"Man, I can't figure out what we did wrong here."
Last week, I composed a little piece on the five most important things for the Eagles to avoid in their match-up with the Green Bay Packers yesterday. Let’s take a look at them and see how everything panned out. Shall we? View full article »
It didn't hurt this much... but it was pretty damn close.
If we had the same expectation for the Eagles that we do for the Sixers, then maybe this wouldn’t have hurt so badly.
But we’re a football town (for now, anyway), and that’s not how things work here, so alas… here we are.
The Eagles went out swinging in their 21-16 loss at Lincoln Financial Field last night. In a game filled with mistakes, the Birds still had a chance to win with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter. A Michael Vick passing play to Riley Cooper on a go route ended with a Tramon Williams interception.
The most surprising fact about this whole situation last night was that the Eagles had a chance to win, despite looking awful for most of it. They had a chance! Think about that! I don’t know what that’s supposed to say about this team. I think more bad than good, but here’s what you’re left to ask yourself at the end of the day.
Was it the fact that the Packers were the better team? Maybe. Was it the missed field goals by David Akers? Possibly. Was it the terrible red zone defense that has plagued this team all year? Yes, it was. But more than anything, was it the hangover from consecutive losses at home against the Vikings and a throwaway against the Cowboys? View full article »
"Please...stop... hitting me."
The Eagles play the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the team that many say no one wanted to play.
Fair enough. The Packers are 5th in overall passing, 5th in passing defense, and 5th in overall defense. That’s a lot of “5ths”. Let’s stick with the number five (No Donovan McNabb mentions here, I promise) and have a quick chat about what the Eagles cannot let happen when they host the Pack at the Linc late Sunday afternoon. View full article »
Oh… Eli.
Thanks to The 700 Level and Crossing Broad for pointing this out… above is footage of the seconds leading up to Eli Manning’s post-game press conference following the New York Giants 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Maybe he should have waited a couple more minutes until the media was done with Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson. This is a must watch!
The Eagles control their destiny in the NFC because of this man... and because everything went right in the fourth quarter for the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday.
What can be said that hasn’t been said… that you haven’t read… that you haven’t felt.
The Philadelphia Eagles did not play well enough to win in their 38-31 victory, but somehow, the Birds are one win away, or one Giant loss, from their first NFC East Championship since 2006. (It has been awhile, hasn’t it?)
I’m not going to sit here on a Monday night and recap a game that you’ve watched the highlights for a dozen times. That would be wasteful.
What I will do is look beyond the despair and euphoria we lived through yesterday as a fan base, and reflect on the positives and negatives that will affect the final two games of the regular season and beyond. There are surely plenty of them, but I’ll try to keep it short.
We can certainly revel in the last eight minutes of yesterday’s impossible improbable comeback. The Eagles showed they have bounce back ability deep in a big game, when most people saw an opportunity to change the channel. Michael Vick had 94 rushing yards and a touchdown in the final quarter of the game, and Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin capitalized on secondary mistakes to make huge plays.
We can’t revel in the first 52 minutes, where blown coverage in the Eagles’ secondary, especially where Dimitri Patterson was involved, helped the Giants immensely. Say what you will about Eli Manning and his 20 interceptions, but he was able to pick on the right defenders at the right time and move the ball effectively in the first half.
Continuing with mistakes, there were three plays where Andy Reid could have thrown the red challenge flag and won, but opted not to. There was also a blown call by referees at the end of the first half that allowed the Giants to get another quick opportunity in the red zone. They scored a touchdown on that play,when Dimitri Patterson gave Hakeem Nicks way too much room in a short-field situation.
The Birds have allowed 30 passing touchdowns this year, including three yesterday, and were disappointing in the red zone again. They remain the worst in the league in that defensive category. I’m still waiting for that to come back and be the dagger in a big game. I just hope it’s not in the playoffs. Hell, it should have been yesterday.
On the defensive side, the Eagles were sharper in the second half. Mistakes were minimal and the Giants could only muster one touchdown, and that was off a turnover in the Eagles zone. Rookie 7th round pick Jamar Chaney got his first start at middle linebacker with Stewart Bradley out the rest of the season. In case you missed it in all of the excitement, he had 16 tackles and only a couple of mistakes. Not bad for a young 7th rounder.
The bad news for the defense (other than allowing the most touchdowns through the air in the Andy Reid era), they lost another defensive starter in safety Nate Allen, who tore his patellar tendon in his right knee. The injury is serious enough to keep him out possibly after the beginning of training camp next July.
That makes it three starters on the defense that have been lost in two short weeks. The aforementioned Bradley is on that list, as is rookie defensive lineman Brandon Graham, who tore his ACL. If you throw Ellis Hobbs in there, the Birds are falling from flight too quickly on the other side of the ball. The Eagles will likely sign a player tomorrow to join their secondary in the wake of Allen’s injury.
If you consider all of this, plus the fact that the Eagles are a win or a Giants loss away from a playoff birth and the NFC East division, where does that put them in your mind? Is the explosing Eagles offense featuring Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson enough to carry the Eagles through the postseason? Are you still worried about the playcalling and decision making of Andy Reid and the coaching staff? Are the defensive ailments becoming too much (terrible red zone percentage, injuries, youth and inexperience in the secondary) to overcome?
There are a lot of questions and not many answers. The closest thing to a response would be 10 wins and four losses, but that means nothing in the second season.
What is true is that incredible minutes following 52 dismal ones won’t fly in the playoffs. This is the NFL…
…and the Eagles can’t play every game in the Meadowlands.
Other observations from Week 15, in no particular order.
