Eagles at Bengals— preview through a fractured Livefyre lens…

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I don’t wish the pain or immobility of a broken femur or a fractured hip on anyone, even an enemy if I had one. Now that I’ve gone through the surgery, I still face 6 to 8 more weeks on crutches—but the pain has been greatly alleviated and is manageable. I really took for granted what a gift it is to be able to move around with freedom on two legs. The cause of my downfall was carelessness while carrying a 30-pound box on a loose gravel surface. Watch your step out there, brothers and sisters!

While I was taken away from my daily routine, life went on for the Philadelphia Eagles. I was able to tune into some of the Livefyre comments here in an attempt to keep up, but didn’t have the tools in the hospital to post timely blogs.

Another bombshell was dropped on me in the hospital—I read that Livefyre has been acquired by Adobe Corporation, but that Adobe is going to get out of the comments engine business, and basically just use Livefyre technology for “enterprise projects”, whatever that means.

To us it means our Livefyre identities and point totals and legacies could disappear from here at the drop of an Adobe hat. For all its occasional glitches, Livefyre provided auto-refresh intimacy with fellow Bored brothers which made this place special, if you ask me.

Maybe we’ll have something to replace Livefyre which will be better, but right now I’m depressed about such prospects. I’m hearing rumors about Facebook or Disqus or WordPress alternatives, but somehow I suspect things will never be as good in terms of auto-refresh. Seems bizarre to break my hip and my comments engine in the same week— all I can do is plod on and try to adapt.

Oh yeah, almost forgot—- Go Eagles!

The Eagles (5-6) are in Cincinnati to take on the Bengals (3-7-1), a team which is perhaps still barely alive in its divisional race—and like the Eagles, would have to win out the rest of the way to have a shot at making the playoffs.

TEAM LEADERS as of December 3, 2016:

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Passing Cmp Att Yds TDs
Carson Wentz 249 392 2593 11
Rushing Car Yds Avg TDs
Ryan Mathews 102 427 4.2 7
Darren Sproles 66 325 4.9 0
Receiving Rec Yds Avg TDs
Jordan Matthews 57 686 12 3
Zach Ertz 38 373 9.8 1
Darren Sproles 39 352 9 1
Dorial Green-Beckham 29 330 11.4 2
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Passing Cmp Att Yds TDs
Andy Dalton 259 408 3043 12
Rushing Car Yds Avg TDs
Jeremy Hill 147 644 4.4 6
Giovani Bernard 91 337 3.7 2
Receiving Rec Yds Avg TDs
A.J. Green 66 964 14.6 4
Brandon LaFell 36 457 12.7 4
Tyler Boyd 38 411 10.8 1
Giovani Bernard 39 336 8.6 1
After starting the year with a 23-22 win over the New York Jets, Cincy lost four of its next six. After their Week 9 bye, the Bengals proceeded to go winless in the month of November. Stud wide receiver A.J. Green injured his hamstring against Buffalo two weeks ago. Things are looking bleak for the Bengals, whose 3-7-1 record puts them in third place in the AFC North.

The Eagles are looking to improve on both sides of the ball. PE.com’s Alex Smith: “On offense, the key will be finding a better run/pass balance while eliminating the penalties that have plagued them all season long, almost always seeming to pop up on big plays. Defensively, getting Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton out of a rhythm will be paramount. Dalton has the seventh-most passing yards in the NFL (3,043), but he’s been sacked 32 times (second in the NFL) and has thrown just 12 touchdown passes. The Bengals’ offense has taken a big step backwards after losing receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones in free agency, but when Dalton has been most comfortable is when he’s able to drop back and get the ball out quickly on his first read. That quick-strike passing game from Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was a thorn in the Eagles’ side on Monday night, so we’ll see if they can adjust this time out.”

Eagles at Bengals--- preview through a fractured Livefyre lens...

Chris McPherson’s Matchups to Watch:

1. DE Brandon Graham vs. RT Cedric Ogbuehi – The Bengals are using a rotation at right tackle with 2015 first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi and veteran Eric Winston. According to Pro Football Focus, Ogbuehi allowed two sacks and three hurries in last week’s loss to Baltimore. The Eagles were unable to sack Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Monday night. Brandon Graham is the team leader in sacks (5), tackles for loss (9), quarterback hurries (24) and forced fumbles (2). Graham could set the tone for the Eagles’ defense on Sunday.2. S Malcolm Jenkins vs. TE Tyler Eifert – With no A.J. Green at wide receiver, Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert is the go-to weapon for the Bengals. Eifert missed the first six games of the season with back and ankle injuries. Since his return, Eifert has 21 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns in five games. He was targeted 11 times last week against Baltimore.

3. RB Darren Sproles vs. LB Vontaze Burfict – Outside linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been targeted 37 times in pass coverage this season. He’s allowed 29 receptions and two of them went for touchdowns. In the last two full games he’s played in, Sproles caught 13 passes for 105 yards. He was on the field for just 10 offensive snaps against Seattle before leaving with a rib injury.

4. WR Dorial Green-Beckham vs. CB Adam Jones – Following the Atlanta game, Dorial Green-Beckham voiced his frustration with his role in the offense. In the last two games, Green-Beckham has 11 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. He’s also played over 80 percent of the snaps on offense, and on Thursday offensive coordinator Frank Reich said that Green-Beckham should have a bigger role moving forward.

This feels like a game where the Bengals could hang around and keep it close up to the end, however. Geno Atkins is still a disruptive pass-rushing beast, too. The Birds will have to generate a passing attack with the currently unproven wide receivers tandem of Nelson Agholor, DGB, Paul Turner and Bryce Treggs…nothing will come easy to the Eagles on offense.

“Defensively we have our focus on the Bengals and what they do,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “We didn’t get it done on Monday night. We didn’t get off the field like we needed. It was disappointing, but we have to move on.”

Vegas has Philly as a 1.5 point favorite, and the Over/Under at 41.5 points.

The Odds Shark mainframe computer calls it a 27-20 upset win for the Bengals.

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    BRISUKSEGG Fantasy Football Update:

The regular season concluded with a domming power surge from TGJB99 (The Bri Slapper) and ATV (NFC EAST Mr. Jinks)—-while Spiffo, Dutch* and South Philly Ben held serve. And so we waited for the League Office to determine the playoff brackets:

BriSuksEgg 2016 Regular Season Final Standings:

EAST
TEAM W L T PCT GB
Oblong Nards 7 5 0 .583
BAD JEWS BEARS 7 5 0 .583
The Amish Mafia 7 5 0 .583
Bri’s Fantasy Boys 6 6 0 .500 1
Bri Suks More Than Just Eggs 3 7 2 .333 3
Blitzed … 4 8 0 .333 3
WEST
TEAM W L T PCT GB
The Bri Slapper 10 2 0 .833
NFC East Mr. Jinks 8 4 0 .667 2
Sunny’s Missing Left Foot 6 6 0 .500 4
PRIME BEEF 5 6 1 .458 4.5
Squid’s Sleeves 4 7 1 .375 5.5
The White Boys 3 9 0 .250 7

And BOOM, the playoff brackets were set for this weekend’s action— unfortunately for Dutch*, his team drew the short straw despite a 7-5 season record:

WINNER’S BRACKET
(7-5)Ben Gold
0
#1 The Bri Slapper (Nads)
(10-2)Jared Nixon
15
BJB
Yet to Play:
In Play:
Mins Left:
Proj Total:
Line:
Top Scorer:
8
0
480
111
+8.4
None
Nads
Yet to Play:
In Play:
Mins Left:
Proj Total:
Line:
Top Scorer:
7
0
420
117
-8.4
E. Elliott 15
(8-4)Chris R
0
#2 Oblong Nards (SPIF)
(7-5)Spiffo
0
ATV
Yet to Play:
In Play:
Mins Left:
Proj Total:
Line:
Top Scorer:
8
0
480
132
-11.1
None
SPIF
Yet to Play:
In Play:
Mins Left:
Proj Total:
Line:
Top Scorer:
8
0
480
121
+11.1
None
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