A.J. Feeley Entertains, Teases, Falls Short

Were you not entertained?  We all thought our Sunday night would be a test of how much pain we could endure as Eagles fans.  Instead, the Eagles came out and punched the undefeated Patriots in the face.  Unfortunately, the Patriots punched back just a little bit harder.

In his post game press conference, Andy Reid joked about "the Patriots and three points" really giving him trouble, clearly alluding to the loss margin of the Super Bowl a few years ago.

There were a number of similarities between the two losses to the Patriots.  In the Super Bowl it was "we got there" and last night it was "we gave 'em a game," but in the end both contests came down to the fact that they could have won.  Without needing a miracle play, they could have won.  It's disappointing any time you can win a game and don't.

Surely this week will likely be full of Philadelphians calling for A.J. Feeley to take over the starting QB job.  Even last night on the post game show on Comcast, Ray Diddy said if it were up to him he would stick with the hot hand of A.J. Feeley.  We're not going to touch that one just yet but feel free to tell us your thoughts in the comments.

And hey, if nothing else, A.J. Feeley earned himself the right to play at the Borgata whenever he wants.

For much more on the game check out our first half live blog and our second half live blog.  The image above of Juqua sacking Brady from Getty Images.  Also, thanks for all the commenters who got involved last night.  Good times.

Comments

[Scott]

The worst thing happened in that game last night. A.J. played well. Now are the loony "A.J. is Johnny Unitus" Eagle fans are going to come from the woodwork.

[Not a fan of five]

I guess us stupid ones who want someone else in at QB have to put up with the brilliant people who think the bad games Donovan has are flukes compared to when someone else plays, but just one game, and they do good.

[craig]

Ray Diddy put it perfect last night. A.J. Feely ran the offense the way it was designed to be run. Mcnabb refuses to do so. He has happy feet, plays scared and has a chip on his shoulder because the eagles drafted kolb. It's time to move on without Mcnabb. He's done. In this offense you need to be accurate and get rid of the ball quickly. Mcnabb does not trust his receivers, holds on to the ball and his not very accurate.

[ZT]

Come on now, its still Andy Reid, and its still gonna be Donovans team.

[Civil Negligence]

I think Thomas set a good precedent last night with his sack of Brady: the Eagles should not be afraid to sit a franchise player in order to put someone better in.

I want to see more AJ. McNabb is no longer a leader.

[bigmyc]

Could it be that McNabb just doesn't and won't ever have "the fire" that A.J. and Garcia have shown? Is it me, or does the entire team play harder when McNabb is not in? Can anyone disagree?

Maybe McNabb is too much of a "star" in his mind to ever be the leader that he really needs to be.....in that case, don't let the door....

[pilgrim]

Uhm, I believe Feeley did slightly more than entertain and tease. He led a team McNabb has gone .500 with into a 10-0 team's stadium and lost by a field goal.

Watching this game reminded me of why I love the Philadelphia Eagles, something I'd almost forgotten having watched McNabb throw pass after pass a yard short of a receiver or fumble the ball after hopping up and down in the pocket for 9 seconds.

How many times does McNabb's backup need to outplay him before we are willing to make a QB change?

[Tartan69]

I wonder if this means we'll see less of Feeley at the bars on Thursday nights?

[Kulp]

Feeley was impressive at times last night. He ran the offense well and made some very accurate passes. He's obviously not the long term answer, but he is a quality backup QB.

I don't think it's a no-brainer to bench McNabb, but after last night, I would. Garcia and now Feeley have proved Five simply does not run this offense effectively. He may have more overall talent than those guys, but the offense clearly works better when he is out. See if Feeley can make a playoff run, and if we wind up eliminated we get a game or two of Kolb.

The defense gave the Patriots all they could handle last night. Sheppard and Brown proved they are still very effective corners. The linebackers finally all got into it. J.R. Reed, for all the trash talk here, played well until he got hurt. I actually like the Eagles chances to make the playoffs again this year, and I'm not sure it even matters what QB they go with.

[Dan]

Feeley threw three picks, including twice in the fourth quarter. One of those picks was in the endzone, thus negating a possible Eagles TD. The other one was the last Eagles offensive play, with 18 seconds left. Had Feeley completed that one, they might have been able to get close enough for Akers to kick a FG.

The team played much better than was expected, but let's not hand the keys over to Feeley just yet. Those picks were crucial, and they were avoidable.

[DSD]

I may be in the minority here but when Feeley threw his 2nd interception....why exactly were they passing there? I understand you want to be aggressive, but there's a fine line with playing aggresively and playing dumb. Why didn't they pound the football and throw those medium passes across the middle? Throughout the whole game, the Patriots were shutting off those side line routes. I don't know why you'd keep on trying to throw them. Chalk another one up to Reid getting impatient and doing what he wants to do instead of what was the right thing to do.

[Rob I.]

AJ Feeley is just a lesser profile version of Eli Manning. He'll have flashes of brilliance but he'll still end up underthrowing wide-open receivers and hitting cornerbacks in the numbers.

If Donovan McNabb had the kind of protection that Feeley did last night, he'd have thrown 5 touchdown passes. Kudos to the Eagles offensive line and running backs.

[joe l]

I question the passing call w/4 minutes to go on the Patriot's 30 as well. Hand it to Westbrook to pound it in an kill some time off the clock. At the very least, it would have ensured a tie field goal, and the best result would have been him breaking away for a safe TD. The decision just baffles me when they knew New England would get the ball back with 4 minutes (ie, an eternity) if they scored on that play.

Also, why throw at Samuel when there were injuries in the Patriot secondary? Why not pick on one of the backups?

[Mark]

Joe, right on.

Throwing it at that point, while it is perhaps the call you'd expect from the Eagles, was a poor choice.

You just can't rationalize leaving that much time for the best offense (arguably) ever. Feeley should be proud of his game, though. Going in as 24-point 'dogs, and coming out with a close loss.

Last night was one of the few times you can feel okay about a loss.

[Andy]

In fact, the defensive gameplan was eerily similar. Take away what they do best (This year, Randy and Donté deep, SB it was Dillon) and forget about the slot rec (This year, Welker, SB it was Branch) and hope for the best.

Pretty solid gameplan actually.

[will]

if mcnabb had lost last night's game the way feeley did, he'd be getting ripped to shreds. lj was wide open on that pick in the end zone, but because feeley so badly missed curtis for a td a few plays before(a throw 5 makes easily) he decides he's going to force a ball into a corner playing deep with safety help over the top.

[Mike]

This kept running through my mind last night...but it wasn't to be

Duke: [to Rocky] You see? You see? He's not a machine, he's a man, he's a man.
Drago: [to his own trainer] He's not human. He's like a piece of iron.

[joe l]

Feeley (and the Eagles) played to win, so as much as I cursed at the TV for that 2nd interception, we have to give 'em that. If I were the Patriots, I'd be worried about:
1 - Running game, can they simply turn it on during a snowy playoff game?
2 - Exposed defense. Not to take anything away from Feeley and the Eagles, but New England looked like an average defense out there last night.
3 - Passing game, see (1), what happens during inclement weather come playoff time?
4 - The "Blueprint". Not exactly rocket science, or ground breaking (see Indy game), but the air of invincibility have been shattered by a .500 NFC team and its backup QB.

All in all, exciting football. As I live up here near Boston, I wish every Pat game was this good.

[Mike]

I had a feeling the game was going to get epic when I saw JJ call for that 3-3-5 formation. It reminded me of the Colts-Ravens monday night game a few years ago when Manning was chasing the TD record and both he and Ray Lewis were audibiling back and forth on both sides of the line. A real chess match and it didn't disappoint.

[memymo]

if mcnabb had played the exact same game as feely he would be torn apart for it. if mcnabb threw three picks; 1 returned for a TD, 1 to end the potential game winning drive, and one to end the game, he would be ripped up for it. feely played ok but the team rose to the occasion. there were no expectations so everyone love what AJ did, but if that is what your starting quarterback does in a huge game that was winnable then he isn't very good.

[joe l]

Hypothetically, if last night's performance was McNabb's, then it would have been a marked improvement in pocket presence, accuracy, and timing from earlier this year. Poor pass decisions resulting in bonehead interceptions and the occasional gaffe (dropped snap, fumbled hand-off ... grin to the camera and laugh it off) have been par for the course with McNabb.

[Mike]

Um... didn't McNabb play the exact same game? On February 6, 2005? Do we forget that on the first drive of the game he fumbled (overturned on replay challenge, so not really relevant), threw a pick (brought back on an illegal contact penalty), then with yet a third chance to make a play threw an interception?

[Joe Manning]

This game was a loss. All of that moral victory and 'played tough' stuff is bullshit. The Eagles lost. Sure, I'm glad that they didn't get blown out - and yes, it was very exciting and I enjoyed watching the game. ... ... ...

I loved the 3-3-5 defense, and I loved the onside kick. I loved watching Tom Brady scream at his O-Line like an asshole after he got hit. I loved watching Feely step into a throw and into a hit that he knew was coming.

But ALL of that is negated by an awful play-call, and an even more awful decision / throw in the 4th quarter. Despite everything else that happened - we wound up losing the game the exact same way we've lost too many games in the past.

Eagles football.

[Sanganoski]

Just wait until y'all see the "snoozer" of a game that happens this Sunday against Seattle! Not by the play of McNabb, I "snooze" whenever he takes the field anyway, I mean by Reid and Johnson, they'll fall asleep and it will be "business as usual" with poor clock management and defensive alignments.