey at TRIPLEA dot Com. Be the playmaker in Madden sixteen. Available now time to talk with the voice of the Philadelphia Eagles. Were welcome into the studio, the Great Merril Reeves getting ready for prime time football the Eagles and Arizona Cardls meryll Let's re twenty thirteen. In the decision, I hired Chip Kelly Bruce Arians. I know

you've known Bruce for many, many years. This success does not surprise you. No, Bruce Arians always was a good coach. He's an NFL lifer. After his college days, he had tremendous success as an offensive coordinator. He communicates with his players, so I was convinced. And if you needed any extra convincing, he did a wonderful job with Indianapolis filling in for Chuck Pagano when Chuck Pagana was ill, So it doesn't

surprise me at all. And Chip spoke very eloquently about the success of Bruce and the way that Arians has put together a team. So the offense that comes into town on Sunday night leaves the NFL in in explosive plays. They score points in bunches. They are a down the field threat. Merrill and I gotta tell you, I never thought Carson palmer And was going to be this kind of players. He has flourished in the system, well he has.

They always talked about Andy's cliche about they used to we have put a player in a position to make plays, and that's what Bruce arians has done. And it doesn't hurt when your receivers are named Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown and Michael Floyd and J. J. Nelson and throwing Darren Fells the tight end and you have a running game. So you put those great compliments to the quarterback, and boy,

I'll tell you what it really works. So if you're Bill Davis and you've had success against Tom Brady, you've had success last week against the Buffalo Bills keeping them out of the end zone, I wonder what the tact will be on Sunday night. What do you think one thing you can't do? And I certainly don't have any firsthand knowledge of this, and I'm not a defensive coordinator, but it would seem to me that you cannot blitz him very often, once in a while a well time blitz.

But when you blitz, you take somebody out of coverage, and you need all the coverage that you can get. I think the key to this game, Dave is putting tremendous pressure on Carson Palmber with your front guys, I think you need. I think you need a career game from Fletcher Cox, who has had some great games, and I think you need another one this Sunday night. You know, it's interesting there's been so many comparisons Fletcher Cox and

Jerome Brown, and I've said this during the week. My argument against that is that I think Fletcher's actually been more consistent throughout his career than Jerome. Jerome wasn't really didn't really come into his own until the last couple of seasons. He was kind of set some plays off. If I recall correctly, what are your recollections of Jerome, Well, he was he was a fierce, fierce presence on that field.

But I remember speaking with Bud Carson, the great defensive coordinator, and Bud one said that Jerome was helped a great deal by having Reggie White on one side and Clyde Simmons on the other and conversely, they were both helped by having him crushed the pocket. So it wasn't just Jerome Brown, it was that defensive line. Maro. We are seeing the Eagles offense improving. You think they've got to

score some points on Sunday night to beat Arizona. Your view of the Eagles offense and within that the play of quarterback Sam Bradford. Well, I think the offensive line has pulled together. They are helping each other. They have become a little more stable. They've given Sam sometime. I think Sam Bradford has achieved a certain level of comfort that we didn't see early. He perhaps trusts his knee more. He's not tentative in any way, shape or form. He

is stepping into his throws. Watch him. I've watched him, and I've watched the tape. He is technically so sound right now and he's releasing the ball. I don't go by his statistics. I've seen a couple of throws in these last weeks. Go back to New England. He threw an amazing pass in that game to Jordan Matthews on the sideline, but the rush in his face and then when he had to move the ball. He put it through a small window into the hands of Riley Cooper,

and he did it again this past week. People were saying, well, he doesn't go deep. It can't go deep, it can't go deep. The game opened with a gorgeous plass for Riley Cooper that unfortunately was ruled not caught. And then he went with another bomb to Nelson Agilar that was the rookies first NFL touchdown. And then the pass that he threw to Brent Sellek down inside the five yard line that was resulted in an interception, but it really wasn't. It was in Brent's hands and it was taken away

by Leotis mcclvin. But Sam Bradford looks like a leader. He's been a leader in the locker room lately. The players tell you that, and I think he is ascending. Well your thoughts on how this game plays out on Sunday. It's a tough game. It is a tough game. I don't buy the fact that it's a meaningless game because all they have to do is beat the Redskins and the Giants. First of all, that's never easy to beat

those two in a row. Secondly, if they do win this game, and then they beat the Redskins, and the right things happen, they can clinch before they even go to New York. So it's a big game. The last three have been gripping, they've been tight, they've gone down to the final menace, and I hope that's what we see again this week, and I hope the outcome is is for the guys in Midnight Green Eagles, Well, they won't be in Midnight Green Oh. They're in black, black

on black. That's the Black Knights of the School Killer. There we go roll rest Eagles two and oh in December, hoping to get to three and oz on Sunday night. Thanks for joining us in our exffinity studio on Philadelphia Eagles dot com. Hot Hot pain carves to compete electro lights, to replenish everything you need to keep sweating. I sept to Philly. I sept the Philly. You'll step by Philly, the bus, the trolley, the train, one twenty four, Root

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That's breakfast. When AMS America runs on, Duncan, pair your favorite breakfast sandwich with the bold taste of Duncan's Dark World coffee. Purchase participating products at ACNE and enter the coupon code for a chance to win weekly prizes and a chance at two thousand and sixteen Eagles season tickets. Dave Spidero Glenn mcdale's Eagles three sixty here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. Time for a progress report inside the game, Mike Quick and I Grease for more Game plan show.

Take a look at Byron Maxwell, the Eagles big ticket cornerback who's made some really positive strides this season. All right, Mike progress reports brings us to the number one free agent acquisition this all season, Byron Maxwell. You talked earlier, this may have been Byron's best game overall as a corner here. Yeah, I like the way he played and he really took on the challenge of Sammy Watchaus at the line of screams done get his hands on him.

But this is one of those fifty fifty balls, and he plays screw to play, goes up and make sure that he doesn't secure the catch. I like what he does against this player. Yeah, the thing I noticed the most about Maxwell Sunday as he competed he can be a fifty fifty balls that you'd like to talk about

in the air. I mean, this could have very easily been a player where he relaxed after he thought he did his job, but he realizes the play is still alive and he's fighting through this play and continues to back that ball off. Je Watkins is a guy that's really good at high pointing the football, and Max's right there with him to make sure that he doesn't secure the catch. Yeare wanta watch him here on this play? Now, this eventually turns out to be a first down, but

that's not what we're really paying attention to. Watch Maxwell up here on the coverage of Sammy Watkins, and what I like about here he is this technique. He realizes he has help over the top from the safety, so his job is the player underneath and so to force that receiver to his help up top. But Max is like a shadow on him. He gives him a little hesitation move. It's a double move come back, and he gives him a little hesitation move right around the thirty

five year old line. A little hesitation there, then a burst and a comeback and he's right there. I like that tight coverage, yeah, and it's really this is about playing the covers planned to the strength of the coverage. When you have help over the top, you should be aggressive underneath. Watch him here late in the game, we got sort of a stack receiver. Look, this can be difficult for a dB because they're trying to get some sort of a pick route boring here to get you

knocked off your coverage. Between he and Malcolm Jenkins, he and Malcolm, they are able to fight through this and again at the point at the highest point of attack, Maxwell is fighting keep the ball out of Watkins hand. I could really begin with the communication between these two guys right before the snap and they're expecting to pick Max stage tight to the receiver and funnels him down

the sideline. That has to be a perfectly thrown ball for them to get that reception because of the tight coverage, and like most great dvs will do, they'll use that sideline as an extra defended air. Maxwell fault through us earlier struggles in the season, starting to play good football down the stretch when it's needed the most. Thanks so much, Mike and Ike. We've got a special segment for you that will appear on Facebook a little later in the week.

We're trying together the Cardinals and the Eagles, from the Chicago Cardinals to the Saint Louis Cardinals, to the Phoenix Cardinals to the Arizona Cardinals. I forgot the Phoenix part, all tied into the Philadelphiagles. Make sure you look for Glenn and I on Facebook later in the week. What's ahead for us on Philadelphia Eagles dot com. Amrosso's on the menu for you tomorrow Chris mcpearson in studio and we'll break down some of the key matchups between the

Eagles and the Cardinals. Alex Smith with his stats only segment, and we got a little crunch time with cornerback Eric Rowe, who Glenn has really really played well and I'm I'm gonna be I am surprised. I thought he was more of a safety. He really has a chance to be a cornerback. Yeah. I still think he may end up as a safety. But after the first shaky week he had, the last two he's been just fine and he's gonna have a big challenge this week. He survives this week,

you'll feel great. Yeah. He's not going to find any group of receivers more dangerous than these guys. How do you feel about the game. I feel that it's gonna be really tough. Uh yeah, yeah, you know. I love to come on and pick an Eagles win. But here's the good news. I've been wrong every game the last month, so you know, if I'm wrong one more time, the Eagles win, will all be happy, all right, So Glenn is picking the Arizona Cardinals. Will find out on Sunday night.

Glenn Macnow, thanks for joining us. Thank you for joining us, For Glenn, for me, Dave, we say, have yourselves a great Eagles Day.