Archive for October, 2010

This week on ITI Weekly, Ryan Messick, Eytan Shander and Matt Martucci discuss the state of the Eagles, take a trip around the NFL and play the Bobby April Metaphor Game. Weekly Show – October 29, 2010

After the Eagles 37-19 loss to the Falcons, Ryan Messick and Eytan Shander weigh in with their post game thoughts. Ryan Messick Eytan Shander

One of the most important statistics in the NFL is the turnover battle, and perhaps more importantly the points scored off of those turnovers.  The Eagles gave the ball away to the Titans four times, while only getting three turnovers of their own.  Compounding their problems, Philadelphia didn’t score off of any of Tennessee’s turnovers but the Titans scored 20 points, capitalizing on every Eagles mistake. The most critical was a fumbled handoff between Kevin Kolb and LeSean McCoy with a 16-7 lead and 5:51 left in the third quarter at the Titans 3-yardline.  Tennessee orchestrated a 74-yard drive for [...]

Kenny Britt and the Titans steamrolled the Eagles in the second half, locking up a 37-19 win.  Britt’s 225 receiving yards were a record against the Eagles, topping Tony Hill’s 213 in 1979.  Britt was also the first receiver to catch 3 touchdowns against the Birds since 1993. Britt’s fantastic outing, after he missed the first quarter and a half due to his role in a bar altercation this week, helped the Titans score 27 unanswered points in the final 13:26 en route to the victory. Kerry Collins, filling in for the injured Vince Young, picked up his first win [...]

The Eagles lead the Titans 16-10 after a quiet third quarter that saw the two teams trade field goals.  The Eagles are driving heading into the fourth quarter, with the ball just outside the Titans red zone. The game was off to a slow start, still scoreless after the first quarter, bu things picked up a bit in the second quarter.  The Eagles opened the second frame in the red zone, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by David Akers. The two teams then traded turnovers, with Quintin Mikell forcing a fumble by Kerry Collins that was [...]

The Titans lead the Eagles 7-3 at halftime, thanks to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to Kenny Britt. The game was off to a slow start, still scoreless after the first quarter, bu things picked up a bit in the second quarter.  The Eagles opened the second frame in the red zone, but had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by David Akers. The two teams then traded turnovers, with Quintin Mikell forcing a fumble by Kerry Collins that was recovered by Juqua Parker.  On the Eagles first play from scrimmage, Kevin Kolb was intercepted over the [...]

The Eagles and Titans are locked in a 0-0 tie at the end of the first quarter, but the Eagles are threatening with the ball in the Titans red zone. Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb is 7-of-11 for 49 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Chris Johnson has 27 yards on 4 carries for the Titans.

5. Don’t Make Mistakes – The Titans thrive on turnovers. They’re 3rd in the NFL in points scored, but just 26th in yards. Tennessee’s 14 turnovers, tied for 3rd best in the league, have set them up with shorter fields and given the offense opportunities to score points without having to move the ball too far. If Kevin Kolb and company can hang onto the ball, they’ll make things much tougher on the Titans offense. 4. Pass Protection – The Titans lead the league with 24 sacks, and the Eagles are second worst in sacks allowed with 20. Kevin Kolb [...]

The NFL’s crackdown on dangerous hits has drawn plenty of discussion over the last week, but now the Eagles will do their best to ignore it.  According to linebacker Ernie Sims, coaches showed the Birds the video that was sent to each team and posted on the NFL’s website to explain what hits would be punished and what was considered clean, but told the players to ignore it once the game started. “They just told us to go out there and play, they told us ‘Don’t think about it,’” Sims said. “[If you think about it] you’re going to be [...]

As the Eagles head to Nashville to take on the Titans in their last game before the bye, their focus will be simple: slow down Chris Johnson.  It’s easier said than done, as Johnson is on pace for nearly 1,600 yards and 19 touchdowns a year after running for more than 2,000 yards and 14 scores. This year, the Titans are 4-0 when Johnson breaks the 100-yard mark and 0-2 when he falls short. “He’s unlike any back I’ve seen,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. “He’s explosive, he’s quick, he runs behind his pads, he plays bigger than he [...]

The New York Jets have Fireman Ed. And in the 1990′s, the Philadelphia Eagles had what I called the Three Stooges — a trio of self appointed ring leaders of the circus, aka the 750 section in the infamous 700 level in Veteran’s Stadium. We had six season tickets, seven steep hard concrete rows from the top, so far from the field that the show in the stands usually turned out to be much more exciting than anything that took place on the field that 6-9-1 season. On home game days, our area resembled a bar room instead of a [...]

The Eagles quarterback situation is pretty hazy.  For starters, no pun intended, the injury report lists Michael Vick as questionable.  Andy Reid, on the other hand, said he’d definitely play.  “Michael Vick will be in and I can’t tell you right now whether he’ll be [the backup] or [third string],” Reid said. One thing seems certain though – Kevin Kolb will start in Tennessee.  After that, your guess is as good as anyone’s.  After last week’s game, Reid left things up in the air, saying he’d take “Michael Kolb” and that he promised one of them would be out there.  [...]