Mercy rule favors Ravens over Eagles—but we all lost

arcega

EYE told ya about the Fool On The Hill…EYE tell you man he’s livin’ there still….

(Der deer dere dere dere dere deer)

This was a sad night for competitive football in the modern era—because even the Thunder God Thor cast His judgement upon the proceedings:

“Rain this crapfest out— end the tomfoolery!”

And so it was forecast here— this PS3 game would show nothing and reveal little.

Doug Pederson just don’t care about competing for preseason wins. Truth be told, John Harbaugh is not totally into it, either, at least from a W-L standpoint, although the Ravens have “won” something like 16 PS games in a row.

The post-modern concept is about preserving your best players and fire-testing your rookies, marginal veterans and special teams guys. That’s all it is.

But the problem arises when you are charging prime-time bucks for fans to attend these exhibitions. It’s an inferior product. They (the NFL) should pay you (the gullible fan) to attend some of these slobber-knockers. Because before too long, under the current trends, stadium seats will be empty at games like this one.

Thursday night in Philly was a grim gym. The refs didn’t help matters either. Every other play got a flag. Atrocious pace of play…disturbing to some of us old-timers.

At least many of you Trace McSorley (Penn State) fans got a thrill!

The rookie quarterback threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score, helping the Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-15 Thursday night for their 16th straight preseason win.

The game was stopped by the NFL with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter because of lightning after a short delay. Also because of lack of electricity in the game itself…a real dud.

Carson Wentz again sat out for the Eagles, but several starters saw their first action this summer, and 65-year-old Josh McCown made his debut after ending his brief retirement to play his 18th season.

With Ravens starter Lamar Jackson watching from the sideline and Robert Griffin III still out with a thumb injury, McSorley solidified his roster spot. The sixth-round pick from Penn State has also been practicing on special teams throughout training camp.

McSorley threw TD passes of 28 yards to Michael Floyd and 7 yards to Jaleel Scott. He scored on a run from 4 yards out.

(The teams held joint practices on Monday and Tuesday, giving both starting quarterbacks plenty of reps against the opposing defense in a controlled setting.)

McCown tossed a 20-yard TD pass to J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and a 9-yarder to Alex Ellis in the third quarter.

McCown was signed after the Eagles lost backup Nate Sudfeld and No. 3 quarterback Cody Kessler in the first two games. Kessler returned from a concussion suffered last week and was 3 of 5 for 34 yards.

This was a hideously orchestrated game. There were 24 penalties, including 17 in the first half. The Eagles committed 15.

The only really good news for both teams: no recurring or new injuries. Ravens rookie WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown was back on the field for the first time since suffering a Lisfranc injury at the end of his junior season with Oklahoma. The Ravens drafted Brown 25th overall. He caught three passes for 17 yards. He did good. For the Eagles: RB Corey Clement and S Rodney McLeod played for the first time since sustaining season-ending knee injuries last season. They did good.

Matchup Mercy rule favors Ravens over Eagles---but we all lost Mercy rule favors Ravens over Eagles---but we all lost
1st Downs 13 14
Passing 1st downs 6 9
Rushing 1st downs 4 3
1st downs from penalties 3 2
3rd down efficiency 6-12 4-12
4th down efficiency 0-0 1-2
Total Plays 49 50
Total Yards 243 262
Total Drives 10 10
Yards per Play 5.0 5.2
Passing 203 215
Comp-Att 19-29 20-30
Yards per pass 7.0 6.7
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Sacks-Yards Lost 0-0 2-11
Rushing 40 47
Rushing Attempts 20 18
Yards per rush 2.0 2.6
Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-3 2-2
Penalties 9-88 15-115
Turnovers 0 0
Fumbles lost 0 0
Interceptions thrown 0 0
Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0 0
Possession 22:00 26:17
I guess you could look at it glass-half-ass-full for the Eagles.
As Chris McPherson of PE.com noted, “what’s important is that the vast majority of the starters for the Eagles shook off the rust in what is likely their last game action before the regular-season opener on September 8. Running back Corey Clement and safety Rodney McLeod made their preseason debuts, as their comebacks from last year’s season-ending knee injury took another major step forward.”
Okay, I get that.
Also, quarterback Josh McCown played in his first game since signing with the Eagles last Saturday. He grew more comfortable as the game went along, finishing 17-of-24 for 192 yards with a pair of touchdowns. His highlight throw was a beautiful touch pass into the end zone for rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, a 20-yard score early in the third quarter.
But other than those intermittent Eagles highlights, the Ravens backups took charge of the action.
Justin Tucker put the Ravens on the board with a 49-yard field goal with 8:26 left in the first quarter, taking advantage of a turnover on downs from the Eagles’ offense when Kessler was sacked on a fourth-and-3.
Tucker added a 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Miles Boykin caught a pass from McSorley, shook off a tackle attempt from Rasul Douglas, and raced 42 yards down the left sideline to get into field goal range.
McSorley scored a touchdown on a 4-yard run with 11:41 remaining in the first half. Tight end Mark Andrews took a few Eagles defenders along for the ride on a catch-and-run for 25 yards to the Eagles’ 5-yard line. McSorley’s first touchdown throw was a 28-yard dime down the left sideline for Michael Floyd over Jeremiah McKinnon. An unsuccessful two-point conversion left it 19-0 with 6:35 to go in the first half.
McSorley’s second touchdown pass was a 7-yard touchdown to Jaleel Scott with the receiver isolated to the left side against McKinnon to make it 26-0 at halftime.
Tight end Alex Ellis was signed in the middle of Training Camp. A native of Delmar, Delaware, Ellis caught McCown’s second touchdown pass of the night, a 9-yard strike in the middle of the end zone. Maybe even more impressive is that Ellis made the tackle on the ensuing kickoff return. Ellis has eight NFL games under his belt in time with Jacksonville and Kansas City. With Richard Rodgers sidelined with an injury, there could be a roster spot open behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert.
Josh Adams punched in the two-point conversion following Ellis’ touchdown to make it 26-15.
Clayton Thorson entered the game at quarterback for the Eagles with 58 seconds left in the third quarter. Lightning flashed around Lincoln Financial Field at 10:13 p.m. Twenty-six minutes later the remainder of the game was terminated by the league.
The “other” Thor had seen enough of this corporate collusion…
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