Archive for December, 2010

by Ryan Messick Lead Writer After a surprising and disappointing 24-14 loss to the Vikings on Tuesday that took them out of contention for a first round bye, the Eagles are trying to figure out why their focus, energy and execution were lacking with so much on the line. “That’s what bothers me,” said offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. “Well that’s what we’re getting to the bottom of,” said defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. “That’s the disappointing part,” said special teams coordinator Bobby April.

by Ryan Messick Lead Writer The Eagles made a pair of moves on the defensive line today, signing defensive tackle Jeremy Clark to a three-year contract and signing defensive end Bobby McCray. Philadelphia officially placed defensive tackle Jeff Owens on Injured Reserve and released defensive end Derrick Burgess in order to make room on the roster. McCray, 29, spent the last two seasons with the Saints. The veteran had six sacks and 29 tackles in 2008, starting eight games. Last year he had just 1.5 sacks and 12 tackles and was not a starter. McCray was released by the Saints [...]

by Ryan Messick Lead Writer “It was a complete tail-whipping right there.” “That was terrible, every phase was terrible.” “No excuses. They came to play, we didn’t play.” Eagles head coach Andy Reid summed it up pretty effectively after his team was upset 24-14 at home by the Vikings and their rookie, first-time starting quarterback Joe Webb.  With the loss, the Eagles chances of a first-round bye in the playoffs disappeared and they are now locked in to the No. 3 seed in the NFC.

The Eagles must have felt like they stepped into the twilight zone this week.  A Tuesday night loss to a 5-9 Vikings squad led by Joe Webb will do that to you.  Philadelphia fell behind 17-7 late in the third quarter and couldn’t find another miraculous comeback, falling 24-14.

Nobody expected the Vikings to be leading the Eagles by 10 going into the fourth quarter, but then again nobody expected to be playing on a Tuesday night either.  Nevertheless, that’s the situation heading into quarter number four at Lincoln Financial Field, with Minnesota leading Philadelphia 17-7.

After waiting an extra 48 hours to start the game, the Eagles and Vikings played to a slow pace in the first half, with Philadelphia grabbing a 7-0 lead on a three-yard strike from Michael Vick to Clay Harbor.  Minnesota tied the game with 44 seconds remaining when Antoine Winfield knocked the ball out of Vick’s left hand, scooped it up and ran 45 yards for a touchdown.  At halftime, the Eagles and Vikings remain tied 7-7.

The Eagles lead the Vikings 7-0 after one quarter of play, behind a 5-7 passing performance for 47 yards and a touchdown by Michael Vick.  The Eagles quarterback, named the NFC’s starter in the Pro Bowl before kickoff, found rookie Clay Harbor for a 3-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter.  It was Harbor’s first career touchdown catch.

5. Special Teams – The Eagles are thin on return men, having lost both Ellis Hobbs and Jorrick Calvin to season-ending injuries.  They’ll likely call on either Chad Hall or Jeremy Maclin to return kicks, and at this point the focus becomes ball security rather than explosiveness. 4. Take Care of the Ball – The Vikings have a respectable defense, but it shouldn’t be enough to slow down the Eagles high powered offense – as long as the Eagles take care of the ball.  It gets a little slicker in the cold weather, making turnovers more likely. 3. Take Away [...]

If someone told you before the season began that on Tuesday, December 28, the Eagles would be hosting the Vikings as the NFC East Champions with MVP candidate Michael Vick and rookie Joe Webb leading their squads into battle, disbelief would have been an appropriate reaction.  Having whoever told you that committed might have been a fitting response as well. A Tuesday game? Michael Vick, an MVP candidate? NFC East Champions? Joe Who?

The Eagles can still finish as the first, second or third seed in the NFC.  Currently slotted in third, the Eagles need to win out against Minnesota and Dallas in order to have a chance to move up.  To grab the two-seed, they also need a Bears loss to the Packers next week at Lambeau Field. The scenarios that give the Birds the top spot in the NFC are a bit more complicated.  The simplest has the Eagles winning out, the Bears losing to the Packers, the Falcons losing to the Panthers and the Saints losing to the Buccaneers.  That [...]

by Ryan Messick Lead Writer The Eagles have already played on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., 4:15 p.m. and 8:20 p.m., on Monday at 8:30 p.m. and Thursday at 8:20 p.m. So, hey, why not add a game on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m.?  That’s when the Eagles and Vikings will face off on NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Yes, they’ll still call it that), thanks to a snowstorm sweeping through the Delaware Valley that is expected to dump around a foot of snow on South Philadelphia with winds gusting in excess of 40 miles per hour. It may give Brett Favre enough time [...]

Tonight’s game between the Eagles and Vikings has been postponed until Tuesday at 8:20 p.m. with an 8:00 television airtime on NBC, according to an announcement on the team’s website. The Philadelphia area is expecting up to a foot of snow tonight with winds between 20 and 30 miles per hour.  With the move, the Eagles will have their preparations for their week 17 showdown with the Cowboys packed into a severely shortened week.  Dallas has a long week after a Christmas night game against Arizona.