Archive for September, 2011

Anytime the Eagles lose a game the blame usually finds its way squarely on the shoulders of the head coach. And that’s not always fair. Players have to execute. Last night, the Eagles’ linebackers didn’t react, their offense didn’t convert on plays where there were opportunities to do so, and Michael Vick had a stretch of three turnovers just prior to and after halftime. Throw in the Jeremy Maclin drop, a key injury to Vick, and boom–it’s the recipe for a loss. Lost in the chaos of the night’s events, however, were two absolutely woeful decisions by Andy Reid that [...]

I woke up this morning annoyed. A little angry, somewhat bitter, but mainly just annoyed. And then I thought about how it’s a damn good thing the NFL Playoffs don’t begin for another 15 weeks. While it’s certainly no safe bet the Eagles will even qualify for the postseason, if they do indeed get there, things must change on the defensive side of the ball. And fast. First, the good news– Cullen Jenkins is playing at an All-Pro level. Trent Cole, too. And Jason Babin looks very much like the player who broke out last season under Jim Washburn in [...]

A concussed quarterback, a crucial drop by a receiver during a career night, wasted timeouts,a horrendous run defense, and complete and utter inability to cover a tight end were the only things that stood in the way of the Eagles opening the season at 2-0. You know, because they’ve never had these issues before, right? Instead, as they wake up on Monday morning, the remnants of a disgusting and unnecessary loss to the Atlanta Falcons will hang over their heads. And I hope it stings each of them as much as it stings me. In a game that only an [...]

Eagles’ quarterback Vince Young is inactive for the second straight week. Young is still hurting from a preseason hamstring injury suffered against the Jets. First-round pick Danny Watkins, however, is active tonight and it appears he will get his first regular season action. The rest of the Eagles’ inactives are Winston Justice, Curtis Marsh, Darryl Tapp, Akeem Jordan, Jaiquawn Jarrett, and Juliam Vandervelde. The most notable inactive for the Falcons is defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux.

Editor’s Note: Staff writer Steve Fini breaks down the Eagles’ offensive matchups against the Falcons’ defense. Defensive Line I said last week that the Rams were a blitzing type of defense that gets after teams and they proved that. The Falcons do not. They, like the Eagles this year, want to pressure opponents with their front four. They have the personnel to do it. John Abraham, although older, is still a force rushing the passer. He still has a quick first step and the veteran knowledge to beat a tackle with his technique. The Falcons also added veteran defensive end [...]

Where to listen on radio: 94 WIP/XM 225, 226 Time: 8:20 p.m. EST Site: Georgia Dome Where to watch on TV: NBC (Nationally televised) Announcers: Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth Al Michaels is the premiere voice of the National Football League. His presence alone somehow makes the game seem more important. Say what you will about Collinsworth, who was critical of the Eagles during their days of James Thrash and Todd Pinkston, but he’s one of the most inisghtful analysts on television. He doesn’t hold back and isn’t afraid to criticize a player or coach when it’s warranted–that’s a dying [...]

As you all are aware, Jason Peters is listed as questionable for Sunday with some soreness and tenderness in his achilles tendon. Folks, this is not just bad news. This is the worst possible news of the week short of losing Vick. Why, you ask? Because Peters is the only lineman on that team capable of neutralizing John Abraham. Can Todd Herreman’s do the job? Perhaps. Problem is, he’s never been asked to, thus we don’t know. The Falcons like to line up Abraham on both ends of the line. Going into the game, I was expecting to see Abraham [...]

It looks like the Philadelphia Eagles will head into their nationally televised showdown with the Atlanta Falcons at full strength. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was held out of practice earlier this week, was a full-participant Friday and appears ready to go. There is, however, one injury concern to pass along–and it’s a new one. Eagles’ left tackle Jason Peters left practice early Friday with what the team described as tenderness in his achilles and ankle. Andy Reid downplayed the injury, but it’s unknown if Peters will play. Stay tuned.

Twitter is great. It allows athletes the opportunity to post dangerous, stupid, and reactionary thoughts that we as fans would never otherwise get to see. As a frequenter of many pro athletes’ Twitter feeds, I came across this from Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez. Now, for purposes of full disclosure it must be noted that Gonzalez was responding to a fan that warned the future Hall of Fame tight end that his team needed a win this week or fans would start to jump off the bandwagon. To that fan’s credit, he’s right. Atlanta fans are awful–just check out [...]

Editor’s Note: It’s time to break down the Atlanta Falcons with Jamie Kelly from Fansided’s Blogging Dirty. Here’s five questions I had for Jamie–here are his answers. 1. Many experts predicted the Falcons would travel to Chicago and beat the Bears in Week 1. Obviously, that didn’t happen. What went wrong? All around, the Falcons just didn’t have a good gameplan going in and didn’t execute at key points in the game. The Falcons looked flat and lacked basic fundamentals such as good blocking and tackling throughout the game. The main issue for Atlanta, however, was turnovers. The offense gave [...]

Our resident degenerate gambler (and staff contributor) BForReal will break down each Eagles game this season to help give you a betting edge (you know, if you do that sort of thing). Week 2 – Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, September 18th, 2011) As much as I wanted to start the season off with a win in this prediction column, I was happier to see the Eagles get the early “W” against a Rams team that made a lot of fans going into last week. For the record, I was able to take the under once the game total reached 44.5 on game day, [...]

Editor’s Note: Staff writer Steve Fini checks in with his weekly look at five players who will play big roles on Sunday night. Todd Herremans (Right tackle/Eagles)–The Eagles’ new right tackle played pretty well last weekend. In fact, he may have been the Eagles’ best offensive lineman against the Rams, and he should only continue to progress in his new position. This week, we’ll find out exactly just how far along Herremans really is as he goes up against perennial Pro-Bowler John Abraham. Even though Abraham is getting older, he’s still one of the game’s elite pass rushers. He is [...]