The aftermath. I wonder what it feels like to fly cross-country back to Philly having lost yet another NFC Championship. The plane ride must resemble a wake. For me, after enduring a Super Bowl loss and four title game defeats, it rolls off my back. But just once I’d like to NOT hear these four words at the end of an Eagles‘ season: “Sorry about the Eagles.” Whatever.
This will be my only post about yesterday’s loss. After that comes evaluating the team, assessing needs, free agent talk and draft preparation. Needless to say, the next couple months will be busy. Onward and upward.
I love movies. With that in mind, I’m going to breakdown the fall to Arizona with help from one of my favorite films – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Right about now I’m sure there are a lot of players and fans who wish they were the “Man With No Name.” At least then they could escape the questions and humiliation that comes with losing four of five NFC Championship games. But I digress. Here we go:
The Good
DeSean Jackson played perhaps his best game as a receiver. Six catches for 92 yards, including a juggling 62 yard TD catch to give the Eagles the lead. He also had a great strip on Aaron Francisco after Francisco intercepted a McNabb pass. Jackson’s talent is unquestioned. Hopefully he has the work ethic.
Brent Celek had ten catches totaling 83 yards with a pair of scores. In his last four games Celek had 22 grabs for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Maybe, just maybe, Brent is a keeper.
The Eagles did not lay down and die after a deplorable first-half performance. They engineered a furious comeback, led by McNabb, and reeled off nineteen straight points. They played their brand of football in the second-half. If only they could have done it the entire game.
The Bad
Donovan had one of his wild n’ crazy games. He missed high, low, short, long and behind. He redeemed himself in the second-half, but still delivered too many errant throws.
His receivers didn’t help. Several dropped balls by the likes of Kevin Curtis and Greg Lewis killed drives. This can’t happen when playing for a trip to the Big Game.
I counted eight missed tackles by the defense. I’m sure there were more. Every defensive player was guilty of taking bad angles or not wrapping up ball carriers. I can’t recall a game in which the defense played such undisciplined football.
The Ugly (this list could be lengthy but I’ll keep it reasonable)
Quintin Demps was completely out of position on Larry Fitzgerald‘s 62 yard TD catch. Then Demps committed an unforgivable roughing penalty on Kurt Warner near the end of the first half. Stupid! I like Demps, but he has much to learn if he wants to replace Brian Dawkins down the road.
David Akers hooked a 47 yarder after nailing 19 consecutive postseason field goals. Then he shanked a PAT. Then he booted a kickoff out-of-bounds. Ugh!
What is the deal with the slow starts? In the previous two playoff games it was the offense that took a while to get on track. On Sunday it was the whole damn team. The first-half looked like a preseason game. Andy Reid needs to remedy this affliction. Hypnosis? Aroma therapy? Acupuncture? Try something before the 2009 season begins.
I spoke to friend of mine last week who happens to be a Panthers fan and asked him why the Cats D didn’t cover-up Fitzgerald even though he was killin’ them. This was his answer: “They couldn’t.” I thought to myself, “No way the Eagles’ secondary will let that happen.” Hold on while I insert my foot into my mouth.
Coda
There you have it. For the most part, the Eagles are a young team. A talented nucleus returns next season. Will that include Donovan and Andy? Would Jeff Lurie let either of them go? Hey, anything is possible in Philadelphia. Reid could resign, but I consider that highly unlikely. Donovan could pull a Favre and force the issue. Truthfully, I wouldn’t be shocked if he did. The futures of Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and John Runyan are still undetermined. The futures of L.J. Smith, Lito Sheppard and Reggie Brown seems known. None should return.
Now the real work begins. The long, arduous journey back to the mountain top. With some cap space to play with and two first-round selections, the Birds have the ammunition to reload, provided McNabb is under center in ’09. This has the makings of another headline-filled, head-turning off-season that promises to be anything but predictable. Eagles Nation wouldn’t have it any other way.