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  • Lucky Liverpool? Possibly, but their spotless results make it hard to argue | Liverpool


    Liverpool this season have been very good at being good enough. There have been very few games in which they’ve dismantled the opposition. They have won fewer league games by more than three goals than Tottenham have, but ended the day nine points clear at the top with their closest rivals to play the defending champions on Sunday. If Liverpool do, as they surely will, go on to win the title, it will have been an old-fashioned sort of success, a league won not by the spectacular or the flamboyant but by consistency and calmness, by ruthless accumulation.

    This was Liverpool’s sixth 2-0 win in the league; more than a quarter of their games so far. It’s a scoreline that speaks of control, of winning games with a little to spare, taking freakish equalisers, ill luck and odd refereeing decisions out of the equation, without being flashy and demanding overexertion: 2-0 is the scoreline of champions. Arsenal, like Liverpool, began the season with a pair of 2-0 wins but, since then, they have won 2-0 only once.

    When optimistic Arsenal fans looked at the second half of the season and noted that Liverpool had some tricky away games to play, this was one of the fixtures they would have earmarked as having the potential to cost Arne Slot’s side points. Bournemouth had beaten not only Arsenal at home but also Manchester City and Nottingham Forest. And they could easily have taken a point off Liverpool, Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier clattering shots against the post.

    There has been a sense with Liverpool that they have played teams at the right time, just at the point when they are out of sorts or have key players missing.

    While there probably is some truth to that, it is also the case that Liverpool are very good at making opponents look as though they are in poor form. And nobody could have claimed that Bournemouth were not playing well before Saturday. If anything, their form was too good, having scored nine in their previous two games. Nobody can keep a shot conversion rate of 25% going for long. That Bournemouth got only three of 14 shots on target, two of those drawing excellent saves from Alisson, is perhaps a rare visible case of regression to the mean.

    Lucky Liverpool? Possibly – as even Slot acknowledged. Certainly the penalty they were awarded in the first half will raise eyebrows. That Cody Gakpo kicked the back of his own heel was clear; the question was whether he was nudged into doing so by Lewis Cook. At the very least the decision was soft. The offside decision that saw the equaliser David Brooks seemed to have scored before half-time ruled out was correct, but it was a close-run thing.

    Virgil van Dijk looked imperious at the back for Liverpool again. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

    But Liverpool’s second goal was one of rare quality, Curtis Jones beginning the break, catching up with it and feeding Mohamed Salah, who scored with the perfect finish, whipping the ball with very little backlift round Milos Kerkez and the stretching arm of Kepa Arrizabalaga and just inside the far post. It was a goal of efficiency and beauty, technically excellent and without the slightest needless embellishment and, as such, emblematic of Slot’s team as a whole.

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    It is true that they could easily have conceded, true that the shots that were flying in for Bournemouth over the past two weeks did not on Saturday – a process that culminated in the ferocious late drive from Tavernier that smashed into what might politely be termed the nether regions of Tyler Adams – but equally Liverpool defended with admirable composure.

    Virgil van Dijk, as so often, was a colossal figure, not only winning his duels with Dango Ouattara but radiating calm, constantly organising and cajoling. He is not only a very fine defender, arguably back to being the best centre-back in the league, but also a great leader. There has been rather less focus on Van Dijk than on the other two players who are out of contract in June, perhaps because he is 33, and perhaps because the assumption is that he is more likely than either Trent Alexander-Arnold or Salah to sign a new deal, but if he does leave he would be sorely missed, not only for what he himself offers but because he makes players around him better.

    Liverpool still have to go to Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Chelsea. They still have to play Arsenal at home. There are hurdles to be negotiated. But given the sides Bournemouth have beaten at the Vitality this season, this was a big obstacle ticked off. There are 15 games left. The title race is not over yet. But Liverpool felt a lot closer to the tape at the final whistle than they had at kick-off.



    Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Premier League has left many wondering if luck has played a role in their success. With multiple late goals and close matches going their way, it’s easy to see why some might question whether the Reds are truly as dominant as their record suggests.

    However, when you look closer at Liverpool’s performances this season, it’s hard to argue that luck has been the sole factor in their success. Their attacking prowess, solid defense, and ability to grind out results in tough matches all point to a team that is not just lucky, but also highly skilled and well-coached.

    From their thrilling comeback against Aston Villa to their hard-fought victories over top teams like Manchester City and Chelsea, Liverpool have shown time and time again that they have what it takes to come out on top in any situation.

    So while luck may have played a small role in Liverpool’s success this season, it’s clear that their spotless results are a result of their talent, determination, and ability to perform under pressure. As they continue their quest for the Premier League title, it’s safe to say that Liverpool’s success is more than just luck – it’s a testament to their skill and resilience as a team.

    Tags:

    Liverpool FC, Premier League, football, soccer, Champions League, sports, success, unbeaten, winning streak, top spot, dominance, luck, performance, analysis, opinion

    #Lucky #Liverpool #Possibly #spotless #results #hard #argue #Liverpool

  • Eagles News: “I would argue Cooper DeJean is simply the best defensive [rookie]”


    Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

    2024 NFL All-Rookie team: Daniels, Nabers, Bowers, Verse – ESPN+
    Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles: While he will not win Defensive Rookie of the Year, I would argue DeJean is simply the best defensive player on this list. The nickel defender in a Vic Fangio defense has historically been a seasoned veteran with tons of experience at different spots, such as Kareem Jackson or Jalen Ramsey. For DeJean to simply slide right into the role and create impact plays at the line of scrimmage, downfield in coverage and everywhere in between, is one of the most preposterous storylines of the season. DeJean is quick as a wink, a highly reliable tackler in space and an excellent communicator who immediately took control of the Eagles’ defensive checks after recovering from a preseason hamstring injury. There aren’t 10 slot defenders in the league I would take right now over DeJean.

    Eagles-Rams playoff preview: 18 things to watch in Sunday’s Divisional Round game – BGN
    1 – Saquon Barkley could be a hot knife through butter. Is this phrase practical at all? Do people really heat knives for this purpose? I don’t feel like I’ve witnessed that. Anyway, we all know Barkley absolutely dominated the Rams the last time these two teams played in Week 12. Barkley ran for 255 yards, setting a new single-game franchise record. He also caught four passes for 47 receiving yards to give him 302 total yards from scrimmage, which is also a single-game franchise record. One would think the Rams will be selling out to stop Barkley. They really need to make anybody but him beat them. That much is easier said than done, however, because the Rams’ run defense isn’t good.

    Analyzing the matchups that could define the NFL’s 2024 divisional round – PFF
    The last time the Eagles and Rams battled, Barkley put on a show with 255 yards and an 84.6 PFF rushing grade. If the Rams want a better outcome this time around, they’ll need to home in on tackling Barkley as early as possible. Much of Barkley’s success in that Week 12 contest was because of his Herculean play after contact. The All-Pro runner averaged a ridiculous 6.0 yards after contact per carry — still the most by any player with 20-plus carries in a game this year. Altogether, the Rams were responsible for an average of 4.1 yards after contact surrendered per carry in that Sunday Night Football clash, their second-worst single-game mark of the season. But Chris Shula’s defense has improved immensely in preventing rushing yards after contact as the season has endured. Since Week 8, the Rams have yielded the third-fewest rushing yards after contact (2.6) despite playing against Kenneth Walker III and James Cook. However, Los Angeles still ranks 18th in rushing EPA per play and 13th in success rate in that span, meaning not all run-defense holes have been patched.

    Analytics predicts winners for NFL playoff Divisional Round games – SB Nation
    Los Angeles Rams vs Philadelphia Eagles. Overall DVOA: Los Angeles 17th vs Philadelphia 5th. Offensive DVOA: Los Angeles 10th vs Philadelphia 13th. Defensive DVOA: Los Angeles 26th vs Philadelphia 1st. Edge: Eagles – Besides injuries, another variable that cannot be captured is championship experience. The Rams limped through the season but looked like contenders in the Wild Card round. If that LA team shows up this week, Philadelphia will have all they can handle. If the one that built the worst DVOA of any playoff team throughout the regular season is on the field, the Eagles should roll to victory.

    Can Sean McVay escape his Vic Fangio demons? – Turf Show Times
    Fangio has once again taken over the NFL defensively. He transformed Zack Baun into an inside linebacker. Baun leads the NFL in stops which is a tackle that has a negative impact on an opponent’s EPA. His two-high, quarters coverage is back. The Eagles use two-deep safeties at the second-highest rate in the NFL. Fangio even brought back the 6-1 front earlier this season against the Saints. Despite not playing aggressive up front and rushing with four, the Eagles are giving up the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt. Fangio forces quarterbacks to get the ball out quickly with short passes. He encourages teams to run the ball with lighter boxes, but this year he has a defensive front and linebackers capable of stopping the run. The way to beat Fangio is with a ‘death by 1,000 cuts’ approach. The Fangio defense is like a boa constrictor. Teams may move the ball easily at first, but as the game wears on, it starts to constrict and by the end, opposing offenses can barely breathe.

    Mailbag: Who would benefit more from a snow game, the Eagles or Rams? – PhillyVoice
    Question from @fandru (via Bluesky): Your guess, which team will benefit from 3 or more inches of snow falling on the field? I’m thinking the better offensive line and running game benefits? […] Philosophically, I have always felt that poor weather can serve as something of an equalizer, and that the better team should be hopeful for normal conditions. The inferior team should welcome more variables that can affect the outcome of the game. So, if you’re of the opinion that the Eagles are the better team, then philosophically, advantage Rams. But in this case, it’s hard to see many tangible advantages for the Rams in snowy weather.

    Focus – Iggles Blitz
    Good teams focus. They can put on blinders and ignore everything on the outside. Nick Sirianni has done a really good job this year of getting the Eagles to stay focused. They have only lost one game since September despite dealing with some oddball issues and situations. This team has been able to lock in. They’ll need to be able to do that on Sunday. The Rams played their best game of the year last week. They have been red hot for a while now. The only game they’ve lost since playing the Eagles was Week 18 when they rested their starters. Don’t be fooled by the Rams 10-7 record. Injuries killed them early on. Once they got healthy, they started winning. This should be a tough game. The Rams blowing out the Vikings was a favor to the Eagles. Seeing that kind of a performance certainly had to get the team’s attention and should help keep them focused. I don’t think they will overlook the Rams.

    The Best NFL Bets for the Divisional Round: Shut Up and Dance – The Ringer
    As long as Philadelphia is playing with a lead, it will lean on the run game and the defense. Both of these defenses are young and started the season slow, but since Week 6, they have excelled at preventing big plays. The Rams rank 12th in explosive play rate allowed, and the Eagles rank second. That will make for long, methodical drives throughout the game. Even though the Eagles offense struggled last week, it had a 13-play, seven-and-a-half-minute field goal drive to shorten the game in the second half. The defense has been first in EPA per drive, by a wide margin, since the bye week. The Eagles lost Nakobe Dean to injury, which hurts them there, but I suspect that Stafford will consistently be under duress in the adverse weather conditions. I like the under in both the first half and the full game. Verdict: Bet first half under 22.5 (-115) and full game under 44.5 (-118).

    NFL playoffs: Key matchups to watch in each NFC divisional round game – The Athletic
    Key matchup: Eagles interior rushers vs. Rams offensive line. Receiver Puka Nacua returned to the lineup in Week 8, but quarterback Matthew Stafford still has struggled against pressure despite having his top wideout. After Week 8, Stafford ranks 23rd in EPA per dropback when pressured. In Week 12, the Rams turned their attention and protection toward defensive tackle Jalen Carter, arguably the Eagles’ best defensive tackle. According to Telemetry Sports, Carter was double-teamed 29 times. Defensive tackle Milton Williams feasted against one-on-ones with three pressures and two sacks. On his first sack, he beat left guard Steve Avila on a bull rush. On his second, Carter spiked from the right to the left on a stunt and took two blockers with him, freeing up Williams. The Rams will likely have a similar protection plan because you can’t leave Carter one-on-one, meaning Avila will have to block Williams one-on-one again. How Avila fares against Williams will significantly impact Stafford. Though Stafford is still spry enough to elude pressure, interior pressure is especially hard on older quarterbacks.

    Spadaro: Oren Burks, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. know ‘it’s next man up, and we’re the next men’ – PE.com
    There is no blinking. Feeling empathy, sure, for a fallen brother, but for Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the defense must go on. And as they move forward to replace Nakobe Dean, injured in Sunday’s win over Green Bay and lost for the remainder of this postseason, both Burks – a seven-year veteran – and Trotter – a rookie – know they have jobs to perform. And that is the mindset they both have as the Eagles prepare for Sunday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams (3 PM, NBC) at Lincoln Financial Field. “Even though we haven’t played a lot this season because Nakobe and Zack (Baun) have done such a great job, we’ve taken mental reps,” Burks said. “We’ve stayed sharp. It’s tough to see Nakobe go down; he was playing great football. But the mentality you have to have is that it’s next man up, and we’re the next men.” The two started in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Giants – Burks led the defense with 17 total tackles, including two tackles for loss, and Trotter recorded 11 total tackles – and that playtime helped knock a season’s worth of rust off of them.

    Physical and nasty: How the Eagles found their identity – NBCSP
    Throughout the season, head coach Nick Sirianni has been taking the opportunity during team meetings to show video clips of plays that embody the Eagles’ physicality. All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun has a favorite. “The Cooper DeJean on Derrick Henry, for sure,” Baun said. “That’s the epitome of who we’re trying to be and what we’re trying to do.” Back in Week 13, the Eagles’ rookie nickel cornerback forcefully slammed the 250-pound running back into the turf in Baltimore. It didn’t matter that Henry out-weighed DeJean by 50 pounds, it didn’t matter that DeJean was a rookie, it didn’t matter that he’s a corner. DeJean still delivered a highlight-worthy hit. “When you talk about physicality, you think about defensive line and offensive line and running backs and linebackers,” Baun explained. “But when you got DBs doing stuff like that, it sends a message to the team. You see (Darius) Slay getting in there, you see Quinyon (Mitchell) up at the line of scrimmage, Reed (Blankenship is) coming and flying downhill. It’s awesome to see.”

    NFL Pro: Top four fantasy mismatches of 2025 Divisional Round – NFL.com
    A.J. Brown might not have had the 2025 playoff debut he expected, but a bounce-back opportunity is ripe for the picking this weekend. Brown’s Eagles draw a familiar foe in a Rams team that is playing inspired football for its city. In a Week 12 battle in Los Angeles, Brown snagged six of seven targets for 109 yards and a TD. Four of those six receptions (for 86 yards) came against CB Darious Williams , who lined up against Brown on 78.3% of the WR’s routes, per Next Gen Stats. Brown excels against man coverage, generating the second-most receiving yards (505) and most yards per route (4.2) against it this season. However, the Rams have trended toward a zone-heavy scheme, deploying zone coverage on a season-long average of 73.6% snaps per game. The good news for Brown is he has already proven he can beat Los Angeles’ zone as he went a perfect 3-3 on targets against zone in Week 12. Brown will certainly have his work cut out for him if he hopes to replicate that performance.

    Eagles fans raise money for victims of California wildfires – NBC10
    While Eagles fans are receiving nationwide criticism currently due to the caught-on-cam actions of one man, a group of Birds fans are changing the negative perception by lending a helping hand to victims of the California wildfires. An anonymous Eagles fan created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the victims ahead of the divisional round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

    Cooper Kupp uses prayer to cope with reduced role – PFT
    Since generating 1,947 receiving yards in 2021, Rams receiver Cooper Kupp hasn’t gotten back to 1,000 in any season. He had only 710 receiving yards in 2024. He last had a 100-yard game in the middle of November. Over the last four, he has a total of 82 receiving yards — with one catch for 29 yards in each of the last two contests. On Thursday, the Super Bowl LVI MVP was asked to explain how he copes with having a reduced role, given that he was once the focal point of the offense. “You pray a lot,” Kupp said. “You do a lot of prayer and meditation. It’s football in some respects. Statistically speaking, I’ve gone through similar things like this before. Back in 2019, I think I finished the last half of that season probably averaging less than 50 yards a game or something like that.”

    Commanders vs Lions Thursday Injury Report: One player ruled out as Washington gets healthy for the playoffs – Hogs Haven
    The Washington Commanders held their first full speed practice of the week inside the bubble today. Dan Quinn gave some positive injury updates before practice began, saying that LB Bobby Wagner and K Zane Gonzalez are good to go for Saturday’s road playoff game against the Detroit Lions. Wagner didn’t practice all week due to an ankle injury, but was doing individual drills today. Wagner is an important leader in the Commanders defense, and would have be hard to replace vs a very good Lions offense.

    NFL insider: Kellen Moore considered ‘a top target’ for Dallas Cowboys coaching job – Blogging The Boys
    It seems notable that Rapoport felt the need to clarify that Moore was at worst on an equal level with Sanders as far as chances for the job. You can see that Moore should be even given “probably more” deference which is really saying something. Perhaps the most interesting/worrisome thing is how Rapoport noted that the Cowboys don’t even really need to interview Moore. The point is fair and understood in that Dallas obviously knows him, but this sounds like something you say when a decision is already made. He has commanded inferior offenses since leaving. Mike McCarthy commanded an amazing one in the first year that he was gone. Those are fair things to ask questions about for the front office. Maybe they are. Perhaps this is all just talk. But whatever the case this seems like a significant thing to say and note relative to the Cowboys job.

    New York Giants coordinators get head-coaching opportunities in all-star games – Big Blue View
    New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will heave head-coaching roles in upcoming college all-star showcase games. Kafka will be the head coach for the National Team at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Bowen will coach the West squad in the East-West Shrine Game, a team that will include Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

    …

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    In a recent press conference, Eagles head coach praised rookie Cooper DeJean as the best defensive player on the team. DeJean, a highly touted rookie out of Iowa, has been making waves with his exceptional playmaking ability and football IQ. Coach emphasized that DeJean’s impact on the field has been nothing short of game-changing, and that his performance has exceeded all expectations for a rookie player. With the season in full swing, all eyes will be on DeJean as he continues to make a name for himself in the league. Stay tuned for more updates on this rising star as he continues to shine on the Eagles’ defense.

    Tags:

    1. Eagles News
    2. Cooper DeJean
    3. Defensive Rookie
    4. NFL
    5. Philadelphia Eagles
    6. Football
    7. Rookie Player
    8. Defensive Player
    9. Best Player
    10. Sports News

    #Eagles #News #argue #Cooper #DeJean #simply #defensive #rookie