Eagles Fall Flat to Cowboys

The Eagles lost their final game of the season on Sunday in disappointing fashion 24-0 to the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles were dominated in every facet of the game, and to be honest, the score could have been a lot worse.

The offensive line was terrible, the running game was non-existent because they didn't run the ball, McNabb was not very good, the receivers were bad, the defense was terrible, and the coaching was terrible. All of that combines for the disappointing loss. With the loss, the Eagles drop from what could have been the #2 seed and a first round bye to the #6 seed and a 2nd straight trip to Dallas to play the 3rd seeded and NFC East champion Cowboys.

I don't understand why the Eagles don't try to get the ball in their playmakers hands. I personally would like to see McCoy and Weaver touch the ball a lot more than they did this game. Running back is a position on the team where you usually have your most athletic, quickest players. These guys are weapons, and Reid did not use them on Sunday. Westbrook looked bad in my opinion, and they Eagles need to get back to what won games for them down the stretch - getting the ball in the hands of McCoy and Weaver a lot more.

Of course, it would also help if the Eagles weren't dominated up front on both sides of the football. The offensive line was bad from the start, and McNabb was under pressure most of the day. The Cowboys were getting pressure when they didn't even blitz. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles couldn't even get in the Cowboys backfield. Even on rushing plays, Marion Barber, and Felix Jones were getting past the line of scrimmage with ease. On passing plays, Tony Romo had all day, and he is too good to allow to sit back and throw all day with open lanes. The Eagles have been responsible for a lot of Romo's worst games of his career, so they know what happens when you get pressure on him. The Eagles did not blitz a lot, and that might have been because they did not want to show the Cowboys anything in the 2nd half, I'm not sure.

Costly mistakes also were key. McNabb missed DeSean Jackson on a fly route early in the game which would have made it a 7-7 game. Jeremy Maclin dropped a wide open pass that went through his hands on a 3rd down. McNabb fumbled a snap down at the Cowboys 10 yard line.

The Eagles will need to put that loss behind them, and get re-focused and come in with a different attitude if they do not want their offseason to start next weekend.

Eagles-Cowboys Preview

The Eagles take on the Cowboys tomorrow, in what is one of the biggest regular season games in a while for both teams. Both teams are in the playoffs, but depending on what happens in this game and others, both teams could fall into as high as the #2 seed, or as low as the #6 seed.

The Eagles are in the better position sitting at 11-4 right now. The Eagles are in the #2 slot right now, and control their own destiny for that spot. If the Eagles win tomorrow, they are the #2 seed in the NFC, and get a first round bye. If they lose, the Cowboys win the NFC East, and the Eagles could end up dropping to as low as the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs, and possibly a 2nd straight trip to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs.

As for the game itself, both teams come in playing really good football. The Cowboys have won 2 straight and playing well, showing that they don't necessarily choke every December. The Eagles have won 6 straight, and their offense especially is clicking on all cylinders. On offense, the Eagles will need to really run the ball effectively, and give McNabb time to throw the ball. I think that is the key to the game for the Eagles... the offensive line needs to give McNabb time to throw the ball. If this happens, the offense can play as they want to, and McNabb will have time to find Jackson, Maclin, or Celek downfield.

On defense, I think the Eagles really need to get to Romo, and get pressure on him, and be in his face all game long. The Eagles first need to do a good job against the Cowboys rushing attack, and not let the Cowboys beat you on the ground. We also need to focus on shutting down Jason Witten. As we know, the Eagles struggle with opposing tight ends, and Witten is one of the best in the NFL, so that will be an important matchup for the Eagles.

It will be interesting to see what the Eagles game plan is, and how they come out of the gates. I think that getting a lead in this game is very important. We need to be able to play from ahead. The Eagles are the best first half team in the NFL, and best opening drive team in the NFL, so hopefully the Eagles will jump out to a quick lead.

Eagles Hang On to Beat Broncos

The Eagles survived a sloppy 2nd half, and a Broncos comeback to win with a game winning David Akers field goal with 4 seconds left.

The Eagles came out of the game and looked unstoppable in the first half. McNabb barely threw an incompletion, and was picking apart the Broncos, and had almost 250 yards passing and 2 TD's at halftime. Brent Celek had 121 yards receiving and a touchdown at half. The Eagles also got the ball to start the 2nd half, and instead of putting the Broncos away, McNabb threw an interception. Sometimes it seems like McNabb struggles when he has too much time in the pocket, which is what happened on the interception. McNabb tends to play his best when he just makes plays, and reacts to what is happening. He made numerous passes right on the money in the first half with pressure in his face.

After the Broncos settled for a field goal, the Eagles scored another touchdown on a pass from McNabb to Avant, who made a nice catch concentrating on a tipped ball. The Eagles were up by 17 at the point halfway through the 3rd quarter. The Eagles offense really struggled at this point, and the Broncos took advantage of a Macho Harris fumbled kick return, and eventually tied the game at 17. The Eagles defense however buckled down in the 4th quarter, and held the Broncos deep in their own territory late in the game, giving the Eagles the ball back at the Broncos 42 yard line with 1:41 left to play in a 27-27 game. After a McCoy 2 yard run, McNabb found Jeremy Maclin at the 13 yard line for a 27 yard completion. This play was initially ruled incomplete right along the sideline, but after reviewing, was called a completed pass. Akers would kick the field goal after 3 runs, and the Eagles move to 11-4 on the year, and still a shot at the #2 seed, and hopefully wrapping up the NFC East with a Redskins win tonight.

Because McNabb was picking apart the Broncos in the first half, the Eagles rushing attack never really got going. McNabb threw 35 passes, and the Eagles called 23 runs between Westbrook, McCoy, and Weaver. McNabb ran the ball 5 times as well, including a 27 yard scramble on a 3rd and long. Westbrook ran 9 times for 32 yards, McCoy ran 6 times for 27 yards, and Weaver ran 7 times for 20 yards. McNabb threw for 322 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT.

For some reason the Eagles seem to be able to do whatever they want in the first half of games, and lead the NFL in almost every statistical scoring category in the first half of games. However, they seem to really hit a wall at halftime. When the other teams' defense adjusts to the Eagles offense after halftime, the Eagles offense doesn't seem to adjust. I'm not sure what it is, but the Eagles need to get better, and close out games in the 2nd half in games that they have large leads.

On defense, the Eagles played fairly well overall. They were put in bad positions a few times in fairness to them on a couple of the Broncos touchdowns. They only allowed 241 yards of total offense for the Broncos, and did a very good job shutting down the Broncos best weapon in Brandon Marshall. They didn't seem to blitz a lot, and even though they got 3 sacks, I would have liked to see them get more pressure on Kyle Orton.

Either way, the Eagles get the victory to move to 11-4, and now can watch the Sunday night, and Monday night games, and root for the Redskins, and Bears. If the Redskins win tonight, the Eagles win the NFC East. If the Cowboys win, the Eagles have to travel to Dallas next weekend needing a win to win the NFC East. The winner of that game would win the division. If the Bears beat the Vikings on Monday night, the Eagles and Vikings would have identical records fighting for the #2 seed in the NFC and getting that first round bye.

Eagles-Broncos Preview

The Eagles play the Denver Broncos tomorrow at 4:15 in a game that has playoff implications for both teams. The Eagles can clinch the NFC East with a win and a Cowboys loss, and stay in contention for the #2 seed by winning. The Broncos are in the playoff mix in the AFC.

This game will also feature the return of Brian Dawkins, and Correll Buckhalter. I think Buckhalter was always one of the more underrated players on the Eagles. Even though he was oft-injured, when he was healthy, he has a great burst through the hole, always did what the Eagles asked him to do, never complained, and always filled in nicely when Westbrook would get injured. In fact, you could argue that the Eagles could have used him more since he is on pace this season to have his highest rushing total of his career, which currently is his rookie season with the Eagles. Also, the leader of the defense, and basically the team for the past decade returns in Brian Dawkins. It will be very emotional before the game, and they have said that Dawkins will be announced by name before the game for an introduction. This should be an unbelievable scene, very similar to when Iverson returned. I could go on and on about Dawkins, and have in plenty of posts before, but everyone loves Dawkins, so there isn't much else to say.

As far as the actual game, it is an extremely important game for the Eagles. I personally am very scared of playing the Cowboys the final game of the season in a winner takes the NFC East situation, so I want to avoid that at all costs. The only way to avoid that scenario is to get help from the Redskins, but also take care of business against the Broncos. The Broncos has been up and down all season... mostly down after they started the season 6-0. Their defense, led by Dawkins, has been the big surprise. They were one of the worst units in the NFL last season, and now are a top 10 defense in almost every category this season. The Eagles need to continue to mix the run and the pass effectively in order to win this game. Jeremy Maclin will return, which should help the passing game, as I have to imagine the Broncos will do their best to take DeSean Jackson out of the game. McCoy and Weaver need to run the ball effectively when called upon. Along with Dawkins, the Broncos feature the leader in sacks in the NFL currently in Elvis Dumervil, so the offensive line will have their hands full to keep McNabb on his feet.

On defense, the Eagles definitely took a step forward with a good game last weekend against the 49ers, but it still wasn't great. It is week 16 and the Birds and still having trouble filling the voids created by Brian Dawkins, and the injured Stewart Bradley. At the linebacker position, the Eagles are basically shuffling guys in and out. Will Witherspoon is the only linebacker that is playing almost every snap. After that, Akeen Jordan, Jeremiah Trotter, and rookie Moses Fokou are all part of the mix. I didn't say Chris Gocong because Gocong didn't play 1 snap on defense against the 49ers, and will back up Fokou for the 2nd straight game this weekend. Also, Sean Jones is still the starting free safety, but has been doing an awful job lately, and is now splitting time with Quintin Demps, who doesn't seem to be playing much better. The defense will have to shut down Brandon Marshall, the playmaker on the Broncos offense.

The Eagles would really like to see the Cowboys, and Vikings lose, but first need to go out and take care of business at home against a team that is good, but we should beat.

Philadelphia Eagles All-Decade Team

Our Eagles all-decade team was the hardest to come up with of all the Philadelphia teams, mostly because there are more players. We decided to go with 2 running backs, since no fullback is worth being on the all-decade team. This isn’t to say that we didn’t like Cecil Martin, or Jon Ritchie, because we did, and obviously we love Leonard Weaver right now, but the contributions of the 2nd running back were much greater than any fullback in this offense this decade. The 2nd running back was a close decision between Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter. Ultimately, we went with Buckhalter for his overall body of work, although Staley was a great player.

Another tough call was the 2nd receiver. Terrell Owens gets the #1 receiver slot. Even though he had a short body of work this decade with the Eagles, we all know the Eagles receivers weren’t exactly the greatest this decade. The 2nd receiver came down to Todd Pinkston, and current beast DeSean Jackson. This was the biggest argument we had of any of the players on any team. It is a good argument – Pinkston was on the team longer and thus accrued more numbers, but Jackson is the better player. We decided on DeSean Jackson.

On the defensive side of the ball, there were discussions about the defensive tackles, between Corey Simon, Hollis Thomas, and current tackles Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. We ultimately went with Patterson and Simon. Donovan McNabb gets the team MVP honors.

Check out our full Philadelphia Eagles all-decade team--

Offense
QB: Donovan McNabb
RB: Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Terrell Owens, DeSean Jackson
TE: Chad Lewis
OL: Jon Runyan, Shawn Andrews, Jamaal Jackson, Jermaine Mayberry, Tra Thomas

Defense

DL: Trent Cole, Mike Patterson, Corey Simon, Hugh Douglas
LB: Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons, Stewart Bradley
CB: Sheldon Brown, Troy Vincent
S: Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis

Specialists

K: David Akers
P: Sean Landeta
Special Teams: Ike Reese
KR: Brian Mitchell
PR: Brian Westbrook

MVP: Donovan McNabb

Coach: Andy Reid

Close Calls: Hank Fraley, Duce Staley, Todd Pinkston, Hollis Thomas, Broderick Bunkley, Bobby Taylor, Lito Sheppard, Quintin Mikell

Eagles Clinch Playoff Spot

The Eagles beat the 49ers on Sunday 27-13 to clinch a playoff spot. They still have work to do to win the NFC East, but no matter what happens, the Eagles will be in the playoffs this season.

The offense played well, and the defense, helped by 4 turnovers played a lot better than last weekend against the Giants. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and drove down the field for the touchdown, and led the rest of the game. The Eagles lead the league in points scored on opening drives. The drive was capped off by a 17 yard McNabb to Jackson reception for a touchdown. After that point, the Eagles capitalized on 3 Alex Smith interceptions in the first half to take a 20-3 halftime lead. The interceptions for the Eagles were by Quintin Mikell, Asante Samuel, and Tracy White. The 49ers did end up cutting the Eagles deficit to 20-13 going into the 4th quarter, but another long Eagles drive put the game away in the 4th quarter, capped off by a McCoy touchdown run.

Donovan McNabb continued to make plays, and was solid, despite throwing 2 INT's. McNabb ended the game 21-36 for 306 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's, and a rushing touchdown. The Eagles did run the ball effectively. McCoy and Weaver combined for exactly 100 rushing yards on 26 carries. I still would have liked to see the Eagles run the ball more, because it seemed to be working. McCoy averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 9 carries, and had a touchdown. DeSean Jackson continued his excellent play thus far this season with another big game. Jackson had 6 catches for 140 yards, and a touchdown. I still am not 100% sold that Jackson is a #1 receiver, mostly due to his size, but he has been the team MVP in my opinion this season, and it's not even close.

It sounds weird to say, but I did feel like the Eagles missed Jeremy Maclin. Kevin Curtis was basically non-existent. He caught 1 pass, and dropped another. Reggie Brown only caught 1 pass also. It might not seem like a big deal right now because the Eagles are winning, but I really do feel like the Eagles lack of receiver depth could be a reason this team doesn't win it all this season. I know McNabb likes to hold onto the ball a lot, and doesn't force a lot of throws, but McNabb had a lot of time on a lot of drop-backs today, and simply didn't see anything he liked. A lot of people blame McNabb when he does this, but he doesn't seem to have these issues when the receivers are making plays. Bottom line, if a team decides to take DeSean Jackson out of the game, and make the other receivers beat them, I'm not sure the Eagles can do that.

On the defensive side of the football, the Eagles obviously played a lot better than they did against the Giants, but they still weren't great. The numbers look very good. 4 turnovers, only allowing 261 total yards, and 13 points, but they could have done better. Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards, becoming the first running back to run for over 100 against the Eagles this season. Gore is a really good running back, so I wasn't too upset by this, because he runs for 100 a lot of weeks.

The Eagles did clinch a playoff spot, but they still need to hope the Cowboys lose next weekend and need to win themselves to wrap up the NFC East. You don't want to have to go to Dallas the final weekend of the season needing a win to win the division. And if the Cowboys win next weekend no matter what the Eagles do, that final game is for the division. The Eagles can still get the #2 seed in the NFC depending on what the Vikings do tonight. Either way, still a good win for the Eagles, as they move to 10-4 on the year.

Eagles Win 4th Straight

The Eagles closed out their time in Giants stadium most likely, putting on an offensive show, and winning the game 45-38, in a much needed divisional matchup. The Eagles now sit alone atop the NFC East with a record of 9-4.

The Eagles came out of the gates strong, took the opening kickoff, and marched right downfield and scored a touchdown, and made it look easy. The Giants first possession didn't go so well for them, as Sheldon Brown scooped up a Brandon Jacobs fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles were up 14-0 five minutes into the game. From that point on, it would be an offensive shootout for both teams. The Giants got the game to 14-10, and the Eagles then pushed it to 24-10. The Giants responded with a touchdown, and then the Eagles marched down the field right before halftime to score another touchdown, but missed the extra point to take a 30-17 lead.

In the 2nd half, the Giants continued to play strong on offense, and took a 31-30 lead in the 3rd quarter. It didn't last long, because literally the very next offensive play, McNabb found DeSean Jackson for a 60 yard touchdown. The Eagles then went on a very successful, long 91 yard drive throughout most of the 4th quarter, capped off by a 1 yard Leonard Weaver touchdown run to put the game away.

The Eagles offense played very well. McNabb continues his strong play, and ended the game 17-26 for 275 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. McNabb threw a couple very nice deep balls, bought some time on some other plays, and hit his check downs well. Mike Vick also continued his strong recent play, and threw a 32 yard dart to DeSean Jackson on the first drive, which set up the first touchdown of the game. Vick also ran the ball 3 times for 11 yards, including a touchdown. Not only does Vick look like he is getting better every week, the play calling that involves Vick has been a lot better. I will give credit to the Reid-Mornhinweg play calling combo when Vick has been in the game lately. By letter Vick throw a couple passes each game, it doesn't allow the defense to stack the box when Vick is in the game. Also, I like the use of the trick plays they have tried when Vick has been in there. 2 trick plays were used. The first one being a reverse to Vick in which he almost threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Brown. The 2nd one was a Vick handoff to McCoy, who pitched to McNabb, who looked to go deep back to Vick. Even though he didn't have anything deep, McNabb made the right read and dumped it short to Celek. So, not only is Vick getting better and better each week, and becoming more a weapon in the rushing and passing game, the play calling has made more sense as of late.

Donovan McNabb led 4 very important drives in this game. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field the score, which was very important to get a 7-0 lead. Then, right before halftime, the Eagles marched down the field and scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half, which was also very important. Sometimes McNabb often gets criticized for is not playing well with 2 minutes and under in the half or game. The Eagles came into this game 2nd in the NFL in scoring with under 2 minutes left in the half and end of the game, and they continued to add to that total. The 3rd drive was the 1 play drive, which was the 60 yard pass to Jackson. The Giants had just taken a 31-30 lead and had all the momentum at that point. And the final and most important drive was a 91-yard drive which took up most of the 4th quarter, and was eventually the game winning drive.

The rushing attack wasn't as successful as it has been recently, but McCoy and Weaver both got their share of carries, and Weaver and Vick both has a touchdown run. The story on offense however was DeSean Jackson. Without Jackson's return from his concussion, the Eagles do not win that game. Jackson had 6 receptions for 178 yards, and a touchdown. He also had a huge 72 yard punt return for a touchdown. You see people who are fast, but Jackson is ridiculously fast. Brent Celek also played well and ended with 64 receiving yards and a touchdown.

However, I am not so optimistic as some other people are going forward... mostly now because of the defense. I hear people talking today about how they are now starting to get this feeling with this Eagles team that we could go far into the playoffs, and into the Super Bowl. Well, I think that if that Eagles team from yesterday played the Saints, the Saints would have scored 60+ points. The Eagles defense was horrible. It was one of the worst defensive performances I've ever seen to be honest. Sheldon Brown, Quintin Mikell, Sean Jones - all guys who I like and have praised, played horribly. Too many missed tackles, too many penalties still, too many blown coverages, and not enough pressure on Eli. The Giants put up 512 yards of total offense in the game. They ran the ball and threw the ball effectively.

I do think the Eagles defense is a proud defense, and Sean McDermott and the players on the defense will not be happy with this victory. I think they will treat this week of practice like they really almost lost this game for the team, and bounce back. However, if the defense continues to play the way they played on Sunday, this team is not going to the Super Bowl.

Eagles Dodge Bullet, Beat Redskins

The Eagles just picked up a much needed win in a game that they very much needed to win, and a game that looked like they could easily let slip away. The Eagles outscored the Redskins 11-3 in the 4th quarter in order to win the game 27-24.

The Eagles started out the game shooting themselves in the foot and spotting the Redskins 7 points by attempting a failed onsides kick. The Eagles quickly bounced back, and put up a field goal and a touchdown reception by DeSean Jackson to take a 10-7. After a Redskins touchdown, 2 Asante Samuel interceptions led to 2 David Akers field goals and allowed the Eagles to take a 16-14 halftime lead.

The 3rd quarter was brutal for the Eagles, as they couldn't even get a first down. The Redskins scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal to take a 24-16 lead. McNabb however led the Eagles on a 90 yard drive capped off by an Eldra Buckley 1 yard touchdown run with 7:24 left on the clock. LeSean McCoy added the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 24. The defense held up, and the Eagles got the ball back, and drove down for the game winning 32 yard field goal with 1:48 remaining to give the Eagles the 27-24 win.

If you look at the balance, which will always be a problem under Andy Reid, the Eagles threw the ball 36 times, and called 27 runs. Shady McCoy and Leonard Weaver both ran the ball well. McCoy ended up with 17 carries for 76 yards, which is 4.5 yards a carry. Weaver carried 6 times for 44 yards, which is 7.3 yards per carry.

Donovan McNabb played well for the most part. He ended the game 21-35 for 260 yards with 1 TD, and 1 INT. McNabb, who is oft criticized for not being able to lead the team from behind in the 4th quarter, led 2 long drives in the 4th quarter - the game tying, and game winning drives. I'm sure the McNabb haters will find something to complain about though tomorrow. Maybe McNabb spend too much time on the field talking to Jason Campbell after the game.

The receivers dropped a lot of balls, included what seemed like about 5 for Celek. DeSean Jackson left the game in the 3rd quarter with concussion like symptoms. The defense really didn't seem to blitz a lot in my opinion, but unlike Andy Reid, I will actually trust that Sean McDermott knows what he is doing. This was only the 2nd time all season the Redskins scored above 20 points this season, so the defense did not play great, despite stepping it up at the end of the game.

Eagles Get Much Needed Win

The Eagles went into Chicago last night and left with a much needed 24-20 victory. This moves the Eagles to 6-4, and keeps them 1 game behind the first place Cowboys in the NFC East.

The Eagles were down 20-17 heading into the 4th quarter, but were able to mount a game winning drive with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, capped off by a 10 yard McCoy touchdown run. McCoy finished the day with 20 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown. Donovan McNabb was sharp and finished 23-32 for 244 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Even Michael Vick got into the action busting a 34 yard run in the 1st quarter on a scoring drive. DeSean Jackson led the receivers with 8 catches for 107 yards, and a TD. The offense played well for the most part, besides the 3 turnovers, which included a McNabb INT, and lost fumbles from LeSean McCoy, and DeSean Jackson. The McNabb fumble was not a bad pass, DeSean Jackson just got out muscled on a slant route.

The defense played pretty well, especially considering the 3 Eagles turnovers. The 1 touchdown from the Bears was a touchdown pass to the tight end, which the Eagles definitely struggle covering. Chris Gocong was the victim on that play, but you can basically pick out any linebacker besides Will Witherspoon who can't cover tight ends. The defense did a good job holding the Bears out of the end zone in the first half, as the Bears could have gotten a lot more points than they put up. They only allowed Cutler to throw for 171 yards, and if you take away a 72 yard run from Bell, the Bears only ran for 54 yards, which included shutting down Bears RB Matt Forte.

I personally still do not think that the Eagles ran the ball enough in this game. The Eagles threw 33 passes (1 from Vick), and called 27 rushing plays, which includes 1 rush from McNabb that was a called sneak. These numbers aren't bad, but they aren't great. Keep in mind the Eagles ran the ball the final 7 plays of the game just to get to that number. Throughout the game, they still were not rushing the ball enough, especially against a team that does not stop the run well. They have many drives where they did not even run the ball at all. The numbers don't seem so bad because McNabb was effective, so they were moving the ball consistently through the air also. Going forward, I still would like to see the Eagles run the ball more.

The offensive line is still an area of concern for me, and I don't feel they played too well. Jason Peters got called for a tripping penalty, which negated a long pass to Jeremy Maclin, and Stacy Andrews was a scratch. These were 2 big offseason acquisitions, and neither has panned out as of yet.

Either way, the Eagles get the victory, 24-20, and welcome in the Washington Redskins next weekend, which will basically be another one the Eagles have to get.

Eagles Look to Bounce Back Against Bears

The Eagles travel to Donovan McNabb’s hometown this weekend to take on the Chicago Bears who currently stand at 4-5. The Eagles will try to bounce back after losing two straight games to the Cowboys and Chargers.

Traveling to Chicago isn’t exactly the ideal situation in trying to break a 2 game losing streak. Even though the Bears aren’t playing well, and Cutler has been flat out bad this year, it is never easy to play a road game in Chicago. McNabb does always seem to play well there though when he goes back home. The defense has to bounce back after a disappointing performance against the Chargers. The defense has had to battle through injuries as of late, and might even be without Sheldon Brown this weekend. Sheldon Brown has never missed a game in his career, and is one of the veteran leaders on defense. Due to injuries and suspensions, the Eagles are very thin in the secondary, and at the linebacker position. As of now, the Eagles have not brought in any help at the cornerback position.

On offense, the Eagles will obviously be without Brian Westbrook, which unfortunately, they are probably used to by now. Just like the cornerback position, as of right now, the Eagles have not brought in a running back to help out at the position. LeSean McCoy, rookie phenom, should get most of the carries. In Andy Reid’s offense, this means he will get about 5-7. When Westbrook has been out this year, the Eagles have also given Leonard Weaver a good amount of carries each game, which they should continue to do.

The Bears have struggled all around at points this season. Even in recent years, when the Bears have not been good, their defense was always good. This year their defense isn’t bad against the pass, but is 21st against the run. The Eagles have played teams who struggle stopping the run already this year, but have not yet taken advantage of it, and Andy Reid is to blame for that. I believe the Eagles need to run the ball effectively to win this game. The offensive line finally pass blocked well against San Diego… unfortunately, they couldn’t open up any hole against an average San Diego defensive line. The offensive line has also been an area on the Eagles that is banged up, and they have not done a great job getting a push on the defensive line for the running backs. The Bears have also struggled on offense, mostly because Cutler has been bad, and Matt Forte has regressed in his sophomore season.

The Eagles need this win badly, but it won’t be easy. If the defense can hold up, the offense should be able to put the points on the board to win… assuming Andy Reid doesn’t lose the game with his play calling.

Give Kolb a Chance

This town is down on Kolb. We do not believe in him. We do not trust him. Why? Has he actually been given a shot? Does the Baltimore game really count? I don't think it should count. Not many quarterbacks with no experience could play well in that situation. Does the scrub duty or preseason count? Not really as well. He has never really been given a true chance.

Kolb might not turn out to be the future of the Eagles like Coach Reid thought he would be when they drafted him, but we need to find out and give him a chance. Right now is a perfect opportunity. At the end of next year McNabb and Vick will be free agents. There is a good chance we will not resigning either. That decision will be a lot easier if we know what we actually have in Kolb.

McNabb has fractured ribs from the cheap shot he took against Carolina. There is nothing you can do to heal them faster. It is just a matter if he can play through the pain, which we all know he can. But why put him out there this week or next, when week 4 is a bye and we could have a healthier, rested McNabb starting week 5 for the rest of the season and a playoff run? With McNabb or Kolb, you will beat the Chiefs at home in week 3. Randall Cunningham at his age would be able to play for the Eagles after they induct him into their Ring of Honor in a pregame ceremony, and would beat the Chiefs. This week against the Saints is another story. No matter who is the QB, you might not win. McNabb gives us a better chance than Kolb does to win.

If you give Kolb the next two starts, you can accomplish many things: you get to rest McNabb, find out what Kolb is made of, and at worst go into the bye week 2-1. So everyone who thinks Garcia should play this week, or Vick should start next week should give Kolb a chance. We really do not know what we have. Let's let him show us.

Eagles Beat Up on Panthers

The Eagles beat the Panthers in the opener on Sunday to start the season off on a good note. The game however might not have ended on a good note with Donovan McNabb suffering cracked ribs when scoring on a touchdown run.

The game started out with a Panthers touchdown drive that basically took up half the first quarter and ended up with an 11 yard touchdown run from DeAngelo Williams. After that point, the Eagles defense would flat out dominate. After Akers kicked a field goal, on the next Panthers possession, Trent Cole busted up the middle and sacked Delhomme, forcing a fumble. Victor Abiamiri picked it up and fell into the end zone for a touchdown. Delhomme's day would only get worse. DeSean Jackson took a punt 85 yards for a score, and forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over all game allowed the Eagles to take advantage of short fields and come away with a 38-10 win on the road.

On offense, the Eagles were forced to do very little. The offensive box score looks weird for scoring so many points, but nothing really was needed from the offense. McNabb ended the game 10-18 for just 79 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and a rushing TD. I thought McNabb played well for the most part. The interception was the only real bad throw he had, throwing it to the linebacker dropping back in coverage. The Eagles receivers did have a few drops. The Eagles ran the ball well, Westbrook had 13 carries for 64 yards and a receiving touchdown, and LeSean McCoy had 9 carries for 46 yards. The Eagles leading receiver was Brent Celek who had 6 catches for 37 yards and a TD. Going into future games, the offense needs to play better. I need to see more from the receivers in general. Kevin Curtis in my opinion is really just not all that good. He's an average receiver at best, drops too many passes, and can't get open enough from the outside. He belongs in the slot, but isn't used there. When Kolb came in, the offense didn't do too much, and Kolb continues to struggle when he faces game situations.

The story of the game however was the defense. The Eagles defense held the Panthers to just 169 total yards, which included just 86 yards rushing. The Panthers were one of the best rushing teams in the league last season. Sean McDermott really did well in his first game at defense coordinator. To be honest, after watching the Eagles in the preseason, I was a little nervous about the defense coming into this season. Well, in game 1, they were solid. The ended the game with 5 interceptions, 2 from Sheldon Brown, and 1 each from Asante Samuel, Akeem Jordan, and Joselio Hanson. The defense also had 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown. Darren Howard led the Eagles with 2 of the 5 sacks. The Eagles defensive tackles did real well against the run, and the Eagles were in the Panthers backfield all game. If this is the defense that will show up every week, the Eagles will again be one of the best units in the league. I will say that I saw Macho Harris miss a few tackles, which can't happen from your free safety, and Harris needs to get better as the season goes on. It won't be as easy next weekend when the Eagles play the Saints who feature maybe the best offense in the NFL.

As I mentioned earlier, Donovan McNabb suffered cracked ribs in the 4th quarter on a 3 yard touchdown run. Reid said after the game that McNabb would need to be re-evaluated to see if he will play next weekend, but all indications are that he probably will not. This injury to fully heal usually is a 2-4 week injury, but players have come back the next week and played, so we will see how that plays out. Either way, it was a good game, and a good start to the season to get out of the gates, especially for the defense.

Eagles-Jaguars Postgame

The Eagles beat the Jaguars 33-32 with a nice 4th quarter comeback on Thursday night in their 3rd preseason game. The score does not indicate how poorly the Eagles actually played. They needed a 4th quarter comeback by Kevin Kolb to win the game.

The Eagles offense and defense really continue to be very average. They looked average in the first preseason game, but did some good things, so I wasn't too worried. They also did not look very impressive in the 2nd game against the Colts, and that trend continued last night in preseason Game 3.

The actual result of the game last night is not very significant, I wanted to see the players make plays, and see how the Eagles try to use Mike Vick. It didn't take long for Vick to see the field, he came on for the 2nd play of the game, and threw a shovel pass to McCoy. It became apparent fairly quickly that there was no flow to this almost alternating plays for McNabb and Vick, and the play calling was way too gimmicky, even when McNabb was under center. If this were the regular season, I would be yelling at Reid to run the ball more. Of course that isn't too easy when the offensive line in my opinion has been horrible this preseason. I understand there are multiple injuries on the offensive line, so lets hope that this unit gets better once the season starts.

Shawn Andrews and Todd Herramans did not play, and it was revealed after the game that Herramans will have surgery and will miss the start of the regular season, and will miss multiple weeks of the regular season. Stacy Andrews did start, and couldn't make it as far as the regular starters went, but apparently, it was more of a precaution as to why he was taken out. Jason Peters didn't play... ohhh he actually did play, you just wouldn't have known that he showed up. Peters has not been good this preseason. It's hard for me to tell how a center is doing, so I'm not sure if Jamaal Jackson looks good, but the overall unit flat out looks bad. McNabb has pressure on him almost every time he drops back to pass, and has to keep plays alive by getting out of the pocket and trying to make something happen. The O-Line run blocked well in the first preseason game, yet I haven't seen them open up a hole on an inside run in the past 2 games. The running backs are running into walls when they try to run up the middle. The offensive line is a unit that has to get back by the regular season.

The play calling was also an area of concern for me. Like I said earlier, if this were the regular season, I would be yelling at Reid to run the ball more. I understand you wanted to get Vick involved, and I liked that they did that, but the play calling just wasn't there, and it got gimmicky very quickly. I would like to Vick line up in the slot more often on multiple plays in a row, whether you plan to use him on a play or not. Keep McNabb under center, and have Vick in the slot. This way, you don't have to do anything gimmicky, you run the regular offense (yes, I want to see Vick go out for passes), you don't have to keep running McNabb and Vick on and off the field, and you have multiple weapons on the field at one time. I'm not sure who calls the plays at this point, probably Reid because he is so arrogant, but the play calling needs to get better in the regular season. I don't anticipate this however, as the play calling in my opinion has not been good for years. Morningweg is a below average offensive coordinator.

On defense, the 1st team is still getting points scored on them, and letting teams drive down the field. This defense was the 3rd ranked defense in the NFL, and 1st ranked in the NFC last season, and I think for the Eagles to be successful, their defense needs to be in the top 10 at worst. Losing Stewart Bradley is still hurting this team, as Joe Mays has been a non-factor at the middle linebacker position. In fact, the entire linebacking corps have been mostly invisible in the preseason, besides rookie Moise Fokou, who has been a beast. I will say the Eagles did a better job of getting to the QB, and disrupted many plays by getting in the Jaguars' quarterbacks faces. On the line, Trent Cole stood out, and was in the backfield a lot. Asante Samuel continues to play well, and had a pick last night. I think Quintin Mikell is also playing well, but you expect that out of him.

The Eagles do have some things to work on still, and need to improve in multiple areas. If they run this team and this game out in the regular season, they will be completely average. But this is what preseason is for, to work on the kinks, and get ready to play well in Week 1 of the regular season. Lets hope that the Eagles are ready to Week 1 against the Panthers.

Eagles Should Use Vick a Lot Thursday

Mike Vick will make his Eagles debut this Thursday in the Eagles 3rd preseason game. According to Andy Reid, Vick will play and mix in along with the first team, which is supposed to play roughly the first three quarters.

The Eagles would be smart to use Vick in multiple situations. It is uncertain as to whether or not Vick will play in the 4th preseason game or not. He does need to get in the work, but the starters, and important players usually do not play in the 4th preseason game. I'm not sure if Vick falls into that category or not, so I have no clue whether he will be playing in the 4th preseason game. If he isn't, this game on Thursday will obviously be the only game action he sees before the regular season.

I think that the Eagles should use Vick with the 1st team as much as possible, in as many different situations. During the regular season, you want the opposing teams defensive coordinator to have to worry about Vick throughout the whole week when they are game planning for the Eagles offense. No matter how much you actually use Vick in the regular season, or where he lines up is irrelevant. You still want the opposing defensive coordinator to think that Vick is going to play, and spend time worrying about how they will stop Vick. No matter where Vick lines up, he is dangerous. You want to show this off in the preseason game. You want to show how quick and dangerous and athletic Vick still is. You want him to line up in the slot, out wide, in the backfield, at quarterback, in the shotgun, in the wildcat. If the Eagles show this on Thursday, the opposing teams during the regular season then have to prepare for Vick to be anywhere and everywhere on the field. And when you get Vick into the open field, he can be very dangerous.

The more time an opposing team worries about Vick, the less time they worry about the more important weapons who will be playing more - McNabb, Westbrook, Jackson, and McCoy. The Eagles should show Vick in multiple situations this Thursday, because even if they don't give him the ball, you still have to worry about where he will be at all times.

Vick's Number & NFL Rules

We took the time the other day to go through some of the ways that the Eagles could use Vick. Well there are some additional issues to look at before we even know how Vick will be used. Michael Vick is listed as #7 on the Eagles roster, the number he has always been. According the NFL rules, a #7 on the roster can only be listed as a quarterback, punter, or kicker.

Okay, that's fine, Michael Vick will be listed as a quarterback, which is what he has always been. However, according to Andy Reid, both Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb are ahead of Vick on the quarterback depth chart. My first mistake might be believe anything that comes out of Reid's mouth, but if you do believe this, then Michael Vick is 3rd on the quarterback depth chart. This creates a problem with the NFL rules also. Each team needs to list their #1, #2, and #3 quarterback going into each week's game. If a team's listed #3 quarterback enters any game, the #1 and #2 quarterbacks can no longer play in that game.

So, if the Eagles plan on moving Vick around and using him in a variety of ways, which I would like to see them do, and which makes the most sense to me, then he would have to be listed as the #2 quarterback going into each game. I am fine with this, mostly because I want to see Vick in this offense a good amount this year, and moving around the formation, lining up at WR, RB, and QB, and in the wildcat. If you plan on using Vick this way though, Kolb will essentially not get any time this season, barring an injury to McNabb.

We are still very early into the Michael Vick tenure with the Eagles, so we will find out how this plays out as we go on.

How Will Vick Be Used?

So the Eagles signed Michael Vick. Everyone wants to find out if he has changed, if he feels remorse, and what he will do going forward. While all of that is important, we are at the point where Vick is going to say all the right things no matter what, and we aren't going to get much information out of him in regard to that.

What I am interested in however is how the Eagles are going to use Vick on the field to help this team with a Super Bowl. Let's take a look at some of the possible ways the Eagles could use Vick.

The Eagles can use Vick as a quarterback. This seems to make the most sense, as Michael Vick actually is a quarterback, and has always been a quarterback. However, this actually doesn't make much sense to me. The Eagles quarterback is Donovan McNabb, whether certain McNabb haters want to admit that or not. Not only is McNabb a better quarterback than Vick on Vick's best day, but he was also given a large monetary raise this offseason. I don't think the Eagles would do that, and then bench McNabb for Vick the first time McNabb struggles. There is also no indication that Kevin Kolb isn't still the quarterback the Eagles see will take over for McNabb when McNabb is no longer an Eagle. Essentially, Vick could be one of the backup quarterbacks, and come in for a few plays to take some snaps, and shake things up. I don't feel like this really utilizes his talent however, and I don't think the Eagles signed Vick simply to sit on the bench as a backup quarterback all season.

I believe that Vick makes the most sense in the slot, or running the wildcat offense. Let's be honest - it's not really that hard to play wide receiver. You have to be fast, you have to be athletic. Vick is both. I feel like Vick could definitely be effective running some routes from the wide receiver position. You can also line Vick up as the quarterback in the wildcat offense. Vick can take off running, or he can pass the ball from this position. Basically, I feel like you can move Vick around in different areas of the offense, and he can help the team. Bottom line, if you get Michael Vick the ball in open space, he is dangerous. We haven't seen what he can do on the field in a while, but I would assume he is still fast, and athletic. Even though it is way too early to speculate how they will use Vick, I would guess that we will see Vick on the field for around 15 offensive plays a game.

Vick is about the take part in his first practice today, so as we see him practicing more and more, we should get a better idea of how the Eagles and Andy Reid plan on using Vick on offense.

Eagles-Patriots Recap

Just wanted to say a few things about the Eagles first preseason game last night, a 27-25 loss to the Patriots. LeSean McCoy is the real deal. Many people are finding this out now, and more and more people are really starting to like McCoy a lot, and talk about how good he looks now. Well I have had the privilege of already knowing this for years, watching basically every game Shady played at for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Kotite's Corner has been hyping McCoy since our inception. In fact one of our first posts was about how much of a beast McCoy was, and he was still at Pitt at this time. McCoy looked comfortable in the offense, ran the ball well, and caught a nice screen pass. Other than McCoy, I thought most of the first team offense did well. They moved the ball effectively for the most part. McNabb, besides a few poor throws played well. The receivers made plays for him.

The offensive line was not impressive in my opinion. Jason Peters was not good at all, and McNabb was under way too much pressure on a few plays. The offensive line run blocked well, and opened holes for McCoy, but really struggled in the pass blocking game. We know that most of the starting offensive line did not play, so hopefully it will only improve.

Despite the Eagles giving up a lot of points, the defense did not play poorly. The Patriots one touchdown came on a punt return, and another one was the result of a 40 yard pass interference call on Asante Samuel on Randy Moss. The defense can get better, but I am not concerned about how they looked.

Michael Vick an Eagle

Cliff Lee. Pedro Martinez. Chris Pronger. And now.... Michael Vick. Holy shit!!! The Eagles really signed Michael Vick. In one of the most shocking Philadelphia sports stories in a while, the Eagles signed Michael Vick, who hasn't played a game since 2006. A lot of people throw out the saying "I can't believe it." I literally couldn't believe that this was true when I got 500 text messages and 100 calls at the same time all about Vick. This is an absolute bombshell and a shocker.

Vick will be paid $1.6 million this season, with a chance to make up to $5.6 million next season, with a club option. Vick and McNabb are good friends, and McNabb has fully supported the idea of bringing Vick in. Clearly Donovan McNabb is a the starting quarterback, so it will be very interesting how the Eagles use Vick to help the team. Maybe put him in the slot, and run some routes with him. Maybe run some wildcat formation plays with him. Clearly no one supports what Michael Vick did with the dog fighting, and you could easily argue that Michael Vick is not a very good or true quarterback, but he is a flat out unreal athlete. Assuming Vick isn't going to play quarterback, barring a McNabb injury or a trick play, Vick can be very effective when you get him out in the open field with the ball.

The Eagles now have a lot of unique weapons on offense. LeSean McCoy, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, and Michael Vick are all extremely athletic and you can do a lot with all of these players. That doesn't even include McNabb who is still one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the league. It will be very interesting to see how the Eagles plan to use Vick, and get him on the field, and use him as another weapon on offense.

Plenty more will come on this story as it develops, and we see how the Eagles plan on using Michael Vick on offense. The Eagles will hold a press conference tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. announcing the signing.

Kevin Walsh is a Chump

Just wanted to take this time to call out Comast SportsNet's own, Kevin Walsh. Who the hell is Kevin Walsh you might ask? Kevin Walsh is the chump who interviewed Donovan McNabb during the Syracuse-Villanova game this past weekend. Look, I understand the fact that by Donovan McNabb making a public appearance, there are going to be people who want to get an interview with him, especially after the comments he made about the Eagles defense after the NFC Championship game.

Well, Comcast jumped all over the opportunity, which makes sense as they want to get an exclusive Donovan McNabb interview. Kevin Walsh was the interviewer, and we get it, he wants to ask the "tough" questions and make a name for himself or something, but the questions asked were an absolute joke. McNabb should have stood up and thrown Kevin Walsh onto the court. McNabb handled himself well and answered all the questions to his credit. We consider ourselves very pro-McNabb for his play on the field, but have in the past bashed McNabb for certain things he says or does. But in this case, we wanted to give credit to McNabb, and call out Kevin Walsh for obviously not knowing how to conduct an interview.

First off, McNabb is watching his alma mater, Syracuse, at a basketball game, obviously not wanting to be interviewed by some chump. Second off, there is no way for McNabb to respond to some of the questions asked, which made the interview extremely awkward. Walsh asked McNabb if he learned anything from watching Warner or Roethlisberger in the Super Bowl. Really? What did he expect McNabb to say to that? He also asked McNabb 25 times whether he wanted to be back in Philly. McNabb is always very cordial in interviews, but this is one situation where he should have just put Kevin Walsh in his place, and owned him.

So in the end, Kevin Walsh tried to make a name for himself and just looked like a fool with no skills or sports knowledge. He should have conducted himself a lot better in the interview, and not made the interview incredibly awkward. If Comcast SportsNet lets Walsh go, he has a great skill set for TMZ.

Eagles-Cardinals Keys to the Game

The Eagles will travel on the road for the 3rd straight week to play the surprising Cardinals in the NFC Championship game, for the right to go to the Super Bowl. This will be the Eagles 5th NFC Championship game appearance in the past eight seasons. The Eagles have lost those games before when being favored, so this game should be a very tough one.

One of the main keys to this game is to get pressure on Cardinals QB, Kurt Warner. Getting pressure on Kurt Warner will most likely be the defensive game plan. Jim Johnson has very good success with this Eagles defense when facing Kurt Warner. You can see here that Kurt Warner has not previously had a lot of success against the Eagles. However, if Kurt Warner is given time to pass the ball, he is deadly effective. Warner can pick any team apart when given time, and with the receivers he has now, it is imperative to bring some pressure. Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the game, and has shown the past couple weeks that even when double-teamed, he will still go up and get the ball. How do you stop Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin? You get pressure on Warner, and don’t allow him to be comfortable all game. Warner will make mistakes when pressure, he will throw bad passes, and he will put the ball on the ground. The Eagles front four has not gotten to the QB so far in the playoffs, so the Eagles may need to dial up some blitzes in order to get to Warner. And what better man to devise up some complex blitz schemes than Jim Johnson.

Another key to the game is the Eagles rushing attack. The Eagles had 185 yards rushing in their first matchup against the Cardinals. However, the rushing attack has been grounded in the two previous playoff games. The Cardinals do not have a good rushing defense, and the Eagles will need to exploit that. If Westbrook is not healthy enough to carry the ball 20 times, then Buckhalter, and Eckel should both get multiple carries. This is definitely a game where we need to keep McNabb out of pressure situations, and keep McNabb off the ground. A rushing attack that is effective in this game will also keep the potent Cardinals offense off the field. The Cardinals picked off five passes last weekend against the Panthers, and their cornerbacks are playing better than they have all season. The Cardinals feature some good young cornerbacks, and also a very good safety. Look for their secondary to jump some of the Eagles routes. With an effective rushing attack, the Eagles can effectively use play action, and stretch the field with Curtis and Jackson.

Those are just a couple keys to what should be a very exciting, nerve racking NFC Championship game. As Eagles fans, we have seen our team get this far, be favored, and lose the game. Let’s hope that we after Sunday, we will be in our second Super Bowl in the past five seasons.

PREDICTION
MR. GREEN: 31-17 EAGLES
ROGET: 34-21 EAGLES