#i won the helmet debacle

[emotionaloof]

so over a year ago my beloved friend @angelstones started writing a college au ghostknife fic that changed chemistry of my brain and also partially inspired me to write my own

the fic is finally here! and I can finally post the art (mostly old sketches) ive made for it over the months

please read it and send love to my friend, this is indeed a piece of art worth your time

[nyx3927]

 @musicfeedsmysoul12​ and @lurking96 this is both of y’all’s fault with that thread about how too many fics where Izuku jumps, gets a quirk and just make Bakugo regret it without any actual character change. Just: Izuku goes splat, and now Bakugo is an uwu soft boy who’s really sorry but had no character development visible.

Y’all both get some of the blame for this fic outline I created after a bang, chocolate, and on 2 hours of sleep. It’s still a really rough outline and I don’t have time to polish it up into an actual outline, draft, then fic with my summer classes and job right now. Enjoy my stream of thought with no filter

The Ripple

Izuku has a concussion from Bakugo attacking him at school so his eyesight is off. Everything else is the same up to when All Might leaves him on the roof.

The concussion fucked with his vision, balance, and depth perception. So he ended up accidentally stepping off the side of the building. (Hush, I know that there’s a railing. We’re pretending that when All Might jumped away from Izuku on the roof, he accidentally took like half of it with him.)

Crash, boom, blood. Ambulance carted him off to the hospital and that’s the last we see of Izuku for a while.

They don’t know that All Might was the one who got him up to the rooftop because the notebook with the signature was blown off the roof and into the river. By the time that it was found, it was nothing but mush and the writing was illegible, all runny and blurry. They also just assumed that a villain ripped the railing off in a previous battle and the owner hadn’t gotten it fixed yet.

Inko tells Mitsuki that they think it was suicide because he couldn’t have accidentally gotten up on the roof (No evidence of All Might). Katsuki hears that but refuses to tell anyone that he told Izuku to jump off a roof because that could hurt his chances of being a hero.

Entrance Exam

Fast-forward to the entrance exam, everything proceeds as canon except for the bits with Izuku, which never happened.

Uraraka is stuck under the boulder with the zero pointer bearing down on her. Canon shows no evidence of any pro except Present Mic at the site, and he was last seen at the gates so he isn’t close by to Uraraka.

Uraraka couldn’t escape from the boulder in time and the kill switch takes up to 30 seconds to receive and process. So, the robot steps on the boulder and crushes her leg. She’s rushed to Recovery Girl but the damage is so severe that they have to amputate a leg.

As compensation, UA takes care of all the medical bills and offers her a spot in the Hero Course at UA with her entire tuition paid for all 3 years. Uraraka accepts to make it easier financially on her parents, so she shows up to the first day of classes with a prosthetic leg that she painted pink in an effort to make it less sad.

Quirk Assessment

A random extra is put into 1-A, but they and Mineta are promptly expelled. The extra just didn’t try at all, relying upon the idea that the teacher wouldn’t actually expel anyone on the first day. Mineta was just too pervy/not heroic enough so he got the boot.

Aizawa was reminded of the death of Oboro when Uraraka nearly got crushed, so he’s on high alert to expel those that he believes would never be good at heroics/ would just get themselves killed. Extra not trying and Mineta just focusing on being a perv, made him convinced they would get killed so he just expelled them straight away [No readmission for them]

This shocked Momo who thought he was bluffing and made her more cognizant of the fact that not everyone plays by the same rules as her.

Battle Trial

Battle trials happen. Momo and Uraraka are paired up together and fight twice in the trials. They won both times because Uraraka floated the bomb and Momo in the fight against Todoroki so that it was impossible for Todoroki to capture them. They win against Iida and Bakugo because Uraraka takes advantage of Iida’s unwillingness to hurt someone he views as disabled/helpless and knocks him out with a bat from Momo, then touches the bomb, Momo just created water and soaked Bakugo so he couldn’t use his Quirk and then ran from him.

All other trials proceeded as in canon.

USJ

Since Tsuyu is the only one in the Water Zone [Midoriya not in the story and Mineta expelled], she just went straight for the shore and got back to the entry area via the river. She witnesses the entire beatdown of Aizawa and his fighting, so she’s very traumatized. But because she’s amphibious and is completely underwater [In my hcs, she can breathe underwater as long as water can access most of her skin. So her suit is very permeable and water can get through it], Shigaraki never sees her and so he doesn’t try to kill her.

Rest of the USJ goes as canon dictates including Aizawa getting his head smashed by the Nomu

Sports Festival

Because 1-A has 2 less students, only the first 40 to get to the finish line can pass on. Todoroki ended up getting first place by icing over Bakugo’s legs at the tunnel entrance. Everyone else that originally passed in canon, also passed.

All the teams are the same, except for Uraraka’s team which doesn’t have Midoriya, and Shoji’s who doesn’t have Mineta.

Bakugo is going after Todoroki instead of Uraraka’s team because he’s focused on snagging the winning headband. 

Uraraka uses her Quirk on her team and they just hang out in the sky for awhile, since after the boulder, she practiced to be able to lift more weight so that never happens again. 

Shoji’s team is the same as canon, especially because Mineta never actually did anything important to the team.

Todoroki never uses his fire because he used his ice to create a dome that kept everyone else away from his team. Bakugo runs around stealing other headbands since he can’t get to Todoroki.

At the end of the round, Todoroki is in first, Bakugo is second, Uraraka is third and Shinso is fourth.

Ojiro and Shoda both drop out citing the fact that they couldn’t remember the event as the reason. Shiozaki Ibara and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu replace them

So now we have the 1v1 battles with the following students.

Uraraka Ochako

Tokoyami Fumikage

Hatsume Mei

Bakugo Katsuki

Kirishima Eijiro

Ashido Mina

Sero Hanta

Todoroki Shoto

Iida Tenya

Yaoyorozu Momo

Kaminari Denki

Shinso Hitoshi

Aoyama Yuga

Shiozaki Ibara

Tetsutetsu Tetsutestu

Shinso gets a free pass onto the next round because he is a gen ed student so they wanted to allow him the best chance possible and it’s better for the optics of UA for watchers to see a hero student beating up another hero student instead of a gen ed kid.

Todoroki v. Sero -Todoroki won ala iceberg

Kaminari v. Shiozaki  -Kaminari won by sending electricity through her hair and knocking her out because Aizawa forced him to start thinking outside of the box after he nearly died during the USJ [shiozaki has to have nerves to control her vines and nerves have electricity traveling through them. So they’re a conductor and Kaminari can send his electricity down them]

Iida v. Hatsume -He doesn’t accept her gadgets and just pushes her out of bounds. After the Uraraka debacle in his battle trial, he realizes that he can’t just go off his perceptions and has to be wary of them.

Ashido v. Aoyama - Ashido won

Tokoyami v. Yaoyorozu - Yaoyorozu won by creating an explosion of light and blinding them, then pushing them out of the ring. Uraraka taught her to take advantage of what she can do and Aizawa forced her to realize that others don’t have the same rules.

Tetsutetsu v. Kirishima - Kirishima won by charging Tetsutetsu and knocking him out of the ring. Again Aizawa forced him to not just behave as a shield because of the USJ

Uraraka v. Bakugo -Uraraka won by taking off her prosthetic, leaving it as a decoy and floating herself so that he couldn’t hear her coming, and the dust from his explosions had blinded him. She tackled him from above and hurled him out of bounds. He got a concussion and Recovery Girl forced him to stay in the infirmary.

Todoroki v. Shinso -Shinso won by coming after Todoroki’s weak spot and making him talk

Iida v. Kaminari -Kaminari won by shocking Iida’s engines when he tried to grab him. Made him collapse, and then just dragged him out of bounds.

Tokoyami v. Ashido- Tokoyami won by Dark Shadow kicking her out of bounds

Uraraka v. Kirishima -Uraraka won by preying on Kirishima’s desire for manliness and to not hurt a girl. Got close enough to float him and then just push him out of bounds. Aizawa has plans to lecture Kirishima about when to be manly and when to not be.

Shinso v. Kaminari -Shinso won. He could tell that Kaminari was a memelord, so he just took advantage of that and said a meme that Kaminari couldn’t resist completing. [Don’t know what yet, I’ll figure it out later]

Tokoyami v. Uraraka -Tokoyami won. Uraraka lost because she couldn’t use her Quirk on Dark Shadow and Dark Shadow was the one to attack her. [See doc of quirk analysis for more in depth in case we forget]

Shinso v. Tokoyami -Shinso won by mirroring Tokoyami’s speech patterns which knocked him off guard and got him caught into Shinso’s Quirk.

Shinso got first place, Tokoyami got second, Uraraka and Kaminari shared third place.

Hero names

Todoroki -Shoto

Bakugo -King Explosion

Iida -Tenya

Uraraka -Weightless [As a pun on weigh less because of her amputation and her quirk. She’s not quite as bubbly and didn’t feel like uravity reflected her anymore]

Tsuyu -Froppy

Kirishima -Red Riot

Yaoyorozu -Creati [I really want to change this but I don’t know to whaaaat!!! I’ll come back to it later]

Tokoyami -Tsukuyomi

Jiro -EarJack

Shinso -Silencer [Stupid but his quirk makes people silent plus I love MLB silencer design of the , not the helmet tho that is ugly looking and the coloring needs to be more muted imo]

Internships

Shinso gets an internship with Aizawa to assess whether or not he’s fit for heroics. Aizawa also prescreens all of his students' internships to make sure that it’s a good fit for them. [He’s a lot more protective of where they because he wants them to be actually learning useful heroics not shit like how to clean and pose for a camera.]

Mirko offers an internship to Uraraka because she wanted to teach a fighting girl that was perceived as helpless by society. [Society views disabled as helpless, a girl is also viewed as helpless, both is bad combination. Mirko wants to prove anyone can be badass with the right training]

Yaoyorozu gets put with Fatgum because Aizawa sees that she’s struggling with the fat part of her Quirk and knows that if she went with Uwabami, she’d develop more insecurities. [Uwabami is a TV actress/model. She’ll pass on weight/beauty related insecurities because that’s what a lot of actresses have and she seems focused more on a fanbase]

Kirishima goes with Rock Lock to be faced with the blunt truth that ideals are nice, but you can’t have them rule your life as a hero. [Canonly, he’s very blunt and pragmatic, so he’d believe that trying to be manly is fine, but there is a time and place for it.]

Everyone else goes with their canon internships.

The Nomus attack Hosu. Because Gran Torino isn’t there, the Nomus are more dangerous and more civilians die. All the heroes are focused exclusively on managing the Nomus and the interns kinda fall to the wayside since they can’t do anything.

Iida slips away and Manual is too busy putting out fires to notice.

Iida runs off and finds Stain. Battle commences and Iida loses.

Stain calls him and Native fake heroes. Native gets a sliced throat. Stain is a little more lenient with Iida because he is a kid. He goes through the fabric pants and slices the femoral artery to the bone. [Femoral artery cuts can lead to death within minutes especially with Iida running on adrenaline which kicks up the blood pressure and rate of bleeding.]

Endeavour comes through with Shoto burning all the nomus and destroying them. Finally the city is quiet and the search for the dead begins.

Every hero in Hosu grid searched the entire city to retrieve the dead and bring them to the morgue for claiming. 

Manual was the one to find his dead intern and Native. He had to call UA and tell them that he got a student killed while under his supervision. He gets blacklisted by UA and Aizawa puts out a warning on the Underground network that if others are under his care, that he might lose track of them.

Once everyone returned from their internships, they left red spider lilies on his desk as a way to guide him to the afterlife.

Training Camp

The villains still want Bakugo because they saw his aggression, violence, and determination to be the best during the sports festival and the internships. So they think he’d be an easy switch to flip.

This time, Aizawa doesn’t dump them out in the middle of the forest because he’s focusing on forcing his students to interact and bond with each other instead of doing their own thing. So they all stay on the bus and Aizawa makes them talk about something semi-important with a seat partner for 10 minutes before switching so that everyone talks to more than just their friend groups.

When they arrive, Kota is his bratty self and Aizawa shuts that down fast. He tells him that he has two options, one: stay with his aunts and uncle or two: stay with Aizawa. Aizawa can’t have an itty-bitty child running around loose in the forest when 17 hormonal teenagers are letting off their Quirks which are dangerous. [it was an awful idea in canon to let Kota hide in his treehouse. Imagine if one of the kids near the mountain lost control of their quirk.] Kota chooses to stay with his aunts and uncle at all times because Aizawa is scary.

Once the training starts, he pairs everyone up with different partners to force their Quirks to improve.

Ashido-Kirishima to strengthen her acid and his hardening by hurling acid at him

Tokoyami-Kaminari-Aoyama to force Aoyama to maintain his laser beam for longer, Tokoyami to force him to strengthen Dark Shadow against light, Kaminari to power multiple light sources without burning them out and not going into whee mode so he can avoid the laser beam and Dark Shadow

Ojiro-Koda to force Koda to vary the animals that he calls and Ojiro to give him experience with fending off multiple opponents of varying sizes and skill levels without seriously injuring them.

Todoroki-Bakugo-Tsuyu to force Todoroki to be able to control both sides of his quirks and switch them easily, Tsuyu to force her to get accustomed to varying temperatures and making sure they don’t knock her out, Bakugo to force him to sweat more in both cold and hot temperatures so that he’s more versatile.

Jiro-Shoji-Hagakure to force Hagakure to improve her stealth and fighting, Jiro to make her be able to detect people sneaking up on her, and Shoji to improve his locating skills and stealth. [Shoji is a big boy and needs to work on stealth]

Sero-Sato to help Sero with his dodging and speed, and Sato to help him retain more of his planning and forethought while his Quirk is activated

Uraraka-Yaoyorozu to make Uraraka work on her sickness and weight limits and Yaoyorozu to adapt to planning on the fly and create items quickly.

Aizawa forces them to break away from their training partners when it’s time to make dinner and everyone is required to help in some way during the meal. The help can be gathering the ingredients, preparing them, doing the actual cooking, plating, setting the table, cleaning up after, anything as long as they contributed.

Repeat until the trial of courage.

Vlad wants to do the trial and Aizawa refuses to do it. Aizawa is actively trying to squash out the competitiveness of his students in order to make them work together and ask for help so that they’ll survive longer in the hero society. Uraraka lost a leg because people wouldn’t cooperate to help her in the entrance exam and Iida died because he was too focused on himself and didn’t ask for help. The trial would just reignite the competitiveness and ruin his progress.

1-B does the trial on their own while 1-A is given a maze they have to navigate.

The maze is created by Pixie Bob and is huge. It’s large enough that the students on the ground can’t peek over the walls to see the path. There are two students on the ground, the leader and the guide. The leader can see the walls and the turns but has earplugs in so they can’t hear the guide if the guide tries to talk. The guide can hear the directions from the person who sees the entire maze but is blindfolded and has to guide through tapping the shoulders of the leader. The person outside and looking down has to direct their team through the maze quickly without crashing into other teams. The leader can’t just guess a direction because Pixiebob will shift the maze if they try to do that so they can’t backtrack. It’s in teams of three so Aizawa is directing the last team. [Kinda inspired by survivor but with my own twist]

All of them rotate through each position with different teams each go round to impress on them the importance of all the roles.

In the last round, Bakugo was the person issuing instructions, cursing and screaming through the mic the entire time.

That’s when the villains attacked. But there were a few changes in the lineup. 

Toga wasn’t there because the police picked her up and Inko got her case taken on to get her on parole and took her into her home when she saw her at the station while continuing with the criminal charges levied against the owner of the building that Izuku had fallen off of. The appearance of a girl bullied and ostracized for her Quirk, who was going down the path of no return, Inko saw Izuku in her. As such, she wanted to care for her and show her that villainy wasn’t the answer and that there are people who cared for her in spite of her blood Quirk. [Toga is stuck with Inko at this point in time and has a tracking anklet to make sure that she’s behaving. Rehab is going really well with the unconditional care that Inko is providing.]

Dabi got an infection and landed in the hospital ER as an unknown patient and wound up in a coma while his body was busy trying to fight the infection of his staples. [The man’s a walking open wound. You can sneeze in his general vicinity and have a high chance of taking him down in a couple weeks. Haven’t decided if I want to wake him up or not. Depends on my feelings]

Mustard joined the attack via Toga due to them being closer in age and talking. No Toga, no Mustard. [He’s sulking in detention right now.]

So the only ones left are Mr. Compress, Magne, Spinner, Muscular, Moonfish, Twice and the Nomu. Much smaller and no long-range attacks.

Their mission is to get in, extract Bakugo and get out with minimal damage. That’s what happened.

Muscular, Moonfish, and the Nomu all rampage on the opposite side of the mountain to draw attention to them. Magne and Spinner break up the 1-A class and drive them apart. Twice and Mr. Compress work together to snatch up Bakugo in a marble and then they all book it. Muscular and Moonfish are both left behind to keep the heroes distracted long enough for them to get back to Kurogiri and through the portal. Nomu ended up buried in a mountain via a very anger Tiger at the disruption of his naps. The students all worked together to try and bring down the villain to retrieve their classmate, but when that failed, Yaoyorozu managed to attach a tracker to the villains top hat.

Injuries were minimal and the three heavy hitting villains were arrested and locked up. The only casualty was Bakugo being kidnapped.

Kidnapping Arc

Blah, blah, join us you can be stronger and win a villain-Shigaraki

No, fuck off, go fuck yourselves-Bakugo

Repeat until All Might shows up

Then AfO activates goop Quirk [really need a better name for that. better than vomit transport quirk at least. That was my first thought], drags the league and Bakugo to him. Bakugo is held by him, hand on his temple ready to crush him.

Rest of Heroes all show up on the battlefield but aren’t moving so that Bakugo doesn’t get hurt. Essentially a stand off.

You know, you can tell whether or not someone has the potential for villainy by their greatest regret -AfO

AfO has a quirk that allows the user to see someone’s greatest regret, with more details the longer that the quirk is activated. He also has a quirk that allows him to project whatever he’s thinking about in a video format for everyone to see. [the man is old. he probably had a habit of taking whatever quirk he wanted when he was younger before all might turned him into a very ugly potato/alternate darth vader]

Quirks activate and it’s the scene of Bakugo telling Izuku to get jump off a building spliced with the news from Inko that Izuku was suspected of jumping off a building

Interesting. Why is that your greatest regret?-AfO

Quirk gives him more details. 

Bakugo only regrets saying that because if it ever became public, he'd never reach the spot of number one hero which is his only goal in life.

Guess you are nothing but a villain after all. Too obsessed with yourself to see the damage you caused.-Afo 

Afo shoved the boy away from him and forcibly activated Kurogiri’s Quirk to allow the league to escape.

Every hero on site is frozen in shock at the reveal of what a hero student of UA, the most prestigious hero school that graduated most of the top heroes in Japan, actually believed.

At that point, AfO flips All Might the finger and just goes through the portal because the news would shake society’s faith in UA which is really good. He can kill All Might later. [or just wait for any infection to take the man out. He lost his stomach so he probably lost his spleen too which is kinda important for the immune system.]

Fallout

Bakugo is booted to gen ed because Aizawa refused to teach someone that was just going to end up hurting someone later in life. Because Aizawa is an Underground Hero who specializes in information and predication, schools tend to believe in what he says about the potential/future of heroes in training especially when he has evidence to back up his beliefs. So no other school will take him on as a hero student.

Bakugo is essentially blacklisted from heroics because everyone wants to believe that a hero is good and just. And when the illusion is broken before it has a chance to solidify, they have no chance of becoming a hero. 

Aizawa goes and apologizes in person to Inko. Because even though he had no way of knowing, he feels like he should have recognized the abusive tendencies and/or egocentrism  of Bakugo earlier. So, allowing it to continue was a slap in the face to his victims.

Inko accepts his apology because she didn’t know about it either so how could she blame him when she was closer and still missed all the signs. She offers to let Aizawa visit Izuku because Eraserhead was one of his favorite heroes because of how much skill he had. But because Eraserhead was underground, he didn’t have any merch or enough information to write about him.

*Split path here depending on the angst level I want

1. Izuku is in a coma, all healed up, just hasn’t woken up. When they came, Izuku had just woken up a half hour ago so the doctors were busy checking all his vitals, memory, joints, etc. Inko cries, Aizawa stands away because he’s allergic to emotions, and Izuku is just silently fanboying because he sees one of his favorite heroes.

2.Izuku is in a coma and doesn’t wake up. Inko introduces Aizawa to him and tells Aizawa about his dreams and his story. Aizawa makes sure that at least once a week, he comes and visits to talk to him. He also brings other heroes to introduce to Midoriya to make sure that others know about him.

3.Aizawa and Inko go to a graveyard and the name Midoriya Izuku is carved into a family grave marker with flowers and an All Might figure in front of it. Inko tells Aizawa that Izuku died from falling from the building. They thought he jumped randomly, but with the new info, Inko is thinking that Bakugo might’ve pushed him verbally over the edge. Aizawa promises to investigate more.

[carapeace]

She smiled and shook her head at the screen. Her kitty was strange sometimes. He excelled in poorly timed puns and always tried to surprise her with a pickup line. He loved roses and tended to swing his tail when he was bored. Ladybug knew, from several identity patrols, that he liked video games and movies but liked reading just as much. He loved to stargaze, had an action figure of every superhero including the one-off ones, and once he even told her that story of him wandering the streets of Paris in an astronaut helmet. (Though he hadn’t told her why. Ladybug supposed it breached the identity rule.)

But nothing matched the sheer chaos he exuded when playing Among Us.

(aka a weird fever dream thing that my midnight brain came up with)

ladybubs [pink] joined the lobby. catnerd [black] joined the lobby.

catnerd: evening mlady ladybubs: yo

foxy lady [orange] joined the lobby. turtle man [lime] joined the lobby. vye pier ee on [green] joined the lobby. Ryuko [red] joined the lobby.

Ryuko: hello!

Pegasus [white] joined the lobby. time bunny [cyan] joined the lobby. king kong [brown] joined the lobby.

king kong: hell yeah i’m ready!!

There are 2 Impostors among us. 

Ryuko: Can someone explain to me how you play this game?  turtle man: just do your tasks  foxy lady: click the map foxy lady: go to the exclamation points foxy lady: and just do what it tells you to do Ryuko: ok 

It had all been Chat’s idea. He’d wanted everyone to drop their discord so they could go on voice, but Ladybug had vehemently declined, citing identity reasons. Chat hadn’t pressed. 

-DEAD BODY REPORTED- Discuss! 

turtle man: where  vye pier ee on: nav  Ryuko: King monkey is dead? ladybubs: looks like it catnerd: i saw lb headed there catnerd: its her ladybubs: no i never went there foxy lady: skip? vye pier ee on has voted. foxy lady has voted. time bunny: i was still swiping my card turtle man: anyone who can’t get their card swipe on the first try is simply inferior time bunny: wow way to flex turtle man: i’m just built different time bunny has voted. catnerd: im telling you it’s ladybug  catnerd has voted.  ladybubs: idk black sus turtle man: she makes a fair point ladybubs has voted. turtle man has voted. Ryuko: Who do I vote for? vye pier ee on: who do you think is the impostor? Ryuko: Chat Noir catnerd: WHAT Ryuko has voted. Pegasus has voted.

No one was ejected. (Skipped)

Ryuko was doing a wonderful job playing dumb. Kagami Tsurugi was a lot of things, but she was not inexperienced. She came to win. She always came to win. But they didn’t have to know that. Marinette knew the game better than any of them, with the possible exception of Chat. She came to win, too. The two of them were an absolutely unstoppable team. Except for one thing: her lovable catboy kept getting in the way...

-EMERGENCY MEETING- Discuss!

catnerd: LSLDKIJFDKS foxy lady: what turtle man: seriously i was almost done with simon says catnerd: ITLSDK LADYBSUG ladybubs: i just caught chat noir faking a task so he called a meeting to try and blame it on me catnerd: SHE JSUT VENTED RIHGT IN FRONT OF MKE ladybubs: see Ryuko: Hmmm looks quite suspicious vye pier ee on: skip, i wanna do my tasks ladybubs: im voting chat he’s making himself sus ladybubs has voted. vye pier ee on has voted. time bunny has voted. time bunny: sorry chat youve gotta go Pegasus: Do you even have an alibi?? catnerd: i was in reactor and she vented in to try and find a kill ladybubs: nah Pegasus has voted. foxy lady has voted. turtle man has voted. catnerd has voted. Ryuko has voted.

No one was ejected. (Skipped)

Adrien ground his teeth in frustration. As much as he hated selling out his lady, he hated not being listened to even more. But he had one thing against him: he was terrible at this game. He could never convince people to trust him - he couldn’t play the social aspect of it without sounding suspicious. And Ladybug knew it. She’s playing the long game, he realized. He’d have to outsmart her if he wanted to beat her. And he knew he could never outsmart her. He sighed. The best he could do was stir up chaos, and stirring up chaos was what Chat Noir did best.

-DEAD BODY REPORTED- Discuss!

foxy lady: dang double kill ladybubs: rip viperion and carapace foxy lady: where was it ladybubs: electrical foxy lady: ah catnerd: YOU GUYS IM TELLING YOU ITS LADYBUG foxy lady: youve been a lil sus catboy foxy lady: where have you been all this time? catnerd: TRAILING LLADYBUG!!! ladybubs: he was following me around the whole map ladybubs: i only missed him when someone turned out the lights foxy lady: well if you were following her the whole time she couldn’t have been impostor Ryuko: It’s true. Chat does seem quite sus. ladybubs has voted. catnerd has voted. catnerd: vote lb if you value your lives Ryuko has voted. foxy lady has voted. Pegasus has voted.

Chat Noir was not An Impostor. 2 Impostors Remain.

Victory - Ladybug, Ryuko

Adrien shouted a surprised “goddammit” so loudly that a sleep-deprived Nathalie, feverishly working one floor down, jumped in her chair.

Marinette cackled so evilly that Tikki, who had been in her dollhouse resting, came to peer over her shoulder, making sure she wasn’t about to become the next Hawkmoth.

And Kagami Tsurugi just smiled to herself, in the dark on her phone way after her bedtime, a cool smile that comes from the rush of victory.

Play again?

New lobby

ladybubs joined the lobby. catnerd joined the lobby.

catnerd: DAMMIT BUG

Ryuko joined the lobby. turtle man joined the lobby. foxy lady joined the lobby.

turtle man: wow. WOW. foxy lady: RYUKO??? Ryuko: B-)

king kong joined the lobby.

king kong: i always get killed off first ladybubs: nothing personal man

vye pier ee on joined the lobby. time bunny joined the lobby. Pegasus joined the lobby.

time bunny: wow ryuko you are cutthroat vye pier ee on: i gotta admit you two really had me Pegasus: Agreed. ladybubs: *high five* Ryuko: ? ladybubs: high five me back!! Ryuko: *high five* ladybubs: !!! ladybubs: ok can i start king kong: yeah

There are 2 Impostors among us.

-EMERGENCY MEETING- Discuss!

foxy lady: oh come on what now catnerd: it’s ladybug turtle man: oh not again vye pier ee on: you serious man??

Marinette was tempted to make a voice chat, just to hear Chat Noir’s reaction when he found out who the impostor was. She’d pay for a ticket to see his face. She could almost picture it now - eyes wide, mouth open with shock, eyebrows furrowed with the indignation of betrayal.

Adrien was a man on a mission, and for some reason, even after last game’s debacle, nobody ever seemed to trust him. 

catnerd has voted. foxy lady has voted. turtle man has voted. vye pier ee on has voted. Ryuko has voted. Pegasus has voted. king kong has voted. time bunny has voted.

Pegasus: Rena’s pretty sus too. foxy lady: the game literally just started chat called the meeting just to get ladybug out ladybubs: and it’s not gonna work. catnerd: beware the bug!! ladybubs: ha ha. everyone knows the cat scratches harder. catnerd: wanna bet? ladybug: actually, yes. i’ll beat you into the dirt. catnerd: oh it’s on vye pier ee on: it’s never wise to challenge ladybug in anything man catnerd: >:3 ladybubs: >:3 turtle man: knock off your flirting and vote ladybug ladybubs has voted.

It was cute, how much he got into the game, Marinette decided. Even if he’d never beat her. She was a master strategist. She knew how to play the social game. She’d win every time. Still. It was adorable how he thought he could hold a candle to that. She held back a giggle as she watched him reply in the chat, thinking of how his face must have looked, challenging her.

Adrien was going to expose Ladybug and win this time. I mean, they couldn’t eject him every time, right? He was bound to win, one way or another. Even though he never won any games he played with her. This one was his for the taking. It’s on, Bug.

catnerd was not An Impostor.

[katsen13]

Second Chance

Feel free to reblog, but please do not repost to other sites without permission first.

General Content: Angst, moodiness. Time travel (please excuse any plotholes I may have missed). Not 100% canon, obviously.

References: The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War. *MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THESE MOVIES.*

Chapter-Specific Content: Angst, mention of loss.

Summary: Once in the Quantum Realm, Tony lays out the plan for Loki.

If I miss any tags, please let me know!

*Click here for Chapter 3.*

*Second Chance Masterlist*

CHAPTER 4

     [Quantum Realm] Loki’s eyes widened in shock before a blinding flash forced them closed as he and Tony rapidly shrunk. When he reopened them, he looked around. As his eyes adjusted, he glimpsed events of the past and future floating by him.

     “Welcome to the Quantum Realm.” Tony gestured grandly, still by Loki’s side. “Don’t ask, it’s more of a headache than it’s worth and I probably wouldn’t understand you anyway.” Loki rolled his eyes. Above him, he noticed an alternate future version of himself in his Jotun form, ruling over Jotunheim. No sooner than he blinked, it was gone. He looked down at Tony questioningly.

     “Yeah, it takes getting used to.” Tony grimaced. Loki looked at Stark flatly and motioned to his gag. Stark reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He removed the shackles, allowing Loki to take off the gag. Loki took a deep breath in and massaged his jaw.

     “Thank you.” He looked at Stark coolly. “Now, why am I here again? You already replaced the mind stone with a fake. I demand you return me at once!”

     “Really?” Tony shot Loki a confused, sideways look. “I mean as far as curbs go, I’ve seen nicer...”

     “Do not play games with me mortal. I am the trickster god, you will not win.” Loki seethed, the intensity in his voice and eyes growing.

     Unfazed, Tony raised a finger. “Again,” he corrected, blinking. “You mean I won’t win again. But that’s beside the point.”

     “And what, pray tell, is the point of all this?” Loki forced through gritted teeth.

     Tony took a deep breath and explained. “After Thanos won, I had plenty of time to sit and think. I ran through all the calculations with some colleagues over and over again, and we found a way that we could win. We need to replace as many of the stones as we can with fakes, but not just any fakes. The fakes have to be so good that Thanos won’t know they aren’t real until it’s too late. He has to be able to use them individually. That’s where you come in.”

     Tony turned to face Loki. “Besides Thanos himself, you’re the one who came into contact with more infinity stones than anyone else. You know what they look like and most importantly, you have the ability to create convincing replicas of them.”

     “Oh?” Loki asked with mock interest. “You and your colleagues did some research? Then how many stones exactly must you replace?”

     “As many as possible,” Tony replied testily. “Ideally, all of them, but if you must know, three would be a minimum.”

     “I still fail to see what I get out of this.” Loki arched his eyebrows apathetically, almost mockingly. “I have other ways of getting revenge on Thanos.”

     “Really? Would you like to see how well those work out for you?” Stark questioned Loki rhetorically. He pulled Loki along to a series of scenes a short distance ahead of them. Loki recognized them as different variations of the future.

     “See?” Tony asked as they approached the various scenes. “Here he turns your helmet into a pike and impales you on it. There your head adorns the top of his staff,” Tony quickly glanced at Loki, pointing at the scenes, his agitation growing as he continued. “Also made of your helmet. There you get fed to a giant wolf. Oh, and my personal favorite,” Tony grinned sarcastically, not even trying to hide his utter contempt for Loki anymore. “Chained to Thanos’ throne like a pet. That’s the only version of your revenge in which you survive, by the way.”

     Loki fell silent before looking away, thinking of all the futures he had just seen. Death meant nothing to him; it was something that came for all eventually, and he had already cheated Death before. No, the one that troubled him was the last one. The throne Thanos was sitting on was one he knew all too well, the throne that as kids, he and Thor would chase each other around until Odin shooed them away- the throne of Asgard. Loki knew full well what that vision meant. He would see Asgard in ruin before he let its rule fall to one such as Thanos.

     Tony hovered next to Loki, his muscles easing as the tension ebbed from his body with his anger spent. Tony closed his eyes. His head was throbbing and he was growing more and more tired. He had been warned about the effects of being in the Quantum Realm for too long. He didn’t need the feeling of guilt on top of that, let alone guilt for Loki. Having regained his composure, he sighed and opened his eyes. “The path we’re going to take, the one we must take... it’s not going to be easy. There will be loss- great loss- but if we are to save the universe, there’s just no other way.”

     Loki slowly lifted his head to meet Tony’s gaze with his own tired eyes. “What do you need from me?”

     Stark indicated a timeline directly ahead of them. Loki could just make out a familiar hall from the palace on Asgard. “Thor and I talked before he left after our evil robot debacle.” Loki cocked an eyebrow with a sudden hint of mischievous, amused interest. Stark rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “It’s a long story. Anyway, he told me about the Aether and your guys’ old family friend Malekith. You’re going to take over right here and deal with the Aether accordingly when you get it.” Loki looked where Tony indicated, then turned back to him skeptically.

     “And what about back there?” Loki gestured with a hand back the way they had come. At that point he had no idea if their time was back in that direction or not, with the way everything was constantly drifting and moving around them in the Quantum Realm, but he knew Stark would understand what he was saying.

     “Your illusions of course. Didn’t you know they work across dimensions and timelines?” Tony asked.

     “I suspected,” Loki replied. Tony shot him a doubtful, smug look. “It’s not like I’ve had many opportunities to test it.” Loki gave Stark a dry, flat look.

     Tony shrugged. “I’ll give you that. I only know because I saw it happen here.”

     Loki opened his mouth to say something, but he was stunned by the realization of what Tony had just said. While he hadn’t met many humans, the man who was undoubtedly the most arrogant human Loki had ever met, or would ever meet, just admitted to having not known something. Loki never believed that it would be possible.

     Slowly, Loki turned back to the scene of Asgard in front of them. “And how exactly are we going to handle him?” Loki questioned Stark coolly, indicating the portal with a nod.

     Tony just smiled as he prepared to engage the suit. “If anyone knows what you want, it’s you.

@parkerspicedlatte @therandomnessofages @geekofmanythings16

[tk-duveraun]

The Same Moonlight 8/?

Title: The Same Moonlight Fandom: SWTOR Rating: M - Implied sexual content Genre: Romance & Drama Summary: Cakara’s life has been a combination of bad luck and bad choices. She’s on her second fresh start, but maybe this one isn’t as fresh as she thought it would be. Parts: one two three four five six Notes: This won the poll over on my Patreon for February.

Cakara flinches the moment she leaves her ship’s gangway. There’s something heavy and wrong in the air. Aran reaches out and touches her shoulder, his expression is tight with concern, but before he can ask what’s wrong, the unnatural crackle of Force lightning overpowers the regular camp noises. They share surprised glances before sprinting off towards the sound.

While Cakara could easily outspeed her partner, she doesn’t want to reach the dar’jetii alone. She can’t imagine how a Forcer found the yaim, let alone got close enough to start any kind of attack with Fox in residence, but maybe he’s out on a mission like Cakara had been. Even though no one in the camp seems alarmed or worried, Cakara and Aran don’t slow as they race through their milling family.

They make it through the entire camp and come out on the opposite end where the training grounds are sectioned off. Aran crashes bodily into Ty’lk while Cakara manages to contort her body to slip between Skauris and Morathis as she skids to a halt.

Vee and Aquilla are exchanging impossibly quick strikes with vibroswords. Aquilla’s helmet is off; her intricately braided, auburn hair flys with her fierce movements. Her mouth is locked in a snarl and she howls as she launches each strike at Vee. She looks like nothing so much as an enraged animal denied her rightfully earned kill.

“What the fuck?” Aran shouts.

Morathis raises an eyebrow and glances at his son for a moment before turning back to the fight. “Aky learned the hard way you shouldn’t kriff the person you’re supposed to be bodyguarding.” Without looking, Morathis raises a hand and catches the rock thrown at the back of his head with an angry burst of Force from Aquila in the ring.

Cakara isn’t sure what part of the entire… debacle surprises her more. Aquilla venting her deadly anger at Vee, the fact that she kriffed her employer, Morathis’s dry assessment of the situation, the fact that she attacked her father for his comment or the fact that he clearly expected the projectile he caught. She looks over at Aran, but now that he knows the story, he’s similarly bored by his sister’s response.

Despite the incredible power and control on display, only one fifth of the clan, or even less, is out watching. There was a drinking contest last week that had a bigger audience. Cakara rubs the back of her neck and watches the… spar uneasily. Aquilla’s movements all have an edge of deadly intent that makes Cakara worry for Vee. What they have is new, fragile and mostly unformed. She has no idea what she’ll feel or do if he’s seriously injured.

Vee has an edge from being mostly echani, but with Fox and Hound for biological parents, Aquilla isn’t far behind on a physical level. Cakara doesn’t know who’s stronger in terms in Force abilities, but it must be Vee with how well he holds his ground against her assault. His attacks have the clinical precision he uses for practice matches despite Aquilla’s overwhelming fury.

“Well, I’m going to unpack and clean up. When she’s done with her tantrum, let her know I’ll be ready with the tihaar,” Aran says.

“I’ll be sure she knows,” Morathis replies. He pats his son’s shoulder, “Welcome home. Don’t let your sister keep you up all night, we’ve a meeting about the Darth Rencarn business tomorrow.”

Darth Rencarn isn’t a name Cakara is familiar with, but Aran doesn’t say anything else about the affair before leaving. No one else mentions it, either, their attention focused on the clashing blades and Force abilities. She holds back and sigh and watches them herself.

---

With Aran out commiserating with his blood sister, Cakara joins Vee in his tent. He’s laid face down on the floor while she kneels next to him and massages out his muscles. He’d eventually beaten Aquila into the dirt, but his armor didn’t absorb impact the way hers did and his white skin is blossoming red with fresh bruises. Cakara’s nearly embarrassed by how much she enjoys touching Vee. As much as Mandalorian life suits her better than an Echani one ever did, she’s missed touching.

“You’re going to be black and blue tomorrow,” Cakara says. She feels stupid for wanting it, but she’s more than half-tempted to rub her cheek against his shoulder just to feel close.

“I’ll do a healing trance before I sleep,” Vee says. His voice has a warm, contented undertone that Cakara’s heart flutter… figuratively.

“I was impressed that you held your own against Aky. Her Force powers are… Well. I wouldn’t have liked to have gone against her, even at the height of my Sisters’ training.” Cakara slowly works her way down his back, relaxing the muscles. She’s pressed against him as much as she can be and it feels like home without any of the awful memories.

“I… Have a way of countering her,” Vee says. He tenses when he hesitates, glances at her over his shoulder before putting his face back down.

Cakara feels the emotional pull on the muscles in her face, but doesn’t let them move. She understands. She does. She can’t be sad that he doesn’t trust her. “It’s still impressive,” she says. She changes the subject before either of them can dwell on what he’s not telling her. “What can you tell me about this operation with Darth Rencarn?”

“Against would be more accurate. As for what I can tell you… It’s a mess. A terrible, horrible mess and Aky is going to be furious with me next,” Vee says. He groans into his pillow, but whether it’s from Aky’s future anger or Cakara finally loosening the knot in his lower back isn’t clear.

Cakara tugs off his trousers and starts working on his legs. She’d forgotten how much she liked just… feeling muscles and thinking about how they worked and she feels relaxed just from working on him. “Why is Aky going to be mad at you?”

“Moon in the sky, where to start? She doesn’t know her former client and lover is Lord Aucht’s son. My… talents are outside of Fox’s specialty, so he had to train me. I spent a lot of time at his estate, met both children… I suppose Malish was too paranoid to ever mention who his father is.”

“And Aucht is going to be helping us with the operation?” Cakara asks. She lifts his leg so she can work on his ankle without moving too far down for casual conversation.

“Yes,” Vee says, though his voice is suddenly hard. “Rencarn has… poisoned Aucht’s daughter. The only cure is to kill him.”

“So are we just helping Aucht kill a Darth? That seems pretty straightforward.” Though Cakara’s massage is clinical and professional, just being next to him and touching at all has her blood near-boiling in her veins. She hadn’t realized how touch-starved she’d been.

Vee pulls his leg out of her grasp and rolls over. As he sits up, he says, “It’s a mess, Clan Cerar’s tied up with Rencarn, too, but I can’t talk about that anymore.” With a helpless sound he could have controlled if he’d wanted to, Vee closes the distance between them and kisses her. He presses as much of his body against her as he can, just as desperate for touch as she is, not matter how awkward their situation.

Cakara holds his face in both hands and gently pushes him away to break their kiss. “I didn’t come here for this, Vee.”

Vee leans back in, brushing their cheeks together. “Do you want to stop?”

“No.”

[ladywolfmd]

We’ve got a thing called radar love

I wanted to do the challenge but I lacked time. :( So I’m entering an old fic of mine. :) This is for @jonsafanfiction‘s 12 Days of Shipping Event : January 3 Bodyguard AU

Summary: Jon Targaryen is the son of Prime Minister Rhaegar Targaryen but he is more famously known as "The Ghost" in the racing world by being three-time champion of the Sprint Cup when he was younger, to going for his sixth-peat for the F1 Grand Prix. In the middle of a race, he was lead to an unauthorized detour as part of a kidnapping scheme that was quickly thwarted but was actually a ruse when the real attempt was when he was en route back to the Red Keep. Lucky for him, his beautiful PA who he's been secretly pinning for has secrets of her own as, to his surprise, Sansa Stark takes charge in leading him to safety as she reveals she's been his bodyguard all along

39/51 Lap

"Jon, keep going, you're almost there. The gap between you and the Brat-theon prick is still there at 9/5th of your time but you can lose him on the 4th turn."

"Copy that Edd."

Jon started slowly decelerating to prepare for the turn, to bait Joffrey Baratheon into charging full speed ahead of him at the sharp turn that curved right then left, wishing he was conceited and stupid enough to take it and lose traction to steer away once he makes the turn.

"The Brat is falling for it! What a dipshit! Make him eat your dust, Jon."

In Jon's peripheral vision, he smirked as he saw the bane of his existence on his Golden Tooth toeing side by side with him when they neared the turn and just as he expected it, just as Jon slowed down, Joffrey's car roared as he pushed it ahead of him to take the curve.

Also as expected since Jon's slow wasn't just anyone's definition of slow, so Joffrey wouldn't be able to turn left in time and he'd head straight off track with the speed he tried to match with his.

Jon grinned when he did exactly that while Edd whooped over the team radio as he started flooring it.

"Wow will you look at that? The Brat's car spun around and--seven hells he's back on track, climbing back from P6 - P5 - Seven hells he's on P3 now and passing Royce for P2. Royce needs to block him so we'd take top two for the Night's watch."

Jon was impressed. The little shit was stubborn and, he hate to admit it, good enough to survive one of the oldest tricks in out-racing. Thank the gods his team-mate Waymar Royce gained speed for P2. He won't let Joffrey pass. There was no way their team was going to let the Gold cloaks win, not after the Crag debacle which was still up for debate.

But this wasn't the time to think about anything other than finishing this race. If he wins this, this would be his sixth consecutive Grand Prix win. He felt the second wind of adrenaline rush through him then as he drove over the mark signaling his completion of his 40th lap.

"Eleven more to go. You and Waymar got this! Joffrey is now down to P5 while Trystane and Daemon are tailing you both at P3 and P4 - wait, oh no Martell just passed Royce. He's hot on your tail - oh for the love of all things holy, where did that little shit come from? Royce and the Bratt are neck-in-neck behind you. Lose them now!"  Edd screamed over the radio making Jon cringe but he did as he was told, drifting to gain some more speed to widen the gap.

He can't afford a pitt stop right now, not when the race was so close to ending.

Continue reading here or on AO3. 

41/51 Lap.

The roar of his engine and the smooth skid of his tires spurred him to move  faster as he stepped on the gas again, his fists gripping on to the wheel just so. Only ten more laps to go and Jon was feeling pretty confident since the Snakes were keeping Joffrey busy while Waymar sailed back to P2 behind him.

He had just made the fourth turn again when he saw a marshall waving a detour flag at him.

What the hell?

"Edd? Edd? What's going on? Why is there a detour? Edd?"

But the airwaves remained static which was very odd.

Jon had no choice then but to follow the detour and into a track that lead to one of the abandoned practice tunnels. Something must've happened ahead of the track but he didn't see or hear anything unusual.

But what was unnerving was the team radio line dying on him.

This never happened before and he started slowing down because he wasn't familiar with this track and he was starting to suspect there was no car trailing behind him anymore.

As he went further, so did the darkness but he couldn't turn back because the track was too narrow and was obviously a one-way.

His heart raced and it wasn't from excitement anymore.

Finally, he saw the light and there were people wearing the race officials uniforms waving him over to stop and Jon thought that maybe this wasn't a race thing but more of a Prime Minister's son safety issue.

He stopped the car and hopped off cautious of his surroundings. He didn't completely remove his helmet, just lifted the visor as he greeted an approaching official but when he saw Arthur Dayne and Larence Snow, both of which were part of his security detail, he relaxed a little.

He removed his helmet, pulled down his balaclava and ear plugs, then and met them halfway. "What's going on?"

"You were almost kidnapped sir."

Jon turned sharply to the voice he'd recognize anywhere on the planet and beyond and he was greeted immediately by red flowing hair and bright blue eyes of his personal assistant and love of his life though she doesn't know it yet, Sansa Stark, who was holding up a phone and her tablet while her smart watch kept flashing on her right wrist, looking at him with concern.

"C-come again?"

"Hang on," Sansa held finger up while she took a call from her headset. "Yes, he's safe Robb. Arthur and Larence as well as some of the staff are here with us. I'll brief him and we can rendezvous back to the Keep from the Dragonpit. Arthur already talked to Barristan. Mmhmm. Yes. Okay."

She tapped the mic off and walked over to him calmly, nodding at Larence to go ahead. "There was a plan to lead you here off track and take you. We're heading over back to the Keep," she explained.

Jon's blood froze. He knew about several kidnapping attempts done on his family but this was the first time that he was the sole target and he was barely listening as Arthur started explaining what happened while they escorted him into one of the Targaryen safe cars.

"It was the Blackfyres and their Golden Company. We got an anonymous tip to watch you closely when you reached your fortieth lap. When Sansa saw your car disappear off track, I had my men go ahead from the other end of the tunnel you entered. Before that we've already blocked off all the exits when you reached your twentieth lap. Long story short, my men apprehended ten company members and their getaway car."

He tried to concentrate and process but he was definitely shaken up. He knew there was something he wasn't telling him but then he felt a warm hand on his arm and saw Sansa's small dainty hand on him before meeting with her eyes.

"Hey, you're safe now, sir," she said softly, her eyes as warm as her touch that Jon visibly relaxed, even offering a weak smile.

"I thought I told you to call me Jon."

Sansa just smiled up at him and waited for him to slide in the car while Arthur held the door open for him. He went in automatically, sliding inside to make room for Sansa to sit next to him as part of the safety drill they've practiced numerous times of having no two doors open at the same time.

Jon was still uneasy. "It's too...easy," he said once Arthur rode shotgun and Larence started the car.

"It is, that's why we're bringing you home for now while the rest secure the Dragonpit," Arthur explained, nodding to Larence to drive once the front escort car rolled away. Jon looked behind them and saw the rear escort car tailing them.

"Why me?"

"We don't know yet," Sansa answered and Jon looked at her then and noticed her tapping away in her phone and tablet that was balanced on her lap. She paused what she was doing to look at him fully then, her eyes filled with determination. "But we'll find out."

He nodded and leant back, setting his helmet on the floor and not bothering to remove anything else yet since his overall wasn't only fireproof but bulletproof and his hands still shook enough for him to remove his gloves.

"So...who won?" he tried not to sound too bitter knowing that his streak ended.

Sansa looked at him sadly before giving a tiny smile and Jon appreciated that she once again, stopped whatever it was she was doing to concentrate on him. His heart started racing when she slid closer and settled her hand on his arm again. "Waymar then Trystane, Daemon, Joffrey, Arys" in that order. Sorry sir, but it's still a win for the team. And if anything, you would've won it hands down if it weren't for this," she started frowning then.

Jon was touched that Sansa cared - what was he saying? She always cared. But he didn't want to see her frown. He wanted nothing but to see her smile so he cracked a grin and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey at least the Night's Watch is still on top and you guys did a fantastic job stopping my abduction."

Sansa smiled a little then but got distracted when she started taking calls again and checking emails, giving him an apologetic look that he waved off with an understanding smile.

He realized then that this kind of thing would drain her from the shit storm of the media, his team, the whole F1 organization, and of course, the whole of Westeros wanting to know about this. Seven hells, Sansa will be completely swamped, communicating with the Palace lawyers and PR staff.

Seven hells, it probably started minutes ago - right at the moment he disappeared off track, but with Sansa as his PA, he'd never know the difference. She was incredibly efficient and not once did he see her as nothing but a picture of grace under pressure over the six months that she started working for him. Father did a good job of handpicking her and her twin brother Robb to work for him. The Stark twins worked with Sansa being in charge of internal affairs while Robb handled the external ones, often representing him politically as well as legally as his personal lawyer.

They were actually bargains if he wanted to continue his career as a professional racer, his father, or rather, Prime Minister Rhaegar made that clear. You can't just run off and leave your responsibilities on the track. Especially now with talks of the Blakfyres trying to overthrow his father's rule.

He sighed but then, at least he gained a friend in Robb and most importantly, he met Sansa.

Sansa.

She was the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on with her creamy alabaster skin, her bright blue eyes, that fiery mane and those incredibly long, long, legs she often displayed under those tight pencil skirts she wore and the fuck me heels that often left him helpless and wanting when it made her tower over him an inch.

But she wasn't just another beautiful face. Sansa was a sweetheart. Kind. Courteous. Sweet. But what drove him mad was how intelligent she was. She was incredibly smart and witty and so in charge that - that turned him on more.

It wasn't really a secret that he was attracted to her. She was working to serve under him but everyone saw that he was putty in her soft delicate hands. But as professionalism goes, they couldn't date.

His father made sure to remind him of that. She was too valuable an asset for the Targaryens with how efficient she worked that sometimes Jon thinks Rhaegar wanted to adopt her, especially with Rhaenys eloping with Willas Tyrell, and Aegon faffing around the world on Jon Connington's boat, his uncle Viserys being an insufferable prick in Dragonstone and his aunt Daenerys galivanting the Free Cities.

It was clear to Rhaegar that once his rule has ended, none of his issue would follow after him.

Really, the Starks cleared their messes with their father Ned Stark often acting as his right-hand man. Ned, like Robb, was a lawyer and had been appointed as the Attorney General of the regime. He then offered the twins' services. Sansa, he learned, had a degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. Truly, if anything, Rhaegar wanted to adopt either her or Robb to continue his platforms.

Jon asked them if they wanted to run for office one day but they both humbly declined saying that they were fine with what they were now, and that there were more important matters. Jon never understood what could be more important than holding office? Surely there were more things they could accomplish than fixing his messes or refraining him from making them.

They slowed down suddenly and the scratch of the radio broke the silence.

"This is Arthur. Hmmm. Copy that."

Jon held his breath as he saw Arthur's eyes go to his from the mirror. "We've been compromised. We're moving you to the safe house. We're being followed," he explained quickly while he punched on the GPS and continued talking to someone on his two-way.

Jon froze then and gripped his knees hard.

"Yeah, Robb. Turning off all comms except the untraceable. I'll update you."

His head snapped to Sansa and saw her turning all her gadgets off and extracting a slim black phone he's never seen before and syncing it with her head piece. And by the Seven, why was she so calm?

"How are you doing it?"

She looked up at him confused. "Hm?"

"How are you not freaking out?"

She blinked. "Oh. Nerves of steel, I guess," she shrugged before she studied him. "Hey you're shaking."

He was?

He looked down at his hands and saw that he was. He knew part of it was still the adrenaline from the race, the attempt, and now this. "Sorry."

Jon sucked in a breath when Sansa slid right next to him that her hip was touching his and leant a bit to take his hand in hers as she carefully pulled on the velcro straps and tugged his gloves off one by one.

"Why are you sorry? For being scared?" she said in a low voice without looking at him, concentrating on her task.

"Yeah, not exactly manly of me," he chuckled nervously.

"Hmm, well my father always said that the only time you can be brave is when you're afraid," she said soothingly before holding both his hands in hers and looking up at him with those vivid blue eyes of hers.

Jon could only look at her and their hands before he closed his eyes and took deep breaths and once he was calm enough he opened them and saw her still looking at him, giving him a half-smile when their eyes met again.

"You'll be fine, I promise. I'll protect you," she winked at him.

He couldn't help but smile at her joke. "Sure. You just bat your long lashes at them and they'd be wrapped around your cute little finger. Easy."

She blushed then and Jon realized what he just said. "Er, I mean-"

The car lurched as Larence made a sharp turn, causing Jon to press against Sansa when they got thrown to her side.

"Sorry about that, we're here," Larence muttered.

Arthur went down first to check while the rest of them waited inside the car.

Jon then realized he was on top of something soft and he bolted to the other side in a flash when he realized his head was pressed against Sansa's torso. "Sorry."

Sansa was flushed too but offered him a weak smile as she smoothed down her black twin-set with red details and that was when he noticed that Sansa was wearing his team's colors.

Arthur opened Sansa's door then while Larence helped her out and quickly ushered her inside the safe house in Fleabottom with him and Arthur following behind and flanked by two more men.

Once they were inside, Jon was whisked into the eleventh floor and into a suite. The safe house was actually an intel building.

"This is actually not the safest but it was the closest and we need to keep you safe," Arthur met his eyes.

"Tell me the real danger, I can handle it," Jon said determinedly, knowing there was something they were keeping from him.

Larence and Arthur as well as Sansa exchanged looks. "The order was to capture you. Dead or alive," Arthur laid it out then and Jon stared at him baffled.

They heard a crash then and running followed by shots outside.

"Fuck," Arthur pulled his gun out then and so did the men as they went for the door and formed a perimeter around Jon. "They're here."

Arthur then looked at Sansa. "We'll hold them off. Get him out. Larence will come as far as he can with you. Get the brief and head to the garage with the service elevator." He threw a set of keys to Sansa who caught it in one hand, her eyes hard, and her jaw firm. "Your card will work fine on everything. Get him out and rendezvous at Wolf Den."

"What? Why Sansa? What's going on!" Jon shifted from Arthur and Sansa and his eyes bulged when he saw Sansa toss the painting over the headboard and opened a hidden safe, pulling out a steel briefcase.

"Jon."

He turned to Arthur who wasn't looking at him but at the door where he was aiming his gun at. "Go with Sansa. Now."

Before he could react, Jon was being dragged by Larence towards the closet with Sansa walking briskly ahead.

He saw Larence shut the closet door and bar it then back to Sansa who placed her key card over a panel she revealed and a secret door opened just as they heard shots being fired from the other room.

"Shit, go, go, go, I'll lock behind you," Larence pushed Jon just as Sansa tugged at him.

"Larence but-" Jon felt the reality finally sinking in.

Larence Snow, who he played poker with, had pulled him out of his drunk ass more times than he could remember, being an actual friend more than a guard was going to die for him.

"Come with us," he pleaded.

Larence smiled at him grimly. "It's been fun, Jon. Now go with your girl. She's the Ace." He said before the door slid down between them.

"Jon, come on," Sansa urged as she continued to tug at him. "He knew what he was doing," she whispered hurriedly while dragging him towards another room that she locked after them.

Jon was still in shock until he felt hands on his face and blue eyes steadying his frantic ones. "Jon. Listen to me. You're going to be fine. I'm going to get you out of this. But I need you to do as I say. Do you understand?"

He blinked at her.

"Jon," she said more firmly.

He nodded and swallowed while Sansa let out a relieved breath before she started kneeling as she opened the silver briefcase.

She pulled out another bulletproof vest and handed one to him while she shrugged off her black coat and wore one of her own and that was when Jon saw the twin gun holsters strapped to her lower back.

"You-you're-"

She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled tightly. "Yeah," before securing her headset and taking out two more handguns. He watched as she slid the magazine in, pulled the slide release, and clicked the glock into place like she was doing it all her life.

"Do you know how to use this?" She looked at him then and he saw the first sign of worry on her face with the tiny furrow between her brows.

"Not well," Jon admitted and cursed himself for not taking those shooting lessons to heart.

Sansa stood in front of him then and took his hands, placing a glock in his right hand and positioning his hand properly. "It's easy. This is a semi-automatic and I've released the lock already. All you have to do," she raised his hand and made him point it straight forward while she used both hands to keep him in position. "Is point and shoot."

She placed his finger on the trigger with hers on top of his. "You don't need to shoot fancy. Just go for the easy targets - the biggest space so you won't miss. Hit the chest or the back. Don't hesitate. It's your life or theirs. These men will not hesitate to shoot. You got it?"

Jon swallowed. This was really happening. "Y-yes."

She released him then and helped him tighten the vest. She placed a radio on the holster of his vest explaining quickly. "If we get separated, use this and go to channel one and shout "Winter is coming," then follow the voice."

He nodded again.

"Okay," she walked in front of him then. "Jon. We're going to use the service elevator. Beyond this room, there is a short hallway we have to pass and we'll encounter men. I need you to stay behind me at all times. Don't be a hero. I'm trained for this. You aren't. You'll get in the elevator first and I'll try to follow. You'll be immediately brought to basement 2 but you'll have to climb out the escape hatch and climb to basement 1 where they won't expect us. Get a car. Any car and drive the hell away and use the radio for directions."

He grabbed her by the arms then and bore at her. "What about you? I can't let you--"

She cut him off with a hurried kiss. "Jon. I'm just telling you the plan in case I can't follow you. But I'm telling you, I'm trained at this. I'll see you through until you're safe. I promise. Now, we need to go."

She fixed him a look that had a hundred different promises swirling in those baby blues and all he could do was keep nodding at her repeatedly, hoping she'd see his own too.

Sansa gave him a firm nod and released him. Strapping on ammo belts over her and setting her own gun.

She tapped on her headpiece then just as she switched her smartwatch on. "Red Wolf to Grey. Do you read? Over."

Jon could hear from his own radio strapped to his chest where Sansa must've kept the line on just in case.

"This is Grey, I copy. Over. I've locked in your position. Is Rhaegal undamaged?"  Robb. He recognized the voice. So he was part of this too? Was Ned Stark one too?

"No. I sent you our coordinates. I need surveillance and possible backup," Sansa checked the windows before hovering over the door.

"Locked in on your coordinates. Activating Warg mode. I'm your eyes Red."

"Good. We're heading out to the hallway. How many men are there? Positions?"

"Seven and four waiting at the left intersection, three guarding the chute. They can't call for backup as I've denied all access to the chute but I can see they're working on override."  

Sansa pursed her lip but was still relatively calm. "How much time do I have?"

"Sixty-five seconds. Go."

"Jon, do you trust me?" She looked at him then.

"With my life," he answered right away and Sansa's eyes glinted with something before she placed her keycard over the lock and opened into the hallway.

"Then let's run," She ran ahead and he followed as they sped off into the narrow hallway, spotting the left intersection where four men appeared from, blocking their way while pointing guns at them.

"Stop. Drop your weapons and come with us quietly now and no one gets hurt," came the burly man with an eyepatch.

Sansa stayed Jon with a hand behind her back indicating to stand down. "Funny, I was going to offer you the same courtesy Greyjoy."

Greyjoy?

"Ah. What a delight you are. But no girl, hand over the boy and I promise to make it good for you when I take you back with me. Be a good girl now and I'll return the favor when I let you suck me off," Greyjoy taunted and Jon saw red but Sansa stayed him again with her hand.

"Ooh, so you're the dragon spawn's bitch, I see. All the more sweeter to mount a dragon's moun-Fuck you bitch!"

Sansa shot him straight to the crotch and fired another to his leg, bringing him down while she pushed Jon to the ground, shielding him with her body when Greyjoy open-fired.

Jon heard Sansa fire another shot and watched the lifeless eye of Greyjoy, a bullet lodged in between his eyes.

"Stay down!" Sansa yelled at him as she strode forward and pulled another gun from behind her and began shooting from both sides, taking down three men straight to the head while she aimed at two others but Jon saw the last of the men aiming behind her.

Jon didn't think then, brought himself up, aimed at the man's chest and shot.

Jon watched as the man clutched at his stomach that was starting to shoot out blood before dropping his weapon and collapsing.

He was still heaving and holding the gun with wide eyes when he heard more shooting from behind him and his name being called.

"Jon - Jon."

His head snapped to Sansa and he saw another guy aiming at her. "Sansa!"

Sansa was too quick as she dodged and lunged at the guy, elbowing his chest while she leant across that guy's shoulder and shot at the other guy straight to the heart when he saw him aiming for Jon but in a second she was caught in a headlock with the first one, a gun pointed at her head.

Jon's eyes locked with Sansa's then and she urged him to run. Pleaded with her eyes as she mouthed "Go!"

But Jon couldn't leave her. He won't. And Sansa saw that he wouldn't but tried to shake her head at him anyway as she clawed at the arm that was holding her back.

"Don't make another move. Drop your weapon or I blow her brains out!" The lone henchman spat at Jon.

Jon raised his hands and dropped the gun slowly, his eyes never taking them off of the attacker. He kicked the gun towards him and took a step back. "Take me. You can let her go. It's me you want."

Sansa was about to shout her protest when a hand clamped over her mouth.

"You have thirty seconds left Jon or you won't make it to the chute in time," came Robb's voice over the radio. "Sansa knows. We have to get you out. Let her go Jon." He could hear the pain over the controlled voice of his lawyer who quickly became his confidante at letting his sister go. But Jon wasn't raised this way.

He had to fight for the people willing to risk their lives for him too.

"Jon."

Sansa's eyes softened at Jon then and she gave him a nod that the attacker noticed when Jon saw him grin. And that was all the signal he and Sansa needed - his sudden arrogance as he saw Sansa escape from the man's loosened grip, kicking the gun out of his hand before she pulled his arm and threw him over her shoulder where he landed roughly on his back with Sansa's knee digging on his spine while he pulled at his arm making him scream.

Jon ran to them, picked up the gun and threw it to Sansa who caught it and shot the man in the back before quickly grabbing her two other glocks and nodding at Jon to run as fast as he could to the service elevator with only ten seconds left.

Sansa quickly placed her keycard over the monitor and the doors slid open. She pushed Jon inside quickly while they heard Robb bark at them that there were a dozen men going their way.

Just as the doors were sliding close, Jon pulled Sansa all the way inside before repeatedly pressing the door button close as the men started appearing. Sansa shot a few rounds until the door finally shut close and they were both panting and splattered with blood and sweat as the elevator went down.

Sansa looked up at Jon as she wiped her brow. "You oka-mmph

Jon cupped her head and kissed her fiercely then before pulling away. "Seven hells, woman! You almost died!"

Sansa chuckled. "So did you, sir. Thank you sir." She smirked.

Jon was about to retort when Robb's voice came through.

"Well done. Both of you. But remember to get off B1. I'll open the doors for you. All of them are expecting you from B2 so you'll only have a window of thirty-five seconds before they catch up to you on the street. You have to shake them off as best as you can. Do you copy?"

"Roger," Sansa answered just as she observed the ceiling. They were now at the 8th floor.

7th.

6th.

"Jon, I need you to boost me up," Sansa tilted her head at him.

"What?"

She pointed to the escape hatch. "That's our exit. The faster we're up there, the easier we can go. Help me up?"

Jon looked from the ceiling to her and understood, crouching down so she could climb up his back. He felt Sansa's hands on his shoulders then before a leg hitched over his shoulder, and then another on his other side that made him suck in a breath as he felt her skirt against his nape and heard a rip.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I had to rip it because it's too tight to move freely," she muttered. "Um, Jon, I need you to steady me because I'll be reaching up."

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled back as his arms held on to her thighs where he felt garters that made him pause again.

"They carry my gun and a knife. Boost me up?" she said hurriedly.

Jon nodded and stood straight, trying not to think of Sansa's gartered and stockinged legs were around his neck and focused instead on the sounds of Sansa tinkering with the hatch as they descended to 4th when suddenly the elevator lurched to a stop, the lights flickering on and off until darkness then the emergency light.

Jon kept Sansa steady while he braced against the wall with one hand.

"Grey, what the hell?"

"Hang on Red. I'll hook it back. I had to terminate an attempt. Sorry, hold on."

Sansa cussed for the first time and that was when Jon felt that shit was real. He didn't know how much his sanity depended on her cool.

Sansa noticed him stiffening and worked faster before urging him gently to let her down.

"We're still good. I'll protect you, I promise, didn't I?" she smiled up at him as she cradled his cheek.

Jon grabbed her wrist and looked straight at her. "What exactly did you promise when you took the job? You promised your life?"

She didn't back down and leant forward that their noses were touching. "Yes."

"Fuck, Sansa-"

"Don't. Not now. Tell me later," Sansa said before she backed away, then sprang on the elevator rail before pushing her body upwards to catch on the opened hatch where she dangled for a moment before hoisting herself up and disappearing into the ceiling just as the elevator started moving again.

4th.

3rd.

She appeared again and offered him her hand. "Jump up Jon. You can do it. Grab my hand."

Jon did and it took three tries before his hand clutched at Sansa's where she pulled him up with both arms, grunting while he saw her teeth clenching until finally they were both holding on to the top of the elevator as it sailed down.

2nd.

Sansa closed the hatch.

"This is our stop. When I say jump, jump okay?" She took Jon's hand in hers and Jon squeezed it tightly. "Yes."

Sansa looked to her left then where the doors where and slowly she stood up with one hand bracing Jon's other arm and nodding at the direction.

1st.

"Jump!"

Hand in hand they jumped towards the ledge of B1 level. But Jon slipped if not for Sansa's iron grip on his arm.

Jon could see the strain heavy on Sansa as she struggled to pull him up. "I'm too heavy. Let go."

Sansa shook her head. "Don't you dare. Now try and swing your hand to grab on to my arm. Try."

Jon tried and missed and Sansa winced. "Try harder."

He did and this time he was able to grab ahold of Sansa's arms with his other hand and they both hoisted themselves up over the tiny ledge, with Jon collapsing on top of Sansa, both of them panting.

"Gods be good, Jon! Just do as you're told!" Sansa scolded as she slapped his back. Jon didn't know why but he started chuckling while shaking his head.

"Yes, yes it's all very amusing. Now get off me and let's get our car."

Jon quickly got off her and offered her a hand and helped her up.

"Grey, Alohomora this bitch," Sansa tapped her headset.

"Opening the portrait. Good job you two."

The elevator door opened and Sansa stepped inside first, gun out and gestured for Jon to stay low behind him.

"All clear. Proceed." Robb's voice broke through.

Sansa chose the nearest car then, a Porsche Panamera, and Jon should've known that of course there would be armored sports cars in every safe house.

On instinct he went inside the driver's side but was quickly shoved over to the passenger side by Sansa who gave him a look that said seriously going to fight me at this point?

He raised his palms as Sansa started the car, syncing her smartwatch to the comm at the dash where Robb's face came to view. "Hey guys. Let's get you out, shall we?"

"You okay?" Sansa demanded as she received the coordinates Robb entered on the GPS split screen.

"What?"

"Sit tight," she said instead while she backed out the parking space. "You're not the only one who can drive fast."

Jon obeyed at once while Robb chuckled from the screen. "Better do as she says, sir."

"You two have been saving my ass, I think it's time you called me Jon," Jon grumbled.

"Oh heads up sis, you're going to be met with a lot of resistance once you reach the gate. There's a shotgun at the back and two more pistols on the glove compartment. Godspeed. I'll keep surveillance and get back to you."

Robb's face disappeared then while the GPS zoomed out.

Sansa peeled out of the basement and up the exit where probably thirty armed men were waiting, shooting at them right away.

"Keep down," Sansa drifted to let her side face the onslaught while they heard the bullets pelt against the car that aside from a few cracks, held.

Sansa was able to escape the firing squad and onto the street.

"Fuck!" Sansa cursed again when they were flanked both sides by larger cars where men were shooting at them.

"Robb! Where do I go? We're surrounded!" she glanced at the rearview window where another car was gaining on them.

"You gotta take them out and speed up towards the backstreet then through the Muddy Way and we can come get you on the Street of Steel."

"Shit," as the car shook after a few more rounds at them. She looked at Jon then. "Jon, I have to take them out."

Jon held on to her look, not liking where this was going but she pleaded trust from him and he was going to give it. "What do you need?"

"I need you to take the wheel and let Robb guide you while I try and take them out. Do you understand me? Can you do that?" she used the full force of her gaze at Jon as she took a large swerve to the right, still pressing the gas to the floor.

Finally, something he could do. Something he was good at. He started to slide in to her space as he nodded. "Yes. Leave it to me."

Sansa smiled at him softly then before she lifted her body up so he can slide under her. Quickly Jon's hands replaced hers on the wheel and on the pedals while she started clambering off his lap but before she could do so, the other car slammed at them from behind that Jon almost hit a pole if he hadn't turned swiftly to the right to avoid it, but he was able to right them immediately.

"Jon. I'm going to take out the left car first, okay? So I'm going to open the door and shoot and I need you to keep driving straight, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Don't be scared," and then she opened our door catching the assailants by surprise as she shot at them straight, hitting both the driver and the passenger with one shot each and Jon pushed the car so fast ahead to avoid colliding against the now spinning car to the left.

Sansa shut the door right away and started climbing to the back where he could see her taking out the shotgun and loading it from the mirror.

"Jon?"

"Robb?"

"I can help you two escape. I found a route. Follow my directions. Go straight for three kilometers then turn right."

"Gotcha."

"I'm going to take out the back now," Sansa declared. "Just keep driving, you're doing fine." She said while she opened up the sunroof and climbed up. "Sansa! What the fuck?!"

Sansa was now on the roof, shooting at the back and depending on him to keep the car steady or else she'd fall.

Okay, calm down Jon. Calm down. You've driven worse tracks at faster speed. You can do this. He mentally cheered himself and gripped on the wheel like his life depended on it, sighing in relief when Sansa dropped back inside from the sunroof. The car behind them hitting another car, turning over before crashing on a sidewalk, catching fire at once.

"Seven hells, Sansa at least warn a man!" he glanced at her.

"Just keep driving Targaryen," she tore at her sleeves and that was when Jon saw that she was shot.

"Sansa-"

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Just a bullet graze." She started wrapping the giant gash it left on her right arm with her torn sleeve. "Keep driving. Our turn is near."

And she was right, Jon could see the turn and he made it just as Robb started ordering again.

"Good. Now you just need to keep going straight until you see The Hook. Take the sharp left then immediately the next right exit then go the roundabout to Street of Steel. It's not that far now."

"Okay." He shot a worried look at Sansa who was reloading the shotgun when they were hit with a big blast from her side that shattered the glass.

Jon kept the car from spinning around and ducked when he saw a car going straight for them from his left.

He let go of the wheel then and allowed the car to spin before he drifted off the path and watched the car collide against the new one tailing them at the back. Just how many were there?

Once he was able to get them back on course, he noticed that Sansa was quiet and saw that she was unconscious with a big cut against the side of her head.

"Sansa - Sansa" he hissed and he breathed out when her eyes fluttered open as she winced but started going for her shot gun again.

A motorcycle with two people sped up to her side again and they were so near her side. Jon tried to bump them off but they were too quick and Sansa aimed the shotgun at them from the broken window and fired but missed.

"Shit," she cursed and before Jon knew it, Sansa opened her door, shot the rider at the back and jumped on the motorcycle, kicking the one at the back off while pointing a gun at the driver's head and firing. She pushed him away then and Jon saw Sansa now driving towards the back.

"Sansa no! Get back here!"

But Sansa didn't and open fired behind her, targeting the wheels of the two cars that were following before she drove back to the still hanging passenger door.

Jon glared at her horrified. "Get in, now!" He reached his hand as far as he could stretch it, leaving the wheel on straight lock as he frantically reached for Sansa's own overstretched hand.

"Come on!" He shouted and finally he was able to grab Sansa's hand and pull her in, smiling in relief when they heard a shot fired with Sansa collapsing on his shoulder, her arms falling from his body as she slid down his.  

"No, no, no, no!" Jon quickly assessed her and there he saw it, Sansa got shot at her left shoulder from the back. She took a shot meant for him.

Jon saw red then as he quickly shut the door, buckled in an unconscious Sansa who was still breathing heavily from the pain, and got back to driving.

"Robb, Sansa's been shot at the back. Shoulder but she's still breathing. Only one more car is tailing us. Where will we go?" He said completely clear headed now and focused on the drive.

"Fuck. Okay, change route. On the next right exit, take it and head straight to River Row. There's a medic bay there. Drive the fuck over there and save my sister."

"Roger."

He saw it then. Two cars toeing in on either side and he slipped into his racing mode.

This is just another race.

You've never lost a race in years.

The last one didn't count but this would.

Sansa's life depended on it.

They all know me as a dragon, Rhaegal they named my mount in court.

But in the track I'm only known by one name.

And that's Ghost.

It's time to vanish on the streets.

He gripped the wheel and started letting on the gas, breaking a little, making them think he was slowing down for them as he eyed the curve.

They roared beside them then and Jon smirked as he lead them to the narrow curve, stopping abruptly and watched as they vainly tried to turn but ended up crashing against each other.

Jon started the car again, roaring it to life and steadily started backing up, gaining speed, before pushing forward full throttle as he used the piled car as a ramp and let the car fly over them and back into the street with a loud screech and a jolt, moving as fast as he could away as the cars exploded behind him, pushing his car forward from the impact.

But he didn't relent.

He drove and drove until finally he reached River Row where he immediately saw Robb Stark get out off a car and ordering a team to get them.

Jon slowed to a stop. Hands still tight on the wheel as he heaved in and out, his pulse throbbing in his ears. And he heard his door and Sansa's being opened but he couldn't move, or let the voices register. Not until he heard a familiar whimper.

His eyes shot to Sansa now who was being held by her brother then. Her eyes fluttering open and searching his, offering a weak smile at him. "You okay?" she said through gritted teeth.

Jon felt all the tension slip away from his body then only to be replaced with exhaustion and relief as he returned her smile, reaching over to move her hair off her face. "Never better. You?"

"Just another day," she grinned.

"Okay, that's enough for now." Robb carried Sansa then and looked at Jon gratefully. Jon could only nod at him. Of course.

Jon stepped out the car and shook off the paramedics fusing about him, going instead to Sansa still in Robb's arms as he carried her towards the medic bay himself.

"Did anyone...?" Jon asked Robb and a shadow fell over his face. "Arthur was the only one who made it. Larence..." he shook his head. "There were too many of them."

Jon's chest constricted. They all died for him. He's going to make sure he deserved this - their sacrifice as he looked down at Sansa who was frowning, thinking about her fallen comrades. After a few more races, he was going back to work for his father and then convince Sansa to run for office and campaign the hell out for her. None of them had the capacity to rule, unfortunately, but the Starks had two - three if Ned wanted to as well. The Starks were the best people to take over the regime after his father. This is how he'll honor his family's security team.

Sansa's eyes met Jon's and she smiled at him softly. "Thank you, Jon."

Jon snorted. "No, thank you."

"Well, the jig is up, I guess," she giggled then winced after, earning a frown from Robb.

"Who would've thought my sweet and pretty assistant could be lethal. Hiding knives and guns under her skirt," he joked earning a glare from Robb but didn't comment.

"A skirt, you've been trying to chase," she winked.

Jon blinked but laughed instead. "Well, you did say the jig is up."

"I hope you're not too betrayed."

"Stark, you took a bullet for me. You killed for me. Betrayed is the last thing on my mind," he scoffed.

Sansa closed her eyes then and smiled. "I'm just doing my job. Pretty smooth driving though. World class."

"I'm just doing my job," he shot back at her.

Sansa reached up and took his hand then, looking up at him. "Jon, now that we're out of the woods. Do you know yet? Did they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

She tilted her head. "Where will you go?"

He bid Robb to stop walking a minute so he could lean down Sansa. "Where will we go?"

Sansa grinned up at him then though she looked pale and worn but still fucking beautiful. "You're my bodyguard, right? You made a vow to me. You promised you'd protect me," he winked.

"I guess I did," she said before closing her eyes and surrendering to her exhaustion.

Jon leant down again and kissed her forehead. "I'll protect you too."

And they started walking again.

"You know she can't be your bodyguard anymore, right?" Robb eyed him.

Jon just grinned. "Of course not. But she'll still be obligated to stay by my side."

"Oh, is she now?" Robb raised a brow at him.

"Yes. When she runs for office after my father, naturally, the first gentleman's place is beside her," he said matter-of-factly.

Robb burst out laughing. "Rhaegar will be pleased."

Jon snorted. "Rhaegar will shit bricks when he finds out Sansa's finally going to run and then he'll throw those bricks at me when I tell him I'm going to marry the daughter he never had that he specifically told me not to date."

"I'm sure Sansa will make him come around," Robb grinned at him. "You've seen how demanding she is."

Jon grinned wickedly. "Yeah, yes she is."

"Oy, get that filthy thought away from my poor incapacitated sister or I'll kick your ass. We're not known as Stark Protection for nothing."

"Yikes."

"Oh, yes, yikes. Wait until you meet our mom. She's the one who taught Sansa how to fire guns and arrows."

"Double yikes."

"Will you two shut up. I just got shot here," Sansa mumbled, squinting an eye at them. "And it hurts like the seven hells. I think it's lodged in my scapula."

Robb laid her down the stretcher and stepped back, dropping a kiss on her forehead as the staff went over her. "See you later Red Wolf. I'm proud of you pumpkin."

Sansa rolled her eyes and looked at Jon then who was looking at her tenderly.

"So, first gentleman, huh? The Palace is the cart before the horse there or what?"

Jon chuckled and kissed her gently then to the sigh and grumbling of the medics. "Yes. And that's after we have three children. One mini-you, one mini-me, and one a combination. Oh and a dog too."

"Awfully sure of you," she winced a little.

"Take it easy, and yes. Yes, I've never been more sure. I should've said it earlier but I love you."

Sansa closed her eyes and smiled serenely. "I love you too."

"I'll see you later," Jon squeezed her hand.

"You'd better,"  she muttered before looking at him then.

Jon watched as they wheeled her off, raising a hand in a wave and watched as Sansa smiled at him and lifted a hand, though a little weakly, back at him.

Sansa's been following him around and cleaning up after him as he went on his races but starting now, he'll be chasing nothing but her.

It was his turn to follow.

Professionalism be damned.

It was time to rip out her contract and give her a new one while he planned just one more race.

The race to the altar.

No way in seven hells was he wasting any more time.

Not when speed was all he knew.

When you knew, you knew.

And seven hells they both almost died today.

She was it.

She was the goal.

And speed...not necessarily a bad thing.

He smirked.

Not a bad thing at all.

[silly-fox-in-sox]

The 2017 Kentucky Derby Field! 

1. Lookin At Lee 20-1

Lookin At Lucky x Langara Lass (Langfuhr) KY S Asumssen / C Lanerie 2-2-2 (9) $452,795

Lookin At Lee hasn’t won since August of his 2yo season, but has hit the board enough times to make it into the Derby Field. He’s the sort of horse who likes to lay far, far back and make one big run - so hopefully he can handle the dreaded 1 hole by breaking slow and laying back. He ran a decent second to Classic Empire in the G3 Iroquois in his only start over an off track.

Pedigree Note: His half-sister Battlefield was G1 placed on dirt and a stakes winner on turf.

2. Thunder Snow 20-1

Helmet (AUS) x Eastern Joy (GB) IRE S Bin Suroor / C Soumillon 4-2-0 (8) $1,627,541

Thunder Snow is the big, globe-trotting horse; when he enters the Derby gate, it will be the 4th country and 3rd continent he’s raced in. The colt has been classy from the start, running solidly in G2 Company in England on the grass and undefeated over dirt in his two starts in Dubai. He comes into this race as the only colt who’s run (and won) over 1 1/8 miles thanks to his very strong win in the G2 UAE Derby.

Pedigree Note: He’s a half-brother to stakes winner Always Smile & G2 winner Ihtimal. Their dam Eastern Joy is a half-sister to G1 winner West Wind

3. Fast and Accurate 50-1

Hansn x It’s Heidi’s Dance (Green Dancer) PA M Maker / C Hill 3-1-0 (6) $340,362

Fast And Accurate was a late supplemental entry to the Derby after he earned his way in with a win in the 50pt, G3 Spiral. This will only be his 2nd start on natural dirt, which he hasn’t raced over since running 5th against maidens at Parx. As a 3yo he’s been undefeated in both of his starts and is riding a 3 race win streak. His owner has made it clear the plan for him is to gun for the lead and try to hold it.

Pedigree Note: His dam is a half-sister to G3 winner Bwana Bull, G2 winner Bwana Charlie, & G2 winner My Pal Charlie

4. Untrapped 30-1

Trappe Shot x Exit Three (Giant’s Causeway) KY S Asmussen / R Santana Jr. 1-3-1 (6) $259,658

Untrapped hasn’t won since last November, but he’s held is own alright on the Derby trail. He finished 2nd to Guest Suite in the G3 Lecomte, and 2nd to Girvin in the G2 Risen Star before his people decided to leave the Fair Grounds and give Oaklawn a shot. In Arkansas he was 3rd behind Malagacy in the G2 Rebel and off the board in the G1 Arkansas Derby. He took to the mud well enough in his only try on an off-surface.

Pedigree Note: His dam is an un-raced granddaughter of Yarn. Yarn is a full-sister to Preach, the dam of Pulpit (Tapit’s sire) and the dam of G1 winner Minardi, G2 winner and important sire Tale of the Cat, Myth - the dam of champion Johannesburg,

5. Always Dreaming 5-1

Bodemeister x Above Perfection (In Excess) KY T Pletcher / J Velazquez 3-1-1 (5) $648,900

I wouldn’t be surprised if Always Dreaming ends up the favorite by post time. His score in the G1 Florida Derby was both among the fastest and most visually impressive of the big final preps. He’s also rolling into the Derby undefeated since turning 3 and moving into Pletcher’s barn.

Pedigree Note: He’s a half-brother to G1 winner & G3 stakes producer Hot Dixie Chick. Their dam Above Perfection was G1 placed.

6. State of Honor 30-1

To Honor and Serve x State Cup (Elusive Quality) ON M Casse / J Lezcano 1-4-2 (10) $382,548

State of Honor is tied with the maiden Sonneteer for the most pre-Derby start with 10 races under his belt. The handsome colt has been on the board in 7 of those races, but struggled to make it to the winners’ circle. He’s also had the unfortunate habit of refusing to settle early in his races, which makes me a little nervous for his chances in the 20 horse calvary charge. If he’s learned to settle he has a solid chance to make some noise in here.

Pedigree Note: His dam State Cup is a half-sister to G2 winner St Averil and his grand dam Avie’s Fancy was a G2 winner

7. Girvin 15-1

Tale of Ekati x Catch the Moon (Malibu Moon) KY J Sharp / M Smith 3-1-0 (4) $874,400

The Louisiana based colt was defeated only once in his short career, and that was on grass. He’s done nothing but run consistently well and swept the big Louisiana preps to be the top point earner of the year. It’s worth noting, that since the points system was implemented, each year’s top points earner has gone on to wear the roses, but at the same time the G2 Louisiana Derby hasn’t produced a Derby winner since Grindstone back in 1996. Word is that Girvin is also having some physical issues and has been swimming more than working lately.

Pedigree Note: His only sibling is G3 winner Cocked and Loaded

8. Hence 15-1

Street Boss x Floating Island (A.P. Indy) KY S Asmussent / F Geroux 2-1-1 (6) $462,601

The bright red colt has quickly gone from my favorite under-the-radar longshot to wise guy horse after the horses he dominated in the G3 Sunland Derby have come back to make serious noise in graded stakes. Hence hasn’t been a particularly consistent colt, throwing some occasional bombs. He did break his maiden in the slop, so if it’s as rainy as they say it will be Hence should be happy.

Pedigree Note: His dam is a half-sister to Canadian champion broodmare Pico Teneriffe - the dam of Canadian champion Marchfield

9. Irap 20-1

Tiznow x Silken Cat ( Storm Cat) KY D O’neill / M Gutierrez 1-3-1 (8) $772,600

Irap took his sweet, sweet time breaking his maiden. Even though he didn’t seem to understand what winning was, he still showed some class - finishing second to Conquest Mo Money in the Mine That Bird Derby, 2nd in the G3 Robert B Lewis, and 2nd in the G1 Los Al Futurity. Breaking his maiden with a gritty - if slow - win in the G1 Blue Grass was quite the shocker. Funny note - most of his worst finishes were when competing against maidens.

Pedigree Note: He’s a half-brother to G1 BC Sprint champ & important sire Speightstown.

10. Gunnevera 15-1

Dialed In x Unbridled Rage (Unbridled’s Song) KY A Sano / J Castellano 4-2-1 (9) $1,170,200

Gunnevera has been one of the most consistent horses on the Derby trail. His only off the board finishes came when he was a 2yo and didn’t get a particularly good trip, but he still put in his run each time. He’s been a dependable performer in the Florida prep series, running solid seconds in the G2 Holy Bull & G1 Florida Derby and getting a runaway win in the G2 Fountain of Youth. If he gets the hot pace setup he loves, Gunnevera is a serious threat.  

Pedigree Note: You don’t often see Graustark as close as the 3rd generation anymore, but he’s Gunnevera’s grand dams’ damsire (say that 3-times fast)

11. Battle of Midway 30-1

Smart Strike x Rigoletta (Concerto) KY J Hollendorfer / F Pratt 2-1-1 (4) $290,000

He’s a late-comer to the Derby trail. Battle of Midway is up against he Apollo curse since he didn’t make his first start until the end of January. On the plus-side, he’s improved with each race, and seems to appreciate the extra distance he’s gotten each time. His 2nd place finish in the Santa Anita Derby was particularly impressive after he was the only speed left standing at the end.

Pedigree Note: His dam Rigoletta was a G1 winner and he has no line-breeding in his first 5 generations.

12. Sonneteer  50-1

Midnight Lute x Ours (Half Ours) KY D O’neill / M Gutierrez 0-4-2 (10) $284,445

Tied with State of Honor as the most experienced horse in the field, this inky colt also goes to post as the only maiden in the field. If he wins, he’ll be only the 4th horse to get his first win in the Kentucky Derby, joining Buchanan(1884), Sir Barton (1919), & Brokers Tip(1933). Granted, maidens don’t contend the Derby very often, with only 10 trying since 1937, including Trojan Nation last year. Word is Sonneteer looks gorgeous on the track at Churchill.

Pedigree Note: He’s by my favorite son of Real Quiet and his grand dam is Classy Mirage, a multipe G1 winning sprinter. His dam is a half-sister to G1 winner Dublin.

13. J Boys Echo  20-1

Mineshaft x Letgomyecho (Menifee) D Romans / L Saez 2-1-1 (6) $349,600

J Boys Echo has been another perplexing runner this year. One moment he’s doing a runaway train impression in the G3 Gotham, and the next he’s struggling to finish 4th behind a maiden in the G1 Blue Grass. If he puts his best hoof forward he’s plenty good enough to win the Derby - but which horse will show up on Saturday?

Pedigree Note: He’s a half brother to G3 Unbridled Outlaw and their dam Letgomyecho was a G2 winner.

14. Classic Empire 4-1

Pioneerof the Nile x Sambuca Classica (Cat Thief) KY M Casse / J Leparoux 5-0-1 (7) $2,120,220

The “Bad Boy” champion is going to give his people whiter hair than Baffert by the time this is done. When Classic Empire decides to put his mind to business and run, he’s been unstoppable - winning the G3 Bashford Manner, G1 Breeders’ Futurity, G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and G1 Arkansas Derby. He’s won by open lengths, in a dog fight, on the mud, on a dry track, sprinting 4 1/2 f and routing 1 1/8 miles. When Classic Empire doesn’t feel agreeable, he throws his jockey (G1 Hopeful Debacle), refuses to train, and wastes all his energy throwing fits before the race (G2 Holy Bull). If he can bring his A game, we might see something really special.

Pedigree Note: His half-brother Anytime Magic is a stakes winning sprinter

15. McCraken 5-1

Ghostzapper x Ivory Empress (Seeking the Gold) KY I Wilkes / B Hernandez Jr. 4-0-1 (5) $410,848

McCraken looked like a monster in the making at the start of the year. He was an undefeated winner of the G2 KY JC at Churchill Downs and looked every bit a Derby winner in his 3yo bow - a measured win in the Sam F Davis. But then lady luck intervened and a minor physical issue derailed his Derby trail plans. He got it back together in time for the G1 Blue Grass, but couldn’t catch a maiden and was outrun by Practical Joke. He has a lot of class to fall back on, and should move forward off his disappointing Blue Grass.

Pedigree Note: His half-brother is a G3-placed turf miler. His grand dam Madame Pandit was G1 placed and the dam of G1 winning turf mare Mea Domina

16. Tapwrit 20-1

Tapit x Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal) KY T Pletcher / J Ortiz 3-1-0 (6) $343,902

Here’s another colt that looked seriously special early on the Derby trail. He’s a gorgeous grey who looks every bit the $1.2 million spent to buy him. After breaking his maiden in second asking, he pulled away from Master Plan - the future G2 UAE Derby 3rd-place finisher - and was a fast closing second to McCraken in the G3 Sam F Davis. With McCraken out of the way, he exploded in the G2 Tampa Bay Derby. But then the G1 Blue Grass happened and he threw in a total clunker. The Blue Grass has been quite the undoing for several hot horses.

Pedigree Note: His dam Appealing Zophie won the G1 Spinaway at 2 and the G3 Silverbulletday at 3

17. Irish War Cry 6-1

Curlin x Irish Sovereign (Polish Numbers) NJ G Motion / R Maragh 4-0-0 (5) $699,460

The big son of Curlin is yet another horse who had to make a comeback from an inexplicably lousy race. He too was an undefeated, stakes winning 2yo who transitioned beautifully into his 3yo season. He looked like a future monster when he ran off with the G2 Holy Bull in his first start of the year, but then he didn’t pick up a hoof in the G2 Fountain of Youth. He got his redemption in the G2 Wood Memorial - winning with a strong speed figure and making quite the visual impression. As a son of Curlin, I bet he loves the rain

Pedigree Note: Curlin has had good luck as a sire of classic winners, with Palace Malice and Exaggerator. He has a lot of stamina in his pedigree.

18. Gormley 15-1

Malibu Moon x Race to Urga (Bernstein) KY J Shirreffs / V Espinoza 4-0-0 (6) $920,000

Gormley was a very classy 2yo who, like so many this year, has had consistency issues. His win in the G1 Front Runner was solid but he followed up with a total clunker in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His 3yo debut was a very impressive, hard fought win in the Sham, but followed up by a blah non-effort in the G2 San Felipe. Most recently he pulled past Battle of Midway to win the G1 Santa Anita Derby in a slow time. He looks like the best of the California horses, and the West Coast has been killin’ it lately on Derby day. Also, if it rains - watch out. His best race was run over some rare So-Cal slop.

Pedigree Note: His dam Race to Urga is a stakes winner on grass and his grand dam Miss Mambo was G1 placed on the grass in France.

19. Practical Joke 20-1

Into Mischief x Halo Humor (Distorted Humor) KY C Brown / J Rosario 3-2-1 (6) $1,015,800

Next to Classic Empire, Practical Joke has the classiest 2yo record to fall back on. He won both the big NY G1 races for 2yo colts - the G1 Hopeful and the G1 Champaign. His 3rd place finish in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was a solid effort to finish out his year. This year he’s struggled to get a win, but hasn’t had a bad effort. His seconds in the G2 Fountain of Youth and the G1 Blue Grass were solid enough. A lot of people question his ability to get 1 1/4 miles based on his pedigree.

Pedigree Note: His only inbreeding is to Halo (5x5), but his close-up family is pretty speed heavy.

20. Patch 30-1

Union Rags x Windyindy (A.P. Indy) KY T Pletcher / T Gaffalione 1-2-0 (3) $230,020

The one-eyed wonder is the talk of social media. He’s the most lightly raced colt of the bunch with just 3 starts and will be fighting Apollo’s curse since he didn’t debut until mid January. Patch has impressed, breaking his maiden with a big speed figure at Gulfstream, then finishing a good second in the G2 Louisiana Derby. A lot of Derby history is up against Patch, but he’ll be a definite fan-favorite on Derby day.

Pedigree Note: He’s a half-brother to G2 winner Tiz Windy.

---

AE 1 Royal Mo 20-1 AE 2 Master Plan 50-1

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[nortonc123]

Ahh The Old Helmet As a Weapon Play... Alert from my phone saying chaos was ensuing after a Browns Defender spiked the opposing QB with his own helmet. How could you look away? I had to go home and see what happened. I had visions of the opening scene in "The Last Boyscout"... it was not like that.  It was kinda dumb. And the Browns find a way to lose even though they won. This dude out for the year now. This is week 11: Browns over Steelers. It is fun to have a futures bet this year. Saving me money. The Browns schedule: Creamy. Cowboys over Lions. Stafford NCNS last week ruined the ticket! If we see Driscoll again, Cowboys blowout. Bucs over Saints. If the Birds can do it... Kitties over Birds. This is the first time we have played outside all year.  Jags over Colts. Stewed for two weeks after the London debacle. Still no TY and Brisett is the big Q. Vikes over Donkeys. Vikes want to run. Has me thinking under. Jets over Skins. Might be a cold one. Under 37.5? Fish over Bills. Feels like just a few weeks ago Buffalo was at home laying 17. The Fish covered that and have covered every game since. They have also won two straight.Ravens over Texans. Over is the play here. Cards over Niners. Plus 13.5 is a bonus. Niners are out 6 offensive players. Two starting tackles and almost all their scoring options. Pats over Eagles. Brady is 28-3 ATS after a loss. Raiders over Bungles. Feed the Bell Cow. Rams over Bears. Rams line is decimated. I really like the under here. Chargers over Chefs in Mexico City. They will run the ball like the Titans did. And they practiced in altitude. Hopeyalikedit.

CN

[ladywolfmd]

We don't need no letter at all (We've got a thing that's called radar love)

Summary: Jon Targaryen is the son of Prime Minister Rhaegar Targaryen but he is more famously known as "The Ghost" in the racing world by being three-time champion of the Sprint Cup when he was younger, to going for his sixth-peat for the F1 Grand Prix. In the middle of a race, he was lead to an unauthorized detour as part of a kidnapping scheme that was quickly thwarted but was actually a ruse when the real attempt was when he was en route back to the Red Keep. Lucky for him, his beautiful PA who he's been secretly pinning for has secrets of her own as, to his surprise, Sansa Stark takes charge in leading him to safety as she reveals she's been his bodyguard all along.Title is from Radar Love by Golden Earring taken from the "Baby Driver" OST.

AN: Just a little action packed ditty to vent my frustrations with Season Seven Hells. Bodyguard!Sansa AU.

Also up in AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11877483

39/51 Lap

"Jon, keep going, you're almost there. The gap between you and the Brat-theon prick is still there at 9/5th of your time but you can lose him on the 4th turn."

"Copy that Edd."

Jon started slowly decelerating to prepare for the turn, to bait Joffrey Baratheon into charging full speed ahead of him at the sharp turn that curved right then left, wishing he was conceited and stupid enough to take it and lose traction to steer away once he makes the turn.

"The Brat is falling for it! What a dipshit! Make him eat your dust, Jon."

In Jon's peripheral vision, he smirked as he saw the bane of his existence on his Golden Tooth toeing side by side with him when they neared the turn and just as he expected it, just as Jon slowed down, Joffrey's car roared as he pushed it ahead of him to take the curve.

Also as expected since Jon's slow wasn't just anyone's definition of slow, so Joffrey wouldn't be able to turn left in time and he'd head straight off track with the speed he tried to match with his.

Jon grinned when he did exactly that while Edd whooped over the team radio as he started flooring it.

"Wow will you look at that? The Brat's car spun around and--seven hells he's back on track, climbing back from P6 - P5 - Seven hells he's on P3 now and passing Royce for P2. Royce needs to block him so we'd take top two for the Night's watch."

Jon was impressed. The little shit was stubborn and, he hate to admit it, good enough to survive one of the oldest tricks in out-racing. Thank the gods his team-mate Waymar Royce gained speed for P2. He won't let Joffrey pass. There was no way their team was going to let the Gold cloakswin, not after the Crag debacle which was still up for debate.

But this wasn't the time to think about anything other than finishing this race. If he wins this, this would be his sixth consecutive Grand Prix win. He felt the second wind of adrenaline rush through him then as he drove over the mark signaling his completion of his 40th lap.

"Eleven more to go. You and Waymar got this! Joffrey is now down to P5 while Trystane and Daemon are tailing you both at P3 and P4 - wait, oh no Martell just passed Royce. He's hot on your tail - oh for the love of all things holy, where did that little shit come from? Royce and the Bratt are neck-in-neck behind you. Lose them now!"  Edd screamed over the radio making Jon cringe but he did as he was told, drifting to gain some more speed to widen the gap.

He can't afford a pitt stop right now, not when the race was so close to ending.

41/51 Lap.

The roar of his engine and the smooth skid of his tires spurred him to move  faster as he stepped on the gas again, his fists gripping on to the wheel just so. Only ten more laps to go and Jon was feeling pretty confident since the Snakes were keeping Joffrey busy while Waymar sailed back to P2 behind him.

He had just made the fourth turn again when he saw a marshall waving a detour flag at him.

What the hell?

"Edd? Edd? What's going on? Why is there a detour? Edd?"

But the airwaves remained static which was very odd.

Jon had no choice then but to follow the detour and into a track that lead to one of the abandoned practice tunnels. Something must've happened ahead of the track but he didn't see or hear anything unusual.

But what was unnerving was the team radio line dying on him.

This never happened before and he started slowing down because he wasn't familiar with this track and he was starting to suspect there was no car trailing behind him anymore.

As he went further, so did the darkness but he couldn't turn back because the track was too narrow and was obviously a one-way.

His heart raced and it wasn't from excitement anymore.

Finally, he saw the light and there were people wearing the race officials uniforms waving him over to stop and Jon thought that maybe this wasn't a race thing but more of a Prime Minister's son safety issue.

He stopped the car and hopped off cautious of his surroundings. He didn't completely remove his helmet, just lifted the visor as he greeted an approaching official but when he saw Arthur Dayne and Larence Snow, both of which were part of his security detail, he relaxed a little.

He removed his helmet, pulled down his balaclava and ear plugs, then and met them halfway. "What's going on?"

"You were almost kidnapped sir."

Jon turned sharply to the voice he'd recognize anywhere on the planet and beyond and he was greeted immediately by red flowing hair and bright blue eyes of his personal assistant and love of his life though she doesn't know it yet, Sansa Stark, who was holding up a phone and her tablet while her smart watch kept flashing on her right wrist, looking at him with concern.

"C-come again?"

"Hang on," Sansa held finger up while she took a call from her headset. "Yes, he's safe Robb. Arthur and Larence as well as some of the staff are here with us. I'll brief him and we can rendezvous back to the Keep from the Dragonpit. Arthur already talked to Barristan. Mmhmm. Yes. Okay."

She tapped the mic off and walked over to him calmly, nodding at Larence to go ahead. "There was a plan to lead you here off track and take you. We're heading over back to the Keep," she explained.

Jon's blood froze. He knew about several kidnapping attempts done on his family but this was the first time that he was the sole target and he was barely listening as Arthur started explaining what happened while they escorted him into one of the Targaryen safe cars.

"It was the Blackfyres and their Golden Company. We got an anonymous tip to watch you closely when you reached your fortieth lap. When Sansa saw your car disappear off track, I had my men go ahead from the other end of the tunnel you entered. Before that we've already blocked off all the exits when you reached your twentieth lap. Long story short, my men apprehended ten company members and their getaway car."

He tried to concentrate and process but he was definitely shaken up. He knew there was something he wasn't telling him but then he felt a warm hand on his arm and saw Sansa's small dainty hand on him before meeting with her eyes.

"Hey, you're safe now, sir," she said softly, her eyes as warm as her touch that Jon visibly relaxed, even offering a weak smile.

"I thought I told you to call me Jon."

Sansa just smiled up at him and waited for him to slide in the car while Arthur held the door open for him. He went in automatically, sliding inside to make room for Sansa to sit next to him as part of the safety drill they've practiced numerous times of having no two doors open at the same time.

Jon was still uneasy. "It's too...easy," he said once Arthur rode shotgun and Larence started the car.

"It is, that's why we're bringing you home for now while the rest secure the Dragonpit," Arthur explained, nodding to Larence to drive once the front escort car rolled away. Jon looked behind them and saw the rear escort car tailing them.

"Why me?"

"We don't know yet," Sansa answered and Jon looked at her then and noticed her tapping away in her phone and tablet that was balanced on her lap. She paused what she was doing to look at him fully then, her eyes filled with determination. "But we'll find out."

He nodded and leant back, setting his helmet on the floor and not bothering to remove anything else yet since his overall wasn't only fireproof but bulletproof and his hands still shook enough for him to remove his gloves.

"So...who won?" he tried not to sound too bitter knowing that his streak ended.

Sansa looked at him sadly before giving a tiny smile and Jon appreciated that she once again, stopped whatever it was she was doing to concentrate on him. His heart started racing when she slid closer and settled her hand on his arm again. "Waymar then Trystane, Daemon, Joffrey, Arys" in that order. Sorry sir, but it's still a win for the team. And if anything, you would've won it hands down if it weren't for this," she started frowning then.

Jon was touched that Sansa cared - what was he saying? She always cared. But he didn't want to see her frown. He wanted nothing but to see her smile so he cracked a grin and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey at least the Night's Watch is still on top and you guys did a fantastic job stopping my abduction."

Sansa smiled a little then but got distracted when she started taking calls again and checking emails, giving him an apologetic look that he waved off with an understanding smile.

He realized then that this kind of thing would drain her from the shit storm of the media, his team, the whole F1 organization, and of course, the whole of Westeros wanting to know about this. Seven hells, Sansa will be completely swamped, communicating with the Palace lawyers and PR staff.

Seven hells, it probably started minutes ago - right at the moment he disappeared off track, but with Sansa as his PA, he'd never know the difference. She was incredibly efficient and not once did he see her as nothing but a picture of grace under pressure over the six months that she started working for him. Father did a good job of handpicking her and her twin brother Robb to work for him. The Stark twins worked with Sansa being in charge of internal affairs while Robb handled the external ones, often representing him politically as well as legally as his personal lawyer.

They were actually bargains if he wanted to continue his career as a professional racer, his father, or rather, Prime Minister Rhaegar made that clear. You can't just run off and leave your responsibilities on the track. Especially now with talks of the Blakfyres trying to overthrow his father's rule.

He sighed but then, at least he gained a friend in Robb and most importantly, he met Sansa.

Sansa.

She was the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on with her creamy alabaster skin, her bright blue eyes, that fiery mane and those incredibly long, long, legs she often displayed under those tight pencil skirts she wore and the fuck me heels that often left him helpless and wanting when it made her tower over him an inch.

But she wasn't just another beautiful face. Sansa was a sweetheart. Kind. Courteous. Sweet. But what drove him mad was how intelligent she was. She was incredibly smart and witty and so in charge that - that turned him on more.

It wasn't really a secret that he was attracted to her. She was working to serve under him but everyone saw that he was putty in her soft delicate hands. But as professionalism goes, they couldn't date.

His father made sure to remind him of that. She was too valuable an asset for the Targaryens with how efficient she worked that sometimes Jon thinks Rhaegar wanted to adopt her, especially with Rhaenys eloping with Willas Tyrell, and Aegon faffing around the world on Jon Connington's boat, his uncle Viserys being an insufferable prick in Dragonstone and his aunt Daenerys galivanting the Free Cities.

It was clear to Rhaegar that once his rule has ended, none of his issue would follow after him.

Really, the Starks cleared their messes with their father Ned Stark often acting as his right-hand man. Ned, like Robb, was a lawyer and had been appointed as the Attorney General of the regime. He then offered the twins' services. Sansa, he learned, had a degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. Truly, if anything, Rhaegar wanted to adopt either her or Robb to continue his platforms.

Jon asked them if they wanted to run for office one day but they both humbly declined saying that they were fine with what they were now, and that there were more important matters. Jon never understood what could be more important than holding office? Surely there were more things they could accomplish than fixing his messes or refraining him from making them.

They slowed down suddenly and the scratch of the radio broke the silence.

"This is Arthur. Hmmm. Copy that."

Jon held his breath as he saw Arthur's eyes go to his from the mirror. "We've been compromised. We're moving you to the safe house. We're being followed," he explained quickly while he punched on the GPS and continued talking to someone on his two-way.

Jon froze then and gripped his knees hard.

"Yeah, Robb. Turning off all comms except the untraceable. I'll update you."

His head snapped to Sansa and saw her turning all her gadgets off and extracting a slim black phone he's never seen before and syncing it with her head piece. And by the Seven, why was she so calm?

"How are you doing it?"

She looked up at him confused. "Hm?"

"How are you not freaking out?"

She blinked. "Oh. Nerves of steel, I guess," she shrugged before she studied him. "Hey you're shaking."

He was?

He looked down at his hands and saw that he was. He knew part of it was still the adrenaline from the race, the attempt, and now this. "Sorry."

Jon sucked in a breath when Sansa slid right next to him that her hip was touching his and leant a bit to take his hand in hers as she carefully pulled on the velcro straps and tugged his gloves off one by one.

"Why are you sorry? For being scared?" she said in a low voice without looking at him, concentrating on her task.

"Yeah, not exactly manly of me," he chuckled nervously.

"Hmm, well my father always said that the only time you can be brave is when you're afraid," she said soothingly before holding both his hands in hers and looking up at him with those vivid blue eyes of hers.

Jon could only look at her and their hands before he closed his eyes and took deep breaths and once he was calm enough he opened them and saw her still looking at him, giving him a half-smile when their eyes met again.

"You'll be fine, I promise. I'll protect you," she winked at him.

He couldn't help but smile at her joke. "Sure. You just bat your long lashes at them and they'd be wrapped around your cute little finger. Easy."

She blushed then and Jon realized what he just said. "Er, I mean-"

The car lurched as Larence made a sharp turn, causing Jon to press against Sansa when they got thrown to her side.

"Sorry about that, we're here," Larence muttered.

Arthur went down first to check while the rest of them waited inside the car.

Jon then realized he was on top of something soft and he bolted to the other side in a flash when he realized his head was pressed against Sansa's torso. "Sorry."

Sansa was flushed too but offered him a weak smile as she smoothed down her black twin-set with red details and that was when he noticed that Sansa was wearing his team's colors.

Arthur opened Sansa's door then while Larence helped her out and quickly ushered her inside the safe house in Fleabottom with him and Arthur following behind and flanked by two more men.

Once they were inside, Jon was whisked into the eleventh floor and into a suite. The safe house was actually an intel building.

"This is actually not the safest but it was the closest and we need to keep you safe," Arthur met his eyes.

"Tell me the real danger, I can handle it," Jon said determinedly, knowing there was something they were keeping from him.

Larence and Arthur as well as Sansa exchanged looks. "The order was to capture you. Dead or alive," Arthur laid it out then and Jon stared at him baffled.

They heard a crash then and running followed by shots outside.

"Fuck," Arthur pulled his gun out then and so did the men as they went for the door and formed a perimeter around Jon. "They're here."

Arthur then looked at Sansa. "We'll hold them off. Get him out. Larence will come as far as he can with you. Get the brief and head to the garage with the service elevator." He threw a set of keys to Sansa who caught it in one hand, her eyes hard, and her jaw firm. "Your card will work fine on everything. Get him out and rendezvous at Wolf Den."

"What? Why Sansa? What's going on!" Jon shifted from Arthur and Sansa and his eyes bulged when he saw Sansa toss the painting over the headboard and opened a hidden safe, pulling out a steel briefcase.

"Jon."

He turned to Arthur who wasn't looking at him but at the door where he was aiming his gun at. "Go with Sansa. Now."

Before he could react, Jon was being dragged by Larence towards the closet with Sansa walking briskly ahead.

He saw Larence shut the closet door and bar it then back to Sansa who placed her key card over a panel she revealed and a secret door opened just as they heard shots being fired from the other room.

"Shit, go, go, go, I'll lock behind you," Larence pushed Jon just as Sansa tugged at him.

"Larence but-" Jon felt the reality finally sinking in.

Larence Snow, who he played poker with, had pulled him out of his drunk ass more times than he could remember, being an actual friend more than a guard was going to die for him.

"Come with us," he pleaded.

Larence smiled at him grimly. "It's been fun, Jon. Now go with your girl. She's the Ace." He said before the door slid down between them.

"Jon, come on," Sansa urged as she continued to tug at him. "He knew what he was doing," she whispered hurriedly while dragging him towards another room that she locked after them.

Jon was still in shock until he felt hands on his face and blue eyes steadying his frantic ones. "Jon. Listen to me. You're going to be fine. I'm going to get you out of this. But I need you to do as I say. Do you understand?"

He blinked at her.

"Jon," she said more firmly.

He nodded and swallowed while Sansa let out a relieved breath before she started kneeling as she opened the silver briefcase.

She pulled out another bulletproof vest and handed one to him while she shrugged off her black coat and wore one of her own and that was when Jon saw the twin gun holsters strapped to her lower back.

"You-you're-"

She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled tightly. "Yeah," before securing her headset and taking out two more handguns. He watched as she slid the magazine in, pulled the slide release, and clicked the glock into place like she was doing it all her life.

"Do you know how to use this?" She looked at him then and he saw the first sign of worry on her face with the tiny furrow between her brows.

"Not well," Jon admitted and cursed himself for not taking those shooting lessons to heart.

Sansa stood in front of him then and took his hands, placing a glock in his right hand and positioning his hand properly. "It's easy. This is a semi-automatic and I've released the lock already. All you have to do," she raised his hand and made him point it straight forward while she used both hands to keep him in position. "Is point and shoot."

She placed his finger on the trigger with hers on top of his. "You don't need to shoot fancy. Just go for the easy targets - the biggest space so you won't miss. Hit the chest or the back. Don't hesitate. It's your life or theirs. These men will not hesitate to shoot. You got it?"

Jon swallowed. This was really happening. "Y-yes."

She released him then and helped him tighten the vest. She placed a radio on the holster of his vest explaining quickly. "If we get separated, use this and go to channel one and shout "Winter is coming," then follow the voice."

He nodded again.

"Okay," she walked in front of him then. "Jon. We're going to use the service elevator. Beyond this room, there is a short hallway we have to pass and we'll encounter men. I need you to stay behind me at all times. Don't be a hero. I'm trained for this. You aren't. You'll get in the elevator first and I'll try to follow. You'll be immediately brought to basement 2 but you'll have to climb out the escape hatch and climb to basement 1 where they won't expect us. Get a car. Any car and drive the hell away and use the radio for directions."

He grabbed her by the arms then and bore at her. "What about you? I can't let you--"

She cut him off with a hurried kiss. "Jon. I'm just telling you the plan in case I can't follow you. But I'm telling you, I'm trained at this. I'll see you through until you're safe. I promise. Now, we need to go."

She fixed him a look that had a hundred different promises swirling in those baby blues and all he could do was keep nodding at her repeatedly, hoping she'd see his own too.

Sansa gave him a firm nod and released him. Strapping on ammo belts over her and setting her own gun.

She tapped on her headpiece then just as she switched her smartwatch on. "Red Wolf to Grey. Do you read? Over."

Jon could hear from his own radio strapped to his chest where Sansa must've kept the line on just in case.

"This is Grey, I copy. Over. I've locked in your position. Is Rhaegal undamaged?"  Robb. He recognized the voice. So he was part of this too? Was Ned Stark one too?

"No. I sent you our coordinates. I need surveillance and possible backup," Sansa checked the windows before hovering over the door.

"Locked in on your coordinates. Activating Warg mode. I'm your eyes Red."

"Good. We're heading out to the hallway. How many men are there? Positions?"

"Seven and four waiting at the left intersection, three guarding the chute. They can't call for backup as I've denied all access to the chute but I can see they're working on override."  

Sansa pursed her lip but was still relatively calm. "How much time do I have?"

"Sixty-five seconds. Go."

"Jon, do you trust me?" She looked at him then.

"With my life," he answered right away and Sansa's eyes glinted with something before she placed her keycard over the lock and opened into the hallway.

"Then let's run," She ran ahead and he followed as they sped off into the narrow hallway, spotting the left intersection where four men appeared from, blocking their way while pointing guns at them.

"Stop. Drop your weapons and come with us quietly now and no one gets hurt," came the burly man with an eyepatch.

Sansa stayed Jon with a hand behind her back indicating to stand down. "Funny, I was going to offer you the same courtesy Greyjoy."

Greyjoy?

"Ah. What a delight you are. But no girl, hand over the boy and I promise to make it good for you when I take you back with me. Be a good girl now and I'll return the favor when I let you suck me off," Greyjoy taunted and Jon saw red but Sansa stayed him again with her hand.

"Ooh, so you're the dragon spawn's bitch, I see. All the more sweeter to mount a dragon's moun-Fuck you bitch!"

Sansa shot him straight to the crotch and fired another to his leg, bringing him down while she pushed Jon to the ground, shielding him with her body when Greyjoy open-fired.

Jon heard Sansa fire another shot and watched the lifeless eye of Greyjoy, a bullet lodged in between his eyes.

"Stay down!" Sansa yelled at him as she strode forward and pulled another gun from behind her and began shooting from both sides, taking down three men straight to the head while she aimed at two others but Jon saw the last of the men aiming behind her.

Jon didn't think then, brought himself up, aimed at the man's chest and shot.

Jon watched as the man clutched at his stomach that was starting to shoot out blood before dropping his weapon and collapsing.

He was still heaving and holding the gun with wide eyes when he heard more shooting from behind him and his name being called.

"Jon - Jon."

His head snapped to Sansa and he saw another guy aiming at her. "Sansa!"

Sansa was too quick as she dodged and lunged at the guy, elbowing his chest while she leant across that guy's shoulder and shot at the other guy straight to the heart when he saw him aiming for Jon but in a second she was caught in a headlock with the first one, a gun pointed at her head.

Jon's eyes locked with Sansa's then and she urged him to run. Pleaded with her eyes as she mouthed "Go!"

But Jon couldn't leave her. He won't. And Sansa saw that he wouldn't but tried to shake her head at him anyway as she clawed at the arm that was holding her back.

"Don't make another move. Drop your weapon or I blow her brains out!" The lone henchman spat at Jon.

Jon raised his hands and dropped the gun slowly, his eyes never taking them off of the attacker. He kicked the gun towards him and took a step back. "Take me. You can let her go. It's me you want."

Sansa was about to shout her protest when a hand clamped over her mouth.

"You have thirty seconds left Jon or you won't make it to the chute in time," came Robb's voice over the radio. "Sansa knows. We have to get you out. Let her go Jon." He could hear the pain over the controlled voice of his lawyer who quickly became his confidante at letting his sister go. But Jon wasn't raised this way.

He had to fight for the people willing to risk their lives for him too.

"Jon."

Sansa's eyes softened at Jon then and she gave him a nod that the attacker noticed when Jon saw him grin. And that was all the signal he and Sansa needed - his sudden arrogance as he saw Sansa escape from the man's loosened grip, kicking the gun out of his hand before she pulled his arm and threw him over her shoulder where he landed roughly on his back with Sansa's knee digging on his spine while he pulled at his arm making him scream.

Jon ran to them, picked up the gun and threw it to Sansa who caught it and shot the man in the back before quickly grabbing her two other glocks and nodding at Jon to run as fast as he could to the service elevator with only ten seconds left.

Sansa quickly placed her keycard over the monitor and the doors slid open. She pushed Jon inside quickly while they heard Robb bark at them that there were a dozen men going their way.

Just as the doors were sliding close, Jon pulled Sansa all the way inside before repeatedly pressing the door button close as the men started appearing. Sansa shot a few rounds until the door finally shut close and they were both panting and splattered with blood and sweat as the elevator went down.

Sansa looked up at Jon as she wiped her brow. "You oka-mmph

Jon cupped her head and kissed her fiercely then before pulling away. "Seven hells, woman! You almost died!"

Sansa chuckled. "So did you, sir. Thank you sir." She smirked.

Jon was about to retort when Robb's voice came through.

"Well done. Both of you. But remember to get off B1. I'll open the doors for you. All of them are expecting you from B2 so you'll only have a window of thirty-five seconds before they catch up to you on the street. You have to shake them off as best as you can. Do you copy?"

"Roger," Sansa answered just as she observed the ceiling. They were now at the 8th floor.

7th.

6th.

"Jon, I need you to boost me up," Sansa tilted her head at him.

"What?"

She pointed to the escape hatch. "That's our exit. The faster we're up there, the easier we can go. Help me up?"

Jon looked from the ceiling to her and understood, crouching down so she could climb up his back. He felt Sansa's hands on his shoulders then before a leg hitched over his shoulder, and then another on his other side that made him suck in a breath as he felt her skirt against his nape and heard a rip.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I had to rip it because it's too tight to move freely," she muttered. "Um, Jon, I need you to steady me because I'll be reaching up."

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled back as his arms held on to her thighs where he felt garters that made him pause again.

"They carry my gun and a knife. Boost me up?" she said hurriedly.

Jon nodded and stood straight, trying not to think of Sansa's gartered and stockinged legs were around his neck and focused instead on the sounds of Sansa tinkering with the hatch as they descended to 4th when suddenly the elevator lurched to a stop, the lights flickering on and off until darkness then the emergency light.

Jon kept Sansa steady while he braced against the wall with one hand.

"Grey, what the hell?"

"Hang on Red. I'll hook it back. I had to terminate an attempt. Sorry, hold on."

Sansa cussed for the first time and that was when Jon felt that shit was real. He didn't know how much his sanity depended on her cool.

Sansa noticed him stiffening and worked faster before urging him gently to let her down.

"We're still good. I'll protect you, I promise, didn't I?" she smiled up at him as she cradled his cheek.

Jon grabbed her wrist and looked straight at her. "What exactly did you promise when you took the job? You promised your life?"

She didn't back down and leant forward that their noses were touching. "Yes."

"Fuck, Sansa-"

"Don't. Not now. Tell me later," Sansa said before she backed away, then sprang on the elevator rail before pushing her body upwards to catch on the opened hatch where she dangled for a moment before hoisting herself up and disappearing into the ceiling just as the elevator started moving again.

4th.

3rd.

She appeared again and offered him her hand. "Jump up Jon. You can do it. Grab my hand."

Jon did and it took three tries before his hand clutched at Sansa's where she pulled him up with both arms, grunting while he saw her teeth clenching until finally they were both holding on to the top of the elevator as it sailed down.

2nd.

Sansa closed the hatch.

"This is our stop. When I say jump, jump okay?" She took Jon's hand in hers and Jon squeezed it tightly. "Yes."

Sansa looked to her left then where the doors where and slowly she stood up with one hand bracing Jon's other arm and nodding at the direction.

1st.

"Jump!"

Hand in hand they jumped towards the ledge of B1 level. But Jon slipped if not for Sansa's iron grip on his arm.

Jon could see the strain heavy on Sansa as she struggled to pull him up. "I'm too heavy. Let go."

Sansa shook her head. "Don't you dare. Now try and swing your hand to grab on to my arm. Try."

Jon tried and missed and Sansa winced. "Try harder."

He did and this time he was able to grab ahold of Sansa's arms with his other hand and they both hoisted themselves up over the tiny ledge, with Jon collapsing on top of Sansa, both of them panting.

"Gods be good, Jon! Just do as you're told!" Sansa scolded as she slapped his back. Jon didn't know why but he started chuckling while shaking his head.

"Yes, yes it's all very amusing. Now get off me and let's get our car."

Jon quickly got off her and offered her a hand and helped her up.

"Grey, Alohomora this bitch," Sansa tapped her headset.

"Opening the portrait. Good job you two."

The elevator door opened and Sansa stepped inside first, gun out and gestured for Jon to stay low behind him.

"All clear. Proceed." Robb's voice broke through.

Sansa chose the nearest car then, a Porsche Panamera, and Jon should've known that of course there would be armored sports cars in every safe house.

On instinct he went inside the driver's side but was quickly shoved over to the passenger side by Sansa who gave him a look that said seriously going to fight me at this point?

He raised his palms as Sansa started the car, syncing her smartwatch to the comm at the dash where Robb's face came to view. "Hey guys. Let's get you out, shall we?"

"You okay?" Sansa demanded as she received the coordinates Robb entered on the GPS split screen.

"What?"

"Sit tight," she said instead while she backed out the parking space. "You're not the only one who can drive fast."

Jon obeyed at once while Robb chuckled from the screen. "Better do as she says, sir."

"You two have been saving my ass, I think it's time you called me Jon," Jon grumbled.

"Oh heads up sis, you're going to be met with a lot of resistance once you reach the gate. There's a shotgun at the back and two more pistols on the glove compartment. Godspeed. I'll keep surveillance and get back to you."

Robb's face disappeared then while the GPS zoomed out.

Sansa peeled out of the basement and up the exit where probably thirty armed men were waiting, shooting at them right away.

"Keep down," Sansa drifted to let her side face the onslaught while they heard the bullets pelt against the car that aside from a few cracks, held.

Sansa was able to escape the firing squad and onto the street.

"Fuck!" Sansa cursed again when they were flanked both sides by larger cars where men were shooting at them.

"Robb! Where do I go? We're surrounded!" she glanced at the rearview window where another car was gaining on them.

"You gotta take them out and speed up towards the backstreet then through the Muddy Way and we can come get you on the Street of Steel."

"Shit," as the car shook after a few more rounds at them. She looked at Jon then. "Jon, I have to take them out."

Jon held on to her look, not liking where this was going but she pleaded trust from him and he was going to give it. "What do you need?"

"I need you to take the wheel and let Robb guide you while I try and take them out. Do you understand me? Can you do that?" she used the full force of her gaze at Jon as she took a large swerve to the right, still pressing the gas to the floor.

Finally, something he could do. Something he was good at. He started to slide in to her space as he nodded. "Yes. Leave it to me."

Sansa smiled at him softly then before she lifted her body up so he can slide under her. Quickly Jon's hands replaced hers on the wheel and on the pedals while she started clambering off his lap but before she could do so, the other car slammed at them from behind that Jon almost hit a pole if he hadn't turned swiftly to the right to avoid it, but he was able to right them immediately.

"Jon. I'm going to take out the left car first, okay? So I'm going to open the door and shoot and I need you to keep driving straight, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Don't be scared," and then she opened our door catching the assailants by surprise as she shot at them straight, hitting both the driver and the passenger with one shot each and Jon pushed the car so fast ahead to avoid colliding against the now spinning car to the left.

Sansa shut the door right away and started climbing to the back where he could see her taking out the shotgun and loading it from the mirror.

"Jon?"

"Robb?"

"I can help you two escape. I found a route. Follow my directions. Go straight for three kilometers then turn right."

"Gotcha."

"I'm going to take out the back now," Sansa declared. "Just keep driving, you're doing fine." She said while she opened up the sunroof and climbed up. "Sansa! What the fuck?!"

Sansa was now on the roof, shooting at the back and depending on him to keep the car steady or else she'd fall.

Okay, calm down Jon. Calm down. You've driven worse tracks at faster speed. You can do this. He mentally cheered himself and gripped on the wheel like his life depended on it, sighing in relief when Sansa dropped back inside from the sunroof. The car behind them hitting another car, turning over before crashing on a sidewalk, catching fire at once.

"Seven hells, Sansa at least warn a man!" he glanced at her.

"Just keep driving Targaryen," she tore at her sleeves and that was when Jon saw that she was shot.

"Sansa-"

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Just a bullet graze." She started wrapping the giant gash it left on her right arm with her torn sleeve. "Keep driving. Our turn is near."

And she was right, Jon could see the turn and he made it just as Robb started ordering again.

"Good. Now you just need to keep going straight until you see The Hook. Take the sharp left then immediately the next right exit then go the roundabout to Street of Steel. It's not that far now."

"Okay." He shot a worried look at Sansa who was reloading the shotgun when they were hit with a big blast from her side that shattered the glass.

Jon kept the car from spinning around and ducked when he saw a car going straight for them from his left.

He let go of the wheel then and allowed the car to spin before he drifted off the path and watched the car collide against the new one tailing them at the back. Just how many were there?

Once he was able to get them back on course, he noticed that Sansa was quiet and saw that she was unconscious with a big cut against the side of her head.

"Sansa - Sansa" he hissed and he breathed out when her eyes fluttered open as she winced but started going for her shot gun again.

A motorcycle with two people sped up to her side again and they were so near her side. Jon tried to bump them off but they were too quick and Sansa aimed the shotgun at them from the broken window and fired but missed.

"Shit," she cursed and before Jon knew it, Sansa opened her door, shot the rider at the back and jumped on the motorcycle, kicking the one at the back off while pointing a gun at the driver's head and firing. She pushed him away then and Jon saw Sansa now driving towards the back.

"Sansa no! Get back here!"

But Sansa didn't and open fired behind her, targeting the wheels of the two cars that were following before she drove back to the still hanging passenger door.

Jon glared at her horrified. "Get in, now!" He reached his hand as far as he could stretch it, leaving the wheel on straight lock as he frantically reached for Sansa's own overstretched hand.

"Come on!" He shouted and finally he was able to grab Sansa's hand and pull her in, smiling in relief when they heard a shot fired with Sansa collapsing on his shoulder, her arms falling from his body as she slid down his.  

"No, no, no, no!" Jon quickly assessed her and there he saw it, Sansa got shot at her left shoulder from the back. She took a shot meant for him.

Jon saw red then as he quickly shut the door, buckled in an unconscious Sansa who was still breathing heavily from the pain, and got back to driving.

"Robb, Sansa's been shot at the back. Shoulder but she's still breathing. Only one more car is tailing us. Where will we go?" He said completely clear headed now and focused on the drive.

"Fuck. Okay, change route. On the next right exit, take it and head straight to River Row. There's a medic bay there. Drive the fuck over there and save my sister."

"Roger."

He saw it then. Two cars toeing in on either side and he slipped into his racing mode.

This is just another race.

You've never lost a race in years.

The last one didn't count but this would.

Sansa's life depended on it.

They all know me as a dragon, Rhaegal they named my mount in court.

But in the track I'm only known by one name.

And that's Ghost.

It's time to vanish on the streets.

He gripped the wheel and started letting on the gas, breaking a little, making them think he was slowing down for them as he eyed the curve.

They roared beside them then and Jon smirked as he lead them to the narrow curve, stopping abruptly and watched as they vainly tried to turn but ended up crashing against each other.

Jon started the car again, roaring it to life and steadily started backing up, gaining speed, before pushing forward full throttle as he used the piled car as a ramp and let the car fly over them and back into the street with a loud screech and a jolt, moving as fast as he could away as the cars exploded behind him, pushing his car forward from the impact.

But he didn't relent.

He drove and drove until finally he reached River Row where he immediately saw Robb Stark get out off a car and ordering a team to get them.

Jon slowed to a stop. Hands still tight on the wheel as he heaved in and out, his pulse throbbing in his ears. And he heard his door and Sansa's being opened but he couldn't move, or let the voices register. Not until he heard a familiar whimper.

His eyes shot to Sansa now who was being held by her brother then. Her eyes fluttering open and searching his, offering a weak smile at him. "You okay?" she said through gritted teeth.

Jon felt all the tension slip away from his body then only to be replaced with exhaustion and relief as he returned her smile, reaching over to move her hair off her face. "Never better. You?"

"Just another day," she grinned.

"Okay, that's enough for now." Robb carried Sansa then and looked at Jon gratefully. Jon could only nod at him. Of course.

Jon stepped out the car and shook off the paramedics fusing about him, going instead to Sansa still in Robb's arms as he carried her towards the medic bay himself.

"Thank you, Jon," she grinned up at him.

Jon snorted. "No, thank you."

"Well, the jig is up, I guess," she giggled then winced after, earning a frown from Robb.

"Who would've thought my sweet and pretty assistant could be lethal. Hiding knives and guns under her skirt," he joked earning a glare from Robb but didn't comment.

"A skirt, you've been trying to chase," she winked.

Jon blinked but laughed instead. "Well, you did say the jig is up."

"I hope you're not too betrayed."

"Stark, you took a bullet for me. You killed for me. Betrayed is the last thing on my mind," he scoffed.

Sansa closed her eyes then and smiled. "I'm just doing my job. Pretty smooth driving though. World class."

"I'm just doing my job," he shot back at her.

Sansa reached up and took his hand then, looking up at him. "Jon, now that we're out of the woods. Do you know yet? Did they tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

She tilted her head. "Where will you go?"

He bid Robb to stop walking a minute so he could lean down Sansa. "Where will we go?"

Sansa grinned up at him then though she looked pale and worn but still fucking beautiful. "You're my bodyguard, right? You made a vow to me. You promised you'd protect me," he winked.

"I guess I did," she said before closing her eyes and surrendering to her exhaustion.

Jon leant down again and kissed her forehead. "I'll protect you too."

And they started walking again.

"You know she can't be your bodyguard anymore, right?" Robb eyed him.

Jon just grinned. "Of course not. But she'll still be obligated to stay by my side."

"Oh, is she now?" Robb raised a brow at him.

"Yes. When she runs for office after my father, naturally, the first gentleman's place is beside her," he said matter-of-factly.

Robb burst out laughing. "Rhaegar will be pleased."

Jon snorted. "Rhaegar will shit bricks when he finds out Sansa's finally going to run and then he'll throw those bricks at me when I tell him I'm going to marry the daughter he never had that he specifically told me not to date."

"I'm sure Sansa will make him come around," Robb grinned at him. "You've seen how demanding she is."

Jon grinned wickedly. "Yeah, yes she is."

"Oy, get that filthy thought away from my poor incapacitated sister or I'll kick your ass. We're not known as Stark Protection for nothing."

"Yikes."

"Oh, yes, yikes. Wait until you meet our mom. She's the one who taught Sansa how to fire guns and arrows."

"Double yikes."

"Will you two shut up. I just got shot here," Sansa mumbled, squinting an eye at them. "And it hurts like the seven hells. I think it's lodged in my scapula."

Robb laid her down the stretcher and stepped back, dropping a kiss on her forehead as the staff went over her. "See you later Red Wolf. I'm proud of you pumpkin."

Sansa rolled her eyes and looked at Jon then who was looking at her tenderly.

"So, first gentleman, huh? The Palace is the cart before the horse there or what?"

Jon chuckled and kissed her gently then to the sigh and grumbling of the medics. "Yes. And that's after we have three children. One mini-you, one mini-me, and one a combination. Oh and a dog too."

"Awfully sure of you," she winced a little.

"Take it easy, and yes. Yes, I've never been more sure. I should've said it earlier but I love you."

Sansa closed her eyes and smiled serenely. "I love you too."

"I'll see you later," Jon squeezed her hand.

"You'd better,"  she muttered before looking at him then.

Jon watched as they wheeled her off, raising a hand in a wave and watched as Sansa smiled at him and lifted a hand, though a little weakly, back at him.

Sansa's been following him around and cleaning up after him as he went on his races but starting now, he'll be chasing nothing but her.

It was his turn to follow.

Professionalism be damned.

It was time to rip out her contract and give her a new one while he planned just one more race.

The race to the altar.

No way in seven hells was he wasting any more time.

Not when speed was all he knew.

When you knew, you knew.

And seven hells they both almost died today.

She was it.

She was the goal.

And speed...not necessarily a bad thing.

He smirked.

Not a bad thing at all.

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[flauntpage]

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23

Turns out a healthy Nick Foles is better than an injured Carson Wentz.

Shocking, I know.

That should really be the extent of the “Foles vs. Wentz” argument that will stink up social media and sports radio this week. One guy is healthy, one guy is not. THEREFORE – at this current moment in time, I’m gonna roll with the healthy Super Bowl MVP. It seems pretty straightforward to me, but unfortunately we’re just gonna have to deal with the frothy nothing-burger quarrels for the next seven days.

I’ll tell ya what; that was the first Eagles game I enjoyed watching this year, at least for three quarters. They moved the ball up and down the field, they played aggressive and nasty defense, and I swear I saw glimpses of the 2017 squad out there.

This, of course, begs the question –

Where was this Eagles team against the Buccaneers, Titans, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, and Cowboys?

Surely the quarterback change was not the sole catalyst for the win, right? Nick Foles did play the first two games this season, and he wasn’t exactly Joe Montana against the Falcons or Bucs. The banged-up defense was lights out for 3+ quarters last night as guys like Avonte Maddox and Cre’Von LeBlanc made big plays. Did they miraculously transform into legitimate NFL starters overnight?

Gut feeling: the Eagles still believed in themselves while the Rams believed they were going to trash a 6-7 team in a rebound game coming off a bad loss. It’s the same underdog mentality that got the Birds a Super Bowl ring last year. “No one likes us, we don’t care” was the rallying cry then, but this year it’s more, “No one thinks we have a prayer, and we probably don’t, but we’re gonna at least go down swinging.” Maybe we can get that on a T-shirt.

I’ve been totally unenthusiastic about this team and actually mostly ambivalent over the past three or four weeks, so I won’t flip flop here and tell you how excited I am going forward. That would be the Skip Bayless thing to do, to just hop back on the bandwagon. I’m still skeptical that a banged-up Eagles team does much of anything in the playoffs, but at least they’ve given themselves a chance at 9-7 and a postseason return after slogging through a mostly miserable title defense in 2018.

1) Nick “The Franchise” Foles

He gets the ball out quicker than Carson does. That’s the big difference. Nick glides through his progressions and takes what the defense gives him. He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit while Carson is more inclined to extend a play and try to make something happen in that fashion.

It’s not to say that Nick is better than Carson, because I don’t think he is. I think they are both pretty damn good when they’re on their game. Statistically, Foles finished 24 for 31 for 270 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. last night and the Eagles’ offense was a meager 4-13 on third down. Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams and Jake Elliott did the scoring.

The difference between healthy Foles and injured Carson is that healthy Foles was able to stay ahead of the chains with smart and simple plays on first and second down. He had first down conversions on 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 7 on first half scoring drives. He hit Golden Tate for 11 yards on a 2nd and 10 in the third quarter. There were only nine passing third down conversions last night, but Nick made them count and really did a nice job averting the dreaded three and out.

The only two horrendous passes I saw were the interception at the goal line and a risky screen that he probably should have thrown into the ground, but he was otherwise solid.

I wrote a story last week called “Throwing the Football Down the Field” and went through Carson’s last three game charts to find that he was 2-8 in completed passes of 20 or more yards against the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Last night, Nick was 3-5 in this category, all of which came down the right side of the field and took advantage of Alshon Jeffery’s ability to grab the ball in traffic:

That really was important, those deep shots. Carson was barely throwing those, and I wonder if the back injury was affecting his ability to step into those throws, or if the torque of the motion made those shots outside the hashmarks painful to even execute.

At the end of the day, Nick has one touchdown and two interceptions in three games this season. I don’t think he “won the game” for the Eagles last night, as some people are saying this morning, but he was steady last night, he kept the offense on the field, he got different receivers involved, and he picked and chose his spots really well.

2) Play calling

With Nick in the game, I was obviously very interested in how Doug decided to use him. Simplified game plan? Different sets?

Here’s what I wrote down for called plays:

Shotgun – run: 21

Shotgun – pass: 30

Under center – run: 6

Under center – pass: 2

I have it as a 32 to 27 pass/run split. The box score has it as a 33/28 split, so I must have missed one in there. Maybe I was on the toilet. Also, I’d have to go back and watch the entire film to see how many RPOs Doug called, since it’s nearly impossible to watch every blocking scheme in real time. Let’s just pretend this is a Quinnipiac poll with a +3 or -3 margin of error in called runs and called passes.

Either way, that’s a really nice balance, about 54% passing and 46% running. If you want to take away the final three run plays on the clock-killing final drive, you still get a 57% to 43% mix, which is a lot better than what Doug usually winds up with.

A couple of other play notes here:

QB scrambles: 2

Draw plays: 1

running back screens: 3

wide receiver screens: 3

They had two screen looks to Alshon and still tried a few RB screens even with Corey Clement not available. Doug ran 17 straight shotgun plays before trying to go under center, and Jason Peters false started on that first attempt. They finished with about 86% of their plays coming out of the shotgun and 14% coming from under center, which is not dissimilar from what they did with Carson this year.

3) Big boy blocking

Truthfully, I hated the play call on the Adams touchdown run. You’re gonna run behind Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert?

It ended up being the best bit of blocking either guy has shown all year:

Goedert gets the first block and Ertz follows him through the hole to reach the second level. Adams squirts right through while Marcus Peters shows absolutely no interest in making a tackle at all.

Great blocking, exhibit B:

Do not let Russ see Jason Peters opening up a gaping hole, a hole that your grandmother could walk through.

Goedert is in there again, go figure.

One more play, featuring…. guess who? –

The offensive line was excellent last night. This wasn’t a game where the running backs were gashing the Rams for huge chunks of yards, but the red zone blocking was just elite, well-executed stuff.

4) Guys stepping up

Big games from all of these dudes:

Wendell Smallwood: 10 carries, 48 yards, 2 touchdowns

Avonte Maddox: started at outside corner, had a 2nd quarter interception, two pass break-ups and quality coverage on the game’s final play

Cre’Von LeBlanc: he was “flying around” out there

Rasul Douglas: putting big hits on people

D.J. Alexander: big fumble recovery on special teams

Raise your hand if you had those five guys making contributions to the win.

.

.

.

Yep, me neither.

Both lines were fantastic on the evening. Jeffery had his best game of the year. Zach Ertz still had seven targets despite the “reduced” role and Tate had some chunky yardage pickups, too.

5) Blitz me

Jim Schwartz called a really nice game. He pressured Jared Goff, who predictably folded like a soft California guy.

On the final play, Schwartz brought both linebackers and left his five defensive backs in man-to-man deep coverage:

I look at that play again and see Nate Gerry turn around to say something to Malcolm Jenkins. I wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a good sell job, because Gerry comes on a delayed blitz and I think that forces Goff to get rid of the ball a little bit earlier than he wanted to. Either way, I thought it was a pretty gutsy call to send six guys instead of just dropping 7 or 8 into coverage.

Well done, Jim Schwartz.

6) Officiating

After last week’s debacle, I’ve decided to make this a recurring entry in the column. This will continue through the rest of the season and into next year.

We had a rare “grasping the helmet opening” call on the second Eagles drive that moved the sticks on third down. Marcus Peters didn’t think it was a penalty, but replay shows he had a hand inside Smallwood’s dome. Good pickup by the ref there, leading to a key conversion.

I didn’t think the Aaron Donald hit on Foles was a roughing the QB penalty. He did get him high, sure, but he didn’t strike him in the head and he didn’t exactly follow through or bring him to the ground. Looked like he got him across the shoulder.

I thought the Eagles also got a generous spot on the third down conversion just before halftime, the 3rd and 2 to Dallas Goedert that resulted in a touchdown. Eagles fans would be complaining if the other team got this spot:

Thankfully the two key review plays were correct. That was the fake punt catch that was overturned and the Rasul Douglas goal line tackle that ultimately didn’t mean too much. I’m just happy we didn’t get a huge outrageous controversy this time around, so praise the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for that.

7) The peripherals

Here we go:

won time of possession battle, 32 to 28 minutes

+2 turnover margin

4-13 on third down (30.7%)

0-1 on fourth down

allowed LA to go 4-12 on third down (33%)

lost 0 yards on 0 sacks

3-5 success rate in red zone

six penalties for 49 yards

That’s much more like the 2017 Eagles. They won the TOP on the strength of that +2 turnover margin. The defense really did a nice job of limiting third down conversions after allowing Dallas to go 10-19 for 52% last week. Zero sacks against that Rams line is excellent, and six penalties for 49 yards is more than manageable.

Good stuff all around.

8) Doug’s best call?

I liked 3rd and 4 draw play with Sproles on the first drive. LA wasn’t expecting that.

I also agreed with the decision to kick the field goal at about the four minute mark in the third quarter. Take the points, keep the momentum on the road, and make it a two-score game.

I honestly also did not have a problem with the 53-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter. That’s aggressive Doug. That’s the Doug we want, right? If Elliott hits that kick, the game is over. Shrug.

9) Doug’s worst call?

I didn’t have any issue with him going for it on 4th down near midfield in the first half, but the play call was what? Josh Adams out of the shotgun? The 3rd down play got you into 4th and short, and that’s what you come up with? And you do it with a guy who had left the game earlier with a head injury?

That was a weird one. Doug is good for at least one of those per game.

The only other play that kind of bothered me was the decision to run Sproles on 3rd and 8 in the fourth quarter. He almost converted, but that offensive series felt a little passive to me with about eight minutes on the clock and a 14-point lead. This game didn’t have to come down to the final play, but the Eagles half-bottled it on both sides of the field.

10) Awful announcing

How ’bout that Fresh Prince clip to start off the broadcast? Everybody hated it, but whatever, at least it wasn’t a shot of a cheesesteak or the Liberty Bell.

And how ’bout Cris Collinsworth doing his Sunday night slide in from the left side instead of the right?

#CollinsworthSlide Audible!

pic.twitter.com/zKl0ALKo8v

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 17, 2018

“Now here’s a guy…”

That threw me for a loop. Collinsworth always slides in from the right. Cheeky stuff right there.

Couple of other random notes from the broadcast:

Norristown native Tommy Lasorda looks pretty good for age 91

I prefer Terry McAuley to Dean Blandino and Mike Perreira.

I cringed when Collinsworth said, “All that’s missing now is the Rocky music.“

Al Michaels still seems somewhat bored to me. I think he’s ready to retire.

That’s it. Happy Monday.

The post A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 appeared first on Crossing Broad.

A Hollywood Moment – Ten Takeaways from Eagles 30, Rams 23 published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/