Eagles Poised to Finish Season 14-2

What's that?  You didn't think the Eagles showed you enough to make you believe they can roll off 14 straight W's?

Well, whatever then.  You must not have faith in the pass 75% of the time game plan Big Red puts together?

It works!  Only not when you're receivers can't find an inch of separation.

Seriously though, the offense is hurting.  The defense is hurting.  Did any aspect of the Eagles game plan look on point tonight?  Nope.

The only solution I can think of is to bring in Sir Charles to play linebacker.  At least that way, somebody on the team will have the balls to tell Andy he stinks.

Comments

[Kulp]

With all do respect, where exactly would you say the Eagles defense was lacking?

Last time they played, the Eagles gave up over 200 yards rushing. Tonight, Redskins running backs averaged less than 4 yards per carry excluding the scrambling Jason Campbell. Will James got beat for a big play that a healthy Lito Sheppard likely does not. There was absolutely nothing wrong with our D, in fact they look a lot better this year than last through two games.

The fact of the matter is, the offensive play calling SUCKS. It looks an awful lot like Andy Reid play calling, and despite the amount of criticism that has received over the years, I've never had too much of a problem. But this is a different; our star QB is coming off of blowing his knee, and not surprisingly he doesn't look very accurate. The receivers don't have any separation because the Eagles called 3 times as many pass plays to runs.

To me, in what is one of the all-time great conspiracy theories, the Eagles are setting up Donovan to fail. McNabb doesn't look sharp, so it's easy to point the finger at him. But over two games, they've called nearly 100 passing plays while Westbrook has had less than 40 carries. Everyone can agree the key to this offense is #36, so why is the staff so intent on putting the ball in the hands of a QB who hasn't finished a full season in years?

The Eagles could easily be 2-0 right now, and at the very least should be 1-1. If Reid doesn't pull his head out of his ass, there will be no division title, and no playoffs, but at least he will be rid of the quarterback he apparently is willing to let get beat to death on the field.

[Mike H.]

We've sat and bitched through eight quarters and I am stunned that we haven't seen one gadget/trick play on offense. Not a single damn misdirection. Hello?!? Don't you think one of those will make defenses think twice about bump and running 92% of the time?

[rakesh]

I think the Eagles defense struggled because the true mark of a solid defense is the ability to get the opposing offense off the field. That was definetly not the case monday night, as the Skins converted on 8 of 14 3rd down conversions. The Eagles defense will have big shoes to fill if #20 is expected to miss time.

The playcalling wasn't too bad by the offense, but the dink and dunk' passing game was because of the redskins taking away the deeper part of the field (Sean taylor taking care of the middle). The Eagle's will need their receivers to step up and stretch the field, but mr. westbrook should've been utilized more. Just feed him the ball.

McNabb is simply not as effective as the old McNabb because what set him apart from the rest of the QB's in the league was his ability to run out of the pocket and keep plays alive. Now, he's faced with the reality that his receivers can't create seperation in the limited amount of time McNabb has to throw the ball. This is especially going to affect them in the red zone, when the offense is working with a shortened field and McNabb is going to be forced throw from the pocket. Westbrook may be the best deep threat on this Eagle's team for McNabb.

[Run Up The Score]

McNabb worked his ass off rehabbing his knee to come back to this? Not that #5 is setting the world on fire or anything -- not even close -- but man, this team just looks like it stinks from top to bottom.

Just seems like one of those crappy years. At one point, I actually started to think about the 2008 Draft. Seriously. An injury to McNabb or Westbrook, and this is a 3-13 or 4-12 team. Right now, 7-9 looks like their ceiling.

[Jim]

Actually it's 71.8% of the time, pass. And let's not be fooled... there were 20 running attempts, but two of them were McNabb when he couldn't find anyone to pass to, so they don't count as runs

[healy]

Its a shame that the national media is going to talk about how we're all hating on McNabb again, when the truth is we're hating on the lack of support he gets from his wide outs and his coaches play calling. But whatever, we booed him at the draft in 99' so we must hate him.

[Civil Negligence]

The defense was def worse than week 1: the LBs and secondary could not tackle and Campbell looked like a decent QB the way he was threading the ball. Stoping the rush is not the litmus test for a good defense.

I agree with most here that we needed to run the ball more. Also, Reggie B. needs to step up. You are the #1 WR and your presence was spotty, at best.

This season is looking scary.

[joe l]

The defense didn't lose them the game, I felt they put in an average effort. Run defense wasn't terrible, probably pretty average. The secondary got exposed and that's worrying.

The offense worked well when, surprise, surprise, they ran the ball. Not so well when McNabb had to throw. Either he missed or the receivers couldn't get open. Terrible play calling.

The Eagles were lucky to get a shot at the end, but still the better team last night won. :(

[josh a]

will james-peterson looked like a high schooler out there, or at the most a dis-interested middle schooler. they converted so many 3rd and longs, it doesn't really matter that clinton portis and betts didnt kill us. they were killing us with cooley and half back runs.

meanwhile we're passing on first down and dealing with second and long, then third and long. nearly everytime Bwest touched the ball it was excitement, with the man breaking big plays left and right. but big red doesn't use him enough.

it should be evident at this point, they have rushed donovan back in an attempt to save their jobs. if donovan succeeds, andy and the guys get another few years. if he fails, andy and company get another few years to bring Kolb on board. i'm sick of big red.

and why the hell do they call a 5yard dink pass when they need 6yards for a first down. its frustrating.

and with the phils almost blowing the 11run lead last night, it was almost the epitomy of philadelphia sports yesterday

[Ken Raining]

McNabb seems to have regressed to the McNabb of about three years ago, who often threw high and behind his receivers. I don't really blame him, since he's coming back from such a major injury, but the team should try to ease him back by putting more of the burden on Westbrook. I think they are trying to get him back in sync by having him throw a lot, but things will be much easier for him if defenses are keying on Westbrook and not McNabb.

Jim's point about the media going on about Philly's anti-McNabb bias was certainly in effect with the Monday Night crew. That broadcast is awful. It's a shame that Jaworski, one of the few guys that can actually analyze a game well, is saddled with that "Let's cover a storyline, not the game" garbage.

[Blake Redgrave]

To echo some of the comments above, I was kinda surprised by the "Philadelphia is getting tired of McNabb" storyline last night as well. I moved away from Philadelphia years ago, so maybe I'm a bit out of the loop, but I still read the local papers and keep up with the world of Philly sports, and I just haven't got the sense that the fans hate McNabb or are trying to run him out of town... Am I just missing something here? I'm as cynical as anyone, but I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to think Kevin Kolb is the answer at this point in time...

[BucksCoJerry]

One big problem is McNabb is still gimping around on that knee. As weird as it is to say it, the Eagles are going to have to adopt a Joe Gibbs style playbook if they want to get back on track. Westbrook is the guy they need to be leaning on right now, not McNabb. McNabb is just not 100%.

[Matt]

Am I the only one who, along with being disgusted by the game, was disgusted by the hatchet job that was done to my hometown on last night's ESPN broadcast. Tony Kornheiser once again did everything he could to portray Philly fans in a bad light...saying when the fans were booing in the first quarter that they wanted change at the quarterback position. Goading Sir Charles for an entire quarter on why he thought Philly is such a horrible place to play and why he was so itching to get out. On top of that, Barkley took the bait hook, line and sinker...trashing the Philly fans who made him a rich man left and right. I'm 30...and I for one don't remember us booing Charles nearly as much as he said we did. Charles has until now been one of my faves, and has remained beloved in the city that he still calls home 15 years after he last donned a Sixers uniform. Now...forget it. I've had it with Charles. If this town is so horrible, why do you live here? Why do you root for our teams?

And Jaws...good ole Ron Jaworski...what did he say while Kornheiser and company were bashing Philadelphia? NOTHING!!!! No defense whatsoever. No "Philly fans can be misunderstood...sure there are some bad apples but by and large they love their teams as family and are intensely loyal". He just let the network dump all over a town I love, people that I love....and it just made me sick.

In the past, I usually turned a deaf ear when Philly was ripped by the national media. Usually the same old crap...booing Santa Claus, blah, blah, blah. But last night was the straw that broke the camels back. It made me angry...I took it personally that my town was getting dumped on continously on national television. Anyone else feel as close to how I do today? Anyone out there able to cheer me up and show me that it shouldn't bother me so much? Thanks for letting me rant! Boy I feel better now.

[theKrisheim]

the offensive gameplan last night was a problem. the "slow huddle" offense that started the game wasnt working and put the pressure right on the defense.

i never thought i would say this, but i was more interested in the Phillies score while at the game than the Eagles.

the red zone offense really misses a tight end. we have to give LJ a week of rest and give the other two guys a chance. mcnabb always had chad lewis to go to inside the 20 and he misses that right now.

anyone surprised by the "extra" fireworks we got during halftime after the 75th Annv video? jesus, enough is enough with the pyro, light show, videos, sponsors, etc...

[michael]

I didn't think the defense played all that bad... to the contrary, I thought they played well. It's hard work when your offense can't do anything at all. And the touchdown to Cooley was the result of Reid's bonehead timeout call.

[healy]

Hey Blake,
It should bother you. I'm a Philly expatriate as well, and I can't stand it anymore. The louder we scream that McNabb is our guy, the more stories they do about how we're running him out of town. Do we need to hold a rally or something? When #5 finally does lose a step and pulls a Montana and finishes his career somewhere else, I'm sure the ESPN guys will do a big "I told you so" about how we ran him out of town. Until then, they can suck it. You figure between Sal, Sir Charles, and Jaws somebody would have stood up for us last night.

PS: Best moment last night: Bill Parcels saying he loves Philadelphia. The feelings not mutual. Douche.

[Masterlock Jr.]

God that was awful to watch. Living in deadskin land, too, it was even worse. The defense, IMO, was good (not great), but watching that offense was making me sick, and really depressed for the outlook on this year. They can still turn it around, but man, they need to look a whole lot better than that. MNF has really become a joke - Jaws is a fucktard if you ask me.

[joe l]

Sigh, ESPN nailed the Philly checklist within 5 minutes of going on the air:

Tough fans, check.
Worn out Rocky Balboa reference, check.
Reference to previous sports star who failed in this town, check.

I stopped listening, but I'm sure there was a cheesesteak mention somewhere along the line. For once, I'd love to hear an announcer throw it back in Kornheiser's face: "You know Tony, unlike DC (referring to his Joe Gibbs felating), the Philly fans expect to win. When their coach year after year stubbornly calls 70% passing plays, they have to question the game plan. When McNabb has nobody to throw to, they have to question management. When McNabb can't hit the side of a barn, they have to question his playing. The fans aren't personally booing these guys. They are booing because the team is not put in a position to win. But apparently that's something not understood in Washington, because as long as you have Joe Gibbs down there, everything is cherry blossoms. Not here. Philly wants to win."

[theKrisheim]

this is sure to help # 5 this week as well...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3025308

[gootman]

McNabb: Inaccurate and indecisive (but thats because...)
Receivers: no seperation
Westbrook: can't do it alone
Playcalling: does it have to be winter before they decide to run the ball?

Secondary: We need Lito back and BDawk going out didn't help.
DLine and Linebackers: better than last year, but can we get some pressure on the QB?

Special teams: We can catch punts!

Broadcast: These nationally televised games are awful. The announcers need to shut the fuck up and just call the game, give me insight to whats gonna happen on the field, there are tons of pre- and post-game shows to talk about all that other BS.

Hopefully they get their act together next week so we don't have to watch another awful game, especially since they'll be wearing those awful 75th anniv. uniforms.

[Drinking and Sports]

Obituaries

MCNABB, Donovan Jamal, 30, of Philadelphia, formerly of Syracuse, NY and Chicago, died Monday, September 18, 2007. He is survived by his coach Andy Reid, his running back Brian Westbrook, and by 2.5 million hateful Eagles fans. Donovan's death has been slow and painful. His illness, Pussyitis, was discovered on February 6, 2005, during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. McNabb began showing his first symptoms of Pussyitis when he reguritated on the field numerous times. These symptoms were confirmed in an interview by his center Hank Fraley and later by his volaitile wide receiver Terrell Owens in his driveway.

McNabb's Pussyitis worsened during the next two seasons. Struggles with Owens led to numerous media sobfests which were evidence that he was worsening. Two season-ending injuries later it became apparent that McNabb was hanging on by a thread. His injury during the 2006 season led to a severe bout of Jeffgarciapathy. His recovery in the off-season had a major setback when he fell ill again with Kolbtosis. McNabb underwent chemotherapy which led to a hairless arrival to training camp. He showed enough life in Green Bay to pull out a victory, but Greg Lewis and J.R. Reid showed that some teammates and fans are still prejudiced against those who have been pussified.

Looking back on Donovan's career in Philadelphia, the big losses and unneeded drama have outweighed his successes. Donovan's need to bring race into every issue, has been something that has frustrated many of the Eagles faithful. A memorial service will not be held until the off-season. It more than likely will be a tell-all interview with Stephen A. Smith in which we hear about the horrible things Donovan endured in Philadelphia. Also, the service will be sponsored by the Bears, because Chicago fans are not hard on their quarterbacks (i.e. Rex Grossman).

Any hate mail for Donovan McNabb can be sent to the comments section of this blog entry.

[Kulp]

It's interesting, most everyone here seems to agree that the fans aren't trying to run McNabb out of town, that he is our guy.

But as I suggested at the top last night, does anybody else get the feeling that maybe he's not Andy Reid's guy?

Look, when they drafted Kolb, I didn't think that much of it. Best guy on their board, and I still believe once all the top flight safeties were gone, he was. But now they have him and they saw what Garcia, a better "system passer" than McNabb, was able to do with the offense last year.

So the question is, do you call 51 pass plays against just 18 rushes if you don't want your injured QB to fail?

You can't really blame the receivers, because when they were open #5 couldn't hit them. The defense wasn't great, but they weren't bad either. Westbrook looked great when they handed him the ball, so why wouldn't they give him the ball more?

If Andy Reid honestly thinks McNabb in this state can carry them like he once did, then he's more arrogant than we all thought. But it's at least possible that he is setting up for Kevin Kolb to be the starter by the end of the season.

[Titus Pullo]

Where is Tony Hunt? Why aren't they using him? He looked good in the pre-season, but is this another case of Reid having no faith in a rookie RB?

[bizurk]

Pussyitis? ca mon, Donovan has always worked hard to come back from his myriad injuries. Remember when he threw 3 TDs on a broken ankle? He deserves a chance to adequately return from this one, and that means a break from throwing 70% of the time to garbage receivers. Big Red gave the obligatory "It's my fault" news conference last night, but he's right this time. Big Red (either as coach or GM) has lost both games this year. If Big Red the GM locks down the special teams personnel early, we win in GB. If Big Red the coach declines to abandon the running game in an NFC east slugfest (with Westy gaining 6 a carry), we stand a better chance of winning last night. The story, imo is not Donovan (everyone knows you need more than a year to come back from ACL surgery), it's all Big Red

[Blake Redgrave]

To say that Andy Reid and the Eagles organization are setting McNabb up to fail merits the question, "Why?" To make it easier to cut him at season's end without the fans revolting? That makes no sense. Everyone who follows this organization realizes that they have a philosophy in place which places a very limited value on players over 30. Beloved players on this team (Troy Vincent, Jeremiah Trotter, Brian Dawkins in another year or so) don't get to play out their twilight years just so the fans are content. If they don't produce, they're gone. McNabb's days in Philadelphia are numbered regardless of what he does on the field, merely because of his date of birth. So I don't subscribe to the belief that Reid has a complex plan to transition to the Kevin Kolb era. I just think the play-calling in the first two games was horrible. They've completely gotten away from their method for success in the latter portion of 2006. I'm more inclined to believe that Reid simply fails to recognize that Westbrook needs to be utilized much more than he has thus far. Is Reid's ego the problem? Or is just not as good of a coach as he appeared to be a few years ago?

[O.J.'s Cutbacks]

Could it be that McNabb is really just not that good anymore? Yes the injury comes in to play, but football players fight through injuries every time they step on the field.

Perhaps his skills have just diminished to the point where he is not a playoff caliber QB anymore.

[joe l]

So assume McNabb isn't what he once was. Why in the world would you continue letting him throw 70% (or whatever the second half worked out to be)? McNabb got enough together to muster that last drive, but it goes back to the coach putting the team in a position to win. I think you will see more running next week, in usual belated Andy Reid fashion.

[Von Hayes]

Masterlock Jr,
You don't think D.C. fans want to win. Maybe the reason they follow Joe Gibbs is because he won them THREE SUPER BOWLS, which is THREE MORE THAN ANDY REID HAS WON. Everyone says give the ball to Westbrook more, but he said in a press conference last week that he can't handle too many touches without wearing down. The real thing you all should be pissed at is that the team was too cheap to sign a decent second back.

[Blake Redgrave]

The last time we saw McNabb in action, in the first half of last season, he was one of the leading passers in the league and was making a strong case for MVP. Do you really think his skills eroded completely over the past ten months or so? The gimpy knee certainly plays a role, and the shitty receivers certainly play a role, but I think this team can win with what they have (as it is not all that different than any of the NFC Championship teams), but Reid must learn to utilize his players properly.