Archive for September, 2010

Replacing the heart and soul of the defense was not going to be an option when Brian Dawkins, a fan favorite since his rookie days in 1996, left the Eagles after the 2008 season. That day a large part of the culture and the fabric of the defense left with him. Fans sorely miss his snarling game-face and his routine of running into the Linc at top speed while aerobically turning upside down as he whipped the home crowd into a frenzied state, completing his transformation from a mild-mannered individual into “Weapon X.” This year, at age 36, Dawkins plays [...]

My weekly post over on NFL.com examines the parallels between Vick and Steve Young, another left-handed quarterback whose career took off when he hit 30 years old.

On a new weekly feature, Ryan Messick and Matt Martucci weight in with their postgame thoughts after the Eagles 28-3 rout of the Jaguars You can download the file by right clicking below and choosing Save Target As. If you prefer to listen here on the site, click the play button below. Postgame Thoughts – Eagles over Jaguars 28-3

Vick’s performance gave him the second best two game stretch of his career. The former Falcon tossed for 573 yards between this week and last week, coming up four yards shy of the best two game run of his career.

Michael Vick is showing off all his skills with three passing touchdowns and one on the ground.  Vick’s Eagles lead the Jaguars 28-3 after three quarters. Vick has connected twice with Jeremy Maclin and once with DeSean Jackson.  The Eagles’ new starter is 16-of-29 for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. With 573 yards in the last two games, Vick has the second best two game stretch of his career.  The best came in 2002 when Vick threw for 577 yards in back-to-back games in December. Jackson has 5 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, while Maclin has [...]

Philadelphia leads Jacksonville 14-3 at halftime, with a pair of Michael Vick touchdown passes to DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The Eagles new starter engineered a drive in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter that ended in a 16-yard touchdown pass to Maclin. Early in the first quarter, Vick connected with Jackson for a 61-yard strike.  The two touchdowns sandwiched a Josh Scobee field goal from 51 yards out to put the Jaguars on the board. Vick is 10-of-21 for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns, and has run twice for 11 yards.  DeSean Jackson has 3 catches for 97 [...]

The Eagles lead the Jaguars 7-0 after one quarter, with the lone score coming on a 61-yard bomb from Michael Vick to DeSean Jackson.  Vick is 3-for-7 for 67 yards and the touchdown. LeSean McCoy has 3 carries for 12 yarsd, while his counterpart has already run the ball 7 times.  Maurice Jones-Drew has 33 yards on those attempts. Jacksonville is driving in Eagles territory after a 41-yard punt return by Mike Thomas to the Eagles’ 43-yardline. The Eagles lead the Jaguars 7-0 after one quarter, with the lone score coming on a 61-yard bomb from Michael Vick to DeSean [...]

5. Give McCoy the Rock – Last week, key number four was to get LeSean McCoy 15 carries and Mike Bell at least five.  McCoy ran the ball 16 times for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Bell had four rushes for no yards.  Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg should stick with what worked, and get McCoy involved again this week. 4. Shut down Marcedes Lewis – Tight ends terrorize the Eagles, and Marcedes Lewis has all of the tools. The third-year player caught two touchdown passes in week one and at 6’6 and 275 pounds, he’ll be a handful [...]

The switch from Kevin Kolb to Michael Vick took on a new level of controversy today at the Nova Care Center, for about an hour.  Call it Quotegate, if you will.  Eagles head coach Andy Reid was quoted by Sports Illustrated’s Peter King as saying that Kevin Kolb might have been crucified for any mistake had he returned to the starter’s role.  You can read the full article here. Today at his press conference, Reid denied making the statement when asked to explain it.  ”I don’t know about that.  I never said that,” Reid said.  ”Nope. I don’t even know [...]

One or two articles per week will land on NFL.com, and yesterday’s piece is the choice this week. With all the quarterback talk, I reminded everyone that the defense is struggling mightily.

This week on ITI Weekly, Ryan Messick, Matt Martucci and Eytan Shander discuss the Eagles’ switch to Michael Vick and offer their opinions and analysis. Other topics include the defensive struggles and the matchups with the Jaguars. You can download the file by right clicking below and choosing Save Target As.  If you prefer to listen here on the site, click the play button below. Weekly Show – September 17, 2010

There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding Andy Reid’s announcement of the switch from Kevin Kolb to Michael Vick.  One of the prevailing theories is that the change was a result of poor play by the offensive line.  Vick is a scrambling quarterback who can evade the rush, while Kolb is more of a pocket passer. Mike McGlynn, the starting center after the injury to Jamaal Jackson, takes issue with that assumption. “I don’t know how we’re taking the heat for the quarterback switch either,” McGlynn said.  ”Mike [Vick] went in there and, I mean look at him, the guy [...]