#randy jurgensen

[70s80sandbeyond]

Randy Jurgensen, Richard Lynch, Sonny Grosso, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Philip D'Antoni, Jerry Leon and Roy Scheider on the set of "The Seven-Ups"

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Friedkin Uncut

I am, perhaps, not the most receptive audience for a documentary about William Friedkin. I find his films technically accomplished and often quite stirring but ultimately empty. So, watching him speak with no filters as the filmmakers cut to adoring, sometimes perceptive comments by people who’ve worked with him and young directors influenced by him can be a bit of a chore.

Francesco Zippel’s FRIEDKIN UNCUT (2018, TCM, Hulu) jumps all over the place. It starts with THE EXORCIST (1973) and then uses one statement about his being raised as a Jew to move to Friedkin’s childhood. After mentioning his first film — the documentary THE PEOPLE VS. PAUL CRUMP (1962), which helped get its subject off death row — it bypasses his early fiction films to focus on just six features. That’s a pity, as his GOOD TIMES (1967) and THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (1968) are hard to find. The rest of the organization is rather haphazard. It’s not completely chronological. Zippel cuts to whatever the conversation brings up. But he doesn’t explore a lot of the topics very fully. And there are an awful lot of shots that seem there just to break things up. Do we really need to see a cigarette being lit as former detective Randy Jurgensen mentions the stunt driver’s smoking before filming the chase in THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) or shots of a book’s pages being rifled when they talk about THE EXORCIST? There are also lots of sequences of Friedkin’s attending festival tributes without much in the way of context. And for all the adulation, the only interview subjects to bring any real joy to the table are Quentin Tarantino, Willem Dafoe and Ellen Burstyn (if you could bottle the spirit she radiates, you’d make a fortune).

So, what do we learn about Friedkin? He thinks “rehearsals are for sissies.” He prefers to get a scene on the first take, even if there are technical issues. The only one of his films of which he thinks highly is SORCEROR (1977). And he never thinks of politics when he’s making a film. That latter, I think, says a lot about his work. I’m not suggesting he should find himself hobbled by political concerns, but maybe thinking of the ramifications of his plots might, I don’t know, deepen them a bit. It says a lot about the documentary that only one commentator, critic Samuel Blumenfeld, calls him on that statement. But then Blumenfeld also calls THE FRENCH CONNECTION and CRUISING (1980), two of Friedkin’s most tone-deaf films, the defining movies of their decade. YMMV, as we say on the net, and in my case it Vs with a vengeance.

[fatabbot]

Randy Jurgensen, Richard Lynch, Sonny Grosso, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Philip D'Antoni, Jerry Leon and Roy Scheider on the set of The Seven-Ups.

[worldlibertytv]

See A Day of Remembrance for Murdered New York Police Dept, Officer Phillip Cardillo, Interview With Randy Jurgensen NYPD Detective in World Liberty TV @  https://www.worldlibertytv.org/a-day-of-remembrance-for-murdered-new-york-police-dept-officer-phillip-cardillo-2021/

[brokehorrorfan]

4K Ultra HD Review: Vigilante

1974's Death Wish is often criticized for glorifying fascism and advocating martial law - not to mention inspiring a spat of imitators espousing similar ideals - but taken at face value, it's an effective vigilante thriller that raises complex socio-political questions. It wasn't until Death Wish's sequels, which kicked off in 1982, that the messaging was muddled as they leaned into exploitation with blunt provocation and over-the-top violence. 1982's Vigilante can be viewed as a bridge between those two approaches to the revenge genre; it's grounded in reality but features the same grit that director William Lustig imbued in his debut, Maniac.

Written by Richard Vetere (The Third Miracle), Vigilante begins with a rousing rally cry for street justice delivered by exploitation favorite Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn). He plays Nick, a construction worker who leads a militia in an attempt to take back the gang-infested, crime-ridden streets of New York city by force. He tries to get his coworker, Eddie Marino (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown), to join the cause, but Eddie opts to put his faith in the law.

When the corrupt justice system fails to punish the man who murders his son in cold blood - one of the most shocking child death scenes since Assault on Precinct 13 - Eddie reconsiders the offer. The pacing of the film is askew, as Eddie spends 30 days in jail while Nick and his gang does all the legwork. Upon Eddie's release, the other characters take a backseat for him to handle the big bad. The fight scenes are occasionally stiff, but other action sequences - like a reckless, The French Connection-esque car chase scene in the finale - make up for it with a palpable danger.

Forster brings the humanity necessary to make the role work, most notably in his courtroom outburst upon learning that his son's death will go unpunished. (Quentin Tarantino cites Vigilante as one of the films that encouraged him to write the lead role of Jackie Brown for Forster.) Williamson also delivers a strong performance; it's not a far cry from the cigar-chomping badass he personifies both on screen and off, but there's more depth to him. Many of the ancillary characters are undeveloped, but the supporting cast includes Richard Bright (The Godfather) as one of the construction workers-turned-vigilantes, Rutanya Alda (The Dark Half) as Eddie's wife, Carol Lynley (The Poseidon Adventure) as the Assistant District Attorney, and Joe Spinell (Maniac) as a seedy lawyer.

Vigilante has been newly restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative with Dolby Vision HDR as well as Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio for Blue Underground's new 4K Ultra HD release, which also includes a Blu-ray. The presentation offers a crystal-clear picture while retaining the inherent film grain. The limited edition version includes a lenticular slipcover (featuring artwork by Enzo Sciotti), reversible cover art, and a booklet with a thorough essay by horror journalist Michael Gingold.

Three audio commentaries are included. The first features Lustig and producer Andrew Garroni from the 2010 Blu-ray edition. Like an 89-minute film school lecture on guerilla filmmaking, they share anecdotes about filming before securing the budget, Tony Musante originally getting cast in the lead role, and Spinell's mother yelling at him in front of the cast and crew. The second finds Lustig joined by Forster, Williamson, and actor Frank Pesce. It was recorded for the Laserdisc release in the '90s, so the audio quality isn't as good and is a couple seconds out of sync, but it's an enthusiastic listen. Lustig discusses being influenced by Italian crime thrillers and Spaghetti westerns as well as how one scene was inspired by Halloween. The third is a new track by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson. There's not much left to learn after listening to the other two commentaries, but they provide valuable context.

"Blue Collar Death Wish" is a new, 25-minute featurette with input from Lustig, Forster, Pesce, Vetere, Alda, and first assistant director/actor Randy Jurgensen that explores the film's production and why it still resonates. A separate new interview with composer Jay Chattaway (Maniac, Silver Bullet) traces his origin from the US Navy band to Maniac before getting into the specifics of Vigalante, citing Westerns and Ennio Morricone as influences. Other extras include seven trailers (U.S., international, two British, German, Italian, and French), four TV spots, a radio spot, the original two-minute promotional reel to solicit pre-sales, and two galleries of posters and stills.

Vigilante is available now on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray via Blue Underground.

[classicfilmfan64]

Randy Jurgensen, Richard Lynch, Sonny Grosso, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Philip D'Antoni, Jerry Leon and Roy Scheider on the set of 'The Seven-Ups', 1973.

[aiiaiiiyo]

1972. He shot Sonny in The Godfather, lifelong friends with George Carlin, arrested Lenny Bruce, Purple Heart from Battle of Pork Chop Hill, drove car in the French Connection chase, basis for Al Pacino’s character in Cruising, friends with the real Donnie Brasco...my father in law, Randy Jurgensen. Check this blog!

[david-c-diaz]

About Last Night: Picture 1: The French Connection 35mm screening @alamoyonkers Picture 2: My buddy @domcasualdiscos hosting the Q&A with Randy Jurgensen who was a Consultant, driver, stunts, and Actor for The French Connection #thefrenchconnection #film #35mm (at Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2nex5dDF8w/?igshid=twaot7bqmo1b

[knights-of-the-glittery-table]

So an update about that post I made yesterday in pure bafflement about Cruising especially in terms of one particular scene.

I found a 40 min docu of the making of the film while trying to research some answers and there was a lot more truth to the situation than I anticipated. It seems as if before we went down the road of batshit in the screenplay, the bones of the story was about events a real cop went through. Like they used the real bars he visited when undercover, they used the apartment he lived in when undercover, the hotel he used for potential suspects and even how he got into a suspect’s room to search it.

I’m just going to type up what this cop said verbatim about the interrogation scene I posted about yesterday:

‘With Billy*, whatever it was, it had to be real. Could this happen? Things like this 250 pound detective, with a cowboy hat, a jockstrap. This happened in real life.’

- Randy Jurgensen 

*Billy=Director William Friedkin

[surelypovichjr]

Death in North Bethesda

Dietle’s Bites the Big One!

Photograph by Flickr user Gloria.

It brings me great displeasure to have to report on a horrible tragedy that has befallen a once noble pillar of our ever-changing community. As many of you by now well know, the other week, the great Hank Dietle’s Roadside Tavern, the first watering hole in all of Montgomery County, the rowdiest in all of Rockville, the Mariana Trench of DC dives, the skeeviest of the skeevy, and yes, the under-the-table hand job mecca of MoCo, met an untimely end. A sad day for Rockville Pike and a sadder day for Yers Surely.

The local papers have seemed almost afraid to cover what should be an above-the-fold A1 story.  The few reports that have come out have been scant at best, a canard of an ill-fated cigarette flicked into a potted plant as the alleged culprit of the great blaze. But the overwhelming conflagration that engulfed my favorite watering hole shall never overwhelm the many memories I have of that ole pile a’bricks.

via Pete Piringer/MoCo Fire & Rescue

I realize that I am far from the only one among the grieving; Dietle’s has been properly eulogized by others in song and prose but it has taken me a fortnight to come to terms with its denouement. Indeed, the minyan of drunkards have already touched upon the things that made Dietle’s objectively great – the stoic, hard-nosed nature of the place, its delightfully meager offerings, a bag of Utz potato chips, salt and vinegar if you caught them on a good night, watching the Nighthawks play live after sellin’ em blow, drinking bad draft beer tasting of cold deer piss, but delicious nonetheless.

But these stories have been told already!

I wanna get a little bit more personal about what Hank Dietle’s meant to me. Ya see, Hank’s is where I got my first taste of the good life, back when I was a young kid with a shock of red hair with the pubes to boot!

A shot of Old Granddad, bought by my famous sportswriter dad, is what I remember. That and the bar flies, talking a lot of mishegas about that whole Watergate nonsense; I remember the token floozy, Susan Blumenthal, 38 and sunburnt, slathering aloe on her back after a weekend passed out on the Ocean City boardwalk; the alimony dodger, Mitchell Glick, looking paranoid from ‘ludes and a starving ex-wife; and wait, who’s that but the Head Hog himself, George Starke! Dad had invited Georgie-boy to Hanky D’s as he thought a bit of libation might get the great offensive lineman to loosen his lips. It took almost the entire night, and an under-the-table handjob from Suzie B. but sure enough dad was right and Starke spilled the beans on the debacle that was the Washington Redskins season. What dad had was gold, a fresh yarn of the power struggle between Sonny Jurgensen, fresh upstart Billy Kilmer, which had the Over-The-Hill Gang ’73 squad in an uproar. I’ll be damned if dad didn’t get his big, masterful scoop on the front page of the Washington Post, above the fold A1! Eat it Woodward.

I also met my first and third wife at Hank Dietle’s—same person, in case you were wondering. 

As for the future, it’s here that my biggest questions arise. As the great mystic once asked, is it better to burn out or to fade away? I guess it depends on the size of the fire.

I personally have very specific instructions for my own departure, a native Washingtonian’s viking funeral. As woman after woman has said “you’re dead to me”, it’s only natural that I’ve fully contemplated my own earthly dispatch. We’ll start things off with my expired corpse, which shall be placed in a seat on the red line train from Grosvenor, embarking north towards Shady Grove, which will allow me to pass through all of my favorite Rockville Pike establishments, most of them, like me, having closed for good. It’s when we pass the Silver Diner that the Walter Johnson High School band will take up their instruments, playing a big band rendition of the title song to an old Hal Ashby flick, a movie for which I have never received my proper screenwriting accreditation. Where was I when this idea came forth? At Dietle’s, of course! Hal was so drunk he got the title all wrong for a movie set in our nation’s capital--the hell if that wasn’t Randy Quaid is playing me in what shoulda been called The Last Dietle! A story for another day, dear readers.

The Last Detail/dir.Hal Ashby

As fire investigators close the case, I can’t help but wonder about whether there’s a good old-fashioned cover up. Like Watergate, only if it actually happened and wasn’t a complete fabrication. Perhaps there was foul play afoot?

“C’mon Surely, who would want to burn down a shithole like Dietle’s, charming as it may be?”

“To this I’d ask you to get up from your barstool and take a good gander across the street. Tell me, whaddya see?”

Wikimedia commons license

“Huh, what happened to the White Flint Shopping Mall, that beacon of 1980s consumerism rife with its marble avenues and Cheesecake Factory and Franklin Mints? What is set to replace it?”

Photo by horta5

“I dunno,” I reply, “could it be the future headquarters of a company owned by the richest man in the history of the world?”

“But Surely, if it was arson, don’t you think the paper of record, The Washington Post, that shining light of journalistic integrity, would print something about this kind of thing?”

“My friend, what if I were to tell you that the richest man in the history of the world, who wants to relocate 50,000 of his employees to a now demolished meadow across the street from Hank Dietle’s, is the very same man who owns your precious Washington Post?”

“But why, Surely? None of this makes any sense.”

“Don’t be naive. The guy’s gotta make room for 50,000 employees in an area already besotted with housing shortages and horrifying traffic. And so, perhaps the man burned Hank Dietle’s Roadside Tavern in a brilliant conflagration of orange cinder, all while receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks and blessings from Maryland’s most powerful politicians.”

“Well, those are some interesting points for sure, but I’m not a fire marshal. Wow Surely, maybe you have something there.”

“Thanks Suzie,” I reply.

To be fair, these are just rumors—gossip between old friends, reminiscing about stale beer, local rockabilly, Mitch Glickstein’s new wife, and of course, the frequent under-the-table hand jobs, the number of which, seem to dwindle and fade with each passing year. There’s other talk as well. Rumors of rebuilding. Who knows what will happen? Who cares? Certainly not the newspapers, nor the politicians, and most certainly not the large multi-national corporations and their rich owners. But who cares what I think, anyway? I’m just a sad old man in search of a new place to drink a cold piss beer and mourn all this area stands to lose if we are not careful. Every. Last. Detail.

Every. Last. Dietle.

[worldlibertytv]

See A Day of Remembrance for Murdered NYPD Officer Phillip Cardillo-2021 in our World Liberty TV, Political Channel @  https://www.worldlibertytv.org/a-day-of-remembrance-for-murdered-nypd-officer-phillip-cardillo-2021/

[slutsandgutscom]

Randy Jurgensen Richard Lynch Sonny Grosso Tony Lo Bianco Victor Arnold Philip D'Antoni Jerry Leon and Roy Scheider on the set of "The Seven-Ups" #behindthescenes #filmmaking pic.twitter.com/jEaVPxxZYw

— Sluts and Guts (@sluts_guts) April 17, 2020

Randy Jurgensen Richard Lynch Sonny Grosso Tony Lo Bianco Victor Arnold Philip D'Antoni Jerry Leon and Roy Scheider on the set of "The Seven-Ups" #behindthescenes #filmmaking https://t.co/jEaVPxxZYw View On Twitter!

[thoughtfulcupcakesublime]

Courageous actions were recently recalled and celebrated.

Emergency personnel were recognized at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce’s Valor Awards on March 19.

More than 600 community members attended the annual event, which was held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas.

The program was opened up to the public for the first time this year.

Aaron Gilchrest from NBC4 retold the stories about the honorees.

“We all enjoyed the positive high energy felt by the Award recipients and attendees alike when the dramatic and daring scenarios of heroism were read aloud,” Chamber President and CEO, Debbie Jones said in a release. “We are proud to be apart of this wonderful community.”

Here are the individuals who were recognized at the Valor Awards:

City of Manassas Park Department of Fire & Rescue

Valorous Unit Award

Battalion 589, Battalion Chief Adam Jones, Engine 509, Fire Medic Randy Leach, Firefighter/EMT  Kentry Snow, Medic 509, Captain Josh Brandon, Fire Medic John Pearre, Master Firefighter David Sullivan

Haymarket Police Department

Merit Award for Valor

Officer John Gregory

Manassas City Police Department

Merit Award for Valor

Senior Police Officer Alexander

Merit Award for Valor

Parking Enforcement Officer Isabel Meyers

Merit Award for Valor

Officer Joshua Aussems, Officer Shaun Barrett, Officer Ethan Eustace, Officer Juan Armas

Hillary Robinette Award

Senior Detective Speights

Hillary Robinette Award

Lieutenant Elia Alfonso, Sergeant Serena Bowers, Master Detective Michael Gemmell, Master Detective Tim Urey, Master Detective Jonathan Agule, Senior Detective Speights, Detective Luis Armas, Officer Ryan McCarthy, Crime Analyst Alemayehu

Manassas Volunteer Fire Company

Bronze Award for Valor

Firefighter Terry Norling

Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue

Valorous Unit

Swift Water Boat 524, Captain Brian Ferguson, Technician I Victor Vega, Technician I Aldo Bonilla, Technician I Michael Chergosky

Merit Award for Valor

Technician I Cody Durham

Merit Award for Valor

Lieutenant Kenneth Zack

Merit Award for Valor

Lieutenant Nick Feliciano, Technician II Chris Gott

Valorous Unit

Rescue Squad 510, Technician II Christopher Clark, Driver: Technician II Daniel Jackson, Officer Bucket:  Technician I Kevin Ganssle, Driver Bucket: Technician I Michael Baker

Prince William County Police Department

Investigative Merit Award

Officer Ronald Carpio, Detective Lourdes Cainas, Detective Donald DeShazo, Rose Hellmann, Crime Scene Specialist Shreya Kamath,       Crime Analyst Rebekah Kushner, Detective Katherine, Zaimis, Detective Jonathan Kennedy

Investigative Merit Award

Detective Nathan Thomas, Detective Robyn Hyatt, Detective Victor Cordero, Detective Josh Lane, Crime Analyst Jacquelin Graham, Crime Analyst Dawn Locke-Trillhaase

Merit Award for Valor

Officer Sean K. Richards

Hillary Robinette Award

Detective Helga Thorsdottir

Hilary Robinette Award

Officer Darrick Dillon, Detective Joshua Lane, Detective John Agule(MCPD), Detective Derrick Black (MCPD), Detective Jeremy              Booth, Detective Simon Chu, Detective Christopher Koglin (MPPD), Detective Alicia Larkins, Detective Kevin Morin, Detective Matthew Newton, Detective Walter O’Neal, Detective Daniel Sekely, Detective Wayne             Smith, Detective Nicholas Waymire, Detective Robert White, Sergeant Gavin Young (MCPD), Sergeant Ryan Pavol, First Sergeant Kenneth Hulsey

Silver Award for Valor

Officer Joshua Myers, Officer Christopher Hume, Officer Jordanis Lozier, Officer Jonathan Seals, Officer Nicholas Kelly, Investigator Robert Drumm, Officer Brian Kimble

Gold Award for Valor

Officer John Yenchak, Officer Franco Martinez, Officer Rachel Mynier, Officer Matthew Takats, Officer Nicholas Kelly, Officer Evan Jurgensen, Officer Jordanis Lozier, Officer Taylor Claton, Officer Benjamin Infanti, Officer Wade Dickinson, Officer Travis Hardman, First Sergeant Daniel Crawford, Officer Kevin Vasquez, Sergeant David Bliss

Stonewall Jackson Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad

Merit Award for Valor

Firefighter/EMT Carlos Ambrosini

Silver Award for Valor

Firefighter Ian Lauderdale

The post Chamber honors emergency personnel appeared first on What's Up Prince William.

via What's Up Prince William

[brokehorrorfan]

Vigilante will be released on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray on December 15 via Blue Underground. The limited edition set also includes a booklet, reversible artwork (with front-facing art by Enzo Sciotti), and a lenticular slipcover.

Also known as Street Gang, the 1983 exploitation film is directed by William Lustig (Maniac, Maniac Cop) and written by Richard Vetere (The Third Miracle). Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda, Don Blakely, Joseph Carberry, Willie Colón, Joe Spinell, Carol Lynley, and Woody Strode star.

Vigilante has been newly restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative with Dolby Vision HDR as well as Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD Master Audio. Special features are below, along with the restored trailer.

Special features:

Audio commentary by director/producer William Lustig and producer Andrew Garroni

Audio commentary by director William Lustig and actors Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, and Frank Pesce

Audio commentary by film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson (new)

Blue Collar Death Wish – Interviews with writer Richard Vetere, actor Rutanya Alda, associate producer/first assistant director Randy Jurgensen, and more (new)

Interview with composer Jay Chattaway (new)

Theatrical trailers

TV spots

Radio spot

Promotional reel

Poster & still galleries

Booklet with new essay by Michael Gingold

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. But when a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, Eddie goes berserk and vows revenge. Now there’s a new breed of marauder loose on the city streets, enforcing his own kind of law. His justice is swift. His methods are violent. He is the Vigilante.

[jodyedgarus]

The Patriots Dynasty Just Won’t Die

The 2018 NFL season will be remembered in part for its regular-season offensive explosion and the breakout performances of exciting young players such as MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. But in the end, all of that new stuff faded away. The Patriots won, just like they have six times in the past 18 seasons, and they did it with defense, just like in the very beginning. It was yet another affirmation of a dynasty that continues to reach unprecedented levels of dominance in a sport we keep pretending is designed to produce parity. The only question now is: How much longer can Tom Brady and Bill Belichick keep doing this?

Sunday’s Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams was not the prettiest for New England, even if it was the team’s widest margin of victory in a Super Bowl (somehow). Brady had a 71.4 passer rating in the lowest-scoring title game on record. And yet, it counted the same in the legacy column. I recalculated the numbers from my story measuring the most difficult-to-replicate multiseason runs by any franchise, and the Patriots’ stretch from 2003 through 2018 is easily the most dominant in the NFL’s Super Bowl era.1

The Pats are (still) the NFL’s greatest modern dynasty

Among franchises with at least two Super Bowl titles, the most impressive (nonoverlapping) spans of seasons, according to Elo ratings, since 1966

Team Span Seasons Titles Mean Elo vs. Expected 1 New England 2003-18 16 5 1712 +170.5 2 San Francisco 1984-95 12 4 1706 +155.1 3 Dallas 1992-95 4 3 1740 +150.7 4 Pittsburgh 1974-79 6 4 1712 +139.0 5 Miami 1972-74 3 2 1739 +138.5 6 Dallas 1968-83 16 2 1667 +125.7 7 Oakland/L.A. Raiders 1967-85 19 3 1654 +115.3 8 Denver 1996-98 3 2 1704 +103.9 9 Washington 1982-92 11 3 1653 +99.1 10 Pittsburgh 2004-11 8 2 1656 +93.9 11 Green Bay 1966-68 3 2 1688 +87.7 12 Green Bay 1995-15 21 2 1619 +81.7 13 Baltimore 2000-14 15 2 1599 +54.6 14 N.Y. Giants 1985-90 6 2 1627 +54.3

Mean Elo is the harmonic mean of a team’s seasonal blended Elo ratings (which mix the average, final and peak Elo during the season) over the span of the seasons in question.

Expected Elo is the mean Elo we’d expect for a generic Super Bowl contender (from a starting Elo of 1617) over the span of the seasons in question. Teams are ranked by how much they exceeded this expectation.

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

This Super Bowl might rank among the most satisfying for Belichick, who originally made his reputation as a football genius with defensive game plans designed to shut down high-powered offenses. A year after his defense gave up 41 points to the Philadelphia Eagles’ backup QB in Super Bowl LII, New England held the Rams — who had averaged 32.9 points per game during the regular season — to a mere 3 points Sunday. L.A. quarterback Jared Goff had nobody to throw to and faced unrelenting pressure all night, recording a ghastly 57.9 passer rating.

Belichick’s defenses had tended to be surprisingly mediocre over the back half of New England’s dynasty era, garnering an average seasonal rank of 15th of out 32 teams in ESPN’s Expected Points Added metric from 2008 to 2017. (Instead, they tended to rely on Brady and the offense to carry the load.) But this year’s Patriots were different, ranking seventh in defensive EPA, which made for one of the most well-rounded Patriots teams in a while. And in a year when seemingly anybody who ever met Rams offensive prodigy Sean McVay got hired as an NFL head coach on the spot, Belichick badly outcoached the wunderkind (by McVay’s own admission), unveiling a zone-coverage concept that the Rams hadn’t seen on tape and were completely unprepared for.

That defensive master plan helped paper over a mediocre passing game for Brady, who at age 41 had his worst statistical Super Bowl performance, on the heels of a regular season that — while still good — was one of his least impressive of the past decade. There are mitigating factors, of course, including a vastly diminished set of targets as compared with his Randy Moss heyday. And by now, Brady is used to people wondering if he’s about to fall off a cliff every time he has an uninspired game. But he will also be sailing into uncharted territory at age 42 next season, playing at an age when literally no QB in football history has had an effective season:

Brady is headed for uncharted territory

Best seasons (by Approximate Value) for quarterbacks at ages 40, 41 and 42 (or older), 1960-2018

Age 40 Age 41 Ages 42+ Player Year AV Player Year AV Player Year AV Tom Brady 2017 19 Tom Brady 2018 14 Warren Moon 1998 5 Brett Favre 2009 16 Warren Moon 1997 12 Doug Flutie 2004 2 S. Jurgensen 1974 7 V. Testaverde 2004 10 V. Testaverde 2005 2 V. Testaverde 2003 5 Brett Favre 2010 5 Steve DeBerg* 1998 1 Len Dawson 1975 4 Doug Flutie 2003 5 Warren Moon* 2000 1 3 others tied 4 Earl Morrall 1975 2 Earl Morrall 1976 1

* DeBerg and Moon were 44 in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

There are simply no comparisons for what Brady will try to do next year. (Although, to be fair, no quarterback had won six Super Bowls before Brady, either.)

And for all of the Pats’ improvement on defense in 2018, they shouldn’t count on it being quite as good next season — defenses tend to regress to the mean much more strongly than offenses between seasons. Add in what (for now) looks a like a relative lack of cap space; several important players (such as Stephen Gostkowski, Malcom Brown, Trent Brown and Trey Flowers) hitting free agency; and speculation about the possible retirement of future Hall of Fame TE Rob Gronkowski,2 and the Pats haters will have plenty to occupy themselves with over the next seven months.

But as Sunday proved, the Patriots usually find a way to overcome the mechanisms that are supposed to make dynasties like theirs impossible to sustain. According to futures odds that sportsbooks have already released for next season, the Pats are, at worst, slightly behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the race to win Super Bowl LIV — if not outright favorites. So although there are, as always, plenty of logical reasons to think New England’s dynasty days are numbered, and 31 fan bases hoping we’ll look back at Sunday night as one of their final moments of glory, I’ll believe it when I see it. Until then, Patriots fans should enjoy what they have: We’ve never seen something like this before and probably never will again.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-patriots-dynasty-just-wont-die/

[flauntpage]

One for the Record Books: Updating the Eagles’ All-Time Marks

Will Nick Foles lead the Birds to the Super Bowl or play like garbage? I don’t know. I think enough has been written about that. Let’s just see what happens next weekend.

Bittersweet or not, we’ll eventually look back at this Eagles season with fondness, as the 2017 squad finished 13-3 to tie the best regular season record in franchise history.

They put plenty of new entries into the record books, courtesy of the Eagles’ PR staff, who distributed the final statistical and record document of the season this week.

Here’s what I found in those 57 pages:

  Offense

The Birds scored 457 points this season, good for second all-time behind Chip Kelly’s 2014 squad. The 53 total touchdowns was also second to the 2014 team, though 38 passing touchdowns easily overtook the 1990 squad for most in franchise history.

Carson Wentz finished with a team record 33 touchdown passes, and he did it in less than a full season, besting the mark posted by Sonny Jurgensen in 1961. Wentz added four 300+ yard passing games, falling one shy of the record shared by Jurgensen, Donovan McNabb, and Sam Bradford.

He threw for 3,296 yards in 13 games this season, which disappointingly kept him out of the top-10. Two more games might have pushed him past last year’s total of 3,782 yards and challenged McNabb’s single-season record of 3,916, set in 2008.

Wentz put up some record-breaking numbers while playing just 81% of the season. He was on pace to finish top-10 in most single season categories.

There wasn’t much to write home about in the receiving department, since the passing attack was balanced between Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Zach Ertz, and others. Ertz entered the top-10 with 321 career receptions, inching slowly closer to Harold Carmichael’s record of 589. Brent Celek crept up a bit, too, with 13 grabs this year:

It was similarly bare in the rushing department, due to the shared contribution from five different players. Jay Ajayi’s 71-yard run at Dallas put him in a tie for 9th longest run in franchise history. The Birds only had one 100 yard rusher this season, when LeGarrette Blount went for 136 on 16 carries at the LA Chargers. Still, they finished with the NFL’s third best rushing output, compiling 2,115 yards on the ground. It shows just how balanced they were in that department.

Shout out also to Celek, who moved up to fourth on the list of most regular season games played.

Here’s the top eight:

David Akers (K) – 188 games

Brian Dawkins (FS) – 183 games

Harold Carmichael (WR) – 180 games

Brent Celek (TE) – 175 games

Chuck Bednarik (C/LB) – 169 games

Tra Thomas (T) – 166 games

Jon Dorenbos (LS) – 162 games

Randy Logan (S) – 159 games

No tight end has played more games in Eagle green than Celek.

Overall, the offense finished 7th-best in the NFL with 365.8 yards per game. They were tied for 2nd place in scoring output with New England, putting up 28.6 points per game and trailing only the Rams, who bagged 29.9 PPG.

The Cleveland Browns were, you guessed it, dead last at 14.6 points per football game.

  Defense

Jim Schwartz’s unit finished with the best rushing numbers and fourth best total yardage allowance in the NFL. They finished 17th in passing.

Brandom Graham and Fletcher Cox both entered the top 10 for all-time sacks. Graham is now 7th with 38.5 sacks. Cox is 10th with 34 sacks. Good luck catching up with Reggie White, who logged 214 sacks as an Eagle:

Sacks weren’t recorded until 1982, so I’m not sure what the numbers look like prior to that.

The defense finished with just one pick-six, which was Jalen Mills’ touchdown against the 49ers. They dropped a number of interceptions this season, but actually had five fumble returns for scores, which is more than the last five years combined.

Seriously.

The Birds had more fumble return TDs in 2017 than they did from 2012 to 2016. Prior to that stretch, they had three in 2011, two from Juqua Parker and one from Brian Rolle.

One bizarre stat I found relates to the Chicago win. Remember the Bears’ amazing six-yard rushing effort? That was only the third fewest rushing yards posted against the Eagles. Apparently the Birds held the Brooklyn Dodgers to -33 rushing in 1943 and limited the Boston Yanks to -26 rushing in 1946. I remember the 1940’s like it was yesterday.

  Special Teams

Jake Elliott entered the top ten for longest field goals made. His 61 yard bomb against New York set a franchise record and his 53 yarder against the Chargers is tied for 7th. The previous record was 59 yards, kicked by Tony Franklin in Dallas back in 1979.

This kind of flew under the radar, but Donnie Jones remained all-time leader in gross punting average, with a 45.37 yards per punt number. This season, he averaged 45.27 yards, down only slightly from 45.84 in 2016 and 46.95 in 2015. He’s been consistent, if nothing else. Those are three of the five best gross punting seasons in Eagle history.

But special teams coaches will tell you that they don’t really give a shit about gross punting, they care about net punting. Whereas the “gross” number is how far the punter boots the ball, the “net” number is the distance of the kick minus return yardage, which is an indicator of how well the other 10 guys stayed in their lanes and made tackles.

Jones’ net punting number is incredibly high, too:

Not only is he consistent in a raw sense, but the rest of the ST unit allowed very few punt return yards this year, and they did it without Chris Maragos for a chunk of the season.

As far as Eagle punt returns, Kenjon Barner set a franchise record when he returned three for 110 against Arizona. That 36.7 average broke a 15-year record held by Brian Mitchell, who had 33 yards per return in a 2002 game against the 49ers.

  Rookies

Not a ton to report here. Corey Clement was one rushing touchdown shy of tying the rookie record set by Steve Van Buren in 1944 and matched by Don Johnson in 1953. Clement’s six touchdowns are 10th overall among rookies, with Calvin Williams logging a record 9 scores in 1990.

Derek Barnett’s five sacks put him in the top five among Eagles rookies, behind Corey Simon, Fletcher Cox, Derrick Burgess, and Corey Simon.

And Jake Elliott entered the top five in field goals made (26), field goals attempted (31), field goal percentage (83.7), and most kicking points (110), but failed to top Cody Parkey’s 2014 season in all four of those categories.

  Opponents

Eli Manning’s 37 completions for 434 yards back in December put him second all-time against the Eagles in both of those single-season categories. That was the one true blemish against a defense that was stout all year long.

In conclusion, there were a lot of positive additions to the record books this year, but the balance of the passing and rushing attack actually kept individual numbers relatively low. And Carson Wentz still put up top-10 and top-five numbers despite the season-ending injury he suffered in Los Angeles.

One for the Record Books: Updating the Eagles’ All-Time Marks published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv