What's the Word: Week 3 loss leads to a must win in Week 4 to boost morale

PC: inforum.com

Another week another mishap for the Eagles offense. Week 3 was full of dropped passes and sloppy defense. It became shockingly more evident that this team does not have the receiving depth OR a reliable enough run game to support Carson Wentz. It seems as if Carson could literally put the ball into the hands of a receiver (which he did at least 3 times with the game on the line) and he would still find a way to drop it....


But enough of the negativity...it was Week 3...there is still plenty more football to play and the health of the receivers, that can actually catch a ball, is starting to look up. Alshon Jeffery will be back in the game tonight against Green Bay to kick-off Week 4 in a Thursday night showdown at Lambeau. The Pack are 3-0 and showing no signs of slowing down, while the Eagles are sitting at 1-2 with a tremendous chip on their shoulder. The fact of the matter is, the Eagles are playing with their backs against the wall. Tonight they are aiming to prove they have what it takes to give the Cowboys a threat in the divisional race.

PC: fantasydata.com

While there is still plenty of football left to play, Week 4 is looking like a must win for the Eagles. Not because of their record, but because of their moral. The two losses the Eagles have taken were not easy ones. And when I say not easy...I mean they were rough, really rough. The team has the talent, in fact they know they have the talent, they are just not producing. The Eagles should have won both of their losses, and easily at that. However, mistakes and dropped passes loomed large and there is only so much a team can take before they start to doubt themselves. A win tonight would be HUGE. Not only would it boost the confidence of the team (and the fans) but it would bring their record to 2-2 and knock off a 3-0 competitor. Winning tonight would also show the rest of the league that a slow start will not define this Eagles team.

The rest of the NFC East has their work cut out for them as well. The Cowboys will be taking on the Saints on Sunday Night Football. I expect this to be a well fought battle and the toughest challenge the 'Boys have faced all year. The Giants will take on the Redskins at MetLife in what is sure to be a crap shoot. I'm looking to see the Giants move to 2-2 and the 'Skins to fall to 0-4.

What's the Word: Week 2 was rough for the Eagles but we did learn one thing, Week 3 NFC East preview

As an Eagles fan, Week 2 was a rough one. In fact, it hurt so bad that I am just now able to write about it...four days later. The 24-20 loss to the Falcons stung, but what hurt the most was the incredible amount of injuries to key pieces of the Eagles offense. By the second half, Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Dallas Goedert were all down for the count, leaving Carson Wentz with limited receiving options. To add to the list of injuries, Wentz got rocked, play after play after play. The QB took multiple, cringe worthy, shots to the ribs, and underwent a concussion test mid-game.

There's no doubt Week 2 took its toll on the Eagles offense, however, there was one thing we learned from the loss that should give Eagles fans everywhere hope heading into Week 3.

Carson Wentz is resilient and is playing like he has something to prove.

Because of his injury ridden career thus far, we haven't gotten to see much of what Wentz can do on the field. Apart from his MVP caliber run in 2017, before going down with a torn ACL, the Eagles QB hasn't played more than 10 games in a season. This has left some Eagles fans, and certainly the mainstream media, questioning whether or not Carson has what it takes to be a franchise QB. If you ask me, Week 2 proved all the doubters wrong. As mentioned earlier, Wentz took MULTIPLE big hits, however he remained in the game. He lost the majority of his offensive weapons, however he only lost by four on the road. He was under defensive pressure the entire game, however he was able to get the ball off and make big plays when he need to. Had one of Wentz's few remaining receivers, Nelson Agholor, made the catch late in the fourth quarter, the game would have mostly likely resulted in an Eagles victory. Just by watching Wentz, you could tell he was putting everything he had into game. There was no questioning whether or not he wanted to walk off the field with a win. Wentz wants to, and will, lead this team through doubtful wins and dominate in likely-to-win games.

Heading in to Week 3 against Detroit, the Eagles can expect less of a challenge than the Falcons but are still missing key pieces of their offense. Watch for Doug Pederson to heavily rely on TE Zach Etrz as Carson's main offensive target, as well as the run game.

The Cowboys look to move to 3-0 as they take on the Dolphins at home. This season the 'phins have struggled offensively and I expect the Cowboys to win this week in a blowout.

The Giants will take on the Bucs, and the Redskins will face the Bears. Unfortunately for both of these teams, I expect their records to move to 0-3. The Giants recently named Daniel Jones as the starting QB over Eli Manning. This will be his first career start and I do not expect the Bucs to take it easy on him. As for the Redskins, their opponents are desperate to move to 2-1 after two rocky weeks of football.

Book Review: Brands Win Championships by Jeremy Darlow

Before you read my first review, here's some things you should keep in mind:
     Those of you that know me know I am NOT a reader. Getting me to read a book for class was hard enough so the thought of me voluntarily cracking open a crisp new book (instead of a Bud Light) is difficult to believe. But here I am, reading books AND writing reviews. Shockingly enough, I'm not straying too far off the path because all of the books I review on Caitlins Commentary will be sports related or written by current or former athletes and coaches. Since July, my goal is to read one book a month and, surprisingly, I am still on pace. I am new to book reviews so I'm sure the first few will be far from perfect, but I think it will keep me motivated to read by sharing my thoughts to my fellow sports enthusiasts and, hopefully, give them some new reading material as well.

PC: Amazon

So, here goes nothing.

Brands Win Championships is interesting from start to finish. I read this book rather quickly (could be because the font was big and there wasn't much on each page) and found myself wanting to read more of Darlow's work by the time I flipped the last page.

The book focuses on the do's and don'ts (but mostly do's) of marketing a college athletic department. He stands firmly on the positioning that in order to win a championship at the college level, you must have an excellent and extremely creative marketing department. It is a very bold statement, sparking immediate interest, however Darlow proves his point by using his own experiences with college athletics and what he has observed since working as a top dog on Adidas's marketing team.

By the end of the book I was fully convinced that marketing an athletic department properly, has the power to increase the number of highly skilled recruits, grow a massive fan base across the country, and bring home a championship title to any university that follows his blueprint. 

If you are someone who is interested in college sport, sport marketing, or even traditional marketing, I would suggest this book. The book did have some "well duh" moments, but overall provided fresh ideas and real world examples on how the power marketing can affect a college athletic department.

Here is a link to the book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Brands-Championships-Jeremy-Allen-Darlow/dp/0990562204/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22SOOJ1P0PN63&keywords=brands+win+championships&qid=1568320665&sprefix=brands+win+%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1

What's the Word: What we learned from Week 1 and what we can expect for the NFC East looking forward

After Week 1 divisional match-ups between the Redskins and Eagles and the Giants and Cowboys, we learned a couple things about the division.

1. The Cowboys and the Eagles are going to offensively dominate the division.
   

PC: Philadelphia Eagles

     The Redskins jumped out to a good start against the Eagles but after the second half their defense couldn't handle the offensive explosion that was Carson Wentz and DeSean Jackson. In his return to Philly, Jackson racked up to 2 touchdowns and 154 receiving yards while Wentz, trying to prove his worth after the Eagles released Super Bowl MVP QB Nick Foles in the off-season, finished the game with a QB rating of 93.2 and 3 touchdown passes. Philadelphia beat Washington, 32-27.

     To no surprise, the Cowboys dominated the Giants defense. In a 35-17 win over New York, Dak threw for 405 yards and tossed 4 touchdowns, making a statement for his a case for the $40 million extension he asked for in the off-season. Dak spread the ball around by having each of his four touchdowns scored by four different recievers. One bright side for the Giants offense, as he seems to be every game, was Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 120 yards, averaging 10.9 per carry.

2. Defense is going to be the decision maker for all four teams.

    Dallas and Philly can clearly light up the field offensively but the battle for the division is going to come down to whose defensive stands out. When these two teams square off for the first time on October 20, I expect the game to be won by the defense.

     As for Washington, completely counting them out wouldn't be fair. Clearly their offensive has the potential to make some waves but it is not strong enough to win a game on its own. Their defense gave Wentz far too much time and in order to give their offense a chance, they are going to have to limit the time allowed.

     The Giants defense was hard to watch. They seemed very unprepared for what the Cowboys had in store. They are going to have to rely on veteran linebackers, Alec Ogletree and Markus Golden to step up and be leaders for this struggling defensive team. Next week the team faces the Bills who are coming off a close win over the Jets, a win in week 2 will give the Giants some much needed confidence.

Week 2 Rundown:

PC: New York Giants

This week Dallas will travel to Washington to take on the Redskins. In this match-up, watch for Dak to continue to dominate offensively and see if Washington's defense can avoid dropping to 0-2 against division rivals in back-to-back weeks. The Giants will host the Bills. Expect a close game as New York is looking to avoid dropping to 0-2 while Buffalo is going for a 2-0 start to the season. Keep an eye on Saquon Barkley to stand out in front of his home crowd.

The Eagles will take on the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday Night Football in what is sure to be an exciting game. Matt Ryan is looking to get revenge after last seasons loss to the Eagles on SNF and Carson Wentz is still trying to prove to the NFL that he has what it takes to lead the Eagles on another Super Bowl run.