Eagles control their own destiny, notch 2nd win in a row.

Sunday November 29, 2009 • 1 Comment 

The Eagles dominated every single offensive and defensive category in todays game and in the process managed to just barely win.  They had more total plays of offense, more yards passing, more yards rushing, had better yards per pass and rush attempt, had more time of possession, better 4th down efficiency, allowed fewer turnovers, and barely escaped with a win !!

Yes they were not as good on third down, thanks to the Redskins being unnaturally good at that, but they did everything they could to give the Redskins the game until the 4th quarter, from the initial onsides kick they misplayed, allowing Washington to have a 24 yard field, quickly shortened to a 19 yard field with the 5 yard penalty, to repeatedly being called for offensive penalties that negated many of their better plays.

They had a touchdown called back that turned into a field goal, they brought Vick in every time the offense gained any momentum and he promptly disrupted the rhythm of the game, they had countless passes dropped including three in a row by Brett Celek, they lost DeSean Jackson after another touchdown catch due to injuries,  yet they won the game to go to 7-4 and put their fate in their own hands for the first time all season.  Jackson’s catch was his shortest of the year, a mere 35 yards.  This guy is clutch and the best reciever we have had in years, and I hope he is recovered in time for next weeks contest !

Simply put, if the Eagles win out, and beat the Giants and Cowboys in their final meetings, they win the division.

If they beat the Giants and Cowboys and win 1 of their other three remaining games, they will win at least the wild card.

A couple positive observations, the one two punch of McCoy and Weaver was productive for the second week in a row.   The halfback/fullback tandem rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries and Buckley came through with the first touchdown of his NFL career to pull the Eagles within 2.  Then McCoy performed a balancing act to tie the game up with the 2 point conversion allowing Akers to win it with his field goal on the ensuing drive as the Eagles scored 11 unanswered in the fourth quarter for the win.  Assante Samual overcame an average first half with 2 interceptions to keep the Eagles in the game.  And the Eagles finally appeared able to convert a third and short with their running game, a quality they had been seriously lacking over the past 6 weeks.

Through the first three quarters fans had to be worrying about the Eagles repeatedly driving the length of the field and having to settle for field goals.  A 90 yard 10 play drive for the tying touchdown followed by a 10 play drive for the go ahead field goal hopefully put some of these qualms to bed, at least until next week.

One can only hope Reid won’t overplay Vick in the reunion next week with his former team, the Atlanta Falcons.  I think enough has been seen this year to confirm the “Vick experiment” is a dismal failure, it is time to let McNabb run this team for the final 5 games, and if not satisfied with his judgement and performance, you have Kolb chomping at the bit to have a go at it next year, I repeat for the millionth time this year……WE DON’T NEED VICK !!!

OK, got it out of my system, for now, on to next week.  We dodged a serious bullet against the Redskins, hopefully we will fare better against the Falcons.



Westbrook won’t start against G-men

Sunday November 1, 2009 • 2 Comments 

The Eagles are about to go up against their primary NFC East competition and they will be doing it without Brian Westbrook, who is still feeling symptoms from last weeks concussion.

I applaud this move on the part of Reid, the coaching staff and Jeff Lurie.  While the Eagles have a much better record playing with their star running back over the past decade, they have a perfectly good replacement in McCoy.  It probably didn’t hurt that commish Goodell was recently involved in hearings regarding concussions and their long term effects on NFL players but I believe this would have been the decision no matter what.  The Eagles have a reputation for being conservative both in their play calling and personnel decisions.

What that means is that today’s game will essentially rest on the performance of Donovan McNabb and his two key receivers, Jackson and Macklin.  The Eagles need this win to keep their NFC East record undefeated.  A win will say a lot about how they match up the remainder of the year.  They beat the Giants twice last year, and rarely does one NFC East team go 3-0 or 0-3 against a direct competitor.  Even when a team is down and out, this division is so tough, to win three in a row is rarely done.  Add that to the fact that the Giants have lost 2 in a row after starting the year 5-0 and it is more improbable the Eagles can pull this off.

If Donovan brings his A game, the Eagles will win a close one, in the 30-29 scoring range.  If Donovan is ineffective the Giants can blow this one out.  The Eagles traditionally start slow, so it might be the second quarter before we see how this one will play out.  I personally think McNabb will pass for 300 yards and three touchdowns, Witherspoon will have 3-4 sacks and a takeaway and Assante Samuel will pick Eli twice as the defense steps up to help the Eagles win a close one in Philadelphia to set the stage for the second game being hosted in the city of brotherly love, World Series game 4 where the Phillies NEED the victory to have any hope of defending their title.