The Big Easy... Eagles March on the Saints

It was somewhere in the 2nd quarter, when my wife comes to me and says, "Why are you still watching them? They're out of the playoffs. It doesn't mean anything."

To all my fellow die-hards, I apologize for my wife's naivete. For the rest of you that are asking the same questions, please learn the ways of the Eagles world (cited below), or turn in your green jersey.

And honey, please pay attention.

We're watching this game to build some positives for next season, not to mention to get revenge on the Saints for raining on our parade last year. We did get our revenge and have a lot of positives to bank on for next season.

The most important being McNabb.

If you're ready to give up on #5, then you'd better be prepared for a 4-12 season with Kolb at the helm. You'd better prepare for McNabb going to the pro-bowl in another uniform. And you'd better prepare for the chance that Kolb may not be effective. Me, I'm not willing to prepare for any of that. I'm preparing to have #5 healthy and running this ship like he's done so many times before.

Today's game was another improvement and the most encouraging game since the Detroit drubbing in week 3. McNabb was accurate (24-35, 263 yards, 3 TDs) and poised in the pocket. And he was shifty and slippery in the pocket, all amidst a constant Saints' blitz. He showed us another glimpse of his healing knee with his scamper on the naked bootleg early in the first (we'll forgive him for the fumble). He was a confident field general in leading the Birds in a 98-yard touchdown drive. And most of all he won. Bottom line.

Other's deserving recognition today were Joselio Hansen, who had several decent defensive plays. Broderick Bunkley for showing his speed and making several tackles downfield. Jason Avant for coming back off of injury and re-emerging as a possible threat in the future. Sheldon Brown for reminding us once again that we have a cornerback that can HIT, which is rare. And last, but certainly not least the play of Stewart Bradley.

The two stops on the goal-line stand would be enough to warrant an applause for this rookie, making the most of his first full-time roll, but add to that a sack, and a diving interception and you've got a lot of people opening their eyes to a young exciting linebacking corp. We know Gaither can play. Chris Gocong is always all over the field, and add to that Bradley, who the coaching staff has always been high on, and we've got a full house of young, athletic backers who have a nose for the football.

And a quick congratulations to Kevin Curtis and Brian Westbrook, both of whom eclipsed numerical milestones today for season statistics. Curtis has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season while Westbrook eclipsed 2,000 all purpose yards, and is only 2 yards shy of breaking the Eagles all-time record in this category held by the Eagles' first X-Factor, Wilbert Montgomery.

And finally, Happy Holidays to everyone. I know my Christmas will be a little brighter knowing what we can look forward to for 2008.

Eagles "Big D" Defeats Dallas

Friday afternoon before heading home for the weekend, someone at worked asked me what I thought the Eagles chances were at winning this weekend. I pondered for a few seconds, weighed the options and realistically and confidently said 3 in 10.

The 3 out of 10 was based on the following facts.

• the Eagles have been unpredictable this year. They seem to play up for big games and play down for others.
• anything can happen in an NFC east game. -- I don't have to go through the history of this great division to tell you that every battle, regardless of the year between NFC east foes is a tough one. (this one was no exception)
• the Eagles still had something to play for - even as I write this our playoff hopes are still alive as the Bears are beating the Vikes 6-3 at half

What I didn't expect was a nearly flawless game by the Eagles defense. This squad continues to impress me. And although I can do without Quinten Mikell and his bonehead play to run the ball out of the endzone, there were, once again, some defensive players who stepped up their game to keep us in it.

Omar Gaither - I think he's for real. I think his move to strong side linebacker was a good one. Sure he's not as physical as Trott was, nor is he as menacing, but man can this guy play.

Lit0 Sheppard - Did a great job of keeping Terrell Owens in check. It's been a disappointing injury plagued season for Sheppard this year, but he came up big yesterday. Not only shutting down TO, but he had a key interception which set up a touchdown, a second pass deflection and 6 combined tackles.

The "Bend Don't Break" Goal Line Defense - With the exception of points allowed, this defense has been mediocre at best this season. They hadn't been creating turnovers and they seemed to let up the big play at in opportune times. They have, however, been stellar inside the redzone, once again personifying that "bend don't break" attitude which has been their mantra in recent years. They once again proved their worth yesterday.

And now to the offense.

Let's start with McNabb. He once again showed signs of improvement. He moved well. His statistics were okay, but he didn't make any mistakes. His 28 yard scamper, on a still less than 100% knee, proved that he's getting back to his old self. Several times he avoided sacks and found room to either throw it away, or in one instance run out of bounds because his receivers weren't getting open. When will this organization give him someone to play with? Have they looked at tape from the 2004 season? Earth to Reid and Banner... we need a playmaker!

And lastly, to Westbrook. I don't think I can say anything I haven't said already. ...

Westbrook knows what he's doing. And since I've already sung his praise, time and time again, I'll allow someone who's new to the Philadelphia sports blogosphere, TheReclinerGM tell you how great Brian Westbrook, and explain "The Smartest, Most Unselfish Play, Ever"

And as for Tony Romo, we all know how difficult it is to perform in front of our girlfriends, but he just takes it to a whole new level. Case in point.

Remember last year, when Romo was dating Carrie Underwood, and she was was in the luxury box when we played the Cowboys. At that time, Romo had the worst performance of his career, and we beat Dallas handily. At least, it was the worst until Sunday. Romo tallied a 22.2 quarterback rating.

And just for the record, I prefer Jessica.

Update - Chicago 13, Minnesota 12. 3rd Quarter.

Hopefully we will have something to play for next week. Beat New Orleans and everything is wide open.

Meet Brian Westbrook

Marty, this is Brian. Brian Marty.

I'm still not convinced that Brian Westbrook has ever been formally introduced to Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg. I don't think they know how good he really is. Do they even know his number? If they do, then why don't they use him? Why does he not get the ball at the end of the game? Why does he only touch the ball 22 times? If he touches the ball 30 times yesterday, we win.

Just in case Andy and Marty read my blog, I'm going to show them how good Brian Westbrook is.

Yards Per Touch Among NFL Running Backs (2003-2006)

1. Brian Westbrook 938 touches, 6.0 avg.

2. Michael Pittman 725 touches, 5.6 avg.

3. Tiki Barber 1,517 touches, 5.5 avg.

4. Larry Johnson 989 touches, 5.3 avg.

Yards Per Touch among all NFL players (2006)

1. Brian Westbrook, 315 touches 6.0 avg.

2. Frank Gore 340 touches, 5.8 avg.

3. Ladainian Tomlinson, 386 touches, 5.8 avg.

Last year, Westbrook was amongst the league leaders in 8 critical offensive categories...

Brian Westbrook ranks #1 or #2 amongst all NFL running (2003-2006) in receiving yards, TDs and receptions.

Yards

1. Westbrook - 2,350

2 Ladainian Tomlinson - 2,044

TDs

1. Westbrook - 18

2 Tomlinson - 10

Receptions

1. Tomlinson - 260

2. Westbrook - 248

And what about Yards after the catch (YAC)?

YAC (2004-2006)

1. Westbrook - 1767

2. Tiki Barber - 1560

3. Ladainian Tomlinson - 1510

4. Steven Jackson - 1365

5. Steve Smith - 1319

Consider this also... Westbrook averages more yards per carry after the 21st carry then he does for his first 10.

And his statistics this year, far outshine those of last year.

Currently he has:

216 carries for 994 yards (avg of 90.1 yards/game) and 7 TDs.

69 receptions for 604 yards. (54.9 yards/game) and 4 TDs

He's currently averaging only 19.1 rushing attempts per game. And he's got only 1 fumble.

So why didn't we use him at the end of the game?

Here's what Andy had to say...

"We were trying to win the football game the best way we could. We were trying
to do what we needed to do to win the game at the time."

I don't know why we even have press conferences with Reid. Does he ever say anything?

Click here for more impressive Westbrook stats. He's quickly entrenching himself as one of the Eagles' All-Time Greats. They've done some pretty cool projections for season totals. It really is impressive.

I'm baffled... we were playing on a cold, rainy day with our backup Quarterback at the helm. Our receivers are less than stellar and we have one of the best running backs in the game. Why then did we throw the ball 46 times and run it 25 times?

Must Win. Period.

Enough with the QB controversy and Donovan's future here. Stop with the complaints about Andy's play calling. I don't want to hear any other suggestions about bringing in a football guru to be the GM. I'm also sick and tired of moral victories. We lost last week. It's not fun. Let's just go out and play football. We need to win.

The Eagles once again. have their backs against the wall. And the Seahawks are no slouch. They are a decent team at 7-4, playing in the midst of a rejuvenated passing attack. This game scares me.

Last weeks near victory against arguably the best team in NFL's recent past is enough to lead to a down week today. Couple that with the Eagles' inconsistency this year and I don't know what to expect.

But I'm here. And I'm ready.

Next weekend I'm flying to Atlanta specifically to see some friends I met at an Eagles' bar down there and watch the game at Rocky Mountain Pizza, arguably the best Eagles bar outside of the Delaware Valley. And I need that game to mean something. Because it would be a lot more fun.

Prediction: Birds win an ugly one. And I mean... ugly.

The Good, the Bad and the Confusing

This game was winnable. Even though we were expected to lose this game, it still hurts to lose.... especially when it was right there for us to win it. If we lost by 22, I'd sleep well. We didn't. The defense played their hearts out, the offense moved the ball and we were in a situation to win the game... and we blew it. We gave this one away... literally handed them the ball.

The Good:

JR Reed played well. He had a few nice hits, and a few nice pass deflections. He's filled in nicely at safety. Now if he could only catch a punt.

The cornerbacks pretty much shut down the outside. The Pats were forced to go to Welker in the slot more often, which didn't work out too well for the Eagles. But I'd rather he beat us than Moss.

Greg Lewis: From out of the woodwork to prime-time. I would have cut Greg Lewis after week 2. He was obsolete on the offense for most of the first half of the season. He showed up tonight, just like he showed up in the super bowl, from out of nowhere, when the Pats least expect it.

The Pass Protection: Feeley seemed to have a lot of time to do what he needed to do. I can't remember any sacks, or many hurries.

AJ Feeley's ability to let the receivers make the play. The Greg Lewis touchdown was one example, I think I remember one to Schobel, and another to Reggie Brown. McNabb sometimes won't allow the receivers to make the play and waits until they're open.

Spreading the ball around: From the get-go you could tell that more Birds would be involved in the offense. This wasn't going to be the Brian Westbrook show. In all 8 different Eagles caught the ball. Added to the list of regulars were Greg Lewis (4 for 88, 2 TDs), Matt Schobel (1 for 18) and Reggie Brown with 5 receptions matches his total from the two previous weeks.

The Defense: I'll say it again. They keep us in games. A few key stops against this titan offense. Dawkins was flying around JR Reed was flying around, we had some good pressure on Brady, and of course the aforementioned corners.

The Bad:

The first INT. When it happened I thought the game would get out of hand quickly. But our march down the field shut me up.

The play called at the end of the game: We were in field goal range. I like the aggressiveness and this wouldn't be an issue without the pick... but c'mon... the game was there. The entire night was spent hunting and pecking, and we went away from it.

The Confusing:

Maybe it's not McNabb. The drive where we scored a touchdown in the 3rd quarter was done with 10 straigh passing plays. That is the McNabb offense without McNabb, and not the McNabbless offense usually played without McNabb. Additionally, the pass to run ratio was 42 pass to 19 run. That's 55%-45% pass to run ratio. The real McNabbless offense usually has more run than pass.

The Aftermath:

I love and hate AJ Feeley all at the same time. He threw for 350+ yards but made some bonehead throws with those picks. I guess we can never be satisfied.

What's the word on the street going to be tomorrow? Will they be calling for AJ to start next week? It should be interesting to say the least.

How do the Eagles respond to this game. If anything it is a confidence booster. When I said there was only upside, I meant it. Sure they'll be heartbroken for losing this one, but the confidence has to be there. Let's beat Seattle and get back to .500. I'm not sure how many of you have looked at the wild-card standings, but even at 5-6, we're right there. There must be 5 other teams at 5-6. The NFC is interesting.

PS - concerning the potential QB controversy.

I do hope that nobody calls for Kolb. I really can't stand all these people calling to bring in Kolb, the unproven rookie. We still don't know if he can play. Think about all the first round quarterbacks who come into the league with all sorts of promise and don't work out.

No Expectations: There is Only Upside

If you're like me then you're probably hard pressed to find ways the Eagles can even compete against the Pats this Sunday. The Patriots team is the most dominating sports team I've seen in a long, long time. I can't remember any team (outside of Central Bucks West Football, circa 1990) that dominated their opponents as often and as convincingly as this team.

In looking at their scores and the statistics that Tom Brady puts up every week, this quite possibly could be the best football team of all time.

Having that sad, this game brings only upside for the Eagles. Why? Because we're expected to lose by three touchdowns. I've been in this situation a few times myself. I played high school football for a team that didn't win many games. When you have only 33 kids on the team it's tough to win. In high school I played receiver and cornerback. I was 5'11" and 155 lbs. Our center weighed 160. Go figure. Needless to say, teams ran the ball against us constantly, and with no big men it was tough to win. Not to mention very tough to find time to throw the ball, let alone run it.

I'm getting off track, but my point is when we prepared to play teams like CB West , I went in there with the attitude that we had nothing to lose.

The Eagles should go in with the same attitude. Here are their options:

Lose by 10-20: If they lose by 3 touchdowns and are trounced by the Patriots, then there is no love lost. We're 22 point underdogs and the Patriots have trounced everybody. This isn't to say they're going in there with the attitude of losing, but let's face it. The odds are against us.

Lose by 6-10: Sure it could happen. If we lose by a little bit and put up a fight, then we can use that momentum to host Seattle the Giants at home, which are two must wins.

Win: If we win it makes the season. Winning will wash away all of terrible football we've seen this year, assuming we take that win and snowball it to the playoffs.

I think we'll lose this game. For the first time in years I don't have confidence that we can win this game. I don't remember having this feeling for a long time. I don't like this feeling and it will take some getting used to again, but I'm thankful that this is the first time in a long time where I don't see a possible victory. I know last week I talked about any given Sunday... and I'm still on board for that, but we'll need a lot of help.

So... what can we do to win. First we'll need 4 turnovers. And considering that Tom Brady has only thrown 4 picks to his 38 touchdown, the chances of this are almost zero.

On top of that we'll need to control the clock to keep the Pats off the field. I"m confident that without McNabb we will run the McNabbless offense which features Brian Westbrook, but I'm not confident in our ability to stick with it if we find ourselves down early. I do have confidence in AJ Feeley not to lose the game for us. Just be a game manager and let #36 head west to the frontier.

And lastly, despite how poorly this team has played all season, we are only about 3 plays away from being 7-3. (see muffed punts in Greenbay and penalty before punting to Bears)

The Lions lost on Thursday, which bodes well for our chances in the wild card. We need to go 4-2 the rest of the way to have a shot. As I see it, we need to find a way to beat the Giants or the Cowboys. Our other foes are beatable (Seattle, New Orleans and Buffalo). None of the games will be easy.

I'm just hoping for some positiveness out of Sunday's game to springboard us vs. Seattle. Remember... there is only upside.

Brian Westbrook... Time's Yours!

A Win is a Win: McNabbless Offense Come Through

Before the game I was asked the question; Would you still be satisfied if they win 10-9? My answer; Absolutely, a win is a win.

Today's game definitely falls under the category of "a win is a win". I was fortunate enough to have seen this game in person. I was also lucky enough to watch it from a Club Suite. Which is nice, though had I dressed for it I would have preferred to be down on the field with "those that bleed green". On a side note I did do a little tailgating in FDR park with some friends before the game so I had a little time with the green bleeders.

And now that we did get a less than stellar performance from this continuously unpredictable team and eek out a win, I'd like to reflect on some observations.

#1 - Brian Westbrook always comes to play.

Westbrook once again proved his importance and his durability by carrying a career high 32 times for a career high 148 yards. Hard to believe 148 is a career high, but it is. Westbrook is the cog. The way he goes, the team goes.

#2 - I like the Eagles offense without McNabb

This isn't to say we can't play the sans-McNabb offense with McNabb at the helm. The McNabbless offense is a run first, pass second offense. The McNabbless offense relies on Westbrook (see #1). The McNabbless offense moved the ball today behind an impressive offensive line. The McNabbless offense got us 5 straight wins last year with Garcia. I'm more comfortable with the McNabbless offense play calling.

The two longest drives of the day happened in the 4th quarter when we had drives of 10 and 11 plays. The former went 77 yards, resulted in a TD and ate up 5:24 of the clock. The latter, ate up 6:21 and ended on downs with 19 seconds left. I like that offense. Let's play with that offense.

Perhaps Marty and Andy will learn from the Garcia run last year and the second half today and run the McNabbless offense, even when we're not McNabbless. Nah, who are we kidding...that won't happen.

I'm not sure if anybody noticed, but Westbrook only had 1 reception for 0 yards. It was that shovel pass inside the 5. I'm not sure how they plays into things, but it's definitely mentionable.

#3 - The Defense Continues to Confuse Me

How can this defense be so good, with so little turnovers? Where's the excitement? Where are the big plays? But I have to hand it to them, they continue to keep it close. They pitched a shutout today. And that goal line stand was fun. Sheldon Brown continues to impress me. He had 3 pass deflections and 3 solo tackles today. Chris Gocong had 6 tackles, 7 if you count special teams and Takeo Spikes had 6. Other than that, it was pretty much a team effort. (but we won't mention that this was against a rookie QB on an 0-10 team...remember, a win is a win.)

What's kind of scary, is there are a lot of similarities between last year's run and they way this year is turning out... keep that in mind, and I'll write about later this week...it's kind of weird. To give you a hint, it involves being McNabbless and playing against the NFL's best team.

#4 - The Special Teams

I think I just threw up in my mouth, thinking about the special teams. I digress.

Here are the stats from today's game.
http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/29350/PHI_Gamebook.pdf

Notable inactives for today's game: Kearse, Kolb and Tony Hunt. Apparently Kearse was hurt but could have played. Kolb is the 3rd QB, plain and simple. And I'm not sure why we don't use Tony Hunt.

PS - my walk home from the subway was much more pleasing then the one after the Bears' game.