Some Redemption for Reid and a Few Birds

If we're going to point the finger around here, we must also shower the deserving with praise when it's their time.  Andy Reid's gameplan against the Vikings will likely linger in the shadows left by the many stellar performances that made the Eagles win possible, but it wouldn't be fair after all the criticism leveled upon the head coach.

The execution wasn't flawless.  There still weren't enough (any?) runs on third and short.  Buckhalter once again was limited to only a couple touches.  However, it was the coaching staff's approach to the game that carried the day for the offense.  Despite an overwhelmingly dismal rushing attack, Reid and Mornhinweg stuck with the run just enough in the face of the top rushing defense in the NFL.  The success cannot be measured in yards.

While the offense struggled to even get near the end zone, they managed to melt precious minutes off the clock, just "banging their heads against the wall" so to speak.  They were unpredictable enough to keep the defense from dropping seven or eight guys into pass coverage on every play, all of this while Brian Westbrook averaged under two yards per carry.

Reid did what he had to do for the Eagles to win the game, and in a long season where so many called for his job, for at least one Sunday he earned a pat on the back.  Yeah, it's worth noting Marty called the plays, yet at any point the veto could have come, and it didn't.  We could all go back and find something they might have missed or could have done better, but the club advanced in large part due to the their commitment to the run where many would have finally understood if he gave up on it.

While we're at it, let's look at a few of the unsung heroes that have been pivotal in the team's turnaround, though not necessarily standing out with the big names.

Nick Cole immediately comes to mind on offense, and if you weren't familiar with his work before, you probably got to know him a little on Westbrook's 71-yard scamper to the end zone.  Heading into the season, Max Jean-Gilles was a guy some believed could supplant Todd Herremans at LG, but that didn't happen and he found himself trying to fill the shoes of one Shawn Andrews.  He failed to impress, but since MJG went down on Thanksgiving, Cole stepped in and quietly went to work.  It may be too soon to say he could be a mainstay on the line, but the Eagles own his rights as a restricted free agent next year, so he could get an opportunity to start at least.

A lot of guys have stepped it up on the defense, including Chris Clemons and Akeem Jordan, which is a big part of the reason that unit is really clicking right now.  The player who has maybe made the biggest leap from the beginning of the season to end is Chris Gocong.  Here is a player who in the past has received such backhanded complements as "a servicable starter- no more, no less," who rather suddenly has been coming up with big plays, such as a 3rd and 1 stop on Adrian Peterson yesterday, and just all-around steady play.  This defense is transforming into one of Jim Johnson's best, and I don't know if that can happen if there is still a weak link in the front seven.

Statistic of the week:  in the Eagles first meeting against the Giants, the defense double covered Plaxico Burress 73% of the snaps.  In game two, his replacement saw the same attention a mere 7%.

Don't get me wrong, New York still has one of the better teams in the NFL, but anyone who tells you they're just as good without Burress is either wrong or a liar.  Think of all the extra things the Eagles can do when one of the safeties isn't automatically helping a corner down the field.  Against a daunting running attack, it could mean the world.

Comments

[Gaze]

There are 3 reasons to run the ball:
1. To gain yards
2. Keep the clock moving
3. To set up the pass

Even is the first one isn't working, you can still use the run to take advantage of the other two. Yesterday was case in point.

[MarkH]

Still wished they would have mixed up the run calls a bit. I think they called too many inside runs for Westbrook, and he works better on the outside in my opinion. Guess beggars can't be choosers and I should be glad they ran it as much as they did given the results they were getting.

[Mark D]

That's not a perfomance that makes me confindent heading into next week's game against New York. However, the defense has been fantastic the last several weeks. That includes the loss to Washington where the D did their job, but the Offense failed miserably.
All in all, I'm not optimistic about next week, but I'm not pessimistic either. I figure it will be close, regardless of who wins.

[MSM]

The Vikes run D is superior to the Gnats. Next week the run should be better utilized, using Westbrook primarily but with more Buckhalter touches. The guy runs off a 20-some yard spurt and then he disappears from the play chart, which makes no sense. The offense still sucks on 3rd down and short, more so in the red zone-they won't get away with a win with all field goals next week so they need to get TDs. Next week Jim Johnson will go man to man on the outsides and stack 7-8 in the box with his many blitz packages to stop the run and give Eli less time.

[themajor]

I agree buck should have gotten more touches. I believe when reid was asked about it he said the fullback got hurt so buck had to step in a play alot of fb. that being said the offense had me nervous this game a little bit, but man this defense its definately a versitile defense with exceptional talent. I think next sunday is going to be a battle of the defenses once again.

[will.H]

i think our wildly confusing (for other teams) defense accompanied by an offense that can execute 20-30 points per game can go very far. our defense hasnt played poorly since joe flaco looked like dan marino back in mid november. and even before that, dallas might have been the only poor performence against an offense that was rolling. without looking back at the results, i suppose those were the only two games the defense really broke down? they seemed to really out-perform their expectations--steelers, giants part II, dallas part II, even in the late season washington loss, and especially last week against the best running back since peyton, barry.

[Captain Obvious]

There were 9 or 10 men in the box most of the day yesterday, I have no problems with the pass heavy offense in that situation. I would like to have seen more short drops with quick slants or screens to take advantage of the stacked line, but the play calling worked well enough.

[Tim L]

What about using Kyle Eckel more? He's been pretty effective in the limited time he's had. And he's a bigger, bruising guy who can offer a nice contrast to the smaller Buckhalter and Westbrook.

[John]

Criticisms

-No pressure. Eagles were unable to get pressure on Jackson all day.
-Buckhalter vanishing. One run for 25 yards and not seen again. Get him some touches.
-3rd down. Eagles allowed Vikings to convert too many third and longs.
-3rd down. Eagles passed on all third and shorts.

[Joe]

Rich Hoffman had a terrible article on Philly.com about how it was the players all along. I really don't think the playcalling was all that great yesterday, and I felt as if we were losing most of the game even though we were up. However, you're not going to find a lot of people bashing the playcalling when they win. It's that simple. As Captain Obvious said, the play calling worked well enough. Let's just hope we don't do the same calls next week, like we did after beating the Browns with more passes than runs.

[Gaze]

I don't think Eckle was injured because he was out there on every punt and kick return and even made a few tackles. I'm still not buying why Buck touching the ball more often. It seems like he's good for one 15yd+ play a game, then he's done for the day.

[will.H]

yeah, the game needs to be played with the situations in mind. if they run on third and short and get stuffed, people whine about running against a good defense. if we pass and make it, the play calling is awesome. if we pass and miss it, we're right back to 'bad play calling.' each game and each opponent is different, i feel that all the expert media and super expert fantacy lover football fans are getting too carried away with this balance concept. fuck balance, ill take 99 qb sneaks if we win. all this talk about balance might sound intelligent, but its old news. there isnt one way to play football against different teams week to week.

[John]

Random question...does anyone know about post game protocal? After the game some players have press conferences, and D Gunn does some interviews with players in the bowels of the stadium, but what happens to the guys not interviewed? Do they just wait on the bus until everyone from the team shows up? Just curious.

[stevefredericks]

john, they got pressure on jackson the entire game. i dont know which game you were watching.

[Kulp]

The key against Minnesota wasn't necessarily balance in the traditional sense, just keeping the run as an option, and they did that.

I think we're getting a little carried away if we conclude from this game that balance isn't important. The Vikings have the top run defense in the NFL and only an average pass defense, and the Eagles gameplanned accordingly. If they go to the Meadowlands with the same mentality, 65-35 or worse, I don't think they can win.

[John]

Steve, I was watching the game where the Eagles had one sack, how about you?

[jd]

john-im not sure you watched the same game me and steve did.

just because the eagles only had one sack does not mean the defense was not getting to him. jackson had to scramble multiple times from the pressure, and had to throw the ball away quite a bit.

even on the the pick 6, pressure was there-the eagles lineman pushed the guard into tavarious, knocking him off balance. dawk applied pressure when he forced a fumble.

the eagles were attacking-but to say they applied no pressure is severely misleading.

[zfg]

I'm fine with the playcalling in this one. Everybody knew going in that the Birds weren't gonna get anything running between the tackles, but at least they stuck too it enough that the Vikings had to account for it. Beyond that, it seemed like every time McNabb didn't have a free pass rusher right in his face, he managed to complete a pass. The Giants can cover much better than the Vikings, but should also be easier to run on. I'm hoping the playcalling will reflect this next week.

[John]

jd, the Eagles do not consistently get to opposing teams Qb's. The Dallas game was great, but I watch them every week and most times they cannot get pressure even when sending an all out blitz. DT pressure is non existant.

[BFisch]

Replace Tarvaris with a slightly stronger QB, the outcome is much different. This was a game where the first team to get one big play was going to win it, and lady luck chose the Eagles. The offense scored just 14 points the entire game, cant do that against the Giants.
Despite not being an Eagles fan, I am rooting for them because I am surrounded by Eagle fans. But, I do want someone to knockout DeSean Jackson, cause that guy is a punk. He showed no respect for Childress.
I don't think he respects the position hes in right now. Sooner or later hes gonna find out what playoff football is about.
And McNabbs celebration was awkward at the end, but cant fault a guy like him for being happy about a win.

[stampedOUT]

While the DTs were unable to generate much of a pass rush, the Vikings' receivers were running relatively short routes; their longest completion was 27 yards. But I am sick of the undersized DTs that have made the eagles' roster throughout Reid's tenure. The only one that was halfway good was Corey Simon. Patterson isn't bad, but he's too small. He would be better served playing next to someone bigger, that can actually play. If only we could have gotten Haloti Ngata instead of Bunkley. I don't think the defensive scheme has anything to do with it. Didn't Corey Simon make the Pro Bowl as a rookie?

[Kulp]

@ stampedOUT

If I had to pick the Most Valuable Player or Players on the Eagles for the entire season, I'd almost have to choose Patterson and Bunkley. I'll admit, they don't tend to get a ton of pressure on the quarterback, but we're talking about the fourth ranked rushing defense in the NFL. Where do you think that begins? In the middle. The running backs who have had the most success against the Eagles have found their yards on the edges. Now I don't feel Patt and Bunk are on an elite level by any means, but they're a strong tandem, one of the better pairings in the league in fact, and they're probably here for a long time.

[stampedOUT]

@ KULP

Yes, as far as the run defense is concerned, Patterson and Bunkley do a good job of occupying lineman and allowing the linebackers to scrape and make plays. On the longer of the two peterson touchdowns, if whoever was supposed to fill makes that play (I don't recall if it was Mikell or Gocong, I just saw a "7"), they hold Peterson to under 50 yeards on the day.

If we are going to settle for the DTs we have, can they at least bat a few more passes? That might be asking too much of Patterson, though. He's only an inch taller than our starting corners.

[EricStAngelo]

Wow for a team that has such a hard time consistently getting to the QB, they did an AMAZING job of coming in 2nd in the entire NFL in sacks.

[707]

The playcalling was 60% pass and 40% run. It really wasn't any different than the other games. Good for Andy stil sticking to his guns.