Eagle Eye Observations: Week 17
Yikes! That sure was ugly. In fine Philly fashion, the Eagles took a giant dump in the season finale to make the long, arduous journey to the-game-that-shall-not-be-named a lot more difficult. I take no satisfaction in correctly predicting a Cowboys victory. A gnawing discomfort in my stomach told me things would go badly for our beloved Birds. Time for one more look from the Eagle Eye:
- The Eagles finish 11-5. Not bad. Unfortunately, not one of those wins came against a playoff team. An 0-4 record against postseason participants does little to improve that gnawing sensation. Padding stats versus the weak sisters of the NFL is not how you win a championship.
- Here’s a nice little nugget from Adam Schefter: the Eagles ran the ball a season-low ten times. When they rush for 25+ attempts, they are 8-0. Obviously a 17-0 hole will alter the offensive game plan, but there was little effort to establish the ground attack on the first three series.
- McNabb‘s struggles with accuracy are costing this team points. The deep miss to DeSean wasn’t even close. And I blame him for the incompletion to a wide-open Maclin. On a crossing route, the ball must be out in front of the receiver, not on his back shoulder. Sadly, Don has been misfiring on the same pattern for eleven years. In big games, you can’t afford to leave points on the field. This team seems to do that very thing every week.
- Shady and Weaver must touch the ball more than four combined times. Listen, I’m all for Westy getting some touches, but lest we forget, the run game was doing just fine before #36 returned. One way to get the shuffled O-line in order is to mix in some early runs to the guys with younger, healthier legs.
- Six dropped passes? Hmm. They had a case of the dropsies in the first meeting too. The Cowboys defense is damn good, but the pass catchers are playing very nervous and showing little concentration. You know it’s bad when Jason Avant botches an easy ball.
- The offensive brain trust must find a way to get DeSean the ball. It’s clear the end-around to open the game was an attempt to get him involved early, but it’s not nearly enough. Five grabs for 76 yards and zero scores in two meetings is subpar for one of the league’s most dangerous weapons. Why not try some of those bubble screens that work so well against McDermott’s defense?
- Another rough game for Sheldon. His PI penalty on the ‘Boys opening drive was an absolute killer. That one play seemed to set the horrific tone for the remainder of the evening. Then he bit on another Romo pump fake on the Crayton touchdown. Fair to say, he needs to remove his head from his posterior and quick.
- I’ve been noticing quite a few blown tackles from both Mikell and Spoon the last couple games. Q had a shot to bring down Felix Jones on his long run for six, but whiffed big time. These two are seasoned vets. They have no excuses for screwing up routine plays.
- I’ve been harping on this for… well.. three years now. This team needs someone other that Trent Cole who can get a sack. The not-so fearsome foursome at LDE is not cutting the mustard. Vic and Clemons are all but useless. If they don’t spend an early pick in April on stud end, I will be quite perturbed.
- What the hell happened to the run defense? 179 yards! Ugh… I’m sick and tired of this stupid linebacker-by-committee approach being patched together by McDermott. Just stick Trotter back in the middle, Akeem at SAM and Spoon at the WIL. Hell, I’d even take Gocong at this point. I’d rather see Witten catch ten balls than Barber and Jones run roughshod on the front seven. If the Cowboys ground game is taken away, it’s that much easier to pressure Romo. Sean needs to dig up JJ’s notes and stop overthinking.
- Any defensive scheme that has Fokou and Babin covering Miles Austin is doomed to fail. The zone is a complete mess right now. Both Denver and Dallas shredded it the last two weeks. Again, Sean needs to dust off the JJ notes. There’s a fine line between clever and stupid.
- Even Akers missed. Good lord…
The optimist in me says the Birds can’t play any worse than they did yesterday. The pessimist says any team that gets throttled in every phase of a meaningful game is in serious trouble. I think a much different and better prepared group will take the field this Saturday night at 8pm. I’m just not sure it will be enough to get the job done.
It’s never as bad as it seems after a blowout defeat. The 2009 Eagles have rebounded before, and are more than capable of doing so again.
I’ll leave you with a positive: Andy Reid has never lost an opening round playoff game. Let’s hope that trend continues.