What an ugly game. I wanted to see passion. I wanted to see maximum effort. I wanted to see a win. I saw none of that. The Eagles controlled their own destiny to make the post-season and played perhaps their worst game of 2008. Playoff caliber teams, championship caliber teams, win games like this in December. The Eagles are clearly neither. Here’s a very painful look from the Eagle Eye:
- The Birds failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season. Great timing.
- 46 pass plays. 16 run plays. So much for balance.
- DeSean Jackson performed like a rookie. Four critical drops including a 50 yard bomb and a certain touchdown with fifty-seven ticks left in the game. Big-time players show up for big-time games. Jackson is a keeper, but he must learn how to handle NFL pressure.
- Trent Cole had eight total tackles and a sack. I expected more going up against a back-up left tackle. Trent has a non-stop motor, but he needs to add more pass rushing moves to his arsenal.
- The Birds were 33-50 on third downs during their three game win streak. On Sunday, they were 3-14. Terrible.
- What the hell happened to Sav Rocca???? I realize it was windy, but a 34.3 net average is not going to get it done.
- Pro Bowl corner Asante Samuel dropped another interception that would have given the offense their best field position in the second half. Samuel – known for his hands – has bungled at least a half-dozen picks this season.
- Who calls a timeout 55 seconds into the second half? The Eagles do.
- How many McNabb throws ended up in the dirt? Five… six… ten? I lost track.
- After Brian Westbrook’s 47 yard reception in the third quarter, the Eagles had a first and ten at the Redskins’ twelve yard line. They then ran three plays from the shotgun. All passes. No first down. Another inexcusable redzone collapse.
- L.J. Smith caught 7 for 49, but also dropped two. This guy drives me nuts.
- The Eagles were screwed by a first-down reversal near the end of the first half. I have no idea what angle the ref was looking at, but the four I saw showed the nose of the ball on the first down line.
- The only “smart” play I saw the entire game was Quintin Demps returning a missed field goal attempt 55 yards. Of course, the Eagles then went three and out.
- The Redskins shrewdly deployed three cornerbacks to blanket the Eagles depleted receiving corps. It worked. It’s these kinds of coaching adjustments that often elude Andy Reid and his staff.
- Why is it that the offense showed zero urgency until there was less than three minutes remaining in the game?
I could go on and on, but you get the point. The Birds showed little fight in a game they needed to have. The Redskins called twice as many run plays as the Eagles. Andy Reid will never learn. Up next is the season finale against the Cowboys. I should be excited, but after watching the planet-sized egg laid yesterday, I think I’ve seen enough of the 2008 Eagles.
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they blow, plain and simple reid is a loser, lurie is a bigger loser, and banner is the biggest loesr, mo, larry and shemp these clown won when the nfc was very weak for 7 years or so, the frauds are now exposed. go iggles 49 years and counting
Two of those run plays were actually McNabb scrambles. So Reid called 48 pass plays, and 14 run plays. Two of those runs were meaningless runs to end the first half, so if you exclude those Reid called 12 runs all game. Only 4 in the 2nd half.
They lost once again, because Andy Reid falls in love with the passing game too much. Even though it worked so well during the 3 game win streak, Reid can’t help but revert back to his insane pass early and often offense.
I have to disagree with Trent Cole. Cole was getting a lot of double teams, and was chipped a lot. He also went up against Stephen Heyer who looks like a pretty good player. Heyer was the starter at RT coming into the year, and lost it due to injury. I also think Cole has a great arsenal of moves. He used a great move on Heyer to get his sack, and he has about 4-5 really good moves he uses.
How about LJ Smith missing his block on that crucial third-and-goal screen to Westbrook? I have been done with LJ Smith for a while now. He flat out sucks. Time to draft a real tight end, and tell Smith to pack his bags.
The only reason I count McNabb scrambles is because they don’t happen that much anymore.
I’m not hating on Cole, but I rarely see him use his inside swim move. He chooses to use his speed and go low on the outside. He has only eight sacks. Peppers and Jared Allen get doubled constantly but they have more than 14 sacks each. Cole needs to get better, especially since no on else can rush the passer. Howard leads the team, but I doubt he’ll play like as well in ’09.
I agree about L.J. The guy looked so good three years ago but he’s done nothing but regress. Kick him to the curb.